Robert Trujillo & His Metallica Band Mates to Headline This Year’s ATLive

Robert Trujillo is headed to the ATL

The 56-year-old half-Mexican American bassist and songwriter and his Metallica band mates will headline the second annual ATLive alongside George Strait on November 5-6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Robert Trujillo & Metallica

Produced by AMB Sports and Entertainment and presented by Mercedes-EQ, Strait will be joined by Eric Church and Caitlyn Smith on November 5, while Cage the Elephant and Greta Van Fleet round out the November 6 lineup alongside Metallica.

In perhaps a first, Strait and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich appear “together” in a video promoting the festival.

The inaugural ATLive took place November 15 and 17, 2019 and drew more than 90,000 to the all country lineup including Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Church, SugarlandSam Hunt and Luke Combs.

Like the 2019 concert, this year’s festival also has a charitable component with a portion of the proceeds going to the Strait-supported Military Warriors Support Foundation and Metallica’s All Within My Hands nonprofit.

“We are thrilled to be bringing ATLive back with an incredible lineup of artists,” said Tim Zulawski, SVP and chief revenue officer for AMB Sports and Entertainment in a statement. “From the beginning, our goal was to create a concert series that will become the must-see event for Atlanta. In our first year, we delivered a world-class experience for fans from across the world and we are excited to create that same experience again while giving back to our communities and those in need.”

Tickets go on sale July 16 via Ticketmaster.

Mariah Carey Returning to Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest

Mariah Carey is getting a second chance…

The 47-year-old half-Venezuelan American singer will return to the scene of her infamous major malfunction in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, agreeing to another performance this year for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.

Mariah Carey 

Carey was the victim of an alleged technical malfunction when she appeared on the globally televised program in 2016-17, though her bizarre off-camera demeanor made others question whether sound was the issue. Carey wound up walking around the stage without singing in what many described as a meltdown.

A representative for Carey blamed Dick Clark Productions. saying “production set her up to fail”; DCP called that claim “absurd.”

This year, Carey will take another stab at performing in the New Year’s Eve celebration, taking the stage at 11:45 p.m.

Carey recently changed managers, and the switch to Roc Nation might have prompted the return.

Other performers scheduled to appear include Camila Cabello, Nick Jonas and Sugarland. Britney Spears will appear for a remote cameo from Las Vegas.

Garcia to Be Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Jerry Garcia legacy lives on…

The late part-Spanish American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead, will be posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this week.

Jerry Garcia

Garcia and his songwriting partner Robert Hunter, who will also be honored, first paired together as performers in a folk duo in the early 1960’s.  When Garcia formed the Grateful Dead in the mid-1960’s, he looked to Hunter for lyrics. Hunter became an official lyricist for the band, and when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, Hunter was inducted as a band member, the only non-performer ever honored.

Garcia wrote the music while Hunter penned lyrics for songs like “Casey Jones”, “China Cat Sunflower,” “St. Stephen” and “Truckin,’” which was recognized by the United States Library of Congress in 1997 as a national treasure.

With more than 35 million albums sold worldwide, other notable tracks include, “Dark Star,” which is listed as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” list, and was ranked #57 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time,” the 1987 single, “Touch Of Grey” which was also the band’s first music video and, “Friend of the Devil” from the 1970 album American Beauty, which has been covered by Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, The Counting Crows, Elvis Costello, Lyle Lovett and John Mayer.  In 2007, the Grateful Dead received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 46th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner will take place on June 18 at the New York Marriott Marquis.

The attendees will gather to celebrate the core of creativity that drives the music business: the craft of songwriting.

Other members of 2015 class of inductees: country hitmaker Bobby Braddock, late blues icon Willie Dixon, country star Toby Keith, ’80s pop chart-topper Cyndi Lauper and Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes, who has written hits for Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, James Blunt, the Dixie Chicks and others.

“Our 2015 lineup of inductees represents the rich diversity of American musical styles – Rock, Country, Blues and Pop – that have captivated the world over the past six decades,” said SHOF President & CEO Linda Moran.  “Each one of these brilliant music creators have written instantly recognizable classics, songs that are both of their time and timeless.  Our Annual Awards Gala is sure to be unforgettable.”

The evening’s lineup of performers and presenters includes Tony Bennett, Benny Blanco, Zac Brown, Michael Buble, Ledisi, Ne-Yo, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi, Bernie Taupin and Paul Williams.

McCreery Getting in the Holiday Spirit…

Scotty McCreery will be spending his first Noel as a country singer with fellow Nashville musicians.

The 18-year-old American Idol winner is one of the featured performers for this year’s CMA Country Christmas television special, hosted by Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles.

Scotty McCreery Perfoms CMA Country Christmas

For the second straight year, the Country Music Association is hosting the down-home special, which brings together a cast of country stars to help ring in the holidays with performances and personal insight into their own memories of the season.

Taped last week in front of a live audience at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, the special features McCreery performing the classic Christmas carol “The First Noel.” He also takes the stage to sing “Jingle Bells” with other country stars like fellow Idol alum Kellie Pickler and Faith Hill.

Scotty McCreery Performing at CMA Country Christmas

Along with the part-Puerto Rican country artist—who scored his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this year with his debut album “Clear as Day—the special features appearances by Lauren Alaina, Keith Urban and Vince Gill.

CMA Country Christmas will air on Thursday, December 1 on ABC at 9:00 pm ET.

Click here to see more images from the taping of the special.