Veteran hard-rockers Tesla will get their show on the road for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last year with a new U.S. trek dubbed the “Let’s Get Real!” tour.
The outing is scheduled to kick off on August 5 in Grants Pass, Oregon, and is mapped out through a November 20 concert in Tupelo, Mississippi.
The band has almost 30 confirmed gigs on its schedule, including headlining shows, festival appearances and dates opening for such well-known acts as Styx, Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Tesla actually will support Skynyrd at nine concerts this year.
“We are so excited and anxious to get back to performing ‘real’ live concerts again,” says founding Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon. “There’s nothing like the energy of being in the same spontaneous moment with an audience of people.”
He adds, “We are planning some surprises for our fans on this upcoming tour by playing some deeper Tesla cuts as well as a fresh brand new song we just wrote. Of course we will play the hits as well, but introducing a fresh new track on this return is something we are very excited about!”
You can check out the group’s tour schedule at TeslatheBand.com.
Tesla’s most recent studio album, Shock, was released in 2019.
In January, ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach announced plans to tour the U.S. this fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his old band’s 1991 album, Slave to the Grind, which he planned to perform in its entirety. Now we have details of that trek, which will kick off in the fall.
Announcing the tour on Facebook, Bach writes, “The music was crushing when we made it then and 30 years later it still stands the test of time…None of us could believe the day Slave to the Grind came out and became the First heavy Rock album to debut at Number One on the Billboard Album chart.”
“The band were naturally ecstatic as were the record company and all involved…As well as my father and my family,” Bach continues, noting that his late father, David Bierk, created and painted the album cover.
He adds, “I look forward to playing Slave to the Grind in its entirety in the USA this fall for the 30th Anniversary and for the first time offer a look behind the scenes into the creation of the album cover artwork.”
Bach further explains that during the shows, he plans to incorporate “never-before-seen-photos” taken during the creation of the album cover, “which used actual live models playing out the scene in my Dad’s studio back in 1990-1991.”
The tour begins September 24 in Waterloo, New York, and is scheduled to wrap December 17 in San Diego. Visit SebastianBach.com for the itinerary and tickets.
Bach previously launched a 30th anniversary tour for Skid Row’s 1989 self-titled debut album in 2019. He’d planned for the tour to continue in 2020, but those dates were postponed due to the pandemic.
(WASHINGTON) — When President Joe Biden was sworn in six months ago, he inherited several major challenges, including a global pandemic and subsequent economic disruption, a social and racial reckoning across America, and a fractured Washington, reeling from the divisions of the Trump era.
On the campaign trail, Biden promised to bring bipartisanship back to the federal government, calling for unity in order to stem the effects of the coronavirus, rebuild the economy and foster equity and inclusion for all Americans.
“Since taking office, the president has acted to get America back on track by addressing the crises facing this nation, vaccinating America to beat the pandemic, delivering much needed help to American families, making transformative investments to rescue and rebuild our economy, and fundamentally showing that government can deliver for the American people,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday, marking the anniversary.
While Biden has presided over a growing economy and a retreating pandemic, there is much he hasn’t been able to accomplish, as Washington remains deadlocked without more bipartisan support from Congress for his initiatives– somethings Biden acknowledged during only the second Cabinet meeting of his administration.
“There’s much more to be done and so much more to do. Tackling voting rights, which is an existential threat to democracy right now, the things that are being passed are just beyond the pale. The vice president has been working hard on this issue and going to continue to, we all are, but there’s much more to do. We have to tackle the immigration problem, which we’re working really hard to get done in a humane and serious way. Police reform and crime,” Biden said Tuesday.
Six months into his administration, here’s a look at how successful Biden has been in pursuing some of his major initiatives.
The pandemic and the economy
President Biden oversaw an unprecedented vaccination effort to end the COVID-19 pandemic, distributing more than 200 million shots of the vaccine within his first 100 days in office.
COVID-19 cases and death rates plunged to a record low since the start of the pandemic as the effects of vaccination took hold.
