Santogold, aka Santi White, is finally ready to embark on her first headlining tour after the commercial and critical success of her debut self-titled album. Sponsored by MySpace Music, the “Goldrush Tour” comes on the heels of Santogold’s recent opening slot for uber-popular Brit band Coldplay. To truly bring her album’s genre-bending sound incorporating new wave, dub, and hip-hop to stages across the country, the singer will be joined by a full backing band and DJ. (more…)

Currently in the studio recording their fifth album, indie “space rock” mainstays Hopewell have fought against the odds (music industry shifts, stylistic changes, and personal conflicts) to continue to make music for their legion of fans. Touted as their most ambitious project, Hopewell’s fifth album draws influences from acts such as Can, Jane’s Addiction, and Roxy Music. (more…)

Mavis Staples, an icon of resistance and former lead singer of the Staples Sisters, performed a moving concert on June 23rd in Chicago that has since been recorded and is set for release on November 4th, aka Election Day. Entitled Mavis Staples Live: Hope at the Hideout (Anti-), the chosen release date is not a mere coincidence. Staples has ties to the upcoming election, having attended the same Chicago church as Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, who Staples has described as, “in a way, so much like Dr. King.” Also, Obama’s message of “change” and “hope” are standards in Staples’ music. The live album showcases Staples’ live rendition of the protest classic “We Shall Not Be Moved,” a song often sung during sit-ins at restaurants in the South in the 1960s. (more…)

The ‘59 Sound (Sideonedummy), the latest album by The Gaslight Anthem debuted at #70 on the Billboard Hot 200 Charts. After a whirlwind of publicity including being featured on the cover of Kerrang! magazine, the band’s strong debut is no surprise. Currently on tour throughout the UK, the band is scheduled to perform throughout the United States this fall with such acts as Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice. (more…)

On the heels of their recent stint this summer during the Vans Warped Tour, Hollywood by way of Denmark rockabilly punks Horrorpops have announced a new fall tour entitled “All Hallows Eve Tour 2008.” The tour is in support of their third release, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, an album based around a film noir throwback. Fans should look forward to an atypical concert experience, as frontwoman Patricia Day along with Kim Nekroman on guitar and Henrik Niedermeier on drums ensure the “All Hallows Eve Tour 2008″ is a must-see event. (more…)

After the successful release of their debut album, Saturnalia, veteran rockers Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan (Afghan Whigs and Screaming Trees) of The Gutter Twins are set to release a brand new EP entitled Adorata and featuring reinterpretations of songs by the likes of Vetiver, Jose Gonzales, and Primal Scream. The eight-song EP will include The Gutter Twins‘ take on songs such as “Belle” by Vetiver, “Flow Like a River” by Eleven, and “Down the Line” by Jose Gonzales. (more…)

Ra Ra Riot have come a long way in just two years. After making a name for themselves as one of the most energetic live bands in Syracuse, New York, releasing a self-titled EP, and raising some eyebrows at CMJ festival, the quintet seemed destined for stardom. Sadly, though, along the way, they lost drummer, co-songwriter, co-vocalist and founder John Ryan Pike when he tragically drowned in 2007. But where many bands might folded under the new-found malaise, Ra Ra Riot instead persevered, making do with what they had, and created The Rhumb Line (Barsuk) one of this year’s best indie-pop debut albums. (more…)

Childhood friends Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel have been playing music together for over a decade and performing as Two Gallants since 2002. Their newest record, a self-titled release on Saddle Creek, showcases their talent for blending traditional folk and blues with a rock edge, creating an infectious lo-fi indie sound that is at once a breath of fresh air and a staunch reminder of the timelessness of American music. (more…)

Coheed and Cambria will bring their uber-popular Neverender shows to Chicago as well as abroad in London. Originally slated for New York and Los Angeles exclusively, tickets for the previous two Neverender events sold out in three hours. Presented by Q101, Neverender is a new, four-night concert project in which the group will perform all four of their concept albums in their entirety, from beginning to end. (more…)

Once popular in Peru, chicha is a style of music that combines psychedelic riffs with Amazonian rhythms. Popular among indigenous empowerment members of the 1970s, the music was never truly accepted by the mainstream or middle classes in the country. Now, however, the sound is welcoming a resurgence through world music hotspot Cafe Barbès‘ club owner Olivier Conan and his band, Chicha Libre. (more…)