CONCERT NEWS
While the month of March is known for heralding the arrival of spring, in 2014, it also will mark the beginning of many highly anticipated concert tours and performances across North America from the likes of Lorde, Ellie Goulding, Cher, and more.
Lorde
New Zealand’s young pop star will touch down in Austin, Texas, on March 3 to begin her first stateside headlining tour, which has been extended with extra dates through April. The 17-year-old singer-songwriter won two of her four GRAMMY nominations this year, including Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for her multi-Platinum single “Royals.” As of Feb. 26, Lorde's current single, “Team,” remains strong in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 in its 21st week on the chart.
Ellie Goulding
Later in the month, another international solo female artist, Ellie Goulding, also will be arriving in the U.S. to support her fall 2013 release, Halcyon Days. Goulding has a lengthy list of solo tour dates stretching from March 12-May 9, and she’s also going to be in the lineup of some U.S. music festivals as well, like Coachella. The English singer is scheduled to perform on April 11 and 18 of the Indio, Calif., event, the same days as artists like OutKast, The Knife, Zedd, Girl Talk, Chromeo, and more.
Cher
Also in March, Cher will finally embark on her long-awaited Dressed to Kill Tour, which she first announced in Sept. 2013. The expedition will include more than 40 dates across the U.S. and Canada from March 22-July 11. Through April 12, “Heartbreaker” hit-maker Pat Benatar and her husband, Neil Giraldo, are scheduled as opening acts, while “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer Cyndi Lauper is on tap to open all remaining dates through the summer. It won’t be Cher and Lauper’s first time performing together, as Lauper previously joined Cher’s farewell tour from 2002-03.
Tool
North American metal fans also have reason to celebrate this March, as the band Tool will be hitting the road in the U.S. for the first time in two years. The GRAMMY-winning group initially only announced a handful of shows, but now more than a dozen dates will extend from March 4-27. The band also is supposedly working on a new album—which was initially slated for an early 2014 release—but there’s been no word on an official release date from respective band members.
iHeartRadio Country Music Festival, New Awards Show Ahead for Spring 2014
In the wake of the success of Las Vegas’ iHeartRadio Music Festival, this popular Internet radio service will be launching its first country-only music festival on March 29. The one-day only iHeartRadio Country Music Festival will take place at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and is set to feature performances from Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Hunter Hayes, Lady Antebellum, and many more.
Bryan and Aldean are both in the middle of their own 2014 tour dates, with both artists scheduled to be on the road through the end of October. Lady Antebellum also has continued its Take Me Downtown Tour in 2014 with performances extending through September. “Invisible” singer Hunter Hayes, who performed at the recent GRAMMY Awards, also will have a set at the festival in the middle of his 2014 tour with “The Voice” winner Danielle Bradbery.
On Feb. 26, iHeartRadio also confirmed it would be creating its own awards show this year. The iHeartRadio Music Awards are scheduled to take place on May 1 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and the event will use fan votes to honor nominees across 13 unique categories. Initially, 10 nominees will be introduced for each category, but only five will remain in each group after a month-long voting period. Starting March 26, fans can then vote for their favorite contender in each category to win at the Thursday night ceremony in May.