Kurt Vile and The Violators at Mercy Lounge on August 5th

Tonight in Nashville….

I can’t believe as I am writing this that tickets are still available!  It’s amazing.  This dude would literally sell out venues twice the size in a matter of minutes in other cities.  So, what does that mean?  Number 1, Nashville needs to know more about him…. and Number 2, you still have a chance to see a top notch performer on last minute notice.

Philly’s Kurt Vile has been making records since 2008 when he released his first LP Constant Hitmaker (via Gulcher Records, rereleased on Woodsist in 2009).  In 2009, Vile released the LP God Is Saying This To You (via Mexican Summer) and two EPs, Fall Demons (via Skulltones) and The Hunchback (via Richie Records).  He then signed to Matador Records where he has released the LP Childish Prodigy in 2009, the EP Square Shells in 2010, and the newest LP Smoke Ring For My Halo in March of 2011.  It is truly amazing that he has become such a widely acclaimed artist in such a short period of time.

Once compared to Leonard Cohen, Tom Petty, Psychic TV, and Animal Collective in the same review (for 2009’s Childish Prodigy), Kurt can bring to mind anything from Suicide to Leo Kottke to My Bloody Valentine, Bob Seger, Nick Drake, and Eastern ragas. Still, he pieces together these disparate elements so seamlessly and unpretentiously that such reference points are rendered pointless by the singularity of his sound. Kurt Vile might belong to a long lineage of classic American songwriters, but he’s the only one who’s alive and in his prime today. – Matador Records bio.

Vile was chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival that they curated in May 2011. He kept on going and has been a touring machine right now in US with a number of European stops coming around later this summer and into the fall.  He also is playing some support for Bright Eyes later this fall, and will be hitting a few festivals along the way (including Austin City Limits festival).  And, think about it, he is playing tonight (with backup band “the violators”) at Mercy Lounge, and you can see it for only $10 ($12 at the door).  Get out and see some live music.

Below are some tracks for your end of the week enjoyment.

[gigya src="http://grooveshark.com/widget.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="250" height="250" flashvars="hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&playlistID=58009749&bbg=000000&bth=000000&pfg=000000&lfg=000000&bt=ffffff&pbg=ffffff&pfgh=ffffff&si=ffffff&lbg=ffffff&lfgh=ffffff&sb=ffffff&bfg=666666&pbgh=666666&lbgh=666666&sbh=666666&p=0" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="window"]