Put another Simon on the Garfunkel.

Old pals Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel have put aside their respective solo careers for the moment to embark on their first tour of Australia in 26 years. The famous duo took the stage at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane on June 17, opening with "Old Friends/Bookends" and leaving the audience "Feelin' Groovy." They began the night acoustically, but were soon joined by a full band. Garfunkel introduced one classic track, "Kathy's Song," as the great love song of our generation." Garfunkel sang a few from his own oeuvre, including "Bright Eyes" and "Heart of New York," and Simon revisited the Graceland tracks "Boy in the Bubble" and "Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes."

Set List:

Old Friends/Bookends
Hazy Shade Of Winter
I Am A Rock
America
Kathy's Song
Hey Schoolgirl
Bebop-alula
Scarborough Fair
Homeward Bound
Mrs Robinson
Slip Slidin' Away
Bright Eyes
Heart of New York
Perfect
Now I Lay me Down
For Emily, Whenever I may find her
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
The Boy in the Bubble
Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes
Only Living Boy in New York
My Little Town
Bridge Over Troubled Water

Encore:
Cecilia
The Boxer
Sounds of Silence
The Leaves That Are Green
Feelin' Groovy

Music industry legends came together for the 40th Anniversary of the Songwriters Hall of Fame awards ceremony held at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Time Square.

Music industry legends came together for the 40th Anniversary of the Songwriters Hall of Fame awards ceremony held at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Time Square. And with this being the 40th Anniversary, all of the stops were pulled for this amazing event: Berry Gordy, Sir Tom Jones, Clint Black, Holland-Dozier-Holland, James Taylor, Beach Boys' Al Jardine, and Ashford and Simpson to name a few.

2009's inductee's into the Songwriters Hall of Fame included Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere / The Young Rascals, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, Stephen Schwartz, Galt MacDermont -- James Rado and the late Gerome Ragni, David Crosby-- Stephen Stills -- and Graham Nash.

Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland Jr. (Holland-Dozier-Holland) walked away with the highest honor of the night, The Johnny Mercer award, which was presented to them by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, the incomparable Barry Gordy. Holland-Dozier-Holland, the songwriting powerhouse that created the Motown Sound, had their hands in 13 consecutive #1 hits for The Supremes from "Baby Love" to "Heat Wave" alone.

American Songwriter felt right at home. We were received warmly with a smile and open arms because bringing light to the beautiful craft of songwriting is what we're all about. So when ASCAP President, Paul Williams caught wind that we were covering the event, he not only told a memorable story about one of his favorite songs, he wanted to send a special message to our readers.

"My favorite song is the ‘Rainbow Connection' because it's not a song about answers; it's a song about questions," says the co-writer of the classic. "Who said that every wish would be heard and answered, and wished on a morning star. I sat down to write that with Kenny Ascher, for Jim Henson. It was one of my most amazing experiences as a songwriter, writing for Jim Henson and the Muppets. It was a collaborative experience beyond anything that I've ever known. Jim would add a scene to a movie just to support an idea for a song. And being that this will be seen on American Songwriter, I'd like for this to be known. Happily after being elected as President and Chairman of the Board at ASCAP, I have one thing on my mind and that's to make sure that YOU, the songwriter can write from the center of your chest and be properly taken care of for it. We are fighting for YOU, we love YOU, and we want for every songwriter to live the type of life that you deserve."

For further information, photos and videos of the event, go to SongHall.org.

To read  more on the event, check out RollingStone.com.

Tom Russell recruits Arizona's finest.

On September 15, veteran singer/songwriter Tom Russell will release his 26th album, Blood and Candle Smoke, a collaboration with the Arizona alt-rock group Calexico. Russell's songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Doug Sahm, k.d. lang, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Iris Dement, Dave Alvin, Joe Ely, Ian Tyson, Nanci Griffith, and Guy Clark.

The new record was recorded in Tuscon at Wave Lab Studios. Studio owner Craig Schumacher (Neko Case, Iron & Wine, Calexico) co-produced the album, and Calexico provide instrumental support.

Russell was prompted to contact the band after he heard the soundtrack to the Bob Dylan biopic I' m Not There, on which Calexico back up many artists, including Jim James and Iron and Iron and Wine, performing Dylan's songs. "The ones that really stood out to me were the ones backed by Calexico," says Russell. "I thought, how great is that--you' ve got a new kind of world/mariachi sound but the great writing of Bob Dylan....So I did more research and I found that a lot of the records Calexico, Neko Case and others were making came out of this one studio in Tucson called Wave Lab. I went in there for two weeks and sat on a stool and sang everything live with my guitar, and they built it around that."

