Maxwell Drops New Song, Finally Reveals New Album Details

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-nominated singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo — who was honored at Variety’s Hitmakers awards on Saturday — has announced dates for the her 2022 “Sour Tour” in support of her RIAA double-platinum certified debut album, “Sour.”Kicking off April 2 in San Francisco, the tour will visit more than 40 major cities across North America and Europe, including two-night runs at Radio City Music Hall in New York and L.A.’s Greek Theatre before wrapping with two nights at

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBola Sete was an astonishing Brazilian guitarist whose music tread the line between jazz (he played with Dizzy Gillespie and Vince Guaraldi) and bossa nova.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt seems barely a day passes without some noises coming from the Foo Fighters camp, and the noise is big today: The newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have announced 17 more concert dates, adding to shows on the West Coast and South America late this year and next, which will take place at amphitheaters, stadiums and festivals across North America during May, July and August of 2022.The dates include one at New York’s Citi Field stadium and two at the Banc of

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBritain’s Wet Leg, one of the most buzzed-about indie groups to emerge in years via their singles “Chaise Longue” and “Wet Dream,” have dropped two new songs and unveiled the release date for their forthcoming debut album and a big pile of tour dates in the U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe earliest recordings by most classic artists are dreadful. The Beatles’ early demos? Awful.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor the most part, David Bowie’s career can be divided into eras by decade — the ‘60s, when he tried almost anything to make it (Mod-pop, Buddhism, folksinging) and mostly failed; the ‘70s, when he released some of the most exciting and innovative albums in music history; the ‘80s, when he got a taste of platinum success with “Let’s Dance” and lost his muse; and the period encapsulated in the latest career-spanning boxed set, “Brilliant Adventure: 1992-2001” — when

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records has promoted Wendy Goldstein and Jim Roppo to the roles of co-presidents, the label’s co-founders, Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman, announced Wednesday.Goldstein, one of the top A&R people in the music industry, has served as president of West Coast Creative since 2019 and is based in the Los Angeles office.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTo the surprise of absolutely no one, Adele’s “30” is now the top-selling album of 2021 — and it achieved that feat in just three days.According to initial reports to MRC Data via Billboard, the album, which was released at 12 a.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIssa Rae has unveiled the soundtrack for the next soundtrack to her Peabody-award-winning HBO series “Insecure,” which features new songs from Saweetie — “Get It Girl,” which dropped earlier this month — Nnena, Thundercat, B.K. Habermehl, TeaMarrr and Amindi, among many others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSting is in advanced talks to sell his song catalog for upwards of $250 million, multiple sources tell Variety. While some sources say that Universal Music Publishing is in the lead, others say the catalog may remain with Sony Music Publishing, where it is currently.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJackson Browne and Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna cofounder Jorma Kaukonen will headline a star-packed lineup of artists at a benefit for the non-partisan voters’ rights non-profit Headcount, to be held at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs expected, veteran agent Scott Clayton, who left his role as co-head of music at WME late last month, has joined UTA as co-head of its global music division and as a partner, the company announced Monday.Clayton and current UTA Global Music Co-Heads Sam Kirby Yoh and David Zedeck will together “create a powerhouse leadership trio spanning UTA’s New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville music hubs and further solidify the agency’s reach across all music genres,”

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAdele debuted three new songs from her upcoming album “30” during her CBS television special on Sunday night: “I Drink Wine,” “Hold On” and “Love Is a Game.”Adele has been teasing “Hold On” in a trailer for the special as well as an Amazon Christmas advertisement.The special, titled “Adele: One Night Only,” also included a new sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, billed as her “first televised wide-ranging conversation about her new album, the stories behind the

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs expected, Kanye West has released a deluxe version of his most recent album, “Donda,” that features more than 20 extra minutes of previously unreleased tracks and alternate versions, including “Life Of The Party” featuring Andre 3000, “Up From The Ashes,” “Never Abandon Your Family,” “Remote Control 2” with Young Thug and a new feature from Kid Cudi, and more.The new edition expands the already long album past the two-hour mark; it’s now 2:11.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPeter Jackson’s reinterpretation of the film footage that became the Beatles’ swan-song film “Let It Be” has had a long road, even since it was first revealed a couple of years ago — first it was an Apple feature film for 2020, then it became a six-hour docuseries on Disney+ airing this coming Thanksgiving, and that’s on top of the 50-plus years that the footage has been sitting on shelves.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor the uninitiated, Idles are a monumentally powerful British hard rock band whose music is loaded with punk and hardcore influences, although it’s not accurate to label them as either.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt might have a core of ultra-rich high-calorie cheese, but the throwback song is a very specific and carefully calibrated art form.It must evoke and transcend the era it’s reviving in an affectionate or hilarious fashion (or both); it has to be a great song as well as a nostalgia trip for those who remember, and a vicarious saunter through a previous decade for those who don’t.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJack White has announced the upcoming release of two new albums next year —his first new full-length collections in over four years.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHouston mayor Sylvester Turner has promised a “thorough review and investigation” of the tragedy at the Travis Scott-headlined festival in the city, where eight people died and more than 300 were injured as crowds surged and stampeded during Scott’s set.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn an effort to contribute to the fight against the recent Texas state law that effectively bans abortion, Sonic Youth have released two archival live albums on Bandcamp.com, both of which were recorded in the state.The first was recorded in 1995 at the Austin Music Hall during the band’s “Washing Machine” tour, which followed their headlining slot on the alternative-nation defining Lollapalooza tour that summer (which also featured Hole, Cypress Hill, Beck,