Lady Antebellum — Dave Haywood (left), Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley — plays Gwinnett Arena Friday, June 22. Photo: Williams + Hirakawa

FRIDAY
Lady Antebellum
Lady Antebellum is one of the hottest bands in the music business at the moment. It’s rare for a band to get nominated for an award before releasing its debut album, but that’s what happened to Lady Antebellum. The trio was among the nominees for the Academy of Country Music’s top new duo or vocal group in 2008, and Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, both from Augusta, and their bandmate Hillary Scott went home with the award. Four years later, this Nashville-based outfit has three No. 1 albums, six No. 1 country singles and two Top 10 pop hits on its résumé.
7 p.m. June 22. Gwinnett Arena. $35-$79.50. Gwinnett Arena, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 770-813-7500.

FRIDAY
Vince Gill, Sarah Jarosz
One of the most likable performers in country music, Gill first came to national attention in Pure Prairie League. He …

Continue reading Concerts: Lady Antebellum, One Direction, Peabo Bryson, Iron Maiden »

Redfoo (left) and SkyBlu do not shop at the Gap. Photos: Raymond Hagans

It’s a good thing there is room in the world for guilty pleasures.

The ‘60s had the Monkees, the ‘70s KC & The Sunshine Band, the ‘80s Poison, and the ‘90s , oh, let’s go with the Spice Girls.

But despite having the most ingratiating song of this century so far with the rash-inducing “Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO defines guilty pleasure for this generation.

Take a little “Wayne’s World,” a return to“A Night at the Roxbury” and the fond memory of Frankie Goes to Hollywood (except they were a real band) and you just might come up with LMFAO, the bozo duo of Redfoo and SkyBlu (don’t they need, like White Canopy, to join the team?).

Their 90-minute show at Philips Arena Wednesday night might be the most ridiculous spectacle ever witnessed on a live stage. But for what these guys lacked in any form of musical talent, they made up for with a breathless performance that was part rave, …

Continue reading LMFAO: Ridiculous and silly…but also fun »

Kelly Osbourne, post-appearance at Emory Wednesday as part of Usher's Wolrd Leadership Conference. Photo: Melissa Ruggieri

Kelly Osbourne knows about being a mess.

In the early-to-mid-2000s, around the time she and her family lived in the self-inflicted fishbowl called “The Osbournes,” the middle Osbourne sibling endured the fallout from drug addiction, too much partying and all of the other trappings of being young, rich and TV-famous.

But the Kelly Osbourne of today couldn’t be more different than her teenaged self.

At 27, she is both poised and endearingly shy, telling a small crowd of young adults at Usher’s World Leadership Conference, “Don’t give up on yourselves. I’m the perfect example of how you can change because I was a [screw] up.”

This is the third year for the event, presented by Usher’s New Look Foundation, a non-profit founded by the Atlanta-based R&B star to empower young people worldwide.

At the kickoff of the three-day meeting Wednesday …

Continue reading Kelly Osbourne empowers with talk at Usher’s World Leadership Conference »

So you might have noticed a bit more activity on the Atlanta Music Scene blog lately.

That’s very perceptive, because we planned it that way!

Considering that Atlanta has such a tremendous and diverse music landscape, we’ve decided to re-dedicate ourselves to coverage, and I’ll be your conductor on this ride.

Starting now, you’ll see several postings a day about music – local and national, concert reviews and breaking news, maybe even a goofy video or two to distract you during a boring workday. You’ll still receive all of your hot ticket info from Shane Harrison, too.

On Tuesdays, I’ll give you a heads-up about new releases for the week and on Fridays, some kind of fun list. We love lists, and know that nothing starts a livelier debate than, say, deeming Starship’s “We Built This City” the worst song ever. See? You either just nodded vigorously in agreement or screamed an obscenity at your computer, didn’t you?

Count on more of that.

There will be times …

Continue reading A new direction for Atlanta Music Scene blog »

For her first album of all original material in more than six years, Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) built her own studio in Malibu to record and produce the new songs.

The first single from “Sun,” due Sept. 4 according to her website is the lilting “Ruin,” a breezy, piano-backed tune that breaks into an appealing lope midway through. It also sounds a bit like a less-batty Sinead O’Connor.

The song is available for listening and free download on the site.

If you’re inclined to pre-order “Sun” from iTunes, you’ll apparently get some bonus tracks with the purchase.

Power, an Atlanta native who moved years before her 2006 breakthrough, “The Greatest,” last put out music in 2008, the nearly all-covers album, “Jukebox.”

Here’s the track listing for the upcoming “Sun.”

