TCM Classic Film Festival’s Hosts and Producers Offer Their Personal Picks for 2024 Fest, From ‘Pulp Fiction’ to 100-Year-Old ‘Sherlock Jr.’

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Morgan Wallen and Post Malone have been teasing a joint single, and the two singers premiered the new song, “I Had Some Help,” in a duet performance during Wallen’s headlining set at the Stagecoach festival in California Sunday night. The new song, “I Had Some Help,” is a drinking-buddies anthem and includes the key lyrics “I had some help / It ain’t like I can make this kind of mess all by myself / Don’t act like you ain’t help me pull that bottle off the shelf / Been deep in every weekend, if you couldn’t tell / They say teamwork makes the dream work / Hell, I had some help.” No official announcements have been made about the single, much less a release date.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Taylor Swift‘s “The Tortured Poets Department” has lived up to its blockbuster potential and then some. Billboard reported Sunday that, per data provided by Luminate, the new release racked up 2.61 million album-equivalent units in its first week out — the best one-week figure for any album in nine years. The last album to debut with a higher figure was Adele’s “25,” which bowed with 3.482 million in 2015, a number that is considered unrepeatable with the changes that have occurred in consumption since then.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Beyonce did not show up. Reba did. And it was enough.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It would be hard to imagine a more actually polarizing set — as in, splitting real fans into roughly even, truly diametrically opposed camps — than the headlining show Eric Church delivered to round out the first night of Stagecoach in California. The 70,000 festival attendees will definitely not lack for anything to talk, or argue, about for the rest of the weekend, and the debate will also continue among the many more fans who watched the livestream on Prime Video and Amazon’s Twitch channel.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The tide of Black women in country is a phenomenon that much of the world has suddenly become aware of, thanks to Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” and the lesser-known artists being championed through guest slots on the album. Does this mark the true signal change that advocates for diversity in country have long dreamed of? Or is the real progress within the ranks of the music industry that could allow young Black country artists so lacking that the current excitement might be destined to go down as a glorious blip? These were among the topics of a presentation by the Black Music Action Coalition at Live Nation’s Beverly Hills headquarters Wednesday, with Mickey Guyton, songwriter-artist INK (who is a key contributor to “Cowboy Carter”) and academic researcher Dr.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Eddie Vedder-founded Ohana Festival will return to southern California for three days in September, with the opening and closing nights headlined by Pearl Jam, sandwiching a performance by Neil Young & Crazy Horse in the top-billed Saturday evening slot. Other performers joining the eclectic lineup, scheduled for Sept. 27-29, include Alanis Morissette, Turnpike Troubadours, Garbage, Black Pumas, Maren Morris, Crowded House, the Breeders, Idles and Jenny Lewis.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has revealed the names of 16 artists or other musical figures who will be inducted in 2024. It’s a diverse list that stretches from R&B/rock pioneer Big Mama Thornton to pop superstars Cher and Dionne Warwick, and from ’70s-rooted rockers like Peter Frampton, Foreigner and Ozzy Osbourne to ’90s icons the Dave Matthews Band, Mary J.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic If we had the ability to assess who is the most beloved figure in music — not in overall numbers, but sheer adoration, per capita and per peer — it likely wouldn’t be Taylor or Beyoncé but Mavis Staples, who has been taking us there since the late ’60s. There being the smile that crosses anyone’s face when fortunate enough to be in the same room, or even in just giving a passing thought to that voice, that presence, and all the different ways in which Staples embodies righteousness.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic There’s a certain type of vinyl geek that has all 387 exclusives coming out for Record Store Day 2024 committed to memory — color variants, pressing quantities and prices included. The rest of us may need a bit of guidance, which is where this look at 25 wallet-worthy releases comes in. Obviously, our list represents less than 10% of this year’s RSD population, but you can go to the full list — found here — after you get a start (or a reminder) with our rundown, which includes a mixture of the most obviously commercial titles and an assortment of cred or cult items.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The torture is over for fans who waited weeks and months for Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” to arrive. But the truly faithful still have some work ahead, in trying to decode what or who is the subject of each of the 16 songs (plus four bonus tracks).

