Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Paul McCartney feted by Mr Obama and star musicians, including Jonas Brothers
With a career that has spanned 50 years, Paul McCartney is undoubtedly one of the music world's living legends.
And this week he joined an elite group of singer-songwriters when President Obama awarded him the US Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, one of the highest honours in music.
The Obama family hosted a tribute concert that brought together an eclectic group of talented musicians who performed Paul's songs at the White House.
One of Sasha and Malia's favourite bands, the Jonas Brothers, played Drive My Car, while Stevie Wonder – last year's recipient – entertained with We Can Work It Out.
Other stars who helped honour the ex-Beatle were Faith Hill, Elvis Costello and Jack White.
As for President Obama, he praised the impact the Beatles had on popular music, saying they "blew the walls down for everybody else" and "helped to lay the soundtrack for an entire generation".
Paul, one of only three winners of the Gershwin Prize and the only non-American, seemed excited to receive the award from Barack and expressed his support for the US leader.
Full Article
SHOWSTOPPER
He sure can play! Nick Jonas and his brothers Joe and Kevin (not pictured) perform at a free morning concert Wednesday in Washington, D.C., as part of Live Nation's "No Service Fee" promotion
New Cambio Video
It's finally here...Cambio.com will begin to roll out programming this June! Go to cambio.com to get the details! http://www.cambio.com/
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Jonas Brothers Walk Across Hollywood & Highland!
Check out the huge JONAS L.A. billboard across Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles!
Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas are in Washington, D.C. right now (in fact, they just performed a concert this morning) but are really excited to premiere the second season of their show on Sunday, June 20th.
In the premiere episode “House Party,” Kevin, Joe, Nick, Stella (Chelsea Staub) and Macy (Nicole Anderson) arrive in Los Angeles to begin a summer vacation they will never forget.
Their gregarious neighbor, DZ (Adam Hicks), convinces the guys to throw a house party and a surprise guest shows up!
The Jonas Brothers Don't Want To Pay Service Fees
Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.
Even though album sales have been floundering for years, the concert industry has been keeping the music business afloat for the past few years. But could this be the summer that the bubble bursts on that business too? U2 and Christina Aguilera have both had to cancel two of the more high profile tours of the summer, and sales of high-profile tours like Lilith Fair have been sluggish (at last weekend's Sasquatch Festival in Seattle, Live Nation was selling Lilith tickets for 10 bucks, while the price of a beer on site was 11 dollars). But concert goers will get a break during the month of June, as Live Nation — the biggest concert promotion company in the country — will be waiving service fees at a number of major venues across the country for shows by the likes of Adam Lambert, Rihanna, Phish, 311 and Jack Johnson. Live Nation are so excited about this development that they threw a party announcing the plan and hired the Jonas Brothers to play a special set in San Francisco.
Jonas Brothers (Pop)Rock The Warner Theatre
Early yesterday afternoon hordes of teenage girls and entry level ladies lined-up outside Warner Theatre, according to the Washington Post, to receive free wristbands to a randomly announced Jonas Brothers show that took place this morning.
Getting into the show was an easy feat if you got in line early enough. Just stand outside the theater and wait for a wristband when the theater box office opened at 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Sounds simple for the kiddies who are off of school, but what about those 20-somethings who have no shame in loving the adorable (yeah I went there, feel free to mock me, I can take it) pop trio?
24-year-old Ashley Danchuk, a self-proclaimed Jonas die-hard (she has a tattoo to prove it) and member of Team Jonas (The official Jonas Brothers Fan Club, who received word of the show on Monday night via e-mail), couldn’t skip out on her 9 to 5 to get the wristbands for the show so she had a friend go for her. It resulted in great success.
Not only did Danchuk catch T.Swift’s set at the Verizon Center last night but she woke up at the crack of dawn and arrived at 5:30 a.m to a line of “crazy, loud, and super fun fans”, with coffee in hand.
Lil’ Miss Danchuk had no problem with the start time if it meant seeing her beloved JoBros. “It was…amazing. So much energy as usual. Even though it was extremely early everyone including JB was excited to be there,” Danchuk said.
This just so happened to be Danchuk’s 10th time seeing the JoBros in concert.
What was so special about this one? “For me personally it was so special because it was the closest I’ve ever been to them.”
And then the kicker … was a show this early even worth it? Apprently so! “It was 100% worth it,” Danchuk said. “I would have gotten up hours earlier if I had to.”
Jonas Brothers, Jerry Seinfeld to Honor Paul McCartney at White House Tonight
Providing a much-needed break from the president's non-stop bummer of a newsweek, Sir Paul McCartney will head to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. tonight to receive the George Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. At a ceremony in the East Room of the White House (to be broadcast on WETA on July 28, though hard-core Beatles fans can watch the live stream on whitehouse.gov), McCartney will be feted by fellow superstars Stevie Wonder (recipient of last year's prize and a Michelle Obama fave), the Jonas Brothers (a Sasha and Malia Obama fave), Elvis Costello (a Nick Jonas fave), country megastars Faith Hill and Emmylou Harris, rock gods Dave Grohl (of the Foo Fighters) and Jack White (of the White Stripes), classical Chinese pianist Lang Lang, jazz legend Herbie Hancock, and indie songstress Corinne Bailey Rae. Should all those stars fail to entertain, "remarks" will be offered by Jerry Seinfeld. No word yet on whether Prince will jump out of a birthday cake in the shape of McCartney's face (only half kidding).
The Gershwin Prize is not officially a White House honor -- it is awarded by the Library of Congress to "honor artists whose creative output transcends distinctions between musical styles and idioms, bringing diverse listeners together, and fostering mutual understanding and appreciation." Librarian of Congress James H. Billington praised McCartney's career, saying, "Sir Paul has been writing and performing for more than five decades . . . in genres ranging from rock 'n' roll to classical compositions. But he also has made an impact far beyond music through his humanitarianism and activism around the world, which are emblematic of the spirit of the Gershwin Prize." Begun in 2007, previous Gershwin winners are Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.
While the president has mentioned Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan as some of his favorite musicians, he may be surprised to know that McCartney has a few topical songs that may provide guidance as he charts the road ahead on everything from finance reform to Supreme Court nominations.
Herewith, a Top 10 list of Songs Written by Paul McCartney Which May or May Not be Helpful to Barack Obama as He Tries to Get a Handle on Things:
1. "Here, There and Everywhere" (BP oil spill)
2. "The Girl Is Mine" (Elena Kagan nomination for the Supreme Court)
3. "Back in the USSR" (nuclear disarmament)
4. "Get Back" (Wall Street reform)
5. "We Can Work it Out" (North and South Korea)
6. "Maybe I'm Amazed" (passage of the healthcare bill)
7. "Good Day Sunshine" (energy bill)
8. "All My Loving" (Israel/Middle East peace talks)
9. "Band on the Run" (Afghanistan)
10. "Can't Buy Me Love" (midterm elections)
Jonas Brothers video: Trio give free concert
American boy band The Jonas Brothers kick off the 'Live Nation concert series' with a special performance (REUTERS)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Third Les Mis for 25th birthday celebrations
Alfie Boe, Nick Jonas and Matt Lucas will star in a one-off concert production of Les Misérables at the O2 on 3 October, the culmination of the musical’s 25th birthday celebrations.
The concert means not one but three productions of the French revolutionary musical will play in London this year. As well as the original production at the Queen’s theatre, the 25th anniversary touring production comes to the Barbican theatre – the show’s original home – between 14 September and 2 October.
The O2 concert will feature a cast of over 300 actors and musicians, including many former West End and Broadway cast members of Les Misérables. Leading British tenor Boe heads the cast as former convict Valjean, with Broadway star Norm Lewis as the police inspector who is hunting him, Javert. Little Britain and Shooting Stars comedian Lucas returns to the stage to play Thénardier, with Les Misérables legend Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier and international musical star Lea Salonga as Fantine.
