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Galactic is proud to announce a special pair of shows to mark its tenth anniversary. The band will play at the famed Tipitina’s in New Orleans on Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10 with a host of special guests. A longtime staple of the vibrant New Orleans music scene, Galactic is thrilled to return to its de facto home base venue to celebrate a decade of good times and great music. “We’ve all grown up together and learned so much,” says bassist Robert Mercurio. “We’re not only best friends, we’re like family.”

As part of the two special anniversary performances, several members of Galactic’s extended New Orleans “family” will join them on stage. Former band member Theryl “Houseman” deClouet will sing with the band, along with frequent collaborator Tricia “Sista Teedy” Boutte, adding soulful vocals to Galactic’s instrumental power. New Orleans piano-funk wizard Jon Cleary will sit in, and Big Chief Bo Dollis will bring a team of Mardi Gras Indians for a traditional street beat jam. Other guests slated to appear include Cyril Neville, George Porter Jr. (of the original Meters), saxman Tim Green, drummer Johnny Vidacovich (of Astral Project,), piano virtuoso Henry Butler, Theresa Andersson, and members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. DJ Quicky Mart will open both shows to warm up the crowd for the dance party of a decade.

Friday, September 9, 2005

Tenth Anniversary Celebration with special guests Theryl “The Houseman” deClouet; Cyril Neville; Big Chief Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias; Sista Teedy; Theresa Andersson; Tim Green; Know One; DJ Quicky Mart.

Tipitina’s Uptown
New Orleans, LA.
Tickets $20
On Sale Now
Doors 9 pm / Show 10
This is an 18+ show.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Tenth Anniversary Celebration with special guests Theryl “The Houseman” deClouet; George Porter Jr; Jon Cleary; Kevin Harris, Roger Lewis, and Efrem Townes of the Dirty Dozen; Sista Teedy, Johnny Vidacovich; DJ Quicky Mart.

Tipitina’s Uptown
New Orleans, LA
Tickets $20
On Sale Now
Doors 9 pm / Show 10
This is an 18+ show.

Tickets are available at tipitinas.com

Neil Young will be joined at his upcoming stand at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium by Emmylou Harris, Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns, the Fisk University Jubilee Singers and Carl Gorodetsky and the Nashville String Machine. As previously reported, the Aug. 18-19 shows will be taped for a concert film by director Jonathan Demme.

Sources say the shows are expected to encompass a complete performance of Young’s new album, “Prairie Wind,” due Sept. 27 via Reprise. As on the record, the artist will be backed at the Ryman by keyboardist Spooner Oldham, pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, drummer Chad Cromwell, percussionist Karl Himmel and bassist Rick Rosas.

A small amount of tickets will likely be available to the general public closer to the date of the event. Paramount Pictures will release the film in theaters and on DVD, but no schedule has yet been announced.

At deadline, the only other shows on Young’s schedule are a Sept. 18 appearance at Farm Aid outside Chicago and Oct. 29-30 at his annual Bridge School Benefit outside San Francisco. However, sources say the artist is mulling a handful of other dates in the fall.

Source billboard.cpm.

Rolling Stones fans will get a little heavy metal with their classic rock during the group’s Nov. 13 and 15 shows at San Francisco’s SBC Park. Metallica has been drafted as the opening act for those performances, joining the ranks of previously announced support bands as Pearl Jam, Maroon 5, John Mayer Trio, Beck and the Black Eyed Peas.

“These two shows are about nothing more than having fun and playing music — nothing to sell, nothing to promote, nothing to talk about, no f***in’ agenda at all,” Metallica writes on its official Web site. “Simply put, this is the reason we started a band 25 or so years ago, and we are psyched and appreciative of this awesome opportunity to get cracking again.”

Source billboard.com.

Power pop legends Big Star are set to release In Space, their first studio album in three decades, on September 27th. The album features original members singer/guitarist Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens joined by guitarist Jon Auer and bassist Ken Stringfellow of the Posies.

