News

Foo Fighters, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Wyclef Jean, Fountains Of Wayne, Puddle Of Mudd, the Doors Of The 21st Century, the Offspring, Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz and Twista are among the first acts confirmed for the 11th annual Music Midtown festival. The event will be held April 30 and May 1-2 on a 42-acre site in Atlanta; tickets go on-sale Saturday (March 13) via Ticketmaster.

Also set to appear are Trapt, Angie Stone, Cee-Lo, Chris Robinson and New Earth Mud, Damien Rice, Fuel, Joss Stone, Galactic, Musiq, Default, Journey, Smile Empty Soul, Gavin DeGraw, Switchfoot, Tantric, Steve Miller Band, Toby Lightman and Anthony Hamilton.

A host of additional acts are yet to be announced; the most up-to-date lineup can be found on the event’s official website.

Source:Billboard.com.

Lucinda Williams has canceled her remaining tour plans due to the passing of her mother. Her Website states that all tickets should be returned for refund at point-of-purchase, and that dates will most likely be rescheduled for August.

The canceled shows include her last four March concerts, in Nashville, Columbus, St. Louis and Kansas City, as well as an Australian jaunt in April. A Santa Barbara date with Willie Nelson and an appearance at the Doheny Heritage Music Festival in May are also off for now.

Source Pollstar.com.

A news post on the official DMB website states:

“We would like to thank everyone who responded to our previous festival surveys. We received a great response. As determined by the survey, the #1 choice for a festival location is the New York City metropolitan area and the July 4th weekend being the clear winner as a favorite date. We are pleased to report that we are developing a plan for an event at a unique site in the NYC metropolitan area for the Saturday and Sunday of July 4th weekend. As we continue with our planning, we would like to hear an update on the the interest for this idea. Please click here to respond.”

Put your dancing boots on and get ready for one heck of a hoedown, courtesy of some of the finest folk, bluegrass and country musicians in the business. Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Dobro master Jerry Douglas, head out on the Great High Mountain Tour this May, along with a stellar cast of roots musicians including Ralph Stanley, The Whites, The Cox Family, Norman & Nancy Blake, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell, Reeltime Travelers, Ollabelle and the Sacred Harp Singers.

The tour features music from the motion pictures “Cold Mountain” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Nine dates have been announced, beginning on Cinco De Mayo at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
Krauss & Union Station were an integral part of the wildly successful Down From The Mountain tour back in 2002. That outing included Great High Mountain participants Stanley and The Nashville Bluegrass Band, along with Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless and more.

Given the similarities between the two tours, don’t be surprised if more dates get announced for this year’s jaunt. Down From The Mountain stretched for a good eight weeks.

Source pollstar.com.

Galactic, Particle and Robert Randolph and the Family Band are among the bands set to play Kansas’ inaugural Wakarusa Music & Camping Festival. Scheduled for June 18-20 at Clinton Lake State Park in Lawrence, the event will feature more than 50 acts on three stages leaning in the jam band vein, but covering various genres.

Also on board for the event are O.A.R., Leftover Salmon, the North Mississippi Allstars, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Derek Trucks Band, Indigenous, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, Jazz Mandolin Project, the Samples and Sound Tribe Sector 9. Reggae act the Wailers has also confirmed its participation, as has rock group the Donnas, alt-country band BR-549 and hillbilly punk the Reverend Horton Heat.

Along with music, the weekend affair will boast activities such as mountain biking, disc golf, water sports and hiking, as well as plenty of food and provisions for revelers. “Once you hit the Wakarusa site, you won’t have to leave the grounds the entire weekend,” organizer John Brooks says. “Wakarusa is not just a concert. It’s a lifestyle and total outdoor experience focusing on good friends, good vibes and great memories.”

A limited amount of early bird tickets priced at $65 — including camping and parking — will go on sale Friday (March 12). Ticket prices will escalate to $75 through April 30, $95 during the month of May and $105 after June 1. A limited amount of $500 VIP packages include a pair of tickets, food and beverage, a premium camping location and access to a special viewing area at the Sundown stage.

For more information and the full lineup of performing artists, visit the festivals Web site.

Source billboard.com.

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals have begun lining up summer European festival appearances. The group will hit the road beginning May 28 at Festimad in Madrid, Spain, and will play 11 additional dates, including Rock in Rio – Lisbon on May 29 and the Werchter Festival in Belgium on July 3.

Later in the summer, Harper and company will open for Dave Matthews Band Aug. 28-29 at the Home Depot Center in Carson City, Calif. Black Eyed Peas will also be on the bill. Harper is touring in support of his 2003 Virgin album “Diamonds in the Inside.”

