Miranda Lambert‘s magical trip across the western part of the U.S. continues!
Miranda, husband Brendan McLoughlin, and their friends Gwen Sebastian and Louis Newman are venturing on a cross-country road trip together in their respective campers, and the country star is taking fans along for the ride via social media.
The lively crew has spent the past several days making their way across Utah, with stops in Moab and, most recently, Strawberry Bay. Miranda shared a photo of the group standing arm in arm as they gaze out at a stunning lake, along with a sunset over the mountains.
She also shared snaps of a dinner setting in front of their Airstream, Wanda the Wanderer, complete with roses and a waterfront view, and one of her husband donning a pair of rainbow sunglasses. Miranda ends the gallery with a video of them boating on the water, with tree-covered mountains in the distance.
“Strawberry Bay Utah, thanks for the memories!” she writes, adding #tourist.
Here’s wishing a happy 80th birthday to The Byrds‘ Roger McGuinn this jingle-jangle morning.
The singer, guitarist and songwriter, who was born James McGuinn, started his career working with such folk artists as The Limeliters, The Chad Mitchell Trio and Judy Collins.
In 1963, McGuinn relocated to Los Angeles, and after seeing The Beatles‘ George Harrison playing a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar in the 1964 movie A Hard Days Night, he took up the same instrument. McGuinn co-founded The Byrds that year with singer Gene Clark, singer/guitarist David Crosby, bassist Chris Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke.
Considered one of the originators of folk rock, the group showcased the harmonies of McGuinn, Clark and Crosby, while combining folk influences with Beatles-inspired rock.
Applying his folk techniques to the electric 12-string, McGuinn developed what became The Byrds’ signature jangly sound, which has influenced countless artists over the years.
The Byrds’ debut single, a cover of Bob Dylan‘s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1965. The band reached #1 again in December ’65 with their version of Pete Seeger‘s “Turn! Turn! Turn!“
McGuinn also wrote or co-wrote a few Byrds hits, including the influential psychedelic tune “Eight Miles High,” the country-flavored “Mr. Spaceman” and the horn-driven “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.”
The Byrds also pioneered country rock with the 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. From 1968 to ’73, McGuinn was the only founding member who remained in the group. The original lineup reunited for a final album, 1973’s The Byrds, before breaking up.
In the late 1970s and early ’80s, McGuinn teamed up with two former Byrds band mates in the group McGuinn, Clark and Hillman, which scored a top-40 hit with 1979’s “Don’t You Write Her Off.”
Since the ’80s, Roger has mainly focused on his solo career, although he teamed with Hillman and Crosby in 1990 to record four songs for a Byrds box set.
McGuinn was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Byrds in 1991.
Elton John‘s won Oscars and Grammys, but he’s also written the scores for three Tony-winning musicals: The Lion King, Billy Elliott and Aida. His latest musical, a stage version of the hit 2006 Meryl Streep/Anne Hathaway film The Devil Wears Prada, opens July 19 in Chicago, but you can hear a preview of some of the new songs he’s written for the project now.
People has a video that features a sneak peek of Elton singing a few of the songs, including the title theme, “When a Legend Is Born” and “Dress Your Way Up.” Elton calls the movie “one of my favorite films,” adding, “The subject matter [the world of high-fashion magazines] screams out for music.”
But speaking to the Chicago Tribune, Elton says some of the elements of the movie — based on the novel by Lauren Wiesberger — have been updated to reflect things that didn’t exist 20 years ago, like social media and #MeToo.
“We thought, we just can’t put in this scenario from 20 years ago. We have to make it modern,” Elton notes. “We have to bring it up to date. And that appealed to me as well because I wanted to make the music modern. And it’s a woman’s story. So I said I’d like to have a woman as the lyric writer.”
Elton co-wrote the score with lyricist Shaina Taub, marking the first time he’s composed with a woman. “She’s brilliant at bringing characters to life,” he says in People‘s video. He predicts that after seeing the finished product, audiences will “walk out elated.”
Elton plays Chicago’s Soldier Field on August 5 and will likely drop by rehearsals. But there won’t be a performance of The Devil Wears Prada that night: the Chicago Tribune reports the whole cast is going to Elton’s concert.
Nicky Youre’s song “Sunroof” first blew up on TikTok and is now all over radio. The California native says when he first wrote the song in his college bedroom in April 2021, he knew it was good, but he never expected this level of success — or the pride he feels over how the song is affecting people.
“It’s been cool just seeing reactions,” Nicky tells ABC Audio. “Like, some people leave comments about how it makes their day so much better and cheers them up and, like, gets them out of like depressive mental states, you know?”
“And so for me, I’ve kind of realized that’s, like, a really powerful thing that I can do as an artist — which is, like, super sick,” Nicky continues. “Because I’m just some random dude that makes music and now I’m able to really have an impact on people, so I’m pretty proud of that.”
Nicky says he’s also proud that a few people have reached out to tell him that he’s “their favorite new artist,” which he also deems “super sick.” But he laughs, “I only have three songs out so I think I gotta put some more out to, like, claim that title for some more people!”
But don’t worry about that — Nicky says he’s got a lot more music coming.
“I have literally so many songs,” he teases. “I have at least 10 that I feel good about putting out, probably … I was doing, like, three or four [writing] sessions a week for the past couple of months, so [I’m] just, like, sitting on a bunch of new stuff.”
