The War on Drugs Warm Up Madison Square Garden on a Snowy New York Night: Concert Review

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDua Lipa has parted ways with her longtime management firm, Ben Mawson and Ed Millet’s TaP Management, a source close to the situation has confirmed to Variety. However, the source says that contrary to other reports, the singer is not currently taking meetings with other management companies, although presumably she will at some point in the future.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s a fair bet that anyone who clicks on this article does not need a backstory on Woody Guthrie — legendary singer-songwriter, activist, poet, artist, writer of “This Land Is Your Land” and many other standards and the single greatest influence on Bob Dylan and a generation of musicians.But as a stunning, just-opened exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum shows, there was much more to him than his most well-known songs might indicate. Most striking of all, as manuscripts of his writings show, he was an amazingly deft wordsmith who would have made a hell of a rapper — and many of his verses and casual writings show a rustic, ribald sense of humor that is rarely present, or at least rarely obvious, in most of his songs.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Clive Davis pre-Grammy gala has been called off for this year, but that’s not stopping the legendary mogul from throwing a big party — his 90 th birthday is April 4, the day after the big show, and he’s throwing a star-studded bash at Casa Cipriani in New York two days later, on Wednesday the 6th, a rep for Davis confirms to Variety. The event is sure to include a guest list that outshines even his famously star-studded pre-Grammy parties — while many of these names are longtime Friends of Clive, the New York Post says invitees include Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Pat Houston, David Geffen, and entertainment lawyer Allen Grubman, as well as label heads such as Monte Lipman, Tom Corson, Rob Stringer and Julie Greenwald. Davis wrote on the invite: “I personally hope you will one day be told that the next birthday you celebrate will be your 90th.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKeith Richards & the X-Pensive Winos, Mavis Staples, Hozier, Warren Haynes, Melissa Etheridge, Allison Russell and more will headline the sixth annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre on March 10.Larkin Poe, Tyler Bryant, David Shaw, Anders Osborne, Celisse, Ivan Neville, Jimmy Vivino, Maggie Rose and Connor Kennedy will also appear on the bill, with Will Lee serving as musical director.The concert is presented by the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation and will benefit God’s Love We Deliver. It is executive produced by fashion designer John Varvatos, NYC real estate broker and prominent concert producer Greg Williamson and concert/events producer Nicole Rechter.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorChristina Yuna Lee, a senior creative producer at the digital music platform Splice, was murdered over the weekend inside her apartment in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York. She was 35.The suspect, Assamad Nash. who allegedly was seen on security video following Lee into her apartment, has been arrested and charged in connection with Lee’s stabbing death, according to New York 1 and other local reports.

Morgan Wallen played to a packed crowd at New York City’s Madison Square Garden where the crowd routinely broke into anti-President Joe Biden chants. Videos from the event taken by Fox News Digital show the crowd enjoying the show and engaging in some political mockery while the artist was between songs during his set. One video shows everyone gleefully chanting "Let’s Go Brandon," a not-so-subtle code among President Biden’s critics that stands for "F--- Joe Biden." During Wallen’s opening act at the show for his "The Dangerous Tour" was special guest HARDY, who took a moment during his set to discuss what was going on in the country, prompting the crowd to launch into a "USA" chant as well.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs long expected, Universal Music Publishing has acquired 17-time Grammy Award winner Sting’s career catalog of music. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but in recent months the artist was said to be seeking around $350 million.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran executive LaTrice Burnette, who was named president of the relaunched 4th & Broadway Records in 2020 — has been appointed executive VP of Def Jam Recordings while retaining her post at 4th & Broadway, new Def Jam chairman & CEO Tunji Balogun announced Tuesday.The 4th & Broadway roster — which, along with Burnette, was formerly with sister Universal label Island Records — includes Young Devyn, Lil Migo, Pap Chanel, Chiiild, and Kidd Kenn; the label’s core staff will move over to Def Jam as well. Burnette will remain based in New York and will report directly to Balogun.“LaTrice is a proven leader, a consummate professional, and someone who’s work and reputation I’ve admired for a long time,” said Balogun.

Jonathan Cohen A decade after she had to convince her label that her choice of a first single wasn’t far too depressing and slow — and despite a baffling, ongoing lack of support from radio (country or otherwise) since — Kacey Musgraves has become a superstar capable of selling out arenas by simply being her sweet, weird and quirky self.The 33-year-old singer/songwriter’s open-hearted invitation to always “follow your arrow” helped her draw a remarkably diverse crowd on Feb. 5 to New York’s Madison Square Garden: groups of 30-something women in pink cowboy hats and winter-defying club attire, gay couples holding hands and singing along with every word and regular middle-aged folks who connect deeply with Musgraves’ soul-baring chronicles of love and relationships.

Jonathan Cohen On the basis of his solo show at New York’s Beacon Theater on Friday night, Eddie Vedder hasn’t lost his sense of spontaneity. Since last May, the Pearl Jam frontman unexpectedly recorded an album with a new group of musicians and is now on the road with them for his first performances in indoor venues since July 2018.“We had some difficult times getting here, and if you feel the same, now is all that we have worked for,” he told the crowd during the second of two sold-out shows to start the three-week run.For some, it may seem a bit strange seeing an Eddie Vedder-led rock show without his Pearl Jam bandmates.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIsland Records has named Mike Alexander general manager, it was announced by new label co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak. Alexander will continue to be based in New York and report jointly to Majid and Eshak.A nearly two-decade veteran of Island’s parent company Universal Music Group, Alexander has for the past year been an executive VP at Island, overseeing the operations for the label including releases by Shawn Mendes, the Killers, Demi Lovato and others. He previously served as executive vice president of international for UMG, a position that jointly encompassed Island Records, Def Jam Recordings and Republic Records.

Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst has died at the age of 30 after falling from her high-rise New York City apartment. Cheslie's body was found at 7:05 a.m. Sunday 30 Januaury on the sidewalk just outside the Orion Condominium building in Manhattan where she resided.