Music

Robbie Robertson left a legacy of storytelling behind him when he died at age 80 on Aug. 9 in Los Angeles. It’s not just the tales he concocted for his work with the Band and, later, his solo records, but his prowess as one of music’s great raconteurs, whether he was harking back to an

Travis Scott has the No. 1 album in the United States for a second consecutive week. The Houston-born, Grammy-nominated rapper’s latest “Utopia” album tops the list for a second week while Morgan Wallen continues toppling records on the singles chart. Scott’s features-heavy set comes in with 147,000 units sold with streams making up 146 million

In the days leading up to Carla Morrison’s Hollywood Bowl show — the seventh stop of her “El Renacimiento” tour supporting her 2022 album — the concept of time had become a bit blurry. Morrison spent weeks finalizing the details for what would be her first show at the legendary venue after a five-year hiatus

Melvin “Magoo” Barcliff, best known for his contributions to hip-hop as one-half of Timbaland and Magoo, has died. The Virginia Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the news on Monday but his cause of death has not yet been revealed. He was 50 years old. After meeting as teenagers in Norfolk, Virginia, Timbaland and Magoo established themselves

The wide reach of Clarence Avant, who was widely known as “the Godfather of Black Entertainment” and died Sunday at the age of 92, was evident from the range of people paying tribute to him on social media after his death was announced Monday morning. His influence spanned music, entertainment, sports, politics and beyond. Within

Sufjan Stevens is going “full singer-songwriter mode” on his next album, “Javelin,” out Oct. 6 via Asthmatic Kitty. With the melancholy lead single “So You Are Tired,” “Javelin” marks Stevens’ first “intimate” album since 2015’s “Carrie & Lowell.” According to a press release, “At times, [‘Javelin’] has the feel of a big team album production

American fans of the legendary Mexican rock band Café Tacvba have the opportunity to catch the group for a limited number of shows taking place across the States later this fall. Produced by Live Nation, the six-city trek will start on Oct. 14 at Revolution Live in Miami and also includes dates in Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville,

Clarence Avant, whose unofficial title of the “Black Godfather” spanned the worlds of music, sports, entertainment and politics, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his family. No cause of death was provided; he was 92. “It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing

The historic Maida Vale Studios in London has been sold by the BBC to a four-way partnership between Working Title chairs Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and two-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer and his business partner Steven Kofsky. The partnership has multi-million pound refurbishment plans to upgrade the studio’s facilities. The original facade of the

Billy Porter is sharing his distaste with Harry Styles’ 2020 Vogue cover. In an interview with The Telegraph, Porter explained that he felt Styles landed the first male cover because he’s “white and he’s straight.” “It doesn’t feel good to me. You’re using my community — or your people are using my community — to

Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme has faced many demons since the release of the 2017 album “Villains”: cancer, divorce, rehab and court battles. And the new Queens record, the just-released “In Times New Roman…,” definitely adds weight to the band’s woozy, bluesy rock — a dour energy far removed from the dancier sound conjured

Tom Jones, who wrote the book and lyrics for the longest-running musical “The Fantasticks,” died Friday at his home in Sharon, Conn. He was 95. Jones’ son Michael told The New York Times the cause was cancer. Jones and the late composer Harvey Schmidt created the musical allegory “The Fantasticks,” which opened in 1960 in

Millionaire artists including Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Nickelback, Steve Aoki and others received some $200 million in pandemic relief as part of the Small Business Administration’s “Save Our Stages grants, according to a new report in Insider. The report notes that many of these artists own or may have owned businesses or corporations

The organizer of Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival is seeking over $2 million in damages from the 1975 after frontman Matty Healy’s on-stage protest against the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws resulted in authorities canceling the event. The shutdown resulted in numerous bands and small businesses on the bill — including local artists and global acts such as

Ever since 1977, Star Wars has been a franchise with recognizable aesthetics: The distinctive hum of a lightsaber. Rusty armor and billowing capes on the costumes. The iconic Millennium Falcon. GeorgeLucas created a visual legacy that filmmakers and craftspeople have continued to honor through the feature films, live-action series, video games and animated series, building

Hip-hop may belong to the world now, but there’s little question that the sound and culture that took over the world had its start in the New York City borough of the Bronx in the summer of 1973, where DJ Kool Herc and others held neighborhood block parties — mixing, scratching and rhyming over records.

