The Queen Of Pop is back!!!

Madonna returns to the road with her incredibly successful ‘Sticky & Sweet’ tour tomorrow (July 4th) and Sunday with two sold-out shows at London’s O2.

This is followed by a sell out date at Manchester’s MEN and a 26-date trek throughout Europe, culminating with two consecutive performances in Israel.

It’s going to be one of the highlights of the summer and in this oppressive heat it will be both ‘sticky’ and ‘sweet’.

Last year Madonna’s ‘Sticky & Sweet’ tour played to 2,350,282 fans and sold over $280 million in tickets.

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Rufus Wainwright’s debut opera Prima Donna premieres at the Manchester International Festival next Friday (July 10th).

The five performances take place at the Palace Theatre, running from July 10th – July 19, 2009. Catch him on the Jonathan Ross show on the same night, July 10th, BBC1.

Rufus took a break from ‘Prima Donna’ rehearsals last week. His hilarious chat with Jonathan Ross on his Saturday morning radio 2 show was one of the highlights of the weekend. We don’t know who is funnier but they both made us laugh.

Rufus was also spotted at The Killers last Friday before watching his sister Lucy Wainwright Roche play a lovely set at the Borderline. Her sweet voice and touching songs had the audience entranced and her very funny sense of humour (must be a family trait) had the crowd in stitches.
Ade Edmondson was also in attendance and I’m sure he was more than impressed with Lucy’s comic timing.

Lucy also opened up the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury on Sunday and has 6 more dates left to play on her UK tour. Catch her if you can.

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You can almost smell The Ashes now with the first test spinning into action next week. Preceding The Ashes is the release of The Duckworth Lewis Method’s self-titled maiden album out Monday. The stunning album is full of highlights including the lead single “Age Of Revolution”, “Meeting Mr Miandad” and the fantastically relevant and comedic “Jiggery Pokery”, which details Shane Warne’s ‘ball of the century’ from Mike Gatting’s eye-view, magically. There was a very entertaining interview with The Duckworth Lewis Method aka Neil Hannon and Thomas Walsh in Saturday’s Times and an equally amusing chat with the pair in last Friday’s Evening Standard.

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Tickets for Kasabian’s 10-date November arena tour go on-sale today at 9am. All tickets are priced at £25. Incredible value!

Their Pyramid Stage performance on Saturday before Bruce Springsteen is one of those moments that will be etched into the fabric of Glastonbury history. As a result their album sales are up 20,000!

Kasabian – BBC – Glastonbury

Their epic new single “Where Did All The Love Go?” is out August 17th.

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Jason Mraz certainly got use out of his wellies at Glastonbury. Jason played a hatrick of shows, which included two sets on Friday at the Acoustic Stage and a headline Q show at the Queens Head, he completed his hatrick with a performance at the Other Stage on Saturday.

Jason’s Q show at the Queens Head was one of the highlights on Friday with the Q tent near bursting point. The crowd enjoyed a mass sing-along to his addictive smash-hit single “I’m Yours”.

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Jersey Budd releases his new single “She Came Back” on Monday which features backing vocals from Kasabian’s Tom Meighan and has been receiving airplay on Radio 2 and Absolute Radio. Jersey also scored a hatrick of performances at Glasto – he played acoustic sets at the Dirty Boots tent on Wednesday and Saturday finishing up with a performance at the Queens Head Stage.

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We caught Depeche Mode live in Paris last week performing an electric sell out show in front of 66,000 Depeche Mode fanatics at Stade de France. This is a band who are in the form of their lives and Dave Gahan’s performance was mesmerising! The staging directed by Anton Corbijn was visually spectacular and captured the mood of the band perfectly.

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Dave Matthews Band arrived in the UK last week for three days and left us craving for so much more.

Seven scintillating live hours, playing to a total of 70,000 fans at two epic sold out Brixton Academy shows and performing as special guests to Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park in a truly remarkable set – Dave Matthews Band came, they saw and they most certainly conquered.

The band now jet off to Europe for a stint of festival shows in Europe having left their indelible mark on the UK.

Here’s a link to a 4* review of their Hyde Park show in The Independent.

