INCOMING: Margaret Glaspy To Play Chicago's Sleeping Village 10/7; New Album Echo The Diamond Out Now

 

MARGARET GLASPY  RELEASES NEW ALBUM  ECHO THE DIAMOND VIA ATO RECORDS “ACT NATURAL” SINGLE TOP 20 AT AAA RADIO North American Tour + UK Tour Dates Confirmed Photo by Ebru Yildiz "(‘Act Natural’ is) one of Glaspy’s all-time best.. a roaring, wondrous stroke of blues-injected rock ‘n’ roll" Paste  “Singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy returns to spiky, guitar-forward songs on her third LP, Echo the Diamond.”  Pitchfork “Expanding upon the the sound and themes of her previous effort, Devotion, Echo the Diamond finds Glaspy trusting her instincts and imbuing the batch of songs with a newfound rawness and grit…(her) songwriting has never felt so immediate or urgent." Consequence "Margaret Glaspy’s passionate croak is haunted by the past on the folky ‘Memories,’ …the dark humor, at least, makes the anguish go down smoothly." New York Times "(‘Act Natural’)l is a good rocking number from Margaret Glaspy. The snappy guitar lick … immediately got my attention." NPR "This moodier, more prickly attack suits Glaspy’s voice, concepts, and vision" American Songwriter "Glaspy’s third is well-crafted and unfussy, foregrounding her sturdy guitar and clear sighted lyrics that range between grungy disaffection…and brittle yearning” MOJO “Grungy guitar work + gutsy poeticism = great pop… 10 songs that glint like shards of glass yet brim with love, grief, courage, existential doubt and all the other stuff that makes us human.” UNCUT Magazine Margaret Glaspy has released her new album Echo The Diamond via ATO Records. The third full-length from Margaret Glaspy, the LP emerged from a deliberate stripping-away of artifice to reveal life for all its harsh truths and ineffable beauty. Like the precious gem of its title, the result is an object of startling luminosity, one capable of cutting through the most elaborately constructed façades. “This record came from trying to meet life on life’s terms, instead of looking for a happy ending in everything,” says the New York-based musician. “The whole experience of creating it felt like effortless catharsis.”  Margaret teased Echo The Diamond with the singles “Act Natural,” “Memories,” and “Get Back” and they saw support from The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Spin, and others.  “Act Natural” is currently a top 20 single at AAA Radio, marking Glaspy’s highest chart position of her career. She played that song and others when she visited the studios of New York City’s NPR station WNYC earlier this week.  Listen to the Q&A and session here. Today Consequence ran a “track by track” feature on Echo The Diamond - read that here.  The album was labeled a “notable release of the week” by both NPR and American Songwriter and today Pitchfork included it in their “8 New Albums You Should Listen To” list.  Purchase / listen to Echo The Diamond here. On September 12 she will head to the UK for her first tour in support of the album. Glaspy and her band return stateside for a North American tour that starts September 28 in Washington, DC at Union Stage. The tour concludes at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles on November 14. Along the way she will make stops in, among other markets, Toronto, ON on October 2, Chicago on October 7 and Seattle, on November 9. Margaret will play a hometown show at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom on October 20. All tour dates are listed below and tickets are on-sale here.

