Happy 25th US Festival!

This Memorial Day weekend, one of the cornerstones of today's festival scene celebrates its silver anniversary. Flush with the first wave of personal computing fortunes, Apple's Steve Wozniak financed and played ringleader at two massive music festivals and technology expositions. The first took place over Labor Day weekend 1982 and included The Police, Gang of Four, The Ramones, The Cars, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac and a breakfast set by The Grateful Dead. Anyone who'd missed the inaugural bash wanted in the next year, which would sadly be the last US Festival.

Wozniak paid for the construction of a new open-air venue and state-of-the-art stage at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. Saturday, May 28, 1983 (New Wave Day) featured Oingo Boingo, Stray Cats, Divinyls, Wall of Voodoo, The English Beat, Men At Work, INXS and a headlining set from The Clash, which would be Mick Jones' last appearance with the band. Sunday, May 29 (Heavy Metal Day) featured Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Triumph, The Scorpions and was headlined by Van Halen, who received a then staggering $1.5 million to appear. Monday, May 30 (Rock Day) included Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul, Los Lobos, Berlin, Quarterflash, U2, The Pretenders, Missing Persons, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks and headliner David Bowie. A separate Country Day followed the next weekend with Ricky Skaggs, Hank Williams Jr., Emmylou Harris, Alabama, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson at the top of the bill.

Each weekend was attended by several hundred thousand people (estimates vary wildly but agree at least 300,000 folks showed up to the second US Festival) but were crushing financial disasters. Wozniak lost an estimated $20 million combined for the two events. Still, for those who participated it was unbelievably special and remarkably peaceful. The sheer audacity of the scale of everything was overwhelming and delightful, a shared piece of history that one felt unfolding right in the moment.

Stevie's set that night consisted of an assortment of tunes from Fleetwood Mac along with new stuff that hadn't even been released yet, namely Stand Back.

Here's a link to download the first song she performed that night. Gold Dust Woman. AVI File size is 58mb.

Download

Send Stevie a 60th Birthday Greeting

On May 26th Stevie Nicks turns 60 years old - a milestone by any standards. Take a few seconds and visit the nicksfix to send Stevie a personal Birthday greeting.

Mick Fleetwood's Uncorked!

Fleetwood Wine and Music Extravaganza
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Melodika.net

Mick Fleetwood, the iconic co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, is celebrating his blues heritage by hitting the road with his new band, The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band. The band is appearing in 17 major cities across the US beginning this spring. The series of concerts features a tribute to the original Fleetwood Mac, the all-male blues band that started it all in 1967

Each night of the tour also features a VIP reception where attendees will sample Mick’s fine wine, Mick Fleetwood Private Cellar. Tickets for the tour are available soon.

Bringing together four stellar Blues and Rock musicians, Mick Fleetwood presents a band that is as current as it is nostalgic.

At the front of the group, is Rick Vito, veteran Bluesman and former Fleetwood Mac vocalist and lead guitarist. Rick adds his personal touch while staying true to the styling of early Fleetwood Mac front man Peter Green. “A lot of guys can play the licks but Rick has the tone and that’s so important in real blues,” says Mick Fleetwood.

With Fleetwood anchoring the band on percussion, the “other half” of the rhythm section is Lenny Castellanos on bass guitar. As Mick points out, “I’ve played with John McVie for 40 years, any bassist who plays with me has big shoes to fill.” – Lenny does a great job filling those shoes while complimenting Mick’s unique and revered drum style.

Mark Johnstone ties everything together on the keys and backup vocals, infusing a vibrant energy to the group.

The band is led, of course, by the legendary Mick Fleetwood, providing a backbone with his unmistakable power-house percussion and persona.

Mick Fleetwood Private Cellar wine is a centerpiece of each event for a select group of high-end VIP’s. Each show has between 700 and 1200 general admission tickets plus less than 300 tickets which offer a special pre-show wine tasting and meet-and-greet with Mick, himself. VIP attendees have the opportunity to taste samples of Mick’s award winning wines and leave with an autographed bottle. VIP’s also enjoy an up-close-and-personal encounter with Mick, who shares stories from his life as a musician on the road, tells of the creation of his wines, and discusses his passion for art, music, and the good life.

Mick Fleetwood’s Uncorked Tour kicks off June 11th in Los Angeles and moves nationwide throughout 2008. The first four dates are listed below with more to be announced soon.

6/11 – Los Angeles – The Avalon, Hollywood
6/12 – San Diego – Spreckels
6/14 – Aspen, Colorado – Snowmass Village
6/15 – San Francisco – The Herbst Theater

For Tickets Visit http://www.uncorkedtour.com/
Visit http://www.mickfleetwood.com/
for more information on Mick Fleetwood.Visit http://www.mickfleetwoodprivatecellar.com/ for more information on Mick’s wines.

Rumours back on the UK Top 100 Chart

Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album "Rumours" is back inside the UK Top 100 Albums chart.

For the chart week ending May 17, 2008 "Rumours" is sitting at #90. The previous week had it sitting at #96. It's moving up for some reason... Must be on sale!

Some stats:
"Rumours" the original January 30, 1977 release was last certified in the UK by the BPI on November 12, 2004 at 10 x platinum. (300,000 units x 10 = 3,000,000 million sold).

"Rumours" (2 cd Delux Edition) released March 22, 2004 was last certified in the UK by the BPI at Gold (100,000 units) on January 3, 2008.

Historical tidbit of Fleetwood Mac info

This week in 1975... (May 15th to be exact)

Fleetwood Mac debuted their new line-up in El Paso, Texas. It was the first incarnation of the band that included Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John and Christine McVie.

Shawn Colvin & Stevie Nicks Team up in Chicago

Shawn Colvin has been booked on the bill along with Stevie Nicks for the Chicago June 14th show being held at the Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island.