Good news for Parrotheads: Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will make their usual trip to Pittsburgh's Post-Gazette Pavilion this summer.
Buffett and band will breeze in on June 23. Tickets will go on sale March 12 at Ticketmaster, with a six-ticket limit imposed.

By the way, Buffett's "Live at Texas Stadium" CD -- with guest appearances by Alan Jackson and George Strait -- will hit stores on April 7.

As "Changes" climbs the adult-contemporary chart, Lareau has changed record labels.
The band has departed Rust Records -- which is undergoing restructuring -- and signed with Titan-Pyarmid/UMG. The label also includes Ty Herndon, and released a live Public Enemy CD last year.

With "Changes" bulleting up Friday Morning Quarterback's chart (FMQB), Lareau didn't need to be stranded without a label. "Changes" leaped from No. 33 to No. 26 this week.
"With a charted single, we had no choice but to secure a new recording contract," said Jim Quinn, the band's manager, in a press release.

Lareau, based in Warren, includes Erie natives Pete Gool and Darrin Payne.

Shadows Fall won't play Erie but Acacia Strain -- which has been opening for them on tour -- will. Look for Acacia at Lake Shore Country Club on March 22. That show will also mark the final performance by A Perfect Day to Die.

Mike Torti sends word that the Audition and Devil Wears Prada will also return to Erie in June.

CLear Channel Concerts has confirmed the Tragically Hip will perform at the Warner Theatre on May 18 at 7:30 p.m.

This will be the Hip's first show in Erie since a near sellout at the Warner in October 2000. Previously, they played the Grape Jam in 1998.

The Hip are touring behind "World Container," which was released in Canada in 2006 and finally gets U.S. distribution on March 6. You can hear some streaming songs -- and see the video for "In View" -- at www.myspace.com/thetragicallyhip.

TIckets for the Erie concert are $31.50 each and go on sale March 9 at Ticketmaster, the Tullio Arena box office, by phone at 452-4857 or 456-7070, and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced Friday that cable channel VH1 will broadcast the 2007 induction ceremony live on March 12. It'll also be streamed without interruption on AOL at http://spinner.aol.com/rockhall.

The full show will be shown again on VH1 Classic on March 16, and an edited version on March 17.

The rock hall also disclosed who will induct the new class. Jay-Z will induct Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, while Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam will induct R.E.M.
Keith Richards will do the honors for the Ronettes, while Rage Against the Machine's Zach De La Rocha inducts Patti Smith. Velvet Revolver will be on hand to induct Van Halen.

The live telecast means fans for the first time can hear the entire induction and acceptance speeches, as well as the live performances and end-of-show jam.

The land is littered with jam-band, alternative, country, and bluegrass festivals. But whatever happened to old-fashioned rock and roll?
Columbus, Ohio, has the answer on May 19 with Rock on the Range. The one-day event will feature ZZ Top, Evanescence, Velvet Revolver, Hinder, Chevelle, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Puddle of Mudd, Papa Roach, Buckcherry and more. The show takes place at Columbus Crew Stadium, which holds about 22,000 fans for soccer.

For ticket details, check rockontherange.com.

White Stripes posted a strange message on their web site, essentially sayng they've finished a new CD titled "Icky Thump." No release date was announced, but Jack & Meg hint it will be this year, and wiull be backed by an extensive touring. Yeah! I've seen them three times, and I'm for a fourth.

Dierks Bentley, fighting a cold, phoned Showcase and chatted for a good 20 minutes about his career and upcoming show at Tullio Arena on March 30. Look for that in the March 29 Showcase.

On March 15, check Showcase for an interview with Ian Mitchell, former guitarist with Bay City Rollers. He's assembled a modern-day Rollers -- a tribute, really, he calls it -- that plays Docksider on March 16. He had some interesting things to say about Marc Bolan, who was a friend, and the Monkees' Davy Jones.

Misery Bay became the final automatic qualifer for Sherlock's Battle of the Bands; they won Week 4 last night (Wednesday). Two wild cards will be announced soon, however. Three bands will square off in the first semifinal on March 14, another three on March 21. The two semifinal winners move on to the finals on March 28.

Don't forget: Tickets go on sale Friday (March 9) for the Tragically Hip's May 18 concert at the Warner Theatre. They're one of the most compelling live bands around; don't miss it.

Live Nation released ticket details for a couple blockbuster concerts headed to the tri-state area.

The Genesis reunion tour with Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks will play Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena on Sept. 29. They'll play only Genesis songs, no solo material.
Tickets will be priced at $204, $103, $79, and $59. They go on sale Friday, March 16, at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster. But you can also log onto www.wkyc.com to learn details for a pre-sale with a four-ticket limit that'll take place on Wednesday, March 14, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Also, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill will reprise their popular Soul2Soul tour this summer. That tour will stop at Quicken Laons Arena on June 29. Tickets ($91.75, $67.75) will go on sale March 17 at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.

McGraw and Hill will also hit Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena on July 17. Those tickets also go on sale March 17 at Ticketmaster.

Both Livedaily.com and true-to-you.net -- a Morrissey-approved web site -- list a Cleveland date for the former Smiths' singer upcoming U.S. tour

According to reports he'll play Cleveland's Playhouse Square -- most likely, the Palace -- on May 17. An on-sale date has not been announced. Keep checking playhousesquare.com for details.

You better hurry if you want to catch Tragically Hip's show in Erie. Yes, the show isn't until May 18 at the Warner Theatre but tickets got off to a super fast start last week. This one may be headed for a sellout.

What a shock about Brad Delp, former lead singer of Boston. Bad enough that he died; Boston had been planning to hit the road this summer. Now, his family says he committed suicide.

Boston never was a critics' favorite, and any grudging respect that came the band's way was usually accorded to musical wizard Tom Scholz. But it was Delp's expressive vocal work that help elevate classics like "More than a Feeling" and "Long Time." He could wail, when he wanted.

I was so caught up in Boston's first CD -- it sounded like nothing else in 1976 -- that I caught the band when it played my college, the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill. It still ranks as one of the all-time worst concerts I've ever seen. Boston couldn't yet reproduce its sound on stage, band members bickered. The night was wholly unsatisfying.

U.S. Olympic figure skater Emily Hughes will perform at the Gliding Stars of Erie's seventh annual ice show on March 31 at 7 p.m. at Mercyhurst College Ice Arena.
Tickets are $5 advance, available by calling 825-5555.
Taylor Firth, a U.S. national competitor, will also skate at the show, while Tennessee Backporch performs. Procedes benefit Gliding Stars, which provides assisted skating for persons challenged by diabilities.
For ticket info, call 825-5555.

Congrats to Misery Bay and Matty B. and the Dirty Pickles. They'll square off in the Battle of The Bands finals on March 28 at Sherlock's. Each band will get an hour to rock the house, before the judges determine the winner.

Baltimore and Chicago will each host a couple huge music festivals this summer, according to Billboard.
Eric Clapton brings his Crossroads Music Festival to Chicago's Toyota Park on July 28. The lineup is outrageous: Clapton, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Wilie Nelson, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Steve Winwood, Albert Lee, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Derek Trucks, John McLaughlin, SOnny Landreth, Robert Cray Band, Hubert Sumilin, Doyle Bramhall, and Jimmie Vaughan.
Wow, huh? Tickets will go on sale March 31.

Meanwhile, the Police, Smashing Pumpkins, and Beastie Boys will headline the second U.S. Virgin Festival on Aug. 4-5 in Baltimore, Md. More bands will be announced later.
Virgin will also host a Toronto edition on Sept. 8-9 at Toronto Island in Toronto, Ont. The Smashing Pumpkins will also play that event, along with the Bjork, Interpol, the Killers, and Amy Winehouse.

The U.S. Virgin show conflicts with Lollapalooza, scheduled Aug. 3-5 in Chicago. That lineup will be announced April 12 but the Chicago Sun-Times has reported Pearl Jam will headline. Early-bird tickets go on sale April 3.

Congrats to Misery Bay, which won the 2007 Sherlock's Battle of the Bands contest on Wednesday night.

I liked the new format for the finals -- just two bands, each one getting a full hour to showcase their material and stage presence. I also liked the fact I wasn't a judge for this thing. Misery Bay and Matty B. and the Dirty Pickles come from opposite places in rock's solar system, and both were mightly impressive in their respective genres.

Matty B. plays souped-up rockabilly and garage rock with an excitement and genuineness that's palable. After opening with a blistering version of Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody" -- an inspired choice -- this trio tore it up on originals that suggested a cross between Buddy Holly and the Clash.

Their set could have been paced better; they seemed like they had to stretch out to fill up the hour. But they were mighty tight musically and won me over with their zeal and passion and infectious energy. This is a band to watch.

Misery Bay went all out, bringing a killer light show and projected visuals. But they didn't neglect the music, nor how
to bring it. They played with palpable intensity and also a sense of joy; you can tell this band -- young as it is -- loves being on stage and inspiring rampant fist-pumping and head-bobbing.

Both bands were worthy, and showed -- once again -- just show strong Erie's musical scene really is.

Some new concert listings rolled in today. Country star Jo Dee Messina, who's had nine No. 1 hits, will play Edinboro's McComb Fieldhouse on April 29 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be $20 and go on sale Monday at www.edinborotickets.com and at the school's University Center SGA Convenience Store in Lawrence Towers Lobby.
An opening act will be announced later.

Also, hip-hop artist Jim Jones will perform at Waldameer Park's Rainbow Gardens on April 26 at 5 p.m. Opening acts include GPG, A-Boiz, and J-pad da Juggernaut.
Tickets are $25 advance, available at Ladies Nite, 1144 E. Lake Road; Sundance Records, 2102 Parade, and by phone at 460-2427 and 455-2874.

Chautauqua Institution added one more show to its summer lineup -- Smothers Brothers with Kingston Trio on June 29. Those tickets go on sale Monday, as do tickets for other already announced amphitheatre specials.

Finally, Dave Matthews Band unveiled its summer itinerary late Thursday. Area dates include DMB with opening act Toots & and the Maytals at Pittsburgh's Post Gazette Pavilion on Aug. 10 and DMB with Pete Yorn at Blossom Music Center in Ohio on Aug. 20.