Hip hop icon Jay-Z brought his BP3 Tour to sold out Philips Arena Saturday night. Also performing were Young Jeezy, Trey Songz and Bridget Kelly. Opening songs in Jay-Z’s set included “Run This Town’, “Death of Auto-Tune” and a duet of “Empire State of Mind” with Bridget Kelly.

And while we weren’t there to cover it, Robb Cohen was handy with his camera. Click here for a full gallery of the show. If you made the show, tell us about what you saw. How did it compare to other Jay-Z shows?

(Photo Credit: Robb Cohen/ www.robbsphotos.com)  For other concert photography linked to Access Atlanta, please visit for Atlanta Concert Photography Galleries. by Atlanta Photographer Robb Cohen www.RobbsPhotos.com

Continue reading Jay-Z & Young Jeezy Sell Out Philips Arena Saturday »

Thursday night, the Tabernacle hosted the first of two sold out shows by Alice in Chains, with Middle Class Rut opening up.

Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. The band was one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 17 million albums worldwide. The foursome achieved two number-one Billboard 200 albums (Jar of Flies and Alice in Chains), 14 top ten songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and seven Grammy nominations. Following the death of singer Layne Staley in 2002, Alice in Chains reunited in 2005 with new lead vocalist and Atlanta native William DuVall and released Black Gives Way to Blue, their first studio album in 14 years, in September, 2009.

And while we weren’t there to cover it, Robb Cohen was handy with his camera. Were you there? Tell us about what you saw at the show.

(Middle Class Rut, from …

Continue reading Alice In Chains Rattles Sold Out Tabernacle »

Dark Star Orchestra

FRIDAY-SATURDAY
Dark Star Orchestra
The Dark Star Orchestra re-creates specific Grateful Dead concerts in their entirety. For this latest tour, Jeff Mattson joins the band on guitar. Mattson has played with Phil Lesh & Friends, Zen Tricksters and the Donna Jean Godchaux Band. The latter opens both of these shows.
8:30 p.m. Feb. 26-27. $25. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave., Atlanta. 404-524-7354.

SATURDAY
Trey Anastasio
Following a full-scale Phish reunion last year, frontman Anastasio is back in solo mode. This time around he has a seven-piece band (including a horn section) and, as usual, will debut some new material that could easily end up in Phish’s repertoire.
8 p.m. Feb. 27. $39.50. The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St. N.W., Atlanta. 404-659-9022.

Jay-Z. Photo: Luca Bruno / AP

SATURDAY
Jay-Z
Jay-Z is rap royalty, having created some of hip-hop’s defining documents during the past 15 years. His 1996 debut “Reasonable Doubt” and 2001 album “The …

Continue reading Live music picks, Feb. 26-March 4 »

Henry Rollins. Photo by Maura Lanahan

Concert preview
Henry Rollins: The Frequent Flyer Tour
8 p.m. Feb. 28. $25. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave., Little Five Points. 404-249-6400, 404-524-7354, www.variety-playhouse.com

By Shaun Flagg

Henry Rollins embraces controversy. The punk rock icon from D.C. blasted onto the ‘80s punk scene in the band State of Alert and became the front man of Black Flag, arguably one of America’s most influential punk rock outfits.

In the ‘90s, while performing with The Rollins Band, he became involved in the spoken word movement. He began crafting outspoken diatribes combining humor, poetry and political criticism, which he unleashed on audiences between songs.

Currently on tour, Rollins has dispensed with music altogether and is just performing his spoken word rants, railing against injustice, misplaced power and the war in Iraq, among other topics. As his Frequent Flyer tour prepares for a stop at Variety Playhouse, Rollins spoke with …

Continue reading Q&A with Henry Rollins »

Arlo Guthrie

Concert preview
Arlo Guthrie and family
8 p.m. March 5. $35-$45. Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive, N.W., Atlanta, 404-894-9600, www.ferstcenter.gatech.edu

By Bob Townsend

Arlo Guthrie, the son of American folk music icon Woody Guthrie, arrives at the Ferst Center for the Arts on March 5 with his entire clan of children and grandchildren in tow.

This “Guthrie Family Rides Again” tour, he said, is all about highlighting some new songs that have come out of his sister Nora Guthrie’s ongoing effort to make lyrics from the Woody Guthrie Archives available to musicians from around the world.

“We’re attempting as a family to say ‘thank you’ to all of these people, like Billy Bragg, Wilco, the Klezmatics, Eliza Gilkyson and Janis Ian, who have brought these lyrics to life,” Guthrie said.

Among those musicians, count Guthrie’s daughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, and her husband, Johnny Irion, who have been performing together since 2000. Late in 2009, …

Continue reading Q&A with Sarah Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie »

LN = Live Nation, 1-877-598-8698, www.livenation.com
TM = Ticketmaster, 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com
TA = Ticketalternative, 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com

The Dave Matthews Band is coming to Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood on July 27. Photo: Danny Finch

ON SALE FEB. 24
Almost Elton John. 8 p.m. April 24. Jennie T. Anderson Theatre. $25. TM.

