Format, New Festival With War on Drugs, Beach House, Rufus Du Sol and More, Merges Music, Art and Tech

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKendrick Lamar dropped his first new solo single in nearly four years on Sunday night, called “The Heart Part 5.” The song arrives just days before the long-awaited release of his fifth solo album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” on May 13.The song’s video begins with Lamar rapping by himself in front of a red screen, but occasionally has the faces of other rappers and controversial public figures photoshopped over his: Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson and Jussie Smollett are six that we noticed after one screening.  Lamar unveiled the long-awaited “Mr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust two weeks before the release of his “Harry’s House” third solo album, Harry Styles has announced the dates for “Love on Tour 2022.”Coming off of a sold out 42-date arena tour in 2021 and two special “One Night Only” shows in New York and London, the 2022 tour works the “Harry’s House” theme by turning arenas in New York, Los Angeles (10 nights each), Chicago, Austin (5 nights each) and Toronto (2 nights) into Harry’s de facto house.Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off on Monday, August 15th and Tuesday, August 16th at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. Styles will continue his residencies in New York City for ten nights at Madison Square Garden, Austin for five nights at Moody Center, and Chicago for five nights at United Center, before wrapping up at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for 10 night run concluding on Tuesday, November 15th.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorR&B star and former Fifth Harmony member Normani has inked a global publishing deal with Hipgnosis Songs Group — but the most eye-grabbing news in the announcement comes toward the end: “Normani has confirmed new music and a larger body of work is on the way.”Fans have been impatiently awaiting new material from the singer for years, and the announcement of a publishing deal often means (although does not guarantee) that its release is relatively imminent. She was named Collaborator of the Year at Variety‘s Hitmakers event in December.The deal includes all of the future works by Normani, a six-time BMI Award winning songwriter.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA$AP Rocky has dropped his new single, “D.M.B.” via A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records — but the headlines will no doubt go to Rihanna, who stars in the video and is making her first appearance in a music-related video in years.The video is described as “an ode to the classic love story,” with Rocky and Rihanna depicting true ride-or-die characters in a devoted relationship despite their circumstances.The video was shot in New York last summer and was written, directed & executive produced by A$AP Rocky for AWGE.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNot a moment too soon, the #iVoted Festival, which drew a massive audience for its 2020 digital concert, is back for the 2022 midterms and has revealed its initial lineup, which includes Run the Jewels, Lake Street Dive, CNCO, Carl Craig, Rise Against, Umphrey’s McGee and loads more.The festival will take place virtually on Election Day: November 8th.Fans RSVP to access the Mandolin hosted stream with a selfie from outside their polling place or at home with their blank and unmarked ballot. Underage fans RSVP by letting #iVoted Festival know what year’s election they will be 18 for and why they’re excited to vote.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated rapper and Variety Hitmakers cover star Jack Harlow unveiled the tracklist for his second major-label album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” on Tuesday — and it includes features from Drake, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell and even a song called “Dua Lipa.”Pharrell guests on a song called “Movie Star,” Drake on “Churchill Downs” (presumably about the horse-racing track in Harlow’s home state of Kentucky), Lil Wayne on “Poison” and Timberlake on one called “Parent Trap” (in which he apparently plays the parent).The album drops Friday (May 6) via Generation Now/Atlantic Records and includes the singles “Nail Tech” and “First Class,” the latter of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 last month and boosted streams for Fergie’s 2007 pop hit “Glamorous,” which it samples.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLong-running indie duo Beach House — who released the sprawling 18-song double album, ‘Once Twice Melody,’ just a few weeks ago — are making their film-scoring debut with Netflix’s “Along for the Ride,” which is described in the announcement as “a sweet summer film based on the popular YA book by New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen.” The film arrives on Netflix on Friday.Written and directed by Sofia Alvarez (who wrote the screenplay for both “To All the Boys I’ve Love Before” and its sequel), “Along for the Ride” tells the story of Auden (Emma Pasarow), who’s decided to spend her last summer before college in picturesque Colby Beach, according to the synopsis. While other teens party in the sun, loner Auden spends her time roaming the streets after everyone else is asleep.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorChris Thile, singer-songwriter and virtuoso mandolinist and member of Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers, will perform a concert to benefit pediatric cancer research at New York’s City Winery on June 1. Billed “Uncorked & Unplugged,” proceeds from the event will support Mount Sinai.Head here for tickets and more information.According to the announcement, “Uncorked & Unplugged continues the tradition of a grand New York bacchanal while raising money for and bringing awareness to cancer research.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFollowing his recent headlining stint at Coachella and his long North American tour last fall, Harry Styles has announced a special “One Night Only in New York” concert at UBS Arena on Long Island on May 20. All tickets will be available for $25 all-in, including taxes and fees.According to the announcement, the show will celebrate his new album “Harry’s House,” which drops that day, “and will see Harry performing songs from the album for the first time ever.”American Express® Card Members have the power to unlock access to Harry Styles tickets for his UBS Arena show by registering for American Express® Early Access powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan*.