Wednesday

The Specials, whose ska music heyday 30 years ago coincided with a grimly familiar backdrop of economic hardship and unemployment in Britain, are to embark on a 13-date reunion tour of the country.more

Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal will be doing shows over the summer with Lita Ford, playing guitar with Lita's backing group alongside Bumblefoot (the band) drummer Dennis Leeflang.more. Guess that Chinese Democracy tour isn't happening after all.
A Toni Braxton impersonator was acquitted Tuesday of trying to fool paying customers into thinking she's the real thing. Judge Robby Rodrigues said it wasn't clear whether Trina Johnson-Finn knew that concert-goers had been led to believe she was really Toni Braxton.more

Late-1980s pop artist Henry Lee Summer has a court's permission to enter drug rehabilitation in Nashville, Tenn., while he awaits a trial in Indianapolis on methamphetamine possession and other charges.more

Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson will give the keynote speech at the UCLA College of Letters and Science commencement this Friday, June 12. Delson replaces actor James Franco, who recently opted out of the appearance.more

When SPIN.com caught up with Mark Hoppus recently, the Blink-182 bassist/vocalist said the reunited band plans to play new material on their summer tour. And now drummer Travis Barker has come forward to detail the new songs -- which, he says, are "heavy"! more

The Black Crowes will release their new studio CD, "Before the Frost..." , on September 1, 2009. A second album, titled "…Until The Freeze", will be given away for free exclusively through a unique download code which is included in "Before The Frost…" as a "thank you" to their fans for two decades of continued support.more

This week Soft Focus heads to Chicago to talk with Steve Albini the city's most famous analog recording engineer about pretension, Pop Tarts, the American taste, the MP3 and blogs, and how 50% of a band's success depends on the drummer. Watch Steve Albini on Soft Focus!

Grammy-winner Natalie Cole on Tuesday said she will return to singing in September following a recent kidney transplant, and she set her first performance in the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.more

The latest episode of Talking Metal, contains an interview host Mark Strigl and special guest VH1 metal expert, Eric Bohnenstiel, conducted with Biff Byford of Saxon. Topics include "Metalhead," "Into the Labyrinth," Charlie Bauerfeind, Metallica, Yorkshire, the Rock Hard Festival, Byford's book, and Grand Theft Auto.listen here

Alan Jackson plans to celebrate 20 years in the music business with free show more

Moonspell and Samael will team up for the "Night Eternal Above America" tour this fall with support from Book Of Black Earth and Secrets Of The Moon.dates

New Orleans blues singer Marva Wright has been hospitalized after a stroke. Relatives say the 61-year-old Wright had just finished her regular gig at the CoCo Club on Bourbon Street early Saturday when paramedics were called because the singer wasn't feeling well and had slurred speech.more

iTunes has selected The Sippy Cups' new single "Seven Is The New 14" to be their first ever Discover Download in the Children's genre. The song will be available free from the iTunes Store for one week beginning today. Additionally, The Sippy Cups' new album, THE TIME MACHINE, is now available for early purchase, exclusively at the iTunes Store. (Official release date through all retail outlets is June 16.)

The new video for Pop Evil's "100 in a 55" can be found here

Speaking of evil pop: Britney Spears will tour Australia for the first time in her career, the U.S. pop singer said in a statement posted on her Web site on Tuesday.more

Seeker Destroyer has dropped off their forthcoming tour with Continuance and Your Memorial. The group has issued the following: "We had some problems with our schedule and finances as well." more