Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 2008 Tour

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers half-time performance at the Super Bowl on February 3rd will not be a one-off gig.

The Gainesville rockers have booked a summer stadium tour that will take them across the U.S. and Canada from May-August with special guest Steve Winwood.

2006's "Highway Companion's" tour, where they took Stevie Nicks along for the ride, was supposed to be the group's last full-scale outing but we're glad to have them back!

Petty and his Heartbreakers will hit the NYC area for two dates in June.

- June 17th - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
-June 18th - Prudential Center - Newark, NJ

Full dates at pollstar.com.

Tickets for most shows are set to go on sale on February 4th.

The Von Bondies @ Blender Theatre - NYC

Detroit's The Von Bondies roared their way into my garage rock-loving heart all over again on Wednesday night at the Blender Theatre.

The band has a solid teaser/ EP out now called We Are Kamikazes in advance of their new LP Love, Hate and Then There's You due out this summer.

Besides the new tunes (they're a little more pop than they have been before), the band also has some new members - Leann Banks on bass, Alicia Gbur on guitar/keyboards and Matt Lannoo on guitar.

Look for a full review and more (i.e. better) photos coming soon at punkphoto.com.

Vineland Moved to Summer 2009

The battle of east coast festivals has ended even quicker than a bout of American Gladiators with New Jersey’s Vineland Festival (outside of Philly) blinking in the unofficial standoff with Jersey City, NJ’s All Points West Music and Arts Festival.

Both festivals were due to take place August 8-10, 2008.

Vineland promoters Festival Republic and C3, citing “overall festival traffic in the northeast” this year have decided to move their three day event to early summer 2009.

While we’re not surprised that All Points West emerged the victor (better locale), it’s always sad to see bands lose another chance to get their music out.

All Points West Music & Arts Festival - NJ

The newest east coast festival on the block has a name!

Drum roll . . . . (with a little high hat)

The first annual All Points West Music & Arts Festival will be held August 8-10 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ.

AEG Live/Goldenvoice are producing in conjunction with NYC's Highline Ballroom.

Tickets, line-up and all those other things that make us salivate will be coming soon!

Coachella 2008 Lineup Announced

The lineup for Coachella was announced today and as previously reported in the L.A. Times, heavy-hitting acts like the reunited U.K. group The Verve, The Raconteurs, Jack Johnson, My Morning Jacket and Rilo Kiley are on the list.

The "classic act" is not David Bowie or Prince as rumored but Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, who will be performing his legendary band's "Dark Side of the Moon" on the main stage.

Coachella will return to the Empire Polo Field in Indio, California April 25-27.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 25th at 10:00 a.m. (pacific)

Here it is . . .

FRIDAY
Jack Johnson
The Verve
The Raconteurs

SATURDAY
Portishead
Kraftwerk
Death Cab for Cutie
Cafe Tacuba

SUNDAY
Roger Waters (Dark Side of the Moon)
Love And Rockets
My Morning Jacket

AND...
Spritualized
Justice
The Breeders
Fatboy Slim
Tegan and Sara
Madness
The National
Animal Collective
Mum
Pendulum
Sharon Jones
Stars
Battles
Enter Shikari
Aesop Rock
Midnight Juggarnauts
Does it Offend You, Yeah?
Spank Rock
Minus the Bear
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Diplo
Adam Freeland
Santogold
Vampire Weekend
Dan Deacon
Sasha & Digweed
Jens Lekman
Rilo Kiley
M.I.A.
Hot Chip
Cold War Kids
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Gogol Bordello
Chromeo
Metric
Danny Tenaglia
Booka Shade
Murs
Cool Kids
Sia
Les Savy Fav
Holy Fuck
Black Kids
Black Mountain
Man Man
I'm from Barcelona
Kid Sister
Horrors
Austin TV
Shout Out Louds
Luckyiam
Autolux
Modeselktor
Porter
The Bees
Professor Murder
Cut Copy
Busy P
Institube DJs
VHS or Beta
Dan Deacon
Mark Ronson
Datarock
The Streets
Flogging Molly
Dwight Yoakam
Slightly Stupid
The Swell Season
John Butler Trio
Devotchka
Turbonegro
The Field
Dimitri From Paris
Sons & Daughters
Manchester Orchestra
Dead Mouse
American Bang
Mos Elektrik
Rogue Wave
Rev and the Maker

What do you think?

Me . . . umm . . . I think I'll be staying east this year.

Bruce Springsteen - "Girls In Their Summer Clothes"

We're still waiting on the Coachella lineup which should be announced at some point today, but in the meantime, here's a new video from Bruuuuuuce . . .


"Girls In Their Summer Clothes":

R.I.P. John Stewart

John Stewart, one of our favorite singer/songwriters, passed away today at age 68 after suffering a massive stroke.

Stewart joined the legendary folk outfit, The Kingston Trio in 1961 and spent six years singing with them before the group disbanded in 1967.

Besides his work with the Trio, John Stewart also wrote The Monkees hit "Daydream Believer" and went on to record over 40 solo albums where he would work with and influence many other great artists.

On of our favorite albums here at the SWR lair is John Stewart's 1979 album Bombs Away Dream Babies. It's one of those gorgeous California albums and one of the last to carry that perfectly-produced 1970s sound.

The album also features appearances by Fleetwood Macers Lindsey Buckingham (who has always named Stewart as one of his biggest influences) and Stevie Nicks.

Bombs Away hit #10 on the Billboard charts and features a wonderful duet with Nicks called "Gold" which went to #5.

If you have a good vinyl store near you, they'll probably have it or you can start out with a greatest hits collection called The Earth Rider which is available on amazon.com

John Stewart left behind a musical legacy that includes some 600 songs.