Monday, March 30, 2009

Music News & Notes

Nickelback were the big winners at Canada’s Juno Awards, taking home three trophies including "Group of the Year" and "Album of the Year" for Dark Horse. Toronto’s Kardinal Offishall won the ceremony’s two rap awards and the Stills — who already have three albums under their belt — won the confusing New Group of the Year award. Coldplay’s Viva La Vida was awarded International Album of the Year.

-----------------------------------------

The Arctic Monkeys have been recruited to headline the U.K.’s Reading and Leeds Festival, the NME reports. The fest will take place August 28th-30th. The remainder of the lineup will be announced tonight.

-----------------------------------------

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame week kicked off Saturday night in Cleveland with the Moondog Coronation Ball. The name refers back to the March 21, 1952 show put on by Allen Freed that ended up in a riot.

Appearing were Jerry Butler, Little Richard, Three Dog Night, Herman's Hermits Featuring Peter Noone and Tommy James and the Shondells. Reports say that Little Richard was brought on stage in a wheelchair but that his playing and singing were still spot on.

-----------------------------------------

For the next 24 hours, you can get the track Beyond Here Lies Nothin' from Bob Dylan's new album at www.bobdylan.com.

-----------------------------------------

Green Day's "American Idiot" is headed from disc to stage.

Michael Mayer, the Tony Award-winning director of "Spring Awakening," is adapting the trio's 2004 concept album -- which sold 12 million copies worldwide and won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Record of the Year -- for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre on Green Day's home turf in California. The production will run Sept. 4-Oct. 11 to open the company's 2009-10 season, with tickets now on sale for early performances at www.berkeleyrep.org.

-------------------------------------------

Sony Legacy is predicting solid first-week numbers for its reissue of Pearl Jam's 1992 album "Ten"—55,000 total copies sold and, remarkably, 10,000 copies of the collector's edition, which is selling for $140 on the band's Web site and for $124.99at Best Buy.

The sales of the collector's edition comes thanks to worldwide fan club pre-orders; Legacy Recordings/Sony Music VP of sales Scott Van Horn says the label predicts that during the first week of release it will sell 55,000 copies overall of the four versions of the reissue.

No comments: