At New York’s Juilliard School of Music on Saturday, Paul Simon returned to the stage for the first time since his summer “Quiet Celebration” tour ended. While his appearance was unannounced until he walked onto the stage of the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, what wasn’t surprising was the song he …
Read More »Greil Marcus on 50 Years of 'Mystery Train': "I Know These Stories Keep Traveling"
When Greil Marcus published Mystery Train in 1975, it was hailed as the greatest book ever written about rock & roll. Fifty years after it came out, there’s a lot more competition — but no other book has come close. It’s a radically original portrait of America and its music, …
Read More »Why Fans Can't Wait for Hilary Duff's Return to Music
Let’s go back to the beginning… back when Hilary Duff didn’t know just how much her bubblegum-pop smash Metamorphosis would mean to teen fans when she released it in 2003. She admitted as much last month in an Instagram post celebrating the album’s 22nd anniversary. “I was embarking on something …
Read More »Sylvia Rhone, Who Made Music-Business History, Announces Her Departure From Epic Records
It’s hard to imagine a universe where Missy Elliott, Pantera, 21 Savage, En Vogue, and Camila Cabello have much in common, but here’s one way they all did: All were among the many artists whose careers were fostered and launched by Sylvia Rhone, the pioneering executive whose career spanned decades …
Read More »Lights, Camera, Smile: Everything We Know About Taylor Swift's 'The Life of a Showgirl'
Taylor Swift unleashed her new era this week when she announced her 12th studio LP, The Life of a Showgirl. Since then, there’s been a dazzling haze where it’s been all Taylor all the time — especially when the superstar was announced as a special guest on Travis and Jason …
Read More »'Kingfish' Has a Plan to Make Sure Blues Artists Don't Get Ripped Off
Along with the millions of people who’ve seen it, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram liked what he saw and heard in Sinners, this year’s left-field blues-and-vampires flick. It helped that he was also in it: That’s Ingram (who snagged the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2022) jamming with Buddy Guy …
Read More »Is the Grateful Dead's Vegetarian Cookbook Any Good? We Found Out
There’s a bizarre Jerry Garcia sketch from December 1987, where he’s standing in a backstage kitchen, wearing a goofy chef’s hat and apron. Next to him is comedian and Saturday Night Live writer Tom Davis, who starts speaking to the camera. “Some people thought New Year’s Eve had to be …
Read More »The Time Missy Elliott Hitched a Ride to Lilith Fair – and More Untold Stories About the Festival
In the beginning, all Sarah McLachlan wanted was to prove to music industry gatekeepers that female artists could sell concert tickets. The “Sweet Surrender” singer had a simple, untested idea: put multiple women on a single concert bill and see what happens. Her grand experiment, called “Lilith Fair” (after Adam’s …
Read More »Billy Strings Wins IBMA Entertainer of the Year: 'I Haven't Abandoned Bluegrass'
The 36th annual International Bluegrass Music Association Awards show felt a little different this go-round. Sure, the annual gathering of the genre overtook Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the first time this past week. But the bigger story was Billy Strings, who was in attendance to receive Entertainer of the Year honors. …
Read More »Cardi B Raps About Both Kamala Harris and Offset, Plus 8 Other Takeaways From 'Am I The Drama?'
Cardi B‘s long-awaited second album,Am I the Drama? has finally arrived, and is thankfully well worth the wait. The Bronx-born MC’s jam-packed album features a tasteful array of features, from pop powerhouse Selena Gomez to New York sexy-drill maestro Cash Cobain, showing off Cardi’s genre-spanning range. As with much of …
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