Fleetwood Mac are reuniting for the band’s first tour in five years. On March 1, 2009, the group will launch its "Unleashed" concert series beginning at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena. Core members Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood are on-board, with no replacement announced for Christine McVie, who, as was expected, declined to participate.

"We love our band and think the title of the tour "UNLEASHED" perfectly describes how we all feel when we get on stage together - especially in 2009. We're so happy to get back out on the road, perform everyone's favorite songs and see our fans," said the band in a joint statement.

Tickets for the tour go on sale to the general public on December 15th at www.LiveNation.com and ticketmaster.com. American Express Card members will have early access to tickets beginning on December 8th, excluding the Uncasville, Ottawa, and Montreal shows. American Express pre-sale tickets for the Albany, NY show are available at www.tickets.com.

Thus far, 16 shows have been scheduled, with additional dates to be announced in the coming days. In conjunction with the tour, the band’s iconic Rumours album will be re-released as a special CD/DVD boxed set. A firm date for the release of the boxed set has yet to be announced.

FLEETWOOD MAC 'UNLEASHED' TOUR DATES 2009

Sunday, March 1st Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena

Tuesday, March 3rd St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center

Thursday, March 5th Chicago, IL Allstate Arena

Sunday, March 8th Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills

Tuesday, March 10th Washington, DC Verizon Center

Wednesday, March 11th Boston, MA TD Banknorth Arena

Friday, March 13th Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum

Saturday, March 14th Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena

Monday, March 16th Rochester, NY Blue Cross Arena

Tuesday, March 17th Albany, NY Times Union Center

Thursday, March 19th New York, NY Madison Square Garden

Saturday, March 21st East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center

Tuesday, March 24th Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place

Wednesday, March 25th Montreal, QC Bell Centre

Thursday, March 26th Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

If last night’s nominations are an accurate early indicator, singer Lil Wayne might need a bigger fireplace mantel to keep all his Grammy hardware.

The popular rapper – the only artist in 2008 to move more than a million units in one week – was the top nominee for the 51^st annual Grammy Awards, which are set to take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2009. He received eight nominations in all, with his album Tha Carter III garnering nods for both Album of the Year and Best Rap Album.

Right behind Wayne, however, is a slew of contenders from across the pond that might give the Grammys the feel of a second British invasion.

Popular Brits Coldplay scored big, receiving seven nominations, including nods for the top song, record and album for their 2008 smash Viva La Vida, while Radiohead’s In Rainbows will also compete for the coveted Album of the Year award.

Other nominated British artists included legendary Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant, whose critically acclaimed collaboration with bluegrass superstar Alison Krauss received five Grammy nominations, female vocalists Duffy and Adele, each nominated for best new artist, and Leona Lewis and M.I.A., who were both nominated for record of the year, with Lewis scoring a second nomination for best female pop performance.

Gibson sends out warm congrats to everyone nominated last night. Check out the full list of 2009 Grammy nominees below.

And if any of the nominations surprised, delighted or appalled you, or if you feel like someone got overlooked or overhyped, then post a comment below and let us know.

RECORD OF THE YEAR
Adele, "Chasing Pavements"
Coldplay, "Viva La Vida"
Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love"
M.I.A., "Paper Planes"
Robert Plant and Alison Kraus, "Please Read The Letter"

SONG OF THE YEAR
"American Boy," William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle Featuring Kanye West, artist)
"Chasing Pavements," Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele, artist)
"I'm Yours," Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz, artist)
"Love Song," Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles, artist)
"Viva La Vida," Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay, artist)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand
Coldplay, Viva La Vida
Ne-Yo, Year Of The Gentleman
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Radiohead, In Rainbows

BEST NEW ARTIST
Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

BEST ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
Beck, Modern Guilt
Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs
Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple
My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
Radiohead, In Rainbows

BEST ROCK ALBUM
Coldplay, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Kid Rock, Rock N Roll Jesus
Kings Of Leon, Only By The Night
Metallica, Death Magnetic
Raconteurs, Consolers Of The Lonely

BEST ROCK SONG
Bruce Springsteen, "Girls In Their Summer Clothes"
Radiohead, "House Of Cards"
Death Cab For Cutie, "I Will Possess Your Heart"
Kings Of Leon, "Sex On Fire"
Coldplay, "Violet Hill"

BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
Disturbed, "Inside The Fire"
Judas Priest, "Visions"
The Mars Volta, "Wax Simulacra"
Motley Crue, "Saints Of Los Angeles"
Rob Zombie, "Lords Of Salem"

BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
Dragonforce, "Heroes Of Our Time"
Judas Priest, "Nostradamus"
Metallica, "My Apocalypse"
Ministry, "Under My Thumb"
Slipknot, "Psychosocial"

