Bar4 will be hosting a concert as part of the Make Music NY Festival on Tuesday, June 21st at 2pm (sun – outdoors/rain – indoors). Following the festival, Bar4′s famed open mic will take place at 8:30pm.

Line-up:

2:00 Lara Ewen
3:00 Dave Beck
3:40 secondstar
4:15 sami.the.great
4:50 Matt Cranstoun
5:25 Chris Michael
6:00 Bryan Dunn
6:35 Matt Singer
7:10 Kevin Johnston
7:45 Third Wheel Band
8:30 Bar4 OPEN MIC

Jessi Robertson’s “Small Town Girls”

jessirobertson.com • myspace.com/jessirobertson • bar4brooklyn.com

Jessi Robertson is set to release her long-awaited studio album, “Small Town Girls” with a pre-release party at Bar4 on Saturday February 26th, and a public release date of Tuesday March 1st. The album will be available through iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon and most major online outlets.

“Small Town Girls” showcases Jessi’s electric folk sound while lyrically exploring the loneliness and alienation that have become haunting themes in her work. The album was produced by Chris Cubeta (Wakey!Wakey!, Harper Blynn) at GaluminumFoil Productions in Brooklyn, and features Greg Tuohey (Lowry) on guitar and Ryan Vaughn on drums.

10% of album proceeds will be donated to RAINN (http://www.rainn.org), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.

From Lucid Culture’s Review of “Small Town Girls”:

“Why is there so much madness in small towns? Because that’s where dreams get ground down into the dirt? Because anyone who can get out does, and those who stay behind are hell to be around? Jessi Robertson explores themes like these on her intense new album Small Town Girls. The women here want one thing and and one thing only: to escape. In a breathy, occasionally gritty contralto, over smartly arranged Americana rock, Robertson chronicles how they do it, or what they substitute for the real thing. More often than not, it’s impossible to turn away from. If you like the idea of Lucinda Williams but don’t like all the cliches she falls back on, Jessi Robertson is for you.” – Lucid Culture [Read More]

FaceBook Event Invite: Pre-Release party at Bar4, Saturday February 26th

8pm Kelli Rae Powell http://www.kelliraepowell.com/

9pm Robert Abel (formerly of The Picture) http://www.myspace.com/thepicture

10pm Jessi Robertson with Greg Tuohey, Brent Follis, Jim McNamara, and special guests

http://jessirobertson.com/

Feel free to dress up or wear your most comfy clothes. Free cookies crafted by Jennie Mouio.

About Jessi Robertson

Musically, Jessi lives on the divide between gutsy indie rockers such as PJ Harvey and gritty Americana artists like Lucinda Williams. Embracing this duality, her performances can feel as intimate as a conversation, or as deep and wide as an ocean, and Jessi refuses to shy away from difficult subjects. In her previous release, “Who We Are, What We Have Done” (2008), Jessi carved out an electronic and folk niche, blending that sound with intensely personal lyrics. On “Small Town Girls,” she opens up wider, focusing her lyrical gaze on issues of domestic violence, mental illness and alienation. Yet woven throughout the album is unflinching hope, too, and it sheds light into Jessi’s own darkest corners. Jessi’s songs have been recently featured on Style Network’s season 3 premiere of “Giuliana & Bill.”

About Bar4

Home to Brooklyn’s Local Correspondents community, Bar4 is located at 444 7th Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11215 on the corner of 15th St. and 7th Ave. Take the F train to 7th Ave. or Prospect Park/15th St. The venue phone number is (718) 832-9800.

As record labels are slowly going the way of the dinosaur, indie artists are turning to their fans to fund their recording projects. This new business model is mutually beneficial to fans and artists, as fans gain access to unique behind-the-scenes material and the process of making an album, while artists are able to invest in professional recordings that would otherwise be beyond their reach.

Recently two of our Local Correspondents artists have launched Kickstarter campaigns to raise funds. Contributing will give you access to all kinds of permissions and special exclusives based on what you decide to give. In the spirit of the holidays, now is a great time to give and become part of this brilliant community-funded approach. Check out these projects from Kevin Johnston and Peter Inc!

Kevin Johnston’s band’s debut album

Peter Inc. – RECORDING!

CMJ Week (http://cmj2010.com) can be overwhelming, as we all know. So to help you keep on track, we’ve put together a schedule of past and present LC artists performing this week. Here we go!

