Music – Page 4097 – 105.7 WDNY

Zac Brown Band likes taking musical chances, but they didn’t want ‘The Comeback’ to be too experimental

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

While Zac Brown Band have lots of classic country hits, the band’s also known for musical experimentation, especially in projects like their 2019 record, The Owl. But frontman Zac Brown tells People that on their newest album, The Comeback, they were focused on making classic music for their fan base.

“I’ve tried to capture little shades of the human condition on this album,” he says. “I hope we made a really classic album, and people find something they can really personally relate to that makes them feel something. That’s my wish.”

The singer adds that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and deepening cultural divides in America, it was important to him to present a message of unity in songs like the title track and the first single, “Same Boat.”

“I’m not going to take a political stance as an artist because that’s just going to create enemies on one side or the other,” Zac explains. “Philosophically, if I have something that’s meant something to me, or in rebuttal to all this division that’s happening, I wanted to create something that would remind people of how we’re the same. I just wanted to throw some light out there for people.”

The Comeback came out earlier this month. Its current single, “Same Boat,” is inside country radio’s Top 10.

Watch Coheed and Cambria’s acoustic performance of “Shoulders”

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Coheed and Cambria has shared an acoustic version of the band’s new single, “Shoulders.”

Even without the electricity, the song’s main riff still brings the heavy, now with a twangy, more Western feel. The unplugged version also puts a greater spotlight on guitarist Travis Stever and bassist Zach Cooper‘s harmonizing backing vocals.

You can watch Coheed’s acoustic performance streaming now on YouTube.

The original “Shoulders” dropped in July. It currently sits in the top 20 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

Meanwhile, Coheed has been working on a new album to follow 2018’s Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures.

Bruce Springsteen performs, Paul McCartney is honored at Robin Hood Foundation benefit in NYC

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney were among the stars who took part in the 2021 edition of the Robin Hood Foundation‘s annual charity gala, which was held Wednesday night at New York City’s Jacob Javits Center.

According to Rolling Stone, Springsteen was introduced by the event’s host, Saturday Night Live‘s Cecily Strong, and proceeded to deliver a short acoustic set that featured renditions of “Working on the Highway,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Thunder Road.”

“For over 30 years, Robin Hood has been finding, fueling, creating, impactful solutions to lift families out of poverty here in New York City,” the Boss told the crowd of an estimated 3,000. “The funds raised tonight translate into real results for New Yorkers living in poverty. We appreciate your support.”

The Robin Hood Foundation has been supporting poverty-fighting programs in the New York area for over 30 years, and also helped organize the star-studded post-9/11 event The Concert for New York City, which McCartney famously headlined.

The gala took place on the 20th anniversary of the concert, and to mark the occasion, McCartney — who also helped put together the 2001 show — was honored with a special award.

Alicia Keys performed the classic Beatles ballad “Let It Be” before McCartney took the stage.

“I love New York,” he told the audience. “Many years ago, when I was a little kid in Liverpool, we saw New York in the movies. I never dreamed that I would be here getting an award like this from you fantastic people. But then years later, we did show up at JFK with my buddies, the Beatles. We went on The Ed Sullivan Show and, boy, that was something.”

The event, which raised $77.5 million, also featured a performance by the Jonas Brothers.

“Not Yet!” Queen of Christmas Mariah Carey declares it’s too early for holiday music

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

It’s not even Halloween, but plenty of Christmas albums and songs have already been released, or will be in the next couple of weeks. However, the Queen of Christmas is here to tell you that it’s too early to start pumping the holiday tunes.

In what’s become an annual tradition, Mariah Carey has posted a video declaring that it’s not the proper time to start listening to or playing Christmas music — and especially not her number-one hit holiday classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

In the clip, a friend comes up to Mariah while wearing a hoodie decorated with a cartoon rendering of the diva in a Santa outfit. The friend asks, in a foreign language — which Billboard says is Portuguese — “Look what I found today! Can I wear it?”

Mariah responds by wagging her finger and crooning, “Not yet!” followed by a sheepish smile and a shrug.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” has hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the past two years. So far, it’s yet to be revealed what special Christmas content and activities Mariah has in store for fans this year, but you know it’s coming.

#notyet pic.twitter.com/aCqbdEunrh
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) October 21, 2021

Halsey talks Grammy buzz for ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Halsey’s album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power — produced by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross — might be the project to finally score the singer some Grammys love.

But in a new cover story for Billboard, Halsey says as long as the album has longevity, they don’t care about the awards.

“The record is outstanding, and I’m really proud of what we’ve done,” they say. “The most important thing to me is that it continues to have a life and continues to grow and burns and burrows slowly with the audience instead of coming in fast and burning out just as fast, like most records seem to do these days.”

With or without a Grammy, Halsey says making the album has changed their life. “And seeing it work has given me a type of confidence that I think will change what my fifth album sounds like. [And] my sixth, my seventh, my eighth,” they say.

We may have to wait a bit for the next album, though, as Halsey enjoys being a new mom to son Ender. They say they’ll “probably do nothing” for the next couple of years.

“I’m glad we got to make this album when we did because being a mother to my son makes being a musician seem pretty boring,” Halsey says. “…[The] only expectation I have for myself is to be a really good mom, and the rest will fall into place around that.”

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Rise Against announces ‘Nowhere Sessions’ EP

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Rise Against has announced a new EP titled Nowhere Sessions.

