DESTINY'S CHILD will appear on the Play for a Billion television show on ABC this fall, the first performance by the group in two years. The trio -- BEYONCE, KELLY ROWLAND and MICHELLE WILLIAMS -- will preview songs from its upcoming album during the show, one of which will be included in the show's telecast on September 12th. Said Beyonce, "We are really looking forward to getting back on the stage and performing together as a group" . . .
ERIC CLAPTON's favorite Fender Stratocaster, nicknamed "Blackie," earned $959,500 at a New York City auction last week. Proceeds will go to Clapton's Crossroads rehabilitation center in Antigua . . . MICHAEL MOORE will film a new video for NEIL YOUNG's 1989 song "Rockin' in the Free World" this summer. The song is featured during the closing credits of Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11 . . . ALICIA KEYS, NORAH JONES, CARLOS SANTANA, HERBIE HANCOCK and ANGELIQUE KIDJO are among the artists who will appear on We Are the Future, a live CD culled from the May concert to aid children in war-torn countries. The CD goes on sale at Starbucks Coffee retailers starting July 2nd . . .
Reality TV maven MARK BURNETT's next project will be called Rock Star. The show, to air on CBS next summer, will seek out a new singer for INXS to replace MICHAEL HUTCHENCE, who died in 1997 . . . VELVET REVOLVER guitarist SLASH and PERLA HUDSON welcomed a baby boy, CASH ANTHONY HUDSON, on June 23rd . . . BRIGHT EYES' CONOR OBERST, MY MORNING JACKET's JIM JAMES and M. WARD will head out on another acoustic tour together, starting October 8th in Fort Worth, Texas . . . SLOAN and JET will begin an eighteen-date tour on July 6th in Chicago . . . BUTCH WALKER will release his second solo album, Letters, on August 24th . . .
EDDIE VEDDER, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' bassist FLEA and PRIMUS' LES CLAYPOOL will join drummer JACK IRONS on his solo release, Attention Dimension, due in August . . . American Idol runner-up DIANA DEGARMO will release her debut single, "Dreams"/"Don't Cry Out Loud" on June 29th . . . KID ROCK and LYRICS BORN will appear on R.L. BURNSIDE's new album, A Bothered Mind, which hits streets on August 17th . . . The Polyphonic Spree are offering fans the chance to create the video for their new single "Hold Me Now." Information for submissions can be found at Hollywood Records' Web site . . . Country singer MARTY STUART was arrested Wednesday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. He was released on $1,500 bail . . . Los Angeles art rockers AUTOLUX have signed to T BONE BURNETT's DMZ imprint at Columbia and will release Future Perfect this fall . . .
OASIS' debut album Definitely Maybe will be reissued as a DVD in September and will feature over four hours of footage including the making of the album . . . QUICKSAND's WALTER SCHREIFELS and his new ensemble WALKING CONCERT will release their debut album Run to Be Born on August 24th . . . New Zealand rockers the DATSUNS' new CD "Outta Sight/Outta Mind" is due September 14th . . . TRAVIS will release a DVD titled Travis at the Palace, documenting a December 2003 London show, on August 24th . . . Singer-songwriter BEN TAYLOR will guest-star on the upcoming season of the NBC television series American Dreams. His band's new album, Another Run Around the Sun, is due this fall . . .
ELTON JOHN has written seventeen songs for the musical version of the film Billy Elliot, which opens in London's West End next year . . . A book about the WU-TANG CLAN titled The Wu-Tang Manual, is being put together by RZA and will be released on October 5th . . . JESSICA SIMPSON was forced to cancel a show on Tuesday in Providence because of a kidney infection. Organizers plan to reschedule the event . . . Swedish metal band MESHUGGAH will release an EP titled I on July 13th . . . The EELS are leaving Interscope Records' parent company Universal. Frontman E plans to release a new album next year on another label yet to be named . . . Pimp My Ride host XZIBIT will release his next album, Weapons of Mass Destruction, on October 5th . . .
