In preparation of Tuesday’s release of “The Incredible Machine,” Sugarland will stream a live concert at 9 p.m. Monday as part of the American Express “Unstaged” series.

The show takes place at New York’s Best Buy Theater (formerly known as the Nokia Theater) and is being directed by famed choreographer Kenny Ortega. Fans can check it out on the band’s VEVO channel.

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles told the AJC this week that she and bandmate Kristian Bush haven’t yet met with Ortega and wants the show to be about “spontaneity and creativity of the moment.”

Nettles said that duo will perform all of the songs from the new album, as well as some longtime favorites.

For more on Sugarland, see the Monday Living section in the AJC.

Continue reading Sugarland show to stream live Monday night »

Courtesy www.chairmenoftheboard.com

General Norman Johnson, lead singer of the soul vocal trio Chairmen of the Board, died Wednesday at age 67.

His group was best known for the song “Give Me Just a Little More Time,” a favorite of Carolina beach music and shag dancing aficionados. It’s a defining song of the Southern soul sub-genre. The track climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart in 1970. The group would release three more Top 40 hits in 1970, but that was the end of the Chairmen’s chart run.

Johnson was born in Virginia but started his career in Raleigh, N.C., with another beach music phenomenon, the Showmen (“It Will Stand”), before relocating to Detroit in the late 1960s. The Chairmen of the Board came together there, but the group later flew south, where there was always demand for the singers who created beach music’s classics.

According to the Charolotte Observer, Johnson’s bandmate Ken Knox says that the band moved south in the early ’80s. …

Continue reading Beach music great General Johnson dies »

Emily Saliers (left) and Amy Ray, aka Indigo Girls, will perform at the Buckhead Theatre on Friday. Photo courtesy Press Here Publicity

FRIDAY
Indigo Girls
Emily Saliers and Amy Ray have spent more than a decade entertaining us — and making us think — with heart-touching songs and gorgeous harmonies. They began performing together as students at Decatur’s Shamrock High School (now a middle school). After many years on a major label, earning a Grammy and selling millions of albums, the duo is releasing music independently again. Their latest project, “Happy Holly Days,” includes Woody Guthrie’s
“Happy Joyous Hanukkah,” Christmas classics such as “O Holy Night” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and several originals.
8 p.m. Oct. 15. $35. The Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road, Atlanta. 404-843-2825.

FRIDAY
Richard Thompson
He began his career with the groundbreaking British folk-rock ensemble Fairport Convention, went on to produce a slew of great albums with his now …

Continue reading Live music picks: Oct. 15-21 »

Not only is Elton John getting his own Sirius channel for a week, but his own exclamation point, too.

Starting at 3 p.m. Friday, “Elton!” will debut on Sirius channel 33 and XM channel 27 and air through Oct. 22.

The occasion is the Oct. 19 release of “The Union,” his new collaboration with Leon Russell, and throughout the week, listeners can hear an interview with the pair, conducted by Cameron Crowe, as well as chats with “Union” producer T Bone Burnett and longtime John collaborator, Berine Taupin.

Other songs from the John and Russell canon will be interspersed during the week.

You can hear “The Union” courtesy of NPR’s First Listen here.

Continue reading Elton John receives own Sirius channel for a week »

Robin Meade is a familiar face thanks to HLN’s “Morning Express with Robin Meade.” But the newscaster is also a graceful singer who has performed with Kenny Chesney and Richard Marx and co-written songs with Nashville names Victoria Shaw and Gary Burr.

Meade appears on Jim Brickman’s new album, “Home,” — available exclusively at Target — on the soaring ballad, “Welcome Home,” a tribute to the troops (Meade also steers HLN’s “Salute the Troops”  segment).

On Saturday, Brickman performs at the Grand Opera House in Macon for a benefit for the Children’s Hospital.

Check out Brickman and Meade here.

Continue reading Robin Meade and Jim Brickman record salute to the troops »

ASCAP Presents

As a former member of Destiny’s Child and a multi-platinum solo artist, Kelly Rowland has plenty of experience as a woman in the music industry.