“Alex announced to the audience that we were going to do another record, unbeknownst to me, Jon and Ken,” says Stephens, referring to a 2001 show in London. Stringfellow, who along with Auer have performed in Big Star since the band’s 1993 reunion, explains, “We’d been playing the same [set list] for ten years, so we said, ‘Look, let’s learn some of the older songs.’ And Alex said, ‘I’m not really into learning any old songs. Let’s make a new record.'”

Source rollingstone.com.

For the first time in their 10-year history, Ozomatli bring the intensity, energy, and enthusiasm of their live show to a CD & DVD companion package (Concord Records, August 23rd).

The 10-track Live at the Fillmore CD, recorded at the historic San Francisco venue in late 2004, features incendiary live performances of such hits as “Saturday Night,” “Believe,” and “(Who Discovered) America” (all tracks from their GRAMMY

To kickoff a pending August residency at NYC’s Knitting Factory, Club d’Elf will play Wednesday August 3rd and Wednesday August 10th for free. As an added bonus for their first show tomorrow, they have invited their good fiend John Medeski as a special guest. This also makes this show a historic event as it will be the first time Club d’Elf have had two keyboard players (alain mallet being keyboard #2) at the same time.

For more info see clubdelf.com

As tipped here in April, singer/songwriter Nellie McKay will return in the fall with her sophomore album. Due Oct. 18 via Columbia, “Pretty Little Head” will feature 23 new songs, including collaborations with k.d. lang (“We Had It Right”) and Cyndi Lauper (“Beecharmer”).

Other tracks set for inclusion are “The Big One,” “Columbia Is Bleeding” and “Cupacake,” which is said to be about the gay marriage controversy.

“Pretty Little Head” is the follow-up to McKay’s 2003 double-disc debut album, “Get Away From Me.” That set peaked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and has sold 103,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In related news, McKay will star as Polly Peachum in a new Broadway version of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s “The Threepenny Opera,” which will open next April. The translation was provided by Wallace Shawn; Alan Cumming and Edie Falco.

Source billboard.com.

RAQ, the electrifying rock quartet from Burlington, Vermont will embark on an 8 week tour starting in September. The tour will take the band from the Iron Horse Music Hall on September 14th in Northampton, MA to Schuba

Widespread Panic has been added to play Farm Aid on September 18th at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park, IL. This will be Widespread Panic

Ben Harper, Ted Leo, the Fiery Furnaces, the Donnas, Dar Williams and Sufjan Stevens are among the artists confirmed to appear on a song-by-song tribute to the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul.”

Due Oct. 25 via Razor & Tie, “This Bird Has Flown — A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles’ Rubber Soul” even reproduces the sequence of the 14-track original LP. Other acts stepping into the Fab Four’s footprints include Ben Kweller, Nellie McKay, the Yonder Mountain String Band, Ben Lee, Low and Rhett Miller.

“As we looked toward artists we would approach, we felt they should be kindred spirits, whose gifts for singing and arranging lend themselves to these melodies and themes,” says producer Jim Sampas, who previously assembled the Sub Pop set “Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.” “Each artist on this album brought their own fascinating interpretations and have extracted new meanings from ‘Rubber Soul.'”

Released in December 1965, “Rubber Soul” marked the Beatles’ turning point from pop-driven teen idols to musicians willing to experiment with folk and psychedelica. The set spent six weeks at No. 1 on The Billboard 200.

Here is the track list for “This Bird Has Flown”:

“Drive My Car,” the Donnas
“Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” the Fiery Furnaces
“You Won’t See Me,” Dar Williams
“Nowhere Man,” Low
“Think For Yourself,” Yonder Mountain String Band
“The Word,” Mindy Smith
“Michelle,” Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
“What Goes On,” Sufjan Stevens
“Girl,” Rhett Miller
“I’m Looking Through You,” Ted Leo
“In My Life,” Ben Lee
“Wait,” Ben Kweller
“If I Needed Someone,” Nellie McKay
“Run For Your Life,” Cowboy Junkies

Source billboard.com.