Born on this day in 1932, and dying 71 years later in 2003, Johnny Cash made a lot of fans and friends during his lifetime. Today would have been his 76th birthday, so with that here are some videos of him performing in New York City. In 1999 a televised tribute to "the man in black" was filmed at Hammerstein Ballroom; this was the first time Cash had performed publicly since being diagnosed with a......

Sumner Redstone, who as majority shareholder still calls the shots at Viacom, has arranged a special holiday treat for his already well-exploited “permalancers”. (The term refers to the practice favored by Viacom and other companies of employing workers full time but classifying them “freelance” to keep their sneaky hands out of the insurance jar.) Though Viacom permalancers had previously been eligible for healthcare benefits after a year, new rules dictate that insurance will only be......

The Gotham Awards gala run by the Independent Feature Project (IFP) will be held in Brooklyn for the first time tonight, after 17 years spent bouncing around between Roseland, Hammerstein Ballroom and Chelsea Piers. This year the independent film awards will take place on the soundstage of Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Among the thousand-plus guests expected to attend are Javier Bardem, Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Uma Thurman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Brooklyn’s......

It's been five years since Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) was murdered in his Queens studio, and though some people have recently started piping up about who may have pulled the trigger - no suspect has been named. Moving forward -- his friends, family and fellow musicians have begun to get closure in other ways. Mizell's widow, Terri, started the Jam Master Jay Foundation for Music -- a non-profit that provides funding and resources to......

This weekend Kanye West's mother (and manager), Dr. Donda West, died after surgery - which the BBC is reporting was cosmetic (UPDATE: she was warned prior to getting the surgery). West was very close with his 58-year-old mother, often speaking publicly about their bond and even writing a song for her. Just this summer the two were at Borders to promote her new book, Raising Kanye. Kanye was in London when told of the death,......

Not So Silent, Jens Jens Lekman is one of our favorite songwriters, so any opportunity to see the funnyman crooner play is a treat, no matter the circumstances. The set at Webster Hall was generally excellent. Bordering on Magical, in fact, a perfect mix of his old and new -- mixing in Swedish deadpan quips and stories the whole time through. The only knock we had came from the venue, which we usually enjoy. The......

Morrissey x5 It was only a few years ago when Morrissey's run of 5 shows at the Apollo Theatre was the hottest ticket in town, and it's a bit sad to see Mozzer basically begging for people to buy tickets for his run at Hammerstein Ballroom this week. The $65 ticket appeared to be a bit too rich for the average fan's blood, despite these shows being his first in NYC since 2004. The ticket......

Tuesday: Brand New is Just Good People Brand New didn't have to be at CMJ this year. The band doesn't have a new album coming out, they headline shows at Hammerstein Ballroom and have sold millions of records. So why did Jesse and Vin stay behind to play an acoustic set at Mercury Lounge? They wanted to support their good friends in local indie band Aeroplane Pageant, who were playing a showcase after them Tuesday......

Before the Beastie Boys’ concert at McCarren Park Pool last night, Gothamist attended a press conference with the 3 MC’s and verified an interesting bit of trivia: Despite having formed in Brooklyn, rehearsed often at Adam Yauch’s parent’s crib downtown, and associated themselves with the borough constantly over the decades, the band itself had not yet performed in Kings County. Mike D broke it down like so, “When we came up none of the......

Suckers may be saying they can take out Adam Horovitz, but after all these years with The Beastie Boys – it’s now two decades since License To Ill dropped! – he’s still rocking steady. Having just released The Mix-Up, a new all-instrumental album, the three are set to drive the lane like Evan Bernhard with a trio of NYC shows in as many days. Tomorrow night and Thursday they’ll do two of their more familiar......

Manu Chao Beats the Rain We never realized exactly what a force Manu Chao was live until experiencing him ourselves at Sasquatch several weeks ago. The man has the power to move people. To incite hysteria and completely dominate his entire audience. It is something any music fan should experience at least once in their life, because there is really nobody else like him performing today. Earlier this week, He did two nights at the......

With brick and mortar sales declining, and the future of the music industry uncertain - at least live shows are always dependable. Sure, there are a lot of venues closing, but how about the ones thriving? The NY Times reports on some of the big players in the New York venue scene. In New York heated competition among concert promoters has driven a building spree of small and midsize spaces over the last two years.......

MUSIC: Of course we suggest you come hang out with us tonight at our 4th Birthday Party, and 11th Movable Hype show. The show starts at 7:30pm, here are the details and some mp3s: 10:30pm - The World Without Magic (Never Begun.mp3) 9:30pm - White Rabbits (The Plot.mp3) 8:30pm - Ford & Fitzroy (The Weatherman's Refrain.mp3) 7:30pm - Hayes Peebles (Gone Grey.mp3) Adira Amram is hosting, and there will be gift bags with candy and......

2007 is just around the corner, and we've got a little tip sheet on where to be when the clock strikes midnight. MUSIC + PARTY • Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will help ring in the new year with their guests the Bob Mould Band and Final Fantasy at Hammerstein Ballroom. Our friends at Stereogum are sponsoring the show, and tickets are still available here. Clap's second album, Some Loud Thunder, comes out in January,......

Story of the Year: Beirut The story is so well documented it's hardly worth rewriting. And of course, that was the problem. A mountain of Blog Buzz was built before the band played their first New York concert ever. Before they had even fully formed the touring band. Always trying to meet the impossible expectations, their live shows were heavily scrutinized from day one, but the general consensus was that these guys were pretty darn......

