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Detroit Concert Events (Cont'd)

Celtic Woman 'Songs from the Heart' Tour

April 7, 2011  |  7:30 PM  |  $34.50 - $70.50  |  Fox Theatre  |  313.471.3200

Celtic Woman, a smash hit around the globe, returns to Fox Theatre with their newest live show, Songs From The Heart, on Thursday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m.

The awe-inspiring vocalists and mesmerizing Celtic violinist continue to capture the hearts of fans across the country with what critics are calling an "uplifting" and "beyond captivating" concert experience. Their critically-acclaimed CD/DVD and Emmy-nominated television special, Celtic Woman - Songs from the Heart, filmed live from Powerscourt House and Gardens in Ireland, is a blockbuster on PBS.

During the 2011 tour, fans have the opportunity to experience Celtic Woman's most dazzling production yet, moving seamlessly between Irish classics, contemporary covers and original compositions featuring renditions of Jimmy Webb's "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress," Billy Joel's "Goodnight My Angel," Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Pie Jesu," "Amazing Grace," and Irish classics "My Lagan Love," "Galway Bay," as well as a new favorite "Níl Sé'n Lá." The tour also includes an original composition, "Songs from the Heart" written specifically for this tour and has not yet been recorded.

In just five short years, this unique all-female ensemble continues to have mainstream success without the aid of traditional sales drivers such as radio or video airplay. No other group of this particular adult contemporary genre can claim over 6 million CDs/DVDs sold worldwide, two Top 10 album debuts on the Billboard Top 200, 3 Gold and Platinum albums, 4 Top 5 releases on the Billboard Top Video chart and over 1.2 million concert tickets sold. They have succeeded by connecting directly to fans via their Public Television specials, their frequent touring and then having those fans share the experience with friends and loved ones.

A true celebration of Ireland with an unforgettable signature style, come see Celtic Woman with their 6 piece band and the Aontas Choir perform unique renditions of Irish standards, classical favorites and contemporary hits. Celtic Woman ? Songs from the Heart promises to be a live concert event that you and your entire family will never forget!

Scott Stapp

April 8, 2011  |  8:00 PM  |  $34.00 - $37.00  |  MotorCity Casino Hotel  |  866.782.9622

Scott Alan Stapp (born August 8, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, lead singer and co-founder of the band Creed.

Black Veil Brides with D.R.U.G.S. and More

April 9, 2011  |  5:30 PM  |  $23.00  |  Saint Andrews Hall  |  313.961.6358

Black Veil Brides is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The group is composed of Andrew Biersack ("Andy Six") (vocals), Ashley Purdy (bass, backing vocals), Jake Pitts (lead guitar), Jeremy Ferguson (guitar, violin) and Christian Coma (drums). Currently signed to the label StandBy Records, the band's debut album, We Stitch These Wounds was released in July 2010 and sold nearly 11,000 copies in its first week, ranking at #36 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and #1 on the Billboard Independent chart.[1][2][3] Black Veil Brides are known for their distinct appearance, mainly being inspired by Kiss's infamous stage persona as well as numerous 1980s glam acts. (Wikipedia.com)

Rod Stewart & Stevie Nicks

April 10, 2011  |  7:30 PM  |  $49.50 - $125.00  |  Joe Louis Arena  |  313.396.7901

"I suppose you could use the word 'addiction,'" says Rod Stewart, explaining his relationship to the classic pop standards of his "Great American Songbook" series. "I'm totally addicted to these songs. They're just so great to sing—if you fancy yourself even a bit of a singer, these songs are like chocolate."

So once again, Stewart has returned to the territory that has defined the last decade of his remarkable career. With FLY ME TO THE MOON…THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK: VOLUME V, he adds a fifth chapter to the chart-topping, multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning series. On the new album—produced by Richard Perry and co-produced by Rod Stewart, Clive Davis and Lauren Wild - Rod Stewart infuses his incomparable vocal style into 12 iconic standards written by Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini, and many others. The immortal compositions on the set include “That Old Black Magic," “Beyond the Sea,” “What a Difference a Day Makes,” "I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “I Get A Kick Out of You,” and many more.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy™ Living Legend Rod Stewart has been lauded as having one of the most distinctive voices in pop music. The success of the "Great American Songbook" albums, which began in 2001 with It Had to Be You..., is truly unprecedented; it is the biggest selling ongoing series of new music recordings in history, with over seventeen million copies sold worldwide.

