Toubab Krewe’s Winter Tour in support of their new album, Live at the Orange Peel, (nationally distributed by ADA Distribution via Upstream Records January 6, 2009) includes a performance at the Georgia Theatre in Athens on January 17, 2009.

Blending American and West African influences into a sound all its own, Toubab Krewe has set “a new standard for fusions of rock ‘n’ roll and West African music” (Afropop Worlwide). Since forming in 2005, the magnetic instrumental quintet has won a diverse and devoted following, performing everywhere fromBonnaroo to the legendary Festival of the Desert in Essakane, Mali, the most remote festival in the world. The band developed their unique sound over the course of numerous extended trips to Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, where they immersed themselves in the local culture and studied and performed with luminaries.
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From the Redneck GReece headquarters:

Redneck GReece is set to release a new song just in time for Christmas 2008.

The song “Santa and the Trucker” will be released as a CD single and proceeds will benefit the Jack R. Wells Boys and Girls Club in Athens.

“Santa and the Trucker” is a wholesome children-friendly song (in spite of Rick and Redneck) that should entertain both kids and adults alike.

The recording is taking place at Rick Fowler’s studio in Athens and is being produced by Redneck and Rick Fowler.

The musicians on the song are among the finest Athens has to offer: Drive By Truckers’ Patterson Hood (voice of Santa) and John Neff (pedal steel guitar), Randall Bramblett (piano), Widespread Panic’s Domingo S. Ortiz (percussion), Rick Fowler (lead guitar), Tom Ryan (bass guitar), and introducing Redneck’s son Glenn Reece on drums.

The official release date will be Dec. 6, which will coincide with the annual benefit concert held at Loco’s restaurant in Athens with Redneck GReece performing.

Saturday - December 6, 2008
Bobby Kerce Memorial Holiday Show
Show Time: Saturday Night (after supper)
LOCO’S Campus
581 South Harris Street
Redneck GReece backed by The Thrillhammers - Benefit for the Boy’s & Girl’s Clubs

From Jeff Montgomery of athensmusic.net:

CD Release Party for the 25th anniversary deluxe edition of Murmur

Benefitting Community Connection of Northeast Georgia & Family Connection / Communities in Schools

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Doors at 8:00 p.m.
40 Watt Club
285 W. Washington Street
Athens, GA 30601

Tickets: $10 advance
Advance tickets available at www.athensmusic.net

Featuring:

Don Chambers + GOAT
Liz Durrett
Iron Hero
Nate Nelson
Heavy Feather

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Release from Engine Room Recordings:

NYC indie dance rockers The Bloodsugars have recently released their latest effort, a boisterous 6-song EP titled BQEP. In support of this record The Bloodsugars will be on tour in November performing in Athens at Tasty World this Thursday.

The Bloodsugars stand apart from other “indie dance rock” bands with their intelligent songwriting and arrangements. Anyone who has ever played an instrument can immediately pick up on the tremendous technical aptitude showcased by all four members. The band is so tasteful in the implementation of their abilities that it’s easy to simply escape into the beauty and excitement of the songs, without being conscious of how meticulously sculpted they are.

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From local music journalist David Eduardo: The Bear Creek Music and Arts Festival will return to the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida Nov. 14-16 for what promises to be a memorable weekend of music, arts and revelry with an undercurrent of environmental awareness and charity. Tickets can be purchased at the festivals’ web site - and the revelry will commence with an intimate “pre-festival” kick-off party, taking place onsite on Thursday, Nov. 13.

Florida’s own JJ Grey and MOFRO is the most recent addition to the Bear Creek roster of artists, which already boasts Athens acts Perpetual Groove, Tishamingo and Dunconscious along with Yonder Mountain String Band, Soulive and The Everyone Orchestra (featuring Phish drummer Jon Fishman, and String Cheese Incident multi-instrumentalist Michael Kang). These four headliners accurately frame the scope of this festival, with Grey’s brilliant songwriting, Yonder Mountain’s bluegrass and beyond, Soulive’s smart funk and EO’s relentless spontaneity.

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In anticipation of their third album, “Modern Silence,” Casper & the Cookies are releasing three exclusive digital tracks to the blogosphere. These songs, a sampling of what’s to come from the follow-up release to 2006’s “The Optimist’s Club” are the culmination of nine hard months of recording for the Cookies with a little help from their friend, Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, The Sunshine Fix). During the month of October, one previously unreleased song will be released each week.

Last Friday: Three Imaginary Girls

10/17: Optical Atlas

10/24: You Ain’t No Picasso

Jason Nesmith on the new album: “Modern Silence: a phrase that evokes a number of themes. We used most of them: awkward long distance phone calls, language barriers, social anxiety, absence (or a general lack of presence), a sudden numbing realization that one can no longer think of oneself as a good person-extraterrestrial friendship—and of course jazz-mime.”

While the release date of “Modern Silence” is still undetermined, the Cookies are looking forward to hitting the road again in 2009 to promote the 16 new songs that came out of the “Modern Silence” sessions … all the more reason to check out these pre-releases!

From Allison Weiss:

For years, Allison Weiss has been known for backing her clever lyrics and catchy melodies with nothing more than an acoustic guitar. On October 10th, she’ll take it to the next level with the release of a six-song studio EP, on which she’s accompanied by the band she’s been performing with all year.

The CD, titled “Allison Weiss & The Way She Likes It” was recorded in Spring/Summer 2008 at Chase Park Transduction Studios and features Donovan Babb on drums, Alec Wooden on bass, and Weiss’s younger brother AJ Weiss on lead guitar. The quartet, along with co-producer and engineer Nate Nelson, has also added an array of keyboards and extra percussion to the six songs. “Weiss’ songs benefit from fuller arrangement and additional textures,” says Gordon Lamb of Flagpole Magazine, who has also called Weiss “the hardest working musician in [Athens].” Weiss toured the southeast for three weeks in the summer and returned home to tackle the release and online promotion of the record through YouTube, MySpace, and a multitude of other websites. She’ll celebrate the new album with a CD release party on 10/10/08 at the Caledonia Lounge in Athens.

From Tsunami Music Publicity:

With their new CD on the shelves, Athens, GA based WILX have embarked on a southern tour in support of their first official release, Didactic Dichotomy. Much like the title implies, Didactic Dichotomy is a lesson of two parts rock and roll. Dripping with elements of early grunge and alternative combined with southern rock influences, WILX is a band focused on performing with high intensity and crafting timeless, unadulterated rock tunes. Hitting brand new regional markets, WILX is poised to rise to the next level.

Formed in 2005 in Oxford, Mississippi, the quartet has amassed a fervent following through commanding live performances and a relentless touring schedule. Spending nearly the entire 2006 and 2007 on the road, WILX has honed their creative chops into the powerful driving force it is today. Combining four dynamic musical personalities in Hayden Smith (guitar / vocals), Grant Mitchell (guitar / vocals), Wilkes Evans (drums) and Taylor Arnall (bass / vocals), the WILX sound encompasses decades of rock and roll influence.

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We’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, so why not now? We get a handful of press releases from musicians or their agents every week, and there’s no way we can accommodate everyone and do something on them. But what the hell? Why not just pass them along in the blog and mark them what they are: PR. They’ll get a Publicity category, the headline will start with “PR:”, and we’ll let you know who it’s from. We might do a little bit of editing on them, and by no means is this a promise that we’ll run them all. But some of them can actually be entertaining and informative.