Music
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Oops, Paris Hilton did it again! The “Stars Are Blind” star took to Instagram on Halloween (Oct. 31) to show off her costume this year, and she channeled her pal Britney Spears. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Rocking braids, bangs and a school girl uniform, Hilton nailed […]
When Taylor Swift plays Indianapolis for the ninth time in her career this weekend – performing three sold-out Eras Tour dates at the 70,000-capacity Lucas Oil Stadium – she’s returning at the very top of her game.
And Indy knows games. After all, the Midwestern capital city has hosted the Super Bowl, eight Final Fours (with a ninth set for 2026) and countless college tournaments across all sports – not to mention its 11 professional teams and a century-plus of the Indy 500 car race under its belt.
So how does a sports-forward city such as Indianapolis shift gears to welcome hundreds of thousands of Swifties to town instead of, say, 70,000 Colts fans on any given Sunday? The trio of Lucas Oil concerts were announced in August 2023, but the city’s wheels began spinning months before that.
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“We formed a local organizing committee, much like we do ahead of a major sporting event, to involve community partners to make sure that this was more than a concert,” Chris Gahl, senior VP of marketing/communications for Visit Indy, tells Billboard. “And so, over the last 18 or 20 months, a group has been meeting to think about and worry about how we welcome the anticipated 200,000 visitors and fans to our city.”
That huge swath of tourists is all coming to cheer for Swift – and while her arena is entertainment and not sports, when the music business is keeping score (like on the Billboard charts, for instance), she’s typically in the winners’ circle. On our most recent year-end charts, Swift was our overall top artist of 2023 and has ranked in the year-end top 10 in 14 of the last 16 years. She’s also tied with Drake for the most Billboard Music Awards wins of all time, picking up 39 prizes over her two decades in the industry.
And beyond the numbers, from its start in March 2023, The Eras Tour has been nothing short of an athletic feat. Swift is carrying a three-and-a-half-hour production of live singing and dancing, performing as many as four consecutive nights at a time across the world for almost 20 months. Beyond her Kansas City Chiefs star boyfriend Travis Kelce, we’ve seen professional athletes marveling at the endurance her concert must require, with Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt saying after attending opening weekend in Arizona: “She did not stop the whole time. There was no intermission. There was no halftime. There was no TV timeouts. The longest break she took was maybe three minutes for a costume change. And she was singing, dancing, entertaining the entire time — 70,000 people hanging on every single word and move she was making. … And she crushed it. And she didn’t even look tired. I was tired and I was just sitting there!”
With stats and stamina like hers, maybe Swift is a better fit for a sports town like Indy than it would appear at first glance. And to match her undefeated record, the city went especially big with signage for the Eras Tour dates – like, six-figure investment and 350-feet big – including a 34-story decal of the pop star (approved by Swift’s team) splashed across the JW Marriott, Indy’s largest hotel. They’ve also temporarily renamed 32 downtown streets after Swift songs, so visitors can take a stroll down Bad Blood Boulevard, All Too Well Way and, of course, Cornelia Street. And in a move sure to relieve fans desperate for a souvenir who don’t want to spend their entire night in a line, the adjacent Indiana Convention Center – typically home to massive fan experiences during major sporting events – has transformed its Exhibit Hall I into a pop-up merch stand, open to all Swifties from Wednesday to Saturday, no concert ticket required.
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And the Taylor Effect can be felt beyond the tourism board’s efforts. Local sports bars are playing their part too: The Slippery Noodle – a nearly 175-year-old bar and restaurant sitting a convenient three blocks from the stadium – is setting up a Swift-themed mocktail bar for young fans, complete with an accompanying friendship bracelet and glittery straw, as well as a “Dad’s Lounge” for any parents or partners delivering kids and spouses to the stadium and looking for a spot to chill for three and a half hours or so.
“We do have a couple of staff members that are Swifties, so I think they’ll be prepared to do some trading,” Slippery Noodle co-owner Sean Lothridge laughs to Billboard when asked whether his team will be armed with the Eras Tour’s trusty friendship bracelets. “It’s kind of something new for me. I don’t really know the Swifties as well, but I’m trying my best to learn a little bit about it.”
