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Jason Mraz is in the midst of the never-ending tour.

He’s been traveling since February, three months before his latest album, “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things” arrived. And, on the strength of its first single, “I’m Yours,” Mraz is happily filling places such as Radio City Music Hall and the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia.

This weekend, he performs twice in the area – Sunday at Charlottesville Pavilion for a general admission concert (http://www.charlottesvillepavilion.com) and Monday at Constitution Hall in D.C. (http://www.dar.org/conthall).

Next month, he’ll make his traditional visit home for Thanksgiving and squeeze in a pair of shows at The National on Nov. 26 and Nov. 28 (the first show is with a full band, the second, all acoustic).

Earlier this week, the Mechanicsville native checked in from his tour stop in Philly to talk about politics, his raw food diet and the success of his third studio album, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart, has sold about half a million copies and commandeered many spots on the iTunes charts.

Look for the rest of this interview next month, closer to his Richmond dates.

Are you doing anything differently this time around with the tour? Still have the horn section?

We still have the horns. We’re celebrating most of the songs from the new album, as well as continuing to share old favorites. Things are getting bigger, but we’re still trying to keep everything intimate, keep the conversation alive.

There are so many artists out there who take their fans for granted or who look at them as a necessary nuisance, but you seem to embrace them as your friends and you share so much of yourself on your Web site. How much of that do you think contributes to your success?

I feel it, I do. I just want to see people smiling. The things I share on stage and on my Web site are things that give me comfort in life, the same things I put into the songs. I feel that’s my responsibly as an artist, a writer, a world traveler – to continue to share with whomever these stories of comfort and how to make this life experience a good one.

Without guidance, we can get lost in ourselves. We can just feel like what is the point of life? I’m happy to be this ambassador of positivity; it feel so much better than just standing on stage and going, look how cool I am, you guys …It’s those people who are giving me this life, especially the people who buy the tickets and buy the CDs. They’re funding this adventure, and I want to do positive things with that.

What’s this new photo thing you’re doing at the live shows?

You can email pictures ahead of time to the Web site (http://www.jasonmraz.com) based on which show you’re going to be attending. What I was hoping for was that people would share what they thought was beautiful about their community.

There’s also a feature where you can send pictures of just you and your best friends, and it comes up on the screen behind me [in concert] looking like Polaroids.

That seems like something that takes a lot of time to organize. Who is doing all of that?

My friend Jared. He used to spend time before the shows riding his bike and taking pictures. Now he’s slaving over a computer.

You’ve publicly endorsed Barack Obama on your Web site – are you doing anything political in concert?

I don’t talk on the mic about it, but Barack is in our show, I’ll tell you that. He speaks for himself. I do talk personally with people before or after the show and I use my Web site to link to Barack as much as I can.

When he appears [in concert], the place goes [bleeping] crazy. At first I was like, what if there are some people who boo? But then I thought, even if there are McCain supporters in the crowd, they’re not going to BOO Barack. But people go apey when they see his picture and it’s great. Hopefully, people will continue to take that spirit to the polls.

In Thursday’s Beat column, I wrote about music and the presidential campaigns—in particular, the McCain camp’s insistence upon using songs from avowed Democrats, who then complain publicly

(http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/entertainment/music.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-10-16-0007.html).

Well, they’re at it again, this time aggravating Bon Jovi for not asking if it would be cool to use the band’s “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” at recent campaign rallys (and really, unless McCain/Palin were in Alaska or Arizona, how does this even apply?).

Anyway, the latest gaffe: http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20081015/en_music_eo/63961;_ylt=Ain8DQlKnvkf1Hgx2fXZ8DyVEhkF

So now we know Janet Jackson canceled a slew of dates not because of a rumored pregnancy, but, says her management, because she’s been suffering from a rare form of migraine that causes vertigo.

As a migraine-sufferer, she has my sympathy.

But riddle me this: Jackson is well enough to return to her tour tonight at D.C.’s Verizon Center, yet on Tuesday, she announced that she was postponing her Thursday gig at Madison Square Garden.

What, she was feeling better Wednesday, but already knew that she couldn’t exert herself Thursday?

