7/31-8/1 Secret Stages in Birmingham to host 3 Louisville acts

   Last week did a preview of Kentucky Music Fests this summer, this week we learned of kentucky artists playing the Birmingham Al music fest "Secret Stages" on July 31 & August 1.
   Secret Stages is an annual walking music fest in downtown Birmingham of 7 stages with over 60 independent and regional bands  over a two day period, and for an amazing $25 for a weekend pass (our best priced summer fest we've found so far!).
This year's Secret Stages will be hosting 3 Louisville bands, Twin Limb, The Pass, and White Reaper, as well as Lexington Ky artist Bear Medicine. For a complete lineup look here.

Free Tix Give-A-Way: Moontower Fest 8/29 in Lexington

 

       To kick off Festival Season we are giving away a pair of tickets to MOONTOWER Music festival on Aug.29th in Lexington KY! We are very excited about this one (see our KY Fests preview here), as this one-day music festival in the center of our fine commonwealth is the best priced of the fests we've seen (just $50 for General Admission) with a great line-up including Moon Taxi, J. Roddy Walston & The Business, The Weeks, and Ben Sollee. 

     For this give-a-way we will need your name as well as the name of the person you would like to take, and send it to louisvilleisforlovers@gmail.com  by July 1st and we'll pick a winner at random. 

Twitter: @MoonTowerMF

Instagram: @moontowermusicfestival

Facebook: MoonTower Music Festival

Kentucky Summer Music Festival Preview

     Here we go Kentucky; It's a hot swampy soup outside so it must be time for the Summer Festivals!
JULY17 In just 2 short weeks Louisville's very own Forecastle Fest! July 17-19 down on the waterfront for about $200 ($400 for VIP) with over 60 bands including My Morning Jacket, Sam Smith, Tallest Man On Earth, Portugal The Man, Modest Mouse, and local fare such as Twin Limb, and White Reaper.

Our Most viewed photo on 37FLOOD is this 2010 forecastle pic of Grace Potter by Kory Johnson.

     August 28-30  in Sparta Kentucky is the first annual NiFi Fest for about $300, $100 more than general Forecastle tickets, with almost half the bands (at least announced by press time), and not to mention the NIFI Website has been paying for google ads using "Forecastle" catch words to reroute viewers to their site.. I am a little suspicious of this one.. and, they are offering VIP tickets for a shocking $800 (Any sort of VIP tix is enough to set me off, I am always critical of music venues that treat Mr. Moneybags better than everyone else. If someone wants to support your event, they should be treated with the same respect as anyone else) but the lineup seems willfully different than the average fest, with folks such as Hank Williams Jr., Trace Atkins, Flogging Molly, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  So We'll See how this inaugural NIFI fest goes.

NIFI Fest AD on Google

  August 29  In Lexington on August 29th (yes, we know.. for Louisvillians this might be a scheduling conflict as 8/29 has become as much of a City-wide holiday as Oaks Day) is the Moontower Fest; a one day family/pet friendly music fest that beats all the other music fest one-day prices, at a very reasonable $50, with 20 bands including Moon Taxi, J Roddy Walston & the Business, The weeks, and our very own Ben Sollee.

Winner: Banditos Tix 6/18

The Winner of 2 Banditos tickets on 6/18 at Zanzabar is Shawn T! congrats Shawn, your name + 1 will be at the door, so don't forget your ID.
Banditos 6/18 Zanzabar 9pm 21+ $8

Review: Barry Manilow @ Yum! Bucket on 6/5

Barry Manilow at Yum! Bucket

    When I told people I was going to see Barry Manilow on 6/5 at the Yum! Bucket for his 'One Last Time' farewell tour the conversation usually went something like "You mean Barley Man-At-All? Why? Well, Mandy isn't a bad song.. and Day Break.. and Can't Smile Without You.. Ok, yeah, that could be a good show." and I was reminded of the Family Guy sketch that aptly describes mainstream America's relationship with Manilow; an embarrassed and hidden fondness for the man (see clip). At the concert I kept running into friends who acted equally astonished to see me there as well as being there themselves.

