Music

10 Apr 2023

8 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Brothers Osborne, Tanya Tucker, Ray Fulcher & More

Brothers Osborne unleash a trio of new tracks this week, while Tanya Tucker celebrates her upcoming Country Music Hall of Fame induction with a first glimpse into her upcoming album. Meanwhile, Aaron Crawford nods to his trusty six-string companion, and Ray Fulcher and Tenille Arts team for an ode of gratitude.

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Brothers Osborne, “Nobody’s Nobody,” “Might as Well Be Me” and “Rollercoaster (Forever and a Day)”

Hitmakers and critical darlings Brothers Osborne team with a new producer, Mike Elizondo, as they return with a trio of gut-punching tracks, marking their first music since the deluxe version of their Skeletons album. “Nobody’s Nobody” is a heartening track that nods to the fact that everyone makes an impact on somebody. “Some people never ever make a name/ But change the game in someone’s story,” TJ sings, backed by John’s bluesy guitar work.

“Might as Well Be Me” is a careening barn burner, with a rollicking groove every bit as impressive as the duo’s previous hit “It Ain’t My Fault,” while maintaining that “Somebody’s gotta shake things up… might as well be me.” Notably, they change gears on the piano and string-led ballad “Rollercoaster,” delving into a romance between two emotional polar opposites and the balance they each bring to the relationship. These well-grounded tracks are a promising glimpse into their upcoming album.

John King, “Make More Time”

King has already proven his sturdiness as a songwriter (through penning songs including Randy Houser’s “We Went”) and an artist (via his 2021 album Always Gonna Be You). But in his latest, he ponders the gravitas of everyday moments — a childhood birthday, or a phone call with an octogenarian loved one — in light of mortality. King’s supple vocal can ride the smooth tenor notes before breaking into a baritone just raspy enough to capture the longing and resignation in the line, “I can make a little money on the side/ But damn, I can’t make more time.”

Tanya Tucker, “Kindness”

Newly minted Country Music Hall of Fame inductee-elect Tucker wasted no time capitalizing on the announcement of her upcoming inclusion into country music’s most coveted membership, announcing her new album, Sweet Western Sound, to arrive June 2. As with many tracks on her previous effort, the Grammy-winning While I’m Livin’, the first taste of her upcoming project, “Kindness,” finds Tucker reflecting on her sinuous life journey, along with the lessons learned through the zeniths and hollows.

“I found glory in the ruins of the best-laid plans,” she ruminates triumphantly on this track, written by twin musician-writers Tim and Phil Hanseroth (known for their work with Brandi Carlile, who co-produced Sweet Western Sound with Shooter Jennings). Beyond the reflection, she pleads for kindness and understanding, and with her signature vocal, Tucker delivers.

Aaron Crawford, “Strings of This Guitar”

Northwest native Crawford telegraphs a nod to his constant companion of “wood and wire,” a well-worn six-string guitar that “took me on a winding road that dreamers understand,” on this tale of ambition-fueled perseverance. Along the way, his notes his trusty guitar has not only served as a bolster for his voice, but a salve for onstage loneliness and anxiety. The woozy, emotional ties depicted within should resonate with any number of musicians and artist-writers.

Chase Matthew, “Come Get Your Memory”

With his latest, Matthew aims squarely for the country/rock and bro-country-tinted amalgam dominating country streaming charts at the moment. In this track Matthew wrote with Casey Brown and Jordan Minton, he faces a home filled with his ex’s memories and begs to her to take them, along with everything else she took when the relationship fizzled. The radio-ready “Come Get Your Memory” is the title track to Matthew’s upcoming debut album for Warner Music Nashville, a 25-song sprawl out June 9.

Nicholas Jamerson, “Billy Graham Parkway”

Sinewy guitar fills this stately-sounding track, which ponders the greed and emptiness in the years and months leading up to a three-car pileup on Billy Graham Parkway. “Was the money you made worth the price that you paid/ Selling Jesus on cable TV?” Jamerson sings pointedly on this track, which was written by Jamerson’s late friend, Allun Cormier. The song takes its name from a stretch of road in Charlotte, North Carolina named for the evangelist Billy Graham. Jamerson’s upcoming album, Peace Mountain, releases May 19.

