Music
Wazupnaija – Naija Entertainment blogs & Forums – Entertainment – Music
Watch Alison Wonderland Throw Down at First Festival Performance in 10 Months
Alison Wonderland is back. The electronic music superstar descended on New Zealand’s Matakana Country Park—located just one hour north of Auckland—to drop a massive set at Hidden Valley Festival over the weekend. Wonderland, who quarantined for two weeks ahead of the performance, was joined by fellow dance music heavyweights Dimension, Sub Focus, The Upbeats featuring MC Tali, Montell2099, Sachi, and Lee Mvtthews. If the video she shared on Twitter is any indication, after 10 months devoid of festival performances, she came out guns blazing. Watch the clip below, where she drops Kaivon‘s remix of her fan-favorite track “Peace” to a roaring crowd. It’s important to note the country of New Zealand’s success in the battle against COVID-19. Accordi...
L.A. GUNS Drummer STEVE RILEY Feels Bad For Young Bands Starting Out
In a new interview with Ornella Carlone of Comebackstage, L.A. GUNS drummer Steve Riley was asked what the biggest challenge is for bands trying to make it in the music business in 2020. He responded: “The reason I came to Los Angeles from Boston [in the 1970s] was because I knew that you had to be here, because this is where all the big machines were — the management, the record labels, just everything was here. The fans, the bandmembers. So I knew I had to come to Los Angeles. The biggest challenge now is there is no big machine happening. The bands have to do a lot of stuff on their own. You have to really dig in and you have to utilize the Internet. That’s the biggest challenge. “I feel bad for up-and-coming bands, because they don’t have that luxury of tagging ...
KK’S PRIEST To Release Debut Album In 2021
KK’S PRIEST, the new band featuring former JUDAS PRIEST members K.K. Downing (guitar), Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals) and Les Binks (drums), will release its debut album in 2021 via Explorer1 Music Group. The group will also play select shows next year to mark the 50th anniversary of PRIEST and Downing‘s career as a founding member. KK’S PRIEST‘s setlist will consist of PRIEST classics and new songs. On December 24, Downing posted the following message on his social media: “Dearest Metal Fans, Season’s greetings to you all! I wish you sincere heart felt sentiments from myself and KK’S PRIEST members. “We were so disappointed when our summer gigs were cancelled, but we certainly intend to make up for it in the new year with an abundan...
DEVIN TOWNSEND’s Advice To Younger Musicians: ‘You Need To Learn How To Fail Efficiently’
Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend was recently interviewed by Rob’s School Of Music. You can now watch the chat below. Speaking about what advice he would give to younger or more inexperienced musicians, Devin said: “You need to learn how to fail efficiently. Because the people who I know who are fantastic improvisers are the ones that don’t fear playing a wrong note. And the ones that are terrified to jam are often the ones that have had a lot of success — in my experience, at least. And to explain that further, it’s almost like they never had the chance of fucking up so much that people thought they were idiots. Or that publicly, they never did something that everybody was just, like, ‘Dude, that guys sucks, man.’ “I remembe...
ACE FREHLEY Shoots Down Rumor He Was Asked To Play With KISS At New Year’s Eve Concert
Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has shot down rumors that he was asked to rejoin his former bandmates on stage at their New Year’s Eve concert in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier today, the following statement was posted on Frehley‘s Facebook page: “Contrary to online statements, Ace Frehley was not asked to and will not be appearing with KISS at their New Year’s Eve concert in Dubai. Ace is currently in Nashville, TN recording his new studio album of all original material. Ace wishes all of his fans a happy and prosperous New Year!” This past April, Ace said that he was up for a reunion of the original KISS lineup, but only if the price was right. “Everything’s cool,” he told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk” ...
Dave Grohl Hails Passing of $15 Billion Save Our Stages Act
Dave Grohl has shared a “huge, heartfelt” statement hailing the recent passing of the Save Our Stages Act. As part of the bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill, the act will allocate $15 billion dollars in federal aid for independent music venues and theatres that have been forced to close during the pandemic. The Foo Fighters frontman has been a fervent champion of the bill, which was first introduced by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota back in July. In October, Foo Fighters headlined the virtual #SOSFEST, an event hosted by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) to raise money for concert spaces and rally for Save Our Stages to be included in all future iterations of the COVID-19 relief package. Thankfully, it happened on December 20th. “A huge, heartfelt...
