Canadian folk legend Leonard Cohen will play his first show in the United States in 15 years this February. After his manager Kelley Lynch allegedly defrauded him of over $6 million, Cohen was forced to go back on the road to make a living. The poet-writer-musician and writer of the immensely popular song “Hallelujah” (which has been covered by every artist from Jeff Buckley to American Idol contestants) has been making a number of appearances to build back up a retirement fund. “Almost everything I had was gone … It produced a sense of urgency” Cohen told Canadian Press.  Cohen will be releasing a number of works in the near future, and is quickening his usually slow pace of work. “What it did was not so much influence the writing itself — most of the writing was done. What it did do was promote a kind of swiftness in gathering the material together and presenting it. Usually I’d let things sit around for a few more years, so for better or for worse, they haven’t matured for that long.” Leonard Cohen will appear at the Beacon Theatre in New York on February 19th, 2009. Leonard Cohen tickets are available now!

The Beastie Boys are very busy. Aside from preparing a 20th anniversary reissue of sophomore album Paul’s Boutique, the ‘Boys are recording their 8th studio album. The current title of the new record is “Tadlock’s Glasses”, and it will feature a collaboration with Santogold, as well as steel drums, and at least one “deep dub” track. The Beasties told NME that the album will see the band going back to their “party-starting roots”, and may turn some heads. Expect a massive world tour shortly after the album’s release. Sign up to be notified as soon as Beastie Boys tickets are available!

Immensely popular Latin-lounge-pop act Pink Martini are coming to the Boston Opera House. The 16-piece band will perform at the Opera House on June 10th at 8:00pm. Singer China Forbes is expecting her first child, and this short 5-date tour may be their only set of dates for a while. Pink Martini are still touring in support of 2007′s “Hey Eugene”, but the band has been debuting new material. Pink Martini Tickets are available now!

Acclaimed “new age” musician and composer Yanni is reinventing some of his classic songs and going on tour. His new album “Yanni Voices” pairs some of his most loved songs with classical and pop vocalists. Yanni will be touring with a number of his collaborators this Spring, including a stop at the Agganis Arena in Boston, MA. Yanni and company will play Boston on May 3rd at 7:30pm. Don’t miss a chance to experience their high-energy virtuosic perfomance in person! Yanni Tickets are available now!

If you have HBO or you happen to be in Washington D.C. you’ll be able to see U2 perform live this Sunday, January 18 at the Lincoln Memorial.  U2 joins other artists such as Bruce Springsteen in a celebration of the 56th Presidential Inauguration.  The concert entitled “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration will air live on HBO on 1/18/09 at 7pm.  If you are in the D.C. area the concert is open to the public but crowds are expected to be very large. No word on how many songs U2 will play or if they will play anything off their upcoming album, ‘No Line on the Horizon’. In addition to U2 and Bruce Springsteen the show will also feature performances by, Sheryl Crow, Usher, Garth Brooks and John Legend.

Bruce Springsteen won’t be sitting back in 2009 even after wrapping up a prolonged tour in 2008 in support of the album ‘Magic’.  Bruce’s new album, ‘Working on a Dream’  will be released on 1/27/09. No word on Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band hitting the road yet but a 2009 tour in support of the new album is likely.  Stay tuned for info on Bruce Springsteen tickets as news develops. Bruce recently won a Golden Globe award for his song ‘The Wrestler’ for the critically acclaimed movie of the same name.  The win for Bruce will hopefully be a a good omen for what’s looking like a busy 2009 for Springsteen.  In addition to the album release, Bruce and the E Street Band will perform at this year’s Superbowl Halftime show on February 1, 2009.  Check for Bruce Springsteen tickets at Aceticket.com if and when a 2009 tour is announced.

Jason Mraz is heading off on a world tour in support of new album “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things”. The pop singer-songwriter will be stopping in Japan, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, England, and Ireland. Before that, Mraz will be playing a one-off show at the Ryan Center in Rhode Island on February 12th. Mraz will return to the US in May to play two dates at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas on the 8th and the 9th. Jason Mraz tickets are available now!

Phish has finally announced their Summer 2009 Reunion Tour dates. They will make a stop at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA on June 9th, and more dates across the country are expected to be announced soon 6/4 – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY 6/5 – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY 6/6 – Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA 6/7 – Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ 6/9 – Asheville Civic Center, Asheville, NC 6/16 – Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 6/18 – Post Gazette Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA 6/19 – Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN 6/20 – Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, WI 6/21 – Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, WI Phish Tickets are available now!

Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Mensch recently told the BBC that a Led Zeppelin reunion is imminent, pending the band finding an appropriate vocalist to take over for Robert Plant. When the band reunited to play at a benefit for long-time friend Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records, the rest of the band meshed. “They had a really good time rehearsing, the three of them, before Robert showed up” Mensch said. ““And they decided that if they could find a singer that they thought would fit their bill – whatever their bill was at this stage in their career – that they’d make a record and go on tour.” Plant’s replacement has not been announced, but Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy has been mentioned in passing. Sign up to be notified as soon as Led Zeppelin tickets become available!

The Dead – composed of surviving Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart along with friends Jeff Chimenti and Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule) are going on a big North American tour. The tour features two stops in Worcester at the DCU Center, as well as one at the XL Center in Hartfort, CT. This is The Dead’s first tour in four years. April 12 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum April 14 – Washington, DC @ Verizon Center April 15 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena April 17 – Albany, NY @ Times Union Center April 18 – Worcester, MA @ DCU Center April 19 – Worcester, MA @ DCU Center April 21 – Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena April 22 – Wilkes-Barre, PA @ Wachovia Arena April 24 – Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum April 25 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden April 26 – Hartford, CT @ XL Center April 28 – E. Rutherford, NJ @ IZOD Center April 29 – E. Rutherford, NJ @ IZOD Center May 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum May 2 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum May 5 – Chicago, IL @ All State Arena May 7 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center May 9 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum May 10 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheater The Dead Tickets are available now!