Playlist

Bonnaroo's 2010 lineup was announced today... actually, it's still being announced right now at their MySpace page. Check it out.

Get tickets here for the June 10 - 13 festival.

So far, the lineup includes...

Now that the Super Bowl is over and gone, North Texas can turn its attention to next year. Who should perform during halftime at the Super Bowl in Cowboys Stadium? Should it be a younger, more relevant act like some of the recent Grammy winners? Or should it be a group of seasoned veterans, like last night's performers, The Who? Maybe we should give Janet Jackson another chance. Sound off in the comments section!

CNN Money has a story on "Music's lost decade: sales cut in half" that claims the music industry is only worth half of what it was 10 years ago.

That's not exactly big news - the ability to get music for free online was basically the death of how the recording industry had been used to operating.

What about you? Do you still buy CDs from a music store or big box chain?

The musical star wattage will be high during the NBA All-Star Game on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Basketball fans will be treated to performances by Alicia Keys, Shakira and Usher. Keys headlines the half-time show with three songs - "No One" from 2007's As I Am, as well as "Empire State of Mind" and "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart," both from her latest CD, The Element of Freedom.

Colombia's Shakira takes the stage to perform "Give It Up to Me" and "She Wolf," two tracks from her new disc, She Wolf.

Finally, Usher treats the crowd to "More," his new single, during the intros of the 2010 NBA All-Stars. He'll also sing "Yeah!" from 2004's mega-hit album, Confessions. By the way, TNT filmed a music video for Usher's "More" currently running in 600 Regal Cinemas. It also serves as a promo clip for the 2010 NBA All-Star.

The 59th NBA All-Star Game is expected to draw more than 80,000 people, which is being touted as "the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game." The game will be televised on TNT.

For more information, visit the NBA website.

Photo: Keys performs during a show last month in Spain (JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images).

Five local bands - Fatty Lumpkin , Dirty Little Mouth, 2 Dollar Sound, Shuttle and Bronze Whaler - compete for a chance to play the upcoming Wakarusa Music Festival, which will be held in June at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas. The showdown takes place Saturday at Poor David's Pub, 1313 S. Lamar St. The music starts at 8:30 p.m. and each band has 40 minutes onstage time. Cover charge is $5. For more info, call 214-565-1295 or go to www.poordavidspub.com.

The Poor David's Pub event is part of the Waka Winter Classic tour. That tour travels to 21 different cities for similar battle of the band competitions with five local groups in the running. The winner of each city gets an automatic slot in the festival.

Photo: Dirty Little Mouth in action (Mike Brooks Photography).

For veteran rock band Scorpions, the end of an era is near. The March 23 release of Sting In the Tail (Universal Music Enterprises) will be the German group's newly recorded swan song. The release of the record will be followed by a three-year farewell tour that will take them across five continents.

This from longtime Scorpions leader Klaus Meine: "While we were working on our album these past few months, we could literally feel how powerful and creative our work was - and how much fun we were still having, in the process," he said on the band's website. "We want to end the Scorpion's extraordinary career on a high note. We are extremely gracious for the fact that we still have the same passion for music we've always had since the beginning."

The beginning was more than 40 years ago, with more than 100 million albums sold during that time. Scorpions are, of course, best known for the piercing 1984 anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and the sweeping 1991 power ballad "Wind of Change." The goodbye tour launches in May in Germany and continues through 2012.

Photo: Scorpions at the Echo Awards in Germany last February (Michael Sohn).

Texas country music legend Willie Nelson has signed a recording contract with Rounder Records. His debut for the label, simply titled Country Music, will be released April 20. Country Music is produced by Fort Worth-raised T Bone Burnett, the man who helmed last year's big Grammy winner Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. Country Music will boast 15 tracks, including "Dark As a Dungeon," "Drinking Champagne" and "I Am a Pilgrim." It features banjo picker Riley Baugus, double bassist Dennis Crouch, Burnett, and surely Nelson on his trusty guitar Trigger.

Willie's last solo album was 2009's pop standards collection, American Classic.

Photo: A pensive Willie Nelson, from the American Classic session (Danny Clinch).

Fans of Arcade Fire, Gorillaz, Hot Chip, Devo, MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, Peter Gabriel and David Byrne, you're not alone in your anticipation. According to metacritic.com, 2010 discs from those artists and many others are among the most awaited this year. Metacritic Features Editor Jason Dietz rounds em up here.

I must say, I am anxious to hear the new Devo, which will be the band's first studio album since 1990. Feel free to tell us what your most sought-after new disc of 2010 is. We can all compare notes.

Photo: Arcade Fire in a 2004 photo (Hilary Leftick).

Legendary country and Southern rock singer, songwriter and fiddler Charlie Daniels, best known for the 1979 anthem "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," suffered a mild stroke while snowmobiling in Colorado Jan. 15, his publicist Christy Watkins wrote in a press release.

"He was treated at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, Colorado then airlifted to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. Daniels was released from Swedish Medical Center on Sunday, Jan. 17 and returned to his home in Colorado, where he has been on vacation since Dec. 27."

The 73-year-old Daniels has not canceled any tour dates. He plays Feb. 27 in Ft. Pierce, Fla. and Feb. 28 in Brooksville, Fla. For more information, go to www.charliedaniels.com.

Photo: Charlie Daniels during a 2002 performance at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Andres Leighton/AP).

Dallas four-man band Disco Curtis just inked a recording contract with Myspace/Interscope Records. The group, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Tanner Howe, drummer AJ Novak, guitarist Garrett Perales and bassist Brendan Barone, has been deemed MTV Buzzworthy. And the video for the super-catchy tune "Ashley" has made quite a splash on the outfit's MySpace page. Check em out! And we'll keep you posted on Disco Curtis' major label debut album. Oh, the band plays Friday at The Door in Fort Worth.

Photo: Disco Curtis, courtesy of the band's MySpace page.

Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz are headlining this year's Coachella music festival. For the whole list, visit the official site.

(Purchase tickets here. Tickets are on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for the 4/16-18 event. )

The three day festival will feature over 130 acts. My favorites among them: Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Echo and the Bunnymen, MGMT, Tokyo Police Club, Corinne Bailey Rae, Band of Skulls, Phoenix, Spoon, Yo La Tengo and Mutemath. What about you?

Also of note: The list includes "Thom Yorke????" which is not a confused Thom Yorke, but is Thom Yorke's new non-Radiohead band. Got it????

Influential singer-songwriter Van Morrison has canceled his two concert performances next week in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The shows were scheduled for Jan. 24 at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth and Jan. 25 at Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas.

Scott Strong of AEG Live offers this explanation: "Mr. Morrison has reluctantly had to postpone his January shows owing to severe exhaustion. Tickets purchased can be refunded at the original point of purchase."

Photo: Van Morrison in a photo from last October (Richard Drew).

Yeah. Okay. Entertainment Weekly has an interview with The Hills star Heidi Montag about her new album, Superficial.

On spending herself broke on the album: "I've spent over a million, almost $2 million on this album. It's cost as much or more than a Britney Spears album, because I wanted it to be that quality and to be able to get those people. My album would have cost a record label over $4 million."

On the album: "I think within the first week we will definitely make our money back. The songs will make an impact in pop history."

On her fans: "I think it's gonna do great. I have a million twitter followers and they're all very excited. So that's at least a million people right there."

You've gotta love the optimism. I don't think the album's gonna sell like she wants it to, but who else in the music industry has that kind of cheery outlook?

