NPR Music's Live SXSW Webcasts Start Tonight

NPR Music kicks off its live SXSW music webcasts with nine shows on Wednesday and Thursday.

Sharon Van Etten kicks off NPR Music's schedule of live webcasts from the SXSW music festival tonight. There are four shows this evening (going late into the night), and five shows tomorrow afternoon and evening.

Van Etten's set is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Central time (yes, apologies for the very late notice here). Fortunately, most if not all of these sets will be posted online later for viewing and/or listening.

The live webcasts scheduled for tonight and tomorrow:

Wednesday, March 14th:
Sharon Van Etten, 9 p.m. Central
Dan Deacon, 10 p.m.
Alabama Shakes, 11:15 p.m.
Andrew Bird, 12:30 a.m. (Thursday morning)

Thursday, March 15th:
Bruce Springsteen (delivering keynote address), 12 noon Central
La Vida Boheme, 1 p.m.
Sugar Tongue Slim 1:45 p.m.
Polica 2:30 p.m.
Lower Dens 3:15 p.m.
The Magnetic Fields 4 p.m.

One SXSW show that happened earlier tonight that may be online later: Fiona Apple staged her triumphant return to performing with a set that had a lot of critics in attendance raving. Spinner tweeted, "Fiona Apple's first show after being away for what feels like forever is terrific, terrifying, triumphant." [Update: You can see one of the new songs Fiona Apple performed tonight here at Consequence of Sound, in a video recorded by a fan. (The song is “Anything We Want;" she also played the new songs “Valentine” and “Every Single Night.”)] Apple's new album (which is 23 words long) is set to come out in June.

The Fiona Apple set was presented or sponsored by NPR, which has said it hopes to put it online for viewing, if Ms. Apple approves.

Free Streaming Albums: New Music from Magnetic Fields, Memoryhouse, & More

Probably the most anticipated of the new albums streaming online this week is the latest release from The Magnetic Fields, "Love At The Bottom Of The Sea," the group's first album since 2010's "Realism." Leader Stephin Merritt has a history of making abrupt changes in the band's sound from album to album, and NPR Music says this new work is a return to its earlier synthesizer-based approach.



Video for "Andrew in Drag," from the new Magnetic Fields album.

But don't expect to settle in with any of the songs for very long: NPR's review says, "These 15 songs feel slight by design—the longest track is a brisk 2:39, and the whole enterprise clocks out at about 34 minutes—but there's a world of wit in their brevity."

Also streaming online this week is "New Multitudes," another album of Woody Guthrie lyrics set to music by modern artists, this time Jay Farrar, Jim James (of My Morning Jacket, under his oddball alter ego "Yim Yames"), Will Johnson, and Anders Parker.

Other notable streaming albums including the latest from two newly popular Canadian outfits, Memoryhouse (its first full-length) and Plants and Animals, and new releases from Andrew Bird, Anais Mitchell, and Amy Ray (half of the Indigo Girls).

You'll also get a second chance at hearing "Ghostory" by School of Seven Bells, which KCRW and NPR had featured earlier.

As always, the albums listed below are just a sampling of those streaming this week; check the websites for full lineups. Albums are generally available for streaming for a week or eight days, beginning each Monday, though sometimes they may be available a day or so longer.

Let us know in the comments section which ones below you like, or what other new or upcoming releases you're enjoying.

NPR First Listen:
"Love At The Bottom Of The Sea" by The Magnetic Fields
"Milk Famous" by White Rabbits
" Break It Yourself" by Andrew Bird
"Ekstasis" by Julia Holter

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Lung of Love" by Amy Ray
"The Slideshow Effect" by Memoryhouse
"Myth" by Geographer
"Ghostory" by School of Seven Bells
"Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun" by The Wooden Sky
"New Multitudes" by Jay Farrar, Yim Yames, Will Johnson, Anders Parker
"The End of That" by Plants and Animals
"King of the Waves" by Little Barrie
"Those of Us Still Alive" by Tiny Victories

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"The Perfect Crime" by Magnolia Memoir
"Young Man in America" by Anais Mitchell

More NYC Concerts: Tool, Coldplay 2nd Izod Show on Sale Saturday

Tool plays the Izod Center on Feb. 1st, and tickets go on sale tomorrow at the link below.

