TOURING & FESTIVAL NEWS: Coachella Festival Lineup Finalized

(CelebrityAccess News Service) – The fifth Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival returns to the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA on May 1-2n with Radiohead headlining the first night and The Cure the second night. Opening night will also be highlighted by a reunion from The Pixies and the return of Kraftwerk. Tickets for the festival go on sale on February 14.

This year’s bill includes many first-time Coachella performers. In addition to Radiohead, The Cure and The Pixies, other groups such as Kraftwerk, Thursday, The Stills, Future Sound of London (who make their first U.S. live performance ever), Dizzee Rascall and Paul Van Dyk will make their Coachella debuts. Returning Coachella performers include The Rapture, Belle &Sebastian, Kinky and the 22-20’s.

General admission tickets for each day are priced at $75.00 with a limited amount of two-day tickets available for $140.00, plus $1.00 per day for charity. As in years past, there is free parking and venue doors will open at 11:00 AM on both days. Parking lots open at 9:00 AM.

Once again, a limited number of camping spots are available adjacent to the festival grounds. Due to overwhelming response in 2003, this year’s camping area will be expanded and improved. The three-night camping package is $25.00 per person (plus applicable service charges).

The Coachella festival, which last year attracted 68,000 music fans, an unparalleled cutting-edge musical experience in a peaceful and breathtakingly beautiful setting which features over 75 acts spread out over four stages on 78+ acres amid towering palm trees and mountainous views of the Palm Desert area.

The full line-up is:

May 1: Radiohead, The Pixies, Kraftwerk, Wilco, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Rapture, Desert Sessions, Laurent Garnier, Hieroglyphics, Kinky, Stereolab, Future Sound of London, And you will know us by The Trail of Dead, Peretz, Death Cab for Cutie, Sparta, LCD Soundsystem, Living Legends, Sander Kleinenberg, The Black Keys, The Sounds, Howie Day, Junior Senior, Mark Farina, Moving Units, Sahara Hotnights, Electric Six, The Stills, Seb Fontaine, 22-20's, Da Lata, Juana Molina, Phantom Planet, Mindless Self Indulgence, Dios, Jem, Q and not U, stellastarr*, Erase Errata, The Section Quartet, DJ Icon.

May 2: The Cure, The Flaming Lips, Air, Belle &Sebastian, Basement Jaxx, Paul Van Dyk, Bright Eyes, Atmosphere, Thursday, BRMC, Cursive, Le Tigre, The Crystal Method, Dizzee Rascal, Adam Freeland, Mogwai, Ash, 2many Dj's, Muse, Sidestepper, Donald Glaude, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, The Thrills, Broken Social Scene, Richard Fearless, The Sleepy Jackson, Ferry Corsten, Prefuse 73, !!!, The Cooper Temple Clause, Sage Francis, T. Raumschmiere, The Killers, Home Town Hero, The Section Quartet.

–Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

On The Web: http://www.coachella.com

Vans Warped Tour Offers Discounted Internet Ticket Pre-Sale

(CelebrityAccess News Service) – Beginning February 10, the 10th annual Vans Warped Tour will be going up with a discounted Internet pre-sale.

The tour, running June 25-August 19 in 47 cities and playing in a variety of venues, including amphitheaters, amphitheater parking lots, arenas, stadiums, fairgrounds and racetracks, has again partnered with Musictoday and Fanscape, the official marketing company of Vans Warped Tour, to offer discounted pre-sale tickets. To purchase pre-sale tickets, fans simply log on to www.warpedtour.com and join the tour's mailing list. Beginning February 9, everyone on the VANS WARPED TOUR email list will get a password emailed to them so they can access the ticketing page. Each ticket purchased via the Internet pre-sale will be accompanied by a copy of the Vans Warped Tour double-CD compilation on SideOneDummy Records featuring bands from the 2003 tour.

Internet pre-sale tickets are $23.74, which includes $19.99 for a ticket, $3.50 for this year's Vans Warped Tour compilation CD, a $3.50 convenience fee and 25 cents to be contributed to Hollywood Heart, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing recreational opportunities through a summer camping program for children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. After the limited pre-sale tickets are sold out or when tickets officially go on sale in a market, the early-bird special will expire and tickets will return to their regular price of approximately $25 plus applicable Ticketmaster charges.

