CELINE DION                         Her latest showcases an earthy approach to recording her inimitable vocals    After selling more than 200 million albums and enjoying 25 years of global success, five-time Grammy Award-winning Celine Dion might be inclined to take it easy. But the powerhouse singer refuses to slow down, and while she continues her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace, she’s recorded a new album that challenges... 

Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby Two master musicians team up for an exhilarating bluegrass project Bluegrass has rules, and although Ricky Skaggs is very good at playing by those rules, he’s furthered his career by breaking them. A child prodigy, the virtuoso mandolinist and vocalist detoured from the genre in the 1980s and early ’90s into mainstream country, scoring nearly a dozen No. 1 hits and a shelf full of Grammys. But it was Skaggs’... 

JULIE ROBERTS Finding that signing with Sun Records was definitely not a bad decision Good things come to those who wait—just ask Julie Roberts. After early success with 2004’s hit “Break Down Here,” the country singer released a couple of albums with a major label, then self-released her last project in 2011. But her latest, Good Wine and Bad Decisions, is a breakout. It’s the first full-length album launched by famed Sun Records—once... 

DREAM THEATER Taking changes in stride, the prog metal icons return in epic form  Four years ago prog metal giants Dream Theater were forced to navigate stormy seas when drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy left the band. Through the period of transition, the remaining members—singer James LaBrie, guitarist John Petrucci, keyboardist Jordan Rudess, bassist John Myung, and new drummer Mike Mangini—emerged stronger. “That whole transformation... 

KORN Back from the brink with a new album and an old friend For years alternative metal band Korn became synonymous with drugs. They wrote about them, were addicted to them, and were ultimately consumed by them. Meth forced Brian “Head” Welch to quit the band in 2005, while the remaining members—singer Jonathan Davis, guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer, bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu and drummer David Silveria (replaced by Ray Luzier... 

THE AVETT BROTHERS Material for the folk favorites’ latest album proved an easy find  “We really overdid it, recording all those songs,” laughs Scott Avett. He’s talking about the band’s new album, Magpie and the Dandelion, which is composed almost entirely of songs recorded during their 2011 sessions with producer Rick Rubin for their last album, The Carpenter. “After we put out The Carpenter, we knew the songs we didn’t use were... 

PANIC! AT THE DISCO The emo-pop rockers expand their studio skills on a new album  The members of Panic! at the Disco haven’t limited their experimentation to their instruments, as evidenced by their fourth album, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! (a quote from Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as well as a nod to their hometown). Produced by Butch Walker, the album allowed frontman Brendon Urie to become more ambitious... 

KEANE    A greatest hits set marks a time of change in the band’s career  “I’ve been itching to do a solo album for a long time,” Keane frontman Tom Chaplin says, prior to a show that could be one of the band’s last—at least for a while. The English rockers have announced they’re “taking a break” after releasing The Best of Keane in November. “It came down to my desire to do something different,” Chaplin says. “To do that... 

LESLIE WEST A legendary guitar god keeps climbing with a blistering new set When Leslie West finished recording “Dyin’ Since the Day I Was Born,” the leadoff track on his new album Still Climbing, he emailed it to fellow guitar monster Slash. “I really respect the guy and wanted his opinion,” says West. “He wrote back and said, ‘You just can’t get any heavier than that, man.’” recording “Dyin’ Since the Day I Was Born,”... 

JOE NICHOLS Recharging his sound with a mix of modern and traditional country  Weighed down by label politics and dwindling record sales, Joe Nichols went through a rough patch following the release of his 2011 album, It’s All Good. But after splitting with his label last year, he felt rejuvenated and refreshed as he embarked upon free agency. “I was completely energized and free to go into the studio at will with my own budget,” he says.... 

LORDE Call her queen bee: The edgy teen with the luxe vocals rules the charts  This past summer, Lorde’s sultry slice of electronic pop, “Royals,” broke the record for weeks that a female artist spent at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. (The previous record holder was Alanis Morissette in 1995 with “You Oughta Know.”) It also marked the first time in 17 years that a female artist topped the Alternative chart. By the end... 

