Welcome to ticketbin, find tickets for all concerts, shows and sports events

Welcome to ticketbin.net

Please click here for tickets in the UK

concert tickets

Buy your tickets for the biggest and best artists in the USA, all the top venues around the country. We have a wide selection of ticket prices to suit everyone.

The Police

The Police are back and better than ever! Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers have reunited for what should be one of this year’s top concert tours! Buy The Police tickets now!

Bjork

Singer/songwriter Bjork stands as one of the hottest things to emerge from Iceland! Bjork, the creative mind behind hit song “It's Oh So Quiet,” mixes elements of dance, pop, and rock music into her songs, making her one of entertainment's must-see acts.

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand, or “Babs” to many, captivates millions of fans worldwide in movies, theater, and in concert. If you miss your chance to see Barbra Streisand LIVE, you'll be “Guilty” of missing out on the time of your life!

Also check out Justin Timberlake, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Kenny Chesney

theater tickets

Theater tickets now available to buy online for all major on and off Broadway shows. In New York and throughout the country, great prices to see the best shows at a theater near you.

Wicked

While the magic began on Broadway, "Wicked" is now playing to sold-out audiences across the country. Who knew the untold story of the Wizard of Oz would become the hottest ticket in town?

The Odd Couple

Everybody's favorite comedy duo is back on Broadway! Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick bring Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" to life.

Spamalot

Monty Python fans won't want to skip "Spamalot", one of this year's most popular musicals, inspired by the comic genius of Eric Idle! Based on the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" this hysterical play pays homage to Spam, the infamous canned meat.

sports tickets

Check out the tickets now available for your favourite sports team at every major sporting venue across the United States.

NBA Basketball, NHL Hockey, NFL Football, MLB Baseball, NCAA Basketball, NASCAR Racing, Golf, Supercross, Tennis

Get tickets for any NFL team in any league, from the Broncos to 49ers and the Raiders, all National Football League tickets sold here.

If you prefer basketball you can Choose from any NBA team in any league, from the Celtics to the Lakers and Chicago Bulls all NBA tickets sold.

We also sell tickets for every MLB team in any league, from the Red Sox to the Dodgers all Major League Baseball tickets sold.

If you like things a bit rougher why not get your tickets for any NHL team in any league, from the Mighty Ducks to the Bruins and San Jose Sharks all NHL tickets sold.

menu

top sellers

See us on myspace

Add ticketbin to your favourites

Tickets supplied by Ticketsnow.com

Ticketsnow.com is one of the largest online ticket stores in the USA.

Better Business Bureau Program   Verisign

music news

Pollstar Concert Wire

Guns N’ Roses: An American Band In Paris

Guns N’ Roses is headed to The City of Light in June. The hard rock band has also booked several other dates in France as well as Ireland and Italy.

In typical Guns N’ Roses fashion, the upcoming European dates are trickling in through a French promoter as well as listings on Ticketmaster.com rather than a big announcement directly from the band. The band’s website is under construction and the group’s Facebook pages says “Guns N’ Roses does not have any upcoming concerts.”

The new dates begin May 17 with a gig at The O2 Dublin in Ireland. The Paris concert is set for June 5 at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy.

791672

Additional French shows are scheduled at Lyon’s Halle Tony Garnier June 10, Strasbourg at Zenith June 11, Toulouse at Zenith June 14, Montpellier at Park & Suites Arena June 18, and Toulon’s Zenith Omega June 19. Guns N’ Roses will play “Gods Of Metal” in Milan, Italy, June 22 at Fiera De Milano.

A pre-sale for the Dublin show begins Feb. 1. Tickets go on sale to the general public Feb. 3.

Guns N’ Roses last toured Europe in October 2010.

Click here for Guns N’ Roses’ website and here for the band’s Facebook page.

Manilow Is Popping Up All Over

After spending much of the last few years playing Las Vegas residencies, Barry Manilow is getting out of Sin City.

751035

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear from a promoter announcing his brand-spanking new Manilow date. Yes, the man who practically owned the 1970s when it came to majestically produced ballads is building quite an impressive routing in 2012.

