Like the rest of the world, we were shocked when the news of Dolores O'Riordan passing hit our timelines.  

One of our good friends, Meiko (you remember when she played our Smorgasgourd at Rams Head Live?) had planned on releasing an album of cover songs called Playing Favorites this summer.  The album includes this haunting, slower and somber rendition of Zombie by The Cranberries  - recorded in an abandoned church in Brooklyn, NY.

Meiko has decided to release the track early as a tribute to Dolores, one of her favorite singers of all time.  She also decided to donate a portion of the songs proceeds to mental health charities.  The track is out officially January 26th - and the full album will be out in August.  

If the stars of Beck's new video for the song Fix Me look familiar, it might be because you're one of the 250,000 people who follow Mame and her poodles - Riku, Gaku, and Qoo, on Instagram.  

As part of the video's release -Beck has partnered with the ASPCA to help put an end to animal abuse and neglect.  

When asked about the video, director Brook Linder said - “There’s something really special happening in the mountains of Yamagata, and we were lucky enough to enter Mame’s world for two afternoons in November. That home is heaven on Earth.”

By the way - how about some tour dates Beck ....   

MGMT are back with new music and a new tour! 

The new album is called Little Dark Age and will be available on February 9th! 

 They'll be touring in support of the album starting in Europe and coming stateside in March - with a date at The Anthem on March 15th. 

Tickets go on sale Friday (1/19) HERE 

But because we know you love being the first to get your hands on tickets HERE - you can access them a day early with our presale - just use the code ALIENDAYS 

**presale is Thursday 1/18 12p-10p**

Here's the tracklisting for Little Dark Age:

1. “She Works Out Too Much”
2. “Little Dark Age”
3. “When You Die”
4. “Me and Michael”
5. “TSLAMP”
6. “James”
7. “Days That Got Away”
8. “One Thing Left to Try”
9. “When You’re Small”
10. “Hand It Over”

And the complete tour itinerary: 

Jan. 30 -- Berlin, Germany @ Huxley’s

Feb. 2 -- Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
Feb. 3 -- Brussels, Belgium @ AB Main Hall
Feb. 5 -- Paris, France @ La Cigale
Feb. 6 -- London, England @ Electric Brixton
March 2 -- St. Paul, MN @ Myth
March 3 -- Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
March 5 -- St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House
March 7 -- Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
March 8 -- Austin, TX @ ACL Live at Moody Theater
March 9 -- New Orleans, LA @ BUKU Music & Art Project
March 11 -- Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
March 13 -- Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
March 15 -- Washington, DC @ The Anthem
March 16 -- Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
March 17 -- Montreal, Quebec @ MTELUS
March 19 -- Toronto, Ontario @ Massey Hall
March 20 -- Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
March 24 -- Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
March 25 -- Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
May 7 -- Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
May 9 -- Calgary, Alberta @ Big Four Building
May 11 -- Vancouver, British Columbia @ Orpheum Theatre
May 12 -- Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
May 15 -- San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
May 18 -- Hollywood, CA @ Palladium
May 19 -- San Diego, CA @ San Diego Civic Theatre
May 20 -- Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
June 14-17 -- Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival
June 29-July 1 -- Beuningen, Netherlands @ Down the Rabbit Hole Festival
July 6 -- Hérouville Saint Clair, France @ Festival Beauregard
July 12 -- Madrid, Spain @ Mad Cool Festival
July 1 -- Milan, Italy @ Milano Summer Festival

More new music? Yes please ... from The Decemberists? Pretty Please!

Indie pop vets The Decemberists have released the first single, Severed, from their forthcoming 8th album - titled I'll Be Your Girl - due out March 16th! The song has a very 80s / synth vibe going on ... should be an interesting album! 

Check out the video for Severed below ... and stay tuned for a tour announcement :) 

Be one of the first to get your hands on tickets to see the Zac Brown Band's Down The Rabbit Hole Tour when it comes to Nationals Park on July 27th with our presale code! 

Tickets go one sale  to the general public Friday January 19th HERE

But you can get tickets Thursday January 18th from 10a-10p using the presale code ACCESS 

Get the presale tickets HERE

After getting festival lineup after festival lineup in our newsfeed for the past week, we finally have the one we were waiting for - Firefly Music Festival's 2018 lineup - complete  with a new logo.  

Placement on a festival's lineup poster is a huge deal these days, just ask 2 Chainz.  So let's take a deeper look at the bands we'll be seeing at the Woodlands this June - 

Headliners - 

The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem - Not shocked to see Slim Shady and The Killers... had been predicting them for a few days ... I think the shocker here is Arctic Monkeys ... I know this is their only announced show as of now  - but I don't see them on the same level as the other three headliners ... I am kind of suprised not to see a big name DJ or EDM act on the top line - but hey, I'll take some rock over bass drops any day of the week! 

