Tortuga Music Fest

On April 13th & 14th, Fort Lauderdale Beach will host Rock the Ocean’s inaugural Tortuga Music Festival. The beach will be transformed into an oceanfront music experience, featuring top country and rock artists and local culinary delights on the shores of the Florida coast.

Together with Rock The Ocean, Tortuga will pair music with meaning by raising awareness about marine conservation and issues affecting the world’s oceans.

Who's showin' up?

    Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite
    DangerMuffin
    Donavon Frankenreiter
    Eli Young Band
    Eric Church
    G Love & Special Sauce
    Gary Allan

    Gary Clark Jr.
    Gloriana
    Grace Potter
    Jake Owen
    Kenny Chesney
    Kip Moore
    Lynyrd Skynyrd

    Mac McAnally
    Michael Franti & Spearhead
    Rayland Baxter
    Sister Hazel
    The Avett Brothers
    The Bright Light Social Hour
    The Wailers

Ben Harper and the Relentless 7

Hot on the heels of his killer performance at the "Change Begins Within" benefit in NYC with Paul and Ringo, Ben Harper has plugged his guitar back in and cranked up the amp for his new album White Lies For Dark Times. It's an 11-song set soaked with hard rock and the deep Delta blues. “It’s a sound I’ve been looking for and reaching for in my mind.”...................which means the album is more Cream than Jack Johnson, more “Faded” than “Steal My Kisses.”

But while there's more fuzz in the riffs and thunder in the beats, the lyrics are still quintessential Harper, singing, "It takes a hundred miles of love to heal a mile of pain" on "Shimmer and Shine."

In addition to being his heaviest offering, the album is also his first with the Relentless7 — guitarist Jason Mozersky, drummer Jordan Richardson and bassist Jesse Ingalls — the trio of Austin-based musicians previously worked on Harper's 2006 album Both Sides of the Gun. Harper said that he first heard Mozersky when a particularly insistent van driver blared a demo while carrying Harper to an Austin gig.

The release date for the album is May 5; the tour kicks off a few days before on the 2nd. Here are the dates and venues for May:

05/02/09 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse

05/04/09 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

05/05/09 New York, NY Webster Hall

05/08/09 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall Of Williamsburg

05/09/09 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of The Living Arts

05/10/09 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club

05/15/09 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall

05/16/09 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre

05/25/09 Quincy, WA Gorge Amphitheatre

05/27/09 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore

05/28/09 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern

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