Bloggy Goodness: Jack White’s Balloon Experiment

It seems that every week Jack White is up to something cool. Earlier this month, the singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer-record label owner released a thousand helium balloons from his Third Man Records store in Nashville, which each had a flexi-disc of his new single, Freedom At 21, attached to it (you can watch the video of the launch here). The floating free records, which were released on April 1, and have made their way as far south as Coker, Alabama are now beginning to show up on eBay. One such disc recently surfaced on the auction site with a starting price of $150, and is currently sitting at $1,803 – with roughly five days of bidding left to go. While that may seem like an hefty number, Third Man Records pointed out that “statistics for similar balloon launches show a recovery rate of approximately 10%, so it’s quite possible that less than 100 of the 1,000 records launched will ever be discovered.” For a more affordable option White’s debut album Blunderbuss, which includes Freedom At 21, will be released on April 24.

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Finally, earlier this year Kathleen Edwards released her fantastic fourth studio album Voyageur, which garnered a healthy dose of attention thanks in part to the fact that it was produced by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame. In an unfortunate turn of events, the Canadian singer-songwriter, who has been out on the road in support of the album, has had to cancel a handful of shows after battling a series of vocal problems. Edwards took to her Facebook page yesterday, posting the following message…

After weeks of suffering from symptoms of vocal strain and burnout, I’ve decided to postpone shows and rest my voice. A very fun but gruelling few months of concerts, press and promotion has given me little time to rest, and it has finally caught up with me. After a second round of doctors visits and steroids to help stave off the symptoms of fatigue, I realize the only option now is to go home to allow my throat to heal.

Please stay tuned as we are currently rescheduling the following shows:

Thursday April 12 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
Friday April 13 – Saskatoon, SK @ The Broadway Theatre
Saturday April 14 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick Theatre
Sunday April 15 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity

Hold on to your tickets, they will be honoured on the rescheduled date. If you would like a refund, please contact the local venue box office.

Thank you! x

No word at press time about whether the rest of her currently scheduled dates will go on as planned, which includes a high profile appearance at Bonnaroo this June, but we want to wish Ms. Edwards a speedy recovery and return to the stage.