Hydro Connect Fest, Grammys, Run-DMC, PLant

Now that we’ve got the Coachella lineup (and we find out Bonnaroo‘s initial lineup tomorrow!), the rumors have subsided a tad, but there are still a few recently uncovered items worth looking at:

• Scotland’s annual Hydro Connect Festival, held in the grounds of Argyll’s Inveraray Castle for the past two years, has been canceled for 2009 due to difficulties with cost and the “credit crunch.” However, festival organizers have confirmed that the festival, which has been graced by past headliners like Franz Ferdinand and Glasvegas, will return in 2010. For all the UK fest-goers, this is a serious downer, but there’s always T in the Park (Kings of Leon headlining this year!). Past Connect fans do have a glimmer of hope however: Festival organizers that Connect will put on several small scale events in place of the festival this year.
• If you didn’t catch Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at their amazing Bonnaroo show, or their mind-blowing Austin City Limits set, or any of their star-studded tour dates this past year, the ultimate chance is fast approaching. The duo, along with “Raising Sand” producer T Bone Burnett, will perform at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony and telecast in Los Angeles on Feb. 8.

• “Raising Sand” received five nominations: ‘Album Of the Year,’ ‘Record Of the Year’ (for “Please Read The Letter”), Best Contemporary Americana/Folk Album, Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals (for “Rich Woman”), and Best Country Collaboration With Vocals (for “Killing The Blues”). This will be Plant’s first visit and performance at the Grammys, so if you’ve got the bucks, don’t miss it!
• After the initial success of Notorious, it has been leaked and confirmed that writer Cheo Hodari Coker will take on another hip-hop biopic, this time about 80s hip-hop phenomena Run-DMC. The new movie will be based on Bill Adler’s book, “Tougher Than Leather: The Rise of Run_DMC.” No dates for the film have been set, but expect a sweet soundtrack to hit racks within the next few months! For those of you who had your doubts, hip-hip was never dead.