More than 20 pieces of Jerry Garcia’s digital artwork to be sold as NFTs

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Jerry Garcia. ‘Junglescape.’ 1992. Courtesy Yellowheart

In May, artwork by the late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia was put on sale as an NFT, or non-fungible token, which is a unique digital collectible. Now, an entire collection of Garcia’s digital artwork is going on the block in the NFT format.

The three-part collection will be sold via YellowHeart, a platform that accepts both cryptocurrency and credit card payments. It’s a digital artwork series called An Odd Little Place: The Digital Works of Jerry Garcia (1992-1995), featuring 20 pieces from the late legend, created on his Apple computer.

Of the 20 pieces, 17 are limited edition pieces of original digital artwork, and the other three are additional works found in the Garcia Archives in a folder called “Last 48 Hours.” Two of the three date from August 7 and August 8, 1995, while the third is believed to be unfinished. Garcia died on August 9, 1995.

You can get a glimpse of the collection now on YouTube. Yellowheart is also teaming with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for a preview event on August 5, which will be attended by members of Garcia’s family. An exhibit of the artwork opens to the public the next day.

The first part of the collection launches today, along with ticket sales to the Rock Hall preview event. There are five VIP Vault Tour Experiences, which cost $10,000 each, and 20 Exhibition Preview Experiences, which cost $2,500 each.

The second partof the exhibition will be revealed August 1, which would have been Jerry’s 79th birthday. The third part is an auction of those three final works, starting August 5 at 3 p.m. ET.

To lessen the environmental impact of creating NFTs, the Garcia Family will donate a portion of the proceeds to charity.

Halsey welcomes first child: “The most ‘rare’ and euphoric birth”

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Halsey is officially a mom.

The singer announced Monday that she gave birth to her first child with boyfriend Alev Aydin. She posted two black-and-white photos on social media: one of her cradling the newborn and looking lovingly at Alev, and another a close-up shot of the baby breastfeeding.

“Gratitude. For the most ‘rare’ and euphoric birth,” Halsey captioned the photos. “Powered by love.”

She then revealed the child’s name, Ender Ridley Aydin, and date of birth as July 14, 2021. She did not reveal the gender.

Halsey, 26, first announced her pregnancy in January with a photo showing off her baby bump, and the caption, “surprise!” Her new album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, in which she explores “the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth,” is due out August 27.

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Report: Kanye West to release new album this week

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

It’s seems Kanye West‘s highly-anticipated album, DONDA, might finally see the light of day.

On Sunday, Justin Laboy shared to social media that the oft-delayed record would be released this week. Alongside a meme that read, “He kills every beat, every hook, and every verse who is he?,” Laboy answered, “LETS ARGUE His name is @kanyewest & this week he’s dropping another classic album. DONT @ ME #Respectfully.”

In two prior tweets, Laboy shared that he’d already heard the album, courtesy of Kanye.

“Kanye played his new album for me & @KDTrey5 last night in Vegas,” Laboy wrote. “Man listen! The production is light years ahead of it’s [sic] time, and the bars sound like he’s broke & hungry trying to get signed again. Any artist who plan on dropping soon should just push it back #Respectfully.”

He added, “ALBUM OF THE YEAR. DONT @ ME.”

Laboy isn’t the only one to tease Kanye’s new music. On Saturday, Consequence shared a muted clip of the rapper and Tyler, the Creator in the studio. He captioned the clip, “ConsTV Exclusive Ye x Tyler Epic Level Summer 21.”

Fans also noticed what appeared to be a track list of about 10 songs in the background of the video, some of which were the same as the track list that surfaced over a year ago, including “24” and “Hurricane,” as Hiphop-N-More notes.

Kanye first announced DONDA would be released on July 24, 2020, before several delays plagued the project. The title of the album, which is a follow-up to 2019’s Jesus Is King, honors his late mother, Donda West, who died in 2017 from surgery complications.

Luke Bryan celebrates a prank-fueled, family-filled 45th birthday on tour

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Luke Bryan turned 45 years old on Saturday, and the singer marked the milestone by playing a packed amphitheater show at a Bristow, Virginia stop on his Proud to Be Right Here Tour.

But if you know anything about the Bryan household, you know that the country superstar’s wife, Caroline, can’t pass up any opportunity for a prank — even if the subject of that prank is on tour and far from home.

Caroline and the rest of Luke’s family, including his two sons Bo and Tatum, surprised the singer with a mini-party onstage, complete with a table full of gag gifts. Among them were a pair of Jockey brand underwear — a nod to the Jockey commercials Luke’s recently starred in — a six-pack of his own Two Lane beer, and more.

“Alright, dammit. I got a lamp, a fire extinguisher, and more Jockey underwear. Lays potato chips…” Luke told the crowd as he surveyed his birthday haul, before suggesting they all join him and his family for a chorus of “Happy Birthday.”

“Tate, do you wanna sing me ‘Happy Birthday’? Bo?” Luke continued, jokingly turning to his sons, who are 13 and 10. “Y’all don’t wanna sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to your dad? That’s horrible. After all I’ve done for y’all.”

Of course, Luke ultimately got his birthday wish, with the crowd singing him a round of “Happy Birthday.” Onstage, the singer’s family sang along, as did his opening acts Caylee Hammack and Dylan Scott, who had returned to the stage for the surprise after performing earlier in the night.

Additional posts that Caroline shared to social media show more of the backstage birthday fun, which included a dance party on Luke’s tour bus and a cake.

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Journey escaping to Las Vegas for symphony performance

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Journey has scheduled a one-night-only performance in Las Vegas this December.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will take the stage at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Saturday, December 18, but what makes the show special is that they’ll be performing with a symphony orchestra.

