Day 1:

Day 2:

Everyone’s favorite “occasionally blugrass” festival kicks off today in San Francisco. Check out the full three-day lineup and stage times over at Hardly Strictly’s official site or enjoy some MP3s from some of this year’s highlights.
Friday:

John Prine – “The Great Compromise”
Lyle Lovett – “Record Lady”

Saturday:
Gillian Welch – “The Devil had a Hold of Me”
Steve [...]

Yep, it’s time again for the quintessential “so far” list — no music site is complete without one! 2009 is shaping up to be an interesting year, with old favorites and newcomers alike issuing strong releases. In an attempt to make some sense out of everything, our staff got together to vote on our favorites.
We’d [...]

Of all the indie music magazines in all the land, Paste is always a solid choice. The complementary CD samplers that come with each print issue are particularly helpful in keeping the average reader up to speed.
In an unfortunately-predictable turn of events, Paste is losing heavily in the face of our crappy economy . . [...]

Amazon’s got a bunch of great music available for free download, with samplers from the excellent rosters of both Sub-Pop and Anti-Records.
Sub-Pop 2009 sampler:

Flight of the Conchords – “Hurt Feelings”
Vetiver – “Everyday”
Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”
Obits – “Pine On”
Red Red Meat – “Gauze”
Vaselines – “Son of a Gun”
Blitzen Trapper – “Furr”
Fleet Foxes – “Mykonos”
Iron & [...]

Neko Case – “Middle Cyclone”
Neko Case’s follow up to The Fox Confessor Brings the Flood was released this past Tuesday, March 3rd. So far I like what I hear, even if it is a little bit “more of the same” – check out the title track, “Middle Cyclone.”

Wavves – “So Bored”
Really, really, really hot mics [...]

I was a huge fan of Neko Case’s last solo effort, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.  And if “People Got A Lotta Nerve” is any indication of what’s to come on Middle Cyclone (March 3), call me excited. What’s more, I just got an email encouraging me to post for charity – now that’s a [...]

As 2008 comes to a close, we at Stranger Dance are starting to look forward to what 2009 holds. A number of our favorite artists (Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Jason Isbell, M. Ward, Wilco, etc.) have confirmed upcoming albums and even more are flirting with the idea.
A few things stuck out to us while compiling [...]

It’s that time of year again — the turkey leftovers are long gone and we’re hearing Christmas music in every store in town, so it must be time for best-albums-of-year lists.
After screaming matches, insults and a fist fight or two, the dust has settled and the Stranger Dance staff stands before you united with our [...]