Over the summer, Lothridge got used to a different superstar woman drawing crowds to his bar, when a certain WNBA rookie came to town. “The Caitlin Clark effect with the Fever was tremendous,” he says, adding that fans were coming in from all over the country to go to Indiana Fever games at the nearby Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “We were getting good crowds from her fans, so she’s been a good boost for the city.”
This weekend’s concertgoers are also traveling from all over, with Gahl telling Billboard that 81% of the Indy ticket-holders are coming from outside the state of Indiana – presenting a massive opportunity to paint the sports town in a brand-new light, or introduce it to first-timers. The biggest difference between the Eras Tour weekend versus a high-stakes sporting event, Gahl notes, is that everyone should leave Lucas Oil Stadium a winner.
“You usually have two teams — sometimes four teams — that are taking sides, if you will, and advocating that their team wins,” he says. “In this case, it’s a commonality – and that is the love for the artist and her music. So whereas we’ve created different zones or restaurants or bars to align with a certain team in the past for major sporting events, this is a uniter. This is one city, one event, one weekend, all for the same artist and music, and it’s the capstone to her [U.S.] tour. So it feels like there’s even more unity and programming and everyone collecting for one common goal.”
For the next three nights, everyone entering the stadium is rooting for the same side: Team Taylor.
One of sustainable touring’s pioneering acts, the Dave Matthews Band, is reporting several successes in that realm following its latest tour. The band’s summer tour, which wrapped in early September at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Wash., unrolled the group’s “On the Road To Zero Waste” initiative, done in partnership with Live Nation. According to […]
Jimmy Fallon is the latest guest to take on the Hot Ones challenge, eating increasingly spicy wings as host Sean Evans asks questions. However, it’s hardly Fallon’s first rodeo. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news He often incorporates a Hot Ones segment with Evans on his Tonight Show, […]
Sabrina Carpenter celebrated Halloween at her Short n’ Sweet tour stop in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday (Oct. 31) and rocked not one, not two, but three different costumes. In addition to dressing as a Playboy Bunny and Tinker Bell, Carpenter also rocked a black off-the-shoulder catsuit and curly blonde hair to channel Olivia Newton-John’s character […]
Do you love basketball as much as Kurtis Blow? Probably not. The rap legend bridged generations as he collaborated with Brooklyn rapper Lola Brooke and West Coast producer Hit-Boy for a modern take on his classic record “Basketball,” which reached No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1985.
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DoorDash partnered with the NBA, WNBA and Kurtis Blow to celebrate the start of the 2024-2025 NBA season. The music video — shot by Dave Meyers and his daughter Cassidy on the streets of New York — features WNBA legend Sue Bird and Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart of the New York Knicks.
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DoorDash announced a multiyear partnership renewal on Monday (Oct. 28) that extends the company’s role as the official on-demand delivery platform partner of both the NBA and WNBA. The partnership first tipped off in 2020, with DoorDash becoming the first-ever partner in the on-demand category.
DashPass, DoorDash’s membership program, will serve as the official partner of NBA and WNBA Experiences, which offer a wide range of customized and immersive fan experiences at marquee events throughout the NBA and WNBA calendar year. These premium experiential packages include access to NBA and WNBA events alongside unique off-the-court programming such as player and legend meet-and-greets, behind-the-scenes tours, concerts and hospitality hubs designed to reach global fans of the game.
“Since joining forces with the NBA and WNBA in 2020, we’ve brought meaningful experiences to basketball fans, and I couldn’t be more excited to see what we build together this season and beyond as we deliver even more value to fans with DashPass,” said Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, CMO at DoorDash, via a press release. “With the season officially underway, we wanted to celebrate basketball’s impact on culture, and what better way to do that than reviving a hit classic that’s synonymous with the game? Working with Kurtis to bring this to life was an unmatched experience, and we hope fans enjoy the reimagined hit – and its nod to the past, current, and future of basketball – as much as we do.”
“Our partnership with DoorDash is rooted in a shared commitment to deliver unique and elevated experiences that celebrate NBA and WNBA fandom year-round,” said Kerry Tatlock, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Partnerships and Media, NBA. “We look forward to expanding our collaboration, leveraging our partnership to unlock even more opportunities to bring our fans closer to the game.”
Watch the new take on a hip-hop classic above.
Warren Haynes has — characteristically — a lot on his plate these days, including this week’s release of his new solo album Million Voices Whisper. But his eye is also firmly on his home state of North Carolina and his hometown of Asheville, which was ravaged by Hurricane Helene last month and is still in the throes of rebuilding and recovery.
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Haynes tells Billboard that his family is safe and has largely returned to Asheville, though his brother’s record store, like so many businesses, suffered debilitating damage. He won’t be able to host his annual Christmas Jam concert there this year, but he’ll be part of Soulshine, which will take place Nov. 24 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Haynes’ band will be joined by the Dave Matthews Band, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and Goose, as well as guests such as Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Mavis Staples, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Robert Randolph, Trombone Shorty, Joe Russo and more. Tickets are on sale Friday (Nov. 1) with a pre-sale for Haynes’ fan club on Thursday (Oct. 31). Proceeds will go to relief efforts in both North Carolina and Florida, which was subsequently hit by Hurricane Milton.
“The object now is ty try to raise as much money as possible,” Haynes says. “It was terrible to watch. I was on tour and was watching CNN and saw them panning the River Arts District, which is where my brother’s store is; they panned as far as the building next door to it, and it was underwater. I was like, ‘Sh-t my brother’s store is right there,’ but at that time I couldn’t reach anybody, and they couldn’t reach me. But I was lucky enough to be able to talk to them in the beginning, and he assured me that everybody was okay. After that it was just really frustrating not knowing and watching the news and hoping. Now I just want to do whatever I can to help everybody.”
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Haynes will be bringing some new music to Soulshine. Million Voices Whisper is the guitarist’s first solo outing since 2015’s Ashes & Dust (a collaboration with Railroad Earth) and sports 11 tracks, with four more songs on the deluxe edition. It was produced by Haynes and features a reunion with Allman Brothers Band cohort Derek Trucks on four tracks, as well as Lukas Nelson and Jamey Johnson on “Day of Reckoning” — which includes a second version on the deluxe edition that opens with the trio harmonizing on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Find the Cost of Freedom.” He also co-wrote “Smooth Sailing” with Stax legend Booker T. Jones.
The set also marks the recording debut of the latest Warren Haynes Band lineup, which features John Medeski on keyboards, bassist Kevin Scott from Haynes’ Gov’t Mule and Dirty Dozen Brass Band drummer Terrence Higgins.
“In the beginning of the process all the songs kinda had a Muscle Shoals sort of feel,” recalls Haynes, referencing the Alabama home of the legendary FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound studios where dozens of soul and rock classics were recorded. “So it started out to be that kind of record, but then, as I continued writing they all started drifting into their own directions but still seemed to hang together. Once I have a group of songs that seem to work together, that usually tells me it’s time to make a record.”
Million Voices Whisper‘s starting point, however, was “Real Real Love,” a song Haynes began writing with Gregg Allman before his death in 2017. “I had a copy of his lyric, which was incomplete, so I finished the lyric, and to my knowledge there was no music or demo or recording of it,” Haynes says. “So I wrote music for it but I wrote it in a way that would reflect as much of the way (Allman) would have written it as I could.” Once that was done Haynes reached out to Trucks in order to bring the Allman Brothers flavor to the recording. That led to a writing session at Trucks’ farm near Macon, Ga., which yielded the Million Voices Whisper tracks “These Changes, “Hall of Future Saints” and “Back Where I Started,” all of which Trucks played on.
“It was great, the first time the two of us had collaborated in the studio like that in a long time,” says Haynes, adding that there may be more to hear from the duo in the future — including, of course, the Soulshine benefit. “There’s definitely talk about it. We’ll see where it all goes. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we really enjoy it when it happens, and writing for those three days and then being together in the studio for my record was a blast. There’s just something uncanny about the way the two of us work together. It’s comes about very easily.”
The Haynes-Trucks tandem, meanwhile, is also represented on the new release of the Allman Brothers’ final concert from Oct. 28, 2014 at the Beacon Theatre in New York. “That was a fantastic show,” Haynes says of the epic 29-song performance. “I have amazing memories of everybody really rising to the occasion and us going out on a high note. And the new mix sounds really great. I’m glad people are getting to hear it.”