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly 21 st century New York rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs — singer Karen O, guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Jay Chase — have announced new music and tour dates in the summer and fall. The group, which recently signed with indie powerhouse Secretly Canadian, say they will have new music in the fall.The group will play a brace of dates in Europe and Australia in the summer before hitting North America, with dates at New York’s Forest Hills Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl in October, where they will be joined by high school punk rockers the Linda Lindas on both dates and (in Los Angeles) by Japanese Breakfast.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRic Parnell, who played the fictional band Spinal Tap’s drummer Mick Shrimpton in the classic 1984 heavy metal “mockumentary” “This Is Spinal Tap,” has died at the age of 70, according to a post from the group’s Harry Shearer and Yahoo News. No cause of death was initially reported.Ric Parnell, our drummer in This is Spinal Tap, passed away today.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Rolling Loud Festival continues its expansion from Miami, New York and Southern California by announcing its Toronto installment with Future, WizKid, Dave, Migos, Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd and many more. The full lineup for the festival, which takes place at Ontario Place on Sept.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s upcoming film This Much I Know To Be True – check it out below.The film will be released in cinemas globally on May 11, with tickets on sale for the screenings now. Grab yours here.The first clip from This Much I Know To Be True was revealed in February, and saw Cave discuss his own definition of his artistry.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMTV announced that the 2022 VMAs will air live and around the world in more than 170 countries on Sunday, August 28th from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.“We are thrilled to be back in New Jersey for this year’s VMAs live from Prudential Center,” said Bruce Gillmer, president of music, music talent, programming & events, Paramount and chief content officer, music, Paramount+. “Our 2019 show in Newark was undoubtedly one of our biggest and most successful shows yet and we’re excited to bring back the incredible fan energy for one of music’s most anticipated and iconic nights.”“New Jersey is honored to once again host the MTV Video Music Awards at one of our many world-class entertainment and sports venues,” said Governor Phil Murphy.

Nick Cave has announced a new series of spoken word pieces set to music that was created in collaboration with Warren Ellis.Titled ‘Seven Psalms’, the project comprises seven spoken word cuts along with a 12-minute instrumental. It’ll be released on June 10 as a limited edition 10″ vinyl and will also be available on streaming services – pre-order/pre-save here.Fans can purchase the physical edition from Cave Things – the online store that Cave launched back in 2020 – as well as at record shops worldwide.“While in lockdown I wrote a number of psalms, or small, sacred songs—one a day for a week,” Nick Cave explained of ‘Seven Psalms’ in a statement.“The seven psalms are presented as one long meditation—on faith, rage, love, grief, mercy, sex and praise.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFrom the T.S.A. to the Coachella festival, from your local supermarket to your local music club, mask and vaccination mandates continue to fall across the country, in the face of all credible scientific evidence that yet another coronavirus surge is not only taking place, but raging.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLorde covered Rosalía‘s track “Hentai” during her concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Monday night — and Rosalia gave her a big thumbs-up for her version in her Instagram story.The song is from Rosalía’s innovative latest album “Motomami,” which has earned rave reviews almost across the board, including from Variety.Fuckin hell @lorde covering @rosalia I can die now pic.twitter.com/vANjLYG7nM— Austin Rieders (@RiedersDigest) April 19, 2022Early Tuesday, Rosalía shared footage of Lorde’s performance on her Instagram Stories this afternoon and wrote: “Lorde que bonitaaaaaa” [how beautiful].As noted by NME, Lorde raved about “Motomami” in a recent letter to fans. “I’ve listened to the Rosalía album every day since it came out, fuck, it’s so good,” she wrote.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLizzo got a workout not seen since Donald Glover did double-duty as host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” performing two songs from her forthcoming album “Special,” showing impressive comic timing and stamina by appearing in nearly every sketch — she even played flute twice, once while twerking (in fact, the entire sketch was framed around an orchestra learning to twerk while playing their instruments).For the first musical performance, she introduced herself as “Ladies and gentlemen, me!,” and sang her latest single, the discofied groove “About That Time,” accompanied by a drummer, bassist and of course her dancers, the Big Grrls — who are themselves the subject of an Amazon reality show, “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” (a commercial for which aired just before the first song).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly Sunday morning, BTS announced a new album with the tagline “We Are Bulletproof” coming on June 10, in a teaser video posted on social media. The group usually releases information gradually and this is no exception, as there is no further information in the video except a series of images.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“The only way that this could be more elegant,” said Father John Misty as he surveyed the crowd in New York’s legendary Rainbow Room, a venue that epitomizes elegance, “is if we had three tables heaped with shrimp cocktails.”He wasn’t wrong. The opulent venue, opened in 1934 and located on the 65th floor of 30 Rock, has multiple chandeliers, a sunken, circular dancefloor and a 15 or so floor-to-ceiling windows offering breathtaking views of Midtown Manhattan and beyond, with the Empire State Building’s nightly light show occasionally distracting from the performance onstage.