State Champ Radio festivals
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A federal appeals has rejected a lawsuit claiming Live Nation was “stringing along” a country singer when the company considered – but ultimately passed on – her proposal for an all-female country music festival in Chicago.
Rae Solomon claimed the concert giant led her to believe it would invest in her idea – a “modern” riff on the famed Lilith Fair with a “predominantly country spin” – only to unfairly back out later. She says Live Nation then stole the concept when it organized an all-women day at 2019’s Lake Shake Festival.
But in a ruling Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that Live Nation had not made “any misrepresentations in its dealings with Solomon.” The court said Live Nation had offered only “sales talk, future intention, and opinion,” not concrete plans to work with her.
“An expression of interest in participating in a project is not a promise to do so,” the court wrote. “The statement represents nothing more than Live Nation’s interest in the project.”
All of Live Nation’s interactions with Solomon were “non-specific and noncommittal nature,” the court wrote, and the company “did not conceal its questions, doubts, or lack of commitment” to her project.
Solomon pitched the idea of her “Zenitheve” festival to Live Nation’s Women Nation Fund, a program that aims to help “underrepresented female entrepreneur” in the live music industry. And Live Nation’s interest was initially piqued; in early meetings in 2018, company reps told her that Zenitheve was “right down the fairway for the kind of stuff we’re interested in” and “exactly what the fund is set up for.”
But according to court documents, Solomon soon ran into hurdles. She envisioned a lineup including Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris and other female country stars, but she had not actually booked artists to perform. And after meetings in which Live Nation suggested “keep[ing] the conversation going,” the company soon expressed serious doubts.
Michael Wichser, Live Nation’s senior vice president for mergers and acquisitions, said Solomon’s business plan was “lackluster” and “worried about Solomon’s abilities to obtain artists or get a team in place.” Live Nation’s chief communications officer Carrie Davis, meanwhile, thought her idea was not “compelling or unique” and noted that Solomon had not “confirmed any sponsorships or artists.”
A month after Live Nation formally passed on the idea, the company announced the plan for the all-women day at Lake Shake, a yearly country festival in Chicago. Solomon claims the move led her investors to pull out of Zenitheve, forcing her to halt the project.
She quickly sued, claiming Live Nation had made intentional and negligent misrepresentations to her and demanding more than $25 million in damages. Among other things, she claimed that Live Nation had acted the way that it did so that it could copy her plan.
But in Thursday’s decision, the Sixth Circuit said that motive was directly contradicted by the facts of the case.
“[Solomon] claims that Live Nation misrepresented any intention of working with [her] because it had only one motivation from the start: stringing Solomon along and stealing her idea,” the appeals court wrote. “That speculation, however, crumbles against Live Nation’s uncontradicted evidence that the organizer of the Lake Shake Festival, Brian O’Connell, had no knowledge of the Zenitheve proposal.”
Peachtree Premier and 46 Entertainment have announced the inaugural At the Station Festival, headlined by country star Zach Bryan. At the Station takes place Oct. 21, 2023, at the Snook Rodeo Grounds in Snook, TX. Flatland Cavalry, Treaty Oak Revival and Jacob Stelly have also been added to the lineup.
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“Zach Bryan is one of the hottest talents in country music right now,” says Shane Quick, festival owner. “The community and culture in Texas are unmatched. We’ve wanted to bring a festival there for years. BYE week in the fall gave us the opportunity for “At the Station,” and Zach as the headliner is a dream come true.”
Peachtree Premier is the partnership of two independent promoters: Premier Productions and Peachtree Entertainment. Founded in 1996, Premier Productions has been a top 20 global promoter, producing events with over 20 million tickets sold. Peachtree Entertainment, founded by Bradley Jordan in 2013, has been essential in discovering and developing country music acts throughout the Southeast. 46 Entertainment is an all-encompassing event management and production company.
Pre-sale registration for Live at the Station is available at atthestationfest.com. Pre-sale is Thursday, April 20, from 10 AM – 10 PM CT, and tickets will go on-sale to the public on Friday, April 21 at 10 AM CT.
Super-producer Metro Boomin embarked on a star-studded hero’s (and villain’s) journey during his Coachella performance Friday night (April 14).
