Barns Courtney has premiered a new song called “Supernatural.”
The track is the first offering from the “Fire” artist’s upcoming third album, which will, as a press release puts it, follow an “elaborate narrative centered [on] a post-apocalyptic cult leader.”
“Supernatural” is available now via digital outlets, and you can watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.
Courtney’s most recent album is 2019’s 404, which includes the singles “99” and “You and I.” He also released an EP titled Hard to Be Alone in 2020.
You can catch Courtney live on his upcoming U.S. tour, kicking off September 17 in Kansas City, Missouri. Earlier this year, Courtney opened for My Chemical Romance in Europe.
Sammy Hagar & The Circle have released a third advance track from their forthcoming studio album Crazy Times, an expanded and updated version of “Funky Feng Shui,” which first appeared on their 2021 record, Lockdown 2020.
To accompany the song, which is available now via digital formats, Hagar and his band have debuted its music video on the Red Rocker’s official YouTube channel.
The cartoonish clip features Sammy and his bandmates — bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson — playing the song on a Hollywood street while a giant woman in a tight-fitting red dress looms over them.
Regarding the making of the video, Hagar says, “[It] was a blast because the Director kept screaming ‘Just remember there’s gonna be a 50 foot woman stepping over you guys while you’re performing’ – ha ha! I love this song and this video is more fun than a frog in a glass of milk.”
“Funky Feng Shui” began as a jam that Hagar and The Circle would play backstage to warm up before shows. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Sammy and the band remotely recorded an abbreviated version of the tune that wound up on their Lockdown 2020 collection. Hagar completed the song while working on Crazy Times, and he and The Circle then recorded the extended version for the new album.
As previously reported, Crazy Times, which can be preordered now, will be released on CD and via digital formats on September 30, while standard black-vinyl and limited-edition red-vinyl LP versions will follow on October 28.
Prior to “Funky Feng Shui,” Hagar and the band released two other advance tunes from the album — the title track and a cover of Elvis Costello‘s “Pump It Up” — along with companion videos.
Paul McCartney and Queen Elizabeth II in 2012; Dave Thompson – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Following Queen Elizabeth II‘s death Thursday at age 96, Sir Paul McCartney issued a brief statement paying tribute to the monarch. But now the rock legend has penned a lengthy homage looking back at all the times he met the queen.
In the message, which was posted on his official website, McCartney starts by noting, “I feel privileged to have been alive during the whole of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. When I was 10 years old I entered an essay competition in Liverpool and won my division for my essay about the British Monarchy so I have been a fan for a long time.”
He also recalls watching the queen’s 1953 coronation on a black-and-white TV.
Sir Paul says he met Queen Elizabeth “eight or nine times,” adding that “each time she impressed me with her great sense of humour combined with great dignity.”
The first time McCartney met the queen was in October 1965, when The Beatles received the Member of the Order of the British Empire honor.
One of the most memorable occasions, according to Paul, was in 1997 on what he describes as “a very proud day for me” — receiving his knighthood.
“I felt very honoured to be offered a Knighthood and of course it would have been rude to turn it down!” he says.
Other meetings took place in 2002 and 2012, respectively, when Paul performed at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
McCartney recalls that the last time he saw Queen Elizabeth in person was in 2018, when she presented him with the Companion of Honour medal.
As Sir Paul recalls, “I shook her hand, leaned in and said, ‘We have got to stop meeting like this,’ to which she giggled slightly and got on with the ceremony.”
This week, Tyler Hubbard embarked on his first tour as a solo artist with Keith Urban’s The Speed of Now World Tour. To celebrate, he released a music video that encapsulates the come one, come all vibe he seeks to provide with his live show.
That video is for his song “Everybody Needs a Bar,” which appears on his six-track EP, Dancin’ in the Country. The clip was filmed at the home of a Nashville, Tennessee, art director who built his garage into a bar.
