Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr. Headline New Country-Rock Fest

With 264 residents spread over six square miles, Sparta — a former railroad stop that sits 45 minutes south of Cincinnati — is one Kentucky's smallest cities. Come August 28th, though, the local population will swell to more than 30,000, thanks to a new three-day music festival co-headlined by Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr., Brantley Gilbert and other country heavyweights. 

Announced this morning, the NiFi Festival is the first in a series of national fests launched by Nitro Fidelity, a California-based entertainment group, and Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the auto racing corporation that owns eight of America's most popular speedways. Working together, the two companies plan to host top-tier festivals at more than half of Speedway's racing tracks over the next decade, including an event at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2016 and, if all goes according to plan, a Sonoma Speedway festival that could rival California-area events like Coachella and Outside Lands. 

The inaugural NiFi Fest, which kicks off August 28th at the Kentucky Speedway and runs through the 30th, will model itself after camping festivals like the upcoming Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee. Top Chef contestant Edward Lee is heading up the food operations, and Huka Entertainment's A.J. Nyland — who helped launch festivals like Hangout and Tortuga — is booking the entertainment. On the lineup are a handful of A-list rock bands, including Green Day and Kings of Leon, as well as some of country music's biggest acts: Lambert, Gilbert, Williams, Jake Owen, Trace Adkins, Joe Nichols, Josh Turner, Jana Kramer, Nikki Lane and others. Early bird tickets start at $245, with VIP passes and deluxe camping packages — or "glamping," as NiFi Fest's website calls it — driving up the price for well-heeled attendees. 

Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. ET.



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Azealia Banks Starring in RZA-Directed Rap Drama 'Coco'

Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA and rapper Azealia Banks are teaming for the upcoming musical drama Coco. RZA will direct the Lionsgate/Codeblack Films feature, which stars Banks as a "twentysomething female rapper named Coco." The Brooklyn-set film – which co-stars Common, Jill Scott and Lorraine Toussaint – has already begun shooting in New York. 

In the film, Banks' protagonist dreams of pursuing a hip-hop career, but is persuaded by her parents to finish college. In a poetry class, she is transfixed by "the power of the spoken word," developing a verbal strength that ends up propelling her toward her rap goals.

"I'm extremely excited and vigorously inspired to be working with Azealia Banks in my new directorial installment," RZA said in a statement. "Producer Paul Hall and I have assembled a cool and eclectic cast to surround Azealia. Our story, which is set in today's contemporary youth culture, will bring a new voice to cinema that needs to be heard."

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Scott will play a "a professor who believes that rapping and slam poetry cannot co-exist;" Toussaint will reportedly play Coco's mother, and Common will appear as a "mentor figure."

Banks released her debut LP, the bold EDM-rap hybrid Broke With Expensive Taste, in 2014. RZA made his directorial debut in 2012 with the Seventies Kung-Fu homage The Man With the Iron Fists, which he co-wrote wrote with horror director Eli Roth.

In December, a fully reunited Wu-Tang Clan released A Better Tomorrow, their first album in seven years. Three months later, RZA teased a group of 200 listeners with "the first, the last, the only public listening session" for the group's near-mythical seventh album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. There is only one copy of the LP, which will be sold on auction site Paddle8.com – and RZA claims he's already received offers up to $5 million.



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Ornette Coleman Files Lawsuit Over Alleged Unauthorized Album

It had been nearly 20 years since jazz legend Ornette Coleman released a studio album when a new LP donning the saxophonist's name titled New Vocabulary arrived quietly in 2014. A year later, Coleman has filed a federal lawsuit against Antibalas' Jordan McLean and drummer Amir Ziv for releasing New Vocabulary without Coleman's "consent or knowledge."

In the lawsuit, Coleman claims that he was introduced to trumpeter McLean, who worked on the Broadway musical Fela!, in 2009. Around that time, Coleman invited McLean and Ziv over to his house to "share his knowledge" of jazz. Those teaching sessions were recorded and, years later, when McLean asked Coleman if he could release those tapes, the jazz great denied the request.

Attempts by Coleman's attorneys to procure those recordings failed, and McLean allegedly ended up issuing those sessions – with extra instrumentation – as New Vocabulary.