Ellise Shafer, online news editor Glendale, AZ / State Farm Stadium — March 17 (opening night) Katcy Stephan, social media editor Glendale, AZ / State Farm Stadium – March 18 Los Angeles / SoFi Stadium – August 4 Los Angeles / SoFi Stadium – August 7 William Earl, editor of Variety.com East Rutherford, NJ /

It’s Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, which means John Lydon, the artist formerly known as the Sex Pistols’ infamous rabblerouser Johnny Rotten, is glued to the 55” flat screen TV in the Malibu home he shared with his beloved wife, Nora Forster, until she passed away in April after a long battle with Alzheimer’s

Swazi-born, South African DJ Uncle Waffles is at the forefront of propelling amapiano — a subgenre of house and South African music — to dancefloors across the world. Her third EP, “Solace,” released today (Aug. 11), sees her expanding on the invigorating beats that earned her a spot at this year’s Coachella festival, and delving

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution has acquired worldwide sales and U.K. distribution rights for concert film “Duran Duran: A Hollywood High.” The film celebrates the British band’s 40-year career and 100 million-plus record sales and includes new interviews, behind-the-scenes video and unseen archival footage. It features a 40th anniversary celebration rooftop set, shot at The Aster in

Olivia Rodrigo will do anything to see an ex in the new Petra Collins-directed music video for her latest single, “Bad Idea Right?” The guitar-heavy single, produced by Rodrigo’s main collaborator Dan Nigro, features Rodrigo speak-singing sassy lyrics about wanting to see a former flame, but knowing it’s not the best decision (and maybe not

What, in pop music history, is anyone to compare Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to? If you’re at all flummoxed by that question, join the club, populated by scores of journalists and commentators who’ve tried and failed to find reasonable parallels. “I promise that you’ll never find another like me,” Swift sang a few years ago,

“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Kyle Richards and singer Morgan Wade are giving people something to talk about in the new visualizer for Wade’s song “Fall in Love With Me.” On Thursday, Wade shared the David McClister-directed music video for the song, which follows an enamored Richards trying to win over Wade — her

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Robbie Robertson’s 2017 memoir “Testimony” has returned to the top of bestseller lists following the guitarist-songwriter-singer’s death. The musician, who led the Canadian-American group the Band to rock prominence in the 1970s, died on

Giorgio Moroder and Iconoclast have struck a deal to work on the development and marketing of the “Father of Disco’s” name, image, and likeness rights. Iconoclast acquires the Grammy and Oscar-winning composer’s producer royalties, which span across timeless hits including Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and Blondie’s “Call Me,” among others. “Working with my friend

Lil Tay is allegedly alive. One day after the internet rapper and social media star’s management confirmed to Variety that she had died, her family has allegedly issued a statement to TMZ in which she says she is “safe and alive.” News of Lil Tay’s alleged death first arrived via an Aug. 9 post on

The remaining dates for Paramore’s North American “This Is Why” tour have been canceled. After delivering a performance in Seattle on the night of Aug. 9, frontwoman Hayley Williams informed fans via social media that the band would no longer go on due to her contracting a lung infection. The impacted dates are in Portland

The Jonas Brothers were first asked to play Yankee Stadium in 2008. It was just a couple of years into their pop star fame. “At that point it was like this meteoric rise for us over a two-year period,” Nick Jonas says. “I don’t think we believed we could sell it. So we told our

Stem has announced the launch of Tone, a new brand and business under Stem Disintermedia ownership intended to create modern financial tools for the music industry. Tone, led by the company’s chief product officer Brendan Kao, “was created to fix the broken financial processes across the entire music industry, regardless of which label or distributor an

Hybe Corp., the Korean pop music giant behind BTS, has further expanded the scale of its empire by buying out its partner in Belift Lab, the firm backing another K-pop powerhouse Enhypen. The company said that it has signed an agreement to acquire CJ ENM’s 51.5% stake in Belift. Deal terms were not disclosed. Launched