The Cave Singers are a Seattle-based folk outfit that is signed to Matador Records. Fresh off a kick-ass performance at the Pickathon,  The Cave Singers return to Portland for MusicfestNW. Currently touring behind their most recent release, Invitation Songs. Seattle’s The Cave Singers debut with a rural blend of homespun mystery and “folk music approached by way of punk rock, or an updated version of the ‘Anthology Of American Folk Music’. You might hear bits of Calexico, Iron & Wine, Devendra, or Lindsey Buckingham in their dense and eerie sound. Singer Pete Quirk’s appealingly nasal voice simultaneously echoes Arlo Guthrie and a mosquito’s buzz.” – Seattle Weekly

The Cave Singers play at the Toyota Antics and KEXP stage at Doug Fir during MusicfestNW on Friday, Sept. 10, with The Tallest Man on Earth, Mimicking Birds, and S. Carey. Entry with MusicfestNW wristband or $15 at the door. Doors open at 8:00 pm.

MP3/Download: The Cave Singers – Summer Light
MP3/Download: The Cave Singers – Bramble

The BellRays are one of our favorite bands here in the Basement and we are excited to have them return to PDX for MusicfestNW ‘10. Hailing from California, The BellRays have been on the circuit for almost 20 years. Led by the husband & wife team of Bob & Lisa “the intense, high-octane blend of soul and hard rock that has become the musical signature of The BellRays is so well-concocted that it seems as if it must’ve been intact from the beginning.” The BellRays plays at Ash St. during MusicfestNW on Thursday, Sept. 9, with Garotas Suecas, and Leaders. Entry with MusicfestNW wristband or $10 at the door. Doors open at 8:00 pm.

MP3/Download: The Bellrays – Have A Little Faith

Here in the Basement, we are fired up for People Under The Stairs to play the MFNW ‘10. For those of you unfamiliar with the People Under The Stairs, they are the hip-hop duo of Double K and Thes One. Now over ten years and seven albums deep, People Under The Stairs have built a genre within hip hop of their own. Upbeat, crazy, balls to the wall and ridiculous “Carried Away” follows in true PUTS tradition. The new album was produced old school style in the same fashion as Rick Rubin (Def Jam Era) or Dust Brothers (Grand Royal, Pauls Boutique). Listen & download a few audio tracks & check out the videos below. People Under The Stairs will play MFNW ‘10 at the Hawthorne Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 11, with Debaser, TxE and Grynch. Entry with MusicfestNW wristband or $15 at the door. Doors open at 7:00 pm.

MP3/Download: People Under The Stairs – Hit The Top
MP3/Download: People Under The Stairs – Youth Explosion

The Avett Brothers pull off a sneak attack at the Crystal Ballroom, in a special limited-capacity, one-night-only benefit performance. Proceeds for this event will be contributed to Terra Nova Community Farm, a Student-Run Entrepreneurial Venture and CSA located at Terra Nova High School.

Only 500 Tickets Available – This will sell out FAST!

Details:

Crystal Ballroom

1332 W Burnside, Portland OR 97209

Monday, August 30

7:30 p.m. doors, 8:30 p.m. show

$50 advance, $50 day of show

All ages

Tickets on sale now HERE

Alpha Broadcasting President/COO Bob Proffitt today announced a partnership with Bing at the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art Live Performance Lounge at the Pac West Center, now officially called The Bing Lounge. At a press conference from The Bing Lounge, Proffitt unveiled the new venue and line-up of artists for the debut week with Danielle Tiedt, General Manager of Marketing for Bing at Microsoft. First to take the stage today is Columbia Records recording artists, Five for Fighting. Following on, Wednesday (Aug. 25) will be Melissa Etheridge, Crowded House on Thursday (Aug. 26) and the Doobie Brothers on Friday (Aug. 27).

The Bing Lounge is a replacement for the KINK Live Performance Lounge, a popular and intimate venue at KINK-FM radio’s old offices. Alpha Broadcasting, which operates KINK and a number of other Rose City radio stations, recently moved to the downtown Pacwest Center, 1211 SW Fifth Ave., and hence is opening a new concert venue there.

“KINK-FM has been on the forefront of the Live Performance Lounge for the last 15 years and has solidified a reputation for getting everyone from the most established artists to those bands just emerging on the scene,” Bob Proffitt, president and COO of Alpha Broadcasting, said in an announcement. “The bar has been set high and when we saw the opportunity to build a state-of-the-art performance lounge in the Pacwest Center, we jumped at the chance.”

The concerts there will be invitation-only; the venue’s capacity is just 164 people. It’s essentially where KINK and other Alpha stations will host live radio sessions. But there’s a twist: Performances will be taped and uploaded a day later to Bing Entertainment’s video channel, where anyone can watch them.

This year, the Bing Lounge is expected to host about 80 performances from national acts, Danielle Tiedt, general manager for Bing marketing, wrote in a blog post Tuesday. It also will host a medical-speakers series with Oregon Health and Science University, a business decision-making speech series, and interviews with athletes and sports teams, Microsoft said.

In other Portland-related Bing news, today Microsoft also released a new Bing Maps application called “Food Cart Finder.” It locates and details more than 250 food carts in the Portland area

MFNW Free Ride: MusicfestNW on the cheap