Briefly: Nelly, Celine Dion, The Ramones, Dave Matthews Band, CMA performers
Nelly takes over The Billboard 200 album chart with his two simultaneously released albums, "Sweat" and "Suit."
"Suit" lands in the top slot with about 396,000 copies sold, while "Sweat" follows at No. 2 with about 342,000 copies sold.
Last week's No. 1 entry, Alan Jackson 's "What I Do," gets pushed down to No. 7, while Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" and Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company" each get bumped one notch to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
"NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 16" rounds out the Top 5.
Celine Dion --who in March of last year launched a three-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas--has extended her commitment by an additional year.
Dubbed "A New Day ...," Dion's show takes place in The Colosseum, a venue constructed specifically for the production. The singer performs about 150 shows per year, with about 4,000 people in the audience each night. Recently, the production sold its 1 millionth ticket, according to organizers.
"Ramone's Raw," the pioneering punk group's first-ever DVD, is scheduled for release on Sept. 28. The disc features over five hours of "rare material spanning The Ramones ' history-making career," according to a press release.
The DVD includes commentary from Marky Ramone, producer/director John Cafiero and group co-founder Johnny Ramone, who died earlier this month.
Marky Ramone and Cafiero are scheduled to make a Sept. 29 in-store appearance at the Virgin Megastore in New York City's Times Square on Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
Dave Matthews Band has selected its Dec. 8, 1998 performance at the Centrum in Worcester, MA, as the first installment of its new live series. Releases in the series will be available as two-disc sets or as digital downloads, according to an announcement from the group.
Fans can pre-order the Worcester show now, but a specific release date has not been set. More information is available at the band's website.
Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney and Gretchen Wilson have signed on to perform at this year's annual CMA Awards. The ceremony is set to take place on Nov. 9, and will air live on CBS.
Festival Guide: Mile High Music Festival, Commerce City, CO [June 2008]
Festival Guide: Rothbury Festival, Rothbury, MI [June 2008]
Weekend Ticketing: Madonna, Nine Inch Nails, Sheryl Crow, Travis Tritt, Jonny Lang [May 2008]
Dave Matthews Band Stands Up For A Cure At MSG [May 2008]
Weekend Ticketing: Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Def Leppard, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood [May 2008]
Major Artists Support Voter Registration [May 2008]
Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" tour
The Duke Spirit on stage and in the studio
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks
Metallica at the KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, CA
R.E.M. at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA
Herbie Hancock at the Sonoma Jazz Festival
Brad Paisley, Jack Ingram and Kellie Pickler
Dengue Fever at The Independent, San Francisco, CA

