House of Blues Boston is gearing up for its 2009 debut.  The venue which was formerly the club Avalon is being transformed into a 2500 seat music venue.  Boston favorites, the Dropkick Murphys will be the first act at the new House of Blues in March 2009. The Dropkick Murphys were actually the last band to play the Avalon so it is only fitting for them to open up the new venue. The Dropkick Murphys will play five show at the House of Blues Boston from March 13 to March 17, 2009.  Dropkick Murphys tickets will be available in the 2nd week of December.

Britney Spears has announced the dates for her 2009 tour!  Tickets are available for all shows now! Tuesday 03/03/09 – New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA Thursday 03/05/09 – Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Saturday 03/07/09 – American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL Sunday 03/08/09 – St Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL Wednesday 03/11/09 – Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY Friday 03/13/09 – Prudential Center, Newark, NJ Monday 03/16/09 – TD Banknorth Garden,Boston, MA Wednesday 03/18/09 – Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ONT Friday 03/20/09 – Scotiabank Place, Kanata, ONT Sunday 03/22/09 – Bell Centre, Montreal, QUE Tuesday 03/24/09 – Verizon Center, Washington, DC Thursday 03/26/09 – Mohegan Sunday Arena, Uncasville, CT Friday 03/27/09 – Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA Saturday 03/28/09 – Jou Louis Arena, Detroit, MI Sunday 03/29/09 – Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ Monday 03/30/09 – Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL Tuesday 03/31/09 – American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX Thursday 4/02/09 – Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO Friday 04/03/09 – Target Center, Minneapolis, MN Monday 04/06/09 – Rexall Place, Edmonton, ALB Wednesday 04/08/09 – General Motors Place, Vancouver, BC Thursday 04/09/09 – Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA Sunday 04/12/09 – HP Pavilion At San Jose, San Jose, CA Tuesday 04/14/09 – EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT Thursday 04/16/09 – STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA Sunday 04/19/09 – Honda Center, Anaheim, CA Wednesday 04/22/09 – ARCO Arena, Sacramento, CA Friday 4/24/09 – MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV Saturday 4/25/09 – MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV Friday 04/27/09 – JOBING.COM ARENA, Glendale, AZ Tuesday 04/28/09 – Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL Britney Spears Tickets are available for all shows now!

Seven years since releasing their last album Rock Steady, No Doubt are getting ready to go out on the road again. Announced via the band’s website, Stefani and company will be going out on a major 2009 tour. Additionally, the band announced that they will be writing new material while out on the road.  Stay tuned for more announcements about the 2009 No Doubt Tour and album! Sign up now to be notified when No Doubt Tickets are available!

“Not like anything we’ve done before”, is how the Edge described U2′s tentatively titled ‘No Line on the Horizon’ album, set for release in February 2009.  The Edge spoke with Mojo magazine about the album and the sound U2 fans can expect to hear.  Even after all these years of working with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois the collaboration still has new material and new directions to explore.  The Edge, finding it hard to put the sound into words, could only describe some of it as very 21st century sounding. When Bono spoke about the album last month we heard about the dozens of songs that could possibly make the final cut.  The Edge did reveal to Mojo that all of the songs U2 worked with Rick Rubin on, have been shelved for this album.  U2 isn’t writing them off entirely, but they won’t make this upcoming album.  It’s likely that the material just doesn’t fit with the newer stuff that Eno and Lanois contributed to. The band is in London putting the finishing touches on the album.  Although they expect to work right up until deadline, U2 fans should expect the album sometime in February.  Once that is out of the way, we should get some news about a 2009 U2 tour. Let’s hope! 