"Without plaintiff's knowledge or consent, defendants McLean and Ziv made audio recordings of one or more live musical performances by plaintiff," Coleman's lawyers state in the complaint. "Without plaintiff's consent, defendants have reproduced, communicated to the public, publicly distributed, sold, transmitted and trafficked in copies…of the infringing recordings under the title New Vocabulary."

Representatives for Coleman and Ziv did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

In addition to releasing the collaboration without permission, Coleman alleges that New Vocabulary credits "an individual not recorded at the sessions" with participating, most likely referring to pianist Adam Holzman, who is listed as a fellow collaborator. Coleman also accuses McLean of adding music atop the recordings that were made. Lastly, the lawsuit claims, "The public is likely to be misled into believing that Coleman approves of, or is affiliated with, the public release of these recordings." It's unclear how much financial compensation Coleman is seeking in the federal suit.

"As a direct consequence of defendant's wrongful conduct, plaintiff has suffered and is suffering irreparable harm and has sustained substantial injury, loss and damage," the suit claims.

Coleman's last official LP was his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2006 live album Sound Grammar. The Shape of Jazz to Come great will next release his "Celebrate Ornette" tribute concert – featuring performances by Sonny Rollins, Patti Smith, Flea and Coleman himself – as a deluxe box set this fall.



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See Laura Bell Bundy's 'Sound of Music' Inspired New Video

In the five years since Broadway veteran Laura Bell Bundy broke into country music's Top Five with her album Achin' and Shakin', fans of the Kentucky native have seen her in various acting roles, from Anger Management to How I Met Your Mother, but hadn't heard much about her music. That began to change earlier this month when the bubbly blonde announced her upcoming LP, Another Piece of Me, set for release June 9th on Big Machine Records.

And although the title of her new single and video, "I Am What I Am," may at first conjure up images of Popeye, the singer-actress is actually channeling Julie Andrews' Maria in The Sound of Music — she sings from a Swiss mountaintop in key scenes from the gorgeous clip. Directed by Becky Fluke, "I Am What I Am" was filmed while Bundy was in Switzerland to perform at a country-music event, and has the singer delivering the inspirational lyrics — about living life to the fullest and staying true to one's self — while her co-stars hold up signs describing some of their own key traits like "strong" or "silly."

"There is not another place in nature I feel more connected to my higher source than in the mountains," Bundy said in a statement. "So when I found out I'd be performing at the Gstaad Country Music Festival – in the midst of the Alps and the same setting as my favorite film, The Sound of Music – I was stoked. Filming in the same place Maria von Trapp sang seemed like the perfect place to tell that story, a story about being OK with being yourself and feeling free. I want to send the message that being who you are is not only a beautiful courageous thing, it's a necessary thing."

Of the LP's 15 tracks, Bundy co-wrote more than half, with songwriters including Sugarland's Kristian Bush, Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Barry Dean, Natalie Hemby and Ashley Monroe also contributing to the project.

Bundy will be in Nashville Friday, June 12th, for CMA Music Festival, performing on the Belk Park Stage.

Here's the track listing to Another Piece of Me:

1. "Love Me Like a Lady" (Laura Bell Bundy, Jerry Flowers, Chris DeStefano)
2. "Two Step" (featuring Colt Ford) (Laura Bell Bundy, Andy Davis, Colt Ford, Lance Kotara, Adam McInnis, Bryan Ray)
3. "Happy Yet" (David Frasier, Craig Wiseman)
4. "She Only Wants to Dance" (Jerry Flowers, Ashley Gorley)
5. "China and Wine" (Laura Bell Bundy, Leah Crutchfield, Natalie Hemby)
6. "Let’s Pretend We're Married" (Laura Bell Bundy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
7. "I Am What I Am" (Caitlyn Smith, Gordie Sampson, Troy Verges)
8. "That's What Angels Do" (Michael Dulaney, John Mabe, Jason Sellers)
9. "Making Me Feel" (Laura Bell Bundy, Patrick Davis, Jerry Flowers)
10. "Kentucky Dirty" (busbee, Barry Dean, Laura Bell Bundy)
11. "Give My Broken Heart a Break" (Laura Bell Bundy, Jay DeMarcus, Jason Sellers)
12. "Maps Out the Window" (Sarah Buxton, Nathan Chapman, Blair Daly)
13. "Missin' Me Yet" (Laura Bell Bundy, Derek George, Tim Owens)
14. "Another Piece of Me" (Laura Bell Bundy, Kristian Bush, Blair Daly)
15. "Wait Until the Sun Goes Down" (Angelo Petraglia, Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Monroe)