On Tuesday it was announced that The Beatles’ entire back catalogue has been digitally remastered for the first time. As a result, the catalogue has never sounded better without losing the authenticity of the original recordings. The worldwide CD release will coincide with the eagerly anticipated Beatles: Rock Band video game, on September, 2009.

Karima Francis’ performance of her glorious track “Francis” from her debut album ‘The Author’ is on Later with Jools Holland tomorrow night, Friday the 10th.

You can also see her exquisite version of Kings Of Leon’s hit “Use Somebody” for the BBC Jools Holland website.

Karima’s next single is set to be “Chasing The Morning Light” out June 22, 2009.

Russell Brand releases his highly anticipated Radio 2 shows as a 4-disc box set on Monday. Titled ‘The Best Of What’s Legal’ the box set features Russell Brand’s radio cohort Matt Morgan, resident poet Mr Gee and sometimes stalwart Noel Gallagher. There are also guest appearances from Simon Amstell, Alan Carr, Noel Fielding and many more.

Russell is currently bringing his hugely popular live comedy tour to a close with shows in Glasgow, Hammersmith and Cardiff. He then brings the curtain down in spectacular fashion at the O2, April 17th.

Kasabian unleashed their explosive track “Vlad The Impaler” last week and the reaction was incredible. The track achieved over 65,000 downloads and the video featuring Noel Fielding received over 30,000 hits on YouTube.

Jason Mraz finished off his short jaunt of the UK this week, which featured two sold out gigs at Hammersmith Apollo. He releases his infectious new single “Make It Mine” on Monday. The track is on the Radio 2 A-list and Radio One B-list.

Vagabond brought their stunning live show to Madame JoJo’s last night, as they showcased tracks from their impressive debut album ‘You Don’t Know The Half Of It’. The irrepressible front man Alex Vargas was in fine form, much to the delight of their growing legion of fans. Stay tuned for more news of a Vagabond tour shortly.

Good afternoon. With the Grammy’s taking place next week (February 8, 2009) and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss announced to perform at the bash, what better time to stoke the Grammy fire and fill you in on the show…

The duo have been nominated for an impressive 5 awards including, Album of the Year, (for their Mercury nominated ‘Raising Sand’) and Record of the Year, for their stunning single “Please Read The Letter”.

Duffy will be in attendance on the night after gaining 3 nominations for Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for “Mercy”) and Best Pop Vocal Album (for ‘Rockferry’). She will also be presenting an award.

Jason Mraz will be at the ceremony. He’s been nominated in 3 categories. Jason is up for, Song of the Year (for the irresistible “I’m Yours”), Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Engineered Album.

As well as the success in his homeland, Jason is finally receiving notable acclaim and success this side of the pond. His album ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things’ broke into the Top Ten this week at No. 8. His worldwide smash-hit single “I’m Yours” is currently No. 11 in the iTunes chart, on course for the top Ten.

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Rufus Wainwright is speaking at the Oxford Union on Thursday (Feb 5th), Rufus will field questions in a Q&A session about his first, upcoming opera ‘Prima Donna’ which premieres at the Manchester International Festival – the world’s first festival of original, new work on July 10th, 14th, 17th (evening) and 12th, 19th July (Matinee) at Manchester’s Palace Theatre.

Rufus is also up for a Grammy nomination next Sunday for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (for ‘Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall’).

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In breaking news, Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour goes back on the road this Summer. Already the No.1 biggest grossing tour in history for a solo artist, Madonna kicks off the tour at London’s O2 Arena on Independence Day (July 4th) and then Manchester’s MEN Arena (July 7th).

Never one to miss out, Madonna is up for 3 Grammy Awards too, for Best Dance Recording (for Give It 2 Me), Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (for 4 Minutes) and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical (for 4 Minutes – Junkie XL Remix).

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Saddened by the loss of singer-songwriter John Martyn, Jersey Budd had some kind words to say: “John Martyn was one of only a few people to leave me absolutely spellbound by his musical genius. It turned out that I was the last person to ever be asked to support John. Whatever I achieve in music, this will go down as one of my proudest moments, and a great honour.”

Jersey continues to impress, and impress is exactly what he did on Wednesday at Water Rats. The singer-songwriter showcased songs from his stunning forthcoming album ‘Wonderlands’.

Jersey releases his infectious new single “Visions Of You”, February 16th.

