Weekly music agenda: Miami's Ultra Music Festival

(Winter Music Conference)

Coming up, Miami heats up as 100,000 attendees head to the Ultra Music Festival for a soldout event. Also Canada honors its top musical talent at the Juno Awards on March 27.

12th Ultra Music Festival
March 25-27
Miami, Florida, USA

Duran Duran, Disco Biscuits, David Guetta, Moby, Cut Copy, Sasha, Chemical Brothers, Tiesto, Deadmau5, and Carl Cox are among th etop acts playing set at this year's electronic-focused Ultra Music Festival, which takes over Miami's South Beach every year. Also on the roster: Chromeo, will.i.am, Rusko, NERO, CSS, Empire of the Sun, and many artists whose music ranges from dubstep and breaks to trance and electro. This year's festival is an expanded event, with three days of music rather than two and an expected larger international lineup. The event is sold out, with over 100,000 attendees expected.
http://www.ultramusicfestival.com/
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Juno Awards
March 27
Toronto, Canada

Canada's music awards show, now in its 40th year, airs on Sunday, March 27 on CTV in Canada. Drake received six nods this year, while Arcade Fire has earned five nominations. Other artists in the running for the prize include Broken Social Scene, Neil Young, Justin Bieber, and Sarah McLaughlin. To celebrate the anniversary of the event, organizers are scheduling events in Toronto during the week prior to the broadcast, including a concert series and museum exhibition. A free block party on March 24 in Toronto's Metro Square will feature musicians City and Colour (aka Dallas Green) and Hannah Georgas.
http://junoawards.ca
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Snoop Dogg: 'Doggumentary'
March 28/29
UK/US

American rapper Snoop Dogg is set to drop his 11th studio album, Doggumentary. The 21-track LP features Kanye West, John Legend, Too Short, Wiz Khalifa, Gorillaz, R. Kelly, and Willie Nelson, among many others. Snoop Dogg has been nominated for 14 Grammy Awards but has yet to take home the prize. Doggumentary is the sequel to his 1993 Doggystyle, which was certified quadruple platinum in sales in the US and is Snoop Dogg's highest-selling album.
http://www.snoopdogg.com
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Britney Spears: 'Femme Fatale'
March 28/29
UK/US

Britney Spears also enlisted the aid of producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin - who have also worked with US pop stars Katy Perry and Pink - on the new album, Femme Fatale, which will be her seventh studio release. The album's first single, "Hold It Against Me," reached number one in seven countries, including the US, Canada, and Belgium. One of the best-selling music artists in the world, Spears is reported to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
http://www.britneyspears.com
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Lollapalooza Chile
April 2-3
Santiago, Chile

First launched in 1991 by Perry Farrell, lead singer of Jane's Addiction, Lollapalooza is an iconic American festival with its roots in the alternative music scene. This year the Chicago festival will be two days and not three, and for the first time, the event will expand internationally, with a weekend slated in Santiago, Chile, April 2-3. Headliners for the Chile event include The Killers, Jane's Addiction, and Kanye West. General tickets for the two-day event are available online for $76 (€56).
http://www.lollapalooza.cl/en/
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Foo Fighters: 'Wasting Light'
April 11/April 12
UK/US

Rock band the Foo Fighters, fronted by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, will drop Wasting Light on April 11 in the UK and April 12 in the US. Wasting Light is their seventh full-length LP and is produced by Nirvana producer Butch Vig. Three of the Foo Fighters' previous six albums have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album, and all six have been nominated. Their last effort, 2008's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, won a Grammy Award and Brit Award for Best International Album, in addition to reaching number one in four countries.
http://foofighters.fm/
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12th Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
April 15-17
Indio, California, US

The 2011 edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, features performances by Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Kings of Leon, and the Strokes. 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, Cee Lo Green, Lightning Bolt, the reunited Big Audio Dynamite and Suede, Duran Duran, Erykah Badu, The Black Keys, Titus Andronicus, Best Coast, The Kills, the New Pornographers, Lil B, Odd Future, and the Chemical Brothers. More than 100,000 are expected to attend, and the event is sold out, although a live webcast is planned for the event. Stay tuned for the event website for details. 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. Stay tuned for live webcast.
http://www.coachella.com
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4th Record Store Day
April 16
International

More than 1,000 stores on four continents are set to mark Record Store Day, an annual celebration of independent record stores, through events and special promotions. Gorillaz will release their iPad album The Fall on vinyl, and Foo Fighters will drop a limited-edition album dubbed Medium Rare. Also The Cure will reissue a 1990 live album, Entreat, as a two-disc LP. My Morning Jacket is reissuing three studio albums, and Big Star is releasing a "lost record" dubbed Third. The New Pornographers will drop a limited edition seven-inch single of "Moves," backed by an unreleased track, "Drug Deal of the Heart." Other acts with special releases include Panda Bear, The Flaming Lips, Nickel Creek, Superchunk, and Phish. The Rolling Stones are also releasing a seven-inch of "Brown Sugar." Also to commemorate the event, Seattle's The Experience Music Project will launch its exhibit Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses, featuring 200 artifacts, many rare and unseen, owned by the members of the band and their crew and families. For information about releases, events, and participating stores worldwide, visit: http://www.recordstoreday.com.
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