AP News : R.E.M. reunite at Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony also honoring Timbaland and Steely Dan (by Maria Sherman) →

A comet must have landed at the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. [...] The annual event celebrated a talented group of songwriters that included R.E.M., Steely Dan and Timbaland [...] Irving Azoff led the celebration of Steely Dan, telling a story about the legendary band submitting a blank glossy image as their promo artwork. “To say they had a great sense of humor would be an understatement,” he said. Co-founded by Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker, Steely Dan are known for their classic rock songs including “Do It Again” and “Hey Nineteen.” “I’d like to thank my partner Walter Becker, wherever he may be,” Fagen said in his acceptance speech. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio covered Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” and “Reelin’ in the Years.” Their “real genius” is their songs, Anastasio said.

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Wtop : Five-time Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo joins NSO for ‘African Symphony’ at Kennedy Center (by Jason Fraley) →

This Wednesday, Angélique Kidjo performs live with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. “It has been a program we have been talking about for a while now,” Kidjo told WTOP. “The thing that was important for me was to come and pay tribute to the music that has inspired my music from the 60s (Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti and Youssou N’Dour) all the way down to today with the music of Burna Boy, Rema and all the young kids that grew up listening to my music. Music has informed me about the diversity of our shared humanity.”

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Sky News : 'Big Five-0': Cold Chisel announces massive return to rock and roll in golden anniversary national tour (by Oscar Godsell) →

"Australian rock legends Cold Chisel have sent shockwaves through the Australian rock world with the announcement of a monumental reunion tour to commemorate their 50th anniversary.The ARIA Hall of Fame band has scheduled a nationwide golden anniversary tour through every Australian state in October and November this year. [...] “I can’t wait to celebrate with my mates and with all the fans who have been such a big part of our story. We’re going to smash it,” said Jimmy Barnes, the 68-year-old frontman."

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Relix : Songwriters Hall of Fame Details 2024 Induction Ceremony and Gala: Trey Anastasio, R.E.M. and More →

The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its 2024 induction ceremony and award gala details. The 53rd annual gathering will be held on Thursday, June 13, at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in New York City. [...] This year’s event will celebrate the exceptional contributions of Hillary Lindsey, Timothy Mosley (Timbaland), Dean Pitchford, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker (Steely Dan), and the iconic members of R.E.M., Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe. These luminaries, with their remarkable body of work, have left an indelible mark on the music industry.

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Louder War : Patti Smith : The John Robb interview

Patti Smith headlines the upcoming Higher Ground Festival in London soon – details in ad at top of this page! To celebrate here is her in depth interview with John Robb in 2010 where she details her creative life in New York and with Robert Mapplethorpe in an emotional account that has tears, laughs, poetry.

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Forbes : How Lupe Fiasco Flexed His Lyrical Prowess In ‘Cake’ (by Ime Ekpo) →

On Friday (June 7), Lupe Fiasco dropped "Cake," the second single from his new album, Samurai. This track exemplifies top-tier hip-hop lyricism, with the Grammy award winner demonstrating his verbal mastery. Produced by Soundtrakk, the song hosts Fiasco celebrating his achievements and highlighting his exceptional skills while dismissing those who have attempted to undermine him. Through his use of diverse literary concepts, rapping techniques, and impactful cultural and historical references, including Optimus, Kabbalist, and Vonnegut, Fiasco crafts a performance that continues to affirm his standing as one of hip-hop's greatest lyricists.

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Irish Independent : ‘Riverdance is a powerful expression of Irishness’ – dancers line Samuel Beckett Bridge for cancer charity ahead of summer run (by Tessa Ndjonkou) →

More than 20 members of Riverdance put on a show on the Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin yesterday morning ahead of 12-hour danceathon to raise money for a cancer charity. Each year, Riverdance announces the charity with which it will be partnering throughout the season and this year it has chosen Childhood Cancer Ireland. Nearing 11am yesterday, a unique show of gossamer blues and greens greeted passersby to mark the announcement. Patricia McColgan, sister of Riverdance director John McColgan, whose son was diagnosed with cancer as a child, said: “It’s just wonderful. Riverdance is such a powerful, hopeful expression of Irishness. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our kids to be involved with this. Some of them have been through some very tough times and it’s a fantastic celebration for them to be centre stage.”

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Ghana Web : Angélique Kidjo celebrates as 'Manodzi' wins 'Record of the Year' at the TGMAs →

Renowned music legend Angélique Kidjo celebrated her recent win at this year’s Telecel Ghana Music Awards. Her collaboration with Stonebwoy on the track “Manodzi” featured on his 5th Dimension album, was honoured with the “Record of the Year” award at the prestigious event".

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WRTI 90.1 : On the cusp of a major album drop, esperanza spalding rests in motion (by Nate Chinen) →

When esperanza spalding glides through our area in the coming days, she’ll be moving in a deliberate spirit of grace. “The whole point of this tour was like a resting place,” the Grammy-winning bassist, singer, bandleader and songwriter, who stylizes her name in all-lowercase, explained this week in a conversation with WRTI. “Because I've been doing so many big, complicated projects that I really just needed a resting place,” spalding explains. “So it'll be familiar things. Songs that don't feel like a strain. And it's very intimate. It's not like: Ta-Da! It's kind of close, things that are known and feel like comfort places from all the records, except for Emily's D+Evolution.”

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RTE : "Even painful memories are sweet" - Rosanne Cash talks to Arena →

Rosanne Cash will be at the National Concert Hall on Thursday 13th June with John Leventhal and songwriter Aoife O'Donovan, to mark the launch of the Musician Treatment Foundation (MTF) in Ireland.The fund provides vital orthopedic care for musicians' shoulders, elbows, and hands and has so far delivered over $2.7 million in care through its Physicians for Musicians network.

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Best Classic Bands : Patti Smith’s ‘Horses’: Poetry In Motion (by Mark Leviton) →

When Patti Smith described her 1975 debut album "Horses" as “three-chord rock merged with the power of the word,” she was connecting herself to two artistic streams. First, there was the relatively simple “garage” sound of groups like Count Five, ? and the Mysterians, the Seeds, Chocolate Watch Band, etc., which she—and her longtime guitarist Lenny Kaye—felt epitomized the primal power of American rock. Second, she was asserting that the poetry of masters such as William Blake, Walt Whitman and Arthur Rimbaud, and their 20th century acolytes Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Charles Olson, could be spiritually integrated into music that would aspire to literary heights. As Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Jim Morrison, Robert Hunter and other Smith-approved poet-composers had already proven, lyrics could be literature.

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npr : 30A Songwriters Sessions: Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams (Miguel Perez and Stephen Kallao)

Today, NPR World's Coffee "30A Songwriters Sessions" featuring a performance from Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams. Even though it's officially their fourth album as a duo, Campbell and Williams have been playing together for nearly 40 years. Campbell, a Grammy winner who had played with Bob Dylan and The Black Crowes, was initially reluctant. Eventually, after years of playing together with Levon Helm, Campbell and Williams took the leap. Their latest album, "All This Time", is a celebration of their longtime commitment to one another. It also features a special appearance from Helm, recorded shortly before his passing.

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Independent UK : Joan Baez: ‘It feels good to have changed the world’ (interview with Kevin E G Perry) →

At 83, Joan Baez, the trailblazing singer and civil rights activist is publishing her first collection of poetry. She talks to Kevin E G Perry about the power of protest music, her years with Bob Dylan, her ‘odd couple’ relationship with Steve Jobs, and her fears for a future under Donald Trump.

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Pitchfork : Christine and the Queens Shares Video for New Song “Rentrer Chez Moi” →

Christine and the Queens has shared a new song, “Rentrer Chez Moi,”with a Sasha Mongin–directed video with choreography set in the desert. Check it out below. The single follows Chris’ album Paranoïa, Angels, True Love, released last year. “This song makes me cry because it is true, so much love I have for you, this deep decision to always stay honest—for the dance to be then the shared moment, the joyful celebration,” Chris says in a statement on the song and video.

