When the rock group Paramore first hit the scene, I shook my head in dismay about another young band’s sudden role in the limelight, cast as the next greatest thing in music. I mean, I get the appeal. Lead singer Hayley Williams is adorable with her shocking red-pink-orange hair and her angst-ridden voice. The other three guys in the group are nice to look at it, too and have immense talent on their various instruments. However, Hayley is really the star of the show, which means that this group is bound to go through a similar situation as groups like No Doubt.

If you will recall, No Doubt went through various trials and tribulations because lead singer and ultimate hot chick Gwen Stefani got so much attention and the guys kind of got shoved to the background, because well, she is gorgeous and they are just regular dudes that happen to be talented. Paramore has already started to experience similar growing pains and it remains to be seen as to whether or not they can weather it.

They have a lot to fight for. They have already been nominated for a Grammy after only being on the rock scene for four years. Their second album, Riot, went platinum in the U.S. and gold in the UK. They are in the process of promoting their third album, Brand New Eyes, which will be released in September.  They are touring support of the album, with a Paramore San Francisco tour stop and a Toronto Paramore show. They are also taking it down south with an Atlanta Paramore tour stop and a Paramore Orlando show.

However, they have already had some signs that the pressure of having Williams as their lead singer might prove to be too much. A few magazine pieces that focused more on their lead singer with the other members of Paramore in the background caused some tension in the group. Then, upon sitting down together last year to begin to write new music for their upcoming album, they found themselves in the midst of tension and unspoken division. However, they decided to talk about it instead of letting it fester and Brand New Eyes was born. Paramor
While the process was tough, it was necessary to allow the group to get over the hump. For the moment, it appears that they have. The first single “Ignorance” is hard-hitting and the video is devoid of the gimmicky styling, the appearance of Williams before and in lieu of everyone else and the dark, scowling vibes. The group appears to be united; however, it remains to be seen as to whether they can stay that way.

In fact, the entire album was written with the group’s struggles in mind, which makes the songs honest, gritty and real. This is the stuff that sells albums because it reflects the emotions that people experience every day. Pain. Emotion. Jealousy. Separateness. Anger. All of that and more.

I, and other fans, will be watching to see if Paramore can in fact navigate through the waters of an industry that is just waiting to see them break up under the pressure. So far, they are hanging in there and Paramore fans everywhere are hoping they will be able to maintain their united front for the foreseeable future.

I admit that while I am a fan of just about any type of music, I have never been really into the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I mean, I get the concept: a rock orchestra that makes classical music sound “cool.”

I guess I have just always thought it was a little “too” much when it comes to the mixing of the genres. It’s almost like an abstract painting and I don’t know where to look first because there are so many colors and shapes on the canvas. The only difference is that it’s my ears, the colors are sounds and it just comes off as kind of draining to hear this group, particularly live.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (or TSO) was founded in 1996. The group incorporates progressive rock, heavy metal and symphonic metal and intersperses all three genres with classical music, mostly holiday stuff. The end result sounds a bit like Beethoven on speed, if you ask me. They usually do Christmas music, with three of the group’s four albums being holiday-themed, which happens to be their best-selling and most popular body of work.

The name of the group comes from the Trans-Siberian Railway, located in Russia, which according to the one of the founding members, connects many isolated cultures that would remain that way without the Railway. He likens to this the group’s music and it’s blending of such vastly different genres.

Again, I get the concept; I am just not sure how well it works for actual listening purposes.

When the TSO does a studio album, they do it big with a 60-piece orchestra and full choir. In fact, in the last few years, when the Trans-Siberian Orchestra goes on tour, they bring along 14 vocalists, 14 musicians and at least two narrators; all of which makes for quite a show. Their set actually takes about 15 hours just to set up, if that gives you any idea of how elaborate their stage really is.

The TSO is also known for a very elaborate stage show, with lots of lights and pyro (hey, everyone loves fire, right?), all in perfect coordination with the actual music.

The group is preparing to hit the road again to the delight of their many fans. Some of the notable cities they'll be performing in include a Las Vegas stop, a TSO San Diego concert and a Pittsburg Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour stop as well. And the tour will end in Nashville, TN on January 3, 2010 and Columbus, OH on January 3, 2010! How can they be at two places simultaneously?

It’s a little known fact that there are usually two different TSO groups touring around the holidays, which is the Orchestra’s biggest time of year since so much of their repertoire is holiday-oriented. TSO East and TSO West tour simultaneously, to ensure that enough different U.S. cities get an opportunity to see the group in action.

I have always been a huge fan of hip-hop artist and actor Mos Def. His brand of rap is the type I prefer and I could always tell that he appreciated music in its entirety and not just the money, cash and you-know-what that comes with being a superstar.

Since the inception of his career, Mos Def has made music to reflect the times in which we live. In fact, Mos Def is not at all different from the likes of Marvin Gaye or other musicians that understood fully the true purpose of music: to reflect the society --- and all of its components --- in which we live.

So, I was definitely psyched to see him going on the road this year because he always puts on an awesome show. He’s not at all like other hip-hop artists, who think that a great concert means putting 50 people on stage, all of which are spouting out gibberish and bouncing around the stage like hyenas, thinking they are giving fans their money’s worth.

