JAMES BLUNT PLOTS SUMMER TOUR WITH SHERYL CROW

James Blunt will kick off a summer with Sheryl Crow on July 24th in Nashville. The 25-city outing winds down August 30th in Seattle and will also feature Toots & the Maytals on a majority of the dates. Blunt will be out behind his sophomore album, All the Lost Souls, which features the single "1973." Blunt said, "I am really excited to be returning to the U.S. this summer. The band and I really look forward to being on the road with such amazing artists as Sheryl Crow and Toots & the Maytals. It will be great fun."

Crow will tour behind her latest release, Detours.
Before going out on the U.S. summer tour, Blunt will visit China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
According to London's The Sun, Blunt recently teamed with ex-con hardcore rapper MC Sinik to put together a version of Blunt's song "I'll Take Everything." The track is now a hit in France.
James Blunt and Sheryl Crow tour dates (subject to change):
July 24 - Nashville, TN - Sommet Center
July 26 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun
July 28 - Wantagh, NY - Jones Beach Amphitheatre
July 29 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Center
July 30 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center
July 31 - Saratoga Springs, NY - SPAC
August 2 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for the Performing Arts
August 3 - Canandaigua, NY - Constellation Performing Arts Center
August 5 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 6 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Theatre
August 8 - Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
August 9 - Minneapolis, MN - Northrop Auditorium
August 10 - Highland Park, IL - Ravinia Pavilion
August 14 - Houston, TX - The Woodlands
August 15 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Amphitheatre
August 18 - Albuquerque, NM - Sandia Casino Amphitheatre
August 19 - Tucson, AZ - Anselmo Valencia Amphitheatre
August 21 - San Diego, CA -Concerts on the Green - Qualcomm
August 22 - Las Vegas, NV - Theatre for the Performing Arts
August 23 - Lake Tahoe, NV - Harvey's Outdoor Amphitheatre
August 25 - Salt Lake City, NV - USANA Amphitheatre
August 27 - Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion
August 28 - Saratoga, CA - The Mountain Winery (James Blunt only)
August 29 - Portland, OR - Edgefield Amphitheatre
August 30 - Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheatre

MADONNA REPORTEDLY RECEIVING $25 MILLION FOR TWO SHOWS

Madonna will reportedly receive $25 million dollars to play two shows in Dubai this fall. London tabloid The Sun claims that one of the shows, for which she'd receive $15 million, is part of the rumored tour in support of her album Hard Candy, while the other is a private party. A source tells the paper that the private event would be the first in her career, and would fetch the superstar $10 million.

The UK's Daily Mirror reported on Thursday (April 17th) that Madonna is in final negotiations with organizers who are sorting out dates for the tour, which would kick off in September. A source told the paper that the choreography on the shows will be "more spectacular, demanding and physical than ever before."

Hard Candy will be released on April 29th behind the success of its first single featuring Justin Timberlake, "Four Minutes."
In addition to Justin Timberlake the disc features collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Nate "Danja" Hills.

UNKNOWN SINGER SAYS STING STOLE IDEAS FROM HIM

An unknown singer-turned-chef has filed a complaint against Sting, claiming he was the one who gave the Police frontman the ideas for the hit songs "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle."

TMZ.com reports that Roy Smith of Nevada has filled out an official police report, alleging that Sting approached him at Molly's Garden Restaurant in Reno, Nevada back in 1977 after he had heard him perform. According to the 48-year-old Smith, the pair had a long conversation over drinks during which he told Sting about his life, including his ex-girlfriend, a prostitute named Roxanne. Smith also said he told Sting about how he put messages in a bottle for his mother after his father died.

Smith said Sting was taking notes in his lyric book during their conversation and promised to contact him and provide him royalties to any songs he wrote about his life. According to the report, Sting contacted Smith's mother about 12 times in the next five years but Smith "never again spoke to Sting." Smith says his mother only recently told him about the phone calls, and now he's looking for royalties.

A police spokesman said: "The initial review of the report indicates that the statute of limitations of any potential crime in this matter has expired. The alleged victim may have to pursue the matter through civil litigation."
Sting's lawyers say the claims are false.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN RESCHEDULES FLORIDA SHOWS

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have rescheduled their Florida shows following the death of E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici, who died Thursday (April 17th) following a three-year battle with melanoma.

The final dates of Springsteen's current U.S. leg are now:
April 22 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
April 23 - Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
April 25 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
April 27 - Charlotte, NC - Bobcats Arena
April 28 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
April 30 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena
May 2 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Bank Atlantic Center
Existing tickets for the make up Florida dates in Tampa, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale will be honored. More specific information will be available on ticketmaster.com
A website for the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund has been launched. Federici's family says the fund intends to "raise awareness for this aggressive disease (and is) dedicated to the research and development of new and effective treatments for melanoma through funding for additional clinical trials based upon Danny's melanoma treatments and other methods headed by Dr. Paul Chapman (at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)." For more information, go to thedannyfedericimelanomafund.com.
In other E Street Band-related news:

Steven Van Zandt says that he turned down appearing in Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign commercial spoofing the final scene of The Sopranos.

Van Zandt told Uncut that he didn't want to be appearing to support any candidate that early on in the primaries, recalling, "They asked me to be in that. I declined. I thought it was very clever and funny. I just didn't feel comfortable endorsing her, or anyone else at (that) stage. I was hoping for an Al Gore/Barack Obama ticket. I read Obama's book, and the guy is frighteningly intelligent. I thought, 'wouldn't it be nice to try the other side of the coin, and actually have the smartest guy in the room be president?'''

Last week Bruce Springsteen publicly endorsed Senator Obama in an open letter on his official website brucespringsteen.net. Springsteen closed by writing, "Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President," implying that the band were all on board with his endorsement of Obama.
Also:

A fake Bruce Springsteen interview attributed to the Springsteen-sanctioned fan site backstreets.com was recently posted online on the fan board Stone Pony London (spl-messages.net). The long mock interview was written by someone who was well-versed in Springsteen's catch phrases, career, and political opinions. The hoax was quickly exposed by fans, however.

In the fake interview, Springsteen supposedly talked in-depth about the 2008 Presidential election, the followup to his Magic album, a Darkness On The Edge Of Town 30th anniversary box set, and a Christmas album mixing standards and new material using both the Seeger Sessions Band and the E Street Band.