Bloodstock Festival's Adam Gregory: “We’ll Be Having a Bit of an Exhibition This Year

Bloodstock Open Air festival is a well established annual part of heavy metal history, taking place every August at Catton Hall, Derbyshire, England, over three days and three stages. The biggest names in metal have graced the stages over the years and this coming year is no exception. The headlining acts are KING DIAMOND, LAMB OF GOD and SLAYER, but there are so many more metal bands appearing: ACCEPT, AVANTASIA, ANTHRAX, SABATON, EXODUS, DEVILDRIVER...

BRMC’s Robert Levon Been Talks Music, Loss and Bass

2013 is already a landmark year for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Robert Levon Been. The co-singer/bassist/guitarist has reunited his late father’s band, The Call, and BRMC have just released a fine new album, Specter at the Feast. The Call were the acclaimed ‘80s band led by Robert’s father, Michael Been. And Michael was also key to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Michael was their live sound engineer right up to his sudden death in 2010. Robert took...

Tommy Womack, Nashville's Eclectic Troubadour

Singer / songwriter / guitarist Tommy Womack has been kicking around Nashville for the better part of three decades, as a member of Government Cheese, of the Bis-quits (which were briefly signed to John Prine's Oh Boy label), and of DADDY, with guitarist Will Kimbrough and other hot Nashville players. He also played bass for a while with Todd Snider, and travels as a solo acoustic act that plays songwriter festivals and pubs of the world. And he also plays electric shows with his current band, the Rush to Judgment.

The Oak Ridge Boys - 40 Years and The Power of Positive Music (Photos and Interview)

For forty years, legendary Country/Gospel group The Oak Ridge Boys have been entertaining audiences around the world with songs like "American Made," "Thank God for Kids," and, of course, the mega-hit "Elvira." Although the group officially started in the 1940's as The Oak Ridge Quartet, the configuration of Duane Allen (lead), Joe Bonsall (tenor), William Lee Golden (baritone) and Richard...

Reinventing the Album Experience With Groovebug CEO Jeremiah Seraphine

Groovebug, according to its website, is the first personalized music magazine designed for the iPad. It helps users discover new music and connect with their favorite artists. The app scans the user’s library and transforms related, yet disparate content from the cloud into a fluid interactive magazine experience. Kickshuffle spoke to Jeremiah Seraphine, CEO and co-founder of Groovebug, about reinventing the album-listening experience, the tech scene at Northwestern, and why most mobile music sites...

Beth Hart in Photos And An Interview With The Sulty Blues Performer

L.A.-based rock/blues performer and songwriter Beth Hart recently made a stop in Atlanta while out on her tour supporting her new album, Bang Bang Boom boom. While in town at Smith's Olde Bar, Beth sat down with me and talked about a wide variety of subjects including her latest projects, performing with Jeff Beck in honor of Buddy Guy at the Kennedy Center Honors, her two dogs and much more. Beth has had the honor of working with a number of guitar gods including Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, Buddy Guy and Slash, among others. She's built a huge following both here in the U.S. and...

Sevendust's Lajon Witherspoon Gives Back

Sevendust is a hard-rocking American band, often saddled with a “nu-metal” label. But the veteran rockers from Atlanta don’t necessarily stick to the script, often incorporating soul (even rap) into their heavy repertoire. Earlier this month, the band scored their first-ever #1 on the Billboard charts with their ninth album, Black Out The Sun. We were fortunate enough to catch up with lead singer Lajon Witherspoon, who spoke with us mid-tour from Worcester, Massachusetts.

LeAnn Rimes Rises Above Controversy with Spitfire

For the past four years, a tabloid-skewed version of LeAnn Rimes’ life has played out online and in public. With her new album, Spitfire, (released June 4) the twice-married, 30-year-old singer tries to set the record straight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster ride of everything I felt, everything a human being could feel, in the last four years,” she said. “I didn’t set out to write a record that attacked the stories that have been out there. I’ve always said there’s 10 to 15 percent truth in those stories — the rest is BS...

A Conversation With John Connolly of Sevendust - Part 2

John Connolly, lead guitarist for the Heavy Metal band Sevendust, recently sat down with MNN's Tricia Weight and opened up about life on the road in a long-running band, the strong bonds the band members have with each other, the new album Black Out The Sun and more. After the interview, the band performed for a sold out crowd of their hometown fans in Atlanta at The Tabernacle. Click on the photo above of John leaping into the air to view pictures form the concert. If you missed part one of the...

Styx - Rockin' Again!

It’s shaping up to be a classic night of Rock and Roll this Sunday night in Atlanta, as the “The Midwest Rock ‘n Roll Express” tour makes a stop at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. The bill features legendary rockers Ted Nugent, REO Speedwagon, and Styx. MNN caught up with longtime Styx member Ricky Phillips, who admitted he was surprised the tour was making another round. “It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it? I don’t think that any of us...

Songwriter Bobby Fischer: Still At It in Nashville

Reba, George Jones, Phil Vassar, Blackhawk, Charley Pride, Conway Twitty, Lee Greenwood, George "Goober" Lindsey, Tanya Tucker - the list of artists who've cut the songs of Bobby Fischer reads like a Who's Who of country music over a four-decade period. And where so many writers of his era have either passed on, retired, or just gotten sick of the music industry and left town, Fischer is still in Nashville, writing songs with the likes of Robert White Johnson (Celine Dion, Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Faith Hill ...

Designing An Album Cover With Jeff Chenault

Jeff Chenault is the Founder and Creative Director of Eleven07, a multi-disciplinary creative agency specializing in brand building, art direction, graphic design, photography and video content. As an art director and creative director, Jeff has designed album cover artwork and merchandise for artists in every possible genre, from heavy metal and rock, to country and jazz. Prior to forming his own company, he headed the creative departments at both Roadrunner Records and KOCH Records (now eOne Entertainment) and ...

Tom Keifer - Taking A Solo Flight!

Tom Keifer is bringing his show to Buford, Ga on May 22. The stop is part of his concert tour to promote his highly anticipated solo record entitled The Way Life Goes. The album hits stores today, and the longtime Cinderella member is excited about treading on some new ground musically. “It feels good,” Keifer told MNN. “The record has been in the making for a long time. It felt good to really let that go, and get out on the road. The first...

A Conversation With John Connolly of Sevendust - Part 1

John Connolly, lead guitarist for the Heavy Metal band Sevendust, recently sat down with MNN's Tricia Weight and opened up about life on the road in a long-running band, the strong bonds the band members have with each other, the new album Black Out The Sun and more. After the interview, the band performed for a sold out crowd of their hometown fans in Atlanta at The Tabernacle. Watch for part two of the interview coming soon, and click on the photo above to view pictures form the concert.

Meet Compressorhead — The World’s Most Metal Band

In their heyday, Manowar’s slogan was “death to false metal!” But if that’s true, Manowar should die and even Metallica need to retire. Because there’s only one real metal band right now, and that’s Compressorhead. The rocking robots are one of the most amazing acts you’ll ever see. The titanium trio recently caused a big stir at Australia’s Big Day Out festival and are hooking-up with Gibson to rock the Musikmesse show in April in Frankfurt, Germany. Backstage, we find Compressorhead’s long-suffering roadie...