Metro feels like he naturally sits at the intersection of Marvel and music, inviting his interconnected web of friends (who are chart-topping rappers) into a comic book world of his own design. “In this life, we all must make a choice, to be a hero or a villain. But let this be a warning: When Metro appears, you better know damn well which side you’re on,” narrated Morgan Freeman, with comic illustrations of Coachella and Metro’s thrilling arrival projected on the screens before plumes of smoke cleared them and descended on the stage.
It’s no wonder he was tapped to work on the soundtrack for the forthcoming film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. But across festival grounds at the Sahara Tent, Metro assembled his own Avengers for his self-proclaimed “Trochella,” and even saluted the ones who couldn’t physically be there like A$AP Rocky, whose pre-recorded audio of him officially introducing Metro boomed from the speakers. He emerged from a black cloak at the top of the stage, a full orchestra accentuating his sinister presence. But Metro’s not the villain in this story, as he brought out Future for a haunting yet victorious rendition of “Superhero (Heroes & Villains).”
Future zoomed through his hits — including “Wicked” and “Mask Off” — before Metro sent Young Thug a remote moment of hope in the midst of his RICO trial in Atlanta by playing “Metro Spider.” Don Toliver then graced the stage while donning sunglasses that resembled a mask, playing into the motif of Metro’s latest Billboard 200-topping album, Heroes & Villains, and playing “I Can’t Save You (Interlude),” “Too Many Nights” and “Around Me” off the project.
Thick clouds of smoke covered the stage once more, creating even more mystique around Metro’s set. “Legendary s— only!” he bellowed while praising fellow producer Mike Dean on the synths. He rolled out the red carpet for his beloved collaborator 21 Savage as they ran through fan favorites from their Savage Mode days and other beloved 21 tracks, such as “Bank Account” and “Knife Talk.” But there was one person who received a special dedication from him.
“Long live my mom Leslie Wayne… She with me right now, Lord Jesus, she with me right now,” he bellowed before leading the rowdy crowd in a sobering moment of silence in honor of his late mother, who died last June.
Suddenly, Dean cued the chaos back up with a dizzying array of green strobe lights before a faint, yet very famous falsetto caused an uproar for none other than The Weeknd. He performed “Faith,” “Escape from LA” and “Heartless,” which were all produced by Metro from The Weeknd’s fourth album, After Hours. With help from his close collaborator Dean, The Weeknd executed the same genius transition from “Heartless” to “Low Life” he debuted at Coachella just last year, when he co-headlined with Swedish House Mafia. Now, he comfortably assisted a billed act and shared the spotlight with other A-listers like Future, who joined him for “Low Life.” But when he got a moment to himself again, The Weeknd treated fans by performing a brand new song.
“Temperature rising, bodies united, now that I tried you in my arms. No need to fight it, no need to hide it, now that I’ve seen what’s in your heart,” he sang before letting his vocal runs synch up with the electrifying synths and Dean’s sexy saxophone.
21 Savage eventually returned for the first live performance of “Creepin,” which is No. 4 on the April 15-dated Billboard Hot 100. The remix’s guest Diddy made for another major surprise guest on the already star-filled night, which could very well have been just an average day in the studio for Metro Boomin.
Becky G’s debut as a billed Coachella act was a long time coming, but good things come to those who wait. While the Mexican-American artist was at Coachella last year, when she joined Karol G to sing their hit song “MAMIII,” Becky G hadn’t had a solo performance at the festival.
“What’s up Coachella?” she asked a sea of festival-goers who had stationed themselves at the main stage for her 45-minute set after immediately being hooked with her reggaeton banger “Mayores.” “You’re looking mighty beautiful from up here,” she briefly said after performing her first song. “I’m so happy to be here with you guys today.”
Becky was a woman of a few words and let her music do the speaking instead. With a Luis Barragán-inspired set as her background, she stepped out in a dark blue denim three-piece and white sneakers to perform “Fulanito,” “Cuando Te Besé” and “Bailé Con Mi Ex” back-to-back before transitioning into a special segment that paid tribute to her Mexican roots.
“México en la casa! I’ve been working on my regional project and it’s been so beautiful,” she expressed. “I’m proud to be Mexican-American. And I couldn’t come to Coachella and not share the stage. Who else did we invite to the carne asada (cookout)?” she asked her DJ.
With a tuba in tow, Marca MP joined Becky — who wore a tejana for this part of her set — to sing “Ya Acabó.” But that was just the first artist of a parade of acts who joined the star. Following MP, Jesús Ortiz Paz of Fuerza Regida took her side to sing “Te Quiero Besar.” Paz stayed to sing Becky’s “favorite” song of his, the cumbia-powered “Bebe Dame.”
