Leigh Belz

Virgin Mobile made a big announcement yesterday about their annual music event, being held this year on August 30th in Columbia, Maryland. It's going to be free. (Well... free-ish, Ticketmaster will still charge for ticket...

A solid bill at the Bowery Ballroom last night.  I missed first-openers The Gay Blades, but arrived in time to catch UK trio Band of Skulls rip through a solid set from their debut album...

Generally once every season, I spend some time combing the events calendars of music venues in New York to see what's coming up. It's terrible finding out that one of your favorite bands is in...

I'm always into hearing a good cover song. And so far this year, there have been some terrific ones. Credit for this goes to BBC's Radio One Live Lounge which is a segment of the...

The Yellow Bird Project is a non-profit organization based in Montreal that lets bands raise money for their favorite charities through the production of exclusive t-shirts. Each of the artists works with the initiative to...

I was going to post this on Friday, but it seemed like it might work better on a Monday. Let's talk about totally depressing songs. I kind of love them. Don't get me wrong, I...

Brooklyn's School of Seven Bells is just about to finish up a month-long cross country tour that brings them, this Friday, to their hometown for a show at the Bowery Ballroom. The band's debut, Alpinisms,...

I always like finding out about people's hidden talents or other passions. The Southampton UK group Band of Skulls has been on my radar for a while and when I found out that singer/bassist Emma...

Sister act Meg & Dia are old friends of the Music Blog (See their previous posts here and here.) They just released a new album: here, here and here.  This summer, as the girls head...

Oakland, CA band Cryptacize just came out with their second album, Mythomania. I've been really digging the shimmery, echo-ey, indie goodness for the past few months (especially as the New York weather finally starts to...

Phil and the Osophers.We haven't talked about band names in a while (if ever?) In my estimation about 35%* of band names still start with 'The' -- The Decemberists, The Whip, The NewNo2, The Script,...

MusicBlogger favorite Regina Spektor has a new album, far,  coming out on June 23rd. The first single off the album is "Laughing With." Check out the just-released video below:Laughing WithFor more on Regina Spektor, go...

Music streaming/download site Rhapsody.com is apparently always in a generous mood. Every day, the site runs a 'free song of the day' promotion on the main page.Though the site normally only announces each song that...

In the category of 'things I dig' (I'm going to make a new tag for that right now), let me present Chronicle Books' CD Packaging Kit. The kit comes with 25 CD labels, disc envelopes...

Those Dancing Days at the Mercury Lounge. Photo courtesy of Roger Kisby.Tuesday night I was feeling a little run-down, but there was a show I absolutely couldn't afford miss. Stockholm 5-piece Those Dancing Days was...

Check out these stills from Cobra Starship's new video "Good Girls Go Bad," featuring Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester. The video will premiere next month in advance of the band's new album Hot Mess, coming out...

Last night was the season eight finale of American Idol. Nearly 100 million votes were cast. And the result was a bit of a shocker. Now I haven't been a very loyal Idol watcher this...

Last Thursday, T-Mobile hosted a party in Hollywood for the new Sidekick. The entertainment? Weezer, opening for the newly reformed Blink-182, playing their first live show in over three years. But though the debut of...

Last March, I had the honor to meet 23-year-old Zee Avi at one of her shows during the South by Southwest music festival. The young singer-songwriter's rich voice is a mix of modern Kimya Dawson...

A year or so ago, I met Justin Tranter of the band Semi Precious Weapons. Justin is gifted.  Besides being a totally charming frontman, he designs his own line of jewelry, FETTY.For the past year...

Festival season is upon us and one of the newest events on the block is Wanderlust.Wanderlust is a music festival and lifestyle retreat being held July 24-26 in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. What makes it different...

Last week, I had lunch with amazing R&B singer, Shontelle. The 23-year-old "T-Shirt" singer originates from Barbados, but now calls New York home. During lunch, after disclosing a full-scale Twitter addition (go here to follow...

The UNC Loreleis with Ben Folds. Photo courtesy of Andrew Synowiez/synster.comOf the many trends to surface thus far into 2009, one of the most interesting is the rise of A Cappella. Often mocked (see Andy...

(That's an on-purpose Family Feud reference, BTW.) Just wanted to gently nudge all the amazing MusicBlogger readers who haven't yet taken our economy survey to check it out. It'll take you 3 minutes and will...