Music Notes: Allman Bros. Announce Beacon Dates; The Living Room is Moving (and You Can Help); More

We're getting a late start to the new year, but here's a smattering of music news to kick off 2013:

* The Allman Brothers Band has announced the dates for its 2013 run at the Beacon Theatre, and tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, Jan. 11th at 10 a.m. (Get tickets for the Allman Brothers at the Beacon here.)

 The Allman Brothers Band has announced its 2013 slate of shows at the Beacon Theatre.

* The Living Room, a staple of the downtown music scene for a decade and a half, is moving from its Ludlow Street location, and is having a fan-funded campaign (what else?) to finance the relocation.

As you'd expect, the Pledge Music campaign is offering some tasty goodies for funders, including albums featuring some of the many artists who've played the venue (including Jesse Malin, Norah Jones, and Joseph Arthur). The Living Room hopes to be in its new, unnamed location in the Spring.

* Another fundraising effort with some top-notch musical talent is "The Storm is Passing Over," a new Hurricane Sandy benefit album. The CD, from Brooklyn's Mason Jar Music, features a collection of songs with storm or aquatic themes, performed by Americana singer-songwriters including Rosanne Cash, Tift Merritt, Dawn Landes, Aoife O’Donovan, and Abigail Washburn and Béla Fleck.

* Speaking of singer-songwriters, Irish transplant Susan McKeown got a nice write-up in today's Wall Street Journal. I mentioned her a couple of months ago when her latest album, "Belong," was streaming online. She's playing the 92nd St. Y Tribeca Saturday night, Jan. 5th; you can learn more and get tickets here.

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from The Decemberists, Abigail Washburn, Wire

"The King is Dead," the new album by The Decemberists (shown here in Vienna in 2007), is streaming until Jan. 18). Photo: negotiable_me

The new year is starting off slow for album streaming, with KCRW not offering any new CDs in the last few weeks, and album previews for Spinner and AOL Music consisting mostly of Christmas music. But there are a few choices available now:

NPR First Listen:
"The King is Dead" by The Decemberists (featuring Gillian Welch and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck) (streaming until Jan. 18)
"Red Barked Tree" by Wire (until Jan. 12)
"City of Refuge" by Abigail Washburn (until Jan. 11)

Also, NPR Music has an 18-minute live set of Abigail Washburn performing in NPR's offices.