Possibly the best known member of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks is instantly recognisable by her distinctive Bohemian style of dress (layers of lace and shawls, suede boots, and many crescent moon shaped necklaces) and her earthy, smoky, low-pitched vocals. She began her career with a small band in the San Francisco Bay Area called The Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band (Fritz for short), with romantic and musical partner Lindsay Buckingham. After Fritz broke up, Nicks and Buckingham recorded and released an album together for Polydor called Buckingham Nicks. The record flopped in the shops but it did bring them to the attention of Mick Fleetwood, who had been searching for a new guitar player for his band Fleetwood Mac. He offered Buckingham the place but Buckingham said that he and Nicks were a package deal; on December 31 1974, Mick Fleetwood relented and both Nicks and Buckingham were recruited.

As part of Fleetwood Mac, Nicks released six albums, including the seminal Rumours, one of the highest-selling albums of all time. Nicks shared songwriting and vocal duties in the band with Christie McVie and Buckingham from 1975 to 1990. Her biggest hits with the band were "Rhiannon", "Dreams", "Gypsy", "Seven Wonders" and "Landslide". Five years after the release of Rumours, Nicks released her solo debut Bella Donna (1981). Bella Donna reached No.1 in the charts and spun the hit singles "Leather and Lace", "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and the enduring track "Edge of Seventeen". It was her biggest-selling solo album.

Her next album The Wild Heart reached No.5 in the charts and produced the hit singles "Stand Back", "If Anyone Falls" and "Nightbird". She went on to release four more solo studio albums and one more with Fleetwood Mac - their first with the classic line-up in over 16 years. Since then Nicks has continued to tour and is developing several philanthropic endeavours.

Iron and Wine with The Low Anthem

April 14, 2011  |  7:00 PM  |  $25.00 - $28.00  |  Royal Oak Music Theatre  |  248.399.2980

Over the course of his ten-year career, Iron and Wine's Sam Beam has become one of today's greatest story tellers, crafting meticulous tales full of forlorn love, religious imagery and wistful dreams. Many fell in love with Iron and Wine Beam's tender and spare rendering of The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" was featured on the Garden State soundtrack in 2002. That same year, the South Carolina-born, Texas-based Beam announced himself as a classic American tunesmith with a precocious musical signature on Iron and Wine's epically sparse debut album The Creek Drank the Cradle, followed by 2003's The Sea & The Rhythm EP, 2004's full-length Our Endless Numbered Days, 2005's Woman King EP, as well as In the Reins, a collaboration with rock band Calexico.

In 2007, Iron and Wine released the lyrically evocative, casually atmospheric The Shepherd's Dog, which debuted at No. 24 on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart and earned praise from critics, who hailed as a major musical leap forward. In 2008, Iron and Wine's song "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" was featured on the best-selling soundtrack to the movie Twilight.

Rush 'Time Machine Tour'

April 17, 2011  |  7:30 PM  |  $50.50 - $126.00  |  The Palace of Auburn Hills  |  248.377.0100

Rush – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart – is without question one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, equally famed for both its virtuoso musicianship and provocative songwriting.

Just last year, a career-chronicling Rolling Stone feature praised the band for its continuing artistic vitality, noting that “It’s true that Rush doesn’t mean today what it did in ’76 or even ’96. It may mean more.”

Rush’s enduring pop culture relevance is perhaps best evidenced by a pair of high profile appearances - a rare national television performance and interview on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report in 2008 (the band’s first TV appearance since 1975), and a pivotal role in the storyline of the 2009 hit comedy, I Love You, Man, starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segal, where the band also made a memorable cameo in the film.
Beginning with their self-titled debut album in 1974, their extraordinary body of work – which includes such formidable works as 1976’s 2112, 1981’s Moving Pictures, 1996’s Test for Echo, 2002’s Vapor Trails and the latest studio album “Snakes & Arrows,” made a triumphant debut on the Billboard 200 upon its initial release in 2007, entering the chart in the #3 spot. The album’s success marked Rush’s highest chart debut since 1993, as well as the group’s eleventh top ten album in the U.S.

Rush has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and garnered untold legions of devoted and admiring fans. According to the RIAA, Rush’s sales statistics place RUSH third behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a rock band.

