MARIAH CAREY will sing the Olympic anthem at the opening ceremonies for the 2004 Olympic Games, to be held August 13th in Athens, Greece . . . MICHELLE BRANCH has married her bass player, TEDDY LANDAU . . . JOAN JETT will make a cameo in an alternate version of HOOBASTANK's new video, "Same Direction" . . . GLORIA ESTEFAN has announced that her Live and Re-Wrapped tour, scheduled to begin on July 30th in Texas, will be her last. The singer plans to continue writing and recording . . . Rapper JA RULE was arrested and charged Thursday with marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license. The misdemeanor possession charge was later dropped . . .
Perry Farrell, DAVID BYRNE, and the FLAMING LIPS' WAYNE COYNE will appear on THIEVERY CORPORATION's next album, due early next year . . . JIMMY EAT WORLD's yet-to-be-titled fourth CD will arrive in stores in October . . . MR. CHEEKS will release his third solo LP titled, Ladies and Gentlemen in September . . . GAVIN DEGRAW will release Chariot Stripped, a live acoustic version of his debut album, on July 27th . . . Former CURE member LOL TOLHURST has started a new band, LEVINHURST, who just issued their debut album . . . GEORGE BENSON and DAVE KOZ will contribute songs to Forever, for Always, for Luther, a LUTHER VANDROSS tribute due August 3rd . . .
AVRIL LAVIGNE, KELLY CLARKSON, LINDSAY LOHAN and ADAM LEVY with NORAH JONES will contribute new tracks for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, soundtrack due in stores August 10th . . . A PERFECT CIRCLE are holding a contest to direct a video for the band's next single, "Blue," for possible inclusion on an upcoming DVD and a cash prize of $1,000. Those interested can sign up at the band's Web site . . . MOBB DEEP has pushed back their new CD, Amerika's Nightmare, until August 10th . . . HOT WATER MUSIC's third album, The New What Next, will hit stores September 21st . . . The WALKMEN begin a summer tour on July 13th in Seattle. Some dates will be as the opener for MODEST MOUSE . . . JOHN CALE's HoboSapiens, his first new set of songs in eight years, will be released on September 7th . . .
MICHELLE BRANCH has created Flirt!, a new cosmetics line for Estee Lauder . . . The DARKNESS will replace DAVID BOWIE at the T in the Park Festival this summer in Scotland . . . NICK LOWE will kick off an eleven-date tour on September 6th in Seattle . . . KITTIE launch a twenty-eight-date tour on July 7th in Chicago . . . The new TOM WAITS album, Real Gone, is slated for release on October 5th . . . Country legend MERLE HAGGARD will join WILLIE NELSON at this year's UFO Music Fest in Roswell, New Mexico, on July 3rd . . . BLUES TRAVELER will play six free shows this summer courtesy of Pilsner Urquell's "Picture Yourself in Prague with Blues Traveler" promotion. The band's newest CD, Live on the Rocks, hits stores on July 13th . . . TRICK DADDY's new LP, Thug Matrimony, is due out in October . . .
Sirius Satellite Radio will launch Elvis Radio tomorrow, a station dedicated to playing the music of ELVIS PRESLEY twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The radio station will be hosted by a handful of Elvis experts who will broadcast from a studio located within Graceland, the King's Memphis home. Graceland and Sun Studio are also planning to host a fiftieth anniversary celebration of his first single, "That's All Right," this weekend . . .
DAVID BOWIE has scrapped several upcoming concerts, including this weekend's Roskilde Festival in Denmark, after being hospitalized and treated in Germany for a pinched shoulder nerve . . . LOS LOBOS have covered songs written by ELVIS COSTELLO, TOM WAITS, BOBBY WOMACK and RICHARD THOMPSON for Ride This: The Covers EP, due August 3rd . . . CKY bassist VERN ZABOROWSKI has left the band, prompting the cancellation of their summer tour dates. The group plans to continue work on its second album while looking for a replacement . . . PETER MURPHY will release a new album this fall, the first under a new deal with ViaStar . . .
BEYONCE was named Best Female R&B artist and JAY-Z won top Male Hip-Hop artist at Tuesday's BET Awards. The two were also honored for their collaboration on "Crazy in Love." Other winners included USHER, OUTKAST and KANYE WEST . . . DAVID LEE ROTH will perform "California Girls" and "Jump" with the Boston Pops on July 4th for CBS' "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular" . . . The STRING CHEESE INCIDENT have revised their summer tour plans after the cancellation of this year's Lollapalooza Festival. The group will launch the summer season with two performances at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado with the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND on July 9th and 10th . . . TIM MCGRAW's new album, Live Like You Were Dying, arrives in stores August 24th . . .
OUTKAST is scheduled to perform at ESPN's twelfth annual ESPY Awards airing on July 18th from Hollywood's Kodak Theater . . . Country legend LORETTA LYNN has postponed three concerts, including the July 3rd show at her Hurricane Mills ranch in Tennessee, while recuperating from double pneumonia. Her daughters, Peggy and Patsy, along with her band, the COAL MINERS will perform at the ranch in her place . . . MATCHBOX TWENTY, MICHELLE BRANCH and TORI AMOS are a few of the artists featured on the compilation, For the Next X: A Benefit CD for RAINN, due July 27th . . .
STEVE WINWOOD has teamed with Access Hollywood in an experimental marketing venture intended to demonstrate the commercial potential of file-sharing networks such as Kazaa . . . TAKING BACK SUNDAY, THRICE, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE and THURSDAY are among the bands appearing on the two-disc Vagrant release, In Honor: A Compilation to Beat Cancer, available September 21st . . . English band MUSE has canceled all upcoming shows after drummer DOMINIC HOWARD's father died Monday after the band's set at this years Glastonbury Festival . . .
KID ROCK has contributed a cover of CHARLIE DANIELS' "Long Haired Country Boy," to the upcoming soundtrack to the Motorcycle Mania 3 documentary. Other artists appearing on the compilation are FU MANCHU, DANZIG and CYPRESS HILL . . . JEWEL has signed on with Instant Live, Clear Channel Entertainment's live concert CD program, to sell live CDs at select dates on her summer tour . . . The SAW DOCTORS begin an eleven-date tour on August 5th in Cohasset, Massachusetts . . . IGGY POP and the STOOGES, the STROKES, NEW YORK DOLLS, BO DIDDLEY and the RAVEONETTES are a few of the acts set to perform at Little Steven's International Underground Garage Festival on August 14th at New York City's Randall's Island . . .
Ray, the RAY CHARLES biopic starring JAIME FOXX, will arrive in movie theaters in October . . . The THRILLS' second album, Let's Bottle Bohemia, will be released September 14th . . . OZZY OSBOURNE is planning a new reality show based on American Idol, seeking up-and-coming rock bands. The winner will get a slot on next year's Ozzfest . . . CANTINERO's debut release, Championship Boxing, will hit streets on October 5th . . . A songwriting contest is being held in honor of ROGER MILLER to raise funds for the Roger Miller Museum opening in Erick, Oklahoma. More information can be found at www.rogermillermuseum.com . . .