Music

If you’ve been to a Ghost show, you know fans will often paint their faces to pay homage to the band’s characters and mythology. Well, apparently nobody told the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre of St. Louis, Missouri, which hosted Tobias Forge and company on Friday, August 11.

Ahead of the concert, the venue noted that “face or masks covering the face are not allowed while entering the venue or purchasing items at concessions.” This prompted much confusion from concertgoers in the comments; they asked if they were allowed to apply face paint once they’ve gotten into the venue and were told, “We do not allow face paint to be brought into the venue.”

After the show, the amphitheatre shared another post apologizing “for a miscommunication about removing face paint.”

“This was not directed by Ghost,” the statement reads.

Ghost also shared the Hollywood Casino’s apology along with the statement, “We wish to inform you that we will ALWAYS encourage creative expression, we will NEVER stifle it.”

Ghost is currently touring the U.S. in support of the band’s latest album, 2022’s Impera.

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Nicki Minaj earned a top trending spot on X, formerly known as Twitter, after she released a snippet of a song off her forthcoming album, Pink Friday 2. 

Taking to Instagram Live this past weekend, Nicki shared a preview of the unreleased track where she’s heard singing to an up-tempo beat. 

The tease comes just a few days after she tweeted about her work on the album, telling fans that there’s one song in particular she wants them to hear.

“The greatest song I’ve ever written. My goodness,” she said. “Opened the vault & played it last night & the reaction >>> My babies have to have this. The world needs this. Trees will grow. Y’all I’m in love. I’m not kidding y’all.”

In June, Nicki said that “due to some really exciting news” she’d share at a later date, she pushed back the release of Pink Friday 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to her debut studio LP, Pink Friday, which is expected on November 17.

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During Corey Taylor‘s solo shows, the Slipknot frontman will occasionally pull out a cover of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song. His rendition went up a notch when he joined Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob himself, for a performance during West Virginia’s Huntington Comic and Toy Convention on Saturday, August 12.

Kenny was performing at the convention with his band The Hi-Seas when he invited Taylor to join him in singing the theme.

“This is the most nervous I’ve ever been in my whole career,” Taylor told the crowd.

In an Instagram post alongside footage of the collaboration, The Hi-Seas write, “For a brief moment, We. Were. SPONGEKNOT.”

Taylor, meanwhile, is gearing up to release a new solo album, CMF2, which drops September 15. He’ll resume touring August 25 in Denver.

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Foo Fighters‘ headlining set at the Outside Lands festival on Saturday, August 12, featured a surprise appearance by Michael Bublé.

As for why the Canadian crooner showed up during a Foos show, Rolling Stone explains that Dave Grohl and company have been performing a medley on their current tour, which features bits of new drummer Josh Freese‘s past collaborations with artists including Bublé. Their Bublé song of choice has been the track “Haven’t Met You Yet,” which Grohl has invited fans to sing onstage during recent shows.

In a clip from the Outside Lands performance posted to the Foo Fighters Facebook, you can see Grohl spot someone in the crowd holding a sign that read, “I [heart] Bublé.” That person turned out to be the real Michael Bublé.

Bublé also shared an Instagram video of him backstage with Grohl, excitedly sharing, “Well, the time has finally come: I’ve been asked to be in the Foo Fighters!”

“F*** you, Bublé!” Grohl responds.

FYI: Bublé is something of a rocker when it comes to the music he listens to; he’s especially a big fan of Deftones.

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Jonas Brothers promised “very famous” surprise guests at their Yankee Stadium shows and on Sunday night, August 13, they delivered…with Jimmy Fallon.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fallon popped up to reintroduce the band after intermission, but he also took the opportunity to lead the crowd in a singalong of The Killers‘ hit “Mr. Brightside.”

Posting video of the moment on social media, Fallon wrote, “Huge thanks to @jonasbrothers for giving me the surprise guest spot on ‘The Tour’ tour. And thank you to @yankeestadium for turning it into the world’s biggest karaoke party. This is one of those nights I will never forget.”

“And thank you to @thekillers for writing a JAM #MrBrightside,” he added.

Also joining the brothers onstage for both the August 12 and August 13 shows were fan favorite Big Rob, who popped up during “Burnin’ Up,” and Jon Bellion, producer of their latest release The Album, who performed during the song “Walls.” On August 12, gospel legend Kirk Franklin was also there for “Walls,” along with a 40-person choir.

The Tour continues August 15 and August 16 at Boston’s TD Garden. They’ve also just added an additional date at New Jersey’s Prudential Center on December 7. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at jonasbrothers.com.

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Clarence Avant, the beloved music executive widely known as “The Black Godfather,” has died at the age of 92, his family confirms. 

“It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing of Clarence Alexander Avant. Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘The Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music, entertainment, politics, and sports,” his children Nicole and Alex Avant and son-in-law Ted Sarandos said in a statement.

“Clarence leaves behind a loving family and a sea of friends and associates that have changed the world and will continue to change the world for generations to come,” the statement continues. “The joy of his legacy eases the sorrow of our loss. Clarence passed away gently at home in Los Angeles on Sunday, August 13, 2023. He was 92.”

Early on in his career, the North Carolina native managed countless successful acts such as Sarah Vaughan, Little Willie John, Freddie Hubbard and Jimmy Smith. His deal-making abilities gained the attention of legendary label executive Quincy Jones who has said that after the two met, they went on to become “best friends and brothers.”

In the late ’60s, Avant helped to broker the sale of Stax records and in 1969, founded his own label, Sussex Records where he signed “Ain’t No Sunshine” singer Bill Withers. In the ’70s, Avant founded KAGB-FM, one of the first Black-owned radio stations in Los Angeles. 

Avant’s lifework includes his contributions to the careers of notable Black figures like professional boxer Muhammad Ali, NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown, baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson and baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. “Without Clarence Avant, there is no Hank Aaron,” Aaron would later say in the Netflix documentary, The Black Godfather.

Avant’s contributions to music earned him numerous accolades including the Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP in 2007 and the Recording Academy’s Trustees Award in 2008.

His wife, Jacqueline Avant, was tragically killed in a 2021 home invasion at the couple’s Los Angeles residence. She was 81. The couple had been married for 54 years.

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Teddy Riley may be known for R&B hits, but unbeknownst to some, he actually got his start in hip-hop. He produced songs for Doug E. Fresh, Heavy D, Wreckx-n-Effect, Big Daddy Kane and more, years before fusing hip-hop with R&B to make his New Jack Swing sound.

“Hip-hop is a big influence on me because that’s the first genre that I did,” Teddy tells ABC Audio, naming Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizzard Theodore, Crash Crew and Treacherous Three as some of his inspirations. He was around the genre when he lent support to artists in the studio and was introduced to producers by his mentor, Royal Bayyan, the former guitarist for Kool & The Gang.

Teddy says he was the first to have so many records go “number one as remixes,” but as he reflects on the 50th anniversary of the genre, he feels he’s “never been respected as a hip-hop producer.”

“I made some of the biggest hip-hop records and they’re still classics today. And you got people who made some of the biggest hip-hop records that don’t even play today,” Teddy says. Noting Big Daddy Kane and Doug E. Fresh are still touring with songs he produced, he adds, “I need somebody to put some respect on my name.”

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