***UPDATE: Seeing Florence & the Machine in a smaller-than-norm venue will mean higher-than usual prices. Tickets will be $55 and go on sale at 10 a.m. on Feb. 25.
Two big announcements already this morning:
Florence & the Machine didn't win the best new artist Grammy last night, but she/they should be one of the hottest tickets among new artists playing this year, especially since their local tour date will be at a relatively small venue: The Minnesota Zoo's Weesner Amphitheater, scheduled for June 17. Tickets go on sale Feb. 25 at prices TBA. Zoo booker Sue McLean & Assoc. have yet to announce their lineup, but we at least know of New Orleans' hot new blower Trombone Shorty (June 22) and returning old favorite George Thorogood (Aug. 17).
We can only hope and pray there might also be a Radiohead date sometime this year (or even this decade), but the band continues to surprise us with their album releases: They dropped a bomb this morning by announcing that their eighth studio album, "The King of Limbs," will be available for download starting this Saturday (Feb. 19) via www.radiohead.com. It won't hit stores until March 28th. It will also be sold in a deluxe-edition available for pre-order featuring clear 10-inch vinyl, bonus tracks, downloads and more, all packaged in a special "newspaper" format. The album was once again produced by the band's regular bloke, Nigel Godrich.
