Fans can soon “slip on down to the oasis”: Garth Brooks’ new Nashville hot spot, called Friends in Low Places, has a tropical and vaguely pirate-centric theme.
He debuted the logo for his new bar on social media, revealing a graphic of lagoon-blue water and palm fronds and the bar’s acronym, FILP, spelled out in bones, with a palm tree representing the “I.”
The theme, of course, comes from a line in the chorus of the Garth mega-hit that gives the bar its name. “Yeah, I’m not big on social graces / Think I’ll slip on down to the oasis / So I’ve got friends in low places.”
Garth has been rolling out news surrounding his new Nashville bar, venue and entertainment complex ever since he announced it this spring. According to the venue’s newly live Twitter page, Friends in Low Places will be opening for business soon.
The singer, whose residency show PLAY is at Resorts World Las Vegas, was honored Wednesday at the property with a declaration of Katy Perry Day in Clark County, Nevada. She was also presented with a giant honorary ‘Key to the Las Vegas Strip.’
Katy told the crowd, “I have a lot of roots here [in Las Vegas]…My aunt was a showgirl here, my grandma was a seamstress here, my dad grew up here, he ended up being a chauffeur here, my parents met here, they got married here, so it’s only natural that I would be on the stage here eventually.”
“But I did not know or think that I’d be getting a key to the Strip, which I hope unlocks some, like, better HVAC,” she joked. “It is really hot in Las Vegas!”
Katy just announced new dates for her PLAY residency. Her current run of shows goes through August, and then she’ll return for shows on October 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 19, 21 and 22. Katy’s 38th birthday is October 25.
After reports that new music from Cardi B would drop next week, the rapper took to social media to set the record straight.
“BARDIGANG I don’t wanna gas y’all and put a battery in yall back ….so I’m going to be the one to tell y’all what @PageSix wrote is not true,” the “Bodak Yellow” rapper tweeted Wednesday. “I actually wish but if y’all been checking in with me on Centerfold y’all know what’s been the issue.”
The tweet came shortly after Page Six reported that Cardi was gearing up to drop a new single next Friday, June 17. According to the post, their source also claimed that the new track would feature a “top male artist in the hip hop game” who is currently very “relevant.”
The news comes as Cardi prepares for the release of her sophomore album. While she hasn’t shared a release date or name for the new project, during an appearance on Playboy’s Centerfold platform over the weekend, the 29-year-old confirmed that 2020’s Megan Thee Stallion-assisted hit “WAP” and 2021’s “Up” will be included.
Is today the day that Britney Spears becomes Mrs. Sam Asghari?
People reports that the singer, 40 and the actor and trainer, 28, will tie the knot in LA in a “fairly intimate wedding” attended by 60 guests. As previously reported, Britney will be wearing a gown by Versace. The two first announced their engagement about nine months ago.
Britney and Sam first met on the set of Britney’s 2016 video for “Slumber Party” and they’ve basically been together ever since, with Sam supporting her emotionally through Britney’s ultimately successful campaign to end her 13-year conservatorship. The couple recently announced that they were expecting, but sadly, they lost the baby.
This will be Sam’s first and Britney’s third marriage. She was previously wed to a childhood friend, Jason Alexander, in a union that was annulled, and then married Kevin Federline, with whom she shares sons Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden James, 15. Britney and Kevin divorced in 2007.
Booking.com recently launched The Ultimate ELVIS Experience at Graceland, a special new Elvis Presley-themed vacation in Memphis, Tennessee, created in honor of the new Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic ELVIS, which opens in theaters on June 24.
Those who book the two-night trip will get to stay at The Guest House at Graceland, and will be treated to behind-the-scenes access to various Elvis-related attractions, chauffeured rides in a vintage automobile, and an exclusive advance screening of the ELVIS film. They also will receive a Presley-inspired Gibson Epiphone guitar.
The Ultimate ELVIS Experience includes a dinner at Graceland’s Presley Motors Automobile Museum; tours of the Graceland and Memphis’ famed Sun Studio; and lunch at the Arcade Restaurant, the home of the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, Elvis’ favorite sandwich.
Meanwhile, today beginning at 12 p.m. ET, one pair of bookers will have the chance to purchase an Ultimate ELVIS Experience from this Saturday, June 11, to Monday, June 13, for the special price of $19.57, in honor of one of the most pivotal years of Presley’s career. The offer will be available at Booking.com on a first come, first served basis.
So when Kane Brown told Men’s Health about his plans to become “the fittest guy in country music” back in January, he knew he had some stiff competition. But Tim says that he wouldn’t mind handing over the title to the younger superstar, according to an interview with his record label.
“He’s a lot younger than I am, so I’m sure he won’t have any problem with that,” Tim says, adding that Kane has even stoked a friendly rivalry with him in the name of upping his fitness game.
“He’s actually sent me a message a couple of times when he started hammering it pretty hard,” the singer says. “He says, ‘I’m comin’ after you, I’m comin’ after you!’”
Always one to take on a challenge, Tim says he welcomes the competition. “And I was like, ‘Come on, brother, come on,’” he details.
Tim has always maintained a demanding workout schedule, but he took things to the next level during his role as James Dutton on the Yellowstone prequel 1883, where he and the rest of the cast embarked on “cowboy camp” in order to get to know the ins and outs of pioneer life.
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum‘s memoir, Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘n’ Roll Stories, was published last month.
In the book, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer opens up about his dramatic and dangerous early years as a drug dealer, and recounts his many adventures with GN’R during his 1990-1997 stint with the band, as well as his work and exploits with many other well-known rock artists, including the supergroups Velvet Revolver and Kings of Chaos, The Cult, and ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons.
Double Talkin’ Jive also finds Sorum writing candidly about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, and reflecting on the pitfalls of rock stardom.