More likely, tickets for the D.C. show were selling at a far stronger clip than the New York date—Ticketmaster is offering a buy-three-tickets-get-one-free promotion for the Madison Square Garden date, and a four-pack offer for Friday’s scheduled show at the Izod Center in Jersey – so by postponing the show, it gives promoters a couple of more weeks to try to unload tickets.

Even though Jackson is booked in 15,000-20,000-seat arenas, she isn’t even filling half the house at most shows.

Of the figures released to concert industry trade magazine Pollstar, Jackson’s Sept. 10 show at General Motors Place in Vancouver – a venue with a capacity of 20,763 – was set up for 11,000. She sold 8,900 tickets.

At the Staples Center in L.A. Sept. 17 – another 20,000-capacity venue – the house was set up to accommodate 13,000. She sold just over 12,000.

And Sept. 19, the 12,000-capacity Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas was set up for 8,100. She sold 8,000.

To be fair, a portion of the venue has to be blocked out for what is surely a large stage production. Typically, that will kill 3,000-4,000 seats.

But the fact that these venues were only setting up for attendance far below their capacities – a trick employed when tickets aren’t moving – says it all.

And that would give anyone a headache.

With so much going on at the Richmond Folk Festival – and with spending so much time talking to people to find out what they think of the things going on – we’ve often run out of space to discuss what is the main ingredient of this whole shindig: the music.

So, with one more day left to enjoy the multi-cultural sounds spread among the festival’s seven stages, here are my picks for some acts who shouldn’t be missed.

E.U.: The D.C.-based go-go band is not only an airtight musical outfit, but if you haven’t experienced go-go music live, they’ll show you in seconds why it’s known as an original form of party music.

Go-go relies on its backbeat, a crisp snare drum and rattling high-hat gluing the music with deliberate quarter and eighth notes on the bass drum. That’s the first sound that will make your body head uncontrollably to the dance floor (if you catch them in the Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion, where there IS a dance floor).

Saturday afternoon, the seven-piece E.U. (which stands for Experience Unlimited) held down a non-stop rhythm while singer Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliot issued a call-and-response during their versions of “Family Affair” and the Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing.” At one point, he even improvised a Happy Birthday shout-out to “all the Libras in the crowd.”

Even though the band is mostly playing cover songs, when given the E.U. treatment, these well-known jams are stretched into fat, funky soundscapes that will guarantee even the most rhythm-less in the crowd find a groove.

Performing: 1:30 p.m. Dominion Stage; 4:45 p.m. Richmond Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion

Líadan: This sextet of lovely ladies from Galway, Limerick and Dublin are more about melodic reed and string instruments – and accordion! – than the typical foot-stomping reels that are integral
to many Irish groups.

That isn’t to say they’re Enya.

Far from it, actually.

At Saturday night’s performance, the women balanced spirited instrumentals filled with fiddle, harp and tin whistle with Irish and Scottish ballads that illuminated their gorgeous harmonizing.

Oh yeah, and if their playing isn’t impressive enough, all of the group holds masters degrees in music.

Performing: 4 p.m. Wachovia/Wachovia Securities Stage

Nukariik: While I didn’t find this charming sister act as intriguing as AltaKAI, the Russian throat singers who visited the National Folk Festival in 2006 (maybe we’ve had throat singing overload?), it’s worth checking them out for the sheer oddity of what they do.

However, one of their performances on Saturday occurred on the exposed Dominion Stage, right under a set of train tracks.

Not a great plan, considering the sisters’ form of throat singing is rather quiet, like rapid breathing or whispering. And, of course, a CSX train with its blaring whistle rumbled past in the middle of their show.

But, it was still interesting to watch them – clad in traditional Inuit garb – as they stood inches apart, facing each other and holding each other’s elbows as they gently swayed or edged in a circle while expelling their sounds.

Performing: 3 p.m. Comcast Stage

Plena Libre: This Puerto Rican outfit took a few minutes to get warmed up for their Saturday evening performance – interestingly, almost every member took a brief solo spin on his form of percussion as an introduction to their set, rather than midway through or toward the end, which is more common for solo spotlights.

But when the entire group – all clad in white – seeped in behind a quartet of percussionists, founder Gary Nuñez on upright bass and a sublime horn section injected a jazzy vibe into the rhythmic sea.

