2006

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones will team with artists like Yonder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams, the Del McCoury Band, Umphrey’s McGee and Chris Thile of Nickel Creek for their upcoming Acoustic Planet Vol. II tour, which will begin June 23 in San Diego.

Like the first Acoustic Planet tour in 2004, band members will sit in on each others’ sets, allowing for a continuous show. YMSB and Williams are slated for the California tour dates, while Thile and the Duhks will play in Seattle and Portland, Ore., respectively. Natalie MacMaster and the Del McCoury Band are on board for East Coast dates, while Umphrey’s McGee, Adrien Belew and Marc Broussard will join for shows in the Southeast.

Tickets are on sale for many of the dates through the Flecktones’ Web site.

Here are the Acoustic Planet Vol. II tour dates:

June 23: San Diego (Humphrey’s)
June 24: Los Angeles (Wiltern)
June 25: Saratoga, Calif. (Mountain Winery)
June 26: Santa Rosa, Calif. (Wells Fargo Center for the Arts)
June 27: Portland, Ore. (Crystal Ballroom)
June 28: Seattle (Moore Theater)
Aug. 7: Boston (Bank of America Pavilion)
Aug. 8: Hyannis, Mass. (Cape Cod Melody Tent)
Aug. 10: Burlington, Vt. (Shelbourne Farms)
Aug. 11: Danbury, Conn. (Ives Concert Park)
Aug. 12: Philadelphia (Penn’s Landing)
Aug. 13: Vienna, Va. (Wolf Trap)
Aug. 14: Baltimore (Pier Six)
Aug. 16: Atlanta (Chastain Park)
Aug. 18: Cary, N.C. (Regency Park)

Source billboard.com.

An eclectic mix of artists were on display last night (April 20) during the sixth annual Jammy Awards at New York’s the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. A number of intriguing combinations hit the stage, including rediscovered soul vocalist Bettye LaVette with Blues Traveler, Peter Frampton with Guster and Joe Satriani with former Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins.

moe. won live performance of the year for its Feb. 10, 2005, tsunami benefit at New York’s Roseland Ballroom. Studio album of the year went to Mike Gordon and Leo Kottke’s “Sixty Six Steps,” while Phish took home archival album of the year for “Live at Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve 1995.”

The evening was hosted by Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, who also hit the stage with Gordon, Baaba Maal and Angelique Kidjo for a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” and the sing-a-long “Iko Iko.”

Jammy Awards winners:

Studio album of the year: “Sixty Six Steps,” Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon
Song of the year: “Taught To be Proud,” Tea Leaf Green
Vonage Live album of the year: “Live at Myrtle Beach,” Widespread Panic
Live performance of the year: moe., Feb. 10, 2005, Roseland Ballroom, New York
Tour of the year: Big Summer Classic Tour, Summer 2005
Archival album of the year: “Live at Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve 1995,” Phish
DVD of the year: “No Direction Home,” Bob Dylan
New Groove of the year: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Lifetime achievement award: Frank Zappa
World music award: Baaba Maal
Green Apple industry award: Larry Bloch

Source: billboard

Backstage at the Jammy Awards last night in New York, the Dead’s drummer Mickey Hart told Billboard.com the group is considering touring sometime this year. “We’re talking about it,” he said. “Maybe at the end of the year. Nothing is confirmed though.”

As far as the summer goes, look for Phil to be on tour with another Phil & Friends outing, with Mickey possibly on board as one of the friends.

read the full article at jadedinsider.com

Trey Anastasio will headline the closing night of the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival on June 25 at Rio Grande Park in downtown Aspen. Maceo Parker will open the show at 6:30PM with Trey slated for 9PM. Tickets are available now through Ticketfusion.com or charge by phone at 1.866.JAS.TIXX.

Gov’t Mule has finished recording its seventh studio album at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio near Austin, Texas. According to frontman Warren Haynes, the set is tentatively titled “High and Mighty” and slated for an Aug. 22 release on ATO Records.

It’s shaping up to be, I think, the best thing we’ve ever done,” says Haynes, who co-founded the group in 1994 with the late bassist Allen Woody as a side project to their regular gig with the Allman Brothers Band. “We’ve recorded 18 songs. We’re gonna have to narrow it down to 11 or something. There’s just a lot of diversity. It covers a lot of ground, a lot of our influences. We’re going in some new directions, but it still sounds like Mule.”

Haynes says fans will hear reggae overtones in some of the new songs, along with “a little more alt.country” and “a lot of just real groove-oriented stuff, a lot of rockers.” Produced by Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, it’s Gov’t Mule’s first studio release since 2005’s “Deja Voodoo” and the second to feature the current lineup of Haynes, founding drummer Matt Abts, bassist Andy Hess and keyboardist Danny Louis.

Source [url=http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002382567

Bob Dylan will on May 3 unveil his XM Satellite Radio show “Theme Time Radio Hour With Your Host Bob Dylan.” The first installment will based around the theme of “weather” and will also find Dylan sharing stories and answering questions submitted by fans via email.

According to XM, future shows will be devoted to such themes as “dance,” “police,” “cars” and “whiskey,” and also feature guests such as Elvis Costello, actor Charlie Sheen and comedians Penn Jillette, Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel.

Dylan is in the midst of a spring/summer North American tour, many dates on which will feature Merle Haggard. The trek next visits St. Louis tomorrow (April 20).

Source billboard.com.

In one of the first satellite-to-terrestrial radio syndication deals, XM Satellite Radio has an agreement in place to license its Opie & Anthony Show to CBS Radio in seven markets.

According to sources familiar with the situation, the duo, whose terrestrial radio career went up in flames in 2002, will bring David Lee Roth

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, tonight (4/20) on NBC will see David Gilmour’s U.S. television debut. He’ll be performing “On An Island” with special guests David Crosby and Graham Nash plus one Pink Floyd classic with touring band mates Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera. Check your local listings for times.

If the small screen isn’t enough, Americans can head over to their local Regal Cinemas and watch the London concert in its entirety from May 15-30th.