Music
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Few people have had a better start to 2025 than Imogen Heap. Over the past few weeks, the pioneering producer and songwriter has scored her first-ever chart hit with “Headlock” – lifted from 2005’s spellbinding LP, Speak For Yourself – and has found herself receiving “dozens upon dozens” of collaboration requests, she tells Billboard UK over the phone.
A combination of TikTok and a feature on viral psychological horror game Mouthwashing may be helping “Headlock” scale the charts – it currently stands at No. 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has cracked the top 40 in the U.K. – but it’s a newfound appreciation for Heap’s groundbreaking approach to pop music that has summoned an increasingly feverish Gen Z audience.
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Across social media, younger listeners have recently become enamored with Heap’s theatrically layered vocals and expressive production style, as well how she popularized the use of the vocoder. They are also coming to gauge the extent of her influence on global superstars such as Ariana Grande, FKA Twigs and Billie Eilish. “Imogen Heap was lowkey mother to every 2010s pop girl,” reads a comment on a decade-old clip of Grande performing with Heap’s ingenious wearable instrument, the MiMu gloves.
In 2010, Heap became the first woman to win a Grammy for engineering, while her music has since been sampled extensively by Grande (“Goodnight N Go,” “Eternal Sunshine”), as well as rappers including A$AP Rocky and the late Mac Miller. Following the release of 2014 album Sparks, however, she has aligned her output with developing technological initiatives in order to make the industry more accessible, she says. Recently, there’s been the launch of data solution Auracles, while Heap has also spent the past few years working on Mogen, an AI assistant that she hopes will deepen her creative process in the studio.
Her journey hasn’t all been art and reverence. Heap contended with a plethora of major label battles during her time in electronic duo Frou Frou, and a currently oversaturated streaming market, she says, has occasionally discouraged her from releasing new music. Since she spent time enjoying “solo jam sessions” during lockdown, however, she has slowly begun to emerge renewed: “I realized how much I needed to be back at the piano. I started to feel more free and open,” she says.
This sense of levity has been amplified by the slow-burn success of “Headlock,” an achievement that has coincided with the song’s rights reverting back to Heap, after a 20-year license to Sony. In the coming months, she is planning to start collaborating with fans via livestream, alongside deepening her unique sound world and learning more about herself. It’s a time of rejuvenation and opportunity – with Heap preparing to set out on a more experimental path than ever before.
Below, Heap talks with Billboard about her recent “Headlock” success, working on Auracles and Mogen, being an influence on younger artists and much more.
When did you first notice that “Headlock” had started taking on a life of its own?
There’s a new type of energy this time. For so long, [my career] has been about sharing ideas like Auracles and hoping to kickstart something new for the music industry. This [virality] feels like a nice balance that’s happening in return, and I’m excited about the opportunities it’s giving me. I love taking a wildcard and running with it.
I don’t have TikTok and I don’t really understand it. I’ve never really gone into this world of hyper-fast, collaborative music but I do think that it’s amazing. I’ve instead become obsessed with blockchain, and more recently, AI, while keeping my head down for the past 10 years. I haven’t wanted to add to the problems of the music industry, and contribute to things that make sense for me.
How does it feel to look back at your earlier music, revisiting those thoughts and emotions with the perspective you have now?
I’m just really, really happy. I love that record [Speak for Yourself]. It changed the course of my independence: I was able to be free of any debts or labels; I remortgaged my flat at the time. I came off Island Records with Frou Frou and it wasn’t so great. They did an absolutely terrible job of marketing our records, as they decided that the Sugababes were worth all their money or something, meaning our record [2002’s Details] got no love. It’s really sad, you know — they just couldn’t be bothered.
So, I wanted to come out of that deal, and I said, “Please just let me go. I want to do a record independently and I think I can do it.” Back then, we didn’t have Patreon or Kickstarter, so I was left with the question of where to get the money from. I would walk into banks and ask for the loan to make a new record, and they would say, “Yeah, sure, but what’s your job?” I would have to say, “This is my job, here’s the records I have made and here’s how much more money I’d make if I did it independently.”
I would soon learn that if you went independent and did these discussions yourself, and you found your marketing people, everything just opened up. It was just a myth that you needed a label to make something happen.
