Michael Franti & Spearhead are always a joy in a live setting. Check out The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Wednesday to hear them play a tune from their amazing new record, Yell Fire!

Pete Yorn will perform live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday.

The Roots’ new record, Game Theory, comes out on Tuesday, and later that night, you can catch them live on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Watching Jurassic 5 perform live puts an instant smile on every face in the crowd. If you’ve never had a chance to see them play, tune into The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight.

Tonight’s Monday Night Football preseason game pits Green Bay against Cincinnati (ESPN). It’s your last chance to see any football on TV before the regular season starts. We can’t wait for that day, Thursday, September 7, with Miami at Pittsburgh (NBC). Who knows? The first game of the year could be a preview of the AFC Championship game.

Greetings and welcome to the Songlines blog. I’ll be making regular posts here about concerts, books, pets, and more. Often, I’ll invite you to comment on the articles, so that we can have a dialogue with one another and share the things that excite us. I’ll also encourage you to send me digital pictures and cool links. For now, here’s a picture of that Promo Pup you’re hearing about so often!

Welcome to the fold!

Yours in Americana,
Leslie Rouffe

Ever been to the U.S. Open in Queens? It takes place now through September 10. It’s a terrific way to celebrate the end of summer, especially during the first week, when dozens of matches are held each day. Since the tournament centers around Labor Day weekend, you can get there even if you don’t live in the New York area. This year will be particularly special, as it marks the last hurrah for one of the all-time greats, Andre Agassi.

In 2002, Dave Eggers, editor of the literary mag McSweeney’s and author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, opened a nonprofit tutoring program for children in San Francisco. Dubbed “826 Valencia,” the organization offers free writing workshops to kids ages six to eighteen, and offers supplemental support to overworked public school teachers. Subsequently, branches have opened in several other major cities (826NYC, etc.).

The other night, I attended a unique show, “Revenge of the Book Eaters.” It was the first in a series of six concerts in six cities designed to benefit 826. Bringing together bigwigs from the worlds of music, comedy, and literature, it set out to settle the (presumably rhetorical) debate: words or music–which is better?

For me at least, the show got off to a rocky start. It took place at the Upper West Side’s Beacon Theater, and though I arrived a half hour early, I had to get in line behind approximately 300 people waiting in a slow-moving will-call ticket line that wrapped around the block. When I finally got inside, Jon Stewart was already onstage. He shared some anecdotes, read a chapter from his book America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction, and in general, seemed like he had had a very long day putting together the fake news. But, even when tired, he’s droll and wry, and he helped me start forgetting about that line outside.

After some appeals for cash by emcee John Hodgman (also of The Daily Show), the lovely Sarah Vowell of This American Life fame, and Eggers himself, we were treated to a quick solo performance by John Roderick of the Seattle-based band the Long Winters.

Sufjan Stevens took the stage next, complete with a 7-piece acoustic band. I absolutely loved his set, which included “Chicago” and “Jackson” from his critically-acclaimed record, Illinois. Though the arrangements were subdued, they were warmed by some luscious
piano and strings, relaxed horns, and expertly-blended background vocals.

David Byrne was billed to close out the night, and there was palpable excitement in the room during the “intermission” (read: instrument-switching), which took place about two hours and 25 minutes into the show. When he and his excellent band appeared, he told the audience that he’d be doing a “country set.” It turned out to be short but sweet, and included two little-known covers and two Talking Heads tunes. “The Big Country” was a highlight.

The crowd was directly responsible for the terrific encore. Earlier, when the buckets were being passed around, John Hodgman had issued a challenge: if the cash donations reached $5000, Sufjan Stevens and David Byrne would close the show by playing a song together. Not surprisingly, the audience ponied up. (In fact, we kicked in an additional $15,000.) And so, we got to hear Stevens and Byrne trade verses on Bill Anderson’s “Saginaw, Michigan,” a fitting end to an unusual event, and a memorable collective show of goodwill.

Find out whether the Book Eaters show is coming to your city here. Future performers include Jake Gyllenhaal, Aimee Mann, Andy Richter, Lemony Snicket, and Colin Meloy of the Decemberists.

I should also mention that 826 is an incredible organization that offers all sorts of volunteer opportunities, and they don’t require a minimum time commitment. I found their mission to be inspirational. Take a few minutes to find out more about them.

–Melanie Shrawder

Let the sublime sounds of James Hunter transport you to a kinder, simpler decade. He plays Late Night with Conan O’Brien tonight.

M. Ward has a great new record, Post-War, and he’ll play a tune from it live on The Late Show with David Letterman on Thursday.