Just days after dropping his new single, “Last Night Lonely,” Jon Pardi has announced a summer tour.
Jon’s Ain’t Always the Cowboy Tour begins in July, he revealed via American Songwriter this week.
The string of dates both opens and closes with a hometown connection. Jon’s first stop, in late July, is in Sacramento, California — the same state in which he grew up. He’ll end the tour with a performance at Ascend Amphitheater in his adopted home city of Nashville.
Joining Pardi on tour will be up-and-coming acts Lainey Wilson and Hailey Whitters. Lainey’s one of Nashville’s fastest-rising stars, who earned her first number-one in 2021 with “Things a Man Oughta Know.” Meanwhile, Hailey just announced a new album, Raised, which is due out in March.
With “Last Night Lonely” already out in the world, Jon’s gearing up for a new album cycle himself, though he doesn’t have an exact release date to share just yet. Per American Songwriter, he’s hoping for a fall 2022 release date.
For dates and details about all the stops on Jon’s next tour, visit his website.
Avril Lavigne‘s eagerly awaited new album, Love Sux, is out today, featuring guest appearances and production work from blackbear, Blink-182’s Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus, her boyfriend Mod Sun, and Machine Gun Kelly. Now in her 20th year as a recording artist, the Canadian star says she’s still enjoying that pop-punk life.
Appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America, Avril said of being two decades past the release of her 2002 debut album, Let Go, “I feel like it’s gone by so fast but I’m really grateful to still be here and making music. This is my seventh record and I’m still having so much fun, and I’m looking forward to going out on tour this year.”
Avril was also asked about young female artists like Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo citing her as an inspiration.
“Oh my God, it’s so crazy to hear that,” Avril told GMA. “I mean, those ladies are incredible songwriters and performers and I’ve met both of them. They’re lovely and I love what they’re dong musically.”
The first leg of Avril’s tour starts in Canada in May 3 and wraps up May 27 at the Boston Calling Festival. In September, she’ll perform at the Firefly Festival in Delaware and in October, she’ll appear at the the all-emo and pop-punk festival When We Were Young in Las Vegas. She gave the GMA audience a taste of her tour by performing her latest single, “Love It When You Hate Me.”
Here’s what it would sound like if Billie Eilish wrote music for a boy band.
As previously reported, the “Happier Than Ever” artists and her brother/collaborator, FINNEAS, are contributing original songs to the upcoming Disney/Pixar film Turning Red. Eilish won’t be performing the songs, however — that duty belongs to 4*Town, a fictional boy band that’s the obsession of Turning Red‘s teenage protagonist, Mei.
Now, one of 4*Town songs Eilish and FINNEAS wrote for the film, called “Nobody Like U,” has been released. The track is available via digital outlets, and you can watch its accompanying lyric streaming on YouTube.
Turning Red follows Mei, a 13-year-old girl who spontaneously transforms into a giant red panda whenever she feels strong emotions. The film premieres on Disney+ March 11, and its soundtrack, which includes “Nobody Like U” and two other 4*Town songs, drops that same day.
Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider pays tribute to the victims of tragic 2003 Station nightclub fire in a brand-new music video for his recent solo song, “Stand,” which got its premiere today at the Napalm Records label’s YouTube channel.
The clip features Snider and his solo band performing the song along with footage from a new documentary titled America’s Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List, which debuted last Sunday on the Reelz channel. Dee was interviewed for the doc, and the video begins with a clip of him saying of the tragedy, “Nobody deserves to die because they wanted to see a band.”
The fire took place during a Great White show at Warwick, Rhode Island, club on February 20, 2003. One hundred people died in the horrifying incident, and over 200 were injured.
“While I didn’t write ‘Stand’ for the Station nightclub fire documentary America’s Deadliest Rock Concert: The Guest List, it is a perfect fit,” Snider says. “The full tragedy of that horrific night was the despicable lack of support shown for a community in desperate need. ‘Stand’ speaks to the importance for us all to recognize these moments of desperation and do something about them. ‘Don’t leave your mark…leave a scar!'”
Dee adds, “This documentary not only serves as a reminder of this incredible tragedy, but it shines a light on an amazing group of people who overcame unfathomable loss, and survived, even thrived in the aftermath.”
Snider had performed at the Station, and after the fire he helped bring fellow music artists together for a charity concert to aid the survivors and victims’ families.
The documentary will air again on Reelz this Sunday, February 27, at 3 p.m. ET.
“Stand” is featured on Snider’s 2021 album Leave a Scar.
Ashley McBryde is cooking up something in the studio.
The singer shared a post on socials this week looking back on what a tumultuous couple of months 2022 has brought so far — and how it all led to new music. In early January, she explained, she and her band were dealing with some confusion on exactly what lay ahead.
