Playlist

ALAS, which means wings in Spanish, has announced two upcoming concerts aimed at seeking aid for Latin American children in need. El Concierto Para los Niños (the Concert for the Children) includes performances by Latin music superstars Shakira, Juanes, Chayanne, David Bisbal, Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio, Juan Luis Guerra, Miguel Bosé, Alejandro Sanz, Calle 13 and others. The gigs take place May 17 -- one at Mexico City's La Plaza de la Constitución (El Zócalo) and the other at Buenos Aires' Constanera Sur. More then 300,000 fans are expected to attend the two concerts. It's a worthy cause, and one of many that frequent activists Shakira, Juanes, Juan Luis Guerra and Ricky Martin are involved in.

Our Disc Debuts this week features some heft: Madonna, Portishead, the Roots, Carly Simon, Steve Winwood and Lil Mama. Check them out if you didn't get a chance yesterday.

Nothing against Stevie Ray Vaughan. But if we're re-naming Industrial Boulevard for a Dallas musician, why not T-Bone Walker, the Oak Cliff bluesman who helped popularize the electric guitar in the '40s and set the stage for rock 'n' roll? Or better yet, what about Blind Lemon Jefferson, the blues pioneer who got his start playing street corners in Deep Ellum?

Over on the Dallas City Hall blog, Bruce Tomaso reports that Stevie Ray Vaughan Boulevard is one of the 10 semi-finalists for the new name for Industrial Boulevard. Check out the full story here.

This just in: Lumba will be shooting a video on Thursday, May 1, for his single, "When Eye Saw You (I Had to Make it Rain)" at Escapades 2009 (10580 North Stemmons Freeway between Lombardy and Manana). The shoot will begin at 11 a.m. and will last all day.

The single is produced by producers Play-N-Skillz, and the video will have guest appearances by the producers, and Slim Thug and Tum Tum, who are also featured on the single. And now, for your part. According to the press release from G4 (home to Krayzie Bone and my faves Big Red Rooster), "good looking women and well dressed men are invited. For more information on how to be in the video shoot, please" click here and send a message with the subject "Video Shoot." See? Keep reading this blog, and we'll make you famous ...

Austin radio station 107.1 KGSR will honor Willie Nelson's 75th birthday tomorrow by broadcasting a live, three-hour tribute. From 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., about 24 musicians, including Willie's daughter, Paula Nelson, will play Willie's songs.

The musicians include: Bob Schneider, Carolyn Wonderland, Ray Benson, Fastball, Jimmy LaFave, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Joe Ely, Kelly Willis, South Austin Jug Band, Ian McLagan, Charlie Sexton, Alejandro Escovedo and Ruthie Foster. They will be playing in the Music Lounge of the radio station's studios in North Austin. Willie, true to his wandering nature, will be on the road in Amsterdam.

Country superstar and Faith Hill hubby Tim McGraw follows a slew of other singers such as Britney Spears, Shania Twain and Beyonce with the launch of "McGraw by Tim McGraw," his first fragrance. It should debut in stores in August. The usually black-hatted Nashville crooner recently shot the advertising campaign in Los Angeles with photographer Michel Comte. The cologne comes from Coty Beauty, Inc., the company that has collaborated on scents with Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey.

Well. It took me a day or so to finally crack open the Raven Symone self-titled CD that came to my inbox on its release date of April 29. The cover photo was very, very cute; the photo on the back? Well, a different Raven than what I still picture from her days growing up right before our eyes on screen. She's grown up, all right, and right into thigh-high leather boots atop fishnet black panty hose. I know, I know. My problem ... but I just finished watching a mini-marathon of "That's So Raven"! Can you blame me?

