Charlie Daniels and Friends Christmas for Kids Concert

The Charity event raises money for the Christmas For Kids, Inc. organization. The Christmas For Kids Organization has been in existence for over 25 years providing special children the opportunity to celebrate the holiday season. Each year, the organization brings the spirit of Christmas to hundreds of children throughout Middle Tennessee allowing them to participate in festive activities organized just for them. Other events like the Tour Bus Show raise money by allowing visitors to tour the home-away-from-home of more than sixty stars. Fans may actually meet many of the artists who bring their buses to the Hendersonville Wal-Mart from 5:00-9:00 p.m. The date for the Tour Bus Show is Monday, December 14, 2009 - more on this story

The Elms New Album Coming Next Week

Rocket Science reports: The Elms have crafted 12 tracks where spirited melodies, brazen riffs and tightly-knit rhythms come together on their fourth Album The Great American Midrange. Set for release September 15 via their own TRUST Incorporated label in conjunction with Warner Music Publishing and Artist 2 Market (A2M) Distribution, the album was co-produced by The Elms and longtime collaborator Brent Milligan; engineered and mixed by Adam Kasper (Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age); and mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig (Rolling Stones, U2, Pearl Jam, REM, Radiohead). Of teaming with Kasper and Ludwig, lead singer and songwriter Owen Thomas says, "These guys are heroes of ours!"

The Elms--Owen Thomas (Vocals, Guitar), Christopher Thomas (Drums), Nathan W. Bennett (Bass) and Thomas Daugherty (Guitar)--build solidly upon a tradition that stretches from The Band to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, with deep roots in the muddy working soul of their home country. Throughout the album, THE ELMS assure that the blues-heavy bombast ("The Shake") exists properly against its deep, emotional turns ("The Wildest Heart", "The Little Ways") while embracing their pop sensibilities with simple yet huge hooks ("County Fair"). Rousing first single "Back To Indiana" goes for adds at radio on August 4, after having premiered May 24 nationally on the ABC, ESPN and VS. networks during their coverage of the Indianapolis 500 race.

"'American midrange' is what I've begun calling the sonic identity of our band in the last year," explains Owen of the album title's origin. "Our sound is pretty raw and unaffected." Thomas continues, "The title is also meant to describe the working-class; the vast, collected majority of the country just putting one foot in front of the other every day, trying to find answers to very basic questions about provisions for themselves and their families. That 'midrange' is the contextual backdrop for every tune on the record, whether it be a song about work, love, ambition, or taking care of each other." - more on this story

White Lies For Kimmel and Kings of Leon

PR reports: White Lies will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live Sept. 10th and embark on a Fall arena tour as main support for Kings of Leon kicking off September 28th in Minneapolis, MN.

The fall trek with Kings of Leon will have White Lies playing to packed crowds across the US and will culminate on October 16th with a show at the Sommet Center in Nashville, TN.

Prior to these dates, White Lies will be doing a few shows on their own including a headlining performance at New York City's famed Webster Hall on September 25th and at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on October 4th. - more on this story

Locksley Look At Multiple Generations of Music On Their New Album

PR reports: On their 2007 debut Don't Make Me Wait, unsigned, Wisconsin natives, Locksley found success with a fresh and exciting mix of garage-pop and brit-rock. The band's forthcoming, follow-up album finds them exploring their American musical roots with bits of Swing, 50's Doo-Wop, 60's Soul and early American-Punk coming together to create something uniquely and confidently their own.

Locksley returns with their new album Be In Love on January 26th, 2010. The four-piece band, brothers Jesse and Jordan Laz (rhythm guitar and bass respectively), Kai Kennedy (lead guitar) and Sam Bair (drums) are very excited about the new material.

"We've broadened and narrowed our outlook on this album" Jesse remarked. "We added a third vocalist and songwriter in Jordan, which was big and we were listening to and pulling from a larger variety of music than before. At the same time, we cut a lot of fat in our parts and tightened up the arrangements quite a bit so the album ends up feeling more focused than the last one, even though it's spread out over more voices." - more on this story

3 Reintroducing Old Songs For New CD

PR reports: 3's follow up to 2007's critically-acclaimed album, "The End Is Begun," has been finished. "Revisions" will be available on October 27th and sees 3 re-examining their past, sometimes lesser known material.

The band digs into their back catalogue of forward thinking and, as always, incredibly melodic songs to breathe new life into what some fans may have missed out on.

