In a thrilling start to 2012, Pearl and the Beard is opening for the prolific and gorgeous songstress Ani Difranco! We’re thrilled to announce that the band is opening for three dates of her upcoming tour in Asheville, Atlanta, and Nashville. Get your tickets now!

02.02 The Orange Peel w/Ani DiFranco, 7pm (Asheville, NC) [ TIX ]

02.03 Variety Playhouse w/Ani DiFranco, 7:30pm (Atlanta, GA) [ TIX ]

02.04 Mercy Lounge / Cannery Ballroom w/Ani DiFranco, 9pm (Nashville, TN) [ TIX ]

Pearl and the Beard will be headlining Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 16th! This show will be celebrating the release of their latest extended single and video from Killing the Darlings, “Prodigal Daughter.” North Highlands will be opening, and Lacrymosa will kick off the evening – neither are to be missed, so get there early!

The band also has single release shows coming up in Philly (2/23 at Kung Fu Necktie) and Washington, DC (2/24 at Rock N Roll Hotel)!

If you’re wondering what “extended single” means, here’s the deal: the single and video are for “Prodigal Daughter,” and the package will include three bonus tracks, a special brand new solo track by each of band member. We’re very excited to share these with you!

Now, as a reward for reading all of that, we give you Pearl and the Beard’s session with Dog + Pony, in which they sing “Black Hole of Calcutta”:

“Prodigal Daughter” Extended Single Release Shows:

02.16 Music Hall of Williamsburg w/North Highlands and Lacrymosa, 9pm (Brooklyn, NY) [ TIX ]

02.23 Kung Fu Necktie w/The Dig, Man Like Machine and Cranes Are Flying, 8pm (Philadelphia, PA) [ TIX ]

02.24 Rock N Roll Hotel, 8pm (Washington, DC) [ TIX ]

In case you were too busy celebrating MLK Day yesterday to notice, we’re happy to let you know that the second release from the One Track Mind singles series, “Lost Communication” by Anothers Blood was featured as WXPN’s Morning Download! Enjoy!

Thanks to our collaboration with good friends at The Orchard Wakey!Wakey!‘s song “Twenty-Two” has found its way into a Honda ad that will start airing nationally today. This isn’t the first time a Family song is featured in a big commercial, but it’s the first of 2012 and we’re thrilled to see what the creatives over at Honda came up with. That’s right, we have not even seen the ad yet. If you see it make sure to tweet at us @familyrecords and @wakeywakey with a screencap (or video recording) and you’ll be eligible for one of our secret tiny prizes. If you haven’t heard the song yet, go stream/buy it in our store, and watch a special acoustic version as taped by The Mahagony Sessions in London below.

To all newsletter subscribers (and if you haven’t signed up for the newsletter yet, why not?! Sign up here):

If you read this month’s newsletter without putting on your super-sight-night-vision-decoding spy goggles, you may have missed the top secret note we added in invisible ink. In exciting news, our very own Lacrymosa will be opening Pearl and the Beard’s show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 16th (full bill will be announced Tuesday). She is amazingly talented and not to be missed, so be sure to get there early!

02.16 Music Hall of Williamsburg w/Pearl and the Beard, 9pm (Brooklyn, NY) [ TIX ]

Ladies and gentlemen, the accompanying video for the 10th release from the Family Records Singles Club, I Low’s “John Stuart Mill.” The video was shot by Kristen Winter, and features Lauren Zettler on vocals and Sam Selinger on bass. Enjoy, and download the song right here!

Volume 2 of the One Track Mind Series is here! This singles series features delectable indie pop and this month we introduce you to “Lost Communiction” by Anothers Blood. This extra special download also comes with 2 remixes – one by Glassmaps and one by Mirrors.

“Lost Communication was Anothers Blood’s turning point, we instantly knew this was the direction we were scratching around to find – a sound we searched for in the rehearsal space over the course of many months, something that conveyed real emotion. The song came after of a solid year of writing; I felt a real disconnect with everything, a lack of life direction “lost in the wilderness”. A rock-bottom moment you could say. I guess there was an element of denial about my situation. I see that in the lyrics – there is almost an argument with myself going on “No way at all, I’m that boy”. I didn’t really see it at the time but it’s been a song that’s revealed itself to me. I have always been an optimist and I feel like there is a silver lining in the lyrics (at least to me there is) and i hope to anyone else who has been lost.” – Anothers Blood

The cover art was designed by Claudeland Louis and Kristine Thune. The ring design is featured on every series release, with a different photo for each song. Got an idea for an unsigned artist/band for this series? Send ideas to lauren (at) thefamilyrecords.com.

We’re proud to present you with the ninth release in the Family Records Singles Club – “Shimmering Shining” by John Elliott. Fortunately, John Elliott rediscovered this forgotten tune just in time to let us release it!

This is the artwork designed by Jose and Edwin of ILoveMisery, based on a lovely photo by Spanish photographer Ana Cabaleiro.

See and hear it in the Family Records Store! Enjoy!

While in the UK last week, Pearl and the Beard did a session with the fine folks at 1 Take TV in London. We’ll be debuting the whole session soon, but for now, here’s a trailer! Special thanks to Jonah and all the crew there for making it such a fun experience for everyone!

We’re proud to present you with the eighth release in the Family Records Singles Club – “Freud Links The Teeth And The Heart” by Tellison. Tellison recently loaned us their lead singer, Stephen Davidson, as an opener for Pearl and the Beard’s headlining show in London – now we’d like to return the favor.

This is the artwork designed by Jose and Edwin of ILoveMisery, based on a lovely photo by Spanish photographer Ana Cabaleiro.

See and hear it in the Family Records Store! Enjoy!