Haunting

DM Stith, "the peculiar genius" hailed by NME as the "Curious ringmaster," has collaborated with Sufjan Stevens, My Brightest Diamond, Son Lux, Castanets, and recently returned from London where Esquire called his show a "performance of transcendent, spectral majesty. Seriously." His first album, Heavy Ghost (Asthmatic Kitty), a collection of songs rich with strings, polyrhythmic percussion, lofty choirs, epic electronic gestures and Stith's clear-as-a-bell voice, was released in early 2009 to universal critical acclaim which Tiny Mix Tapes called a "singular work from an extremely talented new voice." His follow up, Heavy Ghost Appendices (out May 25, 2010) is described by Stith as "a record of my progression from being an intensely private artist to working with other musicians and performing live."

Catch DM Stith in an intimate show at The Cedar, with opening acts experimental artist Inlets (new album Inter Arbiter out on 4/20/10) and Norwegian multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Silje Nes.

The Swedish duo First Aid Kit comprises sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg (born 1990 and 1993, respectively), hailing from Enskede, a suburb south of Stockholm. Yes, they are very young, but the pure music they create speaks of bygone times and old souls. The emphasis is on narrative lyrics accompanying playful melodies with intense, dense harmonies.

By popular request, a return visit by The Pines, whose most recent album Tremolo was debuted at The Cedar in a sparkling show on Oct 23. The album went on to make several end of year best album lists, including City Pages'. "There's a good reason that we chose to feature folk duo the Pines on the cover of this year's music wrap-up, and it's not because they make mighty fine photo subjects—it's because their latest effort, Tremolo, is one of the most delicately arranged and timeless local albums to be released this year. Read more »

The Cedar welcomes back a long-time favorite: Peter Ostroushko, who has come to be regarded as one of the finest mandolin and fiddle players in acoustic music. His tours have taken him to the stages of clubs, performing arts centers, music festivals and theaters across North America and Europe, and he has earned an international reputation as a versatile and dazzling master of instrumentation and composition. Read more »

Jóhann Jóhannsson has been called by critics “Iceland's foremost genre-crossing multi-instrumentalist” (Irish Times), “one of the bright lights in the already talent rich Icelandic underground music scene” (Aquarius Records), “the most compelling composer working today”, and “An important figure in Iceland’s new music scene at the turn of the millennium”. (All Music Guide). Read more »