Boston Globe music critic Sarah Rodman sat down one-on-one with Vermont's rising star Grace Potter, the frontwoman of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Take a look at the interview below.

The sold out "12-12-12" benefit show at Madison Square Garden last night raised more than $30 million for Hurricane Sandy relief in ticket sales and sponsorships alone, reports The Associated Press.

The six-hour show featured music legends, such as Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, The Who, and The Rolling Stones.

"This has got to be the largest collection of old English musicians ever assembled in Madison Square Garden," said Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones.

Many of the participating musicians who are not English, such as Springsteen, Joel, Bon Jovi, and Alicia Keys, grew up in New York or New Jersey where much of the devastation from Sandy occurred.

Comedians Jon Stewart, Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert , and Adam Sandler were on hand to make folks laugh a little during such a serious cause.

The show reached more than two billion people via television, Internet, radio, and theater. Proceeds will go to the Robin Hood Foundation, which stressed the money will go directly to those who need assistance, reports CBS in the above video.

Did you watch? What did you think?

(Above photo: Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

Finally.

Excuse me: FINALLY.

There's no other way to put it, really. After more than a month of delays, which led to shows being moved, postponed, and occasionally canceled, the Sinclair is set to open tonight in Harvard Square. How eagerly anticipated has this day been? Enough so that earlier this week a Tumblr site, titled The Sinclair Is Not Open, went up with numerous posts poking fun at the late arrival of the music venue and restaurant. (My particular favorite: an image of a giant asteroid crashing into Earth with the message, "The Sinclair announces its opening date... December 21st, 2012!!!!") The original opening date was set for Oct. 30, but construction delays kept pushing it back.

Earlier this afternoon I took a private tour of the Sinclair, which will hold 525 people in the music venue and accommodate 104 diners in the restaurant helmed by Michael Schlow. To say it looked far from ready would be a polite understatement, but it was clear everything would be in its right place by the time Concrete Blonde headlines tonight. (Doors open at 7 p.m., by the way.)

At 1:45 p.m., here's what I saw. In the music hall, lights were flashing across the room, presumably as a test run. Technicians were putting black tape on the stage. The main entrance was unmarked, still awaiting a giant sign that would eventually be put in place above the front doors. The box office was closed, with computers covered in plastic. Workers were mopping the floors in the restaurant, while others changed light bulbs.

Cases of booze -- Narragansett, Pabst, whiskey -- were scattered across the floor in the bar area. (There are four bars in the venue, one in the restaurant.) The concrete floors were unfinished, apparently awaiting a stain that will come later (though I thought they looked great as is).

It's a handsome place, industrial chic with a subway motif but not too spiffy. As Stephen Martyak, who designed the space, put it: "It's a rock club, so it can't be too pristine," he said. The music side, especially, looks terrific. It has some of the best sight lines of any local venue, with three balconies of varying heights. Get here early to stake out a spot in the middle platform, which offers a prime spot to stare down the bands.

Nicole Kanner, who's been handling press relations for the Sinclair, said the restaurant won't be up and running at full speed at least until the end of the year. For now, the restaurant will be serving food on show nights.

By the end of the tour, about an hour later, the sign had been hoisted above the front entrance. The plastic was being lifted from the computers. Concrete Blonde's van had pulled up in front for load-in. All hands were still on deck inside.

Josh Bhatti, who has overseen the Sinclair's development in his role with the Bowery Presents: Boston, arrived with a FedEx envelope holding the various forms that say the Sinclair can finally open. He looked relieved. He was even in good spirits about that Tumblr blog that's been needling the Sinclair's growing pains.

"Not to downplay people's frustration," he said, "but our own frustration with this has been tenfold. It wasn't pleasant, but we're glad this is finally happening."

After six weeks of construction delays led to canceled, rescheduled, or rerouted concerts, the Harvard Square live music club and restaurant The Sinclair is finally set to open its doors tonight.

In September, the New York-based The Bowery Presents announced it would be developing a 525-capacity concert venue and 104-seat restaurant near the site of the former AMC Loews movie theater on Church Street, which closed in July. Michael Schlow, the chef behind local establishments Radius and Happy's Bar + Kitchen, was brought in as a consultant on the built-in restaurant.

