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Ashanti announces UK arena tour with Trey Songz and Mario
Ashanti is gearing up to return to the UK this summer, announcing an arena tour with special guests Trey Songz and Mario. The R&B singer, known for the hits ‘Foolish’, ‘Baby’ and ‘Happy’, will hit the road between May 29 and June 2. She’ll perform at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, Leeds’ First Direct Arena, Birmingham’s Utilita Arena and Manchester’s AO Arena. Put on in collaboration with UK promoters TCO, Ashanti’s upcoming UK trek will celebrate 20 years of her debut single ‘Foolish’, which was originally released on February 11, 2002. Advertisement Her last album was 2014’s ‘Braveheart’, but she announced in...
NYC’s drill rap scene: “Eric Adams is pushing the NYPD stigma against drill music”
Drill artists and Brooklyn rap experts have shared their reactions to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ recent call to pull drill music from the internet. Earlier this month, Adams said during a press conference that after seeing “alarming” drill music videos, he felt they should no longer be shared on social media. “We pulled Trump off Twitter because of what he was spewing,” the former NYPD officer said at the time. “Yet we are allowing music, displaying of guns, violence, we’re allowing it to stay on these sites.” Advertisement Adams added: “We are going to pull together the...
Russia no longer allowed to compete in Eurovision 2022 following Ukraine invasion
Russia has been banned from competing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, following backlash to an earlier statement saying the country would be allowed to compete despite launching a military assault on Ukraine. Ukraine has officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia, and declared martial law, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on Thursday (February 24). At the time of writing, at least 137 civilians have been killed in Ukraine with 316 injured (via The Guardian). It is currently being reported that Russian forces are now approaching Kyiv, the country’s capital (via BBC News). Advertisement The...
US live music scene: “Without government support, you won’t have independent venues in America”
Independent venue owners, associations, and touring artists have spoken to NME about what the US live music community still needs from the US government to survive this stage of the ongoing pandemic. READ MORE: From ticket sales to COVID safety – US industry insiders on the return of live music in 2022 With ticketholder no-show rates reaching a high of 50 per cent last month and the National Independent Venue Foundation recently relaunching its Emergency Relief Fund, venues and artists told us they are still facing show cancelations, financial challenges, and health risks associated with COVID. Ella Williams, AKA...
Sasami’s New Album Squeeze Is A Haunted House
By Danielle Chelosky In many ways, Sasami Ashworth’s life has been leading up to this moment. Studying classical music through middle school and high school, the Los Angeles-based artist has been refining her ear since she was a kid. After furthering her studies in college, she became a music teacher while touring with bands part-time. It was when she was assisting Bright Eyes member Nate Walcott with arranging for other artists that she realized what she wanted to do. “I started understanding that my fluency in classical music and rock music could be tapped into,” she says over the...
Russian rapper Oxxxymiron cancels shows: “I know that most people in Russia are against this war”
Russian rapper Oxxxymiron has cancelled a series of shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The artist cancelled six sold-out concerts in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this week, according to a statement translated by The New York Times. “I know that most people in Russia are against this war, and I am confident that the more people would talk about their real attitude to it, the faster we can stop this horror,” said Oxxxymiron in a statement (translated by the Times). “I cannot entertain you when Russian missiles are falling on...
Watch Inhaler work on new music for their second album
Inhaler have confirmed that they’re working on their second album by sharing a behind-the-scenes studio clip – watch below. The Dublin band released their debut full-length effort, ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’, last July ahead of appearing at a string of festivals and embarking on a UK/Ireland headline tour. READ MORE: Inhaler interview – “You get into a band so you don’t have to grow up” Having wrapped up a run of US dates in late 2021, the group revealed on social media yesterday (February 24) that they’re currently at work on new music. Advertisement “Here’s a little...
Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos pays tribute to “open and welcoming” people of Kyiv
Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos has paid tribute to the “open and welcoming” people of Kyiv in a new Instagram post. It comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation yesterday (February 24). Writing on Instagram, Kapranos paid tribute to Ukraine sharing a picture of the time he and his band visited Kyiv. He wrote: “This is Kyiv when we visited less than three and a half years ago. I loved this city which had a sense of optimism in amongst the deep history. The people...
Russia allowed to compete in Eurovision 2022, despite Ukraine invasion
Russia will be allowed to compete in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, despite the country launching a military assault on Ukraine. Ukraine has officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation yesterday (February 24). At the time of writing, at least 137 civilians have been killed in Ukraine with 316 injured (via The Guardian). It is currently being reported that Russian forces are now approaching Kyiv, the country’s capital (via BBC News). Advertisement The UK, European Union, the US and Australia have imposed sanctions on...Recent Posts
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