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John Lennon’s birthday marked with digital release of ‘Imagine (The Ultimate Collection)’ & more

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Monday, October 9, would have been the late John Lennon’s 83rd birthday, and in honor of the occasion a new deluxe and expanded version of Imagine (The Ultimate Collection) has just been released to stream and download.

The new release features the entire collection on Hi-Res Stereo and Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos, with each of the five sets of songs – Ultimate, Elements, Evolution, Raw Studio and Out-Takes – released as separate albums instead of one long playlist.

Imagine: The Ultimate Collection was originally released in October 2018. It featured four CDs and two Blu-ray discs and included previously unheard demos, rare studio outtakes and more.

And that’s not the only way Lennon was remembered on his birthday. His former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney marked the occasion on social media, sharing a photo of himself onstage, with Lennon’s image projected behind him, writing, “Celebrating the birthday of my wonderful friend and collaborator, @johnlennon.”

The late George Harrison’s estate also remembered Lennon, sharing a short video featuring pictures of both Harrison and Lennon, along with some drawings, captioning the clip, “Remembering John on his Birthday.”

And Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, marked both John and their son Sean Lennon’s birthday on social media, sharing a photo of them together with the caption, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN! i ii iii i love you.”

Lennon’s birthday is also being remembered with the new video “Dear John” from singer Sepp Osley. The track features Peter Frampton on guitar and British singer Mollie Marriott, with the video featuring cameos from the likes of Peter Gabriel, Matt Sorum, Geddy Lee, actor Martin Freeman, comedian Matt Lucas and more.

21 Savage to make first UK appearance with special homecoming concert this November

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Rapper 21 Savage will return home to the U.K. this fall for his first show since becoming a permanent U.S. resident and being given the freedom to travel internationally.

The special homecoming concert will take place at London’s O2 arena on Thursday, November 30.

The rapper announced the upcoming performance with a video montage shared to Instagram that features a collection of images of his younger self, concert footage, red carpet footage, studio sessions and other clips.

His post was captioned with three pleading-face emojis.

The news follows 21’s citizenship update and his official announcement — made during Drake’s It’s All a Blur Toronto stop on October 10 — that he can now travel outside the U.S.

After being introduced by his legal name, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, 21 joined Drake onstage in Canada for his first international show since obtaining a green card.

“Performing for the first time outside of America in his life; make some noise for the brother, 21!” Drake said to the crowd.

Presale tickets will be available on October 11, with the general sale starting October 13.

Music notes: Madonna, Jordin Sparks and more

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Madonna posted a reaction to the war in Israel over the weekend, writing on her Instagram page, in part, “Conflicts can never be resolved with violence. Unfortunately Humanity does not understand this Universal truth. Has Never Understood it. We live in a World Ravaged by Hate. My heart goes out to Israel. To Families and Homes that have been destroyed. To children who are lost.”

Jordin Sparks has announced her new single, “Call My Name,” will be dropping Friday, October 13. She describes it as “an ode to a love so full, effortless and pure—there’s a peace and contentment within it.”

Train is giving fans a very merry Christmas. The band has announced a string of acoustic holiday shows, set to kick off December 1 in San Jose, California, and wrap December 9 in Chesterfield, Missouri. Tickets are available now at SaveMeSanFrancisco.com.

Nashville notes: Sara Evans’ Opry induction + Reba’s “Seven Minutes in Heaven”

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

“Suds in the Bucket” hitmaker Sara Evans was officially inducted into the Grand Ole Opry as a member on October 7. “I want to thank the Opry for asking me to become a member because this is a country artist’s dream come true,” Sara shares. “And I have been dreaming about this my entire life.” Photos from the night are available at the Opry’s Instagram.

Reba McEntire has released a stirring music video for her brand new song, “Seven Minutes in Heaven.” The track was penned by Matt Wynn and Olivia Rudeen, and is off Reba’s latest album, Not That Fancy.

Kacey Musgraves has joined indie-folk singer/songwriter Noah Kahan on a duet of his song, “She Calls Me Back.” “Kacey is cool as hell, brilliantly talented, and represents everything I love about music. She is a true artist and I can’t thank her enough for being a part of this song,” Noah says of Kacey on Instagram.

Reba says her salted chocolate chip cookies are addictive

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Reba McEntire serves up pretty mouth-watering salted chocolate chip shortbread cookies, just ask her beau, Rex Linn.

“I used to offer these cookies to my friends until my boyfriend Rex said, ‘Would you please quit giving those away? They’re way too good!'” the “Fancy” hitmaker tells People.

In terms of ingredients, Reba’s recipe uses salted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, bittersweet chocolate chips and sea salt. Overall, the prep and baking time is two hours and 50 minutes.

“They’re seriously addictive, and the key is the flaky salt on top,” Reba writes in her upcoming lifestyle book, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots.

Out October 10, Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots is available for preorder now.

Forget Britney on Broadway, there’s now a Madonna musical in Paris

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Once Upon a One More Time, the Broadway show built around the songs of Britney Spears, may have closed in September, but a new musical built around the songs of Madonna recently opened in Paris.

