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In 2025, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas will set out on the groupâs first tour together in a decade when The Arcadia 2025 Tour finds the storied group performing 73 dates across the United States and Canada.
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The new slate of tour dates starts with a two-night stint at The Louisville Palace in Louisville, Ky., on April 17-18. The tour dates continue through late September, with stops in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Oklahoma City, San Diego, and Nashville. The trek will feature special guest Willie Watson, a co-founder of Old Crow Medicine Show. Two decades into his career, Watson recently released his self-titled solo album in September.
Alison Krauss & Union Station are also set to release new music next year, marking the groupâs first new release since 2011âs Paper Airplane, which earned a Grammy for best bluegrass album.
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âIâm so grateful to get to make music again with my comrades of 40 years,â Krauss said in a statement. âTheyâve always accomplished incredible work individually and have been constantly traveling because of it. Weâre very inspired to experience this new exciting chapter in the bandâs history.â
This new chapter also features a lineup shift for the group, with the addition of vocalist-guitarist Russell Moore, who is best known for his work as frontman for IIIrd Tyme Out. Moore replaces Union Stationâs former member Dan Tyminski. Moore has earned six male vocalist trophies from the International Bluegrass Music Awards, making him the most awarded male vocalist in the history of the IBMA Awards. Heâs also led IIIrd Tyme Out to seven IBMA vocal group of the year honors. Moore will join longtime Union Station members Ron Block (banjo, guitar, vocals), Barry Bales (bass, vocals) and newly inducted Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Jerry Douglas (Dobro, lap steel, vocals).
âTo say Iâm excited about recording and touring with Alison Krauss & Union Station would be a huge understatement,â Moore said in a statement. âAfter 40 years of playing music full-time and leading my own group for 34 years, this opportunity is among the few things at the top of the list that my music career has offered me. My hopes and desires are to fill this spot in AKUS with the same professionalism, precision, and thoughtfulness as other members who have held this position before me, and Iâm looking forward to the ârideâ!â
Tickets for The Arcadia 2025 Tour will go on sale to the general public on Friday, Dec. 6, with presales available from Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m. local through Thursday, Dec. 5, at 10 p.m. local time.
See a list of the groupâs tour dates for 2025 below:
Stephen King is killing off his cluster of money-losing radio stations in Maine, announcing on Monday (Dec. 2) that WZON, WKIT and WZLO will cease operations in the Bangor area on Dec. 31 after 41 years under his and wife Tabithaâs ownership.
The wicked prolific author bought WLBZ in 1983, renaming it WZON in homage to his 1979 novel The Dead Zone. The station was sold in 1990 but re-acquired by the Kings three years later. Despite Kingâs passion for radio and his efforts to maintain local and independent stations, the three stations have consistently lost money, with King personally covering the deficits.
WZON is on the AM dial at 620 and plays âRetro Radio,â while WKIT 100.3 FM is branded as âStephen Kingâs Rock Stationâ and WZLO, at 103.1 FM, is âMaineâs Adult Alternative.â The company operates under the name The Zone Corporation.
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King, who was in his mid-30 when he got into radio, cited financial losses and his advancing age â a healthy 77 â as reasons for the shutdown. He expressed pride in being a local owner and gratitude for the staff and local advertisers who supported the stations.Â
âWhile radio across the country has been overtaken by giant corporate broadcasting groups, Iâve loved being a local, independent owner all these years,â said King. âIâve loved the people whoâve gone to these stations every day and entertained folks, kept the equipment running, and given local advertisers a way to connect with their customers. Tabby and I are proud to have been a part of that for more than four decades.â
General manager Ken Wood, who has been with the stations for 10 years, acknowledged the end of an era but appreciated the Kingsâ commitment to local broadcasting.
âIndependent, locally owned radio stations used to be the norm,â said Wood. âThereâre only a few left in Maine, and weâre lucky we had these three as long as we did.âÂ
A news release states that Zone Corporation is closing but doesnât specify if theyâre looking to sell the stations. This potentially means they could stop operations under a Special Temporary Authority from the FCC, which lets them follow regulations while possibly finding a buyer.