You have amazing vocal control on “Headlock.” Do you have any rituals as far as keeping it in shape?
I’ve never done any vocal exercises, and the only thing that kept my voice good was the fact that I was using it almost every day. Recently I haven’t been — it’s not as strong at the moment. But as I’m seeing my monthly streams grow and grow, I have started to consciously sing more: When there’s nobody in the house, I’ll sing from my lungs in the shower!
For some time, I didn’t want to sing, as I couldn’t live with putting music out in an industry that doesn’t support its artists. “Headlock” is doing its thing, and for the first time, I’m seeing crazy numbers from streaming income [at 17 million monthly listeners] – that’s never happened to me before. I’m really grateful to be able to put it into Auracles, but generally [the streaming model] doesn’t really work. Instead, I’ve wanted to invest my time in something that did make sense, so then I could relax and make absolutely tons of music and feel like it’s doing something to empower others.
Dozens of artists have covered or sampled your work over the years. In particular, Ariana Grande has repeatedly spoken of your influence on both her career and personal music fandom. Do you feel a kinship with her?
I appreciate Ariana to the point where I get teary even talking about her. She is so f–king busy, right – I thought the [Wicked] film was brilliant – but she remains consistently kind, thoughtful and open. Recently, I reached out to thousands of people ahead of an Auracles launch. When I spoke to Ariana about it, she was like, “Whatever help you need, let me know.” Having that support from someone who is so high-profile and influential made me feel really validated. People say, “Oh God, I am so busy” – but they can’t possibly be as busy as Ariana Grande!
The other day I was walking around and thinking to myself, “I’m going to write a song about her one day.” I really am. I am so grateful she found a connection with my work, and she has been so nice about what it means to her — and in a way, I want to repay that.
No matter how big she gets, or how many things have happened to her – I mean, just look at [the] Manchester [attack] for f–k’s sake – she remains a shining light and is so pure, funny and bright. Ariana is so genuine; there’s not many people you can point to who send such a great message and energy out there.
You’ve been working on Mogen and Auracles for a good while now. Are there any other creative models today that you see now as you did AI two years ago – ideas with potential that musicians are only beginning to scratch the surface of?
Oh God, there’s so many! I find the rate of innovation around AI and visual media to be breathless. Every single day there are these insane developments, it’s blowing my mind. There’s so many things you can do that don’t involve sitting at a computer, typing away. The thing which makes me nervous is the covenants; there’s all this amazing video, art and poetry being generated by AI as well as music, but you know, creators need to be credited and they need to tell us where they’re training [the data] from.
There’s some cultural suspicion around the use of assistive AI in music, but you have always seemed to approach it positively. How has it felt to open up the discussion with those who may hold different views?
I think as long as we get the ground layers right, and we build from a bedrock which is supportive, then we can grow great things off of that together. If we build off a very shaky, unstable, permissionless system, which is currently what it is, then we’re going to create chaos.
But I guess I am positive, because there are lots of things to be positive about. The more worried people are, the more negative energy will go out and come back into these things, it’s just a law of attraction. I think it’s really important to enjoy this kind of unstoppable force of creativity because that’s how humans survive and evolve – through collaboration. We need to find this common ground where we feel that humans are supporting the system consciously, so that it doesn’t create tension.
Do you still believe that music can make a difference in these troubling times?
Yes, undeniably so! Music makes a difference in the world every single second of every single day. When you’re creating music, and even when you’re listening to music, all the structures of how we understand our reality disappear. Those tiny moments of ephemeral, continuous flow and presence offer us the pure sense of being in the moment; not having to think about material practices and money. That’s why music is just so powerful.
What headspace are you hoping to enter your next era in?
I’m in a really good place. I think before, I felt like I had control in my life, which is a complete fantasy. Every single day, things happen and impact your life to the point that you don’t really have control. That’s been the big shift that’s happened for me in the last couple of years: in order to do anything in the future, you have to do it now.
The other day, I chatted to ChatGPT, and I said, ‘Can you find me a Tai Chi master in my area?’ It came up with this person who I then met the other day – and that just feels amazing! The future is in our minds, in our history books, it’s in our predictions, but it isn’t real life. This is all there is.
