Black Keys

The Black Keys have been confirmed at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The band, which just sold out the Verizon Center last week, will play Merriweather May 18. The show had been rumored , but it was confirmed this week on the venue's website. The band is promoting new album "El Camino;" tickets for the show start at $40 and go on sale Friday. Def Leppard, which just performed at Jiffy Lube Live last year , is playing Merriweather this summer, on July 10, the band's label said this week.

"Rock 'n' roll will never die," sang Neil Young in 1979. Lately, though, it seems to be in a coma. How else to describe the sad state of rock? The Billboard charts are filled with pop acts, rappers and country singers. Even sugary boy-bands have re-emerged. But search for a rock band - the kind that peels the paint off garage walls and leaves ears ringing - and you won't find many. One of the only exceptions is the Black Keys, the blues-rock duo of Ohio natives Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals)

"Rock 'n' roll will never die," sang Neil Young in 1979. Lately, though, it seems to be in a coma. How else to describe the sad state of rock? The Billboard charts are filled with pop acts, rappers and country singers. Even sugary boy-bands have re-emerged. But search for a rock band - the kind that peels the paint off garage walls and leaves ears ringing - and you won't find many. One of the only exceptions is the Black Keys, the blues-rock duo of Ohio natives Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals)

The Black Keys have been confirmed at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The band, which just sold out the Verizon Center last week, will play Merriweather May 18. The show had been rumored , but it was confirmed this week on the venue's website. The band is promoting new album "El Camino;" tickets for the show start at $40 and go on sale Friday. Def Leppard, which just performed at Jiffy Lube Live last year , is playing Merriweather this summer, on July 10, the band's label said this week.

The Black Keys have predictably sold out their show at the Verizon Center this Friday. But there's no need to pay a scalper or StubHub your life's savings for tickets. It's likely the band will return to the area this summer to play Merriweather Post Pavilion, says a reliable source with knowledge of the band's tour schedule. An announcement with the date is said to be forthcoming. Meanwhile, we've reached out to the band's reps for confirmation and we'll update when we hear back.  It would be the band's second recent appearance at Merriweather - they were one of the headliners at last year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest, where they gave one of the best performances of the night . They are on the road promoting new album "El Camino.

A couple of bands that played Virgin Mobile FreeFest are returning to the area on tour next year. The Black Keys will perform at the Verizon Center March 9 as part of their tour to promote new album "El Camino. " The band closed the festival in September with a muscular performance on the main stage. Tickets, starting at $40, go on sale December 9. The album is released three days before. And two days before the Black Keys show, on March 7, Bombay Bicycle Club , the British folk rock five piece, will perform at 9:30 Club in DC.The show is part of their first headlining US tour.

TV on the Radio, Cee Lo Green, the Black Keys and Patti Smith are among the headliners at this year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest , which returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion Sept. 10, organizers will announce today. The announcement follows months of speculation about who would play the festival, Maryland's largest, which last year attracted 40,000 people with acts like LCD Soundsystem and M.I.A. "I tried to catch a snapshot of what's going on in music in 2011," said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of concert promoter I.M.P., which books the festival.

Just as winter begins to bum everyone out with its dropping temperatures and dark-by-4:30-p.m. routine, the newly liberated Coachella lineup has us daydreaming of spring and a weekend trip to the west coast. Seemingly every year, Coachella sets the standard for Important Music Festivals, and 2012 is no exception. There's a lot of talking points but here's a quick run-down: Underappreciated and surprisingly influential bands are reuniting (Refused, At the Drive-In), Radiohead will play, David Guetta and the Shins are listed next to each other on the poster (exemplifying the festival's continued steps toward sonic diversity)

Black Keys / 9:30 Club An Ohio-bred duo, the Black Keys, brings its stripped-down blues-rock sound to the 9:30 Club, 815 V Street N.W. in D.C., Wednesday night at 7:30. Tickets for the show, which will also feature the punk band the Cuts, are $15. For more information, visit www.930.com or www.tickets.com. NRBQ / The Funk Box NRBQ, the musically ubiquitous rock band, plays the Funk Box, 8-10 E. Cross St., tomorrow night at 8. Tickets are $15 and are available through Ticketmaster by calling 410-547-SEAT or www.ticketmaster.

We’re launching a new feature here at bthesite.com : a roundup of interesting items culled from around the web, mostly with a Baltimore perspective. Generally, it’ll be five things worth your time and attention, if only briefly. Expect useful, surprising, moving, amusing and more. This year’s Virgin Freefest performers are TV on the Radio, Cee Lo Green, the Black Keys, Patti Smith, Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Deadmau5 and James Murphy (frontman of LCD Soundsystem)

Here's a round-up of our week at Midnight Sun: •••• Very. Important. Band. Radiohead added dates to its upcoming tour, including a stop at Verizon Center on June 3. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. More details here . •••• Canadian country star Terri Clark performs Saturday and Sunday at Rams Head on Stage. She and I talked about losing her mother to cancer, leaving her major label and more, which you can read here . If you don't make it to Clark's shows, I recommend the Lemonheads show at the Ottobar, where you can hear Evan Dando and Co. perform "It's a Shame About Ray" in its entirety.

