To be sure, each song is quite like the last, only the stories and the tempos seem to change as Joshua and his band roll through easy to digest, soft, breezy and personal Nashville-ready numbers. For a man who's seen as being indie in his musical nature, his finger is firm on the pulse of what's hot today. His voice is the most enjoyable part of the entire affair, bringing to mind a more lively Paul Simon or a less disgruntled and strangled Connor Oberst. The songs feature flourishes of mandolin, steel, organ and piano at proper moments, hitting all the right notes but doing so rather flatly in the process. When the songs focus more on James' story-telling is when they're most effective; "FM Radio", "Lord, Devil & Him" and "Tell My Pa" stand out on such merits. The rest just sorta blends together in an admittedly easy but ultimately too easy fashion, going down like a glass of lukewarm lemonade on a blistering hot day. 

I'm really not the guy you want reviewing someone like Joshua James. When it comes right down to it, all the honesty, integrity, skill and will you can muster doesn't save such standard music from letting me down. It's altogether a good album and one fans of the country-minded singer/songwriters popular nowadays should most certainly own. For the rest of us, however, we might long for Dylan or Cash to get a feel of how music of this nature was originally done, and done with much more honesty, integrity, skill and will.  

Mexican-American singer Lila Downs is blessed with a distinctive and passionate voice. She combines formal vocal training while tapping into the indigenous Mixtec traditions of her mother, creating a beautiful musical blend sung in several languages including Zapotec, Mayan, Spanish and English. Read the recent interview with Lila Downs.

More information at: www.oldtownschool.org
Tickets online: www.harristheaterchicago.org
Box office: 312.334.7777

Harris Theater :: 205 E. Randolph.
Old Town School-Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall :: 4544 N Lincoln Ave.

Lila Downs photo courtesy of Pirineos Sur world music festival

The Sterns Africa label has long been instrumental in presenting new African sounds and giving old ones a fresh go-around. Their latest in the latter category is a double CD recounting a dozen years worth of Guinea’s Balla et Ses Balladins, who, along with Bembeya Jazz and Keletigui et Ses Tambourinis, completed a triumvirate of Guinea’s most popular post-independence bands.

The bulk of the group were a breakaway faction from Syli Orchestra National, one of the first musical outfits established in accordance with Guinean president Sekou Toure’s policy of authenticite, in which artists of all types were urged to look to traditional sources for inspiration. Balla et Ses Balladins (named for their leader Balla Onivogui) did indeed incorporate plenty of traditional linguistic and musical ideas into their sound, but borrowed liberally from jazz, Cuban and Congolese music as well. So the tracks on the two discs, lifted from the band’s prolific 1968 to 1980 output, are gloriously tight jams that swing liberally with tart guitars, punctuating horns, Latin-speckled percussion and vocals that both croon and soar.

Detailed liner notes tell the story of the band (including a rather humorous account of name changes brought about by varying degrees of government favoritism) and provide song-by-song specifics. A superb package, one not to be missed.

A couple of recent releases in Sheer Sound’s African Classics series likewise spotlight some very fine moments from two of Africa’s many great voices. Kenya’s Samba Mapangala and his band Virunga have long fused the rhythms of Kenyan benga music with the similarly swaying feel of Congolese and Tanzanian rumba. Mapangala’s warbling, emotion-rich voice is matched by tingling, caressing guitar riffs and rhythms that are sparse by African standards but perfectly edify these songs of love, human foibles and personal praise for a couple of gents named Fonseka and Mabiala who were influential supporters of Virunga. Anything by Samba Mapangala is well worth hearing, and this is a great introduction to his work if you happen to be in need of one.

Senegal’s Fallou Dieng specializes in m’balax, the driving, sabar drum-punctuated style first popularized by Youssou N’dour. Like the Mapangala disc, this African Classics consists of key tracks from past works, and you could be forgiven for thinking that you’re listening to early Youssou N’dour as you’re getting a dose of Fallou Dieng.

All the characteristics of classic m’balax are here: the skittering rhythms, lickity-split guitars and bass, deft punctuation from horns, keyboards or both, and Sufi-inspired call-and-response vocals. But listen closer and compare, and you’ll find that Dieng is no mere imitator. His vocals have their own sense of timing and phrasing, his nimble intonations twisting, turning and scatting with what eventually emerges as a signature style full of grace and nuance.

Nearly every song here is well past the five-minute mark, and Dieng never falters in delivering the often fast-paced vocal goods. The liner notes are sparse almost to the point of non-existence and the back and inside covers list track running times that are entirely inaccurate, but the music here is crisply superb.

Buy the CDs:

• In North America: The Syliphone Years, Samba Mapangala & Virunga's African Classics, and Fallou Dieng's African Classics
• In Europe: The Syliphone Years, Samba Mapangala & Virunga's African Classics , and Fallou Dieng's African Classics

Graham Nash, David Crosby, Ani DiFranco, James Taylor and more guests to be announced are taping an episode of NPR's Etown with hosts Nick and Helen Forster at Denver's Temple Buell Theater. Tickets are **sold out.**

Etown travels to downtown Denver on Tuesday evening August 26th for a taping during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Hosts Nick & Helen Forster will lead a celebratory revue featuring exciting musical performances by David Crosby & Graham Nash, Ani DiFranco, James Taylor and others TBA, inspirational conversation with influential policy-makers and personalities, and presentation of the E-Chievement Award in the classic Etown format which blends music and message to build community. The program will be recorded at one of Denver's finest venues, the Temple Buell Theater in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. [Etown @ DNC]

As a nonprofit, etown's mission is to educate, entertain and inspire a diverse audience, through music and conversation, to build a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable world. etown's broadcast emphasizes human commonality and collective responsibility for building a better, more sustainable world. The show has three key elements: 1) An eclectic array of world-class musicians (two per show) perform individually; 2) Each performing artist is interviewed on stage, with emphasis on exploration of the artist’s musical roots and musical and non-musical influences; and 3) Each show includes a live interview with the show's "e-chievement award" recipient. This individual, chosen each week through nominations from etown's national audience, is typically someone who has identified an environmental or social issue at the community, national or global level, and whose efforts are very effectively addressing that need.

