Florence + The Machine To Perform At The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards

"Dog Days Are Over" Up For Video of the Year, Best Rock Video, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction

MTV has announced the addition of Florence + The Machine to their list of performers at the 2010 Video Music Awards.  Florence Welch and her band will be performing "Dog Days Are Over" at the Awards, held at the Nokia Theater Los Angeles on September 12th.  The video for the song has been nominated for four VMAs, nabbing the coveted slot as one of six artists up for "Video of the Year", as well as "Best Rock Video", "Best Cinematography" and "Best Art Direction" for what MTV calls "one giant work of avant garde art."

Speaking to USA Today of her performance, Florence Welch said, "To be performing and nominated at this years VMAs is completely amazing and especially for the song "Dog days" as I recorded that song in a cupboard with no instruments and the sound of the drums was me banging my hands on the wall, clacking pens on Mpc's and generally causing a cacophony with anything I could lay my hands on. For this song to be recognized at such an iconic event is a total dream. For me 'Dog days' symbolizes apocalyptic euphoria, Chaotic freedom and running really really fast with your eyes closed..I hope to somehow encapsulate those things in my performance at this years VMA's. I would also hugely like to thank everyone at the VMA's for giving me this opportunity."

In addition to getting recognition for her video, her song "Dog Days Are Over" has been a fixture on in the film and TV world for the past couple of months.  You may have heard it during the trailer for Julia Roberts's Eat Pray Love movie. She also contributed an original track "Heavy in Your Arms" to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Florence really shines with her live shows, which have become the stuff of legend.  Since touring the world nearly constantly beginning last summer she'll be back in the USA soon for another round of dates in North America.

October 30 - New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music Festival
October 31 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
November 1 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
November 2 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
November 3 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
November 5 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
November 6 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern (SOLD OUT)
November 7 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern

Florence's acclaimed debut album Lungs, released in 2009, has been hailed as a breakthrough effort around the world, reaching #1 on the UK charts an impressive seven months after release date and remaining in the Top 40 ever since and has gone on to sell over 1.7 million copies worldwide. The tenacious artist took home a Brit Awards Critic's Choice trophy last year, pegged as 'one of the most exciting new artists to debut in the British music scenes in years.' 

Styx tour the US in the autumn

Styx Set to Launch "The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight" Tour This Fall, Performing Both Albums in Their Entirety

STYX--Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitars), James "JY" Young (vocals, guitars), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards), Todd Sucherman (drums) and Ricky Phillips (bass), along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo—are getting ready to head out on the US concert trail again this year. However, for this round of dates, the band has an extra-special treat planned - it won't be a typical STYX show. Along with the classic hits, the band will be performing 1977's The Grand Illusion and 1978's Pieces of Eight in their entirety. Both albums spawned such hit singles and Classic Rock radio standards as "Come Sail Away," "Renegade," "Blue Collar Man" and "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)."

"This is the most unique STYX concert ever," says singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw. "It's a hybrid experience of enjoying the artistry of the vinyl album and the energy and of our live performance. Some songs have never been performed live!"

Spawned from a suburban Chicago basement in the early '70s, STYX would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late '70s and early '80s, due to a fondness for big rockers and soaring power ballads. Over the course of their 38-year career they've released 15 studio albums, 6 best-of compilations and 4 live albums, garnering 8 Top Ten singles. STYX has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

On the touring front, STYX has performed more shows since '99 than all of the previous years of its career combined. Two Super-Bowl appearances, Pollstar box office chart-topping tours with Def Leppard, Journey, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Bad Company, Foreigner (to name a few), two more studio albums and no end in sight, STYX continues to conquer the planet, one venue at a time.

Check out the "The Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight" at any of the following stops:

10/14 - Evansville, IN - The Centre
10/15 - Merrillville, IN - Star Plaza Theatre
10/16 - Waukegan, IL - Genesee Theatre
10/17 - Columbus, OH - The Palace Theatre
10/19 - Chattanooga, TN - Tivoli Theatre
10/21 - Melbourne, FL - King Center
10/22 - Ft. Myers, FL - Barbara B. Mann Perf Arts Hall
10/23 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
10/25 - Salem, VA - Salem Civic Center
10/27 - Washington, DC - Warner Theatre
10/28 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
10/29 - Baltimore, MD - Hippodrome Theatre
10/30 - Albany, NY - Palace Theatre Albany
11/2 - Bangor, ME - Bangor Auditorium
11/3 - Lowell, MA - Lowell Memorial Auditorium
11/5 - Erie, PA - Warner Theatre Erie
11/6 - Toledo, OH - Stranahan Theatre
11/7 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace
11/9 - Memphis, TN - The Orpheum Theatre
11/11 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
11/12 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Casino & Resort
11/13 - Atlanta, GA - Cobb Energy Center

**On-sale dates are subject to change.

Get ready for Plain White T's 'Wonders of the Younger'

