Hot Music Beat

While performing at the V Festival at Hylands Park in the UK last weekend, second wave ska legends The Specials introduced a very special surprise guest to the crowd – Amy Winehouse. The singer’s performance with the group was less than impressive but it’s still great to see Wino back on the stage while staying steady on her own two feet. Wino wiggled along to ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘You’re Wondering Now’ before bidding the crowd goodbye and shouting “Give it up for the fucking Specials!” Here’s to hoping that once she’s back with her own music, she’ll be as great as when she first debuted.

Glastonbury bosses are reportedly lining up acts such as David Bowie, Noel and Liam Gallagher from Oasis, and The Who for next year’s UK festival.

It is claimed organisers Michael and Emily Eavis want the festival’s 40th anniversary next year to be the best yet with performing acts from the last four decades.

A source said: “Michael and Emily want to make next year’s festival the most memorable ever. They’ve got a number of ideas up their sleeves, but one they are already working on is getting past performers to play at the next bash.

“They’ve sent out feelers and have got a lot of positive feedback so far. And if they manage to pull their plan off, then, without a shadow of a doubt, they will have one of the greatest musical bills ever put together in history.”

Source: Splash News

At least 11 people were killed this past weekend in a stampede during the final night of the Mawazine music festival in the Moroccan capital of Rabat. Kylie Minogue and Alicia Keys had performed at the festival in the weeks prior to the incident, which draws over a million people to the city of Rabat annually. 70,000 people had gathered at the closing night of the festival to hear hometown sensation Abdelaziz Stati when a wire fence gave out while the crowd was leaving the festival grounds. The crowd’s surge caused a stampede where 5 women, 4 men and 2 children suffocated to death while being trampled by the mass exodus of concert goers. My condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims.

It is being reported that Amy Winehouse will not be performing at this year’s Coachella music festival. Don’t go hating on her though as Wino cancelled not because she bailed on concertgoers but because the singer has been denied a work visa due to her legal troubles. Wino is due to appear in court next week to settle charges brought against her by a fan who the singer assaulted back in September of last year. A friend of Wino said “Amy is absolutely gutted. She was looking forward to getting back on stage and this was going to be one of the biggest shows of her life… As well as 75,000 fans, there would have been top record execs there too so she might have even tried out some new material.”

England’s most famous summer music festival, Glastonbury, is going back to its guitar roots this summer. The organizers of the event just got Bruce Springsteen to sign on to be the headlining act. Last year, rapper Jay-Z was the headliner of the fest which made a lot of die-hard fans unhappy. Michael Eavis, the Somerset farmer who has hosted the event since 1970 said “I’m so pleased that Bruce Springsteen has agreed to come to Worthy Farm for the first time. He’s one of the all-time rock legends and I’m confident that this will be one of our best shows ever.”

The Coachella Music Festival recently announced its lineup last week. It’s a sign of the times when even a big music festival is offering some purchasing packages to meet the current economic situation. The organizers are offering layaway and “half now/half later” options for buying tickets. It’s smart if you ask me, especially considering how the concert industry is in fear of a big decline in profits due to the current economic situation. It’s really just the really big acts like Madonna who still continues to earn in concerts. That means, it doesn’t matter if you’re a broke dirty hipster. You can still make it out to Coachella.

Christina Aguilera looked hot as she performed at THISDAY’s Africa Rising Festival at the Royal Albert Hall in London recently. The working mom didn’t waste any time there as she also found time to sit down for an interview with People where she talked about having more kids and how she balances her work and being a mom to her son Max. She said “I’m in love with my life. But Mama has to work, Mama has to do a job. I think it’s important to share what I love – what makes me me – with my son. So. I change diapers and I breastfeed him and I play with him and then I work. I want to show Max everything about me.”

Rihanna performed her smash hit single ‘Umbrella’ with Jay-Z at the 3rd Annual THISDAY Fashion and Musical Festival in Abuja, Nigeria on Friday. This year’s festival, which is tagged ‘Africa Rising: To Celebrate the Best and Brightest of Emerging New Africa’, was designed o revolutionize global perspectives on African issues. The organizers of the event are intent of Africa receiving investments instead of aid as well as a new mindset which they believe can be achieved through a celebration of the continent’s potentials. And who better to catch attention than who can arguably be the most recognizable artist of this era?

Singer and songwriter Colbie Caillat was at the Rothbury Music Festival at the Double JJ Ranch this past weekend in Rothbury, Michigan. You can also catch the 23-year old musician as John Mayer’s opening act for his summer tour. Her first album reached the #5 spot on the Billboard charts and her single ‘Bubbly’ became an adult contemporary hit. When asked about performing, she says “I’ve always loved singing and writing songs and recording, but I had never grown up performing in front of people a lot. It was never my thing, I’d always try to avoid it, and now I have to do it every day.”

Maybe they should’ve kept her locked up in that hospital room because she’s apparently not ready to be around people. Amy Winehouse is attacking fans!

Seems a fan tried to grab her hair and Amy responded by lunging into the crown and trying to hit the fan. Images taken of the incident did not really show clearly what happened.

This all happened as she played her set at the Glastonbury Festival,

UK based rockers Pendulum have just released their In Silico album in North America. Already a sensation overseas, the have their sights set on the States and just made their debut here with a triumphant appearance at this year’s Coahchella festival. To get a quick taste of the band’s dynamic live show, click here to watch “Propane Nightmares” live from the BBC “Radio 1’s Big Weekend” last week. The UK’s most famous radio personality, Zane Lowe reflects on Pendulum’s set exclaiming, “I’ll never forget today because of that performance!”

In Silico is out now on Atlantic Records

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