Specials

Sirius will exclusively broadcast from a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert, live in Goteborg, Sweden. The rare broadcast event will air on E Street Radio (ch. 10) on Friday, July 4th. Coverage will begin at 1 pm ET with Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh leading the special broadcast of a live July 4th-themed show, before going live to the show in Sweden

Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently on tour in Europe in support of their twenty-third album, Magic, which debuted in October 2007 at number one on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. The band will wrap up their 2007-08 series of concerts with twelve U.S. dates, and by the last show in Milwaukee on August 30, Springsteen and the band will have performed 100 concerts for over two million fans around the world.

The most notable dates on the tour will be 7/27, 7/28, and 7/31 in E. Rutherford, NJ (Giants Stadium) as you will also have a real shot at seeing Fat Artie at the show, it’s a two-for-one!

Sirius announced today that they will celebrate Black History Month with a series of specials honoring the contributions made by African-Americans that are entrenched in our nation’s history. The diverse programming will be spread across a myriad of Sirius channels and host by various on air personalities.

Mark Thompson, the host of the daily political talk show Make it Plain (ch. 146), will honor Black History Month by speaking with NAACP representatives about their grassroots efforts in addition to interviewing prominent African-American historians and authors about pivotal men and women in the civil rights movement.

Famous First by African-Americans will feature artists including Alicia Keys, Lionel Richie, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, and Jamie Foxx remembering famous first achievements by African-Americans throughout history. The special series will run on Heart & Soul (ch. 51).

Praise (ch. 68) and Reggae Rhythms (ch. 97) will recognize the legacy of African-Americans by spotlighting people and events that have contributed to making a lasting and positive change in our nation’s history. The featurettes will run hourly throughout the month of February.

Black History Month in Soul Town (ch. 53) will highlight key African-American figures in politics, sports, arts and entertainment that have left lasting legacies in their respective fields in a daily show.

My Life, My Music! will honor achievements and contributions African-American women in hip-hop culture every weekend throughout the month of February on Hip-Hop Nation (ch. 40).

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Sirius will feature special programming across its talk and music channels from Friday right through Monday, in a tribute to the legendary Dr. King.

Mark Thompson, host of Make it Plain, will welcome Martin Luther King III, Chairman and CEO of Realizing the Dream, Inc. as his special guest on January 18 at 5:00 pm ET. Thompson worked closely with the King family in organizing the 30th, 37th and 40th Anniversaries of the March on Washington and emceed all three.

Thompson will also play and provide commentary for Dr. King’s August 16, 1967 speech, “Where Do We Go From Here?” beginning at 5:00 pm ET January 21 (ch. 146). This speech is one of King’s last addresses and is considered to be one of his most radical.

The Heart & Soul channel (ch. 51) will broadcast excerpts from Dr. King’s historic speeches throughout the day on January 21. The special remembrance will feature speeches from Dr. King’s life, including “I Have A Dream”, his 1963 speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, that inspired the nation to take up the causes of the Civil Rights movement and “The Promised Land”, Dr. King’s last sermon delivered at the Mason Temple in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968 - the day before he was assassinated.

In addition, starting Monday at 6:00 am ET, Sirius’ Soul Town (ch. 53) will spotlight music, which was inspired by Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. The special musical tribute will include songs by artists such as Sam Cooke, Edwin Starr, and The Impressions.

Sirius Satellite Radio may not be ringing in the New Year with merger news, but that does not stop them from providing consumers with some spectacular content to celebrate the beginning of 2008. Sirius announced today that they will be airing 13 live concerts and filling channels with cheer on New Years.

Beyond the live performances, Sirius will also air classic New Year’s Eve concert recordings from some of the world’s greatest artists including Bruce Springsteen (CH 10), The Grateful Dead (CH 32), Elvis/Sinatra (CH 75), and Jimmy Buffett’s 1999 ‘Millennium Show (CH 31).” Check out the full live concert lineup after the jump…

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Sirius announced that it will devote an entire channel to classic Bing Crosby radio broadcasts from the personal vault of Bing Crosby, one of America’s most beloved entertainers of all time and a star synonymous with classic holiday entertainment.

“Bing Crosby Christmas Radio” will air December 21-25 and feature 20+ years of vintage Bing Crosby holiday radio programs. Bing’s wife Kathryn and daughter Mary will host and share their personal memories on channel 119.

Classic shows will include special guests Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimmy Stewart, Peggy Lee, The Andrews Sisters, and more.

Sirius satellite radio announced their holiday music lineup today:

Sirius will kick-off the holiday season with three twenty-four hour commercial-free channels dedicated to holiday music beginning on November 19th.

Sirius Holiday on Starlite channel 2 will feature a blend of holiday hits mixing traditional favorites performed by artists including Nat “King” Cole, Paul McCartney, Bing Crosby, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Mariah Carey and many more.

Christmas Country on The Roadhouse channel 62 will feature holiday favorites recorded by country music’s biggest stars including Martina McBride, George Strait, Alabama, Garth Brooks and others.

Classical Christmas on SIRIUS Pops channel 86 will feature traditional holiday music performed by the world’s leading orchestras, choirs and opera stars, including classic Christmas carols and masterpieces such as Handel’s Messiah and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.

Regular programming will return to Starlite, The Roadhouse and SIRIUS Pops after the holiday season.

Position - Long Sirius

With Halloween only a few days away, Sirius once again has you covered for all of your scary sound effect needs. All day long on All Hallow’s Eve, channel 119 will be 24 hours of blood-curdling sound effects perfect for any Halloween party or neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

Tune in to Sirius Scream 119 from Saturday, October 27 to Wednesday, October 31 to hear spooky songs and sound effects, Halloween stories from Sirius Stars and personalities (Martha Stewart, Jay Thomas, Cousin Brucie, among them), Halloween-related interviews and features, listener comments, and more.

In the spirit of the spooky holiday there will also be select themed shows across the spectrum of Sirius stations. There are too many to list so check out Sirius.com/halloween for the full line up.

Remember those Saturday morning cartoons from Schoolhouse Rock? You know, the favorites like “I’m Just a Bill”, “Conjunction Junction”, and “Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs here”. Well this Labor Day they will be back on Sirius” Kids Stuff. All day, you can jam to those favorites, and bring back memories of childhood. OR You could let your kids listen along, and learn a bit more from cartoon music than they normally might.

Now, I must confess that very recently we bought the School House Rock DVD for our children, and I was surprised at the number of songs there actually were. My kids really got into it, and it created some cool questions and answers type family time. You don’t really feel old until your child says, “Dad, did you used to watch this a long long time ago? You know in the 70’s and 80’s?”

So, why not take a trip down memory lane, and let the kids enjoy some good educational tunes while you’re at it. Kids Stuff is on channel 116. Oh, and if someone is board and looking for something to do, I think a YouTube video dedicated to C3SR titled “I’m Just A Shill” to the tune of “I’m Just A Bill” would be a great project for an aspiring Sirius Buzz Reader.

Position - Long Sirius, Long XM

Sirius is giving us a little something extra for the holidays. This should be fun, maybe this year we won’t have to listen to the same Time Life Classics CD looping over and over again. Starting Thanksgiving Day at 3 am ET, Starlite Channel 2 becomes SIRIUS Holiday! You’ll hear all of your favorite contemporary holiday classics by Nat “King” Cole, Paul McCartney, Bing Crosby, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and many more.

Here is a little tip to make your Halloween a little more entertaining. For Halloween only Channel 116 will be playing non stop scary spooky sounds like bats screeching, ghosts howling, witches cackling all over howling winds. Spice up your party or scare the heck out of your trick or treaters by tuning in on the 31st to Kids Stuff 116.