Odds & Ends: The Rolling Stones, Blondie, MerleFest, New Music Festival, DMX

A sign that The Rolling Stones might extend the ’14 On Fire tour beyond shows slotted for Australia and New Zealand during the spring comes to us via The Jerusalem Post.  Citing a “source close to the production,” the newspaper reported that rock ’n’ roll’s original bad boys are going to play Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan Stadium June 10.

While reporting on the date the newspaper couldn’t resist playing rock critic.

“Since their acclaimed 1981 album Tattoo You, the band has lived mainly on its reputation, sporadically releasing pedestrian new material but packing in stadiums and arenas around the world for their live show.”

MerleFest, the annual roots music celebration in Wilkesboro, N.C., has snagged another Merle for this year’s celebration of roots music scheduled for April 24-27 at Wilkes Community College – country music legend Merle Haggard.

We wouldn’t blame you if you thought Haggard already had a connection to the festival.  After all, MerleFest would be a great name for a festival honoring Haggard.

But MerleFest has never been about Hag.  The festival was founded in 1988 to honor Eddy Merle Watson, the son of Grammy winning bluegrass/folk artist Doc Watson.  The younger Watson died in a tractor accident in 1985.

This year will mark Haggard’s first time playing MerleFest.  The 2014 lineup includes Alan Jackson, Ricky Skaggs, Todd Snider, The Duhks and Old Crow Medicine Show.  Click here for more information.

A new music festival is on track to play the site of Woodstock 94 near Saugerties, N.Y.

The Times-Herald-Record reports that a festival featuring “rock, electronic, indie and hip-hop music” is tentatively scheduled for July 10-13 and will be “organized by Denver-based outfit MCP Presents and financed by Manhattan-based SFX Entertainment.”

A list of potential acts given to Saugerties officials includes Kendrick Lamar, Vampire Weekend, TV On The Radio, A$AP Ferg and My Morning Jacket.  According to the newspaper, organizers expect to sell “20,000 to 25,000 tickets.”

Evidently Saugerties is trying to get its paperwork in order and is awaiting approval from state and county officials.  Stay tuned.

The tweet said it all for Debbie Harry and Blondie as to why the band won’t play the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Included in the tweet is the offer made to the band to perform at the Red Rocks Festival in Sochi.  Guess Harry isn’t a fan of Russia’s anti-gay laws.

Celebrity boxing fans anticipating seeing rapper DMX and George Zimmerman going three rounds in the ring will have to look elsewhere for their kicks.  The promoter has called off the match.

Zimmerman, in case you’ve been living on the far side of Pluto for the past two years, is the man who fatally shot teenager Trayvon Martin.  Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in July 2013.

Evidently public backlash caused promoter Damon Feldman to scratch the match.  But then, maybe he shouldn’t have picked Martin’s Feb. 5 birthday to announce the pugilistic tourney.  Rev. Al Sharpton denounced the competition and a Facebook page titled “Cancel George Zimmerman’s ‘Celebrity’ Boxing Match’ accrued 315,00 likes, according to the Miami Herald.

Feldman announced the cancelation via Twitter, saying he was “done with George Zimmerman” and that he knew “no one else” who would walk away from “a major payday.”