Soul Train Music Awards feat. Brian Mcknight, Fantasia, Fantasia Barrino, Ciara, Anthony Hamilton, Nick Cannon And Kierra "Kiki" Sheard And Karen Clark Sheard, 19th Soul Train Music Awards.

The superstars of Soul music will be featured performers on the 19th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, including highly versatile singer, composer and producer, Brian McKnight; rich, gritty and sexy contemporary soul brother Anthony Hamilton; the sultry and very sexy "Princess of Crunk, "Ciara; American Idol winner and powerhouse vocalist, Fantasia; versatile film and hip-hop music star, Nick Cannon and beautiful gospel superstars' Kierra "Kiki" Sheard and Karen Clark Sheard, it was announced today by Soul icon, Creator and Executive Producer of Soul Train, Don Cornelius.

This year's Soul Train presenters include American Idol television star Paula Abdul, sultry R&B diva's Christina Milian and Tweet, Baby Phat creator and internationally renowned fashionista Kimora Lee Simmons, super sexy film and television star Aisha Tyler, incredibly gifted vocal harmonizing groups' Boyz II Men and New Edition, revved-up teen sensations Bow Wow and B5, and 2005 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees The O'Jays, among others. The worlds of film and television are also impressively represented with such talent as Adam Rodriguez, Elise Neal, Gary Dourdan and Steve Harris, also on board to present.

The 19th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, which will be hosted by Brian McKnight, Fantasia, Nick Cannon and Nicole Richie, will also pay tribute to its Special Award recipients: Internationally renowned R&B superstar and musical innovator, Usher, who completely dominated the music industry in 2004 at both radio and retail, and sultry LaFace Records recording star Ciara, widely recognized as "The Princess of Crunk," will be presented with The 2005 Sammy Davis, Jr. Entertainer of the Year Award (Male & Female) respectively. The also extremely coveted Soul Train Music Awards' Quincy Jones Award for Outstanding Career Achievements will be presented to hip-hop/rap superstar and gifted film actor/writer/director Ice Cube.

The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual celebration honoring the accomplishments of recording artists in the fields of Soul music, including R&B, Hip Hop, Rap and Gospel. Actual winners in each category will be announced during the videotaped telecast of the awards show on Monday, February 28 at Paramount Studios and will be broadcast in first run, national syndication on March 12 via Tribune Entertainment Company Distribution. The Soul Train Music Awards is produced by Don Cornelius Productions, Inc. in association with Tribune Entertainment Company for the 19th consecutive year.

Fantasia "Free Yourself" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama "Live at the Apollo", Ben Harper DVD out March 29, 2005 (on Virgin Records).

On the heels of double-Grammy honors for "There Will Be a Light," the internationally acclaimed collaboration of Ben Harper and gospel legends The Blind Boys of Alabama, a concert DVD, Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama "Live at the Apollo," is scheduled for release on March 29, 2005. The performance of the entire album was shot before an SRO crowd at Harlem's historic Apollo Theater, with the instrumental backing of Harper's band, the Innocent Criminals.

From the opening acoustic guitar solo "11th Commandment" to the rousing extended finale of "Satisfied Mind," all the diverse strains of Country, Blues, and Southern R&B within Gospel music are heard in the performance of the album that Vibe magazine described as "music that will make you see the light," and that Filter praised as "the very essence of spirituality in song." Calling special attention to the album months after its release, Entertainment Weekly added that Ben Harper's original songs "Pictures of Jesus" and "Take My Hand" "could have been lifted from an old gospel songbook."

Special DVD features include a photo slide show and two separate behind-the-scenes documentary pieces, one on the making of the original album, and a backstage peek at the October 12, 2004 taping of the Apollo show. The album "There Will Be a Light" is also to be released on vinyl on March 29.

Ben Harper has sold over 7 million albums globally. Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama won the 2004 Grammy for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for "There Will Be a Light". Ben Harper also won an individual Grammy in the Best Pop Instrumental Performance category, for the album track "11th Commandment." Additionally, Ben Harper and the Blind Boys were nominated in the Best Gospel Performance category. All are first nominations and wins for Ben Harper; for the Blind Boys of Alabama, "There Will Be a Light" marks their fourth consecutive Grammy award in the Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album category.

Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama "Live at the Apollo" DVD: ORDER IT NOW.

Save The Music Benefit Concert to New York City feat. Bon Jovi, John Legend, Queen Latifah, Joss Stone, Rob Thomas, Save The Music Benefit Concert to New York on April 11th.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, VH1 President Christina Norman and Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey Senior Vice President & General Manager Barbara Kelly today announced a donation of over $1 million worth of new musical instruments to the New York City public school system. The donation, made by the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, furthers the Foundation's core mission to emphasize the importance of instrumental music as an integral part of a child's education. Since its inception eight years ago, the Foundation has restored instrumental music programs in 166 New York City Public Schools, providing nearly $4.5 million worth of new musical instruments.

The Mayor and VH1 also announced that thanks to the efforts of NYC Big Events, the "Save The Music: A Concert To Benefit The VH1 Save The Music Foundation" will be returning to New York City for the first time in 4 years. The annual star-studded concert with performances by Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah, John Legend, Joss Stone, Rob Thomas among others will take place at the famed Beacon Theatre on April 11th. The concert will cap off the "VH1 Save The Music Week" from April 4th through April 11th, and will be broadcast on VH1 on Sunday, April 17th at 9:00 PM (ET/PT). NYC Big Events President Maureen J. Reidy, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and a student band from PS 207, PS 222 and IS 278 attended the announcement at PS 57 in Harlem.

"Music education is an important part of growing up - it teaches discipline, creativity, and an appreciation for the arts," said Mayor Bloomberg. "That's why, for the first time, our Administration has established a comprehensive citywide arts curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grade."

"VH1 Save The Music Foundation is truly excited to partner with the City of New York to creatively highlight the importance of music education and celebrate the positive benefits that it can bring to children, public schools and New York," said Christina Norman, President, VH1 and Chairman of the Board, VH1 Save The Music Foundation. "We're honored to bring the show back to New York City, the birthplace of VH1 Save The Music. Since its inception in 1997, the Foundation has brought music education to more than a half a million children, but the need to restore music education programs still exists. The concert -- and the entire VH1 Save The Music Week -- will generate awareness about that need nationwide."

"VH1 Save The Music Week" in NYC will precede the taping of "Save The Music: A Concert To Benefit The VH1 Save The Music Foundation" and will include a special interactive "Family Day" in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life.

Below is a list of festivities in New York City:

Monday, April 4th - Friday, April 8th: VH1 Save The Music Master Classes will be held each day throughout the week at a selected public school in each of the five New York City boroughs, showcasing the various aspects of music. Each interactive master class will allow New York City public school students to learn from the music industry's most prestigious performers.

Sunday, April 10th: VH1 Save The Music presents "Family Day" in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life.
Students and their families will be able to enjoy performances from critically-acclaimed singer and pianist Peter Cincotti, as well as the Marine Park Band, featuring students from PS 222, PS 207 and Marine Park Middle School. Cincotti will perform several tracks from his album, "On The Moon" as well as his self titled debut CD. Peter will also accompany Marine Park Middle School during their performance. And an instrument "petting zoo" will give children a hands-on experience with a variety of musical instruments.

In addition, VH1 Save The Music will partner throughout the week with prominent New York City establishments to raise funds for the Foundation. Every dollar raised in New York City will be used solely to restore music education in the New York City public school system. As an example, The John Varvatos' store in Soho will donate 15% from each purchase made that week.

Joss Stone "Mind, Body & Soul Sessions" DVD: ORDER IT NOW.

Kenny Chesney's "Be As You Are" album Returns To Top of Country Album Chart.

Kenny Chesney continues re-writing the rules for how country music in this country is consumed. One month after debuting at #1 on Billboard's all-genre Top 200 with over 311,000 copies of his deeply personal "Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair", his singer/songwriter-oriented project returns to #1 on Billboard's Country Album Chart.

"We had no idea what was going to happen when we put this thing out," says Kenny Chesney with a rolling laugh. "It was just something I wanted to do for me… and the people these songs are about. You know I've said it a bunch, these songs just kind of begged to be played together. I was very lucky that my label shared this dream with me… and they let me do something most people thought was crazy given where we are."

