Can you imagine if you’re in a band going up against Radiohead a major festival? Thankfully the promoters of Lollapalooza spared someone the embarrassment of playing for an empty field by announcing that Radiohead will play unopposed on Friday night. Here’s the rest of the schedule for those hitting Chicago’s Grant Park on August 1 - 3. There aren’t too many conflicts at first glance.

• Jimmy Page backs off from his earlier statements about a Led Zep tour
• Earvolution unveils Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ new song: Sugar
• The Baltimore Sun examines the explosion in the popularity of festivals
• Girl Talk discusses his new album, Feed The Animals, with Pitchfork
• Rolling Stone looks at Iron Maiden’s recent MSG gig by the numbers
• If you think high gas prices suck for you, try bringing a band on tour
• Spoon covers Paul Simon’s Peace Like A River for a Daytrotter post
• EMusic raises their subscription rates from $9.99 to $11.99 per month

Finally, the guys at iClips continue to keep themselves busy this summer. On Thursday they head to Winter Park to webcast the Sonic Bloom festival, while they are also broadcast the Popped! Music Festival direct from Philadelphia. After a few weeks off they head to Minnesota for the 10KLF on July 23-25.

It’s been awhile since we’ve given you a festival announcement around these parts, but old habits die hard and we thought the inaugural New American Music Union Festival was worth mentioning. The fest which is set to take place in scenic Pittsburgh, PA on August 8th and 9th is being curated by RHCP’s lead singer Anthony Kiedis and will feature an impressive roster which will include Bob Dylan, The Raconteurs, Spoon, Black Mountain and more.

Rounding out the lineup will also be fifteen bands from various colleges around the country who will be competing for free studio time.

If heading to the ‘Burgh for a festie and a tasty sandwich at Primanti Brothers isn’t for you, then maybe one of these recently announced tours will be:

• The hard rockin’ combo of Rose Hill Drive and The Whigs join forces for a co-headlining tour (begins: 06/11)
• Darius Rucker rounds up the Blowfish for a summer run (begins: 06/26)
• Huey Lewis & The News bring ’80s nostalgia to a town near your (begins: 05/22)
• Madge is charging a boatload for tickets to her Sweet & Sticky tour (begins: 08/23)
• Old school jambanders Blues Traveler hit the road (begins: 05/17)
• G. Love and of course the Special Sauce line up a late summer run with the John Butler Trio (begins: 08/01)

Finally, earlier this year Tina Turner made her return to the stage with one of the better performances at this year’s Grammy’s - frankly it seemed like Beyonce had a hard time keeping up. Well the reinvigorated 68 year-old Turner announced earlier this week that she’ll be hitting the road this fall for arenas dates for the first time since 2000. I’m sure there’s a joke about Ike somewhere, but we’ll leave that up to you Mad Libs style to fill in. Take your best shot…

Wilco mixed never-played-before gems with live staples over the first two nights of their highly-anticipated residency at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre. Kudos to Greg Kot for providing the play-by-play for those of us who aren’t lucky enough to be at the shows in person. Friday night’s set skewed towards the Sky Blue Sky material, while Saturday’s show featured Andrew Bird guesting on a few tracks. Look for a full report on this historic run later this week.

Let’s see what else is goin’ on this fine Presidents’ Day morning:

• Dave Matthews to jam with the Dalai Lama in Seattle
• VH-1 to air Aftermath: The Station Fire Five Years Later
• Eddie Vedder will embark on a brief solo tour in April
• Merch Gone Wild: The Brian Wilson Kimono
• Spoon gears up for a busy couple of a months
• Fresh Bread reviews Sharon Jones at the Beacon
• High Sierra additions include RatDog and Rotary Downs

Hopefully you’re either off today, or slacking because your evil boss is making you work. We’re off, so expect a light posting day today. We’ll be back with a vengeance tomorrow.

We wrap up our photographic coverage of the inaugural Echo Project with our best gallery yet, a fantastic mix of live action shots and backstage portraits. In this last installment you’ll see shit so close it’ll absolutely frighten you, like this first picture, which proves Phil Lesh may in fact be the Cryptkeeper.

We’d like to extend a hearty expression of gratitude and a heaping helpful of praise to the incomparable Dave Vann, who piggybacked on his incredible Hardly Strictly Bluegrass gallery to bring us this top-drawer photo coverage of last weekend’s festival in Fairburn, Georgia. And if you haven’t checked out his ridiculous shots from the action on Friday and Saturday, may you die of gonorrhea and rot in hell (laces out!). Okay, that’s a bit harsh, but shame on you.

