Billboard Bits: Bonnaroo NE, Bon Jovi, Zappa/Loeb

The Bonnaroo festival is expanding beyond its Tennessee roots. On Aug. 8-10, Bonnaroo NE will be held at Enterprise Park in Riverhead, New York, on the heels of the second, sold-out Bonnaroo, which is set for June 13-15 in Manchester, Tenn. Lineup and ticket on-sale details for Bonnaroo NE are still being finalized, but organizers promise the event “will be similar in purpose and set-up to the original Bonnaroo, with its own individual character.”

“Rapid ticket sales have dictated a demand for a second festival of Bonnaroo quality,” said Richard Goodstone of promoter Superfly Productions, “and we’re excited to bring an event of this nature to the Northeast region.” Riverhead is about a 90-minute trip by car from Manhattan.

As previously reported, the June edition of Bonnaroo will be co-headlined by the Dead and Widespread Panic and will also feature Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Sonic Youth, Ben Harper, the Roots, James Brown, and the Flaming Lips, among many others. The event is already sold-out.

— Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

---

Portions of Bon Jovi’s April 12 performance at San Jose, Calif.’s HP Pavilion will be broadcast live in the U.S. via retail cable television channel QVC. Two half-hour live footage segments will be seen at 11:30 p.m ET and 12:30 a.m. ET. Several hours earlier, at 8 p.m ET, the group will appear on QVC to promote sales of a limited tour edition package of its Island/Def Jam album “Bounce” with a DVD or VHS featuring previously unreleased Bon Jovi performance footage. The set will only be available through QVC.com.

The hour-long 8 p.m. appearance will feature the group during soundcheck at the San Jose arena, conversation with QVC host Lisa Robertson, and interaction with fans through a phone call Q&A session. “This alliance allows us to reach out to our fans across the country and offer them another way to experience a Bon Jovi live show, as well as a chance to own some never-before-released video, and get an inside glimpse into the inner workings of the Bounce tour,” bandleader Jon Bon Jovi said in a statement.

Tonight (March 31), the tour reaches Cleveland, and will continue through its North American finale April 19 in Las Vegas. A European leg kicks off May 20 in Barcelona. The band will then return to the U.S. to play a pair of shows Aug. 8-9 at Giants Stadium in its native New Jersey. Released in October, “Bounce” debuted at No. 2 The Billboard 200, and has sold 608,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

---

The Food Network will launch a limited series early next year staring musician couple Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb. Boasting that “the couple’s passion for music is rivaled by their passion for food,” the cable network says “Dweezil & Lisa” will see the pair “cook for friends, visit funky restaurants, and shop for kitchen gadgetry.” The show is due to premiere in the first quarter of 2004.

Musically, singer/songwriter Loeb last released “Cake & Pie” (A&M/Interscope) in March 2002, while guitarist Zappa’s last solo release was 2000’s “Automatic” on the Favored Nations label.

— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.