Since getting into the terrestrial radio business in 1983, King has written over 50 novels, including well-known works such as It, Misery, The Dark Tower series, Pet Sematary, Under the Dome, Skeleton Crew, The Green Mile and 11/22/63, among many (many) others.
Read the full announcement from Zone Corporation:
When internationally known author Stephen King first entered the radio business in 1983, it was with the enthusiasm and love of a lifelong rock and roll fan and as a listening member of the greater Bangor community.
He also was a young man of 36 with a lifetime of creativity ahead of him. Now, in good health but feeling his 77 years, King says itâs time to âget his business affairs in better order,â and that means saying good-bye to the radio stations that he personally has kept afloat and on the air all these years.
âWhile radio across the country has been overtaken by giant corporate broadcasting groups, Iâve loved being a local, independent owner all these years,â said King. âIâve loved the people whoâve gone to these stations every day and entertained folks, kept the equipment running, and given local advertisers a way to connect with their customers. Tabby and I are proud to have been a part of that for more than four decades.â
In those four decades, however, the stations consistently have lost money. The amounts have varied from year to year but have been significant. King personally has covered those losses.
Flagship station WZON, which first went on the air in Maine in 1926 as WLBZ, was purchased by the Kings in 1983. The call letters were changed to WZON, a nod to Stephen Kingâs best seller The Dead Zone and a rock and roll format was instituted. The station never made money and for a time, even surrendered its commercial status to become a donor supported enterprise. In 1990, the station was sold, only for the Kings to re-acquire it three years later and bring back the commercial model.
Ken Wood, General Manager of the stations for the last ten years is certainly sad to see the end but said heâs grateful for the Kingsâ ownership and proud of the local voices that have a place in Maineâs colorful broadcast history. âIndependent, locally owned radio stations used to be the norm. Thereâre only a few left in Maine, and weâre lucky we had these three as long as we did,â said Wood.
The stations of The ZONE Corporation are WZON (620 AM), WKIT (100.3 FM), and WZLO (103.1 FM). Broadcasting operations are expected to cease on December 31st.
35 years after Indigo Girls won a Grammy for best contemporary folk recording for their eponymous debut album, the duo will receive a lifetime achievement award at The International Folk Music Awards. The awards show will take place in Montreal on Feb. 19, the first night of the Folk Alliance International (FAI) Conference.
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The duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, received a second Grammy nod 35 years ago â best new artist. They lost to a flashier duo, Milli Vanilli, whose award was later revoked on the grounds that they didnât perform on their album, a charge never leveled against Indigo Girls, who went on to receive five more nods for best contemporary folk recording.
Lifetime achievement awards will also be granted to Lesley Riddle, the African-American musician who gathered songs for the Carter Family with patriarch A.P. Carter and taught Mother Maybelle Carter guitar techniques; and Songlines magazine which is celebrating 25 years of covering global roots music.
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Flamy Grant, Sarah Jarosz, KaĂŻa Kater, Nick Lowe, Crys Matthews and Allison Russell are competing for artist of the year. Kater is also in the running for album of the year for Strange Medicine, which features guest spots by Allison Russell, Aoife OâDonovan, and Taj Mahal.
Two of the other album of the year nominees, Aoife OâDonovanâs All My Friends and Sierra Ferrellâs Trail of Flowers, are current Grammy nominees. All My Friends is nominated for best folk album; Trail of Flowers for best Americana album. All My Friends was inspired by the passage of the 19th amendment and the evolving landscape of womenâs rights in America over the past century.
New recordings released between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024 were eligible in the best-of-the-year categories (song, album, and artist).
The Peopleâs Voice Award, which is presented to an individual who unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in their creative work and public careers, will be presented to Gina Chavez.
OKAN, the women-led, Afro-Cuban roots and jazz duo, will be honored with The Rising Tide Award.
The Spirit of Folk Awards will be presented to: Tom Power, Canadian musician and broadcaster, best known as the host of *Q* on CBC Radio One and a member of the folk band, The Dardanelles; Alice Randall, a songwriter whose songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash (among others) and founder of production company Midsummer Music; longtime Folk Alliance Region Midwest pillar Annie Capps; and Quebecâs Innu Nikamu festival, which has exemplified commitment to the promotion and preservation of Indigenous culture for more than 30 years.
