News

Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer will begin a North American tour Feb. 2 in Buffalo, N.Y. The 32-date run will include a March 17 performance at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, and will close April 16 in Santa Monica, Calif. The Shiftless Rounders will support through a March 4 show in Pittsburgh.

Harmer is touring in support of her third solo album, “I’m a Mountain,” due Feb. 7 via Zoe/Rounder. As previously reported, the set boasts 11 songs, including first single “I Am Aglow” and a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Will He Be Waiting for Me.” The disc was released in Canada in November and will come out March 6 in Europe.

Here are Harmer’s tour dates:

Feb. 22: Buffalo, N.Y. (Town Ballroom)
Feb. 23: Burlington, Vt. (Higher Ground)
Feb. 24: Boston (Paradise Rock Club)
Feb. 25: Newmarket, N.H. (Stone Church)

Feb. 27: Northampton, Mass. (Iron Horse)
Feb. 28: Alexandria, Va. (Birchmere Music Hall)
March 1: New York (Canal Room)
March 3: Philadelphia (World Cafe Live)
March 4: Pittsburgh (Dowes)
March 7: Carrboro, N.C. (Cat’s Cradle)
March 8: Greenville, S.C. (The Handlebar)
March 9: Asheville, N.C. (The Grey Eagle)
March 10: Nashville (Exit/In)
March 11: Decatur, Ga. (Eddie’s Attic)
March 13: Louisville, Ky. (Headliner’s Music Hall)
March 14: St. Louis, Mo. (Blueberry Hill)
March 17: Austin, Texas (Momo’s South By Southwest)
March 27: Ann Arbor, Mich. (The Ark)
March 29-30: Chicago (Schuba’s Tavern)
March 31: Madison, Wis. (High Noon Saloon)
April 1: Minneapolis (Fine Line)
April 4: Thunder Bay, Ontario (Thunder Bay Community Auditorium)
April 5: Winnipeg (Westminster United Church)
April 6: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Knox United Church)
April 8: Calgary, Alberta (Knox United Church)
April 10: Vancouver (Stanley Theatre)
April 11: Victoria, British Columbia (Alix Goolden Hall)
April 12: Seattle (Tractor Tavern)
April 14: San Francisco (Cafe Du Nord)
April 15: Los Angeles (Knitting Factory)
April 16: Santa Monica, Calif. (McCabe’s Guitar Shop)

Source billboard.com.

Online search engine leader Google Inc. has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country’s free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the Internet’s fastest growing market.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company planned to roll out a new version of its search engine bearing China’s Web suffix “.cn,” on Wednesday. A Chinese-language version of Google’s search engine has previously been available through the company’s dot-com address in the United States.

By creating a unique address for China, Google hopes to make its search engine more widely available and easier to use in the world’s most populous country.

Because of government barriers set up to suppress information, Google’s China users previously have been blocked from using the search engine or encountered lengthy delays in response time.
To obtain the Chinese license, Google agreed to omit Web content that the country’s government finds objectionable. Google will base its censorship decisons on guidance provided by Chinese government officials.

Although China has loosened some of its controls in recent years, some topics, such as Taiwan’s independence and 1989’s Tiananmen Square massacre, remain forbidden subjects.

Google’s decision rankled Reporters Without Borders, a media watchdog group that has sharply criticized Internet companies including Yahoo and Microsoft Corp.’s MSN.com for submitting to China’s censorship regime.

“This is a real shame,” said Julien Pain, head of Reporters Without Borders’ Internet desk. “When a search engine collaborates with the government like this, it makes it much easier for the Chinese government to control what is being said on the Internet.”

Full article: cnn

The initial artist announcement for this summer’s Bonnaroo Music Festival will be this Wednesday, February 1st. This announcement will include an initial lineup of artists, as well as ticket on-sale information for the festival being held June 16-18, 2006.

For updated info on Bonnaroo, please visit bonnaroo.com.