Ray Fulcher with Tenille Arts, “After the Rain”

The multi-talented Fulcher is known in songwriting circles for contributing to a range of hit songs for artists including Luke Combs (“When It Rains It Pours,” “Does to Me”) and as an artist on his own project Spray-Painted Line. Here, he teams with “Somebody Like That” hitmaker Tenille Arts for this earnest ode of love and gratitude for someone who “picked up the pieces when my heart was breaking/ since you showed up nothin’s been the same.” Their vocal interplay is terrific, with Arts’ penetrating soprano balancing Fulcher’s warm baritone. Fulcher wrote the song with AJ Pruis and Matt Jenkins, together crafting a song that serves as a balm of gratitude in a divisive age.

Remy Garrison, “As I Go”

While numerous country songs amount to little more than a list of nostalgic country “bona fides,” Alabama native and Nashville resident Garrison distills a list of her own — namely, a rundown of lessons she’s learned about love. “Don’t let a fool kiss ya/ Don’t let a kiss fool ya,” and “Don’t shop for white on an empty heart,” are a few of of the hard-fought gems Garrison advises, on this track written by Adam Wood, Lena Stone and Taylor Watson. Garrison is known for her previous single releases such as “Anymore” and “Young and Restless,” but this release further showcases her ear for sturdy songcraft and interpretive talents.

10 Apr 2023

If Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ Lands a Grammy Nod for Record of the Year, She and Her Dad Will Be in Very Exclusive Company

If Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” receives a Grammy nomination for record of the year, she and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, will be in very exclusive company. They will be only the third parent and child to each be nominated in that marquee category – following Frank Sinatra and his daughter, Nancy, and Nat King Cole and his daughter, Natalie.

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Billy Ray Cyrus was nominated for record of the year for his novelty-edged breakthrough hit “Achy Breaky Heart” (1992), and again as a featured artist on Lil Nas X’s record-breaking smash “Old Town Road” (2019).

Frank Sinatra amassed seven nods for record of the year, winning once for the sumptuous ballad “Strangers in the Night” (1966). Nancy Sinatra was nominated for “Somethin’ Stupid,” her 1967 duet with her dad. Both of those singles topped the Billboard Hot 100.

Nat “King” Cole was nominated for his country-shaded ballad “Ramblin’ Rose” (1962). Natalie Cole won for “Unforgettable,” her 1991 from-the-grave collab with her dad.

(That silky recording also won for best traditional pop performance, but Nat wasn’t a nominee or winner in either of those categories for that record. He recorded his part of the recording in 1961. Grammy rules require that recordings be made no more than five years before the release date for that artist to be nominated. Official Grammy records show “Ramblin’ Rose” as Nat’s final nomination.)

Two other parent-and-child pairs deserves honorable mention. The Mamas and the Papas, featuring John and Michelle Phillips, were nominated for record of the year for “Monday, Monday” (1966), a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100. Twenty-five years later, the members of Wilson Phillips, including their daughter Chynna Phillips, were nominated for song of the year, but not for record of the year, for “Hold On,” also a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100.

Debby Boone received a record of the year nod for her 1977 megahit “You Light Up My Life” – the first song in Hot 100 history to log 10 weeks at No. 1.  Her dad, Pat Boone, was never nominated in that category, though it should be noted that his biggest hit, “Love Letters in the Sand,” was a smash in 1957, the year before the Grammys got underway.

So how likely is Cyrus to receive a record of the year nod for “Flowers”? Very likely, considering its commercial success and broad appeal. The smash topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and held the top spot for 10 weeks on the Official U.K. Singles Chart. The only potential sign of trouble is Cyrus’ spotty Grammy track record – just two nods – best pop vocal album for Bangerz (2013) and album of the year as a featured artist and songwriter on LNX’s Montero (2021). But with everything it has going for it, “Flowers” is likely to put Cyrus in a Big Four category as a lead artist at last.

Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson co-produced “Flowers.” This would be their second record of the year nomination in a row. They co-produced Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” which was nominated in that category late last year for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.

“Flowers,” which Cyrus co-wrote with Gregory Aldae Hein and Michael Pollack, could also be nominated for song of the year. It is, in some ways, an update on the concept behind “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” which received a 1978 nod for song of the year (for songwriters Neil Diamond and Alan and Marilyn Bergman) and a 1979 nod for record of the year (for the Hot 100-topping version by Barbra Streisand and Diamond).

Times have changed in the last 45 years – and hit records reflect those changes. Now, instead of lamenting that your significant other doesn’t bring you flowers anymore, you go out and buy your own.

10 Apr 2023

Miranda Lambert, Trixie Mattel & More Discuss ‘What Country Music Means to Me’ in ACM Awards Campaign

As the Academy of Country Music Awards gear to up head to the Lone Star State this year, several country music artists and supporters are sharing their personal definitions of country music.

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Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, Trixie Mattel, Breland, Lainey Wilson and more have teamed up for an ACM Awards pre-show campaign, “What Country Music Means to Me,” which celebrates the breadth and international scope of the genre’s reach.

Lambert, a 38-time ACM Award winner and Texas native, says in the video, “Country music makes me happy. It’s just my roots. It’s what I loved the most about the music I grew up on and that’s why I love making that kind of music.”

“Country music to me is the sound of home,” says Nigerian-American singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun, who was nominated for emerging act of the year at the 2021 Americana Music Honors & Awards. “In Nigeria, country music has this huge following because it’s a rural country. The sounds of guitars and singing about working and care and love and family is really familiar. To me, listening to country music doesn’t just sound like this small town, it sounds like this country in Africa miles away.”

“Country music is a lifestyle,” Twain says. “Country music was always this huge influence on how I write very statement lyrics.”

Drag queen, television personality and singer-songwriter Mattel adds, “If you like fake hair and sequins, country music is for you.”

Meanwhile, Nashville native and Dodgers player Mookie Betts shares, “As a Nashville native, country music has been a huge part of my life. I grew up around it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to really appreciate it and get into it.”

The 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards will be held May 11 in Frisco, Texas, airing on Amazon’s Prime Video. This year, Dolly Parton returns to co-host the ACM Awards along with first-time host Garth Brooks.

See the video for the ACM Awards’ “What Country Means to Me” campaign below:

10 Apr 2023

Julián Figueroa, Son of Mexican Star Joan Sebastian & Actress Maribel Guardia, Dead at 28

Actor and singer Julián Figueroa, the son of the late Mexican music icon Joan Sebastian and actress Maribel Guardia, died on Sunday (April 9) in Mexico City. He was 28.

“It saddens me to announce the passing of my beloved son Julián Figueroa, who has unfortunately preceded us in parting from this level,” Guardia posted on her Instagram account.

Guardia said Figueroa was found unconscious in his room while she was at the theater. “They called 911 and when the ambulance and police arrived, they found him already lifeless, with no traces of violence. The medical report indicates that he died of an acute myocardial infarction and ventricular fibrillation,” she said.

Guardia added that the funeral services will be held privately, and asked that the family’s privacy be respected at this painful moment.

Just a day before, Figueroa had published a heartfelt tribute to his father, who would have turned 72 on Saturday.

“How slowly 8 years have gone by, since the day you left time tastes more bitter. And people proclaim that time is a fix for everything, but this is a vile lie, it hurts more every day, and this is without fear of hurting sensibilities,” the artist wrote on his social networks, next to a photo of himself as a child, with his father. “The fans cry LONG LIVE THE PEOPLE’S POET, but I don’t give a damn, I ONLY LOVE MY DAD.”

Figueroa was known for songs such as “Pídeme,” “Volaré,” “Cómo Olvidar” and “Necesito de Ti,” among others. According to El Universal newspaper, he had finished recording his first solo album and was preparing its release. His last stint as an actor was in the Televisa-Univision telenovela Mi Camino Es Amarte.

He is the third of Sebastian’s eight children to pass away. The first was Trigo Figueroa, who was murdered in 2006 by fans of his father who insisted on entering the singer’s dressing room; and the second was Juan Sebastián, also murdered in 2010 outside a bar where he apparently had an argument with local security staff.

In addition to his mother, Julián Figueroa is survived by his wife, Ime Garza; his 6-year-old son, José Julián; and his siblings José Manuel, Juliana, Zarelea, Marcelina and Joana.

