Weekly music agenda: Sting on tour, U2 'At the Rose Bowl,' Rock in Rio

(AFP PHOTO/Leon Neal)

The always eclectic Sting begins a world tour with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra on June 2, performing songs from throughout his career in classical arrangements. Also coming up: U2 is set to release a DVD of its record-breaking 2009 Rose Bowl show, and Rock in Rio will draw nearly 300,000 music fans to Madrid's "Rock City."

Sting begins international orchestra tour
June 2
USA

Sting will embark on a world tour this summer with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, beginning in early June with more than three dozen shows in the US and Canada, followed by yet-to-be-announced performances in the UK and continental Europe. The tour will see Sting perform his best-known songs in orchestra arrangement, including Police songs and music from the artist's solo career. Sting has won 16 Grammy Awards and sold nearly 100 million records worldwide. He has explored classical music crossovers with his albums Songs from the Labyrinth (2006) and If On A Winter's Night... (2009), and has also collaborated with the Chicago Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
http://www.sting.com

'U2 360° At The Rose Bowl'
June 3/7
USA/UK

As U2's epic 360° Tour continues, the band is set to release At The Rose Bowl, documenting a performance in Pasadena, California that took place on October 25, 2009, as part of that tour. The performance was the band's biggest show of 2009 and U2's biggest-ever US show; the concert was also streamed via YouTube, pulling in more than 10 million views in one week. In addition to a standard DVD format, U2360° At The Rose Bowl will be available as a 2-disc deluxe edition and on Blu-ray; the deluxe format and Blu-ray will include a new documentary called Squaring the Circle: Creating U2360°.
http://www.u2.com

Rock in Rio Madrid
June 4-6, 11, 14
Spain

The Rock in Rio music festival was first held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in January 1985, and now takes place in both Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain. The festival's first Madrid edition in 2008 was attended by 290,000 music fans. Artists on the 2010 roster include Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill, Shakira, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Bon Jovi, and Metallica. Concerts are staged over two weekends at Rock City in Aranda del Rey, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Madrid.
http://www.rockinriomadrid.es/en

Christina Aguilera's 'Bionic'
June 8
International

Five-time Grammy winner Christina Aguilera is set to release her first studio album since 2006's Back to Basics, which went platinum in more than a dozen countries and earned a Grammy Award for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance. Bionic features the single "Not Myself Tonight," a ballad titled "Lift Me Up" produced and written by Linda Perry, and songs co-written by Aguilera and collaborations with Sia, Tricky Stewart, Le Tigre, and Ladytron, among others.

Bonnaroo Festival
June 10-13
Manchester, Tennessee, USA

The top-grossing festival in North America, the Bonnaroo Festival brings nearly 90,000 people to Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (2.8 sq km) farm in Manchester, Tennessee. The 2010 festival will feature headliners Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, and Dave Matthews, as well as dozens of other artists including The Flaming Lips, Weezer, Norah Jones, LCD Soundsystem, and The xx. Tickets are still available at $249.50, or $1,349.50 per pair with VIP benefits. In addition to dozens of performances, the festival features a 100-acre "entertainment village" with an arcade, cinema, silent disco, and comedy club.
http://www.bonnaroo.com

ABBAWORLD Melbourne
June 12
Melbourne, Australia

The interactive ABBAWORLD exhibition devoted to the Swedish pop group and backed by the band is set to move on to Melbourne's Federation Square following its London run. ABBAWORLD includes music, footage, images, and memorabilia, plus a wide array of state-of-the-art interactive activities, and is expected to head to multiple cities. One item of memorabilia may be added to the exhibit for the Melbourne opening: Promoters have posted a $10,000 reward for a missing jumpsuit worn by Agnetha Fältskog during the band's 1977 Australian tour. Founded in 1970, ABBA has sold nearly 370 million albums worldwide, making it the second best-selling band in history after The Beatles.
http://www.abbaworld.com


Drake: 'Thank Me Later'
June 15
International

Canadian rapper Drake has worked with Lil Wayne, Birdman, Kanye West, Eminem, and Jay-Z, and generated considerable hype with his mixtape So Far Gone. He performed at the 2010 Grammy Awards, where he was also nominated for two awards, and won two BET Hip Hop Awards in 2009, including "Best Rookie of the Year." Thank Me Later, which features the single "Over," will be the artist's debut album. MTV News staffer Kyle Anderson calls it "the most buzzed-about hip-hop debut since Biggie Smalls dropped Ready To Die."

Eminem's 'Recovery'
June 22
International

Eminem's seventh major label studio album will feature collaborators including DJ Khalil, Just Blaze, Jim Jonsin, and Boi-1da. The album will be the artist's first since 2004's Encore, which has sold more than 11 million copies, bringing Eminem's total number of records sold worldwide to 80 million. The first single from Recovery, "Not Afraid," debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Eminem the 16th artist in the chart's history with a single that topped the chart in its debut week.

40th annual Glastonbury Festival
June 23-27
Pilton, England

The Glastonbury Festival is one of the biggest and best-loved music festivals in the world, known for its all-star lineups and varied arts offerings. U2 will headline the 2010 event, which marks the festival's 40th anniversary; other headliners include Muse, Stevie Wonder, to be joined by The Flaming Lips, Pet Shop Boys, Orbital, Vampire Weekend, and several hundred additional acts. Tickets for the 2010 festival are sold out.
http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk


Roskilde
June 27 - July 4
Roskilde, Denmark

Among the largest European music festivals, Roskilde attracts more than 80,000 concertgoers and more than 180 performing bands. The Prodigy and Patti Smith headline in 2010, joined by Gorillaz, Muse, Them Crooked Vultures, Alice in Chains, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, and Pavement. The 2010 festival will take place from July 1 to 4, with the campground opening for warm-up events that run from June 27 until the start of the festival. A €275-ticket includes camping and access to events for the entire week.
http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/uk