Ben Harper, left, and Charlie Musselwhite release their album ‘Get Up!’ on Jan. 29. Photo: Danny Clinch
• Doheny Blues Festival: The lineup for the 16th annual weekend gathering, May 18-19 at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, has fallen into place. Topping the roster is the new pairing of jam-rocker Ben Harper and blues harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite (their Stax album Get Up! arrives next week), along with the first fest appearance from jaw-dropping virtuoso Joe Bonamassa in three years.
Also in the mix are several Doheny Blues veterans: the uplifting pedal-steel soul of Robert Randolph & the Family Band, belters Marcia Ball and Shemekia Copeland, guitarists Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar, Zydeco star Terrance Simien, the return of the James Hunter Six and more. Only weekend passes are currently on sale, $100 for general admission, $225 for VIP. More acts are expected to be announced through March.
• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: As you might have noticed when the 2013 inductees were revealed, the HoF is finally bringing its 28th annual ceremony west and opening it up to the public, April 18 at Nokia Theatre. Tickets, $75-$750, are on sale now for American Express card-holders. Hall of Fame and Museum and fan club sales start Jan. 28, with the general on-sale starting Feb. 1. The ceremony airs a month later on HBO.
Who will induct whom? John Mayer and Gary Clark Jr. will play in tribute to Albert King, with Mayer giving the speech. Don Henley will salute Randy Newman. Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Hudson will perform in honor of Donna Summer. And Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters will celebrate the awesomeness of Rush. No word yet as to who will give praise to Public Enemy, Heart, Lou Adler or Quincy Jones.
• Merle Haggard: You can’t keep the Hag down. He’ll be back at City National Grove of Anaheim on April 11, five days after turning 76. Tickets, $40-$65, go on sale Friday, Jan. 25, at noon. Also catch him April 10 in a smaller space, the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, $80.
• The Mavericks: Raul Malo and the reunited country-rockers will issue their first album in a decade, In Time, on Feb. 26. See how great they still sound when they return to the Coach House on March 23, $50.
• Social Distortion: The O.C. mainstay will play the final show of its latest lengthy House of Blues home stand on Feb. 5, two months after it began, $30-$50, on sale now. Meanwhile, transplanted English punks the Adicts will play the Mouse House on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17 if you’ve forgotten) as well as March 16 at House of Blues Sunset Strip, $22.50 for either gig, on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
• Sting: His stripped-down Back to Bass outing is, well, back, although since there were three shows in L.A. last time, he only plays as near as Santa Barbara Bowl on June 3, $54-$150, on sale Saturday at 11 a.m.
• Tim McGraw: The country superstar will tape a CBS concert special, Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 8, featuring solo performances and guest-star collaborations. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via the ACM Awards site, price unavailable so far.
• Billy Bragg: Britian’s post-modern Pete Seeger, whose 14th blend of personal and political, Tooth & Nail, gets hammered in stateside on March 19, will play shortly thereafter at L.A.’s El Rey Theatre on March 28, $32.
Also at the venue: New Edition vocalist Johnny Gill, March 8, $46.50; the Revival Tour (already stopping April 22 at the Observatory, $18), featuring Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, Tim McIlrath and Jenny O., April 23, $22; Watsky with Dumbfoundead, May 4, 17; and the Damned with 45 Grave, May 26, $28.
• HardDrive Live: The nationally syndicated radio show’s fifth annual package combines Welsh rockers Bullet for My Valentine with Halestorm, Young Guns and Stars in Stereo, April 19 at the Fox Theater, $29.50. Also at the Pomona spot: A Day to Remember with Of Mice & Men and Issues, April 21, $31.50. That bill also turns up April 17 at the Wiltern in L.A. All of these shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. And speaking of the hard stuff …
• Rock on the Range: For its seventh edition, the amassing of all things heavy in Columbus, Ohio, has expanded to three days (May 17-19) and attracted enough major names to shame several Ozzfests.
Several titans of the ’90s will play plum sets, including Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, the Smashing Pumpkins, Korn and Bush, along with ’70s stalwarts Cheap Trick. Among dozens more getting stage time are Stone Sour, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach, Volbeat, Lamb of God, Buckcherry, Hollywood Undead, Sevendust, Asking Alexandria, Clutch, the Sword … and the aforementioned stars of the HardDrive tour.
Pre-sale tickets, $89.50 for one, $299 for a four-pack, are available Jan. 30-31. The general on-sale is Feb. 1.
• Psych-Out: Led by its timely new single “Don’t Play with Guns,” written days before last year’s shooting in Aurora, the Black Angels are turning heads as they prepare to return with fourth album Indigo Meadow on April 2. See them live at one of three stops: May 18 at the Glass House in Pomona, $20, May 19 at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, price to come, and May 21 at the Mayan in downtown L.A., $23, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.
• Funk-Tastick: Atlantic Starr, Zapp, Midnight Star, the Manhattans, Tavares and more have been tapped for Hot 92.3′s old-school spring pageant, March 23 at Gibson Amphitheatre, $27-$85, on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
• Latin nights at L.A. Live: La Arrolladora Banda Limon headlines June 15 at Nokia Theatre, $25-$200, while Julion Alvarez appears at the venue July 20, $35-$199.50. Both go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
• For the kids: Super Why Live!, April 6 at Nokia Theatre, $23.75-$49.75, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.
• Club Nokia: Dark Star Orchestra, April 4, $29.50; Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, April 12, $25-$75.
More shows:
Harper & Musselwhite cap Doheny Blues bill is a post from: Soundcheck