March 10th, 2010

(9/3/10)

Stereophonics are Wayne Rooney’s favourite band. There, as that must be stated whenever the Stereophonics are written about, best to get it out of the way quickly so we can get on with the business of seeing whether they will live up to their reputation as one of the better live acts in the country…

Glam and punk rock legends Sylvain Sylvain from the New York Dolls and Cheetah Chrome from the Dead Boys have joined forces to create a new punk rock super-group–the Batusis! And with the help of Thommy Price and Enzo Penizzotto–the driving rhythm section behind Joan Jett and the Blackhearts–they’ve cooked up a cooler-than-cool-sounding new self-titled EP that will have its worldwide release on May 4, 2010 on Smog Veil Records.

What has been rumored for weeks now has been confirmed: UK’s Muse will downsize their arena show and make a club appearance at Stubb’s in Austin Texas next week. The group will be appearing along side Canadian band Metric as part of the annual SXSW festivities. Muse brought the roof down last week in front of a packed Madison Square Garden , dazzling the fans with their lasers and anthem rock stage show.

Florence and the Machine will headline her first UK festival this summer after it was announced she will top the bill at this year’s Latitude event in July.

Speaking about the booking, Latitude organiser Melvin Benn revealed his confidence in the singer, who recently took home the Best British Album award at the 2010 Brit Awards, convinced him to book her in September: “We were so sure that she would come through as being as strong as she is,” he told BBC 6 Music.