(pictured above clockwise from top: Daniel Wayne, The Courtesy Tier, Kevin Johnston, Brian Bonz, Great Elk)

Tuesday October 19 2010

Blip Blip Bleep @ Spike Hill, 7pm http://www.myspace.com/blipblipbleep

Johnny Marnell @ Rockwood Music Hall, 9pm http://myspace.com/johnnymarnell

Pearl and the Beard @ The Delancey, 11pm http://www.myspace.com/pearlandthebeard

Wednesday October 20, 2010

The Courtesy Tier @ Arlene’s Grocery, 1:30pm http://www.thecourtesytier.com

Paula Valstein @ B.B. King’s, 7:30pm http://www.myspace.com/paulavalstein

The Ramblers @ National Underground, 7:30pm http://www.theramblersnyc.com

Lucius @ Rockwood Music Hall, 8pm http://www.myspace.com/luciustunes

Niall Connolly @ Gonzalez y Gonzalez, 8pm http://www.niallconnolly.com

Kevin Johnston @ Rockwood Music Hall, 11pm http://www.myspace.com/kevinjohnston

Great Elk @ Rockwood Music Hall, midnight http://www.myspace.com/greatelk

Thursday October 21, 2010

Danny Ross @ Rockwood Music Hall, 7pm http://www.myspace.com/dannyrossmusic

sami.the.great @ Caffe Vivaldi, 8pm http://www.samithegreat.com

Casey Shea Band @ Rockwood Music Hall, 9pm http://www.myspace.com/caseyshea

Daniel Wayne @ The Living Room, 9pm http://www.myspace.com/danielwaynesongs

Gay for Johnny Depp @ Death by Audio, 11pm http://www.myspace.com/gayforjohnnydepp

Friday October 22, 2010

Brian Bonz @ Bowery Ballroom, 8pm http://www.myspace.com/brianbonz

Blip Blip Bleep @ R Bar, 9pm http://www.myspace.com/blipblipbleep

Danny Ross @ Googie’s Lounge, 9:30pm http://www.myspace.com/dannyrossmusic

Wakey Wakey @ Bowery Ballroom, 10pm http://www.myspace.com/wakeywakey

Beau Jennings @ The Living Room, midnight http://www.myspace.com/beauscottjennings

Saturday October 23, 2010

Maddy Wyatt @ Bowery Poetry Club, 6pm http://www.myspace.com/maddyw

Blip Blip Bleep @ The Studio at Webster Hall, 8pm http://www.myspace.com/blipblipbleep

Elizabeth & the Catapult @ Rockwood Music Hall, 9pm http://www.myspace.com/elizabethandthecatapult

Dinosaur Feathers @ Fat Baby, 10pm http://www.myspace.com/dinosaurfeathers

The Courtesy Tier @ Rockwood Music Hall, 1am http://www.thecourtesytier.com

photo : Bill Wadman

LC Favorites, The Courtesy Tier and Daniel Wayne will be playing at CMJ showcases hosted by The Deli this month. Make sure you check out The Courtesy Tier’s two-man, gutsy, indie-blues/rock and Daniel Wayne’s blend of raucous country and subdued storytelling.

The Courtesy Tier

Wednesday October 20, 1:30pm @ Arlene’s Grocery

Daniel Wayne

Thursday October 21, 9pm @ The Living Room

Check out this article from the WILD honey pie covering Great Elk’s recent live show at Rockwood Stage 2.

Excerpt and photo from the article:

“Led by Paul Basile and Patrick Hay, Great Elk managed something that I have seen few times in a live performance. They, and their band, produced a certain equilibrium between a harmony that engulfs and then, effortlessly, fulfils your want for pace and passion, at precisely the right time.  With rousing drums and crescendo of voice, you can personally feel the extent of meaning behind both Basile and Hay. These guys are passionate about everything they are doing and everything that they are trying to accomplish, and that comes across in how they perform…”

Read more at the WILD honey pie!

Great article by Matt Singer on the LC Weezer Tribute night, including some live videos: http://www.mattsingermusic.com/?p=561

If you haven’t heard The Scamps yet, it’s about time. Save the date for their CD release party at Matchless coming up on August 27th at 10pm (free). I’ve had the opportunity to listen to a pre-release copy and it’s a really enjoyable album. Their style has been described as dirty, dancey, indie garage rock, and that is certainly an appropriate description of this fun and funky album. You can download the single “Sack Lunch” right now on their website, so get moving! Plus if you sign up for The Scamps mailing list (@ thescamps.com/list.html) they will send you a free mp3 download of the second track from the album, “As It Comes.”

Save the date! Greg Thomas is set to release his new EP Atlantic/Pacific on August 18th. The CD Release party will take place at the Living Room, 9:30pm August 18th (Facebook Event Page).

Greg recently received a write-up from The Deli Magazine http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/node/2459. You can also preview a track at The Deli.

If you haven’t yet heard Grace Love you are missing out indeed. She is an incredible, powerful singer and it’s a shame that she doesn’t yet have a record. Fortunately through crowd sourcing, we now have new fundraising opportunities. Through sites like Pledge Music and Kickstarter, fans of music replace the record companies by choosing to donate towards the projects of their choosing. The wonderful thing about donating? Not only can you support the independent musicians, but you often get something back like a download of all the tracks, a CD, or your name in the credits.  You can donate as little as $10 or as much as you choose. Check out Grace Love’s Pledge Music Project to see the various packages available and help fund a dream http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/gracelovenyc#project