Weekly music agenda: New Year's Eve shows, Winehouse tour

(AFP PHOTO/Robyn BECK)

Global musical events ramp up for New Year's Eve celebrations, including Jay-Z and Coldplay at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas and Ministry of Sound at London's O2 Arena. Also coming up, Amy Winehouse returns to the stage with four gigs in Brazil in early January.

New Year's Eve
December 31
Worldwide

Some of the biggest New Year's Eve concerts include Jay-Z and Coldplay at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Resort, Ministry of Sound at London's O2 Arena, and Phish at NYC's Madison Square Garden. Or enjoy the festivities from home: An annual performance by the Vienna Philharmonic is broadcast in more than 50 countries, and Japan's Red and White Song Festival, a 50-year-old tradition featuring competing teams of celebrity singers, airs internationally on NHK and select cable channels. From New York, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest airs on ABC-TV. Fergie will host the Los Angeles-based party portion and performance lineups include Jennifer Hudson, Willow Smith, Ne-Yo, Avril Lavigne, Drake, and La Roux. Also, NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly airs on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, and Bravo. To stay informed of concerts, keep an eye on artists' websites or on ticketing sites like ticketmaster.com and livenationinternational.com. Also, Lady Gaga fans can expect to learn the release date for her upcoming album, Born This Way, on New Year's Eve.


Amy Winehouse Brazil Tour
January 8, 11, 13, and 15 
Brazil

Pop and soul singer Amy Winehouse returns to the stage after a two-year touring hiatus with four January shows in Brazil. She is scheduled to appear at three stops on Brazil's Summer Soul Festival: January 8 in Florianopolis, January 13 in Recife, and January 15 in Sao Paulo. In the middle of the festival, she is also scheduled to headline a January 11 show at the Arena HSBC in Rio de Janerio. Winehouse rocketed to fame with the 2006 release Back to Black, which scooped five Grammy awards, but her creative output dried up while she had a well-documented battle with drugs. Tickets for all four shows are on sale now at http://www.livepass.com.br.
http://www.amywinehouse.com/


SXSW offers reduced registration
Through January 14
Austin, Texas, US

The 25th annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference & Festival (March 11-20) gathers members of the international music, film, and interactive media industries in Austin, Texas, for a weeklong convergence of ideas and talent. Nearly 2,000 bands from 50 countries perform annually at the event, and the city swells with an estimated 100,000 music lovers who come to hear the thousands of concerts - many of them free - staged in 80 venues throughout the city. The music conference, geared toward industry professionals, attracts nearly 12,000 attendees every year; the film and interactive components, added in 1994, attract approximately 17,000 registrants. To attend the conference: through January 14 badges range from $475 to $675  (€355-504) for single events (music, film, or interactive). Gold and platinum badges, priced at $800 (€598) and $1,050 (€785), allow entry into multiple events. After January, costs will rise by $25 to $75 (€19 to €56) per badge. This is an urban event and there are no camping options.
http://www.sxsw.com


MCA of Beastie Boys premieres film
26th Sundance Film Festival
January 20-30, 2011
Park City, Utah

Hip-hop legend Adam "MCA" Yauch of Beastie Boys is set to premiere a short film based on the 1987 music video for the Beastie Boys' song "Fight For Your Right" at the Sundance Film Festival. The film features an all-star cast including Elijah Wood, Danny McBride, Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Jack Black. "Fight For Your Right" was the first single from the Beastie Boys' debut 1986 album License To Ill and is considered their breakthough hit. The album became the first hip-hop record to reach number one on the US Billboard chart. In 2008, Yauch released his directorial debut, a basketball documentary titled Gunnin' for That #1 Spot via his independent film distribution company, Oscilloscope Laboratories. The company also produced Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, which is on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature.
http://www.sundance.org/festival
http://www.beastieboys.com


Linkin Park North American Tour
January 20 - February 28
US/Canada

Wrapping up its 2010 European and Australian tour legs, American rock band Linkin Park continues its world tour in support of its fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, in North America. The North American leg opens on January 20 in Sunrise, Florida, with 22 more stops along the way, including a final show in Phoenix, Arizona on February 28. Linkin Park has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and has won two Grammy Awards. A Thousand Suns reached number one in ten countries.
http://www.linkinpark.com


20th Big Day Out Festival
January 21 - February 6
various cities in Australia and New Zealand

Founded in 1992 in Sydney, Big Day Out is a touring musical event that opens in Auckland on January 21 with headliner Tool. The show travels to Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth in the subsequent days. The event, which expanded its Sydney show to two days and expects to draw more than 250,000 people, features seven or eight stages (depending on the venue) with rock, electronic music, international, and local acts performing. 2011 features M.I.A. and Iggy and the Stooges. Gold Coast, Melbourne, and one of the Sydney shows are sold out but you can register online to be entered into a drawing for a chance at a ticket. Tickets are priced between $150 AUD and $155 AUD (€111-€115), depending on the city, and there are no camping options.
http://www.bigdayout.com


Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music Tour
January 25 - February 7/February 19 - March 6
UK/Australia/New Zealand

Influential English art rockers Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music are kicking off a seven-show tour of the UK on January 25 in Newcastle. Last UK stop will be London's O2 Arena on February 7 before the band sets off to Perth, Australia, on February 19. The group hits five other Australian cities before a final show in Auckland, New Zealand, on March 6. The band's 1982 album Avalon spent three weeks at number one on UK album charts and went platinum in the US, and the LP was one of Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s.
http://www.roxymusic.co.uk/; http://www.bryanferry.com

 
Bon Jovi Tour
January 27 - March 26 / June 8 - July 31
North America/Europe

Legendary US rockers Bon Jovi continue their seven-leg Circle Tour, which traveled though North and South America and Australia, with stops in Asia and Europe, in 2010. The band returns to North America on January 27 to the band's home turf of Sayreville, New Jersey, for a sold-out show. After 23 concerts in North America through March, the band travels to Croatia on June 8 to kick off the European leg of the tour. Bon Jovi plans an ambitious European tour of 23 stops, including concerts in Bucharest, Dublin, Helsinki, and a final performance on July 31 in Lisbon. The band has released 11 studio albums and has sold 130 million records worldwide.
http://www.bonjovi.com