BLOOM TWINS HOMETOWN: Kiev, Ukraine INFLUENCES: The Beatles, Muse, Rudimental ALBUM: Bloom Twins, TBA WEBSITE: bloomtwins.com The Bloom Twins—Anna and Sonia Kuprienko—have been sharing a stage together for most of their lives. “Music was and is the language we speak the best,” Anna says. Growing up in a small Ukrainian town outside Kiev, the 17-year-old twins participated in various entertainment competitions and performed at venues throughout... 

LACEY CAROLINE HOMETOWN: Sparta, N.J. INFLUENCES: Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen ALBUM: Songbird EP, out now WEBSITE: laceycaroline.com Growing up in a small town in northern New Jersey, country singer-songwriter Lacey Caroline, born Lacey Steinel, spent much of her childhood writing short stories driven by strong female characters. As a teenager, she married her love of words with melodies, teaching herself to play guitar and recording... 

CODY KAREY HOMETOWN: Fort St. James, B.C., Canada INFLUENCES: Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Alan Jackson ALBUM: Cody Karey, out now WEBSITE: codykarey.com Clad in cowboy boots and jeans he’d been given by his grandmother, British Columbia native Cody Karey began performing at age 6. As a teen, he shifted musical styles from country to traditional pop. “I was pretty certain that was the music I wanted to do,” he says, “which was certainly weird... 

BUTCH WALKER One of pop’s hottest producers likes to play rough—when they let him By Michael Gallant Butch Walker’s not only a jack of all musical trades, he’s a master as well. From the producer’s chair, Butch Walker has crafted hit records for everyone from Pink, Fall Out Boy, and Keith Urban to Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry. From the stage and studio, he’s the frontman of Butch Walker and the Black Widows, which has... 

GEORGE BENSON  How the elite guitarist opened his mouth and changed jazz history  By Jeff Tamarkin   By the early 1970s George Benson was quickly gaining recognition as a young hotshot guitarist on the jazz scene. He’d already cut more than a dozen acclaimed instrumental albums and had been tapped by the likes of Miles Davis to lend his six-string chops. But Benson wanted to try his hand at singing, testing the waters with a cover of the... 

Guitartown/Conqueroo Kickoff 2014 at SXSW in conjunction with M Music & Musicians magazine Wednesday, March 12, 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. The Dogwood, 715 W. 6th St., Austin Open to the public, free, no badges, all ages. Outside Stage at The Dogwood  11 a.m.   JAMES MCMURTRY 12 Noon   JON DEE GRAHAM 1 p.m.   THE HOWLIN’ BROTHERS 2 p.m.   BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS 3 p.m.   FUTURE MONARCHS W/ PAT SANSONE (of Wilco, Autumn Defense) 4... 

KISS Long Deserved Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction It was probably inevitable that Kiss’ long deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would be problematic—and yes, I did say long deserved. It’s just been reported that in time-dishonored RockHall fashion, only originals Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were going to perform, with current non-inductee members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer rather than fellow inductee/originals Ace... 

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THAT BEATLES MAGIC According to Jeff Alan Ross It was one of those truly bizarre moments. I’d gone over to the Grand Hyatt Hotel to see if I could get into The Fest for Beatles Fans with the wristband a friend of mine, from my hometown of Madison, Wis., had handed me the night before. I figured they’d change the color the next day, and I was right. I wanted to catch Peter Asher’s wonderful show Peter Asher: A Musical Memoir Of The ’60s and... 

Folk Alliances Launches Winter Music Camp in Kansas City, MO ~ The 26th annual Folk Alliance Conference will run alongside the Inaugural Music Camp Since the finish of the pinnacle 25th annual Folk Alliance Conference in Toronto, ON, Canada, Folk Alliance has been one busy organization. The office made the move to Kansas City, MO from it’s long standing home in Memphis, TN in April, and will be stretching it’s conference legs for the... 

