Tonight in NYC: Diane Birch, Rachael Yamagata, Tift Merritt, Marshall Crenshaw, Nicole Atkins, & More in Japan Benefit

Last week I wrote about a series of benefit concerts to aid the Japan relief effort, and recently found out that City Winery is hosting one at 8 p.m. tonight called Bridge to Japan with a lot of great talent on it. I know it's short notice, but if you'll be in the City tonight you'll see an impressive roster of talent (many of whom aren't as famous as they should be):

Rachael Yamagata, Tift Merritt, Diane Birch, Marshall Crenshaw, Dar Williams, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Nicole Atkins, Ben Sollee, classic pianist Taka Kigawa, the New York based big band Morning Musuko, Syd Straw, "12-year-old phenom Cecilia Gault," and more, including Jesse Smith (daughter of Patti, with Lenny Kaye and Tony Shanahan of the Patti Smith band).

As of 4 p.m. today, tickets for Bridge to Japan are still available at several price levels, starting at $25 for standing room (limited number available). Check the website or call 212-608-0555 ext 714 for information. All proceeds will go to Japan relief, the website says.

This is quite a lineup of talent, and I'd guess it's one of those chances to see different combinations of musicians playing together, probably playing tunes you wouldn't normally hear. It should be a great show.

Live in NYC Wednesday: WNYC to Webcast Mountain Goats and Suzanne Vega

The Mountain Goats and Suzanne Vega will be performing live Wednesday afternoon at WNYC's new downtown performing space, and if you can't make it there you can watch the live webcast.

The performance, part of the station's show "Soundcheck," starts at 2 p.m. The show will be webcast live and will also be broadcast on WNYC's FM station at 93.9.

The Mountain Goats are a band led by John Darnielle. Their latest album, “All Eternals Deck,” came out on March 29th. In a write-up about the album NPR Music said of Darnielle, "Once a wild man whose shouted white-knuckle screeds could barely be contained by the crummy boom boxes on which he recorded them, Darnielle has aged into a singing poet whose words still hit like punches." (More on Mountain Goats from NPR Music.)

Suzanne Vega has long been one of my favorite musicians ever since her first album (which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year). I've seen her play in venues ranging from large festivals to small clubs; she's definitely a performer I'd recommend seeing. Her latest project is the original off-Broadway play “Carson McCullers Talks About Love,” about the famous Southern author who is a hero of Vega's. Vega wrote the script for the work and plays McCullers, and also collaborated on the score with pop musician Duncan Sheik, who's now had success a huge success on Broadway with "Spring Awakening."

Neil Young, Arcade Fire Win Multiple Juno Awards

Neil Young won three Juno Awards Sunday night in Toronto. Photo: Andrea Barsant via Flickr

Neil Young is on a roll: the crusty old rocker won three Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys) Sunday night, just weeks after winning his first-ever music Grammy. In a night otherwise dominated (on the rock side, anyway) by indie darlings Arcade Fire, the 65-year-old rocker took home Artist of the Year honors and Adult Alternative Album of the Year for "Le Noise," as well as the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award. The latter is said to be given to a prominent artist with a long history of humanitarian work, and the Spinner.com article says that it was given to Young primarily for his work in co-founding Farm Aid, the annual concert that benefits farmers.

Montreal's Arcade Fire took home some of the night's biggest awards, including Album of the Year (for "The Suburbs"), Group of the year, and Songwriter of the Year. Some other major Juno winners in rock and pop:

• New Artist of the Year: Meaghan Smith
  
• New Group of the Year: Said the Whale
  
• Rock Album of the Year: Matthew Good, "Vancouver"
  
• Producer of the Year: Daniel Lanois for "Hitchhiker" (from "Le Noise" by Neil Young) and "I Believe in You" (from Black Dub's self-titled album)
  

See the full list of 2011 Juno Awards winners here.

Big Names Playing Concerts to Aid Japan Disaster Relief

In addition to the concerts below, this limited-edition screen print is being sold to benefit Japan relief.

In addition to the concerts below, this limited-edition screen print is being sold to benefit Japan relief. 