Read Maribel Guardia’s full statement below:

10 Apr 2023

Here’s Why Taylor Swift Fans Think She Hinted at Her Split From Joe Alwyn at Texas Show

In Swifties’ defense, they have none for never leaving well enough alone — but it would’ve been fun, if he would’ve been the one. Fans are convinced that Taylor Swift hinted at her breakup from Joe Alwyn nearly two weeks before reports hit Saturday (April 8) when she substituted one Folklore song for another in her Eras Tour setlist, replacing “Invisible String” with “The 1.”

The switch happened at her March 31 concert in Arlington, Texas, at the midway point in her three-hour set. In switching gears from her Red era to Folklore, the pop star typically sings “Invisible String,” a folksy love song that is believed to give details of her six-year romance with Alwyn.

This time, though, instead of the track about being destined by fate for an eternity of togetherness, she sang “The 1,” which has pretty much the exact opposite message. “If you wanted me, you really should’ve showed,” Swift sings on Folklore‘s lead track. “It would’ve been fun, if you would’ve been the one.”

“You think you can just scroll and know the setlist,” she teased the crowd at the time in fan captured video. “Let it be said about the Eras Tour, we’re tricksy. We have got healthy setlist hijinks.”

At the time, that’s all it seemed to be: setlist hijinks. But flash forward to Saturday, when various publications reported the internet-shattering news that the “Anti-Hero” singer had split from Alwyn — who assisted in writing songs on Folklore and Evermore –and the song switch started to take on a lot more meaning for some fans. (Billboard reached out to both Swift’s and Alwyn’s reps for comment when news of their split broke, but have not heard back.)

“Hold on cause taylor switched from invisible string (a song about hopeful love) to the 1 (a song about past love) on the set list…,” tweeted one Swiftie after finding out about the breakup.

“i knew it as soon as she replaced invisible string with the 1,” wrote another, unsurprised by the breakup news.

Swift and the Favourite actor first started dating in 2016, and mostly kept a low profile. During their six years together, they rarely made public outings. They did, however, speak lovingly about each other in occasional interviews, and the 12-time Grammy winner opened up about falling in love with Alwyn in her Netflix documentary, Miss Americana.

See fans’ tweets about the “Invisible String” to “The 1” theory below:

10 Apr 2023

Golden Globes Expands Diversity of 2024 Voting Body

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has more than doubled the number of international voters in its voting body for the 2024 Golden Globe Awards. There are now 215 international voters – 87 returning voters from last year plus 128 who were just admitted. Added to the current 95 members (which the HFPA tallies separately from international voters), there are now 310 total voters, fulfilling the organization’s pledge to increase the size and diversity of the voting body.

The new breakdown is 42% white, 25% Latinx, 14% Asian, 10% Black and 9% Middle Eastern. At least 17% of the voting body self-identifies as LGBTQ+.

“We have exceeded our goal of reaching 300 voters for the upcoming 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards thanks to an extensive global recruitment effort,” Helen Hoehne, president of the HFPA, said in a statement. “We are excited at the unprecedented achievement in building a truly global voting body where 58% self-identify as ethnically diverse.”

“The efforts put forth to identify, engage, and actively recruit diverse voters is strong evidence of the commitment by the Golden Globes to follow through on its promises to expand and reshape itself,” said Neil Phillips, HFPA chief diversity officer. “It shows that with the right leadership, effective community partnerships and an unwavering focus, we can achieve remarkable and transformational diversity growth.”

For the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards in January, which drew such stars as Selena Gomez and Austin Butler, the voting body consisted of 200 voters. Of that total, 52% self-identified as ethnically diverse.

For the upcoming 81st Awards, the increase in diversity is also accompanied by an increase in the number of new countries represented. The voting body now represents a total of 76 countries, including international voters from newly added countries such as Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Serbia and Tanzania.

The criteria for international voters include residing outside of the U.S. and possessing verified entertainment journalistic clippings for international media outlets including print, broadcast, radio, photography and online. These applications were reviewed and qualified by the credentials committee, which is composed of a majority of outside independent journalism and entertainment industry professionals.

International voters will be subject to a Golden Globe Awards code of conduct. Biographies, photos and listings of outlets will be updated soon on the Golden Globes website.