*** Echo The Diamond expands on the frenetic vitality of her widely acclaimed debut Emotions and Math—a 2016 release The New Yorker hailed as an album “in which pretty songs often turn prickly, enriched by carefully measured infusions of dissonance and grit.” This time around, Glaspy worked with drummer/percussionist David King of The Bad Plus and bassist Chris Morrissey (Andrew Bird, Lucius, Ben Kweller), recording at Reservoir Studios in Manhattan and embracing an intentionally unfussy process that left plenty of room for spontaneity. “I love music with a big element of risk to it, which was really the heartbeat of this album,” she says. “A lot of what you hear are the very first takes.” Anchored in the raw yet mesmerizing vocal presence and impressionistic guitar work she’s brought to the stage in touring with the likes of Spoon and Wilco, Echo The Diamond holds entirely true to the spirit of its lyrical explorations, presenting a selection of songs both unvarnished and revelatory.   The follow-up to 2020’s Devotion, Echo The Diamond takes its title from a turn of phrase that Glaspy tossed off in the midst of a conversation with Lage. “Bruce Lee once said to be water—if water is in a teacup, it becomes teacup-shaped; if it’s in a glass, then it takes the shape of that glass,” she recalls. “For me, Echo The Diamond is a way of saying ‘shine bright’, ‘be brilliant.’” All throughout the album, Glaspy’s poetic sense of language creates a heady tension with Echo The Diamond ‘s tempestuous sound, a dynamic in full force on the exultant opening track “Act Natural.” The song captures the strange thrill of infatuation, channeling so much wonder and wide-eyed bewilderment into her lyrics (from the first verse: “Are you a paradise bird?/’Cause violet shines bright in both your eyes/That can’t be natural”).   Spotlighting her rare gift for rendering the most nuanced aspects of the human experience with equal parts primal emotionality and bracing intelligence, Echo The Diamond also offers up sublimely acerbic tracks like “Female Brain”: a visceral yet sharp-witted piece of social commentary that slyly veers between irony and sincerity (“Eating scraps with delight/But I’ll never give up the fight/On suffering and pain/Using my gorgeous female brain”). “That song offers a peek into what life can feel like for me as a woman, especially in the male-dominated landscape that I find myself in,” says Glaspy. “The take we used for the album is actually a rehearsal; we were playing purely on instinct, in a way that was very physical and almost like falling off the edge of a cliff.” “Irish Goodbye,” the following track on Echo The Diamond, shifts into a moment of heavy-hearted storytelling spiked with fuzzed-out guitar and aching harmonies. “That song is partly meant to be a New York City portrait, but on a more personal level, I’m terribly shy and will often slip out the back door in social situations.”   An album informed by profound loss, Echo The Diamond often finds Glaspy sorting through that pain to piece together indelible fragments of wisdom. On “Get Back”—a reflective and soul-stirring track on which her voice achieves a particularly gutting intensity—her insights take the form of both weary observation (“When you’re dripping in your privilege/You don’t know the difference/Between what you want and what you need”) and tenderly delivered instruction (“When you’re only thinking of yourself/You’re missing out on everybody else/Get back to the place you started from/Get back to childhood”). “That song speaks to many things that have accumulated over the last few years for me, including grief and loss and finding myself again through all of it,” says Glaspy. “Playing that songs sets me free.” And on “Memories,” the album takes on a sorrowful mood as Glaspy examines the emotional ruin so easily wrought by our own grieving minds. “‘Memories’ was probably the most challenging song for me to track; the take you hear is the only one I was able to get through completely,” she says. “It was a level of vulnerability I’d never gotten on record, and it holds a special place in my heart now. Even though it’s about a very specific loss for me, it seems to ricochet in different ways for anyone who hears it.”   Originally from the Northern California town of Red Bluff, Glaspy first started writing songs at age 15 and soon began honing the potent balance of sensitivity and incisiveness that now imbues her music. In bringing Echo The Diamond to life, she adhered to a songwriting process meant to preserve and amplify her unfettered expression (“If I sit down with a guitar for about 15 minutes, I usually have a song at the end,” she notes). Along with drawing from an eclectic mix of inspirations—Sonic Youth, Vivienne Westwood’s punk-influenced approach to fashion, Tom Waits’s music and turn as a jailbird DJ in Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law, the 1985 Japanese Western film Tampopo—Glaspy sustained that sense of thoughtful urgency upon joining forces with King and Morrissey in the studio. “This is the most fluid and immediate music I have ever made,” she says. “I see now that I protected the creative space by surrounding myself with incredible people in making of this record, and I’m so happy I did.”   As a result of Glaspy’s rigor in protecting her instincts, Echo The Diamond ultimately marks the glorious realization of her most closely held intentions for the album. “I’m excited to make music that doesn’t try to manipulate the listener into wishing for things to be any different from what they are. Ideally, I want my songs to reveal life for what it is, and to show that it’s that way for everyone.” Tour Dates 8/18 - New York, NY @ Rough Trade Records (performance and album signing) 8/23 - New York, NY @ Bitter End (WFUV) 9/12 - Brighton, UK @ Chalk * 9/13 - London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town * 9/14 - Bristol, UK @ SWX * 9/16 - Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall * 9/17 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 * 9/18 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club * 9/20 - London, UK @ Omeara  9/28 - Washington, DC @ Union Stage 9/29 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts 9/30 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair 10/2 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe 10/3 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop 10/4 - Detroit, MI @ El Club 10/6 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line 10/7 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village 10/8 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room @ Colectivo 10/10 - Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records Blue Room  10/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage (Vinyl) 10/12 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall 10/13 - Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle 10/14 - Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall 10/20 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom 11/1 - Austin, TX @ Antone’s 11/2 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co 11/4 - Denver, CO @ Ophelia's 11/6 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge 11/7 - Boise, ID @ The Olympic 11/9 - Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou's 11/10 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret 11/11 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios 11/13 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent 11/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room *opening for Half Moon Run

