Journal
- Thursday, November 7, 2024
"Music is a powerful tool. In an instant, it can change your mood, your perspective, or your life," Stacey Abrams says on her Crooked Media podcast, Assembly Required, introducing her conversation with Rhiannon Giddens. "No matter the motivation, music is an outlet, a force that builds us up or keeps us steady. It holds the capacity to move millions and to resonate with each individual, and every lyric, every note, every beat has the potential to share a message." You can hear their conversation here. Giddens's new album with Silkroad Ensemble, American Railroad, is out next week; their fall tour begins tonight.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Podcast
- Friday, March 6, 2020
Pat Metheny, Rhiannon Giddens tour Australia … John Adams leads Netherlands Radio Philharmonic … Laurie Anderson performs at New Zealand Festival of the Arts … Olivia Chaney is in London … Early James tours US West with The Lone Bellow … Gabriel Kahane performs in Virginia … Kronos Quartet is in San Francisco … Brad Mehldau Trio tours France … Jeff Parker plays Portland, Chicago … Daniel Wohl concludes tour with A Winged Victory for the Sullen …
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend EventsFriday, March 6, 2020Dan Auerbach and Yola are among the many artists who will perform at To Nashville, With Love, a benefit concert to support those affected by the tornado that hit Nashville and Middle Tennessee this week. The concert, presented by Lightning 100, will take place at Marathon Music Works in Nashville this Monday, March 9, and also include performances from Ashley McBryde, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Sheryl Crow, among others, and opening remarks from Mike "Grimey" Grimes of Grimey's Records.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourThursday, March 5, 2020The Black Keys will release a new limited-edition, 45-RPM version of their album "Let’s Rock" on Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent record stores, on Saturday, April 18. Pressed on two 180-gram vinyl discs, the Record Store Day edition comes in a deluxe holographic gatefold jacket, individually numbered. The set is limited to 7,500 pieces worldwide. Take a look inside here.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist NewsThursday, March 5, 2020"What happens when a jazz virtuoso sets his sights on a cinematic sound?" ask All Things Considered host Audie Cornish. "Pat Metheny has done just that on his new album, evoking the plush and soaring landscapes of film scores. Reviewer Tom Moon says it's among the most ambitious projects of Metheny's long career." "He's pushing forward, seeking breathtaking and profoundly new vistas," says Moon. "It's got the epic journeys of the Pat Metheny Group and the fiery improvisational exchanges of his more recent jazz sessions. It's also a stretch beyond those horizons into textures and atmospheres not often heard in jazz." Hear the All Things Considered piece here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Radio, ReviewsWednesday, March 4, 2020Composer/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Parker & The New Breed—Josh Johnson (saxophone, synth, keyboard), Paul Bryan (bass, synth), and Makaya McCraven (drums, sampler)—begin a six-city, seven-date US tour behind Parker's critically acclaimed new album, Suite for Max Brown, at Gold Diggers in Los Angeles on Thursday. The shows continue in Portland, Chicago, Philadelphia, NYC, and Miami, culminating at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 27.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourTuesday, March 3, 2020Laurie Anderson is a guest curator of the 2020 New Zealand Festival. The event began February 21 and continues in Wellington through March 15. Anderson, who performs at the festival this week, has programmed a symphonic concert, a virtual-reality experience, an improvisational ensemble, an interactive soundscape, a film screening, and a concert for dogs. Also at the festival are Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi, performing from their album there is no Other.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsMonday, March 2, 2020Congratulations to Pat Metheny, whose new album, From This Place, debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Top Album chart—a career best for the guitarist/composer and his first Top 10 album—and at No. 1 on the Current Traditional Jazz Albums chart and the UK Jazz and Blues chart. Metheny begins a month-long tour of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America tonight with the band featured on From This Place: drummer Antonio Sanchez, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and pianist Gwilym Simcock. He tours Europe in May and June with his Side Eye project with keyboardist James Francies and drummer Marcus Gilmore, and has a run of trio shows in Norway in August.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourSunday, March 1, 2020David Byrne was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on NBC this weekend, with host John Mulaney. Byrne performed Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" and his 2008 tune with Fatboy Slim, "Toe Jam," two songs featured in David Byrne's American Utopia on Broadway, with musicians from that production. He also helps Mulaney steer Pete Davidson clear of La Guardia Airport sushi. You can watch all of the above along with a web-exclusive interview about his previous appearances on SNL here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoFriday, February 28, 2020David Byrne is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live … k.d. lang's Fire Fight Australia performance airs on Fox ... John Adams leads Radio France orchestra in his new piano concerto … Olivia Chaney performs in Winchcombe … Jeremy Denk joins London Philharmonic … Early James is in Dallas with The Lone Bellow … Kronos Quartet performs Terry Riley's Sun Rings in San Jose … Joshua Redman brings Still Dreaming to Idaho … Daniel Wohl tours the UK with A Winged Victory for the Sullen …
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend EventsThursday, February 27, 2020With just over two weeks till the release of Sam Gendel's Nonesuch Records debut album, Satin Doll, we've put together The World of Sam Gendel: a playlist of songs featuring Gendel, including his own solo work and tracks from Vampire Weekend, Blake Mills, Sam Amidon, Sam Wilkes, John Carroll Kirby, INGA, Fabiano do Nascimento, and Inc. You can hear it here via Spotify and Apple Music.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsWednesday, February 26, 2020Lianne La Havas has released her first new music since 2016 with the song "Bittersweet." Her current sonic palate takes inspiration from the wistful 1970s Brazilian music of Milton Nascimento as well as the girl group harmonies and empowerment of Destiny's Child. You can watch her perform the song for COLORS here. La Havas debuts her new music live at LA's Roxy Theatre on March 31.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsWednesday, February 26, 2020Laurie Anderson and Terry Riley will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters when it holds its annual induction and award ceremony in mid-May, joining eleven other new members, including Carroll Dunham, Julian Schnabel, Edwidge Danticat, Mary Gaitskill, and Colson Whitehead. An exhibition of art, architecture, books, and manuscripts by new members and recipients of awards will be on view in the Academy's galleries in NYC from May 21 to June 21.
Journal Topics: Artist News