In 2008, E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt launched TeachRock, a free educational initiative for K-12 classrooms, and now he’s recruited some big-name musicians to join his mission.
Billboardreports that TeachRock has a new Artist Council, made up of such stars as Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, The Go-Go’s Gina Schock, Norah Jones and DJ Khaled, along with Erykah Badu, Common, Skip Marley, Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels, Margo Price and more.
“The Artist Council is an important step toward our long-term goal — keeping the arts a vital part of public education by creating and distributing an innovative, transformative, and effective methodology for new and future generations, ultimately leading to drastically improved high school graduation rates,” Van Zandt shares. “Our dream is that one day every artist will take the opportunity to visit a classroom, whether locally or on tour, anywhere in the world, and participate in a lesson plan using our curriculum.”
As part of the Artist Council, the musicians will work to spread the word of the nonprofit’s mission. They will also take part in lesson plans, and will promote the curriculum directly to teachers and students.
TeachRock already has several famous faces in their corner. Its Founders Board includes Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Jackson Browne and MartinScorsese.
After “pinky-promising” in May that her “new stuff” is “so so so close to being done,” it seems that Olivia Rodrigo finally has a date in mind for when she plans to unveil it.
A countdown clock has started on her official website, which shows that, as of Monday, June 5, there are 24 days until she reveals … something. On top of that, if you play “Drivers License” on Spotify, the video that plays in the background shows a photo of a mock driver’s license with Olivia’s picture on it and an expiration date of June 30, 2023.
Whatever Olivia releases, it’ll be her first new music since her Grammy-winning debut album, SOUR, made her a global superstar. The album topped the charts for five weeks and spun off the hits “Drivers License,” “Good 4 You” and more.
In January, she posted that she was once again working with her SOUR collaborator Dan Nigro on “so many new songs.”
If you’re on social media at all, chances are you’ve seen comedian Matt Rife in action. The 27-year-old comic with 3.8 million Instagram followers has turned all those shares and clicks into his first-ever world tour.
He made the announcement in a social media video showing him in the middle of a tank-top-wearing workout session — no doubt a boon to his rabid female fanbase — and with the help of a magic genie lamp containing, well, Ashton Kutcher. “Thanks for rubbing me out,” Kutcher says, to Rife’s disgust.
“I have been summoned, and now it’s time to grant you one wish,” the That ’70s Show veteran says, while reclining in a chair.
“Are you sure you’re a genie, because you look more like Ashton Kutcher,” Rife says, adding with a laugh, “Why would you want to do that?”
“It was the early 2000s, and it seemed like — ” Kutcher says before interrupting himself, asking for Rife’s wish.
And since wishing for more wishes was out of the question, and a wish to date Mila Kunis was overruled after she momentarily appears, only for the “very happily married” woman to be snapped away by her real-life husband, Rife’s wish for a world tour, “bigger than he ever dreamed of,” is granted.
Produced by Live Nation, the ProbleMATTic World Tour kicks off on Thursday, July 20, in Bend, Oregon, and will have him playing dates in North America, Australia and Europe throughout 2023 and 2024.
Oh, and if you doubt his popularity, Rife’s official website crashed moments after the tour was announced as fans rushed for ticket info.
Longtime Volbeat guitarist Rob Caggiano has left the band.
In a statement posted to their Facebook, the Danish rockers write, “After ten incredible years we must sadly announce that Volbeat and Rob Caggiano have parted ways.”
Caggiano joined Volbeat in 2013 after a decadelong stint in Anthrax. He played on the last four Volbeat records: 2013’s Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, 2016’s Seal the Deal & Let’s Boogie, 2019’s Rewind, Replay, Rebound and 2021’s Servant of the Mind.
“During our time together we’ve traveled the world sharing great experiences and released four albums that we are immensely proud of, and we wouldn’t change a moment of it,” Volbeat’s post reads. “We wish our brother Rob all the best with everything he does in the future (we know it’s going to be great)!”
For Volbeat’s remaining 2023 shows, Caggiano will be replaced by Flemming C. Lund of the Danish metal band The Arcane Order.
“Thank you to all of our incredible fans for their support,” Volbeat writes. “More importantly, thank you to Rob for ten amazing years.”
