FASHION+MUSIC

Jonas Brothers Tour

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Making history once more, GRAMY nominated multiplatinum powerhouse trio–Jonas Brothers—capture #1 on the Billboard 200 with their blockbuster fifth full-length album, Happiness Begins. The band delivers the biggest debut of 2019 with total consumption of 414K units, including 68 million streams (Nielsen).

Get it HERE via Republic Records.

As the third #1 album of their career and first release since 2009, this #1 bow represents a landmark moment for the group and pop at large as they retain the place at the top of the charts they claimed a decade ago. Jonas Brothers notably achieve the biggest sales week of 2019 for an album. Not to mention, Happiness Begins generated a greater total consumption of more than the rest of the Billboard 200’s Top 10 combined!

A global success, the album also landed at #1 in Canada, with additional career high debuts in countries including UK, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands and more.

These achievements solidify the Jonas Brothers return as the biggest pop event of 2019.

“Sucker” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking the first #1 for the band and the first #1 debut from a group this century. Recently ranked #1 on Billboard’s critic’s picks list of the “50 Best Songs of 2019,” it has become a song of the summer anthem.  At radio, the multiplatinum Billboard Hot 100 #1 smash “Sucker” continues to dominate, rapidly ascending to #1 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart where it led for eight weeks- the most for any song this year and longest running #1 since Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” in 2017.  The song also recaptured the #1 spot on Billboard‘s Adult Pop Songs chart, as the band’s follow up single “Cool” approaches the Top 10 on Pop Songs.

The historic week kicked off with the release of the band’s highly anticipated documentary Chasing Happiness—available now exclusively via Amazon Prime Video. In support of the release, the band made several high-profile media appearances throughout the campaign, including a surprise launch on The Late Late Show With James Corden, a performance on the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, Saturday Night Live, the season finale of The Voice, MTV’s TRL and more.  In addition, they graced the covers of Billboard, Paper Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar’s first ever Men’s Bazaar cover.  Most recently, they performed on the Today Show Summer Concert Series- which saw record breaking crowds- and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where the band debuted their next single “Only Human.” Up next, the band will appear on NBC’s new hit show Songland, which stars GRAMMY® Award-winning songwriter, producer, and lead singer of the multi-platinum band OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder, who was a producer on the album.

Watch their debut performance of “Only Human” on Fallon HERE.

After selling out multiple shows, the Happiness Begins Tour will kick off August 7th in Miami, FL with special guests Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw.  The band will then release their upcoming memoir Blood, which is available for pre-order HERE now and will be released in November 2019.

Happiness Begins is here, and for the Jonas Brothers and their fans, it appears that Happiness has only just begun…

