Metallica Announces 2012 Festival Line-up

Today Metallica announced their music festival, Orion Music + More. Slated for June 23rd and 24th in Atlantic City, NJ, the Metallica boys hand-picked some of their favorite artists to support the band for two days. Artists announced so far include:

Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Cage The Elephant, Fucked Up, Best Coast, Hot Snakes, Titus Andronicus, Gary Clark Jr., Lucero, Roky Erickson, The Black Angels, The Sword, A Place to Bury Strangers, Liturgy

Metallica is slated to headline both nights, and will play the Black Album in its entirety on one of the nights for the first time ever in the U.S. The festival will also have a lifestyle element showcasing Metallica member's individual interests, allowing fans to interact directly with each of them as well.

"We've had the idea of doing our own lifestyle festival with lots of diverse music and fun and games for years," said Lars Ulrich. "Finally this year all the practical ducks lined up in a row, and we are beyond psyched to bring Orion to our fans, friends and the curious. After the most incredible of weeks ever in December 2011 celebrating our 30th anniversary at the Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, bringing the spirit of that week, the looseness of that week, the possibilities of that week, the fan interactive elements of that week, and the (fill in your own blank here) of that week to a festival setting is so exciting we can hardly contain ourselves."

For more festival info

Original Source Guitar Squid

Black Sabbath have dropped a monster bombshell today, posting a HUGE hint of a reunion announcement coming on 11th November 2011.

Today Black Sabbath's official website, www.blacksabbath.com, unveiled a huge splash page displaying the dates “11.11.11”. Could this signal THAT announcement Heavy Metal fans have been waiting oh so long for...the reunion of Black Sabbath's original line-up.

Speculation that the original Black Sabbath line-up is to reform has circulated for years, however, after Tony Iommi recently broke the news that the band have already had a rehearsal session together, we all started to wonder if the Black Sabbath reunion was actually going to happen!

Earlier this week Stereoboard reported that guitar legend Tony Iommi has a load of material ready and waiting for a new album. Further fuelling the rumors that a Black Sabbath reunion is imminent, Iommi told VH1 Radio Network he has “a lot of stuff” and “plenty of ideas”.

“I’m writing all the time. I’ve got a lot of stuff. I’ve got a studio at home. I just go in and play for a bit, put something down. My engineer is good; he’ll program up drums and whatever else. So I’ve got plenty of ideas for whatever thing I want to use them as.”

The possible comeback would involve the four original members of Sabbath, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, playing together once again.

What’s more for Sabbath fans is that the reunion is shaping up so that if it happens, it could very well result in a headline slot at the prestigious Sonisphere or Download festivals in 2012 – but we’ll have to wait and see on that one too.

For the first time in its 25-year history, Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit Concert will be broadcast live. The event, taking place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, can be viewed by anyone with an Internet connection (via the Bridge School’s Facebook and YouTube pages), according to Ultimate Classic Rock.

The entire show on Saturday, October 22, will be featured. Performers include Young (of course), Eddie Vedder, Carlos Santana (with Los Invisibles), Arcade Fire, Dave Matthews, Norah Jones, Mumford and Sons and assorted “special guests.” The broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern/4:30 p.m. Pacific. The second day of the event (Sunday, October 23) will not be broadcast.

Neil and his wife Pegi Young began hosting the charity shows in 1986. Proceeds benefit the school, which helps children who are disabled and/or have communication difficulties.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Neil Young’s first Bridge School Benefit Concert, and the two-day event will be filled with some of music’s biggest names. On the bill: Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Eddie Vedder, Dave Matthews, Carlos Santana, Beck, Mumford and Sons and Diana Krall, according to Spinner.

This year’s Bridge School Benefit shows will take place October 22-23 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. Tickets go on sale on September 16. Proceeds will benefit the school, which helps children who are disabled and/or have communication difficulties.

The first Bridge School concert was held in 1986 and featured Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Crosby, Stills and Nash. The show was taken place every year since, with the exception of 1987, when it was cancelled. Last year’s event included the reunion of Buffalo Springfield, after more than 40 years apart.

Pearl Jam performing at Alpine Valley as part of Pearl Jam's Destination Weekend in East Troy, Wisconsin.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Toward the end of Pearl Jam's huge 20th-anniversary celebration on September 4th, Eddie Vedder returned to the stage alone with an acoustic guitar and began playing a sweet little tune he'd written just hours before. "Couldn’t have told me back then that it would someday be allowed to be so in love with life, as deeply as we are now," he sang, his voice full of genuine gratitude. "Never thought we would, never thought we could/So glad we made it/I’m so glad we made it/I’m so glad we made it to when it all got good."

