Inside the New Music App That Helps Dementia Sufferers by Stirring Memories With Personalized Playlists

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticA funny thing happened at Bob Dylan’s concert at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach: It got dark… really dark. But only on stage; out in the auditorium, the house lights stayed up, dimmed just a little, for the whole show.

Alvvays have announced they’ll kick off a North American headline tour in October, and have also seemingly teased new music.The Canadian dream pop outfit will commence the run on October 14 in Chicago, continuing along with shows in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas, Washington, Philadelphia, New York and more before wrapping up November 18 in Boston. Joining the band on the road will be Slow Pulp.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorWarnerMedia Discovery Access has announced a new program seeking aspiring music supervisors from historically underrepresented communities.Titled the Warner Bros. Discovery Access Music Supervisor Program (naturally enough), it will provide access to training and experience within the world of TV and film music supervision.

Tom Grennan and Usain Bolt are set to collaborate on new music, it’s been reported.The ‘Evering Road’ singer-songwriter is said to have struck up a friendship with the former Olympic sprinter-turned-musician after they both participated in Soccer Aid 2022 earlier this month (Grennan played for the England team while Bolt captained the Rest Of The World side).Bolt – who released his debut album ‘Country Yutes’ last September via his own label, 9.58 Records – told The Sun‘s ‘Bizarre’ column: “We are still working on our rhyme right now. Next year we will do an album.“We are still trying to get my name out there for music as people still don’t take it that seriously.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticBaz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” is far from being just about Elvis, when it comes to the music in the film and on a forthcoming soundtrack album. Besides the vintage Presley cuts included, the movie is providing the opportunity for the most high-profile multi-artist soundtrack in years.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticThe Black Music Action Coalition has issued a report on representation for Blacks and other people of color in mainstream country music, and, probably unsurprisingly to anyone who has followed the genre and some of its attendant racial controversies, the picture painted isn’t a pretty one.The BMAC issued the damning report Thursday in advance of hosting a panel discussion Saturday at Soho House Nashville, at which point the organization will detail some of the specific changes it is asking for in the industry.“For over 100 years, this country and industry have excluded and marginalized Black people’s contributions to this genre,” said Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder/co-chair of BMAC, in a statement. “It is our intention with this report to create a truth and reconciliation opportunity for our industry.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticIn a further test of whether he will be able to pick up his career somewhere in the vicinity of where it left off amid misconduct allegations three years ago, Ryan Adams has announced a tour of eight cities in the Midwest and South, following up on a run of five cities in the Northeast he completed in May.The mini-tour of mid-sized halls begins Oct. 14 with a stop at Atlanta’s 2,600-seat Tabernacle and wraps up in the almost identically sized Stephens Auditorium in Ames, Iowa Oct.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticIn the unlikely rock-star mini-feuds department, Elvis Costello and Rod Stewart — who decades ago had discussions about making an album together — renewed what seems to be a frenemy-ship in recent days. They’ve tangled on social media in a humorously feisty way over what Costello considered to be a botched royal performance by Stewart, and what Stewart considers to be an unbecoming hairline on Costello’s part.According to the Daily Mirror (which Costello additionally took on… because hating the Daily Mirror is one thing almost all music stars can agree on), Costello took a few moments in a Glasgow show to get in a little dig at Stewart, who’s known as a major booster of Scottish soccer.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticAs the days grow shorter in late fall, there will still be something to smile about for fans of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner. The first American tour by the group, collectively known as the Smile — and not to be confused with Greenwood and Yorke’s other group, Radiohead — has been set for late fall.The trio’s shows in the U.S. will all take place in mid-sized theaters, beginning Nov.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticMick Jagger has tested positive for COVID, he announced in a social media post Monday. The diagnosis will force the postponement of at least one concert by the Rolling Stones, a gig scheduled for Monday night in Amsterdam.“I’m so sorry that we’ve had to postpone the Amsterdam show with such short notice tonight,” he wrote on Twitter.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticOn the heels of the release of his “Twelve Carat Toothache” album, Post Malone is announcing a 33-city fall arena tour, with one of the featured artists on the album, Roddy Ricch, as the opening act on all but a few dates.The “Twelve Carat Tour” kicks off Sept. 10 in Omaha at the Chi Health Center and wraps up Nov. 15 at L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena.Actually, two of the final dates are in L.A., albeit at different venues — there’s a Nov.

New Music Friday! It's every audiophile's favorite day of the week, and some of our favorite artists from all different genres have blessed us with a ton of new tunes.BTS thrilled their ARMY of fans with the release of their latest album,, featuring new single «Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment).» Kelly Clarkson dropped her long-awaited first collection of covers.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticThere are at least a couple generations of music fans now that have Phoebe Bridgers at the top of a list of artists they’d love to be having still more musical conversations with. But especially for a streaming series that has women in their early 20s at the fore, as Hulu’s “Conversations With Friends” does, it makes sense that the first go-to for producers to approach with the idea of doing a theme song would be Bridgers.

New Music Friday! It's every audiophile's favorite day of the week, and some of our favorite artists from all different genres have blessed us with new tunes.Post Malone returned to the new music charts with his new album, a follow-up to his acclaimed 2019 album,. Prince's estate released a remixed and digitally enhanced edition of, which features performances from the iconic singer's tour stop in Syracuse, New York, from March 1985.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticWhen Ryan Adams took to the stage of Carnegie Hall in May for a sold-out show, his first public one in nearly four years, he received a standing ovation when he walked onto the stage that, by some accounts, lasted several minutes. The actual length of the ovation (and several that are said to have followed over the next three hours) is undocumented because, apparently, there were no journalists on hand.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorOn Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, right next to a Chik-fil-A, is Spyscape — a two-floor, futuristic-looking museum/interactive experience space that gives spycraft lovers a close-up look at the world of espionage.Now DC’s famed Caped Crusader is about to swoop down on Spyscape.Batman x Spyscape is a hybrid experience that uses a live-updating smartphone app to guide visitors through the physical headquarters of Leviathan, the criminal organization from the DC Universe. The attraction is set to open to the public on Wednesday, June 8.Spyscape founder John Hunt gave Variety a sneak peek at the installation this week (although he requested that we not share photos from inside).

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic“Almost Famous” is almost ready for Broadway. The specific New York theater has yet to be announced, but opening dates for the musical adaptation of the Cameron Crowe film were revealed by the Shubert Organization on Thursday, with previews set to begin Sept.