Darius Rucker is prepping his new album, and it features a collaboration with America’s Got Talent contestants Chapel Hart.
The trio, comprised of sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle, went viral last week with their AGT audition performingtheir original song, “You Can Have Him Jolene,” a response to Dolly Parton‘s classic “Jolene.” After receiving a Golden Buzzer that advances them to the final rounds, the song got a stamp of approval from Dolly herself, who said in a social media post, “what a fun new take on my song!”
Turns out, Chapel Hart also has a fan in Darius Rucker, who tweeted, “hell yes!!! Go y’all!!” in response to the audition. When a fan responded by saying, “maybe you can help @ChapelHartBand break some more barriers in Nashville,” the superstar revealed that a collaboration is already in the works.
“Already put them on my next record,” he confirms. “We’re SO glad you said it cause we’ve been STRUUUUUGGLING to keep it to ourselves!!” the trio replied. “I don’t know if the world is ready for this one!”
In a tweet Monday, the punk rockers shared an image of the American Idiot heart grenade surrounded by a nearly whole circle.
While fans in the comments are hoping that the mysterious post is hinting at new music, it seems to be teasing an announcement for an intimate Lollapalooza aftershow around Green Day’s upcoming headlining set at the Chicago festival.
The same image was also tweeted by Lolla, while the Chicago club Metro tweeted, “Now might be a good time to be signed up for the Metro newsletter…Just sayin.” The Metro logo also features the same almost-circle in Green Day’s post.
Lollapalooza takes place July 28-31, with Green Day scheduled to headline the final day. The lineup also includes Metallica, Machine Gun Kelly, Måneskin, Porno for Pyros, Glass Animals, Turnstile and Wallows.
Paul Sorvino, known for his role as mobster Paulie Cicero in Goodfellas, as well as for being the father of actress Mira Sorvino, has died at age 83.
Sorvino’s publicist Roger Neal confirmed the news and released a statement from Sorvino’s wife, Dee Dee Sorvino, who was by his side when he passed.
“Our hearts are broken, there will never be another Paul Sorvino, he was the love of my life, and one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen and stage,” Dee Dee says in the statement.
Mira Sorvino added in a statement on Twitter, “My father the great Paul Sorvino has passed. My heart is rent asunder- a life of love and joy and wisdom with him is over. He was the most wonderful father. I love him so much. I’m sending you love in the stars Dad as you ascend.”
Sorvino had dealt with health challenges over the years and passed from natural causes. In addition to Dee Dee and Mira, he is survived by his children Amanda and Michael and five grandchildren.
Luke Combs gave the opportunity of a lifetime to a fan battling cancer.
During his headlining set at Buckeye Country Superfest in Ohio this weekend, Luke brought out a surprise guest to sing with him, a young fan named Addi who is battling cancer.
According to a Facebook post by Addi’s mother, Staci Conely, the 17-year-old has had leukemia for the past year. One of the items on her bucket list was to attend one of Luke’s concerts and meet him.
That dream came true twofold when some of their friends managed to reach the country star and his team to tell him about Addi’s story. Luke was so moved that he invited Addi and several members of her family to the show, where he treated them to a meet-and-greet backstage and even shared his own story of his friend who was diagnosed with cancer.
“He gave so much love as we listened and cried with their stories they were exchanging. This moment made time stand still. She was genuinely happy and so blown away by his kindness, honestly we all were,” Staci describes, alongside a photo of the superstar engaged in conversation with a smiling Addi.
The night was made even more special when Luke brought Addi onstage to sing with him during the encore in front of more than 60,000 fans. He happened to be performing her favorite song, “Better Together.”
“He asked everyone to turn on their flashlights and to sing along to our girl and they did just that. It was so beautiful, we all watched while the tears streamed down our cheeks,” Staci continues. “Thank you Luke Combs and team for giving our girl the most perfect night.”
The first trailer for the movie Till was released Monday on what would have been Emmett Till’s 81st birthday.
The biopic, from director Chinonye Chukwu, follows the story of Mamie Till-Mobley, who fought for justice after her 14-year-old son was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 following false accusations from a white woman.
“The lynching of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all,” Mamie, played by Danielle Deadwyler, says in the trailer.
