Summerfest considers itself to be the largest music festival in the world. Back in 1999, they even got Guiness to certify that for them. The 11-day event based in Milwaukee, WI features 11 stages and more than 700 acts. Announcing the massive festival’s lineup is a multiple month process that started last winter and wrapped up on June 2 when they announced the final headliner for this year’s festival. Jason Mraz gets the honor. Other world-renowned acts scheduled to perform at the 2011 festival include The Black Keys with Florence & the Machine, Britney Spears with Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry with Marina and the Diamonds, Kid Rock with Sheryl Crow, Peter Gabriel with the New Blood Orchestra and Kanye West with Kid Cudi. They will all be headlining between June 29 and July 10 at Marcus Amphitheater.

An equally eclectic mixture of mainstream alternative, hip hop and indie acts will be featured at the remaining 10 stages, which are located in the Henry Maier Festival Park near the amphitheater. Notables include Wiz Khalifa, Stephen Marley, Taking Back Sunday, Rise Against, 311, Paul Rodgers, Matisyahu, Meat Loaf, George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, Hall & Oates, Dropkick Murphys, The Flaming Lips, Ben Harper and Girl Talk.

Also performing are AWOLNATION, Civil Twilight, Funeral Party, Nicole Atkins, Old 97s, The Airborne Toxic Event, Ezra Furman & the Harpoons, Young the Giant, Alkaline Trio, Wanda Jackson, The Jayhawks, The Wailers, De La Soul, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Amos Lee, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes.

For the parents, there is Blue Oyster Cult, Buddy Guy, Kansas, Peter Frampton, REO Speedwagon, Styx and Def Leppard with Heart.

For the 15 year olds at heart, there is Finger Eleven, Switchfoot, Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eyed Blind.

The complete lineup and breakdown day by day can be found at summerfest.com

Tickets for the headlining shows at Marcus Amphitheater can be purchased individually from Ticketmaster. Also available through Ticketmaster are general admissions pass that allow access to the remaining stages. They come in configurations of weekday ($6), 3 day ($33) and 1 day ($13).

Ever since Phil Collins announced his retirement, a reunion with Peter Gabriel and Genesis did not seem possible. However, Gabriel is going to go on tour by himself in 2011 with the New Blood Orchestra, which has 46 members.

The upcoming tour is going to be very different from the 2010 “New Blood Tour” in that it will not include revised songs by David Bowie, Radiohead and Lou Reed. Instead, it will include Gabriel’s older songs that have been re-orchestrated. There will be no electric bass or electric guitar and the drums will be modernized. This means that Gabriel’s voice will be the focal point and will provide additional soul to his most famous selections such as “San Jacinto,” “Rain,” “Don’t Give Up,” and “Digging in the Dirt.”

Prior to initiating his tour in June, the full ensemble will be giving a concert at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on March 23 and March 24. Each concert is set to be recorded in 3D to prepare for a new album. Berkeley, CA will be the site of the first North American concert on June 10. The tour will end on June 27. Because of the huge impact of these concerts, Gabriel will be performing in some very prestigious venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, the United Center in Chicago, The Comcast Center near Boston, and the Susquehanna Bank Center in New Jersey.

For the full slate of concerts visit Gabriel’s website. Even though no date for a new album release has been set, it is anticipated that a New Blood album will drop before 2012.

Legendary musician Peter Gabriel is doing a string of covers recently – from his latest studio release “Scratch My Back” which features an orchestral spin on various hits as popularized by classic rock acts like Neil Diamond and David Bowie, and even taking on some material from contemporary bands like Radiohead and Arcade Fire, to a special cover release which will be part of the Voice Project.  Gabriel will be laying his voice on a Tom Waits original while playing the piano and the performance will be posted online for charity.

Voice Project is a program co-founded by Gabriel’s daughter Anna along with other socio-civic workers and philanthropists.  Its aim is to create or better yet, increase awareness on the turmoil surrounding Central African countries such as Uganda, Sudan, Congo and the Central African Republic so humanitarian efforts such as peace talks and basic necessities such as food, shelter and health aids may be delivered to communities caught in the middle of civil wars in that side of the continent.  Voice Project utilizes the language of music to accomplish this objective by seeking the help of various singers for a so-called “musical tag”, after which a video of the recording sessions will be posted on the Voice Project website and also on the websites of other participating non-profit organizations like WITNESS, the HOPE Campaign, Invisible Children, Resolve Uganda, and Oxfam America to bring the message across.