The New York Times reports that the two-hour show, Holidays, is performed in French and features 15 Madonna classics, from “La Isla Bonita,” “Open Your Heart” and “Express Yourself” to “Papa Don’t Preach,” “Secret” and “Like a Prayer.”

The Queen of Pop isn’t involved in the show, but its director, Nathan Guichet [gee-SHAY], says he was inspired to create it after seeing a 2012 interview in which Madonna said, “I would sanction my songs to be made into a musical, but I wouldn’t do it myself.”

The show, which is set to run through January 28, features just four performers and one set. Here’s the plot, according to the Times: Louise, an heiress who’s about to get married, invites three pals who she hasn’t seen in more than 10 years to her childhood home. In their youth, the four friends would gather every August 16 to celebrate Madonna’s birthday. Now they come together as adults in Louise’s old bedroom, which is a pink altar to Madonna. Louise’s doubts about her upcoming marriage and a secret gay romance between two of the four women help drive the plot.

In its review, The New York Times notes, “Holidays is a welcome reminder that Madonna’s catalog has rare staying power.” It concludes that until Madonna’s Celebration tour arrives in Paris in November, the show is “an entertainingly upbeat stand-in.”

Madonna kicks off the Celebration tour October 14 in London.

David Ellefson & Mike Portnoy-featuring Metal Allegiance announces 10th anniversary concert

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The band Metal Allegiance — featuring ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick and bassist/songwriter Mark Menghi — has announced a concert celebrating their 10th anniversary.

The show will take place January 25, 2024, at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since we started Metal Allegiance out on the Motörhead Motörboat Cruise,” Ellefson says. “But here we are, a couple of albums and a whole bunch of shows later, celebrating the strength and resilience of heavy metal together.”

Along with the core four Metal Allegiance members, the concert will feature guest performances by artists including Mastodon‘s Brann Dailor and Troy Sanders, Testament‘s Chuck Billy, Bad Wolves‘ Doc Coyle and Slayer‘s Gary Holt.

Tickets go on sale Friday, October 13. For more info, visit MetalAllegiance.com.

Gabrielle Union on why waiting to become a mom was “worth it” for her

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Gabrielle Union is opening up about becoming a mom to daughter Kaavia [Kah-Vee-Uh] at the age of 46.

The Bring It On actress, now 50, recently shared a video to Instagram in which she responded to those who ask her if it’s worth it to have kids later in life.

“There’s a lot that goes into that answer, but in a nutshell, hell yeah it’s been worth it,” she began. “It’s changed my life in so many wondrous ways that it does make me wish I had done it earlier just so I have even more time with Kaav, I have even more time as a mom.”

Union said that Kaavia, her 4-year-old daughter with Dwyane Wade, came at the right time for her.

“For me, I became a mom at the right time because I was healed and I had committed to healing eternally, so I didn’t pass all that generational trauma onto Kaav,” she continued. “I wasn’t in a place to even take care of myself [before], much less our little miracle, so for me it’s absolutely worth it.”

Union ended her video by calling Kaavia “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Morgan Evans’ “Thank God She’s a Country Girl” reworks a John Denver classic

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

If you’ve heard Morgan Evans‘ “Thank God She’s a Country Girl,” you’d probably find it somewhat familiar.

That’s because his latest track offers a fresh interpolation on John Denver‘s 1975 hit “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”

“Making this song has just been pure fun from start to finish. It was an absolute pleasure to rework such a classic song and, with the approval of John Martin Sommers, the writer of ‘Thank God I’m A Country Boy,'” says Morgan, who co-wrote the song with Jesse Frasure. John is also credited as a songwriter on Morgan’s tune.

“I’m stoked to put this one out into the world! I hope it puts a smile on your face and gets your feet moving wherever in the world you are!” he shares.

Morgan’s currently on the road on his Life Upside Down Tour. For tickets and a full list of dates, visit Morgan’s website.

Roger Waters heckled after reading from unpublished memoir at ‘Dark Side Redux’ show

October 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Roger Waters took the stage at London’s Palladium on Sunday, October 8, to perform The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, his recently released reimagining of Pink Floyd’s classic album, but it turns out he had more in store for his audience.

According to a review of the show by The Times of London critic Will Hodgkinson, Waters spent the first 30 minutes of the show ranting about Julian Assange and reading from his unpublished memoir.

“One story involved a duck that came to live in the family home,” Hodgkinson wrote. “Another began promisingly as a memory of Floyd’s original leader, Syd Barrett, but revealed nothing more than that Barrett wrote a lot of songs and had an innocent air about him.”

Hodgkinson noted that Waters only played two songs during the first half of the show and wound up getting heckled by the audience for his lack of performing, to which he responded like “a scary headmaster shouting down naughty kids at assembly, which simply had the effect of making everyone feel nervous and awkward.”

In addition to the readings, the show included a 20-minute film in which Waters described making The Dark Side of the Moon Redux.

“Roger Waters has suffered for his art,” the critic concluded. “That didn’t mean that the audience at the Palladium had to suffer for it too.”

Waters returns to the stage for a second show at the Palladium on Monday, October 9.

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