Sammy Hagar & The Circle to headline Detroit concert to celebrate beer launch

Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Palms Casino Resort

Sammy Hagar is getting ready to launch his very own beer, and he’ll be celebrating onstage.

The rocker and his band The Circle, made up of Michael AnthonyJason Bonham and Vic Johnson, has announced a special show at The Fillmore in Detroit on October 23, in connection with the launch of Sammy’s Red Rocker Brewing Co. and their inaugural beer, Red Rocker Lager.

Tickets for the concert go on sale Friday, September 22, at 10 a.m. local time.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is at the heart of Red Rocker Brewing Co. and there’s no better place to brew our beer than in Detroit Rock City,” Sammy shares. “We created Red Rocker Lager to not only honor the fans, but to also pay tribute to the soul of Detroit rock ‘n’ roll.” He adds, “I can’t wait for beer lovers in Michigan and all around the world to try it.”

For now, the beer, described as a Mexican style lager, will only be sold in liquor stores in Michigan, although it will eventually be available for shipping to select states in the U.S. More info can be found at redrockerbrewing.com.

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Missing kayaker faked his own death ahead of court date: Sheriff

St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office

(HAHNVILLE, La.) — A missing kayaker from Louisiana has been arrested for faking his own death by drowning in an apparent bid to dodge rape charges, according to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Melvin Phillip Emde, 41, was arrested by authorities in Georgia over a month after his son, Seth, allegedly reported him missing.

Emde’s son allegedly told police his father fell out of a kayak and drowned while on the Mississippi River in Hahnville, Louisiana, according to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.

After he was reported missing, detectives learned that Emde had pending charges of indecent liberties with a child and statutory rape of a child by an adult in North Carolina. He was due in court just one day after being reported missing, authorities said.

“We immediately became quite suspicious that this may have been a faked accidental drowning and death in order for Mr. Emde to escape charges in Brunswick County, North Carolina. However, we could not publicly expose our suspicions for fear of tipping him off,” St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said in a statement.

The sheriff’s office discovered Emde was wearing an ankle monitor as a condition of bail. Further investigation revealed that Emde purchased two prepaid phones at a Walmart on the day of his alleged drowning, the sheriff’s office said.

St. Charles Parish sheriff’s detectives worked with authorities in North Carolina and the U.S. Marshals Service to track the phones. Police said Emde only used one of the phones and turned it on for short periods of time.

Detectives initially focused their search on Oklahoma until it became obvious that the phones were no longer being used.

On Sunday, a Georgia State Highway Patrol officer attempted to stop a motorcycle for not having a license plate, but the motorcycle fled and ultimately crashed.

The driver attempted to flee on foot but was taken into custody. The driver gave police a false name, but it was discovered that he was Melvin Emde when he was fingerprinted, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Now it’s time for Mr. Emde to face the music for his charges in North Carolina,” Champagne said in a statement.

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Duran Duran dropping new Danse Macabre track, “Black Moonlight,” on September 21

Tape Modern via BMG

Duran Duran fans are about to get another preview of their upcoming album, Danse Macabre

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced they’ll drop the new track, “Black Moonlight,” on Thursday, September 21. The song features a special appearance by Chic‘s Nile Rodgers on guitar.

Danse Macabre, dropping October 27, was inspired by the band’s Las Vegas Halloween show in 2022. It features three new songs along with covers and new takes on old Duran Duran tracks.

Danse Macabre is available for preorder now.

Duran Duran is winding down their Future Past Tour this week. They play Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday, September 19. A complete list of dates can be found at duranduran.com.

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The cast of ‘The Color Purple’ previews the film’s “bold new take” in new featurette

Warner Bros. Pictures

In the new Warner Brothers teaser for the upcoming musical drama The Color PurpleOprah WinfreyJon Batiste and other cast and crew share their experience filming the beloved project. 

Winfrey, star of the original 1985 film and producer of the 2023 adaptation, opened up about the film’s significance.

“There’s nothing that’s been more important or vital to me culturally, artistically than The Color Purple,” she said. “It is a solid base of spiritual and emotional power for me.”

Winfrey added that the musical’s story is for anyone who has felt “unseen and unvalued.”

Director Blitz Bazawule echoed Winfrey’s sentiment about the film’s cultural impact, saying that the original “is one of the cornerstones of culture — certainly Black culture.” 

Ciara, who plays Nettie, acknowledged the “modern twist” Bazawule has added to the revamped version while “still capturing the essence of what this film means.” 

Fantasia, who plays Nettie’s sister, Celie, said that with the film, they aim to “connect with the younger generation.”

“It’s a human story and that’s what makes it ultimately great and enduring,” Jon Batiste added. 

Joining the singers as part of the cast are stars Aunjanue Ellis-TaylorCorey HawkinsColman DomingoH.E.R.Halle BaileyDanielle BrooksTaraji P. Henson and a host of other top entertainers. 

The Color Purple is produced by the 1985 film’s director Steven SpielbergScott Sanders and Quincy Jones. The film’s screenplay is written by Marcus Gardley, based on the stage musical and the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. The film, due out December 25, chronicles the story of lifelong struggles of Black women living in the South during the early 1900s.

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Paul McCartney has promised Julian Lennon a sit-down to share stories about his dad

ABC/Heidi Gutman

Julian Lennon says he’s waiting for Paul McCartney to tell him some private stories about his dad, John Lennon.

During an appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Julian recalled running into McCartney at Heathrow Airport back in November 2022, a moment he captured for social media.