On Wednesday, she flew in from Los Angeles to attend ASCAP’s “Women Behind the Music” event at LOFT at Castleberry Hill, where she was being honored along with Hannah Kang, general manager of Atlanta-based Grand Hustle Records (T.I.’s imprint), and Sandra Brown, a local entertainment attorney with a long history of label and artist representation.

Rowland, looking radiant in a short black dress and tasteful gold earrings, said she feels that her responsibility as a female in the often male-dominated music world is to forge a path to make it easier for others to follow.

“It’s about empowering more and more females to set it up for the next generation,” she said.

Last year, Rowland co-hosted the Bravo reality series, “The Fashion Show,” but is currently immersed in completing her third album.

She said …

Continue reading Kelly Rowland visits Atlanta to receive award »

John Mellencamp will bring his tour to the Fox Theatre in February. Tickets go on sale this Friday. Photo: Evan Vucci / Associated Press

ON SALE OCT. 13
Soul Train Awards Pre-Concert with Erykah Badu and Rick Ross. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9. Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center. $39.50-$200. TM.

ON SALE OCT. 15
Tab Benoit. 8 p.m. Nov. 30. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $18; $15 in advance. TA.
Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm. 8:30 p.m. Dec. 3. Variety Playhouse. $25; $22.50 in advance. TM.
Relient K. 7 p.m. Dec. 5. Masquerade. $18 in advance. TM.
Five Eight. CD released show. 8 p.m. Dec. 18. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $15; $12 in advance. TA.
Zac Brown Band, Casey Driessen, the Wood Brothers. 8:30 p.m. Dec. 31. Philips Arena. $36-$71. LN.
Lindsey Rakers Band. 8 p.m. Jan. 8. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
Rebirth Brass Band. 8 p.m. Jan. 21-22. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $20 in advance. TA.
Guster. 8 p.m. Feb. 4. The Tabernacle. $ …

Continue reading Hot tickets: Oct. 12 »

Widespread Panic for years has been the New Year’s Eve concert of choice at Philips Arena.

But step back, jam band fans: another Georgia band is taking that spot this year – The Zac Brown Band.

Road warriors in their own right, the North Georgia crew has become a phenomenon the past two years, winning Best New Artist at the Grammys and nabbing five top two hits on the country charts.

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Tickets for the Dec. 31 concert will go on sale Friday, October 15th at 10 a.m. at www.livenation.com, the Philips Arena Box Office, www.ticketmaster.com , or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000.

Prices, according to Ticketmaster, range from $43.70 to $82.65 after fees. That’s really not bad, relatively speaking.

Continue reading Zac Brown Band coming to Philips Arena for New Year’s Eve concert »

Sugarland is prepping the release of “The Incredible Machine” in a massive way.

The duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush will offer a deluxe version of the album – due Oct. 19 – that includes a documentary (“Blood Love Hope Lust and Steam”) chronicling the creation of the album and tour. The extra content also includes the video for Top 5 hit, “Stuck Like Glue” and a live performance of the title track.

Also, at www.sugarlandmusic.com, Sugarland is launching the blog spot “Building the Machine,” where Nettles and Bush will post insights about their creative process and talk about some personal things, such as Nettles’ thoughts about “Say Anything.”

The group performs Thursday at the Savannah Civic Center, and, as seen right, graces the current cover of Billboard magazine.

Continue reading Sugarland readying “Incredible” rollout for new release »

The second week of November is going to be plenty soulful.

Photo Credit: Paige Parson

Erykah Badu and Rick Ross will headline a concert as a precursor to the Soul Train Awards. The Soul Train Pre-Awards Show Concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Atlanta Civic Center. Tickets for the show are $39.50-$85.50 and go on sale Wednesday.

A VIP package including a backstage pass and reception will be available for $200 and, on Wednesday only, a limited number of reserved seats will be sold for $10.

Tickets to the concert will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets,  (800) 745-3000 and www.ticketmaster.com.

The Soul Train Awards, co-hosted again by Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, tape Nov. 10 at the Cobb Energy Center. Access is invite-only. The show will air Nov. 28 on BET and Centric.

Continue reading Erykah Badu, Rick Ross to play pre-Soul Train Awards concert »