thebuzzr Independent Music Coverage

August 27, 1990 

35-year-old Stevie Ray Vaughan dies in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin, following a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and his older brother, Jimmie Vaughan.

August 28, 1965 

Shania Twain is born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

August 29, 1976 

The British music magazine Sounds publishes letters responding to Eric Clapton’s racist rant at his Birmingham concert earlier in the month. “Own up, half your music is black,” one of them states. “You are rock music’s biggest colonist.”

This particular missive includes a call to action with an address to join Rock Against Racism, “A rank and file movement against the racist poison in rock music.” Rock Against Racism soon becomes a viable movement, holding a series of concerts and festivals in support of tolerance.

August 30, 1970 

Jimi Hendrix rocks the Isle of Wight Festival in his last British concert appearance. The show is plagued by technical problems, with the guitarist’s amplifier picking up signals from the security radios. Other artists appearing onstage include Free, Joan Baez and The Moody Blues. The festival closes with a dawn performance by Richie Havens, who also opened at Woodstock.

August 31, 1976 

George Harrison is found guilty of “subconscious plagiarism” in a bizarre lawsuit that leaves songwriters baffled.

September 1, 1984

Tina Turner completes her comeback as “What’s Love Got To Do With It” hits #1 in America.

September 2, 2008 

Rage Against The Machine, in Minneapolis to protest the Republican National Convention, are blocked by police, who refuse to let them perform. Rage goes into the crowd and does two songs using a megaphone; riots ensue.

September 3, 1982 

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak throws the US Festival “for a few thousand friends” in hopes of uniting people through music and technology. A crowd of at least 200,000 shows up in the blistering heat of San Bernardino, California, for three days of music, tech-geekery, and dust… a whole lot of dust. Fleetwood Mac, performing for the first time in two years, headlines a bill that also includes The Police and the Grateful Dead.