Like the previous two days, this final gallery includes a great mix of jambands, indie rock bands, electronic acts, hip-hoppers and more. So read on after the jump for Dave’s full gallery of Phil Lesh & Friends, former Black Crowes lead guitarist Marc Ford, Umphrey’s McGee, RAQ, Spoon, The Bravery, ALO, The Roots, RJD2, Dirty Dozen Brass Band guitarist Jamie McLean and, what would a festival be without the “How youuuu feeeeeelin’?” stylings of Michael Franti & Spearhead.

And remember, if you’d like to fill us in on your own personal Echo Project experience, leave the world a message in the comments section…

Austin, Texas may very well be the greatest city in the world. I can’t speak to the city’s infrastructure, its public transportation, its race relations, its garbage pick-up or its political competency, but when there’s unrelated piles of vomit splashed all over famed 6th Street at closing time, you get my vote. That’s a city that knows how to deliver that glorious metaphorical reacharound.

Oh, yes, the city also hosts the best-organized festival out there, bar none. Austin City Limits today kicked off three sunny days of solid performances, the musicians and the weather each hot-as-fuck in their own right. On Day One we managed to catch at least two songs if not the whole set of 16 different acts, enjoying eight straight hours of pure, unadulterated audio sodomy before heading back to the madness of 6th Street (and my buddy’s bachelor party). And the real crazy part? I still feel like I missed everything. Craisins.

Photo by Danfun

Day One may have not have been the best of the three days on paper, but I’m finding it incredibly difficult to picture a better or brighter day than the one that just kicked my exhausted ass all around Zilker Park. Del McCoury and His Talented Sperm — three-fifths of the band shares the surname — ushered in a day of shit-eating grins, and the afternoon and evening that unfolded will be tough to top.

So read on after the jump for a full recap of the day’s events, complete with an extensive photo gallery from Danfun and myself…

As you can probably tell, we pay infinitely more attention to live music than studio work. We aren’t the ones that get all excited for a release date of a new album, but this week’s batch of releases is absolutely mindblowing.

The return of both Crowded House and Smashing Pumpkins is just the tip of the iceberg. Interpol and Spoon, both among my favorite indie bands, also released killer new discs yesterday. And, finally, our boy Patton Oswalt dropped Werewolves and Lollipops, his first disc of comedy for Sub Pop. Now compare that batch of all-star releases to next week’s, when the new Suzanne Vega, Rooney and Yellowcard albums bring us right back to the usual batch of bullshit.

• The Boredoms’ 77BoaDrum was a major success
• Confessions of a Bootlegger [via Largehearted Boy]
• Levon Helm is going for a younger audience
• Umphrey’s McGee’s Podcast #48 includes the best from February
• Will Kings of Leon survive the marriage of their drummer?
• Slash will be a character in Guitar Hero III
• Jesse Jarnow kicks down the 23rd edition of his Frow Show podcast
• Girl Talk took the crowd at the Montreal Jazz Fest out on the streets for a bonus show 
• Bruce Hornsby announced tour dates that run until May of 2008
• Neddy looks back at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival
• R.E.M. worked with their label and the fans to provide a unique view of the recent shows in Dublin
• Liborio’s Garage shares a tasty Zappa soundboard from 1984
• Heaven and Hell have added a few dates to their Sabbath-riffic fall tour
• Blondie is lending some songs to Desperately Seeking Susan, a new musical set to debut in London’s West End

And finally, make sure to check out some new (old) tracks from Big Red — one song from The Horseshoe Curve and one song from the The Lucius Beebe EP have been added to Trey Anastasio’s MySpace. This ain’t the shit you love to hate, this shit is the shit. Get on over there and remember the 10-piece.

Keller Williams and Michael Franti will descend upon the same location this weekend, which can only mean one thing: There’s a festival goin’ down.

The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicks off four days of festival mayhem on Thursday, and we’d like to begin our coverage with a look at some of the bigger conflicts on the schedule. Tough decisions are inevitable at any festival, especially one like Bonnaroo that has music playing constantly on or in its 76 stages, tents, outhouses, vestibules, phone booths and kiosks. And considering this year’s lineup is riddled with insane talent, the conflicts seem to pop up every hour.

Do you check out ?uestlove’s afro-pick or Lily Allen’s rack? Bob Weir’s short shorts or Wolfmother’s hype? Hula hoops at SCI or heady crystals at STS9? To help you make these calls, we’ve asked longtime Ace associate, TJ, who’s headed down to Tennessee tomorrow night for a glimpse of the madness, to weigh in with what he believes to be the 11 most difficult time-slot decisions of the festival.

TJ will be covering this festival for us all weekend with live reports from the field, so make sure to check back every 10 to 12 minutes for the next few days…

Thursday
Rodrigo y Gabriela vs. Tea Leaf Green
TJ says: Despite the incredible job RyG could do on Graham Nash’s Immigration Man, I see them getting their visas stamped but falling to the Green regardless.

