METALLICA ANNOUNCE THE CREATION OF NEW ANNUAL MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE THIS SUMMER

Here are the details  behind Metallica's big announcement today:

Los Angeles, CA - February 7, 2012 - Metallica, in conjunction with friends C3 Presents, today announced the creation of Orion Music + More, a new annual music, arts, and lifestyle festival founded and headlined by the band, a natural progression for a band that has headlined legendary festivals around the world for years.  Orion Music + More will take place June 23-24 at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

"We've had the idea of doing our own lifestyle festival with lots of diverse music and fun and games for years," said Lars Ulrich.  "Finally this year all the practical ducks lined up in a row, and we are beyond psyched to bring Orion to our fans, friends and the curious.   After the most incredible of weeks ever in December 2011 celebrating our 30th anniversary at the Fillmore in San Francisco, CA, bringing the spirit of that week, the looseness of that week, the possibilities of that week, the fan interactive elements of that week, and the (fill in your own blank here) of that week to a festival setting is so exciting we can hardly contain ourselves."

Orion Music + More will feature multiple live music stages plus a lifestyle element that reflects each of Metallica's band members many personal interests.  Metallica will headline both nights of Orion Music + More and play "The Black Album" in its entirety one night Ride The Lightning in its entirety the other.  This will be the only time the band will perform these albums in North America in 2012.   The lineup for Orion Music + More will span multiple musical genres.   From punk to country, over 20 bands will perform, including:  Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Cage The Elephant, Fucked Up, Best Coast, Hot Snakes, Titus Andronicus, Gary Clark Jr., Lucero, Roky Erickson, The Black Angels, The Sword, Liturgy, and more to be announced in the coming weeks.

 The Metallica Met Club fan club presale starts tomorrow - February 8th at 10am (Eastern) and runs through Friday, February 10th at 10pm (Eastern).  Met Club members get first dibs on buying festival tickets and with a couple of options to choose from.

- A Super Special Price at $125 including all fees for a 2-Day pass OR

- The MET CLUB ULTRA 2-DAY PASS, which includes Front of Stage Viewing Area Access, Exclusive Ultra Lounge Access & More for $225 including all fees!

Tickets will go on-sale to the public on Saturday, February 11th at 10 am (Eastern) for $150 for a 2-Day Pass including all fees.  Visit http://www.orionmusicandmore.com to buy tickets. 

Stay tuned for additional Orion Music + More announcements.

Def Leppard and Poison Summer Tour

Drummer Rikki Rockett announced via Facebook a few hours ago that his band Poison will hit the road with Def Leppard this summer. Of course, there's been no official press release and thus no dates have been announced.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited for this. I hope this tour hits Ohio - most specifically Riverbend in Cincinnati. I love seeing Poison there - that's always a fun summer memory for me.

To be a true package, this tour needs a solid third band, too. In a perfect world that would be Kix, but I highly doubt that will happen. I did hear Twisted Sister as the rumored opener... and that is cool too! What do you think?

Motley Crue in Las Vegas - Videos

Videos of Motley Crue's "Rock n' Roll Residency" in Las Vegas are popping up all over YouTube. The set list is general fare - everything you would expect. While the set list isn't impressive, the actual set itself looks pretty cool.

Check out Motley doing "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" - the entire band is suspended over the crowd!

Metallica: Save the Date

Well, talk about a cryptic press release. Here's exactly what I received in my email:

METALLICA: SAVE THE DATE

WHO: 

Metallica

 

WHAT: 

Save The Date

 

WHEN: 

Tuesday, February 7th at 11:00 AM PST

WHERE:
www.metallica.com

So exactly what does this all mean? A movie? A new album? A tour? All three? Perhaps their own, branded festival? I guess we'll have to wait and see. What do you think the news is about?

Adam Lambert Releases Video for 'Better Than I Know Myself;' Apparently Not the New Singer of Queen

All day I was looking forward to coming home to write about Adam Lambert's new job as the front man for Queen. Well, it turns out all those "confirmed reports" were apparently bogus. At least, that's what Adam says. Maybe someone spilled the beans too early before the ink was dry on the contracts? All sorts of media outlets were reporting that Adam and Queen had a deal and would be going out on tour this summer. Even Rolling Stone reported this... and whatever you think about the magazine, you have to agree they don't make up stories or run things before they are fact-checked. Well, Vh1 cleared it up. At least for now. I, for one, hope Adam is the new front man for Queen. I love Adam, I love Queen, and I love live music!

At any rate, Adam's latest single is called "Better Than I Know Myself." His new video is below. You can pre-order his new album Trespassing on Amazon. It will be out March 20.

Kia Uses Motley Crue To Sell Cars

Well, Motley Crue found their way into a SuperBowl commercial. The Kia ad is called "Drive the Dream" and features a dream of epic proportions. I can't wait to see this ad on my big screen during the game Sunday.

Check it out.

The Darkness, 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us'

The Darkness are back! The band has a new single called "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us" and they've got a really awesome video to go right along with it! The illustrated video is very camp and just so cute. Oh and if you like the single, you can grab it for free from the band's official website. I can't wait to see The Darkness at Rock on the Range!