Nick Howard!

You may not know Nick Howard yet, but you've definitely heard his music! His songs have been heard on hit shows "The Hills," "Greek" and "Jersey Shore," just to name a few.

Nick Howard is moving on up, and well on his to becoming a star. He's made the first step, he's quit his 9 to 5 job and is heading out on a European tour in March! We're big Nick Howard fans at Op, and we'll absolutely be following his tour blog. Check out the video for "A Better Man" here on AMP'd!

John Mayer's Surprising Duet

During his Sunday night show in Philadelphia, John Mayer surprisingly answered the call of an 11 year old boy who simply wanted to play a song with Mayer on stage. The boy, Austin Christy, showed up to to the show carrying a home made sign saying "Can I play 'Belief' with you?" Apparently, Mayer couldn't resist.

Check out this video of Christy on stage with John Mayer, and receiving a special gift from Mayer at the end.

Bamboozle Roadshow

Op Presents band Boys Like Girls are hitting the road again this Spring, on a powerhouse bill that includes LMFAO, Third Eye Blind and All Time Low. the Bamboozle Roadshow will march through the U.S, with Pre-sale tickets going on sale March 2nd, and public sale starting the 6th. This show looks incredible! Check out the schedule below!

THE BAMBOOZLE ROADSHOW routing:
May 21 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
May 22 – Charlotte, NC – Uptown Amphitheatre @ The Music Factory
May 23 – Atlanta, GA – Six Flags Over Georgia
May 25 – West Palm Beach, FL – Cruzan Amphitheatre
May 26 – Tampa, FL – Ford Amphitheatre
May 28 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theatre (No 2nd Stage)
May 29 – Arlington, TX – Six Flags Over Texas
May 30 – San Antonio, TX – Six Flags Fiesta Texas
June 2 – Phoenix, AZ – Cricket Amphitheatre
June 5 – Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord
June 6 – Chula Vista, CA – Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre – Parking Lot
June 10 – Minneapolis, MN - Cabooze Plaza
June 11 – Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
June 12 – Chicago, IL- Soldier Field - Parking Lot
June 13 – Eureka, MO – Six Flags St. Louis
June 15 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
June 18 – Cleveland, OH – Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre @ Tower City
June 19 – Cincinnati, OH - PNC Pavilion @ Riverbend Music Center
June 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Festival Pier @ Penn’s Landing
June 23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Amphitheatre @ Station Square
June 24 – Jackson, NJ – Six Flags Great Adventure
June 25 – Hershey, PA – Hershey Park Pavilion & Stadium
June 26 – Nassau, NY – Nassau Coliseum - Parking Lot
June 27 – Boston, MA - Comcast Center

Who's in?

Oxegen Festival Lineup!

Talk about an incredible lineup! Eminem and Jay-Z will be among the headliners participating on the Oxegen 2010 music festival in Ireland!

Eminem is scheduled to close the 3 day festival, while JayZ's set time is still unannounced. Other acts participating in the festival include David Guetta, Muse, and DJ A-Trak.

Sounds like we may have to hop a flight to Ireland in July!

Vampire Weekend Unplugged!

Vampire Weekend - Unplugged - New Music - More Music Videos

We The Kings!

We The Kings rock! The album, Smile Kid has the infectious sounds of Boys Like Girls and the edge of Cobra Starship rolled up into one. After grueling months in the studio, the band created instantly addictive tracks such as "She Takes Me High"& "We'll Be A Dream" (featuring Demi Lovato)

The single "Heaven Can Wait" my be the single to put Kings on mainstream radio.

Alkaline Trio!

Alkaline Trio is releasing their new studio LP next Tuesday, and we're loving the edgy new single "This Addiction" Check it our here on AMP'D!

The Hours!

Have you guys seen The short film from Nike, that aired during the Olympics? The song they play is from the band The Hours, and the song "All in the Jungle" is heating up the charts! And rightfully so, because this song is awesome!

The Hours have been the opening act for U2 on their most recent 360 Tour. These guys have an album out, called See The Light, and we definitely are going to pick it up!

Check out the truly innovative video for "All in the jungle" here on AMP!

th-aitj from David Fraser on Vimeo.

We Are The World: 2010 video

What do you guys think of the all-star remake of "We Are The World?"

Sick Puppies new Video!

Despite the band's name, we love everything about 'Sick Puppies', especially their new single, Odd One. Check out the Video now! It's on fire!

Welcome to The OPen Road Chronicles!

Each week, AMP'd will feature an interview with some of the hottest up and coming bands from the one place all bands start from, the road. Any artist will tell you that as much as they love performing live shows, life on the open road can definitely leave some down time. So while they have the time, we've set out to get the questions you have, answered .........

Week: 1
Location: The Road
Subject : Sparks to the Rescue

You have unlimited funds, you can hire any band you want to perform a private concert in your house. Who do you pick?

