entertainment blog
Aviation-Themed Desert Air Festival Takes Off After a Successful Launch
As the occasional airplane engine rumbled in the nearby runway, revelers danced under the stars in a not-so-traditional dancefloor: a repurposed air museum. Guests attending the inaugural Desert Air Festival found themselves grooving to class acts from across the electronic dance scene surrounded by aircraft of a bygone era. Curated by Goldenvoice, the aviation-themed festival is the natural successor of Splash House‘s after-hours events held at the Palm Springs Air Museum. As one of the most unique festival settings found anywhere around, the event leaned into the aeronautic theme, immersing attendees in everything flight-related. Channel Tres performs at Desert Air. Quinn Tucker/Quasar Media/Desert Air Upon entering the event, a line of warplanes were proudly displayed, offeri...
Said The Sky Announces Sophomore Album “Sentiment” and 2022 Tour
Christmas came early for fans of Said The Sky. Earlier in the week, the future bass star delighted the masses by announcing the follow-up to his 2018 debut album, Wide-Eyed. Dubbed Sentiment, the upcoming record was revealed across his social media pages via an image depicting the definition of the title with some artwork behind it. This may reach tinfoil hat levels of speculation, but based on his previous teases, the background of the album announcement post is rather interesting. If you look closely at the books in the background, you can see what appears to be potential song titles, like “Holding My Own” and “Walk Me Home.” It could be a subtle hint, but we’re unable to confirm a tracklist at this time. Said The Sky has not yet announce...
North Coast Music Festival to Host Armin van Buuren, ILLENIUM, Porter Robinson, More In 2022
Playing on its core tenet of “Celebrate Our Differences,” Illinois’ North Coast Music Festival has announced a massive first wave lineup for its 2022 edition. It comes complete with representation of all the major EDM genres as well as a slew of local artists. Lineup highlights include a handful of stages curated by industry-leading labels, including FISHER‘s Catch & Release, Diplo‘s Higher Ground, and Seven Lions‘ Ophelia Records, as well as headlining performances by Armin van Buuren, ILLENIUM, Porter Robinson and Kaytranada. Alive Coverage The Midwest staple, now in its 12th edition, will return to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview after a successful debut last year. The 2021 event drew 78,000 attendees across three days and saw the implementat...
Warner Music Group Acquires 300 Entertainment in $400M Deal
300 Entertainment, the independent music company that is home to Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug, Gunna, Fetty Wap, Highly Suspect and more, has been purchased by the Warner Music Group, the companies announced today (Dec. 16). News of the acquisition — which sources tell Billboard is for around $400 million — was first reported by Billboard earlier this month. As part of the deal, 300 co-founder and CEO Kevin Liles has been appointed chairman/CEO of both 300, which will remain a standalone entity, and Elektra Music Group, which encompasses Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner Records, DTA, Low Country Sound and Public Consumption. Elektra co-presidents Gregg Nadel and Mike Easterlin will continue to run Elektra, but will now report to Liles moving forward. “At 300, we’re all about freedom — the fr...
Brandi Carlile, James Taylor & More Set for MusiCares Gala Honoring Joni Mitchell
The first batch of artists set to perform at the 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring Joni Mitchell range from longtime friends and colleagues, such as Graham Nash, James Taylor and Herbie Hancock, to younger singer/songwriters, including Brandi Carlile, Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers and Mickey Guyton. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The initial roster of performers, announced Thursday (Dec. 16), also includes Jon Batiste, who is this year’s top Grammy nominee with 11 nods, triple Grammy winners Pentatonix and four-time nominees Black Pumas. Carlile and Batiste will serve as artistic directors, a first for the Person of the Year concert. Mike Elizondo, who won a Grammy for co-producing Switchfoot’s 2009 album Hello Hurricane, will serv...
Ed Sheeran & Elton John Highlight International Holiday Hits on Global Charts
SZA scores the week’s highest debut on the Dec. 18-dated Billboard Global 200 as “I Hate U” arrives at No. 11. But Ed Sheeran and Elton John take top honors among new entries on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. survey, dashing in at No. 10 with “Merry Christmas.” The team-up, released Dec. 3, drew 29 million streams and sold 42,300 downloads worldwide in its first week (ending Dec. 9), according to MRC Data. The song’s streams break down to 69% (20.1 million) from audio platforms and 31% (8.9 million) from video services, largely thanks to its festive official video that also premiered Dec. 3. A 31% share might seem small for a song’s video streams, but it’s a rare high mark among holiday titles that mostly live on audio services, many of which predate the ’80s-era breakout of videos. Next ...