One positive thing seems to have come out of the September 19th plane crash that killed four people and seriously injured DJ AM and Travis Barker. Barker’s old friends and fellow Blink 182 members Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge have reconnected since the tragedy. Hoppus commented on the situation on his blog: ” ‘Does this mean a Blink-182 reunion?’ The answer is none of us know. We haven’t talked about it at all. Right now it’s just good for the three of us to see one another, reconnect and let the past be the past. The events of the past two months supersede everything that happened before. Life is too short.” Sign up to be notified when Blink 182 tickets become available

Rock legend Rod Stewart recently told the Mirror that the surviving members of the Faces were preparing to hold a “secret rehearsal” today, in hopes that there may be a full reunion and tour in the Summer of 2009. Of the current plans, Stewart said it “will be next summer and I am looking forward to it, it’ll be great.” Recently-divorced Ronnie Wood is said to be very interested in reforming the group, and would be available as long as there are no conflicts with Rolling Stone gigs. Sign up to be notified as soon as The Faces tickets are available!

Outkast’s Andre 3000 and Big Boi are nearly done prepping their new solo albums. After those albums are out the door, the duo have plans to work on a new Outkast record. It what would be the first true Outkast album since 2000′s Stankonia (Speakerboxx/The Love Below essentially being solo albums for each member packaged together). No timetable for touring or a release has been announced. Sign up to receive alerts when Andre 3000, Big Boi, or Outkast tickets go on sale!

Billy Joel and Elton John will be co-headlining another big tour together. Having collaborated since 1994, the pair’s most recent tour in 2003 was a big with with both critics and fans; selling out every night of the 24-date jaunt. Joel and John will be playing songs separately, as well as joining in a number of duets. The shows will all be in enclosed arenas, and should be prices similarly to the ’03 tour. Details and dates have not been revealed yet. Sign up to be notified when Billy Joel and Elton John Tickets  are on sale!

Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Teddy P, Keyshia Cole, Gym Class Heroes will be heading out on an 8 week tour starting on December 18th. Dates and locations are not set, but the dates will be announced shortly. With Lil Wayne & DJ Drama dropping the Dedication 3 mixtape this Thursday, T-Pain releasing Thr33 Ringz on December 11th, and Keyshia Cole’s album, A Different Me, coming out on December 16th, this tour has a lot of buzz. Lil Wayne Tickets for the 2008-2009 tour are available now!

With a new album coming out soon, the Killers have announced their tour plans for 2008-2009. Day & Age, will hit stores on November 25th and the Killers will kick off their new tour on November 18 in Toronto. Tour highlights include a show at Madison Square Garden in NYC on 1/25/09 and on 1/26/09 at the Agganis Arena in Boston. Killers tickets are now available for most shows on the tour. Check out the Killers schedule below for shows in your area. 2008-2009 Killers Schedule: The Killers Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008 at 8:00 PM Massey Hall Toronto, ONT  The Killers Tuesday, Dec 09, 2008 at 6:00 PM Wamu Theater Seattle Seattle, WA  The Killers Friday, Dec 12, 2008 at 7:00 PM The Warfield San Francisco, CA  The Killers Saturday, Jan 17, 2009 at 7:00 PM Magness Arena at University of Denver Denver, CO  The Killers Monday, Jan 19, 2009 at 7:00 PM Northrop Auditorium Minneapolis, MN  The Killers Tuesday, Jan 20, 2009 at 6:30 PM UIC Pavilion Chicago, IL  The Killers Friday, Jan 23, 2009 at 7:00 PM Air Canada Centre Toronto, ONT  The Killers Sunday, Jan 25, 2009 at 7:00 PM Madison Square Garden New York, NY  The Killers Monday, Jan 26, 2009 at 6:30 PM Agganis Arena Boston, MA  The Killers Wednesday, Jan 28, 2009 at 7:00 PM Patriot Center Fairfax, VA  The Killers Saturday, Jan 31, 2009 at 7:00 PM Grand Ole Opry Nashville, TN  The Killers Monday, Feb 02, 2009 at 7:00 PM Verizon Wireless Theatre TX Houston, TX  The Killers Wednesday, Feb 04, 2009 at TBA NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie Grand Prairie, TX