3 describes Revisions as a collection that "taps the rich history of 3 by re-examining some of the earlier songs that made us who we are today. Some of them are known from early live bootlegs, others existed only on cassette and were transferred to the internet by dedicated fans. In any event, these are songs that we felt deserved a second chance, a 'revision' if you will. Our passion for music is truly the common thread that binds our diverse body of work." - more on this story

Taj Mahal Teams Up with Los Lobos Star and Los Cenzontles For New Album

conqueroo reports: Blues legend Taj Mahal and master guitarist/multi-instrumentalist David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) have collaborated with Mexican-American roots group Los Cenzontles (pronounced los senn-sont-less) to tell a timely story of hope, struggle and gratitude of the American worker. Traversing traditional Mexican, blues, cumbia and psychedelic rock styles, they create a distinctive, fresh and exciting sound. The November 3 release will be distributed through ADA Distribution.

Taj Mahal is one of the most prominent and influential figures in late 20th century blues and roots music and a two-time Grammy winner. Starting his career more than four decades ago with American blues, he has broadened his artistic scope over the years to include music representing virtually every corner of the world -- western Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Hawaiian Islands. In American Horizon, Taj explores the deep connections between his own cultural roots and those of Mexican American traditions.

Best known for his work with three-time Grammy winners Los Lobos, David Hidalgo has a musical trajectory that is broad and deep. As songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, accordionist and keyboardist he has delved into rock, traditional and experimental styles. His productions reflect the intimacy and creativity of Latino music and its place in the American cultural landscape.

Los Cenzontles (The Mockingbirds) are a group of musicians deeply bonded to folk roots while incorporating other styles and genres into their music. With fluid harmonies by Lucina Rodriguez, Fabiola Trujillo and Hugo Arroyo they incorporate a sound of California into everything they record. Their first collaboration with David Hidalgo in 2008, Songs of Wood & Steel, brought the group wider recognition from the press. Vintage Guitar magazine said, "The group has created an album that seamlessly incorporates rock and blues elements into traditional Mexican forms, smacking of neither academia nor compromise." - more on this story

Wednesday 13's Gunfire 76 Lineup

PR reports: Wednesday 13 has confirmed the touring line-up for his latest project, Gunfire 76. The 70's style glam band is set to release its debut album, Casualties & Tragedies, on Oct. 6 via Wednesday 13 LLC.

Joining the Murderdolls front man will be Roman Surman (guitar), Dave Musselman (guitar, formerly of Jet Black Stare), Scott Whalen (bass player, also of Econoline Crush) and Rob Hammersmith (drums, current member of Rockets To Ruin).

"I'm really looking forward to getting out on the road with these guys and seeing how we all bring this music to life live," said Wednesday of the line-up. Gunfire 76 head out on their first US & UK tours this fall, dates are - here

Crystal Ball Revisited

MMP reports: The Swiss band Crystal Ball is surely one of the most talented names on the contemporary melodic hard rock scene. Their music, strongly influenced by heavy and power metal, delivers a truly outstanding mixture of solid drumming, tight guitar work, dazzling solos and energetic vocals. "Virtual Empire", the group's third full-length offering, is by far one of their most impressive works, combining all the best elements of their style into one big rocking masterpiece!

Released in May, 2002, "Virtual Empire" was Crystal Ball's first LP for Nuclear Blast and one of their most sophisticated works yet. The twelve (excluding the intro) tracks found on the album delivered a perfect mixture of hard rock and heavy metal, backed with atmospheric sci-fi punctuations which underlined "Virtual Empire's" futuristic theme. The LPs content varied from straight-forward power metal killers such as "Hands of God" or "Blind Side" (which has a similar structure to Helloween's material) to the beautiful ballad "Look In My Eyes". Other highlights included pure rocking tracks such as "Night and Day" and "Dance With The Devil". Produced by Tommy Newton (Helloween, Ark, Human Fortress), "Virtual Empire" proved to be a big success for the band, followed by a massive tour across Europe with Dokken, U.D.O., Doro and Krokus.

Metal Mind Productions will re-release "Virtual Empire" on 21st September in Europe and 1st December in USA (via MVD). New digipak edition is limited to 2000 copies. Digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on a golden disc. - more on this story

. Shadows Fall - Retribution

Retribution is not a necessary buy for metalheads unfamiliar with the band. But for the many people who already consider themselves Shadows Fall fans, the band delivers 45 minutes of the sound theyve spent all these years perfecting. (3.5 stars) - Read the full Shadows Fall - Retribution review

.... Lethargy - Purification

Perfect for rolling down a corvette's windows while flooring the pedal, Purification is a hard rock recording in an age devoid of muscular radio tunes. Confident and cool, the band's swagger contains enough bluff for those confused by their throwback style. - Read the full Lethargy - Purification review

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