ON SALE FEB. 26
Abbey Road Live! presents Sgt. Pepper’s Mystery Tour. 8 p.m. March 19. Variety Playhouse. $17.50; $15 advance. TM.
Fear Factory. 7 p.m. April 1. Masquerade. $19 advance. TM.
Third Eye Blind. 8 p.m. April 1. Variety Playhouse. $30. TM.
Hill Country Revue and The Lee Boys. Midnight April 3. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $12 advance. TA.
Holly Williams. 8 p.m. April 14. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $15 advance. TA.
The Church. 8:30 p.m. May 1. Center Stage. $30; $28 advance. TM.
Dave Barnes. 9 p.m. May 1. The Loft. $15. TA.
Ryan Bingham. 8 p.m. May 11. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. …

Continue reading Hot tickets, Feb. 23 »

Packway Handle Band. Photo: Jessica Horwitz

FRIDAY
Packway Handle Band
Phenomenal vocal harmonies, bluegrass chops and a rock-informed sense of abandon are getting the Packway Handle Band noticed. If you’re a fan of the Avett Brothers or Nickel Creek, you need to check out these guys. The band is hitting the road in support of a new album, “What Are We Gonna Do Now?,” released on Feb. 2.
8 p.m. Feb. 19. $12-$15. Eddie’s Attic, 515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur. 404-377-4976.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY
The Vic Shows: A Celebration of Vic Chesnutt’s Life and Music
Georgia lost one of its most brilliant songwriters on Christmas Day 2009 and many of the late Vic Chesnutt’s colleagues are gathering this weekend to pay tribute in “The Vic Shows.” Among those scheduled to perform are Five Eight, Jack Logan and Kelly Keneipp, Dave Barbe, Todd McBride and Rob Veal, Kelly Hogan, Flash to Bang Time and John Keane (tonight); Centro-matic’s Will Johnson, Elf Power, Victoria …

Continue reading Live music picks, Feb. 19-25 »

By Jonathan Williams

William DuVall has been a fixture on Atlanta’s underground rock scene since the ’80s, first as a punker and later, in the ’90s, as a member of hard rock acts Madfly and Comes with the Fall.

After the 2002 death of Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley, guitarist Jerry Cantrell set out on his own, taking Comes with the Fall on tour not only as the opening act, but also as his backing band. DuVall eventually was asked to perform with Alice in Chains in a series of  shows that ended up being a tour of 23 countries in 2006. Though he’s been performing with the band since 2005, his inclusion on last year’s “Black Gives Way to Blue” legitimizes his place in the pioneering grunge metal band. As Alice in Chains comes to town for two sold-out performances, DuVall discusses his musical career and Atlanta’s rock scene.

Q: The shoes of Layne Staley are obviously big shoes to fill. Having already performed with Alice in Chains, did you have to audition …

Continue reading Q&A with Alice In Chains’ William DuVall »

LN = Live Nation, 1-877-598-8698, www.livenation.com
TM = Ticketmaster, 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com
TA = Ticketalternative, 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band are coming to Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood on April 27. Photo: Robert E. Klein / Associated Press

ON SALE FEB. 17
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. 7 p.m. March 14. Masquerade. $8 advance. TM.
Timati. 7 p.m. March 21. Masquerade. $38 advance. TM.

ON SALE FEB. 18
Riff Raff. 9:30 p.m. Feb. 27. Wild Bill’s. $10-$50. TM.
Pendulum DJ Set. 8 p.m. March 30. Masquerade. $15 advance. TM.

ON SALE FEB. 19
Nate Currin, Newmatic and The Son Red. 8 p.m. March 10. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $7 advance. TA.
I.O.Z. 8 p.m. March 12. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $10 advance. TA.
Miranda Lambert. 9:30 p.m. March 19. Wild Bill’s. $20-$100. TM.
The Aggrolites. 7 p.m. March 23. Masquerade. $12 advance. TM.
Jason Isbell. 8 p.m. March 24. Smith’s Olde Bar – …

Continue reading Hot Tickets, Feb. 16 »

The 25th anniversary version of “We are the World” to help Haiti’s earthquake victims is packed with Atlanta representatives – or folks who used to live here.

Here’s a list, that probably isn’t complete.

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- Up first, teen pop sensation and Atlanta resident Justin Bieber gets Lionel Richie ’s first line from the original song, “There’s a come a time whne we heed a certain call…,” then duets with Nicole Scherzinger and Jennifer Hudson.

- A few seconds later, Atlanta’s own and Sugarland lead singer Jennifer Nettles gets Paul Simon’s line, “Oh, when it’s time to lend a hand to life,” then duets with Josh Grobin.

- For the first chorus, former Atlantan Janet Jackson duets with her late brother Michael (using archival audio for …

Continue reading ‘We are the World’ Haiti charity single features a host of Georgians and former Georgians »