Seating Tickets Sold Out!!!
Wainwright/McGarrigle Family Christmas Concert
Royal Albert Hall, December 9, 2009

Limited Number Of Exclusive VIP Packages Released

With all seating tickets sold out for the hotly anticipated first Wainwright/McGarrigle Family Christmas concert in London, ‘A Not So Silent Night’ – a limited number of exclusive charity VIP Packages have been released.

These rare packages include excellent seats for the concert, entry to a post-show cocktail with all the performers, and unique gift bags.

Boy George, Dawn French, Guy Garvey, Jennifer Saunders, and The Thompsons (Teddy, Kami, Linda) are just a few of the special guests and friends announced for this special seasonal show.

The show will also include performances by Ed Harcourt, International soprano and ‘Prima Donna’ star Janis Kelly, Jenni Muldaur plus human beatbox Shlomo.

These packages can be obtained by making a donation of £500 to benefit cancer research through the Kate McGarrigle Fund from:

Telephone: 00-1-514-931-5656
Website: A Not So Silent Night OR www.muhcfoundation.com/en/not_silent

This is organised by the McGarrigle/Wainwright family and friends, a supporter of Cancer Research UK.

The Kate McGarrigle Fund is a non-profit organisation dedicated to cancer care and research and affiliated with the McGill University teaching hospitals and Cedars Cancer Institute in Montreal, Canada.

The Kate McGarrigle Fund Official Website

Rufus Wainwright Official Website
Martha Wainwright Official Website

Photo: Paolo Nutini

Kasabian played the first of three massive sold out shows at Wembley Stadium last night, with the other two performances taking place over the weekend. They’re billed as the gigs of the decade and Serge Pizzorno pinpoints the trio of dates as the focal point of the summer.

Their epic new single ‘Where Did All The Love Go?’ comes out August 17, 2009. Wait until you see the video!

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Rufus Wainwright’s eagerly anticipated debut opera ‘Prima Donna’ premieres at the Palace Theatre for Manchester’s International Festival, which runs from July 10th – July 19th, a total of five performances.

He releases his live CD/DVD ‘Milwaukee At Last!!!’, September 7th, taken from his acclaimed and celebrated 2007 ‘Release The Stars’ tour.

Check out Rufus on the Jonathan Ross show tonight, 10.30pm, BBC1. His interview on Jonathan Ross’ Radio 2 show last week was hugely entertaining and very funny – expect more of the same tonight.

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Paolo Nutini provides the music for the Jonathan Ross show tonight. He performs his infectious new single ‘Coming Up Easy’ out August 10th from his No.1 album ‘Sunny Side Up’.

Paolo plays the iTunes festival tonight at the Roundhouse – 20,000 fans applied for tickets to this gig, it’s set to be a cracker, after which he travels up to Scotland to play T in the Park and then Oxegen in Ireland. What a weekend!

There is an excellent piece on Paolo Nutini in this month’s issue of Word magazine. Check it out!

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The Duckworth Lewis Method strolled out to their Times sponsored showcase at The Oval on Tuesday, fully adorned in cricket regalia and Merv Hughes-esque facial hair. They opened up with their first single ‘Age Of Revolution’, which was suitably pitch perfect.

The duo, who were fully complemented by the Divine Comedy backing band were in great form throughout – they had the packed out England Suite bowled over with songs from their eponymous maiden album (out this week) and creasing up at their pre-song wibblings. It was a joy to watch!

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Madonna left the UK for Europe this week following her triumphant shows at London’s O2 last weekend and Manchester’s MEN on Tuesday. The reviews were stunning including a 5* review in the Evening Standard.

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Just Jack plays Somerset House tomorrow with Lily Allen. He will be performing tracks from his impressive new album ‘All Night Cinema’ August 24th.

Look out for his stunning new single ‘The Day I Died’, (August 17th) already an album highlight it has now been completely transformed with multi-layered sounds, strings and a choir. It sounded great when Jo Whiley played it on her show this week.

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Jersey Budd also plays Somerset House, he’s special guests to The Enemy tonight. His new single, ‘She Came Back’, which features backing vocals from Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan is released through iTunes on Monday.

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The Pretenders embark on five UK dates in six days starting at Cornbury Festival on Sunday, after which they play two special performances at Glasgow’s ABC (Tuesday) and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire (Wednesday). They round up their assault on the UK with a show with Squeeze in Liverpool (Thursday) and a performance at Latitude Festival (Friday).

