Great Free Shows Saturday: Trixie Whitley, Nick Lowe, They Might Be Giants, & More

This could be considered the Super Saturday of the free summer concert season (or one of them, anyway)--and it starts early. At 1 p.m. this afternoon, Lincoln Center Out of Doors continues with its
30th Annual Roots of American Music festival. On the bill are Hurray for the Riff Raff (fresh off their well-received performance at the Newport Folk Festival), the Martha Redbone Roots Project, and Trixie Whitley (member of Black Dub, and daughter of Chris Whitley).


"Look Out Mama" by Hurray for the Riff Raff.

At 6 p.m. LCOOD continues with another great Roots of American Music show, this one featuring Nick Lowe, Jason Isbell (formerly of the Drive-By Truckers), and the Rockin' Rockabilly Revue (featuring Sleepy LaBeef and others).

For those seeking some quirky, catchy rock, the Brooklyn duo They Might Be Giants plays a hometown gig at Celebrate Brooklyn starting at 7:30 p.m. Opening the show is Moon Hooch, a brass and drums band which has gone from playing in the subways to being hand-picked by TMBG to open this show. (And they recently got a nice profile in the Wall Street Journal, which I'll link to if I find it.)

If hip-hop is your style, you'll want to check out today's Central Park SummerStage show featuring DJ Kool Herc, called the "Founder of Hip-Hop Culture." Starting at 3 p.m., the show will include plenty of special guests, including Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Marley Marl, and many more.

There's no rain in the forecast, so get out and enjoy some great free music outdoors today and tonight.
 
Lincoln Center Out of Doors
1:30 p.m. - 30th Annual Roots of American Music
* Hurray for the Riff Raff
* Martha Redbone Roots Project
* Trixie Whitley
LCOOD description: "Swamp pop, Native American mountain sounds, and a blend of vintage country and new soul."
Location: Hearst Plaza

6:00 p.m. - 30th Annual Roots of American Music
* Nick Lowe
* Jason Isbell
* Rockin' Rockabilly Revue with James Burton, Charlie Gracie, Sleepy LaBeef, Johnny Powers, and Gene Summers
LCOOD description: "A celebration of Americana with country crooners, rockabilly, Southern soul, and early rock 'n' roll."
Location: Damrosch Park Bandshell

SummerStage
3:00 p.m.
40th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Culture with DJ Kool Herc and special guests: Coke La Rock, Roxanne Shante, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, DJ Premier, GrandWizzard Theodore, DJ Red Alert, Marley Marl, DJ Jerry Dee, Skoob from DASEFX, Soul Sonic Force & many more
Location: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park 

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Note: LCOOD's Roots of American Music fest comes to a close tomorrow with a "roots symposium" (film screening and live interviews with artists) at 12:30 p.m. (at the David Rubenstein Atrium), and then a show at 5 p.m.:
* Bobby Rush
* Allen Toussaint
* Como Mamas
* Eddie and Brian Holland
LCOOD description: "A soulful season closer filled with funky blues, intimate sets by New Orleans' and Motown's finest songwriters, and traditional gospel."

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

Sunday: WFMU Record Fair, Muse & Metric, Angus & Julia Stone, More

The CMJ Music Marathon is over for another year, but there are still plenty of musical events in NYC and environs. The WFMU Record Fair runs through 7 p.m. Sunday, with tons of vinyl, CDs, videos, books, posters, traders, performances, and more. There are still some live events to come for Sunday... see the WFMU Record Fair live broadcasts page for details.

Some highlights from concerts going on tonight:
* British rockers Muse play the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, with Canadian band Metric, one of my favorites, opening.

* Angus & Julia Stone play at Maxwell's in Hoboken; Gareth Dunlop opens.

* legendary singer-songwriter/producer Nick Lowe plays at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Lowe's longtime keyboardist Geraint Watkins opens with his own set.