Whether you’ve read the book, seen the movie, or had a chance to take in the original play on stage, “War Horse” is a story that everyone can relate to on some level. And now, it’s coming to the Paramount Theatre in Seattle for just over one week in February of 2013.

The story follows a young boy, Albert Narracott, during the time when World War I is just starting to erupt. After watching the birth of a young foal, which becomes the “War Horse” throughout the rest of the story, Albert immediately feels a special connection to the horse and names him “Joey.” The audience gets to watch as Albert trains the horse and the boy and the animal bond in a very special relationship. However, things go awry when Albert’s father can no longer pay rent on the land he uses for his farm, and the horse is sold.

While the play has been showing on Broadway for the past year at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, and the movie was just released last December, “War Horse” the stage adaptation will be going to Seattle in February 2013. Individual tickets won’t be on sale until the fall of 2012, but some War Horse tickets will be available on StubPass.com as early as this March. 

To fall in love with this story all over again, or just to see it for the very first time, become a subscriber and get your tickets before anybody else!

The tour will run from May to September, and will include a total of 39 stops. And if that isn’t enough, there are plenty of overnight dates where the band will play two shows and give fans even more opportunity to see one of the greatest live bands in rock. Some of those two-show stops include: the Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, IN; the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ; the Alpine Valley Music Center in East Troy, WI; the First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA; and the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL. All of the stops will be in the United States, except for one night on June 2 when the band will play the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. To get all the tour dates and stops, you can check out the full listing here.

Dave Matthews will also be bringing along lots of great talent to open for him and his band. Acts include the likes of The Head and the Heart, Brandi Carlile, Tower of Power, the Avett Brothers, and Allen Stone.

The Dave Matthews Band is known for putting on one of the greatest rock shows of all time; and this was one reason why fans were so disappointed that DMB had taken an unannounced hiatus from their yearly summer tours last year. But now with a new record to be out soon, there’s no doubt that fans will get a taste of some fresh tunes from the band, and be able to rock out to old tunes such as “Crash Into Me,” and “Ants Marching.” And who knows? Maybe the band will try to beat their record for longest performance of one song with “#41.” On April 20, 2002, the band played that song on stage for a very, very long 32 minutes.

The video shows Taylor walking through a forest (which is actually a cemetery in real life,) seemingly lost and searching for something. Something, Swift says, that is “no longer there.” And even if there’s no actual footage, there are a few reminders from the book that fans will love. One of those is the mockingjay pin that was given to the main character, Katniss Everdeen, to remind her of District 12, her home that she was taken away from. And those burning trees you see in the video? Yep, they’re in the book too and are sometimes the only refuge the people have against the Capitol.

In the video, Swift is wearing only a nightgown and has slightly disheveled (albeit still beautiful) hair. And as she continues to walk and search, those who have not read the books are given a glimpse into the sadness the story truly entails — especially when Swift stops to reflect and sing while sitting on a gravestone.

To check out Taylor’s new video, you can find it on YouTube below. And, this might not even be the last “Hunger Games” video we get from Swift; she wrote another song for the soundtrack titled “Eyes Wide Open.” Taylor is also joined on the soundtrack by other well-known artists such as Miranda Lambert, The Civil Wars, Arcade Fire, and Kid Cudi.

According to the latest tweet by Gaga, the tour will begin in Seoul, South Korea on April 27 and will take her throughout Southeast Asia and Australia, wrapping up in Perth, Australia on July 7. It’s expected that after this run Gaga will head off to Europe and Latin America, most likely landing her back in North America sometime in the beginning of next year. Those who got a chance to see Lady Gaga on her “Monster Ball” tour in 2010/2011 can expect the same kind of mind-blowing show with this tour, as it will be the same team directing the show. But with the lengths the singer’s going to and with special additions to this tour, it seems like Gaga will do anything to prove that the tour has been worth the wait.