“At the top of the year, we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Ashley wrote. “One of us was hurt. One of us was sick. We just didn’t know what was going to happen.”
But fortunately, all those question marks have since turned into arrows pointing towards her next album. “But of Feb 1st I knew exactly what was going to happen…record three,” she continued.
Ashley shared some sneak peeks into the music-making process, posting photos of herself in the studio, as well as a shot of guitars and what appear to be lyrics sheets strewn over a coach.
She also confirmed to CMT that her new album is done, saying “It’s scary to say finished, but we just finished our third record.”
The singer’s next project, when it does arrive, will be the follow-up to her 2020 sophomore album, Never Will. That album was a landmark release for Ashley, producing the single “One Night Standards,” her first-ever top-ten country radio hit.
Last September, Ashley also shared that she was hitting the studio to make new music, and she debuted a new song called “Whiskey and Country Music” at the Grand Ole Opry that month.
In the meantime, Ashley’s nominated for Female Artist of the Year at the upcoming ACM Awards. “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” her duet with Carly Pearce, also scored two nominations.
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If you’ve ever wondered how Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are able to ride horses and drive wagons so effortlessly during their scenes in the Yellowstone prequel 1883, the answer’s simple: They went to cowboy camp.
That’s because, as show creator Taylor Sheridan puts it, “There’s no way for me to inform them what this way of life is, you just have to do it.” So Tim, Faith and the rest of the cast showed up each morning and put themselves into real-life cowboy situations, with guidance from professional horse trainers.
“Cowboy camp was probably the most helpful thing in the world,” says Tim, who plays James Dutton on the show.
Learning the ropes — no pun intended — also forced the cast mates out of their comfort zone, and helped them bond with each other.
“We’re all doing this together. So we were all dedicated to it. And that’s been extraordinary to watch,” explains Faith, who plays Margaret Dutton.
(NEW YORK) — Russia’s military launched a long-feared invasion of Ukraine early Thursday, attacking its ex-Soviet neighbor from multiple directions despite warnings of dire consequences from the United States and the international community.
Thursday’s attacks followed weeks of escalating tensions in the region. In a fiery, hourlong speech on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was recognizing the independence of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region: the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for stoking the crisis and reiterated its demands to NATO that Ukraine pledges to never join the transatlantic defense alliance.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 25, 10:59 am
Russians going ashore in ‘amphibious assault’
A senior defense official confirms that there is a Russian “amphibious assault” underway along the Ukrainian coast from the Sea of Azov. The attack is to the west of Mariupol, which is a coastal city in southeastern Ukraine.
“Indications are right now that they are putting potentially thousands of naval infantry ashore there,” the official said.
Feb 25, 10:31 am
EU moving toward sanctioning Putin, Lavrov: Top diplomat
The European Union is moving toward sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Russia’s war against Ukraine, the EU’s top diplomat confirmed.
But the decision has not been made and requires unanimous approval by the 27 member states, diplomat Josep Borrell told reporters Friday.
“If there is no surprises and nobody objects — because we require unanimity — yes, Putin and Lavrov will be on the list,” Borrell said.
He said even these EU sanctions on Putin and Lavrov would “certainly” not be enough.
“We are facing a full-fledged invasion of a country by another. It’s not a special forces operations like Russia pretends us to believe — it’s a fully-fledged invasion with bombing, with killing of civilians, with confrontations among two armies,” he said. “This is the worst thing that has happened in Europe, if I may say, since the end of the Cold War, and nobody knows what’s happening afterwards. Nobody knows which are the real intention of Putin.”
Feb 25, 8:57 am
Russia may be reinforcing, resupplying before moving in on Kyiv
There was an eerie quietness across Kyiv on Friday afternoon, as Russian forces closed in on the Ukrainian capital.
A senior U.S. official told ABC News that he believes the pause around Kyiv was due to the Russian military reinforcing troops and resupplying ammunition and food, and that Russia still wants a stranglehold on the city over the next 24 to 48 hours.
The official also expressed great concern about civilian causalities if Russian forces do move in. While there appeared to be a renewed effort at diplomacy on Friday, the United States believes any noise Russia makes about negotiations is simply stalling, the official said.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz
Feb 25, 8:35 am
Kremlin claims Zelenskyy has agreed to discuss neutrality
Russia claimed Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to discuss neutrality for his country.
“Zelenskyy stated his readiness to discuss the neutral status of Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily call. “From the beginning, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spoke about how the goal of the operation to the [separatist regions], including a path to the demilitarisation and de-Nazification of Ukraine. But that is actually also an essential component of neutral status.”
