The festival will take place from Sept. 2-4 at Union Park, 1501 Randolph St., Chicago. Single-day passes are now on sale for $40. Three-day passes are $95.
On the heels of its show Thursday at Durty Nellies in Palatine, New Jersey power pop band Saves The Day has announced it will release a new album "Daybreak" on Sept. 13 through Razor & Tie.
The song "Living Without Love" from the new album is available on iTunes for purchase HERE. Those who pre-order the album HERE can get two free tracks instantly - "Living Without Love" and "Undress Me."
"Daybreak" is the final piece of a three album concept trilogy that started with the 2006 release "Sound The Alarm" and continued with the 2008 release, "Under The Boards."
" 'Daybreak' wraps up all the turmoil and misery of the previous two albums and transcends the pain by facing the fear and angst that comes in this life and turning it into growth and positive change," said singer-guitarist and songwriter Chris Conley in a press release.
Hayley Williams of the band Paramore cited the band as one of her greatest influences.
"Saves The Day have been around since before I slipped into this side of the music pool," Williams said in a press release. "A friend introduced me to them and I remember wishing I had known the words to 'Through Being Cool' while I was still in junior high being picked on for being totally uncool. Even now, at 22, their music picks me up when I'm down and they remain relevant in a scene that's swim or you're sunk."
Grammy-nominated folk musician Eliza Gilkyson feels a responsibility to address social ills in her music.
The Austin, Texas-based musician will perform with another outspoken musician, Arlo Guthrie, when she performs June 11 at Chicago Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, as part of the United Sounds of America music series.
The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are available at www.cso.org.
Gilkyson, www.elizagilkyson.com, is on tour supporting her latest album, "Roses at the End of Time," released in May on Red House Records.
She comes from a rich musical family. Her father, songwriter Terry Gilkyson, was nominated for an Academy Award for the song "The Bare Necessities" from the 1967 movie "The Jungle Book," and her brother, guitarist Tony Gilkyson, was a member of the bands Lone Justice and X.
I had the chance to talk to her about her new album and her influences.
Q - You will perform with Arlo Guthrie in Chicago. Do you consider him an influence?
I think we are too much in the same age group. I've been around as long as he has, only I've been sort of under the radar.
I think we've been on a very similar path, but he's always in the limelight. I'm probably more influenced by some of the earlier folkies, influenced by the same people he was influenced by.
Q - How about his dad, Woody Guthrie. Would you say he is an influence?
Probably more his dad. I came out of the '50s and '60s folk singer scene.
Q - Who do you admire on the current folk scene?
In terms of young people, I really like Josh Ritter. I think he's writing really good songs, and I think of him as the new sound of folk music in a way.
I love this band The Low Anthem. I just did a show on the Mountain Stage with them, and I was so impressed with the kind of music they are writing and performing.
And in my age group, I still think Bruce Cockburn writes the best socio-political music. I still think he's probably my favorite.
Q - Of course, both Arlo and his dad sang a lot about social issues, and so do you. Do you think it's a responsibility for musicians to tackle social issues?
That's a good question. There's a lot riding on that question. What is our responsibility?
I think there is a tradition in folk music to write socio-political music. I really like that the genre is supportive and has a long, well-respected history of making commentary.
However, I don't think it is everybody's calling, and I think it would be a shame to feel like you have to write a certain way. I think it is more important as artists to really pay attention to the muses that are driving you. There are different muses for different folk.
For me, I was always interested in the human condition, and how that played out in the world. It's very natural for me. It feels right. But when I hear other people trying to make "message music," it sounds really forced.
It is just better to be the artist that you are.
Q - You covered the song "Jokerman" for Red House Record's album " A Nod to Bob 2," which was recently released in celebration of Bob Dylan's 70th birthday. Did you get to choose that song or was it given to you?
No, I had actually already recorded that song for Red House Records. I love Dylan, and I think I am influenced by early Dylan in a lot of ways.
He made great political commentary. He came up out of folk music. I loved his phrasing, and I loved his ability to really make songs meaningful.And yet he was not stuck in that genre, either.
"Jokerman" just seemed to me like a real statement on the foolishness of man. It's sort of a tragic comedy of what it means to be human. That is an angle that is meaningful to me as well.
