TOUR DATE UPDATES: Logistics Force Relocation Of Two Prince Concerts During Xenophobia & Much More!

For his third annual weeklong "Xenophobia" celebration (June 20-27), Prince was forced to move the two concerts at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis to his Paisley Park studios.

His June 22 show was reportedly moved because of problems in transporting his gear from Canada, where he ended a tour last week, reports the Star Tribune. Now, the June 26 concert is also moving, because of "logistical difficulties in loading into the Orpheum Theatre," according to a statement.

"The logistical difficulties are on our end, not the Orpheum's," said his New York
spokeswoman, Jessica Brenner, reports the paper. "Because Prince is playing every other night at Paisley as part of Xenophobia, it seems to make more sense to keep it all at Paisley," she said.

During "Xenophobia," Prince and his New
Power Generation band are performing each night. Special guests include Norah Jones, Musiq, Maceo
Parker, Victor Wooten, Rachelle Ferrell and Sheila E. Only members of Prince's New Power Generation Music Club are able to get passes — for $250 per person. Children under 11 are admitted free. A limited number of day passes have been made available to the general public.

Demand Takes Seth Yacovone Band Back To Europe

Due to overwhelming European demand, the Seth Yacovone Band is interrupting its 2002 American tour this week to leave for its second tour of Italy in less than a year.

The Burlington, VT, trio — praised in music magazines both domestically and internationally for its explosive blues-rooted sound — is adding Switzerland to its four-week overseas summer tour of festivals and clubs. The band, which also includes bassist Tom Coggio and drummer Steve Hadeka — last played Italy for a three-week run in October.

"The main thing I'm looking forward to about this Italy tour is getting a chance to play our music for lots of new people in new places who don't often get the opportunity to see us," said Yacovone. "This creates a whole different kind of dynamic between the band and audience, which makes us play music differently than we normally would. I expect lots of hard work, travel and great food. I expect little amounts of sleep, laundry and air conditioning. I expect to get the tremendous opportunity to express ourselves musically in front of people. And I expect to leave a little there and take a little back."

The band's tour of Italy and Switzerland tour is once again being produced by Only a Hobo Productions, the Italian promoters who originally discovered the band after reading about them in Buscadero Magazine. Only a Hobo promoter Carlo Carlini decided to bring back the trio due to pressure from fans who had either seen the band in October or heard about its fall Italian tour.

"I was getting pressed so hard from the fans, that I decided to do another tour this summer," said Carlini. "I'm sure that this tour will spread more of the band's wonderful spirit and enthusiasm throughout Italy, and be a great occasion to demonstrate that the music of the Seth Yacovone Band deserves a bigger audience over here."

The band has been touring the East Coast all year behind its fourth CD, Standing On The Sound, and will return to the U.S. In late July for another series of high-profile club and festival appearances that will continue into the fall.

Foremost among the young trio's admirers is Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, who describes 22-year-old Seth as an "incredibly soulful and a natural talent, not to mention a great guy. I loved this guy from the first moment I heard him play."

2002 European Tour

June 27 MILAN, ITA Blues House

June 28 RAPPERSWIL, SWI Piazza

June 30 MERCALLO, ITA Festa della Birra

July 3 PADOVA, ITA Banale

July 6 SESTO CALENDE, ITA Sala Marna

July 12 MENAGGIO, ITA Lido Giardino

July 13 CHIARI, ITA Piazza

July 16 STRESA, ITA Idrovolante

July 17 SARZANA, ITA Piazza Fermo Posta

July 19 ATRI TE FESTIVA

July 20 MURA, ITA Le Paludi

2002 US Tour

July 26 Randolph, VT Pond N' Palooza

July 27 Windsor, VT Harpoon BBQ Festival

Aug. 1 Oneonta, NY Black Oak Tavern

Aug. 2 Saratoga Springs, NY Club Caroline

Aug. 3 Portsmouth, NH Muddy River Smokehouse

Aug. 13 Syracuse, NY OPL

Aug. 15 New York, NY Lion's Den

Aug. 16 Stanhope, NJ Waterloo Village
(side stage at Dickey Betts show)

