Carly Pearce says it was an emotional experience performing at Sunday’s Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony in honor of The Judds.
The fellow Kentucky native was on hand at the ceremony in Nashville, one day after matriarch Naomi Judd passed away. Carly says it was with a heavy heart that she attended the ceremony to perform one of The Judds’ signature hits, “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days),” revealing that she’d been approached by the Hall two months prior to be a surprise performer for The Judds’ induction.
Though at the time it was “exciting news,” the hit singer shares that performing in the wake of Naomi’s death was “one of the most emotional experiences I have ever had in my life.”
“Singing ‘Grandpa’ in light of such tragic loss, looking in the eyes of Naomi’s beautiful daughters. I am forever grateful & send Wynonna and Ashley all my love,” she continued, adding that she’s “loved” the duo for her “whole life.” “Long live the Judds.”
Naomi passed away on April 30 at the age of 76. A joint statement from Wynonna and Ashley stated that the cause of death was related to mental illness.
Blxst will embark on a massive world tour later this summer. The “Chosen” rapper unveiled details his 46-date Before You Go trek, and tickets are about to go on sale.
Blxst will kick off his tour across the pond with performances at the U.K.’s Wireless Festival in Birmingham and London on July 8 and July 9. From there, he’ll head back to North America for a 32-date leg, starting July 13 in San Diego.
The outing will stop at many of the biggest cities in the U.S. and Canada, including Seattle, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, Orlando and many others. Blxst will finish up the stateside leg with a stop in Los Angeles on August 31, before going Down Under for a spate of September dates in New Zealand and Australia.
He’ll then head to Europe for a series of shows beginning with a November 2 stop in Copenhagen, Denmark. He’ll put his global trek on ice with a final concert in Dublin, Ireland, on November 15.
Tickets to see Blxst go on sale Friday, May 6, starting at 10 a.m. ET at his official website.
(WASHINGTON) — A draft of the SCOTUS decision on the Mississippi case that challenges Roe v. Wade was leaked Monday night, first reported by Politico. According to the copy of the draft opinion for the majority, a majority of justices appear to have voted to effectively overturn the 1973 landmark abortion precedent set in Roe v. Wade.
“Certainly, it’s not a totally leakproof institution, but there has never been a leak even remotely like this,” said ABC News Supreme Court contributor Kate Shaw on ABC News’ podcast “Start Here.” “I don’t think in the history of the Supreme Court, which is the history of the country – it is totally uncharted.”
The 98-page opinion leaked by Politico was written by Justice Samuel Alito, one of the most conservative members of the court.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Roberts addressed the leaked opinion. The statement confirms that the leaked document is “authentic,” but it goes on to say that it “does not represent a decision by the Court of the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”
“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way,” said Roberts in the release.
He also stated that he has launched an official investigation into the source of the leak.
There are multiple theories circulating as to why the document was leaked. According to Shaw, one theory is that whoever leaked the draft may be trying to “lock” in a five-justice majority and the publicity from the leak will deter anyone from “jumping ship.”
“The publicity will deter them from doing so because they will be worried about sending a message that they were somehow cowed into changing their votes by the public blowback and or the public encouragement,” said Shaw.
Also, some believe that if it’s a conservative leak, the approach was used to soften the ground for the ultimate decision. Some conservatives have already pointed out how little attention Texas’ SB8 has gotten now that it’s been in place for months, ABC News’ Devin Dwyer reported.
Another theory is that the leak came from the liberal side of the court.
“I think the logic there would be something like the court is about to take a truly extraordinary step of rolling back this right upon which Americans have relied for a half century and an institution,” said Shaw. “And thus these long standing norms of secrecy and confidentiality actually don’t have to be respected and can be thrown out the window because extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.”
Currently, the leaker has not been identified and the motive remains unknown.
Over the past several months, the Supreme Court has been considering the Mississippi case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health after hearing arguments on December 1. The Mississippi law bans abortions after 15 weeks. The case asks the justices directly to reconsider the precedent set by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
A handful of states have already set so-called “trigger laws,” which are prohibitions set on abortions that will immediately go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overruled.
“At least half the states in the country will severely curtail or totally outlaw access to abortion,” said Shaw. “Basically immediately.”
According to an updated report from The Guttmacher Institute, 26 states have these trigger laws, some of which include bans on abortion after six or eight weeks of pregnancy, effectively banning all abortions. Several other states without trigger laws would also be expected to move quickly to prohibit abortions if Roe is overruled.
But, echoing Justice Roberts, Shaw said that nothing is set in stone.