Friday
Tortoise vs. The Richard Thompson Band
TJ says: Both eclectic, both underrated. The time slot dictates this one –- at 2 am I go Tortoise; but, this 2 pm slot is Richard Thompson all the way.

Kings of Leon vs. Gillian Welch
TJ says: I dig the Kings, but trendy hipster bands are a dime a dozen at Bonnaroo this year. There’s only one Gillian Welch and one David Rawlings on the lineup.

The Roots vs. The Black Keys
TJ says: I’d like to say I was representin’ OH and pick the boys from Akron , but Ohio doesn’t really claim Akron anyway. The Roots will allow you to get yo funk on like few bands at the festival this year, which is nice. Hell, this slot’s so packed I may call an audible at the line and pull a split-squad session with Lily Allen and Manu Chao.

SCI vs. STS9
TJ says: Thank God for SuperJam. Seriously.

Read on for TJ’s biggest conflicts (and winners) on Saturday and Sunday…

There was a time when Bob Dylan tours were few and far between. Now the Lucious Bobby Dylan barely takes a break from the road, as you can see from the extensive North American tour he just announced. Dylan is currently on tour in Europe, where reviews have been positive. I’ve had mixed experiences seeing Bob, but I’d be down with seeing the legend perform again. Onto the rest:

• IGN lists the Top 10 Epic Songs
• JamBase competitor Tourfilter is expanding its reach
• Another D.U.M.B. announcement: Biscuits and Umphrey’s play Jamaica
• Jefitoblog serves up a tasty Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show
• Phil Lesh and Friends have been added to the Mountain Jam lineup
• Vail’s 8150 club will soon be demolished
• The Jesus and Mary Chain have reunited
• The Weight busts a myth about Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
• Queen musical We Will Rock You has opened in Toronto
• A preview of moe.’s upcoming tour of Japan — the band also just announced they are giving out free soundboard patches at one of their upcoming Highline Ballroom shows
• Harp Magazine speaks with the Avett Brothers
• Phish has some heady ringtones to sell you
• NYT’s Ben Ratliff has an interesting take on the summer of the reunion
• Say goodbye to The Polyphonic Spree’s robes; hello to their new jumpsuits

And read on for some setlists from a great weekend of music, including !!!, Flaming Lips, Disco Biscuits, Spoon, RatDog, Wolfmother, G-Mule and more…

Tuesday brought 70-degree weather and sunshine to the New York City area, and I think I’m coming to the conclusion that I hate winter. Spring, on the other hand; that’s my jam. Hopefully the weather is nice where you are on this fine hump day. To help you get over that hump, check out these fine links from around the Interwebs:

• The best and worst afros in music today
• The tape-trading culture is not dead
• Tom Morello talks about the Rage Against The Machine rehersals
• Stylus rates the top 50 one-hit wonders
• Frank Zappa’s official site is teasing a new release
• Franz Ferdinand has released an Annual, an old idea that needs a comeback
• It seems like Elton John’s 60th Birthday Concert at Madison Square Garden was quite the affair
• Live Music Blog’s latest podcast features Apollo Sunshine
• This week’s Taper’s Section presents some rare Grateful Dead from the ’80s
• Spoon is preparing a new album for release in July
• Genesis, Ozzy, and Heart will be the subject of the next VH-1 Rock Honors
• We’re jealous: Our friend Jeff at The Passion of the Weiss caught a super-secret Beck show
  
• moe.down 8 is right around the corner
• While you are getting screwed by Ticketmaster, you may as well take advantage of their free iTunes offer

Did I miss anything? Let me know by leaving a comment below…..

Anyone else have that Asti Spumante Nando Wine “Taste the good times” commercial from the ’80s in their head? Just me? Ah, fuck it: Links!

• Some top-notch Langerado photos from Scott Galbraith
• Papa Glide Magazine unleashes Version 3.1
• Don’t fuck with Levon, ‘cuz he’ll sue your ass
• A review of NYC’s newest venue: the Gramercy Theater
• Chicago is letting The Police play at Wrigley
• Lez Zeppelin: parody or rockin’ band?
• A few Sea and Cake tracks have leaked
• Spoon’s music: A-Z
• Daft Punk to tour for the first time in nearly a decade
• The anti-iTunes backlash has begun
• New editions of the Grateful Dead’s Tapers Section and Everyday Companion’s Panic Podcast
• Details about the new Rush album slip out
• A comprehensive feature on Perpetual Groove
• Tortoise releases some tour dates
• Nedstalgia: a look back at 15 years ago today
• NewmRadio changes format to a daily download…I likey
• Hits From The Blog has started a personal concert archive
• Richard Gehr looks at some software for music collectors

Taste the good times…Nando wine. Asti Spumante!