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15 Oct 2022

Wonho Embraces His Rock Side in Emotional New Single ‘Don’t Regret’: Watch

Wonho is putting his all into his latest single.

The K-pop superstar returned with an emotional new single “Don’t Regret” on Friday (Oct. 14). Exploring a rock sound for the first time in his solo career, the track sees Wonho encouraging listeners not to regret memories from the past, but instead recognize that they have created the current moment. Told through a love story, “Don’t Regret” was co-written and co-produced by Wonho alongside his longtime collaborator Brother Su who has worked on singles with the likes of BTS, BLACKPINK, Monsta X and more.

“Don’t Regret” is accompanied by a music video that sees Wonho forgoing the intense choreography and showmanship he’s known for in his visuals and instead stripping down to simple clothing and scenery to tell his story. At one point, Wonho goes full-on rock star as he performs alongside a band in front of a burning building.

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Alongside “Don’t Regret,” Wonho released the new song “On & On” that features rising Korean rapper YUNHWAY. The dance-focused cut has a hint of melancholy that blends well with YUNHWAY’s smoky and airy delivery. The new songs follow Wonho’s summer single “Don’t Hesitate” from August.

Watch “Don’t Regret” below:

15 Oct 2022

Here’s Why Nicki Minaj & Latto Are Beefing

Nicki Minaj‘s frustrations regarding her Grammy genre shuffle have resulted in the latest rap beef.

During an Instagram Live on Thursday, Minaj voiced her concerns over “Super Freaky Girl” being moved from the rap category to pop on the 2023 Grammy ballet, deeming it unfair. Minaj — who despite countless hit singles and albums and 10 nominations over the years has yet to win a Grammy — is not the first artist to raise questions about the Recording Academy’s categorizing methods. In the video, she mentions Drake’s best rap song win with “Hotline Bling” at the 2017 Grammys (a point of contention for the Toronto rapper, who said the song was pop but only categorized as rap because of his race and past music) and Latto’s “Big Energy” being eligible to compete in this year’s rap field.

“If ‘Super Freaky Girl’ is a pop song, what genre is ‘Big Energy?’” Minaj asked.

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Like “Super Freaky Girl,” Latto’s chart-topper was also produced by Dr. Luke and Vaughn Oliver; a live version of “Big Energy” is eligible to compete in the best melodic rap performance category at the 2023 Grammys. (A live version is in contention because the original “Big Energy” was released in September 2021, outside the eligibility period.) “They stay moving the goal post when it comes to me,” Minaj added multiple times.

While Minaj also brought up names like Doja Cat, Post Malone, Harry Styles and Adele, she continued to circle back to Latto, both by name and also in ways that the 23-year-old burgeoning rap star could have perceived as subliminal.

“If you know something is unfair as an artist, speak on that sh–,” Minaj went on. “If you can’t tell by now that there is a concerted effort to give newer artists things they really don’t deserve over people who have been deserving for many years, they you not paying attention.”

Minaj also accused “corporate giants” of elevating “someone they can profit off of” and intentionally moving “Super Freaky Girl” to create less competition for other artists in the rap categories. She even mentioned the future of female rap, adding that the genre will no longer “have any Black women.” The comment can be understood as a dig against Latto, whose mother is white and father is Black. Minaj also went on to say in a tweet that Latto is “wiping that spray tan off & being a Karen,” a term typically reserved for white women.

On Twitter, Minaj echoed the sentiments expressed during her Live about “Super Freaky Girl” and “Big Energy,” even quoting tweets from fans who were drawing the comparison.

This didn’t sit well with Latto, who had been trying to celebrate her AMA nominations (including favorite female hip-hop artist and favorite hip-hop song with “Big Energy”) amidst social media backlash to her BET Hip Hop Awards win, sparked by Kodak Black. “Damn I can’t win for losing…all these awards/noms I can’t even celebrate,” she tweeted.

From there, Latto and Nicki went back and forth exchanging a tirade of jabs, airing out past subliminal digs and insulting family members, with fans egging them on in the replies. Nicki posted a screenshot of a text Latto sent her, and Latto returned the favor by releasing an audio recording of a phone conversation she and the “Super Bass” rapper had. The exchange went on for hours, with other female rappers, including Azealia Banks, Erica Banks and Chika, chiming in. In the end, Minaj deleted all of her tweets to Latto, only leaving behind a video clip of Whitney Houston laughing uncontrollably in a music video.