Peskov added that Putin is prepared to send a delegation to neighboring Belarus to hold talks with Ukrainian officials in Minsk.
If the Kremlin’s claims are true, it would amount to Zelenskyy surrendering to Russia’s demand that Ukraine pledges to never join NATO.
Earlier Friday, Zelenskyy called on Putin to hold talks “to stop people dying.” But he did not mention neutral status.
The comments came as Russian troops reached the center of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and engaged in fighting with Ukrainian troops.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Feb 25, 8:35 am
Kremlin claims Zelenskyy has agreed to discuss neutrality
Russia claimed Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to discuss neutrality for his country.
“Zelenskyy stated his readiness to discuss the neutral status of Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a daily call. “From the beginning, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spoke about how the goal of the operation to the [separatist regions], including a path to the demilitarisation and de-Nazification of Ukraine. But that is actually also an essential component of neutral status.”
Peskov added that Putin is prepared to send a delegation to neighboring Belarus to hold talks with Ukrainian officials in Minsk.
If the Kremlin’s claims are true, it would amount to Zelenskyy surrendering to Russia’s demand that Ukraine pledges to never join NATO.
Earlier Friday, Zelenskyy called on Putin to hold talks “to stop people dying.” But he did not mention neutral status.
The comments came as Russian troops reached the center of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and engaged in fighting with Ukrainian troops.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Feb 25, 8:13 am
Russia claims to have blocked Kyiv from west
Russia claimed on Friday afternoon that its forces have blocked Kyiv from the west, which would begin a partial encirclement of the Ukrainian capital.
According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian forces also have completely blocked the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, about 90 miles north of Kyiv, and now have full control of a key Ukrainian military airport in Hostomel, a town on the edge of the capital. Some 200 Russian helicopters were allegedly used in the attack on the airport.
While ABC News could not independently verify Russia’s claims, the Ukrainian military has acknowledged that it does not have full control of the airport in Hostomel.
The Russian Ministry of Defense alleged that Russian forces are “doing everything possible to prevent civilian casualties” and “will not deliver any strikes on residential areas of Kyiv.” However, fighting is already taking place in residential areas and Ukrainian authorities said homes have been bombed in and around Kyiv.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva and Patrick Reevell
Feb 25, 7:47 am
Zelenskyy warns Russian invasion is start of ‘war against all Europe’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold negotiations and cease the deadly attacks on his country.
“Fighting is ongoing all over Ukraine. Let’s sit at the table for negotiations to stop people dying,” Zelenskyy said in a televised address Friday afternoon.
But he did not order Ukrainian troops to stop defending their country, instead telling them: “Stand tough. You’re everything we have. You’re everything that is defending us.”
Zelenskyy criticized Europe’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it too slow and noting divisions. He also issued a dire warning to the rest of Europe.
“It’s not just Russian invasion in Ukraine, it’s the beginning of the war against all Europe, against its unity, all human rights, against all the rules of coexistence on the continent, against European countries’ refusal to change the borders by force,” he said.
-ABC News’ Julia Drozd and Patrick Reevell
Feb 25, 7:15 am
UN refugee agency estimates 100,000 Ukrainians are displaced
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates some 100,000 Ukrainians have already been forced from their homes due to the ongoing Russian invasion, spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told ABC News on Friday.
Mantoo cautioned that the agency has not confirmed any exact numbers.
“But there clearly has been significant displacement inside the country and some movements towards and across the borders,” she said.
The news was first reported by AFP.
The United States is coordinating with its European allies and partners who will be on the front lines receiving refugees, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State told ABC News. That includes diplomatic engagements “to ensure neighboring countries keep their borders open to those seeking international protection,” the spokesperson said.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Feb 25, 6:42 am
Russia says negotiations will begin after ‘democratic order’ restored
Russia will begin negotiations again once “democratic order” is restored in Ukraine, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said Friday, amid an ongoing invasion of the neighboring country.
“We are ready for negotiations, at any moment, as soon as the Armed Forces of Ukraine respond to the call of our president to cease resistance and lay down their arms. No one intends to attack them,” Lavrov said during a televised meeting in Moscow with pro-Russian separatist leaders from eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov’s comments come as Russian forces attacked Ukrainian troops in Kyiv on Friday morning, as the fighting drew closer to the capital’s city center.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva and Patrick Reevell
Feb 25, 6:03 am
Russia claims to have disabled 118 Ukrainian military facilities
Russia claimed Friday that its forces have so far disabled 118 elements of Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
“These include 11 military airfields and 13 command and communication posts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
Konashenkov also alleged that more than 150 Ukrainian soldiers have “laid down their arms and surrendered during the fighting.”