PLAIN WHITE T’S PUT FINISHING TOUCHES ON NEW ALBUM

“WONDERS OF THE YOUNGER” SLATED FOR RELEASE IN OCTOBER

BAND TO PERFORM FIRST SINGLE “RHYTHM OF LOVE” ON THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO AUGUST 5

GOOD MORNING AMERICA AUGUST 19

VIDEO FOR  “RHYTHM OF LOVE” PREMIERES ON VH1.COM AUGUST 10 AND ON VH1 AUGUST 14"

“RHYTHM OF LOVE” DIGITAL SINGLE AVAILABLE AUGUST 10

  

“It’s all about pushing the boundaries of our creativity and musical  imagination combined with a dose of nostalgia,” notes Plain White T’s frontman Tom Higgenson of the Chicago band’s forthcoming Hollywood Records release, Wonders of the Younger, due out this October.  Higgenson calls the disc, now in the finishing stages of recording and produced by Ian Kirkpatrick, a collection of songs designed to evoke the feeling of awe and the yearning for adventure remembered from youth.

Higgenson says of the album, “It’s still very much a Plain White T’s album.  The songs are sincere and melodic, no matter what the subject matter.  We want to create an experience that takes our fans to an unexpected place while still giving them songs to sing along to.”

As Higgenson points out, the band is in a different place than the one that prompted hits like the twice Grammy nominated “Hey There Delilah” and “1-2-3-4”– and though there’s still plenty of room in their world for romantic pop, among them is the album’s summery first single, “Rhythm of Love” penned by guitarist Tim Lopez (the brightly melodic tune was inspired by a bittersweet

romance) they’re also branching into some adventurous new territory. It was during a

performance of Cirque du Soleil’s “O” he caught during a Vegas visit that the idea for the new set first took shape. “It just woke something up in me – this wonder,” the singer/guitarist/songwriter recalls. “It was dark yet nostalgic.  I thought, I want to make an album that gives people this feeling.” 

Fast becoming the band’s next big hit, the T’s will perform “Rhythm of Love” on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno August 5 followed by a performance on Good Morning America August 19. The video clip for “Rhythm of Love,” directed by the band’s long time videographer Mike Venezia (1,2,3,4) was shot on the beach in Ventura, CA and will premiere exclusively on VH1.com August 10 and will make its television premiere on VH1 August 14.  The single will be available digitally everywhere August 10.

Fans who’ve heard “Welcome to Mystery,” the band’s contribution to the Almost Alice compilation that accompanied Tim Burton’s 3D blockbuster “Alice in Wonderland,” will have an inkling of where the T’s are headed.  The track’s playfully mysterious vibe, sonic grandeur and expansive sense of possibility, Higgenson says, are the essence of the new set’s approach.  It will appear on Wonders… as well.  “We’ve been fans of Tim Burton’s since ‘Beetlejuice,’ so just being associated with the movie was amazing,” he elaborates. “It also offered us the opportunity to give people a taste of what we’re doing now.”  

 “Welcome to Mystery” was produced by Kirkpatrick, with whom Higgenson had collaborated on various projects over the years.  “Ian is just getting established and we had the creative freedom to choose a producer,” Higgenson says.  “After hearing ‘Mystery,’ the label really got it and agreed it was a good fit. He has a unique way of manipulating sounds and has become an ideal collaborator for this album.” 

The album’s concept has exerted such force that Higgenson built and decorated the recording studio in the basement of his Chicago home with Wonders of the Younger entirely in mind.  “I don’t know if this has ever been done,” he muses.  “The studio looks like a haunted mansion – gold chandeliers, red wallpaper with a gaudy fleur-de-lys pattern, a brown couch that looks like something out of Sherlock Holmes.” The overall design of the space, he explains, has helped cultivate an atmosphere of creative exploration.

 “We’re focused on writing great songs that resonate with what the band has become.  If you listen to it in your car or on headphones, we want it to feel like a big, flowing rollercoaster ride – where you never quite know what’s coming next.”

On photo: Tim Lopez, Tom Higgenson, Mike Retondo, Dave Tirio, De’Mar Hamilton

Photo credit: Piper Ferguson

Who are the Top 20 Music Icons of the Last 50 Years? Vote now!

UMG Artists Named in the Top 20 Global Music Icons of the Last 50 Years by CNN

Vote for your top five favourite artists

11 globally renowned UMG Artists have been shortlisted in the Top 20 Global Music Icons of The Last 50 Years by Cable News Network's (CNN) new arts and culture show in conjunction with global music magazine, Songlines.

The iconic UMG artists shortlisted are Juanes, The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, James Brown, Ceilia Cruz , Gilberto Gil, Leslie Cheung, Khaled, Youssou N'Dour, Asha Bhosle and Teresa Teng.  The list of music legends can be found on CNN's website

Fans will be able to vote for their top five favourite artists out of the top 20 on CNN's website. The results will be unveiled when the new music show "Icon" airs on CNN International on August 25th.