Music
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Forest Hills Stadium‘s legal battle with the community’s homeowners association is one step closer to resolution.
On Oct. 21, Justice Joseph J. Esposito dismissed five of seven causes that the Forest Hills Gardens Corporation (FHGC) alleged in a 2023 lawsuit filed against the The West Side Tennis Club, which owns the stadium, in New York Supreme Court – Queens County. The lawsuit seeks to shut down the summer concert program at the former site of the U.S. Open, which is run by respected live-music veteran Mike Luba.
Among the causes of action dismissed by Judge Esposito: claims that the concert series was a violation of the tennis club’s contract with the FHGC, which owns the streets, sidewalks and common areas of Forest Hills Gardens, and represents approximately 900 property owners (including the club); that the stadium was a zoning violation and that the club had unjustly profited from the stadium’s growing success. It hosted a single concert when it re-opened in 2013; in 2024, that number totaled approximately 30, including shows by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, The National, The War on Drugs, Khruangbin, Tiësto, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Pitbull. And in early June, Hozier sold out four nights — a first in the stadium’s 101-year history.
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Hozier performs at Forest Hills Stadium on June 4, 2024 in Queens, NY.
Bryan Kwon
Judge Esposito dismissed all but FHGC’s public and private nuisance claims, but he did not find in FHGC’s favor on the merits of the nuisance claims. He merely held that they had stated a claim sufficient to survive the motion to dismiss, which they now must prove through discovery. (A future court date has not been set.)
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In a statement, Forest Hills Stadium’s attorney Akiva Shapiro said, “Forest Hills Stadium, an iconic and popular venue that anchors New York’s vibrant live music scene, has poured tremendous resources into being a good neighbor. We are gratified that the Court dismissed the vast majority of the claims and made clear that concerts at the Stadium are authorized under the relevant legal documents. We are confident that the remaining claims will also be dismissed.”
The Forest Hills Gardens Corp’s attorney Christopher Rizzo also responded to the decision in a statement: “Judge Esposito denied the [West Side Tennis] Club’s efforts to dismiss FHGC’s May 16, 2023 complaint, preserved important claims and dismissed others. We are pleased the judge has continued to recognize the serious nuisance created through noise code violations, FHGC’s loss of control of its indisputably private streets, trespass and other land-use harms. FHGC will continue to press forward in trial court. On claims that were dismissed, FHGC will consider its appeal options.”
Rizzo added: “As the court stated: ‘[FHGC] has proffered sufficient evidence that it suffers special injury from the loss of control of its private streets/sidewalks, the attendant financial costs to maintain those streets in light of the concerts and the large-scale pedestrian trespass that results from the events…[FHGC] succeeded in establishing public nuisance…as well as the documented evidence on noise levels from the stadium.”
Phil Lesh, founding member and longtime bassist for legendary rock outfit the Grateful Dead, died on Friday (Oct. 25). He was 84 years old.The news was announced on social media, with a statement that read, “Phil Lesh, bassist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, passed peacefully this morning. He was surrounded by his family and full of love. Phil brought immense joy to everyone around him and leaves behind a legacy of music and love. We request that you respect the Lesh family’s privacy at this time.” No cause of death was given at the time of publication.
As one of the co-founders and longest-tenured members of the Grateful Dead, Lesh was an essential part of a group that became synonymous with touring and live performance in rock music. With their singular instrumental interplay, their trademark iconography, their strong sense of community and their association with the hippie lifestyle, they became the forefathers of the jam band movement — with a fanbase of “Deadheads” as singularly devoted as any other band of the 20th century, enduring well into the new millennium.
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Born in Berkeley, California in 1940, Lesh grew up as a trumpet player and appreciator of avant-garde classical and free jazz. After short-lived studies at a variety of music schools, he met bluegrass banjo player Jerry Garcia in 1962 and was persuaded to join Garcia’s new rock band, The Warlocks, as their bassist — despite never playing the instrument before. The band, which also included Bob Weir as co-singer/guitarist with Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann as drummer and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan as keyboardist, was renamed Grateful Dead in 1965, after a phrase Garcia found in the dictionary.