Jonas Brothers “Happiness Begins Tour” 2019 Dates:
Wednesday, August 7, 2019              Miami, FL                    AmericanAirlines Arena
Friday, August 9, 2019                       Orlando, FL                 Amway Center
Saturday, August 10, 2019                 Tampa, FL                  Amalie Arena
Monday, August 12, 2019                  Atlanta, GA                 State Farm Arena*
Wednesday, August 14, 2019            Raleigh, NC                PNC Arena
Thursday, August 15, 2019                Washington, DC         Capital One Arena
Saturday, August 17, 2019                 Boston, MA                 TD Garden
Sunday, August 18, 2019                   Philadelphia, PA         Wells Fargo Center
Wednesday, August 21, 2019            Uncasville, CT            Mohegan Sun Arena
Friday, August 23, 2019                     Toronto, ON                Scotiabank Arena
Saturday, August 24, 2019                 Toronto, ON                Scotiabank Arena
Tuesday, August 27, 2019                 Buffalo, NY                  KeyBank Center
Thursday, August 29, 2019                New York, NY             Madison Square Garden
Friday, August 30, 2019                     New York, NY             Madison Square Garden
Saturday, August 31, 2019                 Hershey, PA                Hersheypark Stadium
Tuesday, September 3, 2019             Pittsburgh, PA             PPG Paints Arena
Thursday, September 5, 2019            Columbus, OH            Schottenstein Center
Saturday, September 7, 2019            Detroit, MI                   Little Caesars Arena
Sunday, September 8, 2019               Grand Rapids, MI       Van Andel Arena
Tuesday, September 10, 2019           Nashville, TN              Bridgestone Arena
Friday, September 13, 2019               Indianapolis, IN           Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Saturday, September 14, 2019          St. Louis, MO              Enterprise Center
Monday, September 16, 2019            St. Paul, MN                Xcel Energy Center
Tuesday, September 17, 2019           Milwaukee, WI            Fiserv Forum
Thursday, September 19, 2019          Chicago, IL                  United Center
Friday, September 20, 2019               Chicago, IL                  United Center
Sunday, September 22, 2019             Kansas City, MO         Sprint Center
Wednesday, September 25, 2019      Dallas, TX                   American Airlines Center*
Thursday, September 26, 2019          Houston, TX                Toyota Center*
Friday, September 27, 2019               San Antonio, TX         AT&T Center*
Sunday, September 29, 2019             Tulsa, OK                    BOK Center
Tuesday, October 1, 2019                  Denver, CO                 Pepsi Center
Thursday, October 3, 2019                 Salt Lake City, UT       Vivint Smart Home Arena
Saturday, October 5, 2019                 Phoenix, AZ                Talking Stick Resort Arena
Sunday, October 6, 2019                   Anaheim, CA               Honda Center
Tuesday, October 8, 2019                  San Francisco, CA      Chase Center
Friday, October 11, 2019                    Vancouver, BC           Rogers Arena
Saturday, October 12, 2019               Tacoma, WA               Tacoma Dome
Sunday, October 13, 2019                 Portland, OR               Moda Center
Tuesday, October 15, 2019                Sacramento, CA         Golden 1 Center
Thursday, October 17, 2019               San Diego, CA            Pechanga Arena
Friday, October 18, 2019                    Las Vegas, NV            MGM Grand Garden Arena
Sunday, October 20, 2019                 Los Angeles, CA         Hollywood Bowl
Monday, October 21, 2019                 Los Angeles, CA         Hollywood Bowl
Sunday, October 27, 2019                  Monterrey, MX            Auditorio Citibanamex
Monday, October 28, 2019                 Monterrey, MX            Auditorio Citibanamex
Wednesday, October 30, 2019           Mexico City, MX         Sports Palace
Thursday, October 31, 2019               Mexico City, MX         Sports Palace
Saturday, November 2, 2019             Guadalajara, MX        Auditorio Telmex
Tuesday, November 12, 2019            New Orleans, LA        Smoothie King Center
Friday, November 15, 2019                Ft. Lauderdale, FL      BB&T Center
Saturday, November 16, 2019           Orlando, FL                 Amway Center
Sunday, November 17, 2019              Jacksonville, FL          Vystar Memorial Coliseum
Tuesday, November 19, 2019            Atlanta, GA                 Infinite Energy Arena
Wednesday, November 20, 2019       Charlotte, NC              Spectrum Center
Friday, November 22, 2019                Newark, NJ                 Prudential Center
Saturday, November 23, 2019           Brooklyn, NY               Barclays Center
Sunday, November 24, 2019              Boston, MA                 TD Garden
Tuesday, November 26, 2019            Toronto, ON                Scotiabank Arena
Wednesday, November 27, 2019       Montreal, QC              Bell Centre
Friday, November 29, 2019                Atlantic City, NJ          Boardwalk Hall
Saturday, November 30, 2019           Baltimore, MC             Royal Farms Arena
Tuesday, December 3, 2019              Rosemont, IL              Allstate Arena
Wednesday, December 4, 2019         Omaha, NE                 Chi Health Center
Friday, December 6, 2019                  Dallas, TX                   American Airlines Center
Saturday, December 7, 2019             Austin, TX                   Frank Erwin Center
Tuesday, December 10, 2019            Phoenix, AZ                Talking Stick Resort Arena
Thursday, December 12, 2019           Oakland, CA               Oracle Arena
Saturday, December 14, 2019           Los Angeles, CA         The Forum
*Bebe Rexha not performing

JONAS BROTHERS HAPPINESS BEGINS
http://JonasBrothers.lnk.to/

JONAS BROTHERS SOCIALS
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Rucker Park Basketball

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On Saturday, June 22, 2019, Harlem will be celebrating basketball returning to Rucker Park! Continuing in the tradition of Holcomb Rucker  – who founded the legendary Rucker Park basketball association in 1947 – and the late Greg Marius – who in 1982 extended the brand with the creation of the Entertainers Basketball Classic (EBC) – Harlem welcomes the newly formed Rucker Park Prep as the next phase of this staple Harlem institution that has greatly served New York city and its surrounding communities.  
 
Globally known as “The Rucker” and hailed as the temple of street basketball; where legends and greats like Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant have gone to earn their rites of passage.  Put through the gauntlet by basketball street legends like Earl “The GOAT” Manigault, Pee Wee Kirkland, Kareem “The Best Kept Secret” Reid, Ali Moe, “A Butta” and “Skip To My Lou”.  The Rucker is where NBA stars such as Vince Carter and Lebron James have sought street cred, and still more show up to be battle-tested.  

Def Jam Recordings – the legendary record label with deep roots in Harlem’s Basketball culture – joins Rucker Park Prep as it’s official launch sponsor and the newest extension of the Rucker legacy. 

Rather than “Street Ball” Rucker Park Prep is instead a 14U (and up) High School youth division that will feature the best high school players from in and around the New York tri-state area. Leading the Games will be Rucker Park Prep’s Co-Founder and Commissioner Steve Barnett, the principal authority at the Rucker who has for decades not only provided College Scholarships for hundreds of young people but has coached countless elite Basketball Players in the country. Through his efforts and commitment to youth development many of his players have achieved the highest accolades in both university basketball of which many have gone on to play in the NBA.
 
“Rucker Park Prep is proud to be a part of the long-standing tradition and legacy of the Rucker Park – We are so excited to have Def Jam Recordings as a launch partner for Rucker Park Prep. The entertainment industry and Rucker Parks relationship is historic stated Haqq Islam, President and CEO of Rucker Park Prep.

“We are excited and honored to join Rucker Park Prep as a presenting sponsor this summer,” said Rich Isaacson, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Def Jam Recordings. “The Rucker and Def Jam are two New York institutions that strive to enrich the cultural fabric of this city and this community. We couldn’t imagine a better opportunity to unite, inspire and empower young people through sports, music and the one-of-a-kind vibrancy that is summer in New York City.”
 
On the first game day -Saturday June 22nd at 3:00pm – Rucker Park Prep in conjunction with Def Jam Recording will be sponsoring a community and family day, providing free food from local Harlem vendors to all guests of the game in the park. 
 
The game will start at 4:30pm and will feature this counties top High School teams The Patrick School vs. Upper Room. On Saturday June 29th the Patrick School will play the Country Day School.
 
Commissioner Steve Barnett proudly states “RPP is a Premier Showcase for High School Basketbal.”
 
On Saturday June 29th at 5:30pm, Rucker Park Prep will be joined in a press conference with Councilwomen Inez Dickens, Harlem Assemblyman Al Taylor,  State Senator Brian Benjamín as well as Borough Manhattan President Gail Brewer will be bestowing honors to the following:  Def Jam Recordings, The Greg Marius Family, Darold “D- Ferg” Thomas who is the father platinum Polo Ground Entertainment/Sony recording Artist and Harlem native A$AP Ferg; Adrian “A Butta” Walton, considered one of the Greatest Street Ball Players in Rucker History and The Legendary Longtime Rucker Park Coach Bob McCullagh Founder of Each One Teach One, who has both played and coached at the Rucker Games for over fifty years.  
 