The beat will not go on in Dallas, at least not for veteran R&B group the Whispers. The group's Friday night show at Palladium Ballroom has been canceled "due to an unforeseen circumstance," said AEGLIVE-South marketing manager David Ireland. That means we won't hear classic hits such as "And the Beat Goes On," "It's A Love Thing" and "Rock Steady." Or even gospel cuts from the recent CD, Thankful. Bummer. I was looking forward to catching Fort Worth twins Wallace and Walter Scott, along with their band mates, onstage. If you bought tickets, go back to where you purchased them for a refund. Then go home and pop in a Whispers CD.

Photo: Courtesy of Google.

Miley Cyrus appears in this month's Harper's Bazaar with quite the interview inside:

"My job is to be a role model, and that's what I want to do, but my job isn't to be a parent," she says. "My job isn't to tell your kids how to act or how not to act, because I'm still figuring that out for myself. So to take that away from me is a bit selfish. Your kids are going to make mistakes whether I do or not. That's just life."

Agree? Disagree? Still "nodding your head like yeah?" Sound off!

Who said the music industry was tanking? There's at least one hopping spot, and that's on the concert tour where this year was waaaaay better than last year. (But who's counting?)

Some of your favorite bands made the list, but none outdid U2 and its giant spider with $123 million. And while tickets were outsized in their pricing, none averaged higher than tickets to Cher's shows in Las Vegas. Maybe the music industry, including the ginormous promoters, have learned something from the numbers. (Live Nation pulled out all the stops this year, with BOGO and other discounted promotions.)

What we also learned is which fans show up, too: The only hip-hop act in the top 50 -- that's 5-0 -- was Lil Wayne. And, if you know like I know, that's only because he toured incessantly throughout 2009. If you look up ubiquitous in the dictionary right now, it should have a picture of Weezy.

Read on ...

(Photo of Bono at Cowboys Stadium tour stop by Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)

Don't forget to watch the DMN video of Nick Jonas, the youngest of the Jonas Brothers, helping pack backpacks for kids during a visit to the North Texas Food Bank on Saturday. Nick also pledged $25,000 from his family foundation to the food bank.

Nick played with his new group, the Administration, at House of Blues this weekend.

If you were hoping to hear "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" live in Allen this weekend, you'll have to make other plans. The Charlie Daniels Band concert, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been cancelled. You can get refunds at points of purchase, and tickets purchased over the phone and on the Web will be automatically credited back to the ticket-holder's account, according to the venue.

The Academy released the titles of the 63 songs that will be competing for the Best Original Song Oscar this year. Disney dominated as Hannah Montana: The Movie had five eligible tracks and The Princess and the Frog has four.

Remember: thanks to the new rules rolled out in June, the music branch will have voters see clips of eligible songs as they are used in each film. The voters will then rate a song on a scale of 6 to 10. Under the new rules, if no song earns 8.25, there will be no nominations. If at least one scores 8.25, it will be nominated, as will the second-highest scorer.

My favorite nominees: "Stu's Song" from The Hangover, "Petey's Song" from The Fantastic Mr. Fox, "All Is Love" from Where The Wild Things Are, "Cinema Italiano" from Nine, and "Ma Belle Evangeline" from The Princess and the Frog.

In looking at the list of nominees, this category could be a way to attract viewers without giving a particular film a bigger nomination. "Possibility" from The Twilight Saga: New Moon was a fine song - if it were to be nominated, that could attract Twilighters to the ratings-starved Oscar broadcast. The same could be said of "Stu's Song" from The Hangover or whatever song from Bruno is nominated. (Remember, past nominees have included "Blame Canada" from South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut and "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from Hustle and Flow.)

If nothing else, the comic appeal of hearing an Oscar presenter say the words "Hoedown Throwdown," is enough for me to hope that the song from Hannah Montana is nominated.

See the complete list of eligible songs after the jump.

As soon as I heard that Garth was going to be playing in Vegas for five years, my first thought was, "I think I finally have a reason to go to Vegas."

I'm not even a country music fan, but there's something about Garth that transcends genre restrictions. He's a talented artist, charismatic performer and, when it comes to country music, he's simply the best.

Reading about his opening night at the Wynn Hotel only made me more eager to hop a plane to Vegas to see this great musician. What about you? Do you have plans to catch Garth's show?

In an unexpected twist, Miley Cyrus has been disqualified from the "Best Song written for a Soundtrack" Grammy category. Cyrus was nominated for her song, "The Climb," which wasn't originally written for the movie it appeared in, so it has now been disqualified.

But this disappointment for Hannah Montana fans comes with jubilation for fans of Where The Wild Things Are. Since Cyrus was eliminated, the nomination now goes to the song with the next-highest initial vote count, which was Karen O and the Kids' "All is Love" from the Where The Wild Things Are film.

Now I really want "All Is Love" to win - maybe even more than the also-nominated "Decode" by Paramore.

Billboard has made a list of the top one-hit wonders of the 2000s. The list is based on how high a certain artist's song rose (and remained at the top) compared to how far down their subsequent effort peaked.

Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" tops the list, followed by "Lean Back" by Terror Squad, "Butterfly" by Crazy Town, "This Is Why I'm Hot" by MIMS, "Laffy Taffy" by D4L, "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt, and "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley.

Check out the entire list and tell us which one-hit wonder you couldn't get out of your head. "You're Beautiful" always reminds me of my freshman year in college, while Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5" (#13 on the list) just reminds me of Michael Scott singing it in a Chili's on "The Dundies" episode of "The Office."

Entertainment Weekly reports that Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of Weezer, was in a bus accident Sunday that put him and another passenger in the hospital.

Cuomo was traveling on the bus with his wife and daughter from Toronto to Boston when the accident occurred around 7:30 a.m. At the time of the accident, the bus was on a New York state highway near the city of Amsterdam.

Cuomo remains hospitalized for observation of three cracked ribs, a lower-leg injury, and "some mostly minor but very painful internal damage."

This is the second celebrity bus accident recently. Miley Cyrus' tour bus was in an accident on Nov. 20. The pop singer was unharmed.

The Black Eyed Peas have announced a 100-date world tour, including a series of 2010 shows in North America. It will be the hip-hop group's first full-scale tour of the U.S. and Canada in nearly four years.

The North American leg of "The E.N.D. World Tour 2010" kicks off Feb. 4 in Atlanta, Ga. and runs through April 11 in Vancouver, B.C. The tour will resume in May with shows across Europe and the UK. U.S. ticket on-sale dates begin December 12.

In October, the Peas tied a Billboard Hot 100 record with the most consecutive weeks at No. 1, holding down the top spot for 26 weeks with the hit singles "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling."

The E.N.D. has sold 1,387,000 albums in the U.S. since its June 9 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

-- Billboard

Nick Jonas & The Administration, featuring Nick Jonas of the Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum selling Jonas Brothers, announced tour dates for their upcoming tour.

The dates kick off Jan. 2, 2010 at the Dallas House of Blues and wind up Jan. 30 in Berkeley, CA at Zellerbach Auditorium.

The shows will be intimate in their setting, reflecting the more raw and powerful feel of their upcoming album, Who I Am, which is due out Feb. 2 on Hollywood Records.

Tickets are set to go on sale starting Dec. 5 on LiveNation.com in select cities with fan club presale access beginning tomorrow. Visit nickjonasandtheadministration.com for more ticket details.

- LiveNation Press

Even if you know that Brobee's the green one and Foofa has a flower growing out of her head, you might be even more excited about who's joining the Yo Gabba Gabba! gang for shows in Frisco on Saturday.