Once he became proficient in the bass, Lesh’s playing style became heavily influenced by his musical interests in jazz and classical, giving his sound a melodic and improvisational quality rarely heard from the four-string in rock before. He came to be considered one of the instrumental innovators of his era, and his playing became as critical to (and identifiable within) the Grateful Dead’s sound as the group’s lead guitar.
By the end of the ’60s, the Dead had become one of the leading lights of the psych-rock movement coming out of San Francisco, known for their gentle, folk-influenced jams, their sprawling, blissed-out live shows, and their affinity for psychedelic drugs like DMT and LSD. (“We found that while high we were able to go very far out musically but still come back to some kind of recognizable space or song structure,” Lesh wrote in his 2006 autobiography Searching For the Sound. “I knew instantly that this combination — acid and music — was the tool I’d been looking for.”)
Lesh was not a principal singer or songwriter in the band, but his tenor often contributed to the group’s three-part harmonies, and he did write and sing a handful of original Dead songs. The best-remembered of those was probably “Box of Rain,” opening track to their classic 1970 album American Beauty — co-penned with lyricist Robert Hunter about Lesh’s then-dying father — which ended up being the last song played at the group’s final concert with Garcia in 1995.
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While the group sold steadily throughout the ’60s and ’70s — six of the group’s ’70s LPs reached the top 30 of the Billboard 200, with 1970’s Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty and 1972’s live triple album all being certified Platinum by the RIAA — they were a less-regular presence on the Billboard Hot 100, where they charted just four entries in their first decade, and none higher than the No. 64-peaking “Truckin’” in 1971. But the group’s live reputation kept them an essential part of the rock fabric well into the ’80s, and in 1987 they scored their lone pop hit with the catchy top 10 smash “Touch of Grey” — which along with its popular music video, featuring the band performing as skeletons, introduced them to a new generation of fans.
However in the late ’80s Garcia’s health began to falter, and in 1995 he passed away, with the band deciding to disband shortly after. Following the group’s dissolution, Lesh continued playing with offshoot The Other Ones (with original member Bob Weir, longtime percussionist Mickey Hart and keyboardist Bruce Hornsby), which gradually expanded its lineup to include more former Grateful Dead members and rebranded as The Dead in 2003. In addition, Lesh started Phil Lesh and Friends in 1999, with a rotating live and recording cast reinterpreting old songs by the Grateful Dead and some of their peers, and a decade later he created Furthur, another jam band co-founded with Weir.
Despite remaining busy with these Grateful Dead offshoots — as well as a handfull of 50th anniversary stadium shows put on by the band’s surviving members as the Fare Thee Well celebration — Lesh largely refrained from writing or recording any original songs in later years, preferring to keep the focus on his live show. “What’s the point?” he remarked to Billboard in 2012. “Nobody makes money on recordings anymore — at least the likes of us don’t. And the longer I’m in music the less time I like the idea of freezing music in amber so that it’s the same every time you play it back. I want it to be different every time, so I’m just not into recording, particularly.”
In 2017, Bass Player magazine ranked Lesh as the 57th greatest bassist of all time. “More an improvising composer than mere bassist, Lesh elevated the Grateful Dead from hippie jam band to an artistic ensemble capable of reaching heights of interactive ecstasy,” the magazine wrote. “Balancing roots with bouncy, offbeat upper-register figures, he could spin long motivic statements sometimes lasting over a minute, often steering the band into daring new harmonic territory.”
Grateful Dead will be honored as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year. The 34th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, two nights before the 67th annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena.
Doja Cat is teasing her next era. With as much as a one word tweet, the superstar artist got her fans riled up on Thursday night (Oct. 24).
“Album,” she succinctly wrote without any context to X. She didn’t provide any follow-up so plenty of ecstatic fans flooded her replies with hopes and suggestions for Doja regarding the supposed album.
“WE NEED ARIANA GRANDE ON IT,” one person wrote. Another hopeful fan of King Vamp responded: “PLAYBOI CARTI BETTER BE ON IT.”
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The viral tweet boasts over 100,000 likes as Doja appears to be in album mode. She has remained low on the music side in recent months following the arrival of her Scarlet 2 CLAUDE deluxe edition in May.
Doja Cat’s last album Scarlet followed 2021’s hit-spawning Planet Her. The project was released in September 2023 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and hit No. 2 on the Top Rap Albums chart.
