The lineup for the 2013 installment of High Sierra has been revealed. HT faves Primus, moe., Steel Pulse, Leftover Salmon, Greyboy Allstars, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Barr Brothers and Rubblebucket are just a few of the bands set to play this year’s fest. The 23rd annual High Sierra Music Festival will take place from July 4 – 7 in Quincy, California.

Here’s a look at the full lineup…

Primus • Thievery Corporation  • moe. • Steel Pulse • Leftover Salmon • The Greyboy Allstars • Gramatik • Emancipator  • The John Scofield Überjam Band •  The Infamous Stringdusters  • Lee Fields & The Expressions • Allen Stone  • North Mississippi Allstars •Pimps of Joytime  • Lord Huron • White Denim • Carolyn Wonderland Rubblebucket • The Barr Brothers  • Peter Apfelbaum & Sparkler • Sarah Jarosz  • Anders Osborne • Aoife O’Donovan  • Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real Houndmouth • The Revivalists • Futurebirds •  The Whiskey Sisters • Miner • Octopus  • Nebula  • The David Mayfield Parade • Fruition

And check out the announcement video…

Tickets for High Sierra are on sale now.

Back in the early ’00s The Police drummer Stewart Copeland formed a band called Oysterhead with fellow “alpha musicians” Les Claypool of Primus and Trey Anastasio of Phish. Recently, Copeland invited Claypool and the current incarnation of Primus to his Sacred Grove studio for a jam session.

Copeland has just posted a short segment from their jam session to his official YouTube page. Take a look at this incredibly weird vid which includes Copeland on trombone for part of it…

Stewart Copeland and Primus

In 1994, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the legendary Woodstock Festival, the event’s promoters threw another huge festival featuring many of the top acts of the day as well as a handful of bands that played the original Woodstock to a large field in Saugerties, New York. An estimated 350,000 music fans attended Woodstock ’94, aka Mudstock, which saw sets from the likes of Nine Inch Nails, The Band, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan and Metallica over the course of its three days.

Primus was at their commercial peak in 1994 having recently released Pork Soda which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top Albums chart. Les Claypool, Larry “Ler” LaLonde and Tim “Herb” Alexander performed a 10-song set at the second day of Woodstock ’94 that featured a sit-in from Alice In Chains’ guitarist Jerry Cantrell on Harold of the Rocks and a cover of Master of Puppets by Metallica. Though the most unforgettable moment of the set was when the crowd started pelting the band with mud during…you guessed it – My Name Is Mud. Claypool stopped playing and told the audience “Well I opened a big-ass can of worms with that one, didn’t I? The song is called ‘My Name is Mud’, but keep the mud to yourselves you son-of-a-bitch.” So check out the entire Primus performance from Woodstock ’94 as this week’s Full Show Friday selection…

Primus – Woodstock ’94

Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers
Bob 6:51
My Name is Mud 11:29
Jerry Was A Racecar Driver 17:32
Seas of Cheese 21:40
The Air is Getting Slippery 22:28
Nature Boy 25:16
Harold of the Rocks 34:09
Master of Puppets 45:18

In a world’s colliding moment for this writer, Ryan Adams has revealed that he will produce the new Lemonheads’ studio effort. For the upcoming record, Lemonheads head honcho Evan Dando will re-team with the band’s co-founder, Ben Deily, who separated from the group back in 1989. Plus, alt-rocker Juliana Hatfield – who has a long history with Dando and the Lemonheads’ brand – will play bass.

Adams’ tweet about his new behind-the-boards gig mentions he’ll bring the Lemonheads “back to the punker sounds” of the band’s early days. We can’t wait to hear the results.

Here’s a handful of stories to keep you entertained this hump day…

• The New York Times Magazine profiles legendary rocker Neil Young
• List Time: Paste details The 15 Greatest Sets of Musical Siblings
• Stream HT faves Frightened Rabbit’s new EP – State Hospital
• Looking to fill your NetFlix queue with Rock Docs? Check here
• R.E.M.’s Peter Buck discusses his forthcoming solo album
• Ben Folds Five tells the stories behind each track on their new LP

Finally, Primus has extended their 3D tour until the end of the year as the Les Claypool-led band will play a four-show New Year’s Run in California. The holiday action starts on December 27th at The Balboa Theatre in San Diego and moves to L.A.’s The Wiltern on December 29th before concluding with a pair of performances at The Warfield in San Francisco on December 30th and New Year’s Eve.

