Fun Facts: State Flower: Peach Blossom, State Song: “Our Delaware,” State Colors: Colonial Blue and Buff

Home of: Boysetsfire, The Spinto Band, Valerie Bertinelli

Continue Reading 50 States In 50 Weeks…Week 39: Delaware

Last month over 700 artists competed for a shot at being featured on VIBE.com in the “Your Music on VIBE.com” Channel. Holding the Number 2 spot on the charts was an action-packed NYC hip hop band by the name of Dujueos with their track “Spectacular.” The group has a solid record on OurStage’s Alternative Hip Hop Channel with two Number 1 monthly titles and a Number 1 hip hop video. It’s no surprise that this band, who’s opened for the likes of Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Funkadelic and John Legend, would catch the eyes (and ears) of the editorial staff at VIBE. After finding out about their big win Taylor, the band’s guitarist, was bursting with excitement: “OurStage is a great place for indie artists to get discovered.  We are really happy about winning the upcoming Vibe.com feature and are glad that people are hearing and feeling our music.” Keep checking VIBE.com for more on Dujueous.

Wait, there’s more! VIBE is returning to OurStage again this month to scout for more new rising superstars in the urban music scene. Hip hop and R&B artists should enter their original songs the “Your Music on VIBE.com” Channel for a chance to be featured in one of the urban music scene’s most popular online destinations. One artist will be selected from the Top 10 by staff at VIBE to receive a Q&A and streaming music premiere on VIBE.com in addition to a music critique from the president of G-Unit Records, Sha Money XL, and the all-star producer Hi-Tek (Talib Kweli, Common, 50 Cent)

For more information visit www.ourstage.com/go/vibe.

As you likely already know, OurStage is a music discovery platform serving all sorts of great musical artists. Sometimes, though, there are bands that people should know about but, for whatever reason, don’t.  Here are five awesome metal bands to put on your radar. They’re not OurStage bands (yet) but could very well be future superstars.

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: 5 Bands you might not know, but should’

Finn Riggins

If there’s a benefit to touring 245 days out of the year, living in a van with your two bandmates for most of that time and staying in a remote cabin with the same two bandmates for the remaining 120 days, then that benefit can be heard on Vs. Wilderness by Finn Riggins. The Idaho trio purvey rangy, lo-fi, quirky pop marked by odd time signatures and mercurial arrangements. On “Dali,” instruments sound as if they’ve been run through Fischer-Price speakers, with the low, cool vocals of singer Lisa Simpson applied to smooth the grit. It’s a playful tune, but Finn Riggins are multiple-trick ponies. “Blackrock” is anti-pop — atonal and dark — while “A Whale, A Fish,” is a shimmering, haunting, seaside elegy. And while the band’s good at ambitious, beautiful songcraft, they’re excellent at spastic melodies. So put on “Wake (Keep This Town Alive)” and let the frayed guitars and hyperkinetic drums lure you into the wild.

Video games, superheroes and infectiously catchy power pop are the fuel behind Chicago’s I Fight Dragons journey from obscurity to the national spotlight as this week’s Needle in the Haystack featured artist. Armed with Game Boys and guitars, the group spearheaded their way into the OurStage and CMJ charts this past summer with tracks off their stellar Cool Is Just a Number EP. However, the band isn’t just a treat for the ears — they’ve earned quite the local rep for their live show playing old school video game controllers, like the beloved Nintendo powerglove, alongside traditional tools of the trade. After a recent signing to Photo Finish Records, the Nintedo-crazed six piece is gearing up to share the bill with 3OH!3, Cobra Starship, and Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes on the Too Fast For Love Tour starting in April. Give a listen to this week’s free track, “Heads Up, Hearts Down” and see what all the buzz is about for yourself. Keep your eyes peeled to OurStage and the MTV Music blog to get better acquainted with the I Fight Dragons crew.

To wrap up this weeks Needle in the Haystack with the Shotgun Crackers, we have a quick video interview with the band. The Swedish rockstars took time out of their busy tour schedule to answer a few questions. Take a look at the video below!

Be sure to check out OurStage and MTV Music’s coverage of the band earlier in the week.

Among the hundreds of new acts getting exposure at SXSW, some artists stand apart from the crowd as having more showcase experience.  Tigercity, long standing veterans of SXSW, are back for more festival action this year.  As Brooklyn underground rockers, the band could be mistaken for a cliché group of hipsters attempting to make music in NY.  However, Tigercity maintains an electric pop tendency entirely unironic and an honest sound reminiscent of The Police and Talking Heads.

Formed in Northampton, MA in 2004, Tigercity has been on a roll.  They’ve been touring nonstop, garnering over 11,000 MySpace friends and being named an “Artist to Watch” by Rolling Stone. Now living in New York with successful shows up and down the east coast, the band is eager to bring their sound out west yet again.  This year’s showcase marks Tigercity’s fourth year at SXSW and the band is gearing up for more fun than ever.

Bill Gillim of Tigercity caught up with OurStage to talk about his dreams, BBQ and Tigercity’s plans for SXSW.

Continue reading ‘SXSW Preview: Tigercity’

The OurStage Marketplace is temporarily closed for a site overhaul. Marketplace will re-open when the new version is ready in early 2010. Watch this space for the latest news concerning the re-opening of the OurStage Marketplace.

This week in Marketplace News, we have a Marketplace success story. Continue Reading Marketplace News: New England Americana Festival Followup

“Spurs of the Moment” is your up-to-date source for all happenings in the country music community. Make sure to check in bi-weekly to see just what’s going on  with your favorite country singers and stars!

Miranda has 6 nominations to be proud of

This week has been a big week for country music. The Academy of Country Music Award nominees were announced on The Early Show on Tuesday by Reba McIntire and Blake Shelton. The leaders of the pack include some names you were fully expecting— Taylor Swift (ehem), Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum. But Miranda Lambert and The Zac Brown Band snuck up on viewers as 2 of the top contenders, with six and four nominations respectively. This year will be a big year for the ACM’s, and with Kenny Chesney only releasing his last record over a year ago, the male category awards are a toss up. Personally, it would be great to see nominee Darius Rucker walk away with Male Vocalist of the Year considering the album and singles he’s released in the last ACM calendar year. However, I have to admit, some categories are pretty predictable if you look at other award show wins. For example, I don’t think there’s much question about who’s going to nab Entertainer of the Year or Album of the Year. If you’ve paid any attention to country music for the past 2 years, you know as well as I do that Taylor Swift has those awards on lockdown, and good for her. I do wonder how many mantels she’ll need to display her awards after the year she’s had, but what’s a couple more from the 2010 ACM’s?

A day has come that few country fans looked forward to. We all knew it was coming, but without a definite end in sight, I think country lovers half-hoped that Brooks & Dunn were only kidding about hanging up their hats in 2010. But, as of August 10, 2010, there will never be another Brooks & Dunn performance to look forward to. The concert, taking place in Nashville, will occur one year after Kix and Ronnie’s announcement that they were parting ways. As much of a loss as this is to country music, the appreciation and love for Brooks & Dunn in the hearts and radios of country listeners will hopefully go on forever.

Brooks & Dunn, are done.

Jessica Harp, former member of The Wreckers with Michelle Branch, is “leaving the pieces” of her singing career behind, according to a letter posted on her Web site. Harp, who has released two singles since leaving The Wreckers, says that songwriting is her new focus. The lyrical content and emotion of the songs Harp has been a part of indicate that writing is truly where her talent lies, so she deserves the best of luck in this new adventure. Hopefully, “things are sweeter in Tennessee” for Jessica as a songwriter.

100% songwriter

Stay tuned for more news and events that are inevitably going to be grabbing headlines, courtesy of our favorite country superstars!

Last week, we took a look at singer/songwriter Kelsey Wild’s highly-anticipated debut at SXSW, the famous Austin-based festival where artists from around the globe converge for a “Texas-sized” week of music and media.  Since 1987, a lot of deserving, indie acts such as Wild have been given the chance to show industry players what they’ve got as well as build their fanbase. Another deserving group making the trek this year is Denver’s A Shoreline Dream.

A Shoreline Dream has been making their own success for years now.  Formed in 2005, the group created their own label and released albums on their own dime.  This melodipsych/post rock band is now set to take SXSW by storm, combining thick textures with synths and dreamlike dynamics.  With a new bassist, a killer producer and more steam than ever, A Shoreline Dream is ready to rock it.

OurStage caught up with guitarist Ryan Policky to talk about the festival, his previous performances there and the band’s plans to get loud.

Continue reading ‘SXSW Preview: A Shoreline Dream’