Weekly Round-Up: Friday 6th December

Welcome to December and the first official week of summer, hurrah! We've gotten on the festive bandwagon again this year, launching our now annual Laneway Festival Xmas Cracker competition earlier this week. Including festival tickets and albums from Laneway artists, head over here for more info and to get in the draw.

To tour news and it's all about the Brits this week with rock 'n roll royalty,  The Rolling Stones, confirming their previously teased Zealand date this week; the Big Day Out finally announced Blur's replacements which include Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye along with Deftones and The Hives; young British crooner Jake Bugg announced his return for one Auckland show next year in support of his new album Shangri La; Berlin based British producer Gold Panda will also return in the new year for shows in Auckland and Wellington and finally Chronophonium festival announced the bulk of the lineup for January's festival to be held in the Coromandel and it included Melbourne duo Spermaids who have also announced a few side shows and will appear at Camp A Low Hum.

In release news, Annie Clarke has confirmed the release of a new self-titled St Vincent album in the new year which can be sampled via her site; The Shins have teased the release of a new something announcing they're  recording in a  vague facebook post; Cloud Nothings have announced the release of a new album, posting a preview on YouTube; fellow Laneway attendees The Men will also release new album Tomorrow's Hits in the new year; The War on Drugs have announced the release of new album Lost in The Dream, sharing first single 'Red Eyes'; and finally queen of crae Lana Del Rey has announced the release of a new album titled Ultraviolence but not before dropping a bizarre new video featuring tracks from the 'Paradise' edition of her debut Born To Die.

Speaking of which, it's been a healthy week again for music videos including this sleek new one from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds for Push The Sky Away cut 'Higgs Boson Blues' ...

WEEKEND GIG PICKS:

Friday

Auckland: T54 In Brush Park album release, Cassette Nine
Auckland: GPOGP, Long Horn Breed and Civil Union, F Bar
Wellington: Bob Log III, Mighty Mighty
Wellington: Meth Drinker, Eletric Mayhem and Bonecruncher, Medusa
Christchurch: Roy Montgomery, Bruce Russell, Peter Stapleton + more,  The Auricle
Christchurch: Fuyukos Fables, Groeni and Pales, Darkroom
Dunedin: Street Chant, Opposite Sex and Astro Children, Chicks Hotel

Saturday

Auckland: BBQzai, Wine Cellar and Whammy Bar
Auckland: Audio Foundation Xmas Party, Audio Foundation
Wellington: T54 Album Release, Mighty Mighty
Wellington: Street Chant NZ Tour, Puppies
Christchurch: The Tiny Lies, Darkroom
Dunedin: Groeni, Pales and Won, Queens

Coming up next week...

Guitar Wolf - dates nationwide from Monday 9th
Metz - Wellington (Thurs 12th) and Auckland (Fri 13th)

For HEAPS more great gigs head to our gig guide or grab our iPhone App.

NEW TRACKS: