How an Amateur Made Classical Cool in NYC

Legend expected to sell out 8,000-seat venue

(NEWSER) - Decades after making his name with Vietnam-era antiwar songs, Bob Dylan is set to perform in Vietnam for the first time, the AP reports. He’ll play in an 8,000-seat university stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, and planners expect the show to sell out. “Bob Dylan is a very important legend of music and we think it's important that Vietnamese people, particularly the younger generation, are exposed to his legacy,” says a promoter. (Dylan also recently snagged his first China gigs .) More»

Free gig called off after pandemonium erupts

(NEWSER) - Police pulled the plug on a free concert by up-and-coming rapper Drake and former teen sensations Hanson yesterday after the overflow crowd got rowdy. The 25,000-strong crowd at the South Street Seaport was more than double what organizers expected. Fights had already broken out amid the crowd when fans were told Drake would be arriving late. They then sprayed mace, threw bottles and chairs, and broke Hanson's mixing board, Gawker reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Mark Hosenball of Newsweek was at Woodstock, and not only did he not have a good time, but he can’t quite figure out how we’ve “transformed a chaotic mudfest into an epic pageant of peace and love.” Hosenball reminisces about the “massive, teeming, squalid mess” and its “traffic jams, torrential rain, reeking portable johns, barely edible food, and sprawling, disorganized crowds.” He can’t even really remember what acts he saw. More»

Live album distributed at all remaining 2009 dates

(NEWSER) - Coldplay will give away a free copy of its new live CD to every audience member at shows this year, BBC reports. Starting on May 15 in Florida, the band will give fans the nine-track LeftRightLeftRightLeft as a "recession-busting mark of gratitude." The album, which includes live versions of "Clocks" and "Viva la Vida," will also be made available for free download on Coldplay's website. More»

Zimerman vows never to return to America

(NEWSER) - Famed Polish concert pianist Krystian Zimerman vowed to never again return to the US after his concert in Los Angeles last night, the Guardian reports. Dozens of audience members walked out as Zimerman, hailed as one of the greatest living pianists, delivered an anti-American tirade, accusing the US of wanting to take over the world. More»