Jack Johnson to Perform at City of Hope Gala Honoring Republic Records’ Monte and Avery Lipman

A wax figure of Boris Johnson has appeared outside a Job Centre as the Prime Minister resigned as Tory leader.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorManny Charlton, founding guitarist of the hard rock band Nazareth and producer of Guns N’ Roses early demos, has died, according to a post from his grandson. No cause of death was cited; he was 80.He was Nazareth’s guitarist, producer and songwriter from the band’s formation until 1990, performing on the band’s most successful albums, notably 1973’s “Razamanaz” and 1975’s “Hair of the Dog,” which went platinum and featured the group’s biggest hit, a dramatic cover of “Love Hurts,” originally made famous by the Everly Brothers, that reaced the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.In 1986, Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose reportedly wanted “the guy who produced Nazareth’s ‘Hair of the Dog’” to produce the band’s debut full-length.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThree songs from the posthumous 2010 Michael Jackson album “Michael,” which some fans have long insisted were not sung by the late artist, have been removed from streaming services.A statement from Jackson’s estate and Sony Music, which acquired the rights to unreleased material from the singer’s vaults in a blockbuster $250 million deal in 2010, says the songs were removed in an effort to “move beyond” the controversy but effectively maintains that the vocals were not faked: “Nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks,” it emphasizes.“The Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music decided to remove the tracks ‘Breaking News,’ ‘Monster’ and ‘Keep Your Head Up,’ from the 2010 album ‘Michael’ as the simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all,” the statement, issued Tuesday, reads. “The album’s remaining tracks remain available.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran guitarist Carlos Santana passed out onstage during a concert at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan on Tuesday night, according to social media posts and video, but was treated quickly and was seen waiving to fans as he was wheeled offstage.Santana’s rep did not immediately respond to Variety‘s requests for comment.Carlos Santana waved to clapping fans as he’s helped off the stage pic.twitter.com/YA55N4QCZe— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 6, 2022 Tuesday evening’s incident took place during Santana’s summer-long “Miraculous Supernatural 2022” tour with Earth, Wind & Fire, which launched on June 17 and is scheduled to continue through the end of August. Just two weeks later, the musician, 74, is slated to resume his longstanding Las Vegas residency at the House of Blues in Las Vegas through the end of September before resuming for two more weeks in November.Late last year Santana underwent what his management described as an “unscheduled” heart procedure that caused the cancelation of that month’s residency in Las Vegas.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFirst things first: Adele showed up.And in many ways, that was the biggest hurdle Adele had to clear on her way to triumphing at the first of two shows at London’s American Express Presents BST Hyde Park festival.You see, the last time Adele headlined a massive outdoor run in her hometown, in 2017, she canceled the last two shows of her scheduled four-night Wembley Stadium stint after damaging her vocal cords. In fact, this was her first full live show since then.More recently, there was the small matter of her Las Vegas residency, scrapped at the very last minute, leaving many British fans stranded in Sin City.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPink, Sony Music Publishing Chairman/CEO Jon Platt and the late songwriter/producer Busbee will be honored at the Songwriters of North America’s second annual SONA Warrior Awards, taking place as a hybrid celebration comprised of an in-person gala on July 23 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and a virtual livestream via mandolin.com on July 24. SONA is one of the only advocacy organizations for songwriters, formed by professional songwriters to advocate for fair pay, safety, equality and a collective voice.The announcement notes that each of the honorees is known for their accomplishments within the industry, the Warrior Awards provide an opportunity to amplify their advocacy.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary rocker Alice Cooper, who should need no introduction, has signed with CAA to represent his touring in North America.He has sold more than 50 million albums over the years and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. His nightly radio show, “Nights With Alice Cooper,” continues to air in nearly 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFast-rising 18-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter Lauren Spencer-Smith has inked with both Warner Chappell Music publishing and longtime Shawn Mendes manager Andrew Gertler’s AG Artists in partnership with Ziggy Chareton, Variety has confirmed. The news was first published in Hits.A native of Vancouver Island, the singer’s confessional, intimate songs like “Fingers Crossed” and her latest single “Flowers” have effectively set her on a track to be this year’s Olivia Rodrigo.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe BET Awards are officially a celebration of “Black excellence,” and Sunday night’s show featured blockbuster performances from Lizzo, Mariah Carey, Latto, Jack Harlow (who was joined by Brandy and Lil Wayne) and an elaborate tribute to Lifetime Achievement honoree Sean “Diddy” Combs that included an unannounced in-person speech from Kanye West.But for the second time in three years, the show coincided with galvanizing events in the United States: In 2020, it was George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police and the ensuing the Black Lives Matter protests, and this year it was the Supreme Court’s polarizing overturn of Roe v. Wade and the impending loss of a woman’s right to choose in many states in the country.

Jack Johnson has announced he’ll be embarking on a run of Australian and New Zealand shows later this year.The tour comes in support of his latest album ‘Meet The Moonlight’, which arrived last Friday (June 24). It’ll see Johnson and his band arrive in Australia in late November, playing shows in Perth, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, before heading to New Zealand’s Auckland and Napier.He’ll be supported by Emily Wurramara and Ziggy Alberts for the Australian dates, with The Black Seeds joining him in New Zealand.Tickets for the shows go on sale Friday July 1 at 10am local time, and will be available to purchase here.A post shared by Jack Johnson (@jackjohnson)It’ll be the first time the singer has visited Australia since 2019’s Byron Bay Bluesfest, and his first New Zealand shows since 2017.‘Meet The Moonlight’ marks Johnson’s eighth studio album and his first LP release in five years.

Dwayne Johnson shared that his ancestors motivate him to complete his workouts.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFollowing BTS’ announcement that they will be focusing on solo projects in the coming months, the group’s J-Hope announced on the Weverse platform early Saturday that he will release a solo album called “Jack in the Box” on July 15. The first single single will drop next week, on July 1.According to the official announcement, “Jack in the Box” lends voice to J-Hope’s aspirations to break the mold and grow further.

Emma Chamberlain is reacting toJack Harlow’s comments about their viral interaction at the Met Gala. On Wednesday, the YouTuber appeared on the and reflected on the moment the “First Class” rapper told her he loved her during the pre-Met Gala red carpet.  After the internet personality told the “What’s Poppin” emcee she would see him inside, Harlow replied, “Can’t wait.

Back-to-back babies! Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon who welcomed twins with Joshua Efird earlier this year, offered a glimpse at the newest additions to their family.

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Guzman (9-1-1) has taken over Ross Butler’s role in the family comedy The Present, from director Christian Ditter (How to Be Single). The reasons for Butler’s departure haven’t been disclosed, but Guzman is now set to star alongside Isla Fisher, Greg Kinnear, Easton Rocket Sweda, Shay Rudolph and Mason Shea Joyce.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLincoln Center has announced a musical tribute to Greg Tate, a veteran music writer and musician and a ‘godfather of hip-hop journalism’ who died in December at 64.The performance will feature more than 30 members of Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, the group that Tate founded (head here for more information). “For this homecoming concert, curated and presented with The Tate Family at one of his favorite venues, more than thirty BSAC members will perform in celebration and tribute to one of the most essential voices in the history of 21st Century Avant Groidd music and thought,” the announcement reads.Titled
“More Than Posthuman: Rise of the Burnt Sugar Arkestra Mojosexual Cotillion”
An “Oh the Utter Negrocity of It All,” the tribute is one of three in Tate’s honor being held this summer: one last week at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and another, also featuring Burnt Sugar, on August 20 at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem as part of New York’s SummerStage concert series.

Jennifer Lopez performed with her favorite duet partner of all time at a Gala in Los Angeles.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJapanese Breakfast, Wet Leg and Madlib were among the top winners at the Libera Awards on Thursday night, the American Association of Independent Music’s annual awards ceremony.The event returned in a hybrid setting, with people from the indie community gathering at New York’s Webster Hall to receive awards, catch a DJ set from Madlib (featuring a freestyle from Talib Kweli) and live sets from Sammy Rae & the Friends and others, while concurrently a livestream of performances from Japanese Breakfast, Brittany Howard, Jason Isbell, Helado Negro and Cautious Clay was played in a separate room at the venue. Also performing live at the event were Tré Burt, Canadian Brass and Adrian Daniel.

Dakota Johnson keeps close to Kate Mara while attending the Watchmaker Vacheron Constantin’s The Anatomy of Beauty campaign event held on Wednesday (June 15) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Jack Johnson has dubbed his new collaborator Blake Mills “one of the greatest guitar players alive right now”.The US singer-songwriter is gearing up to release his eighth studio album, ‘Meet The Moonlight’, which is released June 24 via Brushfire/Republic Records. During a recent interview he talked about working on the record with producer Blake Mills.“I really, really can’t say enough about the guy, Blake,” Johnson told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1.