Larry Carlton, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Jorma Kaukonen and Albert Lee.

Where: The Iridium
When: May 31 – June 21
Why: because it’s there

www.lespaulfoundation.org

We venture to guess that the majority of contemporary music enthusiasts, when they hear the name Bruce Cockburn (“Coe-burn”), think of powerful political and environmental messages embellished in folk-tinged tunes. Well, nothing’s wrong with that. After all, the man’s middle name is “Awareness.”

When WE think of Bruce Cockburn, we think of sublime guitar playing.

This year’s Luminato, Toronto’s festival of arts and creativity, pays tribute to Cockburn and his music by presenting THE CANADIAN SONGBOOK: 40 YEARS OF BRUCE COCKBURN, a live concert performance by Bruce and friends on June 16 in Massey Hall.

Also on tap are two Cockburn-themed documentary films MY BEAT: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BRUCE COCKBURN (6/15) and RIVER OF SAND (6/17).

Steve Lukather will perform on Saturday, April 3, in Vissingen, the Netherlands, where he will be the recipient of the Eddy Christiani Award. The prize honors players who have made inspriring developments in electrical guitar music on an international level.

Dust off your vinyl records for this year’s Record Store Day. And don’t just smear that gunk around with a damp cloth, “revirginize” them with this new spa treatment. Should be a snap for our readers who regularly wax their legs.

Jeff Beck alert! Listen to his new release Emotion and Commotion in its entirety for a week on an upcoming NPR exclusive first listen beginning April 6.

And finally, according to Fox Sports’ CEO, if you’re a classic rocker over the age of 60, well then, you better weigh what you did in your heyday, or else you don’t have a shot at performing during next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.

The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, which honors session and supporting musicians and personnel who are the backbone of so many classic hits, has announced the addition of a new award category Iconic Riffs and Solos. The Hall wants to start recognizing up to four “creator(s) of those infectious iconic riffs and solos that often turns a good song into a great recording.”

‘Bout time! We got a list a mile long!

Where the ceremony will be held in October this year is still up in the air, since the present HOF & Museum building in Nashville is targeted for demolishing to make way for a new convention center.

It’s been a while since we posted some Outlaws news, and from the looks of it, the cow chips have pretty much hit the fan since founding member and lead guitarist Hughie Thomasson passed away in 2007.

From what we understand, the touring “Outlaws” have apparently been ambushed by Thomasson’s family, who through the power of his estate, basically owns the band trademark and the material Thomasson recorded with the band shortly before his death. The finished product, a full album release, still hasn’t seen the light of day.

Why? Because push came to shove, resulting in this lawsuit threatening to leave the last two surviving vintage band members Henry Paul and Monte Yoho without any claim to the name they helped make famous. (If you form a band and long to break into the music business, be sure to read the complaint. Rule number one is: don’t mess with the T-shirts.) In any case, Paul and Yoho are continuing to take the Outlaws bull skull by the horns and tour in the spirit of the original Florida Guitar Army the fans have come to know and love.