Musically speaking, there are few events as highly anticipated as the venerable Mac Rebennack, aka, Dr. John, performing “live” in New Orleans. Perhaps the greatest living musician from the Crescent City, the Doctor’s hometown appearances always prove to be a full-scale celebration of New Orleans culture and people. Add Mardi Gras night at Tipitina’s into the mix and the stage is set for an intangible X-factor to enter the musical equation. Proof of that resounds in the forthcoming, Right Place, Right Time: Live At Tipitina’s Mardi Gras ’89, a single disc set capturing the one and only New Orleans Night Tripper, Dr. John, on Mardi Gras night 1989 at the hallowed Big Easy music venue, Tipitina’s. Scheduled for release on March 14, 2006, Right Place, Right Time is Volume Two of “The Rebennack Chronicles” on Dr. John’s Skinji Brim imprint distributed through HYENA Records and produced by Joel Dorn.

Playing off the title of one of Dr. John’s biggest hits, “Right Place, Wrong Time” (which topped the rock charts in 1973), Right Place, Right Time opens to the introduction: “Ladies and gentleman, Mardi Gras ’89 here at Tipitina’s, The High Priest, The Night Tripper, Dr. John!” The good Doctor and company blast into the “jailbird beat” of the New Orleans standard, “Junco Partner.” It’s a full-tilt boogie ‘n’ blues number based primarily on Dr. John’s “steady comin’ at ya” piano groove. Joined here by an all-star New Orleans band, including Tommy Moran on guitar, David Barard on electric bass, Herman Ernest III on drums, Trazi Williams on percussion, Amadee Castanell on saxophones and Charlie Miller on trumpet, they follow with the Gerry Goffin/Mac Rebennack-penned number, “Renegade.” The version is highlighted by an extended breakdown complete with a fiery Dr. John sermon that declares, “I like to do what I wanna do anytime I feel like doing what I wanna do, I like to say what I feel like sayin’ anytime I feel like sayin’ how I want to say it.” It’s vintage Night Tripper.

Mardi Gras wouldn’t be complete without a nod to voodoo. “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” takes care of that. Locked to a hypnotic pulse, Dr. John sings in a haunted cadence, while saxophonist Amadee Castanell summons the spirits with a fiery solo that reverberates through Tipitina’s. The band picks the tempo back up with a stellar reading of “Traveling Mood,” a classic first performed by Dr. John on his 1973 album, In The Right Place. The audience’s elation is clearly audible.

As the evening proceeds, Dr. John keeps the music coming with stand-out numbers like “Black Widow,” “Kinfolks,” the Earl King gem “Let The Good Times Roll,” and the Louis Jordan classic “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying.” Tipitina’s hits the stratosphere as Dr. John rounds out the set with rave-up renditions of the Willie Dixon show stopper, “Wang Dang Doodle” and his own, “Such A Night.” As the music fades, it’s hard not to think of New Orleans in better days, but like a well-timed postcard from the past, Right Place, Right Time keeps the spirit of the magical city alive and well.

“The Rebennack Chronicles” began in 2004 with the release of All By Hisself: Live At The Lonestar. It featured Dr. John alone on vocals and piano at the late, lamented New York City nightclub, The Lonestar. The series is drawn from a collection of over 600 cassette recordings of Dr. John performances that’ve been passed along to him at concerts over the last 20 years.

Gordon Stone will head out on the road this month, touring the northeast before appearing at the previously announced snoe.down festival hosted by moe. in Lake Placid, NY.

Tour dates include:

01-26-2006 American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, Burlington, VT

01-27-2006 The Monopole, Plattsburg, NY

01-28-2006 RiRa’s, Burlington, VT

01-31-2006 Stone, Coane, Sacher Bluegrass at The Lincoln Inn, Essex Junction, VT

02-02-2006 American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, Burlington, VT

02-03-2006 Stone, Coane & Sacher – The Black Door, Montpelier, VT

02-04-2006 Olde Yankee Restaurant, Jericho, VT

02-09-2006 American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, Burlington, VT

02-10-2006 Miguel’s Stowe Away, Burlington, VT

02-16-2006 American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, Burlington, VT

02-18-2006 Burke Ski Resort, Burke Mountain, VT

02-24-2006 The Black Door, Montpelier, VT

03-10-2006 Langdon Street Cafe, Montpelier, VT

03-17-2006 snoe.down – moe.s Winter Music Festival, Lake Placid, NY
moe. will host Snoe.down March 17-19, 2006. This event, which kicks off the week long Adirondack Almost Springfest celebration, will take place at the famed Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY, home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, and at nearby Whiteface.

