Music

A Michigan nurse whose informal performance of “Amazing Grace” at a local hospital became an online sensation last year will sing at a memorial for those who have died from COVID-19 on Tuesday (Jan. 19), ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Lori Marie Key, 29, of Belleville, Michigan is set to sing “Amazing Grace” as

Due to the ongoing Covid‐19 pandemic, the producers of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell have decided to postpone this year’s event until the fall. Jazz Fest 2021 is scheduled for October 8‐17. Quint Davis, Producer/Director of Jazz Fest, said, “We are all ready to get together again and share that

Live Nation, the world’s largest live-entertainment company, has acquired a majority stake in Veeps, the ticketed livestream platform launched by Joel and Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte. The Madden brothers, along with cofounders Sherry Saeedi and Kyle Heller, will remain at the helm of Veeps, with their full team staying on to continue

Independent music label and publisher Concord has promoted Victor Zaraya to chief operating officer, the company announced Tuesday. Zaraya, who was most recently chief revenue officer, will be based in Concord’s new midtown Manhattan office when it reopens, and will report to Concord CEO Scott Pascucci. Zaraya steps into the COO position previously held by

If anyone ever wondered what it would have been like if Richard Wagner had perished in the age of web news and social media, we got an indication of that when Phil Spector died Sunday at the age of 81. Whether we were writing headlines or tweeting thoughts to friend circles, few of us proceeded

Walt Disney, Frank Capra, Whitney Houston, Billie Holiday, Johnny Cash and Alex Trebek are among the entertainment industry figures who have been added as proposed honorees in the National Garden of American Heroes monument project unveiled by President Donald Trump in July. As he began his final 48 hours as President, Trump issued an amended

Grammy-winning artist Stevie Wonder posted a video in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in which he called on the Biden-Harris administration to help reconcile the inequality that persists in America. Wonder structured the video like a letter, beginning the message by recalling the time he met King and the influence he has had

Garth Brooks will join Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez as a performer at the swearing-in ceremony Wednesday for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, he announced in a press conference Monday morning. Brooks declined to say what he will perform at the ceremony, only saying that his mind had gone toward choices with a patriotic bent.

Guitarist Jon Schaffer, a founding member of the metal band Iced Earth, has been taken into custody in his home state of Indiana after making “wanted” lists as a result of his widely seen participation in pro-Trump forces’ siege of the U.S. Capitol. News outlets including the Indianapolis Star have reported that Schaffer turned himself

Legendary singer Ronnie Spector, who sang many of Phil Spector’s greatest productions as lead vocalist with the Ronettes and was married to him for six tumultuous years, posted about his death on Sunday, calling him a “brilliant producer but a lousy husband.” “It’s a sad day for music and a sad day for me,” she

As loathsome as he may have been as a human being, the eccentric and obsessive genius of Phil Spector — pronounced dead on January 16, at age 81, while imprisoned for life for a 2003 murder — cannot be ignored. Spector crafted the role of record producer (to say nothing of his songwriting skills) into

In observance of what would have been Aaliyah’s birthday on Saturday, her estate posted an update on its progress in the long-overdue process of bringing her music to streaming services. Much of the influential R&B singer’s catalog, who died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22, has never appeared legally on

“You know, the whole thing was like a bad marriage,” Darlene Love says. “It’s a marriage that was abusive — not just physically, but mentally. That’s what Phil was trying to do with me. He wanted to control not Darlene, but the talent.” Darlene Love, who sang many of Phil Spector’s greatest songs but also

In the wake of Hipgnosis Song’s blockbuster growth, former Geffen Records president Neil Jacobson, who launched his own songwriter-producer management firm in 2019, is lining up a $200 million IPO on the New York Stock Exchange for a new company called the Music Acquisition Corporation. The move was first reported by Music Business Worldwide. While

Producer Phil Spector, the legendary studio revolutionary of the ’60s and ’70s who ended his life imprisoned for a 2003 murder, has died. He was 81. “Phillip Spector, 80, was pronounced deceased of natural causes at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, January 16, 2021, at an outside hospital. His official cause of death will be determined