Performing: 2 p.m. Richmond Times-Dispatch Dance Pavilion; 5:45 p.m. Ukrop’s/First Market Bank Stage

Howard Tate: The recently resurrected soul legend performed his shows this weekend with the horn section from Richmond’s Chez Roué Orchette, who sounded as if they’ve played with the man for years.

While not necessarily party music, Tate’s straight-up, old school rhythm and blues was belted with an authenticity few can still bring.

On Friday night, I ran into local fave Gary Gerloff (volunteering at the fest), who mentioned that the only living comparison to Tate is Al Green.

I couldn’t have said it any better.

Hope you caught Tate Friday or Saturday, because he’s not performing on Sunday. If you missed him, visit http://www.howardtate.net to learn a little more about this forgotten talent.

Donna Deekens isn’t a fan of unladylike behavior.

The Midlothian woman, who runs a company that hosts tea parties and teaches “little southern belles to bloom with femininity,” will be featured on ABC’s “Wife Swap” at 8 p.m. Friday. Suffice to say, she does not have an easy time switching lives with a mom from upstate New York who bench presses 341 pounds.

Since my T-D comrade Bill Lohmann interviewed Deekens this week for a story running Friday, I won’t spill too many details about her—make sure to check out the story for his full scoop.

BUT, since I already watched a screener of the Deekens episode, I wanted to share this priceless exchange.

As an introduction to Deekens, the show’s voiceover guy notes that the etiquette enthusiast “would never sully her hands with yard work” and also that she thinks, “sweating is for the beasts.”

In response, Deekens’ New York counterpart, the rough-edged Sandy McCaslin tartly notes, “I’m the epitome of the beast.”

And when Deekens first enters the McCaslin’s home – an old school converted into a gym – the look on her face is reason enough to set the TiVo.

“If I Were a Boy” isn’t the type of first single you’d expect from a new Beyonce project.

No thumping beat. No frenzied horns. No finger-snapping attitude.

Instead, the song is a lovely, plaintive ballad with role-reversal lyrics (“If I were a boy, I think I could understand/how it feels to be a girl/I swear I’d be a better man”) that dig into heartache.

Some fans might be disappointed that Beyonce isn’t offering another club thumper yet, but “Boy” definitely succeeds in showcasing a more mature side of the recently married singer.

Women will love the song because it speaks from their viewpoint, while men might actually take a hint from it.

Z100’s Elvis Duran premiered the ballad on his New York-based morning show Wednesday.

Listen to it here and see what you think: http://z100.elvisduran.com/pages/news/beyonce/

Despite trying to throw off listeners this week with asides about his wedding “in a few weeks,” the inimitable Howard Stern married his longtime girlfriend, model and friend to the animals, Beth Ostrosky, Friday night in New York. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/10032008/news/regionalnews/howard_stern_wedding_at_hand_132013.htm)

Anyone who has ever heard Howard gush over Beth O. – and, conversely, become aware of Beth’s definite sweetness – should be almost convinced that this is about love, and not Stern’s bulging bank account. I’d be totally convinced if she had decided to keep her own name professionally, rather than latch onto Stern’s.

But hey, mazel tov, kids.

Even though a grouchy Howard is the most fun to listen to, a happy Howard still trumps anyone else on any form of radio.

P.S. Bonus of the wedding had to be Billy Joel serenading the couple with the sweet “You’re My Home.“

Rare is the talent show when I wish both finalists could win.

But that’s how I felt about the last twosome standing on “America’s Got Talent” – both wonderful singers, both sensitive and humble guys.

Alas, there could only be one million dollar victor, so a hearty congrats to Neal E. Boyd, the opera singer from Missouri who loves his mother and really does possess some gilded pipes.

Runner-up Eli Mattson, an emotional singer who would fit perfectly in the dueling piano bar at Las Vegas’ New York New York casino, handled the loss with typical lack of pretension, almost looking relieved that the burden of the title wasn’t given to him.

Ever-excitable host Jerry Springer (WHY DOES HE HAVE TO YELL EVERYTHING?!!) said the result was the closest the show ever had, with less than one half of one percent of votes separating the two.

Yeah, well, that half of a percent makes a huge difference when the prize for one (Boyd) is the million bucks and a one-night headlining gig at the MGM Grand in Vegas, and the prize for the other is a handshake.