For example, Manilow is slotted for three nights at the Windy City’s Chicago Theatre Feb. 2-4. He also has a four-night run at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall Feb. 10-12 & 14.

But not all Manilow dates are multi-nighters in some of the nation’s largest cities. Much to his fans’ delight, he’s booking plenty of one-night stands across the country, including Omaha, Neb., at the CenturyLink Center Feb. 29; Moline, Ill, at the i wireless Center March 8; Detroit’s Fox Theatre March 9; Saint Paul, Minn., at Xcel Energy Center April 13; Grand Rapids, Mich., at the Van Andel Arena April 26 and Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Theatre April 28.

Other towns hosting the purveyor of such monster hits as “I Write The Songs,” “Mandy” and “Could It Be Magic” include Huntington, W.Va. (April 19); Highland Heights, Ky. (April 20); and Green Bay, Wis. (April 27).

Manilow is also headed to the U.K. in May, playing shows in London (May 15), Birmingham (May 17), Manchester (May 19) and Glasgow (May 21) as well as in Dublin, Ireland, (May 23).

Many shows are already on sale. A fan club presale for Milwaukee begins Feb. 1, for Saint Paul Feb. 2. Highland Height goes on sale Feb. 3. Visit Manilow.com for more information.

Barry Gibb On His Own

Although the surviving Bee Gees aren’t ready to announce their return to the stage yet, Barry Gibb will play his very first U.S. solo concert next month.

The big day is set for Feb. 21 in Hollywood, Fla., at the Seminole Hard Rock Live.

This isn’t Gibb’s first experience working with Seminole Hard Rock. In December he was the grand marshal for the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade.

Gibb, who has earned the ranking as the second all-time hit songwriter (behind only Paul McCartney), last performed in 2009 at “Sound Relief” in Sydney, Australia, to raise funds for victims of the Victorian Bushfires.

713791

Last year Gibb’s younger brother and bandmate, Robin Gibb, was the Bee Gee in the news because of a variety of health issues. After canceling a Brazil tour because of abdominal pain in April, Robin was sent to the hospital in October, and then again in November. The Sunday Mirror reported Nov. 20 that the 61-year-old is fighting liver cancer. Robin admitted on his blog that he had been “very unwell” but said he was “on the road to recovery.”

Around that time The Daily Mail claimed that when Barry came to visit Robin after his Nov. 15 hospital stay, the brothers reportedly started talking about touring again.

The group hasn’t toured since Maurice Gibb, the third Bee Gee brother and Robin’s twin, died in 2003 because of complications from a twisted intestine.

Tickets for Barry’s first U.S. solo show are on sale now and range in price from $44 to $104.

High Flying Benicassim

Vince Power hopes to cash in on Glastonbury Festival’s year off by tempting fans to visit the UK’s resurrected Phoenix Festival or take a trip to Spain for Benicassim.

The Spanish festival, which last year bounced back after a disappointing 2010, has just confirmed Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

791651

In November, Benicassim, which is July 12-15, announced the Stone Roses.

The festival on Spain’s northeastern coast last sold out its 50,000 capacity in 2009, but the signs are that Power – whose Music Festivals Plc. now has full ownership of the event – is planning for a bumper year.

“People tend to use it as a holiday, the campsite is open for around nine days, and you can guarantee sun and great music,” he told the Daily Mail.

Power floated Music Festivals on the Alternative Investment Market last year to raise £6.5 million toward buying Irish promoter Denis Desmond’s share of Benicassim and the smaller holdings of a consortium of Irish businessmen.

The cash was also used to buy such largely Power-owned UK festivals as Hop Farm in Kent and London’s Irish-themed Feis Festival.

In the programme notes for last year’s Hop Farm Festival, Power announced his intention that Phoenix Festival would rise from the ashes.

“For those of you who remember the Phoenix Festival, it’s my intention to resurrect this festival next year as Glastonbury is taking a break,” he said.

Phoenix – owned by Power’s Mean Fiddler Group – was held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon between 1993 and 1997, but struggled to establish itself. The ’98 gathering was scrapped because of poor ticket sales.