Great Northeast Productions, the organizers behind all of Phish’s legendary festivals, have joined with moe. to make Snoe.down a unique Winter event not to be missed.

Tickets for Snoe.down are on sale now at the Olympic Center Box Office. Snoe.down tickets may also be purchased by phone at 518-523-3330 or via internet at orda.org and tickets.com.

03-18-2006 Acoustic Cafe – Wadleigh Memorial Library, Milford, NH

The Slip will be touring to SXSW in Austin, TX in early March. Full details will be announced shortly, but the early details have been posted. Beginning in Ithaca, the band will make it’s way through the northeast before making appearances at the SXSW festival in Texas. Colorado shows are also expected. Apollo Sunshine and Sam Champion will open each show from March 1 to March 11.

Mar 1 2006 Castaway’s Ithaca, NY

Mar 2 2006 Main Hall Montreal

Mar 3 2006 Higher Ground Burlington, VT

Mar 4 2006 TBA Upstate NY

Mar 5 2006 Mezzanote Syracuse, NY

Mar 6 2006 The Icon Buffalo, NY

Mar 7 2006 Mr. Small’s Pittsburgh, PA

Mar 8 2006 Grog Shop Cleveland, OH

Mar 9 2006 TBA Columbus, OH

Mar 10 2006 Martyr’s Chicago, IL

Mar 11 2006 TBA Columbia, MO

Mar 14-18 2006 SXSW Austin, TX

Mar 17 2006 Brad Barr Solo SXSW Austin

Mar 22-25 2006 TBA Colorado Tour

Jack Johnson will be joined by Ben Harper and Willie Nelson and the Planetary Bandits at his third annual Kokua Festival. The event will be held April 19 at Maui’s Arts and Cultural Center and April 22 (Earth Day) at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu. The lineup also features Henry Kapono, Paula Fuga and Animal Liberation Orchestra.

Proceeds from the shows will benefit the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, which works to preserve Hawaii’s natural environment. Some funds have been earmarked to expand recycling programs in schools, sponsor field trips and curriculum development.

Local environmental groups will be on hand at both shows, which will also offer local organic food vendors, childrens’ activities and goods purveyed by environmentally friendly, Hawaii-based companies.

Tickets go on sale Feb. 4 via Ticketmaster, but a limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available beginning Jan. 28 via Johnson’s official Web site.

Johnson is gearing up for the Feb. 7 release of the soundtrack to the animated film “Curious George,” which features a number of his songs plus appearances by Harper, G. Love and Matt Costa.

He is also about to embark on an extensive international tour, beginning Feb. 22 in Dublin and wrapping April 15 in Chiba, Japan.

Source billboard.com.

Up-and-coming British rock act Nine Black Alps is plotting a spring North American tour with Giant Drag and the Cribs, lead singer Sam Forrest tells Billboard.com. “We know both those bands really well, so that would be ace,” he says. An appearance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in late April in Indio, Calif., is “on my schedule, but I’m not sure if that’s confirmed,” according to Forrest.

Nine Black Alps will be out behind its full-length debut, “Everything Is,” due Feb. 28 via Interscope. The set has been out since last fall in the band’s native land, and in the ensuing months, a number of new songs have taken shape.

“Hopefully on the American tour we should get a few new songs out there,” Forrest says. “In England, we have to do hour-long sets on a headline tour, but our album is only 30 minutes long. We have to play B-sides and things nobody really knows. I actually prefer some of the B-sides to the songs on the album.”

Forrest says the time lag between the album’s American release has allowed the band to “correct all the mistakes we made the first time around in England. We were so new to it. We didn’t know what we’re doing. Now we can relax and hopefully take control and rely less on other people’s wisdom.”

