NEWS DIGEST: Thursday, June 19

6:00 AM GMT 19/06/2008

Waif-like singer-songwriter Conor Oberst has announced a series of world tour dates to promote his forthcoming self-titled solo album, due to be released on August 4. The massive tour runs from the middle of July through to the beginning of October. Oberst will be joined by his Mystic Valley Band, made up of Bright Eyes' pianist Nate Walcott, Nik Freitas, Macey Taylor, Jason Boesel of Rilo Kiley, and Taylor Hollingsworth.

The UK dates of Oberst’s tour are as follows:

August 22 – Leeds (Leeds Festival)
August 23 – Birmingham Academy 2
August 24 – Reading (Reading Festival)
August 26 – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
August 27 – London Electric Ballroom
August 28 – Manchester Academy 2
August 29 – Argyll (Hydro Connect Music Festival)
August 30 – Belfast Spring and Airbrake

If you live in Liverpool, then you not only live in the European Capital of Culture, you live in England’s most musical city too. According to a poll conducted by the Arts Council of England, anyway. Liverpool beat out competition from Sheffield and Manchester (which came second and third respectively) with a hefty 49 per cent of the vote.

Portishead will release a new single from their album Third on June 23. The Rip, recently covered by Radiohead, will hit shelves as a 12”, as well as a MP3 bundle, which will include an animated film and a live version of Silence as delicious digi-bonuses.

Radiohead’s attempt to promote green values backfired rather spectacularly in Paris last week. The band had set aside 50 front-row tickets for their show at the Bercy arena to be sold from the city’s XL office. What’s green about that, you ask? Well, in order to get their hands on the tickets, fans had to cycle there to pick them up. The trouble was, nobody actually turned up to claim the top notch seats, leading to the freakish situation of a bank of empty seats at the front row of a Radiohead gig. Poor publicity of the offer, or an act of defiance by Parisian fans rankling at the idea of being bossed around? Whatever the case, we here at MOJO are still reeling from the tragedy of those unfilled seats.

And finally…Happy Birthday Nick Drake! The great man would have been 60 today. No clip today, just a suggestion that you go and buy/re-listen to his all his fantastic records. So there.

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 19/06/2008

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we should all raise a glass to Nick - such a sad waste, but his music will live on with us all..

Posted by jc at 12:19 PM GMT 19/06/2008 Report Abuse

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waste of what? horrible comment.

Posted by jp at 7:20 PM GMT 19/06/2008 Report Abuse

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