Working For The Weekend …

The following items scheduled to post during the next 72 hours either meet or exceed the daily minimal requirements for music information as determined by the government.

Saturday: The Politics of Hip-Hop – Indie hip-hop stalwart Murs has announced dates for his first nationwide headlining trek in two years.

By The Book With Lykke Li – Sweden’s latest musical export prepares to hit U.S. shores for a series of dates in support of her debut release Youth Novels. Free download!

Sunday: Three Times The Fun – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The National, Atmosphere and The Dead Milkmen are just a few of the punk legends, indie buzz bands, dance and hip-hop acts and cutting-edge comedians preparing to descend on Austin’s Waterloo Park.

Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Dancefloor – The Presets and Cut Copy add new stops to their fall invasion of the States. Two free Presets remixes to download!

Monday: Fun With Inflatable Friends – Electro-pop quartet Metro Station, riding high on the strength of red-hot single “Shake It,” has announced dates for its first headlining trek.

The Academy Is…On Tour – The Chicago pop punks, currently touring Australia and New Zealand with Panic at the Disco, will hit the road again in the U.S. and Canada this fall for a co-headlining run with We The Kings.

Our HotStar next week is Frank Caliendo

Link-O-Rama …

Isaac Hayes’ family fighting to regain rights to the late artist’s extraordinary catalog of songs – The Times Online U.K.

Apple offers to replace iPod Nano batteries in Japan after reports of players bursting into flames – AFP

Thousands of Celine Dion fans line up hoping to snag front-row seats for her return to Quebec City – CBC

The story behind Elvis’ 1968 TV comeback – Sydney Morning Herald / AAP

Colbie Caillat, Jack Johnson, Brett Dennen – Is now the perfect time to be mellow? –USA Today

Wanna be a roadie for The Who? Your chance is waiting on eBay – Los Angeles Times / Soundboard

A few minutes with Xavier Rudd – The Age

Dates, Dates & More Dates …

The Christian music event known as “Creation Festival” hits the road this year featuring Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar and KJ-52 plus others. Dates include U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Grove City, Ohio on October 30, Stabler Arena in Bethlehem on November 1, Crown Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina on November 6, Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa on November 17 and Concrete Street Amphitheatre in Corpus Christi on November 22. Other towns on the schedule include Kalamazoo, Michigan, Rochester, New York, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Helios Creed lines up a club tour for September and October. Among the stops are dates for San Francisco (September 17), Lincoln, Nebraska (September 24), Chicago (September 27), Philly (September 30), NYC (October 2), Baltimore (October 3) and Los Angeles (October 15).

Ryan Adams udpates with new listings for Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Alabama. Particulars include October 7 in Ames, Iowa at Stephens Auditorium, October 9 in Kansas City, Missouri at Uptown Theater, October 10 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at Brady Theater, October 11 in Grand Prairie, Texas at Nokia Theatre, October 13 in Austin at Paramount Theater and October 16 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at Bama Theatre.

Finally, some rare club dates for Nelly close out the Friday adventure – Dates include September 25 in Fort Lauderdale at Revolution, September 27 in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at House Of Blues, October 1 in NYC at Nokia and October 7 in Chicago at House Of Blues.

During the day we also updated the schedules for Murs, Popa Chubby, Howe Gelb, OneRepublic, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jackson Browne, Reverend Horton Heat, Hanson, John Doe, Staind, Donald Glaude, Yngwie Malmsteen, Blitzen Trapper, The Futureheads as well as the itineraries for thousands of bands, with each date lovingly processed by hand and then wrapped in the finest silk where it is then transmuted into the purest 24-carat gold and deposited onto a velvet pillow for the world to see.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you for your support and don’t forget to support live music. G’night and have a great weekend!