Later this month, Nine Black Alps will be back in the studio to begin work on its sophomore album. “I’ve got tons of songs written — over 30, I think,” Forrest says. “Most of January we’ll be in our rehearsal space in Manchester, bashing things out and seeing what works and seeing what direction it takes. That’s the most exciting time for us — when you actually realize what you’re trying to achieve or how good you are.”

The band will return to the road Feb. 9, when a two-week U.K./Ireland trek kicks off in Belfast. Asked how closely he’s following the much buzzed-about new wave of young English acts that have emerged of late, Forrest says, “We don’t have much in common with them musically. I don’t really see any of them as our contemporaries, really. It’s based on geography rather than musicality.”

Source billboard.com.

Soul/R&B legend Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack today (Jan. 19) at a hospital near his Virginia home, according to a spokesperson. He was 64.

Born in Pratville, Ala., Pickett moved to Detroit as a teen and joined the Falcons, singing on their 1962 hit “I Found a Love.” By 1965, he had signed a solo deal with Atlantic, scoring a No. 21 pop hit with “In the Midnight Hour,” which he co-wrote with legendary sessions musician Steve Cropper.

A slew of late ’60s R&B/soul hits followed, including “Land of 1,000 Dances,” “Funky Broadway,” “634-5789,” “She’s Lookin’ Good” and “Mustang Sally.” As the ’70s dawned, Pickett scored three consecutive top 20 pop singles with “Engine Number 9,” “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” and “Don’t Knock My Love Pt. 1.”

In all, five of his singles reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. Pickett associated himself with some of the top sessions musicians of the time, and was a frequent visitor to Stax and Muscle Shoals Studios. He even hired the late Duane Allman to play guitar on his 1969 cover of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

Pickett recorded regularly into the mid 1980s and was a 1991 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That year, his career was revived thanks to the film “The Commitments,” which followed an unknown Irish soul band of the same name pursuing its dream of performing with Pickett. The artist also joined the band for performances at the Los Angeles and New York film premieres.

The artist’s last studio album, 1999’s “It’s Harder Now,” won WC Handy Awards for soul/blues album of the year and comeback album of the year, while Pickett was named soul/blues male artist of the year.

Pickett is survived by his fiance and four children. He will be buried beside his mother Lena in Louisville, Ky.

Source billboard.com.

Rock duo Ween will continue work on its next studio album at a new studio set up in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Pennsylvania. “I think it’s like the fourth farmhouse we’ve occupied over the years but we seem to have good luck in them at least,” guitarist Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo writes on Ween’s Web site. “Our plan is to continue writing and recording new tunes while also being more active on the road this year.”

Melchiondo says touring will most likely not begin until April but that Ween is hoping its workload will be “more aggressive” in 2006. “We’re gonna try and find the balance between recording and touring, we really didn’t do enough of either last year.”

The new album will be the follow-up to 2003’s “Quebec” (Sanctuary). Last year, the group issued a collection of unreleased studio tracks, “Shinola,” via its own Chocodog imprint. “We’re talking about trying out some different ideas with the next Ween release on Chocodog, maybe a bunch of 45s or something,” Melchiondo says.

Also percolating from the label is a spring album by Chris Harford, produced by Melchiondo and featuring a guest spot by Ween vocalist Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman. Harford and Melchiondo played all the instruments during the sessions.

Source billboard.com.

The Flaming Lips have set the track list for their upcoming album, “At War With the Mystics.” Due April 4 via Warner Bros., the 12-track set is led by the single “The W.A.N.D.,” which is available now from leading digital download stores.

Among the songs that made the cut for the follow-up to 2002’s “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” is “Mr. Ambulance Driver,” which first appeared on last summer’s “Wedding Crashers” soundtrack. “It is connected to some powerful stuff,” Lips leader Wayne Coyne tells Billboard.com of the track. “Every time I hear it, I think Flaming Lips fans will get it and like it. The metaphors and the ideas in the waiting for the ambulance or something to come and save you still hit me.”

