(CelebrityAccess News Service) — Clear Channel Entertainment's Instant Live program has entered into an agreement with The Allman Brothers Band. Instant Live will record and duplicate live Allman Brothers Band performances during their current U.S. tour. A test run of the duplication process first took place at shows in Indianapolis (July 25), Pittsburgh (July 26), Buffalo (August 2) and Hartford (August 3) for future sales of the live recordings at other venues. After completion of the test run, Instant Live will make available a limited number of live CD recordings immediately following the shows in Charlotte (August 9) and Raleigh, North Carolina (August 10).
"The Allman Brothers Band is a perfect artist for Instant Live, and we are thrilled to be working with them," said Steve Simon, Instant Live project director and executive vice president of Clear Channel Entertainment- Music. "We have sought their participation since the project inception. Their nightly set list variation, their trademark sound and improvisational style will ensure something unique for every show. I am also a huge fan, and the band was one of the inspirations for the creation of the Instant Live program. They have been a pleasure to work with; the road crew, sound engineers, management and musicians are examples of the best this industry has to offer. We hope to create something special together for their fans."
Added Allman Brother Band manager Bert Holman, "The Brothers have over the past few years multitrack recorded their live concert performances with the intention of making every show available on an individual basis to their fans. The Instant Live program has now given us the opportunity to do that on an immediate basis. Now regular fans as well as the 'tapers' can enjoy the show without the hassle or making their own audience tapes with a better quality recording boot. The Allman Brothers Band is excited to be in the vanguard of contemporaneous recording and delivery of their live concert experience. No longer will a fan have to rely on memory or primitive live tapes to relive a specific concert, they can pop it in the cd player and groove on the way home from what they just saw."
Instant Live, previously tested in clubs in Boston, offers fans the opportunity to purchase and walk away with a CD of the concert they just attended before they leave the venue. Instant Live concerts are recorded using a combination of ambient microphones and feeds from the soundboard. The program employs state-of-the-art technology to duplicate, package and deliver CDs in as few as five minutes after a show. Fans will soon be given the option of pre-ordering the CD when they purchase concert tickets or purchasing the CD immediately following the performance.
movement. –edited by Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
Britney, Blige to Kick Off NFL Season
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pop princess Britney Spears and R&B star Mary J. Blige are planning to kick off the NFL season with a free show.
They'll perform a concert on the National Mall in Washington on Sept. 4, Billboard.com reported. The Washington Redskins and the New York Jets will begin the NFL season that night. ABC will broadcast the concert and the game.
The show reportedly will feature a tribute to the U.S. military.
Spears, 21, has been on a self-imposed hiatus from performing, though she is expected to release her fourth album this fall.
Organizers are eyeing additional acts for the NFL kickoff show, including Kid Rock and Aerosmith, Billboard said.
Last year, Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Alicia Keys and Eve got the pro football season started with a show in New York's Times Square.
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On the Net:
Tracy Morgan Leaving 'SNL' for Prime Time
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tracy Morgan is taking his act from late night to prime time.
The comedian recently left "Saturday Night Live" after seven seasons to star in "The Tracy Morgan Show," a proposed comedy about a hardworking family man that isn't yet on NBC's fall schedule.
Morgan recalled how his big break on "SNL" affected his family and friends in the Bronx.
"My whole life became a series of calming everybody down," he told the Television Critics Association last week. "They were on my front door. It was like hitting Lotto.
"I had to really get my family up out of the 'hood first. With the second check, we were gone. We live in a nice Jewish neighborhood. Quiet with our music, no gunshots, all that stuff. It's a positive effect on us. Some people tripped, but they're all right now."
Morgan recently moved his wife and three sons, ages 17, 16 and 11, to Los Angeles, where the new show is taped.
His character runs an automotive repair shop, a change from the outrageous characters and celebrity impressions he did on "SNL."
"This character gets to show people in the public that I'm a dad. They get to see the struggle," he said. "I grew up in a broken home, so this is what it would have been like if my dad would have stayed with my mom. This is what I wanted to see and I'm proud of it."
Spokesman: Minnelli, Husband Separated
NEW YORK (AP) — Liza Minnelli and David Gest, who were married last year in a star-studded ceremony, have separated, Minnelli's spokesman said Friday.
Spokesman Warren Cowan said he could provide no other details.
Minnelli and Gest wed in March 2002 with best man Michael Jackson briefly carrying the bride's train. Elizabeth Taylor served as maid of honor.
Hundreds of fans lined Fifth Avenue to watch guests including actors Michael Douglas, Anthony Hopkins and David Hasselhoff, rocker Elton John, TV newswoman Barbara Walters and KISS band member Gene Simmons arrive.
Gossip columnist Liz Smith called the nuptials, Minnelli's fourth, "the kissiest wedding" she's ever seen.
Minnelli danced in happiness at the altar after tying the knot, attendees said.
Minnelli and Gest earlier in the day canceled an appearance Tuesday on CNN's "Larry King Live," a spokeswoman for King said Friday.
The bride and groom were introduced by Jackson when Minnelli appeared on a Gest television production entitled "Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special."
Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli, has won an Academy Award, an Emmy, two Golden Globes and three Tony Awards.
But she has also battled substance abuse, weight gain and a near-fatal bout with encephalitis. Earlier this year, the performer underwent surgery after breaking her kneecap in a fall at a hotel in Italy.
Willie Backs Texas School Music Program
NASHVILLE (AP) — Willie Nelson has gotten behind a new Lone Star state initiative called the Texas Music Project, which aims to strengthen and restore music education in Texas schools.
Billboard reported that the first volume of a CD series will be released in September, featuring music from 21 Texas artists including Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Dixie Chicks, Lucinda Williams, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and others.
Profits from the CD sales will go toward helping fund music programs in Texas schools.
The CD will be sold at Starbucks, Tom Thumb, Randalls and Brook Mays Music locations in Texas, and other retailers that carry CDs.
