Neil Young has announced that he’s decided not to perform at the Farm Aid 2021 festival scheduled for September 25 at Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut, citing his concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a message posted on NeilYoungArchives.com, the 75-year-old rock legend writes, “Lots is going on in our world right now. I find myself wondering whether [Farm Aid] will be safe for everyone with the Covid pandemic surging…I don’t want to let anybody down, but still can’t shake the feeling that it might not be safe for everyone. I worry about audiences coming together in these times.”
He continues, “All you people who can’t go to a concert because you still don’t feel safe, I stand with you. I don’t want you to see me playing and think it’s safe now. I don’t want to play until you feel safe, and it is indeed…safe.”
Young adds, “My soul tells me it would be wrong to risk having anyone die because they wanted to hear music and be with friends… Since we know vaccinated people can catch and spread Covid, I worry about the children who could become infected after [Farm Aid], just by being with someone, maybe a parent, who caught the virus at [Farm Aid] and didn’t know it.”
Neil, who traditionally co-headlines the annual event with fellow Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, notes, “While I respect Willie, John and Dave’s decisions to stick with it and play, I am not of the same mind. It is a tough call.”
Other artists on the 2021 Farm Aid bill include Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Margo Price, Sturgill Simpson, Bettye LaVette and Jamey Johnson. The concert is sold out.
The critically-panned movie CATS will always have a special place in star Jennifer Hudson‘s heart.
Speaking to Total Film, the singer defended the 2019 movie musical, which flopped at the box office and became a certified punchline at various award shows — with fellow CATS alums James Corden and Rebel Wilson ripping the movie at the 2020 Academy Awards.
Unlike some of her peers, however, Hudson demonstrated how much she cares for the movie when praising the interviewer for even mentioning it during her interview.
“I loved that you asked about CATS!,” she exclaimed. “You know what? I think it was a bit overwhelming. It’s unfortunate that it was misunderstood.”
“I think later down the line, people will see it differently. But it is something I am still very proud of and grateful to have been a part of,” the Respect star continued, adding that she is honored to have played Grizabella — who belts out the musical’s most famous song, “Memories.”
In addition, Hudson revealed that CATS also inspired her to open her heart and home to two actual cats. She added that she even named her new felines after the characters Grizabella and Macavity, the latter played by Idris Elba in the film.
Said the Grammy winner, “They are the best thing I’ve ever had. I love them so much.”
CATS debuted December 29, 2019 and earned a lukewarm $27.2 million during its North American box office run. The movie was also panned on Rotten Tomatoes, where it currently sits with a 19% rating.
(MISSISSIPPI) — More than 20,000 students across Mississippi are in quarantine after the first week of in-person classes.
Mississippi, which has the lowest vaccination rate among all states — about 34%, according to state data — is reeling from rising COVID-19 cases and the highly transmissible delta variant. Last week, a 13-year-old eighth grader died after testing positive — the fifth Mississippi child to die during the pandemic.
Some schools reopened last week, and so far 4,521 students have tested positive for COVID-19 and 20,334 have been quarantined due to exposure — about 5% of the state’s public school students, according to data compiled by the state Aug. 9 to Aug. 13 from over 800 schools.
Additionally, 948 teachers or staffers tested positive last week and 1,463 were quarantined due to exposure, according to state data.
Dr. Paul Byers, the state epidemiologist, painted a somber picture of the crisis unfolding in real time during a call with state pediatricians on Wednesday.
“These are dramatic numbers,” he added. “We are clearly at the worst part of the pandemic that we’ve seen throughout, and it’s continuing to worsen.”
Gov. Tate Reeves has not mandated masks in schools, instead letting districts decide for themselves.
About 600 schools have implemented universal masking for indoor settings following the recent spike in cases and isolations, Mississippi newspaper The Clarion-Ledger reported. The Biloxi school board, and the Gulfport and Hancock districts are among those requiring students to wear masks.
Governors and school districts throughout the U.S. have sparred over mandating masks in classrooms even as children younger than 12 still can’t be vaccinated.
New COVID-19 infections among 5-to-17-year-olds in Mississippi have risen steadily since March, accounting for about 20% of new cases through July, according to state data.
On Saturday, 13-year-old Mkayla Robinson died in Smith County, according to ABC Jackson affiliate WAPT.
“She was loved by all of her teachers,” Smith County Schools Superintendent Nick Hillman told WAPT. “She was an honor student, a band student. Everybody says if they had 30 kids in the classroom like her, they have the perfect classroom.”
The R&B star — known for hits including “Blinding Lights” and “I Can’t Feel My Face” — has revealed that his early work was influenced by Deftones.
“Deftones huge inspo during Trilogy era,” The Weeknd writes in a tweet. Trilogy refers to his 2012 compilation, which collects his first three mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. You can definitely hear the Deftones influence on some of the heavier tracks, such as House of Balloons opener “High for This.”