Coyne previously said album opener “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” reminded him “almost [of] an MC5 thing, but it’s not talking about external things. It’s talking about the power within you. What would you do if you had the power?”

In terms of an overall sound for the project, Coyne said, “There are some tracks we’ve delved into production-wise, where we’re trying to get some of that heavy rock’n’roll with heavy guitar riffs, but not just to be aggressive. On the last couple of records, we’ve tried to be more expressive in beautiful ways. But sometimes, volume and intensity are great too.”

“At War With the Mystics” will also be available as a special edition with a bonus DVD featuring extra tracks, videos and a 5.1 audio mix. The same treatment is being afforded to the Lips’ 1999 album “The Soft Bulletin,” which will be reissued Jan. 31 via Warner Bros.

Here is the track list for “At War With the Mystics”:

“The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”
“Free Radicals”
“The Sound of Failure/It’s Dark…Is it Always This Dark??”
“My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion”
“Vein of Stars”
“The Wizard Turns On…”
“It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small…Do I Stand a Chance?”
“Mr. Ambulance Driver”
“Haven’t Got a Clue”
“The W.A.N.D.”
“Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung”
“Goin’ On”

Source billboard.com.

The live footage shot by the Black Crowes during a multiple-night August 2005 stand at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium will finally see the light of day this spring. Due March 21 via Eagle Vision, the DVD “Freak ‘N’ Roll … Into the Fog” rounds up 19 tracks from those shows, four of which were previously released in their entirety by Instant Live.

Songs are drawn from all the Crowes’ six studio releases, from hits like “Remedy,” “Hard To Handle,” “She Talks to Angels” and “Sting Me” to more obscure fare like “Let Me Share the Ride,” “Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz” and opener “(Only) Halfway to Everywhere.” The show ends with a cover of the Band’s “The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down.”

The Crowes have been off the road since their New Year’s Eve show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, but will return to live duty Jan. 29 in Orlando, Fla. The group will then pause until a March 12 appearance at the Langerado Music Festival in Sunrise, Fla., ahead of a five-date swing through London (March 18-19) and Amsterdam (March 22-24).

Here is the track list for “Freak ‘N’ Roll … Into the Fog”:

“(Only) Halfway to Everywhere”
“Sting Me”

“No Speak No Slave”
“Soul Singing”
“Welcome to the Goodtimes”
“Jealous Again”
“Space Captain”
“My Morning Song”
“Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz”
“Cursed Diamond”
“She Talks to Angels”
“Wiser Time”
“Non Fiction”
“Seeing Things”
“Hard To Handle”
“Let Me Share the Ride”
“Mellow Down Easy”
“Remedy”
“The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down”

Source billboard.com.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers will unleash a double album, “Stadium Arcadium,” May 9 via Warner Bros. The group recorded 38 songs for the project, and at one point even considered releasing three separate records, but ultimately whittled the material down to a 25-track, two-disc set. Mixing on the Rick Rubin-produced effort is now halfway complete, according to frontman Anthony Kiedis.

“We got together and our initial writing task was to write a short record: an old school, hit ’em and quit ’em, straight to the point record,” he tells Billboard.com. “A record with only 11 or 12 songs instead of 17 songs, just for a change. Three months later, we had 38 songs, all of which were meaningful and worth recording and mixing.”

At first, the idea of an album trilogy seemed “inspiring and appealing. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized it would be a nightmare,” Kiedis admits. “Even if you only release them six months apart, you’re waiting two years until the final installment. Nobody had that kind of patience. By that time, we want to be writing new music and making another record. The best we could come up with is squeezing our favorite 25 onto one body.”

Kiedis cites “Snow” as one of his favorite tunes from the new album, due to its “really crazy sounding guitar part. It’s very busy but rhythmically desirable at the same time. That has grown into one of the epic, kind of great-feeling jams on this record.” Another tune, “Wet Sand,” goes in a new structural direction. “It isn’t so much verse/chorus/verse/chorus with a bridge,” Kiedis says. “It has a beginning, a middle and an end, which I like as a change of pace.”

Fans are sure to be thrilled by the playing of guitarist John Frusciante, who here eschews the more minimalist approach of the Peppers’ past two albums. Says Kiedis, “On this record, he was kind of like, ‘Okay, it’s time for me to lay it all on the table and really shine as a guitar player.’ He’s a lot more balls-out. It’s very solo intensive — there’s some incredible guitar solos. I guess there’s still a little bit of early Beach Boys and early Electric Light Orchestra and intense vocal harmonies. They make themselves known.”

Kiedis attributes the creative burst to the fact that “the chemistry when it comes to writing is better than ever. Always in the past, there was a little bit of struggle between Flea, John or myself as contributing writers — a struggle to dominate. But we are now confident enough in who we are, so everybody feels more comfortably contributing more and more valuable, quality stuff.”

The Peppers will “start rocking in May,” according to Kiedis, with the itinerary set to visit Europe first. A North American tour will then run from August through November. “Instead of playing outdoor shows, we’ll play indoor shows so we can bring a little bit of theatrical love into the arena space,” the artist says.

Source billboard.com.

Beth Orton’s new album, Comfort of Strangers will be released on February 7th, 2006 on Astralwerks.

Recorded over two weeks, Comfort of Strangers, Beth’s fourth album, was recorded at New York’s Sear Sound studio in the spring of 2005. Famed composer Jim O’Rourke (of Sonic Youth fame) takes a production credit on this 14 track release, previously having worked his magic on recordings by such diverse groups and artists as Wilco and Stereolab.

You can see Beth in the flesh – with special guest Willy Mason – when she kicks off her highly anticipated spring tour on March 12 in Washington DC.

March
12 – 9:30 Club – Washington DC
13 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
15 – SXSW – Austin, TX
19 – Gothic Theatre – Denver, CO
20 – Club Sound – Salt Lake City, UT
23 – House of Blues – San Diego
24 – Avalon – Hollywood, CA
25 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
27 – Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR
28 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
29 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, Canada

April
1 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
2 – Barrymore Theatre – Madison, WI
3 – Vic Theatre – Chicago, IL
5 – The Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
6 – Carlu – Toronto, Canada
7 – Club Soda – Montreal, Canada
8 – Avalon – Boston, MA
10 – TLA – Philadelphia, PA
11 – Webster Hall – New York, NY

Source filter.com.

Steely Dan principal Donald Fagen will begin his first-ever solo tour March 1 in New Brunswick, N.J. At deadline, 18 dates were on tap through March 28 in Oakland, Calif. The trek comes in support of his third solo album, “Morph the Cat,” due March 7 via Reprise.

On the day of release, the artist will play a hometown show at New York’s Beacon Theatre. The tour set list is expected to be dominated by Fagen’s solo work, with a sprinkling of Steely Dan material. The makeup of the live band has yet to be announced.

“Morph the Cat” is highlighted by the unique blend of Fagen’s imaginative storytelling and the groove-oriented, backing vocal-laden pop for which Steely Dan is renowned.

He woos an airport security screener on “Security Joan” (“Girl you won’t find my name on your list / Honey you know I ain’t no terrorist”), talks shop with the late Ray Charles on “What I Do” (“He says, ‘Don don’t despair — just take some time / You find your bad self — you’re gonna do just fine'”) and imagines a “thuggish cult” taking over the U.S. government on “Mary Shut the Garden Door.”

On-sale information for the upcoming shows can be found on Fagen’s Web site, as well as VIP packages which offer seats in the first 10 rows plus access to soundcheck.

Here are Donald Fagen’s tour dates:

March 1: New Brunswick, N.J. (State Theatre)
March 3: Westbury, N.Y. (North Fork Theatre)
March 4: Upper Darby, Pa. (Tower Theatre)
March 6: Washington, D.C. (Warner Theatre)
March 7: New York (Beacon Theatre)
March 9: Boston (Opera House)
March 10: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata)
March 12: Ottawa, Ontario (National Arts Centre)
March 13: Toronto (Massey Hall)
March 15: Cleveland (Palace Theatre)
March 16: Detroit (Opera House)
March 18: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
March 19: Minneapolis (State Theatre)
March 21: Denver (Paramount Theatre)
March 24: Las Vegas (the Joint)
March 25: Temecula, Calif. (Pechanga Resort)
March 27: Los Angeles (the Wiltern)
March 28: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount)

Source billboard.com.

