Founding Byrds, Eagles members to help celebrate opening of new LA country-rock exhibit in Nashville

Founding Byrds, Eagles members to help celebrate opening of new LA country-rock exhibit in Nashville
Founding Byrds, Eagles members to help celebrate opening of new LA country-rock exhibit in Nashville
Courtesy of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

A major new exhibition called “Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock” will open at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on September 30.

“Western Edge” will look at the country-influenced artists who emerged from the L.A. rock scene between the 1960s and the 1980s and helped create the country-rock genre, including The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Gram Parsons, the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt.

To mark the arrival of the new exhibit, a series of special events are scheduled to take place at the institution from September 30 to October 2, including panel discussions, concerts, film screenings and more.

On September 30, a concert will be held at the CMA Theater that will include performances by original Byrds member Chris Hillman, founding Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon, founding Buffalo Springfield singer/guitarist Richie Furay, Vince Gill, members of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and others.

On October 1, Furay will host a songwriter’s session at Ford Theater, while Hillman, Leadon, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s John McEuen and others will participate in a discussion about bluegrass music’s influence on the L.A. country-rock scene at the same venue.

On October 2, the 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice will be screened at Ford Theater and a reunion concert by Hillman’s post-Byrds group The Desert Rose Band will be held at CMA Theater.

The exhibit itself will feature such artifacts as stage costumes belonging to The Flying Burrito Brothers, a Fender Telecaster that Leadon played with the Eagles, a stage costume worn by The MonkeesMichael Nesmith and much more.

Meanwhile, a “Western Edge”-inspired playlist has debuted at Amazon Music, and a companion book will be released on September 30, coinciding with the exhibit’s opening.

Visit CountryMusicHallofFame.org for more information.

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Metallica schedules 2022 Helping Hands charity concert

Metallica schedules 2022 Helping Hands charity concert
Metallica schedules 2022 Helping Hands charity concert
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Metallica‘s Helping Hands concert is coming back.

The third edition of the charity event, which benefits the metal legends’ All Within My Hands Foundation, will take place December 16 in Los Angeles.

“It has been a few years since we connected in person for this unique event, so we want to get on your calendar now!” Metallica says. “We’re excited to share all the amazing things the Foundation has accomplished and we are inspired to look toward the future. Of course, we’ll cap it all off with a full night of live music!”

Helping Hands first launched in 2018. The second concert took place in late 2020 and streamed online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both shows featured rare acoustic Metallica sets.

More details about Helping Hands 2022 will be announced shortly. Stay tuned to Metallica.com for all info.

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Elton John says he’ll do a record like “Cold Heart” or “Hold Me Closer” “every year”

Elton John says he’ll do a record like “Cold Heart” or “Hold Me Closer” “every year”
Elton John says he’ll do a record like “Cold Heart” or “Hold Me Closer” “every year”
Interscope

Last year, Elton John scored a global hit with Dua Lipa with “Cold Heart” — a mashup of four of his old songs. Now, he’s poised to have another one with “Hold Me Closer,” a mashup of three of his old songs featuring Britney Spears. And Elton promises that the hits will keep on coming.

“I want to do one every year for a fun, happy summer record,” Elton tells The Guardian newspaper. He certainly has enough old songs to do it, and there are enough young artists who’d probably jump at the chance.

“I’m Uncle Elton,” says the Rocket Man, who loves to advise young musicians who may be struggling with the pressures of fame. In Britney’s case, Elton says of her journey to escape her 13-year conservatorship, “You forget she was the biggest star in the whole world at that time. And to see what happened to her makes me so angry. What happened to her shouldn’t have happened to anybody.”

Now that the song is on its way to being a hit, Elton says, “I’m just crossing my fingers that this will restore her confidence in herself to get back into the studio, make more records, and realize that she is bloody good.”

According to the song’s producer, Andrew Watt, Britney was plenty confident when she came to his L.A. studio to record her vocals. “She was so prepared…she’s so good at knowing when she got the right take. She took complete control,” he raves, noting, “She’s an expert in music to make you dance…she’s so pro.”

