Thursday , March 28 2024
Plus Christina Perri, Rob Thomas, The Plain White T’s, Nate Ruess of fun., The Smashing Pumpkins, David Sanborn, Mavis Staples, Jeff Beck, James Taylor, and More

I Shall Be Released: Music News from Flo Rida, Colbie Caillat, Ed Sheeran, The Rolling Stones, Dwight Yoakam, Marilyn Manson and More

Flo Rida’s new EP My House, the culmination of his “Flo Madness” campaign of song releases, video premieres, and contests, includes the sunny new single “Once in a Lifetime.”

Plain White T's
The Plain White T’s

The Plain White T’s, another multi-platinum act, just put out a brand new album. American Nights, the band’s first independent release since 2001, is full of rockers and ballads written by three band members, making it their most collaborative album yet.

The Plain White T’s will be joining Rob Thomas on tour dates beginning in June leading up to the release of Thomas’s third solo album this summer.

Ed Sheeran will add a second leg to his tour, continuing on the road this fall to ride his hit single “Thinking Out Loud.”

Nate Ruess, frontman and songwriter for the band fun., will release his first solo album June 16, including his hit single “Nothing Without Love” and the ballad “Take It Back” featuring Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy.

The Rolling Stones kick off their 15-city ZIP CODE North American stadium tour next month to coincide with a re-release of their classic 1971 album Sticky Fingers. The new edition will include never-before-released outtakes and live recordings from the time. Following that, June 23 will see the release of From The Vault: The Marquee – Live in 1971, a DVD/Blu-ray/CD production of a set the Stones performed that year just before the original release of Sticky Fingers. The show marked the first time “Brown Sugar,” “Dead Flowers,” and “Bitch” were showcased live.

Colbie Caillat and Christina Perri are joining forces for a “Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too” tour.

The Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson are co-headlining a tour this summer behind The Smashing Pumpkins’ album Monuments to an Elegy and Manson’s Pale Emperor.The Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson End Times Tour

Mavis Staples will release a new EP on April 21 following up the premiere at SXSW of Mavis!, a documentary about the 75-year-old soul and gospel legend. Listen to the title track from Your Good Fortune here. Staples worked with up-and-comer Son Little, who produced the EP and wrote two of the songs.

In actor-musician news, accompanying the announcement of a new The X Files series comes word that David Duchovny will release his first solo album, Hell Or Highwater, on May 12.

Six-time Grammy® Award-winner David Sanborn’s 25th album came out this week on OKeh Records. Produced by bassist Marcus Miller, Time and the River features top Sanborn collaborators including Miller and keyboardist Roy Assaf, plus guests including former Tower of Power lead singer Larry Braggs.

Dr. Willis Kirk, Monk Montgomery, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Montgomery. Henri’s (on Indiana Avenue,Indianapolis), circa mid-1950s. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of Dr. Willis Kirk.
Dr. Willis Kirk, Monk Montgomery, Wes Montgomery, Buddy Montgomery. Henri’s (on Indiana Avenue,Indianapolis), circa mid-1950s. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of Dr. Willis Kirk.

Also in jazz, a 26-track, 2-CD rarity collection of Wes Montgomery recordings from 1949-58 called In The Beginning comes out May 12 on the non-profit label Resonance Records.

Dwight Yoakam’s new album Second Hand Heart comes out next week. You can stream it now on NPR’s First Listen.

Matt Pond PA just kicked off a 10th anniversary tour and will release a new album, The State of Gold, June 30 on the revived Doghouse Records. The concerts will include songs from the upcoming album as well as the entirety of the 2005 album Several Arrows Later. This being the year 2015, and trends being trends, a limited-edition opaque orange version of Several Arrows Later will be available at the shows. Just in case you were worried that it might be orange but also transparent, no: it’s opaque.

Jeff Beck’s Live At Ronnie Scott’s Special Edition two-CD set comes out June 2, followed by a three-LP edition. It’s the first release of the full audio from Beck’s 2007 concerts at Ronnie Scott’s in London, which featured guests Eric Clapton, Joss Stone, and Imogen Heap.

Nothing New, a new album from the late Gil Scott-Heron with stripped-down vocal and piano versions of songs from his back catalogue, is now out on CD after last year’s Record Store Day vinyl release. Producer Richard Russell produced these acoustic piano versions recorded between 2005 and 2009 and chosen by Gil himself.

Jackson C. Frank: The Complete Recordings will come out on August 4 on Ba Da Bing Records. The folk singer’s songs have been covered by the likes of Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel, Marianne Faithfull, Sandy Denny, Counting Crows, and John Mayer, and Nas sampled his music for “Undying Love.” Paul Simon produced Frank’s first album in 1965 with Al Stewart playing guitar. The newly remastered recordings should help put Frank, who died in 1999, back at least a little bit into the limelight. It’ll be available in three-CD and six-LP versions as well as a special-edition ash wood box set limited to 150 copies. Hear “Blues Run the Game.”

To stay folkie for just a little longer: James Taylor’s first album of new songs in 13 years, Before This World, comes out June 16 on Concord Records. Hear the first single here. Yo-Yo Ma and Sting make guest appearances, and a two-disc deluxe CD/DVD edition includes a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the album.

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About Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics as well as lead editor of the Culture & Society section. As a writer he contributes most often to Music, where he covers classical music (old and new) and other genres, and Culture, where he reviews NYC theater. Through Oren Hope Marketing and Copywriting at http://www.orenhope.com/ you can hire him to write or edit whatever marketing or journalistic materials your heart desires. Jon also writes the blog Park Odyssey at http://parkodyssey.blogspot.com/ where he is on a mission to visit every park in New York City. He has also been a part-time working musician, including as lead singer, songwriter, and bass player for Whisperado.

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