Rush has also won a number of Juno Awards, been nominated for multiple Grammy awards, been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994, bestowed the Order of Canada in 1997, inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 1999 and Canada’s Songwriting Hall of Fame in March of 2010.

Consistently celebrated and respected worldwide, Rush is the most successful Canadian rock band of all time and they remain one of the biggest grossing arena rock bands ever.

Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.

The band is currently working on their 20th studio album with producer Nick Raskulinecz.

Accept

April 21, 2011  |  6:00 PM  |  $32.80  |  Blondies  |  313.964.1000

After quite a few years away from the visible hard rock scene, Germany’s legendary ACCEPT have returned to the metal forefront with an elated new singer, a euphoric new album, and global tours. Yes, ACCEPT are back to carry on the timeless tradition of the infectious, immediately identifiable ACCEPT sound, but with fresh ideas and a matured outlook on music and life. A new era begins!

The Decemberists with Wye Oak

April 22, 2011  |  7:00 PM  |  $26.00 - $29.00  |  Royal Oak Music Theatre  |  248.399.2980

Life as a musician means continual evolution. Over the course of a career, any band worth paying attention to will pursue a sound, a direction, until it triggers a different idea and they’re chasing some other distant dream. With their sixth album, The King Is Dead, The Decemberists illustrate the power that comes from this kind of creative call-and-response.

When the band completed their wildly ambitious 2009 song cycle The Hazards of Love, frontman and primary songwriter Colin Meloy said that “doing this album took a lot out of me, and I’m definitely curious what will come out now that I’ve gotten it out of my system.”

The Hazards of Love, a narrative suite that grew out of old English folk tunes, met with widespread acclaim (Mojo wrote that “this spellbinding work peaks and soars with all the warmth and wonder of some great romantic adventure,” while Rolling Stone gave the album four stars), and was followed by a grand-scale tour in which The Decemberists performed the project in full. But by that time, Meloy was already feeling the pull of another approach.

“Hazards was actually a bit self-destructive,” he says. “We knew people might have a hard time getting into it. On tour, we would play the whole thing—but once we were onstage at Bonnaroo or wherever, I just kind of wanted to play some normal songs!”

Inspired by a move to a more rural area outside the band’s base of Portland, Oregon, Meloy took a few songs that had been left off of Hazards and started working on the kind of project he had long been thinking about—a set of more stripped-down, country-based songs. The mostly-acoustic arrangements on The King Is Dead showcase the ways in which The Decemberists—Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen—sound just as glorious in simple, concise compositions as they do on the elaborate structures that have defined their work for years.

As far back as 2004, the band released “The Tain,” an eighteen-and-a-half minute single based on an Irish myth. The Crane Wife (which NPR listeners voted their favorite album of 2006) took as its starting point an ancient Japanese folk tale, which was interpreted across three separate songs, and climaxed with “The Island,” a 13-minute, three-section murder ballad.

Meloy points out, however, that creating straightforward, unadorned songs can be at least as hard as building complicated musical epics. “For all my talk about how complex those records were, this one may have been harder to do,” he says. “It’s a real challenge to make simple music, and lot of times we had to deliberately hold off and keep more space. This record is an exercise in restraint.”

It’s no accident that songs like “All Arise!” and “Rise to Me,” complete with Funk’s plaintive pedal-steel guitar, echo the homespun sound of albums like Neil Young’s Harvest. Meloy describes that classic as “the quintessential barn record,” and it was the concept of the barn—as recording space and as attitude—that informed the making of The King Is Dead. The album was recorded in a converted barn at Pendarvis Farm—home of the annual Pickathon indie roots music festival—an 80-acre estate of lush meadows, forest, and Mt. Hood views outside of Portland. “We wanted that ethos,” he says. “That was the color we wanted the record to have.”

The country-rock sound of the 1970s was also behind the decision to bring in Americana luminary Gillian Welch, who sings on seven of the album’s ten songs. “Some of my favorite country-rock records had that consistent pairing with a female voice, like Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris or Neil and Nicolette Larson on Comes a Time,” says Meloy. “We thought it'd be great if there was a female foil to my singing and Gillian was sweet enough to come on board.”