The musical tag scheme had the following artists, aside from Peter Gabriel, signed up and eventually delivering not only a special musical performance, but also a message of hope and peaceful co-existence despite political and cultural differences: Gary Go who performed “Chicago” as popularized by Joseph Arthur, who then made a cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Shock the Monkey”.  Mike Mills from ‘90s band R.E.M. covered a Billy Bragg track, while Dawes spun two classic hits – one from Edward Sharpe and “Carries On” from Magnetic Zeroes, and Steel Train took a spin on one of La Roux’s singles.

Hopefully, Tom Waits, whose “In the Neighborhood” single was revived by Gabriel, will also be on board and will be as excited for the project as Gabriel is who was quoted in saying, “I’ve wanted to sing Tom Waits’ ‘In the Neighborhood’ for a long time and this was a great opportunity”.

Peter Gabriel will unearth himself this spring to unveil his latest album of orchestral covers entitled “Scratch My Back.” Currently, Gabriel has setup 4 dates in 3 cities — Montreal, Los Angeles and a pair of shows in New York. The fun will get started at the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 28. He will precede the brief US jaunt with a handful of European dates to follow. Full tour information can be viewed at Peter Gabriel Tour.

“Scratch My Back” hit stores today (2/15) and marks Gabriel’s eight studio effort since closing the door on Genesis back in 1977. “Scratch” has Gabriel tackling a unique offering of his contemporaries, coving Radiohead’s “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” Neil Young‘s “Philadelphia,” Bon Iver’s “Flume,” and Arcade Fire‘s “My Body is a Cage.” The project is an organized song exchange where artists swap tracks and reinterpret them as they see fit. The album included no drums or guitar just orchestral arrangements fronted by Gabriel’s vocals. Composer John Metcalfe handles the arrangements and Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed) sits in the production booth.

Genesis will be inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, but Gabriel said don’t count on him to sing for his supper. “As far as I know, I’m definitely not going to sing,” he said recently to Rolling Stone. “I learned at our last reunion [in 1982] that you can’t just get up there. You have to rehearse.”

2010 Peter Gabriel Concert Tour
April 2010
28 – Montreal, Quebec – Bell Centre

May 2010
2, 3 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall
7 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl

This spring Peter Gabriel will be offering fans in select cities of North America a glimpse from “Scratch My Back,” his orchestral covers album.

Gabriel has dates lined up in three cities, kicking things off in Montreal on April 28. On May 2-3 he will have a pair of shows in New York City. The short outing will then close out in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl on May 7.

The run in North America follows March performances in London, Berlin and Paris. The international dates are available on Gabriel’s website.

Gabriel’s new album, “Scratch My Back” is his eighth since leaving Genesis in 1977. It is due out on February 15. The set will feature Gabriel covering songs from other artists including “The Boy in the Bubble” by Paul Simon, “Philadelphia” by Neil Young, “Street Spirit” by Radiohead and “Heroes” by David Bowie. There are plans for a future album to be called “I’ll Scratch Yours.” The same artists will in return cover work of Gabriel’s.

Bob Ezrin (KISS, Pink Floyd) is the producer for the album. The set features the voice of Gabriel’s backed by a full orchestra. John Metcalfe, the composer, wrote new arrangements for the material.

On his website Gabriel said, I really like the scores by Metcalfe. They seem original, fresh and soulful. When we met we have an overlap in taste around composers like Stravinsky, Arvo Part and Steve Reich. I told John I wanted the arrangements to be kept stark and simple, but always emotional. I wanted the songs to be really felt and heard.

Gabriel along with his band mates from Genesis are going to be inducted later this year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Game. However, Gabriel told Rolling Stone recently he isn’t planning to perform with his old group during the induction ceremony.

Gabriel said, I’m not singing. I learned in 1982 with our last reunion that you just can’t get up and sing. You need to rehearse first.

In 2010, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is going to be swelling its ranks with new inductees featuring The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, The Stooges, ABBA and Genesis.

