Bright Eyes

The 20 Best San Francisco Concerts of 2012, According to Us

Whether you preferred the dancefloor at Mighty, the plush environs of Bimbo's 365 Club, or the dewy late-night fields of Outside Lands, there were plenty of great concerts in San Francisco and the Bay Area in 2012. We reviewed many of them, from "secret" shows at semi-legal clubs to sprawling, three ... More >>

The Best of Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2012: Friday, Oct. 5

Chuck Prophet takes us on a tour of San Francisco Willie Mays, Carol Doda, and Harvey Milk didn't come to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass this year, but S.F. rocker Chuck Prophet brought their memories to a crowded and lively set early Friday afternoon. Prophet's latest album, Temple Beautiful, is a story ... More >>

First Aid Kit on Discovering Roots Music Through Bright Eyes, and Growing Up in a Punk Household

Standing on the precipice of mainstream acclaim, the sisters comprising the Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit are among an emerging generation of musical disciples of bands like Bright Eyes and Fleet Foxes, whose own sound is a modern twist on traditional American country. It's a little bit of an unlik ... More >>

Coachella in Your Backyard: Nine Good Local Shows That Aren't Sold Out

R.I.P. Warren Hellman, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Founder and Eccentric Banjo Player

Jay BlakesbergWarren Hellman at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass​ Warren Hellman, the billionaire banjo-picker and eccentric who founded the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival, lost his battle with leukemia on Sunday. He was 77. Hellman was a successful investment banker a beloved philant ... More >>

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2011: Robert Plant, Thurston Moore, Broken Social Scene, and More

Broken Social Scene is one of more than 90 acts playing Hardly Strictly Bluegrass this year.​ The lineup for this year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival is out, and good luck figuring out whom to call the "headliner." For the festival's 11th year, organizers have put together another insane ... More >>

Mick Jagger Forms Supergroup "Super Heavy," We're Super Embarrassed

​ Mick Jagger threw his name into the running for what may become the biggest supergroup of 2011, joining Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, Damien Marley, Joss Stone, and A.R. Rahman, composer of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, for what promises to be an eclectic (and hopefully not too terr ... More >>

Bright Eyes Recruits Rich Liberals for Revolution at the Fox Theater

Bright Eyes at the Fox Theater last night. Pics by Ian, more after the jump.​Bright EyesApril 12, 2011@ The Fox Theater, OaklandBetter than: Whatever shit Mike Huckabee listens to.If Bob Dylan sang the universal in such exquisite poetry that it became personal, Conor Oberst shouts the pe ... More >>

Bright Eyes: Show Preview

Helpful Advice: How To Survive NOT Going To SXSW

This week, thousands of music lovers, wayward drunks, and music industry folk have descended upon Austin, Texas, for the 2011 South By Southwest music "conference" (yeah, right). If you're still here at home in the Bay Area, the reality that you're missing five days of non-stop free music/beer/b ... More >>

France's Revolver on Learning English From the Beatles, and Why It's Tough to Cover Elliott Smith

Revolver ​Maybe America isn't ready for Revolver. Or maybe Revolver isn't ready for America -- after all, its Myspace page is still partially in French. This Paris trio sounds like what would happen if Franz Ferdinand was on Saddle Creek Records, replacing bass guitar with cello to create a d ... More >>

Harldly Strictly Bluegrass, AIDS Wolf, World Veg Fest, Castro Street Fair and More

Autumn De WildeJenny and Johnny are among 80 acts at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2010​Hardly Strictly is here! But before you blow your figurative load over the biggest free concert of the year, keep in mind that there are plenty of other fun and cheap events in the city this weekend. Here's our lis ... More >>

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: 10 Bands You Should Not Miss

​San Francisco's annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival is kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure novel. You could pick any number of themes to select the acts you want to see -- old punk pioneers, roots music up-and-comers, etc.-- and follow one through all three day's lineups. You coul ... More >>

Warren Hellman talks about Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Album That Time Time Sort Of Forgot: Desaparecidos' 'Read Music/Speak Spanish'

Bill Sitzmann​Today sees the stateside release of the Arcade Fire's third full-length album, The Suburbs, which supposedly kicks ass. Not having heard it, I will instead ruminate on another album about suburbs: Read Music/Speak Spanish, the first and only record by Omaha's Desaparecidos. The ye ... More >>

The Bridge School Benefit

Jamie Stewart's infinite sadness is exhausting

Top Ten Americana Albums of 2008

By Noah W. Bailey Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records that just didn't feel right stuck in the category. Releases by Calexico and DeVotchKa felt far too worldly to pigeonhole as folk or country, for instance, while Blitzen ... More >>

Treasure Island picks: in haiku form!

Also Playing

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Conor Oberst

Conor Oberst (Merge)

Tilly and the Wall tap into a new beat

Port O’Brien sets near bearings for seafaring pop

Rademacher Alchemizes Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse for Pure Indie-Pop Gold

Gimme Indie Rock!

Local promoters take a big risk to give S.F. a music fest that will restore the city's cool cred

Doing It Her Way

Elliott Smith and Arcade Fire: RIAA Safe

Plugged in -- ASD's music picks for Sunday, June 3

Bright Bursts

Conor Oberst succeeds despite the flaws

Bright Eyes

Four Winds EP (Saddle Creek)

Rabbit Season

Jenny Lewis emerges as a solo force to be reckoned with, and brings her hardscrabble past with her

Music videos: First they were all the rage, then they were all but dead. Thanks mainly to Apple, they're back.

Award Show Guide

Americana/Folk/Country DJ/Turntablist Electro/Electronic/Experimental Hard Rock Hip Hop Indie Rock/Noise Pop Jazz Soul/R&B World Music Music Video

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Broom

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Sunshine, Lollipops

The future's so bright, we've got to wear shades to this week's assortment of great shows

Hear This

Talking work and sex with Beep Beep's unhappy-hour dance party; Steve Earle reminds us that he's a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll

Turn Around, Bright Eyes

Indie icon Conor Oberst grows up -- and blows up

Magnolia Electric Co

Trials and Errors

Hear This

M. Ward brings his dusky folk to Du Nord; buzz-band Louis XIV hits the "popscene."

Bright Eyes

Lua|Take It Easy (Love Nothing)

Hear This

Monsters of mope come to Berkeley: M. Ward, Bright Eyes, and Jim James. Old 97's are hotter than Ryan Adams.

Shorties

EPs are usually ignored by reviewers. Here are a few recent releases worth taking note of.

Saddle Chic

Sharing a spotlight with Bright Eyes is no easy task. But Cursive is up for it.

The Future's So Bright

Meet "the new Bob Dylan," aka Conor Oberst, who knows pain despite his young age

Wander Lore

Folk singer David Dondero finds his songs the old-fashioned way -- by roaming the country's highways and byways

Various Artists

The Amos House Collection, Volume II (Wishing Tree)

Desaparecidos

Read Music/Speak Spanish (Saddle Creek)