Regardless, I am certain that reading Just Kids at any time in one’s life is no doubt a transformative experience. Smith’s words possess an otherworldly power that pierces deep down into the reader. Whether you’re a fan of Smith’s music or not, Just Kids is essential reading, acting as the ultimate reminder to fill your life with art and like-minded people and to love deeply.
Read MoreNEAR THE END of U2’s new album, Songs of Surrender, the band kicks into the familiar opening chords of their 1980 breakthrough single “I Will Follow.” But there are no drums, bass, or electric guitar, and Bono quickly begins singing new lyrics that better fit his perspective on life at age 62, rather than 22.
Read MoreFolk music icon Joan Baez, who’s now 82, came of age just as musicians’ live gigs were often recorded and thereby preserved for the record, virtues that are used to advantage in Joan Baez I Am A Noise. An up-close, intimate and mostly frank account of a career that arched across more than 60 years of musical and political expression while countless trends came and went, this elaborate documentary navigates adroitly through the professional and the personal aspects of a very full life, one marked by far more good fortune than bad.
Read MoreKeyboardist with Jackson Browne, Jeff Young has passed away. Keyboardist and renowned singer-songwriter Jeff Young was a member of the band. Los Angeles, California. Jeff brings a diverse musical background to the table offering his knowledge and experience to some of the most well-known recording artists in the world.
Jeff has worked closely with Donald Fagen and Steely Dan for a long time. He contributed keyboards and backing vocals to a number of tours where Steely Dan and Donald Fagen appeared on the New York Rock and Soul Revue.
Read MoreOn his debut solo album, Donald Fagen trades cynicism for nostalgia in a song cycle that lands midway between Proust’s madeleine and Mr. Peabody’s Wayback Machine. In tracks set in the late ’50s and early ’60s, when their author was soldiering through adolescence, he revisits the era’s aspirations and fears with the optimism and innocence of his proxy protagonists. The worldview mirrored in his sardonic tone with Steely Dan is softened, if not entirely jettisoned, in favor of songs that retain an affectionate glow.
Read MoreThe Blind Boys of Alabama have been performing gospel for the better part of the 20th century all the way into the 21st. But this group's status as veteran musicians doesn't keep them from new musical explorations. Far from it: the Blind Boys got their start in the 1940s and '50s singing gospel music on the road, and have brought their rich, layered harmonies into a new century with albums and musical collaborations that meld gospel with influences from blues to rock.
Read MoreMeltdown Festival is rushing back to the Southbank Centre this summer for 10 days of acts playing across multiple stages, and its grand curator has been announced: singer, songwriter and all-round superstar Christine And The Queens. The announcement makes the French phenomenon the youngest person to take on this role at Meltdown Festival, and he will follow in the footsteps of artists including Robert Smith, Grace Jones, Patti Smith, David Bowie and more.
Read MoreLevon Helm’s studio in Woodstock, New York is the perfect venue for the married duo of veteran multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, and about a hundred others) and Teresa Williams to record a live album. After all, Campbell led the house band there for over a decade, fronting Helm’s infamous Midnight Ramble shows before he passed in 2012.
Read MoreCarly Simon has revealed a new version of her 1971 hit “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” one of 15 tracks off her upcoming CD and Blu-ray release, Live at Grand Central, out Jan. 27. On April 2, 1995, commuters on their way to work were surprised when Carly Simon sat down at the piano in the middle of one of the busiest transportation hubs in New York City, Grand Central Terminal, for an impromptu concert, her first live performance in 14 years.
Read MoreAfter breaking through, Letissier’s second album, Chris, and its follow-up EP, La Vita Nouva, sustained commercial attention while garnering unprecedented acclaim from the critics. Most notably, Letissier was praised for 2020’s La Vita Nouva, a brazen artistic response to the tragic death of his mother. In 2022, Letissier began releasing singles under the new alias Redcar, culminating in his third solo album, Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue), released in November.
