Lost in the backdrop of most Presidential Conventions is the reality that more than just nominating a candidate is occurring. It’s also a party for both political parties and a showcase for major entertainment acts. Even as the convention was slowed to a crawl space because of the storm, work continued in the Tampa Bay Forum Center for many of the upcoming music acts. Here is some raw video of a sound check for the house band G.E Smith.

Image Courtesy of the 2012 Republican National Convention

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Sarasota, U.S.A. - The organizers of the Sarasota Blues and Music Festival have announce the much-anticipated artist lineup for the 22nd annual festival on September 29, 2012. This year’s festival at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, FL, will feature an unprecedented gathering of blues artists including headliner and two-time Grammy Award winner Delbert McClinton and supporting acts Royal Southern Brotherhood, Ana Popovic, Curtis Salgado, Paul Thorn and prodigy act, Pett Crow. The entire day’s lineup of national acts is bigger than ever before, and strikes a chord with its blues roots while offering festival attendees a taste of country, rock and top 40.

Festival producer Three Zebras Entertainment will turn Ed Smith Stadium into blues central for the huge one-day music celebration. Drawing fans from across central Florida, the Sarasota Blues and Music Fest will once again establish the city as a weekend destination with this longstanding tradition of music, fun and family-friendly entertainment.

This year’s festival will offer VIP ticket buyers food and beverage service, upgraded beer and wine and a separate restroom area, all of which will be in close proximity to the artists on stage. To make this year’s festival more family friendly, fans with kids can try out The Family Fun Zone, a kids’ area with amusement rides and games.

“Ensuring families have a great time from the moment they enter the gates is a big part of how we approached the festival this year,” said Bill Haggett, General Manager of the Sarasota Blues and Music Fest. “And continuing the tradition of bringing the best of the blues to Sarasota is apparent in the all-star lineup this year. We can’t wait for September 29th!”

The festival actually started as the Sarasota Blues Fest in 1991 by the Sarasota Blues Society as a way to celebrate the blues in the Sarasota community. The festival has a rich history of finding and showcasing young talent while also bringing accomplished musicians to the community. Numerous Grammy Award winners and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have graced the stages over the years and the festival seeks to continue that tradition as the Sarasota Blues and Music Festival. Partial proceeds from the event have always been earmarked for charity, and the All Faiths Food Bank Backpack Program will be the 2012 recipient.

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Los Angeles, U.S.A. – Singer-songwriter and visual artist Mark Cote will be releasing his new concept album, titled Fun House of the Mind, on May 8, 2012. The album produced and mixed by veteran record producer Michael Frondelli, features eleven tracks which converge to create a colorful palette, luring the listener inside a nocturnal, visual world.

Released on May 8, 2012, Fun House Of Your Mind freely integrates pre-rock styles such as blues, jazz, and Vaudeville, with the breezy pop melodicism of late ’60′s-era Beatles. As a former Character Designer with the Disney Animation Studios with works featured in galleries and private collections throughout Southern California, and as a musician, Cote has always been a seeker, delving beneath the surface of everyday life to the depths of his heart and subconscious. His understanding of the visual arts and desire to explore the hidden meanings within has allowed him to create a truly unique visual, musical experience.

Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Cote’s parents were very conscious about exposing him to all forms of art as a form of personal expression. “There was always music in the house,” he states. “From the moment I was walking upright, I was either singing along to my parents’ record collection or getting my hands wet with paint, creating artwork.”

Mark Cote’s songs, distinguished by his vivid lyrics, playful sense of irony, catchy melodicism and distinct vocal style have been featured in both television and film, and continue to help define the ever-broadening and diverse landscape of pop music today.

In addition to his musical ability, Cote’s talents as a visual artist are in full view within his whimsical, original illustrations that accompany the lyrics in the CD’s booklet. “I always think of music in visual terms”, says Cote. “For better or worse, I think we all have a virtual Coney Island fun house in our heads.”

Image Courtesy of   http://www.markcote.com

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Jack White finally made his debut with his first solo album after the White Stripes break-up in 2011; ‘Blunderbuss,’ the new White’s album, is now available for purchasing. The record will serve music lovers to enjoy almost 45 minutes of good Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Surely quite a surprise for those who expected White to experiment something new in the album, as he instead retraces the old routes of rock, enhancing it with blues, soul and sometimes a psychedelic attitude. He does it with such an extreme grace and sense of completeness, that it seems impossible not to be captured by the record as if it featured, instead, something never experienced.

The roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll seem to comfortably lie together with the soul and blues sounds that accompany the entire work, where the piano seems to have more importance than the guitar itself. In this mixture of different sonorities nothing goes lost, and everything seems to fit properly to create a reliable and comfortable sound.

In the album it is possible to retrieve many of the influences that made Rock ‘n’ Roll what it is now; it is possible to hear The Doors, as well as the AC/DC and Dylan. None of the tracks though come as a repetitive form of the previous work done by those or other artists, a gentle reinvention of it instead.

The whole record stays faithful to the basic attitude with which White decided to approach the sound, although the songs express a variety of moments of that attitude. The album opens with ‘Missing Pieces’ which seems to be a declaration of what the album will be. ‘Sixteen Saltines,’ the second single released prior to the album, then goes on reminding everybody where White comes from, musically speaking, and ‘Love Interruption’ serves the exact contrary, almost separating the artist from his musical past.

Some of the songs, such as ‘Trash Tongue Talker’ and ‘Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy,’ are extremely catchy, the latter almost reminding of  a kids rhyme, resulting in a fresh sound. ‘Trash Tongue Talker’ comes to the listener in a very straightforward manner, raw and strong, almost setting a “saloon” state of mind.

There is also a well done cover of ‘I’m Shakin,’ which does Little Willie John justice. The ending of the album is intriguing, with the last song, ‘Take Me with You When You Go,’ remaining faithful to the rest of the record until towards the end, when vibrant, and almost hysterical, vocals and sounds regenerate the listener’s interest in the album. ‘Blunderbuss,’ the song that gives the title to the album, is probably the delicate pearl of the record.

Concerning the lyrics, the first single ‘Love Interruption,’ well expresses the dark side that White seems to have chosen for many songs of his first solo album. In several tracks it is possible to retrieve, indeed, that powerful, angry, hurt, resentful as well as resigned feeling expressed in the first single, released at the end of January this year.

Being the debut album of White as a solo musician, the record succeeds to trace that line wanted by the artist to divide the image of Jack White from the White Stripes, and it does this in a pleasant and elegant way, catching the listener’s mind with its rhythm and with its ‘Rock ‘n’ Blues’ approach.

Image Courtesy of   http://jackwhiteiii.com

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Five-time Grammy Award winner Robert Cray launches the June 8-17 Gettysburg Festival with the blues, a purely American music style completely fitting for a festival focused on American arts, culture and cuisine.

More than 75 additional events explore a full range of American art forms: Broadway-style improv theater, farm-to-table culinary events designed by a former White House chef, traditional as well as contemporary brass, America’s largest gathering of historical artists, up-and-coming Americana folk trio Red Molly, and a choral concert exploring the roots of America’s Negro spirituals, along with much more.

Cray, credited with carrying America’s blues tradition into the 21st century, was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011 and has based a successful career spanning 35 years upon his soulful voice, creative guitar work, and songs bridging the gaps between blues, rock, soul, gospel and jazz.

The blues-tinged theme continues as blues singer Shemekia Copeland teams up with the festival’s most popular culinary event, “Blues, Beer & BBQ.” The Boston Globe writes, “She roars with a sizzling hot intensity.”

“This 5th anniversary festival builds on a strong foundation of musical excellence at Gettysburg Festival, but also explores a wider range of musical styles than ever before, including not only blues, but brass, rock, Americana/folk, and choral music,” said Festival Executive Director Beth Kirby.

The Gettysburg Festival presents a rich musical history of America through the show Then Sings My Soul: Songs and Spirituals from the American Experience, featuring award-winning mezzo-soprano Cheryse McLeod Lewis. Spirituals, rooted in the Civil War era, are combined with inspirational Broadway favorites and historical narration which commemorates Juneteenth.

Perennial festival favorite, the free All-American Brass Picnic includes a day-long lineup of performers including the critically-acclaimed “dream team” of brass – Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass.

The Festival’s 2012 theater highlight is the interactive Broadway’s Next H!T Musical, hailed by The New York Times as “hilarious” thanks to a veteran cast of improv actors who bring audience ideas to life. Culinary event “Chocolate on Broadway” follows with a late-night, chocolate-infused menu.

Culinary events, sprinkled throughout the festival, feature a potpourri of personalities: former White House Chef Walter Scheib, Biker Billy (Bill Hufnagle), and Farmer Lee Jones, nationally known in the sustainable agricultural movement.

For more information on Gettysburg Festival events including tickets: www.gettysburgfestival.org, 717-334-0853.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/denaflows/

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