A few weeks back HT faves Primus announced they would embark on the first-ever 3D-enhanced tour this fall in which the band’s performances would be augmented by not only 3D visuals but also quadraphonic surround sound. Primus promised to announce the actual dates soon and kept to their promise today by revealing the cities and dates the month-long jaunt will hit.

Primus 3D Tour kicks off on October 12th in Poughkeepsie, New York and is currently scheduled to run through a November 10th date in Miami. A presale has already begun on the band’s ticketing website. When prompted use the password “squirrel.”

Here’s the full list of Primus 3D Tour dates…

• 10/12 Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid Hudson Civic Center
• 10/13 Burlington, VT @ Memorial Auditorium
• 10/15 Washington, DC @ The Fillmore
• 10/16 Wilkes Barre, PA @ Kirby Center
• 10/17 Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theater
• 10/19 New York NY @ Hammerstein
• 10/20 Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theater
• 10/21 Providence, RI @ Veterans Memorial Aud
• 10/23 Niagra Falls, NY @ Rapids Theater
• 10/24 Detroit, MI @ Fillmore
• 10/26 Asheville, NC @ Moogfest
• 10/27 Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theater
• 10/28 St Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House
• 10/30 Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theater
• 10/31 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
• 11/02 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown
• 11/03 Denver, CO @ The Fillmore
• 11/04 Wichita, KS @ Cotillion Ballroom
• 11/05 Dallas, TX @ McFarlin
• 11/07 Austin, TX @ Bass Hall
• 11/09 Orlando, FL @ The Hard Rock
• 11/10 Miami, FL @ Fillmore

As per an earlier press release, Primus is expected to play two sets each night.

[via Here Comes The Flood]

When Primus hits the road this fall, they will offer fans a never-before-seen multimedia experience as the group will be augmented not only by 3D visuals but also by quad surround sound. The tour, for which dates and more details will be revealed on July 30, will feature two sets a night from Les Claypool and Co.

Primus headlines Gathering Of The Vibes on Saturday.

One of the first big sit-ins of Summer Camp took place last night at the Moonshine Stage where Grateful Dead / Furthur guitarist Bob Weir came out during the Primus set for The Other One at the second day of the annual festival in Chillicothe, Illin. The Primus/Bobby connection stems from drummer Jay Lane who has been the drummer in Ratdog since Weir formed the group and currently mans the kit for Primus as he did from the group’s start until 1988. In fact, Les takes credit for introducing Lane to original Ratdog bassist Rob Wasserman and “putting Ratdog together.”

[All Photos by Mike Sherry]

The last Claypool/Weir collaboration took place at All Good in 2009 when the Primus bassist emerged during a stuff jam and stuck around through a cover of Tomorrow Never Knows, a song that Bobby had sat in with Claypool’s solo band on at Gathering of the Vibes 2000 and 2007. Also at GOTV 2000, Les was Ratdog’s guest on a pair of bass jams and a Spanish Jam that led into, you guessed it, The Other One. Furthermore, back on January 31, 2006; Weir, Lane and Claypool teamed up for a set billed as “Performance 3″ at a tribute to “Dr. Don” Pearson at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Bobby was at the festival along with Jackie Greene and Chris Robinson for a trio set earlier in the day.

Other highlights from Friday at Summer Camp included moe. guitarist Al Schnier sitting in with Keller Williams and Umphrey’s launching into their second version of Tool’s 46 & 2.

Check out a full gallery of Mike Sherry’s photos…

READ ON

Here at Hidden Track, compiling our end of the year list of the 25 best albums has been eerily similar to the process of devising another top 25 list – the college football top 25. When we started four years ago, we attempted to devise a quantitative methodology that systematized the rankings and took the individual biases out of the equation, while still incorporating the collective views of everyone involved at HT. Well, that was sort of our BCS. This year we’re going back to the old school and running it AP Top 25 style. In other words, every writer on staff submitted their own personal top 25, and then we compiled the final list based  on a simple tally of votes.

Who knows, there may still be a few kinks to work through in future editions, but you can rest assured of one thing that will always make our list a cut above the rest: we consider everything. Our submissions include all styles of music from bluegrass to jazz, jam to indie, electronica to rap, as well as everything in between (but sorry Nefertiti’s Fjord it just wasn’t the year for lesbian-Afro-Norwegian-funk music). At the end of the day, we’re a music blog. Everyone is encouraged to write about what they like with no motives, no editorial biases and no strings attached. We hope that comes across in our picks.

