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The man who allegedly assaulted Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen outside a luxury Florida hotel has posted bond in the bizarre incident that took place in Fort Lauderdale earlier this week. According to WSVN, Allen was standing outside the Four Seasons hotel having a smoke after his band performed at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on Sunday with Mötley Crüe.
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A police report notes that Ohio resident Max Edward Hartley, 19, hid behind a pillar outside the hotel entrance while Allen smoked and then allegedly rushed at the drummer at full speed and knocked him to the ground. The report says that Allen “hit his head on the ground causing injury” and that when a woman ran out to help Allen Hartley allegedly attacked her as well.
“While she is on the ground, the defendant continues to batter her by striking her,” the police report says. “[She] attempts to escape by running into the hotel. The defendant then grabs [her] by her hair and drags her out of the lobby and back onto the sidewalk before fleeing the area.”
The 911 calls included one from another caller who said Hartley was attempting to break into the Wine Garden restaurant near the Four Seasons, urging, “Send the police here right now! I’m sitting on a f–king suspect!”
Hartley was arrested a short time later after police found him at another hotel allegedly breaking car windows and then charged him with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and abusing an elderly or disabled adult; Allen lost his left arm after a 1984 car accident.
Hartley reportedly posted bail on Tuesday and was released from Broward County Jail. Allen, who suffered a head injury in the incident, has reportedly provided a sworn statement and told police that he wants them to prosecute Hartley.
At press time a spokesperson for Def Leppard could not be reached for comment on the incident or for an update on Allen’s condition. At press time it also did not appear as if Allen or the band had responded to the attack on their social feeds.
The Florida show came just before a break in the band’s touring schedule, with the next date scheduled for May 22 in Sheffield, England.
Listen to the 911 calls below.
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Calling all collectors! Walmart Collector Con kicks off on Thursday (March 16) and continues until Friday (March 17).
The two-day event features dozens of epic figurines and other collectibles for fans of Star Wars, Marvel, Funko, LEGO, Barbie, Pokemon, WWE and more, including pre-orders, new releases and Walmart Exclusives.
For LEGO lovers, Walmart Collector Con curated a list of affordable and splurge-worthy building kits such as LEGO Stars Wars and Marvel items ranging from around $15 up to $600.
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The lot of collectibles featured on the first day includes LEGO Marvel Thanos Mech Armour Avengers Set ($14.90), Star Wars The Razor Crest Ultimate Collector’s Series Starship Model Kit ($599) and LEGO Marvel Black Panther T’Challa Model Building Kit, which is on sale for $299 (regular $349.99).
Music fans can get their hands on cool exclusives such as the Funko! Pop Album Deluxe: Def Leppard Vinyl Set and the Blink-182 Funko Pop! Album Deluxe: Blink-182 Enema of The State Vinyl Figures (2022 Limited Edition Walmart Exclusive), which are on sale for $25.
Other music-related collector’s items include the best-selling Tina Turner Barbie ($109), the Barbie Signature Elvis Presley Doll ($46.99) and a Barbie Rewind ’80s Edition Doll ($26.10), which comes complete with a hot pink boom box, translucent keytar and microphone.
Purchase the Walmart exclusive, Blink-182 and Def Leopard Funko Pop! collectible sets below. Click here for additional product recommendations.
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Funko Pop! Album Deluxe: Blink-182 Enema of The State Vinyl Figures (2022 Limited Edition Walmart Exclusive)
$25 $49.88 50% off% OFF
The Enema of the State Pop! Albums Deluxe collectible commemorates the 1999 release of Blink-182’s chart-topping album and features mini figurines of band members Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge. The vinyl figurines measure approximately 4-inches tall and stand on platforms around a record-backdrop next to a replica of the Enema of the State album cover. This collectible comes in a prepackaged case (measuring 23.5 wide x 12.25-inches tall and a 3.75-inch depth) that can be hung on the wall or displayed in your music collection.
