Richard Buckner played a set for The Line of Best Fit when he was last in Europe, and has just announced another trip for May. Don’t miss Richard on the road, either here or abroad, in 2012. Our Blood is available in stores and online now!

Richard Buckner on tour:
Feb 22 New Haven, CT BAR
Feb 24 Lexington, KY Cosmic Charlie’s
Feb 25 Atlanta, GA Highland Inn Ballroom
Feb 27 Easton, MD The NightCat
Mar 02 Bayport, NY The Grey Horse Tavern
Mar 10 North Adams, MA MASS MoCA
May 01 Winchester, UK The Railway
May 02 York, UK Dutchess of York
May 03 Bury, UK The Met
May 04 Kilkenny, IE Kilkenny Festival
May 05 Kilkenny, IE Kilkenny Festival
May 06 Belfast, IE Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
May 07 London, UK Cecil Sharp House
May 08 Newcastle, UK The Cluny 2

Sirius XM’s The Loft session will air multiple times this week, including Wednesday 1/18 at 2pm, Saturday 1/21 at noon, and Sunday 1/22 at midnight, all times EST.

World Cafe airs on Wednesday, January 18. Visit NPR.org for local airtimes, or you can listen live on WXPN’s live stream at 2PM EST.

KUT Austin’s performance aired on Tuesday, January 17. The session is now archived at KUT.org.

Order Breaks in the Armor on CD, LP or digital download in the Merge store now.

Eric Bachmann & Liz Durrett stopped by the Daytrotter studios to perform a special career-spanning accoustic set. The songs are now available on Daytrotter’s website, along with an essay by Sean Moeller.

Crooked Fingers on Daytrotter:
Lonesome Warrior
Don’t Say a Word
Weary Arms
Broken Man

Crooked Fingers is currently on tour! The band plays the Pacific Northwest this weekend, and head south in time for American Thanksgiving and an in-store performance at Origami Vinyl on Saturday, November 26.
Nov 19 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
Nov 20 Seattle, WA The Crocodile
Nov 22 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
Nov 23 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
Nov 25 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
Nov 26 Los Angeles, CA Origami Vinyl in-store performance at noon
Nov 26 San Diego, CA Casbah
Nov 28 Tempe, AZ Club Red
Dec 01 Austin, TX The Mohawk
Dec 02 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s
Dec 03 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
Dec 04 Atlanta, GA The Earl

Watch the performance now at Relix.com.

Richard also stopped by the Daytrotter studios on his travels to play a few tracks. Listen online now.

Our Blood is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

Richard Buckner on tour:
Nov 06 Winchester, UK – The Railway
Nov 07 London, UK – Pancras Old Church
Nov 08 Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
Nov 09 Cardiff, UK – The Buffalo Bar
Nov 10 Glasgow, UK – The Captain’s Rest
Nov 12 Liverpool, UK – Americana UK Festival
Nov 13 Brighton, UK – The Basement
Nov 14 London, UK – The Social
Nov 18 Trondheim, NO – Credo
Nov 19 Oslo, NO – Mono
Nov 21 Stockholm, SE – Debaser
Nov 22 Gothenburg, SE – Jazzhuset
Nov 23 Malmo, SE – KB
Nov 24 Norderstedt, DE – The Music Star
Nov 25 Utrecht, NL – Le Guess Who Festival
Nov 26 Den Haag, NL – Paard
Nov 27 Ottersum, NL – Roepaen
Nov 29 Ravenna, IT – Bronson Club

Mary, Rebecca, Janet & Carrie stopped by Oregon Public Broadcasting for a very special set in front of a live audience. The session is now available at OPBmusic.org, with live video! Don’t miss Wild Flag on tour, and pick up a copy of their self-titled debut in stores now.

Wild Flag on tour:
Oct 19 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Oct 20 Washington, DC Black Cat
Oct 21 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Oct 22 Athens, GA 40 Watt
Oct 24 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree
Oct 26 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
Oct 27 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s Downstairs
Oct 28 Dallas, TX The Loft
Oct 29 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa
Oct 31 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
Nov 01 San Diego, CA Casbah
Nov 02 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
Nov 03 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
Nov 04 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
Nov 05 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
Nov 07 Arcata, CA Humboldt State University
Nov 09 Portland, OR Doug Fir
Nov 10 Portland, OR Doug Fir
Nov 11 Seattle, WA Neumo’s
Nov 12 Vancouver, The Biltmore Cabaret
Dec 08 London, UK The Lexington
Dec 09 Minehead, UK Butlin’s Holiday Center – ATP’s “Nightmare Before Christmas

Wild Flag is available on CD and LP in stores now.