Britney’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, who extracted her from her conservatorship, tells ABC News in a statement, “No one should be surprised that her first [post-conservatorship] foray is a smash success…Britney is a brilliant artist and iconic woman.”

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Coldplay wants your Chris Martin photo for new poster

Coldplay wants your Chris Martin photo for new poster
Coldplay wants your Chris Martin photo for new poster
Euan Cherry/Getty Images

Your photo of Chris Martin could end up gracing the walls of a Coldplay fan’s house.

The “Fix You” outfit is looking for a “great live close-up photo” of Martin taken by fans from the crowd during the band’s Music of the Spheres world tour. The best one will be chosen to become a new poster.

Those interested in submitting can email their photo to photos@coldplay.com.

Coldplay has been touring throughout the year in support of Music of the Spheres, which dropped last October. The U.S. leg took place in May and June.

The global outing is set to continue September 10 at Brazil’s Rock in Rio festival.

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Five Finger Death Punch notches eighth-straight top 10 ’Billboard’ 200 album

Five Finger Death Punch notches eighth-straight top 10 ’Billboard’ 200 album
Five Finger Death Punch notches eighth-straight top 10 ’Billboard’ 200 album
Better Noise Music

Five Finger Death Punch‘s streak of consecutive top-10 albums on the Billboard 200 is still intact.

The group’s latest effort, AfterLife, debuts this week at #10 on the chart with about 29,000 equivalent album units, 22,000 of which were traditional album sales. All of FFDP’s previous seven albums have reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200, dating back to their 2009 sophomore effort, War Is the Answer.

In fact, the only Death Punch album to not hit the Billboard 200 top 10 is their 2007 debut, The Way of the Fist.

AfterLife, the ninth Five Finger Death Punch album, was released August 19. It includes the singles “AfterLife” and “Times Like These.”

Five Finger Death Punch is currently touring in support of AfterLife, headlining a bill including Megadeth, The Hu and Fire from the Gods. They’ll team up with country star Brantley Gilbert for another live run in November.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Young Thug facing new $6 million lawsuit

Young Thug facing new  million lawsuit
Young Thug facing new  million lawsuit
Paras Griffin/Getty Images

As Young Thug remains in prison facing murder charges, he was hit was a new $6 million lawsuit for allegedly failing to fulfill a concert contract he signed five years ago.

The Atlanta rapper, born Jeffery William, is being sued for $6 million by concert promoters AEG, who claim he failed to honor an agreement made in 2017, according to The Source.

AEG alleges that Williams accepted a $5 million advance for exclusive rights to his shows and breached the contract. A trial is scheduled to start on October 24, 2023.

Young Thug has been in custody since May on a 56-count RICO indictment that includes charges of murder, robbery, witness intimidation and racketeering. That trial is slated to begin on January 9, 2023.

As previously reported, Young Thug was hit with a separate lawsuit earlier this month for failing to perform a June 18 concert due to his current incarceration.

A-1 Concert Entertainment claims he accepted $150,000 upfront, and the company is suing him for that amount. A rep from Thug’s YSL Touring company says the money will be reimbursed.

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Music notes: Harry Styles, DNCE, Taylor Swift, Rod Stewart and Camila Cabello

Music notes: Harry Styles, DNCE, Taylor Swift, Rod Stewart and Camila Cabello
Music notes: Harry Styles, DNCE, Taylor Swift, Rod Stewart and Camila Cabello

Harry Styles’ “As It Was” is back to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — making history as the first song to hit the top spot five different times. The song’s placement has yo-yoed on the chart since its release, peaking at #1 on April 16, April 30, June 4, July 9 and for this latest ranking.

DNCE covered Hilary Duff‘s “Come Clean” and shared the video to TikTok. Joe Jonas also shared to his Instagram that this is his band’s “formal campaign to get the Lizzie McGuire Show back on air.” Hilary approved and wrote back, “Ooo yes. Tell them k.”