So, let’s kick off our fourth annual week long celebration of the HT staff’s favorite albums of 2011 with numbers 25 through 21…

25) Middle Brother – Middle Brother

Key Tracks: Blue Eyes,  Thanks For Nothing, Me, Me, Me

Sounds Like:  Dusty, barroom heartbreak from the leaders of the New Americana revival.

The Skinny: March 2011 welcomed a studio debut from Middle Brother, a super-collective featuring one part Deer Tick (John McCauley), one part Dawes (Taylor Goldsmith) and one part Delta Spirit (Matt Vasquez). The three banded together in 2009 after several onstage collaborations between their respective bands. Undeniable sparks between McCauley, Goldsmith and Vasquez led them to the studio with producers Adam Landry and Justin Collins (both of whom produced Deer Tick’s 2011 release Divine Providence). Each track rotates singer/songwriter duties to create a shared experience of raw emotions, love and loss; depending on who is at the mic, dashes of Deer Tick, Dawes and Delta Spirit are present in the grooves. Middle Brother combined the hearts and souls of three prolific songwriters with a blend of alternative, folk, rock and ’60s pop. The results are perfect for days that you don’t want to get out of bed, but rather lie around and listen to a solid album.

- Allison Taich

READ ON

If you’re like us, your first exposure to Primus came through one of the group’s now legendary videos for Wynonna’s Got a Big Brown Beaver, Tommy The Cat or Jerry Was a Race Car Driver. Primus front man Les Claypool has teamed up with the director of the Tommy and Jerry videos, Mark Kohr, to create a video for the Green Naugahyde track Tragedy’s A’Comin.

In the clip, Claypool appears dressed up as a lobster who dreams of running on a white sand beach instead of meeting his true fate – someone’s dinner at a fancy restaurant. While this is Primus’s first video in over 11 years, The Tragedy’s A’Comin clip continues the band’s trend of deliciously bizarre adaptions of their music. Take a look…

Primus – Tragedy’s A’Comin

Primus @ Congress Theater, October 14

I had only seen Primus once before their throwdown at the Congress Theater in Chicago last Friday, and it was the infamous Bonnaroo 2004 latenight set, so large expectations were looming up front…and the band delivered. Primus is touring behind their new record, Green Naugahyde, so I assumed the setlist would be heavy on new material, but didn’t realize until the gig that the whole second set would consist of the new record performed in its entirety.

The first set was flawlessly executed, as expected, relying on classic material but not much of the truly “name” tunes. Mr. Claypool was his usual self, leading the band through tunes with a casual focus that is unparalleled – truly a man comfortable in his own musical and personal skin. Drummer Jay Lane breathed new life into this set – and that’s not at all a dig on Tim “Herb” Alexander – the guy is just a fucking animal. Lane expertly navigated the twists and turns with the hard-hitting polyrhythmic prowess of Danny Carey juxtaposed against a Glenn Kotche-like musicality and control of dynamics. The band viciously plowed through the set, rarely stopping to address the audience, before ending with the one-two punch of Jerry was a Race Car Driver and Over the Electric Grapevine before exiting the stage without even a word. No sooner did Electric Grapevine end than a classic Popeye cartoon began to play on the massive LED backdrop, making for the most entertaining setbreak I’ve been a part of in ages.

READ ON

Every fall for the last 20+ years, legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young has assembled an all-star roster of musicians for a charity concert to benefit the Bridge School – a school which assists children with severe physical impairments and complex communication needs. Now in its 25th year, this year’s event will feature performances from Young, Arcade Fire, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Mumford & Sons, Beck, Diana Krall, Jenny Lewis and Los Invisibles featuring Carlos Santana. The usually all-acoustic shows will take place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif. on October 22 and 23.

• List Time: Captain Beefhart’s 10 Commandments Of Guitar Playing
• Keith Richards autobiography Life to be turned into a biopic
• Cover Alert: The Shins tackle Davie Bowie
• Mos Def plans to change his name to Yasiin in 2012
• Download This: Beck – Beside Variety Pack
• PJ Harvey won her second Mercury Prize for Let England Shake

Finally, as we previously reported, on Sept. 13 Primus will release Green Naugahyde, their first album of new material in 11 years via ATO Records/Prawn Songs. The quirky funky-rock act are offering fans an advance preview by streaming the entire record on South Park’s Facebook page (a show that the band has a longstanding association with, having composed its theme song) as part of the show’s Year Of The Fan campaign.

