Concerts
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From Motown to mobility, the “Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central” show Thursday night (June 6) covered many bases of the Motor City’s fabled music heritage — as it re-opened a historic landmark making a comeback from desolation.
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The event brought out the hometown hero likes of Eminem (who co-executive produced the concert with his manager, Paul Rosenberg), and who made the crowd go nuts when he hopped on stage for a surprise four-song mini-set that included the live debut of his new single, “Houdini” and a collaboration with Jelly Roll.
Diana Ross, Jack White, Big Sean, Slum Village and gospel greats the Clark Sisters and Kierra Sheard were also on hand to celebrate the refurbished Michigan Central. The former railroad station in the city’s southwest side had been shuttered since 1988 and became what Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called “a symbol of our decline” as it fell into disrepair. The Ford Motor Co. purchased the building in 2018, spending a reported $940 million to turn it into a center for advanced technological development in transportation and other fields.
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That meant a lot to White, who grew up in the same neighborhood. Before the show, he told reporters he’d ride his bicycle over to the site during the 80s and watched it deteriorate as he began his music career. “If you’d have asked me then if this place was ever coming back… there’s no way. It’s just too massive a job,” White said, calling the renovation, “just incredible.”
It was also personal for Patti Smith, who attended to accept a special pre-show Michigan Central Honor — along with White, Slum Village and the late J Dilla — for contributions as global ambassadors for Detroit. Smith, who shared her honor with her late husband and MC5 veteran Fred “Sonic” Smith (daughter Jesse Paris accompanied her), told Billboard that, “Fred loved the train station, and he would fantasize about it being restored and opened to the people. He really talked about it quite a bit, so I know that this would have made him very happy. It means something to me that there honoring him, as he should be, and I’m happy to be included with him.”
During the Honors ceremony Smith also represented Eminem by reading a 2009 love letter he wrote to Detroit professing his love for the city.
The show itself — which was streamed on Peacock and will be edited into a one-hour NBC special at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday (June 9) — was a nearly two-hour party celebrating the city and its musical heritage, but with a global perspective. “We’ve been invested in trying to rebrand the image of the city and how people see it for a long time,” Rosenberg, who worked in conjunction with Jesse Collins Entertainment, explained to Billboard prior to the show. “The challenge was, ‘What kind of picture can we paint here that’s going to be interesting not just locally but nationally?’ We wanted to make a compelling program that’s going to interest people across the country, not just people who are familiar with Detroit.
Rosenberg added that he and Eminem used the adage “as goes Detroit, so goes the nation” — from a 1942 Arthur Pond essay in The Atlantic — “as a framework… all these ideas about how the city is viewed not just locally but nationally to help frame the program.”
Starting with a Motown legend didn’t hurt, of course. Ross, clad in a mass of tangerine tulle, began the night with singalong version of her solo hits “I’m Coming Up” and “Upside Down,” plus the title track from her 2021 album Thank You before finishing with a soaring take of the Supremes’ anthem “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” “It’s so good to be home,” Ross said before leaving the stage. “I love you so much.”
Big Sean shared the love as well, saluting Michigan Central as “a diamond that came out of the rough” while delivering a three-song set that included the new “On Up” — a new album is coming this summer, he told the crowd — as well as hits “Blessings” and “Bounce Back,” accompanied by Adam Blackstone & the BBE All Star Band. A Detroit legend who wasn’t there, Bob Seger, was nevertheless saluted by a trio of Melissa Etheridge (“Mainstreet”), Fantasia (“Shakedown”) and Jelly Roll (“Turn the Page,” sporting a Detroit Tigers baseball cap) before the three united to close the tribute with a truncated but exuberant take on “Old Time Rock and Roll.”
“I’ll be Forever Soul, but there’s a little rock in me,” Fantasia told Billboard, invoking the name of her new company. “I wanted that challenge.”
Common was an out-of-towner in the house — though, being from Chicago, he told the Detroit crowd “we’re cousins” — as he recited “Didn’t One Know,” his tone poem about J Dilla. Slum Village also gave props to the late Baatin and Amp Fiddler as the duo performed Fail in Love” and “Get Dis Money,” the latter with Dilla’s younger brother Illa J and both with the Blackstone band. “We’re always gonna represent the legacy,” the group’s T3 said before the concert. Common joined Slum Village to close the segment with a poignant rendition of “The Light.”
