Coronavirus
Guns N’ Roses Postpone North American Tour Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Guns N’ Roses have officially postponed their summer North American tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outing, which was set to feature support from The Smashing Pumpkins on select dates, will be rescheduled. The tour was slated to run from a July 4th gig at Milwaukee’s Summerfest through an August 26th show in Missoula, Montana. The Pumpkins would have opened a handful of shows from July 8th through July 18th. The news comes roughly a week after GN’R called off their European tour, which was set to kick off today (May 20th). A full statement regarding the North American postponement reads as follows: “GN’R Fam, some news: the North American tour is being rescheduled out of an abundance of caution. We will share the updated schedule as soon as the dates are finalized & all tickets ...
NMA: Eight doctors test positive for coronavirus in Zamfara
No fewer than eight doctors are confirmed to have tested positive to coronavirus disease in Zamfara, the state’s branch of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has said. The NMA Vice-Chairman in the state, Dr Mannir Bature, made the disclosure during a chat with journalists in Gusau on Wednesday. He said: “Out of about 80 confirmed cases recorded so far in the state, 10 per cent are doctors who came into contact with the virus in the line of duty while trying to save lives, especially at emergencies. “We are however happy to note that out of the number, sixty per cent have been discharged from hospital while the remaining are fast responding to treatment,” he said. Dr Bature also said 30 other doctors who came into contact with their infected colleagues went into self-isolation in order t...
Wu-Tang Clan Selling “Protect Ya Hands” Sanitizer
Wu-Tang Clan are here to protect ya hands with their own signature line of hand sanitizer. The all-natural, plant-based, vegan hand sanitizer is a collaboration between RZA’s lifestyle brand 36 Chambers and the skincare company Jusu. Though a 8.45 oz bottle of “Protect Ya Hands” will set you back $28.00, for every purchase, 36 Chambers will donate another bottle to The Ottawa Mission Foundation and other homeless shelters in Canada. Order yours here. Wu-Tang’s “Protect Ya Hands” sanitizer isn’t the only band-themed piece of PPE up for grabs: Devo recently launched Energy Dome Face Shields. Additionally, Consequence of Sound just launched its own capsule of custom face masks. A portion of the proceeds will benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Artist Relief fund supporting indepen...
Discounted Fashion Boxes From Topshop and New Look Help Garment Workers Fight COVID-19
Edinburgh-based shopping app Mallzee is tackling fast fashion’s transparency problem with the launch of Lost Stock clothing boxes. Mallzee fills the boxes with cancelled clothing orders from brands like Topshop, New Look, and Urban Outfitters, and the proceeds from sales supports garment workers fighting the coronavirus (Covid-19), while reducing new season clothing from ending up in landfill. “If coronavirus doesn’t kill my workers, then starvation will,” says a Bangladeshi factory owner in a statement from Mallzee. It’s no secret that fast fashion’s negligence of ethical and sustainable supply chains has been further exposed by the coronavirus. Major retailers like Arcadia Group, New Look, Debenhams, and Sports Direct are only a few brands that have ca...
Ministry Reschedule US Summer Tour for Spring 2021 Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Ministry have postponed their summer “Industrial Strength Tour” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have already rescheduled the shows for spring 2021. Original support acts KMFDM and Front Line Assembly will remain on the bill for the revised dates of the monthlong U.S. outing. The tour, in which Ministry still plan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1989 album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, will now kick off March 31st in Seattle and run through a May 1st show in San Francisco. The trek hits all the same cities and venues that were planned for this summer, and also adds an additional April 3rd date in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tickets for the summer tour, which would have launched on July 1st, will be honored for the rescheduled dates. Exceptions are the Dallas show, for which ...
How Brad Paisley Put on a Full Production Arena Show and Kept Everyone Safe (Including Himself)
Last Friday, Brad Paisley and his band played a full production arena show, sponsored by Bud Light Seltzer. It was one of the first shows since the COVID-19 pandemic started earlier this year to feature all the bells and whistles of a regular concert. Beamed online from the Steel Mill, a production space in Nashville where Paisley rehearses his tours, the only thing missing was a live audience. As Paisley details below, it took tremendous work and extreme attention to every detail to ensure that all safety standards were met, even navigating with precision how he and his guitar tech would switch guitars. He tells Billboard how the show came together and the possibilities for more live entertainment on the horizon. Billboard: How did you feel on that stage with the full production and your ...
