Music

Almost Monday‘s return to the road is a major moment in the band’s history.

The buzzy trio — made up of vocalist Dawson Daugherty, guitarist Cole Clisby and bassist Luke Fabry — released their first two EPs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that they’re starting playing live shows again, including last weekend’s Lollapalooza, Almost Monday’s sets now include more than just one released song.

“It’s kind of our first time actually playing live with more than one song out,” Daugherty tells ABC Audio. “Before COVID, we were on tour with…AJR, and we had one song out online, so it’ll be cool experiencing shows where people hopefully know the music, more than just one [song].”

Almost Monday’s debut EP, Don’t Say You’re Ordinary, was released last October, and its follow-up, Til the End of Time, just dropped this past July. Given that both EPs were released when the only feedback they could receive happened online, Almost Monday’s been excited to bring the music to people in person.

“You put out music, and you see responses and DMs and things online,” Daugherty says. “It’s not that you get used to it, but it’s such a different effect, even just going out playing this first show, you realize, ‘Oh yeah, this music’s actually impacting real people,’ and they show up to shows and know the songs.”

“It’s always cool seeing people online interact and DM and comment,” he adds. “But it’s kind of interesting stepping back out into the world and being, like, ‘Oh yeah, those people, those monthly listeners are real people actually listening.'”

Almost Monday’s next scheduled show is a set at Bonnaroo in September.

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Justine Skye has unveiled the music video for her new single, “In My Bag.”

The R&B singer and her two gorgeous friends have a fun-filled day cruising around town and having brunch in the Loris Russier-directed visual. The video ends with the ladies screaming into the camera after smashing a room full of televisions and other electronics, making their likes on social media drop from the thousands to zero. 

“And I ain’t gon’ let up /Know these [chicks] mad at me soon as they get up,” Skye songs. “Know your man lookin’ at my page when he get up /Know the cash, hit the bank when the phone lit up.”

“In My Bag” follows visuals for Justine Skye’s other singles, “Twisted Fantasy” and “Intruded.” All three songs are featured on her latest project, Space and Time, produced entirely by legendary hitmaker Timbaland. 

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Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are set to star in the prequel to Yellowstone.

Described in a release as “a stark retelling of Western expansion,” the series titled 1883 will follow “the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains” to “flee poverty to seek a better future in… Montana.” The show will also feature Oscar winner Sam Elliott. 

Tim and Faith will play James and Margaret Dutton, the “patriarch and matriarch” of the family.

“This is truly a dream job,” Tim says. “[Show creator] Taylor [Sheridan] has found a way of storytelling that brilliantly creates these epic dramas and family sagas with so much depth and creativity.  The Duttons are tremendous characters and it’s so thrilling to be able to bring them to life.”

“As a kid growing up riding horses,” Tim adds, “you think about dream jobs like this and I am just so excited to work with this amazing cast and crew.”

His real-life wife agrees.
 
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Faith says. “The Duttons are a formidable family and it is an absolute dream to bring such a strong female character like Margaret Dutton to life. I am humbled and honored to work with Taylor and his entire team.”

You’ll be able to watch 1883 via the Paramount+ streaming service. So far, there’s no word on when it will premiere.

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Jadakiss feels like Kobe Bryant after Tuesday night’s Verzuz battle between The Lox and Dipset. Both legendary rap groups went back and forth playing their group anthems, as well as their classic solo hits, at the Hulu Theater in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

On Wednesday, Jadakiss crowned himself “The Black Mamba of the vocals” on Instagram and shared a photo of himself wearing a DMX jacket while holding a bottle of what appears to be champagne. The image pays homage to late Los Angeles Lakers player Bryant, who sat in the same pose while holding the championship trophy after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals.

Jadakiss is the first rapper to win two Verzuz battles after his solo match-up against Fabulous in June 2020. Fans were impressed with the Lox rapper delivering another killer performance at the age of 46 with the same passion and hunger he had during his early years under Bad Boy Records. 

“Jadakiss smoked Fab and Dipset by himself. Now yall understand why Kiss is top five dead or alive,” tweeted one fan, while another said, “If you want to be a rapper, study Jadakiss’ breath control.”

Another fan tweeted, “Jadakiss went through two different #verzuz and ran each one, solo and with a crew. It’s proper time we rewrite the books on how damn special he is at this rapping/performing/entertainment thing.”

