Gospel great Kirk Franklin is a talented pianist, music director, songwriter, hype man, MC, and a pretty decent rapper, dancer and mime.  But by his own admission, he is a man with “limited singing ability.” Just don’t ever let that keep you from attending one of his praise and worship concerts.

Throughout his career, the 41-year-old Franklin has expertly aggregated all the talents that he was given with those of a remarkable group of  strong vocalists. Friday night’s show at the Fox Theater was no exception. And while you might not call everything Franklin does gospel, certainly not in the traditional sense, there’s no denying that the spiritual and uplifting label sticks every time.

Franklin and eight singers — including BET “Sunday Best” Season 4 winner Amber Bullock — entertained fans or “family,” as Franklin likes to call them, for three non-stop hours with tunes that ranged from the  traditional  “Never Alone” to the more contemporary “Why We Sing,” which helped put …

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Kid Rock sits with Lisa Borders from Grady Health Foundation, Kevin Miller from the Georgia Veterans Day Parade and Adam Cohen (back) from Camp Twin Lakes to discuss his charity tour. Photos: Melissa Ruggieri

Kid Rock has a reputation – deserved or not – as a Motor City rebel, a hellraiser more inclined to get into a scuffle at Waffle House than escort an elderly lady across the street.

 It’s an image honed to fuel his hard-rockin’ fans. But the guy has a huge heart, and he’s putting it on display this fall with a tour designed to aid local charities through his Kid Rock Foundation.

 Thursday evening, before kicking off the 12-city tour with a sold-out show at Center Stage, Rock, joined by Grady Health Foundation President Lisa Borders, Georgia Veterans Day Parade Association of Atlanta President Kevin Miller and Camp Twin Lakes Special Events Coordinator Adam Cohen, fielded questions from a small media corps upstairs in The Loft.

 The laid-back Rock immediately shook hands …

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By RASHIDA RAWLS

Foreign Exchange kicked off its Authenticity Tour Wednesday night at Masquerade in Atlanta.

After opening with “Connected”, one half of the duo, Phonte, told fans that he was fighting a 104 degree fever and was high on medicine. But that didn’t stop him from belting out each song with strength and beauty. While the other half, Nicolay, kept his eyes closed his body began to move fluidly as if the music had entered his toes, traveled through his neck and exited through is head.

The FE live band included Zo! bopping on keyboards, (reminiscent of a cool high school band teacher), with singers Sy Smith and Jeanne Jolly holding down the background.

“We are an equal opportunity employer,” Phonte said, referring to the multicultural band, which received cheers from its diverse audience.

“All or Nothing” had folks wiggling, and with introductions out of the way, the band dug into tracks from Zo! and Sy Smith, whose velvety voice sounded like a young Eartha …

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Sam Beam, the man behind Iron & Wine, comes to the Buckhead Theatre Friday, Nov. 11. Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Records

FRIDAY
Iron & Wine
It’s been nearly 10 years since Sam Beam’s Sub Pop debut album as Iron & Wine, “The Creek Drank the Cradle,” and both his musical palette and his audience have expanded exponentially. The South Carolina native still writes songs of sweet intimacy and beauty, but the acoustic rambles of his early work have given way to warm, full-band arrangements that spotlight the pop hooks that were always there. “Kiss Each Other Clean,” released in January, is Beam’s fourth and most accessible album to date.
7 p.m. Nov. 11. $31. Buckhead Theatre, 3110 Roswell Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-843-2825.

FRIDAY
Thee Oh Sees
This San Francisco band led by the prolific John Dwyer deals in gritty psychedelic garage rock. “Carrion Crawler,” the nearly seven-minute opening track on new album “Carrion Crawler/The Dream” (out Tuesday and the second Thee Oh Sees …

Continue reading Live music picks: Nov. 11-16 »

Macon native Jason Aldean claimed his first CMA trophy at Wednesday's ceremony.

Somewhere in Nashville, Jason Aldean is having some kind of party.

The Macon-born singer was starting to become the Susan Lucci of the Country Music Association Awards, a favorite with fans whose career eluded industry recognition – at least from country music’s most meaningful organization.

But at the 45th Annual CMAs Wednesday night, Aldean scored his inaugural trophy in one of the most prestigious categories of the ceremony – album of the year, for his platinum-selling “My Kinda Party.”

With his black cowboy hat tipped down to his nose, Aldean expressed an “Oh, man, what a year,” before thanking his family and fans. He also brought producer Michael Knox on stage to accept the trophy, saying, ‘This is the guy who found me in a club in Atlanta, Georgia, 13 years ago. I wouldn’t be here without this guy.”

