American Songwriter : Rosanne Cash, John Leventhal Launch New Label RumbleStrip Records (by Tina Benitez-Eves) →

June 28, 2023 by gabriela anco

Rosanne Cash and her husband and producer, John Leventhal, have revealed the launch of their new label RumbleStrip Records. The label will manage archives, forthcoming projects, and reissues, including the first vinyl pressing of Rosanne’s 1993 album, The Wheel, which has been remastered as an expanded edition to commemorate its 30th anniversary. Produced by Leventhal, The Wheel was a landmark album for Cash, marking a new shift in her sound after she moved to New York City.

Opera Wire.com : Nashville Opera Releases First-Ever Recording of Carly Simon’s ‘Romulus Hunt’ (by David Salazar) →

June 25, 2023 by gabriela anco

Nashville Opera has joined forces with Lexicon Classics to release the first-ever recording of Carly Simon‘s sole opera, “Romulus Hunt.” Nashville Opera will present the recording as a birthday gift to its creator, who will celebrate her 80th birthday on Sunday, June 25, 2023. The work was originally commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the Kennedy Center in 1993 and is a semi-autobiographical work by renowned pop singer Carly Simon.

Washington Informer : Angélique Kidjo: A One-Woman Global Music Fest (by Brenda C. Siler) →

June 21, 2023 by gabriela anco

Angélique Kidjo’s show at Strathmore offered a bolt of energy from the stage. The set began with percussionist Magatte Sow playing multiple African drums in a several-minute solo session. The other musicians came onto the stage, followed by Kidjo, who entered the stage with high energy. There was no need for Kidjo and her musicians to ramp up as they came in hot. It was up to the rest of us to catch up and hang on.

Far Out Magazine : Steely Dan's Donald Fagen picks his greatest influences (by Jack Whatley) →

June 18, 2023 by gabriela anco

Despite their incessant performance of the hokey cokey with the fashionable side of music, one thing that cannot be denied is Steely Dan‘s impressive command of their instruments. The duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker may be constantly fighting a ebb and flow of appreciation from the musical world, with the band arguably one of the most polarising groups in the history of rock and roll, but they know what they’re doing in the studio.

American Songwriter : Patti Smith Joins Greta Thunberg for Climate Change Protest (by Alex Hopper) →

June 12, 2023 by gabriela anco

Thunberg has given speeches, petitioned the Swedish Parliament, protested and more all to raise awareness toward what she believes will be the hazardous effects of climate change on the next generation. Her final strike at the school happened last week, given that Thunberg is graduating. She wasn’t alone on her final day though, legendary artist Patti Smith decided to join her ranks. Smith has long extended her support to climate change activists. “I think the climate movement is the most important thing on the planet right now,” Smith previously told The Guardian.

The Africa Report : Angélique Kidjo, an encounter beyond space and time (by Patrick Smith) →

May 26, 2023 by gabriela anco

Fresh from winning the prestigious Polar Music Prize, the Benin-born singer tells The Africa Report what motivates her to cross cultural divides in her art and advocacy. Angélique’s life, music and art are about as heterodox as it gets. More than three decades as a star songwriter, musician and singer has garnered her the honorific ‘Mama Africa’ across the continent, as well as an attic full of prizes, five Grammys, the Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, and top musical awards in more than 20 countries.

Los Angeles Times : A new book on Steely Dan is for hardcore fans. Luckily, they are legion (by Chris Vognar) →

May 22, 2023 by gabriela anco

For us, this book is a gonzo helping of music criticism dessert, a hot fudge sundae with extra sauce. […] “Quantum Criminals” is like a secret handshake between two covers. The best part is that it illuminates details the rest of us may have glossed over for years.

The New Yorker Interview : Joan Baez Is Still Doing Beautiful, Cool Stuff (by Amanda Petrusich) →

May 14, 2023 by gabriela anco

Since 1959, Joan Baez has been electrifying eager crowds with her elegance and ferocity. Baez was central to both the folk revival and the civil-rights movement of the nineteen-sixties; her protest songs, delivered in a vivid, warbly soprano, felt both defiant and gently maternal. Now eighty-two, and with twenty-five studio albums behind her, Baez has mostly retired from music, though she is still making poignant and unpredictable art.

Pop matters : CARLY SIMON BECAME A POP ROM-COM QUEEN WITH ‘COMING AROUND AGAIN’ (by Peter Piatkowski) →

May 10, 2023 by gabriela anco

Like Ephron, Simon looked to her fame-laced life when composing her tales of domestic ennui. When Ephron’s roman à clef, Heartburn, was adapted into a film by Mike Nichols, Simon was tapped to write the film’s theme song, “Coming Around Again”. Both projects – the film and the music – are artifacts of the 1980s. Heartburn and “Coming Around Again” are products of a decade that wrestled with rapidly changing gender roles as well as a generation of Baby Boomers who came of age during the counterculture of the 1960s only to become more conservative and embrace the capitalist, consumerist culture of the ‘Me Decade’ of the 1980s. Simon’s song and album is the standard-bearer of 1980s mainstream, upper-class liberal pop.

Chronogram : Album Review: Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams | Live at Levon's! (by Seth Rogovoy) →

May 01, 2023 by gabriela anco

The Hudson Valley's first couple of roots music offer an eclectic celebration of Americana on this collection of a dozen tunes recorded before a live audience at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, where multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell led the Midnight Ramble Band for a decade or so in support of the venue's namesake.