The Clearwater Award is presented to a festival that prioritizes environmental stewardship and demonstrates public leadership in sustainable event production. This yearâs award will go to the River Roads Festival in Easthampton, MA.
The Awards take place on the first night of FAIâs 37th annual conference, which takes place February 19-23, 2025. The conference will be held at Montrealâs Queen Elizabeth Hotel, site of John Lennon and Yoko Onoâs famous 1969 Bed-In for Peace. All conference attendees will have access to attend the IFMAs.
Here are the nominations in the three âBest of 2024â categories plus this yearâs special award winners.
Artist of the Year
Flamy GrantSarah JaroszKaĂŻa KaterNick LoweCrys MatthewsAllison Russell
Album of the Year
Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers (Rounder Records)The Heart Collectors, The Space Between (Spins the Gold Records)KaĂŻa Kater, Strange Medicine (Free Dirt Records)Aoife OâDonovan, All My Friends (Yep Roc Records)Ordinary Elephant â Ordinary Elephant (Berkalin Records)Susan Werner, Halfway to Houston (self-released)
Song of the Year
âTenzin Sings with Nightingales,â written by Tenzin Choegyal, performed by Tenzin Choegyal and Michael AskillâHow I Long for Peace,â written by Abena Koomson-Davis, Peggy Seeger, Rhiannon Giddens, performed by Rhiannon Giddens, Crys Matthews, and the Resistance Revival ChorusâWoman Who Pays,â written and performed Connie Kaldorâ$20 Bill (for George Floyd),â written by Tom Prasada-Rao, performed by Dan Navarro & Janiva MagnessâUkrainian Now,â written and performed by Tom Paxton & John McCutcheonâLove Letters,â written by Julian Taylor, Tyler James Ellis, performed by Julian Taylor
Lifetime Achievement Award â Living: Indigo Girls
Lifetime Achievement Award â Legacy: Leslie Riddle
Lifetime Achievement Award â Business: Songlines Magazine
Peopleâs Voice: Gina Chavez
Rising Tide: OKAN
Clearwater Award: River Roads Festival (Easthampton, Mass.)
Spirit of Folk: Tom Powers, Alice Randall, Annie Capps, Innu Nikamu festival
Folk Radio DJ Hall of Fame Inductees: Archie Fisher (BBC Scotland), Mary Sue Twohy (SIRIUS XM), Taylor Caffrey (WRKF-FM, Baton Rouge, La.), Matthew Finch (posthumous, KUNM-FM, Albuquerque, N.M.), Chuck Wentworth (posthumous, WRIU-FM, Rhode Island)
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Drakeâs legal filings against Kendrick Lamar and UMG have earned him some wrath from Uncle Luke, with the Hip-Hop icon calling him soft.
Drakeâs latest move in his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar â filing legal petitions against the Compton rapper and Universal Music Group â has rubbed many in Hip-Hop and pop culture the wrong way. Count Luther âUncle Lukeâ Campbell among them, evidenced in a social media post the Hip-Hop veteran shared over the past weekend.
âI like Drakeâs music, I donât like what he got going on right now but I like his music,â Luke began. âSome things you donât talk about. You donât talk about payola, you donât talk about buying livestreams and you donât sue after you got dissed, and you done did some dissing.â Heâd go on to proclaim that it was a hallmark of this generation. âThatâs yâall young people. yâall young people live in a soft society. Thatâs why Iâm glad Iâm an OG. All yâall young people soft. Soft, soft, soft. You got rappers that wanna diss somebody, then wanna go get the gun. Why not go and fight?â
The 2 Live Crew founder would go on to share differences between his generation and this one, citing his past beef with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. âOne thing thatâs off limits, the kids are off limits, girlfriends are off limits, mamas are off limits,â Luke said. His views were mostly met with approval in the comments, with one user writing: âCanât tell people they wrong anymore without they feelings getting hurtâŚI just leave everything alone.â
Drakeâs pre-action petition claims that Universal Music Group and Spotify were responsible for inflating the streaming numbers for âNot Like Usâ using bots on social media and other means. The Certified Lover Boy artist filed the documents shortly after Kendrick Lamarâs latest album, GNX, was released. The move has earned him heavy criticism from others including Joe Budden, who called him a âpiece of sâtâ on his latest podcast episode, citing the Canadian rapperâs negative actions in the past fueling this karmic retribution.