See some of the Twitter feud below:

15 Oct 2022

The 5 Best Displays at the New Bruce Springsteen Live! Exhibit at the Grammy Museum

“Once Bruce walks out on stage, the only question in my mind is: is this going to be an absolutely great show, one of the greatest shows he’s ever done or the greatest show he’s ever done? That’s the range,” says Bruce Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau in a video at the new Bruce Springsteen Live! Exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

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While that may be a bit (but only a little) hyperbolic, The Boss is renowned for both the high caliber and marathon duration of his concerts, and the exhibit — which officially opens Saturday (Oct. 15) and runs through April 2 — gives fans a backstage pass to five decades of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s live shows, including rare memorabilia and clothing, instruments, photographs and interactive displays. The exhibit was co-curated by the Grammy Museum and Eileen Chapman, director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & the Center for American Music at Monmouth University.

As Springsteen and his band get ready to return to the road next year for the first time since 2017 (excluding his solo runs on Broadways in 2018 and 2021), the exhibit serves as the perfect way for fans to whet their appetite. Taking a little license with some Springsteen lyrics, here are five of the best displays/experiences at the exhibit.

“I Got This Guitar and I Learned How to Make It Talk”

The exhibit features a number of Springsteen’s guitars, but perhaps none as gloriously roadworn and famous as his 1950s Fender Esquire (the display IDs it as 1953-1954). The beat-up butterscotch beauty, well known to fans, features a Fender Telecaster body and Esquire neck and Springsteen used it on the road from 1972 until 2005. Alone in its own glass case, it feels as if it still reverberates with a thousand songs in it waiting to be played. Even those who didn’t get to see Springsteen play it live will recognize it from the album covers for Born to Run, Live 1975-95, Human Touch and Wrecking Ball. 

“I Got Debts No Honest Man Can Pay”

In an undated letter from what is likely the early ‘70s, Springsteen writes a charming note to his landlord, apologizing for not paying his rent on time. Addressed to “Dear Landlordess,” and penned on a torn-out page from a spiral notebook, he adds not one, but two endearing postscripts: “P.S.: Do you like this classy writing paper?” and “P.P.S: I’m practicing my autograph. Whadya think?” In the same display case, there is a scrapbook from the ‘70s that his mom kept as her son’s career took off. It was opened to a page that included a 1972 review from Variety — one of his first — and a postcard from the road from his then-manager, Mike Appel, as a reminder that Springsteen, too, was once a struggling artist.

“I Want Pounding Drums”

For an exhibit devoted to touring, there is very little footage of Springsteen playing live, but in one of the most enjoyable displays, drummer Max Weinberg gives wannabe drummers a tutorial and then the chance to play along with a video of Springsteen performing before tens of thousands of people at a stadium gig. Fans sit at a mini-drum kit while Weinberg teaches them how to play bass drum, snare drum and hi-hat to “Born in the U.S.A.,” a song the longtime E Street Band member says is one of his favorites to play, before turning them loose to play along with the video.  

“Is There Anybody Alive Out There?”

In one of the many interactive elements, fans can build their own five-song encore to a live show and see how close they come to what Springsteen played that actual night. For someone who is revered for his ability to call an “audible” and change up the set at a moment’s notice, it turns out a great deal of thought goes into the encore. In a video, Springsteen, with guitar in hand, explains how he selects the encore songs based on smooth key changes and rhythm changes as he slides from “Born to Run” into “Devil With the Blue  Dress On” (usually part of what is known as “The Detroit Medley”) into “Glory Days” into “Land of Hope and Dreams.” “You want to constantly kick it up,” he says. 

“A Prayer for the Souls of the Departed”

While casual fans may pass right by the displays to beloved late E Street musicians Danny “The Phantom” Federici, who died in 2008, and Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons, who died in 2011, longtime devotees will appreciate the mementos that celebrate the longtime members. Federici is feted by a display with one of his accordions, a photo of him as a young boy playing the instrument and a note from his son talking about how Federici, who was also Springsteen’s organist, began playing the accordion at 5. For Clemons, one of his saxophones is on display, but the item that will tug at hard-core fans’ heartstrings is “The Throne,” the upholstered, gold-painted armchair that Clemons had onstage with him so he could sit as he got tired in later years and where he reclined and took in his adoring fans when the rest of the band left the stage before returning for the encore. Both are gone but never forgotten.