Composer Steve Reich will celebrate his 70th birthday with a host of special events this fall. Dubbed Steve Reich@70 and due to kick off Oct. 3, the program is a joint venture between the New York venues the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

The festivities will begin at BAM with the U.S. premiere of the commission “Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings” as part of a dance program by the Akram Khan Company. The piece will be performed by the London Sinfonietta. The evening will also feature a performance by choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.

Next up is a six-day Professional Training Workshop at Carnegie Hall, focusing on Reich’s instrumental pieces. The workshop will close with an Oct. 18 performance of “City Life.” Three days later, several landmark Reich works will be performed by the artists for whom they were originally written: Pat Metheny on “Electric Counterpoint,” the Kronos Quartet on “Different Trains” and Reich and Musicians on “Music for 18 Musicians.”

On Oct. 22, Reich will sit for a conversation with Carnegie Hall Artistic Advisor Ara Guzelimian before the U.S. premiere for “Daniel Variations,” inspired by the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

At Lincoln Center, the focus will be on Reich’s works for voice. The program begins Oct. 28 with “Tehillim” and the New York premiere of “You Are (Variations),” performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale as conducted by Grant Gershon. Reich’s own ensemble will revisit the video opera “The Cave” from Nov. 2-4, marking its first performance since 1999.

Source billboard.com.

Hip-hop collective Dilated Peoples will on Feb. 21 release its fourth album, “20/20,” via Capitol, a day before kicking off a North American headlining tour. The video for lead single “Back Again” features cameos from the Alchemist and Cypress Hill’s B-Real and can be streamed through Yahoo! Music.

Dilated Peoples’ last album, “Neighborhood Watch,” has sold 143,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan and featured the hit single, “This Way,” produced by and featuring Kanye West.

In support of “20/20,” the trio of rappers Rakaa and Evidence and DJ Babu will perform Feb. 20 on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and Feb. 28 on NBC’s “Last Call With Carson Daly.” The tour kicks off Feb. 22 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, with rap trio Little Brother as the opening act.

Here are Dilated Peoples’ tour dates:

Feb. 22: Los Angeles (House of Blues)
Feb. 23: San Francisco (Mezzanine)

Feb. 25: Portland, Ore. (Berbati’s Pan)
Feb. 27: Vancouver (Commodore)
Feb. 28: Seattle (Showbox)
March 2: Park City, Utah (Suede)
March 3-4: Boulder, Colo. (Fox Theatre)
March 6: Minneapolis (First Avenue)
March 7: Chicago (Park West)
March 12: Burlington, Vt. (Higher Ground)
March 13: Boston (Paradise Rock Club)
March 15-16: New York (S.O.B.’s)
March 18: Baltimore (Sonar)
March 21: Atlanta (Roxy)
March 23: Houston (Warehouse Live)
March 24: Austin, Texas (The Parish)
March 25: Dallas (Gypsy Tea Room)
March 27: Phoenix (Marquee Theatre)
March 28: Solana Beach, CA (Belly Up Tavern)
March 31: Anaheim, Calif. (House of Blues)

Source billboard.com.

moe. will host Snoe.down March 17-19, 2006. This event, which kicks off the week long Adirondack Almost Springfest celebration, will take place at the famed Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY, home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, and at nearby Whiteface. Great Northeast Productions, the organizers behind all of Phish’s legendary festivals, have joined with moe. to make Snoe.down a unique Winter event not to be missed.

Friday and Saturday nights will feature moe. at the Olympic Center’s 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena.