Walmart
Funko Pop! Album Deluxe: Def Leppard Hysteria Vinyl Figures (2022 Limited Edition Walmart Exclusive)
$25 $49.88 50% off% OFF
Rock out with this collection of Def Leppard Pops! Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, Steve Clark and Phil Collen are featured in the Hysteria Pop! Albums Deluxe collectible honoring the 1987 release of the best-selling Hysteria album. The 4-inch figurines stand on platforms centered around a record-backdrop and a recreation of the Hysteria album cover. Like the Blink-182 collectible, Def Leppard Hysteria vinyl figures are designed to hang on the wall or display on a bookshelf, table, desk and other flat surfaces.
David Byrne is getting the enormous suit out of storage. The Talking Heads frontman stars in a new promo video from studio A24 revealing that director Jonathan Demme’s landmark 1994 concert film, Stop Making Sense, is getting a reboot via 4K technology.
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In the trailer, Byrne, 70, visits his neighborhood dry cleaners with a wrinkled ticket — number A24, naturally — to see if they still have his signature gigantic outfit from the film that many consider to be one of the most eye-catching and important concert movies of all time.
“Hi, I’m picking up. It’s been here for a while,” he tells the cleaner’s owner. “Yeah that’s it!” Byrne enthuses when the plastic-wrapped outfit is pulled from the back. After riding his bike through the New York streets to get his prize home, Byrne slips back into the enormous suit originally built by costume designer Gail Blacker and practices some bendy choreography in a mirror to the strains of “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” from the band’s 1983 Speaking in Tongues album.
The scene then splits to the original, in which the singer does some of his patented herky-jerky dance moves on stage before the camera seamlessly pans back to his well-lit apartment and the screen reads, “Stop Making Sense 2023.” The original was shot over three nights during four shows at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles in December 1983 and has since been added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
It features the group — including bassist Tina Weymouth, drummer Chris Frantz and guitarist/keyboardist Jerry Harrison — performing such now-classics as “Psycho Killer,” “Slippery People,” “Burning Down the House,” “Life During Wartime” and “Once in a Lifetime,” as well as Frantz/Weymouth side project Tom Tom Club’s oft-sampled “Genius of Love” on a spare stage.
A24 celebrated the success of its multiverse dramedy Everything Everywhere All At Once at last weekend’s Academy Awards.
Check out the Stop Making Sense 2023 trailer below.
After warning fans in a tweet spree earlier this week that Ticketmaster’s “Verified Fan” system was “far from perfect,” The Cure singer Robert Smith continued his Twitter rant on Thursday after his band’s 30-date Shows of a Lost World North American tour went on sale.
“I AM AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY’S TICKETMASTER ‘FEES’ DEBACLE,” Smith raged in his latest all-caps broadside against Ticketmaster. “TO BE VERY CLEAR: THE ARTIST HAS NO WAY TO LIMIT THEM. I HAVE BEEN ASKING HOW THEY ARE JUSTIFIED. IF I GET ANYTHING COHERENT BY WAY OF AN ANSWER I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW.”
Smith’s tweet came as fans complained that despite the band offering reasonably priced tickets for the outing and making sure the tickets will be non-transferable to minimize resale and keep prices at face value, in some cases the added-on service fees, facility charges and order processing fees added up to more than the cost of entry.
By making the tickets non-transferable, scalpers will be unable to purchase tickets and then resell them for a profit since the original owner will have to be present to enter the venue. For fans who purchase tickets but can’t make it to the event, they will be able to resell the ticket on a face-value ticket exchange.
Before the VF onsale, Smith assured fans that he was doing everything he could to alleviate ticketing pain points, including avoiding platinum packages and dynamic pricing, referring to those practices as “a bit of a scam.” But when he saw the complaints about the service charges during Thursday’s onsale, the singer could not hold back; at press time a spokesperson for Ticketmaster had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.
Following up on his “scam” tweet, on Wednesday (March 15), Smith explained, “I HAD A SEPARATE CONVERSATION ABOUT ‘PLATINUM’, TO SEE IF I HAD MISUNDERSTOOD SOMETHING… BUT I HADN’T! IT IS A GREEDY SCAM – AND ALL ARTISTS HAVE THE CHOICE NOT TO PARTICIPATE… IF NO ARTISTS PARTICIPATED, IT WOULD CEASE TO EXIST.”
