Snuzzfest

11 Aug 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Music, Playground, 0 Comments

(Via Music.MyNC.com) The Squirrel Nut Zippers, the Old Ceremony and many more are banding together to do a benefit show for Britt Harper Uzzell (a.k.a. Snuzz), a Winston-Salem-based musician currently undergoing treatment for lymphoma, as well as raise money for cancer awareness. Billed as Snuzzfest, the lineup includes Jeff Hart & the Ruins, the Jackets, and many more in addition to a reunions for both International Orange and Big Kids. Robert Sledge (formerly of Ben Folds Five) and Chuck Folds (of the Folds kin) are also slated to appear.

The event will be held Monday, Sept. 7 (Labor Day) at Local 506. A $10 donation is encouraged that will go to lymphoma treatments. More details are available here (Facebook log-in required).

Hear Here Tracklist

11 Aug 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Durham, Music, Playground, 0 Comments

Update: And here's the cover. Courtesy Flickr

(Via Scan) The tracklist for the forthcoming Hear Here compilation album has been revealed and you can check it below. As mentioned before, HNMTF, Birds of Avalon, the Never and headliners Annuals (appearing as Sunfold on the album as, according to Scan, their Annuals-billed Johnny Cash cover didn’t make the album due to licensing rights) will play the Cat’s Cradle Saturday, Aug. 29. The $10 show includes a copy of the CD and will benefit Raleigh’s the Visual Exchange.

Ear Farm Ranks NC's 10 Best

10 Aug 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Music, Playground, 2 Comments

New York-based music blog Ear Farm has just issued their ranking of the 10 bands from the Tar Heel state that “you should hear right now.” Though we’ll have to wait until Wednesday to find out who the folks at Ear Farm–who cite the Love Language, Bowerbirds, Annuals and the Rosebuds as favorites–chose as their top pick, spots 10 through 2 went to:

10. The Proclivities
9. Bellafea
8. Lost in the Trees
7. Black Skies
6. Schooner
5. Hammer No More the Fingers
4. The Bronzed Chorus
3. Birds of Avalon
2. Megafaun

I’m betting number one goes to someone like I Was Totally Destroying It, but wouldn’t it be awesome to see Des Ark there? You can read about each band here.
UPDATE: Links to all bands’ MySpaces accounts have been added, and, on second thought, the Physics of Meaning would be a totally acceptable and awesome band for numero uno. Or the Never–really, there’s just a lot of deserving bands, including some already on the list.

Posner Signs to J Records

05 Aug 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Music, Playground, 1 Comments

(Via Twitter) Joining the likes of Jaime Foxx, Pitbull and Barry Manilow, Duke senior Mike Posner has signed to Clive Davis’ J Records.  Posner will be following up his iTunesU chart-topping mix tape A Matter of Time with his debut LP and finishing up his senior year at Duke. You can check out Posner signing his contract in the above video and watch his mother chastise him for “guzzling” champagne (out of a wine glass–seriously Clive), something he attributes to being “in college.” Asher Roth collab?

Des Ark, Mount Moriah Join Midtown Dickens Release Party

05 Aug 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Concert, Playground, 0 Comments

Courtesy Midtown Dickens.

More details concerning the release party for Midtown Dickens’ new album Lantern. Opening the show will be Mount Moriah and Des Ark‘s Aimee Argote, doing a solo gig. The album, called a “multimedia package,” contains a CD, vinyl, a download code for a digital copy as well as a 16-page collage/lyric booklet. And there’s the possibility of a free liquid surprise with every copy of the album sold–it sounds like you should get there early.

Doors for the Coffeehouse show are at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9.