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Blink-182 Inch Toward 'Friendly Divorce' From Tom DeLonge

Blink-182's public and acrimonious split from Tom DeLonge appears to be inching toward an amicable resolution as bassist-vocalist Mark Hoppus revealed in a new interview that the band have almost legally cut ties with the soon-to-be-ex-guitarist. "We are right now going through what so far has been a friendly divorce with our former guitarist," Hoppus told Das Process (via NME). "Hopefully things clear up and it doesn't get all manager-y and lawyer-y and all that and we can move forward."

While DeLonge abruptly and "indefinitely" left Blink-182 in late January after refusing to commit to recording a new album, he didn't officially and permanently quit the band that he co-founded with Hoppus. "There are legalities involved with this," Hoppus told Rolling Stone. "As Tom pointed out, he technically didn't quit the band. Then it gets all lawyer-y, which I will leave to the attorneys and managers."

DeLonge's reluctance to formally depart Blink-182 handcuffed the group's desire to plot out future plans and prompted drummer Travis Barker to declare that DeLonge should "man up and quit." The band recruited Alkaline Trio guitarist Matt Skiba to fill in for DeLonge at the band's Musink festival set. With a "friendly divorce" from DeLonge on the horizon, Blink-182 is now opening up to the possibility of recording a new LP with Skiba.

"I think that's a great idea and it’s something we have discussed," Skiba told Alternative Press about recording with Blink-182. "It's something I would be very excited to do and I've known the Blink guys for about 15 years, and we've become good friends. Playing songs I haven't written with Mark and Travis is a blast, so to go in and create music with them would be amazing."

However, Skiba reiterated that he is not a full-time member of Blink-182 because there are "some things that those guys need to figure out before we can start saying I'm a permanent member. But that is a hope of mine." While Blink-182 are settling their legal issues, Skiba will hit the road with Alkaline Trio this summer.

Since leaving Blink-182, DeLonge has already released his To the Stars . . . Demos, Odds and Ends and mapped out his massive 2015 plans.



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Kasey Chambers Ends Four Year Drought With New Album

Fifteen years after the U.S. release of her award-winning solo debut, The Captain, Australian singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers will issue Bittersweet, her tenth studio album and first solo record since 2010's Little Bird. Produced by Nick DiDia, known for his work with Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen and the Wallflowers, Chambers' LP will be released July 24th via the Rounder Label Group. First available in Chambers' native land last summer, the LP reached Number Two on Australia's ARIA Music Chart.

With a gritty, expressive vocal style that reflects both the beauty and the challenges of her South Australia upbringing, much of it spent on the sparsely populated Nullarbor Plain, Chambers first came to musical prominence with her family's Dead Ringer Band, alongside her parents and older brother Nash Chambers. Since then, Nash has managed his sister and produced all of her albums, racking up sales of 1.2 million albums in Australia alone. (American music fans — and TV viewers — may recognize Chambers' songs "The Captain" and "The Hard Way," from her debut LP, for their inclusion in episodes of The Sopranos and Lost, respectively.)

Bittersweet, however, marks the first album not produced with Nash. "I wanted to have an experience making a record that I had never had before," Chambers said in a statement of her decision to make a producer change. "I wanted to challenge myself and I wanted to be excited."

The album, which continues Chambers' exploration of hard-edged alt-country rock in the tradition of such Americana stalwarts as Lucinda Williams and Buddy Miller, was recorded in just seven days in April 2014. In Australia, the LP has already garnered critical acclaim and earned Country Album of the Year honors at the 2014 ARIAs. The record also won the Country Music Golden Guitar Awards for Album of the Year and Single of the Year for "Bittersweet," her collaboration with fellow Aussie musician Bernard Fanning.

