Courtesy photoPublik Parking is scheduled to perform at The 27th Whaley Jam on Saturday.

The Whaley Children's Jam has turned into one of the most reliable shows in town. Year after year, musician and soundman Keith Jennings manages to unite several of the area's most popular hard rock acts, and this year is no exception

This weekend, the Jam will once again collect toys and raise money for at-risk kids at the Whaley Children's Center. To date, the concerts have raised more than $70,000. Bands perform 45-minute sets, beginning at the top of the hour.

This year, as usual, the long-running festival will feature a set from one of the area's busiest acts.

The concert by '80s power-pop band Tommy Tutone, scheduled for Dec. 12 at the State Theatre, has been canceled, according to the venue's box office.

Tommy Tutone -- authors of the 1981 hit "867-5309/Jenny" -- was not selling well. It did not sell eight, six, seven or even five tickets. Reportedly, it sold just four.

All four tickets can be redeemed at the point of purchase.

Oops, she did it again: raised expectations -- and album sales -- thanks to a well-oiled publicity machine.

Was that shot at "Circus" too easy?

Perhaps, but considering the hype for Britney's new album was surpassed only by the hoopla over Guns N' Roses' decade-in-the-making "Chinese Democracy," it seems apropos. Strangely, these disparate albums have some striking similarities because both are overrated and overproduced. And when I say overproduced, I really mean it: No fewer than a dozen producers had a hand in Britney's latest spectacle.

Britney Spears
"Circus"
Two out of four stars

Starting with the album opener and lead single, "Womanizer," the lion's share of tracks on this mostly one-ring circus of a CD spout musical themes that are repetitive to a fault. And there's so much production wizardry, so many vocoder effects, so much background chatter and noise, it's almost as if the producers dug down deep to use every trick they'd ever concocted to enhance and/or cover up the shortcomings of (a.) the songs or (b.) the singer.

Granted, the celebrity-news history of Britney's recent past generates several "you-gotta-hear-this" moments -- the thinly veiled "Circus," "Mannequin" and "Kill the Lights," a are direct slaps at the paparazzi who ceaselessly hound Britney and have probably contributed to her personal snarls.

Matthew Stephens | The Saginaw NewsMitchell Leach, 14, of Frankenmuth, Danielle N. Schoeny, 21, and Carly E. Veverka, 15, of Saginaw Township rehearse a scene from "Snow Queen" which will open at the Pit and Balcony Friday, Dec. 5. Carly is the daughter of Thomas and Cathleen Veverka and Mitchell is the son of John and Julie.

Edvard Grieg's classic score provides the musical backdrop to Pit and Balcony Community Theatre's "Snow Queen," but some in the Saginaw theater might swear they hear Sly and the Family Stone's "It's a Family Affair" in the mix.

Carly E. Veverka, 15, of Saginaw Township, who is Gerta in the adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's tale of a sister's search for her spellbound brother, shares rehearsal times since October with sisters Madison, 12, and Syndey, 14. They are the daughters of Cathleen and Thomas Veverka.
"We all love theater, and it's fun to spend time together," Carly Veverka said. "This is my first big part, and my sisters will tell me when there's something I should change in what I'm doing. We talk about it a lot."

Courtesy photo1964 The Tribute will perform on Saturday at Temple Theatre in Saginaw.

Mark Benson never thought he'd spend more than 20 years portraying John Lennon on stage in front of die-hard fans of the Fab Four. But the co-leader of 1964 The Tribute, who's performed Beatles hits all over the world, doesn't anticipate a drop in demand any time soon.

"You look out and you can clearly see generations of families," said Benson, whose long-running tribute act will play the Temple Theatre in Saginaw Saturday. "The demographic is totally open, from toddlers to grandparents.

"Everyone knows what you're doing," he said. "There isn't any place that this music hasn't filtered into by osmosis."

NEW YORK (AP) -- There's a new way to get to Carnegie Hall -- YouTube, YouTube, YouTube.

Borrowing from "American Idol," the online video site announced plans Monday for a YouTube Symphony Orchestra, featuring a collaboration of wannabe musicians with Carnegie Hall, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, composer Tan Dun and others.

AP File PhotoJennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law William Balfour has been arrested in Illinois in the deaths of the singer's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Updated: 4:17 p.m.
CHICAGO - After being held for weeks on a parole violation, Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law was formally charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of three family members.

Prosecutors charged William Balfour a day after Chicago Police arrested him on a murder warrant in the deaths of Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, said Cook County state's attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton. Balfour also was charged with one count of felony home invasion.

Evan AgostiniThe Cheetah Girls (from left) Sabrina Bryan, Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon will be at The Palace on Tuesday.

Not all "cheetahs" have the same spots.

That's one of the messages promoted by The Cheetah Girls, whose members are a reflection of today's multi-cultural society.

"I'm Latino (Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian), Kiely (Williams) is African American and Sabrina (Bryan) is Mexican, Native American and white," said Adrienne Bailon, one of three singers in the group.

"The Cheetah Girls One World Tour" comes to The Palace of Auburn Hills on Dec. 2.

Shawano Cleary | Special to the Kalamazoo GazetteWillie Nelson gave a rousing performance Sunday evening at Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium.

KALAMAZOO -- A barn-burning band with a movie star singer, and a national treasure, played to a nearly sold-out Miller Auditorium Sunday night.

Courtesy photoSarah Brightman

English soprano Sarah Brightman has released a collection of genre-defying albums during her 30-year career. "Fly" celebrated pop-rock. "Classics" returned her to form, singing arias, and "Symphony" touched on her gothic influences. The common thread: She spills herself into the music.

"I'm very involved in the albums and my tours," said Brightman via telephone from a German recording studio. "Everything actually comes from me -- the ideas, the visuals, the thought of what the album is.

"Although I do sing a lot of older music, there's a little bit of my soul coming out and giving. Maybe the general public picks up that it's not just a songbook that's being put together by an A&R (artist and repertoire) person or a producer or whatever. There's a huge amount of the artist in all of this work. It might be a subconscious thing, but I think that's why I've kept this fanbase for all of these years."