Minister advises on correct use of face masks
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has again advised Nigerians to use their face masks correctly, to protect themselves and others from contracting the dreaded coronavirus disease. The minister gave the advice at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 daily news conference on Tuesday in Abuja. He said that no policing should be needed to do the right thing, urging citizens to abide by the mandatory and correct use of face masks for the protection of others. Ehanire said that masks worn, must be washed daily, ironed and where possible, masks should cover mouth and nose and should not be left under the chin during close contact conversations or its purpose would be defeated. “New understanding is that droplet dispersal takes place even during normal speech and common use of face mas...
Here’s What the First Socially Distant Concert in America Looked Like
America’s first socially distant, coronavirus-era concert took place in Arkansas on Monday, and it served as a preview of what the new normal could look like for live music fans. Health experts have predicted that shows wouldn’t able to return until Fall 2021 “at the earliest.” But that didn’t stop Bishop Gunn singer/guitarist Travis McCready from being the first artist to experiment with the format last night at TempleLive in Fort Smith, a city located right on the border of Arkansas and Oklahoma. Due to the pandemic, heavy restrictions were in place all throughout the venue. The allowed capacity was cut down from 1,000 people to just 200, and all attendees were kept six feet apart whether by official tape or by specific grouped seating. Additionally, concertgoers had their temperatures t...
Deftones Postpone Summer Tour with Gojira and Poppy Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Fans holding out hope that Deftones might still tour North America in 2020 will have to wait until next year to see the alt-metal veterans. The band has officially postponed its summer tour with Gojira and Poppy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but plans to announce rescheduled dates for 2021. The news of the postponement comes as no surprise, as singer Chino Moreno recently told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that “it’s not looking like we’re going to be able to get out there this summer.” In that same interview, Moreno revealed that Deftones had originally planned to deliver a new album to their fans this summer, but now the release date is “something that we’re going to have to figure out.” The tour was slated to run from July 27th in Portland, Oregon, through September 5th in Denver, Colorado. T...
Speaker Gbajabiamila inaugurates coronavirus committee, to interface with government
The House of Representatives on Tuesday inaugurated the 18 man ad-hoc Committee on Coronavirus pandemic. The committee has the task of working in tandem with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and by extension, the entire relevant machinery of the federal government to find a solution to the challenges posed by the epidemic. Performing the ritual at the national assembly complex, the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila charged the members to give utmost attention to the welfare of frontline workers. He said: “The 18 man Committee we have come to inaugurate reflects the intention of the House of Representative to engage the executive arm of government in a partnership that serves the best interests of the Nigerian people as we join hands to confront and conquer the most severe chal...
Incubus Frontman Brandon Boyd Covers Beach House’s “Myth”: Stream
Like many musicians these days, Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd has been recording new material to pass the time in quarantine. Earlier this month, the veteran rocker put his own spin on Ricky and Morty song “Goodbye Moonmen”; now, Boyd has shared a cover of the 2012 Beach House single “Myth”. While Beach House’s Bloom original unfurled like a blanket of dream pop, the allure of Boyd’s rendition is found it in its simplicity. The Incubus leader croons across spare guitar strums, effectively turning the track into an aching acoustic rock ballad. Hear it below. Editors’ Picks For more of Incubus, fans may need to lean hard on Boyd’s surprise covers — at least for the next few months. This afternoon, the band announced on Facebook that it was officially canceling its US tour with 311...
Phoebe Bridgers Reveals New Single “I See You”: Stream
Phoebe Bridgers has broken off another single from her forthcoming Punisher album. It’s dubbed “I See You” and streaming below. The indie songwriter has also announced a series of upcoming virtual “tour dates”. Today’s track was originally named “ICU”, but tweaked recently in light of the ongoing health crisis. (Or as Bridgers succinctly put it in a statement, “*gestures at entire world*”.) Per the indie songwriter, “I See You” is about her breakup with her drummer. “We dated for a few years, made music every day, and were extremely codependent,” explained our former Artist of the Month. “We became like family to each other, so our breakup was extremely tough. But if this tells you anything about our relationship, we wrote this song together, just like everything else.” Editors&#...