His shows are like his albums: a mix of live music (like, with a band type of live music), poetry, deep thought and of course, spectacular vocal stylings. Mos can put words together and mix metaphors like no one else in the game.

Mos Def’s Ecstatic Tour is different and amazing. In fact, one needs only to look at his opening acts to see this: Jay Electronica, Medina Green and Erykah Badu are all slipping in and out of various dates. This is what I mean: no typical rap line-up and no typical R&B openers; Mos has always liked to mix it up and it’s that willingness to take risks that makes him so appealing to fans like me.

Mos is touring in support of his latest album, The Ecstatic, which is a mix of jazz, blues, Eastern rhythm, poetry, Spanish-language quasi pop and psychedelia, according to the Washington Post.  It has gotten positive reviews from critics and fans alike, which is why turn out to his shows has been phenomenal thus far. There will be a Mos Def Philadelphia tour stop as well as jaunts in Hollywood, Oakland, Atlanta, Boston and more.

One of the dates fans are most excited for actually happens post-tour. A Mos Def Austin City Limits Music Festival appearance is slated for October and will be nothing short of incredible. This festival features some of the most progressive, talented minds in the industry, so an Austin City Limits Music Festival Mos Def concert makes sense and will be awesome.

It must feel pretty cool to be able to tell someone that you are playing a concert to bring peace to the Middle East. I mean, really, how often can a musician, or anybody, say that? Apparently, now Leonard Cohen can. He can now add to his vast repertoire that he is playing a concert in September to help advance the cause for peace in this war-torn region. After all, this is a feat that it doesn’t seem as though God himself could perform; but Leonard Cohen is gonna give it a shot.  As if the guy hasn’t got enough on his extensive resume.

Cohen will perform a benefit show for Palestinian and Israeli peace groups at a stadium close to Tel Aviv. Tickets to Leonard Cohen are a hot commodity, selling out in less than 24 hours. Even with ticket prices reaching into the low hundreds, fans turned out in droves not only to be a part of this piece of musical activism, but also to hear one of the greatest musicians in modern history perform after an absence from the stage that spanned more than a decade.

Cohen is a Canadian legend, mastering more than one entertainment genre, with accolades in singing, songwriting, poetry, fiction and more. His fans have remained loyal throughout the years, a credit to his ability to reach a wide audience of music-lovers of all genres.  Cohen’s last performance in Israel was in 1975; he was also there in 1973 to entertain Israeli troops during the Mideast war.

Some of Cohen’s Palestinian fans asked the musician to cancel his Israeli gig, citing the presence of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip late last year. This is where the idea was generated to donate proceeds from the concert to both Palestinian and Israeli peace groups.

This is even more impressive given the turmoil that Cohen has experienced, after his manager of many years was essentially accused of milking him dry and leaving him nothing for his twilight years, even after such a long time in the music industry. In fact, Cohen is doing a fair amount of touring this year to try to recoup some of his losses, since he reportedly won’t be able to get much of it back from his ongoing dispute with his former manager.

Fans couldn’t be more thrilled to see this legend on stage, however, and in addition to his popularity overseas, his American fans are showing up in to get the much-sought after tickets to his concert dates.

Tickets are going just as fast for Cohen’s stateside shows, with Leonard Cohen Atlanta tour tickets selling out as well as Leonard Cohen Nashville tickets, which are also going fast. Fans in North Carolina will delight in a Durham Leonard Cohen concert as will Cohen fans at the Philadelphia Cohen show.

Bruce Springsteen is one of those artists that appear to always be on tour. This could because he has such a phenomenal fan following or it could just be because he truly loves what he does. Either way, I always love older artists that can still put on a great show and The Boss definitely can.

One of his fall shows is going to be the final show at Giants Stadium. This is so fitting since Springsteen is the stuff of legend in New Jersey. He came from small potatoes to make it to the top of the heap in the music industry and he has a firm grip on his place in musical history. There aren’t many artists that can boast this kind of industry longevity, particularly those that can’t be pigeonholed into one musical category or another.

This is, in fact, what is so appealing about Bruce Springsteen and his music. It’s all over the place and fans love it. One minute he’s blues; the next, he’s rock; the next, he’s folk; you never know which side of Springsteen you are going to get and fans like me love that. It keeps us interested and always coming back for more to see what The Boss is going to do next, musically speaking.  He even gets me involved with that whole “Hip Hip Hooray for America” vibe that serves the undercurrent in much of his music.

He is going to play a whole slew of shows around the country this fall from Bruce Springsteen New York concert stops to a Springsteen Seattle show.  In fact, he is even going international with a Springsteen Philadelphia tour stop and a Springsteen show in Cleveland, OH as well.

His musical talent, good looks and awesome show is the reason that these fall shows will likely sell out quickly. The Boss is called just that for a reason and he is known for putting on such an amazing live performance. Okay, and the fact that he is still physically attractive (for a 60-year-old guy) doesn’t hurt, either. As long as The Boss continues to perform, fans can be assured there is still a place in today’s musical climate for some feel-good, finger-poppin’ music with a message.

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