A group of non-performers is also going to be inducted. Ahmet Ertegun Award individual recipients include David Geffen, music mogul, as well as songwriters Otis Blackwell, Mort Shuman, Jesse Stone, Jeff Barry, Elle Greenwich, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.

The induction ceremony is taking place in New York on March 15. It will be aired live on Fuse, the national music TV network of Madison Square Garden.

Joel Peresman, Foundation President for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said, we’re so happy to be able to present this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. They represent a tremendous cross-section of different types of artists defining the history of rock and roll’s broad spectrum as well as people who have contributed an immeasurable amount to our business.

ABBA, the Swedish pop sensation from Stockholm that was formed during the late 1960′s, went on and became one of popular music’s biggest selling bands in history. The group featured two couples: Frida Lyngstad and Benny Andersson along with Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anna Faltskog. In the US they scored numerous hit over eight studio albums. They included “”Dancing Queen,” “Fernando,” and “Mamma Mia.” The latter song was used eventually to form the basis for a musical that become a long running hit with the same name, featuring many of the songs of ABBA’s. According to Associated Press, the group every year continues selling over three million albums, despite the fact that the band broke up over 25 years ago.

Genesis from the UK emerged out of the late 1960′s English rock art scene. Peter Gabriel, the singer, led the band. Genesis gained a following rather quickly behind the outlandish stage persona of Gabriel’s. During the early 1970′s the band recorded several progressive rock albums that were very influential. In 1975 Peter Gabriel left the band and Phil Collins, the drummer, took over as the group’s frontman. The band quickly and smoothly made a transition and became a pop hit mighty machine. During the early 1980′s they churned out several Top 10 hits and helped to usher the MTV era in. The band broke up in 1999, but reunited in 2006 and had a very successful world tour.

The Stooges, born out of a working class suburb in Michigan, help to pave a future path for punk rocker generations all over the world. Iggy Pop, the band’s lead singer who was born as James Osterberg, fueled the group’s anarchistic fury. The band recorded three LPs that were very influential during the late 1960′s to the early 1970′s. It included the debut for the band which was produced by John Cale or the Velvet Underground and recorded in only four days. The album scored the hit singles “No Fun,” “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” and “1969.” A few years later they flamed out. In 2003 the band was reformed and has continued to tour as the group Iggy and the Stooges. Early this year Ron Asheton, founding guitarist passed away.

The Hollies, the British soft rock group that featured Eric Haydock, Allan Clark and Graham Nash, churned out multiple hit singles during the late 1960′s. There was one point where they charted 21 UK Top 20 hit singles in a row, including “Bus Stop,” and “Look Through Any Window.” In 1968 Nash departed to join Stephen Stills and David Crosby in another hit producing band. The Hollies then regrouped and produced another round of chart toppers, including “The Air That I Breathe,” “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress,” and “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.”

Jimmy Cliff, who at times gets lost in the shadow of fellow giant of reggae Bob Marley, helped to introduce Jamaican reggae music to a worldwide audience with his film and 1972 album “The Harder They Come.” Cliff is considered to be reggae’s first superstar. His songs “Sitting in Limbo,” “You Can’t Get It If You Really Want,” and “Many Rivers to Cross” are still classics of the reggae genre.

The inductees for 2010 were selected from a list of nominees that included The Chantels, Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Laura Nyro, KISS, Donna Summer and Darlene Love.

Peter Gabriel, who founded Genesis the rock group, and Jose Antonio Abreu, Venezuelan composer, are sharing the Polar Music Prize this year.

On Monday the two musicians received 1 million kroner (or $143,000) awards during a ceremony held in Stockholm. They both said they’d love to work together.

Before the ceremony Abreu told reporters that he had invited Peter Gabriel to visit Venezuela. He also said the award reaffirmed his commitment for working with El Sistema, a children’s music network. Gabriel praised the work of Abreu and said he was very honored to receive the award.

Usually the Polar Music Prize is split between classical musicians and pop artists.

Pixar in the past has demonstrated their ability to score with parents and kids alike. However with Wall-E, their next release, it appears it may be their ticket with the aging prog nerd elusive demographic.

