Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Blondie Plot

Co-Headlining U.S. Tour Joint, 13-date run launches in late July!

Elvis Costello & the Imposters and Blondie will unite for a U.S. summer tour. The co-headlining, 13-date jaunt launches July 20th in Bethel, New York and wraps August 10th in Seattle, Washington.

Artist pre-sale tickets are available Tuesday, April 2nd at noon, and a general on-sale begins Saturday, April 6th at 10 a.m. local time via Live Nation.

Costello and Blondie share a history, having both emerged from the late Seventies New Wave movement. At one point in 1979, both acts were rubbing elbows at the top of the UK album charts with their respective third LPs, the former’s Armed Forces and the latter’s Parallel Lines. (In the mid-Nineties, Costello and Blondie singer Debbie Harry collaborated on a track with the Jazz Passengers.

Costello & the Imposters issued their most recent album, Look Now, in 2018. Blondie released their 11th record, Pollinator, in 2017. During their recent live runs, both bands performed at the 2018 Riot Fest.

By RYAN REED/ROLLING STONE

Yes Announces 2019 North American Tour With Asia, John Lodge & Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy

Yes will embark on “The Royal Affair Tour” of North America this summer with Asia, John Lodge of The Moody Blues and Carl Palmer‘s ELP Legacy with guest vocals by Arthur Brown. The first batch of dates have been confirmed and span June 12 – July 28.

The current lineup of Yes features Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Jay Schellen and Billy Sherwood. Howe, a founding member of Asia, will do double duty by performing with Asia for a part of their set each night. Asia are expected to pay tribute to late founding member John Wetton with a new lineup that includes Sherwood and guitarist/lead vocalist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal. Lodge’s set will focus on The Moody Blues classics, while Palmer will pay tribute to the memory of his fellow Emerson, Lake & Palmer members Keith Emerson and Greg Lake. Yes will perform songs from throughout their Hall Of Fame career and will honor John Lennon as White was the drummer for some of Lennon’s solo tracks such as “Imagine.”

“Yes is delighted to headline this celebration of British music which has been so warmly received in America over the past five decades,” Howe said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to joining a number of classic British talents that have delighted so many fans over the past half century,” White added.

Tickets for most shows go on sale this Friday, April 5.JamBase/Scott Bernstein

Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic Lineup: Luke Combs, Jamey Johnson, Alison Krauss & More!

Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic will return to Circuit of The Americas’ Austin360 Amphitheater on July 4 in Texas. The stacked lineup for the picnic’s 46th edition includes performances by Willie Nelson & Family, Luke Combs, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson and many more.

The venue’s Grand Plaza will have picnic tables set up where fans can eat, drink and watch live music throughout the event. The day will conclude with a fireworks display.

The country legend is keeping busy as last month Nelson announced the lineup for his 2019 Outlaw Music Festival Tour. The trek includes Krauss, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Avett Brothers, The Revivalists and more. The touring festival will kick off in Bangor, Maine on June 14.

Tickets go on sale April 5 at 10 a.m. CT and will be available at ticketmaster.com and thecircuit.com or can be charged by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets range from $45-$99.50.

4/1/2019 by Annie Reuter /Billboard Magazine

Sting Revisits, Reimagines Police, Solo Hits on 'My Songs' Collection.

Sting has always prided himself as an artist constantly looking forward. But on his next album he looks back -- in order to bring his music forward. “My Songs”, due out May 24, finds Sting revisiting 15 of his Police and solo favorites, revising and reimagining them to varying degrees - but in almost all cases updating sonics, dynamics and arrangements based on the way the songs have evolved for him over the years.

“My Songs”, recorded in various locations, makes use of both existing and newly recorded tracks, with members of Sting's touring band (guitarist Dominic Miller and his son Rufus, drummer Josh Freese) and of the Last Bandoleros and Sting's manager Martin Kierszenbaum - who also produced tracks with Dave Aude and Jerry Fuentes - joining Sting on the latter.

The “My Songs” project was inspired by an invitation to perform "Brand New Day" - which Sting wrote for the millennium - in Times Square this past New Year's Eve. "It's a hopeful song about turning over a new leaf and starting again," Sting says, "so we did an updated version of that, again, taking off some filters and using a different bass drum sound, and it just sounded very contemporary and it ended up on Spotify, next to Ariana Grande. So, I thought, 'Yeah, that works. Let's keep doing that.' So, we worked on 'Desert Rose' and sent it to the record company and said, 'We think it's a hit again.' We're just having fun, which is good. If it wasn't fun, I couldn't do it."

Sting, who shared a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album with Shaggy for their 44/876, will hit the road again with the rapper on May 19 for a short U.K. tour, then play five dates in the U.S. during May before launching a Sting: My Songs tour starting on May 28 in Paris. He also has a handful of additional U.S. dates slated for late summer. "This tour will be based on the album" says Sting "I also want to bring in some tertiary songs that people haven't heard for awhile and change it up a bit," he says. "I don't want it to be a greatest hits tour. I will play the hits, but I want people to be surprised by a choice or two." For more information on the new album and tour dates check out his website: https://www.sting.com/

(c) Billboard by Gary Graff