Middle of the Pack Bands - 

So gald to see some of our favorite humans on the bill.  2017 was a great year for Portugal. The Man and Vance Joy and it shows in their placement on the lineup.  Psst - hey Portugal. The Man - let's chug beers in the parking lot again in 2018! 

Other notable acts  in this section of the lineup - 

Foster the People, Alt-J, MGMT, Cold War Kids, Rag n Bone Man will all be good ... 

Looking forward to seeing Alice Merton for the first time of course! 

The setting sun at the Woodlands will should make a magical background for Lord Huron. 

Jimmy Eat World's set should be an hour of sing a longs - and Royal Blood's set should be sweaty, loud, and awesome. 

Digging Deeper

In 2017, we did a segment called Firefly Fine Print bands, where we found our favorite bands on the lineup we never heard of ... we'll be bringing that back in 2018 - and here's a few of the bands we think we'll be into based on the names alone: 

San Holo, Ron Gallo, Fly By Midnight, Welshy Arms, and The Glorious Suns! 

All in all - this is a solid lineup ... tickets are on sale at FireFlyFestival.com and range from General admission ($269) to Super VIP ($2,499) ... and you know that'll we'll be giving some away in the coming weeks :)  

Last month, Jack White teased his new album by releasing a bizare montage of several songs .  Now we finally have the first proper single, Connected By Love, off his forthcoming solo album - Boarding House Reach:

Also released was a B-Side (remember those?) for the single - Respect Commander - a track that White tips his hat to his Michigan roots by paying homage to Detroit Techno. 

White is headlining several big festivals this spring and summer - including Governor's Ball and Shaky Knees ... but so far we don't have any live dates in the MD/DC/VA area ... but we don't have the Firefly lineup up either ... so here's hoping Jack will be back at the Woodlands again in 2018! 

If we're going to be forced to sit through another winter, we might as well have something to look forward to in the spring and summer ... here's a rundown of some of our favorite music festivals for 2018 :

Firefly - The Woodlands, Delaware 

June 14-17

Our favorite festival of the summer bounces back from (IMO) a weak 2017 lineup ... the headliners are great and the middle of the lineup has a lot of bands we are digging right now! 

Forecastle - Louisville, Kentucky 

July 13-15

Three solid headliners here - it doesn't hurt that Arcade Fire are one of them and their live show is amazing! 

Sloss - Birmingham, Alabama 

July 14-15

Same weekend as Forecastle ... almost the same lineup ... 

Coachella - Empire Polo Club - Indio, California 

April 13-15 and April 20-23 

The granddaddy of all festivals has 3 headliners that aren't bands in 2018!  

Governor's Ball - Randalls Island Park - New York City 

June 1-3 

Looking for a festival in the middle of the city that never sleeps - check out Governor's Ball

Homecoming - Smale Park - Cincinnati, Ohio

April 28-29

Two unique sets by The National and a festival that takes place at the park and other venues all over the city - I love it! 

Hangout Fest  - Gulf Shores, Alabama

May 18-20

Dude - does anything sound better than checking out your favorite bands from the white sands beaches of the Floribama Shore? I'll wait... 

Summercamp Music Festival - Chillicothe, Illonois 

May 25-27

This festival gets bonus points for being in a town called Chillicothe

Boston Calling - Harvard Athletic Center 

May 25-27

Another stacked lineup for Memorial Day ... Starting to see some lineup trends 

Shaky Knees Music Festival - Central Park -Atlanta GA

May 4-6

This Festival has awesome artwork ... and the impressive lineup makes the quick trip to Atlanta appealing! 

Bonnaroo - The Farm at Great Stage Park - Manchester TN 

June 7-10

Get your camping gear ready and road trip down to Manchester TN! 

SweetWater 420 Fest - Centennial Parl - Atlanta, GA 

April 20-22

Two sets from a bunch of the acts- including the headliners ... plus the return of Ghostland Observatory! 

Peach Music Festival - Montage Mountain -  Scranton, PA 

July 13-15

I dont see Scrantonicity on this Scranton PA lineup - but the lineup is pretty solid none the less! 

Mountain Jam - Hunter Mountain, Kentucky 

July 13-15

Woah - this is amazing ...Jack Johnson - are you touring or what? 

Too bad this is  the same weekend as Firefly :(