2005

Kings Of Leon and Secret Machines will head out on the road together this summer. The tour will begin July 15 in Portland, Ore., and will last through Aug. 20 in Nashville.

Having recently completed its run opening for U2’s Vertigo tour, Kings Of Leon are about to begin a short swing of U.K. headlining dates.

Secret Machines open for Oasis tonight (June 6) in Berlin, and will be in Tennessee this weekend for the annual Bonnaroo Festival. The month prior to the Kings Of Leon tour will be spent playing festivals and headlining dates in Europe.

Tomorrow will see the release of the trio’s new EP, “The Road Leads Where It’s Led,” which features the title cut as well as covers of the Motown staple “Money (That’s What I Want),” Bob Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” and Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks.”
Here are Kings Of Leon/Secret Machines tour dates:

July 15: Portland, Ore. (Roseland Theatre)
July 16: Seattle (Moore Theatre)
July 17: Eugene, Ore. (McDonald Theatre)
July 19-20: San Francisco (Fillmore)
July 22-23: Los Angeles (Wiltern Theatre)
July 24: San Diego (4th & B)
July 26: Denver (Paramount Theatre)
July 28: Minneapolis (First Avenue)
July 29: Milwaukee (the Rave)
July 30: Chicago (Congress Theatre)
Aug. 2: Pontiac, Mich. (Clutch Cargo)
Aug. 3: Toronto (Kool Haus)
Aug. 5: Boston (Avalon)
Aug. 6: Philadelphia (Electric Factory)
Aug. 8: New York (Roseland)
Aug. 9: Sayreville, N.J. (Starland Ballroom)
Aug. 11: Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club)
Aug. 12: Norfolk, Va. (NorVa)
Aug. 13: Myrtle Beach, S.C. (House of Blues)
Aug. 15: Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (House of Blues)
Aug. 16: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Revolution)
Aug. 19: Asheville, N.C. (Orange Peel)
Aug. 20: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)

Source billboard.com.

As the cancellation of the ill-fated Zooma tour left him without summer plans, singer/songwriter Ben Harper has slated a 16-date North American small venue tour to kick off July 12 in Vancouver and close Aug. 1 in Atlanta.

Harper was due to co-headline Zooma with former Phish guitarist/singer Trey Anastasio. The tour was the creation of the same promoters who annually stage the wildly successful Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn.

This outing will be Harper’s first since 2003, as well as his last until he releases the new album he will begin recording at the conclusion of this tour. Tom Freund, with whom Harper recorded the out-of-print 1992 album “Pleasure and Pain” (Cardas Records), will open all shows.

Here are Harper’s tour dates:

July 12: Vancouver (Commodore Ballroom)
July 13: Seattle (Moore Theater)
July 14: Portland, Ore. (Roseland Theater)
July 16: San Francisco (Warfield)
July 17: Los Angeles (Henry Fonda Theater)
July 19: Denver (Fillmore)
July 21: Chicago (Vic Theater)
July 22: Royal Oak, Mich. (Royal Oak Music Theatre)
July 23: Toronto (Kool Haus)
July 25: Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club)
July 26: Boston (Avalon Ballroom)
July 27: New York (Irving Plaza)
July 28: Philadelphia (Electric Factory)
July 30: Asheville, N.C. (Orange Peel)
July 31: Myrtle Beach, S.C. (House of Blues)
Aug. 1: Atlanta (Tabernacle)

Source billboard.com.

The NYC Charm Sessions is an international music concert series aimed at representing the stylistic diversity of the New York City music scene. The four night series will feature 18 of the best underground musical acts in NYC ranging from African hip-hop to Finnish a cappella, Brazilian Choro to Old Nashville Country, and Hungarian punk music to Middle Eastern dub. All the performances will be held June 19 through the 23 at The Living Room in New York. Headset Productions, a Brooklyn-based artist development company, will produce the shows, which will be recorded live by Uist Media, a Scotland-based production company. BBC Radio will air the performances in a 6-part/2 hour radio series throughout the United Kingdom.

The International music scene in New York is a true melting pot of ethnic and musical influences, and the series will offer quality and diversity in depth. Here

On August 23rd, guitarist Leo Kottke and erstwhile Phish bassist Mike Gordon will release their second collaboration,

B.B. King will celebrate his approaching 80th birthday with a multi-artist blues concert in Mississippi that will benefit the planned B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center. King, who will turn 80 in September, will headline the July 30 show at the Isle of Capri’s Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi.

Also on the bill will be Deborah Coleman, Bobby Blue Bland, Smokin’ Joe Kubek, Jody Williams and Dickey Betts. King will close the show with his own set and a jam that will include all of the artists.

Source billboard.com.

Heavenly Jams Band featuring guitarist Yosi Piamenta will return for performances at Ace of Clubs in New York City on July 6th and 7th. Piamenta will be joined for both performances by Yonrico Scott (drums) and Tal Wilkenfeld (bass). Seth Yacovone will join the band on guitar for the show on the 6th, while RANA

Smog’s Bill Callahan will hit the road this summer, beginning with a lengthy tour of Europe that begins June 9 in London before heading back to North America. The artist will be supporting his new album, “A River Ain’t Too Much To Love,” released Tuesday via Drag City.

“People who come to a show like [mine] probably listen to a lot of music,” Callahan tells Billboard.com of playing for European audiences. “It helped when I put a lyric sheet with [1997’s] ‘The Doctor Came at Dawn.’ When I went to Europe people were so happy; it helps them so much to be able to read it.”

]i] To read more, visit billboard.com.