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Music News

Lolla 2015

LOLLAPALOOZA: Expanding the Empire

 

Perry Farrell and his concert promoting partners are adding another country to the Lollapalooza empire.

 

Farrell and company have announced that they're launching a Lollapalooza Colombia in the city of Bogota in the fall of 2016. This means that next year the festival will mark its 25th anniversary in Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and the city where it was relaunched as a destination event, Chicago.

 

Metallica, Paul McCartney and Florence + the Machine are the headline acts at Lollapalooza this weekend at Chicago's Grant Park.

 

The sets by Metallica, Alabama Shakes, Alt-J, Walk the Moon, Of Monsters and Men and others will be be streamed live by RedBull.tv. Check out the full schedule at Lollapalooza.com.

 

On Friday, the festival will present McCartney, Alt-J, Alabama Shakes, Gary Clark Junior, The War on Drugs, Father John Misty, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, James Bay and Borns.

 

Saturday's lineup promises Metallica, Sam Smith, Walk the Moon, Death From Above 1979, Delta Spirit and Catfish and the Bottlemen.

 

Lolla 2015 winds up Sunday with Florence + the Machine, Of Monsters and Men, TV On The Radio, Twenty One Pilots, Lord Huron and George Ezra.

 

NIRVANA: Bonus Song in Heck Re-release
 
Nirvana fans have a reason to go see Montage of Heck when it returns to theaters on August 7th -- even if they've already seen the controversial documentary on HBO.
 

 

Director Brett Morgen says he added an unreleased Kurt Cobain demo to the film. He tells Billboard that the insertion of the untitled track doesn't alter the original cut of the film and that he won't reveal where the song is in the film "because I don't want to get people out there bootlegging it on their cell phones."
 
GARY CLARK JR.: Feeling Sonny on New Album
 
Gary Clark Junior will release his second major-label studio album, The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, on September 11th.
 
Clark played most of the instruments on the album, with backing vocals by his sisters Shawn and Savannah Clark. Fans who pre-order Sonny Boy Slim from Clark's website starting today get an immediate download of the tracks "The Healin" and "Grinder."
 
Clark has also posted a mini-documentary about the making of the album on YouTube.
 
 
 
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, ALT-J: Auction to Help Coastal Areas

 

 

Linkin Park, Alt-J, Florence + the Machine and Evanescence have donated items to an auction to save the Mexican coastline.

 

The Charity Buzz online auction is running now through August 12th and all funds raised will go to Music for Relief's ocean project in partnership with WildCoast to conserve 61 miles of mangroves -- groups of trees that grow in coastline sediment -- in Magdalena Bay in Baja California, Mexico.

 

The best item up for bids -- at least in the eyes of Linkin Park fans -- is Chester Bennington's boot cast, with artwork by Mike Shinoda. Bennington broke his ankle back in January while playing basketball,

forcing Linkin Park to cancel most of their North American tour.

 

RADIOHEAD: So They're Doing the Bond Theme?

 

Radiohead has emerged as a new dark horse in the guessing game of who will record the next James Bond theme.

 

Speculation and betting in England over the past two months has focused on Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding, but then some anonymous person placed a $23,000 bet -- with 10 to 1 odds -- on Radiohead to doing the title song to Spectre.

 

Rupert Adams, a spokesman for the bookmaker William Hill, told NME, "There seem to be all kinds of rumors and the plot has had more twists and turns than a classic Bond tale, but surely nobody risks [$23,000] on a hunch."

 

We should know the answer within a couple of months, as Spectre is due to open November 6th.

 

OF MONSTERS AND MEN: We Want Your Video!

 

Of Monsters and Men want fans to help in crafting a new video.

The band is holding a contest to make a lyric video for "Empire" from Beneath the Skin. Fans are encouraged to "submit a public YouTube video of yourself acting out the song and we'll edit them together in one big epic lyric video.