According to a spokesperson, Harper will hit the studio this month with the Blind Boys Of Alabama and in the near future with his own band. As previously reported, the artist guests on upcoming albums by blues artist Charlie Musselwhite and veteran reggae combo Toots and the Maytals, due April 6 from Real World Records and V2, respectively.

Here are Ben Harper’s tour dates:

May 28: Madrid, Spain (Festimad)
May 29: Lisbon, Portugal (Rock in Rio – Lisbon)
June 1: Cournon, France (Zenith D’Auvergne)
June 3: Dresden, Germany (Alter Schlachthof)
June 4: Hamburg, Germany (Freilichtbuhne Stadtpark)
June 5: Nuremberg, Germany (Rock Im Park)
June 6: Nurburgring, Germany (Rock Am Ring)
June 11: Bayonne, France (Arenes)
June 16: Naples, Italy (Flegrea Arena)
June 17: Pisa, Italy (Piazza De Cavalieri)
June 22: London (Carling Apollo Hammersmith)
July 3: Werchter, Belgium (Rock Werchter Festival)
Aug. 28-29: Carson, Calif. (Home Depot Center, w/ Dave Matthews Band)

Source billboard.com.

The eagerly awaited Pixies ‘Best Of’ compilation and career-spanning DVD are to be released in May, coinciding with the band’s reunion tour.

The band’s former label 4AD issue the 23-track compilation Wave Of Mutilation and DVD called Pixies on May 3 (May 4 in the US), Billboard reports. This is shortly after the band’s co-headlining appearance at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California on May 1.

The DVD will feature eight Pixies videos, a 1988 concert taped at London’s Town And Country Club and the documentary Gouge, which features interviews with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, David Bowie and Bono.

The band play their first live shows in 12 years this spring, kicking off in Winnipeg on April 14. The jaunt includes an extensive trawl round the summer European festivals, a couple of dates supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers, and a four-night, sold-out residency at London Brixton Academy.

A statement on the band’s new website pixiesmusic.com states: “The Pixies have rehearsed and they will rehearse again in March in a secret location in Los Angeles.

“Yes, they have decided which tunes they are doing. For the most part, they’ll be doing Pixies ‘ tunes. As for new songs, there’s a Latvian lullaby, a Czech dirge and a Bulgarian ballad.”

Source nme.com.

One of the East Coast’s longest running and most important festivals, Smilefest, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with another diverse and impressive lineup. The 2004 edition, which takes place July 22-25 at Van Hoy Farms in Union Grove, North Carolina, features performances by the Derek Trucks Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, Steve Kimock Band, Burning Spear, Keller Williams, Tony Rice Unit, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, Garaj Mahal, and many others.

Once again, Smilefest comes complete with a wide range of activities to complement the three stages of music. An expanded and improved children’s area fosters a family-friendly atmosphere, while the late night cartoon and film corral add entertainment possibilities for the grownups. Community activism also plays an important role at Smilefest, where structures will be built on-site for Habitat for Humanity and voters will be registered in an effort to increase participation in the democratic process. The annual campsite decoration contest will once again be in place, except this time it will be judged by campers themselves. Look for Smilefest’s expanded Web site to launch in the coming weeks. Union Grove, North Carolina, is located on I-77, 12 miles north of Statesville and 60 miles north of Charlotte.

The full list of confirmed acts can be found at www.smilefest.com.

Tributes to musician Horace Silver and producer Tommy LiPuma will play a special role in the 25th annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, set for April 14-25 at venues around the city. A jazz and hip-hop experiment, as well as performances by Regina Carter, Joe Zawinul and Brian Auger, will figure in the event’s silver anniversary.

David Sanborn, Al Jarreau, Joe Sample and others will perform the music of hard bop pioneer Silver, who early in his career played with the likes of Stan Getz and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, April 16 at the Allen Theatre. The next night, the same venue will host “The Art of LiPuma,” with Diana Krall, George Benson, Dr. John and Jimmy Scott paying tribute to the Verve chairman and legendary producer.

Drummer Bill Ransom and DJ Logic will ream up with saxophonist Mike Phillips to present “Jazz Meets Hip-Hop, Part 2,” April 19 at the Beachland Ballroom.

The Sam Rivers Trio will perform April 15 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Carter’s April 22 show will be staged at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Joe Zawinul Syndicate’s April 23 show will inhabit the CCC Metro Auditorium, while Auger’s April 25 concert will take place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

In addition to the many ticketed Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland events, the festival will also present free concerts at Tower City, the Beck Center for the Performing Arts and Karamu House.

Source billboard.com.

