With a catchy name and unique sound that combines indie rock-pop and Afro influences, New York's collegiate 'indie' sensation Vampire Weekend have managed to become one of the the hottest bands during the past two years, selling out shows, performing on Saturday Night Live and garnering a massive amount of buzz in the mainstream press and on countless music blogs.

But there are disadvantages of being so popular; there are music fans who absolutely love the band, and there are others who declare VW are vastly over-rated.

Live MP3: Vampire Weekend performing "M79" at SxSW 2008

Yet the soaring popularity of the band appears to be unabated. That can be a good and a bad thing, as we’ve seen so many times before. Nonetheless, I’d bet my Cadillac that many record labels are in a bidding war for these guys right now.

The band has toured relentlessly since early 2007, and there is no sign that they intend to take a break. In fact, VW are booked solid through the end of September when they will play at the famous Austin City Limits festival.

Here's Vampire Weekend's tour dates for the next four months. It seems as if they are playing nearly every music festival this summer, not just in the U.S., but worldwide:

• May 13 2008 - 8:00P
  Electric Ballroom (SOLD OUT)
  London, UK
• May 15 2008 - 1:00P
  Great Escape Festival @ Concorde 2
  Brighton, UK
• May 17 2008 - 8:00P
  Orangerie
  Brussels, Belgium
• May 18 2008 - 8:00P
  Luxor
  Koln, Germany
• May 19 2008 - 8:00P
  Le Trabendo
  Paris, France
• May 20 2008 - 8:00P
  Melkweg
  Amsterdam, Holland
• May 21 2008 - 8:00P
  Knust
  Hamburg, Germany
• May 22 2008 - 8:00P
  Maria
  Berlin, Germany
• May 23 2008 - 8:00P
  Kleine Elserhalle
  Munich, Germany
• May 26 2008 - 8:00P
  Circolo degli Artisti
  Rome, Italy
• May 27 2008 - 8:00P
  Bologna Rocker Festival
  Bologna, Italy
• May 28 2008 - 8:00P
  Mascotte
  Zurich, Switzerland
• May 29 2008
  Primavera Sound Festival
  Barcelona, Spain
• May 30 2008 - 8:00P
  Porto Casa da Musica
  Porto, Portugal
• Jun 7 2008 - 4:30P
  Park Ave CDs
  Orlando, Florida
• Jun 7 2008 - 8:00P
  Club Firestone
  Orlando, Florida
• Jun 8 2008 - 8:00P
  Cafe Eleven
  St. Augustine, Florida
• Jun 9 2008 - 8:00P
  The Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason
  Miami, Florida
• Jun 11 2008 - 8:00P
  The Variety Playhouse
  Atlanta, Georgia
• Jun 12 2008 - 1:00P
  Bonnaroo
  Manchester, Tennessee
• Jun 13 2008 - 1:00P
  Monolith Festival - Red Rocks
  Denver, Colorado
• Jun 14 2008 - 1:00P
  Central Park Summer Stage
  New York, New York
• Jun 21 2008
  Popped! Music Festival - Drexel University
  Philadelphia, PA
• Jun 24 2008 - 1:00P
  Hove Festival
  Arendal, Norway
• Jun 25 2008
  Accelerator
  Stockholm, Sweden
• Jun 27-28 2008
  Glastonbury Festival
  Glastonbury, UK
• Jul 1 2008
  Tivoli
  Utrecht, Holland
• Jul 3 2008
  Werchter Festival
  Werchter, Belgium
• Jul 4 2008
  Solidays Festival
  Paris, France
• Jul 5 2008
  Les Eurockeennes Festival
  Belfort, France
• Jul 6 2008
  Main Square Festival
  Roubaix, France
• Jul 8 2008
  Turin Spaziale Festival w/The Raconteurs
  Turin, Italy
• Jul 10 2008
  Alive Festival
  Lisbon, Portugal
• Jul 12 2008
  Oxegen Festival
  Naas, Ireland
• Jul 13 2008
  T in the Park
  Kinross, Scotland
• Jul 19 2008
  Pitchfork Festival @ Union Park
  Chicago, IL
• Jul 25 2008
  Capital Hill Block Party
  Seattle, WA
• Jul 27 2008
  Pemberton Festival
  Pemberton, BC
• Aug 9 2008 - 8:00P
  Summer Sonic - Tokyo
  Tokyo, Japan
• Aug 10 2008 - 8:00P
  Summer Sonic - Osaka
  Osaka, Japan
• Aug 22 2008
  Reading Festival
  Reading, UK
• Aug 23 2008
  Leeds Festival
  Leeds, UK
• Sep 24 2008 - 8:00P
  Marquee Theatre
  Tempe, AZ
• Sep 27 2008
  Austin City Limits - Zilker Park
  Austin, TX

If you'd like to see the band live, it is strongly recommended to get tickets once they go on sale, since tickets have regularly gone for double and triple the price on eBay and other third-party ticket auction sites.

One of the most interesting things about a band from New York City is that they have a number of songs about Massachusetts in their limited music repertoire ("Boston", "Ladies of Cambridge" and "Cape Cod Kawasa Kawasa")

The band describes their sound as “Upper West Side Soweto” - a reference to their early gigs playing at frat and literary parties for NYC social elites where people began to take notice of their unique blend of joyous indie rock infused with melodic Afro-beat rhythms.

Vampire Weekend's band members are Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, Rostam Batmanglij, and Chris Tomson. The group derived their name from a college film project shortly after forming in 2006.

Their first release, the EP Mansford Roof, caught the attention of music critics, including The New York Times. Word spread quickly about Vampire Weekend's unique sound and lyrics (the track "Oxford Comma" refers to a comma use in a list of three items), buoyed by the band's self-released EPs, which they recorded in locations spanning their Columbia dorm rooms to a family barn.

The buzz around Vampire Weekend reached a feverish peak in 2007; that summer, the band embarked on a seemingly endless tour in 2007, made several appearances at that year's CMJ Music Marathon, and eventually signed with XL Records that fall.

Since then, Vampire Weekend has continued to grow in popularity, evidenced by the fact that most of their shows for this spring and summer have already been sold out.

Some worthwhile VW links, including audio and video performances:

Vampire Weekend: Fresh blood on campus - UK Telegraph

See more Vampire Weekend on IRC including a special and exclusive video performance shot at San Francisco's Rickshaw Stop show on Easter Sunday.

Streaming Video Session: Vampire Weekend live on KCRW

Webs: Vampire Weekend's official website and MySpace page.

Labels: Indie Artist/Group Profiles, Indie Buzz Bands, New York, Vampire Weekend