Events
Page: 10
On Friday night (Dec. 16), lines formed outside of a relatively unmarked warehouse space in downtown Los Angeles for “Club Renaissance,” a two-night event in celebration of Renaissance, Beyoncé‘s seventh studio album. The album, released in July, is a kaleidoscopic exploration of genre, escapism and self-expression; on it, Beyoncé experiments with different shades of dance, house, disco, pop and R&B.
The party’s unspoken 1970s-era theme was interpreted by attendees for their outfits in a range of ways, much like the sonic versatility of the project itself. The event, presented by Amazon Music and Parkwood Entertainment, featured several musicians in attendance, including singers Syd, Victoria Monét and Lucky Daye.
The building was lined with graphic posters of a Renaissance promotional image, which several partygoers used as a backdrop for their photographs. And there was another wall ripe for photo opportunities, decorated with neon signs that bore song lyrics and titles from the album, like “Church Girl” and “Cozy.”
Guests chatted and sipped thematically named cocktails (“Cuff It” and “Alien Superstar,” also Renaissance titles) once doors were open, and approximately an hour after the event started at 9 p.m., the DJ began to play Renaissance top to bottom and in spatial audio. Attendees enjoyed it from the dance floor for the duration, creating the very Studio 54-esque dance party the project promises. (A group of engineers tucked along the periphery were controlling the sensory displays, which included strobe lights and fog elements.)
The glowing, holographic horse Beyoncé is seated on in the album’s cover art was prominently placed in the center of the room, enclosed in a glass box like a museum artifact. Throughout the night, the air was buzzing with the question of if Beyoncé herself would join the event, like she did in previous cities (ultimately, she did not).
Saturday’s event is expected to draw more of the singer’s fan base. Free tickets were released online to her subscribers earlier this week and sold out in under 20 minutes.
The first “Club Renaissance” was essentially the album’s official release party and was held in August at Times Square Edition hotel in New York. There was also a Parisian edition of the event in October during Paris Fashion Week.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
MEXICO CITY — For some fans, going to Bad Bunny’s Estadio Azteca show Friday night in Mexico City was a dream come true. But for others, it turned into a nightmare after they became victims of a scam, with Ticketmaster Mexico canceling their tickets at the entrance to the show saying they were fake and a throng of angry fans at the door demanding to go inside.
Dozens of people who had arrived hours and some days earlier — coming from different places in Mexico and the U.S. — were not able to get inside Bunny’s fist night in Mexico City, which also marks the end of his tour.
Valeria Carrillo, a young fan who came from the seaside town of Isla Mujeres and said she had paid over 9.000 Mexican pesos (some $455), was one of the unlucky ones. She stood in line since early in the morning to be one of the first to get inside the stadium. She couldn’t.
“I didn’t come all the way from Isla Mujeres to have this happen to me!” she told Billboard Español, in tears.
Some desperate fans climbed over the main gates of the stadium trying to get inside but were blocked by security.
In a press release posted Saturday, Ticketmaster Mexico admitted that “the issues with access were the result of an unprecedented number of fake tickets, which led to a not normal agglomeration of people and an intermittent operation of our system.
“The above generated confusion and complicated the entrance to the stadium, with the unfortunate consequence that people with legitimate tickets were denied access,” added the release.
Mexico’s Federal Attorney for the Mexican Consumer (PROFECO) said it had opened an investigation and asked those who had been affected to present their complaint on a website provided by the institution. By Friday evening, PROFECO said in the same release that only seven people had submitted complaints, but more were expected.
On its end, Ticketmaster said it would refund ticket-holders who hadn’t been able to get into the venue and would also provide additional compensation of “no less than 20% of the price paid for the ticket, in accordance with the terms of article 92 Bis of the Federal Law of Consumer Protection, which states that right when a service is deficient or is not rendered.”
Issues with tickets delayed the show for nearly 60 minutes. Originally scheduled for 9 p.m., it started at 10 p.m. But once the lights went out, it was party time. Benito Ocasio Martínez took the stage in front of 85,000 attendees, with a slew of special guests that included Bomba Estéreo for “Ojitos Lindos,” Chencho Corleone for “Me Porto Bonito,” Mora for “Una vez” and Jowell & Randy, with whom he sang “Safaera.” Bunny finally brought up his friend and fellow hitmaker Jhayco for “Tarot.”
