Weekly music agenda: Bonnaroo lineup, Sade's 'Soldier of Love'

(courtesy The Flaming Lips)

Soldier of Love, Sade's first album since 2000, is due out February 8. Also: The Bonnaroo Festival lineup will "reveal itself to you" February 9, the same day that general tickets for the 2010 festival go on sale.

The Met: Verdi's 'Simon Boccanegra'
February 6
Worldwide

The Met: Live in HD transmits live performances by the Metropolitan Opera in high definition to hundreds of movie theaters in 40 countries. On Saturday, February 6 at 1:00 pm EST, the Met will broadcast Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, a political thriller and the tragic story of a father and his lost daugher. Legendary tenor Plácido Domingo performs the title role, written for baritone. A full list of participating theaters is on the Met Opera website.
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera

Sade's 'Soldier of Love'
February 8
International

Soldier of Love is Sade's first album since 2000's Lover's Rock. To date, the band - best known for songs "Smooth Operator" and "No Ordinary Love" - has released five studio albums that have sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and won three Grammy Awards - in 1986 for Best New Artist, in 1994 for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group for "No Ordinary Love," and in 2002 for Best Pop Vocal Album with Lovers Rock. Listen to the album's title track and pre-order the album at Sade's website.
http://www.sade.com

Bonnaroo lineup announcement/ticket on-sale date
February 9
Online

On February 9, fans are instructed to tune into the Bonnaroo Festival website, where the lineup "will reveal itself to you," according to organizers. The Dave Matthews Band is among rumored headliners, and Paul Simon and The Flaming Lips have already announced plans to perform. Tickets for the festival, scheduled for June 11-13, will go on sale the same day at 12:00 pm EST. A limited number of general admission tickets will be available for $234.50 plus fees. Once that round sells out, tickets will be $249.50. Payment plans are available for both general admission and  VIP tickets, which are $1,349.50 per pair. The top-grossing festival in North America, the Bonnaroo Festival brings nearly 90,000 people to Great Stage Park, a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee.
http://www.bonnaroo.com

SXSW reduced registration
Through February 12
Austin, Texas, USA

The annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference & Festival attracts nearly 12,000 attendees, and the city of Austin swells with music lovers who travel to hear the nearly 2,000 top-notch bands who play on 80 stages around the city. SXSW has so far announced more than 50 of the acts scheduled to perform during the 2010 conference week, scheduled for March 17-21. Through February 12, music badges are $700; a platinum badge, which grants access to SXSW music, film, and interactive conferences from March 12-21, is $1,125.
http://www.sxsw.com

BRIT Awards
February 16
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 2010 nominees with three noms each are Lady Gaga, Florence & The Machine, Lily Allen, and Pixie Lott. Other nominees include British boyband JLS, Dizzee Rascal, Jay-Z, Paolo Nutini, La Roux, Empire of the Sun, and Animal Collective. Comic Peter Kay will host the BRIT Awards ceremony on February 16 at London's Earls Court.
http://www.brits.co.uk/


Coldplay Viva la Vida tour
February 26 - March 11
Latin America

English rock band Coldplay is set to begin the final leg of its worldwide Viva la Vida Tour, which has already included a total of 159 shows in 25 countries across the globe. The final concerts will take place in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico beginning on February 26. British rock musician Bat for Lashes is the opening act for all Latin American dates.
http://www.coldplay.com

'Almost Alice' CD release
March 2
International

The soundtrack album for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland will feature artists' reinterpretations of songs from Walt Disney's 1951 animated film. Almost Alice will include tracks by Owl City, Robert Smith from The Cure, and Franz Ferdinand, as well as All Time Low, Avril Lavigne, Mark Hoppus, and Pete Wentz. The soundtrack's first single, "Alice (Underground)" by Avril Lavigne," has already been released. Burton's live-action adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland, starring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, and Anne Hathaway, will begin making its way to theaters March 5.


'Plastic Beach' by Gorillaz
March 8
International

The Gorillaz, British musician David Albarn's collaboration with a revolving roster of musicians, will release a third studio album, Plastic Beach, on March 8. The album's first single, "Stylo," is a collaboration with Bobby Womack and Mos Def that MTV News staffers are calling a potentially "trend-setting track for 2010." The band's most recent studio album, the Grammy-winning Demon Days, went five times platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US.
http://www.gorillaz.com/

Hendrix's 'Valleys of Neptune'
March 9
International

This album of previously unreleased material by Jimi Hendrix is one of many 2010 releases planned as part of the Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project, marking the 40th anniversary of the artist's death. Coming mostly from a four-month period in 1969, Valleys of Neptune is a 12-song collection that includes the final studio sessions of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience and Hendrix's first sessions with bassist Billy Cox. The title track was released as a single on February 2.
http://www.jimi-hendrix.com/