Cult rocker Alejandro Escovedo ended a self-imposed live ban on his song Castanets yesterday, two years after it emerged the track was on President George W. Bush's iPod playlist. Escovedo was astounded when it was revealed that the American leader had Castanets saved as a favorite on his iPod player in April 2005.

Despite his opposition to the Bush administration, Escovedo finally decided to perform Castanets at the Stagecoach festival in California on Sunday. He told a cheering crowd, "This is a song I fell out of favor with after it ended up on George W. Bush's iPod top 10 list.

"What sort of bad karma is that for that to happen to me. Anyway, he (Bush) is on his way out, so here it is."

Elsewhere, singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson hit out at the president's foreign policy at the country music event. Midway through his opening song, air force veteran Kristofferson said, "This one is for all the veterans of the war in Iraq who are against the war in Iraq."

Other stars who appeared at the festival, which drew a two-day attendance of 55,000 people over the weekend, included George Strait, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Drive-By Truckers.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)