There was a mad rush today for tickets to The Magnetic Fields' concert and the second Black Keys show. And there's likely to be another virtual stampede tomorrow morning for two more big New York area gigs: Tool at the Izod Center on Feb. 1st, and the second Coldplay show at the same venue on Aug. 4th.

Tickets for Tool go on sale Dec. 17th at 11 a.m., while the Coldplay show goes on sale at 10 a.m. No tickets seem to be available for the first Coldplay show on Aug. 3rd, but sometimes tickets are released at a later date (extra tickets for the second Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys concert were made available this afternoon, just hours after they first went on sale).

NYC Concerts: Black Keys, Magnetic Fields On Sale Friday; F*cked Up, Titus Andronicus, & More Play this Weekend

Tickets for the second Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys show at Madison Square Garden in March go on sale tomorrow, as do tickets for the long-awaited return of Magnetic Fields. And there's a good slate of talent performing live this weekend at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Details:

As mentioned here last week, The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys have added a second show at the Garden on March 22nd, 2012 (the first one is March 12th). Tickets for the Black Keys/Arctic Monkeys concert go on sale tomorrow, Dec. 16th, at 9 a.m.

Stephin Merritt's The Magnetic Fields play the Beacon Theatre on Tuesday, April 3rd. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 16th at 11 a.m. The band will be coming out with a new album, "Love at the Bottom of the Sea," on March 6th, according to their website.

As for gigs to see this weekend, the Brooklyn Night Bazaar has a solid lineup. Friday has Toronto's F*cked Up, Dom, Big Troubles, Radical Dads, and more, while Saturday's Brooklyn Vegan sponsored finale features The Hold Steady, Titus Andronicus, Wakey! Wakey!, and more. (The bazaar started off Thursday night with LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy spinning a DJ set, along with several bands.)

The Brooklyn Night Bazaar combines live music, shopping, art, and food, and takes place at 149 Kent Ave. (entrance is between N. 5th and N. 6th Streets), from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. each night. (More info and directions here.)  The bazaar is free except for the musical performances, which require a ticket. Tickets are $10 for Friday and $18 for Saturday.

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Dave Stewart, Stephin Merritt, CSS, & More

Video for "The Gypsy Girl and Me," from Dave Stewart's new album.

After last week's free preview of the debut album by Jeff Bridges, I was curious to see what album previews would be showing up online this week. Well, how about "The Blackbird Diaries," the first solo album in 13 years by Dave Stewart (of The Eurythmics), recorded in Nashville with guests including Stevie Nicks and Colbie Caillat?  Or a collection of outtakes and rarities from Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields? Patti Smith is also represented with "Outside Society," the first single-disc retrospective (18 songs) to span her entire career.

Some other new previews this week that I haven't heard yet but am looking forward to:
"Dos" by Andrea Echeverri, half of the Colombian rock band Aterciopelados ... a new CD from Canadian singer-songwriter Ana Egge ... the self-titled album by Committed, the gospel-singing winners of NBC's a cappella singing competition, "The Sing-Off" ... "La Liberacion," the latest album by the always entertaining Brazilian party-rock band CSS ... and "Tassili," the newest effort by Tinariwen, the guitar-based collective from Mali.

See the websites below for even more free album previews, since the titles below are just a sampling. Generally the albums stream online for one week; I give the date if the album is available longer than that.

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Blackbird Diaries" by Dave Stewart
"Obscurities" by Stephin Merritt
"La Liberacion" by CSS
"Rise Ye Sunken Ships" by We Are Augustines
"Bad Blood" by Ana Egge
"Outside Society" by Patti Smith (a greatest-hits album)
"Let Alone Sea" by Arrica Rose & the ...'s

NPR First Listen:
"Dos" by Andrea Echeverri

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Tassili" by Tinariwen (streaming through Sept. 20)

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Committed" by Committed

Which albums are you looking forward to hearing the most?