15 Oct 2022

A Day Before Debut, K-Pop Concert KAMP LA 2022 Loses Multiple Artists Over Visa Issues

Organizers and artists performing at KAMP LA 2022 predicted it would be “the biggest K-pop event in U.S. history” — but the two-day festival set for Los Angeles’ Rose Bowl this weekend is quickly seeing its plans shift for the worse, causing some to preemptively deem it the “Fyre Festival of K-pop.”

Over the last 24 hours, online chatter has intensified that most of the scheduled artists on the KAMP lineup were not photographed departing South Korea from any of its international airports. Adding to the fuel were social media posts from KAMP artists like BamBam and Jeon Somi, both of whom hinted at delays in their travel plans to the U.S.

According to a source, an organizer with the festival shared internally on Friday (Oct. 14) that multiple artists were having visa issues and will be unable to perform at KAMP LA 2022 this weekend. In the same internal communication, the organizer said they plan to offer refunds.

Of the 15 artists scheduled to perform at KAMP LA, only boy band iKON and soloist Chung Ha have been photographed departing Korea from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport over the last 24 hours. Five members of the boy band Super Junior were also photographed leaving Incheon, but not the full band.

Meanwhile, fellow boy band P1Harmony appear to be in the States already, having shared a photograph from their visit to San Diego radio station Channel 93.3 on Friday morning. Three members of girl group aespa are also in the U.S., having attended NCT 127‘s concert at Newark’s Prudential Center on Thursday.

A representative for P1Harmony confirmed with Billboard that the band is planning to perform at KAMP, with rehearsals scheduled for Friday.

Billboard has reached out to KAMP for an official comment, as well as various reps for artists scheduled to perform.

KAMP LA was announced in August with a lineup also including Monsta X, Kai, Zion.T and girl group Lapillus. The mega-concert is a joint production from KAMP Global (the South Korea-based entertainment brand that aims to bring K-pop globally through festivals, live events, immersive experiences and artist representation) and partnership brand Eventim Live Asia.

15 Oct 2022

Here’s Where the 2023 Grammys Categorized Genre-Blending Albums by Beyoncé, Demi Lovato & More

The walls that separate genres are coming down, which is a good thing in many ways. But it complicates things for the screening committees that decide where records should compete in the annual Grammy Awards process.

Here are some albums that probably gave the screening committee pause – and where they are competing in the 65th annual Grammy Awards process.

Demi Lovato’s Holy F*ck, Avril Lavigne’s Love Sux and Tears for Fears’ The Tipping Point were all on the line between pop and rock; all are competing for best rock album. Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres and 5 Seconds of Summer’s 5SOS5 are also somewhere on that line; they are competing for best pop vocal album.

Florence + the Machine’s Dance Fever is vying for best alternative music album. Two previous albums by the English indie rock band – Ceremonials and How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – were nominated for best pop vocal album.

Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak topped Billboard’s folk, country and rock album charts — and reached No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200. At the Grammys, it’s competing for best country album.

Lizzo’s Special and Beyoncé’s Renaissance danced on the line between pop, dance and R&B. Special is competing for best pop vocal album. Renaissance is vying for best dance/electronic music album. (Bey won best contemporary R&B album three times (for Dangerously in Love, B’Day and I Am…Sasha Fierce) and best urban contemporary album twice (for Lemonade and Everything Is Love, a collab with her husband Jay-Z as The Carters).

The line between R&B and progressive R&B is often blurry. The Grammys have classified Summer Walker’s Still Over It and Chris Brown’s Breezy as R&B, but have slotted Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights and Brent Faiyaz’s Wasteland as progressive R&B.

Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) is vying for a nod as best country album. The original Red album was nominated in that category nine years ago but lost to Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer, Different Park. In terms of genre album awards, Swift has won best country album once (for Fearless) and best pop vocal album once (for 1989).

Jason Aldean is competing for best country album with Macon, Georgia, a combination of his two single-disc albums Macon (released on Nov. 12, 2021) and Georgia (released on April 22).

The Encanto soundtrack is competing for best compilation soundtrack for visual media, not best pop vocal album, even though it topped the Billboard 200 for nine weeks.

The four Latin albums that made the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in the Grammy eligibility year (Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30) are competing in three different categories. Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti and Daddy Yankee’s Legendaddy are vying for best música urbana album. Romeo Santos’ Formula Volume 3 is competing for best tropical Latin album. Eslabon Armando’s Nostalgia is vying for best regional Mexican music album (including Tejano).

Several stars didn’t submit their albums for Grammy consideration, for a broad range of reasons. Silk Sonic didn’t submit An Evening With Silk Sonic. They probably figured (correctly) that they were amply rewarded last year when they won four Grammys for “Leave the Door Open” and they would be better off letting some other artists have some Grammy shine. No artist wants to run the risk of having fans say, “Haven’t they won enough?”

Drake and The Weeknd didn’t submit Honestly, Nevermind and Dawn FM, respectively. They are probably still nursing past disappointments. Drake, one of the most successful musicians of the past 15 years (and, really, in recording history) has won just four Grammys. The Weeknd was inexplicably snubbed in the year that he released “Blinding Lights,” one of the biggest and most universally admired hits of recent years, but has also collected four Grammys over the years.

Other albums that aren’t to be found on the entry list include Meek Mill’s Expensive Pain, Roddy Ricch’s Live Life Fast, Lil Durk’s 7220, Rod Wave’s Beautiful Mind and Tory Lanez’s Sorry 4 What.

15 Oct 2022

Megan Thee Stallion’s L.A. Home Burgled For Almost $500K In Jewelry

Megan Thee Stallion has been the victim of a home burglary that saw thieves get away with almost $500,000 in jewelry, cash and electronics.

According to TMZ, Meg’s Los Angeles pad was ransacked by two men wearing hoodies and gloves who gained entry by smashing a glass door at the rear of the rapper’s property.

Sources told the publication that the robbers made their way to the primary bedroom and that they took an estimated $300,000-$400,000 in goods from inside the home. Megan Thee Stallion was not home when the break-in happened.

Police have said they’ve not made any arrests, but detectives are scanning home surveillance footage for clues on who might be responsible, as well as calling on neighbors for more information that might assist them in their investigation.

Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion is gearing up to appear on this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live.

On Saturday (October 15), the “Hot Girl Summer” rapper will pull double duty as both host and performer. She gave fans a taste of what they can expect in a hilarious new promo trailer that sees her inform a cast member that her “WAP” is out.

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In the clip, Meg is greeted by a fully nude Sarah Sherman, with the Houston Hottie proclaiming: “Sarah, bitch, do you know you are completely naked?” She then goes on to add, “Your whole WAP is out,” in reference to her hit song with Cardi B.

Meg will likely perform a few songs from her newest album Traumazine, which dropped on August 12.

The project bowed at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with 66,000 total album-equivalent units sold in its first week, marking her fifth consecutive Top 10 placement on the albums chart.

15 Oct 2022

Beck No Longer Opening for Arcade Fire on Tour

Beck will no longer serve as the opening act on Arcade Fire‘s upcoming North American tour, Billboard can confirm. Instead, the Haitian band Boukman Eksperyans will take his place.

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While Beck didn’t provide a reason for his decision, his exit comes just months after sexual misconduct allegations against Arcade Fire’s frontman Win Butler. The allegations against Butler were first published on Aug. 27 in a Pitchfork story. The report detailed the accounts of four individuals who claimed to have had inappropriate sexual interactions with Butler, with one alleging that the singer had assaulted them; he has denied that any of the alleged incidents were nonconsensual.

In addition to the testimonies of his alleged victims, a statement from Butler was included in Pitchfork‘s report. In it, the musician says the relationships he’s had outside of his marriage to Arcade Fire bandmate Régine Chassagne have all been consensual, and that his wife had been aware of them.

“Our marriage has, in the past, been more unconventional than some,” he wrote. “I have connected with people in person, at shows, and through social media, and I have shared messages of which I am not proud. Most importantly, every single one of these interactions has been mutual and always between consenting adults. It is deeply revisionist, and frankly just wrong, for anyone to suggest otherwise.”

