Country singer DOLLY PARTON will begin an arena tour in Greenville, SC on October 14th. The singer, who rarely tours, will be backed by the GRASCALS, a six-piece bluegrass band. Parton will also release Live & Well, a live concert CD and DVD, on September 14th . . . SUGAR RAY singer MARK McGRATH has signed on as a permanent co-host for the entertainment news show Extra . . . Rockers JIMMY EAT WORLD will perform at a September 4th benefit launching the ONE Campaign at Michigan State University. The campaign seeks to unite students from hundreds of campuses to raise awareness about global AIDS and poverty issues. Jimmy Eat World will release their new album Futures on October 19th . . . Brazilian music producer TOM CAPONE died in a motorcycle accident after leaving the Latin Grammy awards, where he shared the award for Best Brazilian Pop Album with MARIA RITA. Capone was thirty-seven . . .

With the Republication National Convention in New York, musicians have come to play for delegates and appear at convention-related events. KID ROCK trotted out the hits -- including a rollicking "Cowboy" and "Picture" -- at a private concert at the Avalon honoring the House speaker, Rep. Dennis Hastert. Kid Rock began the night with a finger-picked version of his song "If I Was President." ISAAC HAYES hosted the event and belted out his famous theme song from Shaft . . . In other RNC-related news, ANDRE 3000 of OUTKAST showed up Wednesday at the convention to encourage young voters to register. The musician is working with Declare Yourself, a non-partisan organization trying to increase voter turnout . . . Rockers INCUBUS have tagged on more dates to their extensive fall tour. The trek now wraps in Valley Center, KS on November 18th . . .

U2 has announced the titles for six of the eleven tracks on its untitled album, currently set for a November 23rd release. Beside single "Vertigo," other tracks include "A Man and a Woman," "Crumbs From Your Table," "Yahweh," "City of Blinding Lights" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." In other U2-related news, BONO will speak on October 20th at Portland, OR's Rose Garden Arena as part of its International Speakers series . . . After a critically panned duet with KANYE WEST at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, R&B legend CHAKA KAHN issued a statement saying that, upon doctor's orders, she was forced to cancel a Friday performance in Park City, UT. Kahn, who received a cortisone shot prior to the VMA performance, attributed her vocal strain to intense recording sessions for her new album due in October . . . On October 26th, punk luminaries WIRE will release Wire On the Box, a combination CD/DVD set capturing the band's 1979 performance on the German music show Rockpalast . . .

Piano balladeer RACHAEL YAMAGATA will tour behind her debut album Happenstance. The tour begins on September 19th at the Austin City Limits festival and wraps in New York on November 19th. Singer-songwriter TOM McCRAE will open . . . TRAVIS will release a seventeen-track career retrospective CD, Travis: Singles and accompanying DVD on November 1st. The set will be preceded with a new single, "Walking in the Sun" . . . BLONDIE's performance on A&E's Live by Request will be released on CD and DVD on September 14th . . . The INDIGO GIRLS have set a fall tour which will begin on September 6th in Charleston, WV and close November 7th in Poughkeepsie, NY . . .

TOM MORELLO of AUDIOSLAVE and SERJ TANKIAN of SYSTEM OF A DOWN will release Axis of Justice: Concert Series Volume I, a live album culled from an all-star performance at the Avalon in Los Angeles, on November 2nd. The CD includes guest performers PETE YORN and MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN who contribute vocals to a cover of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name." The album will be released with a DVD featuring live concert footage and audio excerpts of interviews with MICHAEL MOORE and JANEANE GAROFALO . . . PEARL JAM, QUEENSRYCHE, MUDHONEY, GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS and ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET are some of the artists participating in the No Vote Left Behind Festival. The festival will be held in major Seattle venues from September 23rd-26th. The festival is committed to calling for a more progressive political agenda. Tickets will go on sale September 10th . . . Former FACES members ROD STEWART, RON WOOD and IAN McLAGAN reunited in a rare performance at Stewart's concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday . . .

AEROSMITH frontman STEVEN TYLER has lent his voice to an innovative walking tour of Boston. The tour, called Boston: City of Rebels and Dreamers, is a cell phone-guided endeavor. Tyler will narrate the trek through city highlights including Fenway Park and the site of the Boston Massacre. Participants dial a phone number upon arrival at the location to hear Tyler's commentary. For more information, visit talkingstreet.com . . . Roots rockers the OLD 97's have added a slew of tour dates to their fall itinerary. The tour now wraps in Dallas on October 30th. The RHETT MILLER-fronted band is touring behind its latest album, Drag It Up . . . Veteran punk rockers BAD RELIGION will hit the road in Dallas on October 14th for club tour . . . British singer POLLY PAULUSMA will release her debut album Scissors in My Pocket on September 14th. She will follow with a slate of tour dates with THE DIVINE COMEDY. The tour begins in Cambridge, MA on September 11th and ends in Vancouver on September 26th . . .

Rapper JA RULE will plead not guilty to assault charges brought by Toronto police. The rapper was charged with assault causing bodily harm last month . . . JOHN MAYER spent the weekend in Nashville followed by VH1 cameras filming an upcoming show. Cameras captured his Friday performance and followed Mayer visiting the Lower Broadway honky-tonks and walking around the city . . . Fresh off an appearance at MTV's Video Music Awards, rockers YELLOWCARD have tacked on more dates to their fall tour. The trek now wraps November 26th in Los Angeles . . . Singer ALAN JACKSON received seven nominations from the Country Music Association including Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist. Other nominees include TOBY KEITH, who earned six nods, BROOKS AND DUNN, BRAD PAISLEY, KENNY CHESNEY and newcomer GRETCHEN WILSON . . . VICTORIA BECKHAM is pregnant. The former SPICE GIRL and wife of soccer star DAVID BECKHAM is due in March . . .

ANI DIFRANCO is gearing up for a tour of "swing states" in September. The trek, dubbed the "Vote Dammit Tour," finds Difranco pairing up with folk singer DAN BERN on most dates. Comedians SUZANNE WESTENHOEFER and MARGARET CHO will also guest on several dates . . . Quirky act THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS will tour this fall. The outing begins in Albany on September 17th . . . The POLYPHONIC SPREE will release a feature-loaded DVD version of their latest album, Together We're Heavy on September 14th. The DVD will include music videos and photo galleries . . .