Counting Crows

Your going to be stuck on a deserted island for a week, you can only bring 3 things, what are they?
1.Guitar
2.Taco Bell
3.Swiss Army Knife

Your house is on fire; you can only save 3 DVD’s, which do you save?
1.The Goonies
2.Demolition man
3.Monty Python The Quest for the holy grail

Your mother wants you to get “A real job?” What do you tell her?

My mom appreciates art. She understand and respects what I do.

The Van/bus breaks down on the road, who handles it?

Ben, our bassist.

Wal-Mart allows you 5 minutes to grab whatever you want, free of charge. What do you get?
1.PS3
2.The sickest bike
3Biggest flat screen TV

You get your first paycheck from music, what do you buy?
1. More music gear.

Twitter says you can only follow 3 people, and you must remove everyone else, who do you follow?
1. @Sparksthealex
2.@Sparksthetoby
3.@Sparkstheben

Thanks to the guys from Sparks The Rescue for participating in The Van Chronicles, and be sure to pick up their incredible new album, Eyes to the Sun

Bonnaroo 2010!

I think it's safe to say that the lineup for the 2010 Bonnaroo Festival is probably the greatest festival lineup we've seen in a long time. They've managed to combine commercial successes to underground authentic musicians that are guaranteed to make Tennessee the place to be when Bonnaroo rolls through. Check out this lineup!

Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Weezer, Flaming Lips performing Dark Side Of The Moon, The Dead Weather, Phoenix, John Fogerty, Jimmy Cliff, Tenacious D, Zac Brown Band, Avett Brothers, Norah Jones, LCD Soundsystem, Tori Amos, The National, Jeff Beck, Michael Franti, Against Me!, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Baaba Maal, The Melvins and Thievery Corporation.

Date: June 10th - June 13th

Just Surrender!

In late 2010, Just Surrender will release their 3rd fill length CD, from Razor &Tie records, and we can't wait. This hard rock band has all the ingredients to be a force on the music scene, definitely keep an eye out for this group! Catch the guys on on the road through February.

Their newest song, "On My Own" was released through the bands MySpace page, check it out here! Here is an older song from the group, "What We've Become!"

Bidwell!

We're really digging the sound of Bidwell, These guys have an All American Rejects vibe. Check out their song "Beauty Queen" off their EP, Something Real.

Hit the Myspace for tour dates!

Skillet!

This track from Skillet is bringing us all the way back to 2008, but it's worth the trip, because the self titled single off the Comatose album rocks hard!

Thanks to our field scout Zach for bringing it to us!

Cash Cash covers Cascada!

Cash Cash just released a cover of Cascada's mainstream smash hit "Everytime We Touch", and while the cover isn't all that different, it's pretty cool hearing the guys take on it with some auto tune, T-Pain style!

Click HERE

What do you think?

Fall Out Boy Breaking Up?!

According to Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy looks to be done! Wentz posted on his blog today, "As far as I know, Fall Out Boy is on a break. I can't predict that I'd ever play in Fall Out Boy again." Lead singer Patrick Stump released his own statement supporting Wentz, "I'm not in Fall Out Boy right now."

Fall Out Boy has become a staple in the punk scene in recent years, Hits have included "Dance Dance" and "Sugar we're Going Down."

Today is for sure, a sad day to many. What do you think?

Extreme Thing Lineup Announced!

Date: March 27th, 2010

Location: Las Vegas!

Verizon Wireless Stage:

The Used
Escape the Fate
Less Than Jake
Reel Big Fish
Story of the Year
Winds of Plague
Alternative Press Stage

The AP Stage:

Never Shout Never
The Cab
Hey Monday
Every Avenue
The Summer Set

Catching up w/ VersaEmerge

We like to check in on our Op Presents Tour mates from time to time. VersaEmerge is preparing to record their first full length CD to be released this Spring, right before they head out on the Warped Tour.

Check this video out for a little bit of the thought process that goes into an album, and check out VErsaEmerge's YouTube channel because they rock at updates!

We Are The World: 2010

One day following the Grammy's, Quincy Jones and Lionel Ritchie brought together the biggest and most talented musicians of today, and put them in an LA recording studio to remake the classic charitable single, "We Are The World."

The original version, featured the voices of rock legends Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Bob Dylan along with the Pop vocals of Cindy Lauper and the late Michael Jackson. It's a tough group to compete with, but the 2010 remake, which will raise funds to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake, is giving the original group a run for its money.

The updated version will feature the voices of Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Usher and Michael's sister, Janet Jackson.

And by the way, what's Vince Vaughn doing in this picture?? Does he sing??

Anyway, the song, along with it's music video will premiere on the opening night of the Winter Olympics on NBC.

Green Day at the 2010 Grammys!