end of the road

David Bowie has backed a campaign to get a bandstand he once performed on in Croydon, South London, restored to its former glory. On August 16, 1969 – the same weekend as Woodstock – Bowie was an aspiring psychedelic folk singer and organised a gig at Croydon Road Recreation Ground in Beckenham, which aimed to encourage donations for his Beckenham Arts Lab project. He later wrote about the experience in the single 'Memory Of A Free Festival' – listen to the track below.

Stephen Stills has confirmed that CSNY will perform at this year's Bridge School Benefit concerts. In an interview in the Boston Globe, Stills says, "We’re doing the Bridge School Benefit with Neil at the end of October so I will see everybody then. But we were on the road for 18 months, me and David and Graham, so we’re having a little vacation."

The full story of Freddie and co...

Mumford & Sons' Marcus Mumford and The Vaccines' vocalist Justin Young have recorded a session together, covering songs by both Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Now That's What I Call Indie...

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, a big backlog of music to work through here. And while I try and offer some fractionally different recommendations away from the usual media pile-ons (Oh look, Haim etc), this Janelle Monáe album is terrific and I totally recommend having a listen on The Guardian’s stream: very much in the zone of “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” (especially “Victory”).

Slithery guitar from the Fahey school, with added architecture...

The Kinks have confirmed the tracklisting for the forthcoming deluxe reissue of their 1971 Muswell Hillbillies album. The new 2-CD edition - which is released on October 7 through Universal - features five previously unreleased tracks, including "Lavender Lane" and early demo "Nobody’s Fool", as well as alternative song versions and BBC sessions. All have been re-mastered from original tapes. Meanwhile, a new book by Ray Davies - Americana: The Kinks, The Road And The Perfect Riff - is published by Virgin Books this autumn.

Dinosaur Jr are to release a large format book, Dinosaur Jr. by Dinosaur Jr., this November. According to a report on Consequences Of Sound, the book will feature rare and previously unseen photographs, band flyers and memorabilia and brand new interviews with J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph.

The reunited group’s undeniably impressive peaks, blighted by band politics and Auto-Tune...