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Russell Brand is currently on his 28-date, sold out UK tour, but due to phenomenal demand he announced a rare and simply unmissable, stand-up show at London’s O2 Arena, April 17th.

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Politics enthusiast Will Young takes to the Question Time hot seat next Thursday (Feb 5th). Will, who is a fan of the show assured us that he is swotting up on the hot topics of the day.

Will releases his last-ever physical single ‘Let It Go’ from the same titled album on March 2nd.

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Delta Spirit were impressive on Tuesday night at Borderline. The five-piece ripped through a storming set that included their irresistible single “Trashcan”.

They play their last London gig tonight at Koko (Club NME), before heading back to the U.S. They are playing SXSW in March before returning to the UK for more live dates. Their stunning album ‘Ode To Sunshine’ is released March 23rd.

Jason Mraz’s album ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things’ has stolen a march on the Top Ten and charted at No. 8 this week.

Released on January 5th the album has been propelled by the success of hit single “I’m Yours” and has been a main-stayer all over the radio.

Jason Mraz on amazon.com

Jason Mraz amazon.co.uk

Still playlisted on the Radio One A list “I’m Yours” has been bounding up the charts and has climbed up to No. 13 on the iTunes chart – it’s already sold over 3,500,000 copies worldwide.

Accompanied by his excellent live band, Jason Mraz sets out on a world wide tour at the end of the month, visiting the US, Europe and Asia en route.

The tour features a handful of special UK dates in April, showcasing tracks from his Top Ten LP.

Jason Mraz April 2009 UK tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

Fri 3rd MANCHESTER, Academy
Sun 5th LONDON, Hammersmith Apollo
Tue 7th BIRMINGHAM, Academy
Thu 9th DUBLIN, Academy

Some of these songs are so exuberant and effortlessly melodic they wouldn’t sound out of place on a classic Paul Simon or Stevie Wonder record. – Q Magazine

Jason Mraz Official Website
Jason Mraz MySpace

On April 14, 2009, Dave Matthews Band returns with its first studio album in four years – and they’ll celebrate with a show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden that evening.

Dave Matthews on amazon.com

Dave Matthews on amazon.co.uk

Watch “Ants Marching” video (Central Park):

The date will mark the beginning of the band’s spring tour, which will include a stop at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (April 26th) and wrap up in Las Vegas on May 9th. Along the way, Dave Matthews Band fans will be treated to the group’s first-ever live performances of songs from the new album.

An online ticket request period has begun and continues through January 4, 2009 at Warehouse – The Official Dave Matthews Fan Association website (www.warehouse.davematthewsband.com). Tickets go on sale to the general public on January 17th – except for the Nashville show, which goes on sale January 16th. Please check with your local venue or ticket retailer for details. See below for the full itinerary and supporting acts.

The band’s yet-to-be-titled album is being produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance) and will be released by RCA Records. The record is the follow-up to 2005’s ‘Stand Up’, the fourth consecutive Dave Matthews Band studio album to enter The Billboard 200 at No. 1. Formed in Virginia in the early 1990’s, Dave Matthews Band has sold a collective 35 million units (CD and DVD combined). With over 15 million tickets sold, the group has been named the top-drawing American band in the world by Billboard.

“Their set delivered the goods at Rothbury, and few would argue they didn’t make the festival their own,” said The Detroit News of Dave Matthews Band’s headlining performance at last summer’s first-ever Rothbury festival. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette praised the group’s show there as “nothing short of inspired and inspiring” while The Oklahoman said: “this is a band that stretches out and thrives in the open air and under the stars.” “Mr. Matthews’ trade is to stir up a mélange of approaches – from rock and folksy pop to bluegrass and smooth jazz – to make doubt positive, make loss a gain, and make depression a celebration,” observed The Dallas Morning News.

Dave Matthews Band is Carter Beauford (drums), Stefan Lessard (bass), Dave Matthews (vocals, guitar) and Boyd Tinsley (violin). Saxophonist LeRoi Moore, the fifth original founding member, passed away during the band’s summer 2008 tour. Joining the group on the road this spring will be Tim Reynolds on guitar, Rashawn Ross on trumpet and Jeff Coffin on saxophone. They are also featured on the new album.

