I'm always intrigued when I get a chance to review a debut album from a new artist. So when I had a opportunity to listen to some songs of Nikki Shannon on her MySpace page and was hooked after hearing a track called "Inner Circle," I decided I needed to hear more.

Shannon's debut album, Too Few, is a mix of stories, each song taking the listener on a journey into a different aspect of the human experience. For example, on "Chocolate & Wine," she sings – tongue-in-cheek – about filling her day with chocolate, wine, sad movies, and friends as she wonders why everything seems so wrong. "Drink," in contrast, contains a simpler story: she likes to drink!

(More about ‘Music Review: Nikki Shannon – Too Few‘…)

Miley Cyrus and David Archuleta will dodge giant balloons together when the teen stars perform in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Other performers set for the annual Turkey Day festivity include Trace Adkins, the Cheetah Girls, James Taylor and Darius Rucker, according to a press release.

The New York City parade will take place November 27 and will be hosted by “Today” hosts Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira and Al Roker. As is tradition, the casts from several Broadway shows will also be on hand for the big event. This year’s lineup includes “In the Heights,” “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” and “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” as well as an annual appearance from the Radio City Rockettes.

(More about ‘Miley Cyrus, David Archuleta To Perform In Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade’…)

It appears that Chris Tomlin is going to have a really busy new year. He has shows lined up till April already and he will be performing for the audiences in thirty five cities across the US, beginning on the 22nd of January and coming to a close on the 9th of April.

Tomlin hopes to promote his latest album – his fifth studio set – ‘Hello Love’ on this tour. The multiple-time award winner’s new album includes the single ‘Jesus Messiah’, which had already topped the charts in its first week.

(More about ‘Chris Tomlin 2009 Tour Announced’…)

It seems as though I'm on a roll when it comes to reviewing new albums by unusual instrumental duos. Recently, I spotlighted a twosome who combined a trumpet with an African kora; and a while before that I reviewed an album by a couple of guys playing tuba and harmonica. This time around the instruments themselves are more conventional, but the combination is still a little different. All Too Soon, a new release on the SMS Jazz label, stars reclusive clarinetist, Mort Weiss, accompanied by the solid 7-string guitar work of Ron Eschete — and it's not the first time they've teamed up. Weiss' story is a little unusual too.
(More about ‘Music Review: Mort Weiss – All Too Soon‘…)

Ex-Spock's Beard frontman — and everybody's favorite Christian, prog-rock minister — Neal Morse, has hit another home run with his latest concert DVD masterpiece, Sola Scriptura And Beyond. Morse abruptly quit the mighty Beard in 2002 in order to follow his born-again Christian heart in pursuit of some of the most righteous Christian-prog the world has ever witnessed. Sola Scriptura And Beyond brilliantly captures the results of that pursuit.

I was expecting Morse's Christ-inspired hybrid to sound closer to Jars of Clay than to Spock's Beard, but his solo material has actually gotten increasingly heavier and more progressive.

(More about ‘Music DVD Review: Neal Morse – Sola Scriptura and Beyond‘…)

Ed Vallance has truly arrived in America and has done so in more ways than one. Having left his native London, he is now living in Los Angeles. He is busy announcing his arrival by releasing his mini-album The Modern Life on the November 4.

In truth Ed had already marked his future in LA when some of his music was chosen for the Faye Jackson film Lump. He has a marked ability to write instantly engaging songs that have already attracted many supporters. Most notable of these would appear to be folk icon Donovan who says of him, ‘I love his groove, and his vocal attitude’.

There are some sunny California feel good songs on The Modern Life underlining his transcontinental existence of late.

(More about ‘Music Review: Ed Vallance – The Modern Life‘…)

My one claim to fame as a kid in the early seventies was that my aunt's boy friend was in the band Lighthouse. As that very rarely impressed anyone my age, most kids were into the Partridge Family or at best The Beatles, the information that he played electric viola in a rock and roll band meant that sort of knowing the late Don Dinovo never really bought me that much status. It wasn't his fault, or Lighthouse's either for that matter, for although the band did enjoy moderate success with hits such as "Sunny Days", they were never that popular among the pre-pubescent crowd.
(More about ‘Music Review: FreeWorld – From The Bluff‘…)

In a week that’s seen the DJ Mag Top 100 announced for another year – and, truth be told quite a few out there yawn at the predictability of the final outcome… once again! – British website datatransmission.co.uk have revealed the results for their inaugural вЂ?Top 40 DJ Poll’, with legendary tastemaker Erol Alkan coming up trumps. The poll received over 30,000 votes, and its point of difference over the DJ Mag Top 100 was that it restricted input to UK clubbers only. Aside from Erol (and some dudes called Riley & Durrant. Anyone, Beuller? Bueller?) the top 10 was filled with the usual trance and progressive house suspects, but Alkan as #1 is an interesting outcome nonetheless. He didn’t even
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After several very quiet weeks (well outside of AC/DC and Metallica anyway), the floodgates have opened. We've got so much new stuff to talk about this week that we barely have the space to cover it all. So let's get this party started, shall we?

The ever prolific Ryan Adams and his Cardinals have another one out, and Josh Hathaway will be along in just a few to give you the lowdown on that. In the meantime, we've got a little something for everybody, be it goth, country, metal, R&B or whatever your new music lovin' little hearts desire.

For those who enjoy their hair color and fingernails as black as their coffee, The Cure have a brand new one called 4:13 Dream.

(More about ‘New Album Releases 10/28/08: Ryan Adams, The Cure, Eagles Of Death Metal, Kaiser Chiefs, Pink, Snow Patrol, Cradle Of Filth, Toby Keith, John Legend, Squarepusher & More’…)

Vicente Fernandez, the Latin Ranchera King, is currently on his fall tour which began earlier this month on the 3rd of October in Atlanta. The star singer is promoting his new album – ‘Para Siempre’. The tour will come to a halt on the 29th of November and the shows which still remain are the ones in Houston, San Jose and a string of performances in Los Angeles.

The star’s recent album sees compositions by ‘the people’s poet’ – Joan Sebastian.

(More about ‘Vicente Fernandez Fall Tour 2008 Continues’…)