“I have never touched a woman against her will, and any implication that I have is simply false,” he continued. “I vehemently deny any suggestion that I forced myself on a woman or demanded sexual favors. That simply, and unequivocally, never happened.”

“While these relationships were all consensual, I am very sorry to anyone who I have hurt with my behavior,” he added. “Life is filled with tremendous pain and error, and I never want to be part of causing someone else’s pain.”

15 Oct 2022

Kanye West Returns To ‘Drink Champs’ With Third Interview Coming Tomorrow

Kanye West has sat down for another conversation with N.O.R.E and DJ EFN on their popular Drink Champs podcast.

On Friday (October 14), N.O.R.E posted a tweet revealing Kanye West would be making an appearance on the show. According to the Queens native’s post, Kanye’s episode will air on Saturday (October 15).

“YE BACK TOMORROW!!!,” the C-N-N rapper tweeted, before returning with another post, this time a photo of a sign that read “Ye 3 Drink Champs.” He also shared two more photos of himself and EFN posing with Kanye West.

“I’m done I’m with the bullshit I’m with @mysonnenygeneral and @tamikadmallory until freedom but tomorrow 9pm u get to hear @kanyewestuncut on drinkchamps right after Boosie 9pm!!! @revolttv,” N.O.R.E. captioned the the Instagram post.

The episode is being labeled as “part three,” however it will be Kanye’s second appearance on the show. Kanye’s first conversation with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN on Drink Champs was split up into two different parts last year.

In his initial conversation, Ye spoke about competing on Verzuz, his beef with Drake, signing Big Sean and more.

Kanye’s new episode arrives at a time the Chicago rap star has been ruffling a lot of people’ feathers with his controversial actions. Last week, Ye made several anti-Semitic statements where he seemingly threatened Jewish people in a text message he posted with Diddy and then a separate tweet where he promised to go “death con 3” on Jewish people.

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Earlier this week, the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles invited Kanye to to educate him on the plight of Jews.

“Words matter and words have consequences Ye,” the museum wrote in an Instagram Story. “We urge you to come visit us at Holocaust Museum LA to understand just how words can incite horrific violence and genocides.

“The Holocaust started with only words that sadly begat stereotypes, racial and religious tropes and blaming others and led to the murder of six million Jews.”

14 Oct 2022

Freddie Gibbs Clowns DJ Akademiks For Calling Himself ‘The Prize’ In Spat With Girlfriend

Freddie Gibbs has thrown some shade in the direction of DJ Akademiks after the media personality referred to himself as “the prize” during a spat with his girlfriend.

On Thursday (October 13), a video surfaced that showed Ak in a heated argument with his partner, which reportedly happened after recording an episode of The Fresh and Fit Podcast.

DJ Akademiks (real name Livingston Allen) can be seen shouting aggressively in his girlfriend’s face while holding a Louis Vuitton bag that appears to belong to her. “Respect the game, n-gga!” he screams in the clip. “Stop this shit! I’m the n-gga!”

After his partner attempts to confront a red-haired woman stood behind Akademiks, the Off the Record host shoved her against the wall and continued to yell in her face.

Ak’s girlfriend retaliates by yanking his hat off his head and throwing it away. The former Everyday Struggle star retrieves it while declaring: “I’m the prize!”

Rushing to social media to add his two cents on the situation, Freddie Gibbs, who’s had a longtime rival with DJ Akademiks, poked fun at Ak’s bold claim.

“I’m the n-gga? You the n-gga?” Gibbs says in the clip, mimicking Akademiks as he barks at his girlfriend in the clip. “Oh my God … I’m the fucking prize,” Gibbs adds before falling out laughing.

At one point in the video, Ak’s girlfriend throws his hat on the floor exposing a bald spot on his head. Gibbs moved over to Twitter to roast Akademiks some more.

“Lemme find out this n-gga ak bald in the byke,” he wrote alongside a laughing emoji. In a follow-up tweet, he said: “Told y’all don’t trust a n-gga that never take his hat off.”

The beef between Freddie Gibbs and Akademiks stems from a June 2020 interview Gibbs gave in which he called his former label boss and fellow rival Jeezy musically “irrelevant.” Akademiks fired back and said, “If Jeezy is irrelevant, Freddie Gibbs, you are absolutely irrelevant as well.”