However, the club wasn't fully ready for its first scheduled concert on Oct. 30 and The Bowery Presents pushed the opening to Nov. 14. That deadline was also missed, as a series of further delays led to the owners subsequently canceling or moving shows up through last night's performance by Jason Isbell & the 410 Unit at Royale, which was initially scheduled for Dec. 6 at The Sinclair. In total, the venue rerouted 17 performances to other clubs around Boston, rescheduled four more shows, and outright canceled three, according to Nicole Kanner, a spokeswoman for The Bowery Presents. The hold-up spurred the creation of a mocking Tumblr account, The Sinclair Is Not Open.

Even as the public gets its first peek at the place, tonight's opening performance by alternative rockers Concrete Blonde will merely be a taste of the club's facilities. The restaurant's bar will be open, though a full menu won't be available until what the staff hopes is later this month, Kanner said. The venue will not be open on days when shows aren't scheduled through December, she also said.

On the radio and now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

When I interviewed Donna Summer last year, she had just been passed over again for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I asked if it was, as is so often said, just an honor to be nominated.

"No, it's an honor to win," she said with a laugh. "That's a bunch of baloney. I don't care about the honor of being nominated, honor me and let me win! After about the third time, stop nominating me, I'm starting to feel like a loser." Summer, a Boston native, continued to laugh a robust laugh and added "I'm just kidding. It is an honor to be nominated, seriously."

When the inductees for the 2013 Rock Hall class were announced yesterday I was excited that Summer's name was finally on the roster. I was also sad-- and to be honest a little angry-- that she was not here to experience the moment, having passed away earlier this year at 63 after a battle with cancer. Even though she clearly understood that no one is entitled to any particular honor and had a sense of humor about it, the induction obviously meant a lot to her.

FULL ENTRY

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Grammy winner Taylor Swift broke a 48-year-old Billboard record for the most weeks at the top of the Country Songs chart by a female artist with her single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." The former record holder was Connie Smith for her 1964 hit "Once A Day," which stayed at the top for eight weeks. Swift marked her ninth week at number one this past weekend, following the Wednesday announcement of her Grammy nomination for Record of the Year for the same song. The country-pop star released the lead single from Red in August, following the full release of her fourth studio album in late October.

Swift will debut her 23d music video for her third single from Red on MTV Dec. 13. The "I Knew You Were Trouble" drop will coincide with her own 23d birthday.

(Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel)

Psy on stage during KIIS FM's 2012 Jingle Ball at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Dec. 3.

PSY, the South Korean rapper behind the most watched YouTube video of all time, is making headlines again after it was discovered that he rapped about American military members and their families being killed "slowly and painfully" during a 2004 protest.

Before his success with his "Gangnam Style" video, which has collected more than 901 million plays and launched PSY onto shows like "Saturday Night Live" and "Ellen," the former Berklee and Boston University student added his own verse to a song called "Dear American" at a demonstration following the beheading of a Korean missionary captured in Iraq. The lyrics were first translated into English two months ago on "iReport" on CNN.

Kill those [expletive] Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives / Kill those [expletive] Yankees who ordered them to torture / Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers / Kill them all slowly and painfully

The lyrics have caused somewhat of a stir on Twitter, which was noted by the conservative aggregation site Twitchy, and the news is breaking at a time when PSY is set to perform Sunday in Washington, D.C., at the Christmas in Washington concert. A White House spokesperson reportedly confirmed that President Barack Obama and his family will be in attendance.

What do you think of this controversy? Will it sink PSY's fast-rising star? Should it be left in the past or should he be held accountable for his remarks?

UPDATE (Dec. 7, 6 p.m.): PSY released an apology for the song in an exclusive statement to MTV.com:
"The song I was featured in -- from eight years ago -- was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two innocent Korean civilians that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment shared by others around the world at that time ... I have been honored to perform in front of American soldiers in recent months — including an appearance on the Jay Leno show specifically for them — and I hope they and all Americans can accept my apology." Read the full statement on MTV.com.

Nominations for the 55th Grammy awards were announced during an hour-long concert special earlier tonight on CBS.

Hosted by LL Cool J and Taylor Swift from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, the show sandwiched a few category announcements between performances by several acts that received the good news of a nomination, or several, including Maroon 5 and Fun.

Recordings made between Oct. 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2012 were eligible for nomination in 81 categories.

The top nominees with six apiece were Fun., Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Kanye West, and Frank Ocean.

The top four general field categories spanned several genres with pop group Fun. and R&B artist Ocean having particularly good showings. Fun. was nominated in all four of the top general field categories: album, song, and record of the year and best new artist. Ocean was nominated in three: album, record, and best new artist.

