April 9, 2019 5:43PM PT The intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard will be renamed in honor of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle. The intersection is near the site where Hussle (legal name: Ermias Ashedom) was murdered in front of his store, Marathon Clothing, on March 31. Los Angeles city councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson announced
Music
April 9, 2019 11:00AM PT [embedded content] The Assassin’s Creed Symphony will feature holographic characters from the series when it kicks off this summer, and show organizers Ubisoft and MGP Live highlighted the technology in a new trailer on Tuesday. The show promises to let fans relive the “Assassin’s Creed” saga by combining its beautiful
If you thought Brandi Carlile was going (entirely) country after seeing her on the Academy of Country Music Awards Sunday night, think again. She’ll be getting her Joni Mitchell side on with a one-time full-album performance of Mitchell’s 1971 LP “Blue” in October in Los Angeles. Tickets for the Oct. 14 show at Walt Disney
Michelle Williams is dancing her way into another hit leading role with FX’s “Fosse/Verdon.” At the New York premiere on Monday night, the actress told Variety it took more than dance lessons to get ready to play Broadway legend Gwen Verdon. “It’s going to sound weird, but I had to start meditating. I had to become a
April 9, 2019 9:17AM PT The whiskey distillery Bob Dylan previously announced for Nashville is now set to become a place even a teetotaler could love. The project is becoming considerably more ambitious, with the addition of an arts center component that will include a performance space and a gallery for the singer’s paintings and
If there was an artist who owned South by Southwest this year, it was Lizzo. As a longtime cult favorite of the Minneapolis and indie R&B scenes, the singer has spent years training for the mainstream breakthrough she’s poised to enjoy with her major-label debut album, “Cuz I Love You,” due next Friday (April 19)
April 9, 2019 8:11AM PT The Weeknd is coming. Maren Morris, SZA, Ty Dolla Sign, the Lumineers and the National, too. They’re all contributing to “For the Throne (Music Inspired by the HBO Series ‘Game of Thrones’),” which has just been announced for April 26 release via Columbia Records. The eclectic lineup of artists assembled
April 9, 2019 7:32AM PT A Minnesota judge on Monday ordered a recording engineer to pay Prince’s estate almost $4 million for releasing an unauthorized EP of songs by the late musician in 2017. George Ian Boxill, who worked with Prince from 2004 through 2008, released the “Deliverance” EP to streaming services in April 2017
April 8, 2019 7:35PM PT The singer will take the stage in Tel Aviv on May 18. Madonna will perform at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, the singer’s rep confirms to Variety. The contest, an international showcase of musical talent in which 43 countries participate, is set for May 14 to 18.
April 8, 2019 3:59PM PT As Variety confirmed on Saturday, a memorial for Nipsey Hussle will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this Thursday. The late rapper’s family confirmed the memorial today and the venue posted details on its website (please refer to it for complete information). Tickets are available starting tomorrow
The first thing you see when you enter the lobby of Warner Music Group’s dazzling, 240,000 square foot, five-story new building in downtown Los Angeles is a hanging neon-lit spiral light sculpture that incorporates all the labels and companies that have made the space their new home. Rhino, WEA and ADA occupy the first floor,
Last month the companies of Charles Koppelman and L. Londell McMillan, the former entertainment advisors to the Prince estate, were ordered to place in escrow millions of dollars in compensation they received as a result of two aborted deals they negotiated during their seven-month term. The two have appealed the decision. An investigation recommended in
April 8, 2019 11:32AM PT Just days after Fleetwood Mac were announced as the replacement headliner at Jazz Fest after the Rolling Stones pulled out due to Mick Jagger’s heart surgery, Fleetwood Mac have themselves cancelled their booking at the annual New Orleans festival while singer Stevie Nicks recovers from the flu. “Due to the
When Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” became a viral sensation with its mixture of country and trap styles, it struck more than a chord with guest columnists Jingle Jared and Jelly Roll. It represented the acceptance and fulfillment of a crossing of genres they’ve been working to make happen in Nashville for years. “Old
Jack White’s Third Man Records celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a characteristic flourish, with a daylong party on Saturday in front of its Nashville headquarters that culminated with the first performance in eight years from the Raconteurs, one of several White-helmed bands. Introduced by White’s mother Teresa Gillis, the band — White and fellow singer/guitarist