The Clark Sisters, in glittery gold dresses and joined by the Greater Emmanuel Choir, then took the estimated 20,000 fans to church with “Livin’” and “Blessed & Highly Favored” before backing Sheard — daughter of Karen Clark-Sheard — on a powerhouse version of her “Miracles.” Sheard stayed on stage for the Clarks’ signature hit “You Brought the Sunshine,” a stunner even if the sky was turning dark.
A pair of DJs, Theo Parrish and Sky Jetta, represented Detroit’s famed techno heritage, while White brought the rock and the White Stripes with “some songs that were written a couple blocks from here” — debuting a new two-keyboard band lineup on “Hotel Yorba” and a “Seven Nation Army” that was literally on fire as (planned) pyrotechnics and flames erupted to accent the anthem.
And while Eminem — who filmed parts of the video for his 2009 single “Beautiful” in the then-abandoned Michigan Central — was not billed as a performer when the show was announced, it surprised few that he closed the evening. Joined by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra the hoodied rapper presented the live debut of “Houdini,” the just-released first single from his upcoming The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) album (July 5), then “Sing For the Moment” with Jelly Roll, “Welcome 2 Detroit” with Trick Trick and a bombastic “Not Afraid,” which was followed by a short show-ending fireworks display.
“Timing worked out for us fortunately great because we just dropped a single — that wasn’t always the case when we agreed to jump on board,” Rosenberg noted. “We weren’t sure we were going to have new music out. It happened to work out great, and it became an opportunity to perform a new song.”
Dionne Harmon, president of Jesse Collins Entertainment — which also produces Super Bowl halftime shows and a variety of awards shows, among other events — told Billboard that the universal appeal of the artists ultimately opened the door for “Live From Detroit” to be a streaming and network special. “Everybody knew this wasn’t just a Detroit story or an American story, but a global story,” she said. “So we started looking for a partner who could help us tell this story. We’ve done a lot of work with NBC in the past; when we took this to them they fell in love with the story and the city, the same way we did.”
The performers, meanwhile, bought into the idea of telling that story together. “These things, you never know how they’re gonna turn out, who’s gonna show up and who’s gonna be invited,” said White, who attended the same high school as Ross and Big Sean. “When they were first talking about Eminem and Dian Ross and Slum Village I thought, ‘Wow, if that really happens..’”
“It’s one of the biggest events Detroit’s ever seen,” Slum Village’s T3 gushed. “Even the other artists I just met today, like Jelly Roll, which was super cool… We’re having a good time out here, and it’s just a beautiful event.”
Niall Horan‘s “This Town” walked so Noah Kahan‘s “Stick Season” could run. That fact was made even more evident when the two stars linked up Monday for a surprise duet in Nashville. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Fans couldn’t help but scream with excitement when the former […]
Despite spotty showers and an often unrelenting sun, Philly didn’t let anything kill its vibe at the 2024 Roots Picnic, which took place June 1-2.
Nas, Jill Scott and Lil Wayne — alongside The Roots, Trombone Shorty and PJ Morton — headlined this year’s festival, which took place at The Mann in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pa. Other notable performers included Method Man and Redman with J. Period, Adam Blackstone with Fantasia and Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Robert Glasper with Yebba, Sexyy Red, Babyface, October London, Smino, the Go-Go Backyard Band with Scarface and Amerie, Wale, Marsha Ambrosius, Funk Flex, Leon Thomas, Kenya Vaun, Q, BLK Odyssy, Shaboozey, André 3000 and more.
Held across two separate stages — as well as the Centennial Stage, which hosted live podcasts, DJ sets and other curated experiential media activations — Roots Picnic celebrated countless facets of Black culture across music, food, liquor, art, double dutch and more. Among the most frequented brand activations was Grand Marnier — who hosted Billboard at the festival — which had a footprint where attendees and talent alike could find a beach-esque reprieve with various cocktails made with Grand Marnier cognac and Espolòn tequila.
Partnering with 2024 Roots Picnic is just the latest iteration of Grand Marnier’s relationship with hip-hop. On April 29, the cognac brand teamed up with Billboard 200 chart-topper 2 Chainz for The Rouge Room, a digital content series celebrating the power and utility of collaboration. And on Nov. 14, 2023, Grand Marnier joined forces with UNWRP for a unique holiday wrapping paper inspired by Billboard’s November 2023 R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month Teezo Touchdown.
2024 Roots Picnic largely went off without a hitch, save for Cam’Ron standing up attendees who came for his scheduled set, and notable delays on the main stage during the festival’s second day. From André 3000 enrapturing fans with selections from his ambient jazz album New Blue Sun to fans nearly tearing each other to shreds over Method Man’s sweaty T-shirt, there was rarely a dull moment at this year’s Roots Picnic. Even still, the presence of consummate contemporary performers such as Victoria Monét and Tyla — both of whom pulled out of performing due to health issues — was sorely missed.
The festival took big swings with its lineup — the transition from Babyface to Gunna was particularly disorienting for some attendees — but those risks resulted in one of the most heartfelt dedications to the breadth of Black music in 2024 so far. Nearly every sound of the diaspora was present in one way or another during the two-day festival, the perfect way to bring in Black Music Month.
Here are the nine best moments of this year’s Roots Picnic.
The-Dream Returns to the Solo Spotlight
When Sexyy Red was announced as a performer at 2024 Roots Picnic, a festival that largely caters to adult R&B lovers, the baby daddy-damning “Looking for the Hoes” rapper received a less than warm welcome — so much so that festival founder Questlove spoke up in her defense.
“There is always that one act on the show everyone hates because it serves as a reminder the hip hop THEY like is from 30 years ago,” the Roots drummer wrote in a reply to a flood of Instagram comments proclaiming that there was “nothing positive about [Sexyy’s] message.” “I mean I get it but look: we gotta round and balance the day out: there are other stages & podcasts and events to see… when have you seen a festival in which EVERY ACT is the act you love?”
And yet, when Sexyy took the Presser Stage at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, the venue was so packed that crowds formed on the walkways looming over the ridiculously packed amphitheater. From the moment she sauntered onstage flanked by four high-octane dancers and a mock Secrete Service agent, Sexyy Red was the president — and she didn’t even need the agent to drive the point home. Nonetheless, it was a nice touch to her patriotic staging, which also featured her sporting a red, white and blue two-piece.
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In addition to her dancers and Secret Service agent, Sexyy’s stage also featured a giant inflatable red cap with the phrase “Make America Sexyy Again” emblazoned across it in the standard MAGA font. Throughout her hit-laden set, Sexyy conjured up, if only for 30 minutes, an America that embraces and exalts the most ratchet edges of everyone’s personalities. Under her presidency, the crowd achieved a sense of escapism that may not have even been explicitly searching for, but clearly needed. That’s the magic of Sexyy Red, she grants her listeners “escapism” not by way of fantasy, but by allowing people to unconditionally spoil the parts of themselves they keep hidden out of allegiance to various social standards. Don’t be mistaken, Sexyy is no Iron Lady; her laid-back approach to onstage banter and choreography is half the reason her whole shtick works. Whether she’s doing the “Crank Dat” dance or giving us her best chickenhead, Sexyy’s just doing her, so that we can do us.
Kicking things off with “Bow Bow Bow (F My Baby Dad),” Sexyy somersaulted through her enviable collection of hits, each drawing louder and more intense fan reactions than the last. The spirit of Crime Mob‘s Diamond and Princess shined through her spirited renditions of Billboard Hot 100 hits like “Get It Sexyy” (No. 20), “SkeeYee” (No. 62) and “Pound Town” (No. 66, with Tay Keith), as well as street smashes such as “Hellcats SRTs,” “Shake Yo Dreads,” and “Hood Rats” (with Sukihana). Of course, Sexyy couldn’t exclude her similarly top-notch collaborations, including “Shake Sumn” (with DaBaby), “Peaches & Eggplants” (with Young Nudy), and, of course, “Rich Baby Daddy” (with Drake & SZA), which easily garnered the most passionate crowd response and some hilariously unserious vocals from Sexyy herself.
With tight formations, several counts worth of choreography at a time, and staging that continuously emphasized the political aesthetics of her new In Sexyy We Trust mixtape, Sexyy’s 2024 Roots Picnic set displayed notable growth from her earliest shows, while still capturing the essence of what makes her such an alluring performer. In fact, her rendition of the “BBL Drizzy”-sampling “U My Everything” — a Drake collaboration from her latest tape — is the best example of that shift. To bring the sing-songy track to life, Sexyy and her dancers — who she affectionately introduced as “The Sexettes” — executed waist-gyrating girl group-esque choreography that underscored the song’s puppy-eyed love. “Bae, I love you, you my everything/ I’m your main bitch, fuck a wedding ring/ We both in fast cars and we switchin’ lanes/ When I’m away from you, you always on my brain,” she crooned.