Haynes is looking to play some shows with his band to support Million Voices Whisper, including more Dream and Songs Symphonic Experience dates with orchestras — and the release of a Don Was-produced album that was recorded with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra prior to the pandemic. For now, however, Haynes has a solo in-store appearance set for Nov. 2 at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, N.Y., with his band and Gov’t Mule set to play at the Island Exodus 15 festival during January in Jamaica.He’s also leaning into a big 2025 with Gov’t Mule, which will mark the 30th anniversary of the group’s debut album. The celebration, he says, will include “a bunch of cool, special shows” as well as releasing unheard material from the band’s archives.
Rather than feeling pulled by those different concerns, however, Haynes feels inspired. “I look at it as an opportunity to keep from getting stagnated,” he explains. “Doing all these different things keeps me motivated and inspired. I feel like if I only did one thing all the time I’d get sick of it and burned out much more easily. This way, with my solo stuff, the Mule, everything else, it keeps me really excited and really engaged.”
Los Tigres del Norte, for decades considered by fans as La Voz del Pueblo (or the voice of the pueblo), is set to perform at the Kamala Harris campaign rally in Phoenix on Thursday (Oct. 31). The appearance aligns with the Mexican band’s continued support for Democratic candidates during U.S. presidential elections. In the past, […]
Madonna is voting blue. The Queen of Pop took to Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 31) to share a series of photos from her recent trip to Paris. “Paris was so FUN! 🇫🇷 . It was hard to leave, but I had. to come home to V.O.T.E. 🇺🇸🇺🇸,” she wrote in the caption. “@kamalaharris For. President!!!! […]
You can add ska-punk legends Fishbone to the increasingly lengthy list of musicians who are not fans of Donald Trump. The veteran band released a pointed broadside against convicted felon Trump on Thursday (Oct. 31), just days before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
“Proud to have this new song out… it was actually written back in 2017, but never got on tape until now. Sad part is that it’s only gotten worse,” the band wrote on Instagram about the bubbling verbal takedown “Racist Piece of S–t” (also tagged as “RxPxOxS” to seemingly beat censors.)
“Here’s the thing, this song pulled no punches… if you are a fan of this band from the start, you know we have never been shy of speaking our truth,” they wrote on Instagram of the track whose lyric video features a cascade of news headlines about the deadly January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
And, indeed, the lyrics to the two-tone takedown are precise and concise. “I see you coming down the street/ With tiki torches and hate speech/ You’re not a proud boy/ You’re just a F$@k Boy/ Drinking the kool aid Of a mad orange king,” singer Angelo Moore spits in reference to the white supremacist rally Charlottesville in 2017 in which neo-Nazis spewed antisemitic and racist hates speech at an event where Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
The song continues with lyrics aimed at one of the celebrity supporters of the former reality star, before getting to the pointed chorus. “Another Kid Rock/ With all the hate talk/ Murder Sickness global crisis coup d’état vanilla isis/ Ohhhh.. you’re just a racist piece of s–t,” Moore sings, adding, “The Power zombies said/ Let’s put this lie to bed/ Here’s an ignorant pillow for your empty racist head.”
“As artists, this is our platform, be it music, art or words. If you don’t agree, that’s fine,” Fishbone said in their statement. “Just don’t come in here telling us to shut up and dribble, you are talking to the wrong brothers. We speak our reality and if you are still “undecided” well, maybe this song and perspective will open you up with a straight up call out of what is at stake.”
The Los Angeles group has long made standing up to racism and fascism part of their brand, mixing uptempo party jams with conscious lyrics on their beloved 1988 second album, Truth and Soul, including on the punk blitz “Subliminal Fascism” and funk rocking “Ghetto Soundwave.”
In an email interview with Rolling Stone, founding keyboard/trombone player Christopher Dowd said he knew he had to write a song about Trump a decade ago when Trump announced his first run for the White House. “The timing of this release couldn’t be more perfect,” Dowd told the magazine. “With Election Day five days away, maybe hearing this song, if you are ‘undecided,’ will trigger your subconscious to think about who could win and what that would look like to the country and the world. One person in a leadership position can automatically make you guilty by association. So will you want to be associated and represented by a person with non-apologetic racist tendencies or a person that doesn’t?”
The post ended with an urgent plea to vote on Tuesday (Nov. 5)in the election that pollsters continue to say is a near dead-heat between Vice President Kamala Harris and twice impeached Trump.
Listen to “Racist Piece of S–t” below.