The original cast of Broadway’s Tony-winning musical “Rent” will virtually reunite on June 28. The performance is part of Broadway Celebrates Pride, a virtual fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidates. Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin Vega, Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin and Adam Pascal will perform “Seasons of Love” at Broadway Celebrates Pride. They will
Music
Perhaps Haim wanted to be sure we’d really listen this time. Over the course of two records, the three Haim sisters — Danielle, Este, and Alana — have mainly been written about as a unit. They can harmonize, they look born to wander the streets of Los Angeles in style, and their work has consistently
A long-awaited collection of outtakes from Tom Petty’s classic 1994 album “Wildflowers” is finally destined to see the light of day, probably this calendar year, his daughter Adria Petty said in an appearance Thursday night on the Tom Petty Radio channel on SiriusXM. She came on the channel dedicated to her father to share news
Back in 2015, Kanye West said he would “like to be the Steve Jobs of the Gap,” and now he’s got his shot: His fashion company, Yeezy, on Friday announced a 10-year deal with the retail giant called Yeezy Gap that will be introduced in the first half of 2021, according to the New York
Rapper Huey, best known for his 2006 debut single “Pop, Lock and Drop It,” was killed in a double shooting in Kinloch, Mo., outside of St. Louis late Thursday night, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and multiple local reports. Police confirmed the deceased’s identity as Lawrence Franks Jr., 32, of St. Louis. The
It has become abundantly clear over the past few years — not to mention the past few decades — that African-Americans and other people of color are not adequately represented in decision-making roles in the music business. In an effort to address the renewed and persistent calls for equity across industries, the University of Southern
TalentX Entertainment has inked a global partnership with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the companies announced Friday. The agreement will work to create “a community of artists and songwriters and promote meaningful career development.” Sony/ATV will support this initiative by providing publishing and A&R services to TalentX’s songwriters and artists and supporting their creative projects. Additionally, this
As one might guess from their name — which is pronounced “krungbin” and means “engine fly” in Thai — Houston-based trio Khruangbin is not intentionally aimed at the pop market. With stated influences like East Asian surf-rock, psychedelia, West African and, of course, Thai music, the group’s sound pits Mark Speer’s deceptively complex guitar work
Leave it to British composer Max Richter to find a way to apply the language of classical music to today’s most compelling human concerns. “All Human Beings,” released today, is the first track off his new Decca album “Voices” (due July 31). It opens with the voice of Eleanor Roosevelt reading the preamble to the
The Recording Academy has announced a summer 2020 call-to-action initiative to help provide pandemic relief for music creators and music businesses, and to promote positive social change through legislation. The seven-week-long effort will culminate with the Academy’s 7th annual District Advocate event. According to the announcement, during the Recording Academy’s “Summer of Advocacy,” members will
CASH Music, a Portland-based nonprofit designed to provide “open-source tools to artists looking to promote and sell their music online,” is shutting down after 12 years, it announced today. Co-founded in 2008 by Throwing Muses’ singer Kristen Hersh, L7’s Donita Sparks and Jesse von Doom, the organization’s three major components — artist tools, a blog
Changes are afoot in the Chicks’ camp, and that’s not just whistling the absence of “Dixie.” On top of a name switch, the superstar country-pop trio formerly known as the Dixie Chicks has also made a management change, Variety has learned. The group is now being represented by John Silva’s Silva Artist Management. There, the
Universal Music Greater China (UMGC), a division of Universal Music Group, said Thursday that it has signed Sunnee, a former member of popular Chinese idol group Rocket Girls 101, which disbanded earlier this week. Sunnee, a Thai singer of Chinese descent whose full Mandarin name is Yang Yunqing, is the first of the former 11-person
Marc Geiger, WME’s global head of music, is exiting the agency he’s called home since 2003. In addition, WME’s Co-Head of Music Sara Newkirk Simon will transition to a consultant role with WME parent company Endeavor. Lucy Dickins is upped to co-head of WME’s Music division, joining Scott Clayton and Kirk Sommer who also retain
The Bonnaroo 2020 festival has been officially canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the festival announced on Thursday. In March, the long-running festival, which is held in Manchester, Tenn., moved from its regular June dates to September in the hopes that the pandemic would have eased enough to allow for mass gatherings, but it has long
