Posts Tagged ‘Festival’

Coachella Music Festival Tickets – The Kills Set For Coachella

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Among the many acts billed for the Coachella Music Festival is the Kills, and the U.K. band’s performance in Indio, Calif. kicks off a 22-city tour that will span the U.S. and conclude May 21 in Pamona, Calif. The bluesy punk duo is comprised of vocalist/guitarist VV, aka Alison Mosshart (formerly of Florida punk outfit Discount), and drummer/guitarist/vocalist Hotel, aka Jamie Hince. The pair came together after Discount disbanded in 2000 when VV and London-based musician Hotel first began swapping demos through the mail. Eventually VV jumped the pond and they began writing together while on the same side of the Atlantic.

The Kills released an eponymous demo in the spring of 2001 and received rave reviews from TapeOp Magazine and other critics. The pair then contributed “Restaurant Blouse” to 5 Rue Christine’s compilation If the Twenty-First Century Did Not Exist It Would Be Necessary to Invent It in 2002, just before their debut EP, Black Rooster, arrived via Dim Mak that summer. The Kills took a break from recording their debut LP to play gigs at the London and Glasgow LadyFests and support Le Tigre on tour in addition to touring the U.S. for eight weeks solo. Upon returning to London, VV and Hotel finished recording and their debut full-length, Keep On Your Mean Side, was released by Rough Trade in spring 2003. Two years later the Kills released their sophomore album, No Wow, and their third full-length, Midnight Bloom surfaced in 2008.

The Kills’ upcoming tour is in support of Midnight Bloom, while the duo will also be promoting songs from their upcoming Black Balloon EP, which is slated for an April 14 release date in the States (March 23 elsewhere). The Kills, who have toured with the Black Keys and the Raconteurs in recent months, are expected to make stops in Tucson, Boulder, Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis and more. The Kills will be in good company at Coachella, as the bill boasts fellow Brits Paul McCartney and Amy Winehouse as headliners. Coachella will be McCartney’s maiden American festival appearance, while Winehouse made an appearance back in 2007, when her star was first rising (and had yet to be overshadowed by her turbulent personal life.)

Other big names set to hit Coachella’s usual Empire Polo Field location in Indio, Calif. April 17-19 are the Killers, the Cure, Morrissey, Leonard Cohen, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and My Bloody Valentine, who were set to play the festival last year but backed out as they were freshly reunited and didn’t feel ready for such a high-profile gig. Once again, the Coachella lineup features artists from the indie rock and dance/electronica camps. Indie rockers the Hold Steady, the Black Keys, Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes will perform along with electronic acts Girl Talk, Thievery Corporation, the Crystal Method and MSTRKRF. Among the Coachella newbies are Vivian Girls, Lykke Li, White Lies and Cage the Elephant. Check out http://www.stubhub.com/Coachella-music-festival-tickets for Coachella Music Festival tickets before they’re all gone!

Kirby Brooks

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com and was written by Kirby Brooks. StubHub.com is a leader in the business of selling Coachella Music Festival tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Ny TV Festival, Boston Film Festival, Temecula Valley Film & Music Fest, Business of Film Conference 2008, Gene Autry Film & Music Festival, New York

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

IMFF Cinedays M, taking place in Skopje through September 7, celebrates the past, present and future of the music and film. The Festival’s focus is on music-related content, including feature films, documentaries and short films submissions that have an emphasis on music – rock, jazz, blues, soul, reggae, punk, pop, reggae …. old and new. River View Players based in Harlem open a new performance series on September that will present readings of plays (featuring DuEwa Frazier, Lit Noire Publishing), short stories, poetry, music and films every Sunday from 4 to 6 in the back room of Cafe Largo. Free food tastings will be offered from the Cafe on this occasion, and the event is free and open to the public.  indieWIRE presents filmmaker Alan Ball and actress Summer Bishil in a discussion of their new film, ‘Towelhead,’ at the Apple Store, SoHo, September 8. “The Down-Low on Distribution” is a seminar on September 10 in Los Angeles attempting to decode the different distribution deals so that you can get the best rights in your agreement. New York Television Festival which has featured acclaimed independent pilots that were purchased by networks such as NBC Universal, A&E, and the like, will feature an “Industry Day” session in which industry leaders participate in a number of panel discussions, when it runs September 12-17.

