Grammy-nominated artist Matisyahu will embark on an extensive summer tour beginning May 30, playing major festivals and co-headlining several shows in the South with Les Claypool and on the East Coast with Umphrey’s McGee, including Central Park Summerstage on July 9. (Please see reverse for a complete schedule of confirmed dates.)
Bass virtuoso Les Claypool is known for his seminal work with Primus, as well as a bevy of his own projects including Oysterhead (with Trey Anastasio and Stewart Copeland) and The Frog Brigade. Umphrey’s McGee, which has several critically acclaimed albums to its credit, is one of the most visible and successful improvised music bands in recent years.
In addition to his shows alongside Claypool and Umphrey’s McGee, Matisyahu plays a slew of major festivals this summer including Wakarusa Festival (June 5), Harmony Music Festival (June 14-15), Milwaukee Summerfest (July 2), 80-35 Festival (July 3), Rothbury Festival (July 5), Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest (July 11), Festival d’été de Québec (July 12), Mile High Music Festival (July 19).
Joined by a new backing band, the acclaimed dub-rock band Dub Trio along with Matisyahu band veterans Aaron Dugan (guitar) and Rob Marscher (keyboards), Matisyahu kicks off the tour May 30 in Florida. Dub Trio, whom The New York Times says “affectionately recall Bad Brains,” consists of DP Holmes (guitar & keyboards), Stu Brooks (bass & keyboards) and Joe Tomino (drums & melodica). Dub Trio played on Matisyahu’s cover of John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels” for 2007’s compilation Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.
Matisyahu emerged in 2004 with his debut album Shake Off the Dust…Rise. With the release of Live at Stubb’s (2005), which reached #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart, and Youth (2006), which debuted at #4 on Billboard’s Top 200 and reached #1 on the Reggae Albums chart, Matisyahu gained considerable critical acclaim. Both albums subsequently went Gold and Youth was nominated for a Grammy for Best Reggae Album.
June 1* St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
June 2* Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
June 4* Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall
June 5 Ozark, AR Wakarusa Festival
June 7* Dallas, TX The Palladium
June 8* Houston, TX House of Blues
June 9* Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
June 11+ Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
June 13-14 Santa Rosa, CA Harmony Music Festival
June 16+ Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
June 18+ Ventura, CA Ventura Theatre
June 20+ Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
June 21+ San Luis Obispo, CA Pozo Saloon
June 23+ Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
June 24+ Seattle, WA The Moore Theatre
June 25+ Boise, ID Knitting Factory
June 27 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
June 29 Aspen, CO Belly Up
July 1 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
July 2 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
July 3 Des Moines, IA 80-35 Festival
July 5 Rothbury, MI Rothbury Festival
July 7† Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion
July 8† Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
July 9† New York, NY Central Park SummerStage
July 11 Ottawa, ON Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest
July 12 Quebec City, QC Festival d’été de Québec
July 19 Denver, CO Mile High Music Festival
*—co-headline with Les Claypool
+ —with very special guest K’naan
†— co-headline with Umphrey’s McGee
The album’s second single, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” featuring Frankie Paul, will be available exclusively through Rhapsody beginning April 7 and is currently streaming on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/easystar
The Easy Star All-Stars will embark on a world tour this spring in support of their much anticipated reggae re-imagining of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The tour will continue through the summer including U.S. dates that begin in mid-May. Please see reverse for a complete list of tour dates.
The new album, Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, set for release April 14 on Easy Star Records, is generating buzz amongst fans and critics alike, as The Associated Press asks, “Could the Beatles have been Rastafarians at heart?” The album follows the widespread critical and commercial success of 2003’s Dub Side of the Moon and 2006’s Radiodread, and features guest vocals from an impressive list of reggae, dancehall and dub greats including Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), Luciano, U Roy, Bunny Rugs (Third World), Ranking Roger (English Beat), Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, Max Romeo and The Mighty Diamonds.
The album’s second single, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” featuring Frankie Paul, will be available exclusively through Rhapsody beginning April 7. The first single, “With A Little Help From My Friends,” featuring Luciano, is available now on iTunes and is paired with a b-side dub version featuring the legendary U Roy. Both “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and Easy Star’s imaginitive reinterpretation of “She’s Leaving Home,” featuring Kirsty Rock, are now available for stream on the band’s MySpace page: www.myspace.com/easystarallstars
Of the decision to infuse reggae into the Beatles classic, producer Michael Goldwasser says “We’ve focused on re-envisioning concept albums as reggae and it’s really important that the source material works as a whole and is not just a collection of songs. So, what better to take on next than the mother of all concept albums?”
Goldwasser is once more the musical mastermind behind this album, having arranged and produced the music, assembled the musicians and guest artists and played guitar throughout. Goldwasser is joined by Victor Rice (bass), Victor “Ticklah” Axelrod (keyboards) and Patrick Dougher & Eddie Ocampo (drums, percussion). Members of the touring version of the Easy Star All-Stars also contribute, including Ras I Ray, Jenny Hill, Buford O’Sullivan, Ivan Katz, Kirsty Rock,
Tamar-kali, Junior Jazz and Menny More. In addition to producing six albums for Easy Star,
Goldwasser has produced albums for Corey Harris, Hatikva 6 and others, and has had compositions featured in the motion pictures Failure To Launch and Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream.