“This is not a final opinion. It is not the law. Roe v. Wade has not been overturned yet,” said Shaw. “This appears to be a legitimate document that does reflect where the court is at this moment… But we don’t know exactly what the final opinion in this case will look like.”
Recently, he closed in an important chapter in his music career when he wrapped up the headlining Fancy Like Tour — but he didn’t go at it alone. Walker’s wife Laney and their six children — Lela, Chapel, Baylor, Beckett, Loxley and Everly — all joined him on the road, piling on to the tour bus and traveling with the hit singer across the country on nearly 20 dates.
In a nostalgic post, Walker says he’s “sad” the tour has come to an end, but is “excited” for the future, and expressed gratitude for being able to share in the experience with his family for the first time.
“This was the first tour I was ever able to bring my family along. At first I was afraid they wouldn’t enjoy road life BUT turns out, they love it more than staying home SO…for now, touring is a family tradition,” Walker shares alongside photos of two of his young children snuggled on one of the bunk beds on the bus, along with his wife Laney smiling from her bunk.
“To the people who came out, I don’t even know how to thank y’all. The energy and atmosphere y’all created at these venues absolutely lit us up!” Walker continued, while also praising his band and crew. “Every single night of this tour was electric. Preciate it.”
Though the Fancy Like Tour is a wrap, Walker has an even brighter future ahead, as he’s set to headline arenas for the first time on the Glad You’re Here Tour, kicking off on September 29.
The tour gets its name from Walker’s new book that he wrote with his friend Craig, available today.
In addition to being a country music legend, Loretta Lynn has another skill beyond the physical world.
Through the years, Loretta has discussed her encounters with the supernatural, claiming that her mother, Clara, was psychic, which she links to her grandfather’s Cherokee Indian heritage.
Clara seemingly passed this ability on to her daughter. Loretta recalls in an episode of Celebrity Ghost Storieshow one night while living in Washington state with her husband, Oliver, she had a frightening dream of her father, Melvin, lying dead in a coffin.
Loretta woke up at 4 a.m. in tears over the nightmare, only to receive a call one hour later from her sister-in-law sharing that her father had just passed away.
“Spirits don’t scare me. What scares me is my dreams. When I dream a bad dream, it scares me to death sometimes because I just sit and wait for something to happen,” the singer shares. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, something bad will happen if I dream, and that’s hard.”
The country star endured another tragedy when her mother visited her home in Hurricane Mills, TN and issued a disturbing warning that one of her children was going to drown in the river on the property.
That prophecy sadly became reality when Loretta and Oliver’s son, Jack, died in 1984 at the age of 34 after he was thrown from his horse and drowned in the river, leaving the singer heartbroken to this day.
“That was such a shock…I didn’t want to believe it. It was awful,” Loretta recalls of her reaction when her husband told her the tragic news. “Mommy pretty much told me what was going to happen, and I think you have to listen to people like that that are really connected.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd will headline the final day of the second annual Born & Raised Festival, taking place September 16-18 in Pryor, Oklahoma, at Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds, the same site as the popular Rocklahoma Festival.
The three-day event offers a country music and camping experience that showcases artists from the outlaw country genre, with a lineup featuring a total of over 35 acts.
Pre-sale passes for the festival will be available to purchase starting Friday, May 6, at 8 a.m. CT, while the general public will be able to purchase passes beginning on Monday, May 9, at 10 a.m. CT. You can register for the pre-sale, and find out full information about the event, now at BornandRaisedFestival.com.
Skynyrd’s Born & Raised Festival appearance is among a series of new performances that the famed Southern rockers have added to their 2022 tour schedule in recent weeks.
The band now has 25 shows listed on its itinerary, spanning from a May 13 appearance at the Pomona County Fair in Pomona, California, through a September 26 concert in Airway Heights, Washington.
Meanwhile, founding Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington, who’s sat out most of the band’s concerts since 2021 because ongoing heart issues, recently posted a video on the group’s Facebook page giving an update on his health.
“I hope to make all [the upcoming shows] I can with my heart problems,” Rossington says in the clip, and reveals that he’ll soon undergo an operation “to put some heart-valve clips back on my valves that have kind of gone bad.”
He adds, “I’m gonna really keep working on my health and working out and trying to get better to be out there and play every night.”
After gracing the iconic carpet of the Met Gala in her purple Iris Van Herpen look Monday night, Teyana Taylor dropped off yet another gift to her fans on Tuesday. The singer and fashion star announced the dates and cities she’ll visit as part of “The Last Rose Petal 2” tour, a second round of stops from the original tour last year.
