Major League Baseball announced that the Grammy-winning R&B singer will open the 2023 World Series with a performance of the national anthem before Game 1 on Friday, October 27.
The “Best Part” singer is set to take the stage with her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” ahead of the game against the American League Champion Texas Rangers and the National League Champion Arizona Diamondbacks at the Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Joining H.E.R is the 2023 Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Youth talent performer, Pearle Peterson, whowill perform on Saturday ahead of Game 2.
The national anthem performances will air on FOX at approximately 7:45 p.m. ET.
AJR has premiered the video for “Yes I’m a Mess,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, The Maybe Man.
The clip begins with a text introduction revealing the brother trio “spent a ton of money” to create a video for “Yes I’m a Mess” before they “realized we didn’t like it that much.” They then scrapped that and opted for a more low-budget route: filming Jack Met dressed as Sesame Street‘s Elmo and capturing as he tries to interact with tourists in New York City’s Times Square.
At one point, Met-as-Elmo gets arrested by the NYPD because he doesn’t have permit. After sitting dejectedly on the side of the street for a bit, he decides to escape his cuffs and make a run for it, leading the police on a chase that we’re skeptical actually happened.
You can judge for yourself by watching the “Yes I’m a Mess” video streaming now on YouTube.
The Maybe Man, the follow-up to 2021’s OK ORCHESTRA, is due out November 10. It also includes the singles “The Dumb Song” and “I Won’t.”
The Beatles received quite an honor at Buckingham Palace when Queen Elizabeth II gave the group — Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — medals recognizing them as members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
In 1969, Lennon returned his MBE in protest over “Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing,” “our support of America in Vietnam” and the fact that his single “Cold Turkey” was “slipping down the charts.”
In later years, two members of The Beatles went on to be knighted by the queen for their service to music: McCartney in 1997 and Starr in 2018.
U2 brought a little extra star power to their Las Vegas residency at the Sphere on Wednesday, October 25.
Varietyreports the Irish rockers surprised fans with special guest Lady Gaga, who Bono introduced as “the most audacious, vivacious woman in any room she’s ever in.” He added, “Would you welcome to our turntable, the divine — the divinyl— Lady Gaga.”
Gaga, dressed like Bono in a black leather jacket and sunglasses, joined the rockers for three songs: the U2 classics “All I Want Is You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” as well as the A Star Is Born cut “Shallow.”
Gaga, who wrapped her Jazz & Piano Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM October 5, has been turning up a lot lately. Just last week, she was the surprise guest at The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds record release party. She also turned up as a spectator, checking out the U2 Sphere residency earlier this month.
U2 recently added 11 more shows to their U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere residency at The Venetian Resort. Their next concert is happening Friday, October 27, with shows now running until Sunday, February 18. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.
Cannons frontwoman Michelle Joy has issued a statement about making the band’s shows a “safe space for ourselves and everyone” after she was groped by a concertgoer during a recent performance.
“It was one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever experienced and a complete invasion of my space, privacy, and body,” Joy writes in an Instagram post. “It left me feeling unsafe and violated.”
“Sexual harassment will absolutely not be tolerated at any Cannons show,” the “Fire for You” singer continues. “Especially being a female fronted band, we care deeply about our shows being a safe environment where not only women, but everyone regardless of gender, age, race, sex etc. can come together and share in the joy of our music, ourselves included.”
Joy concludes telling anyone at a show that if they “ever feel unsafe or see something that doesn’t feel right, please let someone around you know.”
“We encourage you to speak up, be kind, and take care of one another,” she says.
The band is set to release “Now and Then,” billed as “the last Beatles song,” on November 2 at 10 a.m. ET, with a video to follow on November 3. The track will be released as a double-A side single, paired with “Love Me Do,” the band’s 1962 debut single, putting their last and first singles together.
The track features vocals John Lennon recorded on a demo in the late ’70s. In 1994, his wife Yoko Ono gave the demo to surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney, RingoStarr and George Harrison, who used it to create “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” which appeared on The Beatles Anthology project in the mid ’90s.
Then, in 2021 PeterJackson, director of The Beatles: Get Back docuseries, used new technology to isolate Lennon’s “Now and Then” instruments and vocals with Paul and Ringo completing the song in 2022, using guitar parts Harrison recorded in 1995.
And fans will gain more insight into the making of the song with the 12-minute documentary, Now and Then – The Last Beatles Song, premiering November 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET on The Beatles YouTube channel.
“It’s quite emotional,” Paul says. “In 2023 to still be working on Beatles music, and about to release a new song the public haven’t heard, I think it’s an exciting thing.”
