Here is the weekly VVN Music short news round-up of people making music news this week.
The organizer's of California's Coachella Festival have announced that, starting next year, the festival will be held over two weekends (April 13 to 15 and 20 to 22). The difference between this show and something like the New Orleans' Jazz & Heritage Festival is that they are hoping to have the same lineup both weekends, allowing more people to be able to experience the performers.
The CMA (Country Music Association) has announced that this year's award show will be held on Wednesday, November 9 and will air on ABC live from Nashville.
After a number of months in release in the rest of the world, Roxette's newest album, Charm School, will finally make it out on July 26 in the U.S. via Capitol/EMI.
Andy Williams will be this year's recipient of the Judy Garland Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grand Rapids, MN Judy Garland Festival on June 17.
NKOTBSB (with the original members of New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys), have lived up to expectations, moving about 38,000 copies of their new album, good for (most likely) a number 7 debut. Hits Daily Double reports, though, that Journey'sEscape came up short with just 18,000 for a start around number 16.
Former Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman has co-written the song The Kind You Can't Afford with Madeleine Peyroux for her new album Standing on the Rooftop.
Steve Martin, who wears many hats including that of art connoisseur, has reportedly been one of many duped in a long-running German art forgery ring. A painting he purchased in 2004 supposedly by artist Heinrich Campendonk, and later sold at a loss in 2006, may actually have been a clever forgery. Because Martin was not aware of the situation, he is not being considered of any wrongdoing. He tweeted "I was also once duped by a German vegetarian salad that was loaded with ham."
Leonard Cohen will receive Spain's Prince of Asturians award for poetic gifts and thought-provoking songs. The press release said "his poems and songs explore with depth and beauty the major questions concerning humanity."
Faye Treadwell, who managed The Drifters after the 1967 death of her husband George, passed away on May 22 after a long illness at the age of 84. Treadwell was in a regular fight with other versions of the group over the name and, in 2006, won a long legal battle to keep the trademark.
Keith Richards is this year's recipient of the Brass Balls Award at the Spike TV Guy's Choice Awards. Casey Patterson of Spike said ""Keith Richards is a rock-n-roll superhero who lives his life the way he plays his music...balls to the wall. Our audience doesn't just want to honor Keith Richards, they want to be Keith Richards." The show tapes this Saturday for airing next Friday.
Kanye West performed a "tastefully censored" version of his song Lost in the World at the funeral of Gil Scott-Heron at Harlem's Riverside Church. West often sampled Scott-Heron's music.
Buffalo Springfield will indeed continue touring. Their current short run is limited to California and the Bonnaroo Festival but Richie Furay has told Billboard that "We have a bunch of cities for the fall that we're looking at right now to just logically put together."
Chaka Khan continues her work on a duets album which will include work with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler on a yet to be determined cover of a Led Zepelin song.
We didn't think anybody hitchhiked anymore, but evidently Bono hasn't gotten the message. He and an assistant were forced to put out the thumb in Edmonton on June 1 when they got lost on a walk and got caught in a rainstorm. Luckily, they were picked up by Oilers hockey player Gilbert Brule who recognized the singer.