Our Blood is in stores today!

Dirty Laundry also stopped by the Satellite for an interview with the band while they were in LA. View it here.

Dancer Equired is in stores & available online now!

On tour:
Sept 08 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre w/ Superchunk
Sept 10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival

Alasdair, Lupe & Heather stopped by Sessions from the Box while they were in the US earlier this year. The session is now online! Give it a listen, and order Street of the Love of Days in the Merge store now.

Wye Oak visited Oregon Public Broadcasting while they were in Portland last month, and the session is now archived online!

There are just a handful of US dates left for the band, so catch them while you can, and order Civilian on LP, CD, or digital download from the Merge Store now.

Apr 07 Chicago, IL – Schuba’s
Apr 08 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
Apr 09 Toronto, ON – El Mocambo
Apr 10 Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo
Apr 12 Cambridge, MA – Middle East Upstairs
Apr 14 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
Apr 15 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
May 28 George, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival

photo by Renata Steiner/Nataworry Photography

Jason Narducy, Cody Votolato, and Michael Benjamin Lerner visited KEXP during release week last month for a live session! Video of the set is online now!

Tracks:
Country Lane
Please Ask for Help
Dirty Thing
50 Ways

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jim Putnam & the not-so-new Radar Brothers recorded a session for Daytrotter while in Austin last March. It’s finally been unveiled, for your pleasure, in advance of their shows with Modest Mouse. The Illustrated Garden is for sale in the Merge Store now.

Check Radar Brothers on tour:
07-07             Tempe, AZ               Yucca Tap Room
07-09             Santa Fe, NM            Paolo Soleri Amphitheatre
07-10             Broomfield, CO        First Bank Center
07-12             Sioux Falls, SD         Ramkota Exhibit Hall
07-13             Fargo, ND             Hub at the Venue
07-14             Minneapolis, MN      Orpheum Theatre

photo by Carl von Arbin

Shout Out Louds performed live from WXPN in Philadelphia during their North American tour in May and chatted with World Cafe host David Dye for a session that is available online now at NPR.org.

Shout Out Louds’ new album, Work, is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store. They also just posted new photos from their North American tour on their website, and don’t miss their great new video for “Show Me Something New.”

Lou Barlow + the missingmen are currently on tour in support of Lou’s Goodnight Unknown, and Lou Barlow + the missingmen = Sentridoh III.

06-21 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
06-22 Vancouver, BC Media Club
06-23 Portland, OR Doug Fir
06-25 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
06-26 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Theater
08-17 Milford, CT Daniel Street
08-18 Washington, DC Rock N Roll Hotel
08-19 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
08-20 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle
08-21 Nashville, TN The Basement
08-22 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway
08-24 Madison, WI The Frequency
08-26 Chicago, IL Schuba’s Tavern
08-27 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
08-28 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
08-29 Montreal, QC Il Motore
08-31 Northampton, MA Iron Horse
09-01 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
09-02 Cambridge, MA Middle East
09-03 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s

08/17 through 09/03 with Wye Oak

She & Him visited KCMP’s The Current while in Minneapolis and the session is now online! Matt & Zooey talk the Beach Boys & Bieber’s Baby.

She & Him on tour:
07-01 Boston, MA           House of Blues
07-02 Philadelphia, PA Great Plaza @ Penn’s Landing
07-03 Oxford, ME          Nateva Music Festival
07-04 New York, NY     The Beach @ Governor’s Island
07-06 New York, NY     Terminal 5
07-07 Washington, DC  9:30 Club
07-09 Atlanta, GA          Atlanta Botanical Gardens
07-10 Birmingham, AL Sloss Furnaces
07-11 Louisville, KY       Forecastle Festival
07-18 Los Angeles, CA  Hollywood Bowl
08-26 Salt Lake City, UT Twilight Music Series
08-29 St. Louis, MO      LouFest

Tracey did an interview with WFUV’s Alternate Side, and you can download a “mixtape” of Tracey’s favorite Strange Feeling/Buzzin’ Fly releases, too!

Also, Love and Its Opposite is streaming in its entirety at NPR’s “First Listen” and you can pre-order it at iTunes to receive a bonus Berlin Demos EP and on CD in the Merge store.

Richard visited Daytrotter the last time he toured, and the session is finally online for your enjoyment. Give it a listen at daytrotter.com.

Buckner has also just been announced as part of Raleigh’s first Hopscotch Music Festival this summer! Tickets go on sale 4/1 at etix.com.

Alasdair MacLean recently visited BaebleMusic’s Guest Apartment in NYC to perform a few songs for you! The band is currently on tour state-side in support of Bonfires on the Heath. Don’t miss them!