Dave Matthews Band – Spring 2009 US Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

April 14 New York, NY Madison Square Garden – The Roots
April 15 East Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center – The Roots
April 17 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena – Old Crow Medicine Show
April 18 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena Old Crow Medicine Show
April 20 Pelham, AL Verizon Wireless Music Center Old Crow Medicine Show
April 22 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion The Avett Brothers
April 24 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre The Avett Brothers
April 25 Nashville, TN Vanderbilt Stadium special show – support to be announced soon!
April 26 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
April 28 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre At Encore Park The Avett Brothers
April 29 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre At Encore Park The Avett Brothers
May 1 The Woodlands, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion The Avett Brothers
May 2 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center The Avett Brothers
May 5 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion The Avett Brothers
May 6 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion The Avett Brothers
May 8 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena Jason Mraz
May 9 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena Jason Mraz

Warehouse – Fan Association

Dave Matthews Band MySpace
Dave Matthews Band Official Website

The nominations for the 51st annual Grammy Awards were announced at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre, with MBC’s British contingent gaining a hatful of nominations.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss continue to impress, and will compete in five categories:
- Album of the year (for ‘Raising Sand’)
- Record of the year (for ‘Please Read The Letter’)
- Best contemporary folk/Americana album (for ‘Raising Sand’)
- Best pop collaboration with vocals (for ‘Rich Woman’)
- Best country collaboration with vocals (for ‘Killing The Blues’)

Duffy also had an excellent night gaining three nominations:
- Best new artist
- Best female pop vocal performance (for ‘Mercy’)
- Best pop vocal album (for ‘Rockferry’)

MBC’s American artists also scored highly. After providing one of the night’s stand out performances, five-time Grammy winner John Mayer was rewarded with five nominations:
- Best male pop vocal performance (for ‘Say’)
- Best pop collaboration with vocals (for ‘Lesson Learned’)
- Best solo rock vocal performance (for ‘Gravity’)
- Best song written for Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media (for ‘Say’)
- Best long form music video (for ‘Where The Light Is – Live in Los Angeles’)

Jason Mraz also had a good night, gaining three nominations (song of the year, best male pop vocal performance, best engineered album, non-classical), while Madonna (best pop collaboration with vocals) and Rufus Wainwright (best traditional pop vocal album) walked away with one nomination apiece.

The Grammy Awards show takes place February 8th 2009.

Grammy Official Website

After selling out London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier this year, San Diego troubadour Jason Mraz makes his eagerly-anticipated UK live return in April 2009.

Accompanied by his excellent live band and a full brass section, Jason plays four UK dates, performing tracks from his soon to be re-released album ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things’, available January 12th, 2009 on Atlantic Records.

Watch “I’m Yours” video:

Jason Mraz on amazon.com

Jason Mraz amazon.co.uk

Jason previously scooped Scott Mills’ Radio 1 ‘Record of the Week’ with irresistible new single “I’m Yours” (UK release December 15th, 2008), a breezy, Californian pop anthem recently added to the Radio 1 A-list.

Originally included on a limited edition bonus EP in 2005, “I’m Yours” is now a global sensation. The track remains top of the US Hot AC airplay chart for the ninth consecutive week (one week short of Leona Lewis’ record) after previously topping the French, Swedish, Austrian and Norwegian airplay charts. Over 2 million copies of the single have been sold in the US alone.

Jason is currently in the middle of a sold out North American tour that will see him entertain 125,000 fans.

On December 11th he performs at the 15th annual Nobel Peace Prize concert (Oslo), before playing a Jo Whiley live lounge session on Radio 1 December 17th.

Jason Mraz April UK tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

April 2009

Fri 3rd MANCHESTER, Academy £17.00
Sun 5th LONDON, Hammersmith Apollo £23.00
Tue 7th BIRMINGHAM, Academy £17.00
Thu 9th DUBLIN, Academy * €27.00

Tickets On Sale 9am Friday December 5th, 2009
0844 576 5483 / Jason Mraz on Live Nation
*0818 719 300 / TicketMaster.ie

Jason Mraz Official Website
MySpace

Lisa Hannigan, the acclaimed Irish singer whom The New York Times calls “exquisitely ethereal,” is poised for the release of her much anticipated solo debut, ‘Sea Sew’.

