Little Big Town is releasing their latest single, “Hell Yeah,” on Monday, April 11. The song is the first single released by the ACM, CMA and GRAMMY-winning band in two years and will be on their forthcoming 10th studio album. The new record follows the No. 1 Country album Nightfall (released in 2020) which included singles “Over Drinking,” GRAMMY-nominated “The Daughters” and “Wine, Beer, Whiskey.”
“Phillip and I wrote this with Tyler Hubbard and Corey Crowder,” said LBT’s Jimi Westbrook. “I remember when Corey brought that hook in that day. He sang his idea and when he turned that phrase at the end of the chorus, we were all like ‘hell yeah!’ We always have a blast writing with those guys.”
GRAMMY, ACM, CMA, and AMA Award-winning group, Little Big Town — consisting of members Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, and Jimi Westbrook — first entered the music scene more than 20 years ago with hit songs “Boondocks,” “Bring It On Home,” “Good As Gone” and the GRAMMY-nominated “Little White Church.” The bands breakthrough albums Tornado and Pain Killer produced multiple #1 singles, including “Pontoon,” “Tornado,” and “Day Drinking,” as well as the history-making, best-selling country single of the year (2015) “Girl Crush.” 2017’s, The Breaker, debuted #1 on the Billboard Country Charts and Top 10 (No.4) on the Billboard 200 to critical acclaim. The album features their GRAMMY-winning, multi-week #1 single, “Better Man,” as well as the 2019 GRAMMY-nominated, “When Someone Stops Loving You.” Critically acclaimed and GRAMMY-nominated “The Daughters,” “Over Drinking,” and hit single “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” are the latest from the bands self-produced ninth studio album Nightfall which was released at the top of the Billboard Country Charts in January of 2020. To date “Wine, Beer, Whiskey” has reached global streams of over 316 Million. The bands tenth studio album is set for release later this year.
Inspired by the romantic hymn composed by Consuelo Velázquez in the 1940s, MC Pipo and Doc Filo create a sultry dance between modern production and a love story as old as time itself with the release of their new single, “Bésame Mucho.”
It all started in 1995 when two young rappers with similar ambitions and a deep-rooted passion for music were introduced to Bolero — a bittersweet yet alluring collection of love songs influenced primarily by Spanish musical styles. The constant struggle these two faced on their journey to become successful rappers is metaphoric for the struggle people go through to find love — and the faith they put into the life they are aiming to create with a significant other.
Much as we do with love, however, there was no river wide enough these two couldn’t get across. Driven to be the best at what they do, MC Pipo and Doc Filo are persistently and consistently showing the world – and their listeners – there is nothing in the way of your dreams.
MC Pipo (Rick Alfaro) is a Venezuelan rapper based in Montreal, Canada who found himself drawn to urban music at a young age. Working alongside Pipo is Doc Filo (José Emilio Rivera), a Salvadoran rapper also based in Montreal Canada, Filo found himself singing and making music as a child; into his early teenage years, he decided to look at music from a professional angle.
While these two rappers complement each other’s strengths and bolster each other’s weaknesses, no team is complete without a competent engineer; the group credits their more recent singles’ clean and executed sound to producer KingAlexBeats, who can provide complete productions with a great mix of musical styles.
This amalgamation of talent is presented beautifully in the group’s new single, “Bésame Mucho,” an homage to the late Consuelo Velázquez. Acknowledging Velