Big Leather Couch

Whether I am at home or on the road, my goal is to keep you musically informed...

In honor of Bruce Springsteen's new album Working On A Dream, a number of artists were asked to cover some of Bruce's songs and talk about his influence. In recent years, it has become evident that Bruce Springsteen´s influence has broadened outside of the mainstream rock community. Musicians of all genres have and will continue to draw inspiration from his music.

There is some really cool versions of old favorites. There are some still to come, so if you enjoy what you hear there, remember to keep the link for those still to come. You can find them HERE. Check it out!

Two of the artists you will find there have also announced tour dates for the coming months.

The Avett Brothers who were featured here on THE COUCH a few months ago are gearing up to play NPR’s official SxSW Music Conference showcase on Wednesday March 18, 2009 in Austin , TX .

NPR will kick off the festival with a special showcase featuring The Avett Brothers live from Stubb’s Bar-B-Q. This amazing show will be streamed live, archived and podcast at www.NPR.org/sxsw, and will be available for broadcast on NPR Member stations across the country. This concert will be anchored by Bob Boilen, host and creator of the popular show All Songs Considered and its Live in Concert series.

The Avett Brothers will be featured on the March/April cover of American Songwriter magazine talking for the first time about their upcoming release. The band has been working with Grammy winning producer Rick Rubin on the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2007 album Emotionalism. The Rubin produced album is expected to hit stores in Summer of ’09.

The Avett Brothers Tour Dates (*Opening for The Dave Matthews Band)

April 16 - Indianapolis , IN - The Vogue
April 17 - Danville , KY - Centre College Carnival
April 18 - Chattanooga , TN - Tivoli Theatre
April 19 - Orange Beach , AL - The Ampitheatre at The Wharf
*April 22 - Raleigh , NC - Time Warner Pavillion at Walnut Creek
*April 24 - Charlotte , NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
April 25 - Birmingham , AL - Sloss Furnaces Nat’l Hist. Landmark
April 26 - New Orleans , LA - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
*April 28 - Alpharetta , GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
*April 29 - Alpharetta , GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park
*May 1 - The Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
*May 2 - Dallas , TX - Superpages.com Center
*May 5 - Albuquerque , NM - Journal Pavillion
*May 6 - Phoenix , AZ - Cricket Wireless Pavillion
May 9 - Los Angeles , CA - Henry Fonda Theater
May 14 - Santa Cruz , CA - Rio Theatre
May 15 - San Francisco , CA - The Fillmore
May 16 - San Francisco , CA - The Fillmore
May 22 - Portland , OR - Crystal Ballroom
May 23 - Portland , OR - Crystal Ballroom
May 24 - George , WA - Sasquatch! Music Festival
May 30 - Philadelphia , PA - Trocadero Theatre

Check out their myspace page HERE, or their website HERE

Also, Mat Kearney has just announced that he will join Keane on their U.S. tour in May, hitting major markets including Los Angeles , Denver , Chicago and New York . Full tour dates can be found below.

Additionally, the critically acclaimed singer-songwriter is set to release his new album, City of Black & White, on May 19 on Aware/Columbia Records.

After spending five years traveling the country establishing himself as a new artist, Mat dug his roots into his new hometown of Nashville, TN, allowing the songs on City of Black & White to evolve from various places and sources – in the back room of a studio where he stopped in to visit a friend, writing with people he met at coffee shops, hearing someone fiddling around with the guitar and humming along. He opened up the writing process to friends and to the community of musicians in Nashville , and crafted songs such as “Fire and Rain", “Here We Go" and “Closer To Love", the first single off of City of Black & White.

Tour Dates announced:
May 9 - Los Angeles , CA - Hollywood Palladium
May 12 - Salt Lake City , UT - Kingsbury Hall
May 13 - Denver , CO - Ogden Theatre
May 15 - St. Paul , MN - Myth
May 16 - Chicago , IL - Aragon Ballroom
May 19 - Washington , DC - Constitution Hall
May 20 - Upper Darby , PA - Tower Theater
May 21 - Boston , MA - Bank of America Pavillion
May 23 - Toronto , ON - The Sound Academy
May 24 - Cleveland , OH - Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre
May 27 - New York , NY - Radio City Music Hall

Mat's website can be found HERE

Manchester Orchestra have confirmed headlining US Tour dates. The tour will kick off on April 21st in Nashville, TN and come to a close on June 4th in Orlando, FL.

Joining them on these dates will be the band FUN (featuring ex-members of The Format and Anathallo) as well as Audrye Sessions and Winston Audio.

Fan presale tickets for the tour go on sale February 27th and will be available to the public on March 5th here. The start of the tour marks the date of the band’s much anticipated second full-length release. Entitled Mean Everything To Nothing, the new record delivers the most honest sound the band has created to date. It’s everything that a rock record should be: raw, urgent and authentic.

Mean Everything To Nothing is the sound of a band coming into its own after spending 300 days on the road in support of their debut album, 2007’s I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child — a coming-of-age chronicle that expressed the then 19-year-old Hull’s hopes and aspirations.

Virgin was an attention-getting shot across the bow that Rolling Stone praised as “expansive in scope and rich in texture, even while remaining lyrically focused on small moments of revelation” and the New York Times called “music to swoon to.” But whereas the songs on the debut were voiced by a fictional cast of characters that Hull created to obscure his own emotions, the intensely personal songs on Mean Everything To Nothing are all him. “I was able to be more honest when singing as someone else,” admits Hull, who is now 22. “Now I’ve realized, although it’s incredibly difficult, it’s more powerful to just say it myself.”

The band’s chemistry is palpable on Mean Everything To Nothing, perhaps because, after more than a year of touring with such artists as Kings of Leon, Brand New, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Say Anything, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, as well as performing their own headlining shows, Manchester Orchestra has become a powerful and well-oiled machine

A few weeks before kicking into these new dates, the band will be doing an exclusive one-off show at Mercury Lounge in New York City on March 4th to preview their new material. They’ll also be showcasing new tunes at SXSW.

4/21 - Nashville, TN - Exit In
4/22 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt
4/23 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
4/24 - Richmond, VA - The National
4/25 - Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
4/26 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
4/29 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
4/30 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East
5/1 - Rochester, NY - Water St.
5/2 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Small’s
5/3 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
5/5 - Pontiac, MI - Eagle Theater
5/6 - Columbus, OH - Skully’s
5/7 - Covington, KY - Mad Hatter
5/8 - Chicago, IL - Subterranean
5/9 - Minneapolis, MN - Station 4
5/12 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
5/13 - Salt Lake City, UT - Avalon
5/15 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
5/16 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore
5/17 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
5/19 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
5/21 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
5/22 - San Diego, CA - Voodoo Stage @ House of Blues
5/23 - Tucson, AZ - Congress
5/24 - Tempe, AZ - Clubhouse
5/26 - Austin, TX - Emo’s Inside
5/27 - Dallas, TX - The Loft
5/28 - Houston, TX - Walter’s
5/29 - New Orleans, LA - Spanish Moon
5/30 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
5/31 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
6/2 - St. Petersburg, FL - State Theater
6/3 - Orlando, FL - The Social
6/4 - Orlando, FL - The Social

To check out this band's sound visit their myspace page HERE or their website HERE