Montreal International Reggae Festival - 2014

The Montreal International Reggae Festival (MIRF) has released a partial look at their 2014 line up which combines classic Lover’s Rock with Soul, and is forecasted to make Montreal the most popular Canadian city for August, 2014!

Taking place at the scenic Montreal Old Port, organizers from Canada’s most acclaimed Reggae festival have shared with media and fans 4 of the 12 headlining artists who will be performing at the 11^th annual festivities, offering patrons the right musical mix and value for their dollar.

On the heels of the release of his new album, Maxi Priest will take center stage to rock classics as well as some of his new singles “Easy to Love” (lead single from his new album of the same name), and “Every Little Thing.”  The Grammy Award winning, and Billboard chart topping artist is excited to be performing in the city.

The Queen of Reggae, Marcia Griffiths will endear fans with her sweet voice that has created so many memories.  Getting her start with the I-Threes who famously backed Bob Marley & The Wailers, Ms. Griffith now celebrates 50 years in the music industry and Montreal can’t wait to do the “Electric Slide” in her honor and classics such as “I Shall Sing” and “Dreamland!”

After an outstanding performance in 2009, Sanchez will return to the MIRF stage giving the city his unique mix of Gospel, Lover’s Rock and some Pop Reggae such as his new song “Him Buy You a Drink” which has been gaining traction on the Canadian Reggae landscape.

Soul has always been embraced by Reggae fans, so to sweeten the mix, MIRF brings legend Percy Sledge!  One of the most beloved American artists, Percy’s single “When a Man Loves a Woman” became an international top 40 hit and certified gold record.  Additional hits include “Warm and Tender Love,” and “Take Time to Know Her.”

Early bird tickets are available via www.ticketpro.ca with prices ranging from $80 CA for a weekend pass (if purchased between May 8^th and June 2^nd, 2014).

The complete 2014 lineup will be announced at a press conference to be held on June 14^th at O Patro Vys – 356 Mont Royal St. East at 11am.  In addition to performances, MIRF will offer workshops at O Patro Vys on August 12^th, 13^th and 14^th. 

For more information about this years festival visit the official website www.montrealreggaefest.com or @MTLReggaeFest

It's Official: Gwen Stefani Joins 'The Voice!'

It's official!  Gwen Stefani is heading to The Voice!  The No Doubt singer will join the seventh season of NBC's popular singing competition series in the fall, alongside new coach Pharrell Williams and Voice veterans Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

NBC's official Stefani announcement comes more than a week after news leaked that the singer was in early talks to replace Christina Aguilera's spot on the docket. It's believed that Stefani was debating between Voice and ABC’s Rising Star, which has a summer premiere. Reports had circulated in February that Aguilera was expecting her second child, though NBC announced that she will be back for the eighth season - likely airing in the spring. 

"Before we start the show, I want to make a very, very big announcement for us here - hold on, listen! This all just happened moments ago because we're live, and we're very happy to officially announce that two superstars will be joining the next season in these coaches' chairs: Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani will be added to the Voice family," said Carson Daly at the beginning of Tuesday night's episode.  "We're so happy to have them join our ever-growing Voice family. They're both incredible people, insanely talented."

As a way to introduce the new coaches, Williams will perform new G  I  R  L single "Come Get It Bae," while Stefani will take the stage for "Hollaback Girl," produced by Williams, on the live May 5 telecast.

Stefani has sold nearly 30 million records worldwide as the lead singer of rock band No Doubt and also as a solo artist.  No Doubt's five albums have produced No. 1 hits like "Don't Speak," "Just a Girl," "Hey Baby" and "Underneath It All."  In addition to her music career, Stefani has her hand in the fashion industry with L.A.M.B., launched in 2003, and Harajuki Lovers, launched in 2005. She also recently launched a ready-to-wear line that started in February and Gx, featuring affordably priced accessories that began in March.

Stefani is the latest A-list talent to sign on for The Voice, which boasts a slate of guest mentors that has included Miranda Lambert, Aloe Blacc, Jill Scott, The Band Perry and Coldplay's Chris Martin as universal guest mentor.  Most recently, Monday’s episode featured industry guest mentorship for the first time: producers Busbee, Scott Hendricks and Natural, and Levine's own mentor, Crosby, Stills and Nash's Graham Nash.

The Voice is presented by Burnett’s One Three Inc., Talpa Media USA Inc. and Warner Horizon Television. The series was created by John de Mol, who serves as executive producer along with Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Stijn Bakkers and Lee Metzger.

By: Philiana Ng and Ashley Lee of THR

The Sterling Tape is Legitimate...

It seems that several organizations are trying to question the legitimacy of the audio recordings shared by TMZ in which LA Clippers owner, Donald Sterling makes several racist statements.  Our sources at THR have shared a statement from the attorney for V. Stiviano, the woman heard in the audio containing the racist remarks, which says that the audio is ‘ligitimate,’ and that Stiviano did not release the clip to news media.

Further, her attorney states:  “this office understands that the currently released audio tape of approximately 15 minutes is a portion of approximately 1 hour of overall audio recording of Mr. Donald T. Sterling and Ms. Stiviano, and is in fact legitimate,” this from attorney Mac E. Nehoray.  “Ms. Stiviano did not release the tape(s) to any news media.  Due to the present litigation and its absurd allegations, which Ms. Stiviano vehemently denies, Ms. Stiviano and this office have no further comment.

To listen to the audio originally released by TMZ, click here:  http://www.tmz.com/2014/04/26/donald-sterling-clippers-owner-black-people-racist-audio-magic-johnson/

More Hip Hop on TV?! Maybe!

Fox TV is known for their hit TV shows, and 2014 just might be getting yet another hit on the station.  Lesley Goldberg and the team at THR tell us that Fox has ordered a pilot from Lee Daniels and Danny Strong (The Butler starring Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whittaker) and the Pilot is called Empire. 

Lee Daniels (left) - Danny Strong (right)

Empire is a family drama set in the world of Hip Hop (think Jay Z and his story / rise to fame).  The feature will include original and current music (all musicians reading this get your agents in gear to submit on your behalf).  Brian Grazer, who is passionate about Hip Hop music and culture, will Executive Produce. 

The decision to move forward with Empire comes four months after the network landed the project with a put-pilot commitment following a multiple network bidding war among the Big 4 broadcasters.  

For Daniels, the Fox drama will mark his TV directing debut. Strong, meanwhile, began his TV writing career with HBO's Emmy-nominated entries Recount and Game Change, the latter of which took home the statuette in the miniseries / movie category. 

The drama order for Empire marks the network's third project to be put into its development pipeline after Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced that the network was largely abandoning pilot season, and instead focusing on year-round producing. Empire will be produced during the traditional pilot season window, with additional scripts likely to be ordered.