Those words summed up the feel-good vibe at PJ20, a two-day lovefest that celebrated everything Pearl Jam has accomplished over the past two decades. Tens of thousands of devotees descended on East Troy, Wisconsin's famed Alpine Valley Music Theatre to spend their Labor Day weekend with the band. They came from all over the world, waving the flags of Japan, Mexico, Peru, Italy and other far-flung nations over their heads in the enormous outdoor amphitheater. They queued up all day to get a chance to see band artifacts housed in an on-site Pearl Jam museum, and they cheered their lungs out when their heroes took the stage.

Pearl Jam rewarded the faithful with two days and nights of top-notch guitar rock. The lineups for Saturday and Sunday were the same: Hand-picked openers including Glen Hansard, Joseph Arthur, Liam Finn, John Doe and thenewno2 played on two small side stages in the afternoon, followed by hard-charging performances from Mudhoney, Queens of the Stone Age and The Strokes on the main stage – all leading up to a killer three-hour Pearl Jam set each evening.

Each night also featured a previously unannounced Temple of the Dog mini-set in the middle of Pearl Jam's show. Twitter rumors beforehand had indicated that Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell might join the band to reunite their beloved pre-Pearl Jam project – and Cornell got possibly the loudest crowd reactions of the weekend each time he swaggered on stage and ripped through dusty 1991 classics like "Hunger Strike," "Say Hello 2 Heaven," "Call Me a Dog" and "Reach Down." But Pearl Jam gave the audience two very distinct experiences each night, completely switching up the set lists in their usual fashion.

After a long day of rain on Saturday, Pearl Jam opened their set with "Release," as super-pumped fans sang along to each and every word. After that they spent most of the night digging into rarely played deep cuts like 1998's "Push Me, Pull Me" and 2000's "In the Moonlight." Anyone who came to Alpine Valley on Saturday hoping to hear the big hits probably picked the wrong night. But the set list was surely a treat for the true believers who know every B-side and outtake by heart – and that description seemed to apply to most of the people in attendance. That said, the crowd absolutely lost it when they heard the opening lick of 1994 smash "Better Man," calling out the entire first verse and chorus while Vedder looked out in wide-eyed wonder over the teeming lawn. "[People said] this ain't gonna happen," he said of the band's 20-year milestone a bit later. "That it's a dream, against the odds. I'm glad we didn't listen. "

Special guests abounded on Saturday – the Strokes' Julian Casablancas wailing on "Not for You," Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme livening up "In the Moonlight," thenewno2's Dhani Harrison rocking out on "State of Love and Trust" and more. The biggest cameo of all, of course, came from Cornell. After Temple of the Dog's Saturday set, whose highlights included a cover of Mother Love Bone's "Stardog Champion" and a monumental Vedder-Cornell duet on "Hunger Strike" (watch video below), Pearl Jam returned for a cover-filled encore including the Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" and a rowdy spin through the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" with help from members of Mudhoney. "Let's do this again tomorrow!" Vedder said to close out the night.

Pearl Jam's members seemed to be everywhere on Sunday afternoon, when sunnier weather meant big audiences for the sidestage openers. PJ bassist Jeff Ament, drummer Matt Cameron and guitarist Mike McCready all came out to back Joseph Arthur on tunes including a strong new Ament-penned rocker called "When the Fire Burns" and Arthur's signature "In the Sun." A grinning Vedder popped up to play drums with Liam Finn, dashed off stage, then reappeared later to duet with Glen Hansard on "Falling Slowly," drawing packed crowds.

Music fans, be on the alert. Portugal. The Man’s van was stolen from Lollapalooza Sunday night. The 15-passenger red Ford 350 van was swiped from a parking lot near Grant Park. It was stacked to the brim with lots of the band’s gear.

The band has asked on Twitter for fans to be on the lookout for the red van with a black trailer attached. The vehicle has Alaska license plates, reading “FJH244.”

Among the stolen items are a Gibson acoustic guitar, an Epiphone banjo, along with myriad cymbals, drums, pedals and microphones.

