Pop star Justin Timberlake was a big hit at the White House on Tuesday night, where he performed during a music education event held by First Lady Michelle Obama.

"In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul" celebrated the sounds of the 60s from the singer's native Memphis, Tennessee, and included a mix of acts old and new.

Mavis Staples, Booker T. Jones, Ben Harper and newcomers Alabama Shakes were on hand interact with music students at the "Soulsville, USA: The History of Memphis Soul" workshop, but it was Timberlake who had the crowd buzzing.

"Oh, watching you all's faces - pric...

Laura Dern is moving forward with her divorce from singer Ben Harper, despite recent attempts to reconcile.

The Wild at Heart star, 45, reconnected with Harper earlier this year after the Burn One Down hit-maker filed for divorce in 2010, but the reunion didn't last, with multiple gossips reporting the pair - parents to Ellery, 10, and Jaya, seven - split last month.

And on Friday Dern filed new legal papers at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in response to Harper's divorce petition, requesting joint legal and primary physical custody of their two kids.

According to TMZ.com, sh...

Celebrity break-ups were big news in October with a number of high-profile couples calling time on their relationship. Courteney Cox and David Arquette stunned the world by announcing they were taking a break from their 11-year marriage, and just days later singer Christina Aguilera confirmed her split from husband Jordan Bratman. Ben Harper and Laura Dern also filed for divorce after 10 years together.

But October also saw an influx of celebrity weddings - Katy Perry and Russell Brand sealed their love in a lavish Indian ceremony, and both Paul Weller and David Schwimmer hit the news when...

Glee star Jessalyn Gilsig has filed for divorce from her movie producer husband Bobby Salomon.

The pair was high school sweethearts and wed in 2006 before welcoming a daughter, Penelope, later that same year. But the couple secretly split almost a year ago - and Gilsig has filed divorce papers at Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences.

The documents, obtained by TMZ.com, reveal Gilsig and Salomon have drawn up a private marital settlement "that will divide all community assets and obligations," including a custody arrangement for Penelope.

Gilsig's marria...

Pop superstar Christina Aguilera has split from her husband Jordan Bratman after almost five years of marriage.

The Beautiful hit-maker wed the music executive in November 2005 and they are parents to two-year-old son Max. A source tells UsMagazine.com the couple has been "separated for a few months."

The insider adds, "They are now living apart, and they will see how that goes. They are very much in love. But over the last six months, it became clear they were more like friends than husband and wife."

Aguilera's marriage breakdown is the latest in a spate of celebrity splits - on Mond...

Ben Harper has filed for divorce from his actress wife Laura Dern.

The Grammy winner filed divorce papers in Los Angeles on Friday citing irreconcilable differences.

According to TMZ.com, Harper has asked a judge to deny the "Jurassic Park" actress spousal support and claims that the couple split in January.

He is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the pair's two children, Ellery and Jaya.

Dern and Harper married in 2005 after dating for five years.

David Arquette avoided a homeless man like the plague Thursday night on his way to Voyeur nightclub in L.A.

The "Scream 4" star looked like he was in a quite a hurry and unwilling to help out a "starving artist" looking for pretty much anything.

David recently let on that he's been taking sewing lessons to improve his skills making clothes. The actor owns his own clothing line, "Propr," with rocker Ben Harper and wants to take designing to the next level by honing his skills with a needle and thread.

He says, "It's a little worrying that I'm going into Jo-Ann (fabric store) and geeking o...

Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha is planning a series of concerts to protest Arizona's controversial state immigration laws.

The outspoken rocker is spearheading the Sound Strike campaign aimed at prompting touring acts to boycott Arizona until state officials agree to repeal the new law, which requires local authorities to determine a person's immigration status if he or she is suspected of being undocumented. And now he's planning a series of protest concerts in July.

He tells Billboard.com, "In the coming weeks we are going to be organizing a series of concerts that...

Today's videos include the hilarious "My Mother's Red Hat", from Funny or Die, which features Alicia Silverstone, Alanis Morissette and lots of bad music; a clip from the new Comedy Central original show "Michael & Michael Have Issues"; Lily Allen's latest single, "22", Ben Harper and Relentless7's "Fly One Time" video; and a trio of clips from last night's "America's Got Talent". Check 'em all out!

Alicia Silverstone and Alanis Morissette are two friends who go on a road trip together for the sake of a film soundtrack with lots of sappy bands...

"Michael & Michael Have Issu...

Coming off an incredible showing at this year’s SXSW including a headlining performance at Stubb’s, an over-capacity crowd at DirecTV’s “SXSW Live,” and a legendary taping of Austin City Limits, Ben Harper And Relentelss7 proudly announce the release of their debut record, White Lies For Dark Times on May 5 on Virgin Records. The album will be available as CD, deluxe CD with bonus DVD, digital download and 180-gram 2xLP. Rolling Stone calls the new album “an 11-song set soaked with hard rock and Delta Blues.”

Ben Harper and Relentless7’s energetic live performance is the heart of the b...

