Music

Coachella is dropping all COVID-19 restrictions ahead of this year’s festival.

A statement on the Coachella website reads, “In accordance with local guidelines, there will be no vaccination, testing or masking requirements at Coachella 2022.”

The update comes after organizers announced last October that Coachella 2022 would require attendees to show either proof of vaccination or a negative test. That was amended from the initial policy announced by Coachella organizer Goldenvoice and its parent company, AEG Presents, which required full vaccination for admittance.

While no COVID-19 protocols will be enforced at Coachella ’22, its website notes that the policy is subject to change, depending on “applicable public health conditions.” Additionally, the site now includes a “COVID-19 warning,” which cautions that the virus is an “extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death.”

“There is an inherent and elevated risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any public place or place where people are present and there is no guarantee, express or implied, that those attending the festival will not be exposed to COVID-19,” the site reads.

Coachella ’22 takes place April 15-17 and April 22-24, and will be headlined by Billie Eilish, Ye and Harry Styles. The festival hasn’t been held since 2019 due to the pandemic.

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If you read SPIN magazine in the mid-2000s, then we’ve got some tour announcements for you.

Modest Mouse has announced a U.S. run with support from The Cribs, kicking off May 19 in Eugene, Oregon, and running all the way into August. The new dates follow the “Float On” outfit’s previously announced April tour. 

Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 18. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit ModestMouse.com.

Meanwhile, My Morning Jacket will hit the road on a headlining tour beginning April 19 in Memphis, Tennessee. That trek will run all the way into September.

You can also grab tickets for MMJ this Friday. Visit MyMorningJacket.com for the full list of dates and all ticket info.

Both Modest Mouse and My Morning Jacket will be touring in support of their 2021 albums, The Golden Casket and My Morning Jacket, respectively.

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Foo Fighters have gone metal. Well, sort of.

Dave Grohl and company have shared a new song called “March of the Insane,” released under the moniker Dream Widow for the band’s upcoming horror-comedy movie Studio 666.

The tune is credibly thrashy, and gives you a glimpse of what Foo Fighters might’ve sounded like if Grohl had grown up a Bay Area metalhead instead of in the Washington, D.C. punk scene.

You can listen to “March of the Insane” now via digital outlets.

Studio 666 premieres in theaters on February 25.

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A couple of years ago, Bebe Rexha was one of the celebrities who contestants got to duet during one round of American Idol. Now, she’s returning to the show as a guest mentor.

The top 24 contestants are taping the show’s semi-final round at the Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii, and the “Meant to Be” singer is there with them, along with another guest mentor: country star Jimmie Allen, who actually auditioned for American Idol himself, earning golden tickets during seasons 10 and 11. He returned to help mentor two of the top 24 last season.

Ahead of season 20, American Idol producers said that former contestants would return to mentor this year’s hopefuls, but so far, none of them have been announced. At the time, host Ryan Seacrest said he’d like to see all the alums return, from Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard to Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson.

The 20th season of American Idol kicks off Sunday, February 27 on ABC with judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

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Lizzo has been tapped to deliver one of the Keynote addresses at this year’s South By Southwest Conference and Festivals, which will run from March 11 to March 20 in Austin, Texas and online.

In the announcement, Lizzo is described as a “global superstar, three-time Grammy Award-winning artist and executive producer of Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrls, a new unscripted series premiering this spring on Prime Video.”

In August of 2020, Lizzo announced a deal with Amazon Prime Video that would see her creating TV series for the streaming service. Last year, she put out a casting call for a then-untitled reality show, saying she was looking for full-figured dancers and models to join her “dream team of beautifully talented big grrls.”  Seems like we’ve now got a title for that show, as well as an idea of when we can expect it.

Other keynotes announced Tuesday include one from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee Beck, and one from noted author Neal Stephenson.  There will be one keynote speaker each day of the conference. For the full, star-studded lineup of the entire event — the closing night of which will feature the premiere of Atlanta season three — visit SXSW.com.

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Jimmie Allen is returning to American Idol. 

On Tuesday, the hit country singer revealed that he will be a guest mentor on season 20 of the ABC show. Jimmie made the announcement from one of his favorite places, Disney, broadcasting live from the Aulani Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii with Minnie Mouse posing in the background. 