Sexyy Red may not be the hip-hop of 30 years ago, but the verve she brought to this year’s Roots Picnic — and the way she effortlessly captivated the largest and most youthful crowd of day one — is emblematic of hip-hop’s undying party energy. Next stop: main stage.
From journaling and meditating to watching Wes Anderson movies and taking vitamins, ITZY ensures they prioritize their personal well-being amid the K-pop girl group’s massive 2024 Born to Be World Tour, hitting the U.S. next month.
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Taking a moment to share their experiences on the road during a few (busy) non-tour days in Korea, the K-pop girl group famous for dynamic performances and self-love anthems pauses to reflect. While ITZY admits traveling across six continents so far requires vast amounts of physical and mental energy, it’s the audiences and the members themselves they can depend on to replenish them every night.
But for the times they aren’t connecting with their fans — affectionately known as MIDZY — or one another, the group finds ways to balance the demanding lifestyle with mental health as a priority for the members. As individuals, Yeji practices honesty, Ryujin enjoys her free time to the fullest, Chaeryeong journals to process her emotions, and Yuna meditates. The group’s strong bond is evident even in a makeup-free evening Zoom call from the JYP Entertainment offices in Seoul as the four members finish one another’s sentences, crack smiles over each other’s answers, and also share how they keep in touch with fellow member Lia, who has been focusing on her mental health after taking an extended hiatus from the group since last September regarding “tension and anxiety.”
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As ITZY gears up for 10 North American concerts, commencing on June 6 at Seattle’s WAMU Theater, the girls look forward to bringing their latest Billboard 200 album Born to Be album to life, showing off their live band for the first in the States, and communicating on a deeper level with local fans.
As May is Mental Health Awareness Month, who better than the honest barrier-breakers of ITZY to share how they’ve matured? While mental health still faces stigma and prejudice around the world — and is not as widely discussed in Korea compared to America —Yeji, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Yuna speak candidly about the ways they have matured, aspects they are working on and, perhaps most importantly, the bond that keeps them going together.
“The biggest source of motivation for me is our members, ITZY,” Chaeryeong says. Read for more from the quartet about this vital topic and plans for their upcoming concerts.
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Billboard: Thanks for taking time in the middle of your world tour. You’re between dates before the Japan and U.S. concerts start, so how has the tour been so far?
Yuna: It was our first time in Europe and Latin America, so it was really, really like a new experience for us. There were some really beautiful cities and we really enjoyed that time. For me, I really liked Amsterdam. The weather and the people are really good — and the views were so good. Everyone should go.
You had 13 days off from your May 4th concert in Madrid to your May 17 concert in Toyko. What do you do during this time?
Yuna: We are super busy! [Laughs]
Ryujin: There are many things that we are working on, but also we’re preparing for these big shows and our Japanese comeback [with “Algorithm”]. We’re always practicing or doing something to help us achieve things, I think?
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I’ve heard artists share a range of different feelings about touring. From it being too exhausting to fans being their energy. What are your experiences?
Chaeryeong: To speak honestly, it’s definitely true that we’ll expend a lot of our physical and mental energy [on tour]. But once we go on stage, I think it gets all deleted — we get that much energy from our fans. So, it’s a wonderful experience for me.
Yuna: When I visit new cities to do concerts, I try to do my best on the stage for our fans. But I also spend as much time as I can with my members. That’s kind of the healing point for me, as well as the way I heal during touring. Just their existence really helps me. When I’m onstage and see our members’ faces, that’s all the support I need.
Are there specific ways you work to stay healthy on the road — physically, mentally, or emotionally?
Yeji: There is a physician who was with us on tour for every spot we go. The physician recommended I take a vitamin powder that’s supposed to help the body with energy. She said that it’s really helpful if we keep it in our throat and swallow it all at once, and I’ve found that’s been really helpful in keeping me healthy, so I keep following that advice.
Chaeryeong: To keep my vocals strong, I carry propolis with me — it’s a gel type of medicine that you put on your throat. It can be minty and soothing; I think it’s famous in New Zealand? That’s good for your throat.
Yeji: I also try to change my vocalizations and the way I make sounds on the stage. Lots of time, I have to try to do less to not strain my throat and [save my voice for the next concert date].