Other acts already confirmed for this year’s Benicassim include Florence & The Machine, The Vaccines, Bombay Bicycle Club, Miles Kane, Department S, and Los Tiki Phantoms.

Odds & Ends: Zac Brown Band, Metallica, America, Bonnaroo and The Bellamy Brothers

Zac Brown is the newly announced headliner for Milwaukee’s Summerfest; Bonnaroo promoters have released a book covering the festival’s rich musical history; America to get a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame; someone ripped off The Bellamy Brothers; and Hulk Hogan says he could have played bass in Metallica back in the day.

Zac Brown Band To Headline Summerfest

Another sign you’ve made the big time is when the self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Music Festival” trumpets your newly booked headlining slot on the mainstage.  In this case it’s the Zac Brown Band that’s tapped to play the Marcus Amphitheater at Milwaukee’s Summerfest July 5.

Other acts headlining Summerfest’s 45th anniversary scheduled for June 27-July 1 and July 3-8 include Lady Antebellum (June 30) and Neil Diamond (July 8).

Tickets for the Zac Brown Band (including Summerfest admission) go on sale Feb. 4. Visit Summerfest.com for everything you need to know.

788181

Bonnaroo’s Back Pages

Bonnaroo, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2012, only happens once a year but you can read all about the mammoth festival’s history in the newly released book, “Bonnaroo: What, Which, This, That, The Other.”

Named after the festival’s stages and edited by Holly George-Warren, “Bonnaroo: What, Which, This, That, The Other” is the first official book about the annual festival near Manchester, Tenn., and includes more than 400 photos shot by some of the best photogs covering music events today including Danny Clinch, C. Taylor Crothers, Jeff Kravitz, and Ryan Mastro.

The book also includes an essay by New York Times and Rolling Stone contributor Alan Light and written contributions by some of the top-tier artists that have appeared at the festival.

“Bonnaroo: What, Which, This, That, The Other” is available for purchase at the festival’s website and will land in stores April 1. Visit Bonnaroo.com for more information.

A Star For America

One of the most popular groups from the 1970s will be honored in Hollywood next month when America gets its own star on Tinsel Town’s world-famous Walk Of Fame.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce will honor America members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell with the Walk Of Fame’s 2,459th star Feb. 6 at 6752 Hollywood Blvd. outside the Musicians Institute. Original member and Christian music pioneer Dan Peek, who left the band in 1977, passed away last summer.

The next night America will perform a concert and partake in a Q&A at the Grammy museum in downtown Los Angeles.

785615

Grand Theft Bellamys

Famed country music vocal group The Bellamy Brothers were victims of grand larceny while shooting a music video in the Florida Everglades.

Thieves broke into the group’s rental cars and production truck and made off with thousands of dollars worth of production equipment plus a personal iPad and a digital camera. However, the crooks passed on guitars and video equipment, probably because of size.

Fortunately, the police are on the case. The Bellamy Brothers report that police say most of the electronics were offered to a local pawn shop but the shop’s owner turned them down after suspecting the goods were stolen.

The Bellamy Brothers recently spent four days in several Florida locations shooting four videos with Austria’s DJ A-Tzi.

Metallica: James, Lars, Kirk and … Hulk?

While touring in the U.K. with TNA Impact Wrestling, Hulk Hogan talked with London’s The Sun newspaper, saying he wanted to speak with members of Kasabian about the British rock band’s alleged practice of checking into hotel rooms under the Hulkster’s name.

Turns out Hogan had a few more things to say about music. Such as he loves the Stone Roses and that he used to work out to their songs.

But perhaps the most unexpected revelations concerned his bass guitar playing.

“I used to be a session musician before I was a wrestler,” Hogan told The Sun. “I played bass guitar.”

Hogan then told the newspaper that, if things had turned out differently, he might have joined Metallica.

“I was big pals with Lars Ulrich and he asked me if I wanted to play bass with Metallica in the early days, but it didn’t work out,” Hogan said.

But Metallica wasn’t the only band Hogan might have joined. He claims he could have had a chance to join The Rolling Stones if Mick had listened to then-girlfriend Jerry Hall.

