Bring on the drama! The Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion trailer is here — and it already delivers as the cast break down and fight about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ affair.
01.05.2023 - 13:23 / nme.com
Willie Nelson celebrated his 90th birthday this weekend with two special gigs in Los Angeles – watch performances by Neil Young, Snoop Dogg and Beck below.Nelson’s big birthday landed on Saturday (April 29), and a host of the legendary singer’s friends and collaborators came together at the Hollywood Bowl on that evening, and the subsequent night, for the celebration, dubbed Long Story Short.Also playing alongside Nelson were a huge variety of artists including Sturgill Simpson, The Chicks, Leon Bridges, Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow, Tom Jones, Orville Peck, Nelson’s son Lukas and more.During the festivities, Snoop joined Nelson for ‘Roll Me Up’, while Beck performed ‘Hands On The Wheel’.Young, meanwhile, joined Stephen Stills for his performance, which came soon after the pair – famous for working together in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – performed together for the first time in four years the previous weekend as part of Stills’ ‘Light Up The Blues’ event that he puts on every year in aid of Autism Speaks.Watch a host of the performances from the special evening below.Young’s first performance in four years came in February, where he performed ‘Heart Of Gold’ and ‘Comes A Time’ at a march and rally in support of the United For Old Growth campaign, which is looking to stop the Canadian government from allowing logging companies from destroying old-growth forests.Last summer, the singer indicated he’s not yet ready to play concerts, saying he doesn’t think it is safe amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His latest comments echoed ones made in December of 2021, when he said he wouldn’t be returning to touring until COVID-19 was “beat” and the pandemic was over.
Bring on the drama! The Vanderpump Rules season 10 reunion trailer is here — and it already delivers as the cast break down and fight about Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ affair.
Last week (May 1-3), Snoop Dogg joined gamma CEO and ex-Apple Music Creative Director Larry Jackson for a conversation at the Milken Institute Global Conference. When asked about music distribution in the digital streaming era, Jackson says its democratization and globalization make it "an exciting time" for hip-hop, but Snoop has other thoughts.
Snoop Dogg has criticised the “fucked up” payment models of streaming services and shared his support for striking writers.The WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) strike took effect last Tuesday (May 2) after weeks of failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).Following the confirmation of the strike – Hollywood’s first in 15 years – WGA uploaded a document outlining the differences between proposals made by the writers’ union and offers from the AMPTP that have led to the strike.Snoop has now become the latest in a long line of artists to share their support for striking workers. During a panel discussion on Wednesday (May 3), the artist said he didn’t understand how writers and musicians “can’t get paid” from “fucked up” streaming service payment models.He added (via Variety) that musicians “need to figure it out the same way the writers are figuring it out,” adding: “The writers are striking because [of] streaming ― they can’t get paid.
A truly A-list event. Celebrities including Lionel Richie and Jill Biden attended King Charles III‘s coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday, May 6.
A family affair! King Charles III received an outpouring of support from his royal relatives — including all three of his siblings — during his coronation on Saturday, May 6.
Another historic day is upon us as King Charles III Coronation takes place on Saturday (May 6). The former Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla will officially be crowned King and Queen in a Westminster Abbey ceremony months after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Snoop Dogg has revealed his feelings about AI technology creating music and mimicking the voices of pop stars.Currently, there is an AI-generated song going viral of Michael Jackson covering ’90s No Limit rapper C-Murder’s hit song, ‘Down 4 My N’s’.On Monday (May 1), the Long Beach rapper made his feelings on AI covers known, taking to Instagram to say that it has gotten “outta hand.” He posted a video of the audio to his Instagram feed, captioning the post with “Wow.”A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg)Fans were similarly shocked. The most popular comment read: “I’ve done a lot of things in my life I’m not proud of.
Rage Against The Machine and Kate Bush have responded to the news that they are both part of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s Class of 2023.The list of this year’s inductees was revealed earlier today, with George Michael, Sheryl Crow, rap innovator Missy Elliott, The Spinners, and country legend Willie Nelson also set to join the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.Kate Bush had previously been nominated three times, in 2018, 2021 and 2022. Rage Against The Machine, meanwhile, were on their fifth nomination, having been nominated more times than any of this year’s other shortlisted artists.“It is a surprising trajectory for us to be welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Rage Against the Machine said in a statement.
Kate Bush, who re-emerged in the public eye after ’80s song “Running Up That Hill” appeared on Stranger Things, and Willie Nelson, who just turned 90 last weekend, are now in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Willie Nelson just got an only slightly late 90th birthday present: an impending induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The country music legend was one of seven music figures announced Wednesday morning as having been voted into the hall, along with Kate Bush, Rage Against the Machine, Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow, George Michael and the Spinners. There are six more inductees beyond that list, with the distinction of being selected by a select Hall of Fame committee to join the seven performers who were voted in via general balloting. These are singer Chaka Khan, instrumentalist-producer Al Kooper and lyricist Bernie Taupin, all in the “musical excellence” category; pioneering rock guitarist Link Wray and hip-hop originator DJ Kool Herc in the “musical influence” division; and “Soul Train” TV host Don Cornelius as the recipient of the annual Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Snoop Dogg and Ryan Reynolds are reportedly embroiled in a bidding war to purchase a national sports team in Canada.According to talkSport, Wrexham AFC co-owner Reynolds is aiming to expand his portfolio and buy the Ottawa Senators – the National Hockey League team that is currently for sale in Canada’s capital city.The Deadpool actor was last week linked to a bid that would top $1billion for the team.But Snoop said on Instagram yesterday (May 1) that he was “looking forward” to being part of a bid by LA-based businessman Neko Sparks, who would be the first Black owner of an NHL team (via The Independent).“I WANNA BRING HOCKEY TO OUR COMMUNITY,” the rapper wrote. Check out the posts below.A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg)A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg)Neither Sparks nor Reynolds have publicly confirmed their interest in purchasing the Ottawa Senators at the time of writing.