Raven, now 22, sounds like every pop star present and imagined. On. Each. Song. On one track, she sounds like Britney; on another, she sounds like Ciara. Well, on a lot of them, she sounds like a stronger-voiced Ciara, with better breath control. Of course, the production is awesome. My favorite tracks? "What Are You Gonna Do?" and (blame nostalgia) "Double Dutch Bus." If you listen (and not even very hard), you'll hear her mimic early, Simon Cowell-approved Kelly Clarkson and attempt some Missy Elliott-inspired, Tweet-sounding noise. She strikes just as many poses with her voice as she does in the photos dotting the liner notes. I'll admit it's fun, though, and probably not intentional. And some of it's catchy, even though you've heard it all before.

Do you side with teen singer Miley, for unknowingly being over-sexualized in photos by Annie Leibovitz for the cover of Vanity Fair; or with the photographer and magazine because Miley's handlers knew what was up during the whole shoot? Read the latest on the drama here, see the main photo in question here and check out a slideshow from the Vanity Fair photo shoot here.

• More Miley Cyrus blog posts
• Photo scandals reveal Miley's growing pains

I just got an e-mail release from House of Blues saying that the T-Pain show will no longer be happening. No word on why, of course, but this tour, called the "T-Pain Family Playlist Tour," was supposed to introduce artists from his label, Nappy Boy.

Those artists are Jay Lyriq, Tay Dizm and Sophia Fresh (despite the name, actually an all-girl trio). According to the release, ticket refunds are available at the point of purchase.

This just in from Superpages.com Center: "Prime" tickets will be released at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, for the Roger Waters "Dark Side of the Moon Live" show on Friday. The tickets, some even in the first 25 rows and some from Mr. Waters' personal allotment, will be priced from $69.50 to $169.50. As usual, you can get the tickets from all Ticketmaster outlets, including online.

The tour show is broken into two sets. The first act includes Pink Floyd's greatest hits and selections from Roger Waters' solo releases. The second act is the Dark Side of the Moon album from start to finish. Lawn seats, of course, are still available, for $29.50, $99 for a four-pack.

• Story

Country superstar Kenny Chesney nearly lost his toes - literally - during a concert performance Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The Tennessee native's "boot was lodged between the hydraulic lift and the stage for 40 seconds as the lift motor kept trying to push the platform up," confirmed his Nashville publicist. Mr. Chesney never stopped his two-hour performance even as he was limping and in visible pain. He needed two shots of morphine after the gig and his boot had to be cut off his foot. His publicist said that had been wearing anything but boots, he would have probably severed his toes. Doctors have cleared him for upcoming Poets & Pirates tour shows Thursday in Austin, Friday in Oklahoma City and Saturday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. However, it's unclear how much the usually energetic Mr. Chesney will be able to move onstage.

The '90s "Guys Do It All the Time" country singer reportedly was a teen at the time the baseball pitcher began a "relationship" with her, so I suppose we can say he created this problem himself (he was in his late 20s and a married father of two; he denies anything sexual. Sure). As if Clemens could use anymore problems — he's in the middle of trying to prove his pristine, incorruptible character in a defamation suit he filed. Good luck with that. (If you're not familiar with his steroids and PR troubles, catch up here).

McCready, now 32, is also in the middle of an uphill battle. She's trying to stage a comeback after a string of legal and personal drama. Read more on the alleged, salacious relationship here.

Yep, get the first single from Viva La Vida for free from the band's Web site. But hurry; the offer only lasts a week, starting tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. More here.

"The Edge" KDGE-FM (102.1) threw its annual rawk fest in Frisco on Sunday. Did you go? I want to know what bands were the best and what kind of time you had. Share.

• Review

Did you see the King of the Keys on Saturday night in Frisco? How was the show?

She brought her "Best Damn Tour" to town Saturday night, along with emo band Boys Like Girls. Did you go? Tell us how the show went.

• Review

TMZ.com's reporting that she's been arrested for allegedly headbutting a dude outside a bar earlier this week. With that mound of weave, the charge should be upgraded to assault with a deadly weapon.

That's what several media outlets want to be able to holla, anyway. They're seeking transcripts of the R&B singer's closed pretrial hearings and asking that a gag order on attorneys be lifted. Read more here.