“Jerry Hall also asked Mick Jagger if I could play bass with The Rolling Stones,” Hogan told The Sun. “Mick never got back to me.”

One Night Only: Bret Michaels, Shelby Lynne & More

Bret Michaels, Shelby Lynne and Robert Cray are a few of the acts performing in early February at the Grammy Foundation’s music preservation project. You don’t have to make six-figures to attend because general admission tickets are only $25. 

Taking place Feb. 9 in Beverly Hills, Calif., at the Saban Theatre, “One Night Only: A Celebration of the Live Music Experience” is the 14th annual preservation project. The Grammy Week event promotes the foundation’s mission of recognizing and preserving our musical past for future generations.

763284

The evening features live performances along with historical footage from preservation archives. One Night Only “will explore the history and evolution of live concert performances and celebrate the various and invaluable contributions of those events, the key players behind them, and their influence on the American cultural landscape.”

Sharon Osbourne and Steve Vai are co-hosting the event, which also features performances from Jonny Lang, Mavis Staples, Dave Koz, Ledisi, the Colburn Orchestra, A Fine Frenzy, Tyrese, Queen Extravaganza contest winner Marc Martel, and NBC’s “The Voice” finalist Beverly McClellan. Michaels’ set will close the night. Songwriter, producer, Recording Academy Trustee and Grammy Foundation Board member Darrell Brown will be the evening’s musical director.

776695

The 54th annual Grammy Awards are being held at Los Angeles’ Staples Center Feb. 12 and broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

For tickets and information about “One Night Only: A Celebration of the Live Music Experience” visit www.grammyfoundation.org or contact 323-908-0609.

Marky Ramone Bops Out A Blitzkrieg Tour

Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg releases a schedule taking the Rock Hall Of Famer and his band across the globe playing nightclubs, theatres and festivals.

Fielding a band including ex-Misfits frontman Michael Graves along with guitarist Crazy Joe and bass-man Graham vanderVeen, the Ramones drummer begins the journey in Argentina, playing Cordoba’s The Roxy March 16 and Buenos Aires at Teatro de Flores March 17.

U.S. stops include Hoboken, N.J., at Maxwell’s March 28; Stroudsburg, Penn., at Sherman Theatre March 29; Atlantic City at the Convention Center March 30; Baltimore at Sonar March 31 and Brooklyn, N.Y., at The Bell House April 1.

Ramone’s tour returns to the international circuit in April, playing Kula Lumpur, Malaysia, at KL Live April 15 and Taipei, Taiwan, at The Legacy April 18. Ramone is also hitting a few international Hard Rock Cafes – Macau, China, April 22; Hong Kong April 24 and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam April 26.

Ramone’s Euro festival agenda takes him and the band to Barcelona for Festival de Guitarra May 26; Hunxe, Germany, at Ruhrpott Rodeo Festival May 27; Plymouth, England, for Volksfest June 2 and the Hard Rock Hell Road Trip in Ibiza, Spain, June 5.

710712

Some shows are already on sale. Visit MarkyRamone.com for more information.

Rusko Returns To The U.S.

The British Dubstep producer / DJ schedules a second 2012 run of the United States, a spring adventure beginning in mid-April.

Rusko’s new album, Songs, drops March 27 on Mad Decent / Downtown Recordings and includes the single “Somebody To Love.”

Already scheduled for a winter run through North America beginning the first week of February, Rusko has lined up a series of intimate venues for his spring trip. First stop is Salt Lake City at Rockwell At The Palace April 21. Other destinations include San Francisco’s Warfield April 24; Calgary, Alberta, at Flames Central April 30; St. Paul., Minn., at Myth May 3; Toronto’s Sound Academy May 8; Boston at House Of Blues May 10; New York City’s Terminal 5 May 13-14; Miami Beach at The Fillmore May 19 and Albuquerque, N.M., at the Sunshine Theatre May 27.

Some shows are already on sale. Visit RuskoOnFire.com for more information.

John Mellencamp, Arlo Guthrie To headline Woody Tribute

A concert honoring America’s dustbowl troubadour is set for the Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration in March.

