Jason Bonham part of 3 touring lineups in UK, US, Europe

A summary of Jason Bonham's upcoming tour dates with as many as three different band lineups (updated as time goes on):

UK tour dates with Paul Rodgers
April 15: Blackpool - Opera House
April 16: Sheffield - City Hall
April 18: Newcastle - Metro Radio Arena
April 19: Glasgow - Clyde Auditorium
April 21: Manchester - O₂ Apollo
April 22: Nottingham - Royal Centre
April 24: Bournemouth - International Centre
April 25: Southend - Cliff Pavilions
April 27: London - Royal Albert Hall
April 28: Birmingham - National Indoor Arena

US/Canada tour date(s) with Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience
May 4: Wallingford, Conn. - Oakdale Theatre NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 25
May 5: New Brunswick, N.J. - State Theatre NEW! Tickets available here
May 6: Atlantic City, N.J. - Borgata Resort NEW!
May 7: Concord, N.H. - Capitol Center for the Arts NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 21
May 9: Buffalo, N.Y. - University PAC NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 25
May 10: Westbury, N.Y. - Theatre at Westbury NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 25
May 12: Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis NEW!
May 14: Toronto, Ontario - Sound Academy NEW!
May 15: Greensburg, Pa. - The Palace Theater Tickets available here
May 17: Indianapolis, Ind. - The Murat Theatre NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 25
May 18: St. Louis, Mo. - The Pageant NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 18
May 19: Kansas City, Mo. - Harrah's Casino NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 26
May 20: Denver, Colo. - Ogden Theatre NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 19
May 21: Salt Lake City, Utah - The Depot NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 18
May 24: Fremont, Calif. - The Saddle Rack NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 25
May 25: Napa Valley, Calif. - The Uptown Theatre NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 18
May 26: Sacramento, Calif. - Crest Theatre NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 19
May 27: Los Angeles, Calif. - Greek Theatre NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 25
May 28: Las Vegas, Nev. - Aliante Casino NEW! Tickets on sale beginning March 26

US tour dates with Black Country Communion
June 9: San Diego, Calif. - Civic Theatre Tickets available here
June 10: Anaheim, Calif. - City National Grove of Anaheim Tickets available here
June 11: Salt Lake City, Utah - The Depot NEW! Tickets available here
June 13: St. Louis, Mo. - The Pageant NEW! Tickets available here
June 15: Indianapolis, Ind. - Murat Theatre NEW! Tickets available here
June 17: Hampton Beach, N.H. - Casino Ballroom NEW! Tickets available here
June 18: Sayreville, N.J. - Starland Ballroom NEW! Tickets available here
June 19: Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club NEW! Tickets available here

European tour dates with Black Country Communion
June 23: Vitoria, Spain - Azkena Rock Festival
June 30: Stuttgart, Germany - Killersberg
July 1: Frankfurt, Germany - Jahrhunderthalle
July 2: Liepzig, Germany - Parkbuhne
July 4: Munich, Germany - Zenith
July 5: Berlin, Germany - Zitadelle
July 6: Hamburg, Germany - Stadtpark
July 10: Weert, Netherlands - Bospop Festival
July 14: Bonn, Germany - Museumsplatz

UK tour dates with Black Country Communion
July 23: Llandudno, Wales - Llandudno Cymru Arena NEW!
July 26: Leeds, England - O₂ Academy
July 27: Newcastle, England - O₂ Academy
July 29: Glasgow, Scotland - O₂ Academy
July 30: Manchester, England - O₂ Academy

Travel package 'coming soon' for ZepFest 2011, site repeats

By Steve Sauer

ZepFest 2011's Twitter page says a travel package is coming soon for attendees of the Memorial Day weekend event to be held in Washington, D.C.

That's good to know since it's already mid-March, almost St. Patty's Day, and we should be booking hotel and flights shortly, wouldn't one think?

"ZepFest travel package coming soon." Sound like a tune you were humming last Halloween? Here's why that is.

Update: New tweet from ZepFest tonight reads:

Well, since you are watching this so close: VERY poor form - come May 27th we will see how 'shaky' this is - have to adjust the invite list.

The remark appears to be a reaction to a Lemon Squeezings reader who posted on Facebook:

"I think this zepfest is really shaky."

