Spin.com has posted a series of images from the scene inside New York’s Madison Square Garden when, as we reported last week, electro popsters (and Boston’s own) Passion Pit played the legendary venue with openers Matt & Kim and Icona Pop.

It’s one thing to hear about and understand that these relatively un-assuming indie bands have risen to the level where they can fill MSG. It’s quite another to gaze at the photo evidence and get a sense of the intensity that must have gone down, in the midst of a near-blizzard, no less, when these acts took the stage.

As Spin puts it, “Here’s what happens when the little guys become the big guys.”

Passion Pit

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• New Matt and Kim ‘Lightning Tour’ Documentary; Tour Dates With Passion Pit
• Coachella 2013 Announces Lineup: Phoenix, The Postal Service, Red Hot Chili Peppers Headlining
• Q&A With Matt & Kim

Warm up your hashtag trigger finger, because this week Free Ticket Friday is back. Win free tickets to any US-based show you want, just by tweeting at OurStage or interacting with us on Facebook. Yeah, we can’t believe it’s that easy either. Here’s what you have to do:

TWITTER ENTRY:

1. Follow @OurStage on Twitter.

2. Retweet the #FreeTicketFriday tweet (posted at 1PM on Fridays).

FACEBOOK ENTRY

We’re also giving you the opportunity to win over Facebook:

1. Make sure to “like” the OurStage page.

2. Interact with our Facebook contest post (Like, Share, or Comment)

Once you interact with the contest links you’ll be automatically entered to win a pair of tickets to the US-based concert of your choosing. Past winners have already snagged tickets to see Green Day, Maroon 5, The Killers at Madison Square Garden, and Jay-Z at one of his historic first shows at the Barclays Center. If you’re on Twitter or Facebook all the time anyway, why not win some free tickets while you’re at it?

Click here for the official rules.

By Nick Friedman. So ESPN Magazine‘s “Music Issue” hit my doorstep yesterday morning and I’ll tell ya what, its unreal. Outside of the insipid, dimwitted Ryan Lochte making an appearance on the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind with his goods protected by a Speedo (remember, that baby was NAKED), each and every other “cover act” was golden.

But after flipping through photos of linebacker Lamar Woodley as Jam Master Jay, quarterback Josh Freeman with immaculate, Michael Jackson-esque jerry curls, and MLB studs Brandon Phillips and Justin Upton rocking red Devo energy dome caps, I got to thinking: which athletes actually succeeded at making music? Obviously – with the exception of the late, great Wayman Tisdale – no athlete has ever really produced a full body of work we’d consider credible. Nevertheless, there have been some classic releases that I will forever enjoy bumping in my dorm room or in the hooptie. So, without further ado, here are my nine favorite athlete songs of all time. Why not ten? There just aren’t ten.

9.) Wayman Tisdale—”Let’s Do It Again”

The reason for holding the only athlete who I consider having a credible body of work at the number nine spot? Because my favorite track of his was just begging to feature Michael McDonald. Instead, Wayman decided to keep it strictly acoustic and left a would-be masterpiece haunting our consciences. Why no Michael McDonald, Wayman? WHY?

Continue reading ‘I’ll Tell Ya What: Our Favorite Athlete Songs of All Time’

For those of us not living in the Sunshine State, we’ve been facing some pretty harsh cold spells lately. And those of us in the Northeast this weekend, well, we’re about to get smothered in snow. When the weather is dipping below zero degrees, and you can’t leave the house without five layers and some seriously dependable thermal wear, you just might get what I like/hate to call the February blues. To help you cope, we’ve put together a Soundtrax that’s full of songs honoring this increasingly chilly month. Enjoy.

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• Soundtrax: Songs For Early Winter
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Indie-electro-pop-etc. duo Matt & Kim have released a behind-the-scenes short documentary entitled Lightning Tour, which follows the band during the course of their headlining 2012 US tour. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s below for you to view at your leisure.

Meanwhile the band is currently on the road with Passion Pit. This rather huge tour hits Madison Square Garden (hot damn!) and crosses the country before Matt & Kim head to Ultra Music Fest in March. See tour dates after the jump.

