Iggy and the Stooges, the Distillers, Primal Scream and South will appear next month at the two-day Japanese festival Magic Rock Out. The event will be held March 19 in Osaka and the following day in Chiba. Funeral For A Friend, Diffuser, Jude and several Japanese artists are also confirmed, and more acts are expected to be added to the bill.In related news, Primal Scream will bookend these dates with small club shows in Fukuoka and Sapporo on March 18 and 22 to celebrate the release of "Fan Best Of," a Japanese-only release with a track list voted on by fans.
-- Jason MacNeil, Toronto
Billy Gilman, who took the country music world by storm as a 10 year-old, plans to record a new album this year. Now 15, the artist has sat out the past two years while waiting for his voice to change. "It was very frustrating to go through this process," says Gilman. "Even knowing that it was coming, I had no idea that it would take this long to complete." Gilman scored a major hit with his 2000 Epic album, "One Voice." The set, which reached No. 2 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and No. 22 on The Billboard 200, has sold 1.7 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. His 2001 follow-up, "Dare To Dream," did not fare as well, bowing at No. 6 and selling 292,000 copies.
Having parted ways with Epic-parent Sony, Gilman is said to be weighing opportunities with several labels. "I can't wait to get back in the studio and make new music," he says. "Even though I'm still very young in this business, I feel that my experience over the last five years will help me make the best record of my career."
-- Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Neko Case, the Stills, the Decemberists, On The Speakers, Pedro The Lion, the Unicorns, the Wrens, British Sea Power, the Tyde, Preston School Of Industry, the Aluminum Group and Stratford 4 are among the new additions to the lineup for the 2004 Noise Pop Festival.The event will be held Feb. 24-29 in San Francisco and will also feature previously announced acts Super Furry Animals, the reunited American Music Club, Low, Dillinger Escape Plan, Trans Am, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, the Detroit Cobras, the Locust, Denali, John Vanderslice and Gold Chains.
-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
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