Accessibility links

Breaking News

Jackson Tribute Planned for June 26; Eminem Releases Much-Anticipated Album


On June 26, the Jackson Family Foundation will host an event to mark the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death (he died June 25, 2009). "Forever Michael" will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California and will be open to the public. VoicePlate Productions, which is producing the tribute, says, "The vision is to bring together Michael Jackson family members, celebrities, fans, supporters and the community to celebrate and honor his legacy." A portion of the proceeds will go to Michael's favorite charities. Tickets are being sold at www.VoicePlate.com/MJ.

Joe Jackson blames wife for Michael's death

Michael Jackson's father, 80-year-old Joe Jackson, was recently interviewed by the British newspaper News of the World. He revealed that he blames his wife Katherine for Michael's death. Joe told the newspaper that while they were at the mortuary, he said to Katherine, "If you had listened to me Michael would be living now!" Joe added, "I kept thinking about the times I had stood in front of her saying something was wrong. Katherine didn't say a word - I had to get away from her. If she'd done what I asked, Michael would be here today. I am incensed with her. She could have made a difference. Mothers are always the [person] their sons look up to. I wanted her to step in and look at Mike a bit, keep him cheered up. She didn't want to do that because she was afraid that she was invading his privacy."

Brad Paisley's American Saturday Night album
Brad Paisley's American Saturday Night album

CMA Hosts Sold-Out Event

The Country Music Association made history at this year's 39th annual CMA Music Festival, which was held June 10-13 in Nashville. For the first time, all of the single-night concert tickets and the four-day passes for LP Field sold out. LP Field is a NFL stadium, which holds 49,000 people. Brad Paisley's concert closed the festival on June 13. Referring to the recent Middle Tennessee floods, Brad said, "This is more important than ever obviously, being what we've just been through as a city. When you drive around and go downtown and see this stadium and the surrounding area, it almost looks like nothing ever happened already. That was what I think we wanted to accomplish as a city. So that's a big deal." The Country Music Association has already announced the dates for next year's CMA Music Festival. The 40th anniversary event will take place June 9-12, 2011 in Nashville.


McBride, Kid Rock, T.I. team up on new song

At the 2009 CMA Music Festival, Country star Martina McBride teamed with Kid Rock to sing a duet. That led him to invite Martina to record a track called "Care" with him and rapper T.I. that will appear on his upcoming album. Martina says, "Kid Rock sings the first verse, I sing the second verse and T.I. raps the third verse. Crazy, but it's really uplifting and it's a cool melody and it feels good. It makes sense." Kid Rock's new album, Born Free, will be released on September 7.

Eminem's Recovery album
Eminem's Recovery album


Eminem releases 'Recovery'

Rapper Eminem's much-anticipated new album, Recovery, will be released on June 22. Guests include Pink, Lil Wayne, Kobe and Rihanna. The album's lead single, "Not Afraid," recently debuted at Number One on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. It's only the second rap song to enter that chart in the top spot.

New Album Releases June 22

"Can't Be Tamed" - Miley Cyrus
"Scream" - Ozzy Osbourne
"How I Got Over" - The Roots
"The Sellout" - Macy Gray
"Getting Dressed In The Dark" - Jaron and the Long Road To Love
"We Walk This Road" - Robert Randolph & The Family Band
"Memphis Blues" - Cyndi Lauper
"Venom" - Chamillionaire
"The Imagine Project" - Herbie Hancock
"Roadsongs" - The Derek Trucks Band
"Ridin' Solo" - Keith Sweat
"We Are Born" - Sia
"Outlaw" - Mark Chesnutt
"Tattoos & Tequila" - Vince Neil
"Homeland" - Laurie Anderson
"Boxer" - Kele
"In Session" - Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan



Musical Events, Festivals Benefits

On June 22, husband-and-wife Country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will hold their "Nashville Rising" benefit concert. The show will raise money for flood relief efforts in Middle Tennessee. Signed on to perform at the event are Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and many others. Tim and Faith released a statement that said, "The damage that we've seen to people's homes and the effect that the flooding has had on their lives is unimaginable. But we've seen the spirit of our community firsthand, as volunteers, church groups and our local business leaders rally to help. We all need to continue to support those in need in any way that we can, and for that reason we could not be more appreciative to all of the artists, the companies and the people behind the scenes who collectively will make June 22 a truly special night."

The Hard Rock Calling Festival will take place June 25-27 at London's Hyde Park. Headliners include Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam and Paul McCartney. Also performing are Corinne Bailey Rae, James Morrison, Melissa Etheridge, Mary Mary, Alejandro Escovedo and Jamiroquai, among many others.

Eric Clapton's third Crossroads Guitar Festival will be held in Chicago, Illinois on June 26. The Allman Brothers, John Mayer, B.B. King and Sheryl Crow are among more than 25 artists appearing at this year's day-long event. Proceeds will benefit Clapton's Crossroads Centre, an addiction treatment and education facility located in Antigua.

Lionel Richie will kick off the 31st annual Montreal International Jazz Festival on June 25. This year's festival will feature more than 650 shows by 3,000 musicians from 30 countries. Also scheduled to headline concerts are the Steve Miller Band, the Doobie Brothers, Boz Scaggs and The Manhattan Transfer, among others. The festival wraps up on July 6.

XS
SM
MD
LG