Rdio Canada Blog

Traveling electronic music tour Identity Festival is back — they're visiting cities up and down North American coasts this summer. This year's solid line-up features Datsik, Eric Prydz, Paul Van Dyk, Rye Rye, and tons more. Lucky for us, Identity Festival is an Influencer — follow them on Rdio to find things like their Official 2012 Identity Festival Playlist.

Want to be there when the beat drops in Toronto? We have 3 pairs of TO tickets to give away — just enter your details below. Already have your tickets? Tell your friends on Twitter and Facebook to enter. Read the Official Rules for details.

Tour dates

• July 19 - Cincinnati, OH
• July 20 - Detroit, MI
• July 21 - Toronto, ON*
• July 26 - Mansfield, MA
• July 27 - Bristow, VA
• July 28 - Wantagh, NY*
• July 29 - Philadelphia, PA
• August 2 - Atlanta, GA
• August 3 - Tampa, FL
• August 4 - Miami, FL
• August 10 - Dallas, TX
• August 11 - Houston, TX
• August 17 - Mountain View, CA*
• August 18 - San Diego, CA*

• August 19 - Phoenix, AZ

• Win one of three pairs of tickets!

Fans of rock outfit O.A.R., get excited — Rdio has three posters signed by all five members to give away.

To win one, subscribe to O.A.R.’s playlist, King with Commentary between now and 1:30 PM PDT on April 13, 2012 — we'll randomly select three lucky winners. The playlist features the music of their latest album, King, plus track-by-track commentary notes from the band about the songwriting and recording.

Follow O.A.R. on Rdio and don’t forget to subscribe to King with Commentary, either — one of those posters could be yours! See the Official Rules for details.

You don’t have to win American Idol to conquer it — rocker James Durbin is proof of that. His larger-than-life personality, and ability to channel his love of old-fashioned rock’n’roll with his booming voice, turned more than enough heads to make Durbin a winner in his own right.

Ready to put the competition behind him, last week Durbin released his debut full-length, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster — a showcase of his rock influences and raw talent. For a better look into where he gets his inspiration, Durbin constructed a playlist of his favorite tunes for us, Some of James Durbin's All Time Favorites.

Win an Autographed Lithograph Print

Rdio has a lithograph poster signed by James Durbin to give away to one lucky fan. Simply subscribe to the playlist to be entered for a chance to take the poster home. For more information, read the Official Rules, and see the Lithograph, pictured above.

Bluegrass and folk-influenced indie-rock group Ha Ha Tonka and guitar-pop quartet Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin have both had pretty solid years, with the releases of their third and fourth albums, respectively. The former’s Death of a Decade was recorded in a barn to capture the rugged spirit of the Ozark hills, while the latter’s Tape Club is a compilation of some of the group’s best songs since they began Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin ten years ago.

To top off the year, the two Missouri-based bands will hit the west coast on a co-headlining tour. They’ve each made “West Coast Tour” playlists for the occasion with each playlist featuring one inspired song per location. Want to hear more about why they picked certain songs? Check out the playlist notes at the bottom of the post.

Ticket Giveaway

Want to win tickets to the tour stop of your choice? Just subscribe to your favorite playlist below, enter your name, email address and ticket choice into the Google Form and you’ll be entered to win tickets to your choice of the cities below. Read the official Rules for more information.

Ha Ha Tonka’s West Coast Tour-Inspired Playlist:

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin’s West Coast Tour-Inspired Playlist:

Playlist Notes

Denver

• John Denver - “Rocky Mountain High”
  THE quintessential song about being high in Colorado. - HHT
• Neil Young - “Cripple Creek Ferry”
  I went to Cripple Creek, Colorado with my dad when I was a kid. - SSLYBY

Salt Lake City

• Band of Horses - “The Great Salt Lake”
  We've listened to this song while literally coming off the Rocky Mountains westbound on I-80 and descending into Salt Lake City and it sounds absolutely perfect. - HHT
• Weezer - “Mykel and Carli”
  Mykel and Carli were from Salt Lake City. Also, Leia Bell (Brian's sister) lives in SLC and she made a poster for us one time. - SSLYBY

Seattle

• Rocky Votolato - “White Daisy Passing”
  We toured with Rocky last year and were amazed night in and night out. Incredible songwriter, incredible dude... average poker player. - HHT
• The Fastbacks - “555 Part Two”/Telekinesis - “Please Ask For Help”
  We had to pick two songs for Seattle. The Fastbacks are a Seattle band we discovered from the movie Hype. Telekinesis is a nice band we toured with last year. - SSLYBY

Boise

• The Ramones - “Danny Says”
  Every now and then we all have to go Idaho. - HHT
• Built to Spill - “Big Dipper”
  We camped out in Glenns Ferry, Idaho on our last tour. We met the mayor at a diner in the morning. She said her son is in a band called Cheese Dixx and they play in Boise all the time. I couldn't find them on Rdio. - SSLYBY

Vancouver

• Nickelback - “How You Remind Me”
  This underrated indie band from north of the border has yet to be discovered, but keep an eye out. - HHT

Portland

• Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - “Oregon Girl”
  Our bros just so happened to have penned the best song ever about Oregon...and maybe girls. - HHT
• Ha Ha Tonka - “Dead Man’s Hand”/“Close Every Valve to Your Bleeding Heart”
  They both sound like they could be on Neil Young’s Zuma and they would be the best songs on the album. - SSLYBY

San Francisco

• The Mamas & The Papas - “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)”
  Another quintessential location themed song. - HHT
• The Mommyheads - “Jaded”
  Adam and Michael from The Mommyheads really helped our band out in the beginning. They used to live in San Francisco. This is the perfect pop song. - SSLYBY

Los Angeles

• Phantom Planet - “California”
  This pick could easily be replaced by any song the Red Hot Chili Peppers have ever written. - HHT
• Fleetwood Mac - “I Walk A Thin Line”
  It’s like LA. I can’t figure it out. - SSLYBY

San Diego

• Will Ferrell - “Afternoon Delight”
  Ron Burgundy wrote this tune, right? When I think of San Diego I usually think of perfect weather, Tony Gwynn and this song. - HHT
• Sly & The Family Stone - “Runnin’ Away”
  Wikipedia says their drummer is from San Diego. I hope Deerhoof covers it someday. - SSLYBY

Tour Dates

• November 30 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
  
• December 01 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
  
• December 02 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
  
• December 03 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
  
• December 05 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
  
• December 06 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios
  
• December 08 - San Francisco, CA - Hotel Utah
  
• December 09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Bootleg Bar
  
• December 10 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar