--Foo Fighters, Black Keys To Headline Poverty Awareness Concert

The Foo Fighters will be taking the stage next month for a free concert in New York's Central Park.  Along with Neil Young and Crazy Horse and the Black Keys, the rockers are set to headline the 2012 Global Festival on September 29th.  Band of Horses and K'Naan are also participating in the event, which hopes to raise awareness about the fight against extreme poverty throughout the world.  The Foos said in a statement that they're "proud to be lending a hand to such a creative, important event," adding that they're "looking forward to adding to the noise in the big park."  And while the show is free, fans who want to hear the noise will have to "earn" tickets at the website GlobalCitizen.org.  After signing up to become a "Global Citizen," they can earn points by "learning, sharing and taking action against extreme poverty."  Those points will then put them in the draw to win two tickets.


--Marshall Tucker Band Guitarist Has Died; Funeral This Weekend

The Marshall Tucker Band guitarist Stuart Swanlund has died.  The group announced Tuesday that Swanlund passed away over the weekend.  He died in his sleep Saturday at his home in Chicago.  Swanlund was 54.  Family, friends, and fans will be gathering to honor Stuart this weekend.  His funeral is scheduled to take place at the Good Shepherd Memorial Park in Boiling Springs, South Carolina on August 11th.  Those wanting to remember Stuart with flowers or cards can send them to Good Shepherd.

Marshall Tucker Band frontman Doug Gray praises Stuart as an enthusiastic performer, and says he and his bandmates have "lost a great friend."  Swanlund joined the Marshall Tucker Band in 1985, but his link to the group actually dates back to the early 1960s.  When he was five-years-old his grandmother lived across the street from Doug, and Stuart used to sit on her front porch and listen to the Marshall Tucker Band's practice sessions.


--Osbourne Scoffs At NBC Response, Calls For Boycott

Jack Osbourne's fiancée is calling for a fan boycott of the network that dropped her man.  Lisa Stelly is not buying NBC's denials that it discriminated against Jack and is tweeting for fans to stand down the network.  Jack, the son of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne and "America's Got Talent" judge Sharon Osbourne, also tweeted that he was offended by NBC's suggestions that his diagnosis with multiple sclerosis would hinder his participation in the military exercise series "Stars Earn Stripes."  After mom Sharon Osbourne said she would quit "America's Got Talent" due to the network's release of Jack, NBC issued a statement Monday saying it required the show's participants to undergo medical testing to ensure that they could safely participate.  

Jack tweeted that he took part in a 16 hour challenge over 30 miles with a 40 pound sack on his back in January.  He added, "I had MS then.  Don't tell me what physically demanding is."  The reality TV personality announced his M-S diagnosis in June.  He says he was fired from the military exercise competition days after, although he acknowledges he did not sign a contract.  "Stars Earn Stripes" premieres next Monday on NBC.  


--R.E.M. To Release 25th Anniversary Edition "Document" In September

It's been almost a year since R.E.M. called it quits, but fans of the iconic rock band will soon have something new to pick up in music stores.  The group announced on Monday that the remastered 25th anniversary edition of their 1987 album "Document" will be released on September 25th.  The new version will include a previously unreleased live recording of a tour stop from their Work tour on September 14th, 1987.  There's also a new set of liner notes and special lift-top box packaging that comes with four postcards.  Fans can get more information about the reissue at remhq.com.


--Prosecutors Ask For 3-Year Sentence For Russian Punk Band

Prosecutors in Russia say the three women in the punk band Pussy Riot need to be separated from society for three years.  That's the amount of jail time they demanded in court on Tuesday.  Maria Alyokhina, Nadeshda Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich are on trial for staging a protest at a Moscow church back in February that involved storming the altar and singing a so-called "protest prayer" that asked the Virgin Mary to get rid of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.  They have been charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, but many in the international community are pointing to this case as another example of the crackdown on dissent since Putin returned to the presidency.  Several celebrities have also spoken out in defense of the punk rockers, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting and Madonna.

Putin himself has said the members of Pussy Riot shouldn't be judged too harshly, although he adds that there is "nothing good" about what they have done.  The prosecution seems to have listened, as the maximum possible sentence for hooliganism is seven years.  The court is expected to reach a verdict by the end of this week.


--Today's Birthdays

U2 guitarist The Edge is 51.
Poison drummer Rikki Rockett is 51.
Madness guitarist Chris Foreman is 56.
Creed frontman Scott Stapp is 39.


--Today In Rock History