Guest Bios

Season Two

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Bono, U2
Bono, U2
The lead singer and lyricist of Irish rock band U2, Bono was born Paul David Hewson in Ballymun, Dublin. He met the Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton at school, and in 1978 the band was formed. U2 have sold over 140 million albums and won numerous awards, including 22 Grammys.

Activism has always been part of U2's music and in 2005 the band were awarded Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award at a ceremony in Chile. Bono has received a number of awards for his music and activism, including the Légion d'honneur from the French Government in 2003, Time Magazine 's Person of the Year for 2005 (along with Bill and Melinda Gates), and an honorary British knighthood in 2007.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... The Edge, U2
The Edge, U2
Guitarist with Irish rock band U2, The Edge was born David Howell Evans in Barking, East London. A year later, he and his family moved to Malahide, Co. Dublin. He went on to attend Mount Temple School where he met Larry Mullen, Bono and Adam Clayton, forming U2 with them in 1978.
Described as one of the most influential guitar players of his generation, The Edge's crystalline minimalist guitar playing, often making use of repeat echo, is the hallmark of U2's sound, and one of the most original and distinctive guitar styles in rock and roll history. Recently acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 have toured the globe countless times. They have released 14 studio albums and won numerous awards, including 22 Grammy Awards.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Sheryl Crow
SHERYL CROW
Free-spirited, fearless and fierce, Sheryl Crow has garnered nine Grammys, performed duets with musical luminaries such as Sting and Mick Jagger, released seven studio albums that sold more than 35 million records worldwide, saw the launch of her very own clothing line Bootheel Trading Co., is a cancer survivor and passionate humanitarian and has performed for President Obama!
Today the Kennett, Missouri, native is a passionate supporter of a variety of environmental and health-related charities, including the Revlon Run/Walk for Women, Stop Global Warming, the Dream Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation and The World Food Program.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Ron Sexsmith
RON SEXSMITH
Ron Sexsmith is a major contemporary writer/artist who has amassed a sizable and consistently enthralling body of work since making his major label debut in 1995 with his self-titled album, followed by such eloquent musical gems as Other Songs (1997), Blue Boy (2001), Retrieve r (2004) and Time Being (2006). Each has its own particular character but is connected to the rest by the overarching intelligence, impeccable taste and understated emotionality of this single-minded voice in the pop-cultural wilderness.
Sexsmith says, “Over the years, I've built it up to the point where I have a cult following, for lack of a better term. I don't have a huge following, but for the most part they're very into it. So that's encouraging, and that's really all you can ask for these days. I just write the songs, and feel really lucky that I have a career.”

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Jesse Winchester
JESSE WINCHESTER
If you listen to many of the songs Jesse Winchester has written in his professional career, now nearing four decades, you'll hear most of the elements of what's become known as “Americana” – detailed, empathetic stories of everyday people set to music incorporating folk, country, bluegrass, blues and gospel instrumentation.
Winchester was born in Louisiana and moved to Montreal, Canada in 1967 to avoid the Vietnam draft. Since then he has built a career mixed with recording his own albums and writing songs recorded by other artists, including Reba McIntyre and Wynonna Judd. In 2002, Winchester and his family finally relocated back to the States. While Winchester has maintained an active touring schedule during much of his career, his return to the recording studio to cut Love Filling Station after a nine-year absence was inspired by that most romantic of reasons: “My wife kept bugging me.”

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Neko Case
NEKO CASE
There's a special challenge to being an artist in this increasingly fractured cultural age; a delicate balancing act, between being of your time, and striving for timelessness. Few contemporary artists even try. Neko Case is an exception. While Case's creative evolution has made for an impressive story so far, she's about to write the most remarkable chapter in that continuing saga with the release of her sixth studio album, Middle Cyclone . The tornado that blows through the title and several songs on Middle Cyclone is an apt metaphor. Case has famously taken her own twisted route, lighting for a time in the South, in the West, in the Northwest, and in Canada, flirting with as many musical styles as homes. She is settled - or unsettled - in Tucson for the moment, with dreams of moving full-time to the former dairy farm she owns in Vermont. She recorded the new album in both locations, as well as studios in Toronto and Brooklyn.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Ray LaMontagne
RAY LAMONTAGNE
Born in 1973 in new Hampshire, Ray LaMontagne is a successful American folk artist. With his remarkable, rough hewn vocals and evocative, finely etched songs, LaMontagne has, in but a few short years, become the rare artist of whom the world waits with to see what each new work will reveal. His first album, Trouble , was released in the fall of 2001 and his most recent release, 2008's Gossip in the Grain , was his third album.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... John Prine
JOHN PRINE
Born in Maywood, IL in October 1946, John Prine's body of work has become the high-water mark of American songwriting and his songs have found a home in the repertoire of musical luminaries such as Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash and George Strait. On March 9, 2005, at the request of Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, John Prine became the first singer/songwriter to read and perform at the Library of Congress.
Prine takes his own sweet time dancing with his muse -- and truly writes what's in his soul. So if it takes him a little longer to compose the songs that capture the moments that reveal the gently folded human truths that bind us all together, it's always worth the wait. There was a nine year gap between his Grammy-nominated Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings and his latest solo offering, appropriately titled, Fair & Square , but his unorthodox timing was rewarded with critical acclaim.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Lyle Lovett
LYLE LOVETT
Lyle Lovett is one of the all-time great American singer/songwriters. His voice is unique, but his antecedents are recognizable. In his work two roads come together, the trail blazed by the great Texas storytellers of whom Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark are the best known, and the crooked highway navigated by sophisticated wise-asses of whom Randy Newman and Tom Waits are the best examples.
Born in Texas, Lovett started his music career after attending Texas A&M University and studying in Europe. He was initially classified as a country musician but has garnered acclaim and success across genres.
Lovett also has starred in four films for director Robert Altman ( The Player , Pret-a-Porter , Short Cuts , Cookie's Fortune ) and he scored a fifth ( Dr. T and the Women ).

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Levon Helm
LEVON HELM
One of the southern United States' most influential musicians, Levon Helm was born in Arkansas in 1940 and started playing music at a young age, touring with his sister as Lavon and Linda. Before finishing high school, Helm joined Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks on the road, eventually splitting off with the rest of The Hawks to form what later became The Band. Levon and the rest of The Band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2008 and were ranked as #50 on Rolling Stone 's top 100 artists of all time. Helm continues to write and perform music after surviving a bout with throat cancer.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Allen Toussaint
ALLEN TOUSSAINT
71 year-old composer, producer, pianist and singer Allen Toussaint can, without hesitation, be called a living legend; his work as composer, producer, arranger and performer, especially in the 60s and 70s, helped shape the sound of R&B, soul, and funk as we know it today, bringing an easy-going charm and humor to his repertoire, along with seductive, percolating rhythms indigenous to New Orleans, the city he has always called home. He's collaborated memorably with artists ranging from Lee Dorsey and Ernie K. Doe to the Pointer Sisters and Labelle, from the Meters and Dr. John to the Band and Paul McCartney. Toussaint was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Nick Lowe
NICK LOWE
Nick Lowe, respected songwriter, vocalist, musician, producer, wit, raconteur, and much more, was born in England in 1949 and is considered a pioneer of punk rock. His biggest hit was 1980's “Cruel to Be Kind,” but Lowe has produced and written many songs and albums, including producing all of Elvis Costello's records between 1977 and 1981. His most recent album, At My Age , was released in 2007.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Richard Thompson
RICHARD THOMPSON
Richard Thompson was a founding member of the seminal British folk-rock group Fairport Convention. His vast and ever-growing body of original material is marked by consistent intelligence, taste and emotional purity—which is why so many of his songs have been covered by other quality artists, a stellar list that includes the likes of Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Del McCoury, Graham Nash, X, Los Lobos and Bob Mould. Over the course of his career, Thompson has earned numerous awards and honors, including the Ivor Novello Award for songwriting, the Orville Gibson Award for guitarists, and a spot in the top 20 of Rolling Stone's 2004 list of all-time guitar greats. In February 2006, he was awarded a BBC Lifetime Achievement Folk Award.
In 2010 he released the album Dream Attic , a collection of brand-new songs recorded live.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... Bruce Springsteen
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Bruce Springsteen's recording career spans more than thirty years, beginning with 1973's Columbia Records release Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ . By 1975, the covers of both Time and Newsweek declared Springsteen's music a national phenomenon. He has released twenty-four albums, garnered nineteen Grammy Awards, won an Oscar (for 1994's “Streets of Philadelphia”) and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Springsteen's newest album, Working On a Dream , debuted at number one on the Billboard chart in 16 countries, including the U.S.

Season One

THE POLICE
From their early beginnings, The Police were hailed as a maverick live band - a group that galvanized an already impressive studio sound into something otherworldly when performing. Combining controlled energy and evocative melodies, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers played with the improvisational instincts of a jazz trio and the raw energy of a punk-rock band - a blend that made them one of the definitive rock groups of the'70s and '80s.
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SMOKEY ROBINSON
Once pronounced by Bob Dylan as America’s “greatest living poet,” acclaimed singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson’s career spans over four decades of hits. He has received numerous awards including the Grammy Living Legend Award, NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, Honorary Doctorate (Howard University), and the National Medal of Arts Award from the President of the United States. He has also been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
Affectionately referred to by Elton John as “the greatest songwriter on the planet” and praised by The New York Times for his "genuine originality", Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation by carving out his own singular sound.
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JENNY LEWIS
They say there are two sides to every story, but that old saying might not quite cover it if we're talking about Jenny Lewis. With Rilo Kiley, her rock band of the past 10 years, she transformed before our eyes from a shy indie-rocker singing barely above a whisper to the authoritative, take-no-prisoners singer/songwriter/frontwoman. Tack sharp and unafraid of subject matter of any height or weight, channeling songs through either Rilo Kiley or her solo work, her staggering range as a writer has brought her critical acclaim around the globe.
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JAKOB DYLAN
“Once I realized that this album was basically going to just be guitar and voice,” says Jakob Dylan, “I had to work a bit differently, because there's nothing but the song to grab your attention.” On “Seeing Things,” Dylan's first-ever solo album, the songs most certainly do make a listener sit up and take notice. They are spare, unblinking visions, stripped to the bone, full of dread and darkness one minute and spirited optimism the next. After five albums as the leader of the platinum-selling, Grammy-winning band the Wallflowers, with this project Dylan reveals a striking and powerful new approach to his work.
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DIANA KRALL
"I wanted to make these songs sound like they were written yesterday," Diana Krall says of the 15 essential performances that comprise “The Very Best of Diana Krall,” her first-ever best-of release. The collection distills highlights from Krall's first decade and a half as a recording artist, during which time the Canadian-born singer/pianist's cool, expressive vocals and sensitive, soulful piano work have won her international stardom.

While Krall's unprecedented commercial success has redefined the rules of the jazz market, she's remained true to her deep roots in bop and swing. Drawing upon a deep well of material from America's pop and jazz traditions, she's created consistently compelling, distinctive music by infusing time-honored songs with her own abundant musicality and charisma.
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HERBIE HANCOCK
Herbie Hancock is a true icon of modern music. Throughout his explorations, he has transcended limitations and genres while still maintaining his unique, unmistakable voice. Hancock's success at expanding the possibilities of musical thought has placed him in the annals of this century's visionaries. With an illustrious career spanning five decades, he continues to amaze audiences and never ceases to expand the public's vision of what music, particularly jazz, is all about today.
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KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
Kris Kristofferson has been making things happen his entire life. Born in Texas and raised in a military family, he was a Golden Gloves boxer who studied creative writing at Pomona College in California. The Phi Beta Kappa graduate earned a Rhodes scholarship to study literature at Oxford, where he boxed, played rugby and continued to write songs. After graduating from Oxford, Kristofferson served in the army as an Airborne Ranger helicopter pilot and achieved the rank of Captain. In 1965, Kristofferson turned down an assignment to teach at West Point and, inspired by songwriters like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, moved to Nashville to pursue his music.
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ROSANNE CASH
Rosanne Cash is a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter. Her fourteen albums, released over the last twenty-five years, have charted eleven #1 singles. She has earned numerous accolades for songwriting and performance.
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NORAH JONES
Norah Jones, the talented singer, songwriter and pianist, who has won over the world with her signature style, unveils her new album, “Not Too Late.” Her third outing for Blue Note Records, the album is a 13-track gem that features, for the first time, Jones singing a full assortment of her own compositions that plumb the depths of emotion with subtle levity and probe the mind-set of living in a troubled world.
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JOHN MELLENCAMP
Indeed, Mellencamp, who virtually invented the genre now also known as heartland rock or Americana, has fine-tuned his sound with an ear toward the rock sounds that his music developed out of—particularly the highly influential garage-rock variant. In a recent interview, he noted that in order to get the sound exactly right, he and his band recorded the album’s songs in the rehearsal room of his Belmont Mall studio in Bloomington, Indiana—which, in fact, is a literal garage.
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JAMES TAYLOR
Over the course of his long career, James Taylor has earned 40 gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards and 5 Grammy Awards for a catalog running from 1970's “Sweet Baby James” to his Grammy Award-winning efforts “Hourglass” (1997) and “October Road” (2002). Taylor's first “Greatest Hits” album earned him the RIAA's elite Diamond Award, given for sales in excess of 10 million units in the United States. For his accomplishments, Taylor was honored with the 1998 Century Award, Billboard magazine's highest accolade, bestowed for distinguished creative achievement. The year 2000 saw his induction into both the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the prestigious Songwriter's Hall of Fame. In February 2006, The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences selected Taylor its MUSICARES Person of the Year.
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RENÉE FLEMING
As “the people’s diva,” renowned soprano Renée Fleming continues to charm audiences throughout the world with her superb vocal intelligence, exquisite musical grace, and voice of “liquid gold.” Her artistry has taken her to the world’s capitals and great opera houses, captivating audiences everywhere she goes. On September 22, 2008, the Metropolitan Opera celebrates her in their Gala Opening Night —an evening starring this beloved singer. Additional appearances at the Metropolitan Opera this season are in Massenet’s Thaïs and Dvorák’s Rusalka. Over the past few seasons, Fleming has begun hosting many broadcasts, including the Met’s HD series for movie theaters as well as television, and “Live from Lincoln Center” on PBS. In fall 2008, the perfume company Coty launches La Voce by Renée Fleming, her first ever fragrance with the proceeds benefiting the Metropolitan Opera.
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SIR ELTON JOHN
The monumental career of international singer/songwriter and performer Sir Elton John has spanned more than three decades. He is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time, with 35 gold and 25 platinum albums, 29 consecutive Top 40 hits, and he has sold more than 250 million records worldwide. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has awarded John multiple Grammys, including the Grammy Legend Award, as well as honored him with the Music Cares Person of the Year Award. Additionally, John was the first artist honored by the Billboard Touring Conference with its Legend of Live award, which recognizes those in the concert business who have made a significant and lasting impact on the industry. He continues to tour around the world as well as perform his critically acclaimed "Red Piano" show at Caesars Palace.
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PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
Elected President in 1992, and again in 1996, President Clinton was the first Democratic president to be awarded a second term in six decades. Under his leadership, the United States enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. President Clinton’s core values of building community, creating opportunity, and demanding responsibility resulted in unprecedented progress for America, including moving the nation from record deficits to record surpluses; the creation of over 22 million jobs—more than any other administration; low levels of unemployment, poverty and crime; and the highest homeownership and college enrollment rates in history.

TONY BENNETT
With the international celebration of his 80th birthday in 2006, amidst the tributes, honors and accolades, the world's most down-to-earth living legend celebrated this milestone the same way he essentially lives his life: enjoying each moment to the fullest, weathering the storms with good cheer and optimism, and connecting to people everywhere through the magic of his music and the power of his art.

LOU REED
Lou Reed was inducted in 1996 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of The Velvet Underground and received the Heroes award from the New York Chapter of NARAS in 1997. The same year the French government awarded Reed with the Chavelier Commander of Arts and Letters. Reed has acted in and composed music for a number of films. He was designated an ‘American Master’ in 1998 by the award-winning PBS documentary series and that same year, Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart won the Grammy for Best Long Form Music Video. Pass Thru Fire, a collection of his lyrics, was published in 1999 by Hyperion and in 2008 by Da Capo Press. His reworking of Poe’s THE RAVEN was published by Grove Press and staged by Robert Wilson at the Thalia Theater and BAM.

JULIAN SCHNABEL
Schnabel’s work has been exhibited all over the world. His paintings, sculptures and works on paper have been the subject of retrospective exhibitions at: The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1982; The Tate Gallery, London, 1983; The Whitechapel Gallery, London, 1987; The Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1987; The Städtische Kunsthalle, Düsseldorf, 1987; The Whitney Museum of American Art, 1987; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, 1987; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1987; Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Basel, 1989; Musee d’Art Contemporain, Nimes, 1989; Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, 1989; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 1989; Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, 1989; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 1989; The Museo De Monterrey, Mexico, 1994; The Tamayo Museum, Mexico City, 1994; The Foundation Joan Miro, Barcelona, 1995; Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, Italy, 1996; Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 2004; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Palacio de Velazquez, Madrid, 2004; and Mostra d’Oltremare, Napoli, 2004.

SHE & HIM
She & Him made their debut record as a love letter to the musicians who inspired it. Volume One introduces a boy and girl choir hell-bent on making music the old-fashioned way: by hand and with as few machines as humanly possible.

The She & Him story begins when in 2006, renowned one man band M. Ward, recorded a duet with a girl named Zooey Deschanel. A delightful recording session, the experience led to a dialogue between the two about collaborating further.