Aug. 17 Elmore, VT Pork Fest

Aug. 22 Stanhope, NJ Stanhope House

Aug. 31 Turin, NY moe. Down Festival

Sept. 13 Portsmouth, NH Isle of Shoals Steamship

Sept. 14 Northampton, MA Pearl Street Club Room
(with Psychedelic Breakfast)

Sept. 21 Winooski, VT Higher Ground

Oct. 12 New York, NY Tobacco Road

Soft Ticket Sales Kill Memphis Concert Series

The Festival in the Grove concert series scheduled at Memphis' Shelby Farms
ended before it ever got started. Blame it on soft ticket sales.

"Totally a lack of ticket sales," promoter Eli Ball said in the Commercial Appeal.
"We did our best job. We scheduled it at a great venue. The timing just isn't right,
apparently."

The first show was to have been June 29, featuring Kallen Esperian with the
Memphis Symphony Orchestra. The six-concert series which was to have run
through September, had Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett, the Temptations, Michael
McDonald and Kirk Whalum, and a night of bluegrass on the schedule.

The concert series was modeled after last year's Live at the Garden, staged at the
Memphis Botanic Garden, which Ball was involved with. He left to start Festival in
the Grove.

Shelby Farms officials had hoped to pull in as much as $60,000 for the park from the series.

Tripping Billies: A Tribute To Dave Matthews Band

If Dave Matthews Band fans can't catch the real thing this summer, the next best thing is the Tripping Billies' recreation of the live DMB experience.

Following a spring trek that drew critical raves and played before packed crowds in East Coast clubs, Tripping Billies is extending its tour into the summer to meet fan demand for the band's heralded recreation of the vintage Dave Matthews live vibe in a manner in which it hasn't been experienced since the DMB's pre-stadium days. Highlights include a series of festivals, major vacation destinations, the Boy Scouts National Convention and a string of dates with The Samples. Tripping Billies will also be seen this summer performing on "Sound Check," a new TV series picked up by NBC.

The DMB tribute band, for which Matthews himself has given the thumbs up to, earned similar regard from the media during its 2002 spring jaunt. The Cleveland Plain Dealer called Tripping Billies "one of the top DMB tribute bands in the land" and the Buffalo News viewed the Rochester, NY outfit as "the model of a successful DMB tribute band." Columbus Wired said Trippping Billies is simply "the best DMB tribute band in the nation."

Understanding that mere replication is not enough, Tripping Billies adds an ingredient that sets it apart from all the other DMB wannabes out there — the insistence upon adding its own original, intricate jams into the music of the Dave Matthews Band to create live improvisational moments that truly live and breathe in the concert setting.

"We try and emulate the show," says Brandon "Dave" DePaul. "We listen to the record to get a base to work from, but we go after the live sound. We try to capture the energy and the spirit."

Tripping Billies Itinerary:

June 27 Albany, NY Valentine's

June 28 Hudson, NY Joe's Lounge

June 29 Binghamton, NY Empire Club

July 5 Canandaigua, NY Sam's Restaurant Festival

July 6 W. Yarmouth, MA Mill Hill Club

July 7 Block Island, RI Spring House Hotel

(with The Samples)

July 11 Laconia, NH Weirs Beach

July 12 Boston, MA Harper's Ferry

July 13 NYC, NY The Lion's Den

July 19 Richmond, VA Alley Katz

July 20 Towson, MD Recher Theatre

July 26 Pittsburgh, PA The Attic

July 27 Auburn, NY Flop's Sports Bar

July 28 Oswego, NY Oswego Harbor Fest

Sprite Liquid Mix Tour Added To Summer Fare

The Sprite Liquid Mix tour is a new package to hit the concert highway this summer. The 15-city tour launches August 20 at New York's Jones Beach and winds down September 8 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, outside San Francisco. Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella family, 311, Hoobastank, Nappy Roots, N*E*R*D, and Talib Kweli are among the acts confirmed. Additional acts are tba.

