After yesterday’s announcement that Sting will be coming to Borgata in July, the Grammy winning rock band Kings of Leon announced yesterday they will kick off a North American tour June 5 at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Should start hearing about a lot more great acts coming to the resort town this summer soon. Keep your eyes on this blog.

Photo by Kevin McCarty

Our art director Kevin McCarty took some awesome shots of the king of rap during his show at the Borgata this past Saturday. Check them out.

The celebrity-packed Event Center included Jay-Z fans Stevie Wonder, Michael Phelps, Adrienne Bailon, Jacqueline Laurita and Teresa Giudice (Real Housewives of NJ). After the show, Jay-Z, Wonder and Robin Thicke hung out at the Old Homestead Steak House to eat dinner and watch the Pacquiao-Clottey fight. DJ Sam Ronson joined the group before heading over for her set at mur.mur where Bobby Flay, Charlotte Ronson,  Phelps, Robin Thicke and Angela from Jersey Shore partied. When Beyonce arrived, Jay-Z and entourage drew a crowd while playing blackjack in the casino’s high-limit salon.

The Somers Point Jazz Society, which is holding its 12th annual Jazz @ the Point festival this weekend, will hold a special movie night on Friday, March 26,  at Sandi Pointe at 908 Shore Rd. in Somers Point.

The jazz documentary Anita O’Day, The Life of a Jazz Singer will be shown at 7:30pm and admission is FREE!

This is a terrific doc about one of jazz’s greatest singers. The award-winning film tells her story as well as illustrates seven decades of jazz.

According to the SPJS, “It will be a great opportunity to mix and mingle with local like-minded jazz fans.”

For more information call 927-6677.

Here’s a nice write-up about the 2007 film from Variety magazine:

“Force of personality and terrific vintage performance clips make a keeper of Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer, which chronicles the rocky yet royal road of the titular bebop queen. Crisply assembled docu by Robbie Cavolina and Ian McCrudden will face the same uphill battle for theatrical distribution accorded most jazz docs these days. But it’s a natural for further fest play, artscaster sales and DVD distribution wherever music aficionados recall ‘America’s No. 1 Swing Songstress.’
Many among the celebrity fans, scholars and fellow musicians interviewed here consider the late O’Day one of the ‘Three Queens’ of classic jazz — notably, the only white one next to late legends Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. She appears healthy but frail in the most recent footage (shot as she approached her 90th birthday), a salty senior who’s survived against considerable odds.These include rape, several abortions, arrests, alcoholism, four failed marriages and 15 years of heroin addiction, though only the latter is explored at length here. She shrugs off such travails as part and parcel of ‘the jazz life,’ with its taxing travel, late hours, party atmosphere and easy access to drugs.O’Day hardly views herself as a victim, however. She’s a tough broad who was long viewed as one of the boys in the overwhelmingly male jazz field. She still talks like a hard-boiled, old-school hipster.Raised in less than genteel circumstances by showbiz parents, she was discovered by Gene Krupa in 1940, scoring hits with his big band and Stan Kenton’s before playing with the smaller combos in which she could let her improv skills fly. She served four months for pot possession and emerged with her allure only enhanced as “the Jezebel of Jazz,” a reputation that was more deserved than her fans knew.Far from ruining her art, however, the drug for a time seemed to be enable it. There’s plentiful footage of O’Day’s dazzling vocal pyrotechnics in TV appearances and a memorable segment of the classic concert pic Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959). O’Day also recorded a series of hit albums for Verve, smack (no pun intended) in the middle of her userdom. It took a near-fatal O.D. to induce her to quit.O’Day relates such true-confession stuff in frank terms. Emphasis here isn’t on lurid biographical details, however, but on the brilliance of the subject’s talent. Her supple, smoky vocals, at times exhilaratingly speedy in bebop phraseology are the heart of this admiring film.Performance clips are variable in terms of image quality, though sound is generally high-grade. Co-directors make excellent use of split-screen effects in moments that measure the wide timespan of O’Day’s career. Tech package is pro.”

Here’s the IMDB listing with sample vid clips.

Join Hearts Afire Radio Show Hosts Carl and Martie Granieri as they welcome special guests Don Williams, Barbara Altman, Michele Dawn Mooney of NBC TV 40, Political VIPs and people of Good Will from churches and organizations from all over South Jersey to an uplifting musical event to benefit the earthquake victims in Haiti.
The show will broadcast live on WOND Radio, 1400AM from 1- 6 pm on Sunday, March 14, from the Ocean City Music Pier. It will feature the 100 Voice Hearts Afire Inter-Denominational Praise Choir and 10-piece Praise Band, made up of musicians and singers from the casino showrooms of Atlantic City. It is sponsored by Tropicana Hotel Casino.
All proceeds go directly to Food for the Poor, a Miami-based U.S. non-profit that has been on the ground in Haiti for 25 years and receives annually the highest ratings possible for efficiency and reliability. With only four percent operating costs, 96 percent of every dollar goes right to those in need. Donations are being accepted 24 hours per day by clicking here.