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva
Feb 25, 5:43 am
Gunfire, explosions heard within Kyiv as fighting draws near
ABC News’ team in Kyiv saw a large explosion and heard intense gunfire in the distance early Friday afternoon.
The crackles of gunfire appeared to be several miles north of the center of the Ukrainian capital, but still well within the city limits.
Ukrainian authorities have told residents in the northern suburb of Obolon to take shelter and prepare for imminent military action. The area is a 10-minute drive from Kyiv’s center.
The capital remains on edge as Russian forces draw near. Earlier, Ukrainian troops were seen hurriedly moving with ammunition to set up positions in the city center as air-raid sirens rang out.
Thousands of people have tried to leave Kyiv and head west to the Polish border, with some spending hours stuck in long traffic jams.
The Ukrainian military said it has distributed 18,000 assault rifles to territorial defense volunteers in the capital. It has also begun handing out weapons to civilians who want to fight and has called on healthy men over the age 60 to join the defense force, if they wish.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Feb 25, 5:11 am
Ukrainian military claims to have killed Russian saboteurs in Kyiv
Ukraine’s military claimed Friday to have killed an advance group of Russian saboteurs disguised as Ukrainian soldiers during a gunfight in the capital, Kyiv.
The Ukrainian military released video purportedly showing the bodies of men in Ukrainian uniforms and a destroyed truck. The fighting allegedly happened in an area only 10 minutes north of the city center.
Russian forces that crossed into Ukraine from the north on Thursday have been trying to advance south toward Kyiv. Fighting was taking place near a town 20 miles north of the entrance to the capital on Friday morning, ABC News has learned.
Love Sux, which also features the lead single “Bite Me,” has been touted as Lavigne’s return to pop-punk, and is influenced by bands including Blink, Green Day and NOFX. The album was released on Blink drummer Travis Barker‘s label, DTA Records.
Lavigne will hit the road behind Love Sux on a tour of her native Canada in May, with support from grandson on select dates. She’ll head down south to the U.S. to play the Boston Calling festival over Memorial Day weekend.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — Five Texas district attorneys pushed back on Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive in which he called gender-transitioning and affirming procedures as “child abuse.”
In a letter signed by district attorneys who represent some of the most populous counties in the state, they called the directive “un-American.”
“We are deeply disturbed by Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton’s cruel directives treating transgender children’s access to life-saving, gender-affirming care as ‘child abuse,'” the letter read.
The district attorneys stated they “will not irrationally and unjustifiably interfere with medical decisions made between children, their parents, and their medical physicians” to ensure the safety of transgender youth.
They added, “We will not allow the governor and attorney general to disregard Texan children’s lives in order to score political points.”
It was signed by John Creuzot of Dallas County, José Garza of Travis County, Joe Gonzales of Bexar County, Mark Gonzalez of Nueces County and Brian Middleton of Fort Bend County.
In a Feb. 22 letter, Abbott ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate this kind of care among youths in the state following an official declaration from state Attorney General Ken Paxton that also called it “child abuse.”
“There is no doubt that these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law, and thus must be halted,” Paxton said in a Feb. 21 press release. “The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has a responsibility to act accordingly. I’ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans.”
The letter from the DAs said, “This is part of a continued onslaught on personal freedoms. Elected officials should be protecting our most vulnerable. These two, instead, want to irrationally target and restrain children seeking medical assistance — and force caregivers to participate.”
The White House denounced the directive in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday.
“The Texas Attorney General’s attack on loving parents who seek medical care for their transgender children is dangerous to the health of kids in Texas and part of much larger trend of conservative officials cynically attacking LGBTQI+ youth to score political points,” a White House spokesperson told ABC News.
Here’s something to talk about: Bonnie Raitt has released a new single from her upcoming album, Just Like That…, which will be released on April 22.
The song, “Made Up Mind,” is a cover of a song by the Canadian alt-country-folk group The Bros. Landreth. In a statement, Raitt says, “On this record, I wanted to stretch. I always want to find songs that excite me, and what’s different this time is that I’ve tried some styles and topics I haven’t touched on before.”
Just Like That…, Raitt’s first album in more than six years, was recorded last summer in Sausalito, California, along with three of her longtime musical collaborators and a few new ones. It’s available for pre-order now.
In a statement, Bonnie says she’s grateful that she’s been able to continue making music, 50 years after her debut album. “I’m really aware of how lucky I am,” she says, “and I feel like it’s my responsibility to get out there and say something fresh and new — for me and for the fans. But I need to have something to say or I won’t put out a record.”
On March 2, the veteran star will receive the Icon Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards, and this spring, she’ll receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her tour kicks off March 28 in Modesto, CA and is scheduled to take her all the way through late November.
