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Bono, Elton and More Salute Tony
BONO, ELTON JOHN, STING, BILLY JOEL, JOHN LEGEND, JAMES TAYLOR, the DIXIE CHICKS, ELVIS COSTELLO, TIM McGRAW, JUANES, K.D.LANG and BARBRA STREISAND are among the musicians who duet with TONY BENNETT on his forthcoming eightieth birthday tribute album, out September 26th. Bennett recently snagged yet another Grammy, for the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for his 2005 release, The Art of Romance.
Lil Jon, T.I. Rock the Hip-Hop Slate
LIL JON is slated to release his fourth album, Crunk Rock, later this year. The first single, featuring E-40, will be "Snap Yo Fingers." . . . T.I. drops his new album, King, on March 28th. Tracks from the follow-up to 2004's Urban Legend, including the first single "What You Know," will also be featured in the Atlanta rapper's big-screen debut, ATL, in theaters March 31st . . . And DMX has dubbed his forthcoming album Year of the Dog, Again, due this summer. The SWIZZ BEATZ-produced first single, "We in Here," is currently streaming online.
Vines Journey to the Valley
The VINES will drop their third album, Vision Valley, on April 4th. This will be the Australian rockers' first release since frontman CRAIG NICHOLLS' diagnosis in 2004 with Asperger Syndrome, an autism-linked neurobiological disorder, and the tumultuous departure of bassist PATRICK MATTHEWS (now of YOUTH GROUP). The remaining trio -- Nicholls, drummer HAMISH ROSSER and guitarist RYAN GRIFFITHS -- cut the album's thirteen tracks in Sydney last year. The first single, "Don't Listen to the Radio," hits March 7th. Due to Nicholls' condition, the Vines have no plans to tour in support of the album.
Secret Machines, Fiona Hit iTunes
The SECRET MACHINES' third LP, Ten Silver Drops, doesn't hit stores until April 18th, but the psychedelic rockers will exclusively pre-release the album on February 28th through iTunes. The album's first single, "Alone, Jealous and Stoned," is currently streaming at both their Web site and MySpace page . . . In other iTunes news, FIONA APPLE has recorded a live session for the online music store featuring songs off both her latest album, Extraordinary Machine, and past recordings. Fiona Apple iTunes Originals, now available, also features the singer-songwriter's discussion of each track.
Angels and Airwaves Start Adventure
"The Adventure," the first single and video from ANGELS AND AIRWAVES, the new outfit helmed by former BLINK-182 frontman/guitarist TOM DeLONGE, is currently streaming on the band's official Web site, angelsandairwaves.com. Their debut, along with a companion feature film, is due later this year.
Rufus Does Carnegie Hall, Judy-Style
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT will perform JUDY GARLAND's 1961 concert in its entirety at Carnegie Hall on June 14th. The singer-songwriter is also slated to perform March 5th in Syracuse. And on March 20th, he will perform -- on a bill including MICHAEL STIPE, BRIGHT EYES, PEACHES and FISCHERSPOONER -- at the Bring 'Em Home Now! Concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, which will benefit Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace.
Stellastarr, the Editors Team Up
STELLASTARR and U.K. New Wave rockers the EDITORS will co-headline a thirty-one date U.S. tour, beginning March 20th in Boston and concluding April 30th at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music Festival. The Editors' debut, The Back Room, hits March 21st . . . Texas-based quintet EISLEY will headline a two-month tour across North America, kicking off March 18th in New Orleans . . . FRUIT BATS head back on the road for twenty-three dates in support of 2005's Spelled in Bones, starting April 6th in Seattle . . . ONEIDA will play eight U.S. dates before heading off to the U.K.'s All Tomorrow's Parties festival. The run begins March 11th in Los Angeles . . . Philly art/noise outfit MAN MAN hit the road for eighteen dates in support of Six Demon Bag, beginning February 24th in Brooklyn, New York.
Ashlee Rocks Out the Hard Rock
ASHLEE SIMPSON and CARMEN ELECTRA have been tapped as interior designers for the currently-under-construction Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, the first condominium hotel venture in the beach city. Pussycat Dolls cabaret veteran Electra will design the Rock Star Goddess Suite, complete with stripper pole and heart-shaped hot tub, while Simpson will create the Surfer Rock Chick suite. The condo-hotel is slated to open spring 2007.
Sting Takes the Stage, Sheik Scores Musical
STING and his wife TRUDIE STYLER will take the stage for a one-off performance of Twin Spirits, about the composers and lovers ROBERT and CLARA SCHUMANN. The performance, set for March 27th at New York's New Victory Theater, will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS . . . In other theater news, DUNCAN SHEIK has composed music for Spring Awakening, a musical adaptation of FRANK WEDEKIND's sexually-charged play, The Awakening of Spring. The production is the first musical from New York's Atlantic Theater Company, the off-Broadway theater group co-founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright DAVID MAMET and actor WILLIAM H. MACY. Previews begin May 18th, with opening night scheduled for June 15th.
Braxton Is Back
R&B diva TONI BRAXTON will embark on her first major concert tour in ten years, beginning March 10th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Over the last decade, Braxton, whose Nineties hits include "Breathe Again" and "Un-break My Heart," has appeared on TV and Broadway, and she continued to record albums despite legal issues with her former label, LaFace Records, that led to her 1998 bankruptcy filing. Braxton's upcoming trek, in support of 2005's Libra, extends through July 3rd, when she joins MARY J. BLIGE, EARTH, WIND AND FIRE, LL COOL J, CHARLIE WILSON and others for the 2006 Essence Music Festival at Houston's Reliant Park.