Sum 41 and Simple Plan are joining forces for a co-headlining tour.
The joint outing, dubbed the Blame Canada tour after the two bands’ home country, will launch April 29 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and will conclude August 18 in Denver.
For the tour, both Sum 41 and Simple Plan will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their respective debut albums, All Killer No Filler and No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls.
“We have known the guys in Simple Plan for a very long time and know these shows are going to be great, ” says Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley. “We cannot wait to hit the road with them!”
Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 25, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Sum41.com or OfficialSimplePlan.com.
In the meantime, you can also check out Simple Plan’s new song “Ruin My Life,” which features Whibley.
Bill Pullman narrates the upcoming PBS documentary Nature: American Horses, which explores the story of the horse, and how various breeds helped shaped the American landscape. Turns out the Independence Day and Spaceballs actor knows more than a little about horses himself.
“In our valley in southwest Montana there’s a few people that are go-to riders that can do a little whispering, because it’s fairly hazardous,” says Pullman, who splits time between New York and his Montana ranch, where he says life there “teaches you to get up in the morning.” He tells ABC Audio the connection between man and horse runs deep: “You learn so much about what it is to be human by being around horses.”
Nature: American Horses, centers on four signature breeds: The Appaloosa, Morgan Horse, Mustang, and the American Quarter Horse, the latter of which can gallop at speeds up to 55 MPH, faster than any other breed. But Pullman recalls his first riding experience was a little more tame.
“It was a pony so it was really easy to get up on,” he says. “[J]ust throw yourself on the horse, no saddle or anything else and just…skinny up there and feel that connection to an animal bigger than yourself!”
As a rancher, Pullman also has tremendous respect for environmental preservation, and the lands on which the horses and other animals roam.
“Our connection to parks has changed in the last couple of years with the COVID thing,” says Pullman, “and everybody is appreciating their connection to vistas, and what responsible ranching is with maintaining good pasture use.”
(WASHINGTON) — Saying the world is witnessing “the beginning of an invasion — of a Russian invasion — of Ukraine,” President Joe Biden announced Tuesday he would begin to impose major new sanctions on Russia, threatening to add more if Russian President Vladimir Putin takes even more aggressive action.
“This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, as he indicated and asked permission to be able to do from his Duma,” referring to the Russian parliament, Biden said in remarks from the White House. “So, I’m going to begin to impose sanctions in response — far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014,’ when Russian forces took over Crimea and tried to destabilize the Ukrainian government.
“If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions,” Biden continued.
Putin, in ordering Russian troops into two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, was “setting up a rationale to take more territory by force,” he said. “Who in the Lord’s name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belonged to his neighbors?”
Calling the Russian moves “a flagrant violation of international law” and one that “demands a firm response from the international community,” Biden said “full blocking sanctions would be placed on two large Russian financial institutions and “comprehensive sanctions’ on Russia’s sovereign debt.
“That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from western financing. It can no longer raise money from the West and can not trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either,” he said.
Starting Wednesday, he said, “we’ll also impose sanctions on Russia’s elites and their family members. They share in the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies and should share in the pain as well.”
By calling it the “beginning of an invasion,” Biden appeared to be addressing the question of how the U.S. would characterize and react to Putin’s moves.
After for weeks saying the U.S. would impose “severe and swift” sanctions on Russia if it invaded Ukraine, the Biden administration was grappling with whether Russia’s decision to send troops across the border would trigger the most severe punishments it had prepared.
The U.S. has condemned Russia for recognizing the independence of two breakaway Ukrainian provinces already partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists — imposing limited sanctions on Monday — and blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for ordering troops into those regions.
But as the White House stopped short of putting in place sanctions it said would make Russia an “international pariah,” observers were left to parse what, in President Joe Biden’s eyes, would actually prompt that.
“Russia will be held accountable if it invades,” Biden said at a news conference on Jan. 19. “And it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera.”
Within hours, his press secretary, Jen Psaki, clarified: “If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that’s a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our allies.”
The next day, Biden, too, added: “If any — any — assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion” that “would be met with severe and coordinated economic response that I’ve discussed in detail with our allies.”
And his top national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in a Feb. 6 interview with NBC News: “President Biden has spoken to the fact that if a Russian tank or a Russian troop moves across the border, that’s an invasion” that would result in “severe economic consequences.”
But with Putin so far ordering troops into regions where Russian operatives already operate — albeit within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders — it was unclear what, exactly, would trigger the larger sanctions.
“We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion, into Ukraine, and you already seeing the beginning of our response that we’ve said would be swift and severe,” Jon Finer, the principal deputy U.S. national security adviser, said in an interview with CNN Tuesday.
“An invasion is an invasion, and that is what is underway,” he said. “But Russia has been invading Ukraine since 2014.”
Administration officials, though, had in the past suggested to reporters that sanctions would not come in a piecemeal fashion.
Psaki, though, said Monday that the sanctions the U.S. was announcing were “separate from and would be in addition to the swift and severe economic measures we have been preparing in coordination with allies and partners should Russia further invade Ukraine.”
The linguistic dance took place in Europe, as well, where the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, on Tuesday told reporters that “Russian troops are on Ukrainian soil” but that he wouldn’t call Russia’s actions “a fully-fledged invasion.”
NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, also said Tuesday that there was evidence additional Russian forces had moved into Ukraine, and that Russia had moved from “covert attempts to destabilize Ukraine to overt military action.”
After Russia’s actions Monday, the U.S. and its allies began imposing a series of cascading sanctions.
The U.S. on Monday targeted people connected to the two separatist-controlled areas. On Tuesday, Germany took the major step of suspending the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia; the UK imposed sanctions on three Russian oligarchs, five Russian banks and Russian parliamentarians; and the European Union put penalties on banks, decision makers and lawmakers involved in the independence recognition, and limits on Russia’s ability to access EU financial markets and services.
But the moves — particularly from the United States – stopped far short of the most severe sanctions the White House has threatened. It has warned it was preparing to restrict Russians’ access to semiconductors; punish Russia’s aerospace, defense, and high-tech industries; cripple the country’s largest financial institutions; and hit even Putin and those around him.
“If Russia invades Ukraine, it would become a pariah to the international community, it would become isolated from global financial markets, and it would be deprived of the most sophisticated technological inputs,” the White House’s top national security official crafting sanctions, Daleep Singh, said Friday.
U.S. officials have for weeks been working to get European allies to act in unison on reacting to Russia. Biden and other top U.S. officials have repeatedly threatened “swift and severe consequences.”
American officials have signaled that there is more agreement with other Western nations on what would happen if Russia carries out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – but that if Russia stops short and the world sees other scenarios play out – like a partial invasion of eastern Ukraine, or solely recognizing the regions’ independence, for example – the kaleidoscope of possible penalties might not come into full harmony.
ABC News’ Mary Bruce and Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
Yes, we are still talking about Bruno — because the viral song from Disney’s Encanto is once again the number one song in the U.S., spending a fourth straight week atop the BillboardHot 100.
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is now the longest-running number one song from a Disney movie, either animated or live-action. It passes 1994’s “All for Love,” which Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting recorded for The Three Musketeers, which topped the chart for three weeks.
In addition, the Encanto soundtrack is number one on the Billboard 200 for a sixth week. This marks the first time in 29 years that a soundtrack and one of its songs simultaneously led both the album chart and Hot 100 charts for four weeks.
The last time that happened was when Whitney Houston‘s The Bodyguard topped the albums chart while “I Will Always Love You” dominated the singles chart between December 1992 and February 1993.
Elsewhere on the chart, Glass Animals‘ “Heat Waves” has risen to number two, after a record-setting climb of 57 weeks. GAYLE is also racing up the chars: Her hit “abcdefu” jumped into fourth place this week, up from last week’s seventh place finish.
After it was postponed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Black Crowes hit the road last year on a major tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker. The veteran rockers have now announced a new 2022 North American leg of the trek.
The outing, dubbed The Black Crowes Present: Shake Your Money Maker, features more than 30 dates. It kicks off June 9 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and runs though an August 27 concert in Miami, Oklahoma.
Tickets for most dates go on sale to the general public this Friday, February 25, at 10 a.m. local time, while a pre-sale offer from the band begins Wednesday, February 23, at 10 a.m. local time. For more details, visit TheBlackCrowes.com.
For each ticket purchased via Ticketmaster in North America, the buyer will receive an exclusive free collectible NFT of the tour poster. This marks the first time that Ticketmaster has teamed up with an artists to offer these unique digital tokens.
The Shake Your Money Maker trek features The Black Crowes playing their 1990 debut album in its entirety, as well as hits and select other songs from their catalog. The group’s current lineup features co-founding siblings Chris and Rich Robinson on lead vocals and lead guitar, respectively, plus longtime bassist Sven Pippien and three other newer members.
The Black Crowes also have some previously announced festival appearances on their 2022 itinerary, including May 1 at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio California; May 6 at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival; May 28 at the BottleRock Napa fest in Napa, California; and June 3 at The Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Miley Cyrus is one of the stars tapped by Gucci to star in the fashion house’s new Love Parade collection, along with Jared Leto, Snoop Dogg, Beanie Feldstein and Lee Jung-jae, the star of Squid Game.
In a lengthy new video ad set to the song “Venus in Furs” by The Velvet Underground, Miley and her co-stars are shown cavorting at a decadent dinner. Or, as Gucci explains, “Portraying the modern myth of cinema through a sequence of obsessions and desires… the stars celebrate the ritual of the banquet, giving themselves to a liberating symposium that slides into the Dionysiac ritual of dancing.”
Miley is pictured wearing “an asymmetrical hat” with “crystal-embellished ears,” as well as white fur jacket, bra and matching black lace thigh-highs, which you can see as she’s carried through the crowd later on in the video.
Luke Bryan couldn’t be more excited to return to the judges’ table on American Idol.