Erykah Badu and Solange Knowles are scheduled to be musical guests for both shows, according to an e-mail from the event publicist. Let's just hope they don't mind being upstaged by a red cyclops. Let the dancey-dance begin!

(The photo of Erykah Badu is by Jason Janik)

According to Stereogum, SXSW announced 200 of the more than 1,000 acts that will play SXSW Music 2010 next spring. The announcement comes earlier than usual, much to the delight of people who may not have bought their passes yet. (This might help decide, right?)

See the list of bands after the jump. Visit the SXSW site for more info.

"This is no ordinary love." And she rides again. Sade, known for taking years and years off between albums after ruling adult contemporary and R&B radio for much of the 80s, will release a new album in February, 10 years after the last one.

The waiting will be the easy part, as fans of the band have gotten used to it. Lovers Rock was a triumphant comeback and the remixes of "By Your Side" were all great additions to the singer's catalog.

Here's what AP reported:

LOS ANGELES -- Sade is making music again.
The soulful English group fronted by 50-year-old singer Sade Adu will release a new album Feb. 8, according to Epic Records. Soldier of Love will be the group's first studio album since 2000's Lovers Rock. All five of Sade's studio albums have landed in the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 200, selling more than 50 million copies worldwide.
Soldier of Love was recorded in England and produced by the band and longtime collaborator Mike Pela.

ABC announced today that they've canceled a concert by Adam Lambert that was scheduled for Wednesday morning on Good Morning America. This move comes after ABC claimed yesterday that the fallout from Lambert's provocative American Music Awards performance was only "moderate."

Read more here.

Even as the digital music generation embraces the latest technological innovations, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) reports that traditional favorites still rule the holiday airwaves -- and the iPod. Interpreted over the years by each decade's most popular artists, these holiday favorites remain timeless classics appealing to young and old alike.

Did your favorite tune make the list? Let us know in the comments section!

CBS News reports that Miley Cyrus' tour bus has been involved in a fatal crash - but the singer was not on board the bus at the time.

Virginia State Police said 10 people were on the bus when it went off the road and overturned. Cyrus was not on board and is not at the scene of the accident.

One person died, and another sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash.

The bus was heading to Greensboro, North Carolina where Cyrus is scheduled to perform on Sunday.

As if you need another iPhone application, right? But here's Wine DJ, the new iPhone app that combines music and vino. Read on:

Hope Family Wines, a family-run wine producer with over 30 years of grape growing experience in Paso Robles, Calif., is inviting consumers to drink to a new beat. Winemaker and President Austin Hope announced the launch of Wine DJ, the Liberty School iPhone application created to build a playlist of "Music to Match Your Spirits" based on mood, setting and which Liberty School wine is being consumed. The app is available for download free via Apple's app store and on Apple's iTunes.

Upon launching the app, users are prompted to choose a Liberty School wine and are then presented with a series of sliders to adjust variables that correspond with their situation. Users will choose from settings such as "Candle Light/Strobe Light" and "Flying Solo/Entourage" and the app will stream a custom-made playlist. With music sourced from GrooveShark.com, the potential for unique playlists are immense. The app comes bundled with extensive information on Liberty School including tasting notes (both "what the people say" and "what the experts say") and a map feature that shows the nearest retailers who carry the wine.

"The Wine DJ app offers something original, fun and valuable to our customers," says Hope. "Who hasn't wondered what wine to open on a date, or what music to play at a dinner party? The Wine DJ app facilitates any music and wine scenario, and will hopefully attract new wine drinkers to discover the Hope Family brands in the process," he adds.

Photo: The Wine DJ app (Courtesy of Jarvis Communications).

EW.com is reporting that Amy Winehouse has been hospitalized again.

The singer checked in to the London Clinic on Sunday after some over-the-counter cold remedy adversely reacted to some other medication in her system.

EW.com is reporting that MTV Networks has acquired the exclusive U.S. TV rights to Michael Jackson's posthumous concert film This Is It. It will be available for broadcast starting in 2011 in a six-year deal that will allow for airing on all MTV networks, including MTV, VH1, and BET. The film will hit DVD in early 2010.

Are you excited about seeing This Is It every few weeks on VH1 or would you have preferred the movie rights have gone to a major network?

Taylor Swift undoubtedly had the most hype going into this year's CMA awards after Kanye-gate and her turn hosting Saturday Night Live over the weekend. She was the first female act nominated for the top prize, Entertainer of the Year, since Faith Hill in 2000.

Well if Swift's weekend was great, her CMA night was unforgettable. We live blogged the red carpet and award show. Relive it and or skim for the highlights so you'll know what to talk about at the watercooler.

The Internet is buzzing with news that Aerosmtih frontman Steven Tyler has quit the band, according to guitarist Joe Perry.
Quoted: What they're saying about Steven Tyler

Photo: AFP/Getty Images | Aerosmith's Joe Perry (left) and Steven Tyler

Doesn't it seem as though Motown Records has been celebrating its 50th anniversary for about a couple of years? It officially turned 50 January 12, but the celebration just keeps going. Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and the Temptations will trek on over to Detroit, the label's birthplace, for a two-night shindig Nov. 20 and 21 at various locations in the vicinity of the company's midtown headquarters. Check out Motown's classic music website.

All of this Motown talk gets me thinking about the label's 1980's heyday. Everybody always points to the 1960's and the 1970's as the quintessential Motown decades. I won't argue that. But let's not forget that Motown was very much viable in the 1980's, and with groundbreaking releases like Teena Marie's It Must Be Magic from 1981. She was so ahead of her time, particularly on "Square Biz," an intoxicating slice of R&B, funk and rap that predated the slew of female rappers to come.

Got a favorite Motown album from the '80s? Share with us.

Photo: Teena Marie's It Must Be Magic CD cover courtesy of Motown Records.

Jay-Z has announced his full itinerary for his North American tour, and it includes a stop at our very own American Airlines Center.

Jay is going all out in support of The Blueprint 3; right now, he's on his first college tour. Now, we're getting the list of big cities he'll hit for some added hip-hop clout. His last tour stop here was at Superpages.com Center, with Mary J. Blige, which was -- really -- the best of both worlds for a raucous crowd that's probably still standing to applaud.

Young Jeezy will open for the "business, man; not a businessman." More tour dates will be announced later.

Tickets go on sale Nov. 13 via Live Nation.

(File photo of Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z at Superpages.com Center on April 12, 2008)

This just in from AEG Live:

Jet at the Palladium Ballroom has been postponed. We'll have more information for you as we get it.

This just in: Bon Jovi announced its world tour, starting in Seattle on Feb. 19 with a stop at Dallas' American Airlines Center on April 10. "The Circle World Tour" was announced today as Bon Jovi played at the new Meadowlands Stadium in N.J.

The band will be the first to play at New Meadowlands Stadium on May 26-27, 2010.

"The New Meadowlands concerts go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. on Oct. 31. Additional tour dates go on sale Nov. 9 and Nov. 16. "

Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres performed for a group of 5,000 contest winners, fan-club members and construction workers building the new stadium.

The band also plans a run of shows at London's O2 Arena in June 2010 before they return to the states for the second leg of a nationwide tour.

(Photo by Mel Evans/The Associated Press)

The hearing concerning the validity of the DNA testing of a gun found on Lil Wayne's tour bus has ended. Why? Well, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted weapon possession. He's expecting a sentence of a year. Sentencing isn't scheduled until February; the actual trial wasn't scheduled until January.

By JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK -- Lil Wayne, who owned last year's best-selling album and is currently No. 1 on the pop charts, pleaded guilty to attempted weapon possession on Thursday, and expects to receive a one-year jail sentence.
The performer, arguably rap's most popular artist and one of pop's biggest acts, previously had pleaded not guilty to illegal gun possession charges that carried at least 3 and 1/2 years in jail upon conviction. He remains free on bail while awaiting his February sentencing.
The somber-looking rapper did not speak as he left the courthouse with members of his entourage, who piled into four SUVs.

(Photo by Louis Lanzano/The Associated Press of Lil Wayne entering Manhattan criminal court.)

Roving significant other Big Honey Bunny (aka Big Play Ray) just called with this report from the 'burbs. There are already hundreds of people sitting, standing, waiting in the area around Cowboys Stadium, some even sitting in chairs in the rain, waiting for their big night with the band. (I'm going to American Airlines Center to review Maxwell, but I live over that way so I'm especially concerned.)

You can see people waiting from Randol Mill to Division. The stadium lot isn't open yet, so I'm wondering where they're all parked. I wrote all of that to write this: If you were planning to leisurely get to the venue after work, I'd suggest you figure out a way to take a half-day right now to avoid the rush.

Stay tuned for pictures.

The first single from the "companion piece" album to the posthumous documentary, "This Is It," which will be released Oct. 28, was "unveiled" at midnight. Titled "This Is it," the song's just what you'd expect from a comeback record, a return to the Michael that we all knew with Michael's soft voice counting us in to the music. It's a piano-based ballad with tinges of gospel that's all about falling in love. It soars, but it's grounded when it needs to be. And it's earnest, which makes it vintage when-pop-stars-ruled-the-world Michael Jackson.

"And it feels as though I've known you since a thousand years. And you tell me that you've seen my face before."

I can hear it becoming an anthem. Can you?

(Photo of Michael Jackson in rehearsal for the "This Is It" tour taken by Kevin Mazur for AEG.)

David Card, the owner of Poor David's Pub, just sent me an e-mail that brought a tear to my eye. Card let us know that Rusty Wier, a longtime performer at Poor David's Pub, died Friday of cancer at 65. I never got to meet Rusty or hear him in a live show. I didn't know his repertoire all that well, but I immediately felt sad because hearing the news of Rusty's passing rekindled a fond memory of one of his coolest songs. A long time ago (1975 to 1976), I lived in Anchorage, Alaska, where I had just about the coolest bunch of friends anyone could ever hope for. We sat around in our overheated apartments on below-zero nights listening to a handful of performers whose music seemed so appropriate to our age and time. Over and over, we heard Jackson Browne's first three albums, especially Late for the Sky; Bob Dylan's immortal Blood on the Tracks; and two of Willie Nelson's best, Red-Headed Stranger and Phases and Stages. But the one tune we played over and over on our scratchy record players was Rusty Wier's ... OK, I'm not sure I can actually print the title, even in a music blog for a family newspaper. Let's just say it was a song about infidelity, but far more than that, it was a song that made us laugh. It was, in fact, one of the funniest songs I've ever heard. OK, the first words in the title were "I Heard You ... " I suppose I can get away with that. Uproariously funny. (If you're curious, numerous versions of it appear on YouTube.) When you get to be 57, you end up with a few regrets, of course, and one of mine is not looking up Rusty and hearing him in a live show since my return to Texas in 1997. I saw two great shows at Poor David's in recent weeks, Jimmy LaFave and David Bromberg, and each time, I wondered later why I'd forgotten to ask David Card about Rusty Wier and when he might be playing on Lamar Street, as he had so many times in Poor David's earlier location on Greenville Avenue, where he was almost a fixture.

Photo: The late Rusty Wier, on the cover of one of his best albums

Country star Martina McBride will perform during Oprah Winfrey's 10 a.m. appearance on Monday at the State Fair of Texas, according to the WFAA-TV (Channel 8) Web site.

The Dallas Morning News' Eric Aasen has more on the appearance here.

All you have to do to try to see the Oprah-Martina action is pay State Fair admission (and, if you want to be able to see anything, I'd imagine you'd have to get there extremely early and brave a humongous crowd). Do you think you'll go? Let us know why or why not by commenting.

Photo: Martina McBride during a local performance in 2008, by Jason Janik, special contributor to the DMN.

Oh to have been in the planning meeting for the cover of Denton band Bowling for Soup's upcoming album, Sorry for Partyin'. I mean, just look at it. On the one hand, you give it a glance and think, "Guys, put a towel over it!" Then again, you can't help but laugh. Both thoughts are probably the point with this quirky, self-deprecating, good-humored band. Partyin', which follows 2006's The Great Burrito Extortion Case, hits stores Oct. 13. Check out my GuideDaily story on Bowling for Soup sometime next week.

Live Nation announced today that the Kanye West and Lady Gaga "Fame Kills" tour has been canceled. Refunds are available at the point of purchase. Tickets purchased online and via phone will be refunded automatically.

Maybe he really is taking some time off. Anyone bummed out about this?

Concert promoter Live Nation is offering Party Pass tickets at only $30 for U2's tour stop at Cowboys Stadium. You won't have a seat, but you'll be able to bask in the presence of one of the world's most popular bands.

The press release says the general admission tickets come with "an excellent view."

Tickets are available at the usual suspects: Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

(Photo by Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

House of Blues announced several concerts today and earlier, with Queen Latifah's Persona tour on Tuesday, Nov. 10, the biggest surprise on the list. And I'm loving the tour stop of They Might Be Giants. It's billed as "an afternoon with," and they're encouraging kids and costumes Saturday, Oct. 31, at noon.

Other shows announced:

Pete Yorn, Thursday, Nov. 19
Little Dragon, Sunday, Nov. 29

And today, North Texas' own Selena Gomez and the Scene will play House of Blues for an all-ages show on Saturday, Nov. 28. Those tickets go on sale Saturday at 10.

Movie critic Chris Vognar and the Associated Press:

Tickets for the Michael Jackson movie This Is It go on sale early Sunday morning, and fans already were lining up in Los Angeles for the first public screening Oct. 27.
The film, announced for a limited, two-week run, features a behind-the-scenes look at Jackson preparing for the series of London shows he was rehearsing for before he died June 25.
In Dallas, the first public screenings will be late on Oct. 27. Exact times and theaters are still to be determined.
Local Sony representatives said they didn't know of any ticket lineups in the Dallas area. Tickets for This is It will be available starting Sunday at www.thisisit-movie.com.
The Los Angeles screening that's drawing crowds includes 500 special tickets designed by Jackson for the London concerts at the O2 Arena.

Are you planning to buy tickets?

Music City Texas Theater in the Piney Woods of deep East Texas is the Little Theater That Could -- and can. For the second time in its brief history, Music City Texas has gotten Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jackson Browne to agree to play a concert in a town whose population is barely more than 2,000. Linden does have quite a pedigree, though. It's the hometown of Browne's friend and fellow Hall of Fame inductee Don Henley of Eagles fame and Richard Bowden, a Music City executive who played lead guitar for Linda Ronstadt for years and who belonged to the same band as Henley (The Four Speeds, Felicity, Shiloh) all through high school and college (the University of North Texas) and, well, up until the Eagles were formed. Browne last played Linden in 2004 and will appear there again, in another solo-acoustic concert, on Thursday night, Dec. 3. It's a remarkable setting in which to hear such an esteemed artist as Browne. It's a 420-seat venue that offers you the illusion of hearing musical greats in your own living room. And along with Crossroads Coffeehouse & Music Co. in Winnsboro, Music City Texas has helped bring big-name talent to the Piney Woods hinterlands. Tickets go on sale to Music City Patrons on Oct. 5 and to the public on Nov. 2. Prices range from $100 to $195. Info: Call 903-756-9934 or visit www.musiccitytexas.org.