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Lightning Seeds have a busy weekend on the festival circuit. They play Guilfest tomorrow and Cornbury Festival plus Liverpool Pops Festival on Sunday. Their new single ‘Don’t Walk On By’ (August 3rd) is featured on the Radio 2 playlist.

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Tom Hickox’s infectious new single ‘The Pretty Pride Of Russia’ had its first play on BBC6 Music on Wednesday. Chris Hawkins played the track standing in for Steve Lamacq.

Photo Credit: Kevin Westenberg

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash will release her 12th studio album, entitled ‘The List’, on Manhattan Records on October 6th, 2009.

This stunning work features Cash’s contemporary interpretations of 12 classic songs culled from a list of essential country tunes that her legendary father Johnny Cash gave her in 1973, and filtered through her own unique, sophisticated perspective.

Known primarily for her stellar songwriting, Cash showcases her incredible voice on The List — her first-ever covers record. As a result, the album is Rosanne Cash like you’ve never heard her before as she embraces her heritage and sings for the pure love and beauty of these songs which have shaped who she is as an artist.

The idea for The List came about while Cash was on tour promoting her 2006 studio album, the critically heralded, Grammy-nominated Black Cadillac — a reflective song cycle about the loss of her father, mother Vivian Liberto, and stepmother June Carter Cash.

During the well-received multi-media event Black Cadillac: In Concert, Cash told audiences how, when she was 18, her father became alarmed that his daughter appeared to lack a deep understanding of country music (having been obsessed with The Beatles and steeped in Southern California rock and pop music). Johnny gave her a list of the “100 Essential Country Songs” and told her that it was her education and she should learn them all.

“The list was far-ranging and thorough,” Cash says. “It was assembled from my father’s intuitive understanding of each critical juncture in the evolution of country music. There were old Appalachian folk ballads, and the songs of Jimmie Rodgers and Woody Guthrie. The influence of gospel and Southern blues were crucial. Then he segued into rockabilly and the birth of modern country music by way of Hank Williams, and up to the present, which was then 1973. He also included a couple of his own songs. I endeavored to learn them all and it was an education,” she says. “I looked to that list as a standard of excellence, and to remind myself of the tradition from which I come. This album enables me to validate the connection to my heritage rather than run away from it, and to tie all the threads together: past and future, legacy and youth, tradition the timelessness.”

Through her stylish interpretations, Cash manages to transcend genre on The List, proving that these songs deserve a permanent place in the American Songbook.

Produced and arranged by Grammy-Award winner John Leventhal (Cash’s husband, who also contributes striking guitar work throughout), The List includes Cash’s covers of songs by The Carter Family (“Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow”), Hank Williams (“Take These Chains From My Heart”), Jimmie Rodgers (“Miss The Mississippi and You”), Hank Cochran / Patsy Cline (“She’s Got You”), Merle Haggard (“Silver Wings”), and Bob Dylan (“Girl From the North Country,” famously done by Dylan and Johnny Cash in 1969).

The album also features a host of special guests whom Cash admires, including Bruce Springsteen (on “Sea of Heartbreak”), Elvis Costello (on “Heartaches by the Number”), Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy (on “Long Black Veil”), and Rufus Wainwright (on “Silver Wings”).

The List is the first album Cash has made since she underwent surgery in 2007 for a benign brain condition, from which she has fully recovered. When it came time to record a new album, Cash was happy to step back from the heavy themes of Black Cadillac and do a covers record that showcased her voice. It also has enabled her to finally share with the world the list of songs her father passed down to her alone.

“If my father had been a martial arts master, he might have passed a martial arts ‘secret’ on to me, his oldest child,” Cash says. “If he had been a surgeon, he might have taken me into his operating room and pointed out the arteries and organs. If he were a robber baron, he might have surveyed his empire and said, ‘Honey, some day this will all be yours!’. But he was a musician and a songwriter, and he gave me The List.”