I’ve been embracing an element of stillness. When something is hyper-good or hyper-bad, I try to regulate that, so the waves of feeling and emotion become less overwhelming. It’s really embracing what’s manageable: what’s happening here, what’s happening now.
While some artists shoot to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart with their debut efforts, it sometimes takes years — or decades — to hit No. 1 for the very first time. In the first quarter of the 21st century, we’ve seen a who’s who of acts with illustrious careers on the Billboard […]
Before the first note is played at FireAid on Thursday (Jan. 30), more than $60 million dollars will have already been raised from ticket sales and sponsorship dollars for wildfire recovery and prevention efforts from the fires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area. Add to that the donations from viewers watching live on more than 25 streaming outlets that will be matched dollar for dollar by Steve and Connie Ballmer and the event will undoubtedly raise tens of millions of dollars more for the cause.
The Los Angeles concerts will feature Billie Eilish, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gracie Abrams, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Sting and Tate McRae at the Intuit Dome, while Alanis Morissette, Anderson .Paak, Dave Matthews and John Mayer, Dawes, Graham Nash, Green Day, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, No Doubt, P!nk, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks, and The Black Crowes will take the stage at the Kia Forum.
The idea for the benefit, which was announced three days after the catastrophic fires that have destroyed more than 22,000 homes started on Jan. 7, was born after Shelli Azoff called Los Angeles Clippers CEO Gillian Zucker to see if they could hold a benefit at Intuit Dome, home to the Clippers. So many artists volunteered to play that the concert quickly overflowed to the Kia Forum.
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Irving Azoff, who is producing the event with his wife Shelli and his family in conjunction with Live Nation, talked to Billboard on Tuesday night as he headed to the Kia Forum to watch the two Stevies — Nicks and Wonder — rehearse. In addition to talking about the shows’ logistics, he primarily wanted to express his extreme gratitude to the Ballmers, the artists and nearly 40 sponsoring partners who have made the event possible.
It’s really remarkable how fast this has come together.
After the fires started, Shelli says we’ve got to do something. Some else says the only thing we know how to do is put on shows. Shelli calls Gillian, she offers us Intuit and it’s off to the races…So many [artists] volunteered that we knew we could do both [venues]. You don’t want to tell people no and obviously the ability to raise more money when you got two going instead of one is even greater.
At any point did you think, “Let’s move it to Sofi Stadium” or add a third location, given how many artists were eager to play?
Look, there were three pieces to this: There’s the live gate and the corporate sponsorship for the live gate, which, I’m happy to say, is already north of $60 million. The sponsorships, which Scott Sonnenberg at the Clippers organization and Dan Griffis and his team at Oak View, went out and, they’ve done just an incredible job. People just called and said, “Can I [help]”? But we also knew that this is about helping everybody and getting everybody together so everybody can begin to heal and enjoy this wonderful music to try and get everybody a bit back on track. We knew from the start we wanted to do a modern digital telethon where you text to donate. Ballmer offers the building and the Clippers organization is picking up the expenses so every single dollar of ticket money is going to the charity and with Steve and Connie matching anyone that gives money during the telethon, no, we never thought about Sofi, nor should we.
Rod Stewart was the first artist to volunteer to play, right?
Rod was first in, then Stevie Nicks called me personally and she was second in.
Were you surprised by the sheer number of artists who wanted to donate their time?
I’m not surprised because musicians are among the most caring, heartwarming, giving people in the food chain. So, no, I wasn’t surprised–delighted, but not surprised… It’s not just the money raised; we’re going to create a worldwide consciousness for what these fires really were. [Executive producer] Joel Gallen has put together [segments] with some incredible footage from KTLA of the survivors and fire people. It’s a different kind of show.
You’ve got nearly 40 sponsors. Can sponsors still come on?
We sold out earlier today. Every suite is gone, and all the sponsorships are gone. A lot of sponsors said, “Here, just take our money.” We said, “Tickets should come with that. You want to give us back the tickets for first responders and people that lost their homes?” And many of them did that. I think about 2,500 impacted first responders and homeowners or more will be in the two rooms. Many of [the sponsors] are using their suites. Everybody did what they felt was right. I would guess that for a one-night event in the music business, it’s probably the biggest sponsorship haul in history. We were talking about it today. We don’t think anybody’s come anywhere close. We get the credit for getting the ball rolling, but then the community really took over.
What role is Live Nation playing?
[Live Nation president of California Region] Geni Lincoln–like my wife and daughter Allison and many others–has been working 18 hours a day. [Live Nation CEO] Michael Rapino is an executive producer with Shelli and myself and Gillian Zucker and Joel Gallen. He’s been on calls all day and all night. We’re all out raising money. We’re all out putting it all together. Live Nation has been incredible. I’m just so proud of them and their team and what they brought to the party.
What has been the biggest challenge for you logistically?
Look, it’s rock and roll. What can go wrong will go wrong. Since we’re trying to go back and forth between the arenas most of the night for the telecast, the biggest challenge is going to be that we don’t have technical issues that delay anybody getting on the stage at the right times.
What can fans expect from the sets?
Most people are doing two to three songs. A few are doing four. After it was already on sale and [artists] are all set, then other [artists] called. Since all the slots were gone and God knows how long the show is going to be–right now it’s five-and-a-half hours–[we said], “It’s too late to add you to the bill and we don’t have a slot, but how would you like to go do XYZ with such and such an artist?” I think there’s a good half dozen really surprise moments.
In Tuesday’s New York Times article, you and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason went out of your way to say you and the Feb. 2 Grammys are not competing with each other even though the shows are only a few days apart.
We’re not in any sort of competition. They’re an award show. They’re a broadcast television show. We wanted to make this a streaming telethon, meaning a digital streaming moment, right? We didn’t do any over-the-air broadcast. Granted, we’re going to have our moments to tell the story of some of the people impacted by the fires, but this is more like a stream from a music festival. It’s not an award show. They’re two very separate things. I’m on the board of [Recording Academy charity] MusiCares and I hope our board will see fit to give some of the money that we’re making to MusiCares.
How did you pick the date?
We looked at other dates. Remember, our show because we’re trying to solicit donations from consumers– unfortunately, people don’t have a big, long attention span–you want to get up while the fires are still fresh in everybody’s mind. It was kind of guesswork as to when the weather was going to turn and they were going to get control of the fires. We couldn’t go next week because it’s the Super Bowl and we didn’t want to go anywhere near Super Bowl week. And the following week we didn’t have building availability. We didn’t try to go, “Oh, let’s go Grammy week.” Nearly all of the people that are involved either live in LA or have an LA connection, so it wasn’t, “Oh, everybody’s in town for the Grammys. It’s easy to book.” Most of the people would have been here three weeks from now that are here now, so it’s just the way it fell in place.
Was there any thought of going on a broadcast outlet or was it always streaming?
When it became obvious that we were going to do 27 performers, there was no way. You’re not going to put a five-and-a-half hour show on broadcast television.
You’ve already raised more than $60 million. What do you hope the total will be?
We’re already grateful for what we have. I mean, there’s never been a fundraising effort on streamers like this, so I can’t even begin to think about… we’re going to be happy whatever it is. It’s kind of new territory. The outpouring is historic, but, unfortunately, so are the fires.
Audiences can tune into FireAid on a number of platforms, including iApple Music, AppleTV, DIRECTV, MyFree DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS, Disney+/Hulu, FanDuel, iHeartRadio, KTLA+, Max, Facebook, Instagram, Netflix/Tudum.com, Paramount+/Pluto TV, Peacock/NBC News Now, Prime Video and the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch, SiriusXM’s “LIFE with John Mayer” channel, SoundCloud, TikTok, Veeps, X, and YouTube. Some outlets are also making donations, including DirectTV, which announced it was donating $1 million to FireAid.
Additionally, several AMC Theater and Regal Cinemas will host screenings of the event, which can also be heard on iHeartRadio’s more than 860 radio stations, digital platforms and iHeartRadio app.