 

Don't forget to be expressive & if you can, film yours against a white or black background." Submission will be taken through August 12th at OfMonstersAndMen.com/lyricvideo.

 

YOKO ONO, DEATH CAB: Collaborators

 

Yoko Ono has lined up an impressive list of collaborators for her next project.

Yes I'm a Witch Too will be released on January 22nd, 2016 with assists from Death Cab for Cutie, Peter Bjorn and John, Portugal the Man, her son Sean Lennon and veteran producer Jack Douglas. This new album is a sequel to Ono's 2007 album of collaborations, Yes I'm a Witch.

 

GRATEFUL DEAD: Weir's Next Move

 

Bob Weir has his first post-Grateful Dead reunion project lined up.
Weir has been working with songwriter Josh Ritter on an album of songs about cowboys. The pair have written a few songs so far and

 

Weir tells Relix he's also going to draft his longtime collaborator John Barlow to pitch in with some lyrics too. Weir has been recording in New York and San Francisco, with members of indie acts The National and The Walkmen pitching in. No release date has been announced yet for the project.

 

U2: Innocence on TV

 

An HBO camera crew has been traveling with U2's Innocence + Experience tour, with the result being a behind-the-scenes documentary that will premiere on the cable network November 7th. On top of that, HBO will air a live U2 concert from Paris on November 14th.

The seventh and eighth shows of U2's stand at Madison Square Garden in New York are tonight (Thursday) and tomorrow, which concludes the North American leg of the tour.

 

ROLLING STONES: DANG!

 

Talk about getting some satisfaction: The Rolling Stones' Zip Code tour proved that they're still kings of making money on the road.

 

Billboard estimates the trek grossed $109.7 million from 629,000 tickets sold at 14 concerts. (The figures from the band's 15th and final date, at the Quebec City Summer Festival on July 15th, have not been reported.) The Stones' last three tours -- 50 & Counting in 2012 and 2013, 14 on Fire and Zip Code -- grossed a total of $401 million with 1.8 million fans showing up at 62 shows.

 

MORRISSEY: Claims He Was Groped at SF Airport
 
It sometimes seems like trouble follows Morrissey around. Well, make no mistake, this latest incident is troubling -- if it's true and if it's not.
 
The former Smiths singer writes on his True to You fan page that he had his crotch groped by a TSA officer after he went though screening at San Francisco International Airport on Monday. He says he was traveling with two members of British Airways Special Services, who were "horrified at the sexual attack and suggested that [he] lodge a complaint." He was hesitant to do so, but they assured him it was worthwhile.
 
He then claims to have confronted the officer and accused him of an illegal action, to which the officer responded three times, "That's just your opinion." Morrissey wrote that he expected his complaint would "obviously be unread or ignored" even though he also pointed out that it was probably all caught on security cameras.
 
He was right about that, but wrong that it would be unread or ignored, since the media now have it. In response to a request from Billboard, the TSA said it had reviewed the footage and determined "that the officer followed standard operating procedures in the screening of this individual."

 

IN OTHER NEWS
 
Robert Plant has taken the iPhone movie-making app and put together another very short film highlighting his summer tour with his band, The Sensational Space Shifters. You can see it on his website, RobertPlant.com.
 
Elton John celebrated 25 years of sobriety on Wednesday.
 
Leon Bridges, Of Monsters and Men, Jackie Greene and Joy Williams will all take part in programs at the Grammy Museum in L.A. during August. Bridges will be there on the 3rd, Of Monsters... on the 10th, Greene on the 11th and Williams on the 19th. 
 
Record producer and engineer Al Schmitt will get the 2,557th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 15th. Joe Walsh will speak at the ceremony. Schmitt has worked with Paul McCartney, Jefferson Airplane, Jackson Browne, Neil Young ,Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and many others.
 
The Brian Setzer Orchestra will release Rockin’ Rudolph, its third Christmas album overall and first in a decade, on October 16th. A limited deluxe edition will also be available via PledgeMusic.com.