Arcade Fire
Beck No Longer Opening for Arcade Fire on Tour
Beck will no longer serve as the opening act on Arcade Fire‘s upcoming North American tour, Billboard can confirm. Instead, the Haitian band Boukman Eksperyans will take his place. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news While Beck didn’t provide a reason for his decision, his exit comes just months after sexual misconduct allegations against Arcade Fire’s frontman Win Butler. The allegations against Butler were first published on Aug. 27 in a Pitchfork story. The report detailed the accounts of four individuals who claimed to have had inappropriate sexual interactions with Butler, with one alleging that the singer had assaulted them; he has denied that any of the alleged incidents were nonconsensual. In addition to the testimonies ...
Beck Withdraws From Opening Slot on Arcade Fire’s Fall Tour
In the wake of sexual misconduct accusations against lead singer Win Butler a few months ago, Arcade Fire has continued with its fall tour, currently hitting North America. Today, however, Beck, who was slated to open the shows, withdrew from the tour after opening its European leg. Ticketholders were informed by email of Beck’s departure. A rep for the artist, who confirmed that he left the tour, did not provide any additional comment. Haitian band Boukman Eksperyans will take Beck’s slot. The tour will begin in Washington, D.C. later this month. Feist opened the first shows of that leg before dropping off, saying that it was “incredibly difficult for me and I can only imagine how much more difficult it’s been for the people who came forward. More than anything I wish healing to those inv...
5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Sammy Hagar
Name Sammy Hagar Best known for Making tequila and bringing it to the masses—plus I’m a singer and songwriter. Current city San Francisco Really want to be in In Cabo eating tacos, drinking margaritas and jamming on stage with friends at the Cabo Wabo Cantina! Excited about I’m excited that my new album with The Circle, Crazy Times, which was produced by Dave Cobb is coming out this week (Sept. 30)! My current music collection has a lot of A lot of blues, soul and old country. And a little bit of Jazz. Preferred format I like vinyl for the old blues, great classic rock albums (see below) and jazz. I stream mostly new releases and singles. It’s an easy way to stay current, hear what my friends are putting out–and to keep up with wh...
Feist Drops Off Arcade Fire Tour Following Win Butler Sexual Misconduct Accusations
Over the weekend, Pitchfork published a lengthy report where four people accused Arcade Fire‘s Win Butler of sexual misconduct. On Aug. 30, the band kicked off their European tour in Dublin, with Canadian singer-songwriter Feist opening. At the show and following the report’s publication, she donated a portion of her merch proceeds to Women’s Aid Dublin, an organization that aims stop domestic violence in Ireland. In a lengthy statement posted on her social accounts today (Sept. 1), Feist announced that after two shows, she is dropping off the tour. At a pub in Dublin, after rehearsing with my band, I read the same headline you did. We didn’t have any time to prepare for what was coming let alone a chance to decide not to fly across the ocean into the belly of this situation. This has been...
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Four People
Win Butler, who performs with wife Régine Chassagne in Arcade Fire, has been accused of sexual misconduct by four people. In a report published by Pitchfork on Saturday (Aug. 27), three female Arcade Fire fans and a fourth person who is gender-fluid and uses they/them pronouns claimed that they’d had sexual interactions with Butler when they were between the ages of 18 and 23 that they deemed inappropriate; one claimed that they’d been sexually assaulted by the musician. In a statement given to the publication, Butler said that the extramarital relationships were consensual. Billboard reached out to a representative for Butler, who said he had no further comment beyond the statement provided to Pitchfork. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The all...
Win Butler Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Four People, Says Encounters Were Consensual
Arcade Fire singer/guitarist Win Butler has been accused of sexual misconduct by four people for incidents that allegedly took place between 2015-2020. In a report published by Pitchfork, the accusers are said to be three women and another person who is gender fluid, all of whom claim Butler had an inappropriate sexual relationship with them. Butler has been married to fellow Arcade Fire member Régine Chassagne since 2003. At the time of the encounters, the three women were between 18-23, while Butler was between 34 and 39. The gender-fluid accuser was 21 when they say Butler, 34 at the time, sexually assaulted them twice: once when they were riding in a car together and another when he allegedly showed up at their apartment despite being told not to do so in text messages. Pitchfork says ...
The 30 Best Albums of 2022 (So Far)
The following acts released quality albums in May 2022 alone: Radiohead off-shoot The Smile, Kendrick Lamar, Wilco, Arcade Fire, Sharon Van Etten, The Black Keys, Florence + the Machine, Harry Styles — we’ll stop there for space reasons. It’s been such a wild music year so far, only some of them made the following list. Maybe 2022 was just front-loaded and the final six months will be less eventful. (Judging by the release calendar, that’s probably a bad prediction.) Either way, we had trouble even narrowing this down to 30. Let’s meet back here at year’s end and see how things shake out. 30. Caracara – New Preoccupations Fans of classic 2000s emo — Say Anything, Dashboard Confessional, or Circa Survive, for example — are sure to find something to love in Caracara’s New Preoccupations (and...
Will Butler Releases First New Songs Since Arcade Fire Departure
Will Butler has released his first new music since his surprising March departure from Arcade Fire in the form of two songs from Merge Records, “A Stranger’s House” and “Nearer to Thee.” Butler will also tour this summer for the first time since 2019, with a seven-show run beginning Aug. 11 in Cambridge, Mass. Unsurprisingly, both new songs share some musical DNA with Arcade Fire, which Butler joined a couple years after his brother Win founded the band in 2001. “A Stranger’s House” and “Nearer to Thee” feature Butler’s core band of Sara Dobbs, Miles Francis, Jenny Shore and Julie Shore, who also played on his 2020 release Generations. [embedded content][embedded content] “‘A Stranger’s House’ has a rad video. ‘Nearer to Thee’ is some true gothic bullshit. I love them both,” Butler wrote o...
Watch Arcade Fire Cover Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’
Harry Styles’ latest single “As It Was” has already taken over the world, so it seems only natural that Arcade Fire covered the track during a recent appearance on the BBC radio series Live Lounge, which went live today (May 12). [embedded content][embedded content] Beyond paying tribute to its Columbia Records labelmate Styles, Arcade Fire performed “The Lightning I, II” and “Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)” from its brand new album, We. The session was recorded at the BBC’s iconic Maida Vale Studios. [embedded content][embedded content] [embedded content][embedded content] As previously reported, Styles’ new album, Harry’s House, arrives May 20 and will be supported by arena residencies in several North American cities. Arcade Fire’s own tour in support of We gets underway Aug. 30. ...
Inflatable Air Dancers Get Happy in New Arcade Fire Video
Fresh off the Saturday Night Live stage, Arcade Fire have released a new video for the song “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid).” [embedded content][embedded content] The track is drawn from the band’s brand new Columbia album, WE, which came out Friday. Arcade Fire tapped Academy Award-nominee Benh Zeitlin to direct and Affonso Gonçalves to edit the clip, which showcases children rolling down grass hills and inflatable air dancers getting caught in comical positions (such as humping the roof of a building). Snippets from live performances of the song at Arcade Fire’s recent gigs in New Orleans and at Coachella are also featured, including the parade of inflatable air dancers that joined them on stage. Arcade Fire made their fifth SNL musical guest appearance on Saturday, and whi...
Arcade Fire Bring We to Saturday Night Live
Arcade Fire hit the Saturday Night Live stage for the first time since 2018, treating fans to tracks off their just-released album We. The group performed “Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)” (with an assist from inflatable tubes and “The Lightning I, II.” As the credits rolled, they also played “End of the Empire I-IV.” The appearance marked the band’s fifth time playing SNL, following performances in 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2018. [embedded content][embedded content] [embedded content][embedded content] Arcade Fire’s We is “a project of resolute, zeitgeisty grandeur.” Read SPIN‘s review of the album here. On Friday, the band announced a world tour to support the heady new record with support from Beck and Feist. See the full list of dates below. Arcade Fire 2022 Tou...
Arcade Fire Drafts Beck, Feist For We World Tour Dates
In tandem with the release today (May 6) of its new album, We, Arcade Fire has announced a fall world tour with support from Feist in Europe and Beck (playing an acoustic set) in North America. The band is also making its previously announced fifth appearance as the musical guest on NBC’s Saturday Night Live tomorrow. The European leg begins Aug. 30 in Dublin and runs through Oct. 1 in Warsaw. The North American portion kicks off Oct. 28 in Washington, D.C. and wraps Dec. in Toronto. SPIN understands that second shows are on hold in several cities if the first ones sell out quickly. Tickets go on sale May 13. In conjunction with PLUS1, One dollar, euro or pound from each purchase will benefit KANPE’s efforts to support vulnerable communities in Haiti. Arcade Fire 2022 Tour Dates: Aug. 30: ...