Cinemablend is reporting that Peter Gabriel, former vocalist for Genesis and multi platinum solo artist, is working on Wall-E’s soundtrack. The report from Cinemablend stated that Gabriel wasn’t very specific in regards to the exact extent of his involvement. He describe it as creating a couple new things and putting glue on some things that he had done before. He did reveal initially he was approached in 2005 for the gig and also shed some light on the movie.

Gabriel said, from the trailers we know the movie is centered around a robot left on Earth so it could clean the garbage up after man moved over to the stars. Gabriel, an environmentally conscious musician, said that Pixar did consult with NASA. On the basis that bone deteriorates in space, that the humans in the movie were being made to resemble flat blobs sitting in arm chairs.

Gabriel is very familiar with animation. His ground breaking videos from the 1980s for such hit singles as “Big Time” and “Sledgehammer” drew heavily on it. However it won’t make it easier trying to explain to the children why a guy wearing a t-shirt with “Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” on it is sitting beside you in the movie theater. Or the reason Wall-E doesn’t scamper to the pleasant strains from a Randy Newman score. But anything is better than “Life Is a Highway” being covered by Rascal Flatts.

Now that Genesis has their European tour completed, they are gearing up for a new leg in North America for their “Turn It On Again Tour.”

It’s been 15 years since the veteran progressive rockers toured North America. On September 7, they will be launching their trek at BMO Field in Toronto. They will be the first band in history to play in the new stadium.

The band in their joint statement said, we had lots of fun playing in Europe. We’re very excited to bring the show to all our North American fans. It’s great to still be able to feel the electricity while we’re on stage. We are still doing this because we love to.

In Europe Genesis played in front of almost 1.5 million fans and sold out several of the largest venues in the world. Following their Toronto rehearsals, the band will be visiting 20 US and Canadian cities. They have multiple night stands booked for Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Genesis will be bringing their massive production with them, including the largest screen that has even been used for a stadium concert. The backdrop resembles a huge conch shell and takes 9 million LEDs to operate.

On the road Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins will be joined by Chester Thompson playing drums and Daryl Stuermer playing guitar. Thompson and Stuermer are longtime Genesis sidemen.

In conjunction with the band’s new tour, all 14 of Genesis’ studio albums are being reissued. The top four successful commercial records “Calling All Stations” from 1997, “We Can’t Dance” from 1991, “Invisible Touch” from 1986 and “Genesis” from 1983 are being released on October 1 in a box set.

Bono from U2, Eurythmics, Beyonce, Peter Gabriel, and Queen surviving members are some of the acts who will be appearing at an AIDS benefit concert backed by Nelson Mandela. The concert, which has been named “46664,” will take place on November 29 in South Africa.

Other performers will include Zola and Zucchero, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Yusif Islam (the former Cat Stevens), Youssou N’Dour, Watershed, The Corrs, Ready D, Paul Oakenfold, Ms Dynamite, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sipho Mchunu & Johnny Clegg, Jimmy Cliff, Gary Mudbone Cooper, Danny K, Bongo Maffin, Baaba Maal, Angelique Kidjo, Anastacia and Abdel Wright.

Organizers are claiming that the concert of three hours is going to be media history’s most widely distributed event. The potential audience from 166 countries could exceed 2 billion people. The concert will be simulcast from the event’s website from Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town.

According to organizers for the event, the show is going to be broadcast live from SABC network in South Africa as well as 71 member stations of the European Broadcasting Union. BBC World Service is going to be broadcasting the convert live over radio in 14 different language. On December 1, World AIDS Day, Worldwide MTV network stations will be premiering the concert.

Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen are among the musicians who are already in Cape Town to perform in the concert. Frontman for Queen, Freddie Mercury, 12 years ago died of AIDS. May in a statement said, Anastacia said she wants to perform a set along with us for a Freddie tribute.

The concerts will be raising funds for AIDS work done by Nelson Mandela’s Foundation through donations given online and via the telephone. Phone numbers will be provide during the broadcasts of the concerts.

46664 was Mandela’s prison number and is also a song title written by Joe Strummer, Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics and Bono.

Originally the concert was gong to be held on February 2 at Robbin Island, where the South African prison where Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years is located. However due to problems with the contract it was canceled.