O.B. celebrates Haggard — Lyons’ music hot spot Oskar Blues hosted a fundraising celebration in honor of Merle Haggard in April, and in doing so, raised $2,000 for the Blue Sky Bridge Foundation in Boulder, which helps abused children. Lyons resident Pat Lemmon won the “Mama Tried” essay contest for her piece which detailed her efforts in raising two kids and her undying love for them, despite them building a police file three inches thick. Though Oskars had put out the word that anyone who could prove they “turned 21 in prison” would receive free beer and food for the day, no one was able to prove that they lived the line of the song “Mama Tried.”
Fiddler’s Green Returns — After four years as Coors Amphitheatre, the 17,000 capacity outdoor venue in Englewood will again return to its original name of Fiddler’s Green. Live Nation made the announcement in late April and explained that the Coors name was part of a naming rights contract with House of Blues, which Live Nation purchased in 2006. The season’s opening show is John Legend and Jewel on June 6. Other shows on the roster include Chicago and The Doobie Brothers, Journey, Slipknot, and Jonas Brothers.
Frontier Days cracks the whip — Last month, Matchbox 20 and Carrie Underwood cancelled their performances at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Now, the promoter has filed a suit against an animal rights organization that allegedly lobbied the performers to withdraw. The group, called SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness), supposedly provided the bands with videos that demonstrate animal cruelty during rodeo events. The suit alleges that SHARK provided false and misleading information and threats of negative publicity to dissuade the performers from playing their gigs.
Velvet Revolver holds on-line auditions — If you think you got the chops, now’s the time to log on. Velvet Revolver, who went through a bitter split with Scott Weiland in April, announced that the band will be building a website to host auditions for a new lead singer. Slash told Billboard.com that they can’t really explain what they’re looking for in a new singer, but they’ll know it when they hear it. In the meantime, Weiland has reformed with Stone Temple Pilots and the band will play Red Rocks on July 2.
We’ll believe it when we see it, Axl — Aversion.com reported in April that Guns N’ Roses have allegedly been talking with their label about finally releasing their 11-year project Chinese Democracy. The band wrote on its website that they are “in negotiations for the release of Chinese Democracy and things are going well.” It was rumored that Axl Rose turned in a completed album to Geffen Records in mid-April.
