music
Sting Warns During Warsaw Concert of Threats to Democracy
Sting interrupted a concert in Warsaw on Saturday evening (July 30) to warn his audience that democracy is under attack worldwide and to denounce the war in Ukraine as “an absurdity based upon a lie.” The British musician asked a popular Polish actor, Maciej Stuhr, to come onstage to translate his warning that democracy is “in grave danger of being lost unless we defend it.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “The alternative to democracy is a prison, a prison of the mind. The alternative to democracy is violence, oppression, imprisonment and silence,” Sting said and then ran his hand across his neck in a throat-cutting gesture. The 70-year-old delivered his message in a country that borders Ukraine, where Russia launched its invasion on F...
Ticketmaster scouts productization of enterprise NFTs beyond ticketing
A new job posting by America’s biggest ticketing company, Ticketmaster, reveals mainstream interest in exploring new revenue streams using nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Over the past two years, artists, musicians and the sports industry helped thrust the NFT ecosystem into the limelight as the technology served its purpose as a powerful fan engagement tool. Conversely, most of the general public boarded the hype train seeking profits via reselling collectibles in the secondary markets. With the NFT hype eventually slowing down by mid-2022, entrepreneurs and companies are looking for new use cases beyond collectibles. A study conducted by Big 4 accounting firm Deloitte in May 2022 highlighted the untapped potential of the crypto ecosystem to open up newer markets for the sports industry:...
Metallica and ‘Stranger Things’ Actor Joseph Quinn Jam Out to ‘Master of Puppets’ Backstage at Lollapalooza: Watch
Metallica and Stranger Things‘ Joseph Quinn held an epic backstage jam session at this year’s Lollapalooza in Chicago. Hours before Metallica’s headlining performance at Lolla on Thursday (July 28), the legendary rockers met up with the British actor, whose metalhead character Eddie Munson brought renewed interest to the band’s 1986 classic “Master of Puppets” during season four of the Netflix sci-fi series. “I’m a big fan of [Stranger Things]. Have been since season one,” Metallica frontman James Hetfield tells Quinn while seated backstage at the festival. “My kids and I, it’s a bonding experience for us.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Quinn spent months perfecting the intricate metal guitar solo, and his hard work didn’t go unnotice...
Arcade Fire Kick Off Tour with Heart and Soul at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival: Review
Arcade Fire pick and choose their moments very carefully. It’s fitting that the Montreal band decided to release their first album in five years, the ambitious and heartfelt WE, in a pandemic-affected universe, urging us to relish in the fact that we are still, in fact, alive. It’s even more fitting that Arcade Fire began their extensive WE tour in Montreal, the band’s birthplace, at Osheaga Festival, which is celebrating its first year back since 2019. However, Arcade Fire’s appearance at Osheaga on Friday night (July 29th) was a stroke of good and bad luck: originally scheduled to headline were Foo Fighters, who cancelled all their tour dates after the untimely death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. But nabbing Arcade Fire as a replacement headliner is an excellent booking, and their pres...
Green Day Play a Whole Bunch of Rarities at Surprise Chicago Club Show
Ahead of their headlining performance at Lollapalooza on Sunday, Green Day played an imitate warmup show at Chicago’s Metro on Friday night. For fans who managed to score a ticket to the 1,100-persons capacity venue, they witnessed a career-spanning 28-song set that included a number of live rarities. Green Day seemingly treated the night as akin to a club show from their early days, playing most material from early albums like Kerplunk, Dookie, Insomniac, and Warning. Notably, the band performed “Warning” and “Church on Sunday” for the first time since 2001. They also delivered the first full band performance of “Watsername” since 2005. Advertisement Related Video The setlist also included “Letterbomb,” “Private Ale,” “Christie Road,” “One of My Lies,” “Geek Stink Breath,” and “J.A.R.” — ...
ODESZA Returns in Dazzling Form for First Live Show in Three Years
Five years after their last album and almost exactly three years after their last live set, ODESZA returned to their hometown of Seattle Friday night (July 29) and showed the roughly 17,000 people in attendance at the city’s Climate Pledge Arena that — despite the name of their latest album — there is truly no last goodbye. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The duo, Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, released their new LP, The Last Goodbye, on July 22, kicking off their tour a week later with a sold-out, three-night run at Climate Pledge that continues Saturday (July 30) and Sunday (July 31.) The tour will then extend across North America this summer with an amphitheater run. But with Friday night marking ODESZA’s return to live music, anticipati...