Sponsoring partners include Kaiser Permanente, Live Nation, Scopely, American Express, AT&T, Capital Group, Netflix, Snap Inc., U.S. Bank, UBS, Venmo, and Visa Foundation. Gold Partners are DIRECTV, Goldman Sachs, Intuit, Starbucks, YouTube, and the Verizon Foundation.CalHOPE, Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, JPMorganChase, Salesforce, Schuman Family Foundation, SiriusXM, Sony Honda Mobility, Spotify and TikTok.
For donations and concert information, go to FireAidLA.org or @FireAidLA.
Billboard is making its way back to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, for three star-studded concerts from March 13 to 15.
Billboard THE STAGE at SXSW will take place at the the iconic Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, and will kick off Thursday (March 13) with a performance by Texas native and country superstar Koe Wetzel. The fun continues Friday (March 14) when Música Mexicana stars Grupo Frontera — also Texas born and raised — take the stage. The final evening, Saturday (March 15), is presented by Carnival Cruise and will feature a high-energy performance from dance music artist John Summit.
More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.
Carnival Cruise Line will provide pedicabs to transport guests to and from THE STAGE, and will also host a one-of-a-kind Celebration Key experience in The Paradise Zone that features a tropical-themed bar, a snack cart and custom photo opportunities. Additionally, Azzaro Parfums is hosting an immersive fragrance sampling station.
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“Billboard has always been at the forefront of celebrating the artists and moments that shape the global music landscape, and this year at SXSW, we’re continuing that tradition with a unique concert series that highlights the diversity of today’s music scene,” Hannah Karp, Billboard’s editorial director, said in a press statement. “From country to Música Mexicana and electronic dance music, Billboard THE STAGE will bring unforgettable live performances to Austin to enhance the SXSW experience and connect music fans with the artists they love.”
Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park will host a ticket pre-sale for all three days of the event starting on Thursday (Jan. 30) at 9 a.m. CT using an exclusive venue code. General admission tickets go on sale the next day via Ticketmaster here at 9 a.m. CT, with a number of tickets reserved for existing SXSW Platinum and Music Badge holders, as well as SXSW Music Festival wristband holders.
Billboard is also partnering with REVERB again to provide a lucky music fan with the chance to win an all-expense-paid VIP trip to SXSW. Participants can enter to win by making a donation to REVERB through Prizeo, which will support REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project, which works to reduce carbon emissions within the music industry. The prize also includes a meet-and-greet with Koe Wetzel, side-stage viewing, round-trip airfare for two, three nights of hotel accommodations and a signed merch pack. To enter the contest, visit prizeo.com/Koe.
Billboard will report live throughout SXSW. Be sure to follow along on billboard.com and on social media (@billboard) for the latest news and announcements.
Billboard’s parent company PMC is the largest shareholder of SXSW and its brands are official media partners of SXSW.
Things are getting a little uneasy in the Big Easy. According to Nola.com, ahead of Kendrick Lamar‘s anticipated halftime show at Feb. 9’s Super Bowl LIX, a group of 17 Republican Louisiana legislators sent a letter to the leaders of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Louisiana Stadium and Expo District claiming that the state’s taxpayers should have a say in what takes place during the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
Specifically, the note called out what is deemed a “lewd” performance by Rihanna in 2023 and the 2020 halftime show by Jennifer Lopez, during which they said the singer “wore little clothing and was groped by male and female dancers on stage, while the performer made sexually suggestive gestures and performed on a stripper pole.”
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“While certainly a large amount of support exists among many Louisianians who are excited about the Super Bowl coming back to New Orleans, many are also hardworking taxpayers with children who have serious concerns about the fact that past Super Bowl halftime performances have been less than family-friendly,” the letter read.
The note does not specifically name Lamar, instead focusing on some past performances, including the infamous 2004 Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake “wardrobe malfunction,” while devoting half a paragraph to a vivid description of Rihanna’s halftime show. It describes the singer “groping herself while she sang song lyrics that were so offensive that few Louisiana adults could read those lyrics before an audience without shame.”
The signatories to the letter said they refused to repeat the lyrics in their note because they are “so offensive.”
“We realize that these past vulgar performances may have been acceptable to the residents of those states where those Super Bowls were held but, in Louisiana, these lewd acts are inappropriate for viewing by children, objectify women, and are simply NOT welcomed by the majority of Louisiana parents,” they wrote.