After a season of watching Clarke family patriarch Mitch (Peter Gallagher) decline due to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” viewers saw him pass away in the finale. The titular Zoey (Jane Levy) developed the ability to hear people’s inner feelings as musical numbers at the start of the series, and after her
Epic Records has promoted Brian Wilson to chief financial officer and senior vice president, the company announced today. Reporting to chairwoman and CEO Sylvia Rhone, Wilson’s new role includes oversight of all finances for the label and release planning. In addition, he’ll continue to spearhead budgeting for the roster, which includes Camila Cabello, DJ Khaled,
On Saturday, June 27, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors will host a program of music and conversation with Black artists and organizers called “Black Power Live.” The event will raise funds for the organizations across the movement for Black lives including Crenshaw Dairy Mart, Trap Heals, Transgender Law Center, Sankofa, and Black Men Build. The event is produced by
An all-new documentary series following Demi Lovato’s ups and downs over the last three years is coming exclusively to YouTube, as part of the video giant doubling down on its music, celebrity and creator-focused originals strategy. In addition to the new four-part Lovato docuseries, YouTube has renewed four original series featuring big-name digital talent: “Instant
The Dixie Chicks have officially changed their name to “the Chicks,” after public discussions arose over the appropriateness of the Civil War-era “Dixie” as part of their moniker. The group had long been unofficially referred to as simply the Chicks by many fans and most of their associates in the music industry, but losing the
A long line of iconic artists were interviewed for a revealing and intimate documentary about Grammy Award–winning composer and producer David Foster. “Off the Record” tells the story of the Victoria, Canada native, who started as a session player for such productions as the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and went on to helm many multi-platinum
While it was not his most commercially successful album, Prince’s 1987 double-set “Sign O’ the Times” is widely recognized as the most diverse, creative and far-reaching outing of his career. The 16-track, 90-minute album represents a distillation of countless hours of songs the artist recorded during one of the most fruitful and prolific eras of
The band American Hi-Fi is making the most of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic by honoring some musical heroes. Back in May, the Boston-bred and Los Angeles-based group released a cover of Joe Jackson’s 1982 hit “Steppin’ Out,” which was a bit of a sonic departure for the pop-punk foursome. Now they are back with
The relationship between director Spike Lee and composer Terence Blanchard is rooted in collaboration, counting over 15 films together — most recently, “Da 5 Bloods.” “Terence is a great jazz musician and band player,” says Lee. “He brings that wealth of understanding of what music does with colors, shapes and feeling.” Blanchard, who moonlights as
The BET Awards have announced several new additions to the show’s lineup, including tributes to NBA great Kobe Bryant and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Little Richard and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter receiving the Humanitarian Award. Lil’ Wayne will pay tribute to Bryant and Wayne Brady will honor Little Richard. The show airs Sunday from 8-11
Abiola Oke, CEO and publisher of the indie music website Okayplayer and OkayAfrica, has resigned after allegations of inappropriate behavior and creating a toxic work environment surfaced on Twitter on Tuesday. Questlove, who co-founded Okayplayer in 1987, shared the company’s statement on Instagram on Wednesday. “Effective immediately, we have severed all ties and accepted the
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pearl Jam’s 2020 tour in support of its new album “Gigaton” was postponed before it began. But the Seattle band gave fans a first taste of what a live performance from “Gigaton” will sound like when it performed a socially distanced version of “Dance of the Clairvoyants” Wednesday night as
Warner Records has signed in-demand songwriter Amy Allen to a recording contract. The deal was inked last July when Allen began cutting back on session work with other artists (her past collabs include Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello) and focusing on her forthcoming solo debut. Not only did she co-write all of the
In the latest twist in the data hack involving top entertainment law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, the party purportedly responsible for the hack, which calls itself REvil, has threatened to auction off a vast amount of sensitive documents from some of the firm’s top clients. It laid out a schedule beginning on July
Considering the wave of controversy around Russell Simmons’ appearance on “The Breakfast Club” radio show earlier this month, many people were surprised that the entrepreneur — who has been accused of sexual assault or misconduct by at least 20 women — was featured on the podcast and video series “Drink Champs,” which airs on Tidal