792678

Presented by the Grammy Museum, Woody Guthrie Publications and the Woody Guthrie Archives, the week-long “Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration” scheduled for March 5-11 at Oklahoma’s University Of Tulsa will include an exhibition, educational training programs and a conference in addition to the March 10 concert.

The celebration begins with the unveiling of Woody At One Hundred: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration 1912-2012,” sponsored by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. Curated by the Grammy Museum and the Woody Guthrie Archives, the new exhibit at Tulsa’s Gilcrease Museum opens Feb. 5 and runs through April 29.

Among the events during the week will be the Oklahoma Jazz & Roots Music Symphony Orchestra performing “Symphonic Variations Of A Song By Woody Guthrie” March 8 at University Of Tulsa’s Lorton Hall. Conducted and composed by David Amram and commissioned by Woody Guthrie Publications, the Red Dirt Rangers and musicians and singers from the Oklahoma Jazz Hall Of Fame will also perform.

Another event is the “Different Shades Of Red” conference scheduled for March 10 examining Guthrie’s Oklahoma roots.

Along with John Mellencamp and Woody’s son Arlo Guthrie, the March 10 “This Land is Your Land – the Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration Concert” will feature performances by Rosanne Cash, Del McCoury Band, The Flaming Lips, Old Crow Medicine Show, Hanson, Tim O'Brien and Jimmy LaFave.

766358766364

Tickets for the centennial concert go on sale Feb. 4 with prices ranging from $45 to $250. Click here more information about the concert as well as all the events scheduled for the “Woody Guthrie Centennial Celebration.”

Top Stars Cover Bob Dylan Songs For Amnesty Int’l

Anyone who ever doubted the transformative power of Bob Dylan’s music need only look to Ke$ha.

Yes, Ke$ha.

The irreverent pop star known for singing about brushing her teeth with “a bottle of Jack” turns poignant while covering a song from one of music’s great lyricists on the new four-disc Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International. The project features 75 newly recorded Dylan songs by 80 artists, including Adele, Sting, Sugarland, Elvis Costello, hip-hop artist K’naan and others to support the human rights organization.

784152

Ke$ha is one of the more unlikely stars to contribute to the compilation, released Tuesday. The pop star defined by party anthems like “Tik Tok” and “Your Love Is My Drug” took on Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.” As she found herself alone in her bedroom for the first time in months, the words of the song – about a person bidding goodbye to a lover – took on a new, deeply personal meaning. She realized she was saying goodbye to her carefree, former life – before big hits and world tours brought on pressure and priorities. She broke down as she began singing, and the emotion is captured on the record.

“Everything has changed. It’s amazing, but there are moments that are incredibly lonely. This caught me at one of those incredibly lonely moments, and it really struck home. There’s a line, ‘It’s a long and lonesome road, babe, where I’m bound I can’t tell.’ It’s tragically relevant,” said Ke$ha in a phone interview. “I think these are all positive things for young people to see that you can be strong and you can be irreverent and you can say what you want and you have the freedom of speech, but I’ve learned that vulnerability is actually an asset. It can be just as much of an asset as strength.”

Ke$ha isn’t the only eye-popping name on the compilation: Nineteen-year-old Miley Cyrus does a rendition of “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.” The project has a wide range of acts, from Maroon 5 to 92-year-old folk legend Pete Seeger, who sings “Forever Young” with a children’s chorus. Dylan waived the publishing rights to his entire catalog, and all of the artists, musicians, engineers and others involved in the recording process did everything pro-bono.

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, who recorded “Man of Peace,” describes it as “thin ice” to cover an artist as iconic as Dylan, because not only are his songs brilliant, but his performances of those songs have become so revered themselves.

“(Artists like Dylan) know where (the songs) live and breathe and where the heartbeat is. So covering them can be a touchy thing,” said Perry, who recorded the Dylan song “Man of Peace.” ‘‘Hopefully you don’t make it different just for the sake of making it different. I just wanted to kind of reinterpret my take on the song and just have fun singing it.”

