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When a pop artist leaves the shelter of a major-label nest, the stark reality of being on one’s own can be a sobering experience. But learning to fly solo can also bring tremendous rewards. Although many rock artists have self-released their music after leaving the major-label fold, most pop artists are so dependent on radio play that they have often sought the deep pockets of another major or a large indie label to foot the bill. But several acts – including Evan & Jaron, Sophie B. Hawkins and Alana Davisare forging their own path. Former Columbia duo Evan & Jaron… Read more »

The weekend’s biggest party was off the hizzy at 4 p.m. Saturday. More than 50,000 teenagers were crowd-surfing and moshing with their pushy, sweaty peers – and loving it. The HFStival rocked RFK Stadium with performances by the Offspring, Violent Femmes, Jay-Z, P.O.D. and the Cure, to name a few. The rock star anger, angst and edge vanished as soon as the musicians left the stage and entered the backstage Elephant Room. In the blue-clad VIP oasis they ate mac-and-cheese and chicken kebabs, drank as much free beer as they could, and partied with celebs including Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington… Read more »

Sometimes, Washington is as hot as Bangkok. OK, I stole that line, but it was baking hot at RFK Stadium Saturday for the HFStival, the annual, all-day, relentlessly eclectic rock extravaganza put on by local radio station WHFS-FM (99.1). An estimated crowd of 60,000 blazed under a pre-summer sun, moseying in and out of the stadium from parking-lot attractions that included a forest of beer trucks, giant inflatable corporate logos, two more bandstands – one for national acts, the other for local acts such as Washington Social Club and Jimmie’s Chicken Shack – and, for the truly adventurous, a Ferris… Read more »

A Delaware Chancery Court judge has ruled that Los Angeles should be the venue for the hearing of the bitter legal clash between Warner Music Group (WMG) and top Warner act Madonna’s Maverick Records. WMG filed its preemptive action against Maverick in Delaware on March 24, seeking a declaratory judgment. Maverick filed its own suit the following day in California Superior Court in L.A., claiming that WMG had breached its 12-year-old joint-venture pact with the label, which is gearing up for the May 18 release of Alanis Morissette’s new album. The suits are believed to be tied to ongoing disputes… Read more »

Canadian pop superstar Avril Lavigne is coming back home. Hot off the tails of her North American 21-city mall tour, Ms. Lavigne will be dropping by Toronto’s MuchMusic headquarters on Friday, May 28 at 8 p.m. ET, for an Intimate & Interactive special. Lavigne has visited MuchMusic several times in the past, twice as a special guest on Much On Demand, several feature interviews and two MMVA appearances. However this is the her first live Intimate & Interactive special. The 90-minute event, hosted by the ever-dreamy George Stroumboulopoulos, will feature a one-on-one interview, as well as live performances by Lavigne… Read more »

Leland Cobain spreads a few yellowing pieces of art across his dining room table. The Aberdeen Museum of History, in the next town over, has asked him to contribute to an exhibit about his grandson, late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. One adorable Christmas card Kurt made for his grandparents at age 13 shows a hapless toddler, fishing, who has hooked the back of his shirt. There are radiant watercolor seascapes and depictions of Disney characters. Then there are the other paintings, in an apartment 55 miles northeast of Leland’s trailer. They are surrealistic, stark and powerful, revealing skeletons, aliens and… Read more »

David Letterman, who got an eyeful of Courtney Love’s breasts during Wednesday’s “Late Show,” has booked another noted breast-barer, Janet Jackson. The singer will grant Letterman her first network TV interview on the “Late Show” on March 29, the show announced Thursday. Starting that week, Jackson is making a round of media appearances to promote her new album, “Damita Jo.” She’ll appear on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and Fox’s “On the Air With Ryan Seacrest.” She’ll also be on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Her appearance on Letterman is a coup for the talk-show host, considering it was also on CBS… Read more »

The Lostprophets titled their second album Start Something for two reasons. One was to motivate people out of complacency. “We spent the last three years touring and meeting loads of people who were like, ‘I’d love to do this and that,’ but they never had the drive to get up off their asses and do it,” explained singer Ian Watkins. “Start something. Start anything.” The title’s other meaning reflects the band’s feeling that Start Something is their first musical step, despite releasing their debut album three years ago. They’re neither trying to ignore 2001’s The Fake Sound of Progress nor… Read more »

Charlotte Church, the bright-eyed Welsh soprano who has sung for two U.S. presidents, the pope and Queen Elizabeth II, turned 18 on Saturday, meaning she now has control of her $30 million trust fund. Church – whose bursts of rebelliousness, family spats and a now-discarded boyfriend have become a tabloid soap opera – now faces the difficult transition from child prodigy to adult star. With more than 10 million records sold around the world, the singer’s financial future seems secure. But Church said she planned to leave most of the trust-fund money where it was, telling Britain’s GMTV television: “I… Read more »

Bob Dylan, the Dead, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews & Friends are among the highlights of the initial lineup for the third annual Bonnaroo festival (June 11-13), Billboard.com can reveal. The event will be held on a 700-acre farm in rural Manchester, Tenn., about 60 miles south of Nashville. Among the other acts set to appear are David Byrne, Wilco, Primus, Ani DiFranco, Gov’t Mule, My Morning Jacket, the Black Keys, Kings Of Leon, Taj Mahal and Galactic. Tickets this year will be priced at $139.50 and $164.50, up from $119.50, $134.50, and $149.50 for the 2003… Read more »