On Tuesday, Luke and his fellow judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry visited Good Morning Americato chat about the show’s upcoming season, and how their approach has evolved now that they’ve been working together for five seasons.
“The more comfortable we get, we know how far we can take it joking with one another. I think the fans at home really they want to see us having fun, they want to feel that we’re enjoying the moment too,” the country star describes. “It’s so fun sitting at that judging table because you never know if the next Jennifer Hudson‘s going to walk in or the next Carrie Underwood, so we got to be on our game.”
In honor of the show’s 20th season, the judges awarded a platinum ticket to one contestant in each city where they held auditions, which allows that contestant to sit out a round during Hollywood week and observe the competition.
“We’ve inadvertently been a little tougher on our platinum ticket holders because they showed out in auditions, and then sometimes they have a bad audition and we’re being a little more critical with them,” Luke teases.
American Idol season 20 premieres on Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
The trailer has been released for Evan Rachel Wood‘s Phoenix Rising documentary, in which she details allegations of abuse against Marilyn Manson.
“I’m here today to talk about Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” Wood says in the clip.
The preview also shows how Wood’s experience with Warner led to her becoming an advocate for domestic violence survivors, including lobbying for legislation extending the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases. The bill, known as the Phoenix Act, inspired the documentary’s name.
When Wood first spoke in support of the Phoenix Act, including in front of the California Senate in 2019, she did not name her abuser. She publicly accused Warner for the first time in February 2021, writing that he had “horrifically abused [her] for years.”
Later that day, Warner addressed unspecified “recent claims” made about him, which he called “horrible distortions of reality.”
Warner has since been accused of abuse by several more women, including actor Esmé Bianco, model Ashley Morgan Smithline, and Warner’s former assistant, Ashley Walters, all of whom filed lawsuits against him. Warner has denied the allegations.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the allegations Wood makes against Warner in Phoenix Rising include that he drugged and raped her during the filming of his “Heart-Shaped Glasses” music video. Warner’s lawyer denied the claim as “false” and an “imaginative retelling.”
Phoenix Rising premieres on HBO in two parts airing March 15 and 16. It’ll be available in full on HBO Max beginning March 15.
For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.
Gary Brooker, the lead singer, pianist and main songwriter for the veteran British band Procol Harum, died Saturday, February 19, at the age of 76.
A post on Procol Harum’s website reports that Brooker had been receiving treatment for cancer and passed away at his home. The tribute describes Gary as “a brightly-shining, irreplaceable light in the music industry.”
Brooker co-wrote the vast majority of Procol Harum’s songs, mainly with lyricist Keith Reid, including the band’s signature tune, “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”
Released in 1967, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was considered one of the anthems of the Summer of Love, peaking at #1 on the U.K. chart and reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune has become one of the most successful singles in history, selling over 10 million copies worldwide.
Procol Harum’s only other major U.S. hit was a 1972 live rendition of the band’s 1967 tune “Conquistador” that was recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and reached #16 on the Hot 100.
Procol Harum was active from 1967 to 1977, and then from 1991 to the present, with Brooker being the band’s only consistent member.
Outside of Procol Harum, Gary also played in Eric Clapton‘s touring band, with Bill Wyman‘s Rhythm Kings and in Ringo Starr‘s All-Starr Band. He also released a number of solo albums and contributed to various other artists records, including George Harrison‘s All Things Must Pass, Somewhere in England and Gone Troppo, and Clapton’s Another Ticket.
In 2003, Brooker was recognized as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his charitable services.
Procol Harum’s final album, Novum, was released in 2017.
Gary is survived by his wife of 53 years, Franky. Donations in his name can be made to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care.
Billie Eilish once again has put her audience’s needs before her own. While performing at Madison Square Garden over the weekend, the “bad guy” singer encouraged the crowd to “take a breath.”
TMZ obtained video of the moment Billie encouraged the audience to calm down while she was about to launch into another song. “If you want to sit down, you are allowed,” she said while adjusting her guitar, “Go ahead, sit down. Take a breath.”
The Grammy winner also instructed those who had pushed themselves to the front row to “take a step back” and “give everyone some room.” Billie shaded her eyes from the stage lights so she could watch the crowd disperse. “Yeah, there we go,” she praised as the cheering grew quieter and she began an acoustic rendition of “Male Fantasy.”
This isn’t the first time Billie ensured the safety of her audience. She paused another concert earlier this month when a member of the audience needed an inhaler. The “Happier Than Ever” singer had her team rush over the medical device and told the crowd, “It’s okay, we got one. Give her some time. Don’t crowd. Relax, relax, it’s okay. We’re taking care of our people, hold on.”
That incident angered Kanye West, who felt Billie’s remarks were directed atT ravis Scott, who is still reeling from the November Astroworld tragedy, where 10 people died after the crowd surged the stage during his performance. Ye demanded Billie’s apology, saying he needed to hear it before he headlines Coachella later this year.
Billie, who is also a headliner, later responded, “literally never said a thing about travis. was just helping a fan.”