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Taylor Swift usually writes either an essay or poem to be included in her album packaging, but for “The Tortured Poets Department,” she used the buddy system. Stevie Nicks contributed a handwritten poem she wrote for Swift, which is the first thing fans will see when they open the LP gatefolds or CD booklets Friday morning. That doesn’t mean Swift skipped out on her usual duties, as the album packaging also includes a long handwritten poem she penned herself, placed after the lyrics in the booklets as a sort of epilogue.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Barbra Streisand has recorded a new song, “Love Will Survive,” to serve as the end-title theme for “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” a six-part, Holocaust-themedseries that premieres on Peacock in the U.S. and Sky in other territories on May 2. The song will come out globally via her longtime label, Columbia Records, on April 25.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic For an artist looking to break Coachella, it pays to enlist friends at a cutting-edge production firm. At this year’s festival, L.A.-based Silent House has laid claim to designing and executing the elaborate productions for three of the four headliners.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Library of Congress has released its annual list of 25 audio recordings earmarked for celebration and preservation as part of the National Recording Registry, and the musical artists selected for inclusion run the historical gamut from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to “Ready to Die.” Benny Goodman, Gene Autry and Perry Como are among the mid-20th-century icons making the list, which extends to ’70s and ’80s releases by ABBA, the Cars, Doug E. Fresh and Blondie, and is rounded out on the latter end by such artists as Green Day, the Chicks and the Notorious B.I.G.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic For decades, the attitude toward the documentary “Let It Be” in the Beatles‘ camp seemed to be: Let it it rest in peace. But the film is finally going to be seen again.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The 30th anniversary of the original animated film version of “The Lion King” will be celebrated at the Hollywood Bowl next month with a live-to-film concert/screening that will include cast members from both the movie and theatrical versions — and beyond — including Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Billy Eichner, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver and Bradley GIbson. The shows will take place at the Bowl May 24-25 and be produced by Disney Concerts, Fulwell 73 Productions, AMP Worldwide and Live Nation-Hewitt Silva.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Lana Del Rey had a couple of heavily favored cameos during her Coachella performance, welcoming recent collaborators Jack Antonoff and Jon Batiste, both of whom will be fronting their own sets later in the weekend — but also one far less easily guessed guest, in the form of Billie Eilish, who turned up for a surprise pair of duets. Taking to a terrace overlooking the massive stage, the duo first joined forces on Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” then turned their voices to “Video Games.” Both songs represent the first real breakout hits in these artists’ respective careers.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic She is still Shelby Lynne. That may sound like it’s saying it’s a little, but it’s really saying a lot, for anyone who holds a special place for the landmark album “I Am Shelby Lynne,” a turn-of-the-millennium masterpiece that put its bearer on the artistic map for good.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Paul McCartney was the obvious headliner of the bill Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl. But it was Buffett-mania that was in full sway, as a cast of dozens of singers and celebrity presenters — from Jane Fonda to Snoop Dogg — saluted or parroted a fallen musical hero for the three-and-a-half-hour “Keep The Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett.” Most of the night’s entertainers covered Buffett classics or obscurities, although McCartney, the Eagles and Snoop Dogg broke with that to regale the full Bowl house with their own material, while Zac Brown and (sending in a video contribution) Dave Matthews debuted brand new songs saluting Buffett.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Even on a day when much of America was hoping to see the sun go out, there’s still an ongoing need to hear someone sing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” That, among many other things, is what’s offered in tonight’s PBS broadcast of a tribute special for Elton John and Bernie Taupin, two of the worthiest talents ever to be awarded the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize. If you’re a fan — and who isn’t?, as they say — the two-hour show will provide a total eclipse of all your other most pressing entertainment needs.