But hopefully, the visibility afforded Mattson on the show will help him land somewhere – after all, one of his idols, Marc Cohn, even appeared on videotape (prior to the results) to wish him luck and say that he’d love to write a song for Mattson.

As for Boyd, he gamely wiped the streaming tears from his face long enough to unleash another pitch-perfect version of “Nessun Dorma.” If the adrenaline from winning wasn’t enough, surely Boyd was in some form of shock at his congratulatory video-gram from Placido Domingo.

There is no doubt that “America’s Got Talent” is one of the biggest cheesefests on TV, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who got a little teary-eyed over the whole gloppy production.

Except, of course, when I wasn’t laughing at the audacity of Simon Cowell (who executive produces the show) to turn it into a showcase for his handpicked talent – singer Leona Lewis, who won Britain’s “The X-Factor,” and Il Divo, the boy band for adults also blessed by Cowell’s wand.

Well, what’s a reality show without an overload of self-promotion?

Oasis’ “Dig Out Your Soul” won’t be in stores until Tuesday, but if you want a preview listen, head to http://www.myspace.com/oasis, where the band has posted the entire album.

This is my first experience with the new MySpace player, which the company debuted about a week ago (when I was busy being tortured by little children at Disney World).

The player’s design is certainly sleeker than the old model, but I’m already irritated by one feature. Maybe it’s my own blindness, but when listening to the Oasis album, it took me about halfway through the list of songs to realize which one I was listening to.

Nothing is highlighted, and the song’s names don’t appear near the “play” bar, but you CAN tell which is playing if you squint and notice the teeny speaker icon next to the song’s name.

Annoyance number two: after four songs, the music stopped and a box (featuring a pic of the Jonas Brothers!) popped up, asking if I was still listening. Well, I was, Mr. MySpace, until you made me stop what I was doing, go back to the MySpace page, click “yes I’m still listening” and then hit the play button again.

Anyway, this seventh album from the band should appease those who thought the boys lost their magic after “Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.”

The guitars are giant and crunchy – first single “The Shock of Lightning” is tailor made for arena singalongs, while the ballad “I’m Outta Time,” with subtle strings in the background, is the prettiest song the band has written since “Don’t Go Away.”

Of course, the Beatles influences are still blatant. “Get Off Your High Horse Lady” utilizes a nasally, sung-through-a-megaphone vocal effect that wouldn’t have been out of place on “Sgt. Pepper,” and “Soldier On” employs a marching beat reminiscent of “Come Together.”

Good stuff that should sound even better live.

Oasis plays the Patriot Center Dec. 20. Tickets are on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, but a pre-sale starts Thursday at 10 a.m. (password: wonderwall). There’s an 8-ticket limit.

Let’s start with this: what sadist scheduled the Emmys against the last-ever game at Yankee Stadium and a powerhouse contest between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys?

Am I the only person out there who loves football, the Yankees AND “30 Rock”? I think not.

Thank you, left-brain engineering types, for the double-tuner TiVo.

Although, despite a promising opening with that sweet tribute by the “Everybody Loves Raymond” cast to Peter Boyle (“Holy crap!”), I almost stopped watching immediately upon the painfully awkward arrival of the evenings five “hosts” – reality ringleaders Ryan Seacrest, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst, Heidi Klum and Tom Bergeron.

These clowns proved that while everyone always said “Seinfeld” was a show about nothing, oh, how it was a lot about something.

And where was Probst’s tie? Just because he’s usually working in some jungle, he can’t dress appropriately for the evening? For God’s sake, even Heidi Klum wore a tie! Maybe Probst already knew he’d later win in the new category of Outstanding Reality Host and didn’t care (BTW, where is the Seacrest love? That man is so underappreciated).

Thankfully, the quintet was quickly replaced by actual funny people – double winner Tina Fey (triple if you count “30 Rock’s Outstanding Comedy award—yay!) and her former “SNL” wing(wo)man, Amy Poehler.

But right now, I am officially daring the Television Academy to enlist Ricky Gervais thissecond to host next year’s awards. His hilarious stare-off with Steve Carell, whom he did, technically, “make” thanks to “The Office” – was the highlight of the three-hour show.