For starters, Nicky tells ABC Audio he’s got a remix of “Sunroof” coming, plus “hopefully an EP this summer and all that good stuff.”
Highly Suspect has announced a fall tour in support of the band’s upcoming album, The Midnight Demon Club.
The headlining outing kicks off September 16 in Minneapolis and will wrap up November 5 in Houston. Tickets go on sale this Friday, July 15, at 10 a.m. local time.
The tour also includes a previously announced show at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which will also feature iann dior and Spiritbox on the bill.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit HighlySuspect.net.
The Midnight Demon Club, the fourth Highly Suspect album, will be released September 9. It includes the lead single “Natural Born Killer.”
Michaels, who grew up in the central Pennsylvania borough of Mechanicsburg, is being recognized individually for his contributions as a solo entertainer, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
Michaels will be performing with Poison Tuesday night in Hershey, Pennsylvania, as part of The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. He plans to return to his home state in the fall to accept the honor.
“Being born and bred in Pennsylvania, I am proud to be inducted as an individual into the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame, with Poison also having also been inducted on the first-ever ballot,” Michaels says in a statement. “I am beyond excited to be playing Hersheypark Stadium this evening. Come rain or shine, it’s going to be a party and the people of Pennsylvania always rock my world.”
Adds Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame President Brandon Valentine, “As a non-profit organization focused on music education for the local youth, the CPMHOF is honored to recognize Bret Michaels in a positive light. Bret has always held a special place in the hearts of Central Pennsylvanians.”
In addition to his achievements as a member of Poison and a solo artist, Michaels is a reality TV star and producer, and a successful businessman who displayed his entrepreneurial savvy as a winner of Celebrity Apprentice. In addition, Michaels, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child, has long been involved in helping support people with the disease, which is a main focus of his Life Rocks charitable foundation.
Gwen Stefani is loving that singer Halsey wore a shirt with her face on it. Halsey dubbed Gwen a “Queen,” and Gwen not only commented with a bunch of heart emojis, she also shouted her out via Instagram Stories, writing, “Omg luv ur shirt” along with a winky face emoji.
Nick Jonas played the AC Championship alongside Colin Jost and Miles Teller, and said on Instagram, “We may not have played (our best) but we sure had a good time and looked damn good doing it.”
Meanwhile, Joe Jonas is giving fans a glimpse of his mind. He couldn’t help but parody a mashup of Joji‘s “Glimpse of Us” and Rednex‘s “Cotton Eyed Joe,” which has been renamed “Glimpse of Joe.” “In my feels leave me alone,” Joe wrote on TikTok while sharing a video of him sadly staring out the window and singing.
Justin Bieber is out in Idaho with wife Hailey Bieber as he recovers from Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Page Six reports the two had a passionate make out session on a boat while relaxing in Coeur d’Alene. The two also snuggled close together and enjoyed swimming with friends in the lake.
Christina Aguilera is hosting her own MasterClass dedicated to elevating your singing and stage presence. According to a press release, the “Beautiful” singer will teach you how to properly warm up and understand your voice, as well as share her breathing exercises. Classes go live August 3. You can sign up now on MasterClass.
Queen guitarist Brian May has teamed up with 10cc frontman Graham Gouldman for a new song called “Floating in Heaven,” which was released Tuesday in celebration of the historic first images sent to Earth from the James Webb Space Telescope.
The song was written and sung by Gouldman, who also played a number of instruments on the track, while May contributed lead guitar and backing vocals.
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched in December 2021, entered into Earth’s orbit in January of this year and became operational this week. It’s the most powerful telescope ever launched into space and is intended to succeed NASA’s Hubble telescope.
May, of course, has long been passionate about astronomy and earned a PhD in astrophysics from London’s Imperial College in 2007, while Gouldman is also enthusiastic about space science.
“Floating in Heaven” is available now via streaming and as a digital download. To accompany the melodic, atmospheric tune, an animated video depicting the James Webb Space Telescope being launched and activated has debuted on Queen’s official YouTube channel and the Space Telescope Science Institute’s YouTube channel.
You can check out the initial images that the telescope sent to Earth at NASA.gov.
Lil Wayne announced Tuesday the sixth annual Lil WeezyAna Fest will kick off from his hometown of New Orleans on August 27.
Returning to Champions Square for the first time in four years, the artist-curated music event will see performances by Moneybagg Yo, Coi Leray, Babyface Ray and Rob 49, as well as surprise guests.
“We’re glad to be back home! New Orleans birthed us and we can travel and hit the stage anywhere in the world, but there’s no place like home!” Young Money Records President Mack Maine said. “As always, we will be honoring the many lives lost in Hurricane Katrina as this year marks the 17th year anniversary. Wayne is excited to get back home as this one will be one you won’t want to miss!”
Lil WeezyAna Fest is in partnership with Live Nation Urban, a division of Live Nation Entertainment, which focuses on hip-hop, R&B and gospel events.
“Lil Wayne is ubiquitous with New Orleans and Lil WeezyAna Fest is an incredible representation of the city’s vibrant and thriving music culture,” said Live Nation executive Brandon Pankey. “In its sixth year, the festival has become a New Orleans tradition and Live Nation Urban is beyond ecstatic to bear witness to such an impactful event.”
Presale opportunities for the sixth annual Lil WeezyAna Fest are available starting Tuesday, July 12, while public sale tickets will be available Friday, July 15.