For over a decade, Easy Star Records has been a trendsetting independent reggae label. Dub Side of the Moon and Radiodread form the backbone of a catalogue that includes progressive albums from John Brown’s Body and Easy Star All-Stars keyboardist Ticklah, reissues of classic material from Sugar Minott and Linval Thompson and new recordings from reggae legends The Meditations and Sister Carol.
EASY STAR ALL-STARS WORLD TOUR DATES
April 10 Chill City Festival Melbourne, AUS
April 11 The Corner Melbourne, AUS
April 13 East Coast Blues & Roots Festival Byron Bay, AUS
April 15 The Zoo Brisbane, AUS
April 16 The Metro/Sydney Uni Sydney, AUS
April 18 West Coast Blues & Roots Festival Perth, AUS
April 28 Koko w/ Ed Rome London, UK
April 29 Manchester Academy w/ Ed Rome Manchester, UK
May 1 Bergenfest Bergen, NOR
May 2 Festival Labadoux Inglemunster, BEL
May 4 Paradiso Amsterdam, NET
May 5 Liberation Day Festival Den Bosch, NET
May 5 Liberation Day Festival Groningen, NET
May 6 Birmingham O2 Academy w/ Ed Rome Birmingham, UK
May 7 Nottingham Rescue Room w/ Ed Rome Nottingham, UK
May 8 The Arches Glasgow, SCO
May 9 The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Belfast, N. Ireland
May 14 Higher Ground w/ Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Burlington, VT
May 15 Middle East w/ Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Boston, MA
May 16 The Asylum w/ Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Portland, ME
May 20 World Café Live w/ Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Philadelphia, PA
May 21 BB King’s w/ Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad New York, NY
May 22 Stephen Talkhouse Amagansett, NY
May 24 Summer Camp Fest w/ members of Umphrey’s McGee Chillicothe, NY
June 3 Ram’s Head Live w/ Gregory Isaacs Baltimore, MD
June 4 9:30 Club w/ Gregory Isaacs Washington, DC
June 5 IS Venue w/ Trumystic Charlottesville, VA
June 6 Soap Box w/ Trumystic Wilmington, NC
June 7 Cat’s Cradle w/ Trumystic Carrboro, NC
June 15 Belly Up Tavern w/ Blue King Brown Solana Beach, CA
June 16 The Key Club w/Blue King Brown West Hollywood, CA
June 17 Downtown Brewing Co. w/Blue King Brown San Luis Obispo, CA
June 18 Fishlips w/Blue King Brown Bakersfield, CA
June 19 The Catalyst w/Blue King Brown Santa Cruz, CA
June 20 Slim’s w/Blue King Brown San Francisco, CA
June 21 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival Boonville, CA
June 24 Stuyvesant Town New York, NY
Following the widespread critical and commercial success of 2003’s Dub Side of the Moon and 2006’s Radiodread, Easy Star Records announces the Easy Star All-Stars’ complete reggae re-imagining of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album, titled Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, is set for release April 14 on Easy Star Records and features guest vocals from an impressive list of reggae, dancehall and dub greats including Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), Luciano, U Roy, Bunny Rugs (Third World), Ranking Roger (English Beat), Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul, Max Romeo and The Mighty Diamonds. The first single, “With A Little Help From My Friends,” featuring Luciano, will be released as an iTunes exclusive February 10. It will be paired with a b-side dub version featuring the legendary U Roy.
Dub Side of the Moon, (Easy Star’s reggae tribute to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon) is one of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century and spent over five years on Billboard’s Top Reggae Chart. Mojo selected the record as the second greatest cover album of all time. Radiodread, which tackled Radiohead’s OK Computer, spent over 18 months on Billboard’s Top Reggae Chart and earned praise from Radiohead themselves.
Of the decision to infuse reggae into the Beatles classic, producer Michael Goldwasser says “We’ve focused on re-envisioning concept albums as reggae and it’s really important that the source material works as a whole and is not just a collection of songs. So, what better to take on next than the mother of all concept albums?”
Goldwasser is once more the musical mastermind behind this album, having arranged and produced the music, assembled the musicians and guest artists and played guitar throughout. Goldwasser is joined by Victor Rice (bass), Victor “Ticklah” Axelrod (keyboards) and Patrick Dougher & Eddie Ocampo (drums, percussion). Members of the touring version of the Easy Star All-Stars also contribute, including Ras I Ray, Jenny Hill, Buford O’Sullivan, Ivan Katz, Kirsty Rock, Tamar-kali, Junior Jazz and Menny More. In addition to producing six albums for Easy Star, Goldwasser has produced albums for Corey Harris, Hatikva 6 and others, and has had compositions featured in the motion pictures Failure To Launch and Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream.
For over a decade, Easy Star Records has been a trendsetting independent reggae label. Dub Side of the Moon and Radiodread form the backbone of a catalogue that includes progressive albums from John Brown’s Body and Easy Star All-Stars keyboardist Ticklah, reissues of classic material from Sugar Minott and Linval Thompson and new recordings from reggae legends The Meditations and Sister Carol.
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