Concert Notes: Tickets for Bob Dylan, Laura Marling, Pere Ubu, Pet Shop Boys, & More On Sale Soon

Bob Dylan brings his Americanarama tour to Hoboken and Jones Beach; see ticket details below.

It's another big boatload of great concerts going on sale Friday (and some on Saturday). Among the most anticipated shows is the Americanarama tour featuring Bob Dylan, Wilco, and My Morning Jacket, which will come to Jones Beach and to Pier A Park in Hoboken, which hosted its first-ever major show last summer when Mumford & Sons played there.

And, of course, there are plenty of gigs at indoor venues, for us vampires who enjoy see shows in dark, smelly clubs, even when the weather is bright and sunny outside. Enjoy, all...

Speaking of outdoor gigs, next week I'll start posting about the lineups for this summer's free outdoor shows, including SummerStage, Celebrate Brooklyn, and the televised Today Show and Good Morning America concert series.

On sale Friday, May 3rd: 
* Laura Marling at Roulette, Tues., May 28th. On sale at 12 Noon.
* The Olms (Pete Yorn and J.D. King) at Gramercy Theatre, Mon., June 10th. On sale at 10 a.m.
* Counting Crows and The Wallflowers at Hammerstein Ballroom, Thurs., June 27th. On sale at 10 a.m.
* The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream at PNC Bank Arts Center, Fri., July 5th, and at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Sat., July 6th. On sale at 10 a.m.
* The Polyphonic Spree at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Tues., July 9th, and at Bowery Ballroom, Wed., July 19th. On sale at 12 Noon.
* Pere Ubu at Bowery Ballroom, Thurs., Sept. 12th. On sale at 12 Noon.
* Pet Shop Boys at the Beacon Theatre, Mon., Sept. 16th and Tues., Sept. 17th. Both on sale at 11 a.m.

On sale Saturday, May 4th:
* Americanarama Tour at Pier A Park, Hoboken: Bob Dyan, Wilco, My Morning Jacket, and Ryan Bingham, Fri., July 26th. Also at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater (with Beck, but without MMJ), Sat., July 27th. On sale at 10 a.m.

Jimmy Cliff Kicks Off 2012 Celebrate Brooklyn Free Concerts June 5th (Schedule)

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff takes the stage this Tuesday, June 5th to open the 2012 season of free concerts at Celebrate Brooklyn. Tuesday's show begins at 8 p.m.

Celebrate Brooklyn returns this week. Mark your calendars!

The Celebrate Brooklyn concerts take place at the Prospect Park bandshell, near 9th Street and Prospect Park West. Although all the shows below are free, a $3 contribution is suggested. There are some great folk/rock/indie acts such as Cliff, Laura Marling, Keb' Mo, Wild Flag, and Lyle Lovett, but you'll also find Latin, gospel, soul, and R&B. I find that these free shows are good for checking out artists and genres that I might not ordinarily see live. (Listen to songs from the artists at the "Celebrate Brooklyn Shuffle" SoundCloud page.)

Here's the lineup; click on the links for each artist/show to see more details (and, in many cases, videos):