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“Scarlet is a very, to put it simply, quite an angry project,” she told Jack Harlow in September. “I think the point of that album was to showcase anger and how it processes through my mind, but also it’s about coming to your own defense and love. It’s sort of my ‘Why I oughta!’ moment of squaring up with everyone and defending myself, telling myself that I’m here for me, and not just for everybody else’s enjoyment.”
Perhaps Doja could link up with LISA. The BLACKPINK star recently opened up about her hopes to team up with the “Paint the Town Red” rapper for her next duet.
“But for now that I can think of, Doja Cat. I love her,” Lisa said of the list of other musicians she’d like to join forces with. “Doja Cat, for sure, is my next goal.”
Doja has still been busy on the performance side. Last month, The Grammy-winning artist headlined New York City’s Global Citizen Festival where she implored fans to use their voice and speak out against injustices around the world.
“Right now, millions of men, women and children in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, the Congo and all across the world, are suffering. In times like this, it is important to remember that we have the power to bring change, love light and hope to those who need it most,” she told the crowd.
This week in dance music: Kylie Minogue and Charli XCX both ruled the dance charts in Australia and the U.K., (respectively!) Producer Sama’ Abdulhadi called out the Harris/Walz campaign for using her image in an ad without her consent (“I don’t endorse any U.S. political party,” Abdulhadi wrote.) EMPIRE president Tina Davis spoke about Shaboozey and major labels during the keynote at ADE 2024. (“Even though you might doubt yourself, just try anyway,” she said while reflecting on the early days of her career.)
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Meanwhile, Avant Gardner hired a new CEO, Decentraland announced the lineup for their upcoming virtual fest, we spoke with John Summit and his manager about their touring strategy ahead of the duo’s appearance at Billboard’s Touring Conference next month in Los Angeles and we chatted with Anna Lunoe upon the release of her debut album, Pearl.
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And beyond that, amid another absolutely bananas busy week for dance music releases, these are the best new tracks of the week.
Disclosure, “Arachnids”
Almost five months after releasing the bright (and viral) singalong “She’s Gone, Dance On,” the Lawrence brother follow-up with another single that sounds absolutely nothing like that other one. Out on Warehouse Project Records, “Arachnids” is one for the afterhours, with crisp, syncopated percussion creating a foundation for waves of synth and a warm, inventive breakdown composed primarily of duduk.
Guy Lawrence writes that making the track “felt like an ever evolving, creative puzzle of sound design and groove exploration,” adding that “the project came together over many months of tweaking and adjusting. For me, this is kind of like a diary entry of where my production and mixing skills are currently at in 2024.” He continues by acknowledging that the song is “not gonna be one you can sing along to this time I’m afraid” — although it’s highly likely Disclosure fans will find other head-bobbing ways to enjoy this one. — KATIE BAIN
Jai Wolf & Aluna, “Water Sign”
In the two years that Jai Wolf spent writing his second album, he realized he’d actually written not one but two LPs. “I went through some of the most turbulent moments of my life while writing this record,” Wolf shared on Instagram, “and instead of fighting against the storm, I let it shepherd me to new ground.” That new ground begins with his sophomore LP, The Red Eye Home (due out on November 15 via Mom+Pop), and its lead single, “Water Sign” with Aluna. Dropped fittingly during Scorpio season—but also for the sensitive Cancers and Pisces out there— it’s both dreamy and brooding, as Aluna sings of love written in the stars over a drop that crashes gently like ocean waves. — KRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ
Steve Angello, “Hooligans”
With his new single “Hooligans,” Steve Angello delivers a new anthem for cannonballing into the weekend. The producer and Swedish House Mafia member here presents a rave/tech house hybrid that’s delightfully untamed and designed to fill big rooms, from the hip-gyrating drums and roller-coaster builds to the unhinged siren synths (the latter inducing an immediate, pupil-dilating flashback to late-aught electro anthem “Warp 1.9”). “Hooligans” is his third solo single this year, following “ME” and “Skip” (and also, tangentially, following a rare solo release from fellow Mafioso Sebastian Ingrosso last week.) Angello, who earlier this year launched a new weekly program on SiriusXM, is set to perform at the Brooklyn Mirage tonight (October 25). — K.R.
