The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has pulled the curtain back on six inductees who’ll be formally ushered in as the class of 2021, with Jay-Z, the Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren, Carole King and Foo Fighters all invited to make the trip to Cleveland this October. Notably, the hall will also welcome several
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Women won the night at the 2021 Brit Awards, with eight of the ceremony’s 11 trophies going to female artists, including Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Little Mix. Dua Lipa took home the most awards, winning both female solo artist and Mastercard album for her March 2020 release “Future Nostalgia.” Billie Eilish was
Olivia Rodrigo, soon to be as the musical guest on this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live,” previewed that U.S. live TV debut performance by singing “Driver’s License” on live television for the first time at Tuesday’s Brit Awards. After taking to the Brits’ red carpet in a lime green dress, Rodrigo became the woman in red
After taking 2020 off due to the pandemic, followed by no small amount of suspense about what would be possible for 2021, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has announced a summer schedule for the Hollywood Bowl that represents a robust if slightly scaled-down near-return to normal. More than 50 performances have been scheduled for a
Whether they realize it or not, most rock fans of the past 20-odd years — especially indie rock fans — already know the work of artist Steve Keene. He designed the cover of Pavement’s “Wowee Zowee” album and his often music-centric work was commissioned and sold by musicians ranging from Dave Matthews to the Apples
The Small Business Administration says it submitted 11,500 applications for federal aid from independent venues and theaters last week, and expects to begin sending out payments next week, according to a statement from an SBA rep. The total is up approximately 1,200 from last week. Indie venues have been struggling to keep afloat since the
New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club is back in a big way this summer, with Ron Carter, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Robert Glasper, Jacob Collier, Eddie Palmieri, John Scofield and Al Di Meola among the musicians scheduled to perform at the Sony Presents Blue Note Jazz Festival, to be held this summer from June
Veteran heavy metal quartet Megadeth have released a statement regarding sexual misconduct allegations against bassist David Ellefson, who recently denied that he was “grooming” an underaged girl via online messages and videos. “We are aware of the recent statements regarding David Ellefson, and are watching developments closely,” the band wrote in a statement posted on social media
Drake will be the recipient of an artist of the decade award when the Billboard Music Awards air on May 23, NBC and Dick Clark Productions announced Tuesday morning. Producers said the trophy is in honor of Billboard consumption data from 2009 through 2019. Drake is a shoo-in as its inaugural recipient by sheer numbers,
Usher is pulling double duty at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards, serving as the show’s host as well as performing, producers announced Tuesday. In addition, Elton John will be presented with the iHeartRadio Icon Award by Lil Nas X and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. A special tribute performance in honor of John will also take place,
Maren Morris’ “The Bones” was named song of the year at the BMI Pop Awards, held online for the second year in a row. Halsey was named songwriter of the year in the virtual ceremony. Sony Music Publishing was named publisher of the year by BMI for the ninth time. The publisher represented just shy
While the theater industry is currently reeling from being on lockdown for the past 14 months, the curtains are about to rise again. After Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Broadway theaters will reopen at full capacity on Sept. 14, theater productions have started to declare their intended return dates to the stage. Here is where
He’s the DJ whose name is so nice, he named his album for himself twice. All that self-branding paid off as DJ Khaled’s “Khaled Khaled” debuted at No. 1 on the album chart, with no little help from a slew of guests like Drake, Post Malone, Justins Bieber and Timberlake, Cardi B, H.E.R., Migos, 21
Finneas doesn’t keep it all in the family with his mentoring. He’ll be providing guidance to the top five as a mentor on the May 16 episode of “American Idol,” which will air live in all time zones. The finalists will be grouped together to perform two o his songs, “Break My Heart Again” and
In one of the more surreal developments the music world has seen in a year filled with them, Rough Trade NYC, the sprawling record store that closed down its location in trendy Williamsburg shortly after the pandemic hit last year, will be opening in a new location on June 1 — in the iconic 30