The 55th Annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS at 8 p.m. on Feb. 10, 2013 live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

For a full list of nominees go to grammy.com

Partial list of 55th Grammy award nominations:

Record Of The Year:
"Lonely Boy"  The Black Keys
"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"  Kelly Clarkson
"We Are Young"  Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
"Somebody That I Used To Know"  Gotye featuring Kimbra
"Thinkin Bout You"  Frank Ocean
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"  Taylor Swift

Album Of The Year:
El Camino, The Black Keys
Some Nights, Fun.
Babel, Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange, Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss, Jack White

Song Of The Year:
"The A Team," Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)
"Adorn," Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
"Call Me Maybe," Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)
"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)
"We Are Young,"  Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)

Best New Artist:
Alabama Shakes
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean

Best Rock Album
El Camino, The Black Keys
Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay
The 2nd Law, Muse
Wrecking Ball, Bruce Springsteen
Blunderbuss, Jack White

Best Pop Vocal Album
Stronger, Kelly Clarkson
Ceremonials, Florence + the Machine
Some Nights, Fun.
Overexposed, Maroon 5
The Truth About Love, Pink

Best Country Album
Uncaged, Zac Brown Band
Hunter Hayes, Hunter Hayes
Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran, Jamey Johnson
Four The Record, Miranda Lambert
The Time Jumpers, the Time Jumpers

Best Alternative Music Album,

The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, Fiona Apple
Biophilia, Björk
Making Mirrors, Gotye
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, M83
Bad As Me, Tom Waits

Fleetwood Mac may never break the chain -- and that's good news for fans.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band announced yesterday that it will be hitting the road for the first time in three years for a 34-date US tour this spring, including a stop into the TD Garden on April 18. Tickets for the shows go on sale beginning Dec. 14.

The tour will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the band's most successful album, "Rumours," and a deluxe reissue will be released early in the year with previously unreleased studio and live tracks. This iteration of Fleetwood Mac will mostly be the same as that 1977 studio recording -- drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham, and of course, vocalist Stevie Nicks -- except they'll be missing former vocalist and keyboardist Christine McVie, who left the group in 1998.

Take a listen to "The Chain" off "Rumours," the only song on the record in which all five members share a writing credit.

Britney Spears premiered her latest video with will.i.am on last night's "X-Factor." The dance track, named "Scream and Shout," is the fifth single from will.i.am's fourth studio album, willpower, due out in 2013. The 30-year-old pop princess isn't the only A-lister to appear on the album -- Mick Jagger, Jennifer Lopez, and Justin Bieber (and that's the short list) were also among collaborators.

Thank u @iamwill for being such an inspiration & dream to work with. Tonight is a big moment 4 us & the AMAZING fans :) #ScreamAndShoutVideo

— Britney Spears (@britneyspears) November 29, 2012

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Editor's note: This video contains strong language. Please listen at your own discretion.

Bobbi Kristina Brown, the 19-year-old daughter of the late Whitney Houston and Boston-bred singer Bobby Brown, will showcase her singing abilities for the first time in the Nov. 28 episode of the Lifetime show, "The Houstons: On Our Own."

Houston's daughter rehearsed with Ricky Minor, a producer who was also the musical director for Whitney's iconic performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991. She then performed her own version of one of her mother's songs, "I'm Your Baby Tonight," according to MTV.

The teenager may not be able to enjoy her time in the spotlight, though. Bobbi Kristina was cited for a car accident this morning, hours before the show was to air. Emergency personnel say they discovered her standing outside her mangled Camaro convertible, according to a TMZ post.

The Associated Press noted that Bobbi Kristina had no passengers and that she was not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin hinted at the group's Brisbane show last week that the band would be taking a three-year break from touring, according to Billboard.

Billboard writer Lars Brandle noted that before finishing a 20-song set, Martin announced, "This is the last big show for three years or so," Martin told the stadium crowd. "I don't want to stop."

New England-area fans may be in luck (if they can get their hands on tickets.) Coldplay is slotted for a sold-out show at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Uncasville, Conn. on Dec. 29 before heading to Brooklyn, N.Y. for a duo of shows at the Barclays center on Dec. 30 and 31.

Coldplay will co-headline the New Year's Even performance with rapper Jay-Z. The Brooklyn native is part-owner of the Barclays Center home team, the Brooklyn Nets.