UMGâs response to the filing was swift, stating: âThe suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.â
Will Smith appears to be ramping up his return to music with the announcement of a summer 2025 set at Franceâs Positiv Festival next summer. The Bad Boys actor will mark his first-ever concert in France on July 31 when he takes the stage at the Roman Theatre of Orange.
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According to an announcement from the festival, the Oscar and Grammy-winning star will play a set of hits, including âMen in Black,â âMiamiâ and âGettinâ Jiggy Wit It,â among others. âA unique performance that will bring together more generations of fans of Will Smithâs inimitable energy!,â read the post.
Smith has not released a studio album since 2005, when he dropped his fourth full-length solo LP, Lost and Found, which topped out at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 album chart. After launching his movie career in the early 1990s, Smith has mostly focused on acting, most recently appearing in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. He won an Oscar for his work in the biographical tennis drama King Richard in 2022, collecting the hardware after he stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke referencing Smithâs wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
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The actor eventually apologized for the incident and resigned from the Motional Picture Academy â which meant he can no longer vote for the Oscars, but can sill be nominated â followed by the organization announcing that he will be banned from the Oscars for the next decade.
Smith has been teasing a return to music, including recently dropping a new single, âWork of Art,â which features his son, Jaden Smith, as well as rapper Russ. In April, Smith made a surprise cameo during J. Balvinâs Coachella set, followed by the live debut of his gospel-tinged song âYou Can Make Itâ at Juneâs BET Awards.
Earlier this year, Smith first discussed his upcoming album â tentatively titled Dance in Your Darkest Moments â saying, âOver the past year and a half, Iâve been in the studio. I have a project that is the most personal and powerful music project Iâve ever done. The idea of the music is, âDance in your darkest moments.’â In July, Smith, who released his first three albums on Columbia Records and Lost and Found on Interscope, signed to Slang Music Group, home to Big Sean, Mira Black, Niki Lynette, Savvy & Mandy and Syleena Johnson.
Check out Positivâs Smith announcement below.
With 2024 coming to an end, Apple Music and Shazam are looking back on a great year in music. Apple Music released its year-end charts on Tuesday (Dec. 3), with Kendrick Lamar coming in at No. 1 on the Top Songs of 2024: Global list with âNot Like Us.â Coming in at second place is […]
Britney Spears celebrated her 43rd birthday on Monday (Dec. 2), the same day a California court declared her officially single. According to People, the declaration came seven months after her divorce from ex-husband Sam Asghari was finalized in Los Angeles.
Spears and actor/model Asghari, 30, separated in July 2023, 13 months after their wedding and six years after they first began dating; Asghari filed for divorce in August 2023 citing irreconcilable differences.
Back in October, thrice-wed Spears celebrated that time she âmarriedâ herself in a throwback video that appeared to be similar to one from 2022, in which she wrote, âThe day I married myself ⌠Bringing it back because it might seem embarrassing or stupid, but I think itâs the most brilliant thing Iâve ever done !!!â
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Spears was also briefly married to childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004 before tying the knot with dancer Kevin Federline that same year; she and Federline had two sons, Sean Preston, 19 and Jayden James, 18 before breaking up in 2007. In 2022, the singer married actor/personal trainer Asghari, with whom she split less than two years later.
While Spears did not address her new state-sanctioned singledom on her socials, she did post a video on Instagram in which she lashed out at one of her persistent tormentors: the paparazzi. âIt really hurts my feelings that the paparazzi make my face look like Iâm wearing a white Jason mask,â Spears said in the birthday selfie video post in which she referred to the iconic white hockey mask worn by teen terrorizer Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th horror movie series.