Legendary country artist and actor Kris Kristofferson considers Dylan a personal friend but says he’s been an inspiration and a hero a lot longer than that. Johnny Cash introduced them while Kristofferson was working as a janitor at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville in the 1960s. At 75, Kristofferson says he has been around long enough to understand and appreciate Dylan’s impact on music.

“If you look at pop songs before Dylan, none of them were poetry like his are. He opened up the doors for creative writers and made songwriting to me what it is today,” said Kristofferson, who covers “Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn).” ‘‘Music was a whole lot different when I was a little kid. Pop music was lifted up as an art form by Bob Dylan.”

759577

British pop singer Natasha Bedingfield recorded “Ring Them Bells” in Nashville during her U.S. tour last year. She said she used to listen to it as a kid with her brother and sister.

“To me the song is about freedom, ‘Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf, for the innocent,’” she said. “For me it felt quite poignant, particularly for this album, where Amnesty is all about people who are being unjustly treated.”

Chimes of Freedom is a follow up to Amnesty International’s 2007 collection of John Lennon songs performed by major artists, called Instant Karma, which raised over $4 million for their efforts in Darfur.

“Music has been at the heart of so many movements for change,” said Julie Yannatta, who served as the album’s executive producer with Jeff Ayeroff. “Music has a way of reminding us who we are at our essence and what we need to do to live together in a better world, and Amnesty is very much a part of that.”

764461

The album will be available internationally on Jan. 30.

Mark Reale Dies

Riot founder/guitarist Mark Reale died Wednesday, reportedly due to complications from Crohn’s disease. He was 56.

Riot posted the following message on the band’s website and Facebook page Wednesday:

“To friends and fans of Mark Reale and Riot, we are deeply saddened to confirm that Mark has lost his battle with a lifelong illness. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated by Mark’s family, friends, and bandmates at this difficult time.”

The band’s Facebook profile picture, as well as the front page of Riot’s website, has been changed to a picture of Reale along with the words: “Rest in peace … Mark Reale June 7,1955 – January 25, 2012.”

Reale formed the heavy metal band in 1975 along with drummer Peter Bitelli, bassist Phil Feit and vocalist Guy Speranza. The group, which replaced Feit with Jimmy Iommi and added guitarist Louie Kouvaris, released its debut studio album, Rock City, in 1977. Riot’s fifteenth and most recent studio album, Immortal Soul, was released in October 2011.

The current lineup features vocalist Tony Moore, drummer Bobby Jarzombek, bassist Don Van Stavern and guitarist Mike Flyntz.

Earlier this month Pollstar.com reported that Reale was in critical condition in a San Antonio, Texas, hospital because of complications from Crohn’s disease. The guitarist has suffered from the inflammatory bowel disease, which often causes severe abdominal pains, for most of his life. Before passing away, Reale had reportedly been in a coma since suffering a subarachnoid hemorrhage Jan. 11.

Click here for Riot’s website and here for the band’s Facebook page.

Ne-Yo Wants To Integrate Music As New Motown VP

Ne-Yo has a dream: He believes the record industry is segregated, and has hopes of changing that as the new senior vice president of artists and repertoire for Motown Records.

Even though Motown’s legend is rooted in black music, it was music that appealed to everyone, helping to unite a nation in sometimes divisive times. As a top exec at Motown, Ne-Yo wants to unite people musically once again.

“I want to get back to a place where everybody’s listening to the same thing no matter what race, color, creed you are,” the singer said in an interview Wednesday after Universal Music made the announcement. “(Now) there’s music that’s specifically for black people and there’s music that’s specifically for white people, and I feel like the essence of ... music is lost when you do that.”

769577

The 32-year-old Grammy winner, who has multiple hits of his own and has also written smashes for others like Rihanna and Beyonce, says he is looking to sign artists that have a drive and a tremendous work ethic, not just one-hit wonders.

“I definitely plan on making sure the people I bring to the industry are going to be an asset to the industry as opposed to a liability,” said Ne-Yo, who also has his own label imprint called Compound Entertainment. “It’s more than ‘She looks good in a short skirt’ or ‘He looks good with his shirt off’ — it’s about somebody that has a talent.”

