News …
Farm Aid to donate $30,000 to groups hit hardest by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav - Associated Press
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are the big winners at Americana Music Association Awards - The Tennessean
Mark Ronson, Primal Scream, Spice Girls and Kaiser Chiefs among this year's Vodafone Award winners - The Times Online U.K.
You know the world is changing when Aerosmith's Joe Perry can't beat his 16-year-old son at "Guitar Hero" - CBS News
Hootie's Darius Rucker is laughing all the way to the top of the country charts - The Herald Online / Rock Hill Herald
Bryan Ferry's son jailed, charged with perverting course of justice - The Evening Standard U.K. / This Is London
Views …
Janet Jackson in Los Angeles - "Given Jackson's fondness for lyrics invoking sex games, it was hardly shocking when she emerged in a black corset near evening's end, ready for a little bondage." - Los Angeles Times (registration may be required)
Michael Feinstein in London - " …is a walking Library of Congress when it comes to backstage tales and the art of songwriting." - The Times Online U.K.
The Dandy Warhols in NYC - " … played a few new songs as they riffled through their entire catalog, all the way back to their 1995 debut album." - The New York Times (registration may be required)
Chris Botti hosts all-star lineup in Boston - " … knows how to throw a party where the guest list gels." - Boston Herald
Marc Cohn in Birmingham - " … opened the venue's 2008-2009 season in the most charming way possible - by singing well, telling amusing stories and leaving the angst at home." - Birmingham News
Bloc Party in Montreal - "Barreling in with the frenetic one-two punch of new tracks 'Halo' and 'Trojan Horse,' the band opened into the yelping, bass-riding groove of 'Positive Tension' and erupting hymn 'Waiting For the 7:18.'" - The Montreal Gazette / Canada.com
They Say It's Their Birthday … (Or so says Associated Press)
Paul Williams is 68
Bill Medley is 68
Sylvia Tyson (Ian and Sylvia) is 68
David Bromberg is 63
Freda Payne is 63
Lol Creme (10cc) is 61
Daniel Lanois is 57
Nile Rodgers is 56
Rex Smith is 53
Jeff Bates is 45
Trisha Yearwood is 44
Espraronza Griffin is 39
Jay Popoff (Lit) is 35
Eamon is 25
JD Frazier (