I have been digging a lot of the soul bands that have recently hit the scene including revivalist acts like Brooklyn-based Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and organ backed, neo soul Fitz and The Tantrums. People are going absolutely nuts for these type of bands with good reason. They throw down.

One band that has stood out to me during the recent resurgence of soul in America has been JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound who started in Chicago back in 2007. with guitarist Billy Bungeroth, drummer Kevin Marks, and bassist Ben Taylor and the Lowdown Brass Band (formerly the Lowdown Horns) to lay down the funk-based dance music for JC Brooks’ soulful lyrics and high-energy stage presence.

A friend of mine in Chicago had mentioned something about JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound to me so I decided to check out their MySpace page and give them a listen. I was hooked instantly by the sampling (below) that they had on MySpace. I haven’t had a chance to see them live or listen to an entire album but I thought I would pass it along to y’all so you could be aware of them.

Check out their MySpace sampler below:

Here is the music video of JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound covering Wilco’s “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”:

According to Pop & Hiss, a Los Angeles Times blog, Bob Dylan will be joined on stage by The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons to perform a song from each of their catalogs in “a special salute to acoustic music” at this year’s Grammy’s. The bands have their similarities in both style and sound. Additionally, Dylan, considered the pioneer of folk rock, was a huge influence on both bands and I am sure that this will be career highlights for them. .

They will start out playing Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave” and then follow it up with The Avett Brothers’ “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise” and will end with a Dylan song but they haven’t announced which one yet. What Dylan song do you think that the three will decide to play together? There are quite a few to pick from so the odds aren’t in anyone’s favor but I have the feeling that they will be playing one of his classics like “Tangled Up in Blue” or “Like a Rolling Stone” because I just don’t see them getting too crazy on stage since Dylan is almost ten years away from becoming an octogenarian.

I wish they would toss Neil Young up in the mix to make it one of the best musical suites to ever play at the Grammy’s.

Here is Mumford & Sons’ music video for “The Cave”:

Here is The Avett Brothers’ music video for “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise”:

Holy Ghost Tent Revival is folk rock band out of Greensboro, NC that I have had the opportunity to see live on a couple of occasions. I say folk rock because that is the closest thing that I can think of to describe them. They blend about every genre into their music hitting blues, rock, soul, punk, bluegrass, Americana, big band, country and ragtime plus a good amount of hooting & hollering and a lot of vocal harmonizing from the entire band to create something extremely special. Their music is both toe-tapping and foot-stomping music that makes for one hell of a good time to listen to and see live.

Holy Ghost Tent Revival consists of Stephen Murray, Matt Martin, Patrick Leslie, Hank Widmer, Ross Montsinger, Kevin Williams and Charlie Humphrey who formed the band while attending college in Greensboro in 2007. They have touring the eastern United States from Michigan to Florida pretty heavily since the band’s inception and have gained a strong fan base. Holy Ghost Tent Revival’s gives off an old-timey feel when you first see the band in their usual attire of vests, button-down dress shirts and their tie but don’t let the old-timey look fool you because the energy that they put off completely rocks every venue that they play at.

Holy Ghost Tent Revival puts everything that they have into their music making every show an experience worth seeing. I strongly suggest checking these guys out live if you are anywhere near one of their shows because its a great time and I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Stream Holy Ghost Tent Revival’s ‘So Long I Screamed’ album in its entirety below:

Stream ‘Family’ below which is an album where Holy Ghost Tent Revival teamed up with The Lovely Hot Starving Street Band “to create six unique, rawkus, sing-along songs”:

Click the image below to download Holy Ghost Tent Revival’s Daytrotter Session from September 6, 2010 for free.

Bobby Long‘s debut album, ‘A Winter Tale’, is something that I stumbled across after listening to his Daytrotter Session from late 2010 and wanted to hear more. Long, a 24-year-old British singer/songwriter, has brought the fire on his debut studio album. It is chock full of powerful chords, dynamic vocals and moving lyrics which give his ballads something that a lot of American folk seems to have been missing recently. I think that this is one of the great albums so far in 2011.

I guess that it is fitting that the first post of the newly revived New American Noise isn’t about an American artist. However, Long is able to capture the Americana sound as well as some of my favorite troubadours like Kristian Matsson (a.k.a. The Tallest Man on Earth) and Anders Osborne…neither of whom are American. Long hit the mainstream when he wrote a song, “Let Me Sign”, that Robert Pattinson sang in Twilight but don’t let that deter you from checking out this album. It is really effin’ good. Stop by your local record store and scoop it up on vinyl or compact disc as soon as you can.