BEST POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
Alicia Keys and John Mayer, "Lessons Learned"
Madonna, Justin Timberlake, and Timbaland, "4 Minutes"
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, "Rich Woman"
Rihanna and Maroon 5, "If I Never See Your Face Again"
Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown, "No Air"

BEST POP PERFORMANCE, FEMALE
Adele, "Chasing Pavements"
Sara Bareilles, "Love Song"
Duffy, "Mercy"
Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love"
Katy Perry, "I Kissed A Girl"
Pink, "So What"

BEST POP PERFORMANCE, MALE
Kid Rock, "All Summer Long"
John Mayer, "Say"
Paul McCartney, "That Was Me"
Jason Mraz, "I'm Yours"
Ne-Yo, "Closer"
James Taylor, "Wichita Lineman"

BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
Coldplay, "Viva La Vida"
Eagles, "Waiting In The Weeds"
Gnarls Barkley, "Going On"
Maroon 5, "Won't Go Home Without You"
OneRepublic, "Apologize"

BEST COUNTRY COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
Kenny Chesney & George Strait, "Shiftwork"
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, "Killing The Blues"
George Strait & Patty Loveless, "House Of Cash"
Sugarland, Jake Owen, & Little Big Town, "Life In A Northern Town"
Trisha Yearwood & Keith Urban, "Let The Wind Chase You"

BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
Brooks & Dunn, "God Must Be Busy"
Lady Antebellum, "Love Don't Love Here"
Rascal Flatts, "Every Day"
The Steel Drivers, "Blue Side Of The Mountain"
Sugarland, "Stay"

BEST DANCE RECORDING
Daft Punk, "Harder Better Faster Stronger"
Hot Chip, "Ready For The Floor"
Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis, "Just Dance"
Madonna, "Give It 2 Me"
Rihanna, "Disturbia"
Sam Sparro, "Black & Gold"

BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM
Brazilian Girls, New York City
Daft Punk, Alive 2007
Cyndi Lauper, Bring Ya To The Brink
Kylie Minogue, X
Moby, Last Night
Robyn, Robyn

BEST RAP ALBUM
Jay-Z, American Gangster
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Lupe Fiasco, The Cool
Nas, Nas
T.I., Paper Trail

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
Big Boi featuring Raekwon & Andre 3000, "Royal Flush"
(Taylor couldn't pronounce "Raekwon" quite right. Aw.)
T.I. featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne, "Swagger Like Us"
Lil Wayne featuring Jay-Z, "Mr Carter"
Ludacris featuring T.I., "Wish You Would"
Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West, "Put On"

BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
Estelle featuring Kanye West, "American Boy"
Flo Rida featuring T-Pain, "Low"
John Legend featuring Andre 3000, "Green Light"
Lil Wayne featuring T-Pain, "Got Money"
Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos, "Superstar"

BEST R & B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
Boyz II Men, "Ribbon In The Sky"
Anthony David featuring India.Arie, "Words"
Al Green featuring John Legend, "Stay With Me (By The Sea)"
Jennifer Hudson featuring Fantasia, "I'm His Only Woman"
Raphael Saadiq featuring Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton, "Never Give You Up"

BEST SOUNDTRACK
American Gangster
August Rush
Juno
Mamma Mia!
Sweeney Todd—The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

BEST SONG FOR A MOTION PICTURE, TV SHOW, OR OTHER VISUAL MEDIA
"Down To Earth" (Wall-E)
"Ever Ever After" (Enchanted)
"Say" (The Bucket List)
"That's How You Know" (Enchanted)
"Walk Hard" (Walk Hard—The Dewey Cox Story)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, NON-CLASSICAL
Danger Mouse
Nigel Godrich
Johnny Karkazis
Rick Rubin
will.i.am

BEST SHORT-FORM MUSIC VIDEO
Erykah Badu, "Honey"
Gnarls Barkley, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"
Alicia Keys & Jack White, "Another Way To Die"
Radiohead, "House Of Cards"
Weezer, "Pork & Beans"

A movie about the life of AC/DC legend Bon Scott is in the early stages of development, according to Undercover News in Australia. Filmmaker Eddie Martin is at the research stage, meeting with friends of Scott and the late singer’s former wife, Irene. Australian actor Tom Budge is the lead candidate to play Angus Young, but the role of Scott has yet to be cast.

One thing that’s come to light, says Martin, is that Scott’s friends feel none of the many books written about AC/DC accurately reflect Scott’s story. “Obviously we have gone through most of them, but talking to Bon’s friends they aren’t happy with the books and feel they have been misrepresented," he said. "We want to go much deeper with the movie."

Martin says shooting for the film will likely begin within the next 18 months, but it will probably be three years or more before the movie makes it to the big screen. Meanwhile he's especially eager to locate a former girlfriend of Scott who went by the nickname “Silver.”

