Music news, reviews, albums, concerts, and downloads | The Music Mix

Tags: Buzzworthy, Downloads and Streams, Indie Rock, KROQ, Rock, Tours

Image Credit: C Flanigan/Getty Images

You know what the worst part about summer music fests are? Not being able to attend them!

Luckily the friendly folks at KROQ, the L.A. radio station that throws their annual multi-band rock bonanza Weenie Roast every year in nearby Irvine, Calif., have found a way to let you be there without burning all you sick days (or your money): By streaming the whole festival live.

Slated performances include the Black Keys (pictured above), Vampire Weekend, Imagine Dragons, Jimmy Eat World, 30 Seconds to Mars, and more, this year’s Weenie Roast (now in its 21st year). Click below for the live stream and a full schedule (all times PDT) of the day’s performers, which will kick off with a preshow at noon PDT/3pm EST:

May 15 2013 12:00 PM ET

Kelly Rowland releases intense new track 'Dirty Laundry', talks abusive boyfriend, Beyonce struggles: Hear it here

Tags: Beyonce, Destiny's Child, Downloads and Streams, Kelly Rowland, New Stuff, Pop, R&B, Things That Are Awesome

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

While the rumor mill swirls about Beyoncé’s possible bun in the Bey-oven, her former Destiny’s Child stablemate is making her own internet waves with a confessional new song.

Kelly Rowland’s new album Talk a Good Game comes out next month, and so far we’ve already heard the smooth Lil Wayne-assisted “Ice” and the barely SFW “Kisses Down Low,” but this morning Rowland unleashed an entirely different kind of conversation starter in the song “Dirty Laundry.”

The song finds Rowland airing out her feelings about an abusive ex-boyfriend and having to watch as Beyoncé’s career skyrocketed while her own failed to reach those kinds of heights. Listen below: READ FULL STORY »

May 3 2013 10:00 AM ET

Hear This Century's 'Deadly Weapon' from their upcoming album 'Biography of Heartbreak' - EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Downloads and Streams, New Stuff, Rock, This Century

Image Credit: Dirk Mai

Phoenix-based This Century began chipping away at the rock scene with their sweet, jangly 2011 debut, Sound of Fire. Their second album, Biography of Heartbreak, out on May 14, pushes their sound forward with some new rhythmic tricks and production depth (courtesy of knob-twiddler Colby Wedgeworth).

Their evolution is clearly evident on the dramatic track “Deadly Weapon,” which you can listen to exclusively below. READ FULL STORY »

May 1 2013 01:17 PM ET

Hear Pony Boy's 'Trouble,' a song from tonight's episode of 'Nashville' -- EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Downloads and Streams, Nashville, Pony Boy

Come for the backstabby prime-time drama, stay for the frequently-awesome original songs. ABC’s country drama Nashville continually supplies both, and tonight’s episode will keep the trend alive with plot points we won’t reveal, and Pony Boy‘s “Trouble,” which you can hear exclusively here.

Pony Boy, if you’re wondering, is actually a lady — singer-songwriter Marchelle Bradanini, to be exact. Bradanini has made her (gender-misleading) name by mixing the best parts of rock, country, the blues, and her own sultry voice, as she did on her recent single “Greatest Unknown.”

So get a jump on all the people who’ll watch Nashville tonight and pretend they were Pony Boy fans all along by checking out “Trouble” below:

Apr 30 2013 03:21 PM ET

Listen to Straight No Chaser's star-studded a cappella album 'Under the Influence' feat. Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and more- EXCLUSIVE

by Grady Smith

Tags: A Cappella, Albums, An EW Exclusive!, Downloads and Streams, Straight No Chaser

Has a cappella music ever been aca-hotter than it is right now?

Between Pitch Perfect‘s enduring success, Pentatonix’s viral savvy, and the recently resurrected competition The Sing-Off, the syllables “doo” and “bah” are totally having a moment right now.

One a cappella group, Straight No Chaser, was way ahead of the trend, and given their devoted fanbase of a caholics, it’s likely that they’ll be around long after it fades out of the pop culture forefront — if, in fact, it ever does.

Today, EW can exclusively reveal Straight No Chaser’s latest album, Under the Influence, which is streaming in full below. The inventive set is chock-full of guest appearances from stars like Sara Bareilles (a former a cappella member!), Jason Mraz, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, and Elton John, who join the vocal crew on new versions of their own songs.

