January 26, 2005

Wilco are offering free bonus tracks to people who have purchased their A Ghost Is Born CD. On March 7th, Ghost outtakes “Panthers” and “Kicking Television,” along with live versions of “Handshake Drugs,” “The Late Greats” and “At Least That’s What You Said,” will be available for download at wilcoworld.net. Visitors must insert a copy of the CD into their computers to gain access to the downloads.
The following day, the band will release a double-LP vinyl edition of A Ghost Is Born, featuring new art work and album cover, as well as a limited-edition vinyl version of 2002’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Wilco will be touring the U.S. through February before heading to Europe in March.

Wilco U.S. tour dates:

2/8: Champaign, IL, Foellinger Auditorium
2/9: Columbus, OH, Wexner Center
2/11: Cincinnati, Taft Theater
2/12: Memphis, Orpheum Theater
2/13: Birmingham, Alabama Theater
2/15: Orlando, House of Blues
2/16: Tampa, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
2/17: Pompano Beach, FL, Pompano Beach Ampitheater
2/18: Savannah, GA, Savannah College of Art and Design
2/19: Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues
2/21: Charlotte, Ovens Auditorium
2/23-24: Washington DC, 9:30 Club
2/25: Cleveland, House of Blues
2/26: Kalamazoo, MI, State Theater

Source rollingstone.com.

Rock legend Neil Young will give a rare awards show performance at Canada’s Juno Awards, to be held April 3 at the MTS Center in Winnipeg. Young was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1982 and has earned three Juno awards during his nearly 40-year career.

Also set to appear perform is 2005 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees the Tragically Hip. Nominations will be announced Feb. 7 for the Junos, which will air live nationwide on the CTV network.

In related news, Young has recently logged time at Shangri-La Studios in Los Angeles. A spokesperson had no details on the nature of the sessions, which are thought to be yielding Young’s follow-up to the 2003 Reprise album “Greendale.”

Source billboard.com.

Guitar slinger Charlie Sexton will release his first solo album in 10 years in July as the first fruit of a multi-album deal with Narada’s Back Porch Records. Described as “contemplative and gritty” by the label, the set will be supported by an extensive tour. Sexton plans to debut material from the set in March during the South by Southwest music conference in his hometown, Austin, Texas.

Often described as a musical prodigy, Sexton was just 16 years old when MCA released his debut album, 1985’s “Pictures for Pleasure,” and scored a hit with the single “Beat’s So Lonely,” which reached No. 17 on Billboard’s Hot 100. A self-titled solo set followed in 1989, as did a mid-’90s stint in the Arc Angels and a turn as leader of the Charlie Sexton Sextet.

He’s also become an in-demand guitarist, playing with the likes of Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Ron Wood, Lucinda Williams, Edie Brickell and Double Trouble.

Source billboard.com.