Fans think Taylor Swift is shading Kim Kardashian with her forthcoming album Midnights. Why? The album drops October 21, which is also Kim’s birthday. It should also be noted it’s officially been 13 years since Kanye West stormed the VMAs stage and stole the microphone from Taylor after she won Best Female Video.

Speaking of the Kardashians … Rod Stewart‘s daughter Kimberly is reportedly dating Kourtney Kardashian‘s ex-partner Scott DisickPage Six reports the pair have been snapped hanging out in Los Angeles. Disick is 39 and Kimberly is 43.

BBC released a snippet of the new song Camila Cabello created for Frozen Planet II with Hans Zimmer. The trailer is soundtracked to the new single “Take Me Back Home.” The trailer shows the coldest regions losing their ice and snow, forcing its animal inhabitants to quickly adapt in an effort to survive.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Music notes: Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, DNCE, Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello

Music notes: Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, DNCE, Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello
Music notes: Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, DNCE, Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello

Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” is back to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — making history as the first song to hit the top spot five different times. The song’s placement has yo-yoed on the chart since its release — peaking at #1 on April 16, April 30, June 4, July 9 and for this latest ranking.

Miley Cyrus is heading to NBC to be part of Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, a modern-day movie musical about the magic of Christmas. Miley will guest star in the video, as will Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson and more. A release date is forthcoming.

DNCE covered Hilary Duff‘s “Come Clean” and shared the video to TikTok. Joe Jonas also shared to his Instagram that this is his band’s “formal campaign to get the Lizzie McGuire Show back on air.” Hilary approved and wrote back, “Ooo yes. Tell them k.”

Fans think Taylor Swift is shading Kim Kardashian with her forthcoming album, Midnights. Why? The album drops October 21, which is also Kim’s birthday. It should also be noted it’s officially been 13 years since Kanye West stormed the VMAs stage and stole the microphone from Taylor after she won Best Female Video.

BBC released a snippet of the new song Camila Cabello created for Frozen Planet II with Hans Zimmer. The trailer is soundtracked to the new single “Take Me Back Home.” The trailer shows the coldest regions losing their ice and snow — forcing its animal inhabitants to quickly adapt in an effort to survive.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Quavo and Takeoff perform without Offset at National Battle of the Bands

Quavo and Takeoff perform without Offset at National Battle of the Bands
Quavo and Takeoff perform without Offset at National Battle of the Bands
Barry Brecheisen/WireImage

As the Migos breakup rumors heat up, Quavo and Takeoff are continuing their new duo career: they performed without fellow group member Offset Saturday at the National Battle of the Bands in Houston. The event is an annual competition showcasing historically Black college and university marching bands.

“Quavo and Takeoff in the building!” reads the Instagram caption for three photos of them onstage at NRG Stadium. On Friday, the Atlanta rappers dropped their new track with Birdman, “Big Stunna.” They also appear on DJ Khaled’s new album, God Did, which was released the same day.

On Saturday, Khaled debuted the video of their track, “Party,” which samples Eddie Murphy’s 1995 hit “Party All The Time,” written and produced by the late Rick James.

As previously reported, Quavo is also starring in the upcoming film Takeover about an international heist ring that relies on “street takeovers” to pull off daring robberies. The 31-year-old MC will appear as Guy Miller, a former criminal who is lured back into Atlanta’s illegal street racing scene.

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Nashville notes: Craig Morgan’s deluxe album, Michael Ray’s ‘90s cover + more

Nashville notes: Craig Morgan’s deluxe album, Michael Ray’s ‘90s cover + more
Nashville notes: Craig Morgan’s deluxe album, Michael Ray’s ‘90s cover + more

Craig Morgan shared details on the deluxe version of his God, Family, Country album today. The project will arrive on November 11, coinciding with a headlining show for Craig at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

Michael Ray recently released a cover version of Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On” as part of his The Bootlegger Sessions series.

LeAnn Rimes just announced a string of Christmas shows called Joy: The Holiday Tour. Tickets go on sale Thursday, September 1, at 10 a.m. local time.

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