The Rucker can an also be credited with birthing stars like Stephon Marbury, Cal Ramsey, and Hall of Famer, Nate “Tiny” Archibald. Similarly, Rucker Park Prep aims to help youth in the New York tri-state area earn more access to scholarships and other opportunities for exposure.  Furthermore, the goal and objective of Rucker Park Prep is to enable students to excel in all areas of their high school experience, academically, socially as well as athletically.  
 
“The EBC Organization and the Marius Family supports Rucker Park Prep in their mission of fostering and empowering youth in their athletic abilities in baseball” stated by Cheryl Marius and Family
 
Through Rucker Park Prep Foundation, Life skills workshops combined with high level basketball instruction will aid in the building of character and help instill core values such as integrity, hard work, perseverance, self-confidence, personal responsibility, leadership, respect for the game, and overall sportsmanship. Rucker Park Prep will strive to be a resource, both for students and parents, serving as a guide to help families navigate through the pitfalls and challenges that prevent student athletes from reaching their full potential. By taking a holistic approach to sports education and training, our goal is to help create the next generation of leaders inside and outside of the sports arena.   

Bantu “Which One” Music Video

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Rising Zimbabwean hitmaker, singer and producer Bantu shares the video for his new single ‘Which One’ featuring Alicaì Harley today.

The perfect recipe for a summer smash, the video was filmed in LA, directed by Bantu and James Davis II and features the Jamaican Born, London based hotly tipped singer and rapper, Alicaì Harley. Written and produced by Bantu, ‘Which One’, has garnered major playlist support across Spotify, landed radio support from BBC 1Xtra, Capital Xtra and specialist radio and has been championed by DJ Target, Toddla T and MistaJam to name a few. 

‘Which One‘ follows Bantu’s last single ‘Roll With Me’ featuring Shungudzo and ZieZie -which has garnered over 10 million streams to date- and his feature alongside Anuel Aa on Nick Minaj’s ‘Familia’ which was an integral track on the soundtrack for animated film, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Hailing from Zimbabwe, Bantu’s music and visuals reflect his multicultural background, with a collage of infectious sounds, rhythms and stories. A Grammy nominated singer and producer, Bantu has produced and written for some of the world’s biggest artists (including Jason Derulo, Rita Ora, A$AP Rocky, Camila Cabello, and Pitbull) and shares his management team with Sean Paul.

Bantu released his first single as an artist, ‘Holiday’, in 2016 and his debut EP ‘Africa for the Summer’ in August 2017. In 2018 his single ‘Just a Little’ was featured in the Netflix hit series “On My Block”, and his ‘Jackie Chan’, appeared on the FIFA 19 soundtrack. Bantu is the first artist signed to Blue Future, Jonas Blue’s label founded in partnership with Virgin EMI.

Earmarked as an artist to watch for 2019 by everyone from BBC Radio 1Xtra, Capital Xtra and Redbull through to Grazia magazine, Alicaì Harley has received a wealth of critical acclaim for her beat-heavy, dancehall-infused pop sound. Following on from her breakout single ‘Gold’ Alicaì’s notable releases include female-empowerment anthem ‘Proper Paper’, ‘Do That’ (featuring Dancehall legend Tony Materhorn), a collaboration with Toddla T (‘Instructions’) and her interpolation of Destiny Child’s classic ‘So Good’.