Franc Moody, “Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road”
“I’m a fish out of water / I’m a pineapple on a sea of dough,” begin Franc Moody on their latest single, “Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road” (and yes, shots fired at you pineapple pizza-eaters). The U.K. duo give the state of sorely sticking out a funky and light-hearted soundtrack, complete with a prim, strings-filled introduction, reverberating woodblock hits, and neon-streaked synths, as they work to get back to their authentic state. “Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road” arrives alongside news of a new album, Chewing the Fat (out March 7 via Night Time Stories).
“Armed with mellotrons, drum machines and other crazy synths we delved into a psychedelic and acid driven soundscape with a hint of British seaside crag,” say Franc Moody. “The song explores adventure, decadence and a feeling of getting in over your head; of being enchanted by powerful forces. Lost in a moment before coming to one’s senses and realizing the things that really ground us.” — K.R.
Elderbook, Another Touch
There’s a far deeper story than the standard dance refrain to “put your f–king hands up” on Another Touch, the third album from English producer Elderbrook. He himself calls the album “a journey of self-discovery,” saying the project starts “with someone who has lost themselves so completely they barely recognize the person in the mirror. Everything is shallow and inconsistent in their life so as to protect them from anything which might hold some true meaning. As the album unfolds so too does the story of our ‘hero’ who finds new ways to think about, and reflect on their life, and the lessons learned along the way.”
To that end, the Vintage Culture collab “Run,” which arrives at the album’s halfway point, also seems like the metaphorical turning point for this story arc, with the buoyant production giving a sense of spiritual uplift and forward momentum. The rest of the album, out on Mine Recordings, features collabs with Shimza, Nimino, Carlita, Shakehips and George Fitzgerald. — K.B.
e-Dancer, “Melodica”
Kevin Saunderson resurrects his longstanding e-Dancer alias, with his producer son Dantiez joining him on the project. The producer advises that “Melodica” marks “the start of a new era of e-Dancer, and of Detroit techno,” a lofty statement that Saunderson, who literally co-invented techno, and his scion seem more than capable of executing on. The track is out on the e-Dance/One House imprint. — K.B.
DJ Seinfeld, “Hopecore”
“I’ve been assembling sounds and writing out ideas for my next album, and I wanted to give out a teaser of what that process has been sounding like,” writes DJ Seinfeld of his new single “Hopecore.” If it is indeed any real indication, we’re in for a euphoric ride to trance town. “Hopecore” is exactly how its title sounds: light, bright and ethereal; with soft guitar licks, swirling chords and airy vocals calling for a lighter to “burn this whole thing down.” It’s a crystalline club track rendered in pastels, yet one that will absolutely bang on a proper sound system. DJ Seinfeld recently announced a new North American tour which is set to launch in January 2025. — K.R.
Paul van Dyk, “For An Angel (Öwnboss Remix)”
It’s a holy day for trance heads, with Paul van Dyk’s genre-defining “For an Angel” celebrating its 30-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, the 1994 classic has gotten a series of remixes, including one by Brazilian producer Öwnboss, who punches up the original, adding some weight and size to the etheric original. The remix collection is available as a special exclusive double-vinyl, which includes van Dyk’s own “E-Werk Club Mix.”
Of the anniversary, the German legend observes that “It is fascinating how ‘For an Angel’ still touches so many hearts after all these years,” he adds. “Across generations, young and old, all around the world. Whether it was in 1999 in front of 1.5 million dancing people at the Love Parade or last week in the Berlin Cathedral as an ambient arrangement, the magic of the track seems to grow even more intense over time.” — K.B.
On today’s (Oct. 23) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we reach No. 7 of our list with a producer-turned-rapper-turned-all-consuming-celebrity, who has been unavoidable in pop culture for the last two decades — often for his artistic brilliance, sometimes for his business ventures or personal life, and particularly in recent […]
Sarah Jessica Parker has thoughts about Megan Thee Stallion’s Sex and the City analysis. Earlier this week, the rapper and singer shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that she just recently started watching the iconic series starring Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattral. For Parker’s character Carrie, Stallion revealed, “Her hair is good, her […]
Ariana Grande‘s has made her diagnosis of Lady Gaga‘s new single “Disease.” On Friday (Oct. 25), the Joker 2 star made her long-awaited pop music comeback with the release of her upcoming seventh album’s lead single, a dark dance track that finds Gaga singing, “I could play the doctor, I can cure your disease/ If […]
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The mogul purchased the pop star’s six-album catalog for upwards of $300 million in 2019.