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I think it’s a great opportunity to share how you support your mental and emotional health. What are some things you do individually to take care of yourself?
Chaeryeong: For me, I write in my diary. I write things that I like or very detailed happy memories so I can memorize, like, every little detail for a long time. But there are also things I write when I’m having a hard time, the sad or negative memories, to drop those feelings off from my heart.
Yuna: I always try to make time for self-focusing time — writing and meditating. I really focus on myself and that’s how I stay centered. But it’s so hard. When I meditate, I tend to always fall asleep. [Laughs] It’s also a good way to fall asleep!
Ryujin: I don’t really do anything special for my mental health, but I give free time to myself. As you know, a tour and our performances require a lot of energy, and also we have a job that we have to meet many people. So, I think when I have free time, I use that time to regain my energy again and do the things that I like — watching a movie in a theater or rewatching a series or drama again. There are so many great movies and dramas, but if I had to recommend one, I would choose The French Dispatch. It’s a Wes Anderson movie. It’s really touching, but at the same time, there’s a lot of variety in it.
Yeji: These days, I’m trying to be honest about my own feelings and what I feel. If something sad happens, even just slightly, I feel that emotion enough and then can just “let it go.” I’m trying to react fully on my feelings and laugh at the small things, too.
Yeji, it’s interesting to hear that you’re being honest with your feelings now. As ITZY’s leader, did you sometimes dismiss your feelings when leading a team?
Yeji: Since our debut and our early stages, there were some times I did try to hide [my feelings] because the team is very important. But these days, even if I try to hide everything, the members know me so well — we’re family — that even if I try, they know first how I feel and think. So, I don’t have to actually hide — and that’s why I’m trying to get more honest with expressing my feelings.
Thank you for sharing those, ITZY. She’s not here with us right now because she’s also focusing on her mental health, but how are you keeping in touch with Lia?
Yeji: Just the other day, I watched a video from the past with all five of us and I texted it to Lia. So, we talked and chatted. We are all keeping in touch with her often.
Looking wider, being an artist—in K-pop especially, but anywhere in the world—requires a strong mentality. You were all teenagers when you debuted and now you’re adults. How have you seen yourselves maturing since then?
Ryujin: We were all teenagers and it was our first experience to have a team like this where we stuck with each other 24-7. At first, when we were all together, it was a little bit hard to be with and work with people different than me. ITZY was just five, but it was really hard to understand each other — despite that it was only five. Understanding one another took time. But I think after struggling with the members and talking a lot, the biggest difference from that time and now is my understanding of others. There has been a much wider range of people I feel like I can understand now.
Yuna, as the youngest member who debuted when you were 15, what have you learned?
Yuna: It’s been quite a while since we’ve debuted, so I think I learned to become more used to circumstances and people — what’s needed in the atmosphere of our lives [as K-pop stars]. So, I got to understand these realities much more deeply. But the biggest thing I try to maintain is my passion — the passion I got and the feelings I had at my first stage [performance]. My biggest thing is trying to keep that.
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Thank you for discussing an important topic. The U.S. leg of the Born to Be Tour begins in June. Have you prepared anything special or different for these shows?
Yuna: English! We are preparing 100 percent of our audience talking in English to communicate more.
Yeji: Not only are some of the venues bigger and the concerts feel bigger in scale, but we paid a lot of attention and poured a lot into the directing of the concert. So you can see a new direction in the stages as well as the VCR too. While we have taken many dancers who have been with us on past tours, I think the variety of performances has also been upgraded a little more than the last world tour, Checkmate.
Chaeryeong: We also have a live band which is a big point for the new tour.
This is the Born to Be World Tour centered around your album of the same name, including ITZY’s first-ever solo songs you all wrote, composed, and perform in concert. How was the experience, and will we see more songwriting?
Yeji: After working on my solo song [“Crown on My Head”], I came to know that it’s quite a very difficult process and not very simple. So, I got to thank the staff, composers, writers, and those people around me who always write and make songs for us. So, actually, this song became even more precious to me because I recognized how difficult this process is and that’s why I can perform on the stage with my whole passion. As for future songs, I’ll always try if I have a chance. Yeah, if I have a chance.
Anything else you want to share with fans before the U.S. tour dates?
Ryujin: First of all, we’re coming to you in June so please come to our concert. We’re always thankful for you supporting us despite the hundreds of miles of distance. We will try our best to see you guys much more often. Thank you.