A stellar lineup is in store for one of the biggest roots music events of the year, coming up this spring. This year’s Doheny Heritage Music Festival boasts headliners James Brown and Los Lobos, as well as a staggering array of living legends and contemporary stars.

Taking place May 22-23 in Dana Point, Calif., the affair will feature multiple stages and a delicious assortment of thematic food vendors. In addition to the aforementioned acts, Etta James, Lucinda Williams, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, The Robert Cray Band, Keb’ Mo’, Charlie Musselwhite, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Koko Taylor, John Mayall and more are confirmed for the weekend fest.

Source pollstar.com.

Musician David Crosby was arrested on marijuana and gun possession charges early Saturday at a Times Square hotel, police said.

Crosby, 62, a two-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had checked out of the hotel but left a piece of luggage behind, police said.

A hotel worker found the bag and went through it looking for identification, and called police after finding marijuana, a .45-caliber handgun and two knives, authorities said.

Crosby was met by police when he returned to pick up the bag, investigators said.

Crosby, a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, had been performing at the B.B. King Blues Club off Times Square and at Shea Auditorium in Wayne, New Jersey.

In 1985 he was convicted of drug possession in Dallas and spent a year in prison before his conviction was overturned on appeal.

Calls seeking comment from Crosby’s management company were not immediately returned Saturday.

Source CNN.com.

Lenny Kravitz will return to the spotlight this spring with his seventh studio album, “Baptism.” The set is due May 18 via Virgin and will be preceded by the single “Where Are We Runnin’?,” which will be delivered March 29 to U.S. radio outlets for airplay consideration. “‘Baptism’ marks a musical and spiritual rebirth,” the artist says. “That’s what this album is all about.”

“Baptism” is largely a solitary undertaking for Kravitz, who wrote, produced, arranged and played nearly all of the instruments on the set’s 13 tracks. In his first foray into a hip-hop crossover, the artist teams up with rapper Jay-Z on the track “Storm.” Lionel Richie guests on the track “Destiny.”

Kravitz has tour dates lined up through July, including previously announced appearances on April 30 and May 1 at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. From there, he heads to Europe for Holland’s Pink Pop festival on May 31 and 19 further headlining shows on the continent. The North American portion of the trek will begin in August and run through October.

Source billboard.com.

Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt principal Jay Farrar has begun selling the album “Live in Seattle” for download via his official Web site. The 15-track collection was taped July 24, 2003, at Seattle’s Showbox club and is available in both MP3 and FLAC formats. Downloadable artwork is included in the purchase.

Meanwhile, Farrar’s Transmit Sound label will on June 8 release “Stone, Steel & Bright Lights,” encompassing 19 live tracks from the artist’s 2003 tour. The album will feature two new originals and covers of Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane” and the early Pink Floyd staple “Lucifer Sam.” A bonus DVD will boast footage from a live show at Slim’s in San Francisco.

Farrar will begin a two-week European tour March 15 in Trondheim, Norway, to be followed by five May dates in Australia and New Zealand. He will be accompanied by the Blood Oranges’ Mark Spencer at all shows.

Source billboard.com.

Apple has a smash hit on its hands with the new iPod mini digital music player. The little cousin of the full-size iPod is virtually sold out after less than two weeks in stores, with nearly 100,000 snapped up.

“I’ve never seen a product line sell like this,” says Jack Wahrman, senior merchandising manager at New York’s J&R Music World. “The iPod is a phenomenon.”

The $249 mini is the business-card-sized market extension of the regular iPod, which, while larger, also easily fits into a pocket.

The bigger iPod starts at $299 with a 15-gigabyte hard drive – enough for 4,000 songs. The mini, which comes in green, pink, silver, blue and gold, is just $50 less. It has less storage room, 4 gigabytes – or about 1,000 songs – leading critics to charge initially that it was overpriced.

“Consumers have a different view on pricing,” says Mike McGuire, an analyst with tech research firm GartnerG2 and a mini owner himself. “When you actually see it and feel it, it’s amazing. It’s the size of a cool little mobile phone and really compelling.”

Bel-Air Camera, near the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, sold its allotment in one day, says sales manager Gregg Burger. “It’s frustrating. Everyone wants to buy it, and we can’t sell it.”

“The demand is incredible,” says Wahrman at J&R, who had 25 of the silver minis left in stock Thursday. Best Buy and Amazon, on their Web sites, said they were sold out. Savvy entrepreneurs were auctioning minis on eBay with starting bids ranging from $299 to $310.

On its Web site, Apple tells shoppers to expect a one- to three-week wait. “We’re asking people to be patient with us,” says Greg Joswiak, Apple marketing vice president.

