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The Black Keys’ singer Dan Auerbach has blasted rocker STEVE MILLER after the band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week, following Miller’s own negative comments about the ceremony.

The 36 year old rocker has told Rolling Stone magazine this week that he’s had many “sleepless nights” since Friday evening’s ceremony (April 8th), saying that the “whole process was unpleasant” leading up to Miller’s induction and that they wished they hadn’t introduced him to the stage.

During his acceptance speech, the 72 year old rock star became the unlikely talking point of the entire ceremony when he used the opportunity to denounce not only the Hall of Fame itself but also the entire music industry, calling them “f***in’ gangsters and crooks”.

Continue reading: Dan Auerbach Regrets Inducting "Unpleasant" Steve Miller Into Hall Of Fame

Fans and hopeful attendees of Barcelona's Primavera Sound were delighted to discover that the preview app they downloaded was a video game displaying the full line-up for the festival's fifteenth anniversary.

Already announced were Friday and Saturday's headliners Ride and The Strokes, and now they've been joined by a host of other equally incredible artists. Thursday sees The Black Keys leading the bill alongside The Replacements, who are hitting Spanish stages for the first time and Antony and the Johnsons, who've been doing plenty since their last Barcelona gig. Bringing some variation to Thursday proceedings are electronic virtuosos James Blake, Richie Hawtin and Simian Mobile Disco.

Continue reading: The 15th Anniversary Line-Up For Primavera Sound Is Finally Here!

Temperatures may be plummeting in Britain, but we’ve got some sunnier festival news for you. The Isle of Wight festival has announced that the Black Keys and the Prodigy will co-headline in 2015.

The two bands will perform on the Friday night of next year’s festival, although the order in which they’ll appear on stage has not yet been confirmed. Pharrell Williams, who has had runaway success as a solo artist in the last 18 months, will also be playing the festival.

U.S. blues-rockers The Black Keys will co-headline Isle of Wight with British veterans The Prodigy

Continue reading: Black Keys And The Prodigy To Co-Headline Isle Of Wight 2015

Lana Del Rey’s sophomore album (post-transformation, that is), Ultraviolence, is finally out after some questionable promotional tactics. The album is now up for the top spot in the iTunes chart and LDR has her work cut out for her in competing with Sam Smith’s debut record In The Lonely Hour.

Lana Del Rey returns as a perfectly crafted drama queen in Ultraviolence.

Besides her competition, Del Rey is up against some unfortunate odds; her previous album, Born to Die, was panned by just about every critic in the Western Hemisphere and a good chunk of the hipster crowd.

Continue reading: Reviews: Lana Del Rey, The Concept, Hits Her Stride With "Ultraviolence"

Alabama's sun-soaked, sold-out Hangout Music Fest begins officially today (May 16th 2014) following yesterday's kick-off party - and there's almost too much fun to take in.

Set against the glorious backdrop of Gulf Shores' pure white beaches, this festival truly is the place to 'hang out' this weekend with top headliners The Black Keys, The Killers, Outkast and Jack Johnson leading the talent-studded bill. Acts such as Jack Antonoff's latest project Bleachers, CLASSIXX and Bonobo's DJ set went down a storm at the Discover Great Thursday Kickoff Party, but don't worry if you missed it because things are getting even better over the rest of the weekend.

Headliners The Black Keys open the festival today

Continue reading: Experience Sun, Sand And Sensational Sounds At Hangout Festival 2014

Lana Del Rey’s upcoming album hasn’t really matched the buzz of her debut record so far. Things might be about to change, however, with the reveal of the cover art for Ultraviolence. Along with the cover – a black and white shot of the singer looking as pouty as we remember – the album release date was announced for June 16.

pic.twitter.com/M93p4wMd61

— Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) May 9, 2014

Continue reading: "Ultraviolence" Cover Revealed. Yep, That's Definitely Lana Del Rey

After months of speculation, the official line-up has been confirmed for the 2014 Glastonbury Festival, which will be held from the 27th to the 29th June this year. The festival tweeted this year's snazzy line-up poster which listed a tonne of previously unconfirmed acts. Sadly, and despite the rumours, it doesn't look like Prince will be getting funky at Glasto but the appearance of Elbow, Arcade Fire, Kasabian, The Black Keys, and Jack White should make up for the Purple One's absence.