“I sat through ‘Evan Almighty,’ now give me my Emmy,” was the funniest one-liner of the night until <<

Don Rickles, upon seeing his standing ovation, cracked to co-presenter Kathy Griffin, “Why are they standing? Is it a Jewish holiday?”

(Note to Television Academy people – if you can’t get Gervais, please, please, PLEASE try for this rapier-witted, ad-libbing duo).

Even though I was a bit annoyed at Jeremy Piven winning his third consecutive Emmy for his one-note – albeit amusing in its apoplectic bluster – performance on “Entourage” (you wanna reward the show? Give Kevin Dillon some love. And Seacrest. Just because) – it in no way matched my teeth-gritting over “Lost”’s Michael Emerson getting the frosty brush off.

“Damages” is one of the few shows my friends rave about that I don’t watch – and I just can’t get into “Mad Men,” but more on that later – but I’m sure Zeljko Ivanek deserved the Supporting Actor in a Drama trophy for his work on “Damages.” I mean, the show stars Glenn Close (who also won), so it’s got to be sound.

But have none of these voters witnessed a minute of Emerson’s work as steely, creepy, manipulative Benjamin Linus? The guy deserves a truckload of Emmys if only because his character is the only one that seems to know anything that’s going on in that show.

** Interjecting here with some Virginia-related news: this was posted as a separate entry Sunday night, but in case you didn’t see it, the HBO miniseries, “John Adams,” which was filmed largely in Colonial Williamsburg, won five awards Sunday night, including Outstanding Miniseries and nods for lead actor/actress, Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.

On stage, Cranston called Gilligan, “an amazing writer and an even more amazing human being.“ ** (END OF INTERJECTION)

Some other observations from the show:

— The un-nominated “Desperate Housewives” cast <<

made a group appearance to present an award. First thoughts: Felicity Huffman’s new bob is rather becoming, and wow, maybe Eva Longoria IS pregnant! Second thoughts: Who dressed Marcia Cross in a lampshade? And wow, Teri Hatcher looks stunning in that shapely yellow number. It even appears as if she’s eaten more than celery sticks and parsley since the last season ended.

— There was lots of political needling throughout the show – some of it subtle (Martin Sheen and Jay Roach, director of the excellent “Recount,” encouraging people to vote in the upcoming presidential election) and much of it not-so-subtle (Tommy Smothers, who peppered his speech for his commemorative Emmy with zingers such as, “There’s nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action” and “Truth is.. what you get other people to believe.”

— As excited as I was about Josh Groban’s tribute to TV theme songs >>>> when I heard about the plan a couple of weeks ago was as tepid my reaction to the actual performance.

Groban was a hoot, singing themes from “Happy Days,” “The Love Boat” and “The Brady Bunch” in the cheesy styles associated with the songs. He also proved his Good Sportsmanship by summoning the nerve to rap in front of gazillions of people (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”), and his “South Park” voices were uncanny.

But maybe they tried to cram so many songs into the medley that none of them ever really sank in. Even our beloved “Cheers” only got two seconds of piano to end the segment.

Eh.

— “The Amazing Race” won for Reality Competition Program for the sixth consecutive time. No love for Seacrest. No love for Simon Cowell. Is it really that interesting to watch teams of people racing around the world, arguing with each other? Isn’t that called a family vacation?

— How I love and admire thee, Tina Fey <<

. Not only could she make plugs for the brilliant, but under-watched “30 Rock” funny (you can view it on iTunes, on Hulu.com, on Verizon phones, even on NBC!), but her speech upon winning for writing in a comedy series was a nod-and-smile moment for writers of any kind: “It’s great to be a writer because if you’re at a wedding or something and you tell people that you’re a writer, they’re less interested in talking to you than if you tell them you’re an actor – which is great.”

— Oh, almost forgot “Mad Men,” which would have been bad. Yeah, just can’t get into it. But, whatever. The show is doing just fine without me as a viewer, exemplified by Sunday’s win for Outstanding Drama Series, beating such faves as “Dexter,” “House” and my beloved “Lost.”

It’s also the first time a basic cable show has nabbed a major award. Glenn Close and Zeljko Ivanek are already salivating. And yes, I know that Ivanek’s character is dead. There are always flashbacks, you know.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF ABC