If nothing else, Smith implored his fans to avoid buying tickets secondhand from scalpers, writing, “I HAVE BEEN TOLD: StubHub has pulled listings in all markets except NY, Chicago, Denver (IE. CITIES IN STATES THAT HAVE LAWS PROTECTING SCALPERS). PLEASE DON’T BUY FROM THE SCALPERS – THERE ARE STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE – IT IS JUST A VERY SLOW PROCESS… I WILL BE BACK IF I GET ANYTHING SERIOUS ON THE TM FEES… IN THE MEANTIME, I AM COMPELLED TO NOTE DOWN MY OBVIOUS RECURRING ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM THOUGHT… THAT IF NO-ONE BOUGHT FROM SCALPERS… THEN.”
The Cure’s efforts to combat resale ticketing comes after a season of in-demand tours facing astronomical price increases due to dynamic ticketing and scalpers. Ticketmaster is currently facing government inquiries into its handling of the disastrous Taylor Swift Eras Tour presale, which left many fans outraged when service delays and website crashes (caused in part by bots) prevented many of them from securing tickets.
See Smith’s tweets below.
I AM AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY’S TICKETMASTER ‘FEES’ DEBACLE. TO BE VERY CLEAR: THE ARTIST HAS NO WAY TO LIMIT THEM. I HAVE BEEN ASKING HOW THEY ARE JUSTIFIED. IF I GET ANYTHING COHERENT BY WAY OF AN ANSWER I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW. X— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
WHAT I MEANT BY THIS BIT WAS… I HAD A SEPARATE CONVERSATION ABOUT ‘PLATINUM’, TO SEE IF I HAD MISUNDERSTOOD SOMETHING… BUT I HADN’T! IT IS A GREEDY SCAM – AND ALL ARTISTS HAVE THE CHOICE NOT TO PARTICIPATE… IF NO ARTISTS PARTICIPATED, IT WOULD CEASE TO EXIST X https://t.co/Kj7hjkRGn1— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
I HAVE BEEN TOLD: StubHub has pulled listings in all markets except NY, Chicago, Denver (IE. CITIES IN STATES THAT HAVE LAWS PROTECTING SCALPERS). PLEASE DON’T BUY FROM THE SCALPERS – THERE ARE STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE – IT IS JUST A VERY SLOW PROCESS… X— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
Jack White often prefers the inscrutable, twisty gesture over the obvious, spell-it-out one. Which is why the singer/guitarist’s seeming counterpunch to a blow-up about his former White Stripes bandmate Meg White’s drumming skills is a chef’s kiss “nothing to see here, and, by the way, you are wrong” response.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, earlier this week political journalist Lachlan Markay opined in a since-deleted tweet that “the tragedy of the White Stripes is how great they would’ve been with a half decent drummer… I’m sorry Meg White was terrible and no band is better for having a sh—y drummer.”
That unprovoked broadside against the timekeeper who has all-but-vanished from public view since the dynamo duo called it quits in 2011 drew a torrent of support for Meg from, among others, Roots drummer Questlove, Against Me’s Laura Jane Grace, Jack White’s ex-wife singer/model Karen Elson and many others; Markay has since apologized for the comment he said was “petty, obnoxious, just plain wrong.”
But it was Jack White’s pointed, subtle rejoinder on Wednesday night (March 15) — in the form of a poem, of course — that shut it down in an artful manner. Check out the text of White’s poem below.
“To be born in another time,any era but our own would’ve been fine.100 years from now,1000 years from now,some other distant, different, time.one without demons, cowards and vampires out for blood,one with the positive inspiration to foster what is good.an empty field where no tall red poppies are cut down,where we could lay all day, every day, on the warm and subtle ground
and know just what to say and what to play to conjure our own sounds.and be one with the others all around us,and even still the ones who came before,and help ourselves to all their love,and pass it on again once more.to have bliss upon bliss upon bliss,to be without fear, negativity or pain,and to get up every morning, and be happy to do it all again.”
The poem was accompanied by an image of Meg White peeking out from behind a curtain of hair while thwacking a kit featuring the duo’s signature peppermint swirl color scheme. The White Stripes are among the nominees for this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Shinedown pulls ahead of Foo Fighters for sole possession of the most top 10s tallied on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, as “Dead Don’t Die” leaps from No. 12 to No. 8 on the March 18-dated survey.