If you hear anything or see the van, tweet at the band or post a comment here. See below for a photo of the vehicle and a list of the missing equipment along with serial numbers:

Missing equipment:
guitar Gretch White Falcon JT09031063
guitar Gretch 66’ Viking 106476
guitar Guild 59’ 19031
guitar Gibson Acoustic 61086001
bass guitar Fender 81’ Precision Special G 021206
uitar Fender Sonora Acoustic CC07045167
Banjo Epiphone 804120675
amp Vintage Ampeg SVT 400T TPHDEB0062
amp Fender 300 Pro Bass Amp CR-326822
amp 64’ Fender Super Reverb
amp Vintage Fender Blackface Bassman
pedal Boss NS2
pedal Boss NS2
pedal Ernie ball VPjr
pedal Boss TU2
pedal Boss TU2
pedal Boss TU2
pedal MXR distortion
pedal Dr. scientist reverberator
pedal Earth quaker dirt transmitter
pedal Electro harmonix holy grail
pedal Electro harmonix holy grail
pedal Lehle line selector
pedal Morely line selector
pedal Boss GE 7
pedal MXR phase 100
pedal MXR phase 100
pedal Vodoo lab tremolo
pedal Fender channel selector
pedal Electro harmonix micro pog
pedal Electro harmonix pog
pedal Greed Tone Distortion
pedal Colorsound Wah
pedal ZVEX Fuzz Factory
pedal Colorsound Overdriver
pedal Colorsound Overdriver
pedal Electro Harmonix Memory Boy
pedal Boss TR2
pedal Boss TR2
pedal Boss DD6
pedal Line 6 FM4
pedal Sansamp bass driver
pedal Boss ODB3
pedal Boss OC3
drum case maxline fridge 8962
amp case Maxline amp case 8558
guitar case Roadie
guitar case SKB acoustic case
drum C&C 26×14 kick
drum C&C 7×14 snare
drum C&C 14×9 rack tom
drum C&C 16×14 floor tom
drum C&C 18×16 floor tom
drum Noble and Cooley 14×5 snare
drum Pearl 14×5 brass snare
cymbal 14" Constantinople k hats
cymbal 21" sweet ride
cymbal 18" medium thin crash
cymbal 19" Paiste 2002 series crash
cymbal 13’ master sound Zildjian k hats
hardware DW throne 900 series
hardware DW boom cymbal stands x3
hardware Iron Cobra kick pedal
hardware DW Throne 900 series
hardware Iron Cobra Hat Stand
speaker vintage Fender 2×12
speaker vintage Fender 2×12
Speaker Fender 8×10 pro M1511393
Microphone sure SM58 x2
Microphone AKG D5
Microphone (2) Rode NT5 (Matched pair in case)
Microphone Shure Beta57a
Microphone Shure Beta58A
Camcorder Canon vixia HFS10
Scanner Canon 600E 0302B062
Mixer Alesis Multimix 8 USB 2.0
Ibanez UE-405
Orange Bass amp 200w tube
Fender Bass 1966 Mustang
Roland keyboard Vintage Juno 106
Roland keyboard Juno DI
Hamond Organ xk3
Electric piano Fender rhodes
Moog synth little fatty
Bass amp Fender combo
Fender guitar amp Fender 62’ Tremolux (Blonde)
Guitar amp Fender 78’ Silverface Twin Reverb
Guitar Nash T-63 Sunburst Telecaster w/ Bigsby (Medallion glued on)
pedal T. Rex Replica Delay
pedal boss TU2
pedal Electro Harmonix POG 2
pedal Fulltone Deja-Vibe 2 (Stereo) w/Pedal
pedal Fulltone Dual Drive
pedal voodoo labs power supply
iPod 160G
Fender guitar 1971 strat

Article Source

Charley Rogulewski for AOL

"We're the Arctic Monkeys from High Green, Sheffield, Australia," frontman Alex Turner announced from the Lollapalooza main stage Sunday evening. No, the Arctic Monkeys are not from Australia, and on Sunday the four-piece brought their native, bleak British weather to Lollapalooza 2011.

A torrential downpour blew over the festival grounds just before sunset flooding fields and leaving 90,000 festivalgoers needing a new pair of shoes come Monday morning. But, the Monkeys waited out the storm for 30 minutes and still got to play a 13-song set that included their quick punchy classics 'Teddy Picker,' 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' and 'Brianstorm' as a rainbow beamed above.

"Our next song is dedicated to Mother Nature." Turner told the crowd with a sarcastic laugh. "It's called 'She's Thunderstorms' everybody!" This wasn't the only moment in the Monkeys' set where music would coincide with the natural elements. Another would come at the end, but it was obvious that this evening Mother Nature was on the Arctic Monkeys' side.

