Our interview with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is now up in the Features section. Read what BRMC's Robert Levon Been has to say about recording the band's latest album Howl, which is in stores now. The band will be playing The Loft on September 30th with Mark Gardner. www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

The Atlanta Music Guide Awards are now FIVE days away! If you haven't voted and bought your tickets yet...then what the hell are you waiting for?!? We're happy to announce that our friends at SPARKS are now presenting the "Best Live Act" Award and sponsoring our VIP Pre-Party, which means the nominees and presenters will be in fine form. There will also be super cheap SPARKS in the main room during the awards as well, so you can save your unspent dollars on the Hurricane Katrina Raffle Benefit. There are a ton of great prizes, thanks to Atlanta's music scene. The awards show is shaping up to be an insanely fun time that you won't forget, so come out and party with Atlanta's premier musicians!

GIVEAWAY - IFC Films, Creative Loafing, Atlanta Music Guide, and 99X present the special advance screening of The Baxter - a romantic comedy for anyone who's ever been dumped. The Baxter is "reminiscent of classic American romantic comedies from the 1940s where the nice guys finish first for once." The screening will take place at United Artists' Tara 4 Cinema on Cheshire Bridge Road (404.634.6288) this Thursday September 15th at 7:30pm. The movie stars Michael Showalter, Paul Rudd, Michael Ian Black, Michelle Williams (of Dawson's Creek fame), and more. If you want to attend the screening, just email us at info@atlantamusicguide.com, and we'll hook you up with a pass that's good for 2 people. The first 5 people will also receive a copy of The Baxter Soundtrack. Please arrive early as the number of tickets distributed exceeds seating capacity. www.thebaxtermovie.com

The rumor-mill tells us that The Tender Idols will be back together for another reunion gig on November 12th. The Tender Idols were one of the best Brit-Rock bands to ever resided in Atlanta. Headed by English, west-country native Ian Webber, The Tender Idols opened for nearly every British band that came through the city from the Charlatans to Blur, and rightly so. Songs like Getaway and Step On Over still sound good today. Support comes from quickly rising buzz bands The Modern Society and Variac.

HURRICANE KATRINA BENEFIT AT AMGA's - Atlanta Music Guide has teamed up with 99X, Usedfilm, Pandemonium Promotions, Butch Walker, and Local Love Loud to raffle off awesome prizes at next week's Atlanta Music Guide Awards. 100% of the proceeds from the raffle will go to the Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund via the American Red Cross. There will also be an area for you to bring canned goods and personal hygeine items, which will be donated to the Salvation Army. Click here for complete details or if you would like to donate any goods/services for our raffle.

Members of every facet of Atlanta’s artistic community are coming together to support local families affected by Hurricane Katrina. The “Can’t Stand Still!” benefit will take place at MJQ Concourse Sunday, Sept. 11 at 9:00 p.m. Dirty South pioneer and Atlanta native Cee-Lo will be hosting the event that includes live music, Dj’s, and exciting auctions. A whole slew of local performers will there, including The Gates of Berlin, Collective Efforts, The Selmanaires, Scales from Nappy Roots, Psyche Origami, MF DOOM's dj Kool Akiem with Hassan Chop, and an ultra-rare ACOUSTIC performance by The Hiss. On the decks will be DJ Presto and DJ Sek aka The Chop Shop, MJQ's Death to Disco Overlord - Brian Parris, Preston, Rob Wonder, among many others. All your favorite local shops have also chipped in, offering a variety of gifts for sale and raffle.

Snowden are making a run for Coachella 2006 . To help the band out, just add the Coachella Myspace Profile as your friend by clicking HERE. Next, go to this blog link HERE and add a comment along with the rest like... "I vote Snowden" or "Damn, I vote for those sexy kids in Snowden" or just plain "Snowden" - Coachella will announce the winner band when they announce next year's line up. www.snowden.info | www.coachella.com

"The Other Sound" Music Festival is a three day concert organized by several area record labels that will take place October 13 - 15th at 10 High, The EARL, and Lenny's. The festival will showcase local label bands along with select short films and literary readings. Performers include A Fir-Ju Well, The Tom Collins, The Close, The Heart Attacks, The Black Lips, Selmanaires, Anna Kramer, and more. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/othersound.

Legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz' American Music exhibit will make its Atlanta debut September 9th and run until October 22nd at Jackson Fine Art in Buckhead. Liebovitz started out as a Rolling Stone photographer more than 25 years ago and has captured American music legends ranging from Iggy Pop, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan to contemporary artists such as Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and the White Stripes. The debut runs from 6-9pm and will feature music from DJ John Otte. www.jacksonfineart.com

Sundiver, one of the most talked about bands of the Atlantis Music Conference, play the 10 High on Thursday September 1st. Consisting of Jeff Gardener, Greg Lee and Jonny Andrews the band draw comparisons to The Eagles, performing a selection of each members songs. Tickets are on sale now via www.ticketalternative.com | www.myspace.com/sundiverusa

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT...is now here! After hours of tallying votes, delibrating, catfights, and hair pulling (well, okay..not the last two), the nominees for this year's Atlanta Music Guide Awards are finally here! Think we're missing a band..? This year, we've added the People's Choice award as well. Check out the nominees on our 2005 Voting Page, and cast your ballot.