“She is definitely the one person we want to find,” he says. “She was an Adelaide girl who lived with him in London after he broke up with Irene”.

Bon Scott was born in Scotland on July 9, 1946, and relocated with his family to Australia in 1952. He died in 1980, at age 33, after a night of heavy drinking. At the time of his death AC/DC's Highway To Hell album had just reached the Top 20 in the U.S.

Roy Orbison performed his final concert at Highland Heights in Akron, Ohio on Dec. 4, 1988 ― two days before his untimely passing. While the concert was recorded and Roy’s performance of “It’s Over” is featured in The Soul of Rock and Roll released by Monument/Orbison Records/Legacy Recordings earlier this fall, the final tapes in their entirety have remained unreleased, until now.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Orbison’s passing and to thank fans for keeping Roy’s memory alive, Roy Orbison Jr. has made the full recording of The Last Concert available for download, exclusively at iTunes on Dec. 2, 2008.

Roy Orbison The Last Concert – Track List

1. Only the Lonely 4:32
2. Leah 3:16
3. Dream Baby 2:56
4. In Dreams 3:28
5. Mean Woman Blues 3:17
6. Blue Bayou 3:27
7. Candyman 3:45
8. Crying 5:43
9. Ooby Dooby 5:57
10. Go, Go, Go (Down the Line) 5:52
11. It’s Over 3:29
12. Working For the Man 1:50
13. Lana 2:48
14.  Oh, Pretty Woman 5:22

Monument/Orbison Records/Legacy Recordings released the The Soul Of Rock And Roll earlier this fall to honor the profoundly influential American singer, songwriter and performer Roy Orbison. A four-disc anthology of Orbison’s career, the set presents 107 seminal recordings ― including demos, live recordings and 12 previously unreleased cuts. 

Call it the Chinese Democracy curse. When the makers of Dr. Pepper offered everyone in America a free can of their soft drink if the much-hyped, long-delayed new release by Guns N’ Roses was released in ’08, it must have seemed not only a shrewd marketing move, but a relatively safe bet ― the much-hyped album had already been delayed for well over a decade.

But when GNR’s Chinese Democracy finally made its retail debut on Nov. 23, Dr. Pepper instead found itself saddled with not only a promotional nightmare, but an agitated spokesperson for its worst marketing dreams ― Axl Rose’s lawyer.

When the album was indeed released, Dr. Pepper announced fans could obtain a coupon for a free soda from the company Web site ― which subsequently crashed from being overburdened by increased traffic. That’s when Rose’s attorney, Alan S. Gutman, swung into action, blasting the company with harsh rhetoric.

“The redemption scheme your company clumsily implemented for this offer was an unmitigated disaster which defrauded consumers and, in the eyes of vocal fans, ‘ruined’ the day of Chinese Democracy’s release,” Gutman said in a letter to Dr. Pepper’s lawyers. “Now it’s time to clean up the mess.”

Rose and company are seeking variously a public apology, a renewed effort to distribute the promised free sodas, and, of course, monetary damages. The Texas-based Dr. Pepper Snapple Group finally responded on Tuesday by saying, “We are disappointed that GNR’s lawyers are turning a fun giveaway into a legal dispute. We simply commented on the delayed release of Chinese Democracy and openly encouraged the band to release it before the end of the year. Axl even expressed support for our efforts earlier in the year.”

But Rose and his attorney obviously don’t see it that way. “Had you wished to engage in a commercial tie-in with our clients,” the original letter states, “you should have negotiated a legitimate arrangement instead of hijacking their rights without payment. Rest assured, this misappropriation will not be free.”

Indeed, one suspects the settlement Gutman is seeking from Dr. Pepper may involve a significant number of zeroes.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened its Manhattan annex in the basement of a SoHo clothing store on Dec. 2, one display seemed to offer an unusually personal connection for visitors, fans and reporters alike.

It wasn’t Bruce Springsteen’s first car, a yellow 1957 Chevy Bel-Air convertible he paid $2,000 for, John Lennon’s piano or even Elvis Presley’s personal King James bible, but a well-used chunk of porcelain and steel that once adorned the brick restroom wall of the defunct CBGB’s club, the much-heralded birthplace of American punk rock. That professionally preserved urinal from the landmark nightspot now resides in a place of honor outside the museum’s own public restrooms.

Glory days: CBGB’s lavatory in its original state

For fans, the fixture recalls more than just a place where Joey Ramone and David Byrne likely went before; it evokes the unique spirit of CBGB’s itself. “The bathroom ‘door’ was a ragged, holey curtain,” recalled one visitor to the club. “I sidled up to the urinal, begin my business, and then look to my left and see Joan Jett walking by ― no more than a few feet away. I don’t know if she looked in or not, but peeing in full sight of Joan Jett is a surreal experience, I assure you.”