Kasabian Have Been Confirmed To Play Glastonbury Festival This Year.

Joining these four big name acts will be an intriguing and eclectic mix of acts of all sorts of genres. Skrillex, De La Soul, Ms Dynamite, Rudimental, Disclosure, Lil Louis and DJ Pierre will be bringing dance music whilst Kelis, Janelle Monáe, Jurassic 5 and M.I.A will be giving the festival a hip hop flavour.

Continue reading: Glastonbury Line-Up Confirmed: Elbow, Kasabian, Arcade Fire, Jack White...And Who Else?

Now, you’d think that 32 year-old Patrick Carney would have thought better of dissing a teenager in public. It’s not very befitting of a grown man, insulting someone nearly half their age. No matter how much money that kid’s got. Then again, with all that money and influence and - no doubt – a hell of a lot of media training - at his disposal, you’d think that Justin Bieber would have thought better of saying that Carney “should be slapped around” for suggesting that Bieber doesn’t really need a Grammy, cos he’s so rich.

Sounds like childplay? Well, yep, we agree. But which one comes off looking worse? It’s hard to say really. Carney, after all was put on the spot and the drummer of the blues rock band probably wasn’t necessarily expecting TMZ to pounce on him at the Grammys and ask what he thought about Bieber being snubbed by the Grammys. In a nutshell, he replied that the Grammys are about music and not money – Bieber’s got tons of money, so he should be happy. And you know what? He’s kind of got a point! It’s not like Bieber needs the exposure of a Grammys win!

Now, we can forgive him a little immaturity, for his age, but Bieber’s response is hardly going to endear him to anybody (apart from his own fans and since when did he need to win them over?). His Twitter post was a lame attempt at a comeback and you know, we don’t mind a war of the words here at Contact, but practically inciting violence? Nope, we’re not cool with that. Carney wins this one, game over.

The Black Keys Rub Bieber Up The Wrong Way, Katy Perry 'Hangs Out' At The Grammys And Steve Martin Becomes A Dad At 67

Bieber Rattles The Keys! In perhaps the most bizarre celebrity feud of recent times, Patrick Carney of award-winning group The Black Keys has rubbed Justin Bieber up the wrong way. Asked about the possible reasons for Bieber's Grammys snub, Carney suggested the 18-year-old is rich, so doesn't need prestigious awards. Bieber's response? "The black keys drummer should be slapped around haha."

Continue reading: A Week In News: Bieber Slams The Black Keys, Chris Brown Stays Seated, Alec Baldwin To Become A Father!

How would you celebrate your Grammys triumph? We like to think we'd have all our friends for a big after party (easy on the alcohol and NO drugs, of course). The Black Keys star Dan Auerbach had no time for that; he's busy getting a divorce.

Stephanie Gonis wasn't at the ceremony as The Black Keys picked up awards Best Rock Performance', 'Best Rock Song' and 'Best Rock Album.' A spokesperson told  US Magazine: "Dan's wife wasn't at the ceremony because they are going through a divorce". His representatives are, so far, yet to comment. Auerbach, 33, and Gonis have one daughter together, 4-year-old Sadie Little Auerbach. In their acceptance speech, the guys kept it succinct, thanking their professional partners and crew and "everybody in Akron, Ohio and everybody in Nashville."

In other Black Keys news, an unlikely feud had arisen between Patrick Carney and Justin Bieber. The band's drummer told TMZ: "He's rich, right?" when asked if Justin Bieber should have received a nomination. "I mean, I don't know. Grammys are, like, for music, not for money, and he's making a lot of money. I don't know - he should be happy, I guess." Bieber watched this and then decided to take to Twitter to offer a repost. And what grandeur can be seen in this post? None, it just says, "the black keys drummer should be slapped around haha".