Blood and Candle Smoke, follows the 2008 career retrospective Veteran's Day: The Tom Russell Anthology, The album contains "Guadalupe"--which Russell calls "probably my favorite song that I' ve written"; a song that examines the spirit and faith of Indians living in Mexico City.

Blood and Candle Smoke Track Listing:

1. East Of Woodstock, West Of Viet Nam
2. Santa Ana Wind
3. Nina Simone
4. Criminology
5. Crosses Of San Carlos
6. Finding You
7. Mississippi River Runnin' Backwards
8. The Most Dangerous Woman In America
9. Don' t Look Down
10. Guadalupe
11. American Rivers
12. Darkness Visible

Tom Russell 2009 Tour Dates

Sept 18 Albuquerque, NM - El Rey Theater
Sept 19 Durango, CO - Henry Strater Theatre
Sept 30 Cambridge, MA - Club Passims
Oct 2 Piermont, NY - Turning Point
Oct 3 New York, NY - Joe' s Pub
Oct 4 Vienna, VA - Jammin' Java
Oct 6 Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theatre
Oct 7 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
Oct 8 Columbus, OH - Columbus Maennerchor
Oct 9 Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
Oct 10 Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald
Oct 11 Fairfield, IA - Café Paradiso
Oct 13 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
Oct 14 Kansas City, MO 0 Knuckleheads
Oct 15 Springfield, IL - Hoogland Center for the Arts
Oct 16 St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
Oct 17 Mt. Olive, IL - Turner Hall
Nov 4 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
Nov 5 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
Nov 6 Pinos Altos, NM - Buckhorn Saloon
Nov 7 Las Cruces, NM - Rio Grande Theatre
Nov 8 Santa Fe, NM - Santa Fe Brewing Company
Nov 10 Fort Worth, TX - McDavid Studio
Nov 11 Dallas, TX - Allgood Café
Nov 12 Austin, TX - Cactus Café
Nov 13 Fischer, TX - Rice Festival
Nov 14 Houston, TX - Mucky Duck
Nov 15 San Antonio, TX - Casbeers at the Church
Dec 4 San Diego, CA - San Diego Acoustic Café
Dec 5 Santa Monica, CA - McCabes
Dec 6 Ojai, CA - Ojai Concert Series
Dec 7 Visalia, CA - Maverick' s Roasting Company
Dec 9 Felton, CA - Don Quixote
Dec 10 Redwood City, CA - Little Fox Theatre
Dec 11 Berkeley, CA - Freight and Salvage
Dec 12 Winters, CA - The Palms
Dec 13 Sparks, NV - Great Basin Brewing Company
Dec 14 Sparks, NV - Great Basin Brewing Company
Dec 15 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
Dec 16 Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern

Jack White has some interesting comments about the use of the Internet in marketing music in a recent interview with Canada's National Post.

Jack White has some interesting comments about the use of the Internet in marketing music in a recent interview with Canada's National Post. The famously techno-phobic White Stripe discusses his discomfort with the concept of posting a MySpace page for his new band, the Dead Weather, to promote their upcoming debut album, Horehound.

“Do I really need a MySpace page for this f**king music? Do I really need to do that? There’s a part of me, that just out of spite, says I don’t want to do it because it’s so antithetical to what I do. I just question what it all means. If a million people see your Webpage, how many people actually buy something, buy a record or a song? Feels to me, if you give them a chance to fast forward, rewind, or click off to the next Webpage, they will do it. But if you take away that opportunity, you will frustrate a percentage of people, but others will get off the couch and go buy the vinyl at the store.”

White also says the instant fame provided by the Internet has altered the Dead Weather's course as a band.

“If not for the Internet, we would have loved to have done six months of small clubs down south to really build up what we are and discover what we are...but because of the way it is, we have to have a trial by fire and jump right in, guns a blazing.”

Check out our photos from Saturday and Sunday at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, including Wilco, Jenny Lewis, Tony Rice, Todd Snider, Erykah Badu, Andrew Bird and Band of Horses.

Photographs by Laura Brown.

Highlights from Saturday at Bonnaroo, the four-day Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, included Nils Cline shredding on his Fender Jag on the main stage in Wilco's opening slot for headliners Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

We caught the end of The Tony Rice Unit, when he brought out David Grisman (who was up next on the Tennessee Shines-sponsored The Other Tent on Saturday). Grisman and Rice seemed to be reflecting on mutual friend Jerry Garcia as they picked the old-timer "Shady Grove."

