Rockin’ In The Free World

Sound is always looking out for Seattle music fans, especially the broke ones (have you subscribed to our mailing list yet?), which is why we’re bringing you the first installment of Rockin’ in the Free World, a sort of semi-weekly column highlighting a penniless hipster’s dream come true: FREE CONCERTS! May, a month replete with free live music events, kicks off with no other than:

KEXP Ballard Day-Friday, May 9, 6am-6pm
Celebrating Ballard’s win in last summer’s second annual Hood to Hood challenge (part of KEXP’s summer membership drive), KEXP will be presenting a full day of free or discounted events throughout Ballard, including FREE live performances from some local favorites. There will also be some cheap–but not free–shows at the Tractor, the Sunset, and Conor Byrne’s. (Your KEXP membership card gets you $3 off the cover.) For full details, head over to KEXP’s events page. But now, on to the free stuff:

Seattle hip-hop duo Common Market (DJ Sabzi of Blue Scholars and RA Scion) will be playing at Verite Coffee (2052 Market St.) at 7am. They’ll be performing four songs from their about-to-be-released EP Black Patch War. If you can’t make it to either of their CD release parties—May 9 at Vera and two shows (all-ages and 21+) May 10 at Tacoma’s Hell’s Kitchen—this is your chance to hear some of their new songs live. If 7am is too early to drag yourself out of bed, don’t worry: KEXP will be broadcasting Common Market’s set (and later performances, all the way until 6pm), so you can listen on your bedroom clock-radio or your computer at work. Common Market has three tracks from Black Patch War available for listening on their MySpace. You can currently buy it online through iTunes or pre-order a hard copy from the band’s label, Massline Media.

Bedroom pop quintet Throw Me the Statue just rolled back in town after completing their first national tour, which included appearances at San Francisco’s Noise Pop festival and South By Southwest, in support of their Secretly Canadian-released debut full-length Moonbeams. Their 11am show at Ballard’s Sonic Boom will be their first appearance in Seattle since March and their only local show until their appearance at Sasquatch May 24 (unless you’re going to the May 11 Cake show at the Paramount; TMTS is opening). It should be a fun, intimate homecoming for Scott Reitherman and the boys—not to be missed. Later this summer, TMTS will be playing the Capitol Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot, for those of you who prefer your sunny, energetic pop in an outdoor setting.

Here’s the full list of free shows (for full listings of Ballard Day events, refer to KEXP’s events page):

At Verite Coffee:
7am: Common Market:
9am: Arthur & Yu

At Sonic Boom Records (Ballard location):
11am: Throw Me the Statue
1pm: Man Plus
3pm: Velella Velella
5pm: Cloud Cult

Yearning for more on KEXP, Common Market, or Throw Me the Statue? Information is just a hyperlink from the preceding sentence away.