Join the Dogwood Alliance and Sopo Bicycle Co-op's for their Earth Day Celebration at the Java Monkey in Decatur on Friday April 22nd. The event kicks off at 6:30pm and will feature an acoustic set from Second Shift . Earth friendly beer and wine will be available, and the first 30 cyclists in the door get complementary beer. A $7 donation to benefit the Dogwood Alliance is suggested. www.javamonkeydecatur.com

Andrews Upstairs' annual East Andrews Spring Music Festival kicks off this Sunday April 24th at noon. Bands playing the Buckhead festival include Cowboy Mouth, The Samples, a reunion by Spider Monkey, local singer/songwriter Zac Brown, and March Bandness competition winner Tim Brantley....and as an added bonus, there will be free mimosas, bloody marys, and screwdrivers from 12 - 2pm! www.andrewsupstairs.com

The Gates Of Berlin won the first round of the 99X Miller Lite Band competition at the 10 High last night narrowly edging out Sovus Radio and The Hush. AMG was among the judges that included Chris Sciciliano from Virgin Records, and Brady Bedard from Columbia Records. Broadcasting his 99X Sunday School show live from the venue, Jay Harren MC'd the night. The next round takes place on April 24th at Smiths Olde Bar. If you haven't seen The Gates Of Berlin before you're in for a treat. The band have a wide variety of really good pop songs, maybe somewhat reminscent of the Scissor Sisters at times, but are a refreshing addition to the Atlanta scene. www.thegatesofberlin.com

NEW DATE! FOR AUDIOSLAVE - Due to logistical problems with the production, Audioslave , originally scheduled to appear on Wednesday, May 4th at the Tabernacle , will now be appearing on Tuesday, May 3rd at 8:00PM for one night only. Tickets issued for the performance on May 4th will be honored on the 3rd. Special guest joining Audioslave is Jonny Polonsky. The show is sold out but 2-tickets.com has Audioslave tickets.

ATTENTION BANDS - Our friends at 99X have let us know that they still have one slot open for their 99X Atlantis Music Conference showcase this year. Last year, Homeroom won and got to play a showcase with Linger, Avenge Vegas, Y-O-U, To Whom it Concerns, and Second Shift. The show was so packed and in demand that major label A&R reps were forced to wait in a line that wrapped around the Hard Rock Cafe'! If you think your band deserves this opportunity, all you have to do is have your friends, family, fans, and loved ones send an email to band@99x.com with the band name in the subject line, and the band with the most votes (only 1 per email address) wins. That's it! The winner this year will get the opening slot of the 99X showcase at The Loft.

Also, 99X is currently hosting the Miller Lite Band Competition. The first installment kicks off in a battle of the bands fashion at 10 High this Sunday April 17th. 99X Music Director Jay Harren is still looking for 8 bands to participate for the 3rd and 4th rounds, which will be at Park Bench Midtown (where Vinyl used to be) and CJ's Landing. Last year's winners were Heavy Mojo, and this year, the winner receives a hefty money prize from Miller and will play Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI - the world's largest music festival. Confirmed performers include The Black Crowes, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Santana, Kenny Chesney, and more. To win, band members must be 21 & over. To sign up, contact jay at 99x.com.

Heads Up.. there's a new band in town... and they're good. Variac played only their 2nd show last night at the 10 High and already, they're raising the bar. Somewhat of a 'supergroup', Variac is fronted by lead singer JT Hall who just came back from playing in Japan with Butch Walker, and includes local producer Kris Sampson (guitar), Jim Pinkstone from Nickel and Dime studios, on bass, drummer Tommy Tjoflat (ex-Film), as well as knob twiddler, Ryan Pitchford. You can check out 2 songs "Direction" and "Fool" at myspace.com/variac and you'll hear what we mean. It's good to see a band concentrating on solid songs and putting on a solid show again, and proving it's not all about the haircut. The band will be playing with Hotel and Pasadena this Friday April 15th at The Loft.