Yuna: Also, it’s our second world so it will be more…more…there will be much more things to see so please come to our concert!
Epik High is preparing a pumped-up comeback as the K-hip hop trio prepares to release their first-ever mixtape, embark on a new tour, and deliver more projects after celebrating their 20th anniversary last year.
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Viewing the group’s 21st year since releasing their debut album Map of the Human Soul as a fresh start akin to their rookie days, Tablo tells Billboard how “our fans call this Epik High’s ‘+1st Year,’” pointing to a revitalized spirit driving their latest efforts. “It really does feel like a fresh start after the milestone year we had last year.”
In an exclusive Q&A with Billboard following Epik High’s announcement of their PUMP mixtape and accompanying North American tour today, Tablo teases the mixtape’s tracks, an elevated concert experience plus more new music from himself, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz.
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Peep all 23 of Epik High’s The Pump Tour dates in the official poster below and then dive into the full interview for more insights on PUMP and more.
Epik High
OURS Co.
Congratulations on the latest mixtape and tour news. After your 20th anniversary, you shared how “it feels like our first year again.” Tell me about the energy in Epik High today.
Tablo: Our fans call this Epik High’s “+1st Year.” And it really does feel like a fresh start, after the milestone year we had last year with the stadium show in Seoul and the resulting movie in theaters in quarter one of this year. Artists can feel lost after a milestone because it usually marks the end of an era, but we have somehow managed to make it a new beginning. Our fandom is energized more than ever. What better way to start this “first year” than by dropping our very first mixtape, jam-packed with energy reminiscent of our rookie days? It’s time to get our fans pumped all over again.
You teased the mixtape tracklist in your announcement. Are there any tracks you’re particularly excited for fans to hear?
You have to listen from track one to track nine straight because Epik High’s transitions are the best and this album has the greatest transitions. Also, there are a few songs that are going to generate tons of memes…we have a lot of visual content coming, so I suggest subscribing to our YouTube channel.
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Epik High has such a wide range of collaborators. What can you tell us about those on the record or behind the scenes?
The album is pretty much entirely self-produced, with only one featuring artist. Our core fans will get a lot more Epik High with this one.
How will an Epik High mixtape differ from past album or EP projects?
The format frees us from having to make radio hits, allowing us to refocus on the irreverent and raw side of Epik High that our core fans love. It also allowed us to make songs that are optimized for live performance. This year’s tour setlist is gonna be amazing.
The Epik High All Time High Tour hit Europe and North America last year. What can we look forward to in The Pump Tour?
It’ll feel very new, even if you’ve come to every previous show. We are leveling up everything: the production, the merch, you name it. We’ve even revamped the VIP experience so our most dedicated fans can get rare merch and share more personal close-up moments with us. Seriously, don’t miss it.
I’m sure we’ll see Epik High’s brilliant lightstick — the “Park Kyu Bong” — on the road. Can you share more about its conceptualization? Any worries it might be banned at certain venues?
It’s the lightstick that transcends fandoms, it’s the lightstick you hold if you’re a fan of yourself. On social media, I have seen our lightstick pop up at other artists’ shows and big festivals all over the world. So if a venue blocks it, we will block the venue — because that venue probably sucks.
미니박규봉 인기 미쳤네요… 빛의 속도로 품절. 리오더 준비중! 👀mini park kyu bong sold out way too fast. preparing restock! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ARbDpmUkaA— tablo (@blobyblo) March 19, 2024
Tablo, you buy new K-pop acts’ records because you “remember what it was like being a rookie and no one buying my album.” Any recommendations?
At the moment, I’ve been so busy with our [music] that I’ve been slacking on my K-pop shopping. I will be visiting a lot of K-pop stores on this tour.
While the tour will keep you busy up til nearly October, is there anything else for fans to look forward to with Epik High in 2024?
At the end of the tour, we will have another huge show in Seoul. Also…my members are gonna kill me for saying this…but this new album PUMP is not the whole album. Lastly, I have a long awaited song with someone, finished and waiting in my hard drive. That is all I can say. [Laughs]
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Music lovers have a summer filled with tours and festivals to add to your lineup including Chicago’s Lollapalooza, which is back for its 2024 iteration. This year you can expect major headliners including SZA, Tyler, the Creator and the K-pop group Stray Kids will be making their Lolla debut. More than 170 bands and artists will be making an appearance in addition to the headliners providing an entire weekend filled with live music.
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Before you scope out travel deals and put together your festival gear, you’ll need to buy Lollapalooza tickets online in order to watch your favorite musicians in-person. Ticketmaster tickets are already sold-out and while you may still be able to find packages through the official Lollapalooza ticketing site, the options are limited. That doesn’t mean you can’t still attend the festival though, there are a variety of cheap ticket sites including resale options that’ll get you official Lollapalooza passes in time for the festivities.
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Keep reading to learn where to find Lollapalooza tickets online.
How to Get Lollapalooza 2024 Tickets Online
You can buy tickets for Lollapalooza 2024 online through a few resale ticketing sites including Vivid Seats, Seat Geek and Gametime. Since it’s a festival, you’ll have the option to choose between single-day passes or passes for all 4-days, which ShopBillboard breaks down below.
Vivid Seats
Vivid Seats is providing tickets to 2024 Lollapalooza from $142 for a one-day and $429 for 4-day passes (at the time of this writing). You may also be able to find VIP packages among the options, which will most likely be resold at a higher price. Purchases from Vivid Seats are also protected by the brand’s Buyer Guarantee that aims to provide legitimate tickets by the time of your event. Learn more about the ticket protection here. Bonus offer: purchases of $200+ can earn $20 off with the code BB2024 at checkout.
Seat Geek
Seat Geek tickets to the festival begin around $207 for one-day passes and $614 for a 4-day pass. The site uses a ranking system of 1-10 to spotlight the best deals with tickets ranked a one considered the worst deals and options given a 10 the best discount. You can also included estimated fees in your search to avoid any price jumps at checkout. For additional savings, first purchases can score $10 off orders of $250+ with the code BILLBOARD10 at checkout.
Gametime
Gametime is a great option for last-minute affordable ticket options with Lollapalooza tickets starting at just $135 and 4-day passes from $473. You can sort your options based on price and each purchase will be backed by the retailer’s Price Guarantee, which ensures that you’re getting the lowest price available or 110% credit back to your account. Read more about it here.
Lollapalooza 2024 Dates & Lineup
This year, Chicago’s music festival will take place August 1-4 and includes a mix of headliners you can read below or check out the full lineup here.
Thursday (Aug. 1): Tyler, the Creator and Hozier
Friday (Aug. 2): SZA and Stray Kids
Saturday (Aug. 3): The Killers, Future X, Metro Boomin and Skrillex
Sunday (Aug. 4): Blink-182 and Melanie Martinez
Other artists slated to attend also include Tate McRae, Reneé Rapp, Zedd, Sexyy Red, Kesha, Chappell Roan, Lizzy McAlpine, Victoria Monét, Conan Gray, Dominic Fike and more.
Bruce Springsteen‘s concerts in Marseille, Prague and Milan have been called off on doctor’s orders.
On Saturday (May 25) Springsteen canceled his performance in Marseille, France, the same day the show was scheduled to take place, noting on Instagram that the postponement was “due to vocal issues.”
“Bruce is recuperating comfortably,” an update posted on Springsteen’s Instagram account said Sunday (May 26), but went on to announce that more tour dates were being postponed.
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“Following yesterday’s postponement in Marseille due to vocal issues, further examination and consulting has led doctors to determine that Bruce should not perform for the next ten days,” the statement said. “With this in mind, additional postponements are required for Airport Letnany in Prague (originally scheduled for May 28) and San Siro Stadium in Milan (originally scheduled for June 1 and 3).”
The update said that new dates will be announced, but ticket holders who want a refund can obtain that through their original point of purchase.
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In March, Springsteen and the E Street Band relaunched their world tour after a six-month break due to the singer’s battle with peptic ulcer disease. The rock icon had feared he might never perform live again.
“You sing with your diaphragm. My diaphragm was hurting so badly that when I went to make the effort to sing, it was killing me, you know?” he explained in an interview with E Street Radio. “So, I literally couldn’t sing at all, you know, and that lasted for two or three months, along with just a myriad of other painful problems.”
Springsteen said, “I was, during the course of it, before people told me, ‘Oh no. It’s gonna go away, and you’re gonna be OK,’ you know, you’re thinking like, ‘Hey, am I gonna sing again?’ and you know, this is one of the things I love to do the best, the most, and right now I can’t do it. You know, I can’t do it, and it took a while for the doctors to say, ‘Oh no. You’re gonna be OK.’ At first, nobody was quite saying that, which made me nervous, you know, and at the end of the day, I found some great doctors, and they straightened me out, and I can’t do anything but thank them all.”
According to Sunday’s update, Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently set to resume their stadium tour in Madrid on June 12.
See Springsteen’s upcoming tour dates on his official website.
“The Tortured Poets Department” (the song) got its live debut at Taylor Swift‘s concert Saturday night (May 25) in Lisbon, Portugal. The Tortured Poets Department album has already spent a month at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart since its release, but even with the recent addition of several of Swift’s new songs to […]
On the second night of a two-night stint at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Wednesday (May 22), Pearl Jam brought the energy with a powerful, no-frills rock show that delivered on the hits.
More than 30 years after the band catapulted to stardom with its diamond-selling, grunge-era classic Ten, Eddie Vedder’s voice (oft-imitated, never duplicated) remains a vital instrument, while the rest of the band — including guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron — boast the tight, well-oiled chemistry of a lineup that has, remarkably, remained consistent ever since Cameron joined up in 1998.
Though it brought the firepower in spades, Wednesday night’s show — which marked the latest stop on Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter World Tour that launched in Vancouver, B.C., earlier this month — started on a somber note when Vedder launched into “Long Road,” a track off the band’s 1995 Merkin Ball EP. Leading up to the performance, Vedder paid tribute to his late uncle, John Vedder, noting that Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of his death. “He kinda shaped me from an early age,” Vedder said from the stage. “I just had to get it out of my system before we played tonight.”
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That was far from the only tribute paid by the band on Wednesday, bringing a melancholy undercurrent to the roughly two-and-a-half-hour set. At one point during the evening, Vedder also paid homage to a host of iconic rock drummers who have died within the last several years. “A couple of years ago, just randomly, some of the greatest of all time, we lost,” said Vedder, who rattled off the names of Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins, The Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts and Rush’s Neil Peart before segueing into a performance of Dark Matter‘s title track.
Later in the evening, Vedder also remembered the great Tom Petty by revealing that the red guitar he was holding on stage was one the late rock star had given him years earlier. “The day before we left, [when] we were starting the tour, I went into this back room of mine, and I had space to take one more guitar on the road …This guitar was screaming out, ‘Pick me, pick me,’” said Vedder before launching into a cover of Petty’s hit 1989 single “I Won’t Back Down.”
Though new tracks from Dark Matter were sprinkled liberally throughout the performance — including “Wreckage,” “React, Respond” and show-closer “Setting Sun” — Wednesday night’s set understandably leaned heavily into the first decade of Pearl Jam’s career, when the band was at its commercial peak.
Of those early albums, the muscular Ten received a particularly bright spotlight, with Vedder and company busting out renditions of “Even Flow,” “Black,” “Alive” and fan favorite “Jeremy,” which the band performed off the back of the propulsive Yield standout “Do the Evolution” during an extensive encore. Another highlight on Wednesday included the band’s performance of Vitalogy cut “Nothingman,” which served as a particularly potent showcase of Vedder’s still remarkable voice, which retains its clarity and power to move more than three decades on.
The night’s most rousing moment arrived with the second-to-last song, a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” which boasted special guest appearances from Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith (who Vedder had noted was in the house earlier in the evening); Dark Matter producer Andrew Watt on guitar; and the members of Deep Sea Diver, the Seattle-based indie rock outfit that’s serving as the opening act on the first North American leg of the tour. During the extended performance, the band managed to turn the Forum into a full-on dance party, with Vedder flinging tambourines with abandon into the eager hands of the satiated crowd.
Full setlist:
“Long Road”
“Nothingman”
“Present Tense”
“Go”
“Scared of Fear”
“React, Respond”
“Wreckage”
“Untitled” (tour debut)
“MFC “(tour debut)
“All Those Yesterdays” (tour debut)
“Even Flow”
“Dark Matter”
“Corduroy”
“Won’t Tell”
“Black”
“Waiting for Stevie”
“Comatose”
“Rearviewmirror”
Encore:
“I Won’t Back Down” (Tom Petty cover)
“Dance of the Clairvoyants”
“Do the Evolution”
“Jeremy”
“Alive”
“Smile”
“Rockin in the Free World” (Neil Young cover, with Chad Smith, Andrew Watt and Deep Sea Diver)
“Setting Sun”