Hating on New York's oft-overlooked fifth borough is a bit of a cliche, but you can't argue with the facts: An information kiosk at Manhattan's Whitehall Ferry Terminal about arts and culture on the island has been shuttered due to lack of interest.

Not surprisingly, most of the questions asked of staffers--whose ostensible mission was to encourage culture vultures to visit SI--were simply about the free Staten Island Ferry or about visits to the Statue of Liberty, located on a different island in New York Harbor.

And so the Council on the Arts & Humanities for Staten Island will close the kiosk, replacing its part-time staff of six with an informational video playing on a loop. Of course, if they really wanted to drum up interest in the island's cultural offerings, they'd be flogging Wu-Tang tourism 24/7.

Related Stories:
· Ferry Terminal Culture Kiosk Kaput [Staten Island Advance]
· Airport Photo Shoot: Staten Island Travel for J-Lo [Jaunted]

[Photo: Bob Jagendorf]]]> pbb 2008-12-01T14:00:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/5/214314/905

Austin becomes the center of the indie rock universe every spring for the South by Southwest music festival. But while that 15-year-old fest has grown pretty unaffordable for anyone who doesn't own a record label, another Austin festival is stepping up to the plate with something a little more every-rocker.

The Fun Fun Fun Fest, now in it's third year, takes place this weekend in Austin's Waterloo Park. FFFF doesn't have SXSW's 1,000-plus bands, but they do bring a pretty stellar lineup this year, with indie A-listers like The National, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Minus the Bear, and ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.

And with tickets starting at $25--including free after-parties around Austin--we might have a reason to start moving our annual Texas trip to November.

Related Stories:
· Fun Fun Fun Fest [Official Site]
· SXSW coverage [Jaunted]
· Music Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Fun Fun Fun Fest]]]> BS 2008-11-06T11:00:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/21/215151/33

If you've noticed a marked increase in New York's already sizeable collegiate and post-collegiate hipster population this week, you're not mistaken: It's CMJ week.

Indie rock's biggest group orgy takes over the island of Manhattan (and slivers of Brooklyn) for the College Music Journal Music Marathon, with hundreds of up-and-coming bands playing all over town. If you've read about a band on a blog this year, they're probably here.

The problem of course, is where the eff to go first. CMJ's own site is maddeningly complex, with no simple rundown of what bands are playing where and when.

So if you're reading this and happen to hold one of those awesome all-show badges--and are too worn out from last night's party at Terminal 5 to figure out where the bands worth seeing are--here are the shows you're really gonna care about: ]]> BS 2008-10-22T13:30:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/13/9559/9634

Summer's end usually means the end of massive outdoor music festivals for the year, but 2008 is letting live music stretch way into the fall.]]> BS 2008-10-13T12:30:43-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/9/1241/98026

As if we didn't feel lazy and flabby enough, hunched over our glowing screens, pecking away about the few places we've visited and many places we haven't, we have Tina Turner to make us feel worse.

Not only did she stick it to that of an ex-husband of hers, Ike, by staging an incredible comeback in the 80s, but, 20 years later, she's still touring. Tina Turner Live in Concert hits the West Coast this coming week.

Starting Monday, the only woman who can make Madonna seem sprightly will perform three nights this week in and around Los Angeles before heading up the coast and over to Arizona. Tickets start at $65. Not bad, since Madonna's are usually double that.

Related Stories:
· Tina Turner Live [Official Site]
· Fall Music Travel: Aging Pumpkins Back on the Road [Jaunted]

[Photo: Poster Net]]]> ced138 2008-10-10T11:00:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/9/165030/590

We're of two minds about this weekend's Diesel xXx Party. We usually don't like to report on promotional concerts that are way unnecessarily overhyped, as in this promo text:

To get this 24 hour global xXx party started we've recruited the hottest most superlative expending line-up on planet earth and sent them deep into a super-futuristic Hyper-Space themed venue for a party that's going to last 12 hours straight.

If you love jazz but prefer sandy tropical beaches to smoky underground clubs, pack your bags for Anguilla's Tranquility Jazz Festival, celebrating its sixth year and taking place November 6-9 on the island.

Venues like the Cuisinart Hotel, Temenos Golf Club and Johnnos will host performances by jazz greats such as Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Arturo Sandoval and Christian Scott by day and by night.

Individual performance tickets range between free and $50, but check here for festival-specific travel packages that include airfare on American Airlines, performance tickets and a range of hotel options.

Related Stories:
· Tranquility Jazz Festival [Official Site]
· Datebook: Anguilla [NYT]
· A NOLA National Park? It's All About Your State of Mind [Jaunted]

[Photo of the 2007 event: Tranquility Jazz Festival]]]> sedona 2008-10-06T14:00:40-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/