The music festival, which usually takes place in Kent, went into administration in 2012 but was due to go ahead this year on a much smaller scale. Unfortunately, it has since been axed due to 'poor ticket sales' and lack of public interest. Headliners from previous years have included Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Paul Weller.

Acts that had been revealed for the 2013 bill include My Bloody Valentine, The Cribs, Martha Wainwright and The Presidents of the United States of America. Organiser Vince Power issued a statement (May 3) on the sad news, which reads:

"It’s with great regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the Hop Farm Music Festival 2013. We have worked very hard to try to make it work but it has proved too much a of mountain to climb and despite fighting hard, circumstances are such that based on poor ticket sales and the forecast selling rate substantial losses would be made."

"It is a surprise for us that after 8 weeks of heavy marketing and with such a great bill that we have to cancel, though we are convinced this does not reflect on the artists, it highlights the poor economic climate. We would like to thank all the staff, suppliers and contractors that have also worked very hard to try and put the festival on again this year."

He concluded the statement by thanking those involved and expressing his disappointment in having to axe the event: "We have to thank the artists and agents that have supported us over the years and for this year’s acts to know that it has been a very hard decision to make, and we are very sorry that we are not able to have them play. We would also thank the fans that have supported us over the past 5 years, it is with great sadness that the decision was made. Ticket holders will receive a full refund from their ticket agents."

Folk-rock singer, Martha Wainwright, will set the stage alight with her compelling vocals and poignant lyrics. Following the release of her third album, “Come Home To Mama” at the end 2012, Wainwright has once again wooed critics with her soulful and charismatic performances.

Mercury-nominated Sam Lee will be bringing his own daring twist of contemporary and traditional folk to this year’s main stage. Pioneering a new colourful style of folk music, inspired by his own exploration into Roma, Gypsies and travellers music, Sam Lee has certainly shaken up the genre and will be one to watch.

The Bees, known for their eclectic sounds and dynamic performances, will merge their spontaneous jams with a versatile playlist in their one and only UK festival appearance of the summer. Expect an energetic psychedelic rock set from this British sextet.

Following the success of their debut EP ‘Metal and Dust’, London Grammar have taken the industry by storm with their stunning vocals and ambient electro-pop sound. The young band are certainly rising stars, with the unique sound of their debut track “Hey Now”, bringing a refreshingly delicate approach to pop music.

Set in Cornbury Park, Wilderness festival presents arts rarely seen, amidst landscapes you’ve never been. The festival is curated by the producers of Secret Garden Party and Lovebox, who will bring music, food talks and debates, theatre, late night parties, cinematic happenings and outdoor pursuits to the Oxfordshire countryside from 8th to 11th August.

Martha Wainwright, Sam Lee, The Bees and London Grammar complement an outstanding musical bill including Empire of The Sun (UK festival exclusive), Noah and the Whale, Rodriguez, Michael Kiwanuka, Tom Odell, Ghostpoet, Tribes, Matt Corby, Lucy Rose, King Krule, Melody's Echo Chamber, Eliza and the Bear, plus The London Folk Guild and Yellow Lounge.

Visit www.wildernessfestival.com for further information.

Photo credit: Roland Owsnitzki, (c) Yoko Ono, 2013

Sunday February, 17 --  One of the most daring and influential artists of our time, Yoko Ono, celebrated her eightieth birthday with a sold-out performance to an energetic and hugely responsive crowd at the legendary Volksbühne in Berlin. YOKO ONO PLASTIC ONO BAND was led by her son, Sean Ono Lennon, who collaborated with Yoko on her critically-acclaimed 2009 record, Between My Head And The Sky. 

Guests joining Yoko on stage included Peaches, Michael Stipe, Robyn Hitchcock and Rufus Wainwright & Martha Wainwright, who sang "Happy Birthday" in English and German. Jiga, Eva and Masumi, a local Berlin synth-pop trio, opened the show with their song "Hey, Yoko."   

Musicians

Sean Lennon - guitar, piano, bass

Yuka C. Honda- keyboard / laptop (Cibo Matto) 

Yuko Araki - drums (Cornelius) 

Nels Cline - guitar  (Wilco) 

Michael Leonhart - trumpet (Steely Dan / Donald Fagen) 

Charlotte Kemp Muhl - bass, guitar (Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger) 

Jared Samuel -keyboard (Invisible Familiars) 

Set list 

It Happened

Waiting For The D Train

Between My Head And The Sky

Moving Mountains

Calling

There's No Goodbye 

Walking On Thin Ice

Rising

Yes, I'm A Witch 

Cheshire Cat 

Mindtrain 

Higa Noboru

Give Peace A Chance

Earlier in the week, on February 15, Yoko Ono's retrospective, HALF-A-WIND SHOW opened at the Schirn Kuntshalle in Frankfurt and will tour to major museums across Denmark, Austria and Spain in 2013 and 2014. Numerous projects are slated for 2013 including the reissue of Ono's albums from 1968-1985, a career-spanning art book, Infinite Universe At Dawn highlighting six decades of her work, and the curation of the 2013 Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre in London in June.

Over the past few years, Ono has achieved a record string of nine consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard dance charts. Her latest dance single, "Hold Me" was released last week. In September, Ono released the improvisational YOKOKIMTHURSTON album with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. Other recent  collaborations have included recordings and performances with Eric Clapton, Lady Gaga, RZA, Antony, Ornette Coleman, the Flaming Lips, Pet Shop Boys, Mark Ronson and tUnE-yArDs. 

Between My Head And The Sky received 4 & 5-star rave reviews from Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q, Uncut, NME, Spin & many more, and was picked among Mojo Magazine's top albums of the year. Additionally, Mojo honored Yoko with a Lifetime Achievement Award and she received the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at The Venice Biennale.

For more information please contact:

Murray Chalmers PR

02073610730

 murray@murraychalmers.com

As previously reported, the singer's 2012 album 'Trespassing' was given a nod in GLAAD's Outstanding Music Artist category ahead of their 2013 awards.

He will go head-to-head with the likes of Frank Ocean and Rufus Wainwright in the battle for the prize.

Taking to Twitter after being nominated, Lambert said that he is joined by some esteemed artists in his award category. The 'Better Than I Know Myself' man said:

"I'm so grateful to be nominated for a @GLAAD Media Award! It was a great year! Congrats to my fellow nominees - great company to be in."

The GLAAD Media Awards say that they "recognise and honour media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives".

The 24th GLAAD Media Awards will be held over three events in March, April and May in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Photo credit: Roland Owsnitzki, (c) Yoko Ono, 2013

Sunday February, 17 --  One of the most daring and influential artists of our time, Yoko Ono, celebrated her eightieth birthday with a sold-out performance to an energetic and hugely responsive crowd at the legendary Volksbühne in Berlin. YOKO ONO PLASTIC ONO BAND was led by her son, Sean Ono Lennon, who collaborated with Yoko on her critically-acclaimed 2009 record, Between My Head And The Sky. 

Guests joining Yoko on stage included Peaches, Michael Stipe, Robyn Hitchcock and Rufus Wainwright & Martha Wainwright, who sang "Happy Birthday" in English and German. Jiga, Eva and Masumi, a local Berlin synth-pop trio, opened the show with their song "Hey, Yoko."   

Musicians

Sean Lennon - guitar, piano, bass

Yuka C. Honda- keyboard / laptop (Cibo Matto) 

Yuko Araki - drums (Cornelius) 

Nels Cline - guitar  (Wilco) 

Michael Leonhart - trumpet (Steely Dan / Donald Fagen) 

Charlotte Kemp Muhl - bass, guitar (Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger) 

Jared Samuel -keyboard (Invisible Familiars) 

Set list 

It Happened

Waiting For The D Train

Between My Head And The Sky

Moving Mountains

Calling

There's No Goodbye 

Walking On Thin Ice

Rising

Yes, I'm A Witch 

Cheshire Cat 

Mindtrain 

Higa Noboru

Give Peace A Chance

Earlier in the week, on February 15, Yoko Ono's retrospective, HALF-A-WIND SHOW opened at the Schirn Kuntshalle in Frankfurt and will tour to major museums across Denmark, Austria and Spain in 2013 and 2014. Numerous projects are slated for 2013 including the reissue of Ono's albums from 1968-1985, a career-spanning art book, Infinite Universe At Dawn highlighting six decades of her work, and the curation of the 2013 Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre in London in June.

Over the past few years, Ono has achieved a record string of nine consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard dance charts. Her latest dance single, "Hold Me" was released last week. In September, Ono released the improvisational YOKOKIMTHURSTON album with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. Other recent  collaborations have included recordings and performances with Eric Clapton, Lady Gaga, RZA, Antony, Ornette Coleman, the Flaming Lips, Pet Shop Boys, Mark Ronson and tUnE-yArDs. 

Between My Head And The Sky received 4 & 5-star rave reviews from Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q, Uncut, NME, Spin & many more, and was picked among Mojo Magazine's top albums of the year. Additionally, Mojo honored Yoko with a Lifetime Achievement Award and she received the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at The Venice Biennale.

For more information please contact:

Murray Chalmers PR

02073610730

 murray@murraychalmers.com

The US guitarist, who has previously achieved chart-toppers with White Stripes’ ‘Elephant’ in 2003 and ‘Icky Thump’ in 2007, dethroned Adele’s record-breaking ‘21’ to take the top spot at the first time of trying.

Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Out Of The Game’ entered at No.5, just below previous number ones from Nicki Minaj (‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’) and Lana Del Rey (‘Born To Die’), while Olly Murs’ ‘In Case You Didn’t Know’ climbed back into the Top 10 following the screening of his ITV2 behind-the-scenes series.

Elsewhere, there were new entries for Feeder’s ‘Generation Freakshow’ (No.13), The Chieftains' 'Voice Of Ages' (No.25) and Santigold’s ‘Master Of My Make Believe’ (No.33), while there were re-entries for Stereophonics' 'Best Of: Decade In The Sun' (No.32) and Bee Gees' 'Number Ones' (No.37).

The White Stripes man is currently reigning supreme in the midweek chart update, with Adele's '21' dropping from No.1 to No.3.

Fellow new entry Rufus Wainwright meanwhile enters the chart at No.2 with his album 'Out Of The Game'.

Elsewhere in the midweek albums chart, Feeder return with their No.5 album 'Generation Freakshow', whilst Jason Mraz slips down to No.8 with his effort 'Love Is A Four Letter Word'.

Jessie J is in at No.10 with her album 'Who You Are' as she continues to enjoy the success of her new BBC talent show The Voice.

High Profile Media Hits Include NPR's "First Listen," The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Conan O'Brien Show & CBS Sunday Morning

Rufus Wainwright will take his new album Out of the Game out on the road with an 8-piece band this Spring & Summer for a highly anticipated North American tour. This is the first time he has toured with a band since 2008's 'Release The Stars' tour.

Critically heralded, Out of the Game has been dubbed "a triumphant return to pop" by ROLLING STONE, and NPR says "The key is his gift for melody. Wainwright's music throws lines in the air with a grace and confidence rarely heard in contemporary music."  Rufus is also profiled in the current double-issue of Newsweek on-stands now.  To read the whole feature on-line, click here.

To preview Out of the Game in its entirety on NPR click here.

Currently in the middle of a European promotional blitz, Rufus recently performed on the popular "Graham Norton Show" in the UK, where the album is holding steady at # 2 overall on their early chart ranking. To view the "Graham Norton Show" performance see below.

To view the much-buzzed about Out of the Game music video featuring Helena Bonham Carter, see below:

Presale for tickets begins on Wednesday, April 25th, and on sale to the general public on Friday, April 27th: www.ticketmaster.com

Rufus Wainwright North American tour dates:

May

Wed 9th

BROOKLYN, NY Brooklyn Academy of Music – Howard Gilman Opera House *

Fri 11th

OAKLAND, CA Fox Theater #

Sat 12th

LOS ANGELES, CA Orpheum Theater *

Sun 13th

SAN DIEGO, CA Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay #

June

Sun 10th 

TORONTO, ON David Pecaut Square

Thu 28th

MONTRAL, QC Festival International de Jazz de Montreal

Sat 30th

ANN ARBOR, MI Power Center for the Performing Arts

July

Sun 1st 

GRAND RAPIDS, MI Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Tues 24th

VIENNA, VA The Filene Center at Wolf Trap +

Wed 25th

PHILADELPHIA, PA Penn's Landing River Stage

Fri 27th

PURCHASE, NY The PAC at SUNY Purchase

Sat 28th 

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY Westhampton PAC

Sun 29th 

BOSTON, MA Bank Of America Pavilion +

Tues 31st 

PORTLAND, ME State Theatre

August

Wed 1st    

SHELBURNE, VT The Green at Shelburne Museum

Fri 3rd    

CLEVELAND, OH House of Blues

Sat 4th   

MUNHALL, PA Carnegie Music Hall

Sun 5th 

LOUISVILLE, KY Iroquois Amphitheater

Tues 7th

BLOOMINGTON, IN Buskirk-Chumley Theater

Wed 8th

CHICAGO, IL Bank of America Theater 

Fri 10th

MILWAUKEE, WI Pabst Theater

Sat 11th

APPLE VALLEY, MN Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater

Support acts as follows:
*Teddy Thompson (May)
#Krystle Warren (May)
+Ingrid Michaelson (select July dates)
Josh Ritter (special guest Philadelphia July date)
Adam Cohen supports all July & August dates

The full band line-up is as follows; Andy Burton (Keys) Sharief Hobley (Guitar), Teddy Thompson (Guitar), Brad Albetta (Bass), Ben Perowsky (Drums), Charysse Blackman (Backing vocals), Krystle Warren (Backing vocals) Tim Ries (Horns).

www.rufuswainwright.com
www.facebook.com/rufuswainwrightofficial
www.twitter.com/rufuswainwright

The 38-year-old was speaking to Music Week about his new album, 'Out Of The Game,' when he confessed that its rather critical lyrics were inspired by his problems with the ‘Born This Way’ star:

“I totally admire her tenacity, her ambition and her strength of vision. There’s just not one good song there. People, especially gay men, are falling so hard for it."