Echo The Diamond track listing  1. Act Natural  2. Get Back  3. Female Brain  4. Irish Goodbye  5. I Didn’t Think So  6. Memories  7. Turn The Engine  8. Hammer and the Nail  9. My Eyes 10. People Who Talk Follow Margaret Glaspy here: margaretglaspy.com  Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Celebrate The First Ever ODD IN AVONDALE’S VALLOWEEN THIS VALENTINE’S DAY, FEBRUARY 14th!

 IT’S HALLOWEEN MEETS VALENTINE’S DAY WITH FIRST EVER  

“ODD IN AVONDALE’S VALLOWEEN” 

PRESENTED BY SMALL AVONDALE BUSINESSES 

SHOWCASING THEIR MOST ODD, UNIQUE AND RARE FINDS ALL IN ONE NEIGHBORHOOD

Odd in Avondale’s Valloween Event Shows Off 

Why Time Out Declared Avondale 

“One of the Coolest Neighborhoods in the World” (2022) 

as Businesses such as The Alley, Insect Asylum, Avondale Bowl and More Offer Discounts, Treats and Other ODD Assortments 

One Day Only – Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, Feb. 14 

 “Odd in Avondale’s Valloween” is a one day only special event hosted by the most unique and odd small businesses in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.There aren’t enough colorful adjectives to describe these businesses or enough wild categories to list about their offerings one might find -  all in one day -  as these businesses welcome all to their February 14 Valloween event. For the most up-to-date information on “Odd in Avondale’s Valloween,” please visit https://www.facebook.com/thealleystores or https://www.instagram.com/thealleychicago/ or reach out directly to any of the businesses listed below. 

“Odd in Avondale’s Valloween” Participants, Information and February 14 hours are listed below:  (NOTE: all specials are subject to change)

The Alley • 2620 W. Fletcher St. •  12 – 7 p.m. • www.thealleychicago.com • Facebook • Instagram 

VALLOWEEN SPECIAL: 

In true Alley form, they will not be announcing their special offer until 2 days prior to the event (Sunday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m.). Follow them here to get the details. 

ABOUT THE ALLEY

The Alley opened in 1976 on Clark St. in Lakeview and recently moved to their warehouse location in Avondale, houses a selection of hundreds of t-shirts for under $20, a collection of leather jackets, belt buckles, keychains, wallets and jewelry – all of which draws inspirations from the dark side, pop culture and everywhere in between. The Alley Chicago has been truly a unique and one-of-a-kind location in Chicago for nearly five decades.. If you're shopping for something with a skull and crossbones, vampires, brass knuckles, zombies, pirates, metal, rock and roll or pretty much anything else they will likely have it. 

Avondale Bowl • 3118 N. Milwaukee Ave. • 5 p.m. – 12 a.m. •  www.avondalebowl.com • Facebook • Instagram

VALLOWEEN SPECIAL: 

Avondale Bowl will offer 50% off bowling, shoe rental and pitchers of beer to all customers on Valentine’s Day. 

