widespread panic

The spring concert season is about to come to an end. All of your major summer music festivals are right around the corner. What the summer outdoor concert series also brings is much warmer weather, especially in Houston. With mid-70's temperatures and clear skies, the last days of spring are perfect for outdoor shows. This weekend proved that to be very true when it hosted the one band that should always play outdoors, Widespread Panic.

Check out a full review after the jump

Upcoming shows in the Houston area:

Thu May 1
Gov't Mule and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals at the Meridan
Show starts at 8; tickets are $25.

Will Hoge, Green River Ordinance, JJ Worthen and Jud Johnson Band at Warehouse Live
Show starts at 8; tickets are $12.

Fri May 2
Widespread Panic at Sam Houston Race Park
Show starts at 8; Tickets are $25 in advance/$35 day of show.

Kanye West, N.E.R.D., Lupe Fiasco, and Rihanna at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Show starts at 7; tickets are $29.50 (your ass in the grass).

Meat Beat Manifesto and Raz Mesinai's Badawi at Warehouse Live
Show starts at 9; tickets are $19.

Tower Of Power at Warehouse Live
Show starts at 11; tickets are $25.

Check out the rest of the weeks events after the jump

Bonnaroo recently lost a major artist in The Allman Brothers when they bowed out due to health-related issues. Earlier in the week, when they released that announcement, they also laid mention that there would be a big artist announcement on Thursday. The Led Zeppelin rumors immediately began to fly once more, sending message boards and other websites into a flurry up until midnight last night. Unfortunately those "Dazed and Confused" Brits did not make it on the bill, but instead Bonnaroo added a few familiar faces with Widespread Panic and Les Claypool, as well as some up-an-coming noise makers that we will all soon know and love.

Find out who else got added after the jump

The line-up for the first annual Outside Lands Festival, set for San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on August 22-24, was released today. The event is put on by Superfly Presents (which is the same group who run that other major festival in Tennessee), as well as Another Planet Entertainment and Starr Hill Presents. Like most other festivals this summer, Radiohead and Jack Johnson will be taking headlining duties. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are also set to headline.

Check out the initial line-up after the jump

Announced today, the first ever Rothbury Festival is set to take place July 3-6 in the small town of Rothbury, Michigan. It is being described as a global celebration of music, arts and action. Producers Madison House and AEG Live (who run our favorite venue in Houston: Warehouse Live) expect to bring upwards of 50,000 people to this Great Lakes locale. Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, 311, Phil Lesh, Primus and Snoop Dogg lead the bill, while fresh acts like Gogol Bordello, Ray LaMontagne, State Radio and Of Montreal fill it out.

Check out the full line-up

New Orleans. Just uttering those two words conjures a wide array of images, from beads and bare breasts to faulty levees and hurricanes (both the disastrous and tasty kinds). But at its core, New Orleans is a city filled with music and culture -- and a guaranteed good time. Each year, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival celebrates the fullness of the city's musical legacy, bringing in heavyweight acts as well as staples of NOLA's music scene. This year's festival, the 39th installment of the event, is certainly no exception: the line-up boasts acts representing genres ranging from jazz (of course) and zydeco to country and jam.

More Jazz Fest info after the jump

Here is a special New Year's edition of the Video Omelette. It is the final VO of the year, so I decided to bring out some fireworks (and bucket drummers?). New Years Eve is always good times with friends and family. It is also a great time to check out some of your favorite bands. New Years shows are notorious for being long, fun and full of surprises when the new year hits. Here are some of my favorite bands pulling out all the stops for their own New Year's Eve celebration.

We've got a wide array of music for you to sample this week, from Ween's crazy antics and the dance grooves of !!! and Daft Punk, to the Afrobeat stylings of Antibalas and the swampy Southern sounds of Widespread Panic.

Follow the links below to hear this week's musical menu.

Toast's Pick: Ween - The Blarney Stone
Cereal's Pick: !!! - Take Ecstasy With Me
Doughnut's Pick: Daft Punk - Touch It/Technologic
Coffee's Pick: Antibalas - Who Is This America Dem Speak Of Today?
Eggs' Pick: Widespread Panic - Ribs and Whiskey

bytes

This is the best song Widespread Panic has put out in years. It's even better live. Go ahead and have yourself some 'Ribs and Whiskey' for breakfast.

Eat Your Damn Breakfast!

--Eggs

Even though I'll be spending my New Year "weekend" at home, I decided to list my top five new year's events going on this year, leading us all into 2008. Who knows, maybe Eggs will be feeling saucy and buy me an all expenses paid trip to one of these shows. I thank you in advance Eggs. Here they are.....

1. Yonder Mountain String Band- The Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO.

Call me crazy, but I'm kind of biased towards these guys, especially when there on multi-night runs. This will be their third night in the Mile High City.

Click to view the rest of the list