Jenny Lewis rocked songs off last year's Acid Tongue album including "Fernando" and later was joined onstage by Elvis Costello.

J. Lewis and Jonathan Rice singing about the sun, keeping the sun out of their eyes.

Wilco taking down the main stage on Saturday evening.

Todd Snider had the 2pm slot on Sunday at This Tent. He played songs off his new record The Excitement Plan and entertained the crowd with stories about growing up in Oregon.

Erykah Badu on What Stage on Sunday.

Andrew Bird getting in touch with his violin. Bird seemed to be having just as much fun as anyone at Bonnaroo.

Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses letting it loose on Which Stage, Sunday evening.

Band of Horses was one of the last acts to play at Bonnaroo. They played a reflective set that included a cover of Gram Parson's "A Song For You" and a two new songs as encores, including a beautiful song with a Beach Boys-esque melody written by guitarist Tyler Ramsey.

Santa Claus comes to town early this year.

Photos by Robert Clement

On the last night of the Bonnaroo, Phish shared their headlining, late-night set with Bruce Springsteen, Saturday's headliner. It was the first time the two have ever worked together. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio introduced Springsteen as his childhood hero. The Boss led Phish through a rollicking, 10-minute cover of the Wilson Pickett classic "Mustang Sally," and then things really got weird. Phish backed Springsteen up on his own "Glory Days" and "Bobby Jean," with Springsteen acting as conductor to the jam band greats.

Springsteen also checked out Neko Case and Band of Horses during his time at Bonnaroo; it was the second festival the Boss ever plaid, after the Netherlands' Pinkpop earlier last month.

Springsteen took the opportunity to rock Bonnaroo for nearly three hours, and even played the odd request: the E Street Band's version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." "Have you all been good?" he asked the massive crowd. "You haven't been taking any brown acid?"

Springsteen's Saturday Set:

Badlands

No Surrender

Lucky Day

Outlaw Pete

Out in the Street

Working on a Dream

Seeds

Johnny 99

Youngstown

Raise Your Hand

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Growin' Up

Thunder Road

Waitin' on a Sunny Day

Promised Land

The River

Kingdom of Days

Radio Nowhere

Lonesome Day

The Rising

Born to Run

___

Hard Times (Come Again No More)

10th Avenue Freeze-Out

Land of Hope and Dreams

This American Land

Rosalita

Glory Days

Dancin' in the Dark

]]> http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/06/springsteen-and-phish-share-the-bonnaroo-stage/feed/ 0 http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/06/taylor-swift-talks-fearless-followup-john-mayer/ http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/06/taylor-swift-talks-fearless-followup-john-mayer/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:00:18 +0000 Evan Schlansky http://www.americansongwriter.com/?p=15438
Taylor Swift Talks Fearless Followup, John Mayer]]>

The stuff dreams are made of?

In an interview with Elle Magazine (we read it all the time) Taylor Swift spilled the beans about her next record, the followup to 2008's best-selling record, Fearless.

"There are definitely breakup songs on this record, but not too many," says the Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-born Swift, 19 (Swift wrote last year's "Forever and Always" about her breakup with the Jonas Brothers' Joe Jonas). "I like to balance out the amount of happy songs, breakup songs, sentimental songs, I-miss-you songs, angry songs. I don't want to try and harp on the same emotion too much because I feel like if you make the 'angry' album, that's going to lose people."

Joe might be gone from the picture, but it looks like John Mayer is just arriving. Swift explains how the two hooked up via Twitter.

"He Twittered the other day that he wrote a song, and he wants to make it a duet with me," Swift tells Elle.

The Mayer tweet read:

"Waking up to this song idea that won't leave my head. 3 days straight now. That means it's good enough to finish, It's called 'Half of My Heart' and I want to sing it with Taylor Swift. She would make a killer 'Nicks' in contrast to my 'Petty' of a song."

"I freaked out when I heard," Swift says, "because I've been such a big fan of John for such a long time. I'm really excited about just the idea that he would even mention me in his Twitter!"

Mayer and Swift have since teamed up on stage - in May, the new Petty-Nicks tandem dueted on Mayer's "Your Body Is a Wonderland" and her Swift's "White Horse" at an L.A. gig.

YouTube's got the goods. As one commenter wrote, "it's the stuff dreams are made of..."

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