Part of where he is is in rehearsals for his upcoming Somewhere In The Sun Tour, the sequel to last year's 1.2 million-ticket-selling Guitars, Tiki Bars & A Whole Lot of Love Tour - which was outsold only by Prince's Musicology Tour. The reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year - and American Music Awards fan-voted Favorite Artist of the Year - kicks off this year's tour with all the bells and whistles with a doubleplay March 10-11 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, following an appearance at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

Kenny Chesney did manage to carve out some time from rehearsals to go New York City to perform some songs from Be As You Are on "Good Morning America" and "The Late Show With Conan O'Brien." And while it made for a long day away, the results are in his return to #1.

"There were people who got to "Good Morning America" at 2 o'clock in the morning - and I'm pretty sure we saw them when we left 'Conan'," Kenny Chesney says. "It's having fans like that… who help make records like this work. I did it as much to give people a glimpse into the serenity I found as anything, to share that piece of mind with them - and it seems like they like what they hear."

The response has been impressive. Although the Recording Industry Association of America requires 60 days to certify gold and platinum status on a record, you can't argue the scans - and after a scant three weeks, Kenny Chesney has surpassed the sales mark for gold with 508,855 copies already in the hands of his fans - and netting out as the year's third-best-selling release of 2005 behind The Game's Documentary and Green Day's American Idiot.

With the yearning "Anything But Mine" jumping from #14 to #11 with a bullet on both the Billboard and Radio & Records, his CMA Album of the Year "When The Sun Goes Down" continues going full bore towards the same quadruple platinum status his No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems and Greatest Hits currently enjoys. Indeed, at this rate, his Old Chair could be Blue and gold and platinum all over.

Kenny Chesney "Be As You Are" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Willie Nelson "Songs For Tsunami Relief", Willie Nelson CD and DVD for tsunami relief out April 12.

In an effort to help the survivors of the December 26th tsunami in Southeast Asia, Texas Roadhouse and Lost Highway will release the CD and DVD of Willie Nelson's benefit concert "Willie Nelson-Songs for Tsunami Relief: From Austin to South Asia" on April 12.

The January 9th benefit was held in Austin, TX, and featured Willie Nelson, The Joe Ely Band, Spoon, Patti Griffin, Alejandro Escovedo, Jon Dee Graham, Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis, and a special appearance by Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks. Proceeds from the sale of "Willie Nelson-Songs for Tsunami Relief" will be donated to the tsunami relief and rebuilding efforts of C.A.R.E. and UNICEF.

In the wake of the most tragic event of our generation, music legend Willie Nelson and fellow Texas musicians want to extend their hands beyond the January 9th benefit by offering the DVD and CD to the public in the hopes that everyone will help out by purchasing them.

The "Willie Nelson-Songs for Tsunami Relief" concert was produced by Austin native Michael Hall who, in his own words, "wanted to write more than a check."

So many have volunteered their time to help create the DVD and CD in order to raise as much as possible as quickly as possible. Both will be available April 12 at http://www.willies-corner.com/ and distributed by Texas Roadhouse restaurants and Lost Highway.

"Willie Nelson-Songs for Tsunami Relief" - DVD Track Listing:
1. "Love be Heard" Patty Griffin
2. "Long Ride Home" Patty Griffin
3. "Mary" Patty Griffin featuring Natalie Maines
4. "Father Along" / "All Just to Get to You" Joe Ely
5. "Boxcars" Joe Ely
6. "Settle for Love" Joe Ely featuring Natalie Maines and Kelly Willis
7. "World so Full" Jon Dee Graham
8. "Everybody Loves Me" Alejandro Escovedo
9. "Break This Time" Alejandro Escovedo
10. "Lines in the Suit" Spoon
11. "Everything Hits at Once" Spoon
12. "My Mathematical Mind" Spoon
13. "What I Deserve" Kelly Willis
14. "Travelin' Soldier" Natalie Maines featuring Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis
15. "What Would Willie Do?" Bruce Robison featuring Mickey Raphael
16. "Living in the Promise Land" Willie Nelson
17. "Whiskey River" Willie Nelson
18. "Still is Still Moving to Me" Willie Nelson
19. "Beer for My Horses" Willie Nelson
20. "Funny How Time Slips Away" / "Crazy" / "Nightlife" Willie Nelson
21. "Texas Flood" Willie Nelson featuring Lukas Nelson
22. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" Willie Nelson
23. "Georgia on My Mind" Willie Nelson
24. "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" Willie Nelson
25. "The Great Divide" Willie Nelson
26. "Angel Flying too Close to the Ground" Willie Nelson featuring Patty Griffin