Drake Sings ‘I’m Like a Bird’ With Nelly Furtado in Toronto: Watch
Drake brought one of his musical idols to his stage at October World Weekend in Toronto: fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado. “Thank goodness I’m a nice, humble, well-spoken — I like to deal with people the right way — because that’s the only way that you can get this next person out of the house to come do what they’re gonna do right now,” Drake told the crowd at his hometown club History on Thursday night (July 28). “I don’t care how loud you sang tonight. Right now I need you to sing as loud as you possibly can because this right here took a lot,” he said. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “This next person’s music changed my life so much,” added Drake. “I love her with all my heart, so when she comes out here you better show her some f—in’ love too...
TLC, Boyz II Men Take Over the Hollywood Bowl: 5 Memorable Moments
Amid coast-to-coast frenzy about the $1.3 billion Mega Millions jackpot this week, there was only one magic number for Hollywood Bowl music fans Friday night (July 29): 30. That’s the number of hit-filled years that TLC and Boyz II Men each brought to the stage during their respective 70-minute sets that kept the audience screaming, dancing and singing along from start to finish. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Here are five memorable moments from the Grammy-winning groups’ performances at the Bowl, now celebrating its 100th anniversary: Hey Mr. DJ: Plugging into the ’90s nostalgia vibe that was already percolating throughout the full house, DJ Bubz jump-started his pre-intro set with DMX’s “Party Up (Up in Here).” From there, the party shifted...
Must-Hear Indie Artist of the Month: Lava La Rue
The Project Lava La Rue’s new EP, High Fidelity, is out now via Marathon. The Origin Growing up, Lava La Rue was always playing in bands. “When I was 13, I wanted to be in an all-girl version of The Clash. Very West London, ska-punk inspired. The intersection of Caribbean culture and British punk.” But as they grew older, the costliness of rehearsal space drew the young creative to freestyling “because you just need a microphone.” At college in London, La Rue met the group of artists who would soon change their life. “I think people assume we met at some really established music school but it wasn’t like that at all, it was a bit rundown. The music equipment was falling apart,” La Rue explains, but the lack of proper equipment didn’t stop the group of friends, who would soon call themselve...
R.I.P. Jim Sohns, Founding Vocalist of The Shadows of Knight Dead at 75
Jim Sohns, co-founder and vocalist of the garage rock band The Shadows of Knight, died on July 29th. He was 75. Sohns died after a suffering a stroke on July 22nd, according to a statement via The Shadows of Knight’s Facebook page. His daughter, Rachael, confirmed the news: “Absolutely devastated,” the statement reads. “My thoughts go out to Jimy’s family and friends at this time. My best friend is gone, and I will miss running this page with him. His legend will live on forever.” Born James Alan Sohns in 1946, Sohns began recording with The Shadows of Knight in 1965. Inspired by British rock bands of the era like The Animals as well as the blues scene from their Chicago hometown, The Shadows of Knight were best known for their 1965 recording of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.” Advertisement Relat...
Lollapalooza 2022 Day Two Recap and Photos: Dua Lipa, Wet Leg, MUNA & More
Lollapalooza 2022 day two went down on Friday, July 29th, and we’ve got the photos to prove it. The Chicago festival brought a ton of top tier talent to Grant Park, from headliner Dua Lipa to rising stars like Genesis Owusu and The Regrettes. The day also brought strong sets from indie pop favorites like King Princess and MUNA, hip-hop both classic (Don Toliver) and alternative (Genesis Owusu), and even former Artists of the Month like Wet Leg. Advertisement It was another glorious day fill with live music, and you can check out our complete photo gallery from Lollapalooza day two below. Revisit our day one recap, and stay tuned for our full coverage of the remainder of the festival. <img data-lazy-fallback="1" data-attachment-id="1229690" data-orig-file="https:...
Tom Morello Praises 10-Year-Old Guitarist Ludovick Tshiswaka: “Some of the Best Guitar Playing I’ve Witnessed”
If your shredding skills have gotten a nod from Tom Morello before you’re even old enough to drive a car, it’s safe to say you probably have a bright future ahead. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist took to Twitter yesterday to praise “some of the best guitar playing” he’s heard recently, which comes from a 10-year-old legend in the making named Ludovick Tshiswaka. Tshiswaka is a Brazilian-Congolese musician and producer whose cover videos on Instagram and YouTube have garnered a moderate social media following. Other music-related accounts tend to circulate his videos, too, which is how Morello came across him: “Well that’s some of the best guitar playing I’ve witnessed in quite some time,” he said, quote-tweeting a clip of Tshiswaka effortlessly playing some jazz licks over a backing...
