Garth Brooks Opens Run Of Shows In Nashville
Country megastar Garth Brooks took the stage at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena for his first show in the city since 1998. The concert was the first of nine that Brooks scheduled to benefit areas of the city that were struggling to recover from crippling floods that hit middle Tennnessee in May. According to Dave Paulson at The Tennessean, the show was full of arena-rock flourishes and self-deprecation from the singer, who led the sold-out crowd in singalongs of hits like "Friends In Low Places" and "The Dance." Brooks' wife Trisha Yearwood also sat in on a few songs. [The Tennessean]

John Lennon's Abbey Road Suit Goes On The Block
The Ted Lapidus-designed white suit that John Lennon wore on the cover of Abbey Road will be put up for auction by the Braswell Galleries in Norwalk, Connecticut on New Year's Day. Also on the block that day: A velvet blazer that Lennon wore in the 1972 film Imagine, which was largely shot at his home in England, and a Chrysler station wagon that was owned by Lennon and Yoko Ono. [Braswell Galleries via AP]

'Big Four' To Headline French Sonisphere Festival Next Summer
Metals' "Big Four" — Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax — will headline the inaugural installment of the Sonisphere Festival in France, according to an announcement on the festival's website. Sonisphere puts on a slew of rock festivals around Europe, but July's two-day concert in Amneville will be the first time the series has planted its flag on French soil. The Big Four played shows throughout Europe earlier this year, but American audiences eager to see them play together had to make do with trekking to a local movie theater for a satellite simulcast. [Sonisphere]

Lil Wayne And Eminem Prep For 'SNL' Performance
Lil Wayne and Eminem are performing on tomorrow night's Saturday Night Live, and Rap Radar snapped a cameraphone pic of the pair rehearsing on the show's set Thursday. Host Jeff Bridges has shaved his beard for the occasion. [Rap Radar]

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