For some of the album’s other songs, The Decemberists were able to reel in one of their actual inspirations into the recording studio. “A few things, like ‘Down by the Water’ and ‘Calamity Song,’ were out-and-out homages to R.E.M.,” says Meloy. “Robyn Hitchcock was opening some of our shows, and Peter Buck plays in his group. I mentioned to him that I was writing some songs that were really ripping off his style, and he thought it was funny, so it seemed like, why not get him in and just wear it on our sleeves?” Buck wound up adding his signature propulsive, chiming guitar on those two songs, and contributing a mandolin part to the opener “Don’t Carry It All.”

Another of the album’s guest contributors is violinist Annalisa Tornfelt, a collaborator along with Funk, Conlee, and Query in the noir bluegrass band Black Prairie. Tornfelt’s rousing fiddle adorns “Don’t Carry It All,” “All Arise!,” and “Rox In The Box.”

For all of the album’s shift in musical direction, though, The King Is Dead is still clearly a Decemberists album, especially in the usage of imagery taken from landscapes, plants, and water throughout the lyrics. “The syntax of The Decemberists is definitely still there,” says Meloy. “I didn’t want it to be too much of a departure. But where the nature motifs were more mystical on The Hazards of Love, the flora of this record are more of a pastoral backdrop.”

To Colin Meloy, in some ways The King is Dead represents his own musical journey coming full circle. “Over the last eleven years or so, since I moved to Portland, I feel like I've been mining mostly English traditions for influence”, he says. “I guess I've kind of come back to a lot of the more American music that got me going in the first place – R.E.M. and Camper Van Beethoven and all these bands that borrowed from more American traditions like Neil Young and the Byrds.”

“Sometimes I kind of miss the epic-ness of the other albums,” he continues, “but it’s nice to get all of the information across in three minutes. It’s like going from reading a novel to reading a bunch of short stories.”

The Pixies "Doolittle Tour"

April 22, 2011  |  7:30 PM  |  $35.00 - $59.50  |  Fox Theatre  |  313.471.3200

Armed with a Grammy nomination for the special collector’s uber-box set Minotaur, the Pixies announce that they will bring their critically-acclaimed “Doolittle Tour” to 13 Canadian cities this Spring. The tour will kick off April 9 at the Metro Center in Halifax and work its way across to Western Canada, ending in Vancouver on May 3. This will be the Pixies’ most extensive tour of the provinces, and will see the band visiting several Canadian cities for the very first time. In addition, the tour will make stops at three U.S. cities, including Detroit at the Fox Theatre on Friday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m.

Starting tomorrow, Friday, January 21 at 9:00 a.m. EST, a limited number of tickets for the tour dates will be available through a special presale on www.pixiesmusic.com. In addition, all pre-sale purchases will include a “download taster” of live tracks from the “Doolittle” show.

Before the Pixies head to Canada, they’ll be tuning into the February 13 Grammy Awards telecast to see if the stunning Minotaur Deluxe Edition picks up the statue for “Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.” Minotaur, which was released last summer, is the definitive Pixies’ collector’s set, containing all five of the band’s studio albums on 24k gold-plated CDs, DVD and Blu-ray discs, a DVD and Blu-ray of the Pixies’ 1991 performance at London’s Brixton Academy, and an exquisite 54-page of legendary designer Vaughn Oliver and photographer Simon Larbalestier’s project artwork, all housed in a custom dual-chambered slipcase. This marks the first time a Pixies’ project has received a Grammy nomination.

On the “Doolittle” tour, the Pixies - Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering - perform all of the songs from their 1989 classic, Doolittle and its related B-sides, “Weird at My School,” “Dancing the Manta Ray,” and “Bailey’s Walk” among them. Doolittle, the band’s third album and the first to chart on Billboard’s album charts, includes classics such as “Debaser,” “Wave of Mutilation,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Hey,” and “Gouge Away.”

An imaginative cinematic production has been created for the “Doolittle” tour. Designed by long-time Pixies lighting designer Myles Mangino and designer Paul Normandale, the set features four huge, undulating, eyeball-like spheres flown just below the lighting rig and are part of the concert’s light show. Filmmakers Judy Jacobs, Tom Winkler, Brent Felix and Melinda Tupling were brought on board to create 11 films especially for the production. The films are projected onto a massive backdrop video screen to accompany 12 of the 21 songs that comprise the show.