A spokesman notes that there is a separate application period for membership (as distinct from international voters) but that is not until this summer.

The 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. This will put the show back on Sunday night, where it aired each year from 2009 through 2021. The show, under a cloud because of diversity issues and ethical concerns, wasn’t broadcast in 2022. NBC broadcast it on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, with comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosting. The broadcaster for the 2024 show hasn’t been announced.

At the Globes in January, The Fabelmans won best motion picture, drama, while The Banshees of Inisherin won best motion picture, musical or comedy. Neither of those films went on to win the Academy Award for best picture, which went to Everything Everywhere All at Once.

10 Apr 2023

‘Yellowstone’ and TikTok Trends Are Helping Put the ‘& Western’ Back in Country

The modern country music business is putting a little of the western back into country & western.

The C&W phrase was dismissed years ago: The Recording Academy dropped “Western” from its category names in conjunction with the 1968 Grammy Awards, and the Academy of Country Music snipped the “& Western” from its organizational banner in October 1973. But there is a noticeable western resurgence taking place. 

Former rodeo pro Cody Johnson is becoming a consistent trophy-winner, Jon Pardi and Midland represent western fashion and attitudes, and Dierks Bentley draws frequently on his Arizona roots for storylines that reflect the atmospheric heritage of his home state and regional sister Colorado. Extending the trend, Wyoming native Ian Munsick’s second Warner Music Nashville album, White Buffalo, incorporates lonesome steel, cowboy imagery and Amerind-flecked musical grounding.

“A lot of people still view cowboys and Native Americans as enemies because that’s what Hollywood has shown us over the years,” Munsick notes. “But they live hand in hand and they’re actually the same people, so there’s a lot of Native American influences on my album.”

Lainey Wilson is particularly bringing the West to life with her current single, “Heart Like a Truck,” which won a CMT Award on April 2 for its horse-themed video, while the song is also featured in a horsepower-themed Ram Trucks commercial. Given her role in the Paramount+ series Yellowstone, it’s no surprise that Wilson sees that series as a strong driver in the trend.

“I don’t know why western ever went out of style to begin with,” she says.

For years, the cowboy was a dominant figure in entertainment. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Rex Allen and The Sons of the Pioneers were among the singing cowboys who kept the tumbleweeds rolling on the silver screen. Even when western vocalizing fell out of favor, cowboy dramas remained plentiful on the big screen and on TV, where over 100 westerns landed on network schedules in the ’50s and ’60s, including Gunsmoke, Big Valley, Rawhide and The Cisco Kid. Marty Robbins kept western tones alive on country radio even after they had left movie theaters, fashioning classic cowboy songs such as “El Paso,” “Big Iron” and “Cowboy in the Continental Suit.”

Miranda Lambert’s Palomino single “If I Was a Cowboy” obliquely referenced him with the phrase “big iron hips.”

“I love westerns, and I’m a huge Marty Robbins fan,” says co-writer Jesse Frasure (“Dirt on My Boots,” “What’s Your Country Song”). “Any of that kind of stuff and those melodies, I’m always a fan of doing.”

Los Angeles’ country/rock movement, which occurred during Robbins’ peak years, likewise threaded cowboy ideals into the Stetson, cactus and “Desperado” themes and images of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Eagles, The Byrds and Poco. That era, which brought an adult viewpoint to the pop and rock music that preceded it, is celebrated in the aptly timed Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit “Western Edge.”

“They wanted to write songs that were about home, about love, about relationships as modern relationships were at the time,” museum writer-editor Michael McCall says. “They wanted to take it away from the sort of rock’n’roll fantasy stories and make it about real stuff.”

Like those acts, Tanya Tucker sees no-nonsense characters as a major part of western standards. Revealed April 3 as a 2023 Hall of Fame inductee, Tucker counts the cowboy-themed “Texas (When I Die)” and “It’s a Cowboy Lovin’ Night” among her hits, and her next album, Sweet Western Sound, is due June 2.

“I’m into real shit,” she says. “The difference between a cowboy story and a fairy tale is a fairy tale starts out with ‘Once upon a time,’ and to me, a cowboy story starts out with ‘This ain’t no [phony] shit.’”