The band's following has only gotten bigger in the US, a fact made apparent by the legions of soaked fans who waited out the monsoon to see them return for their second Lollapalooza appearance. "We like playing in the States," bassist Nick O'Malley told Spinner backstage. "It's nice to play smaller venues where you can connect more with the audience."

Five years after their buzzed-about debut, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not,' the band fled the British winter in flavor of California's warmer weather to record 'Suck It and See.' "We wanted to bring a little of sunshine into the album," O'Malley explained. The Monkeys played four new tracks off 'Suck It,' including the grungier, Nirvana-inspired single 'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair.' But the sun didn't shine 'til the very end of the band's 45-minute set, coincidentally during the manic riffs of 'When the Sun Goes Down,' turning the audience golden. "'Cause he's a scumbag, don't you know," Turner lamented into the mike before pausing to address the crowd. "Make some noise everybody! I said he's a scumbag, don't you know," he sang, picking up the pace again causing a raucous mud-slinging dance party.

Coming off the backstage platform, a drunken reveler screamed to Turner, "Whooo. You were f---ing awesome!"

"Thanks, man," Turner shouted back at the fan and threw the guy his towel. Yup, America and the weather love the Arctic Monkeys.

The sixth annual Fun Fun Fun Fest, to be held November 4th through 6th in Austin, Texas, will include headliners Slayer, Danzig Legacy, Public Enemy, Major Lazer, Passion Pit, Odd Future, the Damned and Henry Rollins – which fans learned this week by visiting the festival's "room" on popular new streaming music social network Turntable.fm.

Two hours before the full line-up was announced, Turntable.fm users (and their head-bopping avatars) gathered on a virtual dance floor to play songs from artists that they hoped would appear at the fest, including Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver and, in ultimate wishful thinking, ABBA. An hour later, the organizers joined in, confirming with their own tracks that the fest would host Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy (the Misfits/Danzig/Samhain), Thee Oh Sees, the Damned, Del the Funky Homosapien, Lykke Li, comedian Reggie Watts and more.

Danzig and his Legacy cohorts will make a particularly welcome return to Fun Fun Fun – in 2009, during Danzig's headlining set, a girl fulfilled her dead friend's last wish by pouring her ashes on the stage.

Last month, Fun Fun Fun confirmed that controversial hip-hop group Odd Future and punk legends X would play the quirky, fan-friendly festival, but X has since canceled and been replaced with the Damned. Through cryptic videos that visitors had to decode with a key on the fest's website, organizers unveiled acts including M83, Okkervil River and comedian Brian Posehn.

This year, Fun Fun Fun Fest will move from Waterloo Park to the much larger Auditorium Shores, and expand from two to three full days. The full line-up can be found at Fun Fun Fun's website.

Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick stands in front of the stage that had collapsed from beneath Cheap Trick's concert at the Ottawa Bluesfest.

The stage collapsed from beneath Cheap Trick during a concert yesterday at the Ottawa Bluesfest. A severe windstorm struck during the power pop group's set, resulting in the stage to fall apart just after they performed their hit single "I Want You to Want Me."

No one in the band, crew or audience was seriously hurt, but the accident resulted in several minutes of sustained hysteria at the festival, with many concertgoers running and screaming in panic. You can see for yourself in this video, which captures ten seconds of the collapse and resulting terror.

Controversial hip-hop group Odd Future and punk legends X are among the first bands confirmed for the sixth annual Fun Fun Fun Fest, to be held November 4th through 6th at Auditorium Shores in Austin, Texas. Also confirmed are French dream-pop act M83, critically acclaimed folk rock band Okkervil River and comedian Brian Posehn. The artists were revealed through the nautically themed video below, which can be decoded at Fun Fun Fun's website. An additional 100+ acts will be unveiled in a rolling series of videos over the next few weeks.

Fun Fun Fun isn't as large as the Texas capital's flagship fall festival Austin City Limits, but has built a reputation over the past five years for a friendly, quirky atmosphere (including veggie dog-eating contests and a mechanical bull), and noteworthy bookings.

In 2010, "Weird Al" Yankovic opened the fest with a three-hour, constant costume-changing extravaganza, and the Descendents reunited for their first show in nine years. In 2009, the fest secured one of the first-ever performances by Detroit punk pioneers Death, who vanished soon after recording one single in 1974. Also in 2009, during Danzig's headlining set, a girl fulfilled her dead friend's last wish by pouring her ashes on the stage.

This year, Fun Fun Fun Fest will move from Waterloo Park to the much larger Auditorium Shores, and expand from two to three full days.