Photo: Jackson Browne, at his last appearance in Linden in 2004

Concert promoter AEG Live has announced the KISS Alive North American tour to celebrate 35 years of "rocking the world like no other." And lucky Dallasites get KISS (with new costumes) on Dec. 6 at American Airlines Center. Of course, we'll have to hear songs from their soon-to-be-released album, Sonic Boom, along with those hits of old. "Detroit Rock City," anyone?

Buckcherry will open for the rock legends. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. Of course, check out Ticketmaster or American Airlines Center box office at that time. To find out more, go to www.KISSonline.com.

Sonic Boom will only be sold at Walmart and Sam's Club locations and at Walmart.com.

(Photo of Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Paul Stanley performing in 2004 by Christopher Barth/The Associated Press

I'm sure tongues will be wagging about this pairing for years to come.

Two of the most outspoken musicians in pop music have announced a combined tour: Kanye West and Lady Gaga will stop at American Airlines Center on Sunday, Jan. 24. And it's such an appropriate name for the tour, too: "Fame Kills: Kanye West and Lady Gaga." Boy, does it ever. (Cut to Debbie Allen saying, "Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying. In sweat.")

Here's hoping that they bring only their groundbreaking music and leave the Hennessy, red paint, some of the outrageous sartorial mistakes and their mouths at home. (I know. I'm dreaming.) Anyway, meet you there. It'll be nice to see how far Kanye's come since he opened for Usher ...

Tickets go on sale next Friday, Sept. 25, at 10 a.m. at livenation.com.

(Photo by Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup via The Associated Press)

The Latin Grammy nominations were announced in LA today; unlike many other awards shows, hip-hop duo Calle 13 led the list of nominees. The show is in Las Vegas on Nov. 5:

By DERRIK J. LANG
AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES -- Calle 13 leads the list of Latin Grammy nominated artists with five nods.
The alternative Puerto Rican hip-hop duo will compete for album of the year against Colombian singer-songwriter Andres Cepeda, Nicaraguan salsa singer Luis Enrique, folksy Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa and Brazilian musician Ivan Lins & The Metropole Orchestra at the 10th annual Latin Grammy Awards on Nov. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

(Photo of Spanish pop singer Shaila Durcal and actor, Grammy and Latin Grammy winner Andy Garcia announcing the nominations by Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)

Live Nation has been all about the promotions lately (no-service-fee days and such), and now they're offering the Live Nation Club Passport for $49.99. In Dallas, House of Blues is the venue the program would apply to. Basically, it means you can go to any participating show that's not sold out for the rest of 2009, with no additional fees. Is it a good deal? That depends on if you like the bands, and how interested you are in seeing a wide variety of acts (choices range from Bowling for Soup to Kinky to Kraig Parker's Elvis tribute).

Of course, Live Nation also says, "Participating shows and venues. Based on availability. Parking not included. Cannot be combined with other offers. The Live Nation Club Passport is good for one person only and does not guarantee entry." See the list of shows here.

In my entry a couple of days ago about the Brad Paisley concert and the meet-and-greet backstage with the local youngsters who appeared in his video for "Welcome to the Future," I accidentally left out one of the little stars. That would be Sawyer Butler of Little Elm, who wants to be a paleontologist.

Our apologies, Sawyer. We'll make it up to you in a few years, when you discover a previously unknown dinosaur that once roamed North Texas. It will be named the Sawyersaur in your honor, and that will no doubt get you a P.1 story in the newspaper!

So, you tell me. Is it wrong to criticize the Beatles? I know their contributions to music because I studied music, learning about them along with other greats, and not because I grew up with them. But there seems to be a growing sense that no ill can be said of the Beatles ...

I love their music, but not all of it. Some of it is (uh-oh) self-indulgent and some of it leads to head-scratching and-or navel-gazing. And I should be able to write that. Right? Well, American Idol judge Simon Cowell has learned what I suspected: If you have something bad to say about the Beatles, don't say anything at all ... Simon said that the Beatles wouldn't have made the cut on his show, not with Ringo anyway. Heck, as droll as he is, he could have been joking. But according to the Associated Press, he's getting some backlash for saying it.

What I want to know is, what say you?

(Photo by Apple Corps Ltd.)

By now you've heard about it, but if you haven't seen it yet, check out the video below where Kanye West steals the glory from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for winning best female video at last night's MTV Video Music Awards. He jumped onstage, took the mike, and declared that Beyonce had the best music video of all time. Later, I guess someone told him that's not acceptable, and he wrote an all-caps apology on his blog. It all begs the question, why do they keep inviting him to these shows?

But the night wasn't completely without some class. Beyonce gave Taylor her few minutes of screen time back during her own acceptance speech. And there was this awesome Michael Jackson tribute.

What did you guys think about the show, the celebrities and the winners?

Brad Paisley put on a wonderful show Saturday night at Superpages.com Center, despite the nonstop rain that left the lawn crowd soaked and the under-the-canopy-crowd feeling like we'd been sucked into a cool sauna. Very rainforest, except without the trees (unless you count the tall man in front of me).

Paisley and opening acts Jimmy Wayne and Dierks Bentley (either of whom would have been worth the admission on his own) played for three-and-a-half hours, with Paisley taking us on an electric, emotional musical trip from his first CD 10 years ago through the recently released American Saturday Night. Like Keith Urban (with whom he recorded "Start a Band"), Paisley is a formidable guitar player who both draws from and transmits energy to the audience.

Some local kids were on hand before the show to meet Paisley backstage -- they'd been selected by KSCS-FM (96.3) as the winners of a video contest, and short clips of the 10 youngsters, each telling his or her dream for the future, appeared in the video playing behind Paisley during the encore number "Welcome to the Future." Members of the extremely happy group were: Madalyn Lewis (she wants to be a songwriter) of Hillsboro , Nina Rodriguez (teacher) and Lily Rodriguez (doctor) of Mansfield, Brooklyn Ryder (veterinarian) of Flower Mound, Hayden Hawkins (bronc rider) of Weatherford, Allison Williams ("fisher person") and Elijah Terrell (cowboy) of Arlington, Saylor Williams ("kid") of Waxahachie and Kimberleigh Lewis (rock star) of Joshua.

Paisley said he loves playing Dallas -- "This is an important town to country music," he said, noting that "at one time all my exes were from here" -- and shared a memory from early in his career. Scheduled for a live early-morning interview with KSCS DJ Hawkeye, he arrived to find that Hawkeye had asked one of those exes to join them in the studio. "And then he spent the whole interview quizzing me about why it didn't work," Paisley said with a sigh. Hawkeye, on hand for the press conference, responded with a wicked cackle.

About the local crop of video kids, Paisley said, "This is the best group we've ever gotten. These kids are hams." He also quipped that "You can tell they were filmed in Dallas because every one of them has construction in the background."

For the full review of the show, check here on Monday.

PHOTO by Joy Tipping: Brad Paisley backstage with local kids before Saturday's show.

Play*N*Skillz signed a deal for a record-label imprint with SRC/Universal Records. G4 Muzik is official. The guys are hosting a party tonight at Joyce (723 Pearl St.) in downtown Dallas, starting at 9 p.m. They're going to celebrate with Slim Thug, who is also celebratig his birthday.

G4 Muzik's first new artist Inertia (Dallas' own) will perform with Slim from 112 during the celebratory event. His first single is "Body." This isn't the last we'll hear of the Grammy-winning brothers. Or the last you'll hear of them.