Buy Music:

Rosanne Cash on amazon.com

Rosanne Cash on amazon.co.uk

The track-listing for The List is as follows:

1. “Miss the Mississippi and You”
2. “Motherless Children”
3. “Sea of Heartbreak” (w/ Bruce Springsteen)
4. “Take These Chains From My Heart”
5. “I’m Movin’ On”
6. “She’s Got You”
7. “Heartaches by the Number” (w/ Elvis Costello)
8. “500 Miles”
9. “Long Black Veil” (w/ Jeff Tweedy)
10. “Silver Wings” (w/ Rufus Wainwright)
11. “Girl From the North Country”
12. “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow”

For more about Rosanne Cash and The List, please visit:

Rosanne Cash Official Website

To coincide with the launch of Rufus Wainwright’s debut opera – the Premiere of which is on Friday 10th July, 2009 at the Palace Theatre Manchester – Alan Yentob has followed Rufus for an Imagine special airing Tuesday 7th July at 22.35 on BBC One.

IMAGINE: RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, PRIMA DONNA

More information:

In this Imagine, Alan Yentob explores the rapid rise of the most mercurial talent of the modern music scene, Rufus Wainwright. Rufus is a truly extraordinary singer and composer of some of the most sophisticated pop music and affecting lyrics of the last thirty years – a man who Elton John called the “best songwriter in the world”. The film both tells Rufus’s colourful story and follows his journey as he creates his very first opera, Prima Donna and he is plunged into the very midst of the classical world.

Opera has always been a great love of Rufus’s, but in this documentary Rufus reveals to Alan how he arrived at this point. He talks candidly about his background; the family of musical luminaries (father: Loudon Wainwright; mother Kate McGarrigle; sister Martha Wainwright), his troubled personal history with drugs and also the tensions that have informed his music.

It is the creation of the opera that provides the spine of the film. From the first workshop through to the run up to opening night, Imagine have captured the highs and lows as Rufus embarks on the mammoth task of creating his first opera. Alan finds out what it felt like being the outsider when all the more established opera colleagues ganged up against him and his co-librettist.

Alan Yentob catches up with Rufus in his childhood home in Montréal, in New York where he now lives and where he performs with his family for a Christmas special, and of course in Leeds and Manchester where the opera, Prima Donna, will make its bow. The film also contains footage of Rufus in Berlin where we see him creating his first classical work with avant garde director Robert Wilson, and performing in a solo show.

This is a unique insight into an artist at the height of his powers, and a snapshot of a star taking a leap into the unknown.

As well as interviews and special performances or songs old and new with Rufus himself, the film includes interviews with Kate McGarrigle, Loudon Wainwright III, Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright and celebrated soprano Renée Fleming.

© Pixelboost/ Isis Productions Ltd. 2009

For more information, go to:

BBC One – Imagine ; Rufus Wainwright, Prima Donna – BBC One

Rufus Wainwright Official Website

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.

Lucy Wainwright-Roche is literally following in her illustrious family’s footsteps, her father Loudon Wainwright III, her mother Suzzy Roche (The Roches), not to mention her brother and sister Rufus and Martha Wainwright – Lucy Wainwright-Roche is stamping her very own indelible mark on the music scene.

Needless to say music is very much in Lucy’s blood and when her brother Rufus Wainwright invited her to sing on one of his 2006 US tours, she left the teaching classroom to pursue her love of music.

Lucy began writing her own songs and recorded her debut CD in 2007, receiving rave reviews and acclaim from National Radio. It became a favourite amongst fans and critics alike.

She has honed her stagecraft and sharpened her dreamy guitar based melodies on tour with Teddy Thompson, Amos Lee and Dar Williams. Her majestic voice and refreshingly honest songwriting paints a beautiful picture making her an instant hit with audiences wherever she plays.

Lucy is set to showcase her captivating sound for the first time in the UK on a 13-date summer tour.

Lucy Wainwright-Roche 2009 UK tour dates:

(Dates and information subject to change.)

June 2009
Wed 24th LEICESTER, The Musician
Thu 25th BIRMINGHAM, Glee Club
Fri 26th LONDON, Borderline
Sun 28th GLASTONBURY, Acoustic Stage
Mon 29th SOUTHSEA, Cellars at Eastney

July 2009
Wed 1st GLASGOW, Brel
Thu 2nd DUNFERMLINE, Carnegie Halls
Fri 3rd CORK, Pavilion
Sun 5th BELFAST, Spring & Airbrake
Mon 6th DUBLIN, Whelan’s
Wed 8th MANCHESTER, Ruby Lounge
Thu 9th NEWCASTLE, Cluny
Fri 10th YORK, House Concert

“Her clear, steady voice feels like a beacon of sorts, slicing straight through the room.” – New York Times

Lucy Wainwright-Roche MySpace

Rufus & Martha Wainwright and their mother Kate McGarrigle bring their acclaimed seasonal show to London’s Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 with special guests.