ABOUT AVONDALE BOWL 

Avondale Bowl is an eight-lane bowling alley and bar on Chicago's northwest side Avondale neighborhood. Originally built in the 1920s, it operated under many names, including Court Lanes, Avondale Recreation, and, from the 1950s until its closure in 1990, as Northwest Bowl. It subsequently sat vacant and fell into disrepair until 2018, when the current owners undertook to restore these vintage lanes to their former glory. Fast forward two years, with the restoration complete, the owners were able to turn their focus to developing a bar program that gives a nod to bowling's blue collar past - you can always get a beer and a shot for $6 - while also showcasing the Chicagoland area's robust selection of local breweries and distilleries, as well as the citizenry's penchant for a well-crafted cocktail. Originally opening in January 2020, the owners are grateful to have been able to weather the pandemic and have reopened our doors as of May 2021. 

Insect Asylum • 2870 N. Milwaukee Ave. • 1 - 8 p.m. • www.theinsectasylum.com • Facebook • Instagram

VALLOWEEN SPECIAL: 

The Insect Asylum will offer 10% off admission to “Bones & Butterfly,” a resin jewelry workshop. Ethically harvested bones, beautiful real butterflies wings, natural crystal and other gorgeous embellishments to make memorable pendants will be provided at the unique event.  This intimate event is $55 and only available for 5 couples only. The price includes all materials for the pendant and admission to a touch-friendly nature museum and insect menagerie is included with purchase. Add code “VALLOWEEN” during online checkout or call the store, 312-961-7219, to secure the discount. 

ABOUT THE INSECT ASYLUM

The Insect Asylum is truly a unique space where one will be faced with oddities of the natural world. As the name implies, thousands of preserved insects as well as a carefully curated live bug collection can be found within the walls of they asylum. Impressive vintage taxidermy of enormous animals, ancient fossils, shells and beautiful minerals also adorn the space.  They host a variety of engaging activities that are available for both adults and children as well as various events which cater to the curious, the cautious, the sensory seeking and the overstimulated.

Live Wire Lounge • 3394 N. Milwaukee Ave. • 6 p.m. – 2 a.m. • www.livewireloungechicago.com • Facebook • Instagram 

VALLOWEEN SPECIAL: 

In the spirit of the first “Odd In Avondale’s Valloween” event, Live Wire Lounge will open on a rare Tuesday for the “$3 U-Call-It Lonely Hearts Club.”  The lounge will be both “My Bloody Valentine” movies (1981 and 2009) and playing “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine in between the two movies. In addition to the  “$3 U-Call-It”, anyone with a “Valloween” receipt from any of the participating businesses will get a complementary shot of Malort or PBR can!

Movie Times: 

“My Bloody Valentine” (1981) 8 p.m.

“Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine 10 p.m.

“My Bloody Valentine 3D” (2009) 11 p.m.

ABOUT LIVE WIRE LOUNGE

Formerly the Peacock Lounge since the ‘50s, Live Wire was the first bar to bring the rock and roll attitude to Avondale. A late-night conversation and a few (well, maybe more than a few) drinks were had among friends. A phone call or two later and in February 2011, keys were exchanged and, as they say the rest is history. Live Wire has hosted countless national touring bands, local events -  everything from burlesque nights, pinball leagues, clothing swaps, popup food events, vendor markets, cat shelter building events and countless fundraisers and charity events.  

Live Wire Lounge’s Chicago History Lesson: Former Peacock owner Andrew Zelek was gunned down inside the bar back in 1962 and some have said that his presence can still be felt on occasion.  

Kuma’s Corner • 2900 W. Belmont Ave. • 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. • www.kumascorner.com Facebook • Instagram  

VALLOWEEN SPECIAL: 

Kuma’s Corner will offer 10 (ONLY 10!) pre-booked Valentine dinners which will include one appetizer, entrée, drinks and a dessert. Each person who books one of the 10 dinners will be entered into a raffle to win a gift package filled with romantic and cool gifts from local businesses. 

FOR SINGLES: A wine special will be offered. Note: this offer is available at all Kuma’s location – book online at https://kumascorner.com/location/kumas-corner.