Today's pretty big for Beatles fans. Heck, it's pretty big for music fans in general, whether you're a collector of rare box sets, a teenager stoked about a new Expert Mode to tackle, or a cover band looking for your big gig. Both the entire remastered catalog and The Beatles: Rock Band video game are out! Check out Music Critic Mario Tarradell's analysis of the mono and stereo box sets and tell us what you think. Are they worth the money? (Anywhere from $191.36 to $259.99!)

Tell us what you think about the Rock Band game too. It's the only Rock Band/Guitar Hero/I Pretend I'm a Rock Star game I haven't demoed or owned, so I'm dying to know if those fancy special edition instruments and Fab Four set lists are as great as they've been hyped to be.

We know you hardcore Beatle fans are excited, and we've got video to prove it: Dallas Blockbuster store holds Beatles Rock Band release party, and Waco tribute band The Mudcatts played the midnight release at the Preston/ Beltline Road store.

So, are you over the Beatlemania or ready to get started?

Now this is a nifty way to keep the music playing: Houlihan's is giving back to public schools for the second year in a row by partnering with the VH1 Save the Music Foundation.

For every mojito margarita and S'Mores Fondue dessert sold at any of the three Dallas locations, Houlihan's will donate $1 up to $30,000 to the foundation. The fund-raising effort was helped along by a J.R. Byrd concert at the Dallas Houlihan's in late August.

Diners at the Arlington, Garland or the Dallas location at 5225 Belt Line Road, Suite 220) can make donations by noting it on their checks.

Houlihan's raised $54,000 last year for what turned out to be two schools, one in Wilkinsburg, Pa., and St. Louis, Mo.

"Music is a critical piece of Houlihan's customer experience," says Mark Allen, GM of Houlihan's in Dallas. " ... We strongly believe that every child should have the chance to play an instrument, join a band and enjoy the many benefits music brings to life."

Sounds like Mark grew up in my house.

We're not supposed to divulge too many details of movies before they're released, but anyone who loves the music of Bruce Hornsby (as I do) should rush to a theater Sept. 4 to see World's Greatest Dad, starring Robin Williams. I won't tell you how and why Hornsby plays himself, or why he sings one of his signature songs, "Mandolin Rain." But he does, and writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait uses Hornsby to full comic effect. That's right, comic effect. I also recommend World's Greatest Dad to anyone who's ever been a parent. You may not know this, but Hornsby harbors two fascinating ties to the Dallas area: He's good friends with rocker Don Henley, who was born in Linden in the Piney Woods of East Texas and now lives in Dallas. He and Henley co-wrote "The End of the Innocence." And he's good friends with Dallas Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle, with whom he shares in common a basketball background and the fact that both play piano. Check out this Eddie Sefko story about that relationship and click the arrow in the video box below to hear Hornsby sing "The End of the Innocence." Lest I forget, World's Greatest Dad has another local connection: It's distributed by Magnolia Pictures, which is co-owned by Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and business partner Todd Wagner.

Photo: The great Bruce Hornsby

Live Nation dropped prices last week on shows at amphitheaters. And now that sale is back for the second week in a row.

Talk about a deal: Live Nation on Wednesday will charge no service fees on any tickets bought. They're calling it "Live Nation's No Service Fee Wednesday." But look. Over here. You can buy $10 lawn tickets and $15 reserved seats Those won't have any fees either..

Of course, the sale is for only 24 hours, starting at midnight:01: So you can get tickets for concerts at Superpages.com Center, including Creed (Sept. 22); Def Leppard (Friday); Depeche Mode (Aug. 29); and Lil' Wayne (Sunday).

And I read the small type for you: Getting a ticket at that price is subject to availability and includes print-at-home tickets and mail delivery and parking when it's applicable. And no. You cannot combine it with any other discounts.

Photo of Def Leppard by Ash Newell)

If you've heard of only one Deep Ellum club, it's Trees. And it's making a comeback with a grand-opening weekend sure to get some attention. The live-music venue first opened in 1991 but then closed in 2005 after financial issues. The Dallas Observer has a nice 2006 write-up of the events leading up to the closure and an overall history of Deep Ellum.

But Trees is alive again, with the help of Clint Barlow, the touring drummer for Vanilla Ice, and his wife Whitney. Clint told DMN reporter Nancy Visser in this June 8 article that he's focused on catering to both the bands and the audience. "I've been a musician here since '91 and I know what bands want. They want awesome sound and awesome lights, and they should get paid properly."

The catering begins with performances by Slow Roosevelt, Element Eighty, System Overload and Hardway Down tomorrow night (Friday Aug. 14). Then catch Fair to Midland, Moving Atlas, Peacemaker and Black Tie Vendetta on Saturday, and Saliva, Taking Dawn and The Cast on Sunday. Doors open at 7pm and it's 21 and up only.

Sounds like a good time is ready to be had, and is this a sign that Deep Ellum is gearing up to take back the Dallas music scene? I suppose there are concerns out there that that may not happen, or at least not as prominently as in the 1990s. We're now seeing acts that Trees was known for having go to the Granada Theater and House of Blues, which have gotten more notoriety as the big stages for local music since its absence. But it's probably too early to say. Either way it's worth a shot. Anyone plan on checking out Trees' revival this weekend?

Here's info on what the new owners had to go through to get the club up and running along with what the neighbors think.

This just in, as it appears on country duo Brooks & Dunn's website, www.brooks-dunn.com:

To Our Fans:

After 20 years of making music and riding this trail together, we have agreed as a duo that it's time call it a day. This ride has been everything and more than we could ever have dreamed .... We owe it all to you, the fans. If you hear rumors, don't believe them, it's just time.

We will release our "#1s ... and then some" on September 8th and come see you all one more time in 2010, with The Last Rodeo Tour (dates to be announced).

Brooks & Dunn

Photo: Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks in 2005 (Julie Jacobson).

It was more than just a music festival. It was three days of music, love and peace.

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the rain-soaked chaos. Click that "comment" link below and share your memories of Aug. 15-18, 1969. How did you see rock and roll change? What did the anarchy of the times mean to you then and now?

Or here's a better question: Who is your favorite band or musician to come out of Woodstock? Check out the spiffy list of those who played the festival plus their set lists on WoodstockStory.com here. I'm all about the greats Santana and Jimi Hendrix. And Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin have my love too. You?

(Concert-goers sit on the roof of a Volkswagen bus at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair at Bethel, N.Y. in the 1969 photo from The Associated Press.)

The fall tour dates for Maxwell and his BLACKsummers' night tour were announced today, with a stop in Dallas on Oct. 12. The venue has yet to be announced. When he came through here last November, he performed at the Majestic. Since then, with his CD debuting at No. 1 on the charts on July 7 and his subsequent appearances on any video screen near you, I'll bet he goes for a bit of a larger venue.

House of Blues, anyone? Nokia, perhaps? Either way, we got him. And his fabulous openers, Common and Chrisette Michele.

Tickets go on sale Aug. 14 through Live Nation.

(Photo by Seth Wenig/The Associated Press)

At noon yesterday a few more tickets for U2's 360 Tour went on sale. Production for the Dallas/Arlington show Oct. 12 at Cowboys Stadium has been completed and a number of excellent seats at all price levels are up for grabs now. Via Ticketmaster you can get seats for $254, $99, $59 and $34 for reserved seats, or $59 for general admission on the field.

The stage (click the layout pictured above for a bigger image) is what really makes this tour stand out:
"The 360° Tour features a round stage positioned on the stadium floor with the band surrounded by their audience, the natural progression of their previous tours. By elevating the sound and lighting equipment, the walls that traditionally obscure performers from their audience are removed. This has also allowed greater capacity and a lower general ticket price.

