When Oasis sang “Someday you will find me/Caught beneath the landslide” in their classic song “Champagne Supernova,” this probably isn’t what they meant.
According to The New York Times, a crowd of people who’d gone to see an Oasis tribute band at the Tan Hill Inn in Yorkshire, England, last Friday night were stuck inside the pub for three days due to a snowstorm rendering the surrounding roads unsafe to drive.
Between the audience members, the Tan Hill Inn staff and, of course, the tribute band itself, 61 people were stranded. Eventually, a snowplow was able to reach the area on Monday afternoon, allowing all but two “young girls who are not confident to drive on the roads as they are” to return home.
The cover band, called Noasis, has since taken up the nickname “Snowasis.”
Following the announcement that his Stadium Tour will conclude in 2022 with five shows at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, the country legend has sold more than 400,000 tickets to the shows. But this isn’t the first time he’s accomplished a feat of this magnitude.
This marks a full circle moment for the superstar, as he sold the same number of tickets when he was supposed to launch his Comeback Tour at Croke Park in 2014, but ended up having to cancel all five concerts when the Dublin City Council would not allow for more than three shows he had been granted licenses for.
“I never dreamed we’d get the chance to try this again. I’m so grateful to all who made this happen,” Garth shares in a statement.
The “Unanswered Prayers” hitmaker was originally scheduled to play two shows at Croke Park next year, but more were added due to overwhelming demand.
The Dublin shows will take place September 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17.
Teyana Taylor is now recovering in a Connecticut hospital after she says her body “shut down” and she was forced to cancel Saturday night’s scheduled concert at Femme It Forward in Mashantucket, CT.
The MTV VMA winner is performing on The Last Rose Petal…Farewell Tour.
“SHUT DOWN, my body actually low key betrayed me,” Taylor commented on an Instagram photo of herself lying in a hospital bed as she thanked her fans for understanding the last-minute cancellation of her show. “Y’all have seen me with a broken foot and all types of other crazy s**t but still got on that stage and bodied it.”
The singer/actress/choreographer/fashion designer said she is receiving the care she needs.
“I’ve since got the proper fluids and nutrients put back into my body all night/morning & will take the next few off days to continue to recover,” the 30-year-old entertainer continued.
Taylor promised fans the show would be rescheduled for a future date and that all tickets would be honored.
She concluded the lengthy post with many thanks. “Shoutout to my lovelies @arilennox & @sevyn for holdin it downnnnn!… Shout to @babyjunie4 for holding it down for mommy,” Teyana added.
Several stars sent her heart-warming messages. Niecy Nash wrote, “Wishing you a speedy recovery.” Erykah Badu commented, “Bless up,” while Marlon Wayans posted, “Get well soon sis, love you. You’re a real one. We give our best us to the people that love us… take care of you.”
Taylor was scheduled to perform the final show on the tour Tuesday in Atlanta.
One week ago, Teyana’s husband, Iman Shumpert, became the first NBA player to win Dancing with the Stars as he took home the mirrorball trophy with his professional partner, Daniella Karagach.
(NEW YORK) — Dr. Barbara Sampson, the first woman to lead the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in its 100-year history, announced her departure Monday for a job in the private sector.
Sampson has been with the agency 23 years, nine as chief, and steered it through the grueling onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were so overwhelmed with the number of fatalities here in the city that we needed every OCME employee to be part of our COVID response,” Sampson recalled in an interview with ABC News.
Prior to the pandemic, Sampson oversaw the autopsies of Eric Garner, Joan Rivers and Jeffrey Epstein, each of which generated a degree of public controversy
“Keep with the truth and what is based in science and in medicine you can’t go too far astray,” she said of her guiding philosophy.
Sampson has championed new technology for DNA analysis and for opioids detection so autopsies can more quickly inform public health officials and law enforcement about what drugs are on the street.
She has maintained the office’s commitment, started under her predecessor Dr. Charles Hirsch, to keep examining human remains recovered from the 9/11 attacks. There were new identifications on the 20 year anniversary.
Sampson told ABC News she didn’t think much at the time of her appointment about being the first woman chief medical examiner in the city, but reflected on it now she is leaving her post for a position in the Mount Sinai Health System.
“I was clearly a role model for so many women who are interested in careers in medicine in science and in government. I found that now looking back extremely rewarding,” Sampson said.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who served under former President Donald Trump until his firing in the wake of the 2020 election, has sued the Department of Defense over redactions they made to his upcoming book.
Esper’s memoir, set to be released in May of 2022, is expected to chronicle his time in the Trump administration, in which he served first as Secretary of the Army and then as Secretary of Defense until Trump tweeted about his firing on Nov. 9, 2020, following weeks of contention.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington on Sunday, said that Esper engaged in “extensive coordination” with the Department’s Office of Pre-publication and Security Review.
Esper alleges the review “dragged on” for six months and when he finally heard back on Oct. 7 after reaching out in May, there was no explanation given for some redactions.
“No written explanation was offered to justify the deletions,” Esper wrote in an e-mail to current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “My follow-on conversations with the DOPSR official handling my case confirmed my assessment. He similarly has been unable to assert that the redacted items contain classified information or compromise national security.”
Esper said he was asked not to quote his conversations with Trump or other foreign officials, although much of the material “was already in the public domain,” according to Esper.
His attorneys argue in the lawsuit that the Defense Department “has unlawfully imposed a prior restraint upon Mr. Esper by delaying, obstructing and infringing on his constitutional right to publish his unclassified manuscript entitled ‘A Sacred Oath.'”
The former defense secretary also said he had already met with Austin’s chief of staff and the Defense Department’s Director of Administration and Management, Mike Donley.
“I should not be required to change my views, opinions, or descriptions of events simply because they may be too candid at times for normal diplomatic protocol. After all, the DOPSR process is about protecting classified information and not harming national security — two important standards to which I am fully committed. Moreover, my Constitutional rights should not be abridged because my story or choice of words may prompt uncomfortable discussions in foreign policy circles,” he said in the suit.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby responded in a statement on Monday.
“We are aware of Mr. Esper’s concerns regarding the pre-publication of his memoir. As with all such reviews, the Department takes seriously its obligation to balance national security with an author’s narrative desire. Given that this matter is now under litigation, we will refrain from commenting further,” Kirby said.
In a memo reported first by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl in his new book Betrayal, the Presidential Personnel Office under the direction of John McEntee, a favorite aide of Trump, made a case for firing Esper three weeks before Esper was terminated.
Reasons outlined for his firing in the memo included that Esper “barred the Confederate flag” on military bases, “opposed the President’s direction to utilize American forces to put down riots,” “focused the Department on Russia,” and was “actively pushing for ‘diversity and inclusion.'”
(WASHINGTON) — With the COVID-19 omicron variant sending shockwaves around the world, President Joe Biden is set to address the nation surrounding the new variant following a morning briefing from his White House COVID-19 Response Team.
The president announced Friday that starting this week, the U.S. will restrict travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. Experts predict it’s only a matter of time before the variant first detected in southern Africa is circulating in the U.S.
The omicron variant was first detected last week in Botswana and cases have since been confirmed in several countries including South Africa, Germany, Belgium, Japan and Canada. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the variant as one of concern on Friday.
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, argued omicron gives Americans more reason to get their COVID-19 booster shots — or for getting the jab if they haven’t been vaccinated already.
“We just need to make sure that we know we have tools against the virus in general,” Fauci said.
Fauci told Biden in a meeting on Sunday that it would likely take two weeks for a better picture of omicron’s transmissibility and severity, according to a White House readout of the meeting. Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week” that it will also take time to determine if the current COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the new variant.
“The pharmaceutical companies are preparing to make a specific booster for this, but we may not need that,” Fauci said on Good Morning America.
Biden will address the public twice Monday. Following a meeting with CEOs from different business sectors, Biden will also deliver remarks about the supply chain and inflation concerns.
The president continues to face low polling numbers and mounting political pressure heading into the holiday season with several crises converging, from the ongoing pandemic to supply chain woes and rising consumer prices.
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
Whitesnake has seen many musicians come and go during its 40-year history, but the band has never featured a female member…until now!
This past week, after frontman David Coverdale and company announced that bassist Michael Devin had parted ways with the group, Whitesnake revealed that Devin’s replacement is Tanya O’Callaghan.
“[W]e are very proud to announce & to introduce you all to our newest Snake…or should I say…SNAKETTE!!!” a message on the band’s official website reads. “Please give A LOUD WHITESNAKE CHOIR welcome to THE IRISH TORNADO!!!…A whirling dervish of a performer whom we feel will bring a fresh, new, exciting musicality & welcome energy to the band, both in the studio & onstage…here she is…Irish born & bred…the one & only…Tanya O’Callaghan!!!”
Adds Coverdale, “For whatever reason Whitesnake has never featured a female musician in the band before…Bad Boys!!!…But, when we saw TANYA performing with our friend Stephen Adler‘s Band at the M3 festival in 2019 & we were all blown away.”
According to O’Callaghan’s official website, besides playing with ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Adler’s solo band, Tanya has “toured, recorded, written and worked with” Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, Extreme‘s Nuno Bettencourt, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan, Orianthi, 10cc‘s Kevin Godley, The Corrs‘ Sharon Corr and others.
Meanwhile, O’Callaghan has shared a message about how she feels about joining Whitesnake on her Facebook page.
“What an absolute honor to be joining Whitesnake/David Coverdale for their worldwide farewell tour 2022/23,” she writes. “[T]o step into the snake shoes of my bass brothers Rudy Sarzo, Tony Franklin, Neil Murray and Michael Devin…are you kidding me…what a f#*king honor beyond belief!!! My heart is exploding.”
Whitesnake launches its 2022 tour on May 10 in the capital of O’Callaghan’s homeland, Dublin.
Welcome to Reba’s Place, a new bar, restaurant and live music venue curated in honor of the country legend herself, Reba McEntire.
Housed inside a 100-year-old Masonic Temple in Reba’s home state of Oklahoma will be a two-story restaurant, bar, live music venue and retail store. Reba’s Place will regularly feature live music shows, along with a personalized menu that boasts a “Fancy” steak, named after her signature hit, her favorite dish, pinto beans and corn bread, along with street tacos, chicken fried steak and more.
The multi-purpose venue will also display memorabilia from her storied career and the decor will reflect her midwestern roots, in addition to a vintage bar that will serve beer, wine and craft cocktails.
Reba made the announcement on Saturday during a performance in Atoka where the venue is located.
“We’re really tickled, we’re very excited about it,” Reba said onstage. “It’s going to have great food, family atmosphere, a bandstand in there where we can do a little pickin’ and grinnin’ and singin.'”
The singer says they’re hoping to open in September 2022. Reba’s Place is created in partnership with Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the City of Atoka.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss‘ second collaborative album Raise the Roof has debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
The record lands at number seven on the all-genre chart with a total of 40,000 equivalent album units, 38,000 of which were traditional album sales.
Plant and Krauss’ first joint effort, 2007’s Grammy-winning Raising Sand, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. With Raise the Roof, Plant now has nine top-10 records as a solo artist, along with the 13 he’s notched with Led Zeppelin. Krauss, meanwhile, has a total of five top-10s.
Raise the Roof is primarily a covers collection paying tribute to “legends and unsung heroes of folk, blues, country and soul music,” although it does include one original called “High and Lonesome” that Plant co-wrote with producer T Bone Burnett. Plant and Krauss will hit the road in support of the album starting June 2022.
It was canceled for 2020, but Alice Cooper‘s annual charity fundraiser, Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, is returning for 2021.
Scheduled for this Saturday, December 4, the lineup includes Tom Morello, Ace Frehley, Ed Roland of Collective Soul, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals. Of course, Alice himself will perform with his touring band. It takes place at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, where Alice lives.
According to the Arizona Republic, Alice’s wife Sheryl Cooper, a choreographer and dance instructor, will perform at the event for the first time.
As always, the event will raise money to pay for staff and resources at Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, which provide free music, dance, arts and vocational training programs for young people aged 12-20. There are two such centers: one in Phoenix and one in Mesa, Arizona.
“The uniqueness of this concert is that you’ll never see this caliber and variety of artists on the same stage again,” said Alice in a statement. “Come join our ultimate Christmas party and help support the teens at The Rock Teen Center!”
Meanwhile, the shock rocker will kick off a tour January 28 in Cincinnati; he’ll play eight shows through a February 8 concert in Orlando, Florida. The next day, he sets sail on the Monsters of Rock Cruise.
