Thomas Alan Waits is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the folk scene during the 1970s, but his music since the 1980s has reflected the influence of such diverse genres as rock, Delta blues, opera, vaudeville, cabaret, funk, hip hop and experimental techniques verging on industrial music. Per The Wall Street Journal, Waits “has composed a body of work that’s at least comparable to any songwriter’s in pop today. A keen, sensitive and sympathetic chronicler of the adrift and downtrodden, Mr. Waits creates three-dimensional characters who, even in their confusion and despair, are capable of insight and startling points of view. Their stories are accompanied by music that’s unlike any other in pop history.”
Rage Against the Machine was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk. The band was known for melding heavy metal and rap music with punk rock and funk influences, as well as their left-wing views. As of 2010, they have sold over 16 million records worldwide. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entertainment.
Alexisonfire is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, Ontario in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit (vocals), Dallas Green, Wade MacNeil, Chris Steele (bass) and Jordan Hastings. The band has won numerous awards, and in Canada their albums have all been certified either gold or platinum.
Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's members include lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, while York, a high school friend of the original lineup, joined in 2007. Williams is the only member to appear on all six of Paramore's studio albums.
Live Nation is an American events promoter and venue operator based in Beverly Hills, California. Founded in 1996 by Robert F. X. Sillerman as SFX Entertainment, the company's business was built around consolidating concert promoters into a national entity to counter the oversized influence of ticket behemoth Ticketmaster. In 2000, the company was sold to Clear Channel Communications for $4.4 billion and operated as Clear Channel Entertainment until 2005, when it was spun off as Live Nation. In 2010, Live Nation merged with the ticketing firm Ticketmaster to form a larger conglomerate named Live Nation Entertainment.
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, as well as Matt Cameron (drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain and Dave Abbruzzese are all former drummers for the band. Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands from that decade, dubbed "the most popular American rock and roll band of the '90s".
The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, NCAA hockey, concerts, professional wrestling and more. In a typical year, the facility hosts about 175 events. Industry trade publication Pollstar has previously ranked Enterprise Center among the top ten arenas worldwide in tickets sold to non-team events, but the facility has since fallen into the upper sixties, as of 2017.
Asia Tour 2007 A: Tour of Secret is the first Asia-wide and ninth overall concert tour held by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki, in support of her album Secret (2006). The tour started March 10, 2007, and ended in mid June of the same year, with legs not only in Japan but in other Asian countries as well, making it Hamasaki's first concert tour with non-domestic stops.
Skin is a United States-based Japanese visual kei rock supergroup founded by Japanese musicians Yoshiki, Gackt, Sugizo and Miyavi in 2007. The group's debut performance was on June 29, 2007, at Long Beach Arena, California. Although they had announced more activities, including a live tour and releasing an album, no new activities have occurred.
This is a summary of the year 2008 in the Irish music industry.
The Funhouse Tour was the fourth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Pink. The tour supported her fifth studio album, Funhouse (2008). The tour visited Europe, Australia and North America. According to Pollstar, the Funhouse Tour (2009) earned more than $100 million with more than 1.5 million in attendance. The Australian leg of the tour broke the record for the biggest tour in the history of the country. The Australian shows were attended by 660,000 people and grossed over $55 million.
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album Working on a Dream. This was the first full E Street Band tour without founding member Danny Federici, who died during the previous tour in 2008, and the final tour for founding member Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011.
This Is It was a planned concert residency by American singer Michael Jackson, scheduled to take place at the O2 Arena in London, between July 13, 2009 and March 6, 2010. However, the concerts were cancelled following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, eighteen days before the first slated performance.
The Taking Back the Cities Tour was a concert tour by Scottish/Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was launched in support of the group's 2008 album A Hundred Million Suns. The band visited numerous arenas internationally from 2008 throughout 2009. The tour was the collective name of many smaller tours and festivals Snow Patrol played in support of their album. The tour has spanned 9 legs and had over 150 shows. The tour commenced on 26 October 2008 with the band playing a short whistle-stop tour of four capital cities.
Blink-182 in Concert was the tenth concert tour by American rock band Blink-182 and was the band's first tour since 2004. Bassist/singer Mark Hoppus jokingly referred to the tour as One Way Ticket to Boneville, a name they got from a fan on a KROQ interview. In 2009, it ranked 32nd on Pollstar's "Top 50 Tours in North America", earning over $25 million.
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It promotes, operates and manages ticket sales for live entertainment internationally. It also owns and operates entertainment venues and manages the careers of music artists.
Glitter and Doom Live is a live album by Tom Waits, by the ANTI- label on November 23, 2009. The songs were recorded during the Glitter and Doom Tour of the US and Europe in the summer of 2008.
Omar Torrez is an American guitarist from Los Angeles, California. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Torrez first received national attention as finalist in the National Jimi Hendrix Guitar Competition at the Bumbershoot Festival. He studied classical guitar at Western Washington University. He studied Flamenco guitar under Juan Serrano and studied with Miroslav Tadic for his MFA. He is a member of the guitar faculty at The California Institute of the Arts.
Vincent Henry is an American saxophonist and guitarist who plays jazz and R&B.