In related news, Fuse, the nation's only all-music, viewer-influenced television network, has signed on to the Vans Warped Tour as the exclusive national broadcast partner and presenter. The partnership was initiated, developed and negotiated by leading music marketing company, Fanscape.

Fuse will support the tour with on-air programming tie-ins featuring tour promotional spots and tour date announcements, kicking off its broadcast partnership by officially unveiling the festival's roster of acts on IMX: Interactive Music Xchange, during the live daily telecast. Fuse will also develop weekly programming tied around the tour's headlining artists throughout the tour. The partnership will culminate with a two-hour 10th Anniversary Vans Warped Tour concert special which will air exclusively on Fuse in September.

The following 53 bands are confirmed for this year's tour :

Alkaline Trio (June 25-July 24)

Allister (July 20-Aug 19)

Anti-Flag (June 29-Aug 19)

Atmosphere (June 25-Aug 19)

Avenged Sevenfold (July 20-Aug 19)

Bad Religion (June 25-Aug 19)

Billy Talent (July 20-Aug 19)

Bouncing Souls (June 25-Aug 19)

Chronic Future (July 25-Aug 4)

Coheed and Cambria (June 25-Aug 19)

Don't Look Down (July 7-18)

Fall Out Boy (Aug 10-19)

Flogging Molly (June 25-Aug 19)

From Autumn to Ashes (July 20-Aug 2)

Good Charlotte (June 25-30, Aug 13-18)

Hazen Street (June 25-July 18)

IMA Robot (June 25-July 18)

International Noise Conspiracy (July 28-Aug 19)

Jackson (July 7-10 & July 20-Aug 2)

Juliette & the Licks (June 25-July 7)

Lars Frederickson & the Bastards (July 20-Aug 19)

Letter Kills (June 25-Aug 19)

Lennon (July 28-Aug 7)

Lillix (June 25-July 13)

Mae (June 25-July 18)

Matchbook Romance (July 20-Aug 19)

Motion City Soundrack (July 15-Aug 8)

My Chemical Romance (June 25-July 18, 24)

New Found Glory (June 25-Aug 19)
NOFX (July 1-3, 5-26, Aug 4-19)

Pulley (July 7-18)

Rise Against (June 25-Aug 19)

Rose Hill Drive (Aug 8-19)

Rufio (July 20-Aug 19)

Senses Fail (June 25-Aug 19)

Simple Plan (July 24-Aug 5)

Story of the Year (June 25-Aug 19)

Sugarcult (July 20-Aug 19)

Taking Back Sunday (June 25-Aug 19)

The Beautiful Mistake (July 8-24)

The Casualties (June 25-Aug 19)

The Early November (June 25-July 18)

The Eyeliners (June 25-30)

The F#*k Ups (June 25-July 18)

The God Awfuls (June 25-July 13)

The Kinison (Aug 7-19)

The Red West (June 25-July 20)

The Revolution Smile (July 5-26)

The Sounds (June 25-July 18)

The Vandals (June 25-August 3)

Thursday (June 25-July 18, Aug 6-14)

Tiger Army (July 20-Aug 19)

Washington Social Club (August 4-19)

Yellowcard (June 25-Aug 19)

–Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner

The Great Western Southern Gospel Fan Festival To Debut At Save Mart Center April 29-May 1

(CelebrityAccess News Service) – The Great Western Quartet Convention will team up with Clear Channel Entertainment to produce the Great Western Southern Gospel Fan Festival in Fresno, CA. This all-new festival will be staged over three days on April 29–May 1 at the brand-new Save Mart Center at Fresno State. The venue offers over 4,000 parking spaces for convenient access to and from the arena.

There will be nightly concerts featuring southern gospel and quartet music from across America, unique afternoon showcases and numerous opportunities for photos and autograph signings with artists.

The nightly concert lineup will feature The Hoppers, Florida Boys, Dixie Echoes, Carolina Boys, Dixie Melody Boys, Beene Family, Palmetto State Quartet, Nelons, Signature Sound Quartet, Songfellows, Legacy Five, Greater Vision, Crossroads New Revival, Herb Henry Family, Knox Brothers, Watchmen, and the Pfeifers.