Drax Project

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New Zealand sensation Drax Project release new track, All This Time today. The song was produced by Roget Chahayed (Travis Scott-Sicko Mode, Halsey-Bad At Love) and showcases their unique blend of pop, R&B, jazz and hip-hop. All This Time best represents what it feels like to be a part of the live show experience, and has become a fan favorite while out on the road.
Buy/Stream HERE
“For us, All This Time is the closest representation of what a Drax Project show is like. The contrast between the clean guitar and vocals to the heavy distorted saxophone is something we’ve been looking to do for a long time, just haven’t quite been able to until working with Roget. We’re sooo stoked to finally have it done,” said the band.
Drax Project’s infectious pop anthem “Woke Up Late” collaborating with multiplatinum-selling artist and Academy Award-Hailee Steinfeld, charted at #2 on New Zealand Pop Radio, #1 on iTunes in New Zealand, and #1 on Shazam in New Zealand for over 4 months with a global push. With over 85 million total streams worldwide and growing daily, the “Woke Up Late” music video features YouTube star Liza Koshy in a fun and refreshing story full of charisma and feel-good vibes.
Watch HERE.
“Woke Up Late” was handpicked as Zane Lowe’s World Record + Amazon’s Song Of The Day, debuted on Billboard’s Pop Songs Chart, and won “Single Of The Year” in the 2018 VNZMAs, where Drax Project was also awarded “Breakthrough Artist”.
The band recently released the acoustic version of their EP NOON. Listen HERE. The acoustic EP highlights their musicianship and peels back the layers of the studio versions. NOON introduced four songs, including certified gold “Toto,” alongside hit “Woke Up Late“. With a new body of work underway, Drax Project is currently in the studio and gearing up to the take the world by storm.

Damian Jr Gong Marley

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Grammy Award-winning artist Damian Jr. Gong Marley debuts his new single Reach Home Safe TODAY, Friday, June 14. This is his first new single since his GRAMMY award winning album, Stony Hill, released in 2017. Click HERE to listen to the new single!

Leading up to this release, Damian Marley was recently featured in Skip Marleyߣs song That’s Not True; as well as Karol G’s Love With A Quality. Having just finished his European tour with stops in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Greece, Damian will appear at The Hollywood Bowl on July 7th. Marley will also be performing at the Levitate Music and Arts Festival in MA on July 14th and at the MayJah RayJah Music Festival in Hawaii on July 26th and 27th.

For more about Damian Jr. Gong Marley, please visit:

Lil Keed Releases Debut Album

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Lil Keed has released his debut album Long Live Mexico out today on Young Stoner Life Records / 300 Entertainment. The title was inspired by Keed’s late friend “Mexico” who passed away earlier this year, the album is Keed’s way of paying respect to a loved one but also celebrating life. Long Live Mexico includes Keed’s recent singles “Oh My God”, “Proud Of Me” featuring Young Thug and “Pull Up” featuring Lil Uzi Vert & YNW Melly, plus new tracks with features from Gunna, Nav, Moneybagg Yo, Lil Gotit, Lil Duke, Roddy Rich, Karlae, Stickbaby, Guap Tarantino and PG Casper.

Lil Keed is one of Atlanta’s fastest rising stars and made waves last year with his breakout single “Nameless” which has earned over 53 million streams to date and hit #1 at Atlanta urban radio. Keed grew up in the same apartments as Young Thug, who first discovered Keed during a chance meeting in a parking lot where Keed played some of his songs for him. Later that day, Thug invited him to the studio and later signed Keed to his label.

ROCKETMAN “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again”

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The video for ‘(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again’, a brand-new song written especially for ROCKETMAN by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and performed by Elton and Taron Egerton, has today been unveiled. The glorious visuals give a vivid snapshot into Elton’s career, taking shots of Taron in the epic musical fantasy ROCKETMAN, intercut with archive live footage, 70’s psychedelic animation, iconic album artwork and gig posters to transport you back to his hedonistic heyday. Directed by Los Angeles artist Kii Arens, the video is a perfect accompaniment to the gloriously uptempo, soulful stomper of a track, which plays over the movie’s credits. The video premiered today on MTVU and MTV Live and can be seen throughout the day. Watch the clip here.

The song is taken from ‘Rocketman: Music From The Motion Picture’ (out now on Interscope Records), which sees celebrated producer and composer Giles Martin re-interpreting and re-imagining Elton’s iconic hits, tailoring the music specifically to support the narrative of the major motion picture, with a truly show stopping vocal performance from ROCKETMAN lead actor Taron Egerton. ‘(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again’ is co-produced by Giles Martin and Greg Kurstin. ‘Rocketman: Music From The Motion Picture’ is available now.