As an example, visuals accompanying the song “Debaser” are from a compilation titled “Forbidden Images.” The hauntingly beautiful black and white footage from the 1920s depicts the beginning of the women’s rights movement, showing women’s exuberant playfulness, femininity and sensuality. The footage, a little too progressive for its time period, was originally banned from theaters.

For “Here Comes Your Man,” a four-way split screen displays close up images of the band members dancing along to the song; “I Bleed” sees blood dripping down the screen in time to the music; “Hey” features hand-drawn animation of the song’s lyrics by Hollywood animator Tom Winkler; clouds, black holes, and Mankind’s arrogance destroying the Earth are the focus for “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” while “La La Love You” is a humorous animated piece starring hearts with legs.

The concert opens with the showing of the 1929 silent surrealist short film, “Un Chien Andalou,” which was produced in France by Spanish director Luis Bunuel and artist Salvador Dali, and provided the impetus for Black Francis in writing “Debaser.”

The Pixies perfected the “Doolittle” extravaganza over the past 20 months, having first launched it in the UK and Europe in the fall of 2009, playing to sold-out crowds in Ireland, Scotland, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and to 20,000 fans over four nights in London. The band then brought it to America in November, 2009 where it played multiple-night sell-outs from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York, then again in the fall of 2010 where it criss-crossed the country, also to capacity crowds. The tour received five-star reviews in the [London] Times, the Guardian and the Independent, and the U.S. press loved the show as well: “The Pixies continue to WOW.” “…a straight-forward rock show that was all about the music…” ““Doolittle still plants the freak flag in alt-rock’s twilight zone, where lullabies meet blasphemy, waves of mutilation pound forests into driftwood, and all good monkeys go to heaven.” “…an almost indescribable joy…” “…their live performance left no doubt that they are just as lively and connected than they ever have been. If not more so.”

Reverend Horton Heat with Reverend Payton's Big Damn Band

April 24, 2011  |  8:00 PM  |  $22.00 - $24.00  |  Magic Stick  |  313.833.9700

The Reverend Horton Heat is both an American three-piece psychobilly/rockabilly band from Dallas, Texas, and the stage name of its singer/songwriter, Jim Heath (born in 1959 in Corpus Christi, Texas).The group originally formed in 1985, playing its first gigs in Dallas’s Deep Ellum neighborhood. Its current members are Jim “Reverend Horton” Heath on guitar and lead vocals, Jimbo Wallace on the upright bass, and Paul Simmons on drums. Through relentless touring and a manic stage show, they have established themselves as one of the most popular underground acts in America. Their sound is self described as “Country-fed punkabilly.” Their music is a mixture of country, punk, big band, swing, and rockabilly, all played loud and energetically with lyrics that are often very humorous.

All Time Low with Hey Monday, Summer Set and Yellowcard

April 28, 2011  |  5:30 PM  |  $33.25 - $47.20  |  The Fillmore Detroit  |  313.961.5451

All Time Low is an American pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003. The band consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and back vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson. The band's name is taken from lyrics in the song "Head on Collision" by New Found Glory.

Formed while still in high school, All Time Low started out covering pop punk bands such as Green Day. They signed their first record deal with Emerald Moon Records in 2004 and released their first EP, titled The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End later that year. Their first studio album, The Party Scene, was released July 2005. Before graduating high school in 2006, they signed a record deal with Hopeless Records and re-recorded songs from their debut album and included two new songs for their EP Put Up or Shut Up. The EP entered both the Independent Albums and Top Heatseekers charts.

In 2007, All Time Low released So Wrong, It's Right, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 62. The band was eventually selected as Alternative Press Magazine's Band of the Year for 2008. Their third album Nothing Personal was released in July 2009, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200. (Wikipedia.com)

Mogwai

April 28, 2011  |  7:00 PM  |  $29.00  |  Saint Andrews Hall  |  313.961.6358

Mogwai are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (electric guitar, vocals), John Cummings (electric guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (electric guitar, piano, synthesiser, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drum kit). The band typically compose lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy use of distortion and effects. (Wikipedia.com)

An Evening with Coheed & Cambria

April 29, 2011  |  7:00 PM  |  $27.00 - $30.00  |  Royal Oak Music Theatre  |  248.399.2980

Coheed and Cambria is an American rock band from Nyack, New York, who formed in 2001. The band incorporates aspects of progressive rock, punk rock, heavy metal and post-hardcore.