Save Our Stages Fest Raised $2 Million for Independent Venues: “This Moment Brought Millions of People Hope”
As our Annual Report continues, we’ll be taking several looks at how live music changed in a year where most of the world was in lockdown. Today, we share our conversation with Save Our Stages Fest’s Stephen Sternschein on what’s being done to preserve live music and venues during this pandemic. The American experience of the COVID-19 pandemic is dominated by unimaginable numbers made real: 300,000 dead, 16 million infected, an estimated $3-$5 trillion hit to the country’s GDP over the next two years. Tucked inside that last figure is another statistic, revealed over the summer, that made the year even darker for music fans: According to a nationwide survey of club owners and promoters conducted by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) this past June, 90% of independent music v...
Run the Jewels are Ass-Kicking Action Figures in New “Walking in the Snow” Video: Watch
Run the Jewels are capping off yet another critically acclaimed year with the release of their new video for RTJ4 standout “Walking in the Snow”. And they sure know how to go out with a bang: El-P and Killer Mike star as ass-kicking action figures ready to save the day. Today’s stop-motion clip comes courtesy of Chris Hopewell, who also directed the hip-hop duo’s “Don’t Get Captured” vid from 2017. In it, RTJ valiantly lead a toy rebellion against an evil, dictator-like ice king. In addition to being a thrilling and visually entertaining watch, the video aptly encapsulates the powerful essence of RTJ4, an album that denounces systemic oppression in all its forms and rallies for change. Check it out below. “It was great to work with the RTJ guys again,” Hopewell commented in a statemen...
TikTok Star Shreds Metallica Songs on Guitar After She’s Called Out for Wearing Band’s T-Shirt: Watch
A TikTok star set out to seek and destroy after commenters called her out for wearing a Metallica shirt in her videos. Not only did aspiring R&B/hip-hop vocalist and dancer Zaria prove she was a fan of the iconic metal band, she proceeded to shred some of their classic songs on guitar. Celebrities and social media personalities wearing heavy metal T-shirts as a fashion statement is nothing new. We’ve often wondered, “Do the Kardashians really listen to Metallica and Slayer?” So, it’s not surprising that Zaria got some pushback in her comments section, with at least one person challenging her to “name three Metallica songs.” Well, Zaria took her response one step further. In a clap-back video, she exclaims, “My response to you guys is like, ‘Really, only three songs? How ’bout I play th...
Lil Pump Banned by JetBlue Airways After Refusing to Wear Mask
Lil Pump is “no longer welcome” to fly JetBlue Airways after refusing to wear a face mask during a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles on Sunday (Dec 27). USA Today reports that the rapper, whose real name is Gazzy Garcia, is banned from the airline following incidents where the “Gucci Gang” singer “became verbally abusive with crew members after being asked multiple times and refusing to comply with JetBlue’s face covering policy, which resulted in law enforcement involvement.” JetBlue representative Derek Dombrowski added that Garcia’s return reservation was cancelled, and the rapper is now banned from JetBlue. The airline’s travel checklist notes that their COVID-19 policy is that face coverings are required on all flights for all travelers 2 years and older. The i...
Taylor Swift Leads Artist 100 Chart For Record-Extending 43rd Week
‘Evermore’ tops the Billboard 200 for a second frame. Taylor Swift records her record-extending 43rd week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Jan. 2), continuing her reign as the top musical act in the U.S. She holds at No. 1 on the strength of her LPs Evermore and Folklore. The former spends its second week atop the Billboard 200 with 169,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, while the latter ranks at No. 8 (53,000 units), after eight weeks at No. 1. Swift also logs four songs on the Billboard Hot 100, all from Evermore. “Willow” drops to No. 38, a week after debuting at No. 1, followed by “Champagne Problems” at No. 77, “’Tis The Damn Season” at No. 91 and “No Body, No Crime,” featuring Haim, at No. 97. You Deserve to Make Money Even W...
‘Happy V Day’: Fans Celebrate the BTS Member’s 25th Birthday
Actress and singer Laura Marano also posted a picture of the two on Twitter today, writing, “Happy birthday to the absolutely lovely, respectful and kind Kim Taehyung.” Furthermore, China Baidu Vbar, V’s loyal Chinese fanbase, orchestrated a light show on the side of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which stands at 2,722 ft. Messages such as “Happy V Day” and “We Purple You” as well as his full name “Kim Taehyung” sprawled across the skyscraper, while his Dubai-based fans belted the lyrics to his song “Winter Bear.” Other members of the ARMY demonstrated their love for V by drawing anime portraits of him or making collages of him with pictures from his past...