Q - Your new album was released on May 3. What did you want to do with this album specifically?
On my previous album, "Beautiful World," I really took on the big power systems, the patriarchy, and the environmental and economic collapse.
I addressed all of those in what I felt were pretty lyrical and poetic songs. On this record, I really personalized how people are affected by those systems. I just made the stories more personal.
That has more of an emotional component for me, and more storytelling possibilities. I don't know if I did that consciously, but when I look back at that now, that's what happened.
Q - It seems that you've tried to blend both personal experiences and your views of your world on each of your albums.
That is true. I think when you make it personal, it becomes more relatable to people. And that's just the kind of songwriter I am.
I am one of those people who draws very much from their own experiences to write the songs.
Q - What kind of influence would you say your dad had on your music? I know that you were on demos and soundtracks for your dad.
I was. I had a big voice pretty early on, so I did his demos for him.
He would write a song and go into the studio. In order to present it to other artists, he would need someone to sing them. By the time I was 13, I was doing demos for him.
That was a great learning experience for me. I got very comfortable in the studio at a pretty early age.
His music was folky and melodic, and very, very heartfelt. He was a terrific storyteller, and a very good song craftsman.
He was just a huge influence on me and an amazing person, and I really miss him dearly. I really wish I could share my music with him now.
Q - What do you think he would think of your music?
I think he would be proud of me. I really do. I think he would be proud that I am making my own way.
For him, it was an innocent time. He just went out to Hollywood, and there was only one street where people were doing business.
It was like a three block radius, and he just went down there and set up a desk and started writing songs. He had a guy pitch them, and his songs got recorded.
I think the music business is so daunting now. I think he would be proud of me that I've been able to survive it.
Even though you might not know who Peter Bradley Adams is, you've probably heard his songs, which have been featured in countless TV shows and movies, including the new movie, "Something Borrowed."
This is a busy month for Adams. His fourth album, "Between Us," will be released on June 14, followed by a CD release party on June 15 at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave., Chicago.
Also on the bill is Clare Burson. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $10, available at www.schubas.com.
One half of the critically acclaimed band Eastmountainsouth, Adams reunited with former band made Kat Maslich-Bode on "Between Us."
I had the chance to talk to Adams about the new album and his other activities.
Q - Of course, June is a pretty busy month for you. Your fourth album comes out on June 14, and then you are playing at Schubas on June 15.
I love Schubas.
Q - What do you like about it?
I've always liked playing there. It feels great, it sounds great. I like the shape of the room.
Q - So when people come out to Schubas, what should they expect?
I will be doing about half and half, half old songs, half new songs, and maybe even some songs newer than the record. But it a co-bill with Clare Burson. She will sing on a couple of my songs, and I'll sing on some of her songs.
Q - I understand you wrote "Between Us" when you were moving from Nashville to New York City in 2009. First of all, why did you decide to make that move?
It was a gut feeling. I had some family and some really close friends up here that were making it really easy for me to come up here.
I basically just left everything in Nashville. I came up here with a suitcase and a guitar. I don't know how long I will stay, but I love it. I think I just needed a change in the scene.
Q - In making the album, I understand you first made some some work tapes on your phone, and then listened to them while walking around.
That's not uncommon with people's cell phones nowadays. It's just so easy to record on them. For me, it's just a way to get some distance on what you're writing, if you can listen back to it more than the sound of it in your own head.
Q - Is that a normal approach for you?
It's the best way I have found to monitor what you are doing, and get a little objectivity on what you are writing.
It's really hard in the moment to be totally objective.
Q - How long did the recording process take?
Well, I did it in tiny spurts. Throughout the year, I was sort of running down to Nashville for a few days and recording, and coming back. I didn't have a sustained period of recording.
And I was touring the whole time. So it was sporadic recording throughout the year.
Q - Do you like recording that way?
I wouldn't recommend it. But it was just sort of a necessity. I'm hoping next time to have a block of time set aside.
Q - It sounds like you had a lot of time to go back and tinker, and try to make the songs even better.
The temptation to tinker is almost impossible to pass up. But I think I'm slowly learning when to stop, and let it go.
Q - So how do you think "Between Us" stacks up against your other efforts?
