2005

Liz Phair will spend the summer touring stripped-down, acoustic versions of material from her last four albums and previewing some new material as well.

The indie-rock mamma took a unexpected turn last year with an album that was more pop than rock and a persona that was more sex kitten than rocker grrrl.

Phair took the raised eyebrows in stride and is expected to release a new album in September.

She’ll road-test some of the new tunes in a club tour that launches July 26, three days after her Lollapalooza appearance, at Boston’s Paradise.

La Liz will go from there to gigs in Philadelphia; New York City; Alexandria, Va.; West Hollywood, Calif.; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and San Francisco.

The tour includes two-night stands in the Big Apple, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Source pollstar.com.

The longtime bassist for Minneapolis rock band Soul Asylum has died of throat cancer.

Karl Mueller was 41 years old.

Mueller co-founded Soul Asylum in 1984 along with friends Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy. The band is best known for its multi-platinum 1992 release Grave Dancers’ Union and the hit “Runaway Train.”

Mueller was diagnosed with throat cancer 13 months ago and underwent radiation treatment. In October, a group of veteran Twin Cities musicians presented a “Rock for Karl” benefit concert at the Quest to help pay for Mueller’s medical costs.

Source pollstar.com.

Trey Anastasio, along with launching a brand new website has announced an eight date summer tour, that follows a performance at the 10,000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, MI and preceeds his October 6th date opening for the Rolling Stones at Scott Stadium in Charlottsville, VA.

The run begins August 4th in Boston, MA and ends August 13th at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO. Hasidic reggae singer Matisyahu will open five of the shows with Gov

Canadian rock act Broken Social Scene’s highly anticipated new album has been christened “Windsurfing Nation” and is scheduled for an Oct. 4 release via Arts & Crafts, Billboard.com has learned. The set is expected to feature such tracks as “Handjobs for the Holidays,” “Superconnected,” “Shoreline” and “It’s All Gonna Break.”

The group recently completed a European tour and has a handful of North American shows on tap this summer, including a previously announced July 14 appearance in New York with the reunited Dinosaur Jr.

Source billboard.com.

An exclusive Flaming Lips track titled

Three more pop concerts around the world are being arranged for next month’s Live8 charity event, according to Irish organiser Bob Geldof.

The pop star-turned aid activist, who was receiving an honorary degree in Dublin, said concerts in Tokyo, Toronto and Johannesburg on July 2 would be formally announced on Friday.

While the South African concert had long been planned, the others were hastily arranged to put pressure on the Japanese and Canadian governments to increase assistance to Africa, Geldof was quoted as saying by Britain’s Press Association newswire.

“Three weeks ago Europe agreed, unbelievably, to double aid, throwing the ball back to the Yanks (Americans), the Japanese and the Canadians.,” he said.

“So that forced me now to do, which I didn’t want to do, a concert in Tokyo, Toronto, which we are announcing tomorrow.”

The Johannesburg concert would be officially introduced by ex-South African president Nelson Mandela, if he was healthy enough, Geldof added.

Other concerts have already been announced for the same day: in London — at which Paul McCartney, Elton John and REM, among others, will appear — Philadelphia in the United States, Paris, Rome and Berlin.

Geldof, who organised the massive Live Aid fund-raising charity concerts in 1985, hopes the latest event will raise awareness of African aid issues ahead of the G8 leaders’ summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, starting four days later.

Source yahoo.com.

Lollapalooza has announced their 2 day schedule that will feature 60 bands to perform on five stages over the course of July 23 and 24 in Chicago

The opening act for the Rolling Stones

The Pixies will unplug for the first time in their career later this summer at Rhode Island’s Newport Folk Festival. The group will anchor the Aug. 6 bill for the long-running event, which famously saw Bob Dylan abandon acoustic performances in favor of a set that featured electric guitar in 1965.

Also on the Aug. 6 bill are Richard Thompson (performing solo acoustic), the Bela Fleck Acoustic Trio, Patty Griffin, the Del McCoury Band, the Holmes Brothers and Ray LaMontagne.

The following night, Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, M. Ward, Kasey Chambers, Buddy Miller, Old Crow Medicine Show and Jim Lauderdale will take the Dunkin Donuts-sponsored main stage.

Among the acts set to perform on the Borders-sponsored second stage throughout the festival are Kaki King, Odetta, Teddy Thompson, Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell, and Jane Siberry. On Aug. 5, Arlo Guthrie and Nanci Griffith will play an affiliated show at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Source billboard.com.