Coachella tickets on sale
January 21
Online
The 12th Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, just announced its official 2011 lineup, boasting scheduled performances by Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Kings of Leon, and the Strokes. This year's festival will run April 15-17. Also expected to take the stage at the three-day festival are PJ Harvey, The National, Bright Eyes, Robyn, Ariel Pink, Interpol, Cut Copy, Crystal Castles, Lauryn Hill, Sleigh Bells, and Cee Lo Green. In the decade since Coachella launched, the multi-stage event has grown in size and acclaim and is now considered the opener of the summer festival season, drawing a crowd of more than 100,000. Tickets will go on sale via Ticketmaster on Friday, January 21, at 10 a.m. PST. Also available is the ever popular layaway option, where tickets can be paid in installments. Three-day passes are $269 (€202). Single-day tickets cost $75 (about €56). Limited VIP tickets will be available for $699 (€520). For all ticket purchases, a $3 (€2.23) fee is added for charity and service charges. Expanded camping options will include car and traditional tent camping plus a new Lake Eldorado camping option, which will include camping gear. Festival organizers have removed last year's RV camping option.
http://www.coachella.com
http://www.coachella.com/event/lineup
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 headliners M.I.A., Iggy and the Stooges, and 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. American band The Black Keys just announced they were pulling out of the festival due to "burnout," but singer-songwriter Paul Dempsey is stepping in. Also on the lineup are LCD Soundsystem, John Butler Trio, Rammerstein, Lupe Fiasco, Birds of Tokyo, Crystal Castles, Matt and Kim, and many others. Tickets are still available for Sydney on January 27, as well as Adelaide, Auckland, and Perth from local outlets (web sales are closed). Expect to pay between $150 AUD and $155 AUD (€111-€115), depending on the city, and there are no camping options. To see the full Big Day Out lineup, timetable, ticket info, and to download a mobile app for the event:
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
Taylor Swift Tour
February 9-21/March 6-30/May 27 - October 8
Asia/Europe/North America
Country music star Taylor Swift's massive Speak Now tour kicks off in Singapore on February 9 and includes 90 shows in 19 countries throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. In March, she plans to play 11 concerts in Europe, including stops in Paris, Madrid, London, and Oslo, before launching her North American tour in May. Her first stop will be in Omaha, Nebraska, for two dates on May 27 and 28. From there the tour will criss-cross the country through October 8, when she performs a final show in Dallas, Texas. Tickets for nine of her US shows sold out in five minutes. Swift is the youngest artist in history, and the first female solo country artist ever, to win a Grammy for Album of the Year - an honor she received in 2009 for her sophomore album Fearless. Speak Now reached number one in five countries.
http://www.taylorswift.com
53rd Annual Grammy Awards
February 13
Los Angeles, CA, US/worldwide coverage
The Recording Academy's 53rd Annual Grammy Awards takes place live from Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 13, 2011, at 8 p.m. ET. Current nominees Arcade Fire, Eminem, Cee Lo Green, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, and Katy Perry are the first performers announced for the telecast. Lifetime Achievement Awards will be handed out to Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton and The Ramones. The UK's version of America's Grammy Awards, the 2011 Brit Awards, is on February 15 at London's O2 arena. Canada's equivalent, the Juno Awards, celebrates its 40th anniversary on March 27 in Toronto. The Grammy Awards will air on CBS Television and will be supported on radio worldwide via Westwood One, and covered online on Grammy.com and CBS.com, and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/thegrammys. Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon. For coverage, updates and breaking news, visit Twitter and Facebook: http://www.twitter.com/thegrammys, http://www.facebook.com/thegrammys.
http://www.grammy.com
Janet Jackson Tour
February 8 - April 23
Asia/North America/more dates to be announced
While originally American pop star Janet Jackson planned to launching her world tour on February 14 in Hong Kong, she is now kicking off the tour on February 8 in Singapore. She plans to hit 35 cities in a tour dubbed "Number Ones: Up Close and Personal," supporting her 2009 best-of collection, Number Ones, a double-album featuring her 35 number-one US hits. Outside of the US, Number Ones is entitled Janet Jackson: The Number Ones, and the album marks Jackson's second hits album, following 1995's Design of a Decade 1986/1996. While international tour dates have yet to be set, she is touring North America March 7 through April 23. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Jackson has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. Stay tuned to Jackson's website as more cities are announced and to purchase tickets.