The Black Keys have predictably sold out their show at the Verizon Center this Friday. But there's no need to pay a scalper or StubHub your life's savings for tickets. It's likely the band will return to the area this summer to play Merriweather Post Pavilion, says a reliable source with knowledge of the band's tour schedule. An announcement with the date is said to be forthcoming. Meanwhile, we've reached out to the band's reps for confirmation and we'll update when we hear back.  It would be the band's second recent appearance at Merriweather - they were one of the headliners at last year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest, where they gave one of the best performances of the night . They are on the road promoting new album "El Camino.

Just as winter begins to bum everyone out with its dropping temperatures and dark-by-4:30-p.m. routine, the newly liberated Coachella lineup has us daydreaming of spring and a weekend trip to the west coast. Seemingly every year, Coachella sets the standard for Important Music Festivals, and 2012 is no exception. There's a lot of talking points but here's a quick run-down: Underappreciated and surprisingly influential bands are reuniting (Refused, At the Drive-In), Radiohead will play, David Guetta and the Shins are listed next to each other on the poster (exemplifying the festival's continued steps toward sonic diversity)

A couple of bands that played Virgin Mobile FreeFest are returning to the area on tour next year. The Black Keys will perform at the Verizon Center March 9 as part of their tour to promote new album "El Camino. " The band closed the festival in September with a muscular performance on the main stage. Tickets, starting at $40, go on sale December 9. The album is released three days before. And two days before the Black Keys show, on March 7, Bombay Bicycle Club , the British folk rock five piece, will perform at 9:30 Club in DC.The show is part of their first headlining US tour.

Beat-boxing and belting out arrangements of the latest pop songs is just another day for the Mama's Boys. The all-male a cappella group from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County started in the fall of 2003 when four students decided it was time to bring a fresh musical experience to campus. The founding members solicited everyone they knew to join the group, including random people walking by doing their laundry. Since then, the Mama's Boys have gone from singing "Happy Birthday" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" to serenading their audiences with renditions of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and Jason Derulo's "Whatcha Say. " On Friday, the Mama's Boys take the stage at Festivus Acappellius, their first concert of the fall 2011 semester.

The Black Keys, Deadmau5 and Ghostland Observatory will close out Virgin Mobile FreeFest's three stages on Saturday, organizers announced today. The festival will open at noon with Brits Eclectic Method on the dance forest; the New York rock band Alberta Cross at 12:15 p.m. on the festival stage; and at 1 p.m., indie band Bombay Bicycle Club will be the first act to go on the main stage. Merriweather's doors will open at 11 a.m. Grace Potter, Patti Smith, andTV on the Radio will also be performing on the main stage, while Cut Copy, Cee Lo Green, Empire of the Sun and Deadmau5 will play the festival stage.

Here's a round-up of our week at Midnight Sun: •••• Very. Important. Band. Radiohead added dates to its upcoming tour, including a stop at Verizon Center on June 3. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. More details here . •••• Canadian country star Terri Clark performs Saturday and Sunday at Rams Head on Stage. She and I talked about losing her mother to cancer, leaving her major label and more, which you can read here . If you don't make it to Clark's shows, I recommend the Lemonheads show at the Ottobar, where you can hear Evan Dando and Co. perform "It's a Shame About Ray" in its entirety.

Beat-boxing and belting out arrangements of the latest pop songs is just another day for the Mama's Boys. The all-male a cappella group from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County started in the fall of 2003 when four students decided it was time to bring a fresh musical experience to campus. The founding members solicited everyone they knew to join the group, including random people walking by doing their laundry. Since then, the Mama's Boys have gone from singing "Happy Birthday" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" to serenading their audiences with renditions of Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" and Jason Derulo's "Whatcha Say. " On Friday, the Mama's Boys take the stage at Festivus Acappellius, their first concert of the fall 2011 semester.

TV on the Radio, Cee Lo Green, the Black Keys and Patti Smith are among the headliners at this year's Virgin Mobile FreeFest , which returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion Sept. 10, organizers will announce today. The announcement follows months of speculation about who would play the festival, Maryland's largest, which last year attracted 40,000 people with acts like LCD Soundsystem and M.I.A. "I tried to catch a snapshot of what's going on in music in 2011," said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of concert promoter I.M.P., which books the festival.

We’re launching a new feature here at bthesite.com : a roundup of interesting items culled from around the web, mostly with a Baltimore perspective. Generally, it’ll be five things worth your time and attention, if only briefly. Expect useful, surprising, moving, amusing and more. This year’s Virgin Freefest performers are TV on the Radio, Cee Lo Green, the Black Keys, Patti Smith, Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Deadmau5 and James Murphy (frontman of LCD Soundsystem)