ABOUT KUMA’S CORNER

Kuma’s started in 2005 with its flagship location at the corner of Belmont and Francisco Ave. From their origins as a corner bar with American bistro flare, they have grown to six locations that offer the finest burgers, all named after heavy metal bands. Their mission: Support Community. Eat Beef. Bang your head. 

Additional participants include the following (below), be sure to follow all of the participants on social media to learn about any changes or new added specials in the coming days! 

The Horror House • 2911. W. Belmont Ave. • www.thecrypticcloset.com • Facebook • Instagram 

Reed’s Local • 3107 W. Belmont Ave. • www.reedslocal.com • Facebook • Instagram

The Brewed • 2843 N. Milwaukee Ave. •  www.thebrewedcoffee.com • Facebook • Instagram

Sleeping Village • 3734 W. Belmont Ave. • www.sleeping-village.com • Facebook • Instagram 

RED BARAAT RELEASE NEW LP SOUND THE PEOPLE & ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES

CONGRATULATIONS TO

RED BARAAT 

WHOSE NEW LP SOUND THE PEOPLE IS OUT NOW!

Catch them in Chi, IL August 15th at Avondale's Sleeping Village!

BAND CONFIRMS SHOW AT NYC'S LPR ON OCTOBER 4

TOURING NORTH AMERICA THIS SUMMER, FALL & BEYOND

Red Baraat released their new LP, Sound The People via Rhyme & Reason June 29th. In a lengthy essay on the album, Stereogum calls it "a boisterous love letter to cultural harmony" and labeled the LP "reverentially revolutionary."  

LISTEN TO SOUND THE PEOPLE ON SPOTIFY

BUY VINYL, CD, DIGITAL

Red Baraat have been touring the U.S in advance of the album's release and have just confirmed an October 4 show at New York City's LPR. The full list of dates is below. 

Sound the People was produced by Little Shalimar (Run The Jewels) and the band's Sunny Jain. On their newest offering, the Brooklyn-based band continues their exploration of South Asian culture, while firmly placing it within the context of a globalized generation as demonstrated by the diverse backgrounds of its members. An array of special guests and carefully curated covers help to round out the album. "Kala Mukhra" features Pakistani singer and writer Ali Sethi. The title track is the central force of the record. A stunning collision of traditional Indian music and insurrectionary hip-hop, "Sound the People" is centered around a politically-charged rap by Heems of Brooklyn hip-hop group Das Racist. Constructed from disparate ideas about the South Asian diaspora, migration and the current political climate, it is a powerful and incisive response to the way the United States has changed since the November 2016 election. Elsewhere on the album are contributions from American poet and activist Suheir Hammad and  American humorist John Hodgman. 




The album is the follow up to last year's Bhangra Pirates and marks a decade of work for Red Baraat. 

"...a politically soaked display of energy." - Stereogum

 "

"...heart-pounding, insanely infectious Punjabi folk music." - NPR 

"the band explores what it means to communicate music between individuals and across cultures." - SPIN

"Of course, you don't need to know a word of Punjabi to understand the music's main message: get up and dance." - WNYC

TOUR DATES:

JUN 29 Capitol Music Club - Saskatoon, SK
JUN 30 Centennial Square - Victoria, BC
JUL 01 David Lam Park Main Stage - Vancouver, BC
JUL 25 Wingfield Park - Reno, NV
JUL 27 Clyfford Still Museum - Denver, CO
JUL 28 The Temporary - Basalt, CO
AUG 04 Musikfest - Bethlehem, PA
AUG 09 Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC
AUG 10 The Pour House - Music Hall Raleigh, NC
AUG 11 LeBauer LIVE - Greensboro, NC
AUG 12 Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont - Richmond, VA
AUG 13 The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC
AUG 15 Sleeping Village - Chicago, IL
AUG 16 The Central Park Sessions | The Globetrotter Session - Madison, WI
AUG 17 The Cube at the Max - Detroit, MI
AUG 18 Newfields - Indianapolis, IN
AUG 19 City Winery - Nashville, TN
OCT 4 Le Poisson Rouge - New York, NY
OCT 26 Miller Outdoor Theatre - Houston, TX