Coheed and Cambria's albums are concept albums that reveal a science fiction storyline called The Amory Wars, a series of story media written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez. The band has released five studio albums, two live albums, and several special-edition releases. In 2008, the band held a four-day concert series, Neverender, during which they played their first four studio albums in succession. Their fifth studio album, Year of the Black Rainbow, which is a prequel to the series, was released on April 13, 2010. (Wikipedia.com)

Symphony X

April 30, 2011  |  6:00 PM  |  $32.80  |  Blondies  |  313.964.1000

Symphony X is an American progressive metal band.

Founded in New Jersey in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community.

Deftones with Dillinger Escape Plan

May 1, 2011  |  6:30 PM  |  $45.00 - $57.60  |  The Fillmore Detroit  |  313.961.5451

Deftones is an American rock band from Sacramento, California formed in 1988, consisting of Chino Moreno (lead vocals and guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Chi Cheng (bass), Sergio Vega(bass), Frank Delgado (keyboards and turntables), and Abe Cunningham (drums and percussion).

While they were mostly considered as a nu metal band in their early years, their sound progressively evolved into something more complex and experimental, as a result they are often coined today as an alternative metal band.

Billy Ocean

May 6, 2011  |  8:00 PM  |  $30.00 - $35.00  |  MotorCity Casino Hotel  |  866.782.9622

Billy Ocean (born Leslie Sebastian Charles, 21 January 1950, Fyzabad, Trinidad) is a Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the main British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the 1980s. He waited seven years after scoring his first four UK top 20 successes, before accumulating a series of transatlantic successes, including three U.S. number ones. (SoundUnwound)

Jagermeister Country Tour featuring Dierks Bentley

May 6, 2011  |  6:30 PM  |  $35.00 - $45.00  |  The Fillmore Detroit  |  313.961.5451

Conventional wisdom says that in the music business, once you achieve a certain threshold of success, caution should be your guide. You’ve come this far; don’t surprise your audience too much. But trepidation will not be part of Dierks Bentley’s legacy. At every turn in his career, he’s done his own thing, whether that meant touring with jam bands, playing rock venues or recording with bluegrass all-stars on platinum country albums. Now Dierks steps forward with his most artistically daring project yet - the all-acoustic Up On The Ridge - a powerful, beautiful album steeped in the bluegrass and roots music that moved Dierks Bentley to be a country musician in the first place.

His fifth album for historic Capitol Records, Up On The Ridge is a document of an artist who’s using some well-earned freedom to write in a fresh vein. It’s the way all albums should be made - built on an idea and an artist-driven vision. Throughout this journey of 12 tracks, Dierks’s voice sounds liberated and authentically connected to the songs. Its grainy honesty is captured in all it’s nuance by the recording genius of Paczosa, who states, “I know his intent, first and foremost was to make a record that he could be proud of.”

Mission Accomplished.

Sleigh Bells / CSS

May 18, 2011  |  6:30 PM  |  $30.75  |  Saint Andrews Hall  |  313.961.6358

The initial meeting between Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells sounds almost like a scene out of a movie: He was working at a Brooklyn restaurant during the summer; she, a fifth grade public school teacher, was one of his customers and by chance they started talking about music. A mere week later they were recording together and thus, Sleigh Bells were formed.

To make matters even more interesting, the two come from very different musical backgrounds, with Derek playing hardcore and Alexis being part of a pop group during her teens. Their differences seem to have merged though as their current music is a bit of a mix between soft and hard. What really got my attention though were the beats. Upon first hearing their EP 2HELLWU I couldn’t help but wonder what hot shot hip-hop producer these two had teamed up with. Tracks such as ”Infinity Guitars” and “Holly” sound almost like The Kills produced by The Neptunes, while the title track and the sweet “Ring Ring” are much more laid back.

The producing is all Derek’s doing though and according to him, “everything starts with and revolves around a beat; vocal melodies and guitar lines sometimes reinforce a kick pattern”. He also claims to still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to producing, but considering how good it sounds now it can only get better.