The film also stars Jalyn Hall as Emmett and Whoopi Goldberg as Emmett’s grandmother, Alma Carthan.
Till will make its world premiere at the 60th New York Film Festival, which takes place September 30 to October 16. It premieres in select theaters on October 14 and opens everywhere on October 28.
(NEW YORK) — Cities and counties throughout the United States are considering reinstating mask mandates as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.
In Los Angeles County, 8,091 new infections were reported on Friday, the latest date for which data is available, according to the Department of Public Health. This is an increase of 50% from the 5,391 cases recorded at the beginning of the month.
Experts have said the increase is due to BA.5, a highly contagious offshoot of the omicron variant that is better at evading immunity — at least partially — from both vaccines and previous infections.
It is currently the dominant strain in the U.S., making up 77.9% of all cases, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. In a region that includes California, Arizona and Nevada, it’s at nearly 80%.
What’s more, the county’s average test positivity rate has remained consistently high, currently sitting at about 16%, said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Currently, the CDC has classified the county as having “high” levels of COVID-19 community transmission. The county must reach a “medium” level by July 28 or an indoor mask mandate will go into effect July 29.
“We are on the cusp of medium and high,” Ferrer said during a media briefing Thursday. “It isn’t going to take much to move us back to medium level if we can get our case numbers to go lower.”
“Should we start seeing a steep decline next week … we are likely to want to take a pause on moving too quickly on indoor masking, universal indoor masking,” she continued.
Ferrer said she understands that “for many this will feel like a step backwards,” but added that mask requirements are one of many “sensible safety precautions” to take when cases jump.
“We are not closing anything down. We are not asking people not to gather with the people they love,” Ferrer said. “We’re asking you to take a sensible step, when there’s this much transmission with a highly transmissible variant, to go ahead and put back on a well-fitting high-filtration mask when you’re indoors around others.”
Meanwhile, in nearby King County — which includes Seattle — officials say they are having “active discussions” about reinstating mask mandates.
In the last seven days, 5,761 cases have been recorded, an 11% decrease from the 6,501 cases recorded in the previous seven days. Hospitalizations recorded in the last seven days have risen 10% from 146 to 161, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County.
The CDC has also placed the county in the “high” transmission category.
During a press briefing earlier this month, Dr. Jeff Duchin, the health officer for the department, said hospitalizations have risen three-fold since April.
“We are actively considering if, and when, additional mandates may be needed,” he said. “And I’m really encouraging everyone now to please, let’s make sure we’ve done all we can on a voluntary basis before we have to go there.”
(NEW YORK) — A California wildfire cutting a path of destruction through a tinderbox of vegetation and tough terrain near Yosemite National Park grew overnight to nearly 17,000 acres, state fire officials said Monday.
The Oak Fire burning in Mariposa County, which has prompted the evacuation of more than 6,000 people, went from zero containment on Sunday to 10% containment on Monday as more than 2,000 firefighters battling the blaze made progress overnight, according to Cal Fire.
“Fire activity was not as extreme as it has been in previous days. Firefighters made good headway,” Cal Fire said in an updated incident report released Monday morning.
Despite being challenged by rugged terrain and temperatures ranging from the high 90s to 100 degrees, firefighters managed to save the small community of Mariposa Pines, on the north edge of the fire, according to Cal Fire.
The blaze made a “hard push” Sunday evening in the direction of Mariposa Pines, which has a population of nearly 300 people, according to Cal Fire. Three firefighting strike teams managed to prevent flames from jumping a road and spreading into the Sierra Nevada mountains community, Cal Fire officials said.
Firefighters were also making progress on the east and south sides of the fire, officials said. The northeast side of the blaze, according to Cal Fire, was moving into an area where there are burn scars left by the 2018 Ferguson Fire, which charred nearly 97,000 acres.
Severe drought conditions has left large pockets of dried out vegetation, helping to fuel the quick-moving blaze, fire officials said. The Oak Fire is now the largest fire to erupt in the state this year.
The fire started around 2 p.m. Friday near the Mariposa County town of Midpines, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County over the weekend and his office announced the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help provide resources as it responds to the blaze.
The fire has destroyed or damaged at least 15 structures, according to Cal Fire. A preliminary damage estimate by Cal Fire found that at least seven homes in Mariposa County have been destroyed.