We keep our eyes peeled for new tour dates announcements each week and compile them on Tuesdays for this handy column…

On September 13, quirky funk-rock act Primus will release Green Naugahyde, their first album of new material since 1999 via ATO Records and Prawn Songs. Featuring the band’s 1988 lineup of Les Claypool (bass/vocals), Larry LaLonde (guitar) and Jay Lane (drums), the album was produced and engineered by Claypool himself at his Rancho Relaxo studio. This fall the band will head out for a month-long tour in support of the record, which kicks off on September 23 at the Orpheum in Boston, MA and will feature two full sets from Les Claypool & Co. at each stop along the way.

If you’re not into a night with Primus, then maybe you’ll be interested in hitting one of these recently announced tours…

• Mickey Hart Band: August Tour (8/5 – 8/21)
• St. Vincent: Fall North American Tour (10 – 11/4)
• Lotus: Fall U.S. Tour (9/22 – 11/19)
• Elvis Costello: Fall World Tour (9/15 – 11/21)
• Wood Brothers: Summer/Fall Tour (8/11 – 10/9)
• Girls: Fall North American Tour (9/3 – 10/9)
• Beady Eye: Early Winter Tour (11/29 – 12/10)
• Portishead: North American Fall Tour (10/1 – 10/27)
• Fruit Bats & Vetiver: Co-Headlining Tour (9/6 – 9/24)
• Weird Al: The Alpocalypse Tour (9/10 – 10/21)
• tUnE-YarDs: Fall North American Tour (9/19 – 11/21)
• Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey: Fall Tour (9/16 – 11/18)

Les Claypool seems to be re-inspired since bringing drummer Jay Lane back into the Primus fold last year as the band has unveiled new songs and “The Colonel” has been playing with unbridled passion of late. Primus’ current lineup recently went back into the studio and the results can be heard on September 13, when the band releases Green Naugahyde, their first studio album in 11 years. Claypool handled production and engineering duties for the LP, which was recorded at his home studio.

December 31st is the biggest night for live music of the year. An argument might be made for Halloween, but I’m not buying it. Your non-live-music-loving-friends don’t say things like, “Halloween is the most anti-climactic day of the year” while you sit there and just snicker. We’ve been a little Phish heavy this week so let’s take a look at how 24 other bands rang in 2011.

Side Note: This was my first time using embedded images from setlist.fm and I must say it looks super slick. That site has really got it going on, I hope the quality of data improves as more people use it, because with better information – statistics like “What songs did LCD Soundsystem play in 2010” will be really useful to have for a wide variety of bands.

Better Than Ezra:

The Black Keys:

READ ON for lots more New Year’s Eve Setlists

We’re quickly approaching the end of the year which means it’s time to start thinking about Warren Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam. According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, this year’s event will again be one day and will be held at the Asheville Civic Center on December 11. We’re still a few weeks away from the initial artist announcement.

In other news, Danny Clinch posted a note on Ryan Adams’ Facebook Page discussing a feature length documentary the noted photographer/filmmaker is preparing on the year he spent with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals…

“For those of you who, like myself, are fans of Ryan Adams and music in general you may be interested to know that I am currently well into a rough cut of a feature length documentary on the roughly one year of time I spent w/ Ryan and the Cardinals. Ryan can pack alot into a year (or a day, or a minute) and he did just that. Making three great albums , 29 , Cold Roses , and Jacksonville City Nights , oh and producing a Willie Nelson record (Song Bird) , meeting and touring w/ Phil Lesh , ( I can’t believe I missed the metal record he made one night – I think I needed the sleep) , not to mention his paintings. To be honest , Ryan is pretty interesting and to get a good look into his creativity and madness is gonna be a treat, trust me. We are looking for for any video you might have of Ryans fall in liverpool or any live performance of “29″. Please message me on our facebook page or email [email protected] thanks in advance for you support.”  [via The Steam Engine]

Finally, Billboard reports that Primus is working on their first new studio album in 11 years. The new album would be the first featuring current and original drummer Jay Lane, who left the band before they recorded Frizzle Fry. Claypool tells Billboard that the band is “recording musical ideas from sound checks and whatnot, even live shows” for possible inclusion on the LP.