In addition to music, there will also be a full basketball court, video games, an urban fashion row, an "urban playground" with street skaters and BMX bikers. Local graffiti artists will decorate a giant canvas.

Sprite Liquid Mix tour dates:

August 20 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach

August 21 Mansfield, MA Tweeter Center

August 23 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion

August 24 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

August 25 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Center

August 27 Camden, NJ Tweeter Center

August 28 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center

August 30 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

August 31 Atlanta, GA HiFi Buys Amphitheatre

September 1 Maryland Heights, MO UMB Bank Pavilion

September 2 Tinley Park, IL Tweeter Center

September 4 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Centre

September 6 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion

September 7 Irvine, CA Irvine Meadows

September 8 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre

The moe. or less festival and campout Forced To Relocate

Walther Productions, producer of The moe. or less festival and campout, Camp
Bisco III Señor Boombox and "Summer of Love … 35 Years Later" festival and
campout, has been forced to relocate its three festivals from Wilmer's Park in
Brandywine, MD. County officials determined Wilmer's Park is not zoned for large
outdoor events, despite Tim Walther successfully producing a dozen previous
musical
festivals and campouts at the site. The moe. or less festival campout, still scheduled
for July 12-13, has been moved to Marvin's Mountaintop in Masontown, WV, just
12 miles east of Morgantown.

"Those are three major strikes against my festivals," said Walther, who noted that the
zoning restriction had never been brought to his attention until a meeting with county
officials called on short notice on June 19. Other restrictions newly placed upon
Walther Productions included insufficient concert space and a mandate that
would prohibit outside food vendors.

"They gave us no indication that they were going to work with us," he said. "Every
creative idea we proposed was shot down. In all my history of promoting over two
dozen festivals in four different states, I've never gone up against such stern
resistance from county officials.

Walther said he feels "blessed that we were able to secure a site for the moe. or les festival as perfect as Marvin's Mountaintop within just 24 hours. Not only does it have the potential to be the best site we've ever
worked with, but the owner is a gentle spirit who welcomed us with open arms."

Walther said he will soon announce new locations for his two other multi-day music festivals slated for August.

Blue Man Group Joins Area:2 Festival's Main Stage

After years of success in theater, Blue Man Group takes their first step into the rock world by joining the Area:2 Festival's main along with Moby, David
Bowie, Busta Rhymes and Ash. Until now, Blue Man Group has always been known for their technically advanced multi-media stage shows. At Area:2, Blue Man Group will be paring down the theatrics and letting their music do all the talking.

Many people may be asking, "Why would Blue Man Group want to go out on the Area:2 tour without any lights and video or any of their other performance art contraptions?" Chris Wink, co-founder of Blue Man Group, explains, "We are currently building a rock concert oriented show that will have all the bells and whistles, but before we add the visual layer, we want to be sure that the music can stand on its own."

Co-founder Phil Stanton adds, "We've performed real short sets in rock settings before, and we really enjoyed it; but we always wished we could do more. The problem was, most of our theatrical material didn't quite seem right at a rock venue. When it came time to work on our second album, we wrote the music with a new rock show in mind."

"We are looking forward to our first chance to play our new songs at Area:2," adds co-founder Matt Goldman. "We go on during the day, so there won't be any fancy lighting or any of our usual visual complexity, but if Blue Man Group is going to make it in the rock world, it will have to be on the strength of the music. It's time to throw away the safety net."

Blue Man Group's second album is scheduled for a winter release on Virgin Records in 2003. The album will explore the sonic possibilities of their invented instruments and will also contain songs featuring guest vocalists. Wink explains, "The Complex is the Blue Man's first big step out of the theatre and into the world at large."