The album also includes jaunty arrangements of “Rolling in the Deep” and a mashup of fun.’s “Some Nights” and “We Are Young.” (Also, seriously, check out those bass notes on “I Want You Back”). Stream it all below: READ FULL STORY »

Apr 30 2013 11:20 AM ET

Fleetwood Mac release 'Extended Play' EP, first new music in 10 years

Tags: Downloads and Streams, Fleetwood Mac, iTunes, New Stuff, Rock, Stevie Nicks

Image Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

How did a group of sexagenarians sneak up on us like this?

Though they’ve been promising this release for weeks, Fleetwood Mac finally unleashed their Extended Play EP on iTunes this morning. The band, which is currently on tour (they’ll be rocking the Sprint Center in Kansas City tonight), has been playing new tunes on stage since they kicked off, and frontman Lindsey Buckingham has been promising the release of Extended Play for several weeks.

The four songs on Extended Play represent the first newly recorded Fleetwood Mac tracks since their 2003 album Say You Will, which went gold. The highlight is “Without You,” which features a confidently strummed folk-rock stomp and some top-shelf vocal interplay between Buckingham and Nicks. If it sounds like classic Mac, that’s because it is: “Without You” was originally written by Nicks over 40 years ago and was intended as a contribution to their pre-Fleetwood combo Buckingham Nicks.

Buckingham and Nicks co-produced “Without You,” while the rest of the EP was produced by Mitchell Froom, who has previously worked with Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Los Lobos, and Paul McCartney.

Check out the band playing “Without You” during a performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden earlier this month. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 26 2013 10:00 AM ET

Stream the Computers' new song, 'Bring Me the Head of a Hipster' -- EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Downloads and Streams, New Stuff, The Computers

Protect your neck, cool kids.

If you suddenly start to hear a lot of sweet, sweaty rock-and-roll tunes coming from the direction of England in the near future, there’s a good chance that it’s the work of British punk band the Computers.

The Exeter-based group releases its latest album, Love Triangles Hate Squares, next week, but you can get an exclusive first listen of their new song, “Bring Me the Head of a Hipster,” right here.

A memorable title like that, of course, deserves an even better song, and the Computers deliver it in this deliciously loud, garage-y little number. The five-piece will also be bringing it all summer: They’ve been booked for the Reading and Leeds festivals in England, and will be playing clubs throughout the U.K. through August.

Take a listen the Computers’ “Bring Me the Head of a Hipster” below:

Apr 26 2013 09:00 AM ET

Ola Podrida's new album 'Ghosts Go Blind': Stream it in full -- EXCLUSIVE

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Buzzworthy, Downloads and Streams, New Stuff, Ola Podrida

Image Credit: Aubrey Edwards

As you may know, Jeff Nichols’ already-acclaimed indie drama Mud comes out today, complete with soundtrack contributions from movie composer David Wingo.

And thanks to a new album from his project Ola Podrida, you can actually double your daily dose of Wingo. Ghosts Go Blind (out on Western Vinyl) doesn’t hit streets until April 30, but you can listen to it in full in our exclusive stream below.

For Ola Podrida’s third album, the Austin-based Wingo got himself a full backing band to help expand the intimate sound of his first two bedroom-recorded efforts.

But don’t take our word for it — listen below:

Apr 23 2013 12:52 PM ET

Hear Kris Kristofferson's song 'How Many Days' for the Stephen King/T Bone Burnett/ John Mellencamp 'Ghost Brothers' project -- EXCLUSIVE

Tags: Soundtracks, Downloads and Streams, T-Bone Burnett, Kris Kristofferson, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Stephen King, John Mellencamp

Image Credit: Frederick Breedon IV/Getty Images

What happens when Stephen King, John Mellencamp, and T Bone Burnett get together, and then rope in a whole crew of their famous musician friends? A supernatural Southern gothic musical called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, naturally.

The album, due June 4, is stuffed with luminaries — Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Sheryl Crow, and Roseanne Cash all make appearances — but the Kristofferson contribution “How Many Days” is a clear highlight, and you can hear it exclusively here:

Apr 22 2013 11:45 AM ET

Lana Del Rey's 'The Great Gatsby' contribution 'Young and Beautiful': Hear it here!