To support the U.S. release of Bittersweet, Chambers will embark on a two-week tour, kicking off July 29th in San Francisco. She'll also make stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Boston and New York City. Here's her full tour itinerary.

July 29 — San Francisco, the Chapel
July 31 — Portland, Oregon, Aladdin Theater
August 1 — Seattle, Tractor Tavern
August 4 — Nashville, City Winery
August 5 — Atlanta, Variety Playhouse
August 6 —Alexandria, Virginia, the Birchmere
August 7 — New York City, City Winery
August 8 — New York City, Americana Music Association at Lincoln Center
August 9 — Boston, the Sinclair
August 11 — Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Ark
August 12 — Evanston, Illinois, Space
August 13 — Minneapolis, Cedar Cultural Center
August 14 — Lyon, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
August 15 — Los Angeles, El Rey Theatre



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B.B. King's Estate on Poisoning Allegations: 'Baseless and Unfounded'

As Memphis' Beale Street prepares to remember B.B. King's legacy at a memorial procession Wednesday, the bluesman's estate has hit back at allegations that King's business manager LaVerne Toney poisoned him in the months leading up to his May 14th death. In a statement, a lawyer for the estate says that King's daughters' allegations are "baseless and unfounded and are unsupported in reality."

"Unfortunately even musical icons die. Ms. Toney did everything she could to carry out the wishes of Mr. King while he was alive, and continues to carry out Mr. King's wishes after his death," Brent Bryson, the attorney for King's estate, said in a statement. "I hope over these next few days we can focus on Mr. King's musical gifts to the world and not fictional statements made by those seeking attention at the expense of Mr. King."

Nevada investigators have opened a homicide probe and conducted an autopsy after two of King's daughters, Karen Williams and Patty King, said in separate affidavits that they believe their father was administered an unknown substance on a nightly basis prior to his death. After being hospitalized for dehydration related to diabetes in April, King was later moved to a hospice facility, where King's family claim Toney cut off access to the bluesman.

Williams and Patty King also said in their affidavit that they believe their father was "murdered" by Toney and King's personal assistant Myron Johnson. However, Bryson, the attorney for the King estate of which Toney was appointed executor, provided statements from three doctors, including King's primary care physician, that King "was monitored on a 24-hour basis by Certified Nursing Assistants" and that "no action [was] taken to hasten the demise of Mr. King," who died "peacefully in his sleep."

Larissa Drohobyczer, the attorney representing King's daughters, declined to comment to Rolling Stone when asked about Bryson's statement. The statement, in full, below:

Recently allegations have been made accusing LaVerne Toney of wrongdoing involving the death of Riley B. King (B. B. King). The allegations are baseless and unfounded and are unsupported in reality.

Up until the time that Mr. King passed peacefully in his sleep, Mr. King was monitored on a 24-hour basis by Certified Nursing Assistants.

Additionally, Mr. King was visited regularly by Registered Nurses. Mr. King was evaluated by no less than three (3) independent doctors in the days before his death.

Dr. Darin Brimhall (Mr. King's primary care physician for several years) stated there is no action being taken to hasten the demise of Mr. King and every effort is being made to make Mr. King comfortable and supply him with his regular medication and nourishment."

Dr. Dean Tsai, an independent doctor, asked to render a second opinion stated, "In my medical judgment patient is appropriate for hospice with a very limited expected prognosis (l would estimate weeks). He clearly has had significant decline and I see no reversible component. He is currently getting home hospice care which is entirely appropriate given his known wishes and clinical status."

Dr. Ivan Goldsmith gave a third independent opinion stating: "Home hospice care is entirely appropriate in this situation. There is no evidence of poly pharmacy or inappropriate medications being given to Mr. King."

Unfortunately even musical icons die. Ms. Toney did everything she could to carry out the wishes of Mr. King while he was alive, and continues to carry out Mr. King's wishes after his death. I hope over these next few days we can focus on Mr. King's musical gifts to the world and not fictional statements made by those seeking attention at the expense of Mr. King.



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