For a while I’ve been chasing down rumors about Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary gala. And after months of keeping things mum, Seattle’s influential indie record label just released details for SP20, the music and comedy festival it has planned for July 11 at Seattle's Moore Theatre and July 12 and 13 at Redmond’s Marymoor Park.

The July 11 show at the Moore is a comedy showcase that will feature Eugene Mirman, Patton Oswalt, Todd Barry and special guests.

The musical will take place at Marymoor Park. And acts will include seminal grunge band Green River which, as most of you should know, included guys who went on to form Mudhoney and Pearl Jam. Of course Mudhoney will play, too. And also on the bill (in alphabetical order) are Beachwood Sparks, Comets on Fire, Fleet Foxes, Flight of the Conchords, The Fluid, Foals, Grand Archives, The Helio Sequence, Iron & Wine, Kinski, Low, No Age, Pissed Jeans, Red Red Meat, The Ruby Suns, Seaweed and Wolf Parade, with more announcements on the way.

But, hey! Seaweed should do a good job of representin' for Tacoma. But where's Girl Trouble, the group that recorded the label's first full-length album, "Hit It Or Quit It"? What's up with that? And I wonder if the label's money makers du jour, the Shins, or comedian David Cross could be among the yet to be announced surprise guests. Not that I've heard anything.

Anyway, tickets will go on sale at noon on April 26 and be available through SubPop.com and Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets will go for $30 per day, $50 for both days through May 10, and then for $35 and $65 after that.

Tacoma's Seaweed is playing Sub Pop's 20th anniversary festival. And perhaps we'll hear some of those new songs that guitarist Wade Neal (foreground) and drummer Jesse Fox (next to him) are listening to with Mike Corvin in this pic.
LIU KIT WONG

I last wrote about this topic in February, after I interviewed Saul Williams about releasing music directly to fans. As the Rolling Stone article I've linked to mentions, established rock stars that have managed to retain control of their brand and publishing don't really need no steen-king record label. So is the major label as we know it in its final throes? Discuss.

Well, I thought I was chasing a scoop after I caught wind of layoffs at Olympia's Kill Rock Stars and rumors that the indie label – whose roster has included Sleater-Kinney, the Gossip, Deerhoof and Bikini Kill – was taking off for Portland. But according to a story that ran in Billboard earlier this month (read it here) the company's HQ is actually moving to NYC.

Founder Slim Moon has accepted an A&R job with New York-based Nonesuch records, according to the story, and day-to-day operations will be handed over to his wife and label co-owner, Portia Sabin. An employee I spoke to this afternoon verified the move.