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ScreenRant : U2’s Bono And The Edge Talk Art Against Oppression In Kiss The Future Documentary Clip (by Owen Danoff) →

Kiss the Future is a new documentary about an underground artist community during the 1990s siege of Sarajevo that inspired a U2 concert, and Screen Rant has a clip featuring the hit band themselves. Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a major locale in the Bosnian War and was ultimately besieged for a whopping four years—from April 1992 to February 1996. During that time, a vibrant community of artists utilized art and music to affect change, which inspired a U.S. aid worker to propose that U2 help raise awareness of the conflict.

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Amy Helm auf Tour 2024: Tickets und Termine. →

Die Tochter von The-Band-Musiker Levon Helm spielt im Mai drei Konzerte in Deutschland.

Amy Helm ist schon lange viel mehr als eine Sängerin. Nach jahrzehntelangem Perfektionieren ihrer Kunst hat sich Helm zu einer eigenen Stimme in der Musikwelt entwickelt. Das ist gar nicht so einfach, wenn man die Tochter von The-Band-Musiker Levon Helm ist.

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Official Charts : Band Aid 40: Bob Geldof's ambitions for Do They Know It's Christmas? anniversary release →

Bob Geldof has hinted a 40th anniversary release of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? could be on the way. 2024 marks 40 years since The Boomtown Rats' frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox's Midge Ure first enlisted a star-studded supergroup for the charity song; which went on to become 1984's Official Christmas Number 1 single and raise millions for the famine relief effort in Ethiopia.

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WFIT : 30A Songwriters Sessions: Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal XPN (by Stephen Kallao, Will Loftus) →

One of the premiere singer-songwriter festivals in the U.S. happens along the Emerald Coast in northwestern Florida. It's called the 30A Songwriters Festival. Over the next few weeks, we're taking you there as we broadcast the 30A Sessions, courtesy of our friends at WMOT. This week, Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal perform a set of songs, including some from Leventhal's latest album called Rumble Strip.

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Se7en : ‘Sarajevo Concert Documentary ‘Kiss the Future’ by U2, Executive Produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Set to Land on Paramount+’ →

"Kiss the Future", the docudrama regarding U2’s spots 1997 show in Sarajevo. The movie, created by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for Artists Equity and Sarah Anthony and guided by Nenad Cicin-Sain, is based upon author Bill S. Carter’s narrative Fools Rush In, which catches the imaginative defiance bordering the 1990s siege of Sarajevo throughout theBosnian War [...] U2 lead guitar player The Edge included: “Kiss the Future documents how through superhuman acts of courage and creativity, the people of Sarajevo kept going while their city was under siege during the bloody Balkan civil war of the early 1990s. Their story of defiance and resistance against extreme nationalism couldn’t be more relevant to today. To have been even a small part of this amazing story is a huge privilege.”

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Gaby Moreno to perform at Levon Helm Studios on May 12 →

Armed with a warm, soulful sound, Gaby Moreno creates music that offers an intoxicating invitation into her musical world for English and Spanish speakers alike. Since moving to Los Angeles from her native Guatemala, singer-songwriter-producer Gaby Moreno has released 7 albums, earned a Grammy nomination for her albums Alegoría (Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, 2023) and Illusion (Best Latin Pop Album, 2017), and won two Latin Grammy Awards (Best New Artist, 2013 and Best Traditional Tropical Album, 2023). Moreno has shared the international stage with pop music luminaries such as Bono, Andrea Boccelli, Tracy Chapman, Ani DiFranco, Punch Brothers, Hugh Laurie, Buena Vista Social Club, Calexico, David Gray, and many more. Through her various projects, Moreno has redefined Americana as the only prominent Latina in the genre today, opening the doors for other marginalized voices and transforming the landscape overall.

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