How the Pandemic and TikTok Fueled the Success of Kali Uchis’ Bilingual Hit ‘Telepatia’
When Kali Uchis told her father she wanted to skip college to become a professional musician, his answer wasn’t quite what she had hoped for. “ ‘There are a lot of girls prettier than you and that have a better voice than you,’ ” Uchis recalls him telling her. “ ‘What would make you stand out from them?’ ” She wasn’t dissuaded. “ ‘Well, there can be a million girls more pretty than me and with a better voice than me,’ ” she answered. “ ‘But they’ll never be me.’ ” Today, it’s precisely that other-ness that has led 27-year-old Uchis — the bilingual, bicultural, genre-bending singer-songwriter whose vocals flow effortlessly between English and Spanish — to become an unlikely star with the song “Telepatía,” a trippy fantasy in which she sings of wa...
SZA’s “I Hate U” Breaks Apple Music’s All-Time R&B Streaming Record
SZA‘s “I Hate U” has become the most-streamed R&B track by a female artist on Apple Music in its first week, according to a new report from Billboard. “I Hate U” marked SZA’s fifth top 10 entry and her second debut in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10, after the track debuted at No. 7 on the chart earlier this week. The single initially released on SoundCloud during the summer, but after gaining widespread popularity across TikTok, SZA and her team decided to officially drop “I Hate U” on streaming services. “Honestly this started out as an exercise. I just wanted somewhere to dump my thoughts w out pressure,” SZA wrote on Instagram prior to the track’s release. “Y’all made it a thing and I’m not mad lmao. Ask and u shall receive.” “I Hate U,” which was co-written by SZA, Robert Bise...
Music Producer Flow La Movie Among 9 Dead In Dominican Republic Plane Crash
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Flow La Movie / Instagram Music producer Flow La Movie, his partner, and their 4-year-old son died in a plane crash in a small jet bound for Florida Wednesday (Dec. 15) evening. The Puerto Rican producers worked alongside several songs for the likes of Bad Bunny, Ozuna, J Balvin, and more. Flow La Movie, birth name Jose Angel Hernandez, was traveling with his partner Debbie Von Marie Jiménez Garcia and their son Jayden from Isabela International Airport and had trouble 15 minutes into the flight. In an attempt to make an emergency landing, the plane landed at nearby Las Americas International Airport. According to ABC News, the other passengers were Kellyan Hernández Pena, 21, two teenagers, and crew members Luis Alberto Eljuri and Víctor Emilio Her...
Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz Coming to Criterion Collection
The Last Waltz—Martin Scorsese’s iconic documentary capturing the Band’s 1976 farewell concert—is getting an official Criterion Collection release. Scorsese’s 1978 film will tout 4K digital restoration, audio commentary versions from Martin Scorsese, Robbie Robertson, and Mavis Staples, and others, a new interview with Scorsese conducted by critic David Fear, outtakes, and more. It will be available on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD starting March 29, 2022. The Last Waltz was filmed at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving, 1976. Scorsese approached the evening with a fleet of seven camera operators, who captured legendary performances by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Staple Singers, Muddy Waters, and Neil Young, in addition to the Band’s goodbye concert. Other features of ...
Young Dolph Gets Memphis Street Named In His Honor
The late rapper Young Dolph was honored in his hometown of Memphis today with a street named in his honor. The street sign was unveiled at a public ceremony at Dunn Avenue between Airways Boulevard and Hays Road near the Memphis Depot Industrial Park. The street in his neighborhood of Castalia Heights is now Adolph “Young Dolph” Thornton, Jr. Avenue. The City of Memphis also declared that November 17, the date of Dolph’s death, will be recognized as a Day of Service. “It’s about celebrating our own,” said Councilman JB Smiley, Jr., who sponsored the street name resolution. “Young Dolph was truly one of us.” Dolph’s family and friends are hosting a “Celebration of Life” event at Memphis’ FedEx Forum from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dolph was shot and killed at age 36 about one mile away from the site...
Shawn Cripps, Memphis Garage Rocker of Limes, Dies at 54
Shawn Cripps, Limes frontman and Memphis garage rock stalwart, died in a road accident earlier this week, The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Cripps’ former wife Nicole Perugini confirmed the news on Facebook. “It is with a heavy heart—and trembling hands—I tell you Shawn Cripps died Sunday 12/12/21 just after 11 a.m. in an accident on a Missouri highway,” Perugini wrote. “Ironically, he left this earth the very way he had once described in his song—‘Die in a Motorcar.’” He was 54 years old. Born in San Diego, California, Cripps moved around the country for years, living in Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, and elsewhere before settling in Memphis, where he was known as a pillar of the underground music community. He paid the bills as a truck driver, but wrote songs and recorded for years. As ...
