The Rolling Stones’ 2002-03 Licks world tour posted the second-highest gross ever, Billboard Bulletin reports. The tour grossed nearly $300 million and played to more than 3.4 million people, putting it behind only their own marathon Voodoo Lounge stadium tour, which grossed $320 million in 1994-95.
For Licks, the Stones played stadiums, arenas and theaters — sometimes all three in the same market — and filled venues to 99% capacity over 116 dates. Billed as the band’s 40th-anniversary tour, Licks began Sept. 3, 2002, in Boston, and ended Oct. 2 in Zurich.
Source Billboard.com.

Rock duo Ween will release a new live disc exclusively through its official Web site, via its own Chocodog Records. The site will begin accepting pre-orders for the release — documenting an “All Request” concert the band played in July — on Dec. 1, marking the third straight year the band has made a live album available to fans during the holiday season.
The show, performed live on Weenradio.com, featured a set list entirely chosen by fans through voting on the band’s Web site. It includes such rare cuts as “Pollo Asado,” “Demon Sweat” and all five installments of the group’s “The Stallion” song cycle.
As previously reported, Ween kicks off a European tour Thursday (Nov. 27) in Stockholm. Fresh off the August release of its seventh studio album, “Quebec” (Sanctuary), which debuted at a career-best No. 81 on The Billboard 200, the band is also hoping to turn a recording of a recent three-night stand at Chicago’s Vic Theatre into a live DVD.
Source Billboard.com.

Quite possibly the best three Phish shows since their return to the stage are now officially available on CD. Although already available as downloads on www.LivePhish.com, these new releases are packaged in a jewel case. There is no standard ShowCase sleeve accompanying the release. All customers who purchase all three new Live Phish 2003 releases are automatically entered into the Live Phish Preorder Contest.
LIVE PHISH 02.28.03 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
LIVE PHISH 07.15.03 USANA Ampitheatre, West Valley City, Utah LIVE PHISH 07.29.03 Post Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, Pennsylvania
Source Phish.com.

When they released their first album of holiday material in September, the Blind Boys Of Alabama said they’d be taking the tunes to the stage. And they’re doing just that for nine shows in December.
Treating fans in major cities from West to East Coast, the Blind Boys will play songs from their Go Tell It On The Mountain CD starting December 9 in Colorado. Mavis Staples and John Medeski are on all dates, while Aaron Neville joins in a handful.
A big show will take place in New York City at the Beacon Theatre. There, the gang will be joined by many of the same guests on their album, including Chrissie Hynde, Michael Franti, Robert Randolph, Charlie Musselwhite and Duke Robillard. Like the holiday shows, the album is chock-full o’ guest appearances, including spots by Tom Waits, Hynde, Neville, Solomon Burke, Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Shelby Lynne, Randolph and many others.
Source Pollstar.com.

David Crosby and Graham Nash will enter the studio in January to record their first album together as a duo in almost 30 years. “We are excited as hell because we have a terrific bunch of songs for it,” Crosby tells Billboard.com. The last Crosby & Nash studio album, “Whistling Down the Wire,” their third as a duo, was issued in June 1976.
The pair is in discussions with several labels, including Sanctuary, says Crosby, adding that the set will be helmed by drummer/producer Russ Kunkel (Jimmy Buffett, Carly Simon).
Backing Crosby and Nash will be bassist Lee Sklar and guitarist Dean Parks, as well as Crosby’s son, keyboardist James Raymond, and guitarist Jeff Pevar of Crosby’s side project CPR. Conkel’s son, Nathaniel, will engineer.
After 11 years between albums, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young returned in 1999 with “Looking Forward.” Since then, the act has embarked on two major tours and a slew of one-off performances, such as Neil Young’s recent Bridge School benefit outside San Francisco.
Source billboard.com.

The late George Harrison, Prince, Traffic and ZZ Top are among the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Jackson Browne, the Dells and Bob Seger round out the group.
Harrison was previously inducted in the Rock Hall’s 1988 class as a member of the Beatles; former bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney have already been inducted as solo artists.
The 19th annual induction ceremony will be held March 15 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. A Lifetime Achievement Award /Non-Performer honoree will be announced soon.
Artists become eligible 25 years after the release of their first recording. A Foundation committee nominates eligible artists, who are then voted on by an international body of about 700 music experts.
Source cnn.com.

John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to the song “Nowhere Man” were sold for $455,000 — more than four times the expected price — at an entertainment memorabilia sale at Christie’s Tuesday. The lyrics to the Beatles song were expected to fetch between $80,000 and $100,000 at the New York auction, according to Christie’s spokeswoman Margaret Barrett.
Source cnn.com.

Rolling Stone has compiled their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, with The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band claiming the #1 spot. The Beatles, clearly the best band ever on vinyl, take 4 of the top 10. Revolver is 3rd, Rubber Soul 5th and The Beatles (“The White Album”) is 10th. Abbey Road doesn’t come in till 14 and Let It Be barely makes the top 100.
See the complete list here: Rollingstone.com.

Guster, about to wrap up months worth of touring in support of their latest release “Keep It Together,” have announced a special upcoming show. The three piece will play homage to one of their three piece influnces – The Violent Femmes. Guster will perfom the Violent Femmes’ debut album in its entirety on November 25th at New York’s Arlene Grocery. The self titled debut album was release in 1982, and features the world recognizable – “Blister in the Sun.”
Source Rollingstone.com.

The paperback edition of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s “Journals” has been bolstered with 14 pages of new material, including an extended narrative about a semi-fictional serial killer. Riverhead released the volume Nov. 10, with a front cover reproduction of Cobain’s red Mead notebook bearing his hand-written caveat, “if you read, you’ll judge.”
“Frankly, we had this the first time around, but we chose not to include it, because it’s disturbing and bizarre,” Riverhead co-editorial director Julie Grau tells Billboard.com of the serial killer-themed pages. “We checked, and there was a serial killer that shared some of the traits and biographic facts that he writes about. But it’s hard to know if Kurt was inventing all of this but had pieces of facts he recalled.”
Source Billboard.com.