The stage is designed by long-time collaborator Willie Williams and architect Mark Fisher who have worked together with U2 since ZooTv. Advances in technology and digital communication have allowed Williams to create an overhead expandable cylindrical screen made up of 500,000 pixels."

If you haven't checked it out already, 360.u2.com has a nice visualization of the stage concept. Click through the different camera orbits to get the full effect.

Have you gotten your tickets yet?

As promised last year, the 2009 Tejano Music Convention will take place in Dallas Aug. 21-22 at the Hyatt Regency Reunion Hotel. The event features performances by Tejano and conjunto veterans Gary Hobbs, Ram Herrera, Jay Perez, Hometown Boys, Elida Reyna and many others. It will also mark the reunion of '90s group Fandango USA. Comedians Willie Barcena and Gilbert Esquivel are set to serve as hosts. The convention, sponsored by Southwest Airlines, is shorter and cheaper this year due to the struggling economy. Registration is $15-$80; organizers expect 5,000 people to attend. For more information, go to tejanoticket.com. To register, call 913-397-8850 or email info@tejanoticket.com.

Photo: Logo courtesy of tejanoticket.com.

Another piece of news from Idol Records: Label founder Erv Karwelis has launched Exploding Plastic, a boutique imprint of Idol that will cater to "art pop." According to Karwelis, "the bands will have an indie pop/art pop style which would include psychedelic and symphonic type bands." Dylan Silvers, frontman for The Crash That Took Me, will decide on most of the signings for the imprint. Already released on Exploding Plastic: Snow In June, the trippy, soundscape-ish debut disc by Little Black Dress, which is Toby Pipes (formerly of Deep Blue Something) and Nolan Thies. A second Exploding Plastic release, the forthcoming CD by The Crash That Took Me, should arrive in October. Also on tap is a compilation of bands from Iceland, Japan, Italy, England and the US (including Dallas artists). That could emerge later this summer.

See my story on Erv Karwelis and Idol Records here.

Photo: CD cover of Little Black Dress' Snow In June (Exploding Plastic/Idol Records).

Among the thrills of going to a concert is leaving with one song whose words and melody won't get out of your head. It's usually a new song, and being among the first to hear it is one of the thrills of live performance. I got to hear two on Friday night, July 17, and can't stop thinking about either. The incomparable Gretchen Peters, who headlined that night at Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse, played a new song titled "Mother," which she wrote for a CD tribute to the activist, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones. Despite enormous personal tragedy (she lost her husband and their four children in a yellow fever epidemic and later lost her shop, her home and all her possessions in the Great Chicago Fire), Mother Jones rallied American miners and championed workers' rights like no one ever had. "You were the Madonna of the mines/our Lady of the Picket Lines," Peters sang, to terrific accompaniment by Barry Walsh, her keyboardist, accordion player and fiancé. I'm often skeptical of warm-up acts, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear John Fullbright, whose hometown is Okemah, Okla., the same as Woody Guthrie. The parallels don't stop there. Fullbright looks a lot like Woody, sounds a lot like Woody, and from early indications, writes a lot like Woody. His song "The High Road" is a tale of an extraordinary love. Jack and Suzy are young lovers but share a bond so strong and enduring that it underscores the power of Fullbright's lyrics, which state, "Living comes natural to many/love comes naturally to few ... you take the high road to freedom/And I'll take the low road to you." It was a gift getting to hear such a magical young talent perform. I hope we have many more such chances in the future. Woody would be proud: He could not have a better clone.

Photo: Gretchen Peters

Going to see Paul McCartney or U2 at Cowboys Stadium? Considering how new the stadium is, I'm betting you've got close to no clue about how it looks inside. Well, DMN writer Jeff Moiser reports that Arlington residents will get a chance to look at parts of Cowboys Stadium next month when the city holds an open house there Aug. 9.

"Participants must show proof of residency, such as a driver's license or utility bill. Fans will have access to the main concourse and seating areas and will also be allowed to shoot video and still photos. Parking is free.

The Cowboys offer a more extensive paid tour, which includes visits to the scoreboard control room, a suite, player interviews and sometimes the field and Cowboys locker room. Those tours cost between $9 and $15. Cameras are not permitted on those tours. "

Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne announced Tuesday that he has settled his lawsuit with Sen. John McCain and the Republican Party over what Browne alleged was the unlawful use of his hit song "Running On Empty" during the 2008 presidential campaign. The lawsuit stated that McCain used the song without permission from Browne, 60, who wrote it and recorded it in 1977. The album on which it appears as the title track has since sold more than 7 million copies. Browne and his legal team said Tuesday that they had received an apology from McCain, who lost to Barack Obama, the candidate Browne endorsed, and from the GOP, which agreed to issue a pledge that its candidates will no longer use musicians' work without first obtaining permission.

Photo: Jackson Browne performing in Linden, Texas, in June 2004

The votes are in! LiveNation.com has let concert fans take their pick on what ticket-buying terms they want for the this week's promotional ticket sales, and the winner is buy one get one free.

At exactly 12:01 a.m Wednesday, July 22, 2009 tickets will go on sale as promised only at LiveNation.com and only for Live Nation amphitheaters including Superpages.com Center. Note that these are for lawn tickets and will be shown discounted 50% off the total and sold in multiples of 2.

Listed below are upcoming concerts at Superpages.com Center:

- The Fray with Jack's Mannequin and Meese - Friday, July 24
- Toby Keith with Trace Adkins - Saturday, August 1
- 97.1 The Eagle's B.F.D. / Crue Fest 2 featuring Motley Crue with Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool, and Charm City Devils- Saturday, August 8
- Depeche Mode with Peter Bjorn & John - Saturday, August 29
- Brad Paisley with Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne - Saturday, September 12
- Creed with Staind- Tuesday, September 22

Aerosmith's Guitar Hero tour has had a rough start. Guitarist Brad Whitford sat out the first dates of the tour to recover from a recent surgery. After seven shows, beginning June 10, lead singer Steven Tyler tore a leg muscle, which postponed the tour. His daughter, Mia, posted on her MySpace blog yesterday that he's in a cast and can't wait to get back on the road, though. Seven shows have since been postponed, but Aerosmith's publicist said today's scheduled show in Atlanta would go on, marking Whitford, Tyler, Joe Perry and Joey Kramer's return. But they'll be short bassist Tom Hamilton (who co-wrote "Sweet Emotion" and "Janie's Got a Gun") as he recovers from a non-invasive surgery. Filling in for an undetermined number of dates will be David Hull, who's filled in before on the 2006 tour.

If you're going to Sunday's show at Superpages.com Center with openers ZZ Top (Details here!) you might be happy to know that they'll be performing their Toys in the Attic album in its entirety. Anyone going? How excited are you?

MTV announced today that they liked British comedian-actor Russell Brand so much last year that they've invited him back to host the Video Music Awards on Sept. 13. Good call, MTV. This guy is hilarious.

The Associated Press reports:

Brand, whose film roles include a scene-stealing role as a rock star in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, famously mocked the Jonas Brothers' purity rings at last year's show in Los Angeles.
"I'm gonna personally invite them because I love those boys," he quipped, noting "there will be some controversy" this time around.
The telecast will be staged at different venues, including Radio City Music Hall, where the VMAs were broadcast in 2006. MTV said country superstar Taylor Swift will perform; the nominees and other performers will be announced later.
"There's gonna be huge performances all over New York City," Brand said. "On Brooklyn Bridge, there will be a performance. You know that spike on top of the Empire State Building? Someone is gonna perform on top of that. ... Its gonna be mind-blowing ... get ready. I don't know if you're wearing a hat, but if you are, you should hold on to it."