“Making the video for ‘Everybody Needs a Bar’ was an amazing experience,” Tyler says. “Everybody should have a place — their own version of a bar — to go where they feel a sense of welcoming and belonging. I think we were able to create that vibe in this video.”
Plus, he’s got a special relationship with the actors in the music video: Tyler hired them for another video set to come out next month, “Baby Gets Her Lovin’,” and the gang had so much fun that he invited them to stay for the “Everybody Needs a Bar” shoot.
“Having all these actors out with me for two videos made the process incredibly fun and I think in its own way told the story of the song,” the singer adds.
Meanwhile, “5 Foot 9” — Tyler’s first single as a solo artist — is currently inside the Top 10 at country radio.
The midterm elections are fast approaching, but a startling number of young adults are still not registered to vote. Enter Lizzo, who hopes to change that.
The Grammy winner has teamed up with HeadCount, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that works toward registering all eligible voters. To help this organization reach its goal, she’s inviting HeadCount volunteers to be a part of her upcoming tour.
HeadCount volunteers will be front and center to interact with fans and explain why it’s important for them to vote in every election. Volunteers will also help concertgoers check their registration status and, if they have yet to register, can help them register to vote.
HeadCount has since opened volunteer positions for people to help out at Lizzo’s concerts, which they can do on the group’s official website.
According to HeadCount, nearly half of all individuals between 18 and 24 years old are still not registered to vote. That accounts for roughly 8 million votes.
To help close the gap, the nonprofit has teamed up with other A-list celebrities, including Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande, to engage young voters.
“Gen Z represents a significant demographic that could greatly affect laws and policies across the country,” HeadCount explains. The organization hopes that by working with the “About Damn Time” singer, more people will be inspired to let their voices be heard during the midterm elections, which take place on November 8.
Aerosmith in 2020; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
After playing a September 4 warm-up show in Bangor, Maine, Aerosmith officially kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations on Thursday with their long-delayed concert at Boston’s Fenway Park.
Over 38,700 people attended the event, setting a record for the most tickets ever sold for a concert at the historic ballpark. The show had originally been scheduled for September 2020, but was postponed and then pushed back again to this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a recap by The Patriot Ledger, Aerosmith played a 20-song set that included plenty of classics and some deep cuts. Near the end of the show, singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry appeared atop the stadium’s “Green Monster” section and performed “Dream On.” They then rejoined the band to finish the concert with renditions of “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.”
A five-minute fireworks display brought the festivities to a close.
The night before the concert, Tyler paid a visit to 1325 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston’s Allston neighborhood, which served as the band’s home base during their early years. Special Aerosmith-themed projections were flashed on that building and at a few other Beantown locations before and after the concert.
You can check out photos of Tyler visiting the “Aerosmith Apartment,” and of the projections, on the band’s socialmedia pages.
The band will now launch its latest “Deuces Are Wild” Las Vegas residency Wednesday, September 14, at Dolby Live at Park MGM. Tickets for the shows can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. For more info, visit ParkMGM.MGMResorts.com.
Here’s the band’s full Fenway Park set list, according to Setlist.fm:
“Back in the Saddle”
“Same Old Song and Dance”
“Rag Doll”
“Mama Kin”
“Remember (Walking in the Sand)” (Shangri‐Las cover)
“Stop Messin’ Around” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
“Cryin'”
“Hangman Jury”
“Seasons of Wither”
“Toys in the Attic”
“Livin’ on the Edge”
“The Other Side”
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”
“Love in an Elevator”
“Draw the Line”
“Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”
Encore:
“Dream On”
“Sweet Emotion”
“Walk This Way”
Meghan Trainor asks, “Don’t I Make It Look Easy?” This song is a tongue-and-cheek message about people stressing over the fake, picture-perfect lives they see on social media. “My intention with this song is to let everyone out there know that even though they might be feeling overwhelmed, they’re doing a great job,” she said.
Echosmith dropped “Cool Kids (our version),” a reimagination of their 2013 sleeper hit. This remix offers a more alternative sound and a new bridge. Echosmith says the new song is “a therapeutic, full-circle moment” for them.
