Guardian Music — Barbican, LondonTwisted Christmas returns for the second year to strip the festive season of its ribbons and bows. But this year's show unwittingly exposes the real fundamentals of Christmas – boredom, selfishness and disappointment.It's a biz... more info

Guardian Music — For his Christmas concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Rufus Wainwright managed to cram in every cliche of live performance. So here is a list of offences that all musicians should avoid ...This week I witnessed the most excruciatingly boring gig of my ... more info

Guardian Music — Royal Albert Hall, LondonThey say Christmas is for families, and in recent years the Wainwright/McGarrigle New York Christmas concert has become an institution, with singing siblings Rufus and Martha Wainwright and their folk-icon mother Kate McGarri... more info

Guardian Music — Our pop critic's guide to the most festive albums and gigsA Not So Silent Night An all-star lineup troops across the stage for the Wainwright/McGarrigle family's Christmas show. Rufus and Martha Wainwright and their mum Kate McGarrigle have roped in ... more info

Pasta Primavera — If you missed out on Ed Harcourt’s Russian Roulette EP I strongly suggest you pick it up.  He’s just put out a video for the track “Black Feathers” off of it.  For some reason I’ve always found some sort of parallel between Harcourt a... more info

MVSW — Ani DiFranco @ Orpheum Theatre Ed Harcourt, The Langley Sisters, Nicole Simone @ Bordello Vienna Teng, Katie Herzig, Sally Jaye, Jesse Harris @ Hotel Cafe Castledoor, Fool’s Gold @ Spaceland Bassnector, J-Boogie, Nosaj Thing @ Music Box Mia... more info

Rollo & Grady — Deer Tick Monday, June 29th Ed Harcourt @ Fold Tuesday, June 30th Alex & Sam @ The Bootleg Theater Wednesday, July 1st Eulogies @ Echoplex Thursday, July 2nd Citay @ Fold Saturday, July 4th Deer Tick @ Spaceland Eulogies MP3: Deer Tick - Art Isn’t... more info

Allmusic Blog — Ed Harcourt recorded his previous album, The Beautiful Lie, during his final days as a bachelor. Three years later, the British songwriter is a happy husband and proud father, two titles that have wielded considerable influence on his writing. â€�... more info

Culture Bully — Music video for "Black Feathers" by Ed Harcourt from his "Russian Roulette" EP. more info

Pasta Primavera — UK singer/song-writer Ed Harcourt has just released a 6 track EP Russian Roulette via Dovecote.  It was recorded quickly over a few days with David Lynch and is meant to serve as an audio bridge between 2006’s Beautiful Lie and a new LP due out ... more info