Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion perform at MacArthur Park in July

The Levitt Pavilions have announced their schedules, so you know what that means: It's summer!

In an exclusive to West Coast Sound, the Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles in MacArthur Park and Levitt Pavilion Pasadena in Memorial Park have released their full lineups, with shows held throughout June, July, and August. Highlights include Metalachi, Quetzal, Gangstagrass, a number of Dublab curated performances, Mark de Clive Lowe...too much to mention here. The full schedule is below.

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The Jubilee Music and Arts Festival -- formerly known as Silver Lake Jubilee -- is back this year on June 7 and 8, to be held in the downtown arts district.

There will be beer, there will be spirits, there will be comedy, and there will be poetry, whatever that is. Oh, and music, the lineup for which features acts including Fool's Gold, Salva, Black Lips and others -- including a few late additions that West Coast Sound can announce exclusively: Bleached, Cayucas and Riff Raff. The full lineup is below.

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Credit: Galen Oakes, courtesy of The Confluence

Between political strife, rioting, demonstrations and the general cultural upheaval caused by the aftershocks of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the country seemed like a less than ideal location for a music festival and sightseeing tour put on by a group of Americans. Yet, nearly 300 people, mostly of them from Southern California, flew to Cairo late last year to take part in the Do Lab's winter solstice event The Great Convergence.

In the planning stages for nearly a year, the itinerary for the trip included visits to ancient sites throughout the country and lectures and panel discussions by Egypt experts Dr. Carmen Boulter and geologist Robert Schoch. The music event (held in front of Great Pyramids, no less), featured sets from Beats Antique, Random Rab, Apparat, Eskmo and Bluetech. The eight day trip ended with a cruise down the Nile.

It was to be a once in a lifetime experience. Everyone told them not to go.

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Joseph Armario

Not unlike the tumbleweed in The Big Lebowski, an acoustic guitar goes on self-guided tour of Los Angeles in the new video for the Radar Bros. song "House of Mirrors." The ocean, the Hollywood walk of fame, the barber shop; there's a lot to see. It's a great song, too, if you like driving, swirling, ear-pleasing pop rock of the independently-conceived variety.

The track is off the the L.A. band's eighth album, Eight, which features some personnel changes and a psychedelic bent. The video for "House of Mirrors" is below, and it's an exclusive to West Coast Sound.

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Electronic music program Metropolis is returning to KCRW with its original host Jason Bentley, West Coast Sound can exclusively report. The dance music show, which Bentley created and hosted from 1992 to 2008, will air Saturdays from 10pm to midnight, starting this Saturday. Bentley will maintain his role as the host of Morning Becomes Eclectic.

"People tell me all the time that they loved it," Bentley, KCRW's music director, says of Metropolis. "A lot of people have commented over the years how much that show meant to them, and that stayed in my mind."

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Quitapenas is a nine-piece group from Riverside whose name means, we're told, "take away your worries." They've got afro-Cuban influences and are putting a new spin on cumbia. Which, if you ask us, is something that could use a new spin!

Below, we've got the premiere of their single "Mas Tropical," which was produced by musician-about-town Lewis Pesacov of White Iris records and sounds like a vacation. (Perhaps the type out-of-towners think they're getting when they come to L.A. this time of year. Sorry everybody!)

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Illustration by Ian Huebert

Sheet music cover for Beck's "Last Night You Were a Dream"

Released by McSweeney's in December, Beck's Song Reader is not an album. Rather, it's a book with sheet music for original songs, which have not been recorded by Beck. (The dream of the 1890's is indeed still alive, and not just in Portland.)

His fans have had a field day playing them, and not long ago we critiqued a bunch of versions of his track "Old Shanghai."

But starting next week, this whole 'interpreting Beck's sheet music phenomenon' is going to a whole new level.

West Coast Sound can exclusively announce that, from February 21 to March 24 Sonos Studio will host the "Beck Song Reader Exhibition," where you can hear some interpretations and make your own. There will also be a bunch of videos and art. Oh, and Beck himself. More information is below.

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Big news: Young country-pop starlet Taylor Swift took a bit of time out from making the "Who me?" face to record another album. Red, out October 22, is about "relationships and breakups," according to Swift, and its first single is called (no shit) "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." She's been coy about which one of her famous exes -- Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner, John Mayer -- the song is about. The speculation is part of the fun!

But you don't have to have dated Swift; if you hurt Swift's feelings in any way, she will write a song about it. It's no surprise, then, that a good deal of Red's 16 tracks are about slights, beefs and squabbles. West Coast Sound recently spoke to a disgruntled rep from Swift's camp, who handed over an early partial tracklisting of the album and explained the genesis of the songs. We cannot vouch for the veracity of any of this.

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Nabil Elderkin LR

Tiesto

See also: Our review of Tiesto at Home Depot Center in October

Top Ten Awkward Electric Daisy Carnival Dance Move GIFs
Interview With a Raver Who Wears Electrical Tape on Her Boobs
DJ Gets Death Threats for Playing Dubstep

Massively popular Dutch DJ and producer Tiësto has just announced that he will play the Staples Center on Saturday, October 20.

More details, the announcement trailer, and ticket information below.

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Allah-Las

See also:
*The Allah-Las Put Their Retro Where Their Mouths Are
*Chicano Batman: Los Superheroes
*KCRW DJ Anthony Valadez on His New Album: "I Am Moved by Single Moms, Moved by Junkies"

This summer KCRW is hosting music events every Thursday night at the Hammer Museum, starting June 28 and going through August 9.

As an exclusive to West Coast Sound, we're proud to announce the headliners of this series, called Made in L.A. Music: Retro rock warriors the Allah-Las will play on July 12, while...

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