New Yorkers were treated to a rare performance by Big Star on Wednesday night, when the iconic power-pop band — whose touring lineup now comprises frontman Alex Chilton, longtime drummer Jody Stephens, and Posies members Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow — performed at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Highlights included a cover of Todd Rundgren’s “Slut,” a rendition of “I Am the Cosmos” with Auer on lead vocals, and such Big Star staples as “Thirteen” and “The Ballad of El Goodo.” [RollingStone.com]
Dates for the annual Bonnaroo Festival have been announced. The festival will commence its ninth year on June 10th, 2010, and the 24-hour entertainment will run through the morning of the 13th. Start praying for dry weather and big-name headliners. [LiveMusicBlog.com]
BlueBeat owner Hank Risan, whose website was recently closed for illegally selling music by the Beatles, Lily Allen, and Coldplay, tells the Los Angeles Times that he secured a “secret agreement” with EMI and the RIAA before selling the Fab Four’s tracks. [LATimes.com]
The Gibson guitar company is under federal investigation for potentially using smuggled wood in its instruments. Federal agents raided a Gibson factory on Tuesday, claiming the company may have illegally shipped rosewood from Madagascar to help create its signature guitars. [Guardian.co.uk]
Miley Cyrus’ bus driver has been killed in a traffic accident in Virginia, although Cyrus was not aboard the bus when it overturned. The singer’s next concert — a Sunday evening gig in Greensboro, North Carolina — is still scheduled to take place. [RollingStone.com]
After smearing herself with blood at the 2009 VMAs and writhing atop a ladder during Monday’s episode of Gossip Girl, Lady Gaga has secured an even stranger gig: performing her dance-pop songs for the Queen of England. Gaga will join artists like Bette Midler, Alexandra Burke, and Michael Buble at this year’s Royal Variety Performance, which takes place at the Blackpool Opera House on December 7. [NME.com]