The Black Keys should’ve been pleased as punch after winning four awards at the Grammys last night (February 10, 2013), but for drummer Patrick Carney he seemed to just be relieved that it was all over as he was interviewed by press leaving the Los Angeles-based music showcase.

Continue reading: The Black Keys Wins Four Grammys And Tell Bieber He's No Right To Feel Snubbed

Annually, the Grammys is one of the biggest events for music across America and in Europe. In fact, it has dubbed itself 'music's biggest night'. Celebrating the best in pop, hiphop, soul, R&B and much of what comes in between, it never fails to be a veritable who's who from the Spotify playlists of the masses. And this year will be no different. Not only are the nominees ones to look out for, absences are worthy of note, as are this year's presenters and some very special performances.

As Yahoo report, this year's presenters include Grammy royalty, Prince, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lopez, all of whom have been nominated or won Grammys before.  

In terms of performances to look forward to, this year we have some unusual and largely unexpected pair ups. Elton John and Ed Sheeran will take to the stage together. An unusual pairing, they're both Brits with unusual song writing talent. While John is a true showman and is well known for his intereSting outfits and outrageous glasses, Sheeran is distinctly more low key. We're not sure how this is going to work, but we're guessing it'll be great. Bruno Mars, Sting and Rihanna will all also perform together, as will Alicia Keys and Maroon 5, and Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert. 

Continue reading: 55th Grammys Preview: 'Music's Biggest Night' Wont Fail To Impress

An Adele-less Grammy Awards makes for a wide open field in 2013, with many pondering whose going to step up and fill the void that the all-conquering British singer filled last year. From considered opinions to manipulation of statistics, the consensus isn’t easy to gauge, though there seems to be a few trends emerging, namely that some think Fun. could make a surprise sweep, whilst others think Frank Ocean’s also likely to be among the headline makers come Sunday evening (February 10, 2013).

Fun. , lest we forget, are the only artists who have a chance of pulling off a sweep, given that they’re the only ones nominated in all four of the considered ‘big’ categories: record of the year, song of the year, album of the year and artist of the year, and with no other artist making a substantially better claim for pop dominance than their huge hit ‘We Are Young’ and subsequent album Some Nights, they could well be quids in.

Check out Fun's 'All The Pretty Girls' video

Continue reading: Grammy 2013 Winners Predictions: Frank Ocean And The Black Keys Set To Ruin Fun?

The first promotional clip for the upcoming Grammy Awards has been released via ETOnline, with country-pop starlet Taylor Swift taking a staring role in the first look at the music awards.

Only a minute long, the promo doesn't show much, but it is the multi-Grammy winning artist who shows her self most prominently in the clip featuring Swift alongside some new and some established talent. With her includes Snoop Lion (formerly Dogg) and The Kills with some emerging artists, like Grace Potter, Kishi Bashi and Dam-Funk.

The new promo is part of three unlinked trailers, with Rihanna staring in one and The Black Keys in the third, titled 'Soundcheck.' The mini-clips were commissioned by The Recording Academy under the Twitter-friendly title #TheWorldIsListening, which seeks to encourage and highlight burgeoning musical talent - and the Grammys now as well. On top of this, the organisation has also set up a page on SoundCloud giving people a chance to upload their own music, whilst presided over by a crack panel featuring members of Linkin Park, RZA, and Snoop.

Continue reading: Taylor Swift Stars In The New Promo For The Grammys

To say that the Grammys have attracted a star-studded line-up is a bit like saying there might be a couple of handy actors knocking around the Oscars next month. However, once again it is the crème de la crème of mainstream music that will be attending the annual music ceremony, with the first batch of performers being announced for the event on February 10, 2013.

Many of the nominees for this year’s 55^th Grammy Awards are set to put in a turn performing. MTV reports that leading the list are six time nominees and the only act honored in each of the so-called Big Four categories, Record and Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist, Fun. British folk duds Mumford & Sons will also perform – the group are also up for six categories this year - while five-time nominees the Black Keys and three-time nominees Rihanna and Taylor Swift will also be taking a turn each. Studded with stars as you can see.