The afternoon showcases will feature vintage-style quartet music, Roger Bennett's Pianoarama, Aaron Wilburn, Dennis Swanberg, among others –Jane Cohen and Bob Gossweiner

Michael McKean To Star In 'Hairspray'

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael McKean will be Broadway's new Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray."

McKean joins the cast of the hit musical on May 4, replacing Harvey Fierstein as the full-figured Edna.

The 56-year-old actor, who won a Grammy Sunday for co-writing the title song from the film "A Mighty Wind," also is up for an Oscar later this month. He's nominated for best original song, written with his wife Annette O'Toole, for another tune from "A Mighty Wind," titled "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow."

McKean is best known for playing the role of Leonard "Lenny" Kosnowski on television's "Laverne and Shirley." He also was a regular on "Saturday Night Live," and his films include "This is Spinal Tap" and "Best in Show."

Fierstein leaves "Hairspray" May 2. The show, based on the John Waters movie about a chubby girl and her obsession with a television dance show in 1960s Baltimore, opened on Broadway in August 2002.

Conan O'Brien Takes His Show On The Road

NEW YORK (AP) — Florida in the winter is a natural road trip. Not to Conan O'Brien: He's heading north this week, the second time NBC's "Late Night" has ventured out of New York during his 10 years as host.

"When I heard Toronto in February, my immediate thought was, `That's just so our show,'" O'Brien said.

What began as an effort to boost the city's tourism industry, still recovering from last year's SARS outbreak, has become a celebration of Canada's contribution to the entertainment industry.

Michael J. Fox, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, "Will & Grace" star Eric McCormack and the bands Nickelback and Barenaked Ladies are among the Canadian acts that will appear on four nights of shows taped at Toronto's Elgin Theater.

"This isn't about SARS anymore," Toronto organizer Peter Soumalias said. "This is about stars."

The idea originated at a cocktail party last summer following a music festival featuring the Rolling Stones that was held to help the recovery from SARS.

Soumalias' immediate thought was "Saturday Night Live." But when he talked about his idea with Myers, the comedian mentioned O'Brien and pointed him toward another party guest: Toronto native Lorne Michaels, who produces "Late Night" along with "Saturday Night Live."

Michaels and O'Brien thought it was a great idea.

"I'd love to pretend that I'm doing this because I believe in helping Toronto," O'Brien said. "But really what it is is that it makes sense for us. I really love the city. When you think about it, so much great talent comes out of Canada, particularly Toronto and Montreal."

Not that he feels his show is in any rut, but O'Brien believes taking a road trip is healthy to help shake things up.

The only other such "Late Night" trip was a week in Los Angeles in 1999. Fire chased "Late Night" from its studio one night in 1996, and the show was also done from the Circle Line boat cruising around Manhattan in 1995.

"There is so much Canadian pride that has never had the opportunity to be put on display," said Soumalias, founder of the Canadian Walk of Fame. "That's why this is going to be huge."

There were many times more ticket requests than could be accommodated in the 1,000-seat theater. O'Brien quipped that he wanted to "tell everybody that they've got a ticket and hope that there's rioting."

The trip has faced some criticism in Canada for its public financing. Ninety percent of the $1 million bill for moving "Late Night" for a week is being paid by the provincial and federal governments, the rest through private sponsorships.

A Canadian taxpayers group and the National Post newspaper, in an editorial, criticized the spending. A miffed Soumalias briefly tried to retaliate by barring the National Post from attending any of the tapings, but quickly backed down.

O'Brien doubts he would have been able to persuade NBC to pay $1 million for a trip to a city where viewership isn't measured by Nielsen Media Research, so the trip would not have been possible without the money, he said.

He's made a couple of trips to Toronto to shoot comedy footage and "I never run into anybody who is unhappy their tax dollars are being spent on this," O'Brien said.

In one of his filmed comedy bits, O'Brien wears a Canadian Mountie uniform to patrol the border with the United States. "I'm getting a Tom Ridge commendation," he said.

O'Brien, who has a 3 1/2-month-old daughter, Neve, at home, has a different reason for looking forward to a week away from home.

"I'm going to be in a hotel for five nights," he said. "I'm going to really miss my wife and kid, but seven or eight hours straight of sleep will really be a nice thing."