Tickets for this must see event – ‘A Not So Silent Night’ – go on sale Friday, May 1, 2009 and are priced from £35 to £70.

Tickets are available from:
Web: www.artistticket.com
Hotline: 0871 230 0333
Or from the Royal Albert Hall Box Office.

In the US, Christmas has become synonymous with the semi-annual Wainwright/McGarrigle Carnegie Hall shows. “It’s an off-the-cuff evening of friends and family kind of popping on and off stage as if the stage was our living room,” says Rufus Wainwright.

Special guests consisting of Rufus, Martha and Kate’s friends and family will be announced later this summer.

A limited number of exclusive A Not So Silent Night VIP Packages include excellent seats for the concert, entry to an intimate post-show cocktail with the performers, and unique gift bags. These packages can be obtained by making a donation of $1,000 CAD, $750 USD, or £500 GPB to the Kate McGarrigle Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to cancer care and research and affiliated with the McGill University teaching hospitals and Cedars Cancer Institute in Montreal, Canada.

Proceeds from the sales of these VIP packages will benefit cancer care and research in Canada and the UK. For more information, call Cléa Desjardins at the McGill University Health Centre Foundation, toll-free at 1-877-601-4536 (1-514-931-5656 from outside North America), visit The Kate McGarrigle Fund website.

Rufus Wainwright Official Website
Martha Wainwright

Pearl Jam re-issue their seminal album ‘Ten’ on Monday. One of the bonus tracks from the re-issue ‘Brother’ is proving to be a huge radio hit in the US. It makes radio history by becoming the first previously unreleased track to rocket to No. 1 on the US modern rock charts. Following the great success on US radio it is now No. 2 at Rock radio in both Australia and Canada – a universal hit!

Next week is Teenage Cancer Trust week at the Royal Albert Hall, highlights include a headline set from Stereophonics on Thursday (March 26th).

Kasabian bring their thrilling live show and no doubt tracks from their awesome new record ‘The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ (June 8th) to the RAH on Friday (March 27th). Jersey Budd will be the support for Kasabian.

What do Kasabian, Eskimo Joe and Little Feat all have in common? Jersey Budd! Along with his special guest slot alongside Kasabian next Friday, he also goes on the road with Eskimo Joe in April, fully equipped with his full band. He then plays 3 acoustic shows with Little Feat in May. His eagerly awaited debut album ‘Wonderlands’, out May 11, 2009 is already gaining some nice reviews.

The full programme for the Manchester International Festival was announced yesterday and Rufus Wainwright was in attendance. His debut opera ‘Prima Donna’ premieres the Palace Theatre for five performances from July 10th.

Festival Director Alex Poots said: Rufus Wainwright has an exceptional gift for melody and clearly has a deep affinity with opera. We’re delighted to be working with him as he moves into this new form.”

We can’t wait for Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park this summer. The Pretenders are special guests to Neil Young on the Saturday (June 27th). Neil Young perfectly summed up what we all know about Chrissie Hynde: “She’s a rock & roll woman. She’s got it in her heart. She’s gonna be rocking till she drops.”

The Dave Matthews Band are special guests to Bruce Springsteen (June 28th). They also perform 3 other UK dates including 2 Brixton Academy shows, the first of which is sold out in support of their new album ‘Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King’ out June 8th. The new LP is their first with producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance).

Karima Francis’ debut album ‘The Author’ comes out on Monday and is available to download on itunes now. Her infectious single ‘Again’ is making nice headway – it received 72,000 downloads as the iTunes single of the week and she was featured in a lovely piece in Sunday Times Culture last week.

Karima kicked off her tour with James Morrison in Manchester’s Apollo last night. She supports him on selected dates, which are sandwiched in-between her own tour featuring a show at London’s Bush Hall (March 26th) fully complemented by her live band.

Vagabond’s tour with James Morrison also got under way last night at Manchester’s Apollo. On Monday they played their final gig before the tour at Xenomania’s showcase night in Notting Hill Arts Club.

Their debut album produced by Brian Higgins ‘You Don’t Know The Half Of It’ is out June 22nd, preceded by this is ‘Sweat (Until The Morning)’ (June 8th) – the first taster of Vagabond’s soulful pop sound. The video for the single was shot in the Mojave Desert and directed by Paul Minor (Muse, Editors, Glasvegas).