BBC : Harry Belafonte: Singer and civil rights activist dies aged 96 (by Mark Savage) →

April 25, 2023 by gabriela anco

One of the most successful African-American pop stars in history, he scored hits with Island In The Sun, Mary's Boy Child and the UK number one Day-O (The Banana Boat Song). A close friend of Martin Luther King, the artist was a notable and visible supporter of the civil rights movement, who bankrolled several anti-segregation organisations and was known to have bailed Dr King and other activists out of jail. He was one of the organisers of the 1963 March on Washington, and also took part in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. "Belafonte's global popularity and his commitment to our cause is a key ingredient to the global struggle for freedom and a powerful tactical weapon in the Civil Rights movement," Dr King once observed. "We are blessed by his courage and moral integrity." The star also campaigned against poverty, apartheid and Aids in Africa; and became an ambassador for Unicef, the United Nations children's fund.

Erie Reader : An Exclusive Interview with Angelique Kidjo (by Erin Phillips) →

April 10, 2023 by gabriela anco

Angelique Kidjo speaks with Erin Phillips about her latest award, the Polar Music Prize, her origins in song, her humanitarian work, and what audiences can expect at her upcoming performance at Mercyhurst.

Best Classic Bands : The Barnestormers, All-Star Combo, Announce Debut Album →

April 09, 2023 by gabriela anco

A new all-star combo, the Barnestormers, have recorded a self-titled debut album. The group is led by Australian rock ‘n’ roll and soul singer Jimmy Barnes, former Squeeze member and popular TV host, Jools Holland, and Slim Jim Phantom, the drummer and founding member of the Stray Cats. Those three are joined by Chris Cheney, the frontman and guitarist for Australian punk-rock outfit, The Living End, as well as studio whiz Kevin Cheney. Together, they’re releasing The Barnestormers, coming May 26, 2023, via Rhino.

Irish Examiner : TV review: Bono & the Edge get to Dublin's heart with Dave Letterman (by Pat Fitzpatrick) →

April 07, 2023 by gabriela anco

I was coming around to Bono after reading his recent autobiography, but this show makes it clear why people outside of Ireland are inclined to listen to him. He’s an optimist. While the rest of us were wallowing in cynicism and chunky jumpers in the 1980s, he put on a cowboy hat and pissed off to America. The pinnacle of this, as he explained to Letterman in a well-appointed mahogany Georgian library in Dublin, was the U2 song, 'Where The Streets Have No Name'.

NME : U2’s The Edge on Bono’s political “superpower” (by Anagricel Duran) →

April 04, 2023 by gabriela anco

"If you judge activism based on results, rather than it being some kind of attempted virtue signalling, then Bono was absolutely right". U2 guitarist The Edge has discussed frontman and fellow bandmate Bono‘s political “superpower” – and how he was right in becoming a high-profile political activist.

Interview Magazine : A Taste of Paradis: Patti Smith, in Conversation with Ingrid Sischy →

March 23, 2023 by gabriela anco

Interview magazine poured through the Interview archives to recirculate conversations with personalities, entertainers, and icons who personify the brand’s spirit of refinement, grandeur, and artistry. Today, they revisit the June 1996 issue, in which the ethereal Patti Smith sat down with our then-EIC Ingrid Sischy to discuss fame, meeting Mapplethorpe, and New York City.

Broadway World : Joan Baez And Emmylou Harris to Discuss Baez' New Book At OZ Arts Nashville (by Chloe Rabinowitz) →

March 20, 2023 by gabriela anco

Contemporary arts center in partnership with Parnassus Books, will host an intimate conversation with author, dedicated advocate, and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Joan Baez, alongside her longtime friend, 14-time Grammy winner Emmylou Harris. The April 8 event celebrates the release of Baez's new book of drawings “Am I Pretty When I Fly? An Album of Upside Down Drawings”, and all ticket buyers receive a signed copy of the book.

Rolling Stone : Watch Patti Smith’s Stunning Rendition of ‘She’s Leaving Home’ at Paul McCartney Tribute Concert (by Andy Greene) →

March 18, 2023 by gabriela anco

AN ALL-STAR LINEUP of musicians came together at New York’s Carnegie Hall Wednesday night for the Music of Paul McCartney charity concert, which raised money for music education programs. Patti Smith wasn’t part of the official bill, but she came out midway through the night to deliver a stunning rendition of “She’s Leaving Home.” It was her first time performing the 1967 Beatles classic, and she added to the song’s poignancy by tacking on a new verse delivered from the perspective of the young girl that runs away from home, leaving her parents emotionally shattered.

Rolling Stone : Christine and the Queens Enlist Madonna, 070 Shake for New Album ‘Paranoïa, Angels, True Love’ (by Daniel Kreps) →

March 08, 2023 by gabriela anco

Christine and the Queens will follow up their 2022 pop opera Redcar les Adorables Étoile this June with Paranoïa, Angels, True Love, featuring guests like Mike Dean, 070 Shake and Madonna. “This new record is the second part of an operatic gesture that also encompassed 2022’s Redcar les adorables étoiles. Taking inspiration from the glorious dramaturgy of Tony Kushner’s iconic play, Angels in America, Redcar felt colorful and absurd like Prior sent to his insane dream-space,” Chris said in a statement.

Music in Africa : Women’s Day playlist: Amplifying voices and inspiring change (by Gabriel Myers Hansen) →

March 08, 2023 by gabriela anco

From the shores of Benin to the streets of Morocco, the Motherland echoes with the melody of female African musicians unapologetically using their art to ignite positive change that transcends the music industry. In the soaring vocals of Fatoumata Diawara, to the bold lyrics of Muthoni Drummer Queen, the message is clear: it is time to fight for a world where gender equality is the norm, not the exception, and to amplify the voices of women and girls who have been overlooked for too long.