MUSIC NEWS: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
2016 JUNO AWARD NOMINEE PLAYS DAUPHIN TONIGHT
Legendary Canadian Blues artists Big Dave McLean and Ken Hamm are in town tonight to play the Watson Art Centre in Dauphin. Tickets are still available as the show has been moved from the Old Fire Hall into the main aucitorium. Tickets are $26. Stop in at the WAC or charge by phone by calling the WAC Ticket Line at 204.638.6231.
Big Dave was nominated for a JUNO in the Blues Recording of the Year for his latest album "Faded, But Not Gone" earlier this week.
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CHRIS STAPLETON, GARY CLARK JR., BONNIE RAITT - GRAMMYS
Chris Stapleton, Gary Clark Junior and Bonnie Raitt will do a tribute to B.B. King at the Grammys. Justin Bieber, Diplo and Skrillex will team up for their hit ``Where Are You Now.''
Pitbull, Travis Barker and Robin Thicke will do a song together, with some surprise guests. Hollywood Vampires, consisting of Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp, will also perform. The Grammys are set for February 15th in Los Angeles.
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TAYLOR SWIFT - MOBILE GAME
Taylor Swift is getting into the gaming business.
Swift has partnered with Glu Mobile to create a game for smartphones and tablets. Details on the game were not given. It's set for release late this year.
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MILEY CYRUS - ``THE VOICE''
Miley Cyrus will be a key adviser for the upcoming season of ``The Voice.'' Cyrus has a bit of experience in these matters. She was a guest mentor on ``American Idol'' in 2010.
The new season of ``The Voice'' kicks off February 29th on N-B-C.
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WIZ KHALIFA - CANNABIS MARKET
It used to be that celebrity after celebrity would announce a fashion line. Now they're announcing marijuana lines. Wiz Khalifa is the latest to come up with his own line of cannabis products. The line will be rolled out on April 20th. Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg each have their own line of marijuana products, and Melissa Etheridge has a marijuana-infused wine.
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CMT - MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
C-M-T plans to do an eight-episode series based on the musical ``Million Dollar Quartet.'' C-M-T will hold a casting call on February 13th at the Humes Preparatory Academy Middle School in Memphis, where Elvis Presley once attended. The ``Million Dollar Quartet'' musical is about recording sessions held by Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. The series will focus on the musicians' rise to fame during a time of social unrest. It will air later this year.
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OBIT - MAURICE WHITE
The founder of Earth, Wind and Fire has died.
Maurice White died in his sleep Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 74. White had revealed he was dealing with Parkinson's disease when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. The band has kept performing but White dropped out of the public eye. White named the band Earth, Wind and Fire after his astrological signs. Their hits include ``Boogie Wonderland,''
''September`` and ''Shining Star.`` He co-wrote The Emotions' hit ''Best of My Love`` and produced acts like Barbra Streisand and Cher. Verdine White says his ''brother, hero and best friend`` has died. Chris Rock tweeted his condolences with a photo of White and the lyrics, ''You can't hide love.``
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MERLE HAGGARD
Merle Haggard has called off all his shows this month because of illness. A statement from his publicist says Haggard is still feeling weak from his recent bout with double pneumonia. Haggard will get further treatment and hopes to return to touring later this spring.
Haggard is booked to perform Sunday at Dauphin's Countryfest with Dwight Yoakam.
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COLDPLAY - SUPERBOWL
Coldplay are not taking sides for the Super Bowl. Guitarist Jonny Buckland says they are firmly split down the middle between ``those of us who know absolutely nothing about football and those of us who know almost absolutely nothing about football.'' Coldplay's halftime show for Sunday's game will honour the past, present and future. Guest musician Beyonce' will represent the past and the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles will represent the future. When asked how Coldplay will fit 16 years of music into 12 minutes, singer Chris Martin said, ``We decided we'd play all our number ones and then work out how to fill the other 10 minutes.''
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COLDPLAY - ``HAWAII FIVE-0''
Four songs off Coldplay's ``A Head Full of Dreams'' album will be featured on an upcoming episode of ``Hawaii Five-0.'' The songs ``Adventure of a Lifetime,'' ''Amazing Day,`` ''Birds`` and ''Everglow`` will be used in the February 12 episode on C-B-S.
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ALICIA KEYS
Alicia Keys is hoping a little love to U-S House Speaker Paul Ryan might go further than getting angry. Keys has released a flirty video saying Ryan can be her valentine if he can get the House of Representatives to act on criminal justice reforms. She refers to old photos of Ryan lifting weights and asks, ``Show me how cool you are.'' She ends by blowing him a kiss and calling him ``so special.'' Keys did the video on behalf of the We Are Here advocacy group that is pushing for overhaul of the nation's criminal justice system. Ryan tells Fox News he didn't know that Keys knew who he was and says the bill is ``well on its way here in the House.''
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PANIC AT THE DISCO
The 10-year-old version of Brendon Urie of Panic At The Disco is flipping out that they're going to tour with Weezer this summer. Urie says the tour is his ``childhood fantasies come true.'' He had a writing session once with Rivers Cuomo of Weezer and they see each other every now and then. Urie says Cuomo is not a talkative person and getting a couple of sentences out of him is a huge accomplishment. Urie says it's going to be crazy when they finally do shows together and he adds, ``No promises, but maybe, I might cry.'' The Weezer and Panic At The Disco tour starts June 10th outside Houston.
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SEAL
Seal has been cast as Pontius Pilate in the upcoming T-V special about the life of Jesus. Jencarlos Canela will play Jesus, Chris Daughtry plays Judas, Prince Royce portrays the disciple Peter and Trisha Yearwood stars as Mary, the mother of Jesus. ``The Passion'' will be staged live in New Orleans on March 20th and shown on Fox.
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ANDRA DAY
Andra Day is a singer whose story about being discovered is straight out of Hollywood. A video clip of her singing at a strip mall caught the attention of Stevie Wonder's then-wife, who alerted Wonder, who called Day. Day says it felt like a meteor hit her house. She says she was so nervous and kept reminding herself that Wonder is just a regular person, but she also kept thinking, ``He's a legend.'' Day says her manager sabotaged her business relationship with Wonder and it took more than a year to reconnect. She switched managers, and Wonder helped Day get a record deal. Her debut album, ``Cheers to the Fall,'' and the song ``Rise Up,'' are both nominated for Grammys this year. Day says her prayers for her career are being answered.
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(The Associated Press)