Delta Spirit are currently in SXSW performing a stint of shows, after which they return to the UK for a string of dates to coincide with their impressive LP ‘Ode To Sunshine’, which is out on Monday.

R.E.M. were the subject of a tribute night at Carnegie Hall last week. The show was the latest in a series of tributes benefiting music charities. Twenty artists performed one song apiece, all drawn from R.E.M.’s resplendent back catalogue. The night was brought to a close with a wonderful performance of ‘E-Bow The Letter’ by R.E.M. with Patti Smith.

Even six inches of snow couldn’t keep Rufus Wainwright from speaking at the Oxford Union yesterday afternoon.

In an amusing and informative hour long Q&A session he talked about his forthcoming opera Prima Donna, reminisced about Jeff Buckley, talked about making his next album with just piano and vocals. “I’m the opposite of Dylan, I’m going backwards, I’m going acoustic!” he joked, keeping the 200 plus crowd warm with laughter.

Rufus won’t be in sunny LA for the Grammy Awards this Sunday, where he has been nominated in the hotly contested ‘Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album’ category (for ‘Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall’).

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Grammy’s will be a performance by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.

Jason Mraz will also be in attendance. He’s been nominated in 3 categories: Song of the Year (for ‘I’m Yours’), Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Engineered Album.

His album ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things’ is unstoppable at present and has just turned Gold and is still sitting in the Top Ten this week. His irresistible single “I’m Yours” is knocking on the door of the Top Ten and is currently No.11 in the chart.

Tickets for the summer leg of Madonna’s phenomenally successful ‘Sticky & Sweet Tour’ went on sale today in London and Manchester and sold out in minutes.

Madonna brings her acclaimed ‘Sticky & Sweet Tour’ to London’s 02 Arena July 4th, 2009 and Manchester’s MEN Arena July 7th.

Karima Francis is continuing to make waves this year, her infectious new single “Again”, out March 9, 2009, is the Radio 2 record of the week next week.

If you haven’t seen Karima she is playing London’s Barfly on Tuesday (Feb 10th). A must see gig and a chance to hear tracks from her forthcoming debut album ‘The Author’, out March 23rd. Details of her new UK tour in March will be announced next week.

We’re very excited about the new Lightning Seeds album in June, their first in ten years. Ian Broudie is back and has penned a disc full of wonderful new songs.

Early reaction to the Depeche Mode album ‘Sounds of the Universe’ is hugely positive. First single “Wrong” is a fine introduction and “Peace” seems to be a firm favourite. We can’t wait for the 02 show in May.

Will Young’s Question Time appearance raised more than eyebrows last night as it got the highest ratings for the last six years with 750,000 extra tuning in.

Vagabond played a short, tight set last week at Water Rats. They just keep getting better and better. Ladies down the front swooned over Irrepressible front man Alex Vargas, he really is one to watch.

Debut single “Sweat (Until The Morning)” sounds cracking live as does “I’ve Been Waiting” and “Don’t Wanna Run No More”. This guitar based six piece have an r&b pop sound like no one else.
We can’t wait for their debut album in May. Their producer Brian Higgins was in the audience on Tuesday.

Sara Cox has been bigging up Just Jack’s hot new single “Embers” out March 30th. She gave the track its first ever airplay and has been playing it ever since.

Just Jack releases his new album ‘All Night Cinema’ April 6th, with news of a tour to follow very soon.

The Fray release their eagerly anticipated self-titled new album on Monday (Feb 9th). On Tuesday (Feb 10th) they will showcase the album at a sold out show at the Scala.

Jersey Budd will support at Starsailor on Wednesday (Feb 11th) at The Luminaire.

Robyn Hitchcock has a busy week in-store. He kicks off his 11-date UK tour tomorrow (Feb 7th) in Glasgow, featuring a must see gig at London’s Union Chapel (Feb 12th). Next week he releases his stunning album ‘Goodnight Oslo’.

Miss this at your peril, R.E.M. re-release their seminal album ‘Murmur’ on Monday. The 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition features that original landmark album re-mastered plus an additional disc with a previously unreleased concert recorded at Larry’s Hideaway in Toronto three months after Murmur’s April release.

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.

Good afternoon. What a week it’s been! What with Obama’s Presidential procession and the world-haltering Inauguration, oh, and the Brit Award Nominations.

Here’s a look at the week that has been.