“[I]t was a wild ride through some emotional stuff,” Matt tells ABC Audio about his experience writing the book. “It was a lot of…growth in [doing] it. It was very cathartic. It gave me a really good opportunity to know that I’ve changed in a good way, thank God.”
As for his time with Guns N’ Roses, Sorum notes, “I traveled the world at the highest level, had so many amazing experiences all over the world….And to this day, I’m still recognized as the guy [from GN’R]…I’ve been out of the band [for about 25 years], but I still have that tagline, and people still respect that…I did that piece of work.”
He adds, “[The book is] a good read. I hope everyone enjoys it, just as a guy that sat up on the drum throne for a lot of cool bands and saw a lot of stuff.”
Double Talkin’ Jive is available now. Signed copies and a limited-edition version that includes a vinyl LP featuring audio of Sorum narrating the book, accompanied by music played by him, can be purchased at RareBirdLit.com.
Keith Urban headlines Nashville’s Nissan Stadium during the city’s CMA Fest this week, an event that he’s expecting will be extra exciting this year after two years of pandemic cancellations.
“Electric, I think. Electric,” he says of the onstage experience he’s anticipating. “CMA Fest is unlike anything I’ve ever played, and I think the fact that it’s been absent for two years, I think you’re gonna feel that in the audience that night. Whole weekend, too.”
But that’s just the beginning for Keith: After his CMA Fest show, he’s jetting out to Tampa, Florida, where months of tour rehearsals will pay off with a June 17 stop on his Speed of Now Tour.
For this tour, Keith is as involved behind the scenes as he is with his role as a headliner. He’s using his lighting background to help dream up a production plan that will be truly spectacular.
“I love lighting. I love the fact that it’s an emotional support and an energy support for the song,” he says. “And I always prefer when they’re used in that way, to heighten the emotion of the energy or the drama.”
Drama is a major component of Keith’s show, he points out, such as with songs like “Tumbleweed,” his set list-opening song.
“That song is all drama: absurd, heightened, over-the-top drama,” he describes. “And so we were here till, like, 11 o’clock last night shaping all of that. Lighting cues and openings and various things. So yeah, [I’m] fairly involved.”
Head over to Keith’s website to see a full list of his upcoming Speed of Now Tour dates.
Prog Collective, the star-studded prog-rock project helmed by current Yes and Asia bassist Billy Sherwood, will release its fourth studio album, Songs We Were Taught, on July 1.
The 10-track covers collection features renditions of a variety of popular and influential songs from the 1960s and ’70s.
Among the many well-known artists who have contributed to the album are Yes singer Jon Davison and keyboardist Geoff Downes, Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent, ex-Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, longtime Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, former Yes/Moody Blues keyboardist Patrick Moraz, ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, original E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious and Dweezil Zappa.
One of the tracks, a cover of the classic Animals hit “House of the Rising Sun” featuring former Blood, Sweat & Tears frontman David Clayton-Thomas and ex-Gong guitarist Steve Hillage, has been released as an advance digital track.
Among the other songs on the album are versions of Simon & Garfunkel‘s “The Sound of Silence,” Al Stewart‘s “Year of the Cat,” Seals and Crofts‘ “Summer Breeze,” James Taylor‘s “Fire and Rain,” The Band‘s “The Weight,” Cat Stevens‘ “Wild World,” Bob Dylan‘s “The Times They Are A-Changin'” and Carole King‘s “It’s Too Late.”
Songs We Were Taught can be preordered now on CD and as a purple-vinyl LP at CleoRecs.com. It is also available via digital formats.
Here’s the album’s full track list, along with the artists who contributed to each song:
“The Sound of Silence” (Simon & Garfunkel) — Jon Davison (Yes) and Geoff Downes (Yes/Asia)
“Year of the Cat” (Al Stewart) — Billy Sherwood (Yes/Circa) and David Sancious (Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band)
“House of the Rising Sun” (Bob Dylan/The Animals) — David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat and Tears) and Steve Hillage (Gong)
“In the Land of Grey and Pink” (Caravan) — Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses)
“Summer Breeze” (Seals and Crofts) — Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) and Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs/Deep Purple)
“Fire and Rain” (James Taylor) — Sonja Kristina (Curved Air) and Martin Barre (Jethro Tull)
“The Weight” (The Band) — Rod Argent (The Zombies) and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (The Doobie Brothers)
“Wild World” (Cat Stevens) — Rosalie Cunningham (Ipso Facto) and Patrick Moraz (The Moody Blues/Yes)
“It’s Too Late” (Carole King) — Candice Night (Blackmore’s Night) and Dweezil Zappa
“The Times They Are A-Changin'” (Bob Dylan) — Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash) and Jerry Goodman (The Flock)
Pixies have premiered a new song called “There’s a Moon On.”
The track is the lead single off the “Where Is My Mind?” outfit’s just-announced upcoming album Doggerel, due out September 30.
“We’re trying to do things that are very big and bold and orchestrated,” frontman Black Francis says of the record. “The punky stuff, I really like playing it but you just cannot artificially create that s***. There’s another way to do this, there’s other things we can do with this extra special energy that we’re encountering.”
You can listen to “There’s a Moon On” now via digital outlets.
Doggerel follows the 2019 Pixies album Beneath the Eyrie. Since then, the band has released two singles, “Human Crime” and “Hear Me Out,” though neither are included on Doggerel.
Here’s the Doggerel track list:
“Nomatterday”
“Vault of Heaven”
“Dregs of the Wine”
“Haunted House”
“Get Simulated”
“The Lord Has Come Back Today”
“Thunder & Lightning”
“There’s a Moon On”
“Pagan Man”
“Who’s More Sorry Now?”
“You’re Such a Sadducee”
“Doggerel”
