Music News & Notes

Japandroids Announce Singles Series

Vancouver's Japandroids have announced that they'll be releasing five new singles this year in order to give the people what they want (raucous, heart-on-sleeve rock, obviously). The singles, the first of which is due out on April 13, will feature songs that were recorded during the Post-Nothing sessions on the a-side and covers on the b-side. Thusly, yhe first single, titled "Art Czars," will be backed with a cover of Big Black's "Racer X."

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Robert Plant Recording Album With Buddy Miller

Led Zeppelin veteran Robert Plant is recording an album for release later this year which is being produced by Americana singer/songwriter Buddy Miller. The word leaked out earlier today in Bristol, Tennessee's Herald Courier as part of an article on songwriter and instrumentalist Darell Scott.

Scott is quoted in the article as saying “Those two-plus weeks were some of the most memorable times I’ve ever had in the studio. The number-one thing is that Robert loves music. You think they’re posing and just getting through it, but I was humbled with how Robert Plant loved the music – old country, blues, rockabilly.”

While the actual contents of the album are not known, the article mentions that Plant recorded the traditional song Cindy.

Plant will be performing February 25 at London's famed Abbey Road Studios with a 72-voice choir and American singer/songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman. The concert is for the charity Cancer Research UK.

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The Apples In Stereo Announce New Album In Their New Musical Scale

On April 20th, studio obsessed indie-pop band The Apples in Stereo will unleash the cosmic happiness that is "Travellers in Space and Time" (Yep Roc/Simian/Elephant 6). And on April 16, the band kicks off a US tour in support of the album.

Continuing the tradition of curating support acts on their tours, The Apples will be joined on the road by New Orleans band Generationals (Park the Van) and Athens band Laminated Cat who recently released their debut album "Umbrella Weather" through Garden Gate Records.

"We choose bands to tour with based on who we want to listen to every single night, and who we want to turn other people on to," enthuses The Apples' Robert Schneider. "The Generationals are a fantastic band with strong songs and interesting productions - plus we have the Louisiana connection going on, with my having grown up in Ruston. Laminated Cat are the best young psychedelic band in the world, in my opinion - one of my favorite bands, beautiful and strange, like Syd Barrett riding on the Olivia Tremor Control. This tour is going to be awesome!"

As some of you may already be aware, Schneider has invented a new musical scale called the Non-Pythagorean Musical Scale. The scale was first included on the band's last studio album, "New Magnetic Wonder." To expand upon it, "Travellers in Space and Time," includes "C.P.U.," the first pop song ever written with this new scale.

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Bonnaroo Announces 2010 Lineup

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The ninth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 10 - 13 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2010 lineup will total over 125 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days. Tickets are on sale now exclusively at bonnaroo.com.

Perhaps bringing you the most diverse and ambitious lineup to date, the 2010 event draws world-class acts from a staggering range of musical worlds. This year the festival features the Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Weezer, Flaming Lips performing Dark Side Of The Moon, The Dead Weather, Phoenix, John Fogerty, Jimmy Cliff, Tenacious D, Zac Brown Band, Avett Brothers, Norah Jones, LCD Soundsystem, Tori Amos, The National, Jeff Beck, Michael Franti, Against Me!, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Baaba Maal, The Melvins, Thievery Corporation to name but a small portion of the deep lineup. Wonder's Bonnaroo performance marks a rare festival appearance for the legend, whose illustrious songbook continues to be as influential and significant today as ever. Bonnaroo veterans Kings of Leon are the first band in the history of the festival to start on a tent stage and work their way up to the coveted headlining slot. They were first booked to play a tent stage early in the day in 2004. They have gone on to perform at Bonnaroo several times, each appearance bigger than the last. This will be one of the very few appearances the band will make in 2010.

The largest and most revered music and camping event in the country, Bonnaroo has elevated the American rock festival to an unprecedented level. As the only round-the-clock major US music festival, Bonnaroo packs an unparalleled amount of entertainment options into its four days. The event has offered its attendees the amenities and community spirit of a small city, with 24 hours of activities including a comedy theater, cinema festival, jazz club, silent disco, arcade, Internet cafés, restaurants, yoga classes and hundreds of high quality craft vendors. Since its inception, Bonnaroo swiftly earned its status as the country's premier music and arts event. The Wall Street Journal called Bonnaroo "one of rock's best festivals," continuing to hail that the 2009 lineup "fairly bursts with some of the most gifted acts in rock and pop." Entertainment Weekly called it "the best of all sonic worlds," while the New York Times said, "Bonnaroo's very loose mandate - and a wise one for any festival - is to choose performers who deliver in a live performance, with current hits and studio expertise as lower priorities. One of the pleasures of the festival is that it defies narrowcasting: It's not an Americana festival, an indie-rock festival, a gathering of 2008-9 hitmakers or anything but what its producers and, presumably, ticket-buyers are happy to hear." Rolling Stone called Bonnaroo "one of the 50 moments to change the history of rock and roll."

Once again, Bonnaroo has created a couple of unique ticketing options for its fans. The festival is offering a special payment plan in whichtickets will be available for five (5) payments of $50.00 plus applicable fees. In addition, fans will have the option to purchase a Bonnaroo Green Ticket that will help to support the development and implementation of sustainable improvements at the festival for years to come. Festival organizers are constantly looking for ways to be aggressive with mitigating the event's environmental impact and raising awareness about green issues.

As part of Fuse's three-year deal with Bonnaroo, the network will be back as the exclusive television partner of the festival. Fuse will be reporting live from Bonnaroo throughout the weekend and will air a special, featuring interviews with the hottest bands and performances from this year's star-studded lineup.

2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists:

•Dave Matthews Band
•Kings of Leon
•Stevie Wonder
•Jay-Z
•Tenacious D
•Weezer
•The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform "Dark Side of the Moon"
•The Dead Weather
•Damian Marley & Nas
•Phoenix
•Norah Jones
•Michael Franti & Spearhead
•John Fogerty
•Regina Spektor
•Jimmy Cliff
•LCD Soundsystem
•The Avett Brothers
•Thievery Corporation
•Rise Against
•Tori Amos
•The National
•Zac Brown Band
•Les Claypool
•John Prine
•The Black Keys
•Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers
•Jeff Beck
•Dropkick Murphys
•She & Him
•Against Me!
•The Disco Biscuits
•Daryl Hall & Chromeo
•Jamey Johnson
•Clutch
•Bassnectar
•Kid Cudi
•Baaba Maal
•Kris Kristofferson
•Medeski Martin & Wood
•The xx
•GWAR
•Dan Deacon Ensemble
•Tinariwen
•Wale
•Deadmau5
•The Melvins
•Gaslight Anthem
•Miike Snow
•Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
•Dr. Dog
•They Might Be Giants
•Punch Brothers
•Isis
•Blitzen Trapper
•Blues Traveler
•Miranda Lambert
•Calexico
•OK Go
•Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
•Martin Sexton
•Lotus
•Baroness
•Dave Rawlings Machine
•Mayer Hawthorne and the County
•Japandroids
•Jay Electronica
•Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
•Ingrid Michaelson
•The Dodos
•Manchester Orchestra
•The Temper Trap
•Cross Canadian Ragweed
•Big Sam's Funky Nation
•Carolina Chocolate Drops
•Tokyo Police Club
•The Entrance Band
•Local Natives
•Brandi Carlile
•Mumford & Sons
•Rebelution
•Diane Birch
•Monte Montgomery
•Julia Nunes
•The Postelles
•Lucero
•Here We Go Magic
•Hot Rize
•Neon Indian
•B.O.B
•Needtobreathe