Continue reading ‘New Matt and Kim ‘Lightning Tour’ Documentary; Tour Dates With Passion Pit’

Clinton Sparks is blowing up. From producing Lady Gaga, Pitbull, and so many more, to being lowered via helicopter into his own “Awesome Party” at The Palms in Las Vegas (and pretty much everything in between), the man has arrived. He’s a 360 degree personality, making it happen for other artists and for himself, starting in earnest with his September 2012 single “Watch You.”

Now he’s got a new video and a third edition of his My Awesome Mixtape, and dozens of new projects on the horizon. He came into our studio last week to talk about how he got to where he is, how music became his life, what’s next for him, and what advice he has for aspiring artists. Here is part one of our two-part interview – look for part two on Monday. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for a chance to win a copy of My Awesome Mixtape 3.

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Just a couple of fellas, goofing around

Wouldn’t it be great if that headline meant that David Bowie and Morrissey had teamed up to record an awesome single called “The Honeymoon Ends?” Sorry, that’s not what this is about.

You might recall that a few weeks ago, we here at OurStage engaged in a raging debate over, basically, Morrissey or Bowie: who ya got? We ran the above photo of the pair in happier times. Needless to say, Bowie trounced Morrissey in our internal poll, and it looks as though he’s trouncing him in real life now.

Morrissey had planned on a re-release of his 1991 LP Kill Uncle, which was to feature a previously unseen photo of the impossibly stylish, sexually ambiguous duo. But Bowie apparently used his clout with EMI UK to cut that shit down. Not sure if he doesn’t want to be known as one of the last of the famous international playboys or if the photo just didn’t capture his good side, but some things about Bowie are better off as a mystery.

All weird things must come to an end, we guess. Anyway, so Kill Uncle will be reissued soon, as will Bowie’s new album, The Next Day (in March).

More like this:

• Morrissey Cancels Tour Dates Due To Hospitalization
• Morrissey Performs “Action Is My Middle Name” On ‘Letterman’
• David Bowie Releases First Single In A Decade “Where Are We Now?”

There’s nothing like a little UK rock to get your blood pumping midweek. Hailing from Belfast, Ireland and extending their reach as far as London and Rome, Unquiet Nights have been gaining notoriety since their 2011 release, 21st Century Redemption Songs. Taking ’90s influenced rock and roll to the next level with radio friendly riffs and gritty vocals, it’s no surprise that they’ve seen exposure through radio play on BBC and G3 and provided the soundtrack for several television and Internet broadcasts, including ESPN.

If that weren’t enough, the band has also broken into the OurStage Top 40 for Indie Rock with their song, “Someone’s Love On Drugs.” The charm of that single was enticement enough to check out the rest of the band’s catalog. 21st Century Redemption Songs may come in at only 35 minutes, but these guys make every second count. Where “Someone’s Love On Drugs” captures a softer side of the band, “We Were The Ones” charges ahead full force with unrestrained vigor, setting the tone for high energy, catchy tunes throughout, and making for an album that is simply bursting with ambition and potential.

Check out “Someone’s Love On Drugs” below.

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Pop trio fun. has announced their headlining tour this summer with support from Tegan and Sara. The North American tour will begin in Toronto, Canada on July 6 and finish in Charlottesville, VA on September 26. This tour will hit a lot of summer-friendly outdoor venues, some of which are the band’s largest venues to date. Currently, the band is finishing up a tour of the US before heading off to perform for the rest of the world for a few months.

Continue reading ‘Fun. Announces North America Tour with Tegan and Sara’

OurStage has partnered with Ernie Ball for an incredible opportunity that could help launch your career. Throughout the year we’ll be hosting the Ernie Ball Save Your Strings Competition in three genres: Rock, Pop, and Country. Pop stars, you’re up first.

Not only will the finalist get a year’s supply of Ernie Ball strings and accessories, along with editorial coverage on OurStage.com, but at the end of the year, one Grand Prize Winner will receive an endorsement deal from Ernie Ball along with a Music Man guitar or bass of your choosing for EACH guitarist in your band. All you have to do is enter your song into the competition by April 22.

Oh, and you might want to start practicing your John Hancock. After all, you’re gonna need it when you sign that endorsement.