The virtual Jerry Garcia Archive Museum, which will provide a digital library of historical information about the late Grateful Dead star, is set to open June 7, and the occasion will be celebrated in the metaverse.
Fans interested in checking out the museum can create their own avatar via Neverworld Metaverse, which will allow them to be able to take a tour of the online museum. There they can check out recorded interviews and rare photos, along with Jerry’s fine art. The opening celebration will also feature a free concert by RainbowFull of Sound, jazz artist Tony Saunders and sound poet Jair-Rohm Parker Wells.
Guests will also receive unique gifts designed by Jerry’s youngest daughter, Keelin Garcia, his wife, Manasha Garcia, and digital artist Nexus Storm, all via airdrop. There will also be a special live presentation by Jerry Garcia archivist Peter Agelasto.
Access to the museum and the concert is free, but fans will need to create their avatars ahead of the event. More info can be found at neverworldgrid.com.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Mike Pence filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Monday to launch his presidential campaign.
The paperwork marks the start of a long-anticipated 2024 bid for Pence, which will put him in the middle of a crowded GOP primary field that also features Donald Trump, the former president Pence served under, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered by most to be Trump’s most serious Republican challenger.
Other contenders include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and more.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are also anticipated to launch campaigns this week, but New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Monday that he’ll stay out of the race after saying for months he was thinking about joining.
Pence has long teased that he could enter the 2024 field, and in hints that a campaign is coming, has been traveling to key early primary states and had a super PAC set up by allies that will likely support his campaign as it gets off the ground.
Pence is anticipated to have an official campaign launch on Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa, followed by a CNN town hall later that night.
The former vice president has yet to break double digits in statewide and national polling.
Pence is anticipated to have a muscular campaign presence in Iowa, where his hardline social policies and devout religious appeals could win over support from the state’s influential evangelical voters. He also hails from Indiana, a nearby state.
Pence largely remained loyal to Trump during their four years in the White House, but the two had a falling out after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, before which Trump pressured his No. 2 to use his ceremonial role overseeing the certification of the Electoral College results to overturn their loss.
Pence has since said “there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American president” and hinted that he believes the party is ready to move on from Trump’s bombast and return to a party more defined by Ronald Reagan-era policies.
“I believe we have to resist the politics of personality and the siren song of populism for more timeless conservative principles, and we need to stand firm on the conservative agenda of life and liberty and a commitment to freedom that has always led us to victory,” he said last weekend in Iowa.
Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known as Mos Def, has some upcoming shows with Erykah Badu, but he may not be able to pocket the earnings from his performances. Page Six reports he may have to pay nearly $90,000 to cover the cost of attorney fees from his child support battle with the mother of one of his children.
Karima Sorel, the mother of one of Yasiin’s six kids,says he owes her $88,602.63 and is hoping Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Outback Presents LLC and BaduWorld Inc. will help her get it. She’s gotten the help of a law firm, which has requested a Manhattan judge require the rapper to pay the debt with his earnings from the tour.
“This matter arises out of protracted child support proceedings in Family Court between Karima Sorel … and the child’s father,” court documents read.
Badu’s Unfollow Me tour, during which Yasiin will appear as an opening act, starts June 11 in San Antonio and wraps on July 23.
(NEW YORK) — As the popularity of drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic used for weight loss continues to rise, another weight loss-focused company is jumping into the market.
Noom, an app that helps people track their eating and exercise habits, will now offer prescriptions through a new telehealth platform known as Noom Med.
The company said Noom Med will be available to people who meet certain requirements — such as a BMI of 30 or higher — and who are members of Noom Weight, its $42 per month program that offers psychological tips to help with weight loss.
The cost of Noom Med will be $49 per month and includes “interactive patient education, a psychologically-aware curriculum, and a suite of comprehensive nutrition & exercise tools,” according to the company.
Users who qualify can be prescribed weight loss medications after undergoing “comprehensive lab work” and a “health evaluation by a board-certified physician or a physician-supervised nurse,” according to Noom.
Noom’s entry into the medication market comes three months after WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers, made the same move.
In March, WW announced it had acquired Sequence, a subscription-based telehealth platform that provides telemedicine appointments with doctors who can prescribe popular medications like Ozempic and Wegovy.
