Artists including Nothing More and Asking Alexandria are taking part in a raffle offering unique experiences leading up to May’s Mental Health Month.
The Fan Love Sweepstakes gives you a chance to join Nothing More for an “extreme adventure,” such as playing paintball or zip-lining, or shadowing Asking Alexandria for a day on tour.
Other participating artists include From Ashes to New, Eva Under Fire and Dirty Heads.
Money raised by the raffle will benefit Sweet Relief Musician Fund in support of “music industry professionals in need of mental health services.”
“Being in this industry for so long, we’ve seen firsthand how many people need strength, help and encouragement,” says Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce. “Which is why we are so excited to be teaming up with Sweet Relief.”
Lil Uzi Vert appeared at WrestleMania 39 on April 1, and performed hit track “Just Wanna Rock” to introduce duo Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, but they had their heart set on making their way into the ring.
“I can’t believe I’m here, I can’t believe I saw so many people that I always wanted to see my whole life,” Uzi said backstage at the event. “I wanted to get in the ring, I was ready to get in the ring.”
Uzi then teased that they will make a future appearance in the ring, noting, “But you’ll see me in April, Philadelphia 2024, so I don’t wanna give up all the surprises. But you’ll see me there.”
When asked who they would want to fight in WrestleMania 40, Uzi chose Dominik Mysterio as their desired opponent.
WrestleMania 39 was hosted in Inglewood by The Miz and California’s own Snoop Dogg, whodelivered the People’s Elbow during the event. Bad Bunny provided the Spanish announcement table commentary.
Elton John has been busy with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour for years now, but he found some time to write another musical — and it’s a winner.
Tammy Faye, a stage musical based on the life of the late televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, is currently running in London. Elton wrote the music for the show, which just won several honors at the Olivier Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Tony Awards.
The show’s star, Katie Brayben, was named Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Bakker, while actor Zubin Varla was named Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his role as fellow real-life televangelist Jerry Falwell.
Elton acknowledged the win on Instagram, calling Brayben’s work brilliant and adding that all his collaborators on the musical are “an incredible team I’m so grateful to work with.”
Tammy Faye has been welcomed with more acclaim than Elton’s other recent musical, The Devil Wears Prada, which was panned when it opened in Chicago last year. Elton later said he felt the show needed another year to find its footing.
On Monday, Netflix dropped a bone-crunching teaser to the sequel of its 2020 Chris Hemsworth action hit Extraction.
Opening right in the middle of a brutal prison riot escape, Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake is hit from behind with a brick, stunning him and slowing time down just long enough for an explainer.
The snippet mentions how Hemsworth’s character did in fact die after the first film’s cliffhanger ending — for a bit.
“You were clinically dead nine months ago,” a voice intones. “But you fought your way back for this.”
Evidently, “this,” in part, is to save the life of the young woman he’s trying to ferry from the scene of absolute chaos, with the Marvel movie star fending off attackers left and right — including using his own burning fist as a weapon.
It’s the kind of thing one might expect when a stuntman becomes a director, as was the case with Sam Hargrave, who directed Hemsworth in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, once again calling the shots for producers Joe and Anthony Russo.
Netflix teases of Extraction 2, “After barely surviving the events of the first movie, Rake is back as the Australian black ops mercenary, tasked with another deadly mission: rescuing the battered family of a ruthless Georgian gangster from the prison where they are being held.”
The Country Music Association has announced the 2023 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Bob McDill will be inducted in the Songwriter category. He’s penned some of country music’s biggest hits, such as Alabama‘s “Song of the South,” Alan Jackson‘s “Gone Country” and Keith Whitley‘s “Don’t Close Your Eyes.”
“I am thrilled and honored to be included,” says Bob.
Patty Loveless will be inducted into the Modern Era Artist category. The Kentucky native’s timeless hits include “Blame It on Your Heart,” “Timber I’m Falling In Love,” “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am” and “I Try to Think About Elvis.”
“I’m still trying to believe that I’m going to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame,” shares Patty. “I just feel so incredibly privileged to be invited into this incredible family. Having my name included in the museum’s Rotunda with so many legendary artists, musicians, songwriters and industry icons is such an honor!”
“Delta Dawn” hitmaker Tanya Tucker will be inducted into the Veteran’s Era Artist category. Her multiple-decade career has spawned hits like “Two Sparrows In A Hurricane,” “San Antonio Stroll” and the Grammy-winning “Bring My Flowers Now.”
“I’m more than proud to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame,” Tucker says. “It was wonderful to have all three of my kids beside me when I got the news. The only way it could’ve been any better is if my parents Beau and Juanita Tucker could have been there too. They are the reason and the root of all my success in music. And the fans – they are everything! When I walk in that Hall they will all be with me.”