MBC artists received 6 nominations for this year’s Brit Awards on Tuesday. Duffy picked up four nominations (British Female Solo, British Breakthrough Act, British Single and British Album), a feat only matched by Coldplay.

Will Young celebrated his 30th birthday on Tuesday in true style with a nomination for British Male Solo. Will has been in Iceland filming the video for his excellent new single “Let It Go”, released March 2nd.

After scoring his first-ever UK No. 1 last year, Neil Diamond will battle it out for the International Male Solo award at the Brits next month.

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MBC artists were also on hand to welcome Barack Obama into the White House on Tuesday. Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Il Divo all played in what was a musical feast of epic portions, spread over 10 Inaugural Balls.

Elvis Costello headlined at the Creative Coalition Inaugural Ball on Tuesday evening. While Rufus Wainwright performed with Cyndi Lauper at the Gay Inauguration Ball, and Il Divo played at the Purple Ball.

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Il Divo embark on their World Tour next month. Starting off at Manchester’s MEN Arena, Feb 21st, 2009, the world’s most successful operatic quartet will play 11 UK dates.

They will visit 30 European countries along the way, this will be followed by a 3 month North American tour, before heading to south America, Australia and Asia later in the year.

Il Divo’s new show will be staged and choreographed by William Baker (Kylie, Jamiroquai). The state of the art set also offers fans the chance to sit within the staging.

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Just Jack’s hot new single “Embers” has been picking up more airplay. Lily Allen played the track when stepping in for Zane Lowe on his Radio One show this week. “Embers” is set for release March 30th, with his stunning new LP ‘All Night Cinema’ to follow in April.

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‘Rachel Getting Married’ opens today. Robyn Hitchcock stars as a wedding guest in the film and also plays “Up To Our Nex”, a track written for the movie. The song also features on Robyn Hitchcock’s excellent LP ‘Goodnight Oslo’, out Feb 9th.

Robyn sets out on his UK tour in February, which includes an unmissable date at London’s Union Chapel (Feb 12th).

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Karima Francis wowed the crowd at London’s Barfly on Monday. Karima performed an intimate acoustic gig, which featured a must-be-heard stripped-down version of Kings Of Leon’s “Use Somebody” and “Again” from her debut album ‘The Author’.

Delta Spirit tore through an incredible set at Water Rats on Monday, finding enough time to swap instruments on the way. Their hook-laden single “Trashcan” was released on Monday too.

The Fray return on Monday with the release of their stunning new single “You Found Me”. The track has been playlisted on Radio One and is featured on hit show ‘Lost’.

They are playing a special sold out date at the Scala, Feb 10th. They will be announcing details of a UK tour very shortly, so stay tuned.

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

‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ is the 22nd album from Marianne Faithfull and was recorded in December 2007 in NYC at the famous Sear Sound recording studio. It’s the third album of Marianne’s to be produced by Hal Willner (the others being ‘Strange Weather’ and ‘Blazing Away’).

Marianne Faithfull on amazon.co.uk

Marianne Faithfull on amazon.com

Marianne and Hal have been close friends since they met, back in 1982, and have worked together on many different project over the years, most recently on three songs from Marianne’s acclaimed last album ‘Before The Poison’, but ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ is a collection of songs written by others and interpreted by Marianne.

When ‘Strange Weather’ was released in 1987, it was quickly hailed as one of Marianne’s finest recordings, so this time around the challenge was high: Marianne and Hal had to make an album that was at least as good. Both artists have risen to the challenge beautifully: they achieve a timeless recording.

All the songs have been chosen by Marianne and Hal, and range from Billie Holiday’s “Solitude” to “The Crane Wife” by current band The Decemberists. Other tracks are “Sing Me Back Home” by Merle Haggard, “Children of Stone” by Espers, the title track “Easy Come, Easy Go Blues” by Bessie Smith, Morrissey’s “Dear God Please Help Me”, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles “Ohh Baby Baby”, Dolly Parton’s “Down from Dover” and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s “Salvation”.

‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ also includes some interesting guest vocalists; Keith Richards appears on the aforementioned “Sing Me Back Home”, Anthony Hegarty on “Ohh Baby Baby” and Jarvis Cocker on Sondheims’s “Somewhere”.

Other guest appearances on the album come from Rufus Wainwright who contributes vocals to the powerful “Children of Stone” while his aunt and mother; Kate and Anna McGarrigle enchant on the “The Flandyke Shore”.