At this year’s Boston Film Festival a program of shorts, documentaries and feature films premieres during the festival’s run from September 12-19,  and  evening  receptions are hosted by regarded chefs and restaurateurs providing the ideal scene for filmmakers and talent to network as well as sponsors to entertain. The IBC 208 Conference and Exhibition, September 12-28 in Amsterdam, addresses personalised content over the web; future broadcast businesses and the changing audience; the “digital dividend” and the battle for bandwidth; production and protection of all types of content, and other areas. At “Fund Your Film Workshop With Stu Pollard,” key elements of an independent film business plan, including structure, layout and research and a primer on private equity financing for truly independent projects, will be reviewed when the one-day session meets September 13 in Dallas. Independent Film Week, formerly know as the IFP Market, is still a gathering for industry professionals where pitch meetings search for new talent, and cash, product donations and services are awarded to participants. The Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival’s social calendar starts with Opening Night Festivities on September 17, followed by daily and nightly filmmaker/musician receptions, industry workshops, a Lifetime and Career Achievement Awards Black Tie Gala, a Sunday morning Hot Air Balloon Ride, a Closing Night Wrap party (September 21) and Best of Fest special screening presentations and more. The NBC Universal Women Writers Workshop, September 18-25 in Toronto, will target intermediate women screenwriters who have a treatment or first draft, and will work toward the development of their next draft of a feature script. It will focus on script development and building on concepts introduced in the Feature Film Writing Program emerging module.

Screenwriting and the Business of Hollywood, will be conducted September 19 and 20 from Rock Island, by Act One Seminars, intensive, practical workshops for aspiring and professional writers and entrepreneurs who are serious about their Christian faith and who dream of creating culture that respects and enriches a global audience. SWAMP and TALA present the Business of Film Conference 2008, a September 20 event at Rice University Media Center focusing on the business of making movies with professionals from the film, legal and financial worlds that address a wide range of topics, including budgeting for film, funding resources, music rights, distribution and more. The Film, Stage and Showbiz Expo will allow participants to showcase their film/video/movie reel for Producers and Production Companies at a private screening area all day at the Expo, and Telsey + Company will conduct an open talent search for some of the hit Broadway shows they represent at the one-day event, September 21, in New York. In Gene Autry, Oklahoma, the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum celebrates the legacy of the singing cowboys with its Film & Music Festival. It’s a gathering of cowboy and country singers, cowboy poets and storytellers, Western film stars and look-alikes, and it happens from September 24-28. The 17-day New York Film Festival gets underway September 26 in New York, with its program of emerging and international filmmakers. Black Entertainment Magazine in conjunction with Talents Connection hosts the September 27 Business, Arts & Entertainment Conference in Los Angeles, with slated workshop sessions on “Surviving Hollywood,” and “Getting your children in commercials,” and a premiere screening of soon to be released BEM film ‘True Riches’.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are also available at popular video sites around the Web like MySpace, YouTube, Bit Torrent, as well as on The Actor’s Checklist podcast blog, a great place to get your iPhone, ipod or Apple TV download from. The Free Home Video Showcase serves as an archive for all past video presentations. This month on video you will see trailers and sample clips of ‘True Riches’ a collaborative production of Talents Connection, and BEM Films, slated for a premiere screening at the Business, Arts & Entertainment Conference, September 27 at LA Convention Center. Strange comedy from The Pimps Horror House™ TV show Cleveland. The creative duo of H.G. Robert and Wayland Anderson, that form DANCEWORDZ, a production company that writes, choreographs and stages shows for professional companies and art programs. The Actor’s Checklist now lets you check the latest musical artists song releases on Apple’s iTunes, updated on an hourly basis.

actorschecklist.com

The items in this article are only a sampling of what is listed on the main news page. Many of the events above have a submission process for indie and/or performing artists to take part in and so are worth learning more about. Complete event information are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page at http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html.

Leeds Festival – Not to Be Missed!