• Tues., June 5th - Jimmy Cliff - 8 p.m. (NPR Music will webcast this show)
• Sat., June 9th - AfroCubism (a collaboration of all-star Malian and Cuban musicians / Alsarah & The Nubatones - 7:30 p.m.
• Thurs., June 14th - Laura Marling / Michael Kiwanuka / Willy Mason - 7 p.m.
• Sat., June 16th - Balkan Beat Box / Chico Trujillo / Nation Beat - 6:30 p.m.
• Thurs., June 21st - Mary Mary / Latice Crawford - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., June 22nd - Keb' Mo' / Natalia Zukerman - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., June 23rd - Bud Light Music Series: Lyricist Lounge 20th Anniversary featuring Ghostface Killah / Camp Lo / Astro / & More - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., June 29th - Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue / The Brooklyn Steppers / Dayna Kurtz - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., June 30th - Angélique Kidjo's Women Waging Peace with Special Guests Laurie Anderson / Sibongile Khumalo / Somi - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., July 7th - Souad Massi / Simon Shaheen - 7:30 p.m.
• Sun., July 8th - Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert: Sweet Honey in The Rock - 4 p.m.
• Fri., July 13th - Bud Light Latin Music Series: Celebrate Brooklyn & LAMC present Calle 13 / Ana Tijoux / Ritmo Machine - 7 p.m.
• Fri., July 20th - Machel Montano / BélO - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., July 21st - Bud Light Latin Music Series: Arturo Sandoval / Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., July 27th - The Head and the Heart / Lost in the Trees - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., August 3rd - Wild Flag / Mission of Burma - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., August 4th - The Del McCoury Band / Cahalen Morrison & Eli West / Spirit Family Reunion - 6:30 p.m.
• Fri., August 10th - Bud Light Music Series: Little Dragon / Frankie Rose / Voices of Black - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., August 11th - Lyle Lovett and His Acoustic Group / Aoife O'Donovan - 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate Brooklyn also includes a number of benefit concerts (some, if not most, may be already sold out). And there are some free shows that I haven't listed above (movies, ballet, etc.) See the Celebrate Brooklyn home page for the full lineup.

Free Concert Podcast Downloads: Wild Flag, St. Vincent, Olivia Tremor Control, & More

If you like listening to recordings of your favorite artists playing live, there's a big batch of free concerts that's been made available online recently (yes, I've fallen behind on my semi-regular postings of these shows). Many can be downloaded as podcasts as well as streamed online; I've noted the ones that only offer streaming.

Stream or download a concert by St. Vincent below. Photo: Flickr user Moses.

The NPR Music podcasts (*) can be downloaded through iTunes, or from the links below.

• Wild Flag live from Washington, D.C.*
• St. Vincent live from Washington, D.C.*
• Moby in concert from Moogfest 2011*
• Austra live from Moogfest*
• Feist live from Toronto (CBC 75th Anniversary celebration) (streaming only)
• Olivia Tremor Control live from New York*
• Laura Marling live from Washington, D.C. (streaming only)*
• The Mekons live (streaming only)*
• The Horrors live from the 2011 ATP Festival (streaming only)*
• World Cafe 20th Anniversary concert, featuring Feist, John Hiatt, the Indigo Girls, Dawes, and more (streaming only)*

CBC Radio 2's "Canada Live" podcast offers downloads of live sets from Dan Mangan, Oh Susanna, Jason Collett (of Broken Social Scene), and more.

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Blondie, Bush, Laura Marling, Tori Amos, & More

 
Above: Video for "Mother" from Blondie's new album "Panic of Girls," which is available for free preview this week. 

Fall is starting off with a bang, with new albums by some great veteran artists available for streaming this week. But are the albums themselves great? Listen to them below and judge for yourself. Among the releases up for preview this week: The ageless Deborah Harry and Blondie are back with "Panic of Girls;" Nick Lowe has come out with "The Old Magic;" Tori Amos returns with "Night of Hunters;" and British rockers Bush have released their first studio album in more than 10 years.

Also, Brooklyn indie band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is out with its first album in four years, and there are new releases from acclaimed female singer-songwriters Laura Marling and Lisa Hannigan. These and the titles below are just a sampling of what's available this week; check the websites for full listings.

Previews are usually available for a week (beginning on Monday), except for those from KCRW, which usually stream for at least a couple of weeks.

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Old Magic" by Nick Lowe
"Still Right Here" by Melissa Ferrick
"Panic of Girls" by Blondie
"Believers" by A.A. Bondy
"American Goldwing" by Blitzen Trapper

NPR First Listen:
"Night of Hunters" by Tori Amos
"Hysterical" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
"Seasons On Earth" by Meg Baird
(In addition, NPR Music has a preview of a Miles Davis bootleg album.)

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Passenger" by Lisa Hannigan (streaming through Oct. 11)
"A Creature I Don't Know" by Laura Marling (streaming through Oct. 7)

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Sea of Memories" by Bush
"Death by Stereo" by Umphrey's McGee