Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music/Amazon Prime Video
The Academy of Country Music Awards is forgoing broadcast television in 2022 in favor of an Amazon Prime livestream.
It’s the latest development in a dramatic series of twists and turns for the country music awards show, which most recently aired on its longtime broadcast network home of CBS in April. But following that event, the Academy parted ways with the network after failing to agree on deal-renewal terms.
Now, it’s set to become the first-ever mainstream awards show to livestream exclusively.
“We are thrilled that the Academy of Country Music Awards are first to take this giant step toward the future of awards shows with Amazon Prime Video,” Damon Whiteside, the Academy’s CEO, says in a statement.
The exact date and location of next year’s ACM Awards will be announced at a later time. As always, the 2022 ACMs promise to bring together country music’s top artists for a packed show full of collaborations, world-television-premiere performances and other unforgettable moments.
Pop Evil has announced rescheduled dates for concerts the band postponed after frontman Leigh Kakaty tested positive for COVID-19.
The affected shows ran from August 17 to August 25. The new dates are scattered through late August, September and October.
Previously purchased tickets will be valid at the rescheduled shows. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit PopEvil.com.
Pop Evil announced news of Kakaty’s positive test earlier this week. In a statement, they noted that all band and crew members were vaccinated ahead of the tour.
Kakaty and company plan to return to the road August 27 in Virginia Beach. They’ve been touring in support of the new Pop Evil album, Versatile, which dropped in May.
Neil Young has announced that he’s decided not to perform at the Farm Aid 2021 festival scheduled for September 25 at Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut, citing his concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a message posted on NeilYoungArchives.com, the 75-year-old rock legend writes, “Lots is going on in our world right now. I find myself wondering whether [Farm Aid] will be safe for everyone with the Covid pandemic surging…I don’t want to let anybody down, but still can’t shake the feeling that it might not be safe for everyone. I worry about audiences coming together in these times.”
He continues, “All you people who can’t go to a concert because you still don’t feel safe, I stand with you. I don’t want you to see me playing and think it’s safe now. I don’t want to play until you feel safe, and it is indeed…safe.”
Young adds, “My soul tells me it would be wrong to risk having anyone die because they wanted to hear music and be with friends… Since we know vaccinated people can catch and spread Covid, I worry about the children who could become infected after [Farm Aid], just by being with someone, maybe a parent, who caught the virus at [Farm Aid] and didn’t know it.”
Neil, who traditionally co-headlines the annual event with fellow Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, notes, “While I respect Willie, John and Dave’s decisions to stick with it and play, I am not of the same mind. It is a tough call.”
Other artists on the 2021 Farm Aid bill include Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Margo Price, Sturgill Simpson, Bettye LaVette and Jamey Johnson. The concert is sold out.
WILLOW has announced a headlining U.S. tour in support of her new, pop-punk-influenced album, Lately I Feel Everything.
The trek is set to launch September 14 in Santa Ana, California, and will conclude October 19 in Atlanta. The full list of dates is listed on WILLOW’s Instagram.
WILLOW released Lately I Feel Everything in July. It features Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, who plays on the single “Transparent Soul,” and a collaboration with Avril Lavigne.
As previously reported, WILLOW will be opening for the first leg of Billie Eilish‘s U.S. tour, kicking off in February 2022.
The R&B star — known for hits including “Blinding Lights” and “I Can’t Feel My Face” — has revealed that his early work was influenced by Deftones.
“Deftones huge inspo during Trilogy era,” The Weeknd writes in a tweet. Trilogy refers to his 2012 compilation, which collects his first three mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. You can definitely hear the Deftones influence on some of the heavier tracks, such as House of Balloons opener “High for This.”
Deftones, by the way, has seemingly made a habit of attracting fans from different genres. Along with The Weeknd, singer — and fellow Canadian — Michael Bublé is a longtime Deftones devotee.
DEFTONES HUGE INSPO DURING TRILGOY ERA #MementoMori
After Lizzo opened up in a tearful video earlier this week about the racist and sexist abuse she received following the release of her new song, “Rumors,” two social media platforms have taken a stand against the bullying.
In a statement to Billboard, a representative from Facebook confirmed that the social media site, as well as Instagram, which Facebook owns, are in the process of removing hateful comments directed at Lizzo. Facebook said the comments and direct messages flooding Lizzo’s socials violate the two platforms’ terms of service, which prohibit hate speech. The spokesman also said Instagram and Facebook will ban accounts that repeatedly post comments that violate their terms of service.
The news comes shortly after the “Juice” singer spoke to fans via a 13-minute Instagram Live over the weekend about the racist and sexist attacks that made her “hurt so hard.” Lizzo said she is “overwhelmed” and has “been in shock since the song came out” because of the abuse hurled at her.
“Sometimes, I feel like the world just don’t love me back,” the Grammy winner said at the time when explaining that she strives to make positive music that uplifts people, regardless of their race. “People saying s*** about me that doesn’t even make sense. It’s fat-phobic, it’s racist and it’s hurtful.”
Lizzo’s impassioned video inspired fans to demand social media websites do more to protect their users from bullying.
Foghat is commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by offering free tickets to all police officers, firefighters and emergency medical service workers who’d like to attend the band’s concert this September 11 at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York.
The offer is good for both active and retired workers, and tickets can be reserved by visiting Foghat.biz. The free passes can be picked up at the “Will Call” window at the venue. ID will be required.
Foghat’s 2021 tour schedule runs through a November 27 show in Hiawassee, Georgia, and the band also has a few 2022 dates on the books. Visit Foghat.com for more information.