//Etown @ DNC.
//Etown

Previously:
Rage playing free show in Denver during DNC
Free Public Enemy concert next Tuesday
Manifest Hope presents Silversun Pickups, CYHSY, Cold War Kids, Nada Surf next Wednesday
Ben Gibbard, Zooey Deschanel, Jenny Lewis, Matthew Caws, Jonathan Rice performing VIP "rounds"
Moby spinning @ The Church next Wednesday
Rock to Win - Willie Nelson, Rufus Wainwright, Cyndi Lauper, and Melissa Etheridge | Tuesday @ Fillmore
Rock the Vote: N*E*R*D, Fall Out Boy, Jakob Dylan, others??? Monday Aug 25 @ Ellie Caulkins
Creative Coalition - Black Eyed Peas performing benefit Aug 27 @ Fillmore

Madonna, currently putting the finishing touches to her fabulous new Sticky & Sweet Show in Cardiff, is readying herself and the 250 travelling personnel for the opening night Saturday, 23rd August, 2008, at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Hot on the diamante shaped heels of her phenomenally successful ‘Hard Candy’ disc, ‘Sticky & Sweet’ promises two pulsating hours of non stop hits in a show that features 16 dancers, a 12 piece band, more than 8 costume changes for the lady herself and £1 million of Swarovski crystals.

The audience is taken on a rock driven dancetastic journey that’s broken into four sections:

Pimp
A mashed up homage to 1920’s deco and modern day gangsta pimp. Madonna makes a grand entrance dressed by Givenchy.

Old School
Madonna tips her hat to her early 80’s downtown New York City dance roots with flashes of Keith Haring and the dance culture vibe of the time including the birth of rap.

Gypsy
A VIP trip to La Isla Bonita infused by the spirit of Romanian folk music and dance. A tour de force.

Rave
Far eastern influences emerge all sparkly and sporty.

‘Sticky & Sweet’ kicks off Saturday August 23rd at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

The tour hits London’s Wembley Stadium September 11th, 2008.

The Sticky & Sweet Tour is produced by Live Nation Global Touring.

Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet numbers and stats:

3500 Number of individual wardrobe elements for tour
653 Hours of rehearsal time for Madonna and band
250 Number of travelling personnel
200 Triangle sponges used to apply makeup
180 Q-Tips used for entire tour (3 per night)
120 Powder puffs
100 Pairs of out of stock fishnet, pantyhose in old style weave, purchased for Madonna via ebay and local dance shops
100 Pairs of kneepads
69 Guitars
36 Different Designers contributed to the onstage wardrobe
30 Wardrobe Trunks travel to each venue
28 Maximum number of performers onstage
20 Nationalities represented in touring stuff (including Japanese, Israeli, Russian, Romanian, Australian and Algerian)
18 Racks of Clothing for Band, dancers and gypsies
16 Caterers
12 Seamstresses working non stop in Cardiff to finish costumes for opening night
12 Travelling trampolines used in training by Madonna and dancers
10 Large flight cases of medical supplies
10 Number of guitars Madonna will travel with
9 Number of people working in wardrobe department
8 Major Madonna Costume changes
5 Number of people it takes to change Madonna into next costume
5 Keyboards on stage for Kevin Antunes, Musical Director
4 Large freezers to carry ice packs for Madonna and dancers
4 YSL Lipsticks will cover entire tour
3 Romanian gypsy musicians playing acoustic instruments
3 Racks of Clothing contain Madonna’s stage wardrobe
3 Shu Uemura eyelash curlers
2 Rigs for DJ set up
2 Stages
1.5 Minutes - Shortest time required to change Madonna’s costumes between numbers
1 Chiropractor
1 Personal trainer
1 Masseuse
1 Set of Swarovski crystal ear phones for DJ

For premium tickets and VIP packages, go to:

viagogo

For news, contests, tour dates and more visit:

Madonna Official Website

There aren’t too many musicians who can say their careers are tied to those artists such as Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, and Jessica Simpson; however, Amie Miriello can.

She was signed by the same veteran A&R executive, Teresa LaBarbera Whites, to Whites’ brand new Jive/Zomba imprint, BellaSonic.

Amie’s solo debut, ‘I Came Around’, on September 2nd, 2008, marks the launch of BellaSonic.

Amie’s style is defined in the genres of folk, rock, pop, and alt-country, the title track of her album “I Came Around” definitely agrees, give it a listen below. Although this track is consistent with her genre classification, Amie’s musical tastes and influences are much more varied.

During a recent performance she covered the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm”. Enjoy a free download of this song!

Download “Disarm” MP3

For more music and information, go to:

Amie Miriello MySpace

Roberts, who plays Malagasy music, blues, rock and funk, is one of the excellent guitar players involved in the much lauded African Guitar Summit. What he's all about as a solo musician is nicely summed up in this quote from Michael Clifton, percussionist and critic, in the Music Africa newsletter, a few years back.

“Donné has a knack for cracking the code; for taking two completely disparate art forms and bringing them together somehow. He can bridge the sensibilities of African and blues music very effectively. He makes the innate connection between North American Black music and African, as well.”

A collection of the worlds finest classical and popular music for the developing pianist. Masterpieces of every musical era in rewarding piano arrangements that are easy to play. Includes favorite piano solos by Bach, Chopin, Scott Joplin, George Gershwin and many more.

click here to learn more