No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.
Among the residents who were evacuated were newlyweds Steve and Andrea Ward. The couple returned to their home on Sunday to find it nearly burned to the ground, but took solace in parts of the structure still standing, including a wooden arch in front of their home where they exchanged wedding vows.
“Just to see that space, I honestly thought it was going to be burnt to the ground. I’m surprised it’s still standing,” Andrea Ward told ABC station KFSN-TV in Fresno, California.
The couple said they not only plan to rebuild their home, but vowed to pitch in and rebuild their community. Steve Ward said the devastation has made their bonds with the community and their love for each other stronger.
“If I gotta prioritize keeping her safe versus keeping the house safe, I’m gonna take her,” Steve Ward said of his wife.
Smoke from the Oak Fire is expected to drift into parts of the San Francisco Bay Area nearly 200 miles away and affect air quality, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from International Space Station, officials said. The National Weather Service released a time-lapse smoke forecast map showing smoke blanketing high elevations over the entire Bay Area by Tuesday.
This is the third wildfire to burn in Mariposa County over the past two weeks.
The Washburn Fire, which started on July 7 near the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, is 87% contained after burning over 4,800 acres. The containment of the fire, which at one point was inching dangerously close to the park’s large sequoia grove, Mariposa Grove, allowed the southern entrance of the park to reopen July 16.
The cause of the Washburn Fire remains under investigation.
The smaller Agua Fire, which started on July 18, is now fully contained after burning some 420 acres. The fire was caused by a car, officials said.
Joni Mitchell thrilled fans at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island on Sunday when she made a surprise appearance at the event, marking her first performance at the fest since 1969.
Mitchell, who has rarely performed in public since suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015, was the guest of honor at “Joni Jam” — a Brandi Carlile-led event that featured accompaniment and guest appearances from a variety of musicians and singers, including Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons, Dawes‘ Taylor Goldsmith, Lucius, Allison Russell and Shooter Jennings.
Sitting in a plush throne-like chair, Mitchell sang along with Brandi for most of the 13-song set and delivered lead vocals on several songs, including her classics “Both Sides Now” and “The Circle Game.” Joni even played some guitar during a rendition of her 1974 tune “Just Like a Train.”
The last time Mitchell performed a full set of songs was in 2000. Her official website has gathered together links to fan-shot videos of all 13 performances.
In related news, Paul Simon also made a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival over the weekend. On Saturday, July 23, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats curated a set of Simon’s songs that featured various guest performers, including Paul, who joined in for the last four songs — “Graceland,” “American Tune,” “The Boxer” and “The Sound of Silence.”
“What an absolute pleasure to work with Nathaniel Rateliff and his incredible band,” Simon wrote on his Facebook page Sunday. “[Nathaniel’s] curation of my music and all of the artists he selected to participate was overwhelming.”
Here’s the full set list of Joni’s performance:
“Carey”
“Come In from the Cold”
“Help Me”
“A Case of You”
“Big Yellow Taxi”
“Just Like This Train”
“Why Do Fools Fall In Love”
“Amelia”
“Love Potion #9”
“Shine”
“Summertime”
“Both Sides Now”
“The Circle Game”
Does Lady Gaga perform behind an invisible force field? A new video has fans wondering just that.
The singer is on her Chromatica Ball tour, and it appears some fans are getting rowdy during her shows. A video taken at one of her concerts is now going viral, and it shows someone chucking a large object, which ricochets off something before reaching the stage.
“CONFIRMED: Gaga has an invisible force field that protects her from dangerous objects as shown in the video,” the fan, named Andrin, declared in the viral tweet.
This has caused some pretty wild theories to pop up, with some joking that Lady Gaga has powers that rival that of Dr. Strange. Others have pointed out Gaga’s “Little Monsters” are notorious for throwing things onstage — and not all of the items are soft, lightweight gifts.
A fan shared a clip of Gaga performing in 2014, and at the end, she is buffeted by objects being thrown from the crowd. This has led to several people commending the Grammy winner for setting up the barrier, with some saying she had to do it for her own safety and to maintain the integrity of the show.
Gaga has not yet spoken out about what is protecting her from flying objects.