02-26 Birmingham, AL Bottletree
02-27 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
02-28 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
03-01 Austin, TX The Mohawk
03-02 Marfa, TX Marfa Book Co.
03-04 San Diego, CA The Casbah
03-05 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland
03-06 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland
03-07 Visalia, CA The Cellar Door
03-09 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
03-11 Portland, OR Doug Fir
03-12 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
03-15 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
03-16 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
03-17 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
03-18 Ann Arbor, MI Blind Pig
03-19 Toronto, ON Canada The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
03-20 Montreal, QC Canada Il Motore
03-21 Allston, MA Great Scott
03-23 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

The Love Language visited The Guest Apartment while they were in New York last fall! Check out the video & interview at BaebleMusic.com.

Words by Sean Moeller:

The Rosebuds have a brilliant way of taking us out into the tobacco fields, feeling the drying of the leaves and the crumbly, dusty as a drought would have them be gravel roads and then get us to hear things, to think that some sneaky evil forces were at work and moving in on us, way out here in the middle of nowhere. It was in a setting like this – out where the closest neighbors are between and a half mile and a full mile away, the postman always knocks twice and where the goings on are oftentimes between the ravens, the grasshoppers and the steamy sun – where Robert Johnson was said to have sold his soul to the devil and Howard and Crisp make the backdrop of such a transaction seem possible on “Life Like.”

Visit Daytrotter for the session!

Tracks:
Welcome to Daytrotter
Life Like
Cape Fear
Border Guards

Mac McCaughan called Phoning It In on WMBR back in 2006, but the session is now available on the Free Music Archive! Give it a listen online now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Wye Oak played a set for MTV’s new Iggy Music while in New York a few months ago. The set is online now! Don’t forget about The Knot while compiling your Top 10 List for the year!

Telekinesis stopped by Daytrotter on their last tour and the session is now online at Daytrotter.com! Don’t forget Telekinesis! when compiling your top 10 releases of 2009!

Lou Barlow performed a set for The Current while he was in Minneapolis with Dinosaur Jr last week! You can now listen to the session online!

Tracks:
Sharing
Too Much Freedom
Take Advantage

Goodnight Unknown is available on LP & CD in the Merge Store.

And check out a full stream of Lou Barlow’s new album, Goodnight Unknown, in the Merge store and a collection of videos at LooTube.

American Music Club at XX Merge. Photo by Brian Vetter

Mark Eitzel & pianist Marc Capelle will visit KEXP tomorrow while they’re in Seattle for a live session on air! You can listen at 1pm pacific time at KEXP.org or on the airwaves if you’re lucky enough to live in Seattle.

Mark Eitzel performs American Music Club:
09.19.2009 Seattle, WA Triple Door
09.20.2009 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
09.24.2009 San Francisco, CA Red Devil Lounge

The Telekinesis rock invasion of Raleigh continues today as Michael Benjamin Lerner & friends play live on WKNC! Tune in around 6:15pm (Eastern Time) to catch the set & interview, then come by Tir Na Nog in Raleigh for a FREE show tonight around 10pm!

NPR’s All Songs Considered
WUNC’s The State of Things *includes a rare acoustic Superchunk performance!
APM’s Sound Opinions
NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered

And, on Thursday, July 16th, message board regular Alex (aka flipyourwig), will host a Thursday Night Special entitled “MERGE RECORDS TURNS TWENTY- The Little Label That Could” on Chapel Hill’s WXYC from 9-Midnight (EST). Listen live in the triangle at 89.3 FM and online at wxyc.org.

Download the acoustic version of “Detroit Has a Skyline” from The State of Things performance now!

Telekinesis are on tour in support of their debut album, Telekinesis!, available on CD and digital download in the Merge store.

M. Ward visited KEXP while he was in Austin for SXSW this year! The session is now available as an MP3 download and part of the KEXP Live Performances Podcast!

M. Ward at KEXP

M. Ward on tour:
04.27.2009 Toronto, ON The Phoenix
04.28.2009 Montreal, QC Le National
05.15.2009 Visalia, CA Fox Theater
05.16.2009 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
05.22.2009 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre
05.23.2009 George, WA Sasquatch Music Festival
07.23.2009 Salt Lake City, UT Twilight Concert Series FREE!
07.27.2009 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club
07.28.2009 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom
07.30.2009 Washington, 9:30 Club
08.01.2009 New York, NY Central Park Summerstage FREE!

And did we mention the Charity Auction is still happening? Arcade Fire and Essex Green swag is up now!

“I Summon You”
“Rhthm and Soul”
“Black Like Me”

Spoon Tour Dates HERE