MAX has teamed with Keshi for the romantic new song “It’s You.” The singer wrote it for his wife, Emily, and says it’s “a love story that’s all about the little moments that feel warm and close in a relationship” and “wanting to hold onto a feeling forever.”
Trevor Daniel is out with “Story,” a song rich with percussion and alt-rock-driven bass riffs. The singer says the song is about the “two sides of a story” that come out of a breakup and “wondering what others are hearing about me and how I’m being portrayed.”
Jackson Wang dropped “Blue” to celebrate his newly released album MAGIC MAN. The singer said of his new effort, “MAGIC MAN is the ultimate form of oneself, having gone through different peaks and valleys of life to arrive at the most authentic version.”
Jack White has shared a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who helped inspire a lyric for The White Stripes‘ “Seven Nation Army.”
In between the song’s instantly recognizable guitar riff, White sings the line “Everyone knows about it/From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell.”
In an Instagram post Friday following the Queen’s passing on Thursday at age 96, White shared a throwback photo of him and Meg White sitting next to a portrait of the longest-reigning monarch in British history while recording “Seven Nation Army” at London’s Toe Rag Studio in 2002.
“Rest in peace Elizabeth, you showed class in an imperfect world,” White writes in the caption.
“Seven Nation Army” was released as the lead single off The White Stripes’ 2003 album Elephant and has become one of the band’s, if not the, signature songs.
Missy Elliott became very emotional this week as she announced that she was honored with a street in her hometown of Portsmouth, VA.
“My Grandma who passed when I was young always told me to stay PRAYED UP & DREAM BIG,” the four-time Grammy winner commented as she posted a photo of the sign that reads, “Missy Elliott Blvd.” “A Blvd. Tears of Joy. I have been BLESSED so much but this right here hits my heart differently.”
Growing up in Virginia, the “Work It” rapper knew she wanted to be an entertainer at the age of four. With her neighborhood friend, Timbaland, they joined together to make their dreams come true, recording numerous hits over the past three decades.
“I am so HUMBLY GRATEFUL to be from P-TOWN 2 up 2 down The ENTIRE VA,” the iconic MC added.
Solange, Anitta, P.J. Morton and Big Freedia were among the stars who congratulated Elliott with loving comments.
In 2019, Missy became the first female rapper to receive the MTV Video Vanguard Award. When Nicki Minaj was named this year’s recipient, she praised Elliott for being a trailblazer, tweeting, “Nothing but Love & Respect for your iconic artistry. #VMAs #NickiVmas #VideoVanguard.”
When Missy celebrated her 51st birthday in July, she received a special Recording Industry Association of America Platinum plaque for being the only female hip-hop artist with six certified Platinum studio albums.
One of the most tender moments on Kane Brown’s Different Man album comes in “Pop’s Last Name,” a ballad that honors the grandfather who helped raise him.
“My pop’s last name / Still feel his hand here on my shoulder / I still hear him say / ‘You’ll understand when you get older’ / Today I couldn’t be any more grateful, thankful or proud to say / I got my pop’s last name,” Kane sings in the chorus of the song.
“He was my only father figure because my dad’s been in prison since I was a child,” the singer explains in an appearance on Today’s Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen, adding that his granddad died last year.
“He was the guy that came and taught me baseball, you know, took me on drives,” he continues.
Kane’s granddad took him to visit Civil War monuments in his home state of Georgia, a memory that the singer immortalizes in the lyrics of “Pop’s Last Name.”
He also stood up for young Kane during difficult times, like when he was being abused by his stepfather. “When I was going through child abuse and stuff with my stepdad…I wasn’t going to get to go to baseball practice one day, he came and took me out of the house and was like, ‘He’s coming with me,’” Kane recounts.
“[He] was just a big father figure,” he adds. “And so I had to write a song about him.”
“Pop’s Last Name” is on the track list of Different Man, which arrived on Friday.
