Once again Thailand will play host to the Swedish export-heavy ReEarth Festival in late February: https://reearth.com/reearth-festival/
Featured artists for 2011 include Timbuktu, Looptroop Rockers, Maskinen, Tingsek and DJ Dainja.
Sad Day for Puppets are heading back to the UK in February:
02/04 - Bodega, Nottingham
02/05 - Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds
02/06 - Captain's Rest, Glasgow
02/07 - Moho Live, Manchester
02/08 - Social, London
02/09 - Proud Galleries (Music Week Breakout Night), London
02/10 - Cellars, Portsmouth
02/11 - Flapper, Birmingham
02/12 - Jam, Brighton
Swedish rapper Promoe is heading to Australia and bringing fellow Looptroop Rockers member Cosmic along:
12/29-30 - Woodford Folk Festival
12/31 - Private Party, Brisbane
01/01 - Summadayze Festival, Adelaide
01/05 - Tone, Sydney
01/06 - The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
01/07 - The Esplanade Hotel, Melbourne
01/08 - The Bird, Perth
Danish indie label mainstays (Figurines, Oh No Ono, etc.) turns 10 years old in 2011 and will mark the occasion by throwing a celebratory show at Loppen in Copenhagen on April 15 and then shutting down for good. Read more: https://gaffa.dk/nyhed/45096 (in Danish)
Swedish rockers Diamond Dogs are doing a few UK dates this week:
12/01 - Yardbirds club, Grimsby
12/02 - Guildhall, Gloucester
12/03 - Academy 3, Manchester
12/04 - Piperclub, Hull
12/05 - Redbourne club, Scunthorpe
Swedish duo Dial M for Murder has apparently been hand-picked by Brett Andersen to open for the reunited Suede at the o2 Arena in London on December 7. Listen to the band here and be underwhelmed: https://www.myspace.com/mformurderband
Norwegian noisenik/prankster Zweizz has been added to the Ulver/Virus show in London at KOKO and will also be accompanying the former on a number of other dates.
Swedish postrockers Immanu El have started to confirm dates for their upcoming European tour next March: https://www.myspace.com/immanuelband/blog/540817675
The band also reports that they are working on material for their next album, set for an October 2011 release, and will be debuting a few of the tracks during these dates.
Speaking of Dadde, he also sends word that Wolfbrigade are currently in pre-production for their 8th album which will be recorded at Studio Fredman, their first time there since 1997. And as for Asta Kask, the band will be releasing a split 7" with Japanese act Crispy Nuts and will also be touring their with them over in their part of the world this coming February. They're also working on their very first US tour which should happen around May or June, I'm presuming to coincide with Chaos in Tejas which will be June 2-5 this coming year.
Soma is a Stockholm-based band featuring members from Wolfbrigade, Shades of Grey and Dollhouse that has existed since 2007, but is only now getting out of the rehearsal space for their very first gigs:
11/20 - Kafé 44, Stockholm (SWE)
11/26 - LiWi, Liepzig (GER) w/Saviours
11/27 - Scharni28, Berlin (GER)
As for the sound, drummer Dadde describes it as follows: "The music is heavy, metallic and complex yet there's plenty of melodies and from time to time our roots in the crustpunk-movement shine through, but the use of samplers and keyboards make a big difference from our past bands, and the result is an experimental pedal-driven stonerrock/death metal/hardcorepunk with samplers, keyboards and influences from world music." The band plans to record their debut album "The dark chapters" this coming spring.
Listen to Norway reports that quality acts Motorpsycho and Elephant9 will be teaming up for a one-off UK gig at the Borderline on November 24: https://www.listento.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2010111714473471404898
Norwegian avant-metal legends Ulver and Virus will be performing in London together on March 22 at KOKO: https://www.koko.uk.com/listings/ulver-virus-22-03-2011
The Concretes have announced new North American dates for January: https://theconcretes.tumblr.com/post/1583422994
Fredrik is heading out for a few dates in Northern Europe:
11/24 - Astrastube, Hamburg (GER)
11/25 - Steinbruch, Düsseldorf-Duisburg (GER)
11/26 - Ricarda Huch Haus, Jena (GER)
11/27 - tba, Berlin (GER)
11/28 - Final, Prague (CZ)
11/29 - Eufemia, Warsaw (POL)
11/30 - Stanica, Zilina (SK)
12/01 - Rhiz, Vienna (AUS)
12/02 - Cairo, Würzburg (GER)
12/03 - Ostpol, Dresden (GER)
For those of you who missed the quick sell-out of that one Jens Lekman NYC show, there will be a 2nd show added and tickets go on sale Wednesday, November 17 at noon Eastern. Check Brooklyn Vegan for the link to be posted at that time.