MySpace is "exclusively" premiering Madonna's new CD Hard Candy four days early on April 25, according to a press release that hit my inbox early (and I mean early) today. The CD is scheduled to hit stores on April 29.

MySpace, which calls the press release a "programming note" has premiered other albums (Nine Inch Nails, Outkast, 50 Cent, R.E.M., the Shins, etc.). For more information about other and upcoming premieres, go here.

Apparently, born-again Christian and Dallas native Michelle Shocked didn't realize the Dallas Voice was a gay publication before she agreed to an interview. Says Michelle: "I've been avoiding interviews with gay press."

Kid Rock and Gretchen Wilson are playing a private hush-hush show tonight at the Granada, sponsored by the Grammys and a certain cellphone giant. Good luck finding tickets...although you can check craigslist, or here.

Want to play for the many hungry fans at Taste Addison? You can enter tracks to compete to be one of the musical entertainers at the big fest here. The festival runs May 9 to 11 and the performance slot they're looking to fill is on May 10 (the winner also gets perks like two VIP passes to the fest, 20 free admission tickets and hotel accomodations).

According to Billboard, Solange Knowles has set an Aug. 26 date for her second CD, titled Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams. Producers for this album include Raphael Saadiq, Cee-Lo, Q-Tip, Mark Ronson and Pharrell, which broadcasts (to me, anyway) that she's going in a decidedly different direction from any of her previous efforts to grab some star shine. Remember her duet with Bow Wow?

OK, you need further proof that she might be going in a new direction (besides the all-too-funky and Cee-Lo-like title)? Bilal wrote a song, and Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry performs on a track with her. But just to make sure she gets a radio hit, she does have a song with Lil Wayne, called "Champagnechronicnightcap." Remember, you gotta hit all the bases or the run doesn't count.

It smells like it to me. Check out today's story from the Associated Press:

SCARSDALE, N.Y. -- A village clerk says a marriage license for Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z, dated April 4 and signed by the person who officiated at the wedding, is being filed with the state.
The license was received by mail last Friday, says Scarsdale Clerk Donna Conkling. She would not say who officiated.

I don't like big pink elephants sitting in the middle of a hot topic. This story about rappers performing for youths and giving their testimonies on the syndicated radio show The Spirit of Hip-Hop exposes the humongous rosy pachyderm that always accompanies the topic of mainstream hip-hop and religion: How can you rap about b*tches and hoes, then turn around and tell kids that God is real in your life?

It reminds me how amazed I get sometimes when listening to "K104" KKDA-FM (104.5). It has the pastor of Friendship West Baptist Church on most mornings to give a spiritual, "inspirational vitamin" about the love of God, living right and becoming a better person. Then what follows? Often a song celebrating strip clubs, drunkenness, violence or the degradation of women. No transition, no sense of irony and no acknowledgement of the very obvious hypocrisy served up.

CNN International poses the same question to Sprit of Hip-Hop host Corey Condrey in this video.

ZZ Top will release its first concert DVD, Live From Texas, on June 24. Shot here in November at Nokia Theatre, the DVD features all the hits, as well as footage of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard discussing band history over a game of poker. The trio's been in Dallas recently recording its first studio CD since 2003.

This just in to my mailbox today: Al Green's Lay It Down (a lot of it produced by the Roots' Ahmir "?estlove" Thompson!). The first track, also the title track, is vintage Al ... with guest singers John Legend, Corrinne Bailey Rae and Anthony Hamilton joining in. I'm gonna love this one. Legend, Hamilton and Rae pop up on other collaborations, too.
?estlove is quoted in the press materials as saying, "The reason why we are doing this is because we all idolize Al Green. Even today, nobody has range like him."

As for Al, he says he's spreading his "healing message of L-O-V-E." I ain't mad at him. Like the chorus of the title track says, "Lay it down/Let it go/Fall in love."