Cake

May 18, 2011  |  7:00 PM  |  $32.50 - $35.00  |  Royal Oak Music Theatre  |  248.399.2980

As they approach their twentieth anniversary, CAKE’s adherence to their original guiding principles has only grown stronger. Since first setting out, their democratic processes, defiant self-reliance, and lucid yet ever-inventive music has made them a nation-state unto themselves, with no obvious peers, belonging to no school. Now, in addition to writing, arranging, producing, and performing their own music, they have taught themselves to engineer their recording projects themselves in their own recently-constructed solar-powered studio, which actually generates more power than is needed to run it, causing the building’s electrical meter to run in reverse. CAKE’s latest album, Showroom of Compassion, will be released on their own Upbeat Records label, making the album as pure an extension of the DIY aesthetic as ever attempted by an established act.

Sepultra

May 20, 2011  |  6:00 PM  |  $32.80  |  Blondies  |  313.964.1000

Sepultura is a Brazilian thrash metal band formed in 1984. Brothers Max Cavalera, Igor Cavalera, formed the band with Paulo Pinto, Jairo Guedes and Wagner Lamounier though Lamounier left the band before they recorded anything, being replaced by Max on vocals.

Their debut album Morbid Visions was released in 1986 after which Guedes left and was replaced by Andreas Kisser. Schizophrenia won them a contract with Roadrunner Records and secured their entry into the metal mainstream, a success they consolidated with the release of Beneath the Remains in 1989.

Chaos A.D. (1993) and Roots (1996) introduced groove metal into their arsenal and won them new fans, though old fans were disappointed by this shift. By this time the band were experiencing inter band tensions which was not helped by their decision to dispense with their manager, Gloria Cavalera, Max's wife. Max left and formed Soulfly, leaving the remainder of the band to find new vocalist, Derrick Green.

The next three releases were Against (1998), Nation (2001) and Roorback (2003) which failed to achieve the commercial success of their predecessors.

Dante XXI was released in 2006 and marked a return to form, with fans ignoring the media's criticism. (SoundUnwound)

Robin Trower with Slight Return

May 26, 2011  |  7:00 PM  |  $32.00 - $49.50  |  Royal Oak Music Theatre  |  248.399.2980

Robin Trower is the UK-born blues/rock guitarist and former front man with Procol Harum.

Trower played guitar for a number of bands, the best known of which was The Paramounts, before he came to fame with the UK prog-rock band Procol Harum. The band topped the UK charts for six weeks in 1967 with the Bach inspired "A Whiter Shade of Pale". He left the Procol Harum in 1972 and set up Jude with singer Frankie Miller. The band didn't reach the studio and the Robin Trower Band was formed shortly after. After a quiet reception for their debut album, the band came back with a top ten in the Billboard charts, with Bridge Of Sighs. The album's mix of blues and psychedelia, coupled with Trower's guitar style, caused critics to remark on the strong similarity to Jimi Hendrix, which may have contributed to its success. The album was the most successful of the bands releases and as the 70s progressed the bands albums sales declined.

In 1981 Trower teamed-up with former bandmate Keith Reid (who co-wrote "Whiter Shade..") and ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce for the B.L.T. album, despite good reviews, the album just scraped in to the Billboard Top 40. The band split after the follow-up Truce, leaving Trower to go solo again.

The slick production applied to Trower's 80s albums failed to attract many fans and 1990 he joined the re-formed Procol Harum for one album, Prodigal Stranger. The album produced the top 30-placed "All Our Dreams are Sold", but neither the fans nor the critics were totally convinced, and Trower moved on to his next project.

In 1992, Trower joined with ex-Roxy Music frontman for three Bryan Ferry albums, Taxi, Mamouna, and Frantic. During this time he also toured and released albums under his own name. (SoundUnwound)

Blackfield

May 26, 2011  |  7:00 PM  |  $29.00  |  Saint Andrews Hall  |  313.961.6358

Blackfield is a collaboration between Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson and Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen.

It was Geffen who invited Porcupine Tree to play with him in Israel and Blackfield grew from that. Before long they were recording together. Although the original intention had been to record and release an EP in 2001, the project grew until, by 2003, they released a full length album Blackfield. The album received a great deal of positive praise and tours took place in Europe and the US.

By 2006 Geffen and Wilson were working towards a new album and in 2007 they released a follow up, Blackfield II. (SoundUnwound)

The Ohio Players

June 10, 2011  |  8:00 PM  |  $27.00 - $30.00  |  MotorCity Casino Hotel  |  866.782.9622

The Ohio Players originally formed in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables, but after several years of line-up changes, name-changes and struggling to find success, they finally settled on the classic line-up and the name Ohio Players in 1971.