The six-track collection, due out November 12, is described as a “live expansion” of the Chicago punk outfit’s latest album, Nowhere Generation. It includes renditions of the Nowhere Generation cuts “Talking to Ourselves,” “Broken Dreams, Inc.” and the title track, as well as the 2008 song “Savior.”

Additionally, you’ll also find covers of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Fortunate Son” and the Misfits ripper “Hybrid Moments.”

You can download the Nowhere Sessions version of “Talking to Ourselves” now via digital outlets.

Nowhere Generation, the ninth Rise Against album, was released in June. Its title track is the first Rise Against single to hit number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

The Jonas Brothers & their “opening act” Bruce Springsteen help raise $77.5 million at gala charity event

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The Jonas Brothers & their “opening act” Bruce Springsteen help raise .5 million at gala charity event

In what universe does Bruce Springsteen open for The Jonas Brothers? It happened Wednesday night in New York City at the annual Robin Hood Foundation benefit, Rolling Stone reports.

The Robin Hood Foundation has been fighting poverty in New York City for more than 30 years, and its annual gala always attracts the most “A” of A-List stars. In addition to JoBros and Bruce, Wednesday night’s roster included Alicia Keys, Paul McCartney, SNL cast members, famous politicians, legendary sports stars, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

After Bruce opened the show with a solo acoustic set, Paul McCartney was presented with a special award as Alicia Keys sang the Beatles standard “Let It Be.” That was just the warmup, though: After dinner, The Jonas Brothers did an hour-long set on a concert-size stage.

“This crowd looks exactly like our usual shows,” Nick Jonas joked to the superstars, millionaires and billionaires in the room.

Rolling Stone then goes on to write, “It was an odd scene where the younger attendees were crammed to the front and screaming along to songs like ‘Cake by the Ocean,’ ‘Lovebug,’ ‘Jealous,’ and ‘Sucker,’ while the older ones hovered in the back while they sipped cocktails and eyed the exit doors.”

The publication also suggested that next time, JoBros should open for Bruce. All in all, though, the event raised a staggering $77.5 million for charity.

Eric Church, Dan + Shay, Carly Pearce + more will perform at the 2021 CMA Awards

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Dan + Shay, Brothers Osborne and Jimmie Allen are among the first round of just-announced performers at the 2021 Country Music Association Awards.

Blake will share a live rendition of “Come Back As a Country Boy,” his brand-new single. The song will be included on the deluxe version of his Body Language album, which is set for release in December.

A couple of exciting collaborations are already on the books, too. Mickey Guyton will perform, bringing rising act Brittney Spencer and soul-jazz singer-songwriter Madeline Edwards to the stage with her. They’ll treat fans to a live version of a song off Mickey’s new album, Remember Her Name.

Also, Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde will join forces for a performance of “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” which comes from the track list of Carly’s latest project, 29: Written in Stone.

More performers are expected to be announced in the weeks ahead. Luke Bryan is hosting the show solo this year.

The 2021 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

Elton John and Dua Lipa lend support to the UK’s efforts to win the Eurovision song contest

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

A-list artists Dua Lipa and Elton John are are throwing their weight behind the U.K.’s efforts to win the Eurovision Song Contest.

The “Cold Heart” duet partners, in conjunction with Tap Management, were selected to announce the search for who will represent Britain in the annual competition, which in the past two years has made global stars of “Arcade” singer Duncan Laurence and “Beggin'” rockers Måneskin.

Tap, which manages Dua, as well as Lana Del Rey and Elle Goulding, is taking over the selection of entries for the competition in an effort to have their country perform better in the contest. The U.K. hasn’t won in 25 years, and last year, its contestant came in dead last.

Sharing her excitement for the new gig, Dua raved, “I’m a proud Brit whilst also being a proud Kosovan. I’m happy to lend my manager to the cause. I’ll be cheering them on!,” according to The Sun.

Elton added, “There aren’t many televised events that are as big and global as Eurovision, so it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to remind the world yet again of the depth and diversity of our talent. I can’t wait to see what gems our friends at Tap Music will unearth.”

Arguably the most famous artists ever to have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest, which has been running since 1956, are Céline Dion, who competed and won for Switzerland in 1988, and ABBA, who won for Sweden in 1974 with “Waterloo.”

Atlanta declares October 20 Lil Nas X Day

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Lil Nas X has even more to celebrate after releasing his successful debut album, Montero. On Wednesday, Atlanta revealed that October 20 will henceforth be known as Lil Nas X Day.

The “Industry Baby” artist shared the news to his Instagram story, along with a snapshot of the official plaque awarded to him by the Atlanta City Council.

Council member Antonio Brown, who is the city’s first openly gay city councilman, signed the proclamation that certified the new holiday.

The council highlighted why the Grammy winner was deserving of the honor, declaring “his tremendous success and ability to break barriers in music and popular culture” in tandem with his “artistic influence and transformative music” has made a positive and lasting impact on the city.

Other reasons given were LNX’s “considerable impact on the LGBTQ community” by challenging how queer artists are treated in the music industry and “empowering others to break barriers and be more open, expressive, and personal through music and art.”

The city council also commended the success of his debut album, how “Old Town Road” shattered the Billboard Hot 100 record for most consecutive weeks at number one, the recognition he’s received at various music award shows and the seismic impact he’s had on streaming services.

Lil Nas X was born Montero Lamar Hill and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.

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