Stone Temple Pilots/ex-Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland and his solo band have announced a string of solo dates in North America. Grab them here

A judge sentenced three men convicted of murdering an internationally known South African reggae star in a botched carjacking to life in prison Thursday. Lucky Dube's 2007 killing drew worldwide attention to crime in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest murder rates. The 43-year-old singer was gunned down in his car in front of his children in suburban Johannesburg.more

Malawi's child welfare minister is backing Madonna's bid to adopt a second child from the impoverished southern African country. more A Malawian judge could rule Friday on Madonna's request to adopt a second child from the impoverished southern African country amid criticism from some activists who say the little girl would be best off with relatives in Malawi.more

Blur have recruited Klaxons and Florence And The Machine for their comeback gig in Manchester. The band will play the city's MEN Arena on June 26, where they'll be joined by the two acts. more

B.B. King, Herbie Hancock, Black Eyed Peas and Lauryn Hill are booked to perform at the Montreux Jazz festival, one of Europe's most prestigious summer music events, organizers said on Thursday.more

The Jayhawks, the lauded Americana band originally from Minneapolis, are reuniting their mid-90s line-up for a pair of summer shows, with plans to play together more next year. The band is set to headline the Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis on July 10, marking the first time the Jayhawks will play with both principals Gary Louris and Mark Olson in the United States in over a decade.more

Death Angel will release their first ever live DVD this year entitled, 'Sonic German Beatdown.' The DVD contains two concerts filmed live in Germany, as well as two video clips and a bonus live CD.more

Rise Against have announced plans to release a limited edition seven inch via Fat Wreck Chords, due out this summer.more

Soon-to-be Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Beck will make his first ever festival appearance at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, as part of the massive lineup for the 30th anniversary of the summer concert eventmore

Defunct hardcore/metal band Until The End has resurfaced with, if nothing else, plans for a June reunion show.more

AC Entertainment, co-creator of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., has acquired Nashville-based concert promotion company Great Big Shows.more

U.S. album sales in March 2009 were 17.9% lower than the same period in 2008 and 29.8% lower than the same week in 2007, according to SoundScan information available at Billboard.bizmore

Nightwish will play a special homecoming show at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki on September 19 to mark the end of the band's colossal "Dark Passion Play" world tour. Support at the gig will come from Apocalyptica.more

Daath is about to unleash their brand-new album 'The Concealers', which will be released on April 20th (Europe) and April 21st (US). more

Anvil are strongly rumored to have landed the opening slot on at least some of the shows on the upcoming Judas Priest / Whitesnake North American tour. more

Wanna Laugh? Amazon's "editors" have tossed together their list of "100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time." That comedy is here It's pretty funny but not nearly as hilarious as their "100 Greatest Debut Albums" list. Hint: Boyz II Men made that list but the Beatles didn't. Oops. And we won't even try and figure out how Kanye West placed higher than The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, The Doors, Radiohead or John Coltrane. And they sort of left the biggest selling debut album of all time off the list as well. Surely that one is more important than anything by Sade or Ludacris? Maybe it was guest edited by the folks at Rolling Stone? Get a load of that joke - here

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