“I cannot wait for you guys to see the talent they have in store for you,” he shares.

Jimmie is no stranger to the American Idol stage. He auditioned in 2011 for season 10 of the hit show and made it to the Hollywood round, where he was eliminated. He also performed on American Idol last year with contestants Alanis Sophia and Cecil Ray.

Jimmie will share mentoring duties with Bebe Rexha, known for her hit “Meant to Be” featuring Florida Georgia Line, who’s also been tapped as a guest mentor this season.   

Jimmie’s fellow country superstar Luke Bryan returns as a judge when American Idol season 20 premieres on February 27 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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In 2021, Billie Eilish starred in the Disney+ special Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles, which was filmed at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. Now she’ll be returning to the famed venue later this year to pay tribute to one of her biggest musical influences: Peggy Lee.

Billie will be one of the special guests at the Bowl’s Tribute to Peggy Lee & Frank Sinatra, where she’ll be performing alongside the likes of Blondie‘s Debbie Harry, actor and singer Brian Stokes Mitchell, jazz artist Dianne Reeves and more.  The event takes place on July 27, and you can buy tickets now.

Last year, it was reported that Billie was in talks to executive-produce a biopic of Lee, who was one of the most popular jazz singers of the big band era. Best known for her song “Fever,” she was the first female artist to be nominated for an award Billie’s won twice: Grammy’s Record of the Year.

The Hollywood Bowl is celebrating its 100th Summer Season this year. Starting June 11, it’ll host concerts by Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Sheryl Crow, Boyz II Men and more, as well as a production of the Broadway musical Kinky Boots and a singalong presentation of The Sound of Music with yet-to-be-announced special guests.

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Death Cab for Cutie has released a cover of the Yoko Ono song “Waiting for the Sunrise.”

The cover was recorded for the upcoming Ono tribute album Ocean Child, which was curated by Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard.

You can listen to the DCFC version of “Waiting for the Sunrise” now via digital outlets. Ocean Child, which also features contributions by artists including David Byrne, The Flaming Lips, Sharon Van Etten and Japanese Breakfast, will be released February 18.

Death Cab’s most recent album is 2018’s Thank You for Today.

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Five for Fighting‘s most recent tour dates have seen John Ondrasik performing solo with a string quartet backing him up.  But he’s just announced a string of tour dates this summer that will feature him performing with a full rock band.

The tour kicks off July 22 in Burnsville, Minnesota, and is scheduled to wrap up August 12 in Bay City, Michigan.  Opening the dates will be The Verve Pipe, best known for the 1997 hit “The Freshmen.”  Tickets are available at FiveforFighting.com.

“After years of string quartet, symphony, and solo concerts, I’m thrilled to put the Five for Fighting rock band back on the road!” John says in a statement. “It is fitting that we are joined by my good friend Brian Vander Ark‘s [band] The Verve Pipe, as his song, ‘The Freshmen,’ was a brother-in-arms to [my hits] ‘Superman’ and ‘100 Years’ for so many when they were released.”

He adds, “There has never been a time when audiences and musicians need each other more. And I am energized and excited to get back on the bus, and go ‘Back to the Future!'”

If you’d prefer to see Five for Fighting with a string quartet, John is playing a string of dates with that set-up from May 6 through May 21.

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Mickey Guyton had a stacked Super Bowl weekend that included crossing paths with royalty. 

After her game-opening performance of the national anthem at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where the Cincinnati Bengals faced off against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Mickey ran into none other than Prince Harry during the weekend’s festivities. 

“I met Prince Harry. He was just lovely. I even curtsied in my track suit,” Mickey writes in an Instagram post that also features a photo of the two posing in the backstage area. In the pic, the country singer is donning red sweatpants and a sweatshirt while the masked-up Duke of Sussex is wrapping his arm around her.

2 Broke Girls star Beth Behrs and former Nashville actor Sam Palladio were among those who shared their praise in the comments, with Mickey’s country peers like Lindsay Ell, Grand Ole Opry host Natalie Stovall and Reyna Roberts also commenting on the royal meeting. 

Mickey’s rendition of the national anthem also drew praise, with the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry and Brothers Osborne commending her performance.

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