The Police and Smashing Pumpkins are headlining the 2007 Virgin Festival on August 4th and 5th at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore, MD but who else will be playing? Only some of the premiere names in rock, hip-hop and electronica.  A few of the most noteworthy acts include 311, Wu Tang Clan, Chris Cornell, Modest Mouse, Beastie Boys, Incubus, Ben Harper, Cheap Trick and Fountains of Wayne. Not too shabby… the entire lineup can be found below.
 Tickets go on sale at 10am on May 5th and cost $175 for the two-day tickets; VIP tickets are $450. If the show isn’t sold out by May 19th, then they will begin selling single day tickets for $97.50. A single day VIP ticket, if made available, will cost $250.
The Virgin Festival chose Baltimore as it’s first United States tour location in 2006 and after a tremendous first showing, Richard Bronson’s brainchild is giving the city a second go. Last year’s event headlined The Who and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and recieved a rave review by music fans who traveled cross country to get in the gates that are also home to one of the Triple Crown Horse Races - Preakness.
This concert is bound to be one of the hottest of the Summer, so leave your calender open on May 5th and pick up a few extra VIP tickets for us!
Ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist, James Iha, has announced that he has no intention of touring with the band this spring/summer.
Iha claims he is too busy writing music for his solo project and working on his indie record label, Scratchie Records. He even told Rolling Stone, “I haven’t spoken to Billy [Corgan] in years.”
The only members on board for the reunion so far are singer Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. It does not appear that guitarist Iha or bassist Wretzky will join.
However, temporary member Melissa Auf der Maur has stated, “My services are always there to play my favorite songs. If D’arcy [Wretzky] is not available, I’m always happy to be second in line.”
With Iha’s announcement, a few questions are brought up.
How can Corgan and Chamberlain expect this to fly if they don’t follow up and try to convince Iha or D’arcy Wretzky?
Does this mean the upcoming Smashing Pumpkins album Zeitgeist will only feature Corgan and Chamberlain? Disappointing.
Will they delay the reunion concert until all the members have time and are up for it?
Only time will tell..
What do you think about this “reunion”?
Chris Cornell has announced his first UK concert, which will be in support of his forthcoming solo album ‘Carry On’ due in stores April 30 (May 21 in UK). The concert is on May 16 at London’s Astoria, and you can buy tickets here, on ents24.com
What songs he will play: It is almost certain Chris will play plenty of the new songs from ‘Carry On’. He will probably play a few Soundgarden favorites, and it is rumored he will play some Temple of the Dog.
Also recently announced was “Arms Around Your Love”, the title of the first single off the new album.
Comedians often do impersonations of celebrities and politicians. But in this rare clip, comedian Aries Spears does a spits a flawless freestyle in the voices of LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, DMX and Jay-Z over the M.O.P instrumental “Ante Up”! Amazing stuff…
The announcement that Rage Against the Machine would reunite for one time (and one time only) for the Coachella concert sparked huge demand for tickets. The tickets sold out rapidly and the already hefty prices are seeing ridiculous resale value for ticket scalpers, resellers and auctioneers.  A quick glance at ebay showed one 3-day pass about to sell for $465 - with a few last minute bidders likely lurking.
While Coachella tickets themselves are a hot commodity, this particular surge is clearly linked with the hype of Rage Against The Machine uniting - and for good reason. Not only was Rage one of the most prolific sound makers of the 1990s, but the lyrics oozed with passion (often political) and the live shows left every ounce of energy on the stage.  The incredible response for this “one show wonder” is partially what prevented this from being only one show.
Rage Against the Machine will join Wu-Tang Clan for shows in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco as part of the “Rock The Bells” Hip Hop Festival. The LA Times announced that part of this reunion of reunions was politically driven, uniting young people against the War in Iraq and President Bush. Their political agenda isn’t the only similarity - the rebellious sound of both groups has gained the loyalty and respect from  the underground community while appealing to the masses - a formula rarely achieved in the pop culture so which so many artists’ styles succumb.
The news also comes amidst the exciting announcement that this summer, Wu-Tang Clan will release their first album since 2001.
Tool, the White Stripes, and Widespread Panic will join the reunited Police at the 2007 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival to be held June 14-17 in Manchester, Tenn. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon through BonnarooTickets.com.
Past Bonnaroo festivals have been well received, featuring artists such as Dave Matthews Band and Cypress Hill. This year, it seems to be more unique than ever, with over 75 bands scheduled to play over four days. For six years, Bonnaroo has brought together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. The multi-stage festival is held on a beautiful 700-acre farm in Coffee County, Tennesee, near Manchester.
Playing at Bonnaroo will be Wilco, the Nightwatchman (Tom Morello’s solo project), the Flaming Lips, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Manu Chao, String Cheese Incident, Franz Ferdinand, the Roots, Kings Of Leon, the Black Keys, Wolfmother, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Ziggy Marley, the Decemberists, Spoon, the Hold Steady, Feist, Tortoise, Cold War Kids, the National, Annuals and Apollo Sunshine, DJ Shadow, Sasha & Digweed, Hot Chip, Girl Talk, Damien Rice, Dierks Bentley, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Regina Spektor, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Keller Williams, Fountains of Wayne, Hot Tuna, STS9, Galactic, North Mississippi Allstars, Ralph Stanley, Richard Thompson, Mavis Staples, T-Bone Burnett, Brazilian Girls, the Slip, and Rodrigo y Gabriela.
Rage Against the Machine, after a seven year absence, is finally back for one more show, headlining at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Coachella ‘07 will be a 3-day event on April 27-29 in Indio, California. Rage Against The Machine co-headlined the first Coachella with Tool in 1999. The 2007 festival also features bands Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, Willie Nelson, the Roots, and Arctic Monkeys. Tickets are on sale now on ticketmaster.
The band consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. Rage Against the Machine’s original break-up was because of creative differences between de la Rocha and his bandmates. After Rage Against the Machine’s breakup, the band formed Audioslave by replacing Zack de la Rocha with ex-Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell. Audioslave’s latest album Revelations was released September 5. 2006, but there are rumors that it will be their last.
The bigger acts of the show will be Arcade Fire, Interpol, Manu Chao, the Decemberists, Ghostface Killah, Fountains of Wayne, Sonic Youth, Crowded House, Air, Tiësto, Kings of Leon, Jarvis Cocker, the Good, the Bad and the Queen, Hot Chip, El-P, Peeping Tom, the Happy Mondays, Travis, Placebo, Kaiser Chiefs, Faithless and LCD Soundsystem.
Also playing will be DJ Shadow, Satellite Party, Stephen Marley featuring Jr. Gong, Konono No. 1, Nickel Creek, the Black Keys, the New Pornographers, Rufus Wainwright, the Rapture, !!!, Richie Hawtin, Explosions In The Sky, Junior Boys, Sparklehorse, Soulwax, the Kooks, Felix Da Housecat, Blonde Redhead, Damien Rice, Lupe Fiasco, Jose Gonzales, Brazilian Girls, Regina Spektor, Ozomatli, Peaches, Cornelius, We Are Scientists, Amy Winehouse, the Comedians of Comedy, Spank Rock, Tapes ‘n Tapes, the Klaxons, Girl Talk, CSS, the Coup, Against Me, Teddybears, Andrew Bird and Peter, Bjorn, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Lily Allen, Roky Erickson, Paul Van Dyk, Gotan Project, and Silversun Pickups.
Simply because of Rage Against the Machine, the upcoming Coachella Music Festival should mark one of the best concerts of 2007. Buy your tickets now, because they are goin’ fast!!