Ne-Yo, who is planning to release his fifth album this summer, will also move to the Motown Records roster. He has released his four albums on Island Def Jam Music Group; both Motown and Def Jam are subsidiaries of Universal Music.

He’s also an actor: Ne-Yo appears in the new George Lucas film “Red Tails” about the Tuskegee Airmen, who were the first black fighter pilots to serve in the U.S. military. It debuted at No. 2 with $19.2 million last weekend, despite some concerns that a black-themed film would not appeal to a mainstream audience.

“It always feels good to beat the odds,” he said.

Merle Haggard Returns To Calif. Home To Recuperate

Country music legend Merle Haggard has returned home to northern California to recuperate from multiple illnesses.

Haggard had been hospitalized in Macon, Ga., for about a week with double pneumonia. While there, doctors discovered three stomach ulcers and eight polyps in his colon.

759576

At one point, the 74-year-old checked himself out of the hospital to return to Redding, Calif., by tour bus. But he returned a few hours later after deciding the trip would be too taxing.

The “Okie from Muskogee” singer was diagnosed with lung cancer a few years ago, but recovered after part of his lung was removed.

It’s unclear how Haggard’s recent health issues will affect his touring schedule. His website shows him playing next on Feb. 28 in Tucson, Ariz.

Mountain Jam Announces 2012 Acts

Michael Franti & Spearhead will mark the group’s seventh appearance at Mountain Jam Festival this May. The 2012 lineup also includes The Roots, a reunited Ben Folds Five and Steve Winwood.

After expanding to four days in 2011, this year’s Mountain Jam will once again take place Thursday through Sunday. Mark your calendars for May 31 through June 3 at Hunter Mountain in Hunter, N.Y.

750191

The 8th annual festival, which is presented by Radio Woodstock and Govt’Mule / Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes, features approximately 50 bands across four stages. You can once again count on Hayes taking the stage with Gov’t Mule.

Other acts on the initial lineup are The Word (featuring Robert Randolph, John Medeski & North Mississippi Allstars), Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, The Travelin’ McCourys (featuring Keller Williams), Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dawes, Gary Clark Jr., Carolina Chocolate Drops, Givers, and Charles Bradley.

771232

Three-day passes are on sale now beginning at $150. Fans can add camping for $30 extra. A limited number of VIP festival passes are on sale for $440. Single-day tickets will be available in the spring.
 
For more information, click here for Mountain Jam’s website.

Odd Future On Tour

Hip hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All has added a dozen new North American dates to its calendar.

The group ended 2011 by earning plenty of press for various controversies.

In early November Odd Future’s Left Brain was accused of attacking a photographer in the photo pit at the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans. Later that month Odd Future made headlines after a lobby group questioned why the act was being featured at Big Day Out festival in spite of their “homophobic, misogynistic and hateful lyrics.” 

Odd Future rapper Tyler, the Creator was arrested in late December and accused of felony vandalism for destroying an electronic soundboard following a show.

To give the act the benefit of the doubt, it is a new year – maybe Odd Future won’t get into any trouble in 2012. They even included a sweet kitten on the Tumblr announcement for their new dates. Well, the cat did have really crazy eyes and sharp, scary teeth. But that’s a start. 

788657

Tonight Odd Future plays another stop on the Big Day Out festival at Sydney’s Olympic Park Showgrounds. Additional Big Day Out dates are booked through Feb. 5.

The new North American dates begin March 9 in Tempe, Ariz., at The Marquee, followed by a March 11 gig in Boulder, Colo., at the Fox Theatre.

Odd Future will also play Minneapolis (March 13); Toronto (March 15); Miami Beach, Fla. (March 17); New York City (March 20); Boston (March 21); Philadelphia (March 23) and Atlanta (March 25).

After a run of U.K. and Ireland dates March 28 through April 2, Odd Future returns to the U.S. for shows in San Bernardino, Calif. (April 7); San Francisco (April 9) and Seattle (April 11).

Tickets are on sale now. The group warns that fans should give their tickets now “before scalpers get them and you complain about the resale price and shit.”

The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2 will be released this spring, followed by Wolf, the third studio album from Tyler, The Creator.

Click here for Odd Future’s website.