MUSIC NEWS: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH, 2015
ASHLEY MONROE-CANCELS-CONCERTS
Ashley Monroe is postponing six dates on her tour due to ``unforeseen circumstances.'' Monroe is calling off shows from October 1 to November 21. She has not announced when they will be rescheduled.
---
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE-DAYTONA 500
Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line says it's a dream come true to play at one of his family's favorite sporting events. Florida Georgia Line will perform a concert before the Daytona 500 and Kelley grew up in nearby Ormond Beach, Florida.
Kelley says his life is coming full circle because he used to work the Daytona 500 as a fundraiser for his baseball team. The race is set for February 21.
---
SARA BAREILLES-``WAITRESS''-SONGS
Sara Bareilles loved the songs she wrote so much for the musical version of the movie ``Waitress''
she didn't want to give them up just yet. Bareilles is releasing an album called ``What's Inside: Songs From Waitress'' on November 6.
Bareilles says she fell more deeply in love with writing the music for the stage production than she anticipated and she selfishly had to find a way to record the songs herself. She call it a ``deliciously self-indulgent project'' and adds, ``I'm sorry, I'm not sorry.'' The musical is currently running in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and will open on Broadway in April.
---
SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST-CRASH-SUSPECT
The man accused of killing four people by driving through last year's South By Southwest festival has pleaded not guilty. Rashad Owens made a brief appearance in court yesterday.
He faces one capital murder count, four murder counts and 24 counts of aggravated assault. Authorities say Owens was intoxicated and accelerated through a crowded street that had been closed off for the festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2014. Jury selection begins October 26.
---
FOSTER THE PEOPLE-CUBBIE FINK-EXITS
Foster The People bassist Cubbie Fink has left the band. Foster The People post on their social media sites it was a collective decision for Fink and the band to pursue other opportunities. Fink thanks fans and says he will miss playing for them. Foster The People say Fink will always be part of the family and they wish him the best.
---
VLADIMIR PUTIN-CALLS-ELTON JOHN
Russian President Vladimir Putin really has called Elton John and really is planning to meet with him. John posted a message on Instagram last week thanking Putin for calling him, but two Russian pranksters say they called John posing as Putin. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells Russian news agencies Putin talked to John yesterday and told him not to be angry with the pranksters.
Peskov says Putin says he's willing to meet with John when their schedules permit. John has spoken out about Russia's law against gay propaganda and Putin's comments about gay people.
---
DON HENLEY-SOLO ALBUM
Don Henley got everyone on his wish list for his new country album, ``Cass County.'' Henley says he was fortunate that nobody he asked turned him down. His guest vocalists include Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Merle Haggard and Mick Jagger. Henley says Jagger is a good country singer because he used to be married to Jerry Hall and she has a great Texas accent.
---
RINGO STARR-BOOK
Ringo Starr says his heart started to sing when he was going through some old junk and found a box of photos of The Beatles he forgot he had taken. The photos have been compiled into a book called ``Photograph By Ringo Starr,'' out this week.
Starr says he used to photograph and videotape his family but stopped doing that 15 years ago. He realized he was always missing the party because he was trying to chronicle it. Even though Starr has no plans to tour with Paul McCartney, he jokes that he should say they will tour and there are clues in the book so he can sell more copies.
---
PATTY GRIFFIN-``SERVANT OF LOVE''
Can you find clues to Patty Griffin's breakup with Robert Plant in her new album, ``Servant of Love''?
Maybe, but even she doesn't know what the album is about. Griffin says it's like reading a poem: ``It's not clear to you but it makes you feel a certain way.'' Griffin won't talk about the relationship, but she acknowledges she wrote the album while going through ``a lot of losses.'' She says she's realized ``a lot of seeds just ain't ever going to come up.'' ``Servant of Love'' is out today.
---
TAYLOR SWIFT-``40 UNDER 40''
Taylor Swift is considered one of the most influential young people not just in the music world, but in the business world. She's the only professional musician to make Fortune magazine's ``40 Under 40'' list of the people under the age of 40 with the most pull in the business world. Swift is also the youngest person on the list, at 25. She's number 8. Number one is Adam Neumann, the founder of WeWork, a company that provides workspaces for entrepreneurs.
---
NE-YO-WHITE HOUSE-PERFORMANCE
Ne-Yo will be the entertainment for the White House state dinner tonight. President Barack Obama will host Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng). The menu includes Maine lobster, lamb, mushroom soup and lemon sorbet.
---
(The Associated Press)
Sharon Lois Bram
By Cassandra Szklarski
A weekend tribute to children's entertainer Lois Lilienstein of Sharon, Lois & Bram will feature songs, dance, videos and stories. Sharon Hampson says Saturday's memorial ``is intended to be a happy reflection'' on the bubbly blond performer, who died earlier this year at age 78 following a battle with cancer. Hampson says she and Bram Morrison will host the evening event, set to feature favourites from the trio's beloved songbook and include appearances by longtime personal friends and colleagues. Lilienstein is credited with providing the special spark that helped make Sharon, Lois & Bram one of the biggest kids' acts of the 1980s.
The sold-out gathering is slated for a downtown Toronto theatre that holds just under 500 seats. Proceeds will benefit Mariposa in the Schools, a group that provides Ontario schoolchildren with world music, dance, storytelling, spoken word and puppetry.
(The Canadian Press)