Rock Music
Billy Joel Delivers Poignant “Miami 2017” Performance During Rise Up New York! Benefit Livestream: Watch
Last month, Bruce Springsteen led Jersey4Jersey, a livestreamed concert benefiting COVID-19 relief efforts in the state of New Jersey. On Monday, New York held its own virtual fundraising event, headlined by its own local hero in Billy Joel. Following appearances by New York celebrities (Spike Lee, Jennifer Lopez, Robert De Niro) and politicians (Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayer Bill De Blasio), the Piano Man himself closed out the virtual telethon. Joel aptly chose to pay tribute to the Big Apple, the war-weary epicenter of the pandemic, by playing a moving rendition of his 1976 single “Miami 2017”, also known as “Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway”. As Rise Up New York!’s main event of the evening, Joel’s performance was broadcast on big screens all across the shuttered city, including Times...
Hayley Williams’ Petals for Armor Discovers the Strength in Vulnerability: Review
The Lowdown: Hayley Williams once said on the writing of Paramore’s Brand New Eyes album, “Some of it hurt, some of it was like, ‘Am I being too honest even with myself?’’’ Honesty has long been a trend with Williams’ approach to music-making; she’s been the principal songwriter for Paramore since 2005, and her scathing, dynamic vocals have granted her ever-evolving lyrics the perfect expression of painful, angry, at times heartbroken truth. On Petals for Armor, she dives inward at a new level, using dark pop melodies to not only vocalize her innermost thoughts, but also battle them, untangle them, and reckon with them in a way that feels personal to her own experience. She sings on the blistering “Watch Me While I Bloom”, “You only got one side of me/ Here’s something new/ I’m alive in sp...
50 Reasons We Still Love The Beatles’ Let It Be
Gimme a Reason takes classic albums celebrating major anniversaries and breaks down song by song the reasons we still love them so many years later. This week, we celebrate 50 years of The Beatles’ Let It Be. It’s become an iconic scene: The Beatles carrying out their last-ever live performance on the roof of Apple Corps, joined by keyboardist and general legend Billy Preston, their long hair flipping around in the London wind while they recorded live takes of songs like “Dig a Pony” and “Don’t Let Me Down” before eventually being shut down by the Metropolitan Police. The event was unannounced. Onlookers gathered on their lunch breaks, looking up at the midday sensation. This was the concert from which the final version of the Let It Be album would in part manifest, preserving takes of thr...
Psycho Las Vegas Festival Won’t Take Place in 2020 Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
The Psycho Las Vegas festival will no longer take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, organizers hope to have most of the scheduled acts return for the 2021 edition of the multi-day event at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. This year’s edition, slated for August 13th-16th, was set to feature Danzig, Mercyful Fate, Emperor, The Flaming Lips, Blue Öyster Cult, Down, Mayhem, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and many more acts. According to a statement from organizers, “nearly all bands have signed on for the new dates but we are awaiting confirmation from one final artist before presenting our updated lineup.” Those new dates, which include the Psycho Swim pre-party, run August 19th-22th, 2021. Technically, the event is being rescheduled, which means ticket holders can us...
