Willie Nelson just never stops working: today, he announced his planned MySpace secret show at his hometown bar in Maui, Hawaii, to coincide with the August 25 release of American Classic, his latest album on Blue Note. Part of the “Secret Show” series put on by MySpace Music, the concert will feature a guest appearance by Band of Horses and will take place at Charley’s Restaurant and Saloon in the town of Paia, located on Maui’s legendary Hana Highway.

American Classic, Nelson’s first album of jazz standards since 1978’s Stardust, features guest appearances by Norah Jones and Diana Krall, and will be streamed on MySpace in its entirety starting on August 22, along with a video on the making of the album which is currently on MySpace Music’s website. Nelson will also be previewing tracks from the album on his SIRIUS satellite radio program.

The line-up for San Francisco’s second annual Outside Lands Music & Arts festival has been announced. The three-day festival will take place in late August at the Golden Gate park, and headliners include Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, M.I.A. Dave Matthews Band, and… Tom Jones. (If that’s not enough to make you want to go by itself, than we don’t know what to tell you.)
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Already the third Jagjaguwar release on our year end best-of list, and undoubtedly one of our favorite bands of 2008, Parts & Labor quietly put out one of the best records of the year. With an entire line-up that boasts side projects and a label between band founders Dan Friel and BJ Warsaw, Parts & Labor are a band that remains both an integral part of their hometown Brooklyn musical community as well as the national independent music scene. Yet despite their DIY ethos and with nary a miss on the entire album, Receivers is the type of epic record we’ve come to expect from bands like My Morning Jacket and Band Of Horses. And one that opens up the discussion that Parts & Labor are becoming a band worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as bands of that level.
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