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SoundTown 2012 has been canceled
SoundTown 2011: A first-ever adventure in Somerset
SoundTown 2012 lineup: Jane's Addiction, Florence + the Machine, & more

The 2012 running of the SouthTown Music & Camping Festival got canceled today, and organizers are pointing to the simple fact that not enough ticket sales were made to cover costs. Sad news for area music fans and all of the adorable animals in the publicity materials.

A statement issued by Somerset Amphitheater says that ticket buyers can expect a full refund. Read the full details below.  

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From the 2011 City Pages cover story; photo by Erik Hess.

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Photos by Ben Clark

​Everything you've ever heard about the Flaming Lips' live show is absolutely, 100% true.
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Photos by Ben Clark

​It's hard to believe there are only a matter of hours left in this weekend's SoundTown festival; with a large portion of the concertgoers camping overnight, we've hit a stride as a mini-community of music fans taking part in a great experiment: Can SoundTown turn into not only a viable, but sustainable long-term option for Twin Cities music fans in search of a large-scale summer music festival?
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Photos by Erik Hess

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Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons

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​When Wayne Coyne was on the phone with writer Natalie Gallagher for her interview that is running in this week's City Pages, the Flaming Lips frontman mentioned that he was using his time tethered to the phone for interviews to sketch an "elaborate doodle." After their interview, Coyne uploaded it the drawing to Twitter for all to see, and a scan of his backlog of TwitPics shows that it's just one of many psychedelic sketches he's made while chatting with journalists or spending downtime on airplanes and in the studio.

Out of curiosity, we rounded up some of Coyne's other doodles from recent months, and the collection of impromptu artwork offers an interesting glimpse into the restless mind of the psych-pop songsmith -- as you can see, many of them center around the same, um, female-centric theme.

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Roots rockers Delta Spirit are relentlessly busy. In the midst of recording their third album, they have been touring up a storm--hitting the festival circuit heavily, between Lollapalooza, the Newport Folk Festival, and now SoundTown. Gimme Noise chatted with founding member and bassist Jon Jameson over the phone about the band's upcoming album and what makes their music come alive.

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Sisters Jenny Kochsiek and Bethany Valentini, together with drummer Dan Kapernick, make up the Ericksons--a local roots band with hearty female vocals that lend well to their haunting Appalachian sound. The Ericksons have been around Minneapolis for less than a year, following the September release of their second album don't be scared, don't be alarmed, but that hasn't stopped them from playing every possible show and keeping an ear to the ground (and a hand on their guitar strings).

Gimme Noise caught up with Kochsiek, singer-songwriter-guitarist, to chat about their plans and their upcoming SoundTown gig.

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Photo by Tony Nelson

The Goondas performing at Best New Bands at First Avenue

Continuing with our SoundTown Series, the Goondas gladly signed up for an in-person interview. Following the release of their self-titled debut album in 2010, the band has sprung up as one of the Twin Cities' best live bands, known as much for their gritty punk rock-meets-blues sound as their penchant for breaking everything from guitars to teeth on stage.

I sat down with Jackson Atkins and Andy Meuwissen, half of the delightfully irreverent foursome, to chat about the Goondas' sound, SoundTown, and their tattoos.

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