 
     To be honest, Barry Manilow isn't an artist I actively wished to see; of the 60s & 70s singers nearing the end of their careers, I would love to see Neil Diamond, David Bowie, or Neil Young, but for $25 a ticket I couldn't say no.
   Most of my understanding of Manilow comes from pop culture quips, such as the family Guy episode, or the infamous KBIG 104.3 FM commercials telling listeners that the radio station was of quality because they didn't play Manilow, or the Australian government admitting that they played Manilow in high crime areas to deter gangs from congregating. Manilow himself is in on the big joke, playing himself on the Family Guy episode, changing the lyrics of Mandy to Quagmire, telling the Australian Government that they may be converting the gangs into Manilow fans, and at the Concert at Yum! he told the audience "We have a lot of music for you tonight that I think you are going to love, unless you were dragged here, in which case, you'll be miserable." Besides the bad luck of beginning his career of simple love songs in the early 70s, a time when the Rolling Stones were causing riots in the US and Nixon waged a war against John Lennon, I am not sure why the joke is there in the first place, and neither did the exuberant crowd at Yum! hanging on to Maniow's every syllable.
   Manilow took to the stage at 8:30 for an hour and a half energetic romp through his 45 year career, with grace and humility. He walked out on stage and said "hi I'm Barry and these are my friends", waiving to the massive ensemble of live band, horn section, back up singers, and full chorus.   The Yum! Center seemed completely packed full of Manilow fans, of literally all ages, waiving the glow sticks that Manilow supplied to each audience member as he did a whirlwind through his catalogue, from early hits such as Daybreak to his most recent show tunes, and a very fun Karaoke style sing-a-long of Can't Smile Without You complete with projected lyrics and a smiley face prompt for the audience.
    Manilow, now in his 70s, is still showing his love for music exploration with his recent Album, My Dream Duets, a duet album with all the duets with musical greats that have already died such as Dusty Springfield, Whitney Huston, and Marilyn Monroe, via cutting edge digital editing software. Manilow said of the project, "Every singer my age does a duets album, and I thought Everyone I would love to sing with is dead so.." right before he sang Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart with a digitally reproduced Judy Garland, that brought the audience to the edge of their seats. After the Judy Garland tribute Manilow left the stage for a costume change while the large screens showed a 1971 interview of a young Manilow (the same one we picked for our preview here). The interview moves into a performance of Mandy, and in the middle of the video, real-life Manilow reappears onstage  at the piano to duet with himself as a young man; it was truly unique and an amazing sight. One audience member told me later "The only duet Manilow did with someone who wasn't dead was himself, and it was brilliant."
   Manilow shows his love for music and music history through his long catalogue, his recent Duets album (that debuted on Billboard Top 10, his 15th overall) and extensive charity work through the Manilow Fund.   At every town he plays, including Louisville, He personally donates a piano to a school in need (for this show Valley High), and encourages people to bring instruments to his shows to donate. The Fund has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars across the US, especially during natural disasters including $300,000 for New Orleans after Katrina (Manilow himself donating $150,000 personally).
   After learning of Manilow's love and commitment for music and people, as well as his exuberant stage show, I may have entered the Yum! Bucket on 6/5 a curious bystander, but I left a full-fledged Fanilow.

Free Tix Give-A-Way: Banditos @ Zanzabar 6/18

Nashville rockabilly outfit Banditos (not to be mistaken with the Texas MC recently in the news over a shoot-out at a Hooters type restaurant) will be heading to Zanzabar on Thursday June 18th, and we have 2 tickets to give away! Leave your name in a comment or in an email to louisvilleisforlovers@gmail.com  and we'll pick a winner at random by Sunday the 14th.
Banditos Thursday June 18th at Zanzabar. 9 pm $8.

6/24 Pokey LaFarge @ Waterfront Wednesday

Louisville favorite Pokey Lafarge will be hitting the great lawn on Wednesday 6/24 for Waterfront Wednesday in support of his 7th album, Something in the Water.

Preview: Allen Poe EP: Still Eatin

Kentucky Hip-Hop artist, and member of the Lexingotn group Basement Up, Allen Poe is releasing a new solo EP on Itunes on 6/9. The title track, Still Eatin', has been released today on soundcloud.
Poe has been featured on the 2014 Hip Hop compliation SUMMER CASSINGLE SERIES VOL.1 by Louisville Is For Lovers & Guestroom Records.


Still Eatin EP can be preordered here.