“I kept my promise… I told you I would come back for you #TLRP2 is here!,” she captioned her Instagram announcement. “Come out and watch me, leave it all out on the stage… One last time… Just for you & as my last rose petal falls….🥀”
This time around, the tour will make stops in other countries, including England, France and the Netherlands, as well as in 18 major U.S. cities including Washington, D.C., Houston, Denver and Miami. Some of those she’ll visit for the first time, while others will get encore shows.
Emphasizing the sold-out success of the shows during the first tour, Taylor said, “P.S. make sure y’all get y’all tickets early cause I don’t wanna hear y’all asses complaining about shit being sold out!”
The new concert series comes more than two years since the 31-year-old announced her retirement from music. She’s since focused on creating, directing, and also on raising her daughters, Junie and Rue Rose, alongside her husband, basketball player Iman Shumpert.
Visit LiveNation.com for full tour dates and stops and to purchase tickets starting Friday, May 6.
Jack Harlow‘s new album Come Home the Kids Miss You arrives Friday and, ahead of the hotly anticipated release, the “First Class” rapper unveiled the record’s complete track list, which features some surprise collabs.
Harlow’s new album features the likes of Pharrell, Drake, Justin Timberlake and Lil Wayne. In order, Jack and the “Happy” singer perform on the seventh track, titled “Movie Star,” while Harlow teams with Drizzy on the 10th song, “Churchill Downs.”
The “Nail Tech” rapper features JT on the album’s 12th track, “Parent Trap,” and Lil Wayne is on the song right after, titled “Poison.”
Prior to releasing the track list, Harlow hyped his fanbase by tweeting out, “Strictly legends on my album. Any guesses???”
Surprisingly, Harlow also included Dua Lipa in his forthcoming work; that is, he named the fifth track after her. He already teased a little bit of the single, which sees him trying to shoot his shot with the “Levitating” singer.
“Dua Lipa, I’m tryna do more with her than do a feature/ I check the web, they out here chewin’ me up,” he rapped in a video sneak peek of the track, which he shared Monday. He also mimed shooting a basketball, letting fans know exactly what he hopes the song will accomplish.
Harlow also shared a teaser trailer for Come Home the Kids Miss You, which features actress Danielle Fishel of Boy Meets World fame sobbing in her car.
The album drops this Friday, May 6, and is available to pre-order now. It follows the “Industry Baby” rapper’s 2020 debut release, Thats What They All Say, which is RIAA-certified Platinum.
Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler is sharing his thoughts on his brother and band mate Will Butler‘s decision to leave the group.
Will, the younger Butler, announced this past March that he’d departed Arcade Fire last year following the completion of their upcoming album, WE. “There was no acute reason beyond that I’ve changed — and the band has changed — over the last almost 20 years,” he wrote at the time. “Time for new things.”
In a new interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Win says that Will “always had interests that transcend music.”
“I think that he sort of followed his big brother into this band,” Win muses. “It was his first job.”
Win notes that Will has “three young children,” and that “there’s things way more important than music.”
“My brother has his own path,” Win says. “Fundamentally, you only have one chance to raise your family and to kind of have a life with your family.”
Win adds that he’s “proud” of Will for “doing his own thing.”
Even with Will out of the band, you can always count on at least one Butler being in Arcade Fire.
“This band is my life,” Win says. “There’s no out for me, fortunately.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump Organization and Donald Trump’s presidential inaugural committee have agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine over allegations that Trump and his family misused nonprofit inauguration funds to enrich themselves in early 2017.
The suit claimed that the nonprofit funds raised by the inaugural committee were improperly used for private benefit when the Trump campaign rented $1 million in ballroom space from Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel during the four days of inaugural festivities.
Trump’s company will repay $750,000 to settle the suit, according to the terms of the settlement.
“After he was elected, one of the first actions Donald Trump took was illegally using his own inauguration to enrich his family,” Racine said in a statement. “We refused to let that corruption stand.”
“Nonprofit funds cannot be used to line the pockets of individuals, no matter how powerful they are,” said Racine. “Now any future presidential inaugural committees are on notice that they will not get away with such egregious actions.”
Trump, in a statement, denied any wrongdoing.
“Given the impending sale of The Trump International Hotel, Washington D.C., and with absolutely no admission of liability or guilt, we have reached a settlement to end all litigation with Democrat Attorney General Racine,” the former president said. “As crime rates are soaring in our Nation’s Capital, it is necessary that the Attorney General focus on those issues rather than a further leg of the greatest Witch-Hunt in political history.”
“This was yet another example of weaponizing Law Enforcement against the Republican Party and, in particular, the former President of the United States,” Trump said in the statement. “So bad for our Country!”
The $750,000 in repaid funds with be redirected to nonprofit organizations.