The Riverboat Gamblers have just finished their tour with Rise Against and Rancid and are now gearing up for their upcoming September tour with the Dillinger Four and The Arrivals.

They just released a new music video for the song "Victory Lap" which is featured on their album, Underneath the Owl, which was released earlier this year. Watch as the boys take a victory lap home in a van and reminisce with them with mixtures of clips from live shows and of the band joking around.

Michael Jackson's death and memorial service have been in the headlines nonstop across the world since June 25, and I'm sure we're all wondering: "Would any other celeb death be such a big deal?" E! Online asks this and sorts through big names we might expect to get the lavish treatment but probably won't, saying none of them can compare to Michael.

UPDATE: At 1:40 pm Ticketmaster said only single seats are available, the cheapest at $175 and the most expensive at $250. Call it a sell-out if you want, but if you're going solo, I recommend ordering your ticket ASAP.

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UPDATE: Just got off the phone with a Ticketmaster representative. You can still get tickets, but as of 11:15 Monday morning, the cheapest ones are the $175 seats. Ouch. Also, according to Ticketmaster, parking will be $30. Be sure to check out the note about parking information above the map because it recommends which lot to park in depending on where your seats are.

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Paul McCartney has been confirmed to perform at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on August 19. This is the legend's first Dallas-area show since 2005 and the only announced Texas stop this year. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, July 20 via Ticketmaster. From the press release:

"The Cowboys Stadium show will feature classics from McCartney's extensive catalog, including Beatles, Wings and solo career hits as well as selections from his most recent album Electric Arguments, released under his alias The Fireman.

On the heels of Paul McCartney's three-date, sold-out run at New York's Citi Field in July, the August 19 North Texas performance will be among McCartney's first U.S. appearances since headlining this year's Coachella festival; as well as the same weekend's record-breaking opening of the Joint in Las Vegas. McCartney's additional upcoming North American concert dates include two shows at Boston's Fenway Park along with performances at Atlanta's Piedmont Park, FedEx Field in Landover, MD and Halifax Commons in Halifax, NS."

Anyone out there excited?

Photo: The Beatles band members Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney at the launch of The Beatles Rockband Xbox game at the Microsoft Xbox 360 E3 Expo on June 1. The Associated Press.

Usher broke down in tears before finishing his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Gone Too Soon" (a lovely ballad from 1991's Dangerous, by the way). He walked down to the where the casket is, took off his sunglasses and the tears flowed. He got a group hug from the Jackson family, including Jermaine and Janet. He then walked over to Katherine Jackson (Michael's mother) and gave her a hug. Very touching. Then, Smokey Robison spoke about his beliefs that there is life after this step. He said this about Michael: "He's gonna live forever twice. Because the world right here will never forget Michael Jackson."

Photo: Usher tries to finish the song (Kevork Djansezian).

Queen Latifah is so cool. I've always thought that. She walked to the podium at the Staples Center and told us about Michael Jackson from a fan perspective. She name dropped "Dancing Machine" and the famous robot moves. Way cool. She was real, heartfelt. Then she read words by poet Maya Angelou, a stirring poem titled "We Had Him." How great to see the Queen and hear the talents of Angelou. Also of note: Lionel Richie delivered a rousing "Jesus Is Love" back by a choir; Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz gave us a passionate (if slightly over-baked) "I'll Be There;" and of course Stevie Wonder performed. Watching the memorial on television - I got CNN on - works best for me. You can escape some of the madness of actually being there. Jason Sheeler, I do not envy you.

Photo: The Queen at the podium (MARIO ANZUONI).

After the big Vans Warped Tour show on Sunday, some of the bands are scheduled to greet fans and maybe even have an impromptu jam session at Denny's. Yes, really.

Participating groups include A Skylit Drive, Dance Gavin Dance, Therefore I Am, Hit the Lights and InnerPartySystem. They're scheduled to be at the Denny's at 4400 N. Central Expressway on Sunday from 9 to midnight. (Denny's is a tour sponsor.)

LONDON -- The Anschutz Entertainment Group, the commercial monolith that promoted the 50 Michael Jackson concerts here that will never happen, pretty much had the whole town riled up by Wednesday morning. AEG, which is part of the same Philip Anschutz empire that brought "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" to the Dallas Museum of Art (and which owns the Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie), came up with a no-refund alternative to Jackson's ill-fated concert series that provoked a Fleet Street frenzy of angry headlines. AEG Live says that anyone who wants a full refund to Jackson's ill-fated series of 50 concerts at the O2 (the London arena and exhibition enclave where the King Tut show played before coming to Dallas) can get one, but, if you're willing to consider a no-refund alternative, have they got a deal for you! Fans can have their very own souvenir ticket, to a concert that will never happen! And, claims AEG, it's one that Jackson himself designed shortly before his death! (Please click below to read on.)

Photo: Michael Jackson performing during halftime of the Jan. 31, 1993 Super Bowl, won by the Dallas Cowboys 52-17

LONDON -- This city may come to be known as the beginning of the end for Michael Jackson. That certainly appeared to be the conclusion of the London Evening Standard on Friday night, when the blaring headline read: "JACKSON FAMILY BLAMES LONDON." The story quoted family lawyer Brian Oxman as accusing "enablers" of "pushing Jackson too hard physically in preparation for the 50 comeback concerts in London" that were scheduled to begin July 13. And where were those shows supposed to take place? The O2, the sprawling arena and exhibition enclave in East London where "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" took place before heading to the Dallas Museum of Art last October. The O2 has welcomed through its doors Celine Dion, the Eagles and Tut. Its owner is the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which, of course, is headed up by reclusive Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz, who also owns Arts and Exhibitions International, which, along with the Egyptian government, staged the Tut show at the DMA. MTV reported that the Anschutz Entertainment Group faced the "daunting task" of having to refund $85 million in ticket sales for 50 sold-out concerts and that Jackson had passed a physical to obtain insurance for the 50 concerts. The Los Angeles Times reported that AEG had invested a reported $20 million in production costs for the "This Is It" concerts with an expected profit of about $115 million and a three-year worldwide tour that could have grossed $450 million. By Monday, the focus had shifted a bit, with the London papers quoting Joe Jackson, the singer's father, about allegations of foul play, almost as though London itself were getting a reprieve when it came to the blame game. (Please click below to read on.)

Photo: Michael Jackson

We've rounded up some links for all you Michael Jackson fans - places to check out online that are honoring the pop star. Keep checking in as I add throughout the day.
This video is a find from Todd Davis on the Cowboys blog: "Entertainer Michael Jackson, who died Thursday night, had a few connections to the Dallas Cowboys. When the Jackson Five reunited in the 1980s, Texas Stadium was one of the stops on tour. But one of Jackson's biggest moments was when he shared the same stage as the Cowboys in the Rose Bowl as the halftime show for Super Bowl XXVII."

Continue reading for a list of links to check out and more videos.

UPDATE: LA Times reports. Michael Jackson is dead.

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UPDATE: Oh geez, now LA Times is reporting he's in a coma.:
"Pop star Michael Jackson is in a coma and his family is arriving at his bedside, a law enforcement source told The Times. Jackson was rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this afternoon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home at 12:26 p.m. He was not breathing when they arrived. The paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and took him to the hospital, Ruda told The Times.]"

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UPDATE: From TMZ:

We've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.
Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrive