2011 was a year when many music festivals in England struggled in terms of sales and attendance. But the Green Man Festival was not part of that particular list as it sold more tickets than ever. Last year’s headliners included popular American music acts such as Fleet Foxes, Explosions in the Sky and Iron and Wine.

This year, the festival is poised to make a repeat as promotional tickets for Green Man 2012 are already sold out. The festival already achieved a milestone last year as tickets for the entire event sold out for the third straight year.

The celebration is slated to run from August 17th to 19th at the Glanusk Park, Wales, set in backdrop next to the very scenic Sugar Loaf Mountain. Event organizers have already announced several musical acts to banner Green Man 2012, including Canadian indie pop star Feist, The Walkmen, and Yann Tiersen.

Although music is the heart of the Green Man Festival, the event also provides platforms or tents for other artists. Last year, big names in literature like Simon Armitage, Howard Marks and Joe Dunthorne were showcased in the literature tent. Tom Wrigglesworth and Tony Law offered comic relief with their own brand of comedy at the Comedy Tent.

But many festival goers believe that it is the setting that makes the Green Man Festival unique. For Steve Tay, a Green Man Festival devotee, the event is “one of the most beautiful and magical festivals in the world” and that one wakes “to a view of the clouds and mist lifting over the black mountains is one of those moments that makes you appreciate life.”

Fiona Stewart, the festival’s managing director since 2006, was quoted saying that the event is “filled with the kind of unexpected experiences and areas which change a concert into a festival.” Stewart added that feedback from attendees helps them in improving the Festival and make it better the following year.

Last year, organizers set up the Nature and Nurture healing and therapy and the Einstein Science Garden areas as part of their newest attractions.

A part of the Green Man Festival’s charm is the absence (of) corporate sponsorship. No mega corporation has sponsored one of England’s most popular music festivals, which allowed organizers independence in running the event. It is financially hard to run a festival without a corporate partner, Stewart admitted in an interview.

However, Stewart said that if a corporation offers a sponsorship that will reflect the festival’s spirit, then they will consider it.

This duo hailed from Akron, Ohio, the dynamic duo has released their latest album Brothers in 2010. Brothers is their sixth studio album that marked the mainstream of their success as a band. The album won the Best Alternative Music Album of the Grammy Award. Pitchfork Media announced the album on March 2, 2010 and released by Nonesuch Records on May 18, 2010. The album debuted at no. 3 on the Billboard 200 and about 73,000 copies were sold in the first week of release. It is the band’s highest charting album to date and in January 2011, Brothers became a certified Gold by the RIAA as it shipped more than 500,000 copies.

The first single of the album ‘Tighten Up’ is The Black Keys’ most successful single yet. It’s their first charting song and it reached no. 1 on the Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts. On an interview with Dan Auerbach, he said it was the last song they did for the album. Having written The Black Keys lyrics, Dan, Patrick, and Brian (Danger Mouse) went to the studio and tried to come up with a tune for it. ‘Tighten Up’ has then been licensed to appear in the FIFA 11 video game, Gossip Girl television series, Subaru commercial, as well as in films such as I Am Number Four and Bad Teacher.

The Black Keys have evolved over the years and record after record, their music has gotten even better. They brought in elements of jazz, hip hop, and funk into their blues and rock music. Mostly self-produced, the Black Keys lyrics are also mostly self-written. The front man of The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach has become more experimental on writing and their instrument mix. Their songwriting has become more complicated and less concentrated on the blues. Throughout their musical career, and has shown their writing capabilities with the Black Keys lyrics. Some of their best written and recorded songs in the album aside from ‘Tighten Up’ are ‘Unknown Brother’ and ‘These Days’. To view The Black Keys lyrics and buy The Black Keys tickets, look it up online and experience every element of the songs of The Black Keys.

This is for their fans who want to hear all the past and several of the best of the Foo Fighters singles all packed up together in one album. This is also in commemoration of the band’s 15th year anniversary. The Foo Fighters Greatest Hits was released on November 3, 2009 on Roswell/RCA.  New songs included in the album are ‘Word Forward’ and ‘Wheels’, which was written for the friend of Dave Grohl who had died.  Along with the two new singles are the Grammy Award-winning songs of the band such as ‘The Pretender’, ‘All My Life’ and ‘Learn to Fly’. Others songs in the album are ‘Best of You’, ‘Times Like These’, ‘My Hero’, ‘Times Like These’, ‘Monkey Wrench’, ‘Big Me’. ‘Breakout’, ‘This is a Call’, ‘Long Road to Ruin’, ‘Skin and Bones’, and ‘Everlong’. The deluxe edition of the greatest hits Foo Fighters Greatest Hits also includes a book and the DVD features a live performance as well as all of their music videos.

Its release created a controversy and some critics regarding the content of the album. Front man Dave Grohl was in fact displeased with the release date of the album as the band has no plans of retiring yet. Grohl would’ve wanted to wait until they retire, but the label wanted them to do a compilation album for four years. Grohl has also stated that he would’ve preferred a different track listing. Critics have also noted that the album has missed to feature some of the best of the Foo Fighters songs. As of October 2010, the Foo Fighters Greatest Hits has sold 330,000 copies.

The Foo Fighters along with the members, Dave Grohl on the vocals and guitars, Nate Mendel on the bass, Taylor Hawkins on the drums and backing vocals, Christ Shiflett on the lead guitar and backing vocals, and Pat Smear on the lead and rhythm guitar, are without doubt among the most popular rock bands of the decade. Lead by the frontman Grohl, the band continues to release only the best of the Foo Fighters tickets, albums and tracks every year.

To date, Miranda Lambert discography consists of four studio albums, one extended play (EP) seven appearances, twelve singles, and ten music videos. Miranda Lambert released her self-titled album which was financed by her father. Her major-label debut album Kerosene was released on March 2005. 11 out of the 12 Miranda Lambert songs in this album were co-written by Lambert herself. Singles includes ‘Me and Charlie Talking’ which peaked at no. 27 on the Billboard Hot Country songs chart, no. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and no. 18 on the Billboard 200 list. The second single on the album, ‘Bring Me Down’, was a second Top 40 hit. Kerosene was awarded with certified platinum status in the US.

Miranda Lambert’s career continued to explode with her second studio album, ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’. This sophomore album made its way at the no. 6th spot on the Billboard 200 charts and at no. 1 on the Country charts in its first week. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was released on May 1, 2007 and just like Kerosene, it was certified platinum in the US. She wrote 8 out of her 11 Miranda Lambert songs in the album, including her four singles. ‘Gunpowder & Lead’ was the third single from the album and is her highest charting single.

In September 29, 2009, Miranda Lambert released her third album Revolution wherein she co-wrote four tracks on the album’s 15 tracks. Some Miranda Lambert songs in the album were co-written by Blake Shelton, Dave Haywood, and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum. The album spawned the singles ‘Dead Flowers’, ‘White Liar’, ‘The House that Built Me’, ‘Only Prettier’, and ‘Heart Like Mine’. Revolution has won the Album of the Year Award by the Academy of Country Music Awards and at the Country Music Association Awards in 2010.

Four the Record, Miranda Lambert’s fourth studio album is due to be released on November 1, 2011. The track ‘Baggage Claim’ was released earlier in August 2011 as a lead-off single from her fourth studio album. Out of all the other previous Miranda Lambert songs, ‘Baggage Claim’ debuted at no. 33 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and it became Lambert’s highest debuting single. The single also debuted at no. 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of August 27, 2011. To date, Miranda Lambert has sold about 3 million records according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The music industry is known to produce great artists time and time again and Lil Wayne is one of its top successful rappers in the world to date. He has made his importance felt and known to the world by developing his own style of blending hip-hop and rap. Under his credits, he has a series of huge popular albums that contains chart-topping and the best of Lil Wayne songs.

Since the start of his career, Lil Wayne has had a long list of nominations and awards under his belt. Some of the best of Lil Wayne songs that have garnered awards are as follows. In 2007, his collaboration DJ Khaled, Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Birdman with ‘We Takin Over’ won the Best Video for Ozone Awards and the Coolest Collaboration with Vibe Music Awards. In the same year, ‘Stuntin Like My Daddy’ with Birdman was awarded with Viewer’s Choice by the BET Awards and Alltel People’s Champ by BET Hip Hop Awards. ‘You’ was also awarded with the Best Rap/R&B Collaboration by the Ozone Awards in 2007.

His song ‘A Milli’ was awarded with People’s Champ and Track of the Year by BET Hip Hop Awards in 2008. ‘Lollipop’ won the Best Ringtone of the Year while ‘I’m So Hood (Remix)’ was the Best Hip Hop collaboration. ‘Lollipop’ also won the Viewer’s choice by the BET Awards and the Best Hip Hop Video by the MTV Video Music Awards in 2008. In 2009, Grammy Awards awarded Wayne’s ‘Lollipop’ with Best Rap Song, ‘Swagga Like Us’ with Best Rap Performance By a Group, and ‘A Milli’ with Best Rap Solo Performance. The ASCAP Awards awarded Wayne with Award Winning Rap Song for ‘Forever’ and ‘Mrs. Officer’. ‘No Ceiling’ was awarded with Mixtape of the Year and ‘Drop the World’ with The People’s Crown by the Sucker Free Summit Awards in 2010. Recently, his ‘Look At Me Now’ won the Video of The Year, Best Collaboration, and Viewer’s Choice Award by the BET Awards 2011.

This love-him-or-hate-him artist has produced songs that can be heard at almost every party and can be found on the list of every music buff. Even when he was sentenced to jail for about 8 months in 2010, Lil Wayne continued working and has produced award-winning albums. Since his release he has been hard at work touring, will sell-out Lil Wayne tickets and shows around the globe.

The Black Keys discography for their studio albums starts off with their debut album The Big Come Up which was released on May 20, 2002. The album was recorded in Carney’s basement and on an 8-track tape recorder of the 1980s. The album produced songs from the Beatles original ‘She Said, She Said’ and the blues standard ‘I’ll Be Your Man’. Their second album Thickfreakness, which was also recorded in Carney’s basement for 14 hours, was released on April 8, 2003. It spawned three hit track ‘Set You Free’, ‘Hard Row’, and a Richard Berry cover ‘Have Love, Will Travel’. Rubber Factory which is the band’s third album, released on September 7, 2004, helped gain the band recognition, thus boosting their career. Recorded at an abandoned factory, it featured singles such as ’10 A.M. Automatic’, ‘Til I Get My Way’, and ‘Girl is On My Mind’. In September 12, 2006, the album Magic Potion was added to the Black Keys discography. Their fourth album was their first release on Nonesuch Records and it featured the singles ‘You’re the One’, ‘Just Got to Be’, and ‘You’re Touch’.  The band’s fifth studio album Attack & Release was produced by Danger Mouse and was released on April 1, 2008. It debuted at no. 14 on the Billboard 200 with singles ‘Strange Times’, ‘I Got Mine’, and ‘Same Old Thing’. Their latest album Brothers, which was produced by the Black Keys themselves along with Mark Neill, was released on May 18, 2010. The song ‘Tighten Up’, from the album Brothers was released first as a single before the album. Moreover, ‘Tighten Up’ became their most successful single, reaching the number one spot on the US Alternative charts. Other singles from this album includes ‘Howlin’ for You’ and ‘Next Girl’. The Black Keys won two Grammys for Brothers with Best Alternative Music album and Best Recording Package. ‘Tighten Up’ was also awarded with Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2011.

The Black Keys discography also includes the band’s collaboration album Blackroc, featuring other hip hop artists. It was released on Black Friday. Rappers include Jim Jones, Ludacris, M.O.P., Mos Def, NOE, Nicole Wray, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Pharoahe Monch, Raekwon, RZA, and Q-Tip. Blackroc was recorded in Brooklyn, New York.