Deftones, by the way, has seemingly made a habit of attracting fans from different genres. Along with The Weeknd, singer — and fellow Canadian — Michael Bublé is a longtime Deftones devotee.
DEFTONES HUGE INSPO DURING TRILGOY ERA #MementoMori
After Lizzo opened up in a tearful video earlier this week about the racist and sexist abuse she received following the release of her new song, “Rumors,” two social media platforms have taken a stand against the bullying.
In a statement to Billboard, a representative from Facebook confirmed that the social media site, as well as Instagram, which Facebook owns, are in the process of removing hateful comments directed at Lizzo. Facebook said the comments and direct messages flooding Lizzo’s socials violate the two platforms’ terms of service, which prohibit hate speech. The spokesman also said Instagram and Facebook will ban accounts that repeatedly post comments that violate their terms of service.
The news comes shortly after the “Juice” singer spoke to fans via a 13-minute Instagram Live over the weekend about the racist and sexist attacks that made her “hurt so hard.” Lizzo said she is “overwhelmed” and has “been in shock since the song came out” because of the abuse hurled at her.
“Sometimes, I feel like the world just don’t love me back,” the Grammy winner said at the time when explaining that she strives to make positive music that uplifts people, regardless of their race. “People saying s*** about me that doesn’t even make sense. It’s fat-phobic, it’s racist and it’s hurtful.”
Lizzo’s impassioned video inspired fans to demand social media websites do more to protect their users from bullying.
(NEW YORK) — Nearly 90% of parents in the United States plan to send their children to school in person this fall, an increase since May, even with the delta variant spreading across the country and more children falling sick from COVID-19.
At the same time, almost one-third of parents say they don’t know their child’s school’s COVID-19 safety plan, and 60% say they’d like to know about the measures their school is taking to keep kids safe.
The numbers are from a survey of more than 3,000 parents, conducted this summer by the RAND Corporation and commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, aimed at finding out how hesitant adults are to send their children to school in person this year. The report, Will Students Come Back? was released Wednesday.
Andrew Sweet, managing director of COVID-19 response and recovery at the Rockefeller Foundation, said he was surprised to see more parents commit to in-person learning this summer than in the spring.
“I think we’re at a breaking point and a lot of parents just can’t afford to keep their kids at home. They don’t have time. A lot of parents have to go to work. You can’t work in a grocery store remotely,” he said.
Parents with children under 12 years old — and not yet authorized to receive a COVID-19 vaccine — are just as likely to send their children to school in person as parents whose children were 12 or over, the survey found.
Fifty-seven percent of parents said they would get their child vaccinated when the shot is authorized for their age. Meanwhile, 52% of parents with children 12 and over — who made up roughly two-thirds of all those surveyed — said their child had received the vaccine.
Parents differed along racial lines: 94% of white parents surveyed said they would send their children to school in-person, compared to 83% of Hispanic and 82% of Black parents.
Additionally, parents of color were substantially more likely to require certain school safety measures — like classroom ventilation, mandatory masking and vaccinated teachers — to allow their kids to return to school buildings this fall.
Parents of color were twice as likely as white parents to support mask requirements, an issue that has flared recently in states like Florida, Texas and Arizona, where governors have attempted to ban schools from mandating face coverings for kids.
The survey found that only 27% of parents know in detail which safety measures their child’s school is adopting, suggesting a glaring lack of communication that has most of the surveyed parents wanting more information about how their child will be protected from COVID-19 in the classroom.
“I think there is confusion because there are so many messengers,” said Sweet.
Most parents in the survey said they’d prefer to get information about school safety from a school staff member, with 44% of them preferring to hear from a principal.
Yet educators might not be the most effective messengers of health guidance to parents and students, suggested Sweet.
“It’s hard to be an educator but also a public health communicator. We’ve asked so much of our teachers over the course of the pandemic, and to add another piece to it to speak about ventilation systems or antigen testing … that’s not part of their vocation. That’s not really what they signed up to do. And so it’s asking them to do yet another thing,” he said.
The public school district in New Orleans began weekly press conferences with the superintendent this summer to help communicate safety decisions to families. The district is also using social media to spread information, and is encouraging parents to speak to one another and contact their child’s school directly.
“It is always our challenge to make sure the nitty-gritty details get to our parents, which is unfortunate and hard at times,” Dina Hasiotis, senior adviser to the Superintendent of NOLA Public Schools, said in a roundtable streamed by the Rockefeller Foundation on Wednesday.
Foghat is commemorating the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by offering free tickets to all police officers, firefighters and emergency medical service workers who’d like to attend the band’s concert this September 11 at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York.
The offer is good for both active and retired workers, and tickets can be reserved by visiting Foghat.biz. The free passes can be picked up at the “Will Call” window at the venue. ID will be required.
Foghat’s 2021 tour schedule runs through a November 27 show in Hiawassee, Georgia, and the band also has a few 2022 dates on the books. Visit Foghat.com for more information.
Meanwhile, the “Slow Ride” rockers released a new live album and concert video last month called 8 Days on the Road in celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary. The collection, which is available as a two-CD/DVD package and digitally, documents a November 2019 performance at the Daryl Hall-owned Daryl’s House club in Pawling, New York.
(WASHINGTON) — Could you live on Mars for an entire year? Or, could you at least pretend?
NASA is on the search for four people to live in a 1,700-square-foot habitat, created by a 3D-printer, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to simulate a year-long stay on Mars.
Applications to participate as part of the crew are being accepted through Sept. 17, 2021 for the one-year mission that starts in late 2022.
According to NASA’s website, finalists will undergo medical evaluations, psychological testing and psychiatric screening to determine suitability for the physically and mentally demanding isolation mission.
“The CHAPEA missions are designed to collect critical health and performance data to characterize risks associated with going to Mars,” said Shaneequa Vereen, public affairs officer for the Human Health and Performance Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center. “These analog missions will entail a good number of the challenges associated with a Mars mission, such as a Mars-realistic spaceflight food system, time-delayed communication, crew isolation and confinement, and resource restrictions.”
But NASA isn’t looking for just anyone to join this mission. The qualifications are intense and applicants must have a Master’s degree in a science, engineering or math field or pilot experience.
Additionally, only U.S. residents between the ages of 30 and 55 with no dietary or physical health issues will be eligible. Motion sickness? Sorry, but no can do.
“Living on Mars is going to entail a large number of challenges,” Vereen added. “By conducting analog missions we are able obtain data that enables us to better characterize risks before sending astronauts all the way to Mars.”
The Mars Dune Alpha experiment will be carried out in three phases, with the first beginning next fall. The exploration trip will also be complete with spacewalks and ready-to-eat space food. There will even be an area to grow plants and other vegetation.
Keith Urban celebrates all the dreamers, drifters and wildcards out there in “Wild Hearts,” his breezy new summer anthem. The song arrived on Thursday, and it’s the first taste of new music fans have gotten from the singer since he dropped The Speed of Now Part 1 in 2020.
“Has anyone told you you’ll never amount to anything? / You’re just wasting your time chasing / This tail-of-a-dragon kinda dream?” Keith questions in the song’s second verse. “But I’m here to tell you anything can happen in this life / If you got the heart and the passion / And a God-lit fire inside…”
“To all of the lost ones who aren’t really lost ones, this song is for you,” Keith explained on social media this week, referencing one of the lyrics in the chorus.
Keith hasn’t shared any more details about the song, and it’s unclear whether the arrival of “Wild Hearts” signifies more new music ahead.
In addition to putting out his own new album last year, Keith’s been a featured guest on some exciting collaborations recently. He joined Jimmie Allen for a rendition of “Boy Gets a Truck” on the younger singer’s Bettie James Gold Edition album.
Also, when Taylor Swift dropped her re-recorded “Taylor’s Version” of Fearless back in April, Keith sang on two “From the Vault” tracks, duetting with Taylor on “That’s When” and lending some harmonies to “We Were Happy.”
Marvel Studios has released a sweeping new trailer for Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao‘s The Eternals.
Along with some eye-popping visuals, the trailer details the movie’s plot, and also answers the question non-comics readers might have been asking themselves: “Um, who are The Eternals?”
The trailer explains that the super-powerful figures were created 7,000 years ago by god-like characters known as The Celestials — Kurt Russell played the Celestial Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and another, seen in the new trailer, was shown laying waste to a planet in the first Guardians film.
The new footage clarifies the Eternals were created to protect our planet from an alien menace known as The Deviants — and only The Deviants.
“Why didn’t you guys help fight Thanos…or all the other terrible things throughout history?” Kit Harington‘s heroic Black Knight sarcastically asks Gemma Chan‘s Eternal Sersei.
“We were instructed not to interfere…unless Deviants were involved,” Sersei responds.
Salma Hayek‘s Ajak explains that the Avengers’ victory at the end of Endgame — bringing back all the life that Thanos had snapped away — created The Emergence, an awakening of The Deviants, that will destroy the planet in seven days, unless The Eternals reunite from all over the globe to stop them.
“We’ve loved these people since the day we arrived,” Angelina Jolie‘s Thena says in voiceover. “When you love something, you protect it”
“You can’t protect any of them,” replies the Deviant leader Kro.
The footage also shows the other Eternals — including Richard Madden‘s Ikaris, Barry Keoghan‘s Druig, Kumail Nanjiani‘s Kingo, Brian Tyree Henry‘s Phastos, and Lia McHugh‘s Sprite — using their respective powers to combat the threat.
The Eternals movie opens November 5 from Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
