Girl Talk at All Points West Festival, 2008
Image: Devorah Klein
Kia Soul Collective is bringing Girl Talk to New York and you can go to the show for free. It’s happening on October 25, but for further details you have to sign up here.
Thanks Brooklynvegan.

Canadian threesome Rural Alberta Advantage has a free show at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight (doors at 8 pm). I’ve become kind of enamored with the group’s Canadian Rocky-influenced indie folk. Check ‘ em out if you’re around.

Although not in New York, the Virgin Mobile Fest in Maryland is only a few hours away. And this year it’s free! Taking place on August 30, 2009, the festival will be at Merriweather Post Pavilion, one of my favorite venues anywhere (and also the namesake of Animal Collective’s last album). Regular free tickets are gone, but you can get free VIP tickets by volunteering. Find out how here. And here is the lineup:

Blink-182
Weezer
Franz Ferdinand
Girl Talk
Jet
Mates of State
Public Enemy
Taking Back Sunday
The Bravery
The Hold Steady
The National
St. Vincent
Wale

And in the dance tent:

Danny Howells
Holy Fuck
Lee Burridge
Pete Tong

Kind of weird lineup, but whatever, it’s …read more

Image: Newscom
If you buy Mandy Moore’s new album Amanda Leigh at any Best Buy store, or at their site, you can bring your receipt to Highline Ballroom tomorrow (Tuesday, June 2) for a chance to get in to see her live. Having a reciept does not guarantee entry, it works on a first come first serve basis–so get there early! The show starts at 8 pm, doors open at 7 pm. Good luck!

Image: Devorah Klein
The final show at Central Park’s Summerstage has been announced: Dinosaur Jr. will be playing and The Walkmen will open for them. And, it’s FREE! Dinosaur Jr.’s new album Farm comes on June 23. It seems like only a distant memory when they were broken up….(from 1997-2005)

If you are still recovering from the 3-day weekend, get over it and get ready to go out this week, starting tonight! Here are some shows at some of the smaller venues in the city going on this week:

Here We Go Magic aka Luke Temple aka some music I am really into right now, is playing a FREE show tonight at Union Pool with Midnight Masses before he heads out on tour with the one and only Grizzly Bear. If you miss him tonight and can’t catch him with Grizzly Bear, he is also playing a FREE show on July …read more

The Whitney Museum of Art will be hosting a Dan Graham retrospective (Dan Graham: Beyond) from June 24 to October 11. Some background on Dan Graham from the press release:
Graham (b. 1942) has been a central participant in the development of contemporary art since the 1960s — from the rise of minimalism, conceptual art, video art, and performance art, to explorations of architecture and the public sphere, to collaborations with musicians and the culture of rock and roll.
He has done projects involving The Kinks, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, and many others.
During the exhibit, The Whitney will host a series of …read more

Image: Newscom
Debbie Harry of Blondie performs for NBC’s Today Show in 2007.
A bunch of free shows for this summer have already been announced, but here are some more! All of these shows listed are FREE!
East River Park (At the Band Shell along the East River in NYC
Between Grand & Jackson Streets):

July 16: Man Man

July 23: Slick Rick

July 30: Ismael Miranda

Asser Levy Park in Coney Island:

August 13: Blondie, Pat Benatar, and The Donnas

Updated South Street Seaport:

Friday, July 3: Here We Go Magic with Bachelorette

Friday, July 10: The Pains of Being Pure At Heart with Zaza and Ribbons

Friday, July 17: …read more

The annual NYC Popfest is happening this week and weekend and there are some goodies. I especially recommend Burning Hearts and Suburban Kids with Biblical Names on Sunday at the Cake Shop! Here’s the schedule:
Thursday May 14, Cake Shop:
All NYC Showcase

Knight School
Soft City
Dream Bitches
The Metric Mile
My Teenage Stride
The Ballet

Friday May 15 at Don Hill’s:

Don Lennon (nyc)
The Tartans (ca)
Liechtenstein (sweden)
Cats on Fire (finland)

Saturday May 16 at Cake Shop:
Free afternoon show

Hidden Ghost Balloon Ship (mi)
The 1959 Hat Company (oh)
Strega (nyc)
Springfactory (sweden)

Saturday may 16 at The Bell House:

Computer Perfection (mi)
Eux Autres (ca)
The Secret History (nyc)
Pants Yell! (ma)
The Radio Dept. (sweden)

Sunday May 17 at …read more

The free summer show schedules are trickling in and here are some more.
Still waiting to see if there are more Castle Clinton shows, but here are 4 shows that are in honor of Woodstock’s 40th anniversary:

July 16: Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra Plays the Music of Sly & the Family Stone: “It’s a Family Affair”

July 23: Richie Havens

July 30: Arlo Guthrie

August 6: John Kelly Sings The Joni Mitchell Songbook: “Songs for a Shiny Hot Night”

And here are the shows at Hudson River’s Pier 54 for Hudson RiverRocks:

July 9: Matt & Kim and Flosstradamus

July 23: Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, and …read more