Read MoreDiscussing great challenges facing the world today, singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo spoke about the integral role that African women must play in facing them. “We cannot achieve anything without the women of Africa being empowered,” said Kidjo, noting that women are “at the center of” major issues such as climate change and food insecurity. “If you’re not making progress there, all the progress we make in developed countries will be wasted because we only have one ecosystem and we all breathe the same air.”
Read MoreThe Irish dance troupe Riverdance is kicking off its 25th anniversary tour with Morgan Bullock, who made history by becoming the troupe’s first Black dancer. “For me, growing up as an Irish dancer and loving to go see Riverdance and Irish dance shows, I never saw anyone who looked like me, so it’s amazing that now I have the honor to be that for other dancers,” Bullock told Local 10 News.
Read MoreU2’S BONO AND the Edge give David Letterman a tour of their native Dublin as well as the band’s catalog in an upcoming Disney+ music special. Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, With Dave Letterman finds the former late-night host accepting the U2 duo’s invitation to spend time with them in Dublin, marking Letterman’s first-ever trip to Ireland. With documentary cameras in tow, Bono, the Edge, and Letterman toured the city and its music scene, culminating in an intimate concert performed by the U2 duo at a local landmark.
Read MoreWalter Becker und Dan Fagen sind als Steely Dan ein unsterblicher Teil der Musikgeschichte. Die perfektionistische Pop-Band hat einen festen Platz in der "Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame". Einer der Musiker, Walter Becker, ist bereits 2017 verstorben, Dan Fagen dagegen wird 2023 75 Jahre alt. Michael Bartle zollt ihm Tribut.
Read MorePATTI SMITH isn’t writing. “It won’t last that long,” she tells me. “But it’s been a while. It’s been a few weeks. And I’m in a state of that nothingness.” We’re talking about one page in her latest book, A Book of Days, a volume of photographs and captions that has one entry for each day of the year. The images capture the texture of Smith’s daily life — her bookshelf, her coffee cup, her eyeglasses, her own hand at work, hovering over a page of her prose.
Read MoreChanteuse emblématique de la « British invasion » qui secoua les années 1960 avec l'arrivée massive de groupes anglais en Amérique (à l'instar des Beatles et des Rolling Stones), Marianne Faithfull a marqué une génération de sa voix singulière. Retour sur la décennie la plus décisive de sa carrière à travers 10 clichés vintage.
Read MoreThis personal reflection is part of a series called Turning Points, in which writers explore what critical moments from this year might mean for the year ahead. “Working with this generation of African artists inspires me, because the way their music feels and makes me feel is that perfect blend of familiar and fresh. Young artists like Burna Boy, the first Nigerian act to headline — and sell out — Madison Square Garden, are shining on the world stage because they are no longer looking to imitate Western music. They are looking to the traditional music of their countries, and to the many artists who came before them, like Fela Kuti, Salif Keita or me.” (Angélique Kidjo)
Read MoreToday, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams released “Darling Be Home Soon,” the second song from their upcoming album, Live At Levon’s!, due Feb. 3, 2023, via Royal Potato Family. Along with the new offering, the two artists have announced a 13-date tour with Shawn Mullins.
Read MoreMultiple Grammy-winning singer–songwriter Angélique Kidjo tells the story of her harrowing escape from Communist Benin into France, her rise from poverty to become an international sensation, and her tireless advocacy work for the education of African girls and women’s rights. Her memoir is Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music. She’s joined in conversation and song by percussionist, composer, and educator John Santos.
Read MoreThroughout the 1970s, Carly Simon was among the leading lights of the Laurel Canyon singer/songwriter movement. She ascended to the top of the charts with singles that yoked epigrammatic lyrics to catchy melodies and smooth production. On songs like her signature hit, “You’re So Vain,” her eye for lyrical detail and the humor in her vocal performance made her an icon for heartbroken fans everywhere, giving them the words they wish they could have said themselves.
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