News Roundup: Flight Of The Conchords, The Chieftains, Jeff Mangum, Lilith Fair

The Flight of the Conchords will fly no more. The New Zealand comedy team with the songwriting chops have announced that their will be no third season of their hit HBO show. “We’re very proud of the two seasons we made and we like the way the show ended,” write Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement on their web site. We’ll always have “Business Time.”‘

Reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum hasn’t released any new music in years. But you can hear Mangum cover “Sign on the Dotted Line” on Stroke: Songs For Chris Knox, a new charity tribute album for Tall Dwarfs’ Chris Knox, who suffered a stroke last June. Stroke features bands like Yo La Tengo, The Mountain Goats, AC Newman and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy covering his music.

Here comes the Lilith Fair. The lineup for the revived festival has been revealed, and it’s a who’s who of women in music. In addition to mainstays the Indigo Girls and festival founder Sarah Mclachlan, Lilith Fair 2010 will feature the following females:

A Fine Frenzy, Ann Atomic, Ash Koley, Brandi Carlile, Butterfly Boucher, Chairlift, Chantal Kreviazuk, Colbie Caillat, Corinne Bailey Rae, Donna Delory, Emmylou Harris, Erykah Badu, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, Ima, Ingrid Michaelson, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Knapp, Jill Hennessy, Jill Scott, Katzenjammer, Ke$ha, Mary J. Blige, Meaghan Smith, Metric, Miranda Lambert, Nneka, Sara Bareilles, Serena Ryder, Sheryl Crow, Sugarland, Susan Justice, Tara MacLean, Tegan and Sara, Vedera, Vita Chambers, The Submarines, The Weepies, Ximena Sarinana, Zee Avi.

No Norah Jones, however. “Being a part of Lilith Fair was inspiring on so many levels,” says Mclachlan. “Besides discovering new music everyday and sharing the stage with an incredible array of talented women, it was wonderful to see established and new artists alike have the opportunity to play in front of much larger or more diverse audiences than usual.”

Ry Cooder will reunite with The Chieftains for San Patricio, which will fuse the music of Ireland with the music of Mexico. The album, due March 9 on Fantasy Records, also features Linda Ronstadt, actor Liam Neeson, Los Tigres del Norte, Van Dyke Parks, and Lila Downs. Cooder contributes the song “The Sands Of Mexico”, which he wrote for the album.

Says Chieftan Paddy Moloney, “the men of the San Patricio Battalion are remembered by generations of Mexicans to this day as heroes who fought bravely against an unjust and thinly veiled war of aggression.” ‘San Patricio’ brings their story to life through heart-stirring ballads and effervescent dance songs from both countries, including traditional “sones” that the San Patricios might have heard while in Mexico, and Irish airs and reels that evoke the homeland they left behind.”