This will not be the first time the two acts have joined forces for a concert. The two have performed together twice in the past, including a show on New Year's Eve 2010 in Las Vegas.

[Image Brendon Thorne/Getty Images]

Dirty Water TV's Breana Pitts recently caught up with local music act Dear Leader, a seven-piece indie rock group, at the Brighton Music Hall. Check out the interview below.

Haven't had your fill of Mumford & Sons hugely successful song "I Will Wait"? The lead single from the band's sophomore effort "Babel" has been tearing up the charts since being released in August, peaking at No. 1 on both the Billboard rock chart and alternative chart. Last night, the British folk rockers brought their signature stomping, acoustic guitar-based style to the stage of "The Late Show with David Letterman." Check out the performance below and then tell us whether it's time for Marcus Mumford and the boys to change it up.

The Backstreet Boys released their first new single, "It’s Christmas Time Again," several weeks prior to the holiday season. The new tune debuted on iTunes today and it's the first track to feature Kevin Richardson, who rejoined the group in June after parting ways in 2006.

"There aren't that many original holiday songs out there -- which is so crazy to say -- and we really feel we made a timeless contribution to the season and a song our kids kids will be listening to," Nick Carter told AOL Music.

Check out the tune below and let us know what you think.

P.S. Where's your new holiday single, New Kids on the Block? We're waiting ...

[Image via Paul Hiffmeyer/Disney Parks via Getty Images]

Dirty Water TV's Kayla Harrity sat down with national electro-pop sensation 3OH!3 to discuss its new album "Omens" and its Boston roots. Check out the interview below.

Featuring cinematic tie-ins to the upcoming "Twilight" saga film finale, "Breaking Dawn -- Part 2," Green Day released its video for the soundtrack song, "The Forgotten."

The new video comes at a trying time for the band, following frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's very public iHeartRadio fest meltdown and subsequent substance abuse treatment and the band's 2012 tour cancellation.

"When we were asked to be part of the soundtrack, we readily agreed because the films are an insane cultural phenomenon," bassist Mike Dirnt said in a release. "We have always been impressed with the way the Twilight soundtracks are so carefully curated."

The soundtrack drops Nov. 13 and also features tracks by Cambridge's own Passion Pit, as well as Feist and Ellie Goulding. The film arrives in theaters Nov. 16.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.

The MIT Korean Students Association decided to film their own take on Psy's "Gangnam Style" video with a Cambridge spin. The video's page features the lengthy list of appearances made by MIT faculty and staff including Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill, school mascot Tim the Beaver, Phi Beta Epsilon, and professors Noam Chomsky and Donald Sadoway.

The Boston Music Awards is gearing up to celebrate its 25th anniversary Dec. 2 at the Liberty Hotel, announcing this year's list of nominees today and opening voting on the show's website.

As usual, the nominations are a mix of fresh local talent, veterans of the Boston scene, and established national acts with ties to the region. Mean Creek, a rising group of locals who blogged about touring with Counting Crows for Boston.com this spring, is stacked next to big-name national artists like former Dresden Dolls leader Amanda Palmer, ex-Berklee duo Karmin, and post-punk favorites Mission of Burma in the show's top two categories, artist of the year and album of the year. The band scored a show-high three total nominations along with each of the other nominees for artist of the year -- Palmer, Karmin, David Wax Museum, and Debo Band -- and fellow album of the year and video of the year nominee Gem Club.

Voting runs through Nov. 19 and a performance lineup for the show is set to be announced Nov. 7. General admission tickets for this year's event are $25 and available online.

To get a sample of this year's talent, check out Gem Club's video of the year-nominated "252" below.

By Amanda Stonely, Boston.com Correspondent

Taylor Swift's fourth studio album, "Red," has already jumped to No. 1 on iTunes since its release at midnight today. Swift gave fans a preview of the album with a four-week countdown on "Good Morning America," leaking one new track each week. Swift's first single off the album, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," debuted this summer and became her first No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart.

The 16-track album explores Swift's familiar emotional themes of love and heartache, but the 22-year-old pop star also experiments new musical themes, including dubstep track, "Trouble," and collaborations with Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody in "The Last Time" and Ed Sheeran in "Everything Has Changed."

Read Globe critic James Reed's review of Swift's new album at www.bostonglobe.com.

Will you check out Swift's latest album? Comment here.