It's been 40 years since the Vince Guaraldi Trio recorded its cartoon classic holiday album A Charlie Brown Christmas. Concord Records will celebrate the anniversary with the October 4 release of 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas. The collection features newly recorded versions of the Guaraldi's songs performed by Vanessa Williams, Toni Braxton, Chaka Khan, Rick Braun, Gerald Albright and Brian McKnight, among others.
American Idol cancelled its September 5 auditions in Memphis, Tennessee so the city could focus on caring for thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. American Idol organizers have now added two more cities to its original audition schedule - October 3 in Greensboro, North Carolina and October 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fifth season of the popular FOX-TV talent contest begins in January 2006.
It's been announced that John Travolta's wife, actress Kelly Preston, will co-star with Country singer Toby Keith in the film Angel From Montgomery. According to Production Weekly magazine, Preston is cast to play the role of Angela Dalton, a single mother who moves back to Tennessee from Miami to introduce her daughter to her biological father, Bo Porter. Toby plays the part of Dalton's ex-husband.
Less than one year after being diagnosed with breast cancer, rocker Melissa Etheridge is back to work promoting her new CD, Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled. The compilation features such hits as "Come To My Window," "I Want To Come Over" and "I'm the Only One," plus several new songs. The new tracks include Melissa's version of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "Refugee," a cover of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart" and three Etheridge originals.
MUSICAL EVENTS/FESTIVALS/BENEFITS
Bruce Springsteen will begin the fall leg of his "Devils & Dust" tour on October 4 with a charity concert in his home state. The show will take place at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey and will benefit the New Jersey chapter of the American Red Cross. Two days later, he'll kick off his third round of solo acoustic dates in Rochester, New York. Springsteen is scheduled to perform 22 shows through November 22.
AWARDS PRESENTATIONS/WINNERS
The 2005 MTV Europe Music Award nominations have been announced and this year's leading contenders are Coldplay and the Gorillaz with five mentions apiece. Both British bands are nominated in the categories of Best Group, Best Song and Best U.K./Ireland Act. Other multiple nominees include Gwen Stefani, who earned four nods, and 50 Cent, U2, Green Day, Snoop Dogg and James Blunt, with three each. The MTV Europe Music Awards will be handed out on November 3 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Complete list of nominations available at ema.mtv.co.uk.)
TOUR DATES AND INFORMATION
On October 5, Bonnie Raitt will kick off a U.S. tour in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The nine-time Grammy winner will be promoting her new album Souls Alike. For the first time in her long career, she produced the collection herself. Concert dates are scheduled to wrap up on December 17 in Wilmington, Delaware.
Rob Thomas, lead singer of the rock group Matchbox Twenty, will begin a North American concert tour on October 5 in Albany, New York. The outing is in support of his debut solo album Something To Be, which has sold more than one million copies since its release in April. Thomas is expected to stay on the road through mid-December.