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The Weeknd will release his eagerly anticipated new song “Take My Breath” on Friday, but the video for the clip won’t premiere in IMAX theaters as originally planned.

A source tells Variety that the video was set to air before showings of the new movie The Suicide Squad, but those plans have been cancelled because there is “intense strobe lighting” in the clip, and that might trigger epileptic seizures in some viewers.

The Weeknd announced the track on Instagram as part of an Olympics promo focusing on the U.S. Women’s Track & Field team through the eyes of runners Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, Gabby Thomas and Athing Mu. 

There are several shots on The Weeknd’s Instagram that appear to be stills taken from the video.  In one shot, he appears to be holding onto the waist of a woman wearing black leather and chains, while inhaling from an oxygen mask.

The singer recently told GQ, “I am not dark. My art is dark, and I’ve gone through dark times. I’ve used those dark times as inspiration for my art. But I feel like because I’m not dark, I was able to channel it and put it into my music and into my art.”

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As he considers reevaluating his Stadium Tour plans due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Garth Brooks is making one thing clear: He doesn’t want anybody to feel uncomfortable for wearing a mask to a show. 

Ahead of his planned August 7 concert in Kansas City, Missouri, Garth spoke to fans via his Inside Studio G Facebook series. 

“Follow all the rules. Make up your own rules, too,” the singer said. “You can’t be safe enough. You can’t be cautious enough. Keep your space. Keep your distance.”

He also encouraged concert-goers to mask up if doing so makes them more comfortable. “Please feel free to wear the masks at the concert. Nobody is going to look at you strange, I promise,” Garth stressed. 

The Kansas City stadium show — which is expecting to host 70,000 Garth fans — will feature an on-site vaccination clinic. Per Rolling Stone, those who get vaccinated at the show will be eligible for a “ticket upgrade raffle.” 

Earlier this week, Garth announced that he’s hitting pause on ticket sales for the Stadium Tour after next week’s sold-out Lincoln, Nebraska date. There will be a three-week window in which no shows will be scheduled, and ticket sales for his recently-announced Seattle date on September 4 will be halted. 

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A trailer for the upcoming Rick James doc, B*tchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James has been released.

Directed by Emmy-nominee and hip-hop journalist Sacha Jenkins, the new feature offers an in-depth look at one of the most controversial and confrontational figures in “punk-funk” music. Known for hits songs like “Super Freak” and “Give It to Me,” James, who passed away in 2004, was a formidable figure in music during the ’70s and ’80s as a songwriter, performer and producer. According to Showtime, the doc will “present a full picture of James’ dramatic rise and fall,” as well as feature rare footage of James’incredible live shows, never-before-seen home video and original interviews with legendary artists. B*tchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James will premiere on Friday, September 3, at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.

In other news, Leslie Jones has been tapped as a recurring guest star on Taika Waititi and David Jenkins‘ HBO Max pirate comedy series Our Flag Means Death, Deadline has learned. She joins Nat Faxon, who was also announced. The series follows a pampered aristocrat who “abandoned his life of privilege to become a pirate.” Other stars include Kristian Nairn, Nathan Foad, Samson Kayo, Rory Kinnear, Con O’Neill, Vico Ortiz, among others.

Finally, Charmaine Bingwa, Gilbert Owuor, Mustafa Shakir and Ben Foster have joined the cast of the Antoine Fuqua-directed thriller Emancipation, Variety reports. Inspired by the true story of “Whipped Peter,” the film follows an enslaved person who emancipates himself and later joins the Union Army. As previously reported, Will Smith will star as Peter, a runaway slave who flees a Louisiana plantation in hopes of traveling north to freedom. A release date for Emancipation has yet to be announced.

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Halsey is working to end the stigma around breastfeeding.

First, she aimed to do it with the symbolic cover art for her upcoming album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. Now, she’s putting it into real-life practice with her newborn baby, Ender.

The singer posted a photo of herself breastfeeding the baby outdoors in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.

“We arrived just in time!” she captioned the photo, using the hashtag #worldbreastfeedingweek.

Ender Ridley, the first child for Halsey and her partner Alev Aydin, was born on July 14.

Halsey’s new album, in which she explores “the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth,” is due out August 27.

Halsey previously said of the album’s cover art, “This cover image celebrates pregnant and postpartum bodies as something beautiful, to be admired. We have a long way to go with eradicating the social stigma around bodies & breastfeeding. I hope this can be a step in the right direction!”

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