Weekly music agenda: Usher's 'Versus,' Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream'

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Usher and Katy Parry both have highly anticipated albums due for release this week. Usher's Versus is an eight-song extension of his latest hit full-length album Raymond Vs. Raymond, while Perry's Teenage Dream contains the pop singer's hit single "California Gurls."

Usher's 'Versus'
August 24
International

Grammy-winning R&B singer Usher is set to release a new EP that is being called "the final chapter of Raymond vs. Raymond," his spring 2010 album that became his third consecutive number one album in the US and also peaked in the top ten in the US, the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and on the European Top 100 chart. That album has spawned the hit singles "Papers," "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)," "Lil Freak" featuring Nicki Minaj, "There Goes My Baby," and most recently the summer hit "OMG" featuring will.i.am. The new set will include his current R&B hit "There Goes My Baby" and collaborations with Bun B, producer Polow Da Don, and others.

Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream'
August 24/30
USA and Canada/ International

Katy Perry is set to release her second major-label album, Teenage Dream, in late August. The album will include the American singer's single "California Gurls," which has hit number one in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Perry's previous album, 2008's One of the Boys, earned the singer two Grammy nominations, went platinum in nine countries, and spawned the chart-topping singles "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold."

Reading and Leeds
August 27-29
Reading and Leeds, England

The Reading and Leeds festivals, which together make up the biggest British festival after Glastonbury, take place simultaneously and have the same lineup, with capacities of more than 80,000 at the Reading site and about 70,000 in Leeds. Guns n' Roses, Arcade Fire, and Blink-182 will headline in 2010, joined by The Libertines, Weezer, Paramore, Modest Mouse, Queens of the Stone Age, LCD Soundsystem, and Phoenix. Standard weekend tickets, now few and far between, are £180 (about €215).
http://www.readingfestival.com
http://www.leedsfestival.com

'Hendrix in London' at the Handel House
August 25 - November 7
London, England

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's death on September 18, London's Handel House Museum is presenting an exposition of memorabilia and a tour of the musician's former flat at 23 Brook Street, now Handel House's administrative offices. Among items on display will be handwritten lyrics, a jacket and hat worn by Hendrix in performance, Hendrix's scrawled travel directions to his August 1970 performance at the Isle of Wight Festival, and UK concert memorabilia. The exhibition runs from August through November, while the flat visits are all scheduled for September. Tickets for the flat visits are £8 (€9.50) each; a few free open houses are also scheduled.
http://www.handelhouse.org

Bestival
September 9-12
Isle of Wight, UK

Bestival, an annual event since 2004, remains one of the best-known UK festivals despite its smaller size - about 43,000 people in 2009. The gathering is called a "boutique" festival for its alternative acts and notably non-corporate feel. Headlining in 2010 are Dizzee Rascal, Hot Chip, The Flaming Lips, Roxy Music, and Prodigy, while other acts set to play include The xx, LCD Soundsystem, and Fever Ray. Tickets for the four-day event are sold out, although earlybird tickets for 2011 can be purchased beginning August 6.
http://www.bestival.co.uk

MTV Video Music Awards
September 12
Los Angeles, CA

The MTV VMAs, the world's leading music video awards show, is broadcast in more than 150 countries worldwide. Lady Gaga dominates the 2010 nominations with 13 nods, including two - for "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" - for Best Video of the Year. Eminem follows with eight nods, including a Video of the Year nomination for "Not Afraid." Other nominees include Florence and The Machine for "Dog Days Are Over", 30 Seconds to Mars with "Kings and Queens," and "Airplanes" by B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams. Through September 12, fans can vote online to select winners in general categories. The award ceremony will be aired live on global MTV channels on September 12 at 9:00pm ET.
http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2010

Linkin Park returns with 'A Thousand Suns'
September 13/14
International/USA

Grammy-winning American rock band Linkin Park is set to release the follow-up to 2007 album Minutes to Midnight, which debuted at number one on album charts in 16 countries. A Thousand Suns is co-produced by Rick Rubin and band frontman Mike Shinoda. "The Catalyst," the album's first single, will begin hitting airwaves in August. Linkin Park has released three studio albums, which have sold 50 million copies worldwide, as well as collaborative albums including the mashup EP Collision Course with rapper Jay-Z. The band is scheduled to make a European tour in the fall, showcasing material from A Thousand Suns for the first time.

Robert Plant's 'Band of Joy'
September 13/14
International/USA

Robert Plant's forthcoming album Band of Joy, called a "timeless plunge into authentic Americana," will be the Led Zeppelin frontman's first since 2007's six-time Grammy-winner Raising Sand with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, which hit number two on the US Billboard 200 and the fifth spot on the UK albums chart. Recorded in Nashville, Band of Joy was co-produced by Plant and legendary Nashville guitarist Buddy Miller. According to Plant, it includes "a lot of reflections going back into mid-fifties rockabilly, the singing fishermen and all the great country stuff, along with the soul and R&B from Memphis."

Roger Waters's 30th anniversary ‘The Wall' tour
September 15
North America

Roger Waters's The Wall tour, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the band's classic album and tour, is so far a 94-date outing, beginning September 15 and running through June 2011, that has been one of the top-selling tours of the summer. The tour begins in Toronto and continues with shows in several dozen North American cities before moving on to Europe. Pink Floyd's 1979 album The Wall includes the songs "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2," "Comfortably Numb," "Mother," and "Run Like Hell," and is among the band's best-selling albums. In 1980 and 1981, the band toured in support of The Wall, each time presenting the full double album alongside large-scale theatrics.

John Lennon time capsule project accepting fan submissions
Through September 15
Worldwide

What would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday is being marked with a time capsule project that will preserve Lennon's post-Beatles recordings until 2040, when Lennon would have turned 100. The three capsules, to be stored at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and at "two additional world locations that have significance to John Lennon's legacy," will hold recordings, prints of Lennon's LP artwork, and a newly commissioned essay on his career. In addition, fans are invited to submit birthday wishes, commentary, memorabilia, and more via the project's website. Fans can also make recommendations about what the time capsules should include. The time capsule project is one of many endeavors being planned in honor of Lennon's 70th birth anniversary.
http://www.BoxOfVision.com/TimeCapsule