Warren Ellis plays his magic violin on three songs, and Nick Cave lends some vocals to “The Crane Wife”. Sean Lennon and Teddy Thompson play guitar on a couple of the tracks, and Chan Marshall of Cat Power harmonizes on “Hold On, Hold On”.

The album was recorded live in the oldest recording studio in Manhattan, the famous Sear Sound. The arrangements are by Cohen Bernstein and Weinberg Goldstein and were done specifically for Marianne. The string and horn sections were led by L. Picket, and the band includes Marc Ribot, Greg Cohen, Rob Burger, Barry Reynolds and Jim White.

Very few takes were needed, in fact some of the songs were done in a single take (London sound engineers in the 60s use to call her Marianne ‘one take’ Faithfull). There are very few overdubs on this recording.

The Tour

After the launch of the album, a short tour of the main capital cities of Europe will take place throughout in the spring of 2009. Marianne will recreate ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ onstage using the same band as the recording sessions, complete with a horn and string section. As well as the new material, Marianne will be performing a selection of hits from her rich back catalogue; all in all, it promises to be a fantastic show.

Marianne Faithfull Official Website
MySpace

Manchester International Festival, the world’s first festival of original, new work, announces the first three commissions for its 2009 event, including Rufus Wainwright’s debut opera Prima Donna.

Prima Donna is a portrait of a fading opera singer, set in Paris and sung in French. This new opera is directed by Daniel Kramer, conducted by Pierre-André Valade and designed by Antony McDonald. Prima Donna will feature the soprano Janis Kelly, taking the lead role Madame, soprano Rebecca Bottone, tenor William Joyner and baritone Jonathan Summers.

“Rufus Wainwright has an exceptional gift for melody and clearly has a deep affinity with opera. We’re delighted to be working with him as he moves into this new form”, said Festival Director Alex Poots.

Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation, releasing half a dozen acclaimed albums. Prima Donna is his first opera.

There will be five performances of Prima Donna at Manchester’s Palace Theatre: 10, 14, 17 July (evening) and 12, 19 July 2009 (matinee). Tickets went on sale at noon, Friday 10 October, 2008 online via www.mif.co.uk and by phone 0844 815 4960, priced £12.50 – £47.50. Please note that Rufus Wainwright will not be performing in Prima Donna.

Prima Donna is produced in partnership with Opera North whose orchestra will be performing and who will be providing their rehearsal space at their studios in Leeds. Prima Donna is commissioned by MIF, with thanks to Alistair Spalding for his collaboration and support.

Manchester International Festival, the world’s first festival of original, new work and special events, takes place biennially in Manchester, UK. The Festival launched in 2007 as an artist-led, commissioning festival presenting new works from across the spectrum of performing arts, visual arts and popular culture. Among the 25 world premieres in the 2007 Festival were Monkey: Journey to the West, a new opera directed by Chen Shi Zheng, composed by Damon Albarn and designed by Jamie Hewlett.

Manchester International Festival ‘09 will run from Thursday 2 Sunday 19 July 2009.

The entire Festival programme will be announced in March 2009.

Register for updates at:

MIF Official Website

Teddy Thompson’s new video for his excellent single “In My Arms,” is on YouTube. The single is off of his latest album ‘A Piece of What You Need’, released through Verve Forecast.

Watch “In My Arms” video

Download “In My Arms” MP3

Read the exclusive Teddy Thompson interview

Don’t miss Teddy on tour in the States!

For this tour, Teddy invited the New York-based group The Grey Race to join him as his backing band. The group is comprised of bassist Jeff Hill (who has played on Thompson’s last two albums and is Rufus Wainwright’s longtime bassist), Ethan Eubanks on drums, and Jon Darling on guitar. Rounding out the lineup will be Ben Stivers on keyboards.

Tour dates:

Dates could be added or changed!

08.20.08 – Gravity Lounge – Charlottesville, VA
08.22.08 – Windjammer – Isle of Palms, SC *
08.23.08 – NC Museum of Art – Raleigh, NC *
09.04.08 – Visulite Theater – Carlotte, NC *
09.05.08 – Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC *
09.06.08 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA *
09.07.08 – Workplay – Birmingham, AL *
09.18.08 – Coronet Theater – Los Angeles, CA
09.19.08 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA

* with Tift Merritt

Teddy Thompson – A Piece of What You Need on amazon.com

A Piece of What You Need on amazon.co.uk

MySpace
Teddy Thompson Official Website