"Willie Nelson-Songs for Tsunami Relief" - CD Track Listing:
1. "Love Be Heard" Patty Griffin
2. "Mary" Patty Griffin featuring Natalie Maines
3. "All Just to Get to You" Joe Ely
4. "Boxcars" Joe Ely
5. "Everybody Loves Me" Alejandro Escovedo featuring Jon Dee Graham
6. "Break This Time" Alejandro Escovedo featuring Jon Dee Graham
7. "My Mathematical Mind" Spoon
8. "Everything Hits at Once" Spoon
9. "What I Deserve" Kelly Willis
10. "Travelin' Soldier" Natalie Maines featuring Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis
11. "What Would Willie Do?" Bruce Robison featuring Mickey Raphael
12. "Living in the Promiseland" Willie Nelson
13. "Whiskey River" Willie Nelson
14. "Still is Still Moving to Me" Willie Nelson
15. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" Willie Nelson
16. "The Great Divide" Willie Nelson
17. "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" Willie Nelson
18. "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" Willie Nelson featuring Patty Griffin

Willie Nelson "Songs" Best Of CD (20 tracks): ORDER IT NOW.

New official Doobie Brothers website online now with a new message board.

Message from the webmaster:

"I hope you all enjoy the new Doobies site and Message Board! Take a look around, register, and have fun!
I am not going to post a list of rules here, but we generally expect you to be respectful to others. The first amendment doesn't apply here, this is the official board for the Doobie Brothers, not for everyone to exercise their freedom of speech.
So be cool and let's have a great fan community grow here!

Shane McFee
Doobie Brothers Webmaster/Designer
Vocalist/Guitarist - Backmask"

Doobie Brothers "Live at the Wolf Trap" DVD: ORDER IT NOW.

The Allman Brothers benefit concert, The Allman Brothers Band & Friends To Raise Money For "the Big House".

The Allman Brothers Band have announced plans for a special benefit concert to wrap up their annual run at New York's Beacon Theatre. The Tuesday, March 22 performance--the tenth and final night of this year's "March Madness" run, the venerable group's annual Beacon residency--will benefit a special museum honoring the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band. Tickets went on sale Wednesday, February 23.

Ticket prices range from $75 to $1000 and any amount spent over $100 is tax-deductible. All proceeds from this special show--featuring full sets from all the bands beginning at 7:00 PM--will go to "The Big House Foundation," a not-for-profit pubic charity that's been formed to create a permanent legacy by preserving the group's original home in Macon, GA. Many of the Allman Brothers Band, their families, crew and friends lived in the Grand Tudor-style house from 1970 to 1973, a crucial formative time in their history.

In 1993, Allman Brother Band tour mystic Kirk West and his wife Kirsten purchased the home; since then, it has turned into a de facto Allman Brothers Band museum. They've amassed the largest collection of ABB artwork, gold records, clothes and memorabilia and have welcomed fans from around the world into their home. Now, with the help of private investors and fan donations, the group is turning the home into a proper museum, refurbishing the 105 year-old house to its 1970's glory and properly displaying the vast collection.

The Allman Brothers Band "Live at the Beacon Theatre" DVD: ORDER IT NOW.

Beyonce to sing for Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber at the Oscars, Beyonce at the 77th Academy Awards.

US pop star Beyonce Knowles will perform a song from Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber 's film at the Oscars this Sunday.

Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who previously won an Academy Award for Evita, has been nominated for the track "Learn To Be Lonely," which closes his film which is an adaptation of The Phantom Of The Opera. Beyonce is reported to have demanded several improvisations in the song for the performance to suit her voice.

"I'm going to be playing the song for Beyonce, which is going to be quite fun," The Sun quoted Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber as saying to BBC Breakfast.

"She's terrific. She does it slightly differently, with an orchestra", he says about Beyonce.

"To be even nominated for an Oscar is extraordinary. We were very lucky the first time round, I'm not so sure about this one. I've been very excited about working on this film, because young people are being turned on to musicals on film," he added.

The next film project of his will be Sunset Boulevard, which he expects, may pioneer a new genre for the silver screen.

Beyonce "Live at Wembley" DVD (with Bonus CD): ORDER IT NOW.

Kevin Sharp brand new song "Make A Wish" and a compilation CD feat. James Taylor and Bette Midler for Walt Disney Records.

Walt Disney Records is set to release a powerhouse compilation CD that will include the brand new song, "Make A Wish," by country star Kevin Sharp.

Additional platinum-selling artist's involved with the project are James Taylor, Elton John, Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand to name a few.

The album, titled "Walt Disney Presents Wishes," arrives in stores May 3rd and all proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Kevin is currently in the studio with producer and industry veteran, Jerry Cupit, putting the finishing touches on his upcoming yet-to-be-titled album slated for release on Cupit Records early this summer.

Also, listen for Kevin's new single, 'Your Love Reaches Me', that has been shipped to radio with an add date of March 14th. The music video is scheduled to be filmed at several locations around Nashville in mid-March.

Kevin Sharp "Love Is" CD: ORDER IT NOW.

Bonnie McKee tour with Ryan Cabrera, Bonnie McKee and Ryan Cabrera.

Reprise Records' Bonnie McKee will be hitting the road with Ryan Cabrera kicking off March 4th in Syracuse, New York.

Bonnie McKee is a truly gifted nineteen-year-old singer and songwriter whose new Reprise Records release, "Trouble," produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls) and Bob Power, features a dozen original tracks, all written by the artist before she was sixteen. "Part ultra-depressed poetry girl, part Lolita and self-described 'attention whore,' McKee has one of the most provocative new records, and the personality to match." (Blender Magazine).

Bonnie McKee recently performed her song "Somebody" on "Jimmy Kimmel" and last year portrayed Janis Joplin on an episode of the Emmy Award-winning series "American Dreams." Bonnie has been featured in "Advanced Warning" on MTV, was Yahoo! Music's Artist of the Month in November, and has been highlighted in the pages of Interview Magazine, Nylon, Teen People and Teen Vogue.

Although only nineteen years old, fierce and musically assured, Bonnie McKee is a Pop alternative to Avril Lavigne, traversing some of the same lyrical territory as the Canadian punk thrush but with more emotional intelligence and grit--quite an accomplishment since Bonnie McKee didn't employ the glossy talents of the Matrix, or anyone else for that matter--the singer penned all twelve tracks herself. With a vocal range on par with Christina Aguilera, Bonnie McKee manages to go from kittenish to feral in the space of a single song, and always seems to end up on top, no matter how many times she stumbles. "When It All Comes Down" may be the sound of heartbreak, but Bonnie McKee refuses to wallow in her pain and plots her own eventual recovery in the space of a single song. By rights, this should be the anthem for anyone attempting to get over a breakup--without appearing to. "Confessions of a Teenage Girl," is so winsome and engaging, it could inspire a Fox TV show. But Bonnie McKee has talent to burn, so it wouldn't be a surprise if that's already in the works. Paired with Green Day producer, Rob Cavallo, McKee elevates post-teen rebellion and broken romance to high art--and this is only the beginning of what she's capable of.

Bonnie McKee 2005 Tour Dates with Ryan Cabrera:
March
4th Syracuse, NY Landmark Theatre
5th Hartford, CT Webster Theatre
6th Burlington, VT Higher Ground
7th Allentown, PA Crocodile Rock
8th Cincinnati, OH Bogarts
9th Memphis, TN New Daisy
11th Baton Rouge, LA Louisiana State University
13th Indianapolis, IN Egyptian
15th Winston-Salem, NC Millennium Center
18th Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown
19th Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club
22nd New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
23rd Houston, TX TBA
25th Dallas, TX Gypsy Ballroom
26th Dallas, TX Gypsy Ballroom
30th Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theatre
31st Los Angeles, CA Wiltern

April
1st San Diego, CA Spreckles
16th Valdosta, GA Wild Adventures

Bonnie McKee "Trouble" CD: ORDER IT NOW.