Last Sunday and Monday was Obama Nights! at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. The sold-out Barack Obama Presidential Campaign fundraisers, featuring an all-star lineup of 23 singer-songwriters, included Marina V (MySpace), Caitlin Crosby (MySpace), Laura Jansen (MySpace), Charlotte Martin (MySpace), Charley Turner (MySpace), Brother Sal (MySpace), Terra Naomi (MySpace), Priscilla Ahn (MySpace), Greg Laswell (MySpace), Cary Brothers (MySpace), Jim Bianco (MySpace), and Butch Walker (MySpace) for Sunday, while Monday included Kelly Dalton (MySpace), Marié Digby (MySpace), Tim Myers (MySpace), Schuyler Fisk (MySpace), HoneyHoney (MySpace), Rocco DeLuca (MySpace), David Ryan Harris (MySpace), Chris Pierce (MySpace), Tom Freund (MySpace), Ben Lee (MySpace), and Brett Dennen (MySpace). more ›

Last weekend, the 24th Annual Abbot Kinney Festival took place in Venice. One longtime attendee noted that in past years, the quality of musical entertainment wasn't particularly memorable, so she was pleasantly surprised at the lineup this year, which included locals WAZ (MySpace), Buddy (MySpace), Laura Jansen (MySpace), Holly Conlan (MySpace) with Pedestrian (MySpace), Steve Reynolds (MySpace) with Cary Brothers (MySpace), Brian Wright (MySpace) with Sally Jaye (MySpace), Jesca Hoop (MySpace), Greg Laswell (MySpace), and Chris Pierce (MySpace) on the Brooks Stage (booked by the Hotel Cafe), Paul Chesne (MySpace) and Matt Ellis (MySpace) on the Andaluisa Stage, and War Tapes (MySpace) and HoneyHoney (MySpace) at the Palms Stage (although it should be noted that the set times listed on the website for this stage were woefully incorrect). more ›

Earlier this week, KGRL, "...a [Southern California-based] non-profit non-commercial internet radio station that plays the freshest and the best ALL QUALITY female artist / fronted acts in a wide variety of genres," presented their List of Influential CDs of 2007, which included local residents Inara George (The Bird and the Bee), Charlotte Martin (MySpace), Sara Bareilles (MySpace), and Carina Round (MySpace). more ›

Mastodon, Against Me, Cursive, Planes Mistaken for Stars @ Wiltern Sloan, Sea Wolf @ The Troubadour Spank Rock @ Safari Sam's Tim Finn @ Largo Rufus Wainwright @ El Rey Theatre Tourette, Privy Seals, Black Face, Everyday Loneliness, Dude War @ The Smell The Living Sisters, The Chapin Sisters, The Watson Twins @ The Echo Ex-Plex Musexpo, The Stevie Natale Band, Deep Insight, Skybombers, Jyrojets @ Roxy Charlotte Martin, Mozella, Amy Cooper @ The... more ›

Was that Hollywood fire just a brilliant marketing scheme for tonight's benefit? Bad Religion @ Santa Monica Civic (Heal the Bay benefit) Captured By Robots, Teddy Bear Orchestra, Yeh Dede @ The Mint Bone Thugs-n-Harmony @ Ventura Theatre John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae @ Gibson Richard Swift, David Vandervelde @ Spaceland Billy Talent, Cancer Bats, Drive By @ The Troubadour Talib Kweli @ House of Blues Veruca Salt, Charlotte Martin, Poets & Pornstars, Hello... more ›