R.E.M.

Over 90 musicians and music industry personages have banded together to draw the presidential candidates' attention to New Orleans and the Louisiana coast. My Morning Jacket, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor are among those who signed a letter calling upon Barack Obama and John McCain to attend a September 18 debate in NOLA. The letter, which was developed by the Gulf Coast Restoration Network and Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands organization, asks that "the future President of the United States direct the resources and attention necessary to restore coastal Louisiana and secure the future of Louisiana's communities." Rapid loss of coastal wetlands and unhealthy water are mentioned as primary causes for concern. Neither candidate has yet committed to the event, which will be sponsored by Google/YouTube and New Orleans universities.

Read the press release after the jump

Voodoo Music Experience has become somewhat of a tradition for Breakfast On Tour. As you might know by now, it is where we dreamed up the idea for this little website. It is also a place where we have experienced two years of amazing music. Originally leaning towards more of a rock following, Voodoo has transformed itself into a three day, multi-genre destination featuring many established and up-and-coming bands and artists. Previously announced headliners Nine Inch Nails, R.E.M, and the Stone Temple Pilots are now going to be joined by emo-godfathers Death Cab For Cutie, Denver gypsy-folkers Devotchka, Austin BOT-favorites Ghostland Observatory, and ex-Fugee Wyclef Jean. Taking place in New Orleans, the tenth anniversary of the festival is also set to feature some of the best names in jazz and funk including the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Get excited people!

Find the full line-up after the jump

The Voodoo Music Experience announced today that 90's rock icons Nine Inch Nails and R.E.M. as well as the recently reunited Stone Temple Pilots are set to headline this year's event. The 2008 edition, taking place October 24-26 in New Orleans' City Park, marks the tenth-ever "Ritual". Staying true to past years, several local bands will be featured at the three-day Halloween-weekend event, including the Neville Brothers first ever appearance.

Voodoo, as you may or may not already know, is where this little blog was all dreamt up. We decided to dress our group up as breakfast, and from there it was on.

Anyway, on to the festival details...

This year's festival season just keeps getting better and better. The Sasquatch! Music Festival, which is set to take place May 24-26 at The Gorge in Washington, released its lineup today. Eggs and I have a particular interest in this festival because we named one of our feline friends after it, but have not yet been able to attend. After seeing this tasty musical menu, we're determined to work Sasquatch! into our festival itinerary this year.

Full Sasquatch! lineup after the jump

Today the SxSW Music Conference announced their full list of showcasing artists. There are hundreds and hundreds of acts that are going to be making their way to Austin next month for the world renowned multi-media conference. I included the full list after the break for any of you music nerds who need to read every band (like me). For those of you who just want to see some highlights, check out the tags for this post. Also, for all of you Houston readers, I went ahead and bolded all of the bands that are coming from the Bayou City (congrats guys!).

2008 Showcasing Artists for the SxSW Music Conference:

A few weeks ago I posted the initial artist list for this year's SxSW Music Conference and Festival. I promised that the list would grow rapidly, and it has. With the official line-up due out in February, a growing list has emerged with over 300 bands booked for the numerous showcases, conferences and parties throughout the streets of Austin. Many acts are still to be announced over the next few weeks, but this gives us a pretty good idea who will be on the bill.

List of Bands for SxSW 2008:

The initial list of bands for this years South By South West music conference and festival was released yesterday. The Austin, Texas festival is filled with music reps, producers, publishers, etc. trying to discover the next big thing. Several hundred bands play on over 60 different stages throughout the city which pretty much creates general madness throughout the streets.

This years initial list features many up-and-coming acts as well as some of the bigger names that bring more and more people to this conference and festival every year. R.E.M., My Morning Jacket and Daniel Lanois lead the list of artists, with bands like Vampire Weekend, Jens Lekman and Tech N9ne filling it out.

2008 SxSW initial artists