People sure do like putting on festivals. We hope people like going to them just as much. The newest festival on the map is the PORTLAND MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL (generally accompanied by an exclamation mark), which will feature headliners CARBON LEAF (from Virginia), along with the JASON SPOONER TRIO, SAMUEL JAMES, GRANT STREET ORCHESTRA, and PETE MILLER, all on Free Street at the DOGFISH CAFE on August 21. The idea is to raise money for the MAINE CHILDREN'S CANCER FUND, and if you're an up-and-coming musician and want to help you may be able to: From 5:15 to 6:30 pm they'll be featuring six solo artists discovered through submissions of mp3s by visiting 989WCLZ.COM, choosing MUSIC FROM 207 from the drop-down "Music" menu, then clicking on the "Maine Solo Performer Spotlight" banner. Yes, that sounds confusing, but you can do it. Whether bands playing on Free Street for 12 hours on an August afternoon deserves such a lofty festival name is another matter, but we guess it wasn't exactly taken.
The newest MILLED PAVEMENT release is from CRUNK WITCH, a husband-and-wife outfit comprising BRANDON MILES and HANNAH COLLEEN and performing what's described as "electronic/rock/punk album." Titled The Legends of Manicorn, the disc features all five songs from the pair's 2009 EP, plus six new tracks, all centering around a main character with the body of a man, but the blood and spirit of a unicorn. There are zombies and demons and whatnot involved as well.
Related:
Short-form Portland, As Fast As at the Empire, Grand Hotel's new album, and more, Local luminaries’ picks, More 
- Short-form Portland
I can hear the snarky comments already: "What?!? Rustic Overtones put out an album this year and Pfeifle hasn't fallen all over himself naming it #1? The sky is green!" But this isn't 1999. It's 2009. And it isn't all that strange for a phenomenal album to hit Portland's city streets anymore.
- As Fast As at the Empire, Grand Hotel's new album, and more
AS FAST AS are playing a reunion show of sorts July 3 at the Empire.
- Local luminaries’ picks
I asked a bunch of people who really dig local music to help me make sure I wasn’t leaving any songs out when I was developing my list of the best 10 songs of the 2000s, but then I quickly realized that “best” is about as subjective as things come when you’re talking about songs.
- Best unsung albums of 2009
These days, it's not so easy to feel useful as a music critic.
- 2009: The year in jazz
Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite things from among the people, CDs, and concerts I wrote about in 2009.
- 2009: The top 10 in pop music
Hmm, lots of women, a few old dudes, and some African banjo (not to be confused with Steve Martin's Hollywood banjo).
- Various Artists | Where the Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965 - 1968
More than three years in the making, the most recent installment of Rhino's legendary archival garage-rock series offers an amazingly comprehensive excavation of an absurdly fertile scene.
- Various Artists | Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966–1970
Girl-group records are great and everything, yet the countless compilations out there were becoming a little hit-or-miss until 2005, when the great Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found box set finally gave this diverse genre a proper taxonomy.
- Review: Out on the town
Bars and clubs everywhere, 2009
- See ya, '09!
Forget those gift cards burning a hole in your pocket and catch some good shows around to close out '09.
- Kwok 'N' Roll
After the third costume change of his show, Aaron Kwok strode from the midst of a gaggle of backup dancers to the front of the stage, rearing his head back.
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Topics:
New England Music News
, Entertainment, Music, Samuel James, More
, Entertainment, Music, Samuel James, Samuel James, MILLED PAVEMENT, Brandon Miles, Brandon Miles, Grant Street Orchestra, Grant Street Orchestra, Carbon Leaf, Less