The Blue Man Group sound, first developed for its stage productions in New York, Boston, Chicago and Las Vegas and expanded for Audio, has been absorbed by pop culture. Millions of TV viewers have heard Blue Man's music on commercials for ABC TV's "The Practice," as the soundtrack to various events at the 2000 Olympics, and on CBS TV's coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Blue Man Group has performed before 60,000 pop music fans at KIIS Radio's Wango Tango event at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on a bill that included The Backstreet Boys, Nelly Furtado and Ricky Martin.

Blue Man Group is dedicated to creating and developing exciting and innovative work in a variety of media. Blue Man Group's theatrical productions feature three bald and blue characters who take the audience through a multi-sensory experience that combines theatre, percussive music, art, science and vaudeville into an incomparable form of entertainment.

Korn Debuts New CD Via Live On The Big Screen Concert

If you can't catch a show in person, the next best thing is watching it live via satellite, as thousands of Korn fans did via the group's
first-ever "Live On The Big Screen" Album Premiere concert. The 1 1/2 hour live concert showcased the group's new Untouchables CD, and was broadcast from New York's Hammerstein Ballroom via satellite to 44 screens in 37 movie
theaters in more than 30 major US cities via the collective assets of AEG:
Concerts West, Regal CineMedia and Spring Communications, who joined forces
with Korn, its management company The Firm and Epic Records in a unique and
ground-breaking promotion. Tickets were 'first come first serve'. Korn CDs
were also sold in theater lobbies.

"Amazingly, this was not just a great innovative new broadcast
of a live concert, this multi-media event was a special combination of
lighting and set
design from the stage, pre-produced graphics, great camera
effects and great
direction by Jim Gable and his staff all topped off by a
stellar performance
by Korn, that will become the yardstick on how others develop
new ways to
deliver content to the screen," says John Rubey, CEO of Spring
Communications.

The group kicked off its summer tour June 20 in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Korn Postpones Two Tour Dates

Korn has postponed two dates on its current tour, as one of the band members has to return to Los Angeles on a personal matter. The affected dates are June 26 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and June 27 at the Molson Centre in Montreal. The tour will resume June 29 in Pittsburgh, PA at the Mellon Arena. Both shows will be rescheduled for the fall, at which time the original tickets will be honored.

A Walk Down Abbey Road Canceled In Denver

Citing "routing difficulties", Clear Channel Entertainment and Kroenke Sports Enterprises have canceled A Walk Down Abbey Road featuring Todd Rundgren, Alan Parsons, Mark Farner, Christopher Cross and Jack Bruce at the Universal Lending CityLights Pavilion in Denver on July 4. Refunds are being made available at point of purchase.

Burger King Promotes Concert Tours

Burger King Corporation recently launched a summer-long musical extravaganza celebrating Black music, past, present and future. Officially titled "BK Got Music Summer 2002," this national multi-tiered promotional campaign partners Burger King Corporation with Essence Entertainment, Clear Channel Communications and Simon & Schuster. The promotion kicks-off in June and runs through September 2002.

The promotion's featured components include: the Burger King "What's Your Hi Fi Q" trivia contest, Burger King Corporation's first-ever partnership with the annual Essence Music Festival and the "BK Got Music Summer Soul Tour 2002."

"It's in the Burger King tradition to celebrate the things which our customers value," says Chris Clouser, executive vice president and chief global marketing officer, Burger King Corporation. "The African American consumer values the contributions of Black music to the cultural landscape world-wide. We at Burger King proudly lift our voices in acknowledging these achievements and the historical impact of the Black music contribution."

