Entertainment Blogger: MusicMonday: Performances at Olympics, More Festival Updates and Free Downloads

Olympic Performances

Live performances at last Friday's opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics included:

Nikki Yanfosky - Canadian National Anthem
Measha Brueggergosman - Olympic Hymn
Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado - "Bang the Drum" (which Adams co-wrote especially for the Vancouver games)
k.d. lang - "Hallelujah"
Sarah McLachlan - "Ordinary Miracle"
Garou - "Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin" ("A Little Higher, A Little Further")

Not sure if I would award any gold medals to any of the performers -- but Brueggergosman, McLachlan and lang definitely deserve silver! "Hallelujah" happens to be one of my all-time favorite songs. I prefer the late great Jeff Buckley's haunting version here. But lang did a fine job -- here she is in 2005 with another strong performance of the Leonard Cohen song.

Summer Festivals

Lineups for more summer festivals have been announced. Here is the latest round-up:

This year's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will be held on June 10-13. Once again, the festival returns to the Great Stage Park on a 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. This year's lineup includes the Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Tenacious D and Weezer. The full line-up can be viewed by clicking on the image above. Website: www.bonnaroo.com
Eric Clapton has announced the lineup for his Crossroads Guitar Festival to be held at Toyota Park outside of Chicago in Bridgeview, Illinois on June 26. Participating artists include John Mayer, ZZ Top, the Allman Brothers Band, Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Vince Gill, and, of course, Clapton himself. The complete lineup can be found on the festival Website: www.crossroadsguitarfestival.com
And later tonight, the lineup and dates will be announced for the Sasquatch! Music Festival. It's held annually at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. Website: www.sasquatchfestival.com

Free Downloads

Here are this week's free offerings:

Compliments of Good Housekeeping, Brad Paisley's new single "Letter to Me" can be downloaded here.
Download Kellee Maize's entire "Aligned Archetype" album here.
Still feeling lovey-dovey even though Valentine's Day has passed? Download the free "Romance Around the World" sampler from Green Hill here.
Coca-Cola presents a weekly free download on 'The Formula for Happiness' MySpace page here. The current freebie is Ok Go's "This Too Shall Pass."

And don't forget to continually check the following sources for more free downloads -- new songs covering all genres are added frequently. Just click on the links below and enjoy some new tunes.