In the March 3-9 tracking week, “Die” earned 3 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. That’s a 19% boost over the previous period (2.5 million).
Shinedown adds its 15th top 10, breaking the band out of a tie with Foo Fighters for the most in the chart’s 14-year history. The Brent Smith-led Shinedown first hit the top 10 with “Sound of Madness,” which peaked at No. 2 in July 2009. The act has one No. 1: “The Crow & the Butterfly,” a four-week ruler in 2010.
Most Top 10s, Rock & Alternative Airplay:15, Shinedown14, Foo Fighters13, Cage the Elephant13, Imagine Dragons13, twenty one pilots11, The Black Keys11, Muse10, Weezer
“Die” makes three top 10s in a row for Shinedown, following “Daylight” (No. 4, last August) and “Planet Zero” (No. 5, March 2022).
“Die” concurrently rises 6-5 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, continuing Shinedown’s streak of sending every one of its entries to the top five – 30 in all, dating to 2003. Of those, a chart-record 18 have hit No. 1.
“Die” also jumps 25-19 on the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs survey. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 323,000 official U.S. streams March 3-9.
The track is the third rock radio single from Planet Zero, Shinedown’s seventh studio album. The set bowed at No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums tally last July and has earned 164,000 equivalent album units to date. A pop radio-only single from the LP, “A Symptom of Being Human,” concurrently starts at No. 36 on Adult Pop Airplay.
On Tuesday (March 14), amid Austin’s South By Southwest music conference and festival, a few lucky Boygenius fans were treated to quite the special treatment upon landing in the city.
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At the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the band had set up shop at baggage claim. The trio of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker surprised fans with an acoustic set of new material off its upcoming album, including singles “True Blue,” “Emily I’m Sorry” and “Not Strong Enough.”
Performing in front of a simple backdrop with the official SXSW 2023 banner and a white poster that read “boygenius,” the supergroup proved how little they need to deliver a stunning set.
For Bridgers, it’s just the latest in a series of surprise performances. She joined SZA on stage this month at New York’s Madison Square Garden, performed alongside Billie Eilish in December at the Los Angeles Forum, and guested with The 1975 and Lorde in separate appearances in November.
Boygenius formed in 2018 and released its self-titled EP that October. Its upcoming debut album, The Record, will be released on Interscope March 31.
As for the rest of the week in Austin at SXSW, Billboard has returned for three nights of star-studded concerts: Billboard Presents The Stage at SXSW. Lil Yachty (presented by Doritos) will get things going on Thursday, March 16, with opening acts Lola Brooke and Armani White; Latin stars Feid and Eladio Carrión (presented by Samsung Galaxy) will perform on Friday, March 17; and electronic giants Kaskade and deadmau5 will perform as Kx5 (presented by Carnival) on Saturday, March 18.
Each show will take place at Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park in Austin. Tickets are available here.
Check out a clip from Boygenius’ airport set below:
Robert Smith is explaining the serious measures The Cure is taking to avoid outrageous ticket prices for their upcoming North American tour. In a shot across the bow at re-sellers, when the tickets for the 30-date run of Shows of a Lost World Tour went on sale Wednesday morning (March 15) to those who pre-registered using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan system, will be non-transferrable in order to minimize resale and keep prices at face value.
The singer went on a tweet spree on Tuesday (March 14) in which he explicitly described how and why the veteran goth rockers decided to go their own way on this outing. “TM HAVE JUST TOLD ME ‘ALL tickets for The Cure Shows Of A Lost World Tour will be made available during tomorrow’s Verified Fan Sale,’” Smith tweeted, adding, “SEEMS THE RESPONSE TO REGISTRATION HAS BEEN PRETTY OVERWHELMING – THANKS! HOWEVER, I REALISE THERE ARE PROBLEMS, SOME MORE REAL THAN OTHERS…”
He then noted that the group had “final say” in all the ticket pricing for the tour, with Smith determined that those prices would not be “INSTANTLY AND HORRIBLY DISTORTED BY RESALE.” Smith referred to touts as being part of a “sophisticated business” expert at acquiring tickets and reselling them on marketplaces such as Vivid, Stubhub and Seatgeek.