The third surprise guest was an artist who is relatively new to performing in front of crowd, let alone a festival of this magnitude, but fans went crazy when corridos up-and-comer Peso Pluma appeared on stage to sing his collab w Becky, “Chanel.” The surprise guests didn’t end there. Becky, who by this point had changed into a sparkly blue mini-dress, brought out bestie Natti Natasha to sing their girl-power track “Sin Pijama.” The two shared a friendly kiss with Becky after singing together.
To close her set with a bang, Becky sang her Karol G-assisted “MAMIII,” which she ended with the iconic wailing part of “Killing Me Softly.” And to end with a trip down memory lane, she performed her first hit single “Shower.” “Let me take this in for a second,” she said before leaving the stage. “It has truly been an honor.”
Get tickets to the first-ever #BBMujeresLatinas on May 6 in Miami: billboardmujeresenlamusica.com
It had all the makings of a headlining set: the reunion of a beloved band, a hits-filled discography and thousands of fans all belting along.
And yet, the highly anticipated set from Blink-182 filled the sundown slot at a much-too-small stage. It made it all the better.
On Thursday evening (April 13), when Coachella finally revealed on Instagram its weekend one set times, the caption read: “Take off your pants and jacket.” Fans of the band immediately knew it signaled the good news that Blink had been added to the lineup at the last minute.
In October, the legendary pop-punk band announced it would reunite with its original lineup of Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom Delonge. On Friday (April 14), the band delivered its first show since. (Blink was originally scheduled to kick off a South American tour in March, but had to cancel due to Barker’s finger injury).
The band fittingly entered to the Star Wars theme song (with noted U.FO. researcher DeLonge wearing a shirt that read, “To the stars”) and selected “Family Reunion” as their celebratory opening song. As DeLonge basked in the roars for his return to the band, he couldn’t help but smirk as he held up a middle finger, later telling the crowd how much they’re loved.
After performing “Anthem, Part Two,” Hoppus said something so simple yet staggering: “Hi, we’re Blink-182 … Welcome to Coachella 2023.” The fact that the ’90s-formed act is just as much of a force today as in its heyday is a testament to its catalog and staying power — particularly at a time when pop-punk has returned to center stage. And in the case of Blink, the band brought its boyish sense of humor along for the ride, with Hoppus and DeLonge trading quips about everything from UTIs to testicles throughout the set.
As Barker’s wife, Kourtney Kardashian-Barker, and her sister Khloe watched from the stage, the band tore threw hits like “Rock Show,” “Feelin This” and “What’s My Age Again,” which welcomed a sing-along worthy of the Guinness World Records as a mosh pit formed. And before live debuting their newest single “Edging,” which arrived with the original lineup’s reunion announcement, DeLonge confessed with a laugh, “There’s a lot of testosterone in this s—.”
Minutes past the set’s scheduled end time, Hoppus noted that the band had blown right past it — and that they weren’t about to stop. He said there were three more songs to get through, and they were naturally some of the bands biggest hits to date, closing with an epic hat trick of “I Miss You” into “All the Small Things” into “Dammit,” for which Hoppus interpolated a bit of TLC’s “No Scrubs” for good measure.
But it was Hoppus’ Instagram post that summed up the experience better than any one song could. “Chemo to Coachella,” he captioned a photo of himself on stage with the soon-to-be-packed field behind him. “Very much in my feelings today.”
Thousands of music fans are flocking to Indio, Calif., this weekend for Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where Frank Ocean, Bad Bunny and BLACKPINK will be headlining the three-day event.
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For those unable to make it out to the desert in person, YouTube will be streaming live from all stages of the festival with six separate livestreams over both weekends of the festival, so you can enjoy all the action from the comfort of your own home.
In addition to the performances, the livestream experience will also feature exclusive merch drops on Coachella’s YouTube channel, plus behind-the-scenes content with artists, creators and fans on YouTube Shorts.
The weekend one livestream, sponsored by Fast X, Verizon and NYX Professional Makeup in the U.S., will kick off on Coachella’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Friday, April 14, and run through Sunday night (April 16).
Weekend two, sponsored by Tic Tac and Dove Shower Collection, will begin at the same time on Friday, April 21, before wrapping up on Sunday, April 23.
