May 1, 2013 – To commemorate International Workers' Day, a.k.a. May Day (May 1), political firebrand/'90s rock icon Tom Morello has partnered with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to share tracks from the Union Town EP, the 2011 release from Morello's Nightwatchman project. Fans who submit their email addresses to the Teamsters' website will receive a free download of several Union Town songs; SPIN were treated to mp3s of the short-player's title track, "A Wall Against the Wind," "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night," and a live version of "Union Song" recorded in Madison, Wisconsin.

May 1, 2013 – Arrangements have been set for George Jones' public funeral and the event promises to be a star-studded tribute to the country legend, who died at the age of 81 on April 26.The memorial ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 2 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and feature remarks from former First Lady Laura Bush, Kenny Chesney, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, singer Barbara Mandrell, CBS News' Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer, Grand Ole Opry VP and GM Pete Fisher, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.The upcoming service will also feature live musical performances from Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill and Patty Loveless, Kid Rock, the Oak Ridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap, Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, and Wynonna."The caliber of speakers and performers is a testament to what George Jones meant to everyone in the world,"

May 1, 2013 – Mad Decent's Block Party is returning for its sixth installment this summer, and the traveling showcase promises sets from Diplo and Major Lazer, Baauer, Zeds Dead, Dillon Francis, RiFF RAFF, Flosstradamus, SBTRKT, Matt & Kim, RL Grime, Griz, and more. The mobile festival will make stops in 13 cities, starting with a July 19 gig in Calgary, Alberta, and ending with a September 15 show in San Diego. In between those dates, the Diplo-hosted event will set up camp in Las Vegas, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Dallas, Detroit, New Braunfels, and Los Angeles. Each concert will boast a different lineup, with additional artists set to be announced in the coming weeks.Unlike past years, Mad Decent Block Party 2013 will not be free.

May 1, 2013 – Because Futurebirds trade in country-rooted psych-rock, it's completely in character for the Athens, Georgia outfit to juice their just-unveiled tour diary video for "Serial Bowls" — a surf rock-strummed cut off the Fat Possum signees' recently released sophomore album, Baba Yaga — with giddy, high-speed effects. When the heartland wanderers aren't powering through their purple-lit live show, they're on the road, in a van, hanging out, unloading gear, carrying out all all the usual duties of a traveling band. Except everything here is on fast-forward, lending just the right amount of surreal to their work day. It's a way of seeing starry-eyed wonder with road warrior clarity. 

May 1, 2013 – Adult Swim and Dr Pepper have already shared a couple of tracks off their upcoming Garage Swim compilation — Thee Oh Sees' sloppy, swaggering "Devil Again" and the Black Lips' jouncy "Cruising" — and now the television network is offering another cut off the impending collection, Mikal Cronin's similarly fizzy and fuzzy "Better Man." Like the 10 power-pop beauties that make up Cronin's forthcoming sophomore album, MCII (out May 7 through Merge but available for streaming right now), the horn-enriched "Better Man" marries a winding, delicate melody to swaths of glowing distortion, resulting in a fragile but formidable tune. Hear it down below.Garage Swim will be available as a free download for 10 weeks, beginning May 6 and ending July 14.

May 1, 2013 – James Murphy, Tricky, DIIV, and Simian Mobile Disco have been added to the roster for Germany's Melt! Festival, taking place from July 19 to 21. These fresh confirmations fill out an already impressive lineup that features Atoms For Peace, the Knife, Azealia Banks, Flying Lotus, Disclosure, James Blake, Dan Deacon, CHVRCHES, Alt-J, Local Natives, Django Django, MS MR, Purity Ring, Austra, Owen Pallet, Mykki Blanco, Rudimental, Mark Ronson, King Krule, Mount Kimbie, Soulwax, and others.Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks; fans can see the entire list of confirmed performers here. Tickets for the three-day event are available through the official Melt! website.

May 1, 2013 – This year's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival lineup just welcomed a host of fresh additions — Solange, Empire of the Sun, William Tyler, Mac DeMarco, and Polyphonic Spree, to name a few — and now organizers have revealed the annual showcase's late-night schedule. The following artists will hit the stage in the wee hours of the night: R.

May 1, 2013 – Strap on a pair of headphones because SPIN has collected 10 albums that are ready for streaming! Dig in below:1) Mikal Cronin, MCII. "Mikal Cronin's second album... mixes shambling rock with a perfectionist ear with quality control, as its star (who plays most of the instruments himself) applies a beachy sparkle to 37 minutes of fresh, fun rock 'n' roll... the sneaky sophistication of its pop-rock sound is what really makes the record enduring: Inward-looking but notably less angst-ridden than its predecessor, MCII feels positively stuffed with briskly alluring, summer-ready, California-sunny earworms." (via NPR)2) She & Him, Volume 3. "Playful, soft, sunnily melancholy and springlike, its songs once again subsist on the strength of their own agreeability.

May 1, 2013 – Dana Falconberry's 2012 LP, the ornately orchestrated Leelanau, doubles as a love letter to the singer-songwriter's home state of Michigan; song titles reference locations and landmarks throughout the Great Lake state, and the album's name comes from the peninsula where Falconberry grew up. The folk-pop visionary's latest video, a sun-spotted clip for Leelanau track "Please Sparrow," keeps in line with the full-length's sylvan aesthetic. Like last year's "Lake Charlevoix" short, the above video blends performance footage with a natural setting. Falconberry leads her empty-handed backing band through the woods — plucking strings tied around trees along the way — until the outfit eventually discovers their instruments waiting for them among the wilderness. 

May 1, 2013 – Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard has already shared two songs from his upcoming sophomore solo album, Moonlander (due June 25 via Pearl Jam's own Monkeywrench Records) — "I Need Something Different" and "Moonlander" — and now he offers a third. "Both Live" has peace-loving honky-tonk vibe, and features light-footed piano, churning guitar, and Gossard cheering: "Do what you've got to do."In a statement on PJ's website, Gossard explains, "It's a song I wrote while paddling on Lake Washington thinking about a friend who I dreamed set me free from a past restraint. It's more-or-less about how meditation on a conflict can give way to a new understanding. One person doesn't have to lose for the other to win."