Also posted later on tonight by ZepFest:

"'Shaky' - oh yeah it will be & it will also be rattlin' & rollin' with: ✫Grammy Winners ✶Grammy Nominees ✬Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Members"

Interview portends discouraging view on future live releases from Led Zeppelin era

By Steve Sauer

Unconfirmed rumors have it that a new legitimate, official release from Led Zeppelin is in the works. It would be the long-awaited video of Led Zeppelin's reunion concert, staged on Dec. 10, 2007, at the O₂ arena in London.

At that concert, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jason Bonham performed a two-hour stage show of Led Zeppelin material. There has been no official announcement of a DVD release, but rumors suggest such a release is forthcoming, with a possible shelf date much later this year.

Meanwhile, a new interview with producer Kevin Shirley about his past work on Led Zeppelin projects contains an overall discouraging view on the prospect of any future live releases of performances from the original Led Zeppelin era.

LedZeppelinNews.com contributor Wyatt Brake picks up the story with his own observations, originally posted to the discussion groups Royal Orleans and For Badgeholders Only:

There are several discouraging aspects to this interview.

1. The Zeppelin camp (at least as of 2002-2003) thought they had tons of live recordings to sift through in preparation for public release, and they (mistakenly) believed that these recordings were being adequately stored over the past 20+ years.
2. Kevin Shirley, who is now the Zepsters' go-to guy when it comes to this stuff ('03 DVD/HTWWW/Unledded/TSRTS) has declared to the members that 'there really isn't that much there' because the performances are unworthy of release. That's obviously a judgment call from a guy they now trust, and the judgment seems unlikely to be reversed because there's little desire - apparently even on Page's part - to delve in and determine if they agree with that determination. A convincing argument could be made that even without that declaration on Caveman's part that Page (the meticulous guy who gave us the original splice-a-thon of 1976 on TSRTS) would have come to the same conclusion, but now we might never know.
3. The confirmation of something we've long suspected - that Page's role as a producer and even as an "in the cutting room" overseer is over and done. From another KS interview that came out in 2007/2008 in the wake of the remastered TSRTS, we know that Plant was actually the one to 'take the lead on that release and that he was the guy sitting next to Caveman taking an interest in what was being done.
4. Hopes for an Earl's Court retrospective combining elements of all five (or at least the last three) nights, or a How The (Far) East Was Won, or a more complete Knebworth... all those things seem much less likely to come out in light of what Shirley had to say in this interview. Maybe we'll get an upgraded version of the 2003 LZDVD on Blu-ray, but aside from that, it doesn't leave me optimistic about more archive releases - especially about a release of Japan '71 or Bath '70.

Kevin Shirley admits to run-ins with Jimmy Page

By Brian Gardiner and Steve Sauer

Grammy-nominated recording engineer Dave Rideau sat recently with producer Kevin "The Caveman" Shirley at his aptly named studio, The Cave, located in Malibu, California.

In the interview for Solid State Logic, Shirley opens up about his career and his recording methods, including working on Led Zeppelin's digital-era releases and discs from current supergroup Black Country Communion.

The resulting 39-minute interview has been published in three parts on YouTube.

Robert Plant, Band of Joy to tour Europe

After finishing their North American run of shows with three festival appearances -- Merlefest in May and Bonnaroo and Telluride in June -- Robert Plant and the Band of Joy will embark on a European tour.

The Band of Joy has announced 10 shows in July and August. After two Italian shows, the tour runs through France, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Belgium. More shows are expected to be added, including some shows in the UK.

The following dates are confirmed, with tickets on sale now:

• July 19: Rome, Italy - Capannelle Fiesta
• July 20: Milan, Italy - Arena Civica
• July 22: Nimes, France - Festival de Nimes, Les Roman Arenes (tickets)
• July 23: Nyon, Switzerland - Paleo Festival
• July 27: St. Petersburg, Russia - New Arena
• July 29: Moscow, Russia - Crocus Hall (tickets)
• July 31: Kiev, Ukraine - Palace of Sports
• Aug. 2: Warsaw, Poland - Torwar (tickets)
• Aug. 3: Berlin, Germany - Zitadelle (tickets)
• Aug. 5: Lokeren, Belgium - Lockersee Festival (tickets, more information)