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The Rolling Stones today (May 10) announced another mega world tour during a media event at New York’s Juilliard School of Music. The Rolling Stones On Stage outing begins Aug. 21 at Fenway Park in Boston, and tickets to many dates go on sale this weekend. As on the 2002-2003 Licks tour, the band will play clubs, theaters, arenas and stadiums, with each sized venue boasting unique production elements and set lists.

Longtime Stones tour promoter Michael Cohl tells Billboard.com the production for the stadium shows will be the biggest and “most interesting” the Stones have ever attempted, including a feature that will allow 400 fans to view the show from the stage.

The Stones performed their classics “Start Me Up” and “Brown Sugar” at the event, and also premiered a new song, “Oh No Not You Again,” slated to appear on its next studio album. That set is due this summer via Virgin.

Tickets will average $100 in stadiums and $110 in arenas, not counting the gold circle seats, which Cohl defines as the “five or 10% where we try to get the high-priced ticket people to pay for the tour.”

Cohl has been plotting the tour for about a year, and the Stones may stay out that long. “We’re announcing we’ll play the world, but right now the only thing that’s set is somewhere around 40 shows in North America,” Cohl says.

The strategy follows a now-familiar Cohl/Stones modus operandi: announce in May, begin in the fall, play until the beginning of December, take a break, “and then off we go to South America, the Far East and then Europe next summer,” Cohl says. “That’s the plan.”

With the new album on the way, this will be the first time since the Bridges to Babylon tour in 1997-98 that the Stones have toured in support of new material.

As on Licks, core Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood will be augmented by all-star sidemen Chuck Leavell (keyboards), Darryl Jones (bass) and Bobby Keys (horns), as well the same backup singers and horn section.

Here are the Rolling Stones’ North American tour dates:

Aug. 21: Boston (Fenway Park)
Aug. 26: Hartford, Conn. (Rentschler Stadium)
Aug. 28: Ottawa, Ont. (Frank Clair Stadium)
Aug. 31: Detroit (Comerica Park)
Sept. 3: Moncton, N.B. (Magnetic Hill)
Sept. 6: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center)
Sept. 8: Milwaukee (Bradley Center)
Sept. 10: Chicago (Soldier Field)
Sept. 15: East Rutherford, N.J. (Giants Stadium)
Sept. 24: Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
Sept. 26: Toronto (Rogers Centre)
Sept. 28: Pittsburgh (PNC Park)
Oct. 1: Hershey, Pa. (Hershey Stadium)
Oct. 3: Washington, D.C. (MCI Center)
Oct. 6: Charlottesville, Va. (Scott Stadium)
Oct. 10: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Oct. 15: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
Oct. 17: Miami (American Airlines Arena)
Oct. 19: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
Oct. 21: Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte New Arena)
Oct. 28: Calgary (Pengrowth Saddledome)
Oct. 30: Seattle (Key Arena)
Nov. 1: Portland, Ore. (Rose Garden)
Nov. 4: Anaheim, Calif. (Angels Stadium)
Nov. 11: San Diego (Petco Park)
Nov. 13: San Francisco (SBC Park)
Nov. 20: Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
Nov. 22: Salt Lake City (Delta Center)
Nov. 24: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Nov. 27: Phoenix (Glendale Arena)
Nov. 29: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
Dec. 1: Houston (Toyota Center)

Source billboard.com.

Rock outfit Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will release its third studio album, “Howl,” Aug. 22 in the United Kingdom and Europe via the Echo label. The first single is due Aug. 8; BRMC’s official Web site says it will be “Shuffle Your Feet,” although reports suggest it could also be “Ain’t No Easy Way Out.”

In support of the set, BRMC will return to live duty with a seven-date U.K. tour, beginning June 11 in Nottingham. All of the shows except the opener will feature support from Brian Jonestown Massacre.

BRMC member Robert Turner told Billboard.com in October that the new album will reveal a shift from the propulsive rock of the band’s first two sets for Virgin.

“There’s one in the vein of an old, Johnny Cash song, and there are a couple of songs that sound like Dylan’s first couple of albums,” he said. “On the songs that do have a fuller sound, they’re more produced and layered. We used that setup more for our first album than the second; just having fun in the studio layering things, rather than the live electric band, throw-and-go sound.”

It was unclear at deadline what label would release “Howl” in North America.

Here are BRMC’s U.K. tour dates:

June 11: Nottingham (Rescue Rooms)
June 12: Glasgow (QMU)
June 13: Manchester (Academy)
June 14: Birmingham (Academy)
June 16: London (Scala)
June 18: Leeds (Cockpit)
June 19: Brighton (Concorde)

Source billboard.com.

Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright with special guest Ben Lee, are going on the Odd Men Out Tour this August in the U.S. Folds is currently touring in support of his recent release

Mavis Staples and Charlie Musselwhite led the field with three trophies each at the 26th W.C. Handy Awards, held last night (May 5) in Memphis. Staples won best album and best soul album for “Have a Little Faith,” and was also named top female soul artist.

Musselwhite’s latest release, “Sanctuary,” won best contemporary album. He was also named best contemporary artist and best blues harmonica player.

B.B. King earned his seventh consecutive entertainer of the year trophy, while the Holmes Brothers were named best blues band and John Lee Hooker Jr. won best new artist debut for “Blues With a Vengeance.”

