Muzzle of Bees crossed the 5-year line last month. What does this mean? Not much, but we figured that we’d use it as an excuse to showcase some of our favorite bands for a couple nights. In advance of our showcase in Milwaukee, we are supremely excited to call the High Noon Saloon in Madison our home for the night of Friday, February 19th.

On the menu is the first Madison Juniper Tar performance behind their brilliant new Howl Street EP. In addition, we’ll be bringing along our good friends Common Loon, Strand of Oaks, and White Pines.

Tickets: On Sale Now ($10)

MP3: Juniper Tar – “Birds In Trees”
MP3: Common Loon – “Dinosaur vs. Early Man”
MP3: Strand Of Oaks – “End In Flames”

Flier: Erik

Regular visitors of this site will probably recognize Common Loon. They performed Madison Pop Fest two years ago on the Muzzle of Bees stage, and, more recently, earned a bunch of new fans with their Cactus Club show during Radio Summer Camp.

While no release date has been set, expect their debut album, The Long Dream of Birds to arrive early 2010 via Parasol Records. In the meantime, Common Loon will be touring through the Midwest later this month including stops in Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago.

Common Loon Tour Dates:

Nov 12 @ 501 Club – Minneapolis MN
Nov 13 @ Daytrotter Session – Rock Island IL
Nov 14 @ The Mill – Iowa City IA
Nov 19 @ The House Cafe – Dekalb IL
Nov 20 @ Der Rathskeller – Madison WI
Nov 21 @ Cactus Club – Milwaukee WI
Nov 22 @ The Empty Bottle – Chicago IL
Dec 04 @ Canopy Club – Urbana IL

Myspace: Common Loon
MP3: Common Loon – “Dinosaur vs. Early Man”

This is going to be one of the greatest nights in Muzzle of Bees history. For real. Four of my favorite bands combining old favorites Catfish Haven and Rural Alberta Advantage with new favorites Common Loon and Frontier Folk Nebraska will grace the Cactus Club stage this Friday, August 21st. This one great night of music comes to you via Radio Summer Camp put on by our friends at 91.7 WMSE.

Haven’t gotten your Radio Summer Camp pass? You get a $5 discount off the already bargain price of $25 for being a Muzzle of Bees reader. Honestly, $20 for all this goodness is a superb offer.

MP3: Catfish Haven – “Set In Stone”
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Crazy For Leaving”
MP3: Catfish Haven – “Please Come Back”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt this Place”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Frank, AB”

A few years ago I brought Champaign, IL based Common Loon to Madison to perform at Madison Pop Fest alongside Bon Iver, Malajube. Since that time, they’ve been hard at work on a full-length release, due later this year. They’ll be amongst the masses amount of bands on showcase at SXSW in Austin this week, as part of the Polyvinyl showcase.

They’re one of the bands on my “must see” list this week, and would encourage anyone in and around Austin to check them out on Friday, March 20th at Habana Calle 6, they kick things off at 8PM, but stick around for sets by Asobi Seksu, Loney Dear, and Headlights.

Muzzle of Bees is proud to provide you with an exclusive first listen of “A Prayer for Hemophilia” off the forthcoming Common Loon record. Grab the track as a free and legal download below. If you’re a fan of Deerhunter or Grizzly Bear, I think you’ll love these guys.

Myspace: Common Loon
MP3: Common Loon – “A Prayer for Hemophilia”