The local rockers in Y-O-U are releasing Everything is Shifting on Friday April 29th at Smith's Olde Bar with Telegram and Red Letter Agent on the bill as well. The seven song disc will be the group's first release as a three piece, and it is also the first in a series of EPs set to debut throughout the year. The songs were recorded with the help of singer/songwriter Clay Cook , mastered by Ben Allen (guitarist of Trances Arc), and recorded primarily at Nickel and Dime Recordings. www.pleaserock.com

Both The White Stripes and Coldplay have announced that they'll be releasing their forthcoming albums June 7th. Radio stations (including 99X) have been airing short teasers of "Speed of Sound," the first single off of the new Coldplay record X & Y. The song will debut on legendary DJ Steve Lamacq's show on BBC Radio 1 next Monday. Get Behind Me Satan will be the Stripes' fifth full length album, and our sources say that it sounds more like a mixture between Prince and Led Zeppelin, which could be interesting..The first single, "Blue Orchid," is also the album's opening track. The White Stripes are already set to play Music Midtown 2005 in support of the upcoming record...Now when are Coldplay coming back??

We've just updated our newest feature, the AMG Listening Post, with audio and video from Weezer, Kasabian, The Mars Volta, and other bands that are Atlanta bound. Be sure to check back every week to see the new additions in the section!

After selling out 3 shows in a row at the Tabernacle, The Black Crowes have announced a fourth and final concert on Sunday May 8th. Tickets go on sale this Saturday April 16th at noon. www.atlantaconcerts.com

GIVEAWAY- The AMG staff loves it when we can give away free things to our readers as a token of gratitude. So, we've come bearing 2 pairs of tickets from our friends at Quincy Entertainment to Peachtree Ridge High School's Rockin' at the Ridge benefit in Suwanee, Georgia. This concert is a great day of music for the family with RCA recording artist/American Idol runner up Diana DeGarmo, Shawn Mullins, Rik Emmett, Nashville rockers Luna Halo, and Sam Thacker all on the bill. If you're interested in grabbing a pair of tickets, just shoot us an email with your name and daytime phone number! www.quincyentertainment.com
For those of you who didn't make it to last night's MTVu Campus Invasion show with Muse and Razorlight at the Tabernacle, we're not going to lie...it was nothing short of phenomenal. Later this week, we're going to have a chat with the boys in Muse about life on the road, their music, and Atlanta, so look for an interview with one of the UK's biggest bands soon! (How long will it take for them to blow up here?!)

We spent 2 days at the Roxy a couple of weeks ago checking out some shows. You can read our review of Long-View's set in the features section.

GIVEAWAY - We've got a pair of tickets (worth $60.00!) to see Moby perform next Tuesday April 12th at the Tabernacle, courtesy of Peter Conlon Presents. If you want to snag these tickets, email us your name, phone number, and the name of Moby 's new CD. It's that easy! Congratulations to Vivek Salgaocar on winning the tickets! www.moby.com

Pre-sale tickets for this year's Music Midtown have sold out, but regular festival passes go on sale this Saturday April 9th at 10:00am for $75.00. Acts such as Def Leppard, Black Eyed Peas, and Biz Markie have just been announced as well. www.musicmidtown.com

+ UPDATE ! + - House Of Blues still has good seats left! Follow this link. On Monday 99X announced the Oasis show, set for Tuesday September 27th at HiFi Buys Amphitheatre. Support will come from Jet and Kasabian. Their freeloader tickets go on sale Wednesday but we've learned there's a way to get tickets even before that, starting Tuesday morning at 8:30am EST from www.oasis.tickets.musictoday.com/Oasis/calendar.aspx - Be sure to catch Kasabian at The Loft on Tuesday May 10th. Tickets are only $10 and onsale now at www.ticketalternative.com

It's the beginning of a new month, and you all know what that means...a new featured band! This month, we've decided to give some much deserved attention to the city's raucous seven piece - Heavy Mojo. Click here to check out what we have to say about April's band of the month. www.heavymojomusic.com