As a very special treat for Snoe.down festival attendees, the Verizon Luge Challenge is sponsoring an outdoor performance featuring moe. on Saturday afternoon, March 18th as well as indoor performances by other Artists in the Whiteface Lodge throughout the weekend.

Verizon, a founding sponsor of USA Luge, is bringing the Verizon Luge Challenge to Whiteface Mountain March 18-19. Snoe.down attendees will be able to experience the Fastest Sport on Ice in a safe slope-side setting, with help from USA Luge international medalists, athletes and coaches. Participation in the Verizon Luge Challenge is free, and no experience or lift ticket is required. Adults and children, aged 10 and older after learning the basics of accelerating, steering and stopping from USA Luge athletes and coaches can take practice runs on a recreational version of a luge sled down a track complete with curves and timing equipment.

Additional artists will perform throughout the weekend, including:

SOULIVE: The funky organ trio brings their unique blend of soul, jazz and hip hop evoking Earth, Wind & Fire, Sly & The Family Stone and Curtis Mayfield. The Woodstock, NY, based group has toured with Dave Mathews Band, the Roots and India.arie, and will open for the Rolling Stones in late January.

ASSEMBLY OF DUST: Formed in 2002 and led by Strangefolk founder Reid Genauer, Assembly of Dust will bring their hick-funk sound seamlessly weaving country, jazz and Motown grooves. Following moe.’s Saturday afternoon performance, Assembly of Dust will perform an intimate Apres Luge set in the Whiteface Lodge.

TEA LEAF GREEN: The San Francisco jam based rock and roll band made their moe.down debut last summer to a tremendous response.

DREAD CLAMPITT: This Hip Billy string band brings their funky R&B bluegrass feel.

GORDON STONE: Vermont’s own banjo and pedal steel virtuoso.

RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND: Think Stevie Wonder meets Paul Simon. A jaw-dropping solo performer, as well as the front man of his own six-piece band, playing in both forms at Snoe.down.

Fans will be able to take advantage of a myriad of Lake Placid winter activities. Day skiing and snowboarding at nearby Whiteface will be available from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM. The Olympic Center arena will open at 5:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. During the concerts fans will even have the option of ice-skating while listening to the show!

Other Snoe.down activities include: Public bobsled and luge rocket rides (weather permitting), outdoor public speed skating (weather permitting), gondola rides to the top of Whiteface, visiting the Olympic ski jump towers and touring the 1932 & 1980 Winter Olympic Museum.

Tickets for Snoe.down are on sale now at the Olympic Center Box Office. Snoe.down tickets may also be purchased by phone at 518-523-3330 or via internet at orda.org

Addison Groove Project (AGP) is proud to announce a new project: Skinjer, which features four of the five members of AGP and will see the members performing new material as well as re-worked versions of AGP staples. Skinjer will feature Dave Adams on lead vocals and saxophone, Ben Groppe on bass, saxophone and flute, Andrew Keith on drums and Rob Marscher on keyboards and vocals.

Skinjer made their debut last year with a performance at University of New Hampshire and that has been their only show to date. The group’s first club dates will take place in some of the members’ favorite venues around the Northeast. The three shows currently scheduled are:

1/27 – Maxwell’s – Hoboken, NJ
1/28 – Higher Ground Showcase Lounge – So. Burlington, VT
2/3 – Iron Horse Music Hall – Northampton, MA

Skinjer formed as a result of Brendan McGinn’s recent entry into medical school. McGinn is the lead singer/guitarist in AGP and his schooling has resulted in a much reduced touring schedule for AGP. With the formation of Skinjer, the other four members of AGP have found a new creative outlet. However, fans of AGP should be relieved to know that AGP will still continue playing select shows, just not as many as in the past.

The name Skinjer is an homage to John Skinger Hall, AGP’s original bass player who passed away in November of 2004.

See skinjer.com for more information.

Anti recording artist Daniel Lanois has confirmed Tuesday night residency at the Silverlake, CA hot spot Spaceland throughout January. Door time for the shows is at 9pm, and set time is 11pm. Lanois will also perform February 3 at Zankel Hall for the New York premiere of his film, the