One of the highlights of the evening came when the Puerto Rican star paid homage to the late Mexican music idol Juan Gabriel by sampling his hit “Querida,” and later, when performing “Yo No Me Visto Así,” which also references “Querida” and Juan Gabriel in its lyrics.
For Bunny’s second Mexico City show on Saturday, PROFECO had personnel at the entrance to the stadium beginning early in the afternoon, and there were reports on social media of fans with fake tickets being turned away.
There is nothing funny about Kanye West‘s repeated amplification of antisemitic tropes and hate speech over the past month. In a series of interviews and media appearances, the artist who now goes by Ye has made a series of comments denigrating the Jewish people, culminating last week with an appearance on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show in which Ye stated “I like Hitler.”
But if there is one person who has the unique ability to transform hate into hilarity, it is Sacha Baron Cohen. The acclaimed comedian — who is Jewish — appeared at this weekend’s Kennedy Center Honors in the guise of his belovedly profane, offensive-to-everyone dopey journalist character Borat Sagdiyev to pay tribute to honorees U2.
Kazakhstan’s least reliable source of news took the stage and expressed genuine confusion that President Biden is the current White House resident. “I know the president of U.S. and A is here. Where are you, Mr. Trump?” Borat asked according to a transcript of the appearance from The Guardian.
“You don’t look so good,” Borat said to Biden. “Where has your glorious big belly gone? And your pretty orange skin has become pale… But I see you have a new wife. Wawa-woooah! She is very erotic. I must look away before I get a Bono.”
But the sharpest barbs from the comedian whose work skewers hate and intolerance with even more absurdly hateful, intolerant punchlines that shine a sharp satiric light on xenophobic and homophobic hate speech went all-in on Ye in the wake of the rapper’s latest exile from Twitter for posting an image of a swastika last week.
“Before I proceed, I will say I am very upset about the antisemitism in US and A. It not fair,” Borat said. “Kazakhstan is No 1 Jew-crushing nation. Stop stealing our hobby. Stop the steal! Stop the steal! Your Kanye, he tried to move to Kazakhstan and even changed his name to Kazakhstan-Ye West. But we said: ‘No, he too antisemitic, even for us.’”
In a classic Borat bit, Cohen then sang a brief parody of U2’s “Without or Without You,” with the lyrics switched up to “With or Without Jews,” as titters erupted in the crowd and he asked, “What’s the problem? They loved this at Mar-a-Lago. They chose Without Jews.”
West, who does not appear to be promoting any projects at the moment, has been on a month-long media tour of right-wing media outlets in which he has unashamedly denigrated the Jewish people while also praising the murderous Nazi regime. The disgraced MC whose once-massive music and fashion portfolio has gone into free-fall since he began spouting antisemitic and racist statements continued his bizarre hate tour on his Instagram feed on Sunday when he made what was couched as a joke about Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s ethnic heritage.
“Am I the only one who thinks Elon could be half-Chinese?,” West asked. “Have you ever seen his pics as a child?” Musk was born in South Africa to a Canadian mother and South African father and it was unclear what West was referring to in questioning the billionaire Space X/Tesla founder’s ethnicity.
Without mentioning Ye by name, President Biden issued a pointed statement on the dangers of antisemitism and the embrace of Nazis on Friday in the wake of West’s Hitler praise on Jones’ show. “I just want to make a few things clear: The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure,” Biden tweeted in a statement. “And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity.”
The strongly worded statement from Biden starkly contrasted with the recent scene at Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago resort, where the twice-impeached president hosted Ye as well as far right activist and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who is also known for spewing antisemitic rhetoric. Also present at the lunch that Trump hosted on the high-visibility patio at his golf club was Ye’s apparent 2024 presidential campaign manager — who has reportedly since been fired — professional right-wing troll Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been blocked from most major social media platforms for his slurs against Islam and feminism, and his embrace of antisemitic figures.
West’s doubling and tripling-down on hate speech comes just months after the Anti-Defamation League — which tracks anti-Semitic behavior nationwide — reported a 34% rise in anti-Semitic incidents in 2021 (to 2,717), which averaged out to more than seven such incidents per day.