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Jelly Roll, Luke Combs and Keith Urban are set to headline the 12th annual Rock the Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival, which will take place April 4-6, 2025 at Ft. Lauderdale Beach in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jelly Roll will headline on Friday, April 4, followed by Urban on Saturday, April 5, and Combs on Sunday, April 6.
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Jelly Roll just notched his first all-genre Billboard 200 chart-topping album with his new set, Beautifully Broken, while Urban and Combs will soon join Eric Church, James Taylor, Billy Strings and other artists in raising aid for those impacted by Hurricane Helene, during the Oct. 26 benefit Concert For Carolina in Charlotte, N.C.
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The oceanside Tortuga Music Festival was named the Academy of Country Music’s festival of the year, and aims to continue its lauded offerings with a stable of artists for 2025 that also includes Gary Allan, Rodney Atkins, Artikal Sound System, Bumpin Uglies, Ashland Craft, Jordan Davis, Gavin DeGraw, Wyatt Flores, Gashi, Caylee Hammack, Ezra Ray Hart (ft. Mark McGrath, Kevin Griffin, Emerson Hart), Cody Jinks, Corey Kent, Marcus King, Ludacris, Parker McCollum, John Morgan, Megan Moroney, Angie K, Drew Parker, Meghan Patrick, Restless Road, DJ Rock, Lily Rose, Shaboozey, Dee Jay Silver, The Original Wailers, Wheeland Brothers and Yelawolf.
Additionally, the Next From Nashville stage will feature emerging Nashville-based artists including Abby Anderson, Avery Anna, Bayker Blankenship, Karley Scott Collins, Kashus Culpepper, Denitia, Jade Eagleson, Mae Estes, Thomas Edwards, Lanie Gardner, Noah Hicks, Jenna LaMaster, Bryce Leatherwood, Lauren Watkins and Charlie Worsham.
Tickets for Tortuga Music Festival go on sale Friday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. ET at tortugamusicfestival.com, while hotel and VIP packages can be purchased through Vibee at Tortuga.Vibee.com.
Hozier earns his fifth straight No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart as “Nobody’s Soldier” lifts two spots to the top of the Nov. 2-dated survey.
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The song continues a streak that also includes “Eat Your Young” and “Francesca” in 2023 and “Too Sweet,” for 10 weeks beginning in May, plus his co-lead turn on Noah Kahan’s “Northern Attitude,” for five weeks starting in January.
With five rulers in a row, Hozier is one away from the chart’s all-time best run, held by U2, which strung together six from 2001’s “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” through 2005’s “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own.”
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In all, Hozier now boasts seven No. 1s on Adult Alternative Airplay, first reigning with “Take Me to Church” in 2014. He also led with “Nina Cried Power,” featuring Mavis Staples, in 2018.
Hozier is the first soloist to score three new Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1s in a single year, thanks to “Nobody’s Soldier,” “Too Sweet” and “Northern Attitude.” Only two groups previously achieved the feat, dating to the chart’s January 1996 launch: Coldplay with “Violet Hill,” “Viva La Vida” and “Lost!,” featuring Jay-Z, in 2008, and Dave Matthews Band with “I Did It,” “The Space Between” and “Everyday” in 2001.
Concurrently, “Nobody’s Soldier” ranks at No. 39 on Alternative Airplay, after reaching No. 37. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, it rises 23-22 with 1.4 million audience impressions, up 7%, in the week ending Oct. 24, according to Luminate.
“Nobody’s Soldier” debuted at its No. 16 best on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart dated Aug. 31 following its release on Hozier’s EP Unaired. The song has also been appended to the deluxe edition of his 2023 album Unreal Unearth, with the latest edition – Unreal Unearth: Unending – due Dec. 6 as a three-LP deluxe edition and a one-LP companion version.
All Billboard charts dated Nov. 2 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Oct. 29.