This year’s game will take place at the Caesars Superdome in the city known for its generous embrace of all manner of debaucherous behavior, including nearly round-the-clock drunken, boisterous tourists stumbling through the legendary French Quarter and women hoisting up their shirts to expose themselves for beads during Mardi Gras.
And while the lawmakers acknowledged that the contracts for next month’s Super Bowl are already signed, they expressed a wish that future contracts for the use of facilities “funded and paid for by Louisiana taxpayers” ensure, in writing, that any performers’ conduct adheres to “Louisiana’s community decency standards.”
Pulitzer Prize honoree and 17-time Grammy winner Lamar will be joined by four-time Grammy winner SZA for this year’s halftime show.
Read the full letter here.
Deitrick Haddon achieves his fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart as “Never Be the Same” ascends to the top of the survey dated Feb. 1. During the Jan. 17-23 tracking week, the song increased by 11% in plays, according to Luminate. “Never Be the Same” was authored solely by Haddon and he co-produced […]
Justin Tranter, a Grammy nominee for song of the year for co-writing Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!,” is set to host the 67th annual Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony on Sunday (Feb. 2). Tranter also hosted last year’s Premiere Ceremony, where the vast majority of Grammys are presented.
This year’s Premiere Ceremony, to be held at Peacock Theater at the LA Live complex in Los Angeles, will stream live at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.
The opening number will feature a performance by current nominees Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo and Taj Mahal. Six other current nominees – Joe Bonamassa, Joyce DiDonato, Béla Fleck, Renée Fleming, Muni Long and Kelli O’Hara – are also set to perform, as is Grammy-winning contemporary classical composer Kevin Puts.
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Harvey Mason jr., Recording Academy and MusiCares CEO, and Tammy Hurt, chair of the academy’s board of trustees, will provide opening remarks.
“The Premiere Ceremony will not only kick off our Grammy Sunday, it will provide an opportunity to show that in times of adversity, music has the power to be used for good, to help our community unite, and to show our community’s resilience,” Mason said in a statement.
This year, both the Premiere Ceremony and main Grammy Awards telecast will have an added sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders.
The 67th Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony is produced by Branden Chapman, Ruby Marchand, Lindsay Saunders Carl and Rex Supa on behalf of the Recording Academy. Greg V. Fera is executive producer and Cheche Alara is music producer and music director.
SiriusXM will be backstage during the ceremony capturing interviews with nominees and winners for their Grammy Sunday broadcast on The Grammy Channel, channel 17 and on the SiriusXM app.
The 67th annual Grammy Awards will broadcast live following the Premiere Ceremony on CBS and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+ from 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.
Performers
Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo, and Taj Mahal (opening number)
Joe Bonamassa
Joyce DiDonato
Béla Fleck
Renée Fleming
Muni Long
Kelli O’Hara
Kevin Puts
Presenters
Wayne Brady
Bob Clearmountain
Rhiannon Giddens
Scott Hoying
Jimmy Jam
Anoushka Shankar
Queen Sheba
Alison Krauss & Union Station will return with the group’s first new album in 14 years, Arcadia, when the project releases March 28 on Down The Road Records.
The group just released a first glimpse at the project with the new song “Looks Like the End of the Road.”
The 10-song Arcadia album, produced by Alison Krauss & Union Station, features songs primarily composed by Robert Lee Castleman, Viktor Krauss, Bob Lucas, JD McPherson and Sarah Siskind.
“Usually, I find something that’s a first song, and then things fall into place,” Krauss said in a statement. “That song was ‘Looks Like The End Of The Road.’ Jeremy Lister wrote it, and it just felt so alive — and asalways, I could hear the guys already playing it.”
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The new album will release on Down The Road Records, which was founded in 2023 by Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy and and Bill Nowlin, who previously founded the iconic independent music label Rounder Records, as well as “fourth Rounder” John Virant, who led Rounder for several years. Krauss was first signed to Rounder when she was 14. Meanwhile, Douglas first worked with Rounder in the 1970s as part of JD Crowe & The New South. Rounder supported Alison Krauss & Union Station’s earlier releases, from the group’s 1989 debut album Two Highways to their 2011 album Paper Airplane, which debuted atop multiple Billboard albums charts, including the country and bluegrass charts.