Smith also revealed that the Cure were told that TM’s Verified Fan platform “has been used more than 400 times to qualify buyers and reduced the % of tickets on the secondary market” and that using VF has regularly reduced scalping by 80%, with less than 5% of tickets typically ending up on the secondary market.
By making the tickets non-transferable, scalpers will be unable to purchase tickets and then resell them for a profit since the original owner will have to be present to enter the venue. For fans who purchase tickets but can’t make it to the event, they will be able to resell the ticket on a face-value ticket exchange.
“WE WERE CONVINCED THAT TICKETMASTER’S ‘Verified Fan Page’ AND ‘Face Value Ticket Exchange’ IDEAS COULD HELP US FIGHT THE SCALPERS,” Smith wrote. “(WE DIDN’T AGREE TO THE ‘DYNAMIC PRICING’ / ‘PRICE SURGING’ / ‘PLATINUM TICKET’ THING… BECAUSE IT IS ITSELF A BIT OF A SCAM? A SEPARATE CONVERSATION!).”
When the band announced the world tour earlier this week, they established that “there will be no ‘Platinum’ or ‘Dynamically Priced’ tickets on this tour,” which includes stops at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Moody Center in Austin, Madison Square Garden in New York and State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The singer also tweeted that though TM’s Verified Fan is a “far from perfect system,” the reality is that if there aren’t enough tickets on sale, some fans will miss out no matter what system the Cure use. “At least this one tries to get tickets into the hands of fans at a fair price,” he said. In the final comment in the Twitter run, Smith noted he’d been told that TM will continued to sell tickets to Verified users “until there are no more tickets to sell.”
The Cure’s efforts to combat resale ticketing comes after a season of in-demand tours facing astronomical price increases due to dynamic ticketing and scalpers. Ticketmaster is currently facing government inquiries into its handling of the disastrous Taylor Swift Eras Tour presale, which left many fans outraged when service delays and website crashes (caused in part by bots) prevented many of them from securing tickets.
See Smith’s tweets below.
TM HAVE JUST TOLD ME “ALL tickets for The Cure Shows Of A Lost World Tour will be made available during tomorrow’s Verified Fan Sale” SEEMS THE RESPONSE TO REGISTRATION HAS BEEN PRETTY OVERWHELMING – THANKS! HOWEVER, I REALISE THERE ARE PROBLEMS, SOME MORE REAL THAN OTHERS…— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
WE HAD FINAL SAY IN ALL OUR TICKET PRICING FOR THIS UPCOMING TOUR, AND DIDN’T WANT THOSE PRICES INSTANTLY AND HORRIBLY DISTORTED BY RESALE – WE WERE TOLD “In North America the resale business is a multi-billion $ industry.— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
The touts are sophisticated businesses that are expert at acquiring tickets, and the major marketplaces like Vivid, Stubhub and Seatgeek spend tens of millions of dollars on marketing. The touts get an unfair share of tickets and resell them on these marketplaces.”— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
WE WERE TOLD “Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform has been used more than 400 times to qualify buyers and reduce the % of tickets on the secondary market.— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
Using Verified Fan scalping is regularly reduced by 80%, with typically fewer than 5% of tickets on the secondary market after a Verified Fan campaign. Listed below are a few of the artists who have effectively used VF to limit resale.”— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
WE WERE CONVINCED THAT TICKETMASTER’S “Verified Fan Page” AND “Face Value Ticket Exchange” IDEAS COULD HELP US FIGHT THE SCALPERS— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
(WE DIDN’T AGREE TO THE ‘DYNAMIC PRICING’ / ‘PRICE SURGING’ / ‘PLATINUM TICKET’ THING… BECAUSE IT IS ITSELF A BIT OF A SCAM? A SEPARATE CONVERSATION!)— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
WE KNOW IT IS A FAR FROM PERFECT SYSTEM – BUT THE REALITY IS THAT IF THERE AREN’T ENOUGH TICKETS ONSALE, A NUMBER OF FANS ARE GOING TO MISS OUT WHATEVER SYSTEM WE USE; AT LEAST THIS ONE TRIES TO GET TICKETS INTO THE HANDS OF FANS AT A FAIR PRICE…— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 15, 2023
Yo La Tengo made a statement during the second half of their show at The Basement East in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday night (March 14). In a rebuke of Gov. Bill Lee’s recent signing of a bill that puts restrictions on drag performances in public, the New Jersey trio’s male members, singer/ guitarist Ira Kaplan and bassist James McNew, came out after a short intermission dressed in women’s clothing.