Additional Coachella performers this year include Rosalía, Gorillaz, Burna Boy, Blondie, Becky G, Pusha T, Metro Boomin, Charlie XCX, Kid Laroi, Flo Mili, Bjork, A Boogie, Uncle Waffles, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Elderbrook, Kenny Beats, Yves Tumor, The Chemical Brothers, Kaytranada and SG Lewis and many more.
At the last minute, the reunited classic line-up of Blink-182 will debut on Friday (April 14) at Coachella. The group comprised of singer/bassist Mark Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker and returning member guitarist/singer Tom DeLonge is slated to take the Sahara stage at 6:45 p.m.
All aboard, baby. Groove Cruise announced the lineup for its January 2024 voyage from Miami to The Bahamas on Wednesday (April 12).
Billboard can exclusively announce that Diplo, Tiësto and John Summit captain the lineup, with a strong crew of artists including Disco Lines, Gabriel & Dresden, Joel Corry, LP Giobbi, So Tuff So Cute, VNSSA rounding out the bill.
Additionally, the party will feature hosted stages by brands including LP Giobbi’s Femme House, Diplo’s Higher Ground and Summit’s Off The Grid. The boat will also host artist hosted games and activities like blackjack, bingo, volunteer opportunities, mentorship sessions and mental health workshops.
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The festival is largely sold out, although a few premium packages remain. The event will take place on the Norwegian Encore. Able to host 4,000 guests, this is the biggest ship Groove Cruise has employed to date.
The festival at sea departs from Miami on January 24, sailing to The Bahamas for a beach part on Great Stirrup Cay and returning to U.S shores on January 28. The event, produced by Whet Travel, marks the Groove Cruise’s 20th anniversary.
“I can’t believe it’s been 20 years,” Groove Cruise founder Jason Beukema tells Billboard. “When I first had the idea of Groove Cruise as a 25-year-old kid from Michigan with no money, not a single DJ contact, and not knowing anyone in the cruise industry, I never thought that two decades later I would be booking international superstars like Tiësto on a near billion dollar cruise ship.”
“Our first sailing,” he continues, “was a 125 person cruise in 2004, and it’s been incredible to witness lifelong friendships flourish out of that initial cruise and to hear how it changed people’s lives. It’s been humbling to watch the community and experience it evolve into the world class event it is today.”
While Groove Cruise helped innovate the festival cruise model two decades ago, they’ve since become a hugely popular format for live music consumption. In the dance world, HARD has hosted Holy Ship since 2021, while earlier this year Insomniac Events announced the maiden voyage of their EDSea cruise happening in November.
See the full lineup below
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Though Rolling Loud won’t touch down in New York this year, the festival will return to its home turf of Miami in July with a mega lineup starring A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti.
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Slated for July 21-23 at the Hard Rock Cafe, Rolling Loud Miami will return to the city for its eighth year, which previously housed household acts including Future, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and more. This year, the renowned festival tags in Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, City Girls, Offset and Don Toliver. Many prominent rookies will also grace the stage, including Ice Spice, Coi Leray, Central Cee and GloRilla. Rolling Loud also is also bringing in new faces, enlisting Bryson Tiller, Foushee, Turnstile and Billboard Hot 100 entrant Pink Panthress.
Tickets and passes go on sale Friday (April 14) on Rolling Loud’s website.
In March, Rolling Loud headed to California, where Travis Scott, Future and Playboi Carti served as headliners. Lil Wayne was a special guest and delivered a laundry list of hits including “Uproar” and “Lollipop.” Rolling Loud will take their talents internationally as they embark on a Thailand festival this weekend. The headliners include Cardi B, Travis Scott and Chris Brown, with additional performances by Rick Ross, Fat Joe and more.
Rolling Loud canceled its New York festival due to “logistical factors” in mid March. “For the last few years, we’ve made some legendary moments happen in Queens,” the statement read. “Sadly, due to logistical factors beyond our control, Rolling Loud will not return to New York in 2023. But don’t worry, this isn’t ‘goodbye,’ more like ‘see you later.’ We’ll be back in New York when the time is right. In the meantime, we invite all of our New York fans to meet us in Miami July 21-23 for our biggest, best festival of the year. Love you all! Rolling Loud forever!”
See the full lineup below.
BLACKPINK made music-festival history during their Coachella 2019 performance as the first female K-pop group to play at the iconic festival. Four years later, the quartet set a new standard entirely with a headlining slot at the Indio, Calif., fest.
