2004

Superfly Productions is proud to announce its 8th annual “Superfly during JazzFest” concert series. Series events will take place from Friday, April 23 through Sunday, May 2 at several venues throughout New Orleans, including the State Palace Theatre, the Orpheum Theatre, Twi-Ro-Pa, the Mermaid Lounge, and the Riverboat Cajun Queen. Confirmed shows are listed below, with additional shows to be announced soon.

The 2004 Superfly during JazzFest concert series presents local and national talent from a colorful array of genres, including series alums like alt-country band Wilco and New Orleans favorite Galactic. Galactic will play a show each weekend of the festival, including a co-bill with hip-hop crew Jurassic 5. Festival newcomers include instrumental art-rock band Tortoise playing Sunday, May 2 in Twi-Ro-Pa’s Tchoupitoulas Room. Another highlight will be Gov’t Mule’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, a two-night stand at the Orpheum Theatre Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1.

Once again, the Superfly during JazzFest series will feature a variety of venues and show formats. From the edgy, intimate Mermaid Lounge, to grand, ornate theaters like the State Palace, fans will be presented with a variety of options. Special shows aboard the Riverboat Cajun Queen include the Radiators on Saturday, April 27 and Garage a Trois on Friday, April 23. As always, the series will utilize late night clubs lots, featuring a performance by organic trance band Sound Tribe Sector 9 and a post-Gov’t Mule show with Chris Robinson & the New Earth Mud and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. In addition to scheduled acts, the series’ multi-venue format promotes one-time collaborations and surprise sit-ins.

Check out www.superflypresents.com for complete information on the Superfly during JazzFest concert series.

Sacramento, CA band CAKE has been added to the already talent loaded lineup of the 2nd annual Langerado Music Festival. Set to perform a 90-minute co-headlining set, CAKE, of “The Distance” fame has a long and storied history. CAKE’s musical palette includes touches of folk, hip-hop, soul, funk and country, to name a few, all topped with a thick layer of irony. Stridently from California’s fertile Central Valley, this Sacramento band has attracted the kind of ecstatic response most newcomers only dream of and seasoned veterans justifiably envy. Based almost entirely on the strength of their live performances and on word of mouth, CAKE has built up a sizable following that is fast billowing out of the northern California region in a sort of reckless eastward expansion.

The Langerado Music Festival is taking place on Saturday March 6th at Young Circle Park in historic downtown Hollywood, Florida. Bigger and better than the inaugural event in 2003, this year the Langerado will feature over 15 bands on 3 stages performing the best in live music from 11 a.m. until midnight, live art installations courtesy of Miami born artist Dave “LEBO” LeBatard and other local artists, a Beer Garden featuring some of the finest microbrewed beer from around the country and much more.

With returning favorites like moe., G. Love & Special Sauce, MOFRO, and Perpetual Groove joined by the likes of reggae legends the Wailers, alt-rockers Cracker, the psychedelic electronica of Sound Tribe Sector 9, and the southern-fried rock of the Drive-by Truckers, the Langerado Music Festival will feature the most diverse one-day lineup South Florida has ever seen.

Young Circle Park is located on 13-acres of land in historic downtown Hollywood, featuring wide open spaces complemented by plenty of shade cover. The average temperature in March is a beautiful 72 degrees, the perfect respite from the cold weather the rest of the country is mired in. Hollywood Beach is less than 1 mile from the venue, and numerous boutique hotels are available for daily and weekly rentals, the perfect opportunity to relax and spend Spring Break in the warmth and sunshine South Florida offers on a year round basis.

“We couldn’t be more excited for this year’s festival,” said Mark Brown of Brown Coffee Productions and Jam Cruise. “Last year really set the tone for what this event can and will become in the years to come. We’re the first festival of the season, the March weather in Florida is about as good as it gets. The diversity in the lineup really offers something for everyone, as well as turning people onto something they might not have heard before. That’s really what a music festival should be about, trying to see as many new acts as you can over the course of the day.”

For more festival and ticket info, see langerado.com.

Norah Jones scored the largest opening week in more than two years to bow on top of The Billboard 200. Her second Blue Note album, Feels Like Home sold an incredible 1.02 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, to give the artist her second No. 1 album. Feels Like Home also registers the second-best week ever totaled by a female artist.

Her debut, Come Away With Me, has sold 8 million copies since its release in 2002.

