Blondie and Elvis Costello to embark on summertime outing

Two iconic acts are about to take the summertime touring circuit by storm. On Tuesday (April 2), Blondie and Elvis Costello and the Imposters announced plans to embark on a  joint, United States-centric tour later this year. Dubbed the “It’s Blondie and the Beastly E.C.!” tour, the excursion will find the two bands performing at venues across the country throughout July and August.

The 13-stop outing includes stops in major markets such as Boston, Las Vegas, Camden, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Washing D.C., and more. The tour begins on July 20 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York and concludes less than a month later on Aug. 10 at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Seattle.

Fan clubs pre-sales for both groups are currently available on each act’s website. Following a few days of pre-sales, general ticket sales will commence this Saturday, April 6, at 10 a.m. local time.

The upcoming tour is in support of both band’s recently released records.

Blondie released their 11th studio album, Pollinator, in May 2017. The record produced several singles including “Long Time,” “Fun,” and “My Monster.” Around the time of the album’s release, Debbie Harry and company hit the road alongside Garbage for their “Rage and Rapture!” tour.

As for Elvis Costello and the Imposters, the musician released his 30th studio album, Look Now, in October 2018. The album peaked at the number 46 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and was met with mostly positive reviews from critics.

For now, the full list of upcoming tour dates can be found below.

BLONDIE / ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS SUMMER 2019 TOUR DATES:

July 20 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
July 21 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
July 23 – Boston, MA – Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
July 24 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
July 26 – Washington DC – The Anthem
July 27 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
Aug. 1 – Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl Theater At The Palms
Aug. 2 – Temecula, CA – Pechanga Summit
Aug. 4 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
Aug. 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
Aug. 7 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
Aug. 8 – San Francisco, CA – Concord Pavilion
Aug. 10 – Seattle, WA – Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery

Listen: Blondie unleashes new single ‘Long Time’

Blondie is gearing up to release their brand new studio album in May. To keep fans excited for the new record, the band has released another new song from the impending release. On Wednesday (March 22), the New York-founded band unleashed their third song off Pollinator. The new track, which is titled “Long Time,” is a collaboration between the group and Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes. Listen to “Long Time” above.

“Long Time” will join Pollinator lead single “Fun” and recently released track “My Monster” on the band’s 11th studio album. According to a press release by the band, the new record will include a slew of artists in addition to Hynes. Sia, Charli XCX, Nick Valensi of The Strokes, and Johnny Marr of The Smiths are just some of the special guests to be featured on the upcoming record.

Pollinator is set to be released on May 5 through BMG with pre-orders currently available on the band’s website. Those who pre-order the record will receive instant downloads of all three singles. Pollinator is the follow-up to the group’s previous record, 2014’s Blondie 4(0) Ever.

In support of the new album, Blondie will hit the road this summer on their co-headlining “Rage and Rapture” tour with Garbage. The trek will kick off on July 5 at The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California and conclude over a month later on August 12 at the Southside Ballroom in Dallas. The complete list of upcoming tour dates can be seen here.

The 34th Annual John Lennon Charity Tribute Show Line-Up Unveiled

Today, John Lennon would have turned 74 years old, and in honor of the musician’s birthday, the list of performers to take the stage for the 34th Annual John Lennon charity tribute show were announced.

Headlining the event which will take place in early December, will be Blondie frontwoman, and over all badass, Debbie Harry.

The announcement was made by the Theatre Within in which they revealed Harry would be joined by Kate Pierson of the B-52s, Joan Osbourne, Marshall Crenshaw, and Ben E. King.

“I share Theatre Within’s belief that music and the performing arts have a special power to bring people together and inspire us to make a positive difference. It’s beautiful that the Tribute continues to have such a powerful impact in John’s memory,” Yoko Ono said in a released statement.

Rock photographer Bob Gruen will be honored with the first ever John Lennon Real Love Award. Gruen had a connection to the late Beatle; photographing him during the years he lived in New York.

The event will take place on Dec. 5 at Symphony Space in New York City. Proceeds from the event will donated to Lennon and Ono’s Spirit Foundation. Tickets are currently priced at $65, $85, and $105.

iTunes Festival to Return to London for Eighth Year

The iTunes Festival will be returning home this September and taking a few American artists with them back to the United Kingdom. The festival announced that they will be returning to London for the 30 days of live performances. 

