SZA Brings Out Cardi B and Phoebe Bridgers at Dazzling, Hit-Filled Madison Square Garden Show: Concert Review

Thania Garcia Fans at SZA’s Kia Forum tour stop on March 22 and 23 — the final shows of her long-awaited “SOS” tour — were spoiled with celebrity sightings and treated to surprise performances from Phoebe Bridgers and Lizzo. Bridgers appeared on stage sporting a hoodie and jeans to join the “Kill Bill” singer in a performance of “Ghost In the Machine,” her melodious collaboration with SZA from her chart-topping sophomore album, “SOS.” phoebe bridgers and sza performing ghost in the machine tonight! pic.twitter.com/z5Z73FCfra The cameo launched the Los Angeles crowd into a frenzy that further intensified when Lizzo showed up to sing the self-love anthem “Special,” which recently received the remix treatment from SZA. The powerhouse singers took turns belting high notes and joined forces to deliver the song’s emotive chorus: “In case nobody told you today / You’re special.” 

William Earl Yo La Tengo have been releasing well-loved indie rock since the ’80s, and while their albums are strikingly consistent, an interesting thing happened in February: They dropped one of their best records ever. It’s easy to imagine most other bands on autopilot 17 full-lengths in, but the trio’s “This Stupid World” was a return to form that sharpened their craft to be more exciting than ever. Coming after the ambient work on the band’s experimental 2020 project “We Have Amnesia Sometimes,” “World” snapped into focus with an all-timer guitar freakout on opening track “Sinatra Drive Breakdown” and continued with all of the sly songwriting, catchy hooks and droning dynamics the YLT’s best writing has in common.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic All the old Taylors came to the phone Friday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. For the purposes Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, these past personas are all very much alive, because what died didn’t stay dead, and… well, quoting lyrics will only get you so far in describing a show that may best first be characterized by its essential stats: 44 songs in 192 minutes.

Jeff Miller At some point over the course of every South by Southwest, most attendees ask themselves some version of this question: “Who can I see tonight in a club that will likely be playing an arena in a year?” Judging from the line to get in (and the floor packed in anticipation) for many Gen Zers at this year’s conference, the answer to that question on Tuesday was pop chanteuse PinkPantheress, who’s currently riding high on a string of bouncy TikTok hits, including the current viral smash “Boys a Liar Pt 2.” Unfortunately for her and the audience, all the anticipation was for naught: PinkPantheress, backed only by a DJ, suffered an onslaught of tech problems and a general lack of enthusiasm; her set — composed of same-y, super-short late ’90s garage-era beats, abetted by her sugary-sweet vocals — was one of the least engaging SXSW buzz sets in memory.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “It’s clear this theater isn’t used to rock concerts,” Nick Jonas roared from the stage. “The spotlights can’t hit us because you’re all standing.”  He was right: Broadway’s Marquis Theater, which has housed acclaimed but not quite foot-stomping, hip-shaking productions of musicals like “Tootsie” and “Beetlejuice,” isn’t accustomed to two hours of 1,600 jumping, screaming fans. Yet the venue’s infrastructure will be put to the test during the Jonas Brothers’ five-night residency from March 14-18. (We ask this with love: Can the mezzanine support five nights of bouncing concert-goers?)  Night one of the limited engagement — wherein each show focuses on one album, in order of release — took the audience all the way back to the aughts with their 2007 self-titled album “Jonas Brothers” and successfully kicked off the week of performances. The residency continues through Saturday with “A Little Bit Longer” (2008), “Lines, Vines, and Trying Times” (2009) and “Happiness Begins (2019)” before culminating with the first live performance of the band’s newest album, “The Album,” which dropped May 12.  

The best part of waking up! Bridgerton alum Regé-Jean Page revealed that he and Phoebe Dynevor had “horrendous coffee breath” while filming the sexy period drama.

J. Kim Murphy Bert I. Gordon, an American filmmaker whose low-budget creature features brought super-sized monsters to drive-in cinemas in the mid-20th century, died Wednesday in Los Angeles after collapsing at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 100. Gordon’s death was confirmed to the New York Times by his daughter, Patricia. In Atomic Age America, Gordon’s science-fiction B movies manifested the country’s nuclear anxieties as eye-popping apocalypse spectacles. Mostly working under shooting schedules that could total to two weeks and change at most, Gordon produced, directed and wrote more than 25 features over a career spanning six decades, including striking titles like “Village of the Giants” (1965), “How to Succeed With Sex” (1970) and “Empire of the Ants” (1977). His films “Necromancy” (1972)” and “The Food of the Gods” (1976) featured Orson Welles and Ida Lupino, respectively.

Cardi B took her son out for an exciting mother-son date over the weekend! The rapper took to Instagram to share some shots from her night out with her 1-year-old, Wave, during which the duo attended the Saturday show of SZA's tour at New York's Madison Square Garden.«Lit nights wit sza and Wavey,» Cardi captioned the slide of photos featuring her and Wave. The mom of two sports an orange-and-red printed knit minidress, while Wave looks adorably dapper in a Canadian tuxedo, a blue-and-orange beanie and orange sneakers to match his mom.The night was made even more special when the rapper joined SZA onstage to perform an extended duet of their 2018 collaboration, «I Do,» as well as her hit single with GloRilla, «Tomorrow 2.» Cardi performed mere moments after indie queen Phoebe Bridgers joined SZA for the first live rendition of their collaboration, «Ghost in the Machine.»«U ARE SO DAMN FINE HELPPPP!!! I CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR TAKING TIME TO SHOW LOVE!!! [You're] so amazing and gorgeous!!!» SZA wrote in response to Cardi's Instagram.A post shared by Cardi B (@iamcardib)«Sza show was amazing!!!!» Cardi wrote of the show on Twitter.

SZA headlined New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday night (March 4) and was joined onstage by Phoebe Bridgers and Cardi B.SZA is mid-way through her North American arena tour in support of her new album ‘SOS’ and was joined by a couple of special guests at the first of her New York dates.Early in the set, SZA was joined onstage by Phoebe Bridgers to perform ‘Ghost In The Machine’ live for the first time. For the next song, SZA then brought out Cardi B for the live debut of their collab ‘I Do’ before Cardi performed part of her Glorilla team-up ‘Tomorrow 2’.Taking to social media, SZA called Bridgers “a king amongst ants” and said Cardi B was a “superstar.”“I can’t believe she came through for me.

SZA headlined New York’s Madison Square Gardens on Saturday night (March 4) and was joined onstage by Phoebe Bridgers and Cardi B.SZA is mid-way through her North American arena tour in support of her new album ‘SOS’ and was joined by a couple of special guests at the first of her New York dates.Early in the set, SZA was joined onstage by Phoebe Bridgers to perform ‘Ghost In The Machine’ live for the first time. For the next song, SZA then brought out Cardi B for the live debut of their collab ‘I Do’ before Cardi performed part of her Glorilla team-up ‘Tomorrow 2’.Taking to social media, SZA called Bridgers “a king amongst ants” and said Cardi B was a “superstar.”“I can’t believe she came through for me.

Separated by two security guards, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon appeared in the dock accused of killing a baby girl. The pair appeared at Crawley Magistrates Court earlier today (March 3), facing three charges.

Rockband Kiss have announced the final dates of their last tour — two back-to-back shows at Madison Square Garden in New York at the end of 2023. The final leg of the 17-date North American tour, “End of the Road Countdown: The Final 50 Shows” will start in October in Texas, moving to California, Washington, Canada, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois and Maryland before closing out on Dec. 1 and 2.“Kiss was born in New York City.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor If you’ve been to enough concerts, there’s a feeling you recognize when a new-ish artist’s career is about to blast off — when the audience isn’t just singing along with the hit but with nearly every song, half of them with hands over hearts, many dressed in the artist’s merch or artist-identifying outfits, and at least a few singing emphatically, with tears and/or mascara running. That feeling isn’t always accurate, but it was present at Billie Eilish concerts in 2019 and Lorde’s club shows in 2013 and even the Killers almost 20 years ago — and without setting the bar unfairly high, it was definitely in the air Chappell Roan’s packed concert at New York’s 1,500-capacity Webster Hall on Tuesday night.

Boygenius have released a brand new song, ‘Not Strong Enough’.The track premiered as Radio 1’s Hottest Record and is the fourth single after ‘$20’, ‘Emily I’m Sorry’ and ‘True Blue’ to be taken from the group’s upcoming debut album, ‘the record’.Lyrically, ‘Not Strong Enough’ deals with the paradox of experiencing self-hatred and masking it with a God complex. The accompanying music video was self-shot by the band – made up of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker – and edited by Bridgers’ brother Jackson.

The ever-touring rock band KISS announced today that the road will end where it began: New York City. The iconic rockers, including original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, will play their final show ever this December at Madison Square Garden.

