Singer/songwriter Kinky Friedman has teamed up with Little Jewford to release a live album taped on their 1999 European tour. Classic Snatches From Europe (on Sphincter Records) includes such Kinky classics as "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore" and "Asshole From El Paso" (RealAudio excerpt), as well as new gems such as "Willie Nelson's Latent Homosexual Silver Concho Belt," "Bob Dylan's Dream" and "First Jewish Justice of the Peace." ...

Speaking of Willie Nelson, the country music veteran will appear on A&E's "Live by Request" on Aug. 14. The two-hour episode will be divided into two segments — one in which he's backed by his Family band and the other with the Blues Band behind him. Nelson will play material from his upcoming blues album, Milk Cow Blues (Island), with several members of the Blues Band who appeared on the album, including Dr. John, Francine Reed, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and possibly B.B. King. Additionally, if you're ever in Austin, Texas, you can check out Nelson's new restaurant — Willie Nelson's Lighthouse — right off of Lake Travis. ...

Rounder will issue Sad Songs and Waltzes, a posthumous release from stone-country artist Keith Whitley, on Sept. 12. The 15-song album, cut during Whitley's "Somewhere Between" studio sessions, when he played with J.D. Crowe and the New South, features five previously unreleased songs, including "I Don't Know You Well Enough To Say Goodbye," "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind," "(I've Always Been) Honky Tonk Crazy" and "Where Did You Learn To Love Like That." Alison Krauss and Diamond Rio's Gene Johnson were among those who added new vocal harmonies to the stripped-down tracks. Whitley achieved chart success with a string of #1 hits that included "I Wonder Do You Think of Me," "I'm No Stranger to the Rain," "Don't Close Your Eyes" and "When You Say Nothing at All" (RealAudio excerpt), which Krauss covered. Whitley died of alcohol poisoning in 1989 at age 33. ...

Hit rock-jazz-bluegrass jam band Phish have wrapped an "Austin City Limits" taping. No word on the air date yet. ... Country-rockers Whiskeytown will release Pneumonia, their third and reportedly last album, sometime between this fall and early next year. The label releasing the album has yet to be announced. Frontman Ryan Adams has decided to concentrate on solo projects, and his debut, Heartbreaker, is due in September on Bloodshot. ...

Emmylou Harris' anti-land-mine campaign tour this year also will include artists Steve Earle, Bruce Cockburn, John Prine, Nanci Griffith and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Scheduled dates are Dec. 2 in Stamford, Conn.; Dec. 3 in Ottawa; Dec. 4 in Toronto; Dec. 5 in Burlington, Vt.; and Dec. 6 in Providence, R.I. ... Fan Fair 2001 will be moved from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds to Nashville's Adelphia Coliseum. Artists' booths will be at the Nashville Convention Center in downtown Nashville. The event will be staged June 14–17. ... Mike Robertson Management and Ken Levitan's Vector Management will merge their country operations on Sept. 1. Robertson's clients include BlackHawk and Shannon Brown; Vector's country artists include Lyle Lovett and the Warren Brothers. ...

Actor/musician Jeff Bridges has recorded a duet of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" with Nashville singer/songwriter Kim Carnes. The duet will be on the soundtrack to Bridges' upcoming film "The Contender." ... Country-pop singer B.J. Thomas, who sang the 1969 hit "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (RealAudio excerpt), has won his second royalty court battle. Nashville's Gusto Records label owner Gayron "Moe" Lytle must now pay Thomas, along with surviving members of 1960s pop group the Shirelles, Hank Ballard and Gene Pitney, $1.2 million in damages for lost international royalties. These artists already won a suit against Lytle in 1990 over domestic royalties. ...

Rosanne Cash is working on a book to be called "Songs Without Rhyme," which will contain prose by songwriters Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, Marc Cohn, Loudon Wainwright, Suzanne Vega, Johnny Cash and Paula Cole. ...

LeAnn Rimes has rescheduled a handful of tour dates after canceling her tour because of a strained right vocal cord. Her single "I Need You" (RealAudio excerpt) is at #24 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Rescheduled tour dates include Sept. 29-30 at Silver Legacy Casino in Reno, Nev.; Oct. 14 at Viejas Casino in Alpine, Calif.; Oct. 27-29 at Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, N.J.; and Nov. 17-18 at the Cerritos Center in Cerritos, Calif. Rimes also will appear at Tiger Jam III, held Oct. 7 in Las Vegas, to benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation. ... Lonestar and Lee Ann Womack will announce the nominees for the 34th annual Country Music Association Awards on Aug. 1 from Nashville's Adelphia Coliseum. The CMA Awards will air Oct. 4. ...

Portions of Marty Stuart's performance at the recent Uncle Dave Macon Days festival and an interview with Stuart will be featured in the PBS TV "American Roots Music" project, which recognizes pioneers from country, folk, blues, gospel, Cajun, zydeco and tejano. The Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Foundation, the Experience Music Project, the National Endowment for the Arts and PBS are all collaborators in the four-part series, which will air later this year. Spotlighted music will be available on CD, DVD and video. ... Country Music Hall of Famers Kitty Wells and Little Jimmy Dickens will headline the first Legends Fest on July 30 at Buck Lake Ranch in Angola, Ind. Wells skyrocketed to fame and became a female country pioneer with her 1952 hit "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" (RealAudio excerpt). Jack Greene, Charlie Louvin, Stonewall Jackson, Jeanne Pruett and Johnny Russell also are set to perform. ...

Reba McEntire has canceled a July 29 benefit concert in Dodge City, Kan., the Wild Wild West show, allegedly because of a breach of contract. McEntire's booking agent Rod Essig told the Dodge City Daily Globe the show organizers, the charity Piece of a Dream Foundation, failed to pay a July 10 deposit to the singer. ...

Texas alt-country artist Charlie Robison is recording material for his sophomore Lucky Dog album. The set, which includes his singer/songwriter brother Bruce Robison and Jim Lauderdale, is scheduled to be released early next year. ... Mike Dungan became president of Capitol Nashville, Garth Brooks' label home, on Monday (July 17). Dungan, a former Arista Nashville executive, replaces Pat Quigley, who was brought in to market Brooks. After the commercial failure of Brooks' album Garth Brooks in ... The Life of Chris Gaines, which included the single "Lost in You" (RealAudio excerpt), the relationship between Brooks and Quigley reportedly became strained. Dungan is the fourth Capitol Nashville president in five years. Capitol's roster also includes: Trace Adkins, Susan Ashton, Rodney Carrington, Deana Carter, Tyler England, Chris LeDoux, Mindy McCready, Allison Paige, Cyndi Thomson, Keith Urban, Steve Wariner and Tim Wilson. ...

— sonicnet.com staff report