Beginning in June, Burger King Corporation, in partnership with Simon & Schuster, stages a "What's Your Hi Fi Q" urban trivia promotion tied to the publishing giant's release of their latest book, What's Your Hi-Fi Q?: from Prince to Puff Daddy, 30 Years of Music Trivia. The brain child of veteran music journalists Scott Poulson-Bryant and Smokey D. Fontaine — affectionately called the Ebert and Roper of Music — this ultimate trivia book is jammed packed with tuneful questions, lyrics and lists that covers over three decades of Black music history — the Discofied Seventies; The Crossover Eighties and the Hip Hopping Nineties.

The Burger King "What's Your Hi Fi Q" promotion is driven nationally by radio with DJ's testing their listeners' "Hi-Fi Q." Using a variety of questions from this trivia book, 24 Grand Prize winners and a guest from key participating markets will win an all expense paid trip to New Orleans for the Essence Music Festival, courtesy of Burger King Corporation. Other winners will receive Burger King prize packs, which include t-shirts, hats, CD holders, etc.

2002 Essence Music Festival

"BK Got Music Summer 2002" continues in July with Burger King Corporation joining Essence Entertainment and the 24 prize winners of the "What's Your Hi Fi Q" radio promotion for a week in the big easy taking in various sites, live music concerts, seminars and cultural exhibits. Featured performers at the 2002 Essence Music Festival include Alicia Keyes, Al Green, Mary J. Blige, Babyface, Luther Vandross, The Isley Brothers as well as comedians Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer, and others.

"BK Got Music Summer Soul Tour 2002"

Closing out the promotion in August, Burger King Corporation, in partnership with Clear Channel, will hit the road for the "BK Got Music Summer Soul Tour 2002." The musical extravaganza, appearing at numerous amphitheaters across the nation, will feature chart-topping artists such as Luther Vandross, Gerald Levert, Angie Stone, other celebrities and much more. A national radio promotion tied to the tour will offer special prizes to winning fans, including backstage passes where winners will meet and receive autographs from featured artists.

Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett To Tour Together Again

Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett have booked a 37-date, 34-city concert tour (with more days anticipated) kicking off July 26 in Birmingham, AL and winding down September 22 in Los Angeles.
It marks the second time Raitt and Lovett have toured together. Raitt took Lovett on his first national tour in 1986, shortly after the release of his debut album.

"We're thrilled to be going back out on the road with Lyle and his band," says Raitt. "Out under the stars with such great songs and slinky grooves…what better way to spend a summer night?"

Bonnie Raitt/Lyle Lovett North American Tour:

7/26 Birmingham, AL Oak Mtn. Amphitheatre

7/27 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

7/28 Raleigh, NC Alltel Pavilion

7/30 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park

8/2 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

8/3 Columbia, MD Merriwether Post Pavilion

8/4 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga PAC

8/6 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena

8/7-8 Boston, MA Fleet Pavilion

8/10 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center

8/11 Wantagh, NY Jones Beach Theatre

8/13 Camden, NJ Tweeter Waterfront Amphitheatre

8/14 Canadaigua, NY Finger Lakes PAC

8/15 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center

8/17 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center

8/20 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center

8/21 Interlochen, MI Interlochen Center PAC

8/22 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre

8/26 Duluth, MN DECC Arena

8/27 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair

8/30 Maryland Heights, MO UMB Bank Pavilion

8/31-9/1 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival

9/3 Spring, TX Cynthia Woods Pavilion

9/4-5 Austin, TX Backyard

9/7 Denver, CO Red Rocks

9/9 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion

9/12 Eugene, OR Cuthbert Amphitheatre

9/13 George, WA The Gorge

9/14 St. Helens, OR Columbia Meadows

9/16 Concord, CA Concord (Chronicle) Amphitheatre

9/17 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre

9/18 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara County Bowl

9/21 San Diego, CA SDSU Open Air Theatre

9/22 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre

Graham Nash Prepares Fall Tour

Look for Graham Nash to tour this fall in support of his new album, Songs For Survivors. His Artemis Records debut marks his first solo album project in more than a decade. The songs, says Nash, are "songs that came about three days before we started [recording], and songs that I'd been living with for 20 years."