Tasked with taking Elton’s unparalleled back catalogue and reimagining it to fit the film’s narrative, ‘Rocketman: Music From The Motion Picture’ producer Giles Martin worked closely with the filmmakers, supervising all of the music for the production and pulling a vocal masterclass from Taron in the studio. From transforming ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’ into an epic ensemble piece, to morphing ‘I Want Love’ into a heart-breaking moment of conflict around little Reggie’s family meal, each track has been sculpted to form a unique part of the narrative of this most incredible of stories. The album is produced by Giles Martin (except ‘(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again’ co-produced by Giles Martin and Greg Kurstin) and was recorded between 2017 and 2019 at Abbey Road Studios and AIR Studios in London. Executive Album Producers are Elton John, David Furnish, Matthew Vaughn and Dexter Fletcher.

Paramount Pictures presents, in association with New Republic Pictures, A Marv Films/Rocket Pictures production ROCKETMAN, an epic musical fantasy about the incredible human story of Elton John’s breakthrough years. In cinemas now, the film follows the fantastical journey of transformation from shy piano prodigy Reginald Dwight into international superstar Elton John. This inspirational story – set to Elton John’s most beloved songs and performed by star Taron Egerton – tells the universally relatable story of how a small-town boy became one of the most iconic figures in pop culture. Rocketman also stars Jamie Bell as Elton’s longtime lyricist and writing partner Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as Elton’s then manager, John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s mother Sheila Farebrother. ROCKETMAN was directed by Dexter Fletcher, written by Lee Hall and produced by Matthew Vaughn, David Furnish, Adam Bohling and David Reid.

‘Rocketman: Music From The Motion Picture’ is out now on Interscope Records

1.The Bitch Is Back (Introduction)

2. I Want Love

3. Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)

4. Thank You For All Your Loving

5. Border Song

6. Rock & Roll Madonna – Interlude

7. Your Song

8. Amoreena

9. Crocodile Rock

10. Tiny Dancer

11. Take Me To The Pilot

12. Hercules

13. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

14. Honky Cat

15. Pinball Wizard – Interlude

16. Rocket Man

17. Bennie and the Jets

18. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down – Interlude

19. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

20. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

21. I’m Still Standing

22. (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again 

 

** All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin except ‘Thank You For All Your Loving’ written by Elton John and Caleb Quaye, ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ written by Ann Orson and Carte Blanche and ‘Pinball Wizard’ written by Pete Townshend

DJ Snake, J Balvin, and Tyga “Loco Contigo”

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DJ Snake, J Balvin, and Tyga have shared an irresistible new summer anthem called “Loco Contigo,” available now via all digital retailers. 

Today also marks the premiere of the “Loco Contigo” video, directed by Colin Tilley (an award-winning filmmaker known for his work with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj).

Watch the video for “Loco Contigo” by DJ Snake, J Balvin & Tyga HERE.

With its seductive rhythms, otherworldly beats, and undeniable melodies, “Loco Contigo” finds DJ Snake and his collaborators redefining Latin music for today’s pop landscape. Named “reggaeton’s global ambassador” by the New York Times, three-time Latin Grammy Award-winner J Balvin graces the track with the smooth vocals and magnetic presence that’s made him one of the world’s most-streamed artists. Meanwhile, Tygabrings the supreme flow shown on his just-released seventh album Legendary (featuring the five-times-platinum Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hit “Taste” feat. Offset). 

“Loco Contigo” arrives as the latest in a series of powerhouse singles from DJ Snake, including the all-star hip-hop anthem “Enzo” (a collaboration with Sheck Wes, featuring Offset, 21 Savage & Gucci Mane) and the double-platinum international smash “Taki Taki” (feat. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B).

Known for his explosive live set, DJ Snake is now gearing up to appear at many of the world’s biggest summer festivals. Visit http://djsnake.com/tour for more info on upcoming tour dates. More to be announced soon.