Nick Jonas, a member of the pop band The Jonas Brothers, takes to the stage as Marius, a role he will be playing at the Queen’s theatre for three weeks from 21 June. Jonas is no stranger to the musical, having played Gavroche in the Broadway production for nine months.
Members of the original 1985 cast will join them on stage, along with the current stars of the West End and Barbican productions.
Based on Victor Hugo’s novel, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg’s musical opened at the Barbican theatre on 8 October 1985. At the time, the outlook for the musical was bleak. David Burt, who played Enjolras in the original cast, told Official London Theatre: “We truly felt that it was going to open and it would be scuttled by the critics, and we felt that the knives were out.”
Though the critics did indeed give the show less than positive reviews, it struck a chord with the public, who arrived in droves. Since then Les Misérables has been seen by over 56 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages.
The concert means not one but three productions of the French revolutionary musical will play in London this year. As well as the original production at the Queen’s theatre, the 25th anniversary touring production comes to the Barbican theatre – the show’s original home – between 14 September and 2 October.
The O2 concert will feature a cast of over 300 actors and musicians, including many former West End and Broadway cast members of Les Misérables. Leading British tenor Boe heads the cast as former convict Valjean, with Broadway star Norm Lewis as the police inspector who is hunting him, Javert. Little Britain and Shooting Stars comedian Lucas returns to the stage to play Thénardier, with Les Misérables legend Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier and international musical star Lea Salonga as Fantine.
Nick Jonas, a member of the pop band The Jonas Brothers, takes to the stage as Marius, a role he will be playing at the Queen’s theatre for three weeks from 21 June. Jonas is no stranger to the musical, having played Gavroche in the Broadway production for nine months.
Members of the original 1985 cast will join them on stage, along with the current stars of the West End and Barbican productions.
Based on Victor Hugo’s novel, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg’s musical opened at the Barbican theatre on 8 October 1985. At the time, the outlook for the musical was bleak. David Burt, who played Enjolras in the original cast, told Official London Theatre: “We truly felt that it was going to open and it would be scuttled by the critics, and we felt that the knives were out.”
Though the critics did indeed give the show less than positive reviews, it struck a chord with the public, who arrived in droves. Since then Les Misérables has been seen by over 56 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages.
No service fees on tickets could boost summer concert sales
By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY
Concert tickets go on sale today. That's on sale, as in discounts of up to 25% for 8 million tickets to 700 shows, a rare rollback in an industry better known for escalating VIP prices than broad markdowns.
Entertainment goliath Live Nation is eliminating all service fees for reserved and lawn seats purchased in June for shows at its 50 amphitheaters.
The "No Service Fee June" campaign covers 110 acts, including Tom Petty, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, Brad Paisley, John Mayer, Green Day, Kings of Leon and Tim McGraw. (Details at livenation.com.)
"This is every show in every amphitheater," says Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino. "Basically, our entire summer inventory."
A narrower promotion last year sold nearly 1 million tickets. In surveys, about 60% of fans said dropped fees were the deciding factor in purchasing.
"Last year, we had some pushback from artists," Rapino says. This year, "every artist said, 'We'd love to help out.' "
Hopping on as mascots, the Jonas Brothers are offering fee-free tickets to their tour and promoting with a fan-club show Wednesday in Washington.
"With the tough economy, my brothers and I wanted to do something," Nick Jonas says. "We have a close relationship with our fans, and this is one way to help them out."
Growing up, he says, "our family financial situation wasn't that great, and we'd have to refrain from going" to concerts.
His father/co-manager, Kevin Jonas Sr., adds: "I'll speak as a dad. It can be difficult to buy one ticket, much less three or four. When you eliminate any fees, it makes it much more possible."
Because 40% of amphitheater seats go unsold, a price cut benefits all parties, Rapino says: "If we can move a few extra seats, everyone's happy."
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