Paul McCartney has performed just about everywhere including David Letterman’s marquee to rooftops. However, the next project for McCartney is a lot more delicate. The former Beatle will be writing ballet music. There isn’t much information on the ballet such as what company commissioned McCartney to write it. McCartney did tell the BBC though that he grabbed the chance to take a musical project on that he hadn’t explored yet.

McCartney said, I’m very interested to do things that I haven’t ever done before. I love to write music and this offer came up. The two things went together so I said yes. Sometimes I accept before knowing what I’m really doing. I don’t know too much about this yet, except that I will be writing music. It’s definitely a switch.

McCartney, in addition to working as a solo artist and Beatle, wrote “The Family Way movie soundtrack in 1967, has composed four releases of classical music, engaged in remixing with Liverpool Sound Collage in 2000, and also experimented with the Fireman side project with electronica.

For McCartney, it’s been a year full of firsts. Recently he became the first non-American winner of the Gershwin Prize from the Library of Congress for Popular Song. An all-star tribute was held at the White House in his honor. On McCartney’s “Up and Coming Tour” he is visiting cities and markets that he hasn’t played in before. “Band on the Run” from the Wings will also be reissued this August and contain bonus tracks and remastered sound.

On June 13, headliner Paul McCartney closed out the Isle Of Wight’s 2010 Festival from the Main Stage.

Following comedian James Corden’s pre-recorded video introduction, McCartney took to the stage. He started out with a medley of songs that included “Rock Show,” “Venus And Mars” and “Wings” and then went head first into “Jet.”

Before playing the night’s first Beatles song, “All My Loving,” McCartney greeted the crowd and told them we will have fun tonight.

The set played by McCartney spanned his entire career. He also added a Jimi Hendrix tribute. Hendrix is famous for stealing the 1970 show at the Isle Of Wight Festival. At the ending of the tune “Let Me Roll It,” McCartney added a couple “Purple Haze” bars.

Afterward, McCartney told the crowd, I was very lucky that I got to know Jimi during the 60s and hung out a little bit. He was a really great guy. When “Sgt Pepper” was released we got a big tribute from him. It was released on Friday. I saw him on Sunday. He had already learned the song. That was very cool for me.

McCartney was making just his second festival performance in the UK after being the headliner at Glastonbury 2004. He played Wings’ songs like “Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five”before playing a string of crowd pleasers that included “Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” “Back In The USSR” and “Band On The Run.”

McCartney then rounded things out with “Helter Skelter,” “Yesterday” and a medley that included “The End” and “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

On August 19, 2010, Paul McCartney, arguably popular music’s most successful composer and performer, will be opening CONSOL Energy Center with the Grand Opening Concert, as he brings Pittsburgh the “Up and Coming 2010 Tour.” In keeping with his special headline making concerts, McCartney and his band return to Pittsburgh after an absence of over 20 years. In February 1990 McCartney performed sold-out back to back shows in Pittsburgh Civic Arena. McCartney made his debut in Pittsburgh on September 14, 1964 as a member of the Beatles at Civic Arena.

CONSOL Energy Center is promoting the Grand Opening Concert, support is from AEG Live arranged by MPL and Marshall Arts.

On Monday, June 14, tickets will be going on sale from Mellon Arena Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com and via telephone at 800-745-3000. American Express Card members will be able to purchase advance tickets from June 9 through June 13.

Ken Sawyer, Pittsburgh Penguin CEO and operator of the arena said, we are excited having an icon such as Paul McCartney returning to Pittsburgh after 20 years and opening CONSOL Energy Center. It will be a world class performer inside a facility that is world class. It’s a signal for the region and city that it’s not just a sports or hockey arena. This is a world class entertainment center.

In recent years, the live shows of McCartney’s have reached new levels, gaining unprecedented reviews from both critics and fans. He has pushed boundaries as he has performed in front of millions of fans and made international news with his monumental shows which include performances in Red Square in Moscow, outside Rome’s Coliseum, Ukraine’s biggest outdoor show ever, his first Tel Aviv performance and NASA space station live performance. McCartney’s Summer ‘09 tour last year started in earnest with a legendary inaugural set of shows at CitiField Stadium in New York, the past site of Shea Stadium where in 1965 The Beatles performed a show that set a precedent for stadium rock shows of the present day.

Kicking off in March, “Up and Coming 2010 Tour” are the first shows in the US for McCartney since the “Summer Live ‘09 Tour of five weeks, which was preceded by a headlining sold out set at the Coachella 2009 festival as well as surprise performance on the CBS program “Late Show with David Letterman” at the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee, where decades ago The Beatles made television history. The performance drew throngs of people that packed Broadway from Times Square to Columbus Circle.

The new show from McCartney has received rave reviews. It features a diverse set list typically. The two hour plus show has selections from Paul’s solo career as well as the music catalogs of the Wings and Beatles and tracks from “Electric Arguments,” the 2008 album from The Fireman, as well as songs that have not been been played before in the US.