Ringo adds, “It was the closest we’ll ever come to having him back in the room, so it was very emotional for all of us. It was like John was there, you know.”
The Beatles are also releasing 2023 Edition packages of two compilations, 1962-1966 (The Red Album) and 1967-1970 (The Blue Album), on November 10. Both versions are now mixed in stereo and Dolby Atmos and will be released as four-CD and six-LP collections. They are available for preorder now.
On October 26, 1973, The Who released what would become one of their most iconic albums: Quadrophenia.
The only Who album to be written entirely by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was the band’s second full-length rock opera, following 1969’s Tommy.
The story, set in Brighton, England, in 1965, follows a young working-class mod named Jimmy on a journey of self-discovery. The album’s title was inspired by Jimmy’s four-way “split personality,” with each member of the band representing a different facet of that personality.
Featuring the future Who classics “The Real Me,” “Love Reign O’er Me” and “5:15,” Quadrophenia was a critical and commercial success, peaking at #2 in both the U.S. and the U.K., and going on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. In 2011, Townshend said he considers it to be the last truly great album The Who made.
Like Tommy, Quadropheniainspired a film, but unlike Tommy, it was a drama, not a musical. Released in 1979 to critical acclaim and commercial success, it starred Phil Daniels as Jimmy, with The Police’s Sting as Ace Face.
In 1996, The Who performed Quadrophenia at a benefit show at London’s Hyde Park. Daniels served as the narrator, and guest stars included David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Gary Glitter and Stephen Fry. It marked Ringo Starr‘s son Zak Starkey‘s debut as the band’s drummer. A U.S. version of the tour featuring Billy Idol included a six-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
In 2010 The Who performed Quadrophenia at London’s Royal Albert Hall to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust, with guests including Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. In 2012, the band toured Quadrophenia again, this time without guest stars; in 2017, Townshend toured with an orchestral version called Classic Quadrophenia.
Duran Duran is getting fans in the mood for Halloween with their new album, Danse Macabre, which was inspired by a show the band played in Las Vegas on Halloween 2022.
Bassist John Taylor tells ABC Audio that ahead of the concert they decided to record some cover songs that were appropriate for the spooky holiday, which they then played during the gig.
“We then realized we’ve got seven or so great recordings of these songs and we’re all really kind of excited by them,” he said, noting it was keyboardist Nick Rhodes’ suggestion they put them out as an album.
In addition to cover tunes, like The Rolling Stones‘ “Paint it Black” and Talking Heads‘ “Psycho Killer,” DanseMacabre features three new songs and reworkings of old Duran Duran tracks. The whole thing came together rather quickly for the band.
“We kind of magic-ed this album,” Taylor says. “I think partially because we had a theme that when we actually went to write new songs, you know, we knew they had to evoke a certain feeling.”
Two of those new songs add a little Duran Duran nostalgia to Danse Macabre, with the title track featuring former guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, and “Dark Moonlight” featuring longtime collaborator Nile Rodgers and original Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, who is currently battling stage 4 prostate cancer.
And having all those familiar faces on the album is something John believes original Duran Duran fans are bound to love.
“In way there’s quite a lot for fans on this album,” he says. “Anybody that’s followed the journey of the band, you know, is going to find it an interesting listen.”
“Already Over” dropped earlier in October. It’s Shinoda’s second solo tune of 2023, following his Scream VI song “In My Head.”
Shinoda released his debut solo album, Post Traumatic, in 2018. In 2020, he put out a trio of mostly instrumental albums as part of his Dropped Frames series.
The asset management company HarbourView Equity Partners has made deals with the estate of the late Christine McVie, and Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo for the rights to their music.
Benatar and Giraldo made a deal that sees HarbourView acquiring a share of their recorded music and publishing for songs like “We Belong,” “Love is a Battlefield,” “Promises In The Dark,” “Heartbreaker” and more.
“We are overjoyed to welcome into our repertoire the iconic catalog of Pat and Neil. The works are cross generational, inspirational and a perfect complement to our portfolio,” HarbourView shares in a statement. “We are grateful to be stewards of this canon of work and look forward to partnering with Pat and Neil.”
The McVie deal includes the late singer/songwriter’s share of Fleetwood Mac record royalties. She wrote such popular Fleetwood Mac tunes as “Don’t Stop,” “Little Lies,” “Say You Love Me,” “You Make Loving Fun,” “Don’t Stop” and “Songbird.”
“Christine’s remarkable talents played an integral role in shaping Fleetwood Mac’s sound,” HarbourView’s Sheresse Clarke Soares says. “Christine is a decorated and iconic legend in the history of Rock ‘n’ Roll. She is a global treasure. We hold her works with pride.”
