La Strada, our brand new artist of the month, are a collective of truly talented musicians on a mission to create beautiful folky music with a very personal orchestral approach. The band - that we had the pleasure to see live a couple of years ago at one of our Deli parties - has been particularly productive as of late with an EP released in 2009 and a full length scheduled for release in April. They are also about to hit "the road" (that's what "La Strada" means, by the way), basically making a few stops on their way to Austin for SXSW for a couple of dates in North Carolina and New Orleans. In Austin they are scheduled to play Brooklyn Vegan's SXSW party, which is bound to create some deserved buzz around these guys. You may as well start listening to them now, why wait?

After spending two short weeks holed up and snowed in in the Studio, Blackbells emerged from the depths of Brooklyn with their debut self-titled EP. Their sound calls upon influences ranging from Echo and the Bunneymen to Oasis and contemporaries Band of Skulls — with whom they have shared the stage. The band has a run of post-release dates planned, including a stop at SXSW. - (as posted in The Deli's Open Blog - post your band's entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

The organizers of the Tech Mashup Party have selected the 3 artists that will play at their show in Austin during SXSW. The lucky ones are LA alt rock band Voxhaul Broadcast (in the picture), Austin indie rockers Red Leaves, and NYC singer Songwriter Dion Roy - congrats to them and thanks to all the bands that submitted through The Deli!

Ryan and Hays Holladay (formerly of the Brooklyn pop/rock band The Epochs ) played their "goodbye NYC" show at Pianos this past Monday under the new moniker Bluebrain. The two brothers - who are moving to Washington DC - had residency at the Lower East Side venue; performing every Monday this month to showcase their electronic rock songs off of their newly-released LP, “Soft Power.” Bluebrain smoothly transitioned from mellow, melodic songs like “Each Time I Think” to downright body-jolting jams like “Ten by Ten”. Athough there are only two of them onstage, the brothers managed to achieve an impressive, almost majestic sound weaving their voices with looped instruments like drums and violin and other electronics. With each song, they cranked out more and more energy and showcased some serious musical skill. When the set was over, one person in the audience yelled, “Three more songs!!” - there's a fan who knows how to make a bargain...

NYC Bands and artists,

DIY space and event organizers Bushwick Music Studios along with support from Arts in Bushwick and The Deli Magazine are pleased to announce the first annual DIY Bushwick, A Music Festival, which will take place March 24-27th 2010 at various DIY venues spaces, studios, bars and galleries throughout the Brooklyn neighborhood. In recent years Bushwick’s industrial setting has proved a perfect breeding ground for new music and grassroots art spaces. The goal of the Festival is to highlight the positive work ethic and communal spirit of Bushwick artists and provide a platform that unifies the local business community, residents, and artists in support of this musical renaissance happening in the warehouses, community gardens, and lofts throughout the neighborhood.

A significant number of artists playing this Festival will be booked by the organizers through The Deli - to apply to play all you need to do fill in this form HERE and click on the confirmation email you'll receive (this will simply add you to our mailing list and enter your band in our fabulous NYC charts organized by genre and region - one day we'll also create band profiles!).

This particular opportunity is reserved to NYC based artists only, good luck!

The Deli's Staff