As for the Extended Plays, The Moan was released on January 19, 2004 with songs ‘Have Love Will Travel’, a version of ‘Heavy Soul’, and two other covers. In 2006, The Black Keys released Chulahoma: The songs of Junior Kimbrough with featured songs by Junior Kimbrough who is a north Mississippi blues man. On the same year, the Black Keys also released their bootleg album Live in Austin TX, which was recorded on October 24, 2003.

Wiz Khalifa was born in a family with military parents and grew up while moving from one place to another. He has lived in Germany, England, and Japan, before his family settles in Pittsburgh. His stage name came from the word ‘Khalifa’ which is an Arabic word for ‘Successor’ and wisdom. The stage name was then made into Wiz Khalifa when he was 15. Wiz Khalifa had released one studio album, two independent albums, and four singles.

His first major label album, Rolling Papers, was released by Wiz Khalifa on March 29, 2011 with Rostrum Records and Atlantic Records. Rolling Papers also features artists like Curren$y, Too $hort, as well as Chevy Woods. The album released the singles ‘Black and Yellow’, ‘Roll Up’, ‘On My Level’, and ‘No Sleep’. The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and it received generally mixed reviews from music critics. The album’s lead single ‘Black and Yellow’ topped both the Rap Songs chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. Wiz Khalifa also supported the album with his Rolling Papers summer concert tour which was a 30-city trek in 2011. The Wiz Khalifa tickets for the tour were released on April 14, 2011.

Wiz Khalifa is also set to release his collaborative soundtrack with Snoop Dog on December 13, 2011 and it is entitled Mac & Devin Go to High School. The first single released from the soundtrack is ‘Young, Wild & Free’ which features Bruno Mars. Those who didn’t get to watch Wiz Khalifa on his Rolling Papers tour in 2011 will be able to see him as he is set for another road tour with High School tour with Snoop Dog. So far, the concert has a 6-date schedule which will begin on December 5, 2011 at Terminal 5 in New York. The last date will be on December 13, 2011 at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Grab your Wiz Khalifa tickets now and watch the rising star along with Snoop Dog on their soundtrack tour.

The Foo Fighters was formed in Seattle after the demise of the former grunge band Nirvana. Dave Grohl who was a former Nirvana drummer started his solo project which he called Foo Fighters after the tragic death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Dave Grohl decided to recruit some members to his project and after a series of lineup changes, the Foo Fighters is now composed of Dave Grohl (lead vocals, rhythm & lead guitars, drums), Taylor Hawkins (drums), Nate Mendel (bass guitar), Chris Shiflett (lead & rhythm guitars), and Pat Smear (rhytm guitar, backing vocals).

The band has a total of seven studio albums, one live album, 2 compilation albums, three extended plays, and 29 singles. Debuting in 1995, they released their platinum self-titled album Foo Fighters with Roswell Records. Foo Fighters’ The Color and The Shape album came out in 1997, There is Nothing Left to Lose in 1999, One by One 2002, In Your Honor in 2005, ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace’ in 2007, and their latest released album, Wasting Light in 2011. Their studio albums have all reached gold and platinum certifications in the United States. To support their albums, the Foo Fighters went on tours to help in the promotion of their releases.

The band’s current tour entitled Wasting Light World Tour was launched months prior to the release of their Wasting Light album. The tour is composed of 9 legs with 45 shows in North America, 29 shows in Europe, 10 shows in Oceania, 4 shows in Asia, and 4 shows in South America. The tour has a total of 92 shows and it started on December 21, 2010 at the Paladino’s in Tarzana, California. As of December 2011, the Foo Fighters have headed off to Australia and New Zealand for a series of shows there. The tour will also push through 2012. The last two legs of the tour will be in Japan and countries in Latin America. The Wasting Light World Tour will wrap up by April 7, 2012 at the Lollapalooza Brazil – Jockey Club in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are several more shows left before the Wasting Light World Tour ends in 2012. Grab your Foo Fighters tickets now as there are still tickets available on some shows.

Taylor Swift started her career at the age of 14 when she was hired by the Sony/ATV Tree Publishing house as their youngest songwriter.  Taylor distributed her demo tapes to different record companies and after a couple of rejections she was able to sign a record deal with Big Machines. She released her self-titled debut album in 2006 and it went 5x platinum in the U.S.

Her second album, Fearless, was released in 2008 and it was certified 6x platinum by the RIAA. To promote Fearless, Taylor launched her first major concert tour entitled Fearless Tour in 2009. The Fearless Tour consisted of 4 legs and it visited North America, Oceania, Europe, and Asia with a total of 105 shows. Taylor Swift was joined by several guests including Gloriana, Kellie Pickler, and Justin Bieber on her shows in UK. Swift also performed with special guests like Katy Perry, Faith Hill, and John Mayer. The tour began on April 23, 2009 at the Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville, United States. The Fearless tour wrapped up with a show at the Gillete Stadium in Foxborough, United States. The Taylor Swift tickets for the tour went on sale on February 2009 and it was almost instantly sold-out.

Her latest released album, Speak Now, is Taylor’s third album with Big Machine and it came out on October 25, 2010. Speak Now came out at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and it received generally positive reviews from music critics. Speak Now spawned the hit singles ‘Mine’, ‘Back to December’, ‘Mean’, ‘The Story of Us’, ‘Sparks Fly’, and ‘Ours’. Taylor promoted her 3x platinum Speak Now album with the Speak Now World Tour from 2011-2012.

Speak Now World Tour in support of the album Speak Now started with a show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang Singapore on February 9, 2011. The tour will end by March 18, 2012 in Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Taylor Swift’s Speak Now World Tour has been ranked 10th in Pollstar’s ‘Top 50 Worldwide Tour (Mid-Year)’. From the sales of the Taylor Swift tickets, the tour has earned more than $40 million dollars as of now.

The powerful rock duo even has a short film that they themselves starred in. Their song shave been featured on high-budget TV series such Gossip Girl , School of Rock, Zombieland, Twilight, and many other films and TV series. Their songs have been licensed to be the soundtrack of video games such as the NHL 08, NASCAR 09, and Grant Theft Auto IV. Their single ‘Tighten Up’ has been the official soundtrack of the FIFA 11. ‘Girl is On My Mind’ was even featured in Sony Ericsson, Victoria’s Secret,Nissan, and in Zales commercial.

Along with their commercial success, The Black Keys also offers their very own officially licensed merchandise. Their merchandise include The Black Keys Shirts, Tees, Hoodies, Tour posters, Dan’s guitar picks,  Accessories which includes The Black Keys dress up kit, Brothers button pack, and Nest tote bag, and rare CDs. Aside from buying them online at the official The Black Keys website and other authorized web dealers, these items and collectibles are usually obtained from the band’s live concerts and tours as this is among the best opportunities for TBK fans to pick up something new from the Black Keys merchandise. Most of all, the tour shirts include tour dates which are only sold on the band’s live shows. Their 2008-2009 world tour T-shirt was perhaps one of their rarest merchandise whom only fans who have watched one of the tours have availed.

The Black Keys shirts come with different designs and sizes. There is a chart size at the Black Keys official site and other websites which the interested fans can choose their size. The shirts are not only limited to their blues-rock male fans but the females as well with their Nest Girls Tee and Nest tote bag.

Popular fan and consumer choices from the Black Keys merchandise includes the Akron Navy Tee, This is My Tee, Crew T-shirt, Bloodhound Tee, Neon Tube White Tee, Wrestler Tee, Love Brother’s Deluxe Edition Bundle, Brothers 2LP Vinyl w/Bonus CD, Attack & Release CD, and The Black Keys Live At The Crystal Ballroom DVD.