It’s not a component shortage that’s causing the backlog. “We’re making and shipping them as fast as we can,” Joswiak says. He says teens are taking to the cool colors. And the mini is appealing to athletic fans, who like exercising with an ultralight device.

It took Apple six weeks to sell 120,000 of the original iPod when it came out in 2001. Apple has now sold over 2 million and has a 70.4% share of digital music player revenue, according to market trackers NPD Group.

Being sold out “creates a lot of buzz for Apple,” says NPD analyst Steve Baker. “But they can’t leave retailers hanging for too long.” Competitors Creative Labs and Rio Audio both have similar small MP3 music players selling for $199 and can benefit, Baker says.

Wahrman calls Creative’s MuVo2 “the iPod mini killer.” Like the mini, it also has 4 GB of storage. The Rio Nitrus is 1.5 GB. “I just got in the MuVo2 and sold my entire order the first weekend, all 540 of them,” he says.

Source yahoo.com.

Sonic Youth has wrapped work on its next album, “Sonic Youth Nurse.” The set is due in June via DGC/Interscope and is the follow-up to 2002’s “Murray Street.” Like that album, it was recorded at the band’s Echo Canyon studios in lower Manhattan and produced by the band with Jim O’Rourke.

According to a source, the record makes further inroads into the classic-rock sounds Sonic Youth explored on “Murray Street,” which was recorded in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Sonic Youth has a handful of tour dates on the horizon, including a March 16 appearance at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and a previously announced benefit concert April 30 at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. The group will also be on hand April 3 for the U.K.’s annual All Tomorrow’s Parties festival.

The group is continuing work on its SYR series of experimental LP releases, with the next edition set to include a recording from the 2001 All Tomorrow’s Parties fest. An expanded reissue of Sonic Youth’s 1990 album “Goo” is also in the offing.

Source billboard.com.

With the recent departure of multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach, Wilco’s touring lineup for the foreseeable future features two new players: keyboard/guitarist Pat Sansone (whom many of you know from the Autumn Defense) and guitarist Nels Cline (whom some of you may have seen sit in with the band last year at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago).

The new Wilco lineup features:

Jeff Tweedy: gtr, vox
John Stirratt: bass gtr, vox
Glenn Kotche: drums, percussion, etc.
Mikael Jorgensen: keys, laptop
Pat Sansone: keys, gtr, vox
Nels Cline: gtr
Everybody: cowbell

This version of Wilco (mach 5 maybe?) will debut in Columbia, Mo. at the Blue Note on 21 April.

Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and Ruben Blades are among the guests appearing on “The Ride,” the forthcoming new studio album from Los Lobos. Due May 4 from Hollywood Records/Mammoth Records, the 13-track collection is band’s first self-produced title in a career that stretches more than two decades.

“We’re all very proud of this album,” guitarist Louie P

March 30 will bring the long-awaited DVD release of Bob Dylan’s “MTV Unplugged” via Columbia. The video sports four songs not aired on the original 1995 MTV broadcast and also features “Love Minus Zero”/”No Limit,” which did not appear on the accompanying “MTV Unplugged” album.

As previously reported, Columbia will the same day issue the sixth volume in its Dylan “Bootleg Series” with “Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall.” The double-disc set was recorded Oct. 31, 1964 at the New York venue, two months after the release of “Another Side of Bob Dylan.”

Dylan just began a new run of North American dates and will play the first of three shows in St. Louis tonight (March 1) at the Pageant. Dates are on tap through a June 11 appearance at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn.

Source billboard.com.

In an all-around predictable evening at the Oscars (news – web sites), the ragtag heroes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” hoisted the fantasy genre to a new artistic high Sunday, earning a record-tying 11 awards, taking best picture and sweeping each of its categories.

Peter Jackson (news), who shepherded J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth saga to the screen, won the best director Oscar and shared the adapted-screenplay award with his two co-writers.

“I think the fact that we had goblins and trolls and wizards and everything else made it hard for people to take it seriously,” Jackson said backstage. “I appreciate that the academy and voters tonight have seen through all that.”

Tolkien’s themes

Cowboy Junkies have announced the release of the ninth studio album, One Soul Now on Cooking Vinyl on May 31, 2004.

One Soul Now, the ninth studio release from Cowboy Junkies, draws together all the wisdom, passion, skill and insight collected during almost 20 years of playing, writing, touring, recording and living together as a band.

Following on the group’s acclaimed 2001 release Open, the 10 songs that make up One Soul Now mark an ambitious departure for the group; it’s the first time Cowboy Junkies have recorded entirely on their own, without the mediation of an outside producer or engineer. One Soul Now was created in the band’s rehearsal space in their hometown Toronto, which doubled as a recording studio for the project.