Still, the Biden administration has struggled with vaccine hesitancy, and failed to hit a self-imposed goal to distribute at least one shot to 70% of all adults over 18 by July 4. As of Biden’s 6-month mark, 68.3% of adults over 18 have at least one shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
“If you’re fully vaccinated, you have a high degree of protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death. If you’re unvaccinated, you are not protected. So please, please get vaccinated. Get vaccinated now,” Biden said Monday, acknowledging that cases and death rates are once again rising in the U.S.
Biden was successful in passing his economic relief package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan. The $1.9 trillion spending package delivered stimulus checks, small business aid, funding for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, and state and local government relief.
But he failed to deliver on one major campaign promise: to secure bipartisan support for his initiatives. The COVID-19 relief package passed in Congress without a single Republican vote.
“For all of those predictions of doom and gloom six months in, here is where we stand. Record growth. Record job creation. Workers getting hard-earned breaks. Look, we brought this economy back from the brink and we’ve designed our strategy not only to provide for a temporary boost, but to lay the foundation for a long-term boom that brings everyone along,” Biden said Monday in remarks touting his economic achievement and pushing a bipartisan measure to spend $1.2 trillion improving roads, bridges and other “traditional infrastructure.”
But the fate of that is unclear in the both the Senate and House where Democrats have only a narrow majority — as is the future of legislation that would spend $3.5 trillion on “human infrastructure” such as child care that Democrats hope to push through with no Republican votes.
In those same remarks, Biden had to address inflation concerns, as rising prices across the U.S. threaten the economic optimism of reopening after the pandemic.
Immigration
President Biden has struggled to stem the flow of migrants crossing the southern border of the U.S. In June, Customs and Border Patrol apprehended a ten-year record number of migrants.
Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to address the root causes of migration, and Harris has traveled to Guatemala and Mexico in her efforts to encourage potential migrants to stay in their home countries and apply for asylum legally. But with corruption, drug-related violence and extreme weather plaguing many Central and South American countries, her efforts, including offering increased aid to those countries, have not led to a significant shift in migration patterns, as illustrated by the June CBP numbers.
“No matter how much effort we put in on curbing violence, providing disaster relief, on tackling food insecurity — on any of it — we will not make significant progress if corruption in the region persists,” Harris said on May 4.
Biden was successful in overturning many of President Trump’s strict immigration policies. He ended Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” that prevented people from traveling from several Muslim-majority countries to the United States. Biden also returned deportation priorities to the status quo in the Obama administration, which focused on people who committed crimes other than entering the country illegally.
While Biden has proposed a comprehensive immigration reform plan to Congress, there has been little movement to advance it. In July, a federal judge ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded young people brought illegally to the U.S. as children from deportation, is unlawful, and disallowed new applications to the program. The case is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court, but in the meantime, the defeat in the courts ramps up pressure on Biden and Congress to achieve a legislative fix for Dreamers.
“Only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve,” Biden said in a statement Saturday. “It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means, Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived too long in fear.”
Policing and Guns
One policy area proving elusive for Biden is police reform and gun control, as legislation on the issues have stalled in Congress.
The Biden White House has frequently highlighted its support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and called for it to be passed by the first anniversary of Floyd’s death in May. While the deadline was missed, they have encouraged bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill that have yielded little beyond a “framework” and discussions continue.
The administration also decided to forgo Biden’s campaign promise to create a commission within his first 100 days to study the issue of policing, with senior adviser Susan Rice saying the administration decided it would not be the “most effective way” to deliver on its top priority of getting the Floyd bill passed “based on close, respectful consultation with partners in the civil rights community.”
The president has not seen gun control legislation come to his desk from Capitol Hill, even after the House passed a measure that would address loopholes in the background check system. But Biden has taken unilateral action on the issue after several mass shootings during his short tenure in office.
Biden signed six gun-related executive actions on April 8, including directing the Justice Department to issue a proposed rule to regulate the sale of so-called “ghost guns” within 30 days, calling for investments in evidence-based community violence intervention and asking the Justice Department to publish model “red flag” legislation for states within 60 days.
He took additional action in June, allowing communities to spend some of the funding they received as part of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill funding to combat gun crime, such as investing in summer jobs programs for youths; hiring more police officers and court personnel; spending on gun-violence enforcement; and paying for more nurses, counselors and social workers.
Other measures include establishing a “zero tolerance” policy for gun dealers who break the law; embedding federal law enforcement officials with local police departments; and hiring more formerly incarcerated people for jobs in the federal government, according to the White House.
Even with his presidential actions, Biden is limited in what he can accomplish on his own, and has fallen short of some of his biggest campaign pledges on the issue, like stopping the importation of assault weapons, and creating a national buyback program for the U.S.
(NEW YORK) — Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Donald Trump’s who chaired the committee that raised more than $100 million for his inauguration, has been charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and obstruction of justice.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Tuesday that in 2016, Barrack illegally sought to use his influence with the new president on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.
In May 2016, according to the indictment, Barrack “took steps to establish himself as the key communications channel for the United Arab Emirates” to the Trump campaign and, that same month, gave a co-defendant a draft copy of an energy speech then-candidate Trump was preparing to deliver. The co-defendant then sent it to a UAE official and solicited feedback.
“Congrats on the great job today,” court records quoted the Emirati official saying in an email to Barrack after Trump delivered the speech. “Everybody here are happy with the results.”
A spokesman for Barrack, 74, told ABC News that “Mr. Barrack has made himself voluntarily available to investigators from the outset. He is not guilty and will be pleading not guilty.”
Barrack was due to make an initial court appearance in California, where he was arrested Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors are seeking to detain Barrack while he awaits trial, calling him “an extremely wealthy and powerful individual with substantial ties to Lebanon, the UAE, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” who “poses a serious flight risk.”
Between May 2016 and October 2017, Barrack “repeatedly promoted the United Arab Emirates and its foreign policy interests during media appearances” after soliciting direction from his co-defendant and UAE officials, the indictment said.
“The defendant promoted UAE-favored policy positions in the Campaign, in the Administration, and through the media, at times using specific language provided by UAE leadership,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis wrote in the court filing. “The defendant never registered as an agent of the UAE, as public disclosure of his agreement to act at the direction of senior UAE officials would have diminished, if not eliminated, the access and influence that the UAE sought and valued.”
The allegations involving Barrack came to light as part of a House Oversight Committee investigation, ABC News reported in July 2019.
Winston Duke played M’Baku in Black Panther, and then in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but he said he was emotional just packing his bags for his latest Marvel movie, the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever.
The 6’5″ actor tells Collider that the very idea of returning to the fictional African nation without its king, the late Chadwick Boseman, gave him pause. “It was very emotional to read the script,” Duke admitted. “It was emotional to pack to go back to set. But we’re all a bit of a family now and we grieve together, and we’re making something really special.”
Written and directed by Panther‘s Ryan Coogler, the film is currently underway in Atlanta.
Previously, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige noted that Boseman’s role of King T’Challa will not be recast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last month, at a fan event for Black Widow, Feige said working on the sequel is “clearly very emotional without Chad,” before adding, “We’re going to…make Chad proud.”
Incidentally, Boseman’s final performance in the role — voicing the character for Marvel’s animated What If…? on Disney+ — can be seen on August 11.
Get ready for another edition of NOW That’s What I Call Music!
The compilation series will release its 79th volume next month, featuring 16 major hits including “deja vu” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Beautiful Mistakes” by Maroon 5 featuring Megan Thee Stallion, “Peaches” by Justin Bieber, “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence and more.
The 1980s album will feature 18 of the biggest tracks of that decade, including Eurythmics‘ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Duran Duran’s “Rio,” Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” Toto’s “Africa,” Survivor‘s “Eye of the Tiger” and more.
Here is the track list:
NOW That’s What I Call Music! 79
Masked Wolf — “Astronaut in the Ocean”
Riton X Nightcrawlers featuring Mufasa & Hypeman — “Friday (Dopamine re-edit)”
Doja Cat feat. SZA — “Kiss Me More”
Justin Bieber feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon — “Peaches”
Maroon 5 and Megan Thee Stallion — “Beautiful Mistakes”
Ariana Grande — “pov”
Kali Uchis — “Telepatia”
Olivia Rodrigo — “deja vu”
Billie Eilish — “Your Power”
Giveon — “Heartbreak Anniversary”
Duncan Laurence — “Arcade”
Imagine Dragons — “Follow You”
Nelly & Florida George Line — “Lil Bit”
AJR — “Way Less Sad”
Regard x Troye Sivan x Tate McRae — “You”
Marshmello x Jonas Brothers — “Leave Before You Love Me”
NOW Presents What’s Next:
Mike Mineo — “What Love Is”
Q — “Take Me Where Your Heart Is”
19 &You — “Heard/Heart”
Destiny Rogers — “West Like” feat. Kalan.FrFr
Carly Gibert — “Interstellar”
Aidan Bissett — “More Than Friends”
NOW That’s What I Call A Decade! 1890s
George Michael — “Monkey” (7″ Edit Remastered)
Eurythmics — “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (Remastered)
Simple Minds — “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” (12″ Version)
John Mellencamp — “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock)”
The Clash — “Rock the Casbah” (Bob Clearmountain Mix)
Duran Duran — “Rio”
Tears for Fears — “Shout”
Survivor — “Eye of the Tiger”
Rick Springfield — “Jessie’s Girl”
Wang Chung — “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”
A-ha — “Take On Me”
Billy Idol — “Rebel Yell”
INXS — “Need You Tonight”
The Bangles — “Walk Like an Egyptian”
Daryl Hall & John Oates — “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
Toto — “Africa”
Foreigner — “I Want to Know What Love Is”
Journey — “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
Get ready for another edition of NOW That’s What I Call Music!
The compilation series will release its 79th volume next month, featuring 16 major hits including “deja vu” by Olivia Rodrigo, “pov” by Ariana Grande, “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat featuring SZA, “Your Power” by Billie Eilish, “Peaches” by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, and more.
The album will also feature TikTok favorites such as Masked Wolf‘s “Astronaut in the Ocean” and Kali Uchis‘ “Telepatia.”
After scrapping a July 17 concert at The Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, because of a case of COVID-19 in their camp, Foo Fighters have now rescheduled the show.
The new date is Thursday, August 26, the band announced on Tuesday, and tickets to the original show will be honored on that date. The July 17 show was to have been the venue’s first full-capacity show in over a year.
Dave Grohl and company announced on July 14 that “despite having made every effort to follow CDC Covid protocols and local laws, there has been a confirmed Covid-19 case within the Foo Fighters organization.”
Their statement went on to say, “Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans, Saturday’s show at the Los Angeles Forum is being postponed to a later date.”
On June 20, the band played the first full-capacity show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where all ticket buyers were required to be fully vaccinated.
Grammy-winning singer H.E.R. and Live Nation Urban have announced a second showcase for H.E.R.’s California-based Lights On Festival.
The second show will take place in Brooklyn, New York, and include performances from R&B vocalists such as Ari Lennox, Queen Naija, Chloe Bailey, Lucky Daye, West Coast natives Blxst and Victoria Monét and newcomer Joyce Wrice.
To join her at the Barclays Center, H.E.R. recruited a few special guests and past collaborators such as Bryson Tiller, Skip Marley, Tone Stith, and R&B veterans Maxwell and SWV.
H.E.R.’s Lights On Festival made its debut in 2019 with performances from Daniel Caesar, Summer Walker,and more, while the 2020 festival was postponed due to the pandemic.
The 2021 Bay Area Festival takes place September 18-19 at the Concord Pavilion, featuring live art installations, R&B Museum, Guitar Lounge, rides, attractions, and additional performances from Erykah Badu and Keyshia Cole.
The New York Lights On Festival goes down on October 21-22. For more information, visit lightsonfest.com.
When Dolly Parton drops the limited edition of Dolly Parton: Songteller in Octoberl, fans will have access to two songs that have never been shared before.
Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics,Limited Edition will come with a pink vinyl record featuring a pair of unreleased songs, “I Don’t Care” and “The Fall,” with the lyrics printed on the back. The special version of the book is also housed inside a denim-wrapped clamshell box and features a ribbon bookmark.
Originally released in 2020, Songteller chronicles the stories behind the lyrics of more than 100 songs from Dolly’s catalogue, including “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” alongside photos and other memorabilia gathered during her more than 60-year career.
The limited edition is available for pre-order now.
