KISS and Motley Crue will share a tour for the first time since 1982. Photo credit: Scott Kirkland

You wanted the loudest…well, you’ll get the loudest with the summer double bill of KISS and Motley Crue.

The rockers will embark on a 40-plus city jaunt simply dubbed “THE TOUR” on July 20 in Manassas, Va., and visit Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood three dates later on July 24.

Tickets to the Lakewood date are on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday for $29 (lawn) and $29-$150 (reserved). Those with Citibank credit cards can get a jump on buying, starting at 2 p.m. Wednesday through www.citiprivatepass.com.

While the apparently never-retiring KISS (currently Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer) has toured in the past with fellow longhairs Poison (in 2003) and Skid Row (in 2001 for the, ahem, KISS “Farewell Tour”) and the original lineup of the Crue has also rocked stages with Poison (2011) and Aerosmith (2006), this unholy matrimony of fist-pumping glam rock is seen by …

Continue reading KISS and Motley Crue prepare to raise the roof this summer…and One Direction comes to town »

The B-52s- from left, Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Keith Strickland – will hit the stage at the Fox Theatre in July. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 23. Photo: Pieter M. van Hattem

ON SALE NOW
Kids Rock For Kids. 1 p.m. April 28-29. The Loft. $10; $20 for both day TA.

ON SALE MARCH 23
Lit. 9 p.m. April 30. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $9.99 in advance. TA.
Gogol Bordello. 8 p.m. May 20. Variety Playhouse. $30; $27.50 in advance. TM.
Bodeans. 8 p.m. June 20. Variety Playhouse. $25; $22.50 in advance. TM.
I.O.Z. 8 p.m. June 22. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $12 in advance. TA.
Nada Surf. 8 p.m. July 3. The Loft. $20; $16 in advance. TA.
The B-52s. 8 p.m. July 21. Fox Theatre. $35-$100. TM.
Danielia Cotton. 8 p.m. Sept. 9. Smith’s Olde Bar – Music Room. $12 in advance. TA.

ON SALE MARCH 24
“Party In The Park” with the Flaming Lips, Young the Giant, AWOL Nation and Dawes. 3 p.m. May 19. Centennial Olympic Park. $25 in advance. TA.
One Direction. 7:30 p.m. …

Continue reading Hot tickets: March 20 »

On March 10, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips performed at the Woody Guthrie Centennial Concert in Tulsa. (Photo: AP/Christopher Smith,

The first ticketed concert in a decade is coming to Centennial Olympic Park this spring.

On May 19, the eclectic lineup of Flaming Lips, Young the Giant, AWOL Nation and Dawes will invade the premises from 3-11 p.m.

The Flaming Lips will also celebrate “Record Store Day” April 21 with the release of the limited edition vinyl “The Flaming Lips and Heavy Fwends, ” featuring Yoko Ono, Nick Cave, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bon Iver and Kesha. The band also gets a “Record Store Day” tribute release from Atlanta’s Mastodon with its 7-inch single cover of the Lips’ “Spoonful Weighs a Ton.”

Tickets for the “Party in the Park” are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate and are on sale Saturday at http://ticketalternative.com.

Concertgoers can bring blankets, lawn chairs and umbrellas, but no pets, coolers, bottles, bikes, roller blades or alcoholic …

Continue reading Flaming Lips headline first major concert in a decade at Centennial Olympic Park »

Bruce Springsteen played most of his new "Wrecking Ball" album on the tour of the same name, which launched Sunday at Philips Arena. Photo: Robb Cohen

Here’s a rule to live by: It’s OK to get to a Bruce Springsteen concert a little late, but never ever, ever leave early.

 Then again, with Springsteen’s new self-introduction – a tongue-in-cheek intonation about “The Jersey devil…the future of rock ‘n’ roll himself …he’s sexy and he knows it” – it was worthwhile to have been standing, camera phones poised, when Springsteen and the venerable E Street Band kicked off their “Wrecking Ball” tour at 8:10 Sunday night at Philips Arena.

 It was the first of many “new” things on this 53-date outing. The second one came the instant the lights flooded the open-backed stage and, along with it, the jolting reality of what – rather, who – was missing.

 Clarence Clemons. The Big Man. The imposing glue of the E Street Band.

It was a massive shadow that hung over the concert for two hours and …

Continue reading Bruce Springsteen triumphs at emotional Atlanta tour opener »

Kelly Hogan will release her first new album in 11 years on June 5. It's called "I Like To Keep Myself In Pain" and you can hear the first track to be released, "We Can't Have Nice Things," at the link below. Photo: Neko Case

One of Georgia’s greatest exports is Kelly Hogan’s voice, and we’re about to get the Atlanta native’s first new album since 2001’s “Because It Feel Good.”

Hogan has signed with respected independent label Anti-, home of Tom Waits, Wilco, Nick Cave, Neko Case and many more critically acclaimed artists. “I Like to Keep Myself in Pain” is set for release June 5, but you can hear a track from the album online now. The lovely and memorable “We Cant Have Nice Things” has lyrics written by another former Atlantan, musician and author Jack Pendarvis.

In the press release announcing the new album, Hogan tells the story of the song: “My dear friend Jack Pendarvis is a writer and he sent these lyrics called “We Can’t Have Nice Things.” He thought it would turn out …

Continue reading Hear a song from Atlanta native Kelly Hogan’s upcoming album »

New Orleans trio MuteMath plays the Tabernacle Sunday, March 18. Photo: Claire Vogel

FRIDAY
Colin Hay
Hay has had a long solo career, but he’ll probably always be known as the frontman for Men at Work. It’s easy to think of that band as a dated ’80s relic, but put the group’s work alongside contemporaries like Kajagoogoo and A Flock of Seagulls and see which holds up better.
8:30 p.m. March 16. $25; $22.50 in advance. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-524-7354.

FRIDAY
Mary Gauthier
You can hear the weight of Louisiana native Gauthier’s past — she’s the adopted child of divorced parents and was a teenage runaway with drug and alcohol problems — in the grim, gritty poetry of her songs and in the bruised twang of her voice. Her earthy delivery and spacious arrangements aren’t radio-friendly, but her songs speak of universal, if painful, truths. Her latest album, “The Foundling,” is an autobiographical work, dealing with her search for her birth parents. A …

Continue reading Live music picks: March 16-20 »

Justin Guarini performed at a preview event for "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County." Photo credit: Greg Mooney

The John Mellencamp-Stephen King collaboration, “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County,” doesn’t receive its world premiere at the Alliance Theatre until April 4.

But the show’s brass is getting a head start at getting the word out.

At a private function for media and theater types downtown at the Hard Rock Café Wednesday night, members of the cast – including stars Shuler Hensley, Justin Guarini, Jake La Botz and the easily-spotted Dale Watson (have you seen the awesome hair on this guy?) – mingled and chatted with the intimate crowd.

As director Susan Booth explained, the primary reason for the shindig was to unveil some of the music in the show – written by Mellencamp with an assist from musical director T Bone Burnett.

Guarini and Lucas Kavner took to the small stage first to growl out the brooding country-roots thumper “Brotherly Love.” If you’re a fan of …

Continue reading Mellencamp’s ‘Ghost Brothers’ songs previewed at event »

Iron and Wine's Buckhead Theatre appearance in November was taped for "Live From the Artists Den." The show will air this weekend on Atlanta's PBA 30.

Were you at the Buckhead Theatre in November for the Iron and Wine show? Well, you might be on TV next weekend.

Atlanta’s PBA 30 will air the latest installment of “Live From the Artists Den” just after midnight Saturday night  (just as St. Patrick’s Day comes to an end, officially 12:05 a.m. March 18). The show, featuring the Sam Beam-led indie-rock outfit Iron and Wine, was taped at the former home of the Roxy just for this broadcast, with an invitation-only audience of 500 fans.

South Carolina-born Beam and an 11-piece band played nearly all of Iron and Wine’s most recent album, “Kiss Each Other Clean.” The set also included favorites such as “Naked as We Came” and “Boy with a Coin,” before Beam closed with a solo version of “Flightless Bird, American Mouth,” which Twi-hards might recognize from the prom scene in “Twilight: …

Continue reading Iron and Wine’s Buckhead Theatre concert on Atlanta’s PBA 30 this weekend »

Zac Brown, shown here at Philips Arena on New Year's Eve, will play for the hometown crowd again with a show at Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 16. Photo: Robb D. Cohen / www.robbsphotos.com

ON SALE NOW
Boome & The Skywalkers, Freshman 15, J.P. 8:30 p.m. March 21. Vinyl. TA.
Melanie Fiona. 9 p.m. March 26. Vinyl. $15. TA.
Sheryl Boyd and Friends. 8:30 p.m. March 30. Vinyl. $15. TA.
Kingaldo, the Issues. 9 p.m. April 6. $10; $7 in advance. Vinyl. TA.
Black Girls’ Anthem. 4 p.m. April 22. Center Stage. $25-$35. TM.
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. 8 p.m. May 2. Vinyl. $12; $10 in advance. TA.

Live Nation’s Georgia Natural Gas Concert Series A at Chastain Park Amphitheatre:

• Beach Boys. April 28.
• Steve Winwood, Michael Franti and Spearhead. May 19.
• K.C. & the Sunshine Band, the Trammps. May 25.
• Sting. June 7.
• Willie Nelson. June 15.
• Earth, Wind & Fire. June 27.
• Al Green, the Blind Boys of Alabama. June 29.
• Sarah McLachlan. July 3.
• Chicago, …

Continue reading Hot tickets: March 13 »

The Eagles members (from left) Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Joe Walsh perform during the Green Concert at Piedmont Park on Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. The band returns to town for two shows at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in May. The second show goes on sale Saturday, March 17.

Despite reserved seating prices of $185, the classic rock band that gave us “Hotel California” and many other hits has added a second show at Alpharetta’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in May. Maybe it’s a sign of an economy in recovery, or maybe it’s just evidence of the Eagles enduring popularity.

The California-born band, whose drummer Don Henley once claimed they would reunite “when hell freezes over,” is back on the road again.

The band called it quits in 1980 and first reunited in 1994, releasing a live album called “Hell Freezes Over.” Since then, the band has continued with a series of very successful tours and a 2007 studio album that has sold more then 3 million copies. On …

Continue reading The Eagles add second show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre »