Photo: Denholm/WireImage

Neil Young has just been added to the 40th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival.

The two-weekend festival -- held at the Fair Grounds Race Course, April 24-26 and April 30-May3 -- include gigs by Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Kings of Leon, Wilco, Bonnie Raitt, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Wynton Marsalis, Sugarland, Earth, Wind & Fire, Neville Brothers, The O'Jays, Erykah Badu and hundreds more.

A bit of a bummer: Aretha Franklin has canceled her appearance, citing scheduling issues. 

Click the jump for the full line-up, and click here for more info.

New Orleans needs us all... Book it now -- flights are still cheap!

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(Smoking Section)

Such an exciting week at Madison Square Garden. Last night we watched the Killers rock the shit out of the World's Most Famous Arena. On Thursday we'll be back for the Kings of Leon, who also sold the joint out.

We can't tell you how many times we've been to the Garden to see heritage acts like Dylan, Clapton, the Stones, McCartney, Springsteen, etc., or pop stars like Timberlake and Madonna, or reunion shows like Jane's Addiction. We're not complaining, but it truly fills us with pride to see the great rock bands of OUR generation finally start to tackle the big venues in the U.S. 

The Killers kicked things off with their new single, "Spaceman." Their twenty-song set felt like a hit parade, though many of the older tunes were awesomely rearranged, like "Sam's Town" and "Bling (Confessions of a King)." Hot Fuss cuts like "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine," "Mr. Brightside," and "Somebody Told Me" stood up to their more adventurous new cuts from Day & Age like "Neon Tiger," "Joy Ride," "Human" and "This Is Your Life." Sam's Town jams like "Bones," "Read My Mind," "For Reasons Unknown," and the set closer, "When You Were Young," blew the roof off the motherfucker. Brandon ran around the stage like a madman, Ronnie beat the shit out of his drums, and Mark and Dave held it down. They added ringers on sax and percussion.

We had the best seats in the house (just look at our photo above), but Flowers was projecting to the cheap seats. When the crowd got into, "I got soul but I'm not a soldier," the chorus was deafening.

The Killers have a handful of U.S. dates before they head out for gigs around the globe. They'll return in April to resume their U.S. tour. Click here to scope out tix.  

For the first time in 35 years, the original line-up of Mott the Hoople will perform together, at London's HMV Apollo.

It feels like light years away, but on October 2nd and 3rd, Ian Hunter, Verden Allen, Dale Griffin, Overend Watts and Mick Ralphs will play the same stage where, in 1973, they recorded Mott the Hoople Live.

The short-lived rock group are most famous for their awesome rendition of David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes." 

Get tickets to the reunion here, if you wish.

Photo: Shearer/Wireimage

A handful of awesome acts have just been confirmed for Coachella (April 17-19 in SoCal) including Fleet Foxes, the Hold Steady, the Killers and Girl Talk. The Coachella rumor-mill is also churning up artists like the Black Keys, Blur, Neil Young, the Pretenders, the White Stripes and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

Photo: Kravitz/FilmMagic

Bonnaroo 365, a new feature at the Roo website, allows users to stream audio and video of certain sets from previous fests for the discounted price of $0.

The Raconteurs are the first to receive the 365 treatment. Fans can check out songs from their brilliant 2008 Roo set. So far, performances of "Consoler of the Lonely," "Old Enough," "Top Yourself" and "Blue Veins" have been posted, and the Rac's whole set will be stream-able when 365 officially launches on January 11.

More shows will be added to the Bonnaroo 365 page in the coming months.

Photo: Getty

We told you this might happen, and we're so psyched that it's true.

Photo: Ufberg/Wireimage

After the Allman Brothers Band flaked out on last year's installment of their annual residency at New York's Beacon Theatre (with a good excuse, frontman Greg Allman was recovering from Hepatitis C), the band has announced they will return to the venue in March!

The ten-date run at the Beacon will kickstart March 9th. Since 1989, the Allmans have played the theater more than 175 times.

"I'd love to tell you what we have planned," Gregg Allman told Billboard, "but it's just kick-ass, that's all I can tell you."

Well, the Smoking Section can tell you a little more. It seems that the gigs -- which celebrate the Allmans' 40 year anniversary -- will be billed as tributes to Duane "Skydog" Allman, the band's legendary guitarist, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1971, weeks before his 25th birthday. 

Special guests like Boz Scaggs (Duane tore shit up on his 1969 epic "Loan Me A Dime") and Eric Clapton (who teamed with Skydog for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs) will almost certainly be on hand. Also, look out for Dickey Betts to rejoin his old band!

And there ya go.

UPDATE: ABB's manager calls the Dickey Betts prediction "categorically untrue," and rumors of Clapton "premature."