Source Billboard.com.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed 531 “John Doe” lawsuits today against suspected users of illicit peer-to-peer file-sharing services, Billboard.biz reports. The suits will be bundled in five lawsuits and filed in federal courts in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Trenton, N.J., and Orlando, Fla.

In January, the RIAA filed 532 such suits after an appeals court ruled the trade group could not employ so-called information subpoenas to get the names and addresses of suspected infringers from their Internet service providers.

Including today’s suits, the RIAA has to date filed 1,445 lawsuits in its campaign against individuals suspected of illegally trading music files over the Internet.

Source Billboard.com.

A classic Jazz Fest music lineup of Louisiana legends, international stars, and roots-music heroes is set for the landmark 35th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

The Festival

The original “Star Wars” trilogy, one of the most-requested DVD episodic film franchises, is expected to be released as a four-disc DVD box set September 21.

A global rollout on DVD is expected within days of the domestic release, according to Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The trilogy, featuring the classic franchise films “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” will be released on three DVD discs, with a fourth disc likely to hold a newly made documentary about the “Star Wars” franchise and never-before-seen footage, among several other bonus materials, said Jim Ward, Lucasfilm’s VP of marketing and distribution and the DVD trilogy’s executive producer.

“We are currently in the process of restoring and remastering all three titles for the DVD release, so we’re still working on details of the marketing strategy,” Ward said. “But I believe that it is safe to say that it will receive tremendous exposure across all media.”

Source CNN.com.

Mercury U.K. joint managing director Steve Lillywhite has left his role with the label to return to his roots in record production. Lillywhite tells Billboard.biz he will take no time off and will begin producing an album by U2 next week. The as-yet-untitled set is due from Interscope/Island later this year.

“It’s the first time I’ll have gone in to actually start a record with them in 20 years,” says Lillywhite. “I worked on ‘The Joshua Tree,’ ‘Achtung Baby’ and ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind,’ but this will be the first time I’ve really set up the mikes and done everything for a long time.”

Lillywhite also oversaw the band’s first two albums, 1980’s “Boy” and 1981’s “October.” He adds, “I’ve heard some great songs. The Edge is playing some really great guitar.”

Lillywhite, one of Britain’s top rock producers, has a list of credits that includes the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Morrissey and the Dave Matthews Band. In 2002, he was brought to Universal U.K. by chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge.

“I’ve had two great years, and I’ve loved a lot of it,” says Lillywhite, “but really I wasn’t that made out for getting up early in the morning. That’s 25 years of producing records. I got more and more of an urge to be in the studio, so Lucian and I had a chat and decided it was best that I return to that.”

Source billboard.com.

G Love & Special Sauce are cooking up a new batch of dates for the spring. Their latest outing kicks off March 4 in Columbia, S.C. They’ll do shows across the southern and eastern United States before wrapping March 21 in Killington, Vt.

G. Love recently did a song with Jack Johnson for the “Thicker Than Water” soundtrack. They performed the song together in December on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Late Show with David Letterman,” and “Last Call with Carson Daly” in December.

Last year, 8,000 lucky fans picked up Kickin’ Back, a four-song EP of previously unreleased tracks which was included with the October issue of Surfer magazine. The band’s last proper release was 2002’s The Best Of G. Love & Special Sauce, which culled hits from their five studio albums.

Source pollstar.com.

The 3rd Annual Bonnaroo Festival will be held on June 11 – 13th, 2004 on the same Manchester, TN farm as in previous years. An intial lineup has been announce with other acts expected to be added in the coming weeks.

Tickets go on sale February 21st at 10am through Bonnaroo.com.

Confirmed acts include:

The Dead, Dave Matthews & Friends, Bob Dylan, Trey Anastasio, Willie Nelson, David Byrne, Primus, Wilco, Burning Spear, String Cheese Incident, Ani DiFranco, Gov’t Mule, Los Lobos, Galactic, Yo La Tengo, Femi Kuti, Medeski Martin & Wood, Gomez, Yonder Mountain String Band, Damien Rice, North Mississippi Allstars Hill Country Review, Beth Orton, My Morning Jacket, Gillian Welch, The Del McCoury Band, Taj Mahal, Sam Bush Band, Vida Blue feat. the Spam Allstars, Los Lonely Boys, Grandaddy, Kings of Leon, Soulive, Neko Case, Calexico, Leftover Salmon, Cut Chemist, Chris Robinson, Umphrey’s McGee, Maroon5, The Black Keys, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, The Bad Plus, Marc Broussard, Donovan Frankenreiter