Thirteen lucky cities will be treated to the sight - and sound - of R.E.M. this upcoming spring, as the Athens, Georgia alt-pop legends embark on a now-officially-announced spring tour. Kicking off on May 23 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the band will be sharing the stage with two not-so-shabby-themselves opening acts, namely Modest Mouse and The National, the latter of whom R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe is reportedly a big fan of. Cities included on R.E.M.’s schedule include Chicago (6/6), Toronto (6/8), Philly (6/18), NYC (6/19), and the near-the-band’s-hometown Atlanta, GA (6/21)...
In other concert news, a great spring roadtrip for you and yours might very well be to this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Not just for jazz-heads, the fest will also include a substantial amount of other genres of music, and will be staged as the first seven-day edition of the event since 2005. In addition to generating probably around 300 million in much-needed revenue for the city of New Orleans, it’ll also probably generate a pretty big buzz around its staggering roster of live performers, who will perform on a whopping eleven stages. Running April 25-27 and May 1-4, the NOJHF will include sets from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, The Raconteurs, The Roots, Sheryl Crow, Allen Toussaint, Chick Corea, O.A.R., Galactic, Bela Fleck, Santana, The Radiators, and many more; tix and additional info can be acquired at www.nojazzfest.com...
Perhaps best known for his work with Crowded House bandmate/brother Neil Finn - or, if you’re really digging back into his musical history, his work with new wave band Split Enz - Tim Finn is hitting the road with his own new disc. Finn is set to kick off a mid-winter tour on January 26 in Hollywood, CA to promote his solo album, Imaginary Kingdom. Produced by Nashville producer Bobby Huff, the set will serve as Finn’s first effort since his 2001 album, Feeding the Gods - the lead single from the disc, “Couldn’t Be Done,” can be heard now online. Finn’s tour stops will include Seattle (1/29), Minneapolis (2/4), Chicago (2/5), Milwaukee, WI (2/6), Toronto (2/7), and Pittsburgh, PA (2/12)...
And now that the Writers’ Guild has struck an interim deal with Grammy producers, the show, as Grammy fave Celine Dion herself would say, will go on. Set for February 10 at L.A.’s Staples Center, the event will include performances by Foo Fighters, Feist, Carrie Underwood, and Brad Paisley, plus a special Beatles segment by the casts of The Beatles/Cirque du Soleil and the film Across the Universe. Presenters at this year’s Grammys will include Juanes, Cyndi Lauper, and Natalie Cole...
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Dig Cold War Kids? Dig art? Then check out this cool combo of the two - Cold War Kids’ own Matt Maust will be showcasing his collage-based art, featuring images from the band’s last tour, at the FOUND Gallery in Los Angeles, March 1- 31. Find out more at FOUND’s groovy website, www.foundla.com...
MINI BUZZ:
Gnarls Barkley have announced the title and artwork for their April CD release - the disc, dubbed The Odd Couple will be adorned with a zany, pastel-colored Sims-influenced cover, and is set to include new song “Run,” among others...
The Black Keys’ Attack and Release, produced by Gnarls’ own Danger Mouse, is set for release in April, too - April 1, to be exact, and no, we’re not foolin’...
Portishead are finally ready to drop their new album - their first in (really) a decade - they’ve dubbed it Third,
and it’s set to hit stores on April 14 on Island Records...
Continuing her seemingly unstoppable reign as pop queen, Michigan’s own Madonna was named the Top Cash Queen of Music by Forbes Magazine, thanks to not only her album and concert work, but also her endorsement deals with H&M and NBC; closely following Maddie on the list o’money were Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, The Dixie Chicks, and Sheryl Crow...
Gavin DeGraw has wrapped work on his latest album, which will be his
first since 2003’s Chariot - due out on tax day (that’s April 15 for you tax-dodgers), the as-yet-untitled disc will be accompanied by a 10-date club tour with talented opening act Landon Pigg...
And in this week’s “huh?” news, New Kids on the Block are rumored to be reuniting 14 years after their, er, band met its demise; no word yet on if actor Donnie Wahlberg is going to permanently give up his work in movies for more NKOTB pop tunes
or not...