Wainwright, who will play London’s Lyceum Theatre on April 30, went onto admit that he’s also not convinced by her self-empowering lyrics:

"Certain things that she says: 'Look at me. I was like you one day and now I’m this – and you can do it too.' I find it a bit disingenuous. We are in this somewhat sinister period and artists have got to kind of toughen up and be real. It's about conveying what’s inside us, as opposed to the return of the cone breasts. I find it predictable and boring."

Produced by Mark Ronson and featuring guest appearances from sister Martha, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ guitarist Nick Zinner and Sean Lennon, 'Out Of The Game' is released on Apr 23. 

The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter will perform from July 18-23, having only the evening of July 20 off, at the exquisite venue in England's capital for a string of shows billed as "House of Rufus: 5 Nights of Velvet, Glamour and Guilt".

His sister, Martha, will join him on July 19 and his father, Loudon, will also make an appearance in what will be a very intimate and somewhat family orientated series of shows. He will also pay tribute to Judy Garland and the complete residency's itinerary, as revealed by the Royal Opera House, is as follows:

• 18 July - Rufus Does Judy! With Britten Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Oremus.
• 19 July - An Evening with Rufus and Martha Wainwright and band.
• 21 July - An Evening with Rufus and Loudon Wainwright III and band.
• 22 July - Rufus Does Judy! With Britten Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Oremus.
• 23 July - Concert Version of Prima Donna with Janis Kelly, plus Rufus Does Rufus with Britten Sinfonia conducted by Stephen Oremus.

The dates, which were originally announced at the end of last year, are still accepting ticket bookings and you can watch a recent interview with the musician here:

The openly gay singer/songwriter took to his website to announce the happy news. 

“Darling daughter Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen was born on February 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, California to parents Lorca Cohen, Rufus Wainwright and Deputy Dad Jorn Weisbrodt,” he wrote. “The little angel is evidently healthy, presumably happy and certainly very, very beautiful."

Lorca Cohen is the daughter of legendary musician Leonard Cohen while Weisbrodt is Wainwright’s long-term partner.

Watch Rufus Wainwright perform ‘Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk’ at the Royal Albert Hall here:

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2011 -- Two shows will be held in honor of the late Kate McGarrigle at Town Hall on May 12and 13.  A tribute to the iconic and influential singer/songwriter, the shows, curated by Joe Boyd, will showcase performances by Kate’s children, Martha and Rufus Wainwright, Kate’s sister, Anna McGarrigle, Jimmy Fallon, Emmylou Harris, Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons), Krystle Warren, Teddy Thompson, Justin Bond, and more. In conjunction with the shows, Nonesuch Records will release a new edition of the first two Kate & Anna McGarrigle albums.

From the release of that eponymous album in 1976, Kate and Anna McGarrigle defined a sophisticated yet traditional branch of North American song. Their rich harmonies, rooted in the Irish and Quebecois music of their upbringing, drew listeners into a personal world of songs about romance, heartbreak, chemistry, solitude, ageing and adventure. This concert will reveal an artist who possessed an extraordinary gift for the craft of composition, showcased in such songs as Go Leave, (Talk to Me of) Mendocino, Kiss and Say Goodbye, and Tell My Sister, to name a few.

Kate McGarrigle was diagnosed in 2006 with a rare form of cancer known as Sarcoma, which affects connective tissue such as bone, muscle, nerves and cartilage. She lost her battle in January of 2010, age 63, surrounded by a singing group of family and friends at her home in Montreal. All profits from these shows will go toward the creation of the Kate McGarrigle Sarcoma Research Fund in association with the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA).

The performers will be accompanied by a band very familiar with Kate’s catalog, including Thomas Bartlett on piano, Jane McGarrigle on piano, Calum MacColl on guitar, Anna McGarrigle on piano and accordion, Brad Albetta on bass, Bryan Devendorf on drums, Michel Pepin on guitar, Chaim Tannenbaum on mandolin and banjo and Joel Zifkin on violin (the last three regular members of Kate & Anna’s touring group). 

Last June the first Kate McGarrigle celebration was staged at the Royal Festival Hall in London and sold out within hours (see fan footage below) . Six national British publications reviewed the show with all awarding it an unprecedented 5 stars. The evening was perhaps best summed up by one journalist calling it “…a heartfelt and fitting tribute to a remarkable woman.”

Tickets go on sale Monday, February 7 at noon by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Box Office sales begin on April 21 at the Town Hall box office; $40.00 - $75.00

This concert is presented by Absolutely Live Entertainment in association with Joe Boyd and Catherine Steinmann.

For more information visit http://www.absolutelylive.net

Thursday and Friday, May 12 and 13

8:00 pm

TOWN HALL

123 West 43rd Street

New York, NY