Here is a stream of the ‘A Winter Tale’ in its entirety with individual song intros by Bobby Long:

Long has been tearing through mid-sized venues on his US tour playing night after night before he heads out on his Australian and European tours in April. If you have the chance to catch one of these shows, you should definitely do it while the tickets to his shows aren’t that expensive ($8 – $15). I have the feeling that they are only going to be getting pricier as more people begin to realize how talented this guy is.

Check out the video below of him covering Hank Williams’ “They’ll Never Take Her Love From Me” from ATO Records:

]]> http://newamericannoise.com/2011/02/09/bobby-long-a-winter-tale-2011/feed/ 0 http://newamericannoise.com/2011/02/09/the-new-new-american-noise/ http://newamericannoise.com/2011/02/09/the-new-new-american-noise/#comments Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:54:05 +0000 Charlie Brinson http://newamericannoise.com/?p=155

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its former self, New American Noise is back. We won’t bore you with all the pyrotechnics and other ridiculously awesome things that are happening at the N.A.N. office right now but we just hope that you are ready for all the new, good music that we are about to bring your way.

If this is your first time visiting New American Noise, we are glad that you have found us and hope that you will join us on a musical adventure as we write about music industry and share all the great stuff that we like to listen to.

In the past, New American Noise has covered a lot of indie rock like Wilco, Deer Tick, Grizzly Bear and a few other similar bands. We will still cover music like this but we will also be branching out to almost every genre except for terrible pop country and similarly awful music.

We are in the process of getting rolling but we have a ton of new music to share with you so stay tuned for the first post of the new New American Noise.

Tour dates are as follows:
7/15 New Britain, CT at New Britain Stadium
7/19 Syracuse, NY at Alliance Bank Stadium
7/21 Pawtucket, RI at McCoy Stadium
7/23 Lakewood, NJ at FirstEnergy Park
7/24 Aberdeen, MD at Ripken Stadium
7/25 Norfolk, VA at Harbor Park
7/28 Durham, NC at Durham Bulls Athletic Park
7/29 Sevierville, TN at Smokies Park
8/4 Round Rock, TX at The Dell Diamond
8/5 Corpus Christi, TX at Whataburger Field
8/7 Grand Prairie, TX at QuikTrip Park
8/11 Glendale, AZ at Camelback Ranch
8/12 Las Vegas, NV at Cashman Field
8/14 Fresno, CA at Chukchansi Park
8/15 Stockton, CA at Banner Island Ballpark

Proving that he’s no Communist, Rolling Stone writer D.X. Farris says he enjoyed what he heard. Check out his review here.

The 2009 Virgin Mobile “FreeFest” is going down on the 40 wooded  acres of the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., Aug. 30.

“Taking care of our loyal customers comes first,” said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P., promoter and producer of the Virgin Mobile Festival. “And when we say free, we mean it. The tickets are free. The parking is free. Ticketmaster really stepped up on this. Everybody just wants to make this the party of the summer. It’s gonna be nuts.”

(To ensure Ticketmaster waives the convenience charge, fans simply have to pick up their tickets at Merriweather or the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.)

This year’s fest features artists including Weezer, blink-182, Franz Ferdinand, Public Enemy, Jet,The National, Girl Talk, The Bravery, The Hold Steady, St. Vincent, Wale, and Taking Back Sunday. Dance tent favorites include Holy F*ck, Pete Tong, Danny Howells and Lee Burridge.

All 35,000 festival tickets will be given away with the public onsale kicking off at www.ticketmaster.com at 10 a.m. EST this Saturday. Previous Virgin Mobile Festival ticket buyers and Virgin Mobile customers will have first dibs on the tickets with an invitation to a “free-sale” (like a pre-sale but it’s free) on Thursday and Friday.

“In a time of economic challenges and daily sacrifices, we wanted to throw a fantastic party so people could let loose and have a great time — on us,” said Sir Richard Branson, Founder and President, Virgin Group. “Virgin Mobile FreeFest offers music fans a brilliant day of fun and music and a chance for them to give back to those even less fortunate.”

Virgin Mobile is encouraging people to text “FREEFEST” to 20222 (regardless of wireless carrier) to donate $5 to select U.S. youth homeless centers, via The RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile’s charitable arm.

Want to sit in the special VIP seating area? Virgin Mobile FreeFest, which is being sponsored by Kyocera Communications, will feature a special VIP seating area for ticketholders who complete 13 hours of community service at select U.S. youth homeless centers.

The fest’s Lucky Layoff Lounge will also offer “surprising treats” to ticketholders that present proof of unemployment. Virgin Mobile USA’s current Pink Slip Protection helps out American workers by offering eligible customers that lose their jobs three months of free wireless service.

*Click here for more information about the fest, including a full lineup.