David Arquette is turning his fashion venture Propr into a family business - his young daughter Coco is helping out with the designs.

The star recently launched his casual clothing line with singer pal Ben Harper, and his four-year-old tot with wife Courteney Cox Arquette is already showing signs of becoming a promising new addition to the team.

He tells People.com, "She actually did paint a little red dress. She said, 'Here, Daddy. I painted this for Propr.' She designed her own beautiful red dress. And it has a little heart shaped top. It was very elegant."

And Arquette is ...

Everyone's least (or most) favorite holiday is...Valentine's Day! If you're in a relationship be fortunate that every smooch you two share won't be plastered all over Us Weekly. For all you single people out there, don't call out sick from work and mope around your house in your pajamas with Ben and Jerry. You'll find love one day, just like these cute celebrity couples!

Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick - This couple gives you hope that Hollywood marriage can work!

- Click here for the next couple! -

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie - What do you get when you cr...

Each episode of the acclaimed Sundance series, Live From Abbey Road keeps getting better with interviews and performances from the most accredited artists and bands. Academy Award nominee for songwriting in films, Bryan Adams will start off episode 11 with his first #1 single, "Heaven." Off the five time platinum album, Reckless, this strong ballad was featured on "A Night In Heaven" soundtrack. The Canadian rock singer follows with a performance of "She's Got A Way" from his eleventh and latest album, 11. Pursuing the "eleven theory," 11 features 11 tracks, and is sold in most retail store...

On August 19 Lost Highway will release Pass It Around, the new album from Donavon Frankenreiter. Pass It Around boasts 10 new songs from the musician/pro-surfer, and also features some special guests and a new approach for Frankenreiter.

On his 2006 self-produced Lost Highway debut, Move By Yourself Frankenreiter set out on his own and began to find his musical identity as an artist as he moved away from the acoustic stylings of his 2004 self-titled debut by plugging in and opening up. Pass It Around shows that identity fully realized. The songs incorporate some of the acoustic and ele...

Live From Abbey Road, the Sundance original music series, reaches its halfway point in episode 6 of the twelve part series.

The episode begins by featuring British self-described "Odd Pop" band, The Hoosiers. After recording their first album, The Trick To Life and securing two top ten hits on the UK charts, The Hoosiers are currently touring. They stop by the legendary recording studio Abbey Road to perform their hits "Goodbye Mr. A" and "Run Rabbit Run" off of their debut album along with Billy Joel's classic hit "We Didn't Start the Fire".

Blues-rock duo The Black Keys will al...

Sean Penn played the Pied Piper of activism at the Coachella Festival on Monday when he set off on a protest trip to New Orleans, Louisiana with buses loaded with event revelers.

The actor/director took the stage at the festival on Sunday to recruit activists for his Dirty Hands Caravan venture. He called on Coachella festival-goers to "take action" and join him on a cross-country bio-diesel bus caravan which began Monday morning.

Speaking just before My Morning Jacket's set on the main stage at Coachella, Penn told music fans, "This is about volunteerism. Revolution is a young ma...

Former Pearl Jam bandmates Eddie Vedder and Jack Irons reunited onstage in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Drummer Irons, who quit the group in 1998, joined Vedder for a show-stopping rendition of "All Along The Watchtower" during the singer's solo show at the Wiltern theater.

Ben Harper was also a special guest at the show, accompanying Vedder on his Into The Wild soundtrack tune "Hard Sun And No More," the track he and the Pearl Jam frontman composed for the Body Of War soundtrack.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

Unless you've been living under a rock, the hottest thing right now in music is the beachy sounds of Surfer Rock. It makes you want to hit the waves, soak in some sun, or just chill. We've rounded up our top 10 Surfer Rockers makin' waves. Let us know what you think!

1. Rocker Jack Johnson's #1 one album, Sleep Through The Static, just spent three weeks atop of Billboard's Top 200 Album Charts, which shows America is really feeling his surfer rock.

2. Ben Harper, who often tours with Jack Johnson, has that gritty soul vibe that when combined with his wave rock brings hi...

Music is a universal hobby. It's one that everyone can - and likely does - share. You don’t have to know a whole lot about it to like it, and you don’t have to be "good at it" to listen to what it has to say. Thus, music is a powerful way for politicians to speak to their voting public. And where words and speeches fail, a campaign song can intervene and convey the message.

John Mellencamp must have been very aware of these facts when he asked GOP frontrunner John McCain to remove his anthem "Our Country" from his political campaign (after McCain usurped the song from campaign drop-out...

Lou Reed, Billy Joel and Ben Harper will join Justin Timberlake as presenters at next month's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

As previously reported by WENN, Madonna has asked Timberlake to honor her at the March 10 ceremony in New York, while Reed will induct Leonard Cohen, Joel will pay tribute to John Mellencamp and Ben Harper will induct Little Walter.