DJ/producer Diplo will host his newest live, curated event, the awesomely titled “Diplo Presents The Super Mega Ultra Giant Mad Decent Block Party Festival,” Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The event will feature three music stages — The Block Party Stage, located on the Gillette Stadium field, The Super Mega Stage, and the Giant Ultra Stage — with performances from Billie Eilish,
April 8, 2019 6:40AM PT Sean Combs’ Revolt is expanding the scope of its live event business with a plan to grow its annual music summit into a multi-day event held in multiple cities. The Revolt Hip Hop Summit will be staged in Atlanta (July 25-27) and Los Angeles (Oct. 24-26) this year. The deal
April 8, 2019 6:39AM PT Just a week after Beyonce was crowned Entertainer of the Year at the NAACP Image Awards, the Beyhive has another reason to celebrate. Netflix posted a tweet Sunday teasing its rumored upcoming Beyonce concert documentary, which will reportedly highlight her 2018 performance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, and followed with
April 8, 2019 6:10AM PT Epic Records has named Michelle Belcher VP of the newly launched Epic Film & TV department, and John Kirkpatrick as SVP of Brand Marketing. Both will be based out of Los Angeles. Belcher will be tasked with curating high-profile soundtracks as well as establishing licensing opportunities for artists across the
Nigerian music streaming service uduX and Universal Music Group today announced the signing of a licensing agreement, making UMG the first major music company to license its catalog to the country’s first domestic streaming service. uduX is currently available via monthly subscription through the entertainment platform Habari by GTBank, which launched in November 2018. The service
Dan + Shay picked up trophies in three categories Sunday on the Academy of Country Music Awards telecast, while Kacey Musgraves prevailed in two in a ceremony broadcast on CBS from Las Vegas. The entertainer of the year award, meanwhile, in something of an upset, went to Keith Urban, who had never before gotten that
April 7, 2019 6:21PM PT Solange has cancelled her Coachella performances due to “major production delays,” the festival announced Sunday evening. “Due to major production delays, Solange will unfortunately no longer be performing at this year’s festival,” the announcement reads. “She sends her sincerest apologies, and looks forward to performing at Coachella in the future.”
April 7, 2019 5:34PM PT A dark and dangerous directorial vision presents this classic treasure by Rodgers & Hammerstein in a fresh but far from sunny new light. In Broadway’s new “Oklahoma!,” the audience is just a pounding heartbeat away from Daniel Fish’s revisionist treatment of this iconic American musical. There’s still “a bright golden
April 7, 2019 11:13AM PT [embedded content] Dennis Quaid isn’t just pursuing his own music career right now; he’s starring in other acts’ music videos, too. He’s taken the title role in “Mr. Lonely,” the first single from an upcoming sophomore album by the band Midland, one of country music’s biggest breakouts of the last
Almost 50 years after forming in Boston, Aerosmith launched their “Deuces Are Wild” residency at the Park Theater in Las Vegas Saturday amid floating toys, pyrotechnics, revolutionary sound experiences and 230 booming speakers. The rock’n’roll icons (vocalist Steven Tyler, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, drummer Joey Kramer and bassist Tom Hamilton) debuted their 35-date residency
April 6, 2019 2:31PM PT A worker died Saturday morning after falling in the staging area at the site of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Indio police confirmed to the Palm Springs area publication the Desert Sun. The worker’s identity had not been announced at press time. Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron told
April 6, 2019 10:31AM PT A memorial service for Nipsey Hussle will be held Thursday at the 21,000-capacity Staples Center in the rapper’s hometown of Los Angeles, a source close to the situation confirms to Variety. Reps for the artist’s label and the Staples Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment; the news
Kacey Musgraves, accepting her honor at Variety’s Power of Women presented by Lifetime luncheon on Friday, extolled the value of music education for young people in a climate that values arts education for students less and less, which is why she’s chosen to work with the Grammy Museum. The singer also talked about the education
Variety’s Power of Women celebration featured three women who told their stories in “Surviving R. Kelly,” Lisa Van Allen, Asante McGee and Kitty Jones, all of whom have leveled serious charges of sexual misconduct against R. Kelly. In introducing the survivors, Lifetime’s Brie Bryant noted that the show started with two survivors and ended up
April 5, 2019 9:35AM PT It’s been a glorious spring for fans of orchestral pop: Late last month Karen O and Danger Mouse dropped their epic “Lux Prima,” and today brings the latest from Weyes Blood — a.k.a. singer-songwriter Natalie Mering — which is by far her most sophisticated and fully realized outing to date.