Odd Future will be coming back to Austin after an eventful run during South By Southwest in March, when they caused near riots and walked out on one headlining set after two songs. “Booking Odd Future is a gamble right now because they are so provocative and buzzy," says James Moody, co-owner of Fun Fun Fun organizers Transmission Entertainment. "We know that because we put them on that insane SXSW Mess With Texas show and kids practically tore down the porto-potties trying to get to them. At the end of the day, we booked them because they are so unpredictable."

First-wave L.A. punk legends X will play their 1980 debut LP "Los Angeles" in its entirety, which they are touring to select other cities beginning in September. "X formed this perfect mix of soulful melodic punk with a rockabilly backbone," says Transmission co-owner Graham Williams. "It's so great that they'll be performing one of the best records of the early Eighties live, so we can get the full picture as fans."

In a down economy, it’s hard to fork out the money to attend huge music festivals with big price tags.

Even artists must spend more time touring to make up for lost album sales. But good news for both groups are the following eight awesome festivals that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

8. ComFest – Columbus, Ohio The Community Festival has been taking over Columbus since 1972. Called a “Party with a Purpose,” the weekend event hosts hundreds of bands and vendors supporting a common theme of acceptance and unity in a non-corporate environment.

7. The 4Knots Music Festival – New York New York knows how to do free festivals. The city’s notable free paper, The Village Voice, kicks off its event this week on July 16. The 4Knots festival isn’t the first Voice-supported festival,but this year is the first year it will take over for former Voice-event, The Siren Music Festival. Acts include Titus Andronicus and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.

6. The Creators Project – Brooklyn A funky, entrepreneurial artist’s haven, The Creators Project holds events all over the world. Last year, they featured an interactive art, film and music show at Milk Studios in New York. Sleigh Bells, Die Antwoord and Interpol were just some of the bands in attendance. The successful N.Y. event launch has spawned another feature in Dumbo, Brooklyn, Oct. 13-16.

5. Celebrate Brooklyn The Celebrate Brooklyn free summer concert series holds over 20 arts events each summer. The Brooklyn-based concert series has featured everyone from Animal Collective to Justin Townes Earle.

4. Chicago Blues Festival Grant Park isn’t just home to Lollapalooza. It’s also the stomping ground of the world’s largest blues festival. Taking over the center of the city for a few days in early June, the Chicago Blues Festival brings in the key players of blues tunes. Past artists include Bo Diddley and Etta James.

3. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival – San Francisco Don’t be fooled by the name. The festival in Golden Gate Park hosts a slew of artists each year not entirely restricted to the roots genre. The previous lineup included Okkervil River, Dr. Dog and Neko Case.

2. Virgin Mobile FreeFest – Columbia, Md. Catering to the sonic needs of broke music fans, Virgin Mobile launched their first ever free festival in 2009, held at the acclaimed Merriweather Post Pavilion. Past artists include Girl Talk, The National, Franz Ferdinand, LCD Soundsystem, Ludacris and more. With a limited number of tickets, and a consistently impressive lineup, the festival usually “sells out” in less than 10 minutes. The third annual free fest lineup was just announced, featuring The Black Keys, TV On The Radio, James Murphy and Okkervil River.

1. The Twilight Concert Series – Salt Lake City, Utah From July 8 – Aug. 26, Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Park hosts a fantastic lineup of independent music each week. This years artists include Bright Eyes, Kurt Vile and No Age.

Radiohead will play their first concert since the release of their latest album The King of Limbs tonight at the Glastonbury festival in England. The band's appearance at the festival has been kept a secret until this morning, when it was revealed that the quintet will perform at 8 p.m. on the Park Stage in between sets by Big Audio Dynamite and Caribou, and at the same time as performances by Morrissey and Mumford & Sons on other stages. Shortly after Radiohead's set is finished, U2 will play a headlining show on the main stage.

Radiohead are very likely to debut several selections from The King of Limbs in tonight's concert, as well as new tunes like the Record Store Day single "Supercollider" and "Staircase," which they released to the internet earlier this week. Fans of Radiohead's earlier work should take heart – the band almost always make a point of playing a number of their hits.

Radiohead's impromptu performance at last year's Glastonbury was a stripped-down set from Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, also on the Park Stage. Watch an acoustic version of "Karma Police" from their 2010 Glastonbury performance below.

Glastonbury kicked off on Wednesday (June 22) and ends Sunday (June 26) night, with a headlining set from Beyonce. Coldplay takes the main headlining spot tomorrow night (June 25).