RUN DMT

Around this time of the year, I get invites for about 100 SXSW parties and events. The majority of my emails are all SXSW-related, and I’m basically sick of hearing about SXSW (I’m not covering the festival this year). So in an anti-SXSW move, here are some unrelated festivals:

TOTAL BUMMER
www.totalbummer.net
Who: 80+ bands, including Pure Ecstasy, MillionYoung, Truman Peyote, Woven Bones, Vacation Dad, and Many Mansions.
When: March 26-28, 2010
Where: Gainesville, FL

Joe Milner – Never Ending Story

I’m not going to lie, I have not heard of any of these bands that’s playing Total Bummer 2010, with the exception of Yip-Yip, which I reviewed last year. It would seem that these are all basically lo-fi underground music, so if you like that sort of thing, for a pre-order ticket of $25 you get over eighty bands and a T-Shirt with Falcor (the dog/dragon from The NeverEnding Story). Pretty cheap, you do the math!

According to the email I’ve got, in promotion of the event, Total Bummer have released a free compilation, but I could not find any links on the official website… so I hope it’s OK for me to repost the link here.

Total Bummer Comp Tracklist

1. “Hemp Scented Body Lotion” – Vacation Dad
2. “Versatility of Movement” – Attached Hands
3. “Money in the Banks” – Smart Growth
4. “Loon and the Lion (GJ Series)” – Levek
5. “I Saw Four Deer” – Totally Nebular
6. “You’ll Carry on Real Nice” – Dead Gaze
7. “Atlantean Magenta” – PG-13
8. “Big White House” – Many Mansions
9. “Let it Load” – RUN DMT
10. “Cricket, Spider, Snake, Hawk” – Birdfeeder
11. “Internal Combustion” – Phillip Oskar Augustine

12. “Numbjob” – Truman Peyote
13. “Hallelujah Sea Graves” – Michael Parallax
14. “Ping Pan Band” – Hear Hums
15. “Snow Day Guitars” – Boy in Sleep
16. “Double Dolphin” – Yip Yip
17. “Might Mountain” – Oh Fortuna
18. “Hungry” – Lil Daggers
19. “Metal on Your Skin” – Emily Reo
20. “I Need Love” – Waylon Thornton and the Heavy Hands
21. “Chlorophyl” – Millionyoung
22. “Panoptic Yes” – Prince Rama of Ayodhya

INTERNATIONAL VSA FESTIVAL
www.vsarts.org
Who: Adrian Anantawan, Scott MacIntyre, Melody Gardot…
When: June 6–12, 2010
Where: Washington, D.C.

Just browsing through the press release, they seem to have an emphasis on the International Young Soloist Award Program, a $5,000 prize and the opportunity to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A pretty big deal for any young pianist, soprano, or violinst.

The finalists for 2010 are 24-year-old South Korean (currently New Zealander) Ju Hyeon Han, Israelian pianist Dotan Nitzberg, singer/songwriter/pianist Blessing Offor, and Minnesotan soloist Aria Stiles.

The big draw for people attending will probably be Scott MacIntyre, who was an American Idol contestant. Those who can’t make it to the VSA Festival can stream live broadcasts at www.kennedy-center.org.

PS, I couldn’t exactly find out what VSA stands for on their FAQ, but if you were wondering it is for “Very Special Arts”. I wish I could unlearn that.

03/12/2010 09:22:20 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com