Since then, they’ve dissed each other numerous times, with Freddie Gibbs threatening to “torture” Akademiks until he quits his job and clowning him for being “fired” from Complex‘s now-defunct web series Everyday Struggle.

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However, last month, Gibbs said he loved DJ Akademiks during an appearance on Funk Flex’s Hot 97 radio show.

“I love Akademiks,” Gibbs said of his rival. “We gonna have a sit-down, but you had to get that shit for all that shit you’ve been kicking. You had to get that.”

Flex told the Alfredo rapper that he admires Akademiks because he speaks his mind freely, which Gangsta Gibbs agreed with and claimed he could actually see himself being friends with the media personality.

“I think if we were to have a conversation, we’d probably be cool, I take it too,” he added. “I’ll take everything he say, and I love it. But you gotta take it when I give back.”

14 Oct 2022

Newly-Formed Indie Promoter Restless Presents Launching With L.A.’s Substance 2022 Festival

Veteran Los Angeles concert promoters and talent buyers Brian Tarney and Liz Garo have joined forces to form Restless Presents, an indie promotion company that’s producing the upcoming Substance 2022 festival.

Previously produced by Tarney’s ticketing and marketing company Restless Nights and Live Nation, the annual celebration of dark rock, industrial, electronic post-punk will feature one of its strongest lineups to date, with performers including Jesus And Mary Chain, The Chameleons, Clock DVA, Cabaret Voltaire co-founder Steven Mallinder, electro-royalty ensemble Miss Kittin And The Hacker, Boy Harsher, Light Asylum, Youth Code, SEXTILE and Kontravoid. The festival is slated for Oct. 21 and 22 at the Los Angeles Theater.

Tarney and Garo have also launched a New York event called Flesh & Steel — a multi-venue, multi-date celebration taking place Dec. 1-3 and featuring  Boy Harsher, A Split-Second, Psyche, Phase Fatale and more. Restless enlisted NYC artists David Castillo of Brooklyn venue Saint Vitus and DJ, promoter and journalist Andi Harriman of Synthicide to serve as creative directors for the New York event.

Tarney and Garo launched Restless Presents during the pandemic and have since booked shows for ADULT, Lingua Ignota, SEXTILE and Thee Sacred Souls. Substance is the company’s first festival, but both have produced the festival brand from its inception, going back to the launch of the Cloak and Dagger series for She Wants Revenge.

“I think one of the best things about these events is the broad, eclectic audience,” says Garo, who served as the lead talent buyer for Spaceland Presents for more than 20 years, booking the Echo and Regent Theater and concert series at the Getty Center, LA’s Natural History Museum and the Santa Monica Pier. (Spaceland was bought by Live Nation in 2019). Garo also co-founded and managed the long running Echo Park Rising series.

“There is such a broad age range at Substance. You’re definitely getting an older crowd that knows the classics but a young, healthy scene too that that’s pretty vibrant,” Garo adds. “People can come in and be who they want to be. It’s a very tight scene.”

The Los Angeles Theater in downtown LA’s Theater District was chosen as host venue because of its flexibility and eclectic layout, says Tarney, who hosted Substance at the venue in 2019 with headliner Gary Numan.

“It’s a blank slate and we built the whole thing from scratch. It’s got so many little weird rooms and nooks and crannies. We’re working really hard to activate all of them with buildouts including a marketplace and a record store,” says Tarney, a former booker at Spaceland and the creator of Restless Nites, an L.A. marketing agency and ticketing platform for independent promoters and venues. Tarney adds that Restless Presents was born from a need for more independent promoters in the live music industry and says his hope is to work closely with established and emerging acts to create unusual and forward-thinking live events.

“I think a lot of people are fed up with going to a small theater or small show and paying Ticketmaster fees or getting priced gouged on drinks when they’re there,” Tarney says. “People are looking for more than just big festivals, and many have trickled their way into some of the smaller venues. “That’s why we’re always looking for unique spaces. This is something that Liz is awesome at. She’s always finding cool, unique venues and places where we can come in and have more input.”

Tarney notes that Restless Presents has several new festival genre concepts in the works for 2023, including a roots roadhouse event and neo soul festival.

“Substance is the focal point this year, but there’s gonna be a lot more events and much more diverse sounds in the future,” he says.