Smith's Olde Bar is hosting a benefit for Curtis Clark this Sunday August 28th. Clark, who is an avid local music supporter and the bassist for 10 High's Metalsome Monday among many other things, recently lost his son. Angie Aparo , Second Shift , and the Metalsome Monday Band will all play the benefit, and the $15 cover will go to the funeral costs for Curtis. www.smithsoldebar.com

Idlewild are coming back to the States this Fall in support of their upcoming album Warnings and Promises . AMG sat down with frontman Roddy Womble for a brief interview on touring overseas and more. Idlewild will be playing Smith's Olde Bar on September 14th. Check out the interview in our Features section. Photos from the final 99X Downtown Rocks concert this Summer are now up in the Features section. Helios kicked off the night, and the rain stopped just in time for AMC+F buzz bands The Gates of Berlin, Avenge Vegas, and Dropsonic. Congratulations to Avenge Vegas frontwoman Lauren and her fiance' Cregg of Linger on their engagement! Legendary producer/Garbage member Butch Vig caught sets and mingled with the aforementioned bands before Garbage closed out the series with rock goddess Shirley Manson storming the stage.

GIVEAWAY - The Lead Singer Disease show may be sold out at The Loft, but our friends at House of Blues are giving away 3 pairs of tickets ($100 value per pair) to see ATL homeboy Butch Walker, along with current sensations Gavin DeGraw and Avril Lavigne when they rock HiFi Buys Amphitheatre on Friday August 19th. To enter, email us at info@atlantamusicguide.com with why you deserve to win these tickets. The 3 people with the best answers will each win a pair of tickets, and we'll draw the winners on Thursday August 18th. Good luck!

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club release their new CD Howl on Tuesday August 23rd. The bands 3rd release takes a more acoustic approach and includes the stand out tracks Ain't No Easy Way and Weight Of The World. The video for the first single Ain't No Easy Way was directed by long-time collaborator Charles Mehling and was shot in a brothal in Kiev. BRMC play The Loft on Friday September 30th. Tickets are available from www.ticketalternative.com. Check out the video HI Med Low | www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

The Hiss closed out the final day of the Devil Stole The Beat daytime showcases with a brilliant set of new and old songs. The addition of a hammond player has elevated the band's older songs, amplified the new ones and rejuvenated the band overall. It's time to go back out and see The Hiss again - this is not the self-consumed band of old, but, hopefully, a new hungrier version that still has the magic and is once again prepared to play. Earlier in the day Variac proved why they're the current buzz band of Atlanta with a noteworthy set for several industry figures in attendance. David Roland, who came in from New York especially to play, were followed by local darlings Second Shift. On behalf of TDSTB, we'd like to thank all the bands that played for free this week for our inaugural daytime parties. Special thanks must also go to Rodney, Connie and the amazing (though now somewhat deaf) staff of Fuego, for hosting the 4 day event! Drink Miller High Life - Drink Sparks www.fuegocafe.com | www.thedevilstolethebeat.com

Devil Down Baby! The Devil was back in action again on Friday with another 3 bands. Athens' Psychic Hearts ignited a wet afternoon with a raucous set, swiftly followed by newcomers The Modern Society. TMS weren't playing Atlantis, so the crowd was treated to a great new band that was missing from the conference. A Fir-Ju Well, just back from a national tour opening for The Samples in 3000+ capacity venues, brought their rock and a diverse set of songs. Switching instruments and/or roles nearly every song, the band easily has some of the city's best musicians, and the crowd at Fuego knew it. The Devil's final day begins at 3pm on Saturday with sets from Variac, David Roland, Second Shift and The Hiss. www.thedevilstolethebeat.com

Brash Music's latest signing, Aaron Shust, will be releasing his debut album for the label, entitled Anything Worth Saying, on Wednesday August 24th. The CD release will take place at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, and Candi Pearson Shelton will open up the party. Doors are at 7pm. For more information, visit www.aaronshust.com.

Doves have announced a show at The Roxy on Tuesday September 20th. The band ended a storming set during their last show here, at the Cotton Club with an old Sub Sub (pre-Doves) classic Space Face, much to the adoration of the crowd. Tickets are on sale soon. www.doves.net

After a US tour supporting Snow Patrol, Athlete headed home to the UK to support non other than, U2. The band will now headline their own tour of the US in support of their latest CD Tourist and hit The Loft on October 6th. Click here to check out our interview with the band when they last blew through town. Hear tracks off their CD and watch a short video about the making the album. Tickets are onsale via Ticket Alternative | www.athlete.mu

The Devil Stole The Beat showcases kicked off Thursday afternoon with sets from Snowden, Minamina Goodsong and Good Friday Experiment. The free shows, styled after SXSW's famed Fader Lounge, are taking place at Fuego in Midtown. Snowden started the afternoon with a 30 minute set that included their song Kill The Power, one of the best songs written by an Atlanta band in while. Minamina Goodsong took to the stage and rocked the crowd, mixing up the afternoon's music. Good Friday Experiment followed and treated the crowd, that by now included some curious office Happy Hour kids, to a steller set. Psychic Hearts start things off Friday afternoon at 4pm, followed by The Modern Society and A Fir Ju Well . Space is limited, so get there early! For the full schedule visit www.thedevilstolethebeat.com

TBS Storyline is showcasing Atlanta’s top musical talent each week on it's Soundstage. From country to classical; pop sensation to string quartet the variety of acts represent Atlanta’s diverse music scene. Artists that have appeared so far include Mudcat, Acres, Macuba, Corie Jean and Ken Ford. Check out the show online at www.tbsstoryline.com

Staying true to their raucous reputation, Brian Jonestown Massacre invaded The EARL this past Saturday. As expected, tantrums were thrown and people were fired by BJM leader Anton Newcombe. Check out our show review in the Features section.