Unreality is a major function of modern life. The rise of artificial intelligence is just the latest entrant alongside deep fakes, programmed sound and video games — all of which represent some level of virtual mimicry. As a tonic, the physical work and outdoor lifestyle associated with the cowboy are likely a major attraction behind the resurgence of the West.

“I think the further we get into the future, and our society is so reliant on screens and technology, that we really want to go back to the old ways of life,” suggests Munsick. “That’s living under the stars and having free range to roam around in. That’s what the West offers.”

That creates a certain dichotomy in the current trend. Kassi Ashton, who inserted what she calls a “spaghetti western” steel guitar into her single “Drive You Out of My Mind,” sees the cowboy ideal being applied to small-screen social media.

“The trending aesthetic for this summer is coastal cowgirl,” she notes. “That’s all over TikTok, and it’s crazy how trends happen. You get into a whole discussion why. I think that inflation-wise and everyone being broke right now being tied to a Western, simple, coastal, rustic thing is not a coincidence.”

This wave is not likely to inspire country music to reestablish the dated country & western brand. Back in 1980, the genre rode the Urban Cowboy movement for a year or two before it petered out. But it does hint at a reexamination of ideals, both in the arts and in humanity. 

In the end, the West is less about the lasso, the six-shooter or the Stetson than it is about integrity and trustworthiness, Wilson maintains. As well as dogged individualism.

“My daddy is a real-life cowboy,” she says. “He stands up for what he believes in. Don’t take no shit.” 

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10 Apr 2023

Bodies of Lotus Drummer Chuck Morris & Son Found a Month After Disappearance on Kayaking Trip

After a nearly month-long intensive search, authorities announced on Sunday (April 9) that they found the bodies of Lotus percussionist Chuck Morris and his 20-year-old son, Charley, who went missing last month during a kayaking trip in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

According to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, the bodies of the father and son were found 24 days after they went missing on March 16. The Sheriff’s Office announced the news in a FB post, in which they wrote that the effort began last month in the South Lost Bridge Village of Beaver Lake, utilizing resources from across the country, including an underwater drone “in a challenging environment that exceeded depths of 180′.”

“After 24 days of recovery efforts, the bodies of both Charles Morris IV (Chuck-Father) and Charles Morris V (Charley-son) have been recovered thanks to the technology and efforts by all personnel,” the post read.

On March 21, the band announced that the search for the pair had shifted to a recovery effort. “We were all hoping for a miracle, but at this point, the search for Chuck and Charley has moved to a recovery,” they wrote at the time. “With help from the K9 team, there is a probable location on the lake, but logistical challenges including temperature, weather, and depth have prevented a recovery thus far. It is unknown how long these efforts may take. While we are deeply grieving, we plan to celebrate Chuck and Charley’s lives, our memories with them, and what they meant to so many people.”

In a tribute post on Sunday, the group shared a message from the Morris family that read, “Our family was informed by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office that Charley Morris has been found. We have concluded the cause of his death was drowning. The teams are still actively searching for Chuck Morris, but we continue to have faith in their work.”

Formed in the late ’90s, Lotus was a favorite on the North American jam and electronic circuits, playing clubs shows and festivals including Camp Bisco, Gem & Jam and Okeechobee, along with major venues including Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Terminal 5 in New York City.

Lotus had already played a number of shows this year, with more club and festival dates booked through September; at press time it was unclear if Lotus will perform all those gigs in the wake of Morris’ death. The group’s next scheduled shows are a pair of benefit concerts for the Morris family on April 21 and 22 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado; another benefit show will take place at XL Live in Harrisburg, PA on May 5, with a fourth slated for May 6 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY.

The tribute post noted the concerts and a GoFundMe for the family to meet their immediate financial needs. “Thank you all for the outpour of support from around the world – we feel it and love you just as much!” they wrote. “We look forward to meeting many of the Lotus fans at the upcoming benefit concerts.”

Check out the band’s tribute below.

10 Apr 2023

Roger Daltrey Says The Who May Never Tour the U.S. Again: ‘It’s Very Doubtful’

The Who may have played their last-ever U.S. dates. The veteran Rock and Roll Hall of Famers who’ve been taking their closing curtain calls since their “final” show in 1982 may actually be done playing shows in the U.S. according to singer Roger Daltrey.