CBGB’s entrance, as recreated at the Rock Hall’s NYC annex

When CBGB’s closed in 2006, owner Hilly Kristal had announced bold plans to relocate the club ― infamous urinals and all ― to Las Vegas. But Kristal’s death in 2007 put an end to those ambitions. And while designer John Varvatos pays loving tribute to the club in the retail space that now occupies its original East Village location, much of CBGB’s recognizable architecture ― including its entrance awning and poster-laden walls – was salvaged and preserved at the Rock Hall’s NYC annex.

A video report on the opening of the Rock Hall’s New York annex:

Classic recordings by Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Queen are among the 28 latest additions to the Grammy Hall of Fame. As announced yesterday (Dec.1), Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” Queen’s double A-side single “We are the Champions/We Will Rock You,” and Hendrix’s incendiary rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” are among the inductees.

The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was created in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting significance that were issued prior to the 1958 inception of the GRAMMY Awards. The Hall is open to any recording that has been in release for at least 25 years. New submissions are chosen annually by a special member committee of experts and historians drawn from all branches of the recording arts. Their recommendations are subject to approval by the Board of Trustees of The Recording Academy.

In a prepared statement, Recording Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow said: "Our 2009 inductees span decades and genres — from classical, calypso and country to R&B, soundtracks, and rock and roll — and these masterpieces possess the qualities that make them everlasting representations of how the recording arts are such a vital part of our culture."

To see the entire list of 2009 inductees, view the press release here.

The annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will be held June 11-14, 2009, at its usual location in Manchester, Tennessee. Now in its eighth year, the music and camping event has become one of the most popular festivals of its kind. For a limited time, beginning Dec. 4 at 12:00 PM Eastern, a holiday pre-sale of general admission and VIP tickets will be available. A limited allotment of specially-priced tickets – starting at $209.50 plus applicable fees – will be sold until December 31.

The festival lineup – which last year included Metallica, Pearl Jam, and Widespread Panic, among many others – will be announced in late January or early February. For further information, click here.

The music industry marked a fairly significant milestone last week – albeit rather quietly – as Atlantic Records became the first major record label to report that its digital sales had finally outsold the sale of its physical CDs.

In its quarterly filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week, Warner Music Group reported that Atlantic’s digital sales – song downloads, ringtones for cellphones, etc. – accounted for 51 percent of its revenues. For the year, Warner reported that its digital revenues had risen 39 percent to $639 million from its previous fiscal year – 18 percent of the company’s total revenue.

Making the announcement even more surprising is the fact that Atlantic’s biggest album of the last year and a half – Kid Rock’s Rock N’ Roll Jesus – wasn’t made available via popular digital retailer iTunes. In fact, it was only recently made available via Rhapsody.

According to a report from Reuters, Warner Music topped the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had anticipated a small loss from the company. Overall, the company reported a net profit of $6 million in the fourth quarter, despite revenues that fell 1 percent to $854 million.

Other news reports said painted Atlantic’s performance as not in line with the trends throughout the music industry, where data shows that sales of CDs still account for about two-thirds of all music sales. In fact, market analysts at Forrester Research have projected that digital music sales wouldn’t reach the 50 percent mark until at least 2011.

“That's a lot,” said David Card, a digital music analyst at Forrester Research, in a published news report. “That's very high. No one is near that.”

Atlantic officials, however, are commenting in various news reports that the results simply indicate a shift towards a new business model for the music industry, where the transition to successful digital sales means seeking revenues from many smaller sources, as opposed to just CD sales, while also cutting back in other areas.

“I think we've figured it out,” said Atlantic’s president Julie Greenwald, in various news reports. “It used to be that you could connect five dots and sell a million records. Now there are 20 dots you can connect to sell a million records.”

Modern rock supergroup Velvet Revolver and their record label RCA have amicably ended their professional relationship. Citing the lengthy, ongoing task of finding a replacement for dismissed lead singer Scott Weiland, remaining band members Slash, Duff McKagen, Matt Sorum, Dave Kushner, and their management first approached the label in June and asked to be released from their recording contract.

Band manager Carl Stubner expressed his appreciation to the label for their understanding during a difficult period: “We're incredibly grateful to RCA and (A&R exec) Ashley Newton for their passion and hard work and for the success they achieved with Velvet Revolver through the band's first two records. The band is thankful that RCA understood the task at hand and has allowed the band to continue on their own.”

“This band is comprised of some of the greatest rock musicians of the past three decades,” Stubner added. “They have built a brand with a solid foundation on a global level. And their sole focus has been, and continues to be, finding the singer/songwriter who will stand alongside them.”

Velvet Revolver’s two albums for RCA enjoyed considerable success. “Slither,” the single from their two-million selling debut collection Contraband, went on to win the Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy in 2005, while the 2007 follow-up Libertad debuted at number 5 on the Billboard charts and spawned a successful international tour.