Neil Young, Foo Fighters, Others to Play Free Central Park Concert; New Songs by Mumford & Sons & More

It's new songs galore this week, and you'll find a few of them (or links to them) below. And there's news on a blockbuster free concert in Central Park (see details on how to view the live webcast below).

Find out how to get free tickets to the latest blockbuster Central Park concert.

Neil Young, Foo Fighters, the Black Keys, & more to play FREE Central Park concert: 
Yep, those big-name acts, as well as K'Naan and Band of Horses, will play a big FREE Central Park charity concert on Sept. 29th. Called Global Festival, the show, which also features is meant to focus on ending extreme poverty. To enter the drawing for free tickets, you'll need to register at GlobalCitizen.org and earn a few "points" by signing petitions, tweeting, etc. You can also buy tickets outright for the concert (for about $190), which will be held on the Great Lawn. (via Village Voice)
[UPDATE: You can watch the Global Festival concert via live webcast here; just click on "View Live Stream." There will be three showings for different parts of the world.]

Listen to new songs from Stars, the xx, Mumford & Sons, and Thee Oh Sees:
 As for the new songs, one of them is from Mumford and Sons, who played to 15,000-plus fans last week on Hoboken's Pier A park. The band played a number of new tunes there, attendees said, and the one may well have been one of them. (The group also played a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer.")

* "Backlines" by Stars, from their forthcoming album "North," due Sept. 4th (via NPR Music)


* "I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons, from their forthcoming album "Babel," due Sept. 24th


* "Chained" by The xx, from their new album "Coexist" (via Consequence of Sound)

* "Flood's New Light" by Thee Oh Sees, from their new album "Putrifiers II," due Sept. 11th (via Consequence of Sound)

* "Ireland" by Jess Klein (free download), part of her project to re-record some of her fans' favorite songs in new acoustic versions

Jess Klein Introduces Her New Album at The Living Room

Jess Klein is one of those singer-songwriters whose story is all too familiar: great voice and songs, lots of talent, a number of years and albums under her belt, critical acclaim, but still flying under the radar of popular awareness. I've enjoyed her music since hearing her album "Draw Them Near"back in 2000 or so, but had never seen her live until Friday at The Living Room in NYC.

Jess Klein flanked by Billy Masters and Professor Feathers (Mark Addison).

Although Klein, a Rochester, New York native, once lived in New York City, she relocated to Austin several years ago and I knew that Friday's show would be my best chance to see her in my neck of the woods. What's more, the Living Room gig featured her playing with a full band, including well-traveled guitarist Billy Masters (who I've seen in the past playing with Suzanne Vega and Dar Williams).

Jess Klein's current tour is to promote her latest album, "Behind A Veil,"which she released without a record label in April (you can preview the album below). As "No Depression" wrote, the album "shows why she ought to be Americana’s next big thing. Klein possesses one of those indelible voices that that can go from a sultry rumble to a plaintive wail even while grabbing attention on first encounter."  



Maybe it's due to her new location in Austin, but a number of songs on "Behind a Veil" have a satisfying country twang to them. The tunes range from ballads to out-and-out rockers, and if you're a fan of singers in a folk/pop/country vein, you'll want to check out Jess Klein.

To learn more about Jess Klein and her new album, listen to this interview she recently did with Austin Architects Podcast (which includes a few songs).


Jess Klein performing "Riverview" from her new album.