The show will feature Journey’s new lineup, which includes former American Idol judge Randy Jackson on bass and famed producer Narada Michael Walden on drums, along with Neal Schon on guitar, Jonathan Cain and Jason Derlatka on keyboards and Arnel Pineda on vocals.

As previously reported, Journey’s classic 1981 album Escape was recently RIAA-certified Diamond for more than 10 million sales.

Journey will be one of the headliners at Lollapalooza on July 31.

Volbeat announces fall headlining tour

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Volbeat has announced their first headlining shows in nearly two years.

Kicking off September 24, the eight-date trek includes stops in Atlanta, Oklahoma City, San Diego, Los Angeles, Pasa Robles and Oakland, CA, and San Antonio and Lubbock, TX. The Hu, Twin Temple and Municipal Waste will be the openers on select dates. Dates are scheduled through October 10. Tickets go on sale July 23 at 10 a.m. local time at Volbeat’s website.

In addition, the Danish rockers will also appear at the Rebel Rock festival in Orlando, FL on September 23 and at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, CA on October 8.

Volbeat recently released two new songs: “Wait a Minute My Girl” and “Dagen Før.” The latter features guest vocals from Danish singer Stine Bramsen. Both tracks were written and recorded in lockdown, and were the first fresh tracks from the group since their 2019 album, Rewind, Replay, Rebound.

“One Last Time”: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett to perform two shows at Radio City Music Hall

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are reuniting one last time.

The dynamic duo is celebrating a decade of friendship and artistic collaboration with a pair of shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in August. One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga marks the singers’ only public performance together this summer ahead of their joint album release later this year.

The show will take place over two nights, the first on Tony’s 95th birthday, August 3, followed by a second show on August 5.

Earlier this year, Tony’s family announced that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. The shows at Radio City Music Hall will serve as his final career performances in NYC.

All attendees, with the exception of children under 16, must be fully vaccinated. Tickets go on sale to the general public on July 22 at 10 a.m. local time.

The New York natives first collaborated on Tony’s 2011 album, Duets II, reimagining the classic show tune “The Lady Is a Tramp.” In 2014, they teamed up for a full-length album, Cheek to Cheek, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was named Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

Usher debuts new Las Vegas residency with two sold-out shows

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Usher debuted his new Las Vegas residency over the weekend with two sold-out shows on Friday and Saturday at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

It was the first new headlining residency show to open on the Las Vegas Strip in more than a year and a half, and brought some famous faces to the audience including Jermaine Dupri, L.A. Reid, Nick Cannon, Lil Jon and Akon.

The show featured a set list spanning Usher’s 20-year career, with performances of “U Remind Me,” “Burn,” “You Make Me Wanna…,” “Don’t Waste My Time,” “Scream,” “Yeah!” and more, backed by a live band and over two dozen dancers. Usher also donned a series of designer costumes, many of which were designed by Balmain.

Tickets for performances through January 2022 are on sale now. A limited number of VIP meet & greet packages are also available at Ticketmaster.com/ushervegas or in-person at The Colosseum box office.

Usher, Live Nation Las Vegas and Caesars Entertainment are donating $1 of every ticket purchased to Usher’s New Look, Inc., an organization the singer founded in 1999 to help transform the lives of underserved youth.

“Happy two-week anniversary”: Gwen Stefani shares gorgeous wedding photo

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Two weeks after her wedding to Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani is still living in bliss.

On Sunday, the No Doubt frontwoman turned to Instagram to commemorate the two-week anniversary of their lavish wedding in Oklahoma, sharing a gorgeous black-and-white photo of her and Blake walking into a stone chapel, welcomed by officiant Carson Daly and a slew of wedding guests.

“Happy 2 week anniversary,” she captioeds the pic, adding a heart emoji.

The couple married on July 3 at their ranch in Blake’s native Oklahoma. Gwen wore a custom Vera Wang wedding gown, along with a veil embroidered with their names and those of her sons Kingston,Zuma and Apollo. Blake and Gwen wrote their own vows for one another, with Blake also turning his into an original song for his wife.

Gwen also wore a Vera Wang party dress at the reception, where she and her new husband danced to a playlist that included music from fellow The Voice coaches Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine‘s band, Maroon 5.

Iron Maiden announces new album, ‘Senjutsu,’ coming in September

July 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

After releasing their new song, “The Writing on the Wall,” along with an animated mini-movie, Iron Maiden has now unveiled details of their new studio album.

Called Senjutsu, the 17th album from the metal legends will arrive September 3. Their first album in six years, it’s a double-CD collection, the title of which loosely translates from Japanese to “tactics and strategy.” The cover art, created by Mark Wilkinson based on an idea by Maiden bassist Steve Harris, features the band’s beloved mascot Eddie in full samurai gear.

Frontman Bruce Dickinson says Senjutsu was recorded in 2019 during a break in the band’s Legacy tour so they could continue on the road and still have plenty time to set up the project. Of course, as he says, “The pandemic delayed things more — so much for the best-laid plans — or should that be ‘strategies!?'”

Harris says of the new project, “We recorded this album in the same way we did The Book of Souls in that we’d write a song, rehearse it and then put it down together straight away while it was all fresh in our minds.”

“There’s some very complex songs on this album which took a lot of hard work to get them exactly as we wanted them to sound, so the process was at times very challenging,” Harris adds, noting, “I’m very proud of the result and can’t wait for fans to hear it.”

Senjutsu is available for pre-order July 21 at IronMaiden.com in a variety of formats, including a few different colors of vinyl and a super deluxe box set.

Here’s the track listing for Senjutsu:

“Senjutsu”
“Stratego”
“The Writing on the Wall”
“Lost in a Lost World”
“Days of Future Past”
“The Time Machine”
“Darkest Hour”
“Death of the Celts “
“The Parchment”
“Hell on Earth”

+ More