Meanwhile, Tom Hanks will induct the Dave Clark Five, soul great-turned-politician Jerry Butler will honor hitmakers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, with Creedence Clearwater Revival star John Fogerty introducing The ...

Newly-reformed rock supergroup Led Zeppelin are to play their first U.S. show since the summer of 1977 at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee next June, according to reports. Industry sources claim Led Zeppelin are in talks to perform on the same bill as Metallica.

The British rockers reformed this summer for secret rehearsals. They'll perform at a tribute concert for Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun in London next week.

Reports suggesting the group will tour America with The Cult next year have been confirmed by Cult frontman Ian Astbury, but Led Zeppelin ha...

Happy Birthday to actor Joaquin Phoenix (1974), Former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis (1972), singer/songwriter Ben Harper (1968), Pretty Woman Julia Roberts (1967), software tycoon Bill Gates (1955), Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner (1949), NYPD Blue actor Dennis Franz (1944), southern rock fiddler, Charlie Daniels (1937), and discoverer of the polio vaccine Dr. Jonas Salk (1914).

This year's Voodoo Music Experience--set for October 26, 27 and 28--has a new location within its New Orleans City Park home. Adjacent to the site utilized in 2006, the new location is situated closer to Tad Gormley Stadium where the Voodoo Music Experience was born in 1999.

After festival-goers enter the grounds in front of the New Orleans Museum Of Art (NOMA), they'll walk by the 200, newly planted 6 foot Crepe Myrtle and Oak trees. These new trees are part of the ongoing efforts outlined in the park's master plan to "preserve and improve park spaces for recreational, educational, ...

Rage Against The Machine, The Smashing Pumpkins and Dr. John are among the more than 110 acts confirmed for the 2007 Voodoo Music Experience, which expands this year to three days to accommodate the number of artists who comprise the diverse talent line-up.

Set for Halloween weekend in City Park, New Orleans' signature fall music event encompasses three full days of music--October 26, 27 and 28--with performances from Wilco, Tiesto in Concert, Kings of Leon, Sinead O'Connor, Common, Ben Harper and Galactic, among others (full list below). These acts will appear in the Voodoo Music E...

The High School Musical 2 soundtrack has claimed a third week at number one on the U.S. albums chart.

The album has become the first disc to spend three weeks at the top of the Billboard charts since country trio Rascal Flatts claimed the number one spot for the same period 18 months ago.

Christian band Casting Crowns claim the week's highest debut at number two with The Altar And The Door, while rapper Yung Joc's Hustlenomics enters the new countdown at three.

Rockers Atreyu crash in at eight with Lead Sails Paper Anchor, and singer/songwriter Ben Harper scores a second top...

New York, NY - On August 28, 2007 Fantasy Records will release Light Your Light, the latest album from Toots & The Maytals. On the heels of his Grammy triumph for 2004's True Love, Toots comes roaring back with an equally powerful collection of standards and instant classics on his Fantasy Records debut, Light Your Light.

Produced by the masterful Richard Feldman, Light Your Light revisits some of Toots' favorite compositions, shining a modern light on hits such as "Johnny Coolman," which features an appearance by guitarist Derek Trucks, and "Pain in My Heart", an homage to Otis Reddi...

A surprise appearance by Pearl Jam legend Eddie Vedder kicked off the Lollapalooza music festival on Friday when he appeared on stage with Ben Harper at Chicago's Grant Park.

The rock veteran was introduced by "special friend" Harper at the three-day American festival, before performing a special sit-down set with the ecstatic audience.

Texas-based symphonic rockers The Polyphonic Spree also wowed the crowd with a choral rendition of Nirvana's Lithium in a performance complete with tapdancers, while British band The Fratellis, M.I.A., The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem also took to t...

Reformed rockers The Police brought Tennessee's Bonnaroo Festival to a standstill last night when almost every visitor to the four-day event checked out the group's show on the main stage. Vendors even temporarily closed food stalls at the Manchester festival - after realizing no one would be visiting them during the much-anticipated The Police set - and joined the fans.

However, although the site of Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland thrilled many, a handful of mistakes left the die-hards upset. One fan said, "They were good and it was great to see them at a festival, but it st...

In an historic effort to mobilize activism around the human rights atrocities occurring in Darfur, Sudan, more than 50 international recording artists and over 30 record labels have united behind "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur." The collection features iconic songs by legendary musician and peace activist John Lennon recorded by an array of best-selling artists and will be available for purchase both on CD and as digital downloads via online retailers.

In keeping with its long tradition of activism powered by music, Amnesty International, the world's...

The Wailers are the most celebrated reggae outfit of all time having sold over 250 millions records worldwide. No other reggae group has so many well-known hits to draw upon, whilst their reputation as a live act is unchallenged after performing to an estimated 24 million people around the world.

The Wailers have now unearthed a major talent in the shape of Yvad. A gifted singer/songwriter from Jamaica, whose youthful good looks and memorable songs complement the Wailers' own timeless material to striking effect. Inspired by musicians like Bob Marley and the Wailers, he embraces Ras...