NEW YORK, March 7, 2011 -- MTV's 24-hour college network, mtvU today announced that the Foo Fighters will take the Woodies stage for the first time with a live performance of "Rope," the first single off of their highly anticipated seventh studio album "Wasting Light," during the "2011 mtvU Woodie Awards" airing live from Austin, Texas on Wednesday night, March 16 at 12am (Live ET/ Tape delayed PT) on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU during the South by Southwest Music Festival.

The Foo Fighters will be joined by 2011 Woodies host Donald Glover, as well as performers Wiz Khalifa, Sleigh Bells, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and Two Door Cinema Club. Matt & Kim, Lupe Fiasco, Dev, Chiddy Bang, Skylar Grey and MTV's Liz Lee from "My Life as Liz" will present the Awards, handing over chunks of wood to the 2011 winners. Additionally, MNDR will keep the night going as the Woodies' house DJ. The "2011 mtvU Woodie Awards" is the only night honoring college students' favorite emerging artists and music.

The night before the Woodies, also in Austin, the SXSW Film Program will come to an explosive close with the U.S. premiere of the feature length Foo Fighters documentary. Directed by Academy Award winner James Moll (The Last Days, Running The Sahara), produced by Nigel Sinclair (No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who, The Last Play At Shea) and financed by Exclusive Media Group and RCA Records. Moll's documentary, from Spitfire Pictures, chronicles the entire history of the Foo Fighters, from the cassette demos Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana's drummer through their ascent to their Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, arena and stadium headlining status as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.

In addition, MTV and Roswell/RCA today announced that the worldwide premiere of the Foo Fighters' music video "Rope" will air live at 7:54pm ET/PT on Thursday, March 10 on MTV and MTV.com. The music video will also premiere at 8:00pm ET on MTV Hits, mtvU and VH1.com, and begin playing across all MTV's channels Friday morning.

Set for release April 12, "Wasting Light" was recorded entirely in front-man Dave Grohl's home garage using only analogue equipment. To celebrate the release of the video and album, the band is now set to invade the home of a super-fan in the Los Angeles area on March 10, along with MTV News' James Montgomery, to introduce the video on-air and online, and answer fans' burning questions. Immediately following the on-air premiere, the band will stay on for an additional Q&A session live-streamed on MTV.com. Fans can submit questions through MTV.com, via Twitter (@MTVNews using hashtag #askfoos) or on MTV's Facebook page.  

Produced by Butch Vig and mixed by Alan Moulder, Wasting Light's no computers/no software back to basics approach has resulted in arguably the strongest and most cohesive effort of the band's 15-year-plus career: From first single "Rope" to the frenetic opener "Bridge Burning" to the beautifully bipolar "These Days" to stunning guest spots from Bob Mould ("Dear Rosemary") and Krist Novoselic ("I Should Have Known"), Wasting Light is a singular triumph: a band that's headlined arenas, stadiums and festivals the world over stripping itself down to the bare essentials and coming up with its finest hour.

As the only award show to honor and highlight the music and artists voted 'best' by the US college audience, the 7th annual show promises an unforgettable night of music and performances.  College students established the "mtvU Woodie Awards" in 2004 and have since propelled numerous recognized acts to the next level of their careers – including surging record sales, headlining tours and mainstream notoriety. Examples include: Fall Out Boy (Streaming Woodie '04), the Killers (Breaking Woodie '04), Death Cab for Cutie (Best Video Woodie '05), Plain White Ts (Breaking Woodie '06), Gym Class Heroes (Woodie of the Year '07), Paramore (Woodie of the Year '08) and Matt & Kim (Best Video Woodie '09).

Jesse Ignjatovic/Den of Thieves is the Executive Producer for the "2011 mtvU Woodie Awards." Garrett English and Amy Doyleare Executive Producers for MTV.  Jen Jones is Producer.  Joanna Bomberg and Gina Esposito are Executives in Charge of Music and Talent, MTV.  Eric Conte is Executive Producer for mtvU.

Official sponsors of the "2011 mtvU Woodie Awards" include American Family Insurance, DORITOS®, Rhapsody®, Samsung Galaxy Tab™, Sun Drop and U.S. Army.

About mtvU:

Broadcast to more than 750 college campuses and via top cable distributors in 700 college communities nationwide, mtvU reaches nearly 9 million U.S. college students – making it the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S., as well as on cable systems from Charter Communications, Verizon FiOS TV, Suddenlink Communications, AT&T u-Verse and nearly 70 others.  mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are: on-air, online and on the campus.  mtvU programs music videos from emerging artists that can't be seen anywhere else, news, student life features and initiatives that give college students the tools to advance positive social change.  mtvU is always on campus, with hundreds of events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more.  For more information about mtvU, and a complete programming schedule, visit www.mtvU.com.

About Den of Thieves:

Founded in 2007 by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, Den of Thieves has quickly emerged as a force for ambitious event shows and uniquely stylized reality television series. Using their extensive experience working with talent, Ignjatovic and Prager launched Den of Thieves as the TV arm of the Warner Music Group in 2007. After a successful three year partnership there, they branched out and are now fully independent. With an array of formats ranging from Comedy Central's stand-up special Russell Brand in NYC to VH1's The T.O.Show to the MTV Video Music Awards, Den of Thieves continues to create, develop and produce original television.

About MTV:

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand.   With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people.  MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile.  MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is the leading destination for music, news and pop culture.  MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  For more information, go to www.mtvpress.com.

SOURCE MTV

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