Bob, Patty and Tanya will be formally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this fall.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band brought their tour to New York’s Madison Square Garden this weekend and treated fans to a very special performance.
For the first time on this trek, Bruce and the band performed the Born to Run epic “Jungleland.” According to the Asbury Park Press, before launching into the song The Boss told the crowd, “We got something special for New York City.”
And it turns out some famous faces got to enjoy that tour debut, with Paul McCartney among the A-listers spotted in the audience.
Springsteen’s MSG show was the first of five shows in the New York/New Jersey area over the next two weeks. On Monday, April 3, he’s set to play Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, followed by two shows at Long Island’s UBS Arena April 9 and 11. He then wraps this leg of the tour on April 14 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
REO Speedwagon is set to play two very special shows in Las Vegas this fall. An Evening of Hi Infidelity … and More will see the band performing their classic album Hi Infidelity in its entirety, along with a set featuring other hit songs.
The shows are happening Friday, November 10, and Saturday, November 11, at the Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, with tickets set to go on sale Friday, April 7, at 10 a.m. local time.
“The Venetian is an intimate theater, and Hi Infidelity is an intimate album,” frontman Kevin Cronin shares. “We bared our souls in these songs, so it will be emotional for us to play the whole album for the first time and tell its story. Then we get to blow the lid off the joint with the hit-filled second set.”
Released in November 1980, Hi Infidelity peaked at number one on the Billboard Album chart, and featured the hit songs “Take It On The Run” and “Keep on Loving You.” It was the biggest selling album of 1981 and was certified 10-times platinum by the RIAA.
And REO Speedwagon has plenty of other shows on their schedule. Their next concert is happening April 12 in Albany, Georgia. A complete list of tour dates can be found at reospeedwagon.com.
Feist has opened up regarding her decision to leave Arcade Fire‘s European tour last year after frontman Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct.
The allegations, which were made by four people in a Pitchfork report, surfaced just days before the tour was about to kick off in Dublin. Feist played the first two shows on the trek before deciding to leave, while Arcade Fire finished out the rest of the tour as scheduled.
“It took me until the second show where all of the practical discomfort of having to dismantle this crazy machine and fold it back up and lose what I had invested in being there [on tour],” Feist tells The Irish Times. “The whole thing was made so clear to me. I couldn’t continue.”
For those first shows, Feist announced that her merch sales would be donated to the Women’s Aid organization, though she felt that wasn’t enough.
“Even being like ‘Hey guys, look … .’ It was as if I was trying to excuse myself of my real responsibility,” she says.
Ultimately, Feist decided that leaving the tour was the only way forward.
“It was like, actually, no … ‘I can’t avoid my responsibility here,'” she says. “Not to mention every word that came out of my mouth, I was hearing through an ear that wasn’t my own. I was hearing how twisted and skewed … In the context they were in, the songs weren’t safe. And neither was I … It was deeply difficult.”
In responding to the allegations, Butler acknowledged having relations with the accusers, though he maintained every encounter was “mutual and always between consenting adults.” Butler was later accused of sexual misconduct by a fifth person.
Following the European tour, Arcade Fire went on with their U.S. tour, though opener Beck similarly dropped off the bill.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
Burna Boy is making U.S. history with his worldwide tour, Love, Damini. The star is the first Nigerian artist to headline a stadium in the U.S., thanks to his upcoming performance at NYC’s Citi Field on July 8.
General sale tickets will be available April 7 at 10 a.m. via Onaspaceship.com, with a Citi presale running from April 4 at 10 a.m. to April 6 at 10 p.m.
Burna was one of many artists on the lineup for 2023’s Dreamville Festival last weekend. He’s also slated to perform at Coachella, and headline Afro Nation Miami and the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show.
Summer Walker is releasing a sequel to her 2018 EP, Clear. The singer announced the news during her performance at 2023’s Dreamville Festival.
Clear 2: Soft Life will drop next month but is now available for preorder. A link to the preorder shows the project’s artwork, which features a throwback photo of a pregnant Summer in front of a large bouquet of flowers.
Summer has since given birth to twins with her ex-boyfriend, Larry. After her performance at the festival, she took to Dave & Busters with J. Cole, Wacka Flocka and more, and claimed on her Instagram Story that she “ain’t lost one game.”
Clear 2: Soft Life, dropping May 19, will serve as part two of Summer’s Clear EP.The four-track offering served as a prelude to Summer’s debut album, Over It, and included songs “Settling,” “Grave,” “Riot” and “Wasted.”