Meanwhile, the “Slow Ride” rockers released a new live album and concert video last month called 8 Days on the Road in celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary. The collection, which is available as a two-CD/DVD package and digitally, documents a November 2019 performance at the Daryl Hall-owned Daryl’s House club in Pawling, New York.
Keith Urban celebrates all the dreamers, drifters and wildcards out there in “Wild Hearts,” his breezy new summer anthem. The song arrived on Thursday, and it’s the first taste of new music fans have gotten from the singer since he dropped The Speed of Now Part 1 in 2020.
“Has anyone told you you’ll never amount to anything? / You’re just wasting your time chasing / This tail-of-a-dragon kinda dream?” Keith questions in the song’s second verse. “But I’m here to tell you anything can happen in this life / If you got the heart and the passion / And a God-lit fire inside…”
“To all of the lost ones who aren’t really lost ones, this song is for you,” Keith explained on social media this week, referencing one of the lyrics in the chorus.
Keith hasn’t shared any more details about the song, and it’s unclear whether the arrival of “Wild Hearts” signifies more new music ahead.
In addition to putting out his own new album last year, Keith’s been a featured guest on some exciting collaborations recently. He joined Jimmie Allen for a rendition of “Boy Gets a Truck” on the younger singer’s Bettie James Gold Edition album.
Also, when Taylor Swift dropped her re-recorded “Taylor’s Version” of Fearless back in April, Keith sang on two “From the Vault” tracks, duetting with Taylor on “That’s When” and lending some harmonies to “We Were Happy.”
The reissue, which will be available in multiple formats and configurations, will arrive on October 22, and will feature nine previously tracks from that period. One of the unheard tracks, the rollicking tune “Living in the Heart of Love,” has been released as an advance digital single.
All versions of the Tattoo You reissue will feature a newly remastered version of the original 11-track album, which includes hits and gems like “Start Me Up,” “Waiting on a Friend,” “Hang Fire,” “Little T&A” and “Neighbours.”
The Super Deluxe edition will be available as either a four-CD or five-LP vinyl set. It includes the nine unreleased tracks, gathered on one CD or two-LP under the title Lost & Found: Rarities, plus a two-disc live collection dubbed Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982, featuring a 26-song performance by The Stones at the famed London venue.
Lost & Found also features covers of the 1963 Jimmy Reed song “Shame, Shame, Shame” and Dobie Gray‘s soulful hit 1973 ballad “Drift Away,” as well as a reggae-flavored rendition of “Start Me Up.” The tracks have been enhanced with newly added vocals and guitars.
Still Life: Wembley Stadium 1982 was recorded in June of that year during the Tattoo You tour, and features performances of various Stones classics, select covers like Eddie Cochran‘s “Twenty Flight Rock” and The Big Bopper‘s “Chantilly Lace,” and several songs from Tattoo You.
The box sets also come with a 124-page book featuring hundreds of 200 rare photos, interviews and more.
You can pre-order the reissue now. Here’s the track list of the four-CD version:
CD 1: Tattoo You (2021 Remaster)
“Start Me Up”
“Hang Fire”
“Slave”
“Little T&A”
“Black Limousine”
“Neighbours”
“Worried About You”
“Tops”
“Heaven”
“No Use in Crying”
“Waiting on a Friend”
CD 2: Lost & Found: Rarities
“Living in the Heart of Love”
“Fiji Jim”
“Troubles a’ Comin”
“Shame Shame Shame”
“Drift Away”
“It’s a Lie”
“Come to the Ball”
“Fast Talking Slow Walking”
“Start Me Up” (Early Version)
CD 3: Still Life (Wembley Stadium Concert 1982)
“Under My Thumb”
“When the Whip Comes Down”
“Let’s Spend the Night Together”
“Shattered”
“Neighbours”
“Black Limousine”
“Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)”
“Twenty Flight Rock”
“Going to a Go Go”
“Chantilly Lace”
“Let Me Go”
“Time Is on My Side”
“Beast of Burden”
“Let It Bleed”
CD 4: Still Life (Wembley Stadium Concert 1982)
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
Band Introductions
“Little T&A”
“Tumbling Dice”
“She’s So Cold”
“Hang Fire”
“Miss You”
“Honky Tonk Women”
“Brown Sugar”
“Start Me Up”
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
It’s the moment Ed Sheeran fans have been waiting for: The singer announced his new album, =[Equals], will be out October 29.
Ed revealed the news in an Instagram Live on Thursday, telling fans this new collection contains 14 tracks. The artwork features a backdrop painted by Ed, surrounded by butterfly imagery symbolizing “new life.”
Ed says the album is the “best bit of work” he’s done so far. It of course follows his previous mathematically-titled efforts, + [Plus], x [Multiply] and ÷ [Divide], as well as 2019’s No. 6 Collaborations Project. You can pre-order Equals now.
“= [Equals] is a really personal record and one that means a lot to me,” Ed says in a statement. “My life changed greatly over the past few years — I got married, became a father, experienced loss, and I reflect on these topics over the course of the album. I see it as my coming-of-age record, and I can’t wait to share this next chapter with you.”
Ed also dropped a new song called “Visiting Hours” on Thursday, which he had previously performed at a memorial for his friend and mentor, late Australian music industry legend Michael Gudinsky. Ed clarified that “Visiting Hours” is not the next single — the second single off the album will be coming out on September 10, following “Bad Habits.” He played fans a snippet of that song during the livestream.
Here is the Equals track list:
“Tides”
“Shivers”
“First Time”
“Bad Habits”
“Overpass Graffiti”
“The Joker and The Queen”
“Leave Your Life”
“Collide”
“2step”
“Stop the Rain”
“Love in Slow Motion”
“Visiting Hours”
“Sandman”
“Be Right Now”