Julian, who was 17 when his father died, said, “We sat there chatting away for a little bit.” He described his relationship with his late father’s The Beatles bandmate as “weird,” noting, “We’re close but we’re not that close.”

He said he and McCartney never really sat down for a conversation like the one he was having with Maher, although McCartney has promised it will happen.  

“We keep saying, and he keeps telling me, we’re going to try and push for this, this year, sooner than later anyway,” Lennon said. “He keeps telling me, ‘I’ve got so many stories about your dad that I’ve never told anybody that I want you to hear about.'” 

He added, “And you know, he gave me some samples I thought I’d never heard before. But we just got to find the time and lock in to do that,” to which Maher responded, “Do it, like, yesterday.”

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Taylor Swift is teasing reveal of her ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ “From the Vault” tracks

Beth Garrabrant/TAS Rights Management

Now that we know when 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is being released — October 27 — the next big info dump to look forward to from Taylor Swift is the revelation of the project’s “From the Vault” tracks: the songs that didn’t make the original album she’s now reworked.

On her Instagram, she posted an animated graphic of a vault opening with letters flying out of it. “You can tell me when the *search* is over… if the high was worth the pain,” she captioned the video, quoting a lyric from “Blank Space,” one of the songs on 1989.

As for the emphasis on “search,” fans who typed “Taylor Swift” into their Google search engines were rewarded with graphics of scrambled letters. When you unscramble them, they spell out different words, like “fifth album.” There’s also a box on the bottom with different hints, like “a game of cat and mouse,” “smashing” and “My name is Taylor and I was born in…”

A graphic then pops up that allows you to pick a new puzzle, and it reveals that when the global searches reach 33 million, the “From the Vault” tracks will be revealed. At press time, the searches were in the neighborhood of 212,000.

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Brothers Osborne celebrate unity in “Nobody’s Nobody” video

Courtesy of EMI Records Nashville

Brothers Osborne have rolled out the music video for their single “Nobody’s Nobody.”

The powerful visualizer features John and TJ Osborne performing their song alongside heartwarming clips of people living life to the fullest. A dancer, guitarist, boxer, mother, child, commuter, football player, drag queen, dog owner and celebrity are among the individuals highlighted.

“Sun goes up/ Sun goes down/ Takes all kinds of kinds/ To make this world go ’round/ Everybody’s somebody, someone/ A sinner, saint, or son of a gun/ Nobody’s nobody,” the pair sing in the chorus.

“Nobody’s Nobody” is the lead single off Brothers Osborne’s new self-titled album. The track’s currently #26 and rising on the country charts.

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Why *NSYNC didn’t perform “Better Place” on the MTV VMAs

Courtesy MTV

Watching *NSYNC reunite onstage to give Taylor Swift an award at the MTV VMAs was an exciting moment for fans — but it could have been even more exciting, if Lance Bass and Joey Fatone are to be believed.

Speaking to E! Online, Lance reveals the reunited quintet was supposed to sing their new track “Better Place,” from the upcoming movie Trolls Band Together, at the VMAs, but the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike put the kibosh on the plan.

“It was kind of bittersweet because we did have bigger plans for this song,” Lance said. “Unfortunately, there is a SAG strike and, in solidarity with WGA and SAG, we’re not able to promote the film and song. We were supposed to perform it.”

But, Joey adds, “hopefully, there’ll be a conversation” about some kind of performance in the future.

“This was honestly just to really get us reacquainted,” Joey says of “Better Place,” which is coming out September 29. “We haven’t been together in a group for over 25 years, so to do something like this — five different personalities, five different families now you’re involved with — there’s a lot of different things.”

He also notes that he, Lance, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick are all in “different places” as far as what kind of music they want to make, so it’ll take time for the group to “creatively get back together and figure out what will work.”

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Britney Spears hopes “one day” she can let people know about what’s gone on in her life

 Britney Spears had an unexpected reaction to an online video and has posted about in her Instagram Story.

The video shows a little girl and two women, who are all planning to crack eggs into a bowl together. The women count down to three, then crack their eggs against the little girl’s forehead, rather than the side of the bowl. This upsets the girl, who complains, “That wasn’t very nice,” and cracks her egg on one woman’s head.

Britney captioned the video, “IF SHE WOULD HAVE ONLY JUST SLAPPED THE S*** OUT OF THEM” with a laugh/cry emoji and an angry face emoji.

Then, on her Story, she wrote about the video, “It’s actually really cute but with no sound, it has a different effect!!! For me, it feels darker … similar things have been done to me so I look at this with different eyes!!! 

“Most of my inner conflict with people is knowing the enemy is right in front of me but I kept them because I loved them!!!” she continues. “I’m extremely sensitive to anybody laughing at someone or bullying in any way!!!”

She then reveals, “There’s so much I’ve kept private that’s gone on with me personally and maybe one day I can let people know … until then, there’s 3 sides to every story!!! Your side, my side and the truth!!!”

Referring back to the video, she concludes, “The child within is the trust, the girl in the middle is the truth … watch it NOW with no sound!!!”

Britney’s book The Woman In Me is coming out in October. It remains to be seen if it’ll include what she’s referring to.

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Carlos Santana extends Las Vegas residency into 2024

courtesy of Live Nation

Carlos Santana is extending his Las Vegas residency into next year. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced 2024 dates for his An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live residency at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

This will be the 12th year of Santana’s residency, with the guitar great adding 16 new shows in January, February and May of next year. The new dates kick off January 24 and wrap May 23.

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.

Santana still has some residency dates on the books for 2023. His next set of shows begins November 1. A complete list of dates, including just-added shows, can be found at Santana.com.

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