Lady Antebellum, which has Georgia ties, won vocal group of the year.

Aldean lost male …

Continue reading Jason Aldean nabs first CMA Award; Sugarland, Lady A win as well »

The Zac Brown Band is 0-2 in the win category, with The Band Perry’s inescapable ballad, “If I Die Young” taking song and single of the year so far.

But ZBB just earned a deserved standing ovation for a stirring rendition of “Georgia on My Mind.”

 The band, fronted by the burly Brown in a shirt, tie and omnipresent knit cap, was joined by fellow Georgian Gregg Allman and a large backing band that added a poignant piano/sax interlude and brought the song to a soaring close.

Allman canceled his fall tour dates for health reasons, and, while he looked a bit thinner behind his keyboard, his voice sounded perfectly Allman-esque with that tell-tale hint of gravel.

Continue reading Zac Brown joined by Gregg Allman for Georgia tribute »

In 2009, R&B and gospel singer Candi Staton, who has called Georgia home for several years, released a CD titled “Who’s Hurting Now” on London, England’s, Honest Jon label. It was a sequel to 2006’s “His Hands,” her first secular CD in two decades.

But the CD was never formally released back home because EMI Music ended its distribution deal with Honest John. Today, two years later, the 11-track album hits U.S. stores, with tunes that are a mixture of soul, blues and Americana.

Featured are songs such as “I Feel the Same,” recorded in the early ‘70s by Bonnie Raitt; “I Don’t Want for Anything,” which Staton describes as “singing it to God”; and a remake of Dan Tyler’s “The Light In Your Eyes.” The album also includes new tunes like “Lonely Don’t” and the country ballad “Dust on My Pillow.”

Continue reading Candi Staton releases “Who’s Hurting Now” in U.S. »

Roger Waters, shown here performing "The Wall" Live at Philips Arena in November 2010, will bring the show back to Atlanta in June. Tickets go on sale Monday, Nov. 14. Photo: Robb D. Cohen / www.robbsphotos.com

ON SALE NOV. 11
Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny. A special holiday gathering featuring Jimmy Hall, Tommy Talton, Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret., Charlie StarrRev., Jeff Mosier, Ike Stubblefield, Grant Green Jr., Jeff Sipe, Count M’Butu, Caroline Aiken, Yonrico Scott, Johnny Mosier, Diane Durrett, David Blackmon, Ralph Roddenbery, Donna Hopkins. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18. Variety Playhouse. $20; $17.50 in advance (bring 2 cans of food for Atlanta Community Food Bank). TM.
Big Mike Geier’s “Elvis Royale” featuring Kingsized Orchestra and Dames Aflame. 8:30 p.m. Jan. 7. Variety Playhouse. $26. TM.
Big Head Todd & The Monsters. 8:30 p.m. Jan. 13. Variety Playhouse. $28; $26 in advance. TM.
G. Love & Special Sauce. 8:30 p.m. Jan. 20. Variety Playhouse. $25. TM.
Rebelution, the Grouch, Pep …

Continue reading Hot tickets: Nov. 8 »

Dave Grohl leads the Foo Fighters as they perform for a sold out crowd Monday night at the Gwinnett Arena. Social Distortion and the Joy Formidable were the opening acts.
>>> (From Wiki) The Foo Fighters are an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of Nirvana wheb Kurt Cobain comitted suicide. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II, which were known collectively as foo fighters. Prior to the release of the Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut album Foo Fighters, which featured Grohl as the only official member, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, as well as fellow Nirvana touring bandmate Pat Smear as guitarist to complete the lineup. After a few lineup changes, drummer Taylor Hawkins became a member. The band briefly continued as a trio …

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Iconic frontman Axl Rose and his revamped Guns N’ Roses performed at Philips Arena on Wednesday night. This was the fourth date of the long-awaited tour, and the building was close to half full. Despite the slight turnout, and starting late at 11:00, Rose and his new bandmates were in excellent form. Buckcherry(pictured) and Kelen Heller were the openers.

(From Wiki) Guns N’ Roses (sometimes abbreviated as G N’ R or GnR) is a hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album. The classic original lineup, as signed to Geffen records, consisted of lead vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. Co-founder Axl Rose is the only current original member of Guns N’ Roses. The band has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, including shipments of 45 million in the United States. The band’s 1987 major label …

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