 

The Avett Brothers

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In a letter penned by Seth Avett, Grammy Award®-nominated collective THE AVETT BROTHERS revealed today that they will be releasing their new album, Closer Than Together [American/Republic Records], on Friday, October 4, 2019. Read the mission statement for Closer Than Together here and below. The first single from the record “High Steppin’” was also released today along with its official music video.

Listen to “High Steppin’” HERE and watch the official music video HERE.

The mission statement touches on the inspiration behind the upcoming album, pulling from feelings about the current state of the world and observations reflected from the band’s own experiences. Seth Avett describes, “The last thing the world needs is another piece of sociopolitical commentary… We didn’t make a record that was meant to comment on the sociopolitical landscape that we live in. We did, however, make an album that is obviously informed by what is happening now on a grander scale all around us…because we are a part of it and it is a part of us…The Avett Brothers will probably never make a sociopolitical record. But if we did, it might sound something like this.” Read the full letter below

The video for “High Steppin’” shows Scott Avett as a “rhinestone cowboy” and Seth Avett as what some could describe as “death” as his passenger. The two ride together and encounter a stop in the road where Bob Crawford and steppers are waiting for them. In a spoken word interlude Seth Avett notes that “you can only live one day at a time, only drive one hot rod at a time, only say one word at a time, only think one thought at a time….” A meaningful commentary on life that finishes with a hopeful ending.

Heralding the album’s impending arrival, THE AVETT BROTHERS continue on a string of tour dates throughout the year including three sold out nights at Red Rocks, The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles (August 22nd), and performances at Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam, and more. Not to mention their recently announced (and sold out) The Avett Brothers at the Beach four night festival in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, February 27-March 2nd.  See their full tour dates here: www.theavettbrothers.com/tour

MISSION STATEMENT: CLOSER THAN TOGETHER 

The last thing the world needs is another piece of sociopolitical commentary. We, as a species that boasts at least some semblance of consciousness, are entering an odd new form of fatigue: one that encompasses not only our observance of the behavior of others (nefarious and otherwise), but also our seemingly unlimited endurance to loudly judge and wax philosophically about it. Of course, in each instance, regardless of its nature or circumstance, our own personal opinions are presented as the clear, correct, and only perspective on any given subject. We speak as if we are not one body, though we are. We judge as if we don’t value the judgment of others upon us, though we do. We forget to put our feet into the shoes of our neighbor, and curse them for making the same ancient mistake. 

My brother and I have never been more aware of our own failings in the department of golden-rule navigation. We see it in ourselves and we are accustomed to seeing it in our neighborhood, our state, our country, our planet. We speak daily with each other about the lunacy of the world in which we live… the beauty of it, the mystery of it, the hilarity and the unspeakable calamity of it. We talk about God and community and evil and what forgiveness is and what it means to aim for unconditional love in a land (and body) full of conditions. Sometimes we feel better just from speaking about it with a loved one. Sometimes we don’t and we go to our little bunks on the tour bus and continue to process the latest example of fear-inducing news that our phones have indiscriminately handed us. We then simultaneously endeavor to forgive ourselves for being in the fortunate position of having bunks in a tour bus to lie down on. In whatever way we process both personal and universally-affecting events, at some point, these conversations grow melodies and find themselves stepping back into our lives in the forms of songs. 

As our records tend to be, the newest – entitled ‘Closer Than Together’ – is certainly led by the personal narrative of our own lives. In this way, there is no massive departure from our continued artistic language. This chapter however, perhaps in part because of our age or our time, wanders inevitably into hallways both social and political. These are songs developed through and inspired by not only what we see inside our homes and our travels, but by the connections we are blessed to nourish, the conversations by which we are surprised and intrigued, and by the far-reaching experiences of our distant brothers and sisters. We are family men with good and evil in our hearts, and the pains and joys in this world are mirrored on the small scale of our own personal existence. The songs herein are reflections of what we are. ‘We’ meaning Scott and me. ‘We’ meaning this family and this band. ‘We’ meaning the strangers we’ve had (and will have) the honor of encountering all over the world. ‘We’ meaning ‘We the People’.

We didn’t make a record that was meant to comment on the sociopolitical landscape that we live in. We did, however, make an album that is obviously informed by what is happening now on a grander scale all around us…because we are a part of it and it is a part of us. ‘Closer Than Together’ is a record of obvious American origin – a creation that fittingly could only come about through hard work, measured freedom, awe-inspiring landscapes, and perfectly flawed individualism. 

The Avett Brothers will probably never make a sociopolitical record. But if we did, it might sound something like this. 

 -Seth Avett (Summer 2019)

The Avett Brothers made mainstream waves with their 2009 major label debut, I and Love and You, landing at No. 16 on the Billboard Top 200 and garnering critical acclaim. 2012 saw The Carpenter hit No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 and was followed by Magpie and the Dandelion (2013) which debuted at No. 5 on Billboard’s Top 200 and saw the band appear twice on Jimmy Kimmel Live! True Sadness (2016) achieved The Avett Brothers’ highest career debut to date hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Albums Chart, No. 1 Top Rock Albums Chart, No. 1 Digital Albums Chart, No. 3 on Billboard Top 200, and scoring two GRAMMY®nominations. In the same year, the band was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. In 2017, the band released their critically acclaimed documentary May It Last: A Portrait of The Avett Brothers, which was co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. The film followed the band as they wrote their GRAMMY® nominated album True Sadness. The film was released theatrically and on HBO to rave reviews and critical acclaim and will be available on DVD/Blue-Ray in June 2019 (available for pre-order now). In November 2018, the band headlined the concert for Hurricane Florence Relief in Greenville, North Carolina, raising $325,000 to help those affected by Hurricane Florence. Coming soon Swept Away – a new musical inspired by and featuring the music of The Avett Brothers – will have its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in June 2020. Recently, they released three new songs “Roses and Sacrifice,” “Trouble Letting Go” and “Neapolitan Sky” in anticipation for new music in 2019.

For all things The Avett Brothers:
http://www.theavettbrothers.com/

Yizzy

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Swiftly following the release of his massive new project ‘Welcome To Grime Street’, Lewisham MC Yizzy reveals a new video for ‘Noticing Me Now’.

A unique track from the EP, this is the first to feature vocals by London artist Elshay and lyrically takes a moment to document Yizzy’s battle to be heard as an artist. The video symbolises this with a nightmarish hospital scene in which Yizzy’s restrained on an operating table by apocalyptic figures.

 “Noticing Me Now is that special tune I never expected to make. My EP tracklist was done for ages, I took a song off to make room for this song instead. Listen to the song to find out why.”

Having dropped on 7th June as part of the ‘Welcome To Grime Street’ EP on DMY / Livin Legendz, Yizzy celebrated over the weekend with two huge performances at Field Day – where he marked the start of festival season by headlining the Dr. Martens Boot Room Stage – and Parklife, performing for the Reprezent Radio Stage.

The project is also being supported by some of the most influential artists and tastemakers such as Wiley, Logan Sama, Sian Anderson and Charlie Sloth – who invited him in for the long awaited and massively impressive Fire In The Booth debut – shortly after putting on a landmark debut headline show at the O2 Academy2 Islington in May.

With his first full project since 2018’s ‘S.O.S’ EP, Yizzy has returned with a hard statement of intent that delivers everything you want from a grime project in 2019. With millions of streams online and currently featuring as the cover artist for Spotify’s flagship Grime Shutdown playlist, and with 100’s of spins from UK radio and praise from the likes of BBC, Guardian, Red Bull, NME, Complex, FACT, i-D, Clash and more in the past two months alone, Yizzy is surely set to blow…

Listen/buy the #WTGS EP today: http://ffm.to/wtgs.oyd