âIt doesnât even look like me. Theyâve always been incredibly cruel to me,â she added. âThe way theyâve illustrated me to be. Some of it I know Iâm not perfect at all by any means, but some of it is extremely mean and cruel and thatâs why Iâve moved to Mexico.â While Spears has often vacationed in Mexico, the clip appeared to be the first time she mentioned moving to the country.
In an earlier video, Spears again lashed the paps for how they make her look and noted that she is not, in fact turning 42 (as noted above, she turned 43 on Monday), but instead said âIâm turning five⌠Iâm turning five-years-old. I have to go to kindergarten tomorrow.â It was unclear at press time what the latter comment was referring to.
Watch Spearsâ videos below.
Days before Super Bowl LIX, which will take over New Orleansâ Caesars Superdome on Sunday, Feb. 9, Bud Light will start the weekend right with an intimate show from a massive star. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Friday, Feb. 7, Post Malone will perform at […]
Jonathan Groff has endeared himself to huge audiences playing some of the most beloved (and different) roles in modern musical theater: breaking hearts as the original Melchior in Spring Awakening; cracking up as King George in Hamilton; and most recently turning in his most complex performance yet as Franklin Shepard in Stephen Sondheimâs Merrily We Roll Along, for which he won his first Tony award.
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Now, Groff is adding to that diverse resume of roles with perhaps the most unexpected of all. In the new musical Just in Time, heâll play Bobby Darin, the iconic crooner known for his renditions of songs like âBeyond the Sea,â âDream Loverâ and âMack the Knife.â Developed and directed by Alex Timbers, the show features Groff anchoring a cast of 16 in one of Broadwayâs most unique and intimate theaters, the Circle in the Square. Previews begin March 28, 2025 in advance of an April 23 opening â but you can hear Groff singing as Darin for the first time here, as Billboard premieres his recordings of âBeyond the Sea,â âDream Loverâ and âJust in Time.â
As Groff tells Billboard, his preparation process for the role began seven years ago, when he was researching the singer while putting together a concert of his music for the 92nd St. Y in New York. âWeâve been developing this musical about his life ever since then,â Groff says. âBobby Darin was the consummate performer. And he was way ahead of his time. He had this chameleon ability to jump styles and genres way before it became popular for pop artists to do that. Having this opportunity to play him, I get to push myself to places Iâve never gone before as a singer or performer. My heart races just thinking about it.â
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Timbers â who won a Tony for his direction of Moulin Rouge! The Musical and has brought his vision to shows ranging from Here Lies Love to The Pee-wee Herman Show â calls Darin âa singular talent whose music lives on today,â but notes that âwhat was so memorable to the people who knew him was his connection with an audience.â With Just in Time, âWeâre doing everything we can to try to transform our Broadway theater to evoke a 1960s club,â he tells Billboard, âand allow our audience to experience what it was like to be in a room, up close, with one of that generationâs most electric performers.â
Just in Time features a book by Tony-winner Warren Leight (Side Man) and Isaac Oliver (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel); music supervision and arrangements by Andrew Resnick (Parade); choreography by Shannon Lewis; and is based on an original concept by Ted Chapin. Along with Groff, the cast includes Joe Barbara (A Bronx Tale The Musical), Tony-winner Michele Pawk (Wicked), Lance Roberts (The Music Man), Caesar Samayoa (Come From Away), Christine Cornish (Kiss Me, Kate), Julia Grondin (Funny Girl), Valeria Yamin (Moulin Rouge!), John Treacy Egan (My Fair Lady), Tari Kelly (Mr. Saturday Night), Matthew Guy Magnusson, Khori Michelle Petinaud (Lempicka), and Larkin Reilly (Bad Cinderella). Â
The Goo Goo Dolls apologized to fans on Tuesday (Dec. 3) after announcing that theyâve been forced to cancel a planned run of headlining shows in South Africa after singer John Rzeznik was hospitalized with pneumonia. âWeâre heartbroken to postpone our South Africa shows. This country means so much to us, and we were so […]