Boygenius – the trio of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker – have been added to this year’s Tibet House US benefit concert bill.The event, which is set to go ahead tomorrow night (March 1) in New York’s Carnegie Hall, will also see performances from composer and event artistic director Philip Glass, New Order’s Bernard Sumner and Tom Chapman, Laurie Anderson, Gogol Bordello, and Arooj Aftab.Uma Thurman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Arden Wohl will be the event’s honorary chairs. You can purchase tickets here.This will be the third time Bridgers has performed at the event after previously playing in 2020 and 2021.Last year’s line-up was a virtual edition due to the coronavirus pandemic and featured performances from Keanu Reeves, Patti Smith, and Anderson again.Boygenius, who formed for a self-titled EP in 2018 and will release debut album ‘The Record’ next month, will play two UK shows this summer.On August 20, they will play a massive outdoor London show at Gunnersbury Park, joined by MUNA and Ethel Cain, with the latter also playing with them two days later at Halifax’s Piece Hall.Tickets for the gigs go on sale from 10am GMT on Friday (March 3).

Jean Smart wasn’t able to attend the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday evening (February 26). However, that didn’t stop her from winning big during the ceremony.

Glorilla welcomed her collaborator Cardi B to the stage in New York this week to perform ‘Tomorrow 2’ – see footage below.The Memphis rapper was performing at the Irving Plaza venue on Wednesday night (February 22) for the first of two gigs at the Manhattan venue.During the show, Cardi appeared unannounced to perform her verse on the 2022 smash hit, a remix of Glorilla’s track ‘Tomorrow’.The performance came after Glorilla performed at the 2023 Grammys this month, where she took part in a celebration of 50 years of hip-hop alongside Missy Elliot, the Roots, Future, Lil Wayne and many more.Watch Cardi join her on stage in New York below.A post shared by BrooklynVegan (@brooklynvegan)In a 2022 NME Radar interview, Glorilla discussed her friendship with Cardi, saying: “I ain’t got a lot of friends, and I’m just easy to deal with. Cardi is my cousin.

SZA is set to release 10 unheard songs as part of a deluxe version of her chart-topping new album ‘SOS’.The long-awaited album, which was the singer’s first in half a decade and followed 2017’s ‘Ctrl’ upon release in December, was greeted with critical acclaim (including five stars from NME) and broke a seven-year chart record in the US this week by celebrating its ninth week at Number One in the US.SZA recently hinted at a future collaboration with Miley Cyrus, after she teased future “surprises” for fans and hinted at a forthcoming deluxe edition of the new album.Now, Billboard have confirmed that a deluxe edition of the new album is coming, and that it will feature 10 unheard songs.This week, SZA kicked off her North American arena tour this week, debuting ‘SOS’ songs and covering Erykah Badu at gigs in Columbus, Ohio and Chicago.At the first show of the tour in Columbus, SZA gave live debuts to ‘SOS’ tracks ‘PSA’, ‘Seek & Destroy’, ‘Notice Me’, ‘Conceited’, ‘Gone Girl’, ‘Kill Bill’ and more as part of a mammoth 32-song setlist that also saw her cover Badu’s ‘Bag Lady’ and perform her Kendrick Lamar (‘All The Stars’) and Doja Cat (‘Kiss Me More‘) collaborations.See the full list of tour dates and buy your tickets here. Omar Apollo is set to open for SZA on all dates.SZA plays the following:FEBRUARY 202325 – Toronto, ON, Scotiabank Arena27 – Washington, DC, Capital One Arena28 – Boston, MA, TD GardenMARCH 2023 02 – Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center04 – New York, NY, Madison Square Garden07 – Atlanta, GA, State Farm Arena09 – Austin, TX, Moody Center10 – Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center13 – San Diego, CA, Viejas Arena14 – Oakland, CA, Oakland Arena16 – Seattle, WA, Climate Pledge Arena18 – Portland, OR, Moda

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It used to be that it was considered a Herculean feat if artists dug into their back catalogs to recreate two, three or even four classic albums in their entirety for a run of back-to-back concerts. Now, Elvis Costello has pulled off something to make even a stunt like that seem like the stuff of slackers. His 10-night stand at New York’s Gramercy Theatre was billed as “100 Songs and More,” with the artist laying out 10 unique songs he would be playing each night, just as a starting point. By the time the run wrapped up with one final three-hour show Wednesday night, the emphasis was on the …and more, with Costello actually having played exactly 250 songs over the course of the Feb. 9-22 residency (not counting interpolations), with only a handful of those breaking his vow to have no repeats between shows.