ON CD: They Might Be Giants’ Here Come the 123s... Sheryl Crow’s Detours... Nada Surf’s Lucky... Bob Mould’s District Line... The Crystal Method’s Drive... and Chick Corea’s The New Crystal Silence... ON DVD: Chris Smither’s One More Night with Chris Smither... Ziggy Marley’s Love is My Religion Live... Metric: Live at Metropolis... and The Who: Up Close and Personal...and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.
In other concert news, a great spring roadtrip for you and yours might very well be to this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Not just for jazz-heads, the fest will also include a substantial amount of other genres of music, and will be staged as the first seven-day edition of the event since 2005. In addition to generating probably around 300 million in much-needed revenue for the city of New Orleans, it’ll also probably generate a pretty big buzz around its staggering roster of live performers, who will perform on a whopping eleven stages. Running April 25-27 and May 1-4, the NOJHF will include sets from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, The Raconteurs, The Roots, Sheryl Crow, Allen Toussaint, Chick Corea, O.A.R., Galactic, Bela Fleck, Santana, The Radiators, and many more; tix and additional info can be acquired at www.nojazzfest.com...
Perhaps best known for his work with Crowded House bandmate/brother Neil Finn - or, if you’re really digging back into his musical history, his work with new wave band Split Enz - Tim Finn is hitting the road with his own new disc. Finn is set to kick off a mid-winter tour on January 26 in Hollywood, CA to promote his solo album, Imaginary Kingdom. Produced by Nashville producer Bobby Huff, the set will serve as Finn’s first effort since his 2001 album, Feeding the Gods - the lead single from the disc, “Couldn’t Be Done,” can be heard now online. Finn’s tour stops will include Seattle (1/29), Minneapolis (2/4), Chicago (2/5), Milwaukee, WI (2/6), Toronto (2/7), and Pittsburgh, PA (2/12)...
And now that the Writers’ Guild has struck an interim deal with Grammy producers, the show, as Grammy fave Celine Dion herself would say, will go on. Set for February 10 at L.A.’s Staples Center, the event will include performances by Foo Fighters, Feist, Carrie Underwood, and Brad Paisley, plus a special Beatles segment by the casts of The Beatles/Cirque du Soleil and the film Across the Universe. Presenters at this year’s Grammys will include Juanes, Cyndi Lauper, and Natalie Cole...
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Dig Cold War Kids? Dig art? Then check out this cool combo of the two - Cold War Kids’ own Matt Maust will be showcasing his collage-based art, featuring images from the band’s last tour, at the FOUND Gallery in Los Angeles, March 1- 31. Find out more at FOUND’s groovy website, www.foundla.com...
MINI BUZZ:
Gnarls Barkley have announced the title and artwork for their April CD release - the disc, dubbed The Odd Couple will be adorned with a zany, pastel-colored Sims-influenced cover, and is set to include new song “Run,” among others...
The Black Keys’ Attack and Release, produced by Gnarls’ own Danger Mouse, is set for release in April, too - April 1, to be exact, and no, we’re not foolin’...
Portishead are finally ready to drop their new album - their first in (really) a decade - they’ve dubbed it Third,
and it’s set to hit stores on April 14 on Island Records...
Continuing her seemingly unstoppable reign as pop queen, Michigan’s own Madonna was named the Top Cash Queen of Music by Forbes Magazine, thanks to not only her album and concert work, but also her endorsement deals with H&M and NBC; closely following Maddie on the list o’money were Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, The Dixie Chicks, and Sheryl Crow...
Gavin DeGraw has wrapped work on his latest album, which will be his
first since 2003’s Chariot - due out on tax day (that’s April 15 for you tax-dodgers), the as-yet-untitled disc will be accompanied by a 10-date club tour with talented opening act Landon Pigg...
And in this week’s “huh?” news, New Kids on the Block are rumored to be reuniting 14 years after their, er, band met its demise; no word yet on if actor Donnie Wahlberg is going to permanently give up his work in movies for more NKOTB pop tunes
or not...
ON CD: They Might Be Giants’ Here Come the 123s... Sheryl Crow’s Detours... Nada Surf’s Lucky... Bob Mould’s District Line... The Crystal Method’s Drive... and Chick Corea’s The New Crystal Silence... ON DVD: Chris Smither’s One More Night with Chris Smither... Ziggy Marley’s Love is My Religion Live... Metric: Live at Metropolis... and The Who: Up Close and Personal...and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your fave musicians? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.