The iTunes Festival will celebrate its 8th year with acts such as Maroon 5, Pharrell, Kylie Minogue, Calvin Harris, 5 Seconds of Summer and many more, though those are just some that have been announced.

The popularity of the event was so big that earlier this year, the event made its American debut. At the end, there should be a grand total of 60 acts taking the stage at the end of September. 

Fans who are interested in winning tickets to see any of the performers, have the chance to do so by entering official ballots which can be accessed through the iTunes store. Winners will be chosen via lottery system. 

And like every year if you are not from the U.K., then don’t plan on entering because this is strictly for those who live across the pond. (Sorry.) But, like previous years, the concerts will be filmed and streamed online by Apple with fans getting a chance to watch the performances from their computers, iPhones, iPads and iPod touch device or through Apple TV. Apple is attempting to broadcast the shows, live, to more than 100 countries. 

The legendary Blondie, Robert Plant, Beck, Kasabian have all been confirmed to be headlining at some point during the month-long event. 

Blondie to Head Out on 40th Anniverary Tour

Debbie Harry is by far one of the most iconic signers in the world leading the way for acts with frontwomen instead of men. In honor of the band’s 40th anniversary, they have announced that they will be heading out on tour. For now, most of the tour dates are for international stops and only four stops in the United States, but one could only hope that more U.S. stops might be in the future.

Also coming to fans for the anniversary, a special double-disc package entitled, Blondie 4(0) Ever, on May 13. Check out the full list of tour dates below.

U.S. Dates:
05/24/14 Atlantic City, NJ @ Tropicana Casino & Resort
05/25/14 Bethlehem, PA @ Sands Bethlehem Event Center
05/28/14 New York, NY @ 92Y (Debbie Harry & Chris Stein in Conversation with Anthony DeCurtis)
10/03/14 Valley Center, CA @ Harrah’s Rincon

International Dates:
06/10/14 Stockholm, Sweden @ Cirkus
06/12/14 Bergen, Norway @ Bergenfest Festival
06/14/14 Esbjerg, Denmark @ Esbjerg Rock Festival
06/18/14 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
06/19/14 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal
06/21/14 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain @ Azkena Rock Festival
06/23/14 Berlin, Germany @ Tempodrom
06/24/14 Hamburg, Germany @ Große Freiheit
06/25/14 Cologne, Germany @ E-Werk
06/27/14 Pilton, England @ Glastonbury Festival
06/29/14 Sheffield, England @ O2 Academy Sheffield
07/01/14 London, England @ Virgin
07/03/14 Barcelona, Spain @ Pedralbes Gardens
07/04/14 Herouville St-Clair, Normandy @ Chateau De Beauregard
07/07/14 Argelès-sur-Mer, France @ Les Deferlantes
07/10/14 Ottawa, Ontario @ Ottawa Bluesfest
07/11/14 Quebec City, Quebec @ Festival d’Ete International de Quebec
07/18/14 Pemberton, British Columbia @ Pemberton Music Festival
08/16/14 Chelmsford, England @ V Festival
08/17/14 Stafford, England @ V Festival
08/22/14 Paris, France @ Roc En Seine
08/31/14 Namur, Belgium @ La Fête des Solidarités

‘CBGB’ Posters Make Their Ways on Line

Another new poster for the upcoming rockumentary about famed New York rock club, CBGB has made it to the web. This time, instead of the whole cast of characters on it, but little by little specific character posters have been making it online. On Thursday it was actress Malin Ackerman taking on Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry and now Joel David Moore’s take on Joey Ramone.

The film, titled CBGB examines the New York punk scene and how a night club launched the career of many of punk’s most influential bands including Blondie, The Ramones, Iggy Pop, The Talking Heads and many more. Hilly Kristal (played by Alan Rickman) was the original owner of the venue which was supposed to be a club for country and bluegrass artists. When it became difficult to book those types of artist, they decided to shift their attention to local musicians and bam, an iconic place was born.

Aside from Rickman and Ackerman, the cast also includes: Ashley Greene, Johnny Galecki,  Stana Katic, Rupert Grint and Foo Fighters’ drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

Poster can be seen right here: