Coronavirus
Here Are All the Livestreams & Virtual Concerts to Watch During the Coronavirus Crisis: Week of Sept. 14
Summer is going out with a major bang! The last full week of the warm-weather season features some seriously rockin’ livestream shows, including one by The Killers, and a weekend of music from the long-running industrial music festival Cold Waves. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, artists around the world have been canceling shows to help prevent spreading COVID-19, which has led to the deaths of more than 193,000 people just in the United States to date. Instead, they’ve been doing livestream concerts from home and empty venues, while music festivals have done the same, with some also featuring rare footage of past shows. Below is a list of the livestream music events happening the week of Sept. 14 that you can enjoy from the safety of your own home. We’ll add...
Keith Urban: I ‘Did Nothing … for It Seemed Like an Eternity’ During Quarantine
Keith Urban was a lot like the average person when quarantine began. “I didn’t transition smoothly into this new way of doing things,” he confessed to CBS Sunday Morning’s Tracy Smith in a new interview. And that wasn’t all. “I was gonna put my sweatpants on, sit on the couch, watch TV with the family, and wait ’til the whole thing blows over!” the country superstar, who’ll be hosting the ACM Awards on Wednesday (Sept. 16), added. “I just didn’t do anything! I just did nothing for it seemed like eternity for me.” But it wasn’t long before Urban began doing livestream concerts from home, as did many other musicians who wanted to stay connected with fans as tours around the world were canceled due to the coronaviru...
Republican Party Senator Lightly Smacks Hand Of President Trump Over COVID-19 Response
Source: Portland Press Herald / Getty President Donald Trump and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic has surfaced in the news of late, especially as journalist Bob Woodward preps a potentially damaging book release. While many in the Republican Party have yet to lambaste Trump over COVID-19 concerns, one senator in the party broke with her side to do just that. albeit gently. The Hill reports that Sen. Susan Collins of Maine made one of the more pointed statements regarding Trump and the pandemic, which as of Saturday (Sept. 12) has taken the lives of 193,000 Americans. In Woodward’s upcoming book Rage, Trump played down the coronavirus in a bid to not stoke the fears of residents but perhaps to the detriment of all. Collins, who was in Maine for a Senate debate Friday, said, “I belie...
College Football Player Jamain Stephens Dies Of COVID-19 Complications
Source: California University of Pennsylvania / Twitter Jamain Stephens, a lineman for the California University of Pennsylvania, died of complications arising from the COVID-19 disease. Entering into his senior year, the 6-foot-3, 355-pound player was the son of a former NFL player, Jamain Sr. An announcement was made via Central Catholic High School’s Facebook page, where Stephens graduated from in 2017. From Facebook: Known more commonly by his nickname, “Juice,” Jamain was a defensive lineman for the Vikings, winning two WPIAL championships and a state championship in 2015. Jamain went on to continue his football career at California University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Business Administration. Jamain was an avid Central Catholic supporter, and could often be found cheering on the V...
U.S. Recorded Music Business Still Growing (A Bit) Amid Pandemic: RIAA 2020 Mid-Year Report
The good news: The U.S. recorded-music business was still in an upswing in the first half of 2020, growing 5.6% at retail to $5.7 billion, up from $5.4 billion, continuing a trend of growth that extends back to the industry’s nadir in 2015. The less-good news: That growth, like most everything else in the music business and beyond so far this year, took a pandemic-related hit, ending a short streak of double-digit gains after a 17% boost at mid-year 2017, 10% at mid-year 2018 and 18% at mid-year 2019. Of course, percentage-based growth, by its nature, is always increasingly-difficult to improve upon, and once-in-a-generation pandemics were never going to help keep that streak alive. And within that context there’s still plenty of good news for the industry in its continued recovery amid th...
Cardi B Wishes She Could Perform ‘WAP’ for Large Crowds: ‘I Miss Shows and Festivals’
Cardi B is no doubt enjoying the success of her new hit single “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion, but she’s still disappointed over not being able to perform it live for fans. “Yoooo I wanna perform WAP so bad with a lot ass crowd.I miss shows and festivals,” Cardi tweeted Saturday (Sept. 5). “Yoooooo I would of went crazy.” In recent months, thousands of tours and festivals around the world have been postponed or canceled in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Cardi hasn’t performed for major crowds since numerous global festival appearances in 2019. One fan responded to the rapper’s tweet, writing, “We miss you performing! It would’ve been such an iconic performance.” “WAP” recently spent a second week at No...
VP Osinbajo: Virus vaccine distribution should be equitable
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has advised that the deployment of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine should be done in an equitable and affordable manner in order to effectively contain the spread of the Coronavirus disease across the globe. The Vice President stated this on Friday at the virtual 2020 EURAFRICA Forum themed “Towards a realistic Euro-African partnership during and beyond the COVID-19 era”. The summit featured presentations from notable global leaders including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Mr. Ulisses Correia Silva, among other speakers. The EurAfrican Forum aims to foster stronger collaboration between Europe and Africa, and better promote a shared green and inclusive growth, a...
Beyoncé Pledges Another $1 Million to Black-Owned Businesses
Beyoncé has been one of the more charitable celebrities helping ease the burden of 2020 through her BeyGOOD foundation. In April, she sent $6 million to essential workers impacted by the coronavirus, then in May supplied 1,000 testing kits and PPE to her native Houston. June saw the beginning of her Black Parade initiative (and companion single) to promote Black-owned businesses, which she backed up by launching the Black-Owned Small Business Impact Fund in July with the NAACP Empowerment Programs. Now, the superstar has announced a second round of grants for the fund, bringing another $1 million to Black-owned businesses. According to the fund’s website, the money will go to “assist our small business communities that have been directly impacted by recent events across the country.” Black...
Thom Yorke Again Postpones US Solo Tour Due to the Pandemic
Due to the ongoing pandemic, Thom Yorke has once again been forced to halt plans for his “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes” solo tour. The Radiohead frontman’s fall shows in New York City, Sacramento, and Phoenix have been postponed indefinitely. Meanwhile, his dates in Washington, DC, Denver, and Chicago have been canceled outright. Tickets for original dates will be later honored, per a statement from Yorke, while refunds for the canceled shows will be available from the point of purchase. Frustrated Yorke fans know this isn’t the first time the “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes” itinerary has been pushed back. These dates were originally scheduled to take place in the spring around Coachella, but were delayed until the fall once quarantining began. Editors’ Picks It’s hard to know when Yorke, ...
UTA to Reinstate Staff Pay, Lay Off 50 Employees
United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer told staff Wednesday of impending increases in pay for hourly employees. In a memo to staff on Wednesday, United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer delivered both “positive” and “difficult” news, writing that the agency would be reinstating full pay to its employees in the next two weeks, but would also be laying off 50 staffers. UTA is the first of the major agencies that cut salaries at the beginning of the pandemic to offer to reinstate full pay. The layoffs will affect both current and some furloughed employees across several divisions, at both the assistant and agent level. (The agency will cover the COBRA health insurance payments of that laid off for an indeterminate period of time.) In May, UTA, which employs more than 1,1...
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Reveals He & His Entire Family Caught COVID-19
Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty No one is immune from COVID-19. Dwayne, “The Rock” Johnson, revealed to his fans that he and his entire family caught the contagious virus. Wednesday night (Sept.2), the actor, retired WWE superstar, and now the owner of the XFL revealed to his fans that somehow he and his family contracted COVID-19. In an Instagram video that has been viewed well over 6 million people, The Rock detailed that they caught the virus three weeks ago, and thankfully they are all on the mend. Johnson said his two young daughter’s bout with the virus was mild, and they didn’t really experience any significant symptoms outside of a sore throat. But when it came to him and his wife, Lauren Hashian, things were a bit more challenging for the couple. The Rock is very much the sta...
Keith Richards Says He “Can’t Imagine” The Rolling Stones Will Ever Retire
The Rolling Stones were one of, well, all the artists forced to cancel touring plans in 2020 due to the pandemic. Those bummed they had to miss the “No Filter Tour” should take some solace in the knowledge that there will come a coronavirus-free day, and The Stones plan on being there, as Keith Richards has said he “can’t image” they’ll ever retire. Richards made the comments in a new interview with Rolling Stone about the upcoming Goats Head Soup reissue. Touching on how COVID-19 has threatened the touring industry, frontman Mick Jagger expressed concern that “we don’t know” how “everyone that performs live [is] going to function in the future.” Still, Richards intimated The Rolling Stones would find a way to solider on eternally, whatever the situation is. “You might call it a habit,” he...
