Last week we told you that MCA was diagnosed with cancer and the Beastie Boys were pushing back the release of their new album and canceling all scheduled tour dates. Among those tour dates were a few big festivals, including the sophomore edition of New York’s All Points West.

Well APW’s organizers, Golden Voice, decided to go ahead and make the best of a disappointing situation by booking Jay-Z to headline day one (July 31) of the fest. This will be Jay-Z’s first headlining gig at a major American festival. You probably all remember how he completely destroyed the stage at Glastonbury last summer. Should be interesting to see what he has in store for a hometown gig and his American festival debut.

Oh, by the way, Friday at All Points West also features Q-Tip, The Pharcyde and Organized Konfusion. Nice.

Lollapalooza, going down in our neck of the woods the next weekend, replaced the Beasties with indie rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Yeah.

Posted by Mike Denslow at Jul 26, 2009 09:58 PM