Link-O-Rama …

Madonna press representative confirms that Britney Spears is shooting video to be used on Maddy’s tour, denies Spears is shooting music video – Associated Press

Cash flow problems blamed for Zoo 8 meltdown – Kent News U.K.

Boston Symphony Orchestra director to sit out rest of the summer season in order to have kidney removed – The Boston Globe (registration may be required)

Meat Loaf talks about going back on the road, and what went down last year in Newcastle when he walked off the stage – Sydney Morning Herald

They’re baaaack. Ozzy Osbourne and his family to host variety show on Fox – The New York Times (registration may be required)

Apparently Colorado’s “Country Jam USA” festival happens on fertile ground. The local health department reports that pregnancies in the area quadruple about five weeks after the event – Grand Junction Sentinel

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

That walking, talking, singing example of Americana, John McEuen, updates today with new dates for September and October. Stops include Buffalo (September 17), Cleveland (September 18), Dayton (September 19), Kansas City (October 9) and Middletown, NY (October 19).

Deep Purple rocks the Ukraine in October. Cities and dates include Dnepropetrovsk (October 12), Odessa (October 13), Kiev (October 15) and Cherkassy (October 17).

Bullet For My Valentine loads up on September dates. Newly posted shows include Fort Lauderdale on September 2 at Revolution, Atlanta on September 6 at The Tabernacle, Denver on September 22 at Fillmore Auditorium and San Francisco on September 25 at Warfield Theatre.

And Plain White T’s fatten up their August plans for Europe, adding dates for places like Stockholm (August 12), Copenhagen (August 13), Hannover (August 18) and Prague (August 19). The band also adds September dates in Wiesbaden, Dublin and Luxembourg.

During the past couple of hours we also updated the schedules for Phantom Planet, Phoebe Snow, Muriel Anderson, Michael Bolton, Medeski Martin & Wood, Mark Hummel, Martin Sexton, McCoy Tyner, Johnny Winter, Leo Kottke, KEM, Live, Donna The Buffalo, Dave Mason, The Academy Is…, Brad Mehldau, Against Me! and Vaya Con Dios.

And that is where it stands at the halfway mark, with more data, more touring information, more date-city-venue listings yet to post. Don’t miss Your Latest Update, coming up around 3 pm (PDT), from Pollstar.com!