I think I'm slowly kind of finding my voice as a writer and as a singer. I hope this one is another step toward that. That's what I hope.
For me, I'm not satisfied with any of my records, including the new one. I don't know if I will ever be satisfied. But I keep holding out hope that the next one is going to be the one where I get it dead on right.
Q - And of course your former bandmate from Eastmountainsouth is on this. Why did you want to have her on the album?
Well, we did a few shows in the fall, kind of reunion shows. I wrote that song, "Mother Don't Look Down," for those shows. When I wrote it, it just felt like an old Eastmountainsouth song.
She was psyched to help me out singing on it.
Q - How was it working it with her again?
Oh, it was great. And it didn't require a lot of time. There wasn't a getting back in the recording process. It was just having her come in and sing on the song.
Q - Speaking of Eastmountainsouth, the band was signed by Robbie Robertson to DreamWorks Records shortly after you formed the group. Was that shocking?
It was totally overwhelming and shocking. I was just really starting out as a singer-songwriter.
The whole thing happened when I was completely green to this whole thing. It was overwhelming and terrifying. When we met him and he offered us a deal, it was the day before 9-11, so we woke up the next morning after that, and the whole world was different, not only in our little personal lives, but the whole world.
So it was an interesting time.
Q - Why was he was interested in you guys?
He was interested in the sound of us singing together. He thought we sounded like brother and sister. And he loved the songs.
Q - Why do you think you and Kat worked so well together?
I don't think there is any way to explain it. It's just one of those strange things in physics where two voices just happen to vibrate together in a certain way.
I think we definitely had similar aesthetics. It was easy to sing together. The way we phrased stuff seemed really easy.
But mostly, it was lucky the way the voices sounded together.
Q - As far as why the band ended, I know there were some label changes. Did that contribute to it, or was it just time to end the group?
Well, the label changes were definitely a part of it. We were shifted over to two different labels, and finally ended up on Geffen. And Geffen really wasn't interested in really doing anything with us.
So it seemed like the right time to make a change. And I was also really ready to try to do some solo stuff, so it just seemed like the right time to jump into that.
Q - Your music has been labeled in many different ways - folk, Americana, alternative country. How would you classify your music?
It's really difficult, because all those genres obviously fit. I listen to a lot of pop music, so there's probably some pop sensibility that I have on top of all those other genres.
Q - Your music has been used extensively in movies and TV shows. Before you formed Eastmountainsouth, you worked as a score composer for film and television. Do you think that's one reason why your music seems to fit so well in TV and movies?
I don't know, really. That's a good question. When I'm writing the songs, I'm not thinking about having them fit in a certain scene, or to fit in film or TV at all.
I think maybe in the production, that maybe there is some element that I'm adding as I'm producing these songs that help them flow into some of these TV shows or in film.
But I just feel lucky and grateful that these people making these decisions find a place for my music. Sometimes I hear my songs in these TV shows, and I can't believe that they chose them.
I love my songs, but I don't always think they fit with a scene. Maybe it's just weird to hear my own voice behind some of these scenes. But I'm grateful that my stuff is resonating with some of these people.
Q - Do you see movies and TV as being the new radio, as just another way to get your music out there?
I don't have a TV, so I don't get to see much of the stuff. There are so many songs that are being put in TV shows and films now, so I don't think it is as special as it used to be.
It used to be that you would get a song in a movie and it was there for a reason, and everybody heard it. And now it seems like they are using songs as underscore, where they take the vocals out and they will bury it under dialogue, so it sounds like it is coming out of a radio or it is sounds like what the composer wrote for the scene.
And in that sense, nobody hears the song and it doesn't do anything for you as far as exposure. There's only been a couple of placements I've had where the song has been really featured out front. And when that happens, you really experience the power of television. And a lot of people hear it and react to it.
Q - The music business has changed so much in the last few years. Do you think it is harder or easier to make music these days?
It's not easier to make music, but it's easier to put yourself out there. As far as the music making, I think it is the same struggle. Everybody is trying to do something good.
Q - So is there a chance of Eastmountainsouth reforming?
It's totally possible, but it all comes down to songs. I don't think we would just say, "OK, let's start up again." I think the songs would have to come first. I think it is very possible. You just never know.