Dr. Dre is back at home after reportedly being hospitalized for a brain aneurysm. Peter Paterno, an attorney for Dre, confirmed the news to Variety on Saturday. On Friday, rapper Ice-T tweeted that Dre had been released from the hospital. “Update: Just FaceTimed with @DrDre,” Ice-T wrote on Twitter. “He just made it home. Safe

As entertainment venues including Broadway theaters, dance centers, arenas and concert halls lie empty across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, IATSE, the union that represents the workers behind-the-scenes at those venues tweeted earlier this week, “Turn live venues into COVID vaccination sites and use union labor to set it up.” As the country

On Jan. 20, stars and musicians are coming together to celebrate the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. These virtual events, featuring Tom Hanks, Lady Gaga and Bruce Springsteen, among others, will kick off this weekend and wrap on the evening of Inauguration Day. Check out upcoming events below. “America United:

Chris “CM” Murphy, the longtime manager of Australian band INXS (from 1979 until 1995 and again in the 2000s), has died in Sydney following a battle with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. He was 66. A representative for Murphy Petrol Group shared the news in the early morning hours of Saturday (Jan. 16): “It is with great

UPDATED: In a move that brought deep chagrin to songwriters and publishers and joy to the broadcasting industry, after years of talk, the Justice Department has decided to leave unchanged the 80-year-old consent decrees that govern the public performances of music, Makan Delrahim, the outgoing Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, announced

Despite all obvious obstacles, 2020 was a productive year for Nelly. In September, the three-time Grammy winner joined the cast of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” where he ended up placing third. October saw the release of “Lil Bit,” a country-inflected collaboration with Florida Georgia Line that led to performances on NBC’s “The Voice” and

Johnny Flynn’s star has been on the rise in recent years, and will be propelled a little higher on Jan. 29 with the release of period drama “The Dig” on Netflix, in which he appears alongside Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan and Lily James. Flynn most recently drew acclaim for his performances as Mr. Knightly in

Long before he left One Direction, just days after the launch of its final tour, Zayn Malik was obviously the member who was least jazzed about being in a boy band, and fame in general. He was the first to leave and the first to release a solo album, so it’s not surprising that after

Duranice Pace, a singer who was part of the gospel group the Pace Sisters, died on Thursday, her family announced. She was 62. On Jan. 5, the Pace family announced that she had been hospitalized. They did not provide any details for why she was hospitalized. “Please keep the prayers, support and love coming as

Bruce Springsteen, the Foo Fighters, John Legend, Eva Longoria and and Kerry Washington will be among the celebrities at Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The Foo Fighters, Legend and Springsteen will give remote performances while Longoria and Washington will introduce segments of the event. Bruce will join our next President and Vice President @JoeBiden

Indie-rock artist Ariel Pink, who came under fire and was dropped by his label after controversy arose over his support for Donald J. Trump, went on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday night to answer the host’s questions about being “stripped of his livelihood,” telling Carlson he is “destitute” as a result of cancel culture.

Sylvain Sylvain, cofounder and rhythm guitarist of legendary early 1970s proto-punk quintet the New York Dolls, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer, according to a social media post by his wife and multiple media reports. He was 69. While often lambasted in their era — either as Rolling Stones knock-offs or for their shocking-at-the-time

Fundraising efforts to save iconic New York jazz club Birdland will culminate in a free streaming concert on Jan. 24. The lineup for the event includes former President Bill Clinton, Clive Davis, Elvis Costello, Jeff Daniels and Leslie Odom Jr. The jazz club, named after Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, originally opened its doors in 1949 but

It didn’t take long for 2021 to get kicked into gear with blockbuster music breakouts. Not even a full week into their respective releases, both pop newcomer Olivia Rodrigo and country star Morgan Wallen have shattered records on streaming charts, setting themselves up to pull far ahead of their respective packs when the leaders of

The Sundance Film Festival’s 2021 virtual Main Street will play host to a series of conversations about music and the movies, hosted by first-time festival partner Film Music House, with Mary J. Blige, Rufus Wainwright and Colin Stetson (pictured above) among those taking part in the streamed chats Jan. 28 through Feb. 3. Blige will