LL Cool J’s been doing a pretty bang up job of hosting the huge event in recent years, and it’ll be he who once again guides everyone through the evening, with plenty more stars still to be confirmed to perform. Hopefully this will be a year where the event won’t be befallen by tragedy, as it did on the eve of last year’s when Whitney Houston passed away in her hotel room.

Continue reading: Weighty Line-Up Announced For The Grammys; Rihanna, Taylor Swift And Fun Set To Play

Last night’s 50th anniversary gig at the Prudential Center in Newark saw The Rolling Stones still very much at the top of their game, as the band performed some of their greatest hits and collaborated with a star-studded list of guest performers.

Among those were acts like John Mayer (bet you didn’t see that one coming), who rocked out alongside Keith Richards, giving the rock legend a run for his money, as well as The Black Keys and none other than the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, who joined The Stones for Tumbling Down. All in all, it was a good night for rock, with the band putting all of their energy into classic hits like 'Brown Sugar', 'Start Me Up,' 'Sympathy for the Devil' and the ever popular '(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.'  The most unusual collaboration of the night had to have been with Lady GaGa though, who joined the band for a rendition of 'Gimme Shelter' and it was actually, well, good. The Stones have a history of performing with more poppy artists on occasion, such as Mary J Blige and Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine fame) and it always seemes to work out. It did again this time, with Gaga flaunting not only her impressive singing chops but also her no less spectacular shimmying skills alongside Mick Jagger.

Last night’s gig also had a more serious aspect to it, however, as the Stones and their guest stars took the time to honour the victims of the recent school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. “I just wanted to take a minute and send our love and condolences to those who lost their loved ones yesterday,” Jagger commented solemnly, before going into a performance of 'Wild Horses,' dedicated to the victims.

Continue reading: 50th Anniversary Rolling Stones Gig Highlights

Fun.'s dominance of the Grammy awards was mooted even before the nominations were announced, but steering clear of speculation, the band weren't listening to any of that, preferring to wait for the real thing.

"People told us, but only a total sh--head, would sit there and go 'Yeah, I think you're right,'" guitarist Jack Antonoff told MTV News. "In our case, the only thing we could do is shut ourselves off, and that's been our response this whole time." Fun., Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean and Kanye West top the 2013 Grammy nominations with six each, followed by the Black Keys and Miguel with five nods.

It's not just being nominated for a Grammy that sends a band into delirium, but in which category, too. And the fact that they're in contention for even one of the so-called 'big 4'; Album, Record and Song of the Year, plus Best New Artist, is more than an added bonus. "That's one thing that we cherish, because that's the torch that we are so proud to hold. We know it's rare, and ... it's easy to talk sh-- about this day and age of rock music, but you look back, it's been forever. It's hard to make it as a rock band on a certain level," Antonoff said. "And we believe in that, like, what it means to be a musician, and getting back to, just like, going to the store, buying instruments with your friends, and playing in the garage; that's the heart of being in a rock band, so to accomplish this, it's really special."

The nominations for the 55th Grammy Award Nominations in 2013 have officially been announced by the award's organisers. Here’s a run down of some of the main awards, and our tips for Grammy's Glory.

Album Of The Year:

El Camino — The Black Keys

Continue reading: Grammy Nominations 2013: Who Will Win? Who SHOULD Win?

The Black Keys playing Lisbon last night (November 27)

An old-school type of success story, The Black Keys' rise to prominence has been solely down to hard work and a lot of gigging, the band putting over seven albums in their decade together and only really hitting the big time on their fifth, Attack & Release which went top 20 in the US in 2008. It's reassuring to see then that they're still doing things how they always did - namely by touring their butts off. Last night the blues rock band called in to Pavilhao Atlantico in Lisbon, Portugal as part of their European tour, and they had Brit indie rockers The Maccabees in tow with them. The Maccabees are no mean size themselves these days, giving you an idea of just how big The Black Keys have become. 

Continue reading: Pictures: The Black Keys European Tour Calls Into Lisbon With The Maccabees In Tow

Mid-set, alongside Crazy Horse, Neil Young announced that “We’re joining forces up here,” just as Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl and Dan Auerbach graced the stage to collaborate with Young on an adrenaline and feedback fuelled rendition of "Rockin’ in the Free World."