“These companies are profit-driven,” Maya Feller, a New York-based registered dietitian nutritionist, told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “And if people want to lose weight and they center that as the thing that’s valuable, we’re going to see more companies jump on the bandwagon and start to use these GLP-1s.”
Ozempic and Wegovy are part of a class of drugs called GLP-1 RAs that help people produce insulin and lower the amount of sugar in the blood. The drugs slow down movement of food through the stomach, curbing appetite and leading to weight loss.
Both drugs are made from a compound called semaglutide, which works by helping the pancreas release insulin to move sugar from the blood into body tissues.
A third popular drug now being used for weight loss is Mounjaro, whose active ingredient, tirzepatide, works by activating two naturally produced hormones in the body: glucagon-like peptide-1, known as GLP-1, and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, or GIP.
The combination is said to slow the emptying of the stomach by making people feel full longer, suppress appetite by slowing hunger signals to the brain, and help reduce blood sugar.
Mounjaro is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes. The drug’s maker, Eli Lilly, announced in April that it expects an additional version of the medication could be approved by the FDA for weight loss as early as the end of the year.
The FDA approved Ozempic in 2017 as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes alongside diet and exercise if other medications cannot control blood sugar levels well enough. Although Ozempic is not explicitly approved for chronic weight management, it can be prescribed off-label and used for people who are obese.
Wegovy is essentially the same injectable drug as Ozempic, prescribed at a higher dosage. The FDA has specifically approved Wegovy for patients with severe obesity, or who are overweight and have one or more weight-associated conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
Without insurance coverage, the cost of the medications can run over $1,000 per month.
“What I’ve seen when patients are on these medications is that it drastically changes their relationship with food, so this idea that this is an easy fix is completely not true,” Feller said. “There are tons of side effects that go on with this medication, and people are actually sacrificing quite a bit to have thinness and live in a smaller body.”
Ozempic, Mounjaro and similar medications cannot be given to patients with certain medical conditions, including medullary thyroid cancer, pancreatitis or gallstones.
Side effects of the medications can include severe nausea and constipation.
(NEW YORK) — Thrift shopping is a great way to score trending and vintage looks on a budget.
Thrifting has been around for decades but sometimes it can be a challenge to know the best ways to find exactly what you are looking for.
ABC News’ Good Morning America set out to a handful of thrift shops across the country to learn some best practices from the pros, whether you are searching for clothing for adults and kids, wedding attire, furniture or something else entirely.
Tip 1: Ignore sizes and always try on
Yoshi Isogaya, a sales associate at Jet Rag, a vintage thrift store based in Los Angeles, told Good Morning America that thrifting “can be very overwhelming.”
“You have to take your time and look through all the racks, have patience,” Isogaya said.
While shopping at Jet Rag, Good Morning America lifestyle correspondent Lori Bergamotto had a similar insight to share.
“I tried on jeans three sizes up from what I normally wear — and they were too tight. You have to try everything on before you find a gem,” Bergamotto said.
Tip 2: Only shop for designer pieces at trusted establishments
Dom Marlowe, general buying manager at Wasteland, another vintage thrift shop based in LA, told GMA that shoppers should “make sure you’re looking for good condition, good fabric, and you’re going to a trusted place” when looking for designer items specifically.
It is important to remember to shop for designer brands only at well-established stores that have professional authenticators on staff.
Tip 3: Start with denim jeans
If you’re unsure where to start, given the large inventory most thrift stores keep on hand, try kicking off your shopping trip by searching for a good pair of jeans.
“Every thrift store I went to had a large selection of jeans. Denim holds up really well over time and used jeans start with that broken-in feel and look,” Bergamotto said.
Carly Pearce is serving up a superstar-sized duet as her next single.
The new track is titled “We Don’t Fight Anymore” and will feature award-winning country star Chris Stapleton.
“I’ve always wanted to write music that makes people feel something – whether that is feeling seen, less alone, happy or even uncomfortable,” says Carly, who penned the song with Shane McAnally and Pete Good.
“‘We Don’t Fight Anymore’ felt like I was writing one of those stories that, whether or not we want to include it in our social media highlight reel, we’ve either been there or are living there right now,” she adds. “Having Chris Stapleton join me on this song was a dream come true and he unlocked an element to the story that I didn’t even know it needed.”
“We Don’t Fight Anymore” will be available everywhere on Friday, June 16, and can be presaved now.
