[News] Bon Iver To Play Saturday Night Live

Continuing the high praise and accolades he saw in 2011, Justin Vernon has announced that he and the rest of the Bon Iver outfit will be performing on Saturday Night Live on February 4th, with Channing Tatum serving as host. The performance comes as no surprise, as Bon Iver's self-titled sophomore album has received numerous year end accolades. The real question, though, is which song Vernon and co. will decide to perform, but seeing as "Towers" was recently announced as a single, the song has a good chance of making the cut.

[News] Sleigh Bells Announce Select North American Tour Dates

As Sleigh Bells wrap up their extensive tour in Florida with Diplo, the hard hitting duo have already made plans to play a handful of shows in North America as the world awaits their highly anticipated sophomore album, Reign Of Terror, which is out on February 21st, 2012 courtesy of Mom + Pop Music.

Tour Dates:
2/16/12                        Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
2/17/12                        New York, NY @ Terminal 5
2/18/12                        Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
2/21/12                        Los Angeles, CA @ Music Box
2/23/12                        San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
2/24/12                        Seattle, WA @ Showbox at Market

[News] Islands Schedule Spring Tour Dates

Montreal indie rockers Islands will be releasing their fourth studio album A Sleep & A Forgetting on February 14th, and, to support the release, the band will be hitting the road for a month long tour. Starting in Los Angeles on the day of the album's release, the band will be touring all across North America for a total of 24 cities in exactly one month. This includes major stops such as New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Vancouver, Seattle, and San Diego. Check out all of the tour dates and locations after the jump, as well, you can listen to the first single from the album, titled "This Is Not A Song," below.

Islands - "This Is Not a Song" by Some Kind of Awesome

Islands 2012 Tour Dates:
02/14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theatre
02/15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
02/17 – Austin, TX @ St. David’s Episcopal Church
02/18 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Herman Hall
02/19 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
02/21 – Chapel Hill, NC @ TBA
02/22 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
02/23 – Baltimore, MD @ TBA
02/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
02/25 – New York, NY @ TBA
02/26 – Hamden, CT @ The Space
02/27 – Montreal, QC @ Cabaret
02/28 – Toronto, ON @ Music Gallery
02/29 – Pontiac, MI @ Majestic Recording
03/01 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
03/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
03/03 – Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre
03/05 – Edmonton, AB @ The Haven
03/08 – Vancouver, BC @ Rio Theatre
03/10 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
03/11 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
03/13 – San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah
03/14 – San Diego, CA @ TBA

[News] Justin Vernon Starts Record Label

Today, Bon Iver frontmam and overall superstar Justin Vernon announced the formation of his own record label, called Chigliak. The label is a subsedary of Jagjaguwar and, according to its official website, will release new material as well as reissue "albums that were never commercially released or locally released and never put out on vinyl.” The label's first reissue will be It’s All Aquatic from Amateur Love, which comprises of Vernon's former Megafaun bandmates Brad and Phil Cook. Along with Amateur Love, the label will represent Minnesota band 12 Rods and Sarah Siskind, among others. Expect more information from the newly formed record label to surface as the year goes on.

[News] New Album Coming from The Avett Brothers

2009's I and Love and You was North Carolina folk rock trio The Avett Brothers' major label debut, and saw the group working with famed producer Rick Rubin, who has produced hundreds of albums over the last two decades. The risk involved with working alongside the up and coming group paid off, and once again The Avett Brothers and Rubin will be working together on the follow up to I and Love and You. According to an interview with Rolling Stone, the album is nearing completion and will see the band building on their classic harmony-driven sound, but will go even further than that. One of the songs to be featured on the album is called "Paul Newman Versus the Demons" and it includes "an aggressive riff, and the instruments are very Nineties rock – what you could call grunge. It's certainly a major departure."

We'll keep you posted with more information regarding the album as it arises.

[News] Memoryhouse Announces North American Tour Dates

As the February 28th release date of Memoryhouse's debut album The Slideshow Effect inches closer and closer, the Toronto-based duo have been amping up with releases and announcements. Today, the pair announced a North American tour in support of the upcoming studio effort, which kicks off the day the album is released in Chicago. From there, the duo will be on the road for three weeks, where they will perform in Denver, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, among others. You can take a look at all the band's tour dates and locations after the jump. As well, you can listen to the first single from the album, "The Kids Were Wrong," below.

Memoryhouse - "The Kids Were Wrong" by Some Kind of Awesome

Memoryhouse 2012 Tour Dates:
02/28 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
02/29 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
03/01 – Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
03/02 – Ames, IA @ Maintenance Shop at Iowa State University
03/03 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
03/05 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
03/07 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
03/08 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
03/09 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
03/10 – Vancouver, BC @ Waldorf Hotel
03/11 – Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
03/13 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
03/15 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Soho
03/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater
03/17 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
03/23 – Glasgow, UK @ School Of Art
03/24 – Dublin, UK @ Whelan’s
03/26 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
03/27 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
03/28 – London, UK @ Cargo

[News] Frank Ocean Confirms Debut Album for Spring

While recently speaking to the BBC, Frank Ocean, who was named the runner-up on their Sound of 2012 list, revealed that his long awaited debut studio album, and the follow-up to last year's Nostalgia, ULTRA, would indeed be released this Spring via Def Jam. Expect more details regarding the studio effort to surface in the coming months, and for now, you can listen to Ocean's live concert go-to "Thinking About You" below.

Frank Ocean - Thinking About You by mon!ka

[News] Surfer Blood to Play Fallon This Monday Night, Announce West Coast Tour Dates

This coming Monday, January 9th, West Palm Beach rockers Surfer Blood will be making the debut appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, where they will perform their newest single "Miranda" from their recently released Tarot Classics EP. Along with this announcement, the band announced a five-show series of West Coast tour dates. Starting on February 21st in San Diego, CA, the short California tour will take the band to Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Visalia, and finally San Francisco on February 25th. You can check out all the of the tour details, including dates and locations, after the jump.

As well, Surfer Blood is currently in the studio working on their highly anticipated sophomore album with the help of Phil Ek, who has worked with the likes of Fleet Foxes and Built To Spill. The album is expected to drop later this year via Kanine/Warner Bros. Records.

Surfer Blood West Coast Tour Dates:

01/08 – University Of North Florida – Jacksonville, FL
02/21 – Porter’s Pub – San Diego, CA
02/22 – Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
02/23 – Velvet Jones – Santa Barbara, CA
02/24 – Visalia Fox Theatre – Visalia, CA
02/25 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA