Brooklyn Vegan — Following the show they played at Le Poisson Rouge last night...Thursday 7/1 Monster Island Basement (128 River St. & Metropolitan) 9pm -- Spreaders (creepy soundtrack/improv duo from upstate) 10pm -- Man Forever (Kid Millions of Oneida + his new,... more info

Stereogum — Akron/Family’s tighter three-piece configuration debuted with last year’s Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. These demos, which the band posted to their Bandcamp page, are the first new things we’ve heard from Akron/Family since their Woody Guthri... more info

Pitchfork — Earlier this week, we reported that two big music festivals, Bumbershoot and the Capitol Hill Block Party, are coming to Seattle in the next few months. Portland, a few hours' drive south, also has two big festivals coming up. It makes sense; thi... more info

KEXP Seattle — Metal legend Ronnie James Dio died yesterday at 67. While touring last year with Heaven And Hell, an incarnation of Black Sabbath he continued to lead, Dio announced that he was battling stomach cancer. Through the end, he never gave up hope in touri... more info

Guardian Music — Alexandra Topping joins 20,000 fellow music fans at the festival that has teamed up with Leicester's Summer SundaeWith incredible coastal scenery, arguably the freshest fish in the northern hemisphere and a uniformly attractive population, Bergenfest... more info

Pitchfork — For the past few years, the Belgian label Crammed Discs has done the world a public service by releasing the Congotronics series, a set of fascinating, trance-inducing albums from groups of Congolese musicians like Konono N°1 and Staff Benda Bilil... more info

LargeHeartedBoy — Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Amazing Baby: "Heart of Stone (Raveonettes cover)" [mp3] other Amazing Baby posts at Largehearted Boy Dum Dum Girls: "D.A.L." [mp3] from I Will Be (out March 30th) other Dum Dum Girls posts at Largehearted... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — photos by Leia Jospe Warpaint "Warpaint, a four-piece band from L.A., primed the stage with their sultry, pajama-clad jams. Call it psychedelic, call it sexy, call it what you will, whatever is going on here, I want more of it.... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — Akron/Family @ Outsida Lands 2009 (more by Chris Graham) tonight in NYC * Imelda May @ Southpaw * Soulive @ Brooklyn Bowl * Tilt @ Issue Project Room * Mose Allsion @ City Winery * Cruel Black Dove @ Littlefield... more info

LargeHeartedBoy — Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: 52 Week High: free and legal Eznovah album download [mp3] other 52 Week High posts at Largehearted Boy Akron/Family: "Woody Guthrie's America" [mp3] other Akron/Family posts at Largehearted Boy AM: "Self Preserva... more info