A near capacity crowd at The Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor were treated to one of the finest musical journeys ever performed there.  The providers for the incredible sonic ride were “Bela Fleck and The Flecktones ”.

The show was billed as a banjo quartet featuring the peerless virtuoso Bela Fleck.  Those new to Fleck will delight in knowing he hails from that bastion for banjo, New York City.  The music ranged from traditional to 20’s and 30’s ragtime, to jazz, blues, funk, electronic new age, and beautifully perceptive 

futuristic grooves that were enticing and energetic.  At times I felt as if we were musical ions darting about a sonic oscilloscope ricocheting off clever chord inversions, lush harmonic tapestrys, and ever changing rhythms and time signatures.  The past, present, and future all merged into a single vortex they seamlessly traversed.

“The Flecktones” are an amazing collection of session stalwarts.  On bass, Victor Wooten is the beast of the bottom.  His lush phat tones and tempos are a blessing to behold.  He has more rhythms than Carter has liver pills.  His partner in time keeping is his uncle, Roy Wooten, known as “Future Man”.  He plays drums and percussion sometimes, but mostly plays his own invention, the “drumitar”.  It resembles a cross between a guitar and a short hockey stick with keypads all over the place and a large electric plug in.  It’s completely unique and you have to see it to believe it.  And yes, it fits the group perfectly.The last member of this gifted group is Howard Levy.  He’s a piano powerhouse and a harp player from hell!  His piano playinf is so astonishing that I could have sworn Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock had taken over the bench.  His harp work defies description as he somehow simultaneously played three parts in the most scorching rendition of “Amazing Grace” ever done.  He deserved and got a standing ovation.  This band was explosively hot and they completely cooked their appreciative audience.

At the end of the regular show Victor Wooten announced that they had recently gotten a call regarding the passing of the old banjo master, Earl Scruggs.  Bela Fleck grabbed a chair and an acoustic banjo and came to the front of the stage to a single microphone.  He proceeded to play his interpretation of a medley of hits from Scruggs.  It was beautifully tender and loaded with dignity and reverence befitting the old master.  It also left no doubt who the new “master” is.

Comedy’s “Queen of Mean” Currently Starring on Celebrity Apprentice; On Tour Everywhere This Spring

Lisa Lampanelli, Comedy’s Loveable Queen of Mean, will release Equal Opportunity Offender: The Best of Lisa Lampanelli, her first greatest hits compilation, on April 17, 2012. The album which is available now for pre-order , collects all-time favorite riffs from the woman Howard Stern calls “a true original and a brilliant comedy mind.” Lampanelli, who is starring alongside Adam Carolla, Arsenio Hall and others on the current season of The Celebrity Apprentice (airing Sundays at 9/8c on NBC), will also be on tour across the country beginning this weekend and continuing through the summer.

ALBUM PRE-ORDER (with limited copy signed by Lisa Herself)

http://www.newburycomics.com/rel/v2_home.php?storenr=103&deptnr=660

Heralded as "more than a standup - a standout" by comedy legend Jim Carrey, Lampanelli is a cross between Don Rickles, Archie Bunker, and a vial of estrogen. Her raunchy, gut-busting performances are wildly popular at theaters across the U.S. and Canada, and her roasts of Donald Trump, David Hasselhoff, Flavor Flav, and Gene Simmons (among others) are the stuff of which legends are made. A regular on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Howard Stern's Sirius satellite radio shows, Lisa entered the ranks of comic greats in 2009 with the premiere of her first ever one-hour HBO comedy special, Long Live the Queen. That same year, her autobiography, Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat and Freaks, hit bookstores to critical acclaim. Lisa also writes a column in Playboy magazine. This fall, Lisa will bring her talents to Broadway and the big screen, when she mounts her one-woman show, Bring Back the Fat Chick and stars alongside James Gandolfini in the upcoming feature film Not Fade Away, from “The Sopranos” creator David Chase, scheduled for release October 19th.

For more information on Lisa Lampanelli, please visit www.insultcomic.com  .

Country Icon’s Latest Single “Let The Cowboy Rock,” and Supporting Music Video Make National Debut on Monday, January 16; Available for Download on iTunes January 17

Yahoo!’s Ram Country Performance to air Wednesday, January 18

Nashville, Tenn. (Monday, January 16, 2012) – Country luminary Ronnie Dunn is redefining what it means to be a contemporary rock star with the emancipation of his brand-new guitar-heavy single, “Let The Cowboy Rock.” The two-time GRAMMY winning legendary songster has learned a thing or two over his iconic 20-year career about finding one’s own voice in music, including the fact that die-hard American country music knows no bounds. Beginning today, January 16, Dunn’s new up-tempo cowboy-rocker anthem officially impacts country radio and a supporting music video debuts at www.RonnieDunn.com. The video and single will be available for download on January 17 via iTunes but begins rotation on CMT, GAC and supporting national networks today.

Fans eager for a sneak peak of the music video can click HERE. 

“Let The Cowboy Rock” was penned by Dunn, along with hit songwriter Dallas Davidson, who also co-produced the track, and joins similar-veined Dunn co-writes such as “Cowgirls Don't Cry,” “Cowboy Town,” “Neon Moon,” “Boot Scootin' Boogie,” and “Play Something Country” in context.

The new single can be found on Dunn’s self-titled solo debut that is in stores now and is a follow-up to his lyrical masterpieces “Bleed Red,” and “Cost of Livin’.”

The music video was filmed partly in Pendleton, Oregon during the Pendleton Round-Up with rider Blake Knowles (lead character) with additional footage of Dunn shot in Salt Flat, Utah and Nashville, Tennessee with The Stage on Lower Broadway serving as a backdrop.

In addition to his single and video debut, on Wednesday, January 18, live performance from Dunn’s Yahoo!’s Ram Country taping will debut on Yahoo! Music featuring exclusive footage of “Let The Cowboy Rock,” “Cost of Livin’,” and “How Far To Waco” from Ronnie Dunn.

To find out more about Ronnie Dunn’s latest career happenings, visit his official website, www.RonnieDunn.com, or follow him on Twitter at @SingaInABand and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/RonnieDunnMusic.

Nashville, Tenn. (January 16, 2012) – EMI Records Nashville’s Eric Church kicks off the new year with a career first – “Drink In My Hand” from his critically acclaimed album, CHIEF, topping the Country radio charts.  The number one single joins a string of career firsts and accolades for Church including his first GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album of the Year, CHIEF debuting at the top of the Billboard Top 200 and spending two weeks at No. 1 on the Country albums chart, a Gold certification by the RIAA forCHIEF after only 10 weeks, the ACM Award for New Solo Vocalist of the Year and the announcement of his first arena headline tour - The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour.

"This is the 10th single we have released to radio," explains Church. "It is truly the greatest example of belief, dedication, determination and plain old hard work that we have achieved this milestone.  I can't thank the EMI staff and country radio enough for making this happen and believing in the music, but  the real gratitude must go to our fans.  I've heard countless stories from hundreds of fans of how they have gone above and beyond to get our songs heard and demand that people pay attention to what's going on in our world.  I can't think of a better way to kick off a tour!"

CHIEF has been recognized as one of the Top Albums of 2011 by Rob Harvilla’s SPIN List, NPR, Rolling Stone and Amazon.  iTunes named Church 2011 Country Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

For more information check out  www.ericchurch.com.