With Arcadia, Alison Krauss & Union Station welcome new band member Russell Moore on guitar, mandolin and co-lead vocals. Moore is known for his work with another bluegrass outfit, IIrd Tyme Out, and is the International Bluegrass Music Association’s most-awarded male vocalist. He joins bandmates Krauss (fiddle, lead vocals), Jerry Douglas (dobro, lap steel, vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar, vocals) and Barry Bales (bass, vocals).
Krauss said in a statement regarding the album, “The stories of the past are told in this music. It’s that whole idea of ‘in the good old days when times were bad.’ There’s so much bravery and valor and loyalty and dreaming, of family and themes of human existence that were told in a certain way when our grandparents were alive. Someone asked me, ‘How do you sing these tragic tunes? I have to. It’s a calling. I feel privileged to be a messenger of somebody else’s story. And I want to hear what happened.”
Alison Krauss & Union Station will also embark on their first tour together in a decade when The Arcadia 2025 Tour finds the storied group performing 75 dates across the United States and Canada. The new slate of tour dates starts with a two-night stint at The Louisville Palace in Louisville, Ky., on April 17-18.
Listen to “Looks Like the End of the Road” and see the track list for Arcadia below:
“Looks Like The End Of The Road” (Writer: Jeremy Lister)“The Hangman” (Viktor Krauss & Maurice Ogden)“The Wrong Way” (Robert Lee Castleman & Dan Tyminski)“Granite Mills” (Timothy Eriksen)“One Ray Of Shine” (Sarah Siskind & Viktor Krauss)“Richmond On The James” (Alison Krauss & G.T. Burgess)“North Side Gal” (Jonathan David McPherson)“Forever” (Robert Lee Castleman)“Snow” (Bob Lucas)“There’s A Light Up Ahead” (Jeremy Lister)
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If this whole football thing doesn’t work out, Travis Kelce has proven he has a viable second option in the game show world. Unlike the smash mouth, pound the pigskin skills he needs on the field as a tight end for the Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs, being the host of Amazon Prime’s Are You […]
The Jonas Brothers are proof you can go home again. Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas announced on Tuesday (Jan. 28) that they will return to their early home at Disney for an upcoming holiday movie tentatively called Jonas Brothers Christmas Movie.
The trio revealed the news in a promo video posted by Disney+ (which will stream the film), in which the siblings pay homage to Love Actually with a bit in which they show up unannounced at someone’s home as schmaltzy holiday music plays in the background. They are, of course, holding a series of poster boards explaining their intentions, beginning with “Hi, we are the Jonas Brothers.”
After Joe reads the card aloud, Nick snaps at him, “No! Don’t say it! The whole point is you don’t say… you just let it… let them read it.” As the snow keeps falling, they try another take in which they smile and start dropping the news after reminding viewers which brother is which.
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“Sorry to bother you,” they explain. “But we’re making a Christmas movie… coming out this holiday season. Only on Disney+.” At press time the streamer has only said that the film is due out “later this year.” According to a description, the movie will find the brothers facing a “series of escalating obstacles as they struggle to make it from London to New York in time to spend Christmas with their families.”
The brothers will co-produce alongside writers/producers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger (This Is Us), with Oscar winner Jessica Yu (Quiz Lady) slated to direct.
The team-up with Disney is a full-circle moment for the guys, who signed with Disney’s Hollywood Records in 2007 and made their TV debut that year on the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana alongside Miley Cyrus. Their film debut came a year later in the Disney Channel music movie Camp Rock, in which they co-starred with Demi Lovato; they were back in 2010 for Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. They also had their own show on the channel called Jonas and released three albums on Hollywood Records, their 2007 self-titled debut for the label, followed by 2008’s A Little Bit Longer and 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times.
The group split in 2013 and went on hiatus until their reunion in 2019 for the album Happiness Begins, which featured the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “Sucker,” which was their first chart-topping song. The trio released their sixth studio album, The Album, in 2023.
Grammy-nominated Justin Tranter will be the executive music producer and will write original songs for the movie.
Check out the Jonas Brothers holiday movie promo bit below.