READINGS: Another double-bill this week at the 92nd Street Y - Janet Fitch (White Oleander, and her new novel, Paint it Black) and A.M. Holmes (The Safety of Objects, This Book Will Save Your Life) are reading from new work tonight, introduced respectively to the stage by Will Allison and Ben Marcus. Plus, the under-35 gets a limited number of tickets for just ten dollars. - Krissa Corbett Cavouras 8pm // 92nd Street Y [E.......

Last night, while we were watching Norah Jones "punk" band play the Delancey, Guns n' Roses rocked fans at Hammerstein Ballroom with old favorites and new tunes. Brooklyn Vegan was there and has a ton of pictures (including the photo above) and the promise of a full report to come later. Apparently Sebastian Bach even joined Axl on stage...we won't lie, we kind of wish we were there. Alas, all we have is YouTube.......

Hail Social are: Dayve Hawk, Matt Maraldo, Dan Henry, Richie Roxas, Avir Mitra A few years ago we went to see Interpol play the second of two nights at Hammerstein Ballroom. We remember really enjoying the first opener of the night, but never caught their name. Not too long ago a friend mentioned he was going out to see "that band that opened for Interpol" play a show. We put the pieces together and......

Gothamist is very grateful that we didn't have to witness Bloomberg's Hip Hop Press conference yesterday. OK, well, actually we kinda do wish that we'd been there, if only to see Bloomie chatting it up with Ice-T and Russell Simmons, but considering some of the soundbites that made it into today's papers we suspect that even that charm would have quickly worn off ("Welcome to City Hall, or my crib, as I like to......

On March 20th this year, the 3rd Anniversary of the US Invasion of Iraq, a group of artists will come together for the Bring 'em Home concert. Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, Rufus Wainwright, Steve Earle, Fischerspooner, Peaches and Devendra Banhart will join forces for the event which will benefit the Iraq War Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace. An event like this will of course include everyone's favorite......

Gothamist is feeling a bit under the weather today, literally and figuratively, so we'll just get straight to it, if you don't mind: Monday it's singer-songwriter night at Bowery Ballroom, with Vic Chesnutt, David Bazan (of Pedro The Lion), Mark Eitzel, and Will Johnson (of Centro-Matic) all playing each other's songs together, as the Undertow Orchestra. That's a lot of emoting on one stage, folks. For the ultimate in lameness, check out INXS at Avery......

A few times a week, Gothamist publishes music reviews by our contributor Jeff Baum. The opinions below belong entirely to the author. It was the kind of show that I would have had no idea it was happening unless I was there. There are some shows you look forward to for months and months and there are most that come and go without ever knowing they exist. This would have easily fallen into the second......

Antony and the Johnsons will play their first NYC show since winning the UK's Mercury Music Prize last month. The past year has seen Antony rise from a relatively unknown eccentric NYC club performer to an international superstar. His headlining show at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, and his upcoming appearance on Letterman, are two signs of his well deserved success. Those attending the Carnegie show will also be treated to a rare opening set......

Metric...

This week requires you to make some very important decisions. It all starts on Wednesday with the question, "will it be SPIN or Summerstage?" SPIN is celebrating their 20th anniversary at Webster Hall with an incredible lineup that includes Public Enemy, Death Cab for Cutie, LCD Soundsystem, Drive-By Truckers, Lady Sovereign, Diplo, and Afrika Bambaataa. All that can be yours for only $10 more than it'll cost you to see just Death Cab in......

It's CMJ week in NYC. Arcade Fire, Devendra Banhart, Lady Sovereign, Feist, Nouvelle Vague, Doves, The Wrens, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cursive, !!!, Wolf Parade, The Hold Steady, Brian Jonestown Massacare... we can't even begin to list everything going on. Why should we? CMJ's listings reveal everything you need to know. Further inspection of CMJ.OhMyRockness.com lets you in on even more. The CMJ archives at BrooklynVegan will clue you in even further, and......

Will the real Neil Diamond please step forward? The kings of (indie) rock n' roll converge on NYC this week. Each will attempt to outdo the other. Ben Gibbard impersonator Colin Meloy and his merry band of Decemberists return for their umpteenth NYC show since they first set foot here in May 2003. We aren't complaining. The Thursday night gig at the 5000 capacity Summerstage promises to be their biggest New York show yet, but......

Hip-Hop dominates this week with at least three recommended shows. Some of the best acts in indie hip-hop play Irving Plaza tonight (Monday). It’s one of the only stops on the Stone Throw Records Tour featuring Madlib, M.E.D, Peanut Butter Wolf, and J-Rocc. On Tuesday Madlib and M.E.D. will also perform for free at Fat Beats. [Listen to some music Madlib put out on Blue Note.] Last year Madlib joined MF DOOM to release......

We couldn't help but notice the abundance of talented white male rockers invading NYC this week. New and old and originating from various corners of the Earth, the white boys of rock n' roll are invading. Let us be your guide. Last time they were here, they rocked NYC under the Brooklyn Bridge. The Irish international living rock n' roll legends, U2, are coming to a stadium near you. Tuesday and Wednesday at Continental Airlines......

Built to Spill was one of the biggest indie rock bands of the 90's, and one of the biggest indie rock bands ever. Many thought they were gone forever, but they're not. Before their new album comes out this September, they'll entertain us at four recommended NYC shows: Irving, Irving, Irving, Southpaw. Also still making music: Weezer (you were eleven years younger when you first heard "Buddy Holly"). They have a new album out......