Snoop Dogg could soon become part owner of an NHL team. The rapper and entrepreneur is part of a group led by the Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks seeking to purchase the franchise, according to a report in The Athletic. The team was put up for sale after the death of owner Eugene Melnyk in 2022; new bids for the team are due in two weeks.
Reality television stars from Bravo, ABC, CBS, TLC and more are set to compete on Amazon Freevee’s upcoming series The GOAT.
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Keith Richards was the surprise unannounced guest for night 2 of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday tribute at the Hollywood Bowl — a surprise, at least, for anyone who hadn’t spotted his name listed in the fine print on the souvenir posters and T-shirts. The Stone rolled in with his signature line of recent decades: “It’s good to be here. It’s good to be anywhere.” Richards (79) and Nelson (you’d have to be really high not to know his age) then followed with two covers appropriate for gents of a certain maturity: “We Had It All” and “Live Forever.” The latter song probably wasn’t written by Billy Joe Shaver to be understood literally, but Sunday night, it sure felt that way. Nelson’s 90th birthday was such a momentous event in pop culture, it merited the two-night treatment it got at the Bowl, filmed by producer Blackbird Presents for theatrical release as well as home video. The actual birthday had come the night before, on Saturday, but as son Micah Nelson said at the beginning of Sunday’s show: “Welcome to the after-birth party.” The biggest difference from night 1, apart from many different guests and most different songs, was the increased presence of the birthday boy himself on stage, for the last 40 minutes of the three-hour-and-40-minute show. Besides Richards, Nelson also participated in collaborations with Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings, his producer Buddy Cannon, Lily Meola and (instrumentally) Booker T.
“Are there any more real cowboys?” Neil Young sang Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl on a rare evening when he was neither the headliner nor, at age 77, even close to the oldest artist on the bill.
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “Thanks for coming to my dad’s birthday party,” said Micah Nelson, a few songs into an all-star tribute to Willie Nelson at the Hollywood Bowl, attended by a sold-out house happy that Willie had found a way to schedule the 90th anniversary of his birth on a Saturday night. With roughly seven decades of songwriting and recording to commemorate, though, the party is stretching over two nights, bundled together and sold as a single ticket, where by the end of Sunday night everyone will have heard about 50 artists perform a total of about 75 songs. Ironically, one of the first numbers performed Saturday evening was young Texas country artist Charley Crockett doing a cut that Nelson had a hit with as a budding songwriter in the late ’50s: “The Party’s Over.” That title proved as un-prescient for Nelson’s career 65 years ago as it proved unprophetic for the scope of the Bowl celebration this weekend. But a little irony is always welcome in Willie’s world.
Texas troubadour Willie Nelson had a birthday party that will be remembered. "Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90" kicked off on Saturday night, which was Nelson's birthday.The two-night event at the Hollywood Bowl host performances from all music genres, including Snoop Dogg and Chris Stapleton.
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic What’s 420 divided by 90? While you ponder that, take in the news that, on the eve of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday, he and Billy Strings have released their own birthday present to the world — a surprise collaboration called “California Sober,” which, as you might be able to guess from the title, celebrates weed as its own form of moderation. It’s the first song to come out under Strings’ new deal with Reprise Records, after a long run with Rounder. The music video portrays the two collaborators and band members recording their parts individually, although a framing device has Strings getting on a bus — presumably Nelson’s — that is emitting a prolific amount of smoke by the time he exits at the end. Strings, a young neo-bluegrass picker who now sells out shows across the country, is seen with a joint hanging out of his mouth as he pulls off one of the acoustic solos he’s famous for, while wearing a shirt that rhymes “doobie” with “Scooby.” Nelson is not so demonstrative in his choice of cannabis, having reportedly given up smoking for edibles and other lung-protecting variations some years back.
A Small Light.The eldest sister and bassist in Haim will be joined by composer Ariel Marx in creating the soundtrack to the Disney+ and National Geographic series that focuses on Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who hid Anne Frank and her family during the Holocaust of World War II.According to Billboard, the soundtrack will include covers of classic hits from stars like the bassist’s sister and bandmate Danielle Haim, along with Kamasi Washington, Angel Olsen, Weyes Blood, Remi Wolf and Moses Sumney.The soundtrack will also feature duets between Sharon Van Etten and Sopranos star Michael Imperioli as well as King Princess and Orville Peck.“I can’t begin to express what an honour and a privilege it is to be a part of this series, especially as my first role as an EMP,” shared Este.“Miep’s story is one of a modern woman standing up for what is right, and that should continue to inspire all of us. I am so thrilled to be able to help bring this to life through the power of music,” she added.Each week, two songs from A Small Light will be made available to stream.
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The guest list for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday all-star concerts at the Hollywood Bowl has been significantly expanded. Sixteen additional names were announced Wednesday for the already packed two-night lineup, representing a roughly 50% expansion of a bill that was advertised with 30 stars when it first went on sale — and immediately sold out — in January. Newly added stars from the worlds of rock, country and other genres include Dave Matthews, Emmylou Harris, Jack Johnson and fellow Texans George Strait and Gary Clark Jr. Nelson’s sole surviving fellow Highwayman, Kris Kristofferson, has also been appointed to the lineup. The son of one of those Highwaymen, Shooter Jennings, is joining the bill as well. Others freshly named to appear this Saturday or Sunday include Dwight Yoakam, Stephen Stills, Rodney Crowell, Booker T. Jones, Buddy Cannon, Daniel Lanois, Jamey Johnson, Waylon Payne and Lily Meola.