http://www.janetjackson.com
BRIT Awards
February 15
London
Begun in 1977, the BRIT Awards are one of the UK's biggest music awards, honoring the best in pop music each year. Leading the 2011 nominees are Tinie Tempah with four nods and Plan B, Mumford & Sons, and Take That with three each. Other nominees include Arcade Fire, Katy Perry, Eminem, The xx, and Ellie Goulding. Designer Vivienne Westwood restyled the coveted statue for this year's event, which will be held at London's O2 Arena. Performing at the event are Mumford & Sons, Adele, Cee Lo Green, and Arcade Fire. Show will air live at 8 p.m. GMT and will broadcast on ITV1.
http://www.brits.co.uk/
Ke$ha Tour
February 15 - May 6
North America/Australia
American pop singer Ke$ha is launching her first worldwide concert tour, dubbed The Get $leazy Tour, with scheduled stops throughout North America and Australia. The tour kicks off February 15 in Portland, Oregon, then travels to Brisbane, Australia, on March 3. She then plays six other Australian cities before returning to North America to continue the tour through April and early May. Her 2009 debut single, "TiK ToK," reached number one in 11 countries and her debut album, Animal, scored three top ten singles. Her 2010 EP, Cannibal, has had mixed reviews, however, and peaked at 15 on Billboard's US chart.
http://www.keshasparty.com
U2 Tour
February 18 - July 29
South Africa/South America/North America
U2 will continue its 360° Tour, rescheduled from 2010 due to Bono's back injury, with a February 18 show in Johannesburg, South Africa. The band will play a show in Cape Town before heading to South America for two shows: Buenos Aires on March 30 and Sao Paulo on April 9. May through July, U2 will tour Mexico, the US, and Canada, wrapping up on July 29 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. U2 has won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and has sold more than 150 million records worldwide.
http://www.u2.com
Lady Gaga Tour
February 19 - May 6
North America
Pop-dance music artist Lady Gaga recently added 12 more North American dates to her international The Monster Ball tour. On February 19, she will play Atlantic City, New Jersey, before traveling to New York, Washington DC, Dallas, and Montreal, among others. Her final stop is Mexico City on May 6. Her 2010 The Fame Monster topped charts in 11 countries, and Gaga has sold more than 15 million albums and 51 million singles worldwide.
http://www.ladygaga.com
Katy Perry Tour
February 20 - May 24/October 12 - November 7
Europe/Japan/North America
US pop star Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour launches in Lisbon, Portugal on February 20, and will hit North America by next summer, although official dates have yet to be released. Throughout March and April she will travel Europe and the UK before launching her Japan tour on May 20. There, Perry will play concerts in Osaka and Nagoya, and two shows in Tokyo on May 23 and 24. She returns to the UK for a show in Sheffield on October 12, and then continues to 11 other cities, with a final concert in Dublin on November 7. "California Gurls," the first single from 2010's Teenage Dream, topped charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, with more than four million digital downloads worldwide.
http://www.katyperry.com
NME Awards online voting
Through February 25
Online
Voting is currently underway for the 2011 Shockwave NME Awards, awarded by UK music magazine NME (New Music Express). The awards began in the 1950s, lasted for more than ten years, and then came back in 1994 as an alternative to the pop-focused Brit Awards. The NME Awards are distinguished by their online voting system, which is now open leading up to the February 25 awards ceremony in London. Headliners to perform the show include Foo Fighters, Cee Lo Green, Band of Horses, and No Age. For tickets to the event, go to nme.com/tickets. To vote, visit the NME website.
http://www.nme.com/awardsvote
Watch a teaser for Roxy Music's 2011 tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNPd8k5wLwU
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