In the days after DMX’s death from a heart attack last month, several people close to the veteran rapper said that he recently had completed a new studio album, but did not provide further details. Some details arrived on Monday from his longtime friend and producer, Swizz Beatz: “Exodus,” an album of all-new original material,
Digital music company Believe announced plans for a Paris stock market listing on Monday, for which it is aiming to raise around 500 million euros ($608 million), according to reports in Reuters and Music Ally. The company’s digital music brands include TuneCore, Believe Distribution Services, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack and AllPoints. Believe cautioned that
Just as Jean Girard so memorably noted in “Talladega Nights,” “God needs the Devil. The Beatles needed the Rolling Stones, even Diane Sawyer needed Katie Couric,” one could add that “Bob Dylan needed Donovan.” It’s been 56 years since we saw Dylan and Donovan side by side during Dylan’s famous knockabout 1965 tour, chronicled in
Just under a year ago, as protests gripped the U.S. and the music industry took a “Blackout Tuesday” to examine its policies and attitudes toward race, Sony Music Group announced the launch of a $100 million Global Social Justice Fund to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives around the world. The company — which includes all
In today’s Global Bulletin, the Brit Awards honor Taylor Swift; Comedy Central U.K. commissions three new unscripted programs; and Digital Catapult prepares the world’s first 5G-powered music festival. AWARDS This year’s Brit Awards will recognize American artist Taylor Swift with the organization’s highest honor, the Global Icon award, at Tuesday’s ceremony in recognition of her
CNCO has announced that Joel Pimentel is leaving the band, following their upcoming virtual concert on May 14. In a statement on Sunday posted to CNCO’s social media accounts, the band wrote: “We’re sad to tell you that after five and a half unforgettable and life changing years together, Friday, May 14th will be Joel’s
Global Citizen’s “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World” airs Saturday night at 8 p.m. on CBS, ABC, YouTube and iHeartMedia stations, with a late-night airing at 11 p.m. on Fox. Variety was there to shoot the action as it went down last Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California — the first real
March marked the 65th anniversary of the wrap of the first season of the “Mickey Mouse Club,” and the recent death of one of the original Mouseketeers, Johnny Crawford, reminded fans of the enduring talent that the show, and especially its early 1990s iteration, brought to the entertainment industry. The original “Mickey Mouse Club” launched
Twenty years since the release of her first album, Miranda Lambert still happily confounds country’s hardcore traditionalists as to who she is, precisely, while maintaining Texas and Nashville’s interest and fandom. Precise just isn’t her thing. Ruckus-raising revenge fantasias; housewife tomes portraying the chinks in a relationship’s armor; meditations on being a woman loved, scorned,
Belgian composer Peter Baert had never worked on feature film scoring until a chance encounter with actor and filmmaker David Oyelowo changed that. The two first met when Oyelowo was in Brussels shooting “Les Miserables” and needed a studio to record a voiceover narration for Penguin Books’ “Spot the Dog.” Oyelowo recorded at Baert’s studio.
This week, Van Morrison put the “crazy” in “Crazy Love.” His new release, the double album “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” spans over two hours and consists of a series of bizarre rants and blues numbers that criticize millennial culture, Facebook, the mainstream media, psychiatrists, judges and, with no apparent irony, people who bitch. While
Lloyd Price, the ‘50s R&B vocalist whose early singles were among the first to attract attention from the nascent rock ‘n’ roll audience, died Thursday. He was 88. Maxwell Entertainment owner Rickey Poppell posted the news on Facebook, saying, “My friend and Lloyd Price’s manager, Tom Trapani, just called to let me know that our
Chance the Rapper has wrapped up a deal with AMC Theatres to have a new concert film, “Magnificent Coloring World,” premiere exclusively on the chain’s screens this summer. A teaser was issued Friday for the movie, which celebrates five years since the release of Chance’s landmark mixtape “Coloring Book” and the Magnificent Coloring World tour
As part of the rollout for the release of Coldplay’s new single “Higher Power,” Chris Martin joined Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1’s New Music Daily earlier this week. In addition to discussing the band’s creative evolution over a decades-long career, Martin broke down what it was like to work with legendary pop producer Max
Weezer is a band that inspires extreme loyalty. By releasing two of the most revered rock records of the ’90s — their 1994 debut “Weezer” (aka the “Blue Album”), and 1996’s cult hit “Pinkerton” — the group amassed a fanbase that feverishly connected with its nostalgic lyrics, singalong choruses and guitar riffs. The initial critical