Their first big hit was "Funky Worm", which topped the R&B chart in 1973. "Funky Worm" has since been sampled many times by hip-hop artists, including stars such as Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, N.W.A., Ice Cube, the Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Public Enemy and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.

They also had big hits with "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster", which was later covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Love Rollercoaster" was also famous for supposedly featuring the scream of a woman being murdered in the background. The band stayed silent on the rumour at the time, adding to the mystique, but have since come out and refuted such suggestions.

The Ohio Players were also famous for their cover art, which tended to feature naked or near-naked women in provocative poses. (SoundUnwound)

NKOTBSB

June 16, 2011  |  7:30 PM  |  $32.50 - $92.50  |  The Palace of Auburn Hills  |  248.377.0100

The extraordinary NKOTBSB tour, produced by Live Nation, begins June 2nd with confirmed shows through July 30th. Tickets to this once in a lifetime event are on-sale now with newly announced dates going on sale in select cities beginning January 11, 2011 at 10am EST at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com.

In their biggest joint appearance to date, in front of millions of television viewers on Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, NKOTBSB sent thousands of screaming and dancing fans into a fan frenzy. With throngs of fans in the middle of Times Square singing along to their smash hit singles, and millions more tuning in from home, New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys once again reaffirmed their place in pop culture proving why their ticket is the hottest ticket of the summer.

People Magazine raved, The Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block ended 2010 on a high note with a rollicking New Year's Eve mashup of their greatest hits in Times Square.

And Entertainment Weekly gave a nod to the groups saying, ABCs live broadcast of Clarks New Years Rockin Eve boasted a classic boy-band bash, with the well-preserved Backstreet Boys and the New Kids on the Block collaborating for a medley of their greatest hits.

NKOTBSB first shocked and delighted fans when they took the stage together for a medley at the sold out NKOTB Radio City Music Hall show. The two groups wowed audiences again in their first joint televised performance at the American Music Awards this past November. The performers had the audience on their feet when they unleashed hit after hit including Backstreets I Want It That Way and NKOTBs Hangin Tough, sending the crowd into rip-roaring applause.

With over 200 million albums sold between both bands, and smash hit after smash hit, these two pop sensations have dominated the music scene for over three decades. Aiming to please, these guys are giving concert goers and diehard fans everywhere the ultimate night out experience.

Keith Urban 'Get Closer 2001 World Tour'

July 23, 2011  |  7:30 PM  |  Call for Ticket Prices  |  The Palace of Auburn Hills  |  248.377.0100

Since first moving to Nashville back in 1992, Keith Urban has gradually established himself as an extraordinary singer, songwriter, guitarist, and performer who has brought his own distinctive talent, energy, and charisma to Country music and beyond. In return, Urban has now established himself as both a global superstar and a highly respected artist with the impressive track record to prove it, including Grammy Awards, Country Music Association Awards, Academy of County Music Awards and Australia’s coveted Aria Award. He has a loyally devoted worldwide fan base that comes to see him every time he takes the stage, as he connects with the people who have made it all possible.

Keith Urban’s millions of fans have followed his creative progression from his first American album as a member of The Ranch (1997), through an increasingly accomplished series of the Platinum-selling solo albums, Keith Urban (1999), Golden Road (2002), Be Here (2004), and Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing (2006), as well as the compilation Greatest Hits: 18 Kids (2007). And so for a decade now, Urban has remained a welcome and enduring presence on Country radio thanks to a series of popular and memorable songs, including such 1 hits as “But For The Grace Of God,” “Somebody Like You,” “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me,” “You’ll Think Of Me,” “Days Go By,” “Making Memories Of Us,” “Better Life,” “You Look Good In My Shirt” and “Start A Band,” Urban’s 2008 guitar and vocal duet with pal, Brad Paisley. And as a core artist on all Country video outlets, Urban’s career to date has also been documented on a series of Platinum video collections.

In recent years, Urban’s remarkable musical gifts have also brought him to numerous places where Country superstars have rarely gone before, whether powerfully dueting with Alicia Keys on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” on the stage of Live Earth, appearing on Saturday Night Live, or sitting in with the likes of Al Green, Justin Timberlake, BB King and John Mayer at this year’s Grammy Awards.

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