Neil Young, Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters joined Band Of Horses and The Black Keys among others to perform on the Grand Lawn at Central Park in New York City. This was all in aid of the Global Citizen Festival which supports a plethora of charities including World Vision and World Food Program USA.

As well as bands and solo artists, the event held brief speeches between sets from outspoken celebrities such as Selena Gomez and Olivia Wilde of House and TRON:Legacy fame. Dave Grohl seemed to love every second of their performance, lamenting however, that it may be a while before they take to the stage again, saying “We don't have any shows after this. This is where we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time, because, honestly, I don't know when we're gonna do it again”, as reported by Rolling Stone.

Continue reading: Foo Fighters And Neil Young Perform Together At A Concert In New York City's Central Park

Neil Young and Foo Fighters were among the star attractions at Saturday night’s Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. The concert was held in order to raise awareness about issues surrounding poverty and according to the Washington Post, organisers “used an innovative approach to ticket distribution so that many concert-goers were forced to learn about an array of global problems in order to get a ticket.”

Anyone wanting to attend the concert, which also featured performances from the Black Keys, John Legend and Band Of Horses, had to register for tickets at globalcitizen.org. They earned ‘points’ towards a ticket for every poverty-related video they watched, of piece of information that they read. Around 71,000 people signed up for tickets and 60,000 of those crowded into Central Park for the unique event. The bands played for a round an hour each and were interspersed with guest speakers talking about global poverty issues.

Neil Young was joined, for his set, by Dave Grohl and members of the Black Keys, for a rendition of his classic track ‘Rockin’ In The Free World.’ When Foo Fighters played their own set, Grohl told the audience “Feels good to be here.” John Legend made a “surprise appearance,” playing John Lennon’s ‘Imagine,’ just a short way from where Lennon used to live. The concert had been deliberately scheduled to coincide with the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month, to increase public consciousness of the presence of poverty.

Central Park in New York set the stage for a rock triple threat in the shape of Neil Young, The Foo Fighters and The Black Keys, all of whom banded together for a benefit mini-fest, Great Lawn Saturday night, in aid of putting an end to global poverty.

An audience of over 60,000 squeezed into the massive green space in the middle of the Big Apple on Saturday (29th September) night for a five-hour concert, all for free! Well, there was one catch, but it only involved attendees having to register at the website 'The Global Poverty Project,' which looks to find a way to bring an end to extreme financial inequality across the globe. And if inviting 60,000 lucky guests along to the event wasn't enough, the concert was also streamed live online via a number of differing websites.

As well as the big three, which also involved an impromptu stage invasion by Dave Grohl during Neil Young and Crazy Horse's set, the line-up for the day also featured Band Of Horses and 'Wavin' Flag' singer/rapper K'naan. The night didn't lose track of what it stood for though, with celebrities including Selena Gomez and Katie Couric going up on stage between performances to discuss the ongoing financial struggle that is felt the world over.

Kesha claims she once had a sexual experience with a ghost. The 25-year-old pop star was speaking on KIIS FM about the inspiration and ideas behind her spooky new song ‘Supernatural’.

The single is the second to be taken from Kesha’s new album ‘Warrior,’ which is packed full of electro-rock and dance-pop themes. As for the writing of ‘Supernatural,’ the singer explained, “It's about experiences with the supernatural…but in a sexy way. I had a couple of experiences with the supernatural. I don't know his name! He was a ghost! I'm very open to it.” It seems as though the entire record was inspired by similar oddities, and Kesha added, “The theme of this record is magic. I went on a spirit journey by myself. No security guard. No managers. I just went around the world and lived on a boat.” Kesha’s Tik Tok single catapulted the Californian to fame in 2009, gaining generally mixed reviews, though selling millions. To be fair, she’s enlisted a pretty impressive team for the new record, with The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney and The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne lending a hand, as well as rock stalwart Iggy Pop.

‘Warrior’ – the follow-up the Kesha’s 2010 debut LP ‘Animal’ – will be released on December 3, 2012.