Photo by Nick Valinote

The Veronicas brought their catchy pop/rock act to dusk at Caesars Friday, putting on a well-received show that included their hits, such as “Hook Me Up,” and ended with a cover of Britney Spear’s “Hit Me Baby one more time.” They also previewed their new song “Victim.” By all accounts, the crowd went wild.

Go here for more on The Veronicas.

The fifth annual Lines on the Pines book-signing event will be held at the Vienna Inn/Christina’s Restaurant at 920 W. White Horse Pike, Galloway on Sunday, March 14, from 1-4pm. This event is free and open to the public, with authors on hand to sign books, which will be available to purchase on site. Other items for sale include pottery, carnivorous plants, hand woven articles, crafts, CDs, DVDs, paintings and photographs. Sorry, there are no credit card sales. The event is sponsored once again by “It’s a Sign of the Pines” and the Medford-based Plexus Publishing, Inc. Call 965-0457.
The event will include several notable authors. Budd Wilson of Green Bank, an archeologist who did most of the early digs at Historic Batsto Village and Martha Furnace, will also be there, as will representatives s of such groups as Historic Whitesbog Village, the N.J. Audubon Society, the N.J. Pinelands Commission, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and Wharton State Forest.
A family style dinner will be offered starting at 4:30pm for $33 per person — prepayment and reservations are required — and will include presentations on the ABCs of the Pine Barrens and live music. The guest host will be Paul W. Schopp, a local historian and author. — Garrett Burrell

Ireland and Old Lace in Smithville will be hosting its free annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 6, from noon-3pm, and will include a CD signing with international recording artist Gaelic Storm. There will be live acoustic music, bagpipers and the Mist of Ireland step dancers will perform. Bring or purchase any Gaelic storm CD and have it signed by the band from noon-1pm.
For more information please call 404-4777 or go here.

Apparently the ex-Kinks member and legendary Brit singer-songwriter Ray Davies is working on a new album of Kinks classics with special guests dueting with Davies. These guests include a couple of little known NJ rockers, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.

Davies, who kicks off an acoustic tour at the Borgata in Atlantic City Friday night, says he hopes to have the album done by year’s end.

According to an interview Davies did with the NJ Star Ledger, he is open for a Kinks reunion, but says it’s up to his brother Dave Davies.

Says Davies about his younger bro, “Mick Avory and I are going through lots of tapes that we recorded with Dave, and we’re sifting through the archives. We’ll see if he wants to get involved again. It’s in the works. It’s really up to Dave.”

The Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City has a lot going on right now. We thought we’d let you know.

But first! Until March 26 you have a chance to win an awesome Hard Rock Atlantic City T-shirt and pin featuring The Who. Enter the acweekly.com contest here.

OK, now for the live music and stuff. Following next Saturday’s (Feb. 27) Further concert at the Taj, there will be an after-party presented by 103.7 The Shark starting at 10pm, featuring a Jerry Garcia Art Show & Sale, live music from Steal Your Face Band and plenty of Deadhead action we’re sure. The show hours are Saturday, Feb. 27, noon-2am, and Sunday, Feb 28. 11am-6pm. The Web addresses are: www.imagemakersart.com and  www.stealyourfaceband.com.

More music … In March, the Hard Rock Atlantic City will be having free live music each Friday night from 9-11pm. The music actually kicks off this Friday, Feb. 19, with the band Ready in 10.

The March series includes the following bands: March 5 (Surrounded by Idiots), March 12 (Static Addiction), March 19 (The Northbound Train) and March 25 (3 Noodle Stew). The March series, dubbed March on Stage 2010, will help to raise funds for the non-profit organization Musicians on Call. The series is presented by local radio stations The Shark 103.7 and WJSE Rocks. The concerts are free, but money will be raised for this org,

A very worthy cause, a lot of live music and tons of fun. Can’t beat it. Don’t forget to enter to win a T-shirt and pin featuring The Who!

John Emge, Executive Director of The United Way of Atlantic County, presented an award to music legend B.B. King following a concert at Caesars on Saturday (Feb. 13). The “Community Appreciation Award” was given to  King on behalf of United Way for the many contributions he has made to the charity’s annual Auction for the Community, including several autographed guitars over the past several years. This year’s auction will take place Friday, March 19 at Bally’s Atlantic City, and all proceeds will benefit United Way of Atlantic County.