It's no surprise that someone decided to hold a benefit concert to aid the relief efforts after the Japan earthquake/tsunami/nuke incident. But New York will be host to not one but five benefit concerts over the next few weeks, featuring some big-name performers playing in modest-sized venues.

According to Oh My Rockness, the shows are:

• Sun., March 27th (8 p.m.): Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, Mike Patton, Sean Lennon, Cibo Matto, Mephista, Marc Ribot, Uri Caine, Aleph Trio — Miller Theatre ($25)
  
• Tues., March 29th (10 p.m.): Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, Patti Smith, Tony Shanahan, Cibo Matto — Le Poisson Rouge ($100)
  
• Fri., April 8th (6:30 p.m.): Thurston Moore, Matthew Shipp, Gyan Riley, Masada String Trio, Ned Rothenberg, Alhambra Trio with Rob Burger, Erik Friedlander, and more — Abrons Arts Center ($35)
• Fri., April 8th (9:30 p.m.): Norah Jones, Jesse Harris, Vinicius Cantuaria, Buke and Gass JG Thirlwell's Manorexia, Elysian Fields, Sex Mob — Abrons Arts Center ($35)
• Sat., April 9th (11 a.m.): Philip Glass, Hal Willner, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bill Laswell — Japan Society ($5)

As often happens, these benefit concerts offer a unique chance to see a range of performers who may not normally play together on a single bill—and in small venues, to boot.

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from The Strokes, J Mascis, Peter Bjorn & John, Keren Ann, & More

Captivating singer-songwriter Keren Ann is back with a new album, "101," that's now offered for free streaming.

The return of J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr.) and The Strokes are two of the most notable new albums available for free streaming this week. Also, the new one from the captivating Paris/New York singer-songwriter-composer Keren Ann, who has been acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic. Here are some of the other interesting albums offering free album previews right now:

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Several Shades of Why" by J Mascis (streaming until April 8; released March 15) — the indie-rock guitarist and leader of Dinosaur Jr. is back with a new solo album
"101" by Keren Ann (streaming until April 13; release date: March 22) — the Israeli-born, New York- and Paris-based singer-songwriter returns with a new album (see a recent New York Times Magazine story on her)
"Gimme Some" by Peter Bjorn and John (streaming until April 19; release date: March 29) — the Swedish trio that burst on the scene with the song "Young Folks" releases its first album in two years, with its familiar hook-laden songs but a "guitar-heavy attack," says KCRW
"The Most Incredible Thing" Original Score by the Pet Shop Boys — yes, the '80s pop-dance duo is back, and with a score to a ballet based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Angles" by The Strokes — the New York band is back with its first album since 2006
"Sucker Punch" Soundtrack by various artists — the soundtrack for this new action movie features Alison Mosshart, Emily Browning, Emiliana Torrini, and Bjork
"Salt on Sea Glass" by If By Yes — the first album by the band featuring Petra Haden (formerly of That Dog) and Yuka Honda (formerly of Cibo Matto), this CD features special guests David Byrne and guitarist Nels Cline.

Live SXSW Audio on NPR Starting Sat. afternoon: Bright Eyes, Felice Bros., Kurt Vile, & More

There's more live audio from South by Southwest (SXSW) coming at you right now from NPR Music. Head to their SXSW website for webcasts starting at 4:30 p.m.:

• Kurt Vile - 3:30 Central Time/4:30 Eastern
  
• Man Man - 4:35 CT/5:35 ET
  
• Middle Brother - 5:30 CT/6:30 ET
  
• The Felice Brothers - 6:15 CT/7:15 ET
  
• Bright Eyes - 7:30 CT/8:30 ET

Their previous webcasts are available online for streaming or, in most cases, podcast download (through iTunes and other podcast programs). You can watch SXSW sets from:

• The Head and the Heart
  
• The Antlers
  
• Raphael Saadiq
  
• Smith Westerns
  
• The Joy Formidable
  
• Wild Flag
  
• Khaira Arby
  
• Colin Stetson
  
• James Blake
  
• Yuck
• tUnE-yArDs

… and Jack White's impromptu set played in a parking lot.