Set for release February 3, 2009 on ATO Records, the album has already garnered airtime on tastemaking radio station KCRW and earned early praise from The Los Angeles Times, which calls it “charmingly idiosyncratic.” Hannigan is currently supporting Jason Mraz on his 42-date North American tour.

Lisa Hannigan on amazon.com

Lisa Hannigan on amazon.co.uk

Hannigan’s chance meeting with acclaimed singer-songwriter Damien Rice led to a long period of collaboration and development. From the outset, Hannigan quickly generated attention for her own vocal performances and spent the subsequent few years touring the world, meeting wonderful musicians and friends, writing songs and contributing backing vocals on many friends’ records. Such collaborations included the Frames and Mic Christopher and Hannigan even sang with the legendary Herbie Hancock. She gradually found her voice, needing the microphone less and less.

During her seven-year collaboration with Rice, Lisa Hannigan compiled a notebook of songs and fostered the desire and confidence to put them onto a record. Hannigan, along with a talented band of friends – including Tom Osander on drums, Shane Fitzsimons on double bass, Donagh Molloy on trumpet, melodica and glockenspiel, Gavin Glass on piano, Lucy Wilkins on violin and Vyvienne Long on cello-recorded ‘Sea Sew’ over 14 days in Dublin.

In advance of the album’s release, Hannigan has made available the songs “Lille,” “Sea Song,” “Pistachio” and “I Don’t Know” for streaming via her website. “I Don’t Know,” the first single off ‘Sea Sew’, will be released early next year.

Lisa Hannigan Tour Dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

November 19 Minneapolis, MN Myth
November 21 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
November 22 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
November 23 St. Louis, MO Fabulous Fox Theater
November 25 Lakewood, OH Lakewood Auditorium
November 26 Richmond, VA The National
November 28 Richmond, VA The National
November 29 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
November 30 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium

Lisa Hannigan Official Website
MySpace

Ashanti, the multi-platinum Grammy-Award winning singer/songwriter and actress and singer/songwriter Jason Mraz, along with Natasha Bedingfield, Moby, Chuck D, Chris Cornell, Tony Hawk, Colbie Caillat, Darius Rucker, Sara Bareilles, Sean Kingston, Matt White, Julie Roberts, Diana Page, and Krista, joined with Strong American Schools and YouCast to launch a series of public service announcements by top talent and music artists.

They’re raising awareness of the American education crisis and to urge America’s leaders to fix failing schools throughout the United States.

Watch messages from the artists:

Jason Mraz

Watch Jason Mraz video:

Ashanti

Watch Ashanti video:

Colbie Caillat

Watch Colbie Caillat video:

Join Now And Support Education

Test your knowledge against 8th graders throughout the world! Sign the petition in support of strong schools, join in our Hot Topic of the week and learn how you can support education.

To join and for more information, go to:

Great Schools Quiz page

MySpace Secret Shows is pleased to announce that Jason Mraz, one of modern music’s most inventive and compelling live performers, will play a stripped down set in Hartford, CT at Webster Underground on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 8 PM.

Mraz will be accompanied by percussionist/vocalist Toca Rivera. During a break from his worldwide tour in support of his latest album, ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.’, Jason Mraz will perform a very intimate show at the 200-capacity Webster Underground.

The Secret Show is a free, exclusive performance for the MySpace community.

Released in May 2008, ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.’ skyrocketed to #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts, the highest charting album in Mraz’s career. The album is Mraz’s first set of all-new material in three years and was produced by Martin Terefe, known for his work with KT Tunstall, Ron Sexsmith, and James Morrison. The album sees Mraz continuing to tread his own distinctive artistic path, melding a variegated musical tapestry with passionate, personal lyricism. Among the highlights are collaborations with British tunesmith James Morrison and MySpace phenom singer/songwriter Colbie Caillat.

MySpace Music has organized more than 150 Secret Shows since the franchise launched in February 2006 with artists like Gnarls Barkley, Neil Diamond, Slayer, Franz Ferdinand, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing in cities around the world.

For more information about the artists and upcoming schedule, visit:

MySpace Secret Shows

Jason Mraz Myspace
Jason Mraz Official Website