Yesterday was an appropriately blistering day for this year's eighth annual Village Voice Siren Music Festival at Coney Island, which, with the right frame of mind, can be a total blast. Yesterday had everything we've come to expect from the annual indie rock extravaganza: massive crowds of dehydrating hipsters, fresh clams on the mobbed boardwalk, and a bulging, unmanageable lineup of 14 bands on two stages. Those who stuck through until the evening were rewarded......

Joshua Camp, one part of the band One Ring Zero, will be paying tribute to Charles Ives this weekend, 100 years after his ground-breaking piece Central Park In The Dark -- with his own piece honoring Prospect Park. 8 Prospects is a suite for six musicians and "reflects Brooklyn’s most-loved park and a new century of urban sounds." It will be performed the next two Sundays at Brooklyn's Barbès, and hopefully one day in the......

Tonight Billy Joel performs at Shea Stadium, as part of his "Last Play at Shea" shows (the other is on Friday). Details recently talked to the Piano Man about the stadium, and he told them: "I think it’s kind of strange that in my lifetime I’ve seen a stadium come and go. I remember when Shea was built—it was state-of-the-art, like a big Roman edifice. Now they’re taking it down because it’s out of date.......

With the Bell House opening on 7th Street in Brooklyn later this year, and the neighborhood's outdoor venue The Yard already open...Gowanus is becoming the next hot spot for venues, so it's not surprising that another new one is being tossed into the mix. This one is currently being created out of a raw warehouse space on DeGraw Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues, just a half mile from the Bell House, and allegedly it's......

Not since Jacob took the birthright of his older brother Esau back in the Old Testament has a younger twin grabbed a bigger chunk of the spotlight than Kim Deal has over her sister Kelley throughout the years. However, Kelley is no slouch on her own. She has just written her first knitting book that will be released this fall, titled "Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road with Kelley Deal." And of course, she......

Julia Nunes has impressed everyone from Molly Ringwald to Ben Folds to random YouTube spectators, and she's only 19-years-old. The musician composes original music (her debut album Left Right Wrong just came out), but has become an overnight sensation through her original covers of familiar songs -- which she sonically weaves together in upstate New York. Check out her YouTube videos here, her music (both original and covers) here, and catch her live at the......

Channeling Yoko Ono's yelps of yesteryear, Ponytail's Molly Siegel leads the band into a frenzied sonic psychedlia. In their glowing review of their album, Ice Cream Spiritual, Pitchfork noted: "It's hard to know how Siegel's approach might work if she were in another kind of band, but in Ponytail her voice fits perfectly." The band has thrived in the DIY scene in New York, but their roots lay in Baltimore. They took a few moments......

Mark your calendars: Bon Jovi will be giving a free concert in Central Park next month. The concert will be on Saturday, July 12, and is apparently a "prelude to the July 15 All-Star baseball game." Bon Jovi is touring this summer and has two concerts at MSG on July 14 and 15, with The All-American Rejects opening.......

Pearl Jam Goes On You've gotta hand it to the Pearl Jam fans. They are REAL, and likely one of the most hardcore and dedicated fan bases in America. To many, Pearl Jam is merely the "other" Grunge band, but they're one of the most successful and influential bands of the last two decades. And despite their mopey reputation, Vedder and crew really seem quite content these days. They were really into it on stage......

W Magazine has a feature on the famous spawn of celebrity, currently rocking out in the dim spotlights of downtown clubs. Amongst them are CBS CEO Les Moonves's son (Chief), Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbin's son (The Tangents), Michael Keaton's son (The Hatch), Jann Wenner's son (The Ellis Unit), Ellen Barkin and Gabriel Byrne's son (also in the Ellis Unit), and...you get the picture. Susan Sarandon, who makes an attempt at attending all of her......

Last year Aaron Friedman took Fête de la Musique and moved it across the Atlantic, calling it Make Music New York. Tomorrow is the 2nd annual event, and thousands upon thousands musicians will take the stage around the city; venues will be on the streets, in bodegas, and other nooks around New York (Governors Island will become "Punk Island" for the day!). Earlier this week we asked Friedman about the huge task of planning such......

As Central Park's SummerStage enters its 23rd season, James Burke has taken the helms. The massive task includes organizing festival lineups, music, dance, film and more. This year began with a bang last Saturday as the sky opened up over the outdoor venue; hopefully they'll see drier days to come. After nature's wrath subsided, Burke told us about his role in entertaining the masses, the best place to dine before attending one of the CPSS......

Gnarls Barkley Play the Internet, in Person Gnarls Barkley is perhaps the most notable one-hit wonder of the internet era, so it's fitting that they played a couple free geek showcases at the tail end of NYC's poorly defined "internet week." On Sunday they were at the Fillmore/Irving to play the 150th Free MySpace show to a group of fans who started lining up a good 7 hours before showtime. Then on Tuesday they hit......

Not too long ago there was a heated debate over the upcoming Rock the Harbor festival, making it the city's most controversial festival to date! The only source of conflict was geographic location...the fest will take place on Staten Island this coming Saturday. For those who can get over the stigma attached to the borough, you're in for a treat. Pat Duffy, who also runs the blog Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, has helped organize a......

Apes & Androids Thrill... When Apes & Androids announce a show, it is not just another concert. It's an event. Whereas most bands will settle for going on stage, playing the music and taking the audience's money -- A&A treat each show as a new frontier. A unique experience that everyone in attendance can look back on and specifically remember years from now. Last Friday night was just about as unforgettable as concerts get these......

