Michelle Branch will make an appearance on NBC's new series American Dreams this fall, portraying Sixties pop singer Leslie Gore . . . Queens of the Stone Age will release a limited-edition DVD, featuring live and backstage footage, with their new album, Songs for the Deaf, due August 27th . . . Elton John, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Carlos Santana will perform at Andre Agassi's Grand Slam for Children charity concert on September 28th in Las Vegas . . . Patty Loveless and Ricky Skaggs will host the thirteenth annual International Bluegrass Music Awards show in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 17th . . . Porter Wagoner, who discovered DOLLY PARTON, and Grand Ole Opry vet Jumpin' Bill Carlisle will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on November 6th . . .

Steve Miller's Chicago Blues Reunion, featuring Miller, Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop, will headline the San Francisco Blues Festival, which runs September 28-29; the Robert Cray Band, Otis Rush and others will also perform . . . The Beat Summer Jam 2002 in Irvine, California, which was to have featured performances by LL Cool J, Nelly and others, was cut short Sunday after a fight broke out in the crowd and spilled onto the stage . . . Songs by Tweet, Nate Dogg and Missy Elliott will be featured on the soundtrack to The Transporters, due on September 17th . . . Alicia Keys won four Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards on August 9th in Miami . . .

(August 12, 2002)