J. Cole announced the return of his Dreamville Music Festival on Wednesday (Nov. 2), revealing that the event will return in spring 2023. In fact, after a two-year pandemic layoff and a reboot this spring, Dreamville is expanding to two days next year, with all the action slated to unfold in Raleigh, North Carolina’s Dorothea Dix Park on April 1-2.
The first edition of Dreamville took place at Dix Park on April 6, 2019; it was postponed from Sept. of 2018 due to the impact of that year’s Hurricane Florence. The first year lineup for the music, food, art and culture fest featured Cole, Big Sean, Nelly, SZA, 21 Savage, 6LACK, Teyana Taylor, Davido, Saba and more.
The planned second go-round of Dreamville was scheduled for April 2020, but postponed, then cancelled, due to the then-rampant COVID-19 pandemic. It finally returned in April of this year with sets from Lil Baby, Kehlani, Wizkid, Wale, Rico Nasty, Moneybagg Yo and the entire Dreamville roster, including Ari Lennox, EarthGang and J.I.D., among others. The fest drew more than 80,000 fans in 2022 and, according to organizers, created more than $6.7 million in economic impact on the local Raleigh and Wake County communities.
“Dreamville Festival wants to keep growing and building off the success of the expanded two-day event last year. Our team is excited to reunite with our Dreamville family from around the world next spring,” said Dreamville Festival President Adam Roy in a statement. “Day ones, JID fans, Ari fans, music fans, everyone is welcome. Consider this your personal invite. Come through, you won’t want to miss Dreamville 2023.”
Cole will once again curate next year’s lineup — which has not yet been released — with organizers promising “incredible music performances featuring Cole’s own favorite musical artists and collaborators who are traveling worldwide to perform in his home state of North Carolina.” A special ticket pre-sale will soon be available for Dreamville fans tho sign-up for the official festival email or text newsletter here.
Check out the announcement below.
The feathers were swaying and sequins were glittering at last night’s star-studded Wearable Art Gala, a benefit celebrating the 5th anniversary of WACO Theater Center, founded by co-artistic directors Tina Knowles-Lawson and Richard Lawson. Inspired by the aesthetics and Black excellence of the Harlem Renaissance era, the benefit is designed to support the company’s artistic and youth mentorship programs through a fine art auction.
“Each year we find a theme that connects us historically with our past,” Richard Lawson told THR. “[We explore] the evolution of African culture in the western world.” Previous themes have included The Lion King and Black Panther‘s Wakanda. But this year, 50,000 square feet of the Barker Hanger at Santa Monica Air Center were transformed into a full-blown Harlem experience. Guests arrived in vintage automobiles and 40-foot-tall backlit backdrops were designed to look like a set in Harlem featuring notable arts institutions like the Savoy Ballroom, Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club.
“As Black people, we do things differently … everything is with flair,” Tina Knowles-Lawson said. “We are fashion. That’s such a big part of the gala and we wanted to create something where art can occur. We want everything to be art.”
Last night’s gala was hosted by Keke Palmer and was a musical affair with a live band on the red carpet, a traditional New Orleans “second line” parade and performances from people including Daytime Emmy Award winner Obba Babatundé. Other notable guests included Tyler Perry, singers Chloe and Halle Bailey, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon, Marsai Martin (who donned an intricate, styrofoam floral headpiece), Lori Harvey, and Magic and Cookie Johnson.
Every member of Destiny’s Child was in attendance — Kelly Rowland stunned in a statement-making red gown, Beyoncé arrived in support of her mother with husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy — and Michelle Williams spoke to THR about the importance of arts mentorship for the youth. “Ms. Tina has been mentoring since I met her in the year 2000. This is what she does,” Williams shared. “Also, this is her favorite era, so when I saw this was the [theme], I knew this was going to be exciting.”
The genesis of WACO began as two separate efforts Knowles-Lawson and Lawson were pursuing individually, but ultimately married themselves to each other when the two came together as a couple in real life.
“I grew up with a mentor that I met when I was 14 and she changed the trajectory of my life by exposing me to the arts and to life in general, so I always wanted to have a community center where kids could come and meet with visual artists and performing artists and just have a place to hang out,” Knowles-Lawson said. “Also, when my kids were little there were two community centers in Houston that I used to take them to, where they really honed their skills and their performing confidence. So I know that it really changes kids’ lives when they have a place like that.”
Simultaneously, Lawson had built an acting school and theater, so “we just decided to join forces and open WACO,” Knowles-Lawson said.
“We both had the same intention in slightly different ways so it was just a natural thing for us to put this together because we were both operating in the space of being of service and developing and supporting and mentoring people,” Lawson said. “WACO is a theater where we have performing arts and have a mentorship program of 100 kids which is growing every year.”
Last night, guests understood the thematic assignment. ESPN correspondent Angela Rye channeled Dominique La Rue (played by Jasmine Guy) in Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Nights, wearing a red, floor-length dress. Rye, who is also the CEO of IMPACT Strategies — a political advocacy, social impact and racial equity firm based in Washington, D.C. — said that the arts can magnify political advocacy efforts in “remarkable ways.”
“Sometimes the only [mediums] that we have to really be able to tell our stories and to advocate in ways that people don’t see as violent is through art and through media,” she told THR. “We can confront issues that sometimes folks are too uncomfortable to touch through those forms.”
Issa Rae, whose multi-faceted Hoorae Media company develops content across the film, television, music and management industries, says that “building our institutions is what separates the now from what was.”
“When I think about previous renaissances, there were specific outlets we [participated in] that weren’t ours. So it was easy for them to wipe us out or say ‘that’s enough of that,’ but I think the more we own our institutions and platforms, the more we can own our voices and the more longevity we’ll have.”
Due to the proliferation of Black images and ownership in entertainment and media today, the Black community in Hollywood and Los Angeles, more broadly, is arguably in the midst of an artistic renaissance. One that echoes Harlem’s a century ago. “I think at that time it was so especially revolutionary because it was a conscious effort to celebrate our art,” Rae says. “We’re constantly looking toward the past to inform the present. It’s just important for us to champion ourselves.”
To that end, Angela Bassett was honored with last night’s Film & TV Icon Award. “I am completely and utterly humbled,” the award-winning actress told THR. “Because what you endeavor to do is to work hard … so to be able to do that and then to be appreciated and supported at this moment for your body of work is very exciting.”
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
EBONY’s Power 100 Gala, a night of Black excellence, released its list of 100 honorees on Wednesday (Oct. 12). The gala is set to be hosted by Emmy-nominated comedian Amber Ruffin and will include names like Emmy award-winning Quinta Brunson, Usher, and TikTok influencer Khaby Lame.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The annual gala is dedicated to honoring Black trailblazers in various professions and crafts such as business, entertainment, and science and technology. The formal event’s 10 categories range from Entertainment Powerhouses to Community Creators. In addition to announcing its return, executives shared their reimagined commitment to “Moving Black Forward.”
“The EBONY Power 100 Gala is one of our tentpole events,” said Eden Bridgeman Sklenar, EBONY Media Group chief executive officer in a release. “This year’s list represents the best and brightest across fields, and we are proud to celebrate and salute each of our honorees who we recognize as influential members of the community based on their impactful contributions to the culture and society at large.”
In addition to Usher and Brunson, Tems and H.E.R. also graced the list of Entertainment Powerhouses. Makeup mogul and YouTuber Jackie Aina, rapper Saucy Santana, and comedian Elsa Majimbo also join Lame in the influencer category.
This year’s Dynamic Duo slot features both romantic and platonic power couples like Russell Wilson and Ciara, Idris and Sabrina Elba, and the City Girls. In addition to hosting, Ruffin is a Media Mavens honoree this year.
The Gala will take place in Los Angeles at the Milk Studios on Oct. 29., and is to be presented by Coke Zero Sugar.
As the Division Series kicks off, we highlight eight artists whose music is the most popular with MLB players on the remaining playoff teams.
The Subways were kind enough to chronicle their North American tour for us, and we’ll be running their tour diary in several installments this week. Billy Lunn will be our guide, and as he writes, “Because so much usually ends up happening on our tours, we thought that this time round, whilst we’re on our […]
You are about to learn the five critical elements that have fueled the success of all great musicians’ careers. Until you possess these key elements for yourself, it will be nearly impossible for you to reach your musical dreams and build a successful career in the music business. Read below to discover these five key […]
Chances are, you are already ruining your potential to succeed in the music industry because you believe in one or more music career myths. How do I know? I am sent e-mail messages on a constant basis by tons of musicians (all seeking the answers to the WRONG questions). These are questions that may seem […]