Naked Sasquatch Stomp The Pacific Northwest's Memorial Day tradition continued once again with this season's Sasquatch Festival. The lineup was superb, featuring the Cure and R.E.M., amongst many many others across the multiple stages. While the gorgeous natural backdrop of the main stage at the Gorge usually gets all the attention, the post-fest chatter mostly revolved around The Flaming Lips. Never afraid to tack on another gimmick to their already circus-like live show, Wayne Coyne......

When we first noted this incoming Brazilian restaurant/bar back at the beginning of January, we incorrectly referred to it as Favela. Turns out it's Miss Favela to you (and us); the South Williamsburg "Brazilian Botequim" is currently in soft opening mode. Co-owner Alain Denneulin (of Soho's French Bistro Felix) tells us they're shooting for an official opening June 2nd. And once Miss Favela is in full swing, they'll be serving lunch and dinner until midnight......

Photo by Elizabeth Weinberg. JellyNYC has finally announced their free Sunday shows at McCarren Park Pool. This could be the last season of the Pool Parties, with the space getting redesigned soon -- so try to soak it all up:June 29th: The Hold Steady, The Loved Ones, J Roddy and the Business July 6th: Ronnie Spector, The Rabbit Factory Soul Revue, Featuring: Roscoe Robinson, Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson, Hermon Hitson and Wiley & The Checkmates......

GBH Turns 10, Throws Party Considering most parties have a hard time getting through a summer in this town, the fact that GBH has been doing their thing for 10 whole years is an incredible achievement. These guys have been hosting parties in just about every space available, from the high end hotels to the low brow clubs. To celebrate the anniversary, they blew it out in spectacular form last Friday night, taking over Webster......

Since 2000, Anathallo has been traveling the world, delivering tunes to many a diverse audience. Band dynamics and direction have shifted over the course of their career, accurate since their name means to renew or bloom again, but their aesthetic has maintained a powerful balance of light and dark throughout. This time around they return with a new album under their belts, called Canopy Glow, and like good troubadours, they're back on the road (even......

What happened to Panic(!) at the Disco? It wasn't very long ago...like last year? Panic! at the Disco was an over-stylized, super-popular circus/emo band who, believe it or not, had some pretty great songs under their young white belts. Not satisfied with their remarkable success, however, they decided to take things in a completely different direction in 2008. The exclamation point and the Moulin Rouge antics have been dropped, and their new record sounds more......

Every year we're drawn to the Coney Island shoreline by the sirens...or at least, The Village Voice Siren Festival. This year they seem a bit more on top of things, announcing their initial lineup today -- a full two months before the show! This year's fest, their 8th, is being held on July 19th and promises some big names (drum roll please):STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, THE HELIO SEQUENCE, BEACH HOUSE, TIMES......

Elaine Stritch's long and colorful career is packed with so many memorable roles that it's impossible to really say what she's best known for. Her show-stopping rendition of "Ladies Who Lunch" in Sondheim's Company? Or maybe her Tony-nominated performance in Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance? Her movie and television appearances in everything from Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks to 30 Rock? Or her critically-acclaimed solo cabaret show, which she's taken from Broadway to the......

Alexandra Patsavas may be known by some for bringing The Flaming Lips to the Peach Pit After Dark in the 90210 zip code (video). Since then she's been soundtracking shows like The O.C., Grey's Anatomy and Gossip Girl -- but her talents extend beyond the small screen. She also just launched her own label, Chop Shop Records; and this year she brings Breaking the Band back to the Tribeca Film Festival. The concert takes place......

Hooray Brooklyn The summertime free music options keep on rolling out. Not to be outdone by the recent Summerstage announcement or River to River's Wire kick-off, Brooklyn's answer to free in-park music stepped up this week to show what they've got. The Celebrate Brooklyn series runs all summer long at the Prospect Park Band Shell, and will kick off with a free Isaac Hayes show on June 12th. From there, they'll host a number of......

On Tuesday, the Empire State Building was green for Earth Day. On May 5, it'll be yellow for Project Sunshine, a non-profit that offers free social, educational and recreational programs for children with medical challenges. But tomorrow, the Empire State Building will be purple, pink and white in honor of Mariah Carey. According to the ESB's website, it's "Honoring a Great New Yorker: Mariah Carey Breaks Records With E=MC2 Album Release." Yes, Carey's latest album......

All signs, and weathervanes, point towards the upcoming outdoor summer concert season, which is just around the corner. The River to River Festival is kicking things off with a nod to the past, featuring Wire at the Seaport Music Festival stage. Why should you care? Unlike other 70s bands that have been over-saturating the concert circuit, these guys haven't taken a stage in the U.S. in quite some time; their last show was in Spain......

Summerstage Lineup Confirmed Ah, Spring. The weather feels fresh, the trees start to bloom and the free outdoor music events around the city start trickling out. This week saw the release of the Central Park Summerstage lineups, which is one of the best and longest running summer music series in town. Always a treat, this year is one of the most impressive, with a list of shows that seem too good to be free. The......

For anyone accustomed to watching skate kids fall off their boards in Washington Square Park, the above video will serve as entertainment redeeming of the skater community. Equipped with adequate knee pads, gloves, and skill, a group of young men work their way down "Watchtower Hill" in Brooklyn. Staying upright on the board is less a badge of honor than indicative of a lack of creativity. Great soundtrack too. Courtesy of Brooklyn Heights Blog.......

The D.C. trio Jukebox the Ghost has created poptimistic tunes that will wash your worries away. Their piano rock is anything but jaded, and may even make you smile (gasp). Tonight they put another notch on their NYC bedpost when they play Southpaw with Tally Hall. Check them out, they'll make you young again. P.S.: Their album will be released onto the streets April 22nd. Where did your band name originate? A combination of......