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ROBERT EARL KEEN Still Defying Labels   Those of us who love music usually love to share it, so I was happy to take my young friends Sasha Gavrilova and Andrei Bekrenev—both New York-based correspondents for the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, to see the one and only Robert Earl Keen a few weeks ago at Irving Plaza. Of course, they didn’t know who REK is, though they’re hardly alone in this regard. While Keen deservedly retains a legion... 

THE BEATLES From Beefy’s Point of View I’m kind of avoiding Beatles 50th anniversary hoopla. Big-name commemorative concerts starring multi-genre artists who were born a generation or three later, or even those featuring Beatles contemporaries, I don’t really need to see, so I’ll probably pass on Sunday’s Grammy celebration on CBS. I didn’t watch the CNN special or any of the Letterman tributes. There’s a Beatles fan fest here in New... 

THE 2014 NAMM SHOW AT ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER – JAN. 23-26 Global Gathering for the Music Products Industry NAMM SHOW MEDIA PREVIEW DAY – JAN. 22 A Preview of the Newest & Most Innovative Musical Products DRUM WORKSHOP CAPO Reverse Engineering Rock-n-Roll The Dube SELA SELA SELA SEABOARD SEABOARD Pioneer DJ Pioneer DJ MARTIN GUITAR MARTIN GUITAR KALA KALA KALA IRIG Blue Board IRIG Blue Board IRIG Blue Board IK Multimedia IK Multimedia HOHNER... 

Yale Russian Chorus – credit Andrei Bekrenev YALE RUSSIAN CHORUS 60 Years of Vocal Tradition Let others talk about Lorde, Miley Cyrus’ latest video and the new Beyonce promotion, er, album. Me? I’m still basking in the glow of seeing a bunch of 70-something American men singing Tsarist and Red Army songs along with Russian liturgical and folk music fare at Yale a few weeks ago. Okay, so they weren’t all in their 70s. But it was in fact... 

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THE SOUND OF MUSIC Live Music Theater on Television Okay, so I let the first NBC showing of The Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood go. I figured, she’s a good singer, she’ll be good, not great. She’s pretty much just a ratings draw, anyway. Then after reading some of the reviews and seeing how well it did—and that they were going to show it again—I decided to DVR it, which, really, is what I should have done in the first place, when it... 

BOBBY WOMACK NEEDED LITTLE DIRECTION FROM photographer Norman Seeff during this L.A. session for his 1971 album, Communication. “He loved performing—I didn’t have to push him at all,” recalls Seeff. “He would just launch right into a song. He had an energy that, for me, was a benchmark for being in the moment.” It was a satisfying shoot for Seeff. “Every frame has its own character,” he says. “He was willing to be vulnerable and... 

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”   THE ROLLING STONES On May 7, 1965, Keith Richards woke up in the middle of the night at a Florida hotel with a melody in his head. Fumbling in the dark, he grabbed his guitar next to the bed and a cassette recorder on the nightstand—and played an eight-note riff into it. It was accompanied by the mumbled vocal line, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Then he fell back asleep. “On the tape you can hear... 

GRAMMY NOMINATIONS Did The Most Deserving Artists Prevail? You know the hoopla over the Grammy nominations has gotten way out of hand when even that little video screen in the elevator you’re riding in at the Empire State Building puts up “Grammy nods: Did the most deserving artists prevail?” Even the elevator wants to know. My friend Roger Friedman at his Showbiz 411 site revives a valid point. He notes that Pink’s “Just Give Me a Reason,”... 

WHERE THE HEART IS Sheryl Crow—and her music—find a Home in the country By Russell Hall Call it a slight turn, not a giant leap. That’s how Sheryl Crow assesses her nimble move into mainstream country music. She’s quick to point out that even “All I Wanna Do”—the Grammy-winning megahit that vaulted her into the limelight 20 years ago—featured a country staple: pedal steel from beginning to end. “I don’t think it’s that big...