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Festival of Music


Festivals in Leeds have a long and glorious history. A pair of very popular annual music festivals in England take place in two places, Reading and Leeds. Ordinarily these festivals take place in the bank holiday weekend in August. A music festival is defined as an event with a number of music programs played through a genre. The Leeds festival is certainly more than this, with many activities going on as well as the music, including fairground rides and stalls where you can buy just about anything you might need.


Initial days predominance of Folk Music


In earlier days the festival used to be folk based. Folk music is by, and made for, the common people. The history of folk music has its descent in those societies where mass communication did not make headway and in seclusion the music was original to the inhabitants of a particular place or society. The performances are given by a set of experts who gain expertise in the music within the periphery of the restricted environment of their own clan. The spread of musical knowledge is verbal. A new meaning was given to Folk music in the 20th and 21st century, referring to a particular kind of popular music with its cultural heritage from the traditional folk music. To day, folk music is synonymous with traditional music.


Festival today


The festival today, however, is not confined to folk music alone and has taken within its embrace alternative music of all sorts. It includes jazz, punk, dance, comedy and all types of modern music too. The festivals are regulated by the Mean Fiddler Music Group. Sponsors have been coming forward to sponsor the musical festival and the current sponsor is Carling. The festival is therefore termed as the Carling Weekend Leeds. The audience capacity at the 2005 festival was 57,500. In 2006 the audience capacity has been further enhanced to 67,500. The event is held at Bramham Park, a historical venue in Leeds.


Reading and Leeds Music Festival 2006


This year the festival took place as always over the bank holiday from Friday, August 25th to Sunday, August 27th. There were two locations as usual with most of the musicians playing in both Reading and Leeds over the weekend. The festival is so popular that tickets were sold out long before the event. A tradition that started in the 1970s of rock and heavy metal is still continuing. This year people will be happy to see a few of their favorites like Franz Ferdinand, Guillemots, Muse, Dirty Pretty Things, The Raconteurs and Goldie Lookin’ Chain. There are many others who are comparatively new but have the potential to become the craze of the crowd by the end of the festival.


The festival a chequered history


Although with a chequered history, the festival has grown in popularity over the years. When it started in 1971, the audience was a mere 15,000 and this has expanded to a staggering 60,000 over three decades of performances by popular bands. The early events were held in Temple Newsam Park but the experience was not always a smooth one. In 2002, the festival was nearly cancelled due to violence and crime during 2001. Though Police, M.Ps and local residents opposed it, the event licence was finally granted by the authorities. This happened only after a judicial pronouncement came up in favour of hosting the festival. But the violence increased in 2002, resulting in a conviction of a number of festival goers. The organizers therefore decided to move the festival outside the city to Bramham Park in 2003. Strangely enough, since then the crimes have come down considerably and the site has become the home of the festival. The City Council increased the audience capacity by 12500 in 2005.


Memorable events


The Leeds festival was not as popular as it is today always. But after a grand show by Rod Steiger in the 70s it picked up and went from strength to strength. The 1978 event ended up with bottle throwing. But in 1988 the events were better and attracted more people. In 1992, the Manics, Smashing Pumpkins, and the Wonder Stuff played and 1998 there were 55,000 in attendance watching Robert Plant and Ash, Beastie Boys, Prodigy, Supergrass and Bentley Rhythm Ace. The new millennium saw the arrival of Slipnot and many more new sensations. During 2001 playing were Travis, Manic Street Preachers, Eminem, Green Day, Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Marilyn Manson. In 2005 saw the Pixies, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, The Killers, Kings of Leon, and Marilyn Manson once again.


Article by Susan Ashby of Leeds Singles. To read more articles like this or for dating in Leeds visit http://www.leeds-singles.co.uk

Susan Ashby

Article by Susan Ashby of Leeds Singles. To read more articles like this or for dating in Leeds visit http://www.leeds-singles.co.uk

NYTimes.com – UrbanEye: The Afro-Punk Festival

Monday, February 8th, 2010

nytimes.com – Downtown Brooklyn hosts a music, art and film festival celebrating African-American punk culture. Melena Ryzik reports (and skateboards).