One of those additions to the concert is “The Monster Pit.” It’s this special, locked area that the most eager and enthusiastic Gaga fans will be taken to when they arrive. This area is only open to chosen General Admission audience members and from the Pit, Gaga herself will hand-select the best “little monsters” to come backstage and meet her.

There’s no word yet on when tickets will go on sale but keep posted to Lady Gaga’s Twitter account; that will probably be one of the next announcements made through the social networking site.

However, there is legitimate talk of Lashley returning to settle some “unfinished business” in the WWE.  (Oh, don’t they all say that?)  We do know that according to WWE Diva Kristal Marshall, she at least is interested in her off-screen spouse returning to action.  Of course, Lashley’s enthusiasm in returning may not be enough to heal the bad blood still lingering.  What’s the story here?

Apparently when Lashley left the promotion, he burned some bridges with the McMahons and more importantly with head writer and booker Michael Hayes.  Lashley never really said what the issue was but stated that people hated him and personally tried to destroy him!  “Evil has prevailed” he said, just after he left the promotion.  Since then however, Michael Hayes has been in hot water with management anyway.  So is it possible there could be a reconciliation in the future?  

Another issue to consider: will Lashley’s poor reception in MMA hinder a WWE return?  Lesnar, while not exactly the UFC champion, at least has some momentum in his favor.  Lashley’s career in the MMA, in contrast, hasn’t impressed anyone.  He actually lost to a relatively unknown fighter by the name of Chad Griggs.

The question at this point is, who does the WWE hate more?  Lesnar or Lashley–both of which are high maintenance guys, and yet both of whom could easily build new interest if they rejoined the WWE roster?  Last but not least, what about personality?  Let’s face it, neither Lesnar nor Lashley are on the same level as The Rock or even John Cena when it comes to interviews and charisma.  Perhaps the final decision is all about price.  How much these tough guys think they’re worth and how much WWE management is willing to pay big-name heels to feud against its fan-favorite faces.

What do you think?  Would you rather see Lesnar or Lashley back in a WWE ring?

That was a devastating blow for both Adele and her fans, as no one knew when she’d not only be back, but able to work her vocal cords enough for a performance. Now though, she’s had the surgery and after resting for the “full recovery” her doctors expected, she’s ready to take the stage again! It will be a big one too, as she’s set to perform at this year’s Grammy Awards on February 12th.

The last time she performed at the awards show was in 2009 where she performed “Chasing Pavements” with Jennifer Nettles. That year she was nominated for four awards for the album and song of the same name, and she won two — including the award for Best New Artist. This year, Adele is nominated for six awards including: Record of the Year; Song of the Year for “Rolling in the Deep”; Album of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Album.

No doubt that the question is not whether or not Adele will blow us all away with her performance — but will she win? We think she’s got a pretty good shot!

B.B. King’s career started in 1949, meaning he has had over 62 years of performances under his belt! Generations from his day, as well as brand new generations today are discovering and loving his mix of blues, swing, jazz and pop. His guitar is almost as famous as the man himself. The story goes that he was playing in a dance hall in 1949, when a fight broke out and a lit kerosene barrel tipped over and caught the building on fire.

B.B. made it outside, only to realize he had left his guitar inside. He went racing back in to the burning building and rescued his beloved musical instrument. Sadly, two people were killed in the fire, which was all started as he found out later, by two men fighting over a woman named Lucille. B.B. then named his rescued guitar and all following guitars Lucille, to remind himself never to do anything so stupid again like running into a burning building, or fighting over a woman.

Famous tunes by B.B. King have included “3 O’Clock Blues”, “Whole Lotta Love”, “Sweet Little Angel”, and the Grammy Award-winning song “The Thrill Is Gone”, as well as a string of other hits. Besides the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Singer has also been inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame, and was awarded the National Medal of Arts. He also received an honorary doctorate in music by Brown University, and was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

There is nothing like hearing B.B. King and Lucille play live and in person, so be sure to get your tickets before they are completely sold out!

It all begins at 8:00 am at Taste of the South restaurant (located at 106 S. Broadway.) There guests will enjoy a huge two-hour breakfast spread to get their energy for the walk up and down Broadway to watch the ice carvers go to work on their pieces. Paul Salmon and Jamie Doeren are two of the most well-known artists at the event and they’ll be carving out the giant throne sculpture from, you guessed it, a giant piece of ice. Doeren will also be demonstrating a quick carves show from 12:00pm — 2:00pm. To truly see all the sculptures in a different light, be sure to attend the lit sculpture walk being held from 5:00pm — 10:00pm. 

Of course there’s always much more to Winterfest than just ice sculptures, and this year is no exception. Watch dogs try to pull out first place in the Tri-State Alaskan Malamute Club Dog Pull Competition that begins at 11:00am and of course, the children’s games, hayrides, and other family activities that are going on throughout the day. It’s going to be another gorgeous day in New York, and there’s no better way to spend a Saturday than by taking a stroll through Broadway.

It was during Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins that Ovechkin took a head shot on Zbynek Michalek that some are now saying was just plain dirty. The league agreed and suspended Ovechkin for three games. That time included the All-Star game, which Ovechkin had been invited to, but the league said that he could still play in that one game. Ovechkin though, wants the league to do him no favors and has now snubbed the invite. In a statement Ovechkin said, “My heart is not there. I got suspended so why I have to go there? I love the game; it’s great event. I’d love to be there, but I’m suspended. I don’t want to be a target. I feel I’m not deserving to be there right now. If I suspended, I have to be suspended. That’s why I give up my roster spot.”

The problem of course, is that Ovechkin is a huge draw for fans, and having an All-Star game without two of the game’s biggest stars seems a little counterproductive. But with Ovechkin’s stats this season, there will definitely be bigger stars with perhaps a little more talent there. But one of the other big problems with Ovechkin’s statement is that he’s been vying to get people over to Russia for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, often talking about how important it is that big stars show up to increase awareness and excitement for the sport. This leaves many saying that if he wants all-stars to go to Sochi, he’d better be prepared to make the much shorter trip to Ottawa. 

The current poll results were announced by the NBA on Thursday of last week and according to that, Dwight Howard has received 1.16 million votes to take the spot of the starting center for the Eastern conference; that’s more votes than any other player in the league has received for any position during voting so far. As for whom he’ll play with, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony will most likely take the spots of starting forwards, with 970,000 and 780,000 votes respectively.

It’s the guard position that’s got all the votes in the West, and Bryant’s name is at the top of the list. While Byrant did receive over 1 million votes, he was still short of Howard’s numbers by about 50,000 votes. Other top contenders for the spot were Chris Paul (835,000 votes) and Ricky Rubio (600,000 votes.) As for whom Howard will most likely face at tip-off time? That will probably be Andrew Bynum, who’s currently ahead of his stiffest competition, DeAndre Jordan, by about 500,000 votes. Kevin Durant will also likely represent the West as the starting forward, with just about 1 million votes so far; Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin are both his biggest competition, with the latter being ahead in the voting by about 260,000.

Of course looking at the numbers right now only gives us a good guess at who the teams will be. But with the starting lineup being solely based on these votes, a look at the numbers may be all we need. As for the reserve teams? Those will be decided by the coaches of the teams, which will be the coach of the team in each conference that holds the best record of the season as of January 31.

The announcement of who the coaches will be should come shortly after January 31, as it only takes a peek at the stats to find out. Meanwhile, the starting lineups for both teams will be announced on February 2, with the complete lineups being released on February 9.

Voting hasn’t been closed just yet and those who want to do so have until January 31 to get their say in. Those who want to place their vote need to visit the NBA website here, sign up to become an NBA All-Access member and then place their vote. With the game coming up on February 26, it’s a great way to get in on the action!