The CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival has announced its first round of performing artists including:

DeVotchKa, Surfer Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, School of Seven Bells, Bad Books (feat. Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra), Four Tet, The Drums, Ghostface Killah, Greg Dulli, Helmet, Lissie, Foreign Exchange, Katzenjammer, Kristen Schall & Friends, Dean & Britta, Bayside, Senses Fail, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Salem, The Blow, Small Black, Big Freedia, Dominique Young Unique, Angus & Julia Stone, Frankie and the Heartstrings, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, and Langhorne Slim.

Hundreds of additional acts will be announced in the upcoming weeks, so make sure to visit www.cmj.com/marathon for continuous artist updates. This year’s CMJ Music Marathon will be held from October 19^th-23^rd.

The multi-platinum international phenomenon known as Owl City is teaming up with the world’s largest and notably most successful online distributor TuneCore in a unique partnership designed to empower developing artists.

TuneCore has created a special website in collaboration with Owl City. Artists that choose to go through this website for distribution can have Owl City’s Adam Young listen to one “single” off their release. Young will choose his favorite among all of the music submitted and provide a constructive critique of the song directly back with the artist. Young will choose the artist and song on December 1, 2010.

“When I look back on the last 24 months of Owl City – the ease of getting music pushed out to the masses in the music industry today was without a doubt a huge factor in people being able to discover my music, said Young. “I feel honored to work with TuneCore to provide Owl City fans this same opportunity I was fortunate to have at the inception of my project.

Cisco Adler and the Miami Ski Team Announce a Remix Contest

Following the release of his debut, twenty-three track, free mixtape - SUPERCALIFORNIALIPSTICKSEXYMAGICDOPESHIT (SUPERCALI) – performer/songwriter/producer Cisco Adler announces “Beat the Remix,” a remix contest to all aspiring MCs and DJs launched Tuesday, August 31st.

Any contestant up to the challenge will have three weeks to pull out all the stops to “beat the remix” and come up with a track killer enough to one-up DJ duo Miami Ski Team’s version.

“Ground control to Major Tom / Ground control to Major Tom: / Take your protein pills and put your helmet on…”

Bet you didn’t know, all the times you were singing along to “Space Oddity” in the shower, that ground control actually does sing to its astronauts. And now you can, too! It’s true, in a bizarre twist of inter-galactic vibrations, NASA is offering musicians the chance to make music for astronauts. Here’s the deal:

There’s a tradition at NASA – called the Wakeup Song – of playing music to start the astronauts’ day on space missions. It’s been going on ever since the Apollo program in the sixties, when the folks at mission control sang songs to the astronauts returning from the moon landing.

Now that the final missions of the space shuttle program are coming up (one in November and one in February), NASA’s giving indie artists the chance to submit original songs to be played to wake up the astronauts on their last space adventures.

Contest Details

The songs have to be original, and they have to be submitted by January 10, 2011, in time for the February 26^th launch. NASA’s going to pick the best songs, and then invite people to vote online to pick TWO winners. And no, you don’t get paid anything, but your song does get played in space, for astronauts. And based on the tone of the SPACE ROCK website, it seems like there will be plenty of promotional opportunities for contest winners.

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 has partnered with SonicScoop.com to present “Studio Time,” an intensive two-part program focused on music production at New York University’s Kimmel Center.

Open to all CMJ badge holders, “Studio Time” provides emerging artists, engineers and producers with recording and mixing insights and inspiration from expert music creators.

Studio Time’s “Part I: Mix Reconstruction” sees three top mixers taking the audience through their personal mixing process. Each mixer will discuss how they approached and ultimately mixed a song from their discography, playing pre- and post-mix examples to illustrate how they work. Basic techniques and creative solutions will all be examined in this illuminating event.

The Secret Handshake (Luis Dubuc) has released a live video of them playing their hit new single “Domino” in Hollywood, CA.

Sarah Jaffe is thrilled to announce new US dates in support of her debut long player Suburban Nature after three successful tours as main support for Midlake, Norah Jones and Lou Barlow.

This 24-year-old Texan and her guitar will continue to wow audiences every night on her upcoming tour. She’s had an amazing response from the press and fans on the release of her debut album Suburban Nature – out now on Kirtland Records.

Confirmed tour dates include:

Before becoming one of the hottest tickets in her hometown of Chicago, Lisa McClowry began her adult career working behind the scenes in movie music.  She collaborated with Mark Mothersbaugh of the iconic group Devo and Lavant Coppock to write and perform “Through the Eyes of Child” for the motion picture “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.”

Later, she served as the singing voice & voice over artist for TRESemme Shampoos and Conditioners TV Campaign (”TRESemme, Ooh la la TRESemme!”) and Applebee’s.

Additionally, Lisa performed the theme song, “Bridge to the Stars” with Tracey Amos for the “Wild Thornberrys” soundtrack, and was selected to sing the voice of the “Princess” in “Rugrats in Paris: The Movie.”

After a busy Spring, The Action Design plan to make their presence felt this Summer opening for Social Distortion. Their heart pounding performance and catchy hook laden songs will be sure to garner them some new fans along the way.

One of Alternative Press Magazine’s “100 Bands To Watch”, The Action Design delivers edgy, yet clean and sophisticated, indie rock well suited for any dance party.

With a focus on change from each of their previous styles, the band’s debut full length is bursting with energy which is called Never Say, available now on iTunes.

Airborne is currently on tour through July in support of their latest release, New Horizons.

Airborne the “Musical Peacemakers” of contemporary jazz are rising higher and soaring on New Horizons with their new and 7th CD to date.

The CD also expands the artistic world fusion motif of their 2007 release of Turbulence and regenerates the soulful energy of their 2004 release of Heavy Vibes with its Latin grooves and R&B vocal arrangements.

Join Airborne today from 6-10pm at Leon’s Restaurant in New Haven as the boys officially release their seventh CD, New Horizons.  You can get an advance copy of New Horizons here, which the boys will be happy to autograph throughout the night.

Expect to see and hear some very special guests and live performances of some of their new tracks. Your favorite 24/7 jazz station, Blue Plate Radio, will be there with some giveaways and news about upcoming shows.

Full-Length Debut Album – Suburban Nature – Out Now on Kirtland Records

Sarah Jaffe will be kicking off a US tour with Lou Barlow today in San Diego, CA!  The tour is the indie artist’s first U.S. tour since the release of her debut full-length album – Suburban Nature – which came out May 18^th on Kirtland Records and was produced by John Congleton (Shearwater, Polyphonic Spree, Explosions In the Sky).

Washington Square Park have announced they will be heading out on the NJ Pop Punk Revival Tour with Bright and Early and I Call Fives.

In celebration of the tour, WSP has released a FREE download track of “Believing” off their upcoming album out June 22^nd. Click here to download the free song.

WSP is a punk rock band hailing from Northern New Jersey that is already stirring up noise all up and down the East Coast. WSP is currently touring and will be releasing their self-titled debut album on June 22^nd. For fans of The Movielife and Jimmy Eat World, Washington Square Park has the goods to be the breakout band of the summer.