Alongside Bad Bunny and Frank Ocean, BLACKPINK reign as one of the three main headliners for Coachella 2023 and the main musical affair for day 2 of both festival weekends on Saturday, April 15 and 22. While 2019 saw the act less than three years into their journey together for their Coachella debut with two EPs, Jennie‘s “Solo” debut and a handful of singles, the BLACKPINK ladies now boast two full-length albums, solo music from each member and multiple world tours to draw on for experience.
Ahead of the meaningful moment this weekend, each BLACKPINK member reflected with Billboard about their first performance in 2019, their feelings about playing in the desert this time and more.
While Jennie wowed with her group and “Solo” performances at Coachella in 2019, the singer-rapper says her anticipation of returning to the festival stage surpasses any butterflies.
“We’re so excited and honored to be able to return to Coachella as headliners,” The Idol star says. “We had the best time in 2019 and can’t wait to experience the energy of the audience again. There are some nerves, but more than anything, we’re just ready to have fun.”
Rosé says she’s still coming to terms with the opportunity to come back as headliners but recalls how substantial their first performance was in fueling the quartet’s ambitions.
It feels absolutely unreal,” the “Gone” singer-songwriter says. “I think performing for Coachella in 2019 was a moment that really woke us up as BLACKPINK—to be motivated, to dream on and dream big. But we never expected anything as big as being the headliner of a festival we’ve all grown up admiring and hoping someday we could find ourselves in the crowd of.”
From left, Jennie, Rose, Lisa and Jisoo of BLACKPINK perform onstage during the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2019 in Indio, California.
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Fresh off her solo debut with “Flower,” Jisoo says with a laugh how “it’s always so happy to meet BLINKs up close” before adding, “2019 Coachella was full of fascination and excitement, but we have no clue how 2023 Coachella will be. We try all the time to show a new side of ourselves for each stage to repay the love from BLINKs. It is an honor to perform as a headliner for Coachella festival; we want to show our improvement as BLACKPINK on stage — and will — so, stay tuned.”
Despite the hundreds of thousands that attend Coachella, BLACKPINK’s youngest member Lisa says she’s sticking to the group’s mantra when approaching any performance, including anything unique for this weekend.
“Our motto is to enjoy every stage and moment, ‘as if it’s the last,’ [by] interacting with the audience by energy and doing our best while performing,” the “Money” superstar says while referencing a beloved BLACKPINK single from 2017. “We’re working hard on various performances for 2023 Coachella; look forward to it!”
While Rosé also wants to keep the focus on simply returning to the stage, she and her band mates know they must meet the moment. “We’re honestly just excited to be back at Coachella performing, period, but the deal here is—we’re headlining,” she explains. “We feel honored for this opportunity as much as we feel the immense responsibility. We’ll be bringing something fun to the table.”
After photographers snapped Jisoo and Lisa leaving for the U.S. from South Korea’s Incheon International Airport together earlier this week, the members have stayed relatively quiet – both from public view and on their social media – as they put in final preparations for Weekend 1.
Jisoo closes by saying, “Hope you enjoy 2023 Coachella with BLACKPINK,” before Jennie signs off with, “See you in the desert!”
Eddie Vedder is bringing his seventh annual Ohana Festival to Doheny State Beach this fall, and the rocker revealed the star-studded lineup on Tuesday (April 11), with himself, Foo Fighters and The Killers leading the pack as headliners.
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The Chicks, HAIM, The War On Drugs, Father John Misty, Japanese Breakfast, Suki Waterhouse and many more are also set to take the stage at the festival, which will take place on September 29 to October 1.
Ohana will also bring back The Cove, an area within the festival that combines music with activism, featuring a number of panel discussions form leading conservationists, environmentalists, researchers and professional surfers. The Cove also features a Charles R. Adler-curated art gallery that showcases a collection of pieces themed around music, surf, skate and activism.
Tickets for the all-ages 2023 Ohana Festival will go on sale starting with the Ten Club Presale on Tuesday (April 11) at 8 a.m. PT, followed by the SMS Presale on Thursday (April 13) at 10 a.m. PT, which you can sign up for here. All remaining tickets will go on sale later that day at noon PT. Ticket options include three-day or one-day GA tickets, plus VIP, VIP+ and layaway options.
See the full Ohana Festival lineup, as well as more information, here.
