Sunday music links:
- "Rehab" singer (and current patient) Amy Winehouse allowed into U.S. — but "chooses to stay home." She'll perform at today's Grammy Awards show via satellite.
- Atlanta prog-metal quartet Mastodon has teamed with Slipknot and others for the Rockstar Energy Mayhem tour, which comes to Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa on July 29. Here's my review of Mastodon's performance last year at the State Theatre.
- Synth-pop standout Ladytron announce new release, tour dates: "(February 8, 2008 – Los Angeles, CA) – LADYTRON are set to release their fourth full-length album, VELOCIFERO, on June 3, 2008 through Nettwerk Music Group. The band will tour North America with dance punks Datarock, hitting 31 cities between May 20 and July 4" including Czar in Ybor City on June 11.
- Martin Scorsese to follow his Rolling Stones concert film Shine a Light with Bob Marley documentary. My interview with Ky-Mani Marley will run in the Creative Loafing that hits newsstands Feb. 14.
- Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Phil Lesh, 311, Matisyahu, Thievery Corporation, The Roots, Gov't Mule, Ani DiFranco and many more to play Langerado Music Festival: March 6-9 , Big Cypress Indian Reservation, near Ft. Lauderdale.
- How can you take a music award show seriously when it's never honored Neil Young, The Who, Led Zeppelin or The Kinks? And does anyone really want to sit through what will likely be three or four acceptance speeches by the gifted and gratingly arrogant Kanye West? Not me. While millions veg through another Grammy snooze-fest I'll be at Skipper's Smokehouse witnessing a performance by bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley (scroll down). Which could also prove to be a snooze-fest, but at least it'll be a lot briefer than the Grammys and not feature a gloating (or griping) Kanye.
This article appears in Nov 5-11, 2008.