Billboard Bits: Grand Slam, Bo Diddley, Will Smith

7/10/2002

News on Grand Slam, Bo Diddley, Will Smith

Elton John, Carlos Santana, Martina McBride, and comedian Dennis Miller are confirmed to perform at the 7th annual Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children benefit concert. The event, set for Sept. 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, raises funds for at-risk youth in Southern Nevada via the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation (AACF). To date, the organization has raised more than $18 million for charity.

David Foster will return for his seventh turn as the event's artistic director. Additional artists are expected to be added to the show, tickets for which go on sale Aug. 10 via Ticketmaster or through the MGM Grand. John and Miller appeared at last year's benefit, which also featured Don Henley and comedian Ray Romano.

For more information, visit the event's official Web site.

-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Blues great Bo Diddley has canceled a performance Saturday (July 13) at Albany, N.Y.'s Fleet BluesFest due to chest pains, according to his agent. Diddley was scheduled to headline the event at the Empire State Plaza.

The 73-year-old performer was to undergo several tests, his agent said. Diddley's doctor ordered him not to perform until the tests were complete and a diagnosis and treatment were determined. His next scheduled show comes July 21 at the North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, Maine.

Jimmy Vaughan will now perform in Diddley's slot at the Fleet BluesFest, which will also boast performances by Sue Foley, Les Sampou, and Guy Davis, among others.

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Thousands of people filled a square in downtown Stockholm yesterday (July 9) for a free, 10-minute performance by Will Smith ahead of a sneak preview of his latest film, "Men in Black II." Accompanied by DJ Biz Markie, Smith performed his contribution to the movie's soundtrack, "Black Suits Comin'," and a medley of previous hits, while police watched the crowd from nearby rooftops.

A handful of people were pulled out of the crowd as a mass of teenagers pressed against the guardrails in front of the stage. Smith at one point asked the crowd to "settle down," but no serious injuries were reported.

After the performance, Smith joined a few hundred invited guests inside a nearby theater for a screening of "Men in Black II," which is scheduled to open July 31 in Sweden. As previously reported, the film set a record in the U.S. when it earned an estimated $90 million over the extended Independence Day holiday weekend.

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