Here are the W.C. Handy Awards winners:

Acoustic blues album: Double Take Kenny Neal and Billy Branch
Acoustic blues artist: David “Honeyboy” Edwards
New artist debut: “Blues With a Vengeance,” John Lee Hooker Jr.
Blues album: “Have a Little Faith,” Mavis Staples
Blues band: the Holmes Brothers
Blues bass: Willie Kent
Blues drums: Willie “Big Eyes” Smith
Blues entertainer: B.B. King
Blues guitar: Bob Margolin
Blues harmonica: Charlie Musselwhite
Blues horns: Roomful Of Blues Horns
Blues instrumentalist: Robert Randolph
Blues keyboards: Marcia Ball
Blues song: “Have a Little Faith,” Jim Tullio and Jim Weider
Comeback blues album: “Back in 20,” Gary U.S. Bonds
Contemporary blues album: “Sanctuary,” Charlie Musselwhite
Contemporary blues artist: Charlie Musselwhite
Contemporary blues artist: Shemekia Copeland
Historical blues album: “Release the Hound,” Hound Dog Taylor
Soul blues album: “Have a Little Faith,” Mavis Staples
Soul blues artist: Mavis Staples
Soul blues artist: Bobby Rush
Traditional blues album: “Ladies Man,” Pinetop Perkins
Traditional blues artist: Koko Taylor
Traditional blues artist: Pinetop Perkins

Source billboard.com.

Legendary artist/producer Brian Eno will release what is described as his first “solo song-based work in decades” this summer. “Another Day on Earth” will arrive June 14 as the first release on the revived Hannibal imprint via Rykodisc.

Eno’s most recent widely available full-length was the 2001 Astralwerks set “Drawn From Life” with German DJ J. Peter Schwalm. In the past year, Astralwerks has overseen the reissue of numerous classic Eno albums, from his early post-Roxy Music solo efforts to his groundbreaking ambient releases from the late ’70s and early ’80s.

Here is the track list for “Another Day on Earth”:

“This”
“And Then So Clear”
“A Long Way Down”
“Going Unconscious”
“Caught Between”
“Passing Over”
“How Many Worlds”
“Bottomliners”
“Just Another Day”
“Under”
“Bone Bomb”

Source billboard.com.

Original Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman has rejoined the band, after opting out of the initial dates on the band’s reunion tour. Gorman played his first show last night (May 5) during the opener of a four-show run at Atlanta’s Tabernacle. He replaces drummer Bill Dobrow, who previously played with Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson in the band Hookah Brown.

Last night’s show featured five songs from the Crowes’ 1992 album “Southern Harmony and the Musical Companion,” including “Sting Me,” “Black Moon Creeping,” “Sometimes Salvation” and “Remedy.” Also aired out were the rarities “Willin'” (a Little Feat cover) and “Peace Anyway (a B-side from the single “By Your Side”).

The Crowes have tour dates on tap through Sept. 23 at the Austin City Limits festival. As previously reported, the group will also play more than two-dozen shows with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, beginning June 7 in Ft. Myers, Fla.

Source billboard.com.

Production of the popular Comedy Central series “Chappelle’s Show” has been suspended and its third season’s premiere indefinitely delayed. Comedy Central issued a statement Wednesday, saying: “All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future.”

The season will not start May 31 as originally scheduled, the statement added.

cnn.com

Guitarist John Scofield salutes the music of the late Ray Charles on his new album, “That’s What I Say.” The 13-track set is due June 7 via Verve and was produced by Steve Jordan, a veteran of sessions with everyone from the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen to jazz legend Sonny Rollins and B.B. King.

“That’s What I Say” marks the first time Scofield has worked with guest vocalists, of which there are several high-profile names here. The track “What’d I Say” boasts appearances by John Mayer, Warren Haynes, Aaron Neville, Dr. John and Mavis Staples, as well as Charles saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman.

Haynes adds bottleneck guitar to “Night Time Is the Right Time,” while Mayer does the same on “I Don’t Need No Doctor.” Neville reappears on vocals on “You Don’t Know Me,” while Dr. John and Staples team on “Talkin’ Bout You/I Got a Woman.”

Scofield will be on tour throughout the rest of the year, and at deadline is scheduled to play several fall shows featuring Charles’ music, including a Sept. 17 appearance at the Monterey (Calif.) Jazz Fest.

Here is the track list for “That’s What I Say”:

“Busted”
“What’d I Say”
“Sticks and Stones”
“I Don’t Need No Doctor”
“Cryin’ Time”
“I Can’t Stop Loving You”
“Hit the Road Jack”
“Talkin’ Bout You”/”I Got a Woman”
“Unchain My Heart (Part 1)”
“Let’s Go Get Stoned”
“Night Time Is the Right Time”
“You Don’t Know Me”
“Georgia on My Mind”

Source billboard.com.

“Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” is the first “Star Wars” tale to receive a PG-13 rating. The movie was screened for reporters Tuesday night at Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, and the PG-13 rating — “for sci-fi violence and some intense images” — is well-deserved.

The action is relentless and includes sequences more dark and disturbing than anything previously seen in the tragic Skywalker soap opera.

Source: cnn

Widespread Panic, The Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers Band, Wilco, Gov’t Mule, Mike Gordon & Leo Kottke, The Black Keys and Robert Randolph & The Family Band are among the artists scheduled to perform at the 2005 Austin City Limits Music Festival. Now in its fourth year, the ACL Festival has emerged as Texas