The Courier-Journal trumpeted a redesign on the Scene magazine on this Saturday’s edition and so it is, flipping completely over to a ‘Lifestyle’ pullout, with lots of ‘air’ [read: ‘Less content’] around articles, making them oh, so bite-size.

J. L. Puckett’s column has added a ‘Left of the Dial’ item, focusing on an “unsigned or extremely independent artist.”

Andrew Addler reviewed the Louisville Orchestra’s Brown Theatre performance from last night

Courier-Journal Music Editor J. L. Puckett calls new VHS Or Beta CD “Incandescent” in a Sound Effects column subtilted “Ahead of the Curve.” Not only that, VOB’s “On The Road” Diary by Mark Palgy gets run in Velocity. Call that effective marketing.

William C. “Bill” Sullivan, 67, died unexpectedly Sunday, September 23, 2007. He was the founder of First Quality Banjo Supply and the co-owner of First Quality Music with his sons.

The October issue of Louisville Music News will be delivered to Louisville and Southern Indiana locations over the next three days.

From the Elizabethtown News Enterprise: “Robert Joseph “Bobby” Lanz, Jr., 57, of Louisville, died Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007, at his residence. The funeral Mass is at 1 p.m. Wednesday at St. James Catholic Church, with the Rev. Dick Sullivan officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation is from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Brown Funeral Home.”
The complete obituary is here.

C-J Music Section Covers Emanuel, Wilco, Elvis Costello Reissue

J. L. Puckett at the Courier-Journal has a review of the new Emanuel CD, which was premiered at Headliners last night. Puckett also has a rave-up review about the Wilco/Dr/ Dog concert at Slugger Field. Finally, on Saturday, Puckett burned up print space reviewing the fourth reissue of Elvis Costello’s My Aim Is True album

An email arrived this morning (Sunday) reporting that longtime Louisville performer Bobby Lanz had died on Saturday. More information will be passed along as it becomes available.

The Wall Street Journal’s Joseph De Avila has an interesting article about music fans buying “presale” passwords from fan club members in order to buy concert tickets early. Just in case you were wondering why all the tickets were ’sold-out’ thirty seconds after going on sale…

Barack Obama weighed in on the consolidation in radio at recent FCC Public Hearings in Chicago. He said that the FCC had come down on the side of media consolidation rather than diversity in ownship and that the FCC should alter that tendency. FMQB has the story.

The Freakonomics blog at The New York Times has a very long and thoughtful article featuring commentary from five knowledgeable people about the future of the music business. Worth a read if you have a bit of time

The RIAA is at it again: they’ve sent out 403 pre-settlement letters to 22 universities, plus they’ve filed 24 copyright infringement suits against individuals previously warned who did not settle. Billboard.biz has the story.

Paul Resnikoff at Digital Music News opines about the problem of diversifying artist management, touring, recording and distribution and why the record labels’ efforts to gather them all together is likely to lead nowhere.

Andrew Bird’s one-man show at the Brown Theatre Tuesday did not go unremarked or unreviewed. J. L. Puckett at the C-J had a rave-up. Joseph Lord at Velocity also reviewed him, though with faint praise. On Wednesday evening, a mandolin player stopped in at the jam session BBC on Theatre Square and casually commented that he had caught the show and thought it was a bore.

Fall Festival Overload

As it is September, the pace of live music and particularly music festivals quickens. This weekend proves to be no exception, with the kickoff of the Adelante Latin Festival at the Jazz Factory. The C-J’s J. L. Puckett has a solid write-up. The Adelante Festival runs all week.

Puckett also previews tomorrow’s Women in the Field Festival at the Brown-Forman Amphitheater on the Waterfront, which features ten bands plus booths featuring women artists. There’s a $15 ticket.

And, of course, Wilco and Dr. Dog are at Slugger Field tonight but you knew that.