According to the Tennessean, Kaplan wore makeup, a red dress and along black wig, while McNew donned a shawl and a sun hat, while drummer Georgia Hubley kept her same outfit. The paper said the band did not mention Lee or the controversial new law, which prohibits, “adult-oriented” entertainment, including “male and female impersonators” on public property, as well as limiting such entertainment to age-restricted venues.
And while they didn’t specifically explain their action, in a statement (via Pitchfork), said, “What we did last night coldn’t have been clearer, and requires no further comment.”
The law, which takes effect on April 1, is among a flurry of new laws being passed by conservative politicians across the country taking aim at the LGBTQ community, including a number that seek to deny gender-affirming health care to transgender children; Lee also signed a total ban on such care the same day as the drag bill. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Tennessee has passed more anti-LGBTQ laws than any other state in the U.S.
Cyndi Lauper and The B-52s also recently joined the rising chorus of voices speaking out against new laws being passed by Republicans targeting the trans community and seeking to ban drag artists.
“Equality for everybody, or nobody’s really equal,” longtime LGBTQ alley Lauper told ITK according to The Hill. “This is how Hitler started. just weeding everybody out.” Hitler’s Nazi Germany tagged gay people as “enemies of the state” and many were jailed or killed in concentration camps and Lauper said it’s imperative that we keep “fighting for civil rights.”
In a sharply worded statement issued on Wednesday (March 8), the B-52’s — also longtime advocates for LBGTQ causes — wrote, “We, The B-52’s, are deeply concerned about the numerous new bills that promote transphobia and discrimination against transgender individuals and drag artists, which have been introduced in the United States. We strongly denounce these bills and stand in solidarity with out LGBTQ+ community.”
Paramore singer Hayley Williams, a native of Tennessee, criticized her state’s governor in an Instagram story this week, writing, “Once again our state has passed two regressive and unfathomably harmful bills. We stand in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ family and local LGBTQIA+ orgs in this fight, not only for inclusion for our friends and family in the queer community, but for radical acceptance and empowerment for each of them. Drag is not a crime. Gender-affirming healthcare for all, including our youth, is a necessity.”
Williams will perform at the March 20 Love Rising benefit show supporting Tennessee-based LGBTQ organizations that will also feature Maren Morris, Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, Brittany Howard, Julien Baker and many more.
Check out photos of the Yo La Tengo show below.
Ira and James playing in drag yesterday in Tennessee, in response to the anti-drag bill that passed just some weeks ago.Yo La Tengo for president, someone said at Yellowjackets, and I agree.[Photo by Chris Conrad, via FB] pic.twitter.com/Za6LTr2Jie— Ethel Baraona Pohl (@ethel_baraona) March 14, 2023
Brian May said he had “no words!” for the honor of being knighted by England’s King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday (March 14). In a photo posted on Instagram of the gilded ceremony, May smiled beatifically as Charles laid a ceremonial sword tap on the Queen guitarist’s left shoulder.
May, 75 — who will now be known as Sir Brian — was knighted for his services to music and charity during the investiture ceremony where he received the title of Knight Bachelor. The official Queen Twitter account shared a congratulatory note, writing, “Arise Sir Brian May. Brian’s investiture as a Knight of the Realm took place at Buckingham Palace. The knighthood was presented to Brian by His Royal Highness, King Charles. Many congratulations, Sir Brian!”
Queen drummer Roger Taylor has also been honored with a royal title, following his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2020; May was also previously given the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005.
May joins a long list of English rock stars who’ve been knighted, including Live Aid organizer/Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof, Cliff Richard, producer and “Fifth Beatle” George Martin, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Elton John, Placido Domingo, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Bono, Van Morrison, the Kinks’ Ray Davies and the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb.
Becoming a knight or a dame is one of the highest-ranking awards in the British honours system, followed by CBE, the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). A knighthood or damehood entitles recipients to use the title of sir or dame if they wish to do so.
Check out a snap from May’s ceremony below.