The second annual World Peace Music Awards scheduled to take place in Hanoi, Vietnam, have been postponed until September. Performers included the BLACK EYED PEAS, LIONEL RICHIE and HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH . . . ANI DIFRANCO will launch her Vote Dammit tour on September 10th in Pittsburgh, encouraging audiences to register to vote . . . The LIBERTINES' second album will be self-titled and is due August 30th in the U.K. . . . ALAN PARSONS will release A Valid Path, his first record in five years, on August 24th . . . AEROSMITH guitartist JOE PERRY will make an appearance on the Food Network's Emeril Live on June 27th promoting his hot sauce, "Joe Perry's Rock Your World Boneyard Brew." DAVE GROHL, TENACIOUS D and LIZ PHAIR will perform acoustic sets at a July 6th fundraiser for Democratic presidential hopeful JOHN KERRY on July 6th at the Music Box Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets for the show will be $150 for general admission and $500 for a private VIP lounge. Actors including BEN AFFLECK, LEONARDY DICAPRIO and KIRSTEN DUNST are among the committee members hosting the event . . .
A concert promoter in New York City has collected more than 50,000 petition signatures asking BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN to headline VoteAid: A Concert for Change at nearby Giants Stadium on September 1st. Andrew Rasiej has booked the stadium in hopes of holding an event to upstage the Republican National Convention that night, when President George Bush will be nominated for second term. Rasiej, whose Web site is draftbruce.com, told AP that he has also contacted R.E.M., BOB DYLAN, BON JOVI, the DAVE MATTHEWS BAND and other acts . . .
BEYONCE's new fragrance line with Tommy Hilfiger, titled True Star, will hit retail in October. The collection will come in Eau de Parfum, body lotion, shower gel and fragrance satin shimmer . . . CDs of rare and live recordings by JET, SUM 41, OUR LADY PEACE and the TRAGICALLY HIP will be included with cases of Labatt Blue Beer beginning at the end of the month . . . CRADLE OF FILTH's new album, Nymphetamine, will hit streets on September 14th . . . Former KISS drummer PETER CRISS will guest on BILL COSBY's new animated show Fatherhood in July . . .
MADONNA is teaming with director Jonas Akerlund ("American Life") for an upcoming documentary chronicling her current ReInvention Tour . . . VELVET REVOLVER's cancellation of last Thursday's show in Austin, Texas, has been rescheduled for October 29th. The cancellation was due to singer SCOTT WEILAND's bronchitis . . . RICHARD MARX will release his new album My Own Best Enemy on August 10th . . . IRON MAIDEN received a Special Achievement Award on Friday from Nordoff-Robbins in London for the band's support of music therapy . . .
The BOB DYLAN Show will kick off on August 6th in Cooperstown, New York, the birthplace of baseball. Following the show at Doubleday Field, Dylan will go on to perform at twenty-one minor league baseball parks across the country. Dylan, who once immortalized Hall of Fame pitcher "Catfish" Hunter in song, will be joined by country legend WILLIE NELSON and country swing troupe HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN. "What we aim to do with this tour," Dylan said, "is to hit the ball out of the park, touch all the bases and get home safely" . . .
LINKIN PARK, KORN, HOOBASTANK, SLIPKNOT and SLASH have contributed memorabilia that will be included in an eBay auction held through June 28th to aid an ailing twenty-year-old California native Kelli Jaunsen, who is in need of heart and liver transplants . . . Ukranian gypsy punks GOGOL BORDELLO will release a new dance hall record, J.U.F., in September . . . EARLIMART's new album, Treble and Tremble, is due September 28th . . . SONIC YOUTH have interspersed nine headlining dates in between their summer Lollapalooza stops, starting July 15th in Portland, Oregon . . . Swedish pop ensemble the CONCRETES will release their new, self-titled album on June 29th . . .
TIFT MERRITT's second album, Tambourine, is due August 24th. The set was produced by GEORGE DRAKOULIAS (BLACK CROWES) and features guest spots by ROBERT RANDOLPH, GARY LOURIS of the JAYHAWKS, MARIA McKEE and MIKE CAMPBELL and BENMONT TENCH from TOM PETTY's HEARTBREAKERS . . . NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS will release a double album, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, in September . . . The JURASSIC 5's NU-MARK and his production partner POMO's full-length collaboration Blend Crafters is due July 27th . . . Songs by LAMB, ILL NINO, the DOVES and MASSIVE ATTACK will be included on CSI: Miami, the Soundtrack, due June 29th . . . Singer-songwriters KIERAN KANE and KEVIN WELCH will release a collaborative album, You Can't Save Everybody, this summer.
