Spider-Man is coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after a contentious battle between Sony Pictures and Disney. In August, the two companies announced their partnership would dissolve and that Marvel Studios Kevin Feige would no longer produce the Tom Holland-starring Spider-Man franchise. Reportedly, the root of the problem was …
Read More »Lyta and Davido's 'Monalisa' Should Be Afrobeats' Next Radio Hit
The young Nigerian singer Lyta enlisted Davido to add a gritty guest verse to his feathery single “Monalisa.” “Monalisa” is just the third single from Lyta to appear on Spotify. The original, released in July, is a handsome contradiction, with fierce expressions of yearning — “You get my number I …
Read More »'No Pressure,' Trump Insists, While Sitting With Ukraine's Zelensky at U.N.
President Trump, in the midst of a political firestorm over evidence showing he pressured the newly elected president of Ukraine to coordinate with his personal lawyer and attorney general to investigate a political rival, sat down for a previously-scheduled joint press conference with that man, Volodymyr Zelensky, at the United …
Read More »Flashback: Ricky Skaggs Takes Bluegrass, Bill Monroe to New York City in 'Country Boy' Video
In the mid-Eighties, Ricky Skaggs married his brand of bluegrass — a modernized version that included drums, piano, and electric guitar — to the burgeoning music video medium. The result was one of country music’s all-time great videos, an irreverent clip that shined a light not only on Skaggs’ vibrant …
Read More »Pilgrimage Festival 2019: 5 Best Things We Saw
The Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival rebounded strong in 2019, following a tough 2018 when a large portion of the Franklin, Tennessee-based event was cancelled for heavy rainfall and flooding. Attendees coming out to Harlinsdale Farm September 21st and 22nd got dust and punishing heat instead, along with performances from …
Read More »Ken Burns' 'Country Music': 10 Things We Learned From Week 2
By the second half of the 20th century, country music was big business. Radio, records, television and movies all played a part in its popularity, but its artists and its songs were still at the forefront, even as profits soared or slumped. The second half of Ken Burns’ Country Music …
Read More »Song You Need To Know: Beabadoobee, 'I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus'
It’s official: Gen Z stans the Nineties just as much as millennials do. Eighteen-year-old London musician Bea Kristi, who performs under beabadoobee, released her new single “I Wish I Was Stephen Malkmus” this week, and the song’s devotion to the alt-rock prophet goes beyond a name-check. “Sitting at home, crying …
Read More »'Rambo: Last Blood': A Reagan-Era Hero, Re-Engineered for the MAGA Age
When we last saw John Rambo — Vietnam vet, social pariah, savior of POWs and stoic killing machine — he was saving missionaries and mercenaries in war-torn Burma at the end of Bush II’s second term. Then our man returned home to Arizona, walking down the dusty path to the …
Read More »Jason Isbell Adds Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Blind Boys of Alabama as Ryman Residency Openers
In October, Jason Isbell will expand his now-annual Ryman Auditorium residency to a full week of shows, spread across nine days. On Wednesday, Isbell’s label Southeastern Records announced the full lineup of opening artists for the 2019 residency, most of whom have deep roots in the blues community. Singer-songwriter Amanda …
Read More »Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs Set for 2019 CMT Artists of the Year
CMT’s annual Artists of the Year special returns October 16th with a live broadcast from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center that will honor five country performers who have ruled in 2019. This year, those honorees include Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, and Thomas Rhett. The 90-minute live …
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