Carolina Chocolate Drops Archives

Dessa, Dan Deacon, Sharon Van Etten, Brokeback to play Chicago’s free downtown concert series

Chicago has announced the artists for its free summer concert series in Millennium Park, Downtown Sound and Loops and Variations. Clear your Mondays and Thursdays.

ALARM’s guide to Record Store Day 2012

Tomorrow is the third Saturday in April, which means that independent record stores across the world will face an influx of limited-edition vinyl, avid fans, and rabid audiophiles. With myriad releases hitting shelves, we’ve provided you with some of our most anticipated picks to make Saturday’s shopping (relatively) quick and painless.

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010

Among the thousands of under-appreciated or under-publicized albums that were released in 2010, hundreds became our favorites and were presented in ALARM and on AlarmPress.com. Of those, we pared down to 100 outstanding releases, leaving no genre unexplored in our list of this year’s overlooked gems.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Giving New Life to Old-Time Piedmont String Music

This trio from North Carolina is one of the few remaining African-American string bands in the world, and its music aims to tell the history that history books left out. In the process, an oft-overlooked tradition is reinterpreted into something completely new.

Invisible: Overlooked Albums and Unseen Artists — in stores now!

Pick up a copy from your local bookstore or order a copy here. And while you’re at it, subscribe to ALARM and save 52% off the cover price! Your subscription starts with Invisible, which ships immediately.