Escape To NY Preview

Patti Smith

Escape To New York lined up a true New York music icon to headline their festival – Patti Smith (QRO photos outdoors).  The ‘Godmother of Punk’ was one of the first to truly fuse rock and poetry, and served as something of a bridge between the beatniks & hippies of the fifties & sixties and the punks of the seventies and eighties.  Her music even gave the name to perhaps New York’s most important venue, Bowery Ballroom (QRO venue review), and she helped open its sister in Brooklyn, Music Hall of Williamsburg (QRO venue review).  She may have been made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, but she hasn’t slowed down, and won’t be any less impressive at Escape To New York.

Best Coast

Los Angeles’ Best Coast (QRO live review) is a practical veteran at the still-new garage-scene, but a goodie, combining surf, garage, indie, and pop for a sound (QRO photos) that’s sure to be sweet coming from frontwoman Bethany Cosentino (QRO live review) outdoors (QRO photos outdoors).

Chairlift

Though born in Boulder, Chairlift came of age in – where else? – Brooklyn.  The broke through with the sweet "Bruises", though since the departure of singer/guitarist Aaron Pfenning for his own Rewards (QRO photos), the band has gone for a spookier sound (QRO photos outdoors).

Lissy Trullie

Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ McChesney made a splash a few years ago with her Self-Taught Learner EP (QRO review) and some nice festival appearances (QRO photos at a festival), combing garage, country, and rock.

The Ettes 

The Ettes’ rock is a mixture of their Nashville roots and current Los Angeles home.

The Postelles

There are some bands that seem to get the best opening gigs, playing before bands you love.  Wild Light (QRO spotlight on) was one, and The Postelles (QRO photos) are another.  They’ve opened for The Stills (QRO spotlight on), The Kills (QRO live review), stellastarr* (QRO spotlight on), and last year it was Interpol (QRO live review) who took The Postelles with them on tour (QRO photos on tour with Interpol).  But is their sixties garage-pop, and recent self-titled debut, any good?

The Static Jacks

Kicking things off at Escape To New York are the young punks of The Static Jacks (QRO photos), who’ll play anywhere, even a subway station (Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue L stop, but still…).

Acoustic Stage:

Abby Ahmad 

Sonia Montez

Escape Directors

Delilah

Kevin Garrett

Old Abraham Brown

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Alex Ebert, former singer of Ima Robot (QRO interview), got a ton of buzz right after forming Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (QRO live review) – is it justified, or just PR hype (QRO spotlight on)?  Judge for yourself (QRO photos at a festival) – but watch out for him jumping into the crowd (QRO photos at a festival)!

The Vaccines

While their garage rock isn’t as inspired as all the attention they’ve been getting (QRO photos at a festival), What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? (QRO review)?

Psychedelic Furs

One of the founders of the British post-punk scene, the art-rock into new wave Psychedelic Furs (QRO photos) found fame through their song "Pretty In Pink" being not only featured in a John Hughes movie, but giving one its title (it was the iPhone ad of its day in promotional terms).  The broke up in 1991, but reunited ten years later, and are still going strong (QRO live review) a decade after that (QRO photos).

White Rabbits

A long-time QRO favorite (QRO spotlight on), White Rabbits (QRO interview) brought a dance hall saloon hootenanny with their debut Fort Nightly (QRO review) and songs such as "The Plot" (QRO video) & "Kid On My Shoulders" (QRO video).  They took the party on the road, opening for the likes of Spoon (QRO live review), and their Britt Daniel-produced follow-up last year, It’s Frightening (QRO review), saw them impressively rise to a whole new level of skill on pieces like "Percussion Gun" (QRO video) & "The Company I Keep" (QRO video).  Though playing very early in the day (QRO photos outdoors), White Rabbits (QRO interview) can deliver at any time (QRO photos at a festival), day or night (QRO live review).

Au Revoir Simone

There isn’t a band as beautiful in appearance or sound as Au Revoir Simone (QRO spotlight on).  The trio of Heather D’Angelo, Erika Foster (QRO photos), and Annie Hart (QRO interview) make sweet music, most recently with 2009’s Still Night, Still Light (QRO review).  And songs like "Another Likely Story" (QRO video) and "Take Me As I Am" (QRO video) don’t wilt outdoors (QRO photos outdoors), but flourish.

The Submarines

Sometimes indie-pop is so lovely it can do amazing things.  John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard (great-granddaughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald) split up romantically, but the music they made as The Submarines (QRO photos) brought them back together, helped by their iPod ad hit "You, Me & The Bourgeoisie".  This year’s Love Notes/Letter Bombs (QRO review) doesn’t reinvent the indie-pop wheel, but certainly gives it a nice spin.

Graffiti6

The backrooms of hip-hop and pop combined when writer/producer/DJ TommyD (who’s worked with the likes of Jay-Z and Kanye West) teamed up with singer/songwriter Jamie Scott (who’s toured with Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson) as Graffiti6, to make Stare Into the Sun.  The title track was picked up for a TV ad campaign by The Sun newspaper (not the late, unlamented News of the World – but also not hacking scandal-breaking The Guardian), and perhaps the duo are the new model for making it in music.

Acoustic Stage:

Kelli Scar

SoKo – QRO photos at a festival

Trotta & Ronstadt

Filligar – QRO photos at a festival

Marnee

Dani Mari

Allman Brown

of Montreal

There are few acts that do a live show like of Montreal (QRO live review).  Kevin Barnes’ epic orchestra (QRO photos at a festival) literally fills the stage (QRO photos at a festival) with a performance more akin to (the actually French Canadian) Cirque du Soleil than indie-rock (QRO live review).  The band emerged out of the Elephant Six Collective to reach serious heights, most recently with last year’s False Priest (QRO review), but they have to be seen live (QRO photos) to be truly believed (QRO photos at a festival).

The Jolly Boys

Before there was reggae, before there was ska, there was mento (not the freshmaker…), and The Jolly Boys.  The Jamaican outfit formed all the way back in 1955, but only found success among world music fans in the eighties and nineties.  They’re still going strong, having just put out their latest, Great Expectation, last year.

Mates of State

Lawrence, Kansas’ husband-and-wife indie-rock duo of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel make up Mates of State (QRO photos), who are coming off of 2008’s Re-Arrange Us (QRO review) and last year’s cover album, Crushes (The Mixtapes).  Their new Mountaintops comes out in September, so expect old, new, and covers at Escape To NY.

Reptar

Fresh off opening for Matt & Kim (QRO spotlight on) & Art Brut (QRO spotlight on), Atlanta’s Reptar (QRO photos) already have a good rep to play Escape To New York (QRO photos at a festival).

Hank & Cupcakes

Tel Aviv’s Sagit Shir & Ariel Scherbacovsky moved to the holy land of Brooklyn, and mix dance and female vox as Hank & Cupcakes (QRO photos).

Tiger Love

London’s Tiger Love are putting eighties electro-synth pop back in Saxon hands.

Savoir Adore

Two of the most burgeoning new sounds in indie today are indietronica and alt-country – and leave it to a Brooklyn band to do both.  Savoir Adore (QRO photos at a festival) combined both fine sounds on last year’s In the Wooded Forest (QRO review), and keep it up live (QRO live review), even outdoors (QRO photos outdoors) or at a festival (QRO photos at a festival), such as with standout "Bodies" (QRO video).

Acoustic Stage:

Savoir Adore (see above)

The Yes Way

Adam Falcon

Dead Leaf Echo

2AM Club

Andy Clockwise

Dusty Wright & Giant Fingers

Kelli Scar