Arch MUSIC NEWS for 1/21/13

Arch MUSIC NEWS is compiled by Jay Philpott -

Lady Gaga will be headlining the private ball attended by members of the President’s staff on Tuesday night. During President Obama’s first Inauguration in 2009, it was reported that Jay-Z headlined the same event during which he was rumored to have sung “99 Problems, but George Bush Ain’t One.”  Other stars helping with Inaugural celebrations later today include Katy Perry, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and Usher.

Katy Perry kicked off Inaugural celebrations in the nation’s capital on Saturday night at the Kids’ Inaugural Ball. She headlined the event, which took place at the Washington Convention Center and was live streamed on military bases all over the country. She showed up wearing one of the patriotic costumes that she usually saves for special events for the President, this time in a sexy Uncle Sam get-up. Katy’s set consisted of a number of her biggest hits including “Teenage Dream,” “Part of Me,” and “Wide Awake.“ She closed the night with “Firework,” which was one of the songs that was selected for the White House’s official Inauguration playlist last week.

Rihanna and Chris Brown are back in the lab together. A rep for Brown has confirmed that the pair is working on a new collaboration track. Rumors of the collaboration swirled after they were spotted leaving a recording studio in West Hollywood on Thursday night. They exited the studio separately, but that didn’t stop fans from speculating that the two were working on new music together.

Prince is set to be honored at this spring’s Billboard Music Awards. The reclusive rocker has been tapped to receive this year’s Billboard Icon Award, which recognizes artists for their contributions to music. He’s also expected to appear at the event, and perform during the ceremony. In addition to paying tribute to Prince, the event will also celebrate today’s top songs and stars, based on the Billboard charts. Other presenters and performers for the upcoming show haven’t been announced yet. The 2013 Billboard Music Awards will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and air live on ABC on May 19th.

U2 used Joshua Tree National Park as inspiration for their classic 1987 album “The Joshua Tree,” and now an Auburn University biologist is using Bono as inspiration for the name of a newly-discovered species of spider found in the California park. The “Riverside Press-Enterprise” reports Jason Bond recently found 33 new kinds of trapdoor spider, and three of them call Joshua Tree home. Bond named two of the new arachnids after Native American tribes, but the third he dubbed A. bonoi in honor of the U2 frontman. But Bono isn’t the only celebrity to lend his name to a spider. Bond has christened other species after President Obama, Angelina Jolie, Stephen Colbert and others.

Rick Springfield is proving that he can really rock. The ’80s teen idol was among the stars in Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl‘s Sound City Players, who performed at the Sundance Film Festival Friday night, and Movieline.com calls his performance “the high point” of the lengthy concert. The reviewer says the audience became “violently” engaged in Springfield’s set, which included the hits “I’ve Done Everything For You” and “Jessie’s Girl,”and the crowd’s “dancing and jumping shook the club’s floor” during “an extended moment of pure rock bliss.”  A host of other rockers took part in the event as well. Grohl’s set with Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen featured the fan favorites “Surrender” and “Ain’t That A Shame,” while he performed the Creedence Clearwater Revival classics “Born on the Bayou,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Fortunate Son” with John Fogerty. Stevie Nicks, Fear’s Lee Ving, and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic were some of the others who took part in the show, which celebrated Friday’s world premiere of Grohl’s documentary “Sound City” at the Sundance Film Festival. Springfield and Nicks are among the artists in the movie, which tells the story of the now closed Los Angeles recording studio where they and numerous others made albums over the past four decades.

The Eagles’ Don Henley and Glenn Frey apparently haven’t reconciled their relationship with former member Don Felder. “The Salt Lake Tribune” says the subject of ex-bandmates came up during an extended audience Q&A session with the group following the screening of their film “History of the Eagles, Part One,” which had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday night. Frey said he got along with Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner but didn’t mention Felder, while Henley admitted that in the past 12 years he’s only spoken with Felder’s lawyer. The Eagles kicked Felder out of the group in 2001, which sparked a lawsuit, which was settled out of court in 2007. The Sundance screening marked the first time Henley had seen the final version of the film, which Don said doesn’t exactly make him and his bandmates look like saints. He added that the movie could lead to some parenting problems for him, explaining that as the father of three teenagers, he’s not sure how he’s “going to discipline them after they see this.”  Meanwhile, an Eagles tour is in the works. Frey said that the group is “looking about going on the road soon,” but “hadn’t made any specific plans.” “History of the Eagles, Part One” chronicles the early days of the band, from their formation in 1971 through to their breakup in 1980. There is also a “Part Two,” which wasn’t screened, that covers the group members’ solo careers and their 1994 reunion. Both films are expected to eventually be released in a DVD set.