While the band has some more Who Hits Back shows boked in Europe this summer, Daltrey, 79, told USA Today that another hop across the ocean might be out of the question. “Nothing at the moment. I don’t know if we’ll ever come back to tour America,” said Daltrey. “There is only one tour we could do, an orchestrated Quadrophenia to round out the catalog. But that’s one tall order to sing that piece of music, as I’ll be 80 next year. I never say never, but at the moment it’s very doubtful.”

As far as what might finally slow the band down, Daltrey said the chaos of the post-pandemic touring economy is a huge reason. “Touring has become very difficult since COVID. We cannot get insured and most of the big bands doing arena shows, by the time they do their first show and rehearsals and get the staging and crew together, all the buses and hotels, you’re upwards $600,000 to a million in the hole,” he said of the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns on touring.

“To earn that back, if you’re doing a 12-show run, you don’t start to earn it back until the seventh or eighth show,” Daltrey explained. “That’s just how the business works. The trouble now is if you get COVID after the first show, you’ve (lost) that money.”

The Who just released the live collection The Who with Orchestra: Live at Wembley, a 20-song chronicle of their 2019 show at the iconic stadium, which marked their first headlining slot there in 40 years. And while Daltrey said the band was in perhaps its finest form ever at the moment, some of their signature bits don’t have quite the same pop as they did a half century ago.

“Pete can’t quite jump 10 foot in the air anymore. He can do 3 foot, so he’s not bad! (Laughs),” he said of the band’s guitarist and only remaining original member. “I don’t swing the microphone hardly at all now because it doesn’t matter to the sound anymore. Before, when all of those things used to work, it was a circus act. We’re more than that now. I’m proud that our music has come of age and I think you could say this is the most modern classical music out there.”

The Who will hit the road again on June 14 with a gig in Barcelona, Spain and on a Euro run that is currently slated to run through an August 28 show in Sandringham, England at the Royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

10 Apr 2023

BTS’ Suga Reveals Tracklist For Agust D ‘D-DAY’ Solo Album, Including J-Hope Feature

BTS‘ Suga finally dropped the full track list for his anticipated full-length solo debut under his alter ego Agust D on Monday (April 10). The 10-song album due out on April 21 opens with the collection’s title track, “D-Day” (produced by Vincent “Invincible” Watson and 2Live) and also features “Haegeum (produced by Agust D), “HUH?!” (produced by Agust D and El Capitxn, co-written by J-Hope), and “Amygdala” (produced by El Capitxn). The album’s second half includes a collaboration with recently deceased Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The second half of the collection features “SDL” (produced by the singer and El Capitxn), pre-release single “People Pt. 2 (feat. IU) (produced by El Capitxn), “Polar Night” (produced by the singer and El Capitxn), “Interlude: Dawn” (produced by the singer and El Capitxn), “Snooze (feat. Ryuichi Sakamoto and Kim Woosung of The Rose) (produced by El Capitxn) and “Life Goes On” (produced by El Capitxn); the final track is one of two featuring a co-writing credit for J-Hope).

Speaking to Billboard about the album last week, Suga said he doesn’t have a “different mindset” when releasing music solo as Agust D or as Suga in BTS, explaining that, “Ultimately, the goal of releasing this music is for as many people to listen to my music as possible. So, ‘People Pt.2’ was made thinking about how people will receive Agust D’s music, which is why we also featured IU. It’s kind of a trial to release this music under the name Agust D. I’m actually a little bit worried.”

The singer added that “Pt. 2” deals with seeking connection and fighting loneliness, whereas the first part of the song, “People,” from the 2020 D-2 mixtape looked externally to other people’s judgements.

“I think loneliness is being together in modern society. I always talk about loneliness in my interviews, but regretfully, it isn’t always in the final interview,” he said. “Not only me, everyone has this loneliness inside them until the moment they die. However deep you are in a relationship, how much you engage with other people, how many friends you meet, or how often you meet with your family, you always have the loneliness inside… This album doesn’t really finalize everything in its message either. So, there might be a possibility there could be a ‘Part 3’ later on. For now, we’re just trying to say, ‘Let’s not hate each other. Let’s find a way.’”