• “Cherokee”

• “Sun”

• “Ruin”

• “3,6,9″

• “Always On My Own”

• “Real Life”

• “Human Being”

• “Manhattan”

• “Silent Machine”

• “Nothin’ But Time”

• “Peace And Love”

Follow me on Twitter …

Continue reading Cat Power teases new album »

Morrissey will return to town for a show at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in December. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 22. Photo: Getty Images

ON SALE NOW
The Levee. 9 p.m. June 23. Vinyl. $10; $6 in advance. TA.
Micah Kiyo, Marian Mereba. 8:30 p.m. June 28. Vinyl. $10; $5 in advance. TA.
Scars On 45. 8:30 p.m. July 19. Vinyl. $15; $12 in advance. TA.
SidAerial, Brother Grey, Farewell Disaster, Defying Silence. 8 p.m. July 20. Vinyl. $10; $8 in advance. TA.
Alexz Johnson. 8 p.m. Aug. 2. Vinyl. $12; $10 in advance. TA.
United Sounds of Africa featuring Tuface, Mi, Ice Prince, Jesse Jags, J Martins, Timi Dakola, Iyanya. 8 p.m. Aug. 3. Center Stage. $39. TM.

ON SALE JUNE 22
Mac Leaphart, Gaslight Street. July 18. Smith’s Olde Bar- Atlanta Room. $8 in advance. TA.
Lindsey Buckingham. 9 p.m. July 28. Center Stage. $40-$50. TM.
A City On a Lake. July 29. Smith’s Olde Bar- Music Room. $10 in advance. TA.
Jesco White’s Birthday Bash. July 30. Smith’s Olde Bar- Music Room. …

Continue reading Tickets: Morrissey, David Byrne, Fiona Apple, Lindsey Buckingham »

When “Michael Jackson: THE IMMORTAL World Tour by Cirque du Soleil” parks itself at Philips Arena for three shows June 29-July 1, familiarity will drip from the stage.

Not only in the form of Jackson’s pop nuggets, mostly played by a live band except for some nostalgic glances to the Jackson 5 days (“I’ll Be There” is particularly affecting), but also by some of the people involved in the show.

Choreographer Travis Payne worked with Jackson since 1991, starting with the video for “Remember the Time.” That was just a few years after Payne graduated from Northside High School (now North Atlanta High School) and attended Morehouse College before heading to Los Angeles for a gig with Janet Jackson.

For years, Payne collaborated with Jackson, and was working on moves with him for the “This is It” tour when Jackson died.

His boss, Payne said, was “a great taskmaster, but he knew it was for a good purpose. Sometimes he’d forget to eat because he’d get so …

Continue reading Michael Jackson “IMMORTAL” tour shares Atlanta ties »

Jennifer Nettles at the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas earlier this month. Photo: AP Photo/Isaac Brekken

She’s had to perfect some mothering skills dealing with the hopefuls on “Duets,” and now Jennifer Nettles, 37, will put those skills to better use: She’s pregnant.

Nettles, a Douglas, Ga., native and frontwoman of Sugarland, is expecting her first child with husband Justin Miller, according to People magazine. The couple married in November and the baby is expected by their first anniversary. This is the first child for both.

Sugarland recently announced an Aug. 23 show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta.

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By Melissa Ruggieri, Atlanta Music Scene

Continue reading Jennifer Nettles expecting first Sugar baby »

Photo credit: Ben Watts

One more day, Beliebers!

Tomorrow, Justin Bieber’s “Believe” album drops and the prince of pop is stopping by MTV to pump up the release.

At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, he’ll participate in the aptly named live, 30-minute special, “Bieber Live,” do a little dance, sing a song for 100 fans in the studio and answer questions submitted via Twitter. If you’ve got something to ask, tweet it to @MTVNews with the hashtag #AskBieber.

For the weeks leading up to the arrival of his fourth studio album, Bieber has been slowing teasing fans by unveiling a new song each Tuesday.

His tour to support the album begins this fall, but local fans won’t catch the part-time Atlantan at Philips Arena until January.

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By Melissa Ruggieri, Atlanta Music Scene

Continue reading Justin Bieber to visit MTV for album release party »

B.o.B. wears his sunglasses at night. Photo credit: Melissa Ruggieri

A couple of weeks ago, North Carolinian Scotty McCreery took to the diamond post-game at Turner Field and in September, Southern rock stalwarts Lynyrd Skynyrd will light up the night with “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” after a Braves game.

But on Saturday night, it was a homecoming of sorts when Atlanta-bred rapper/singer/musician B.o.B. and his nine-piece band, including three backup singers, hit the hastily assembled stage – an impressive exercise to watch, actually – set up in the outfield about 30 minutes after the Braves’ loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

About 10,000 fans stuck around for the free show, plus another couple of hundred who paid $20 for a wristband allowing field access.

For an hour, the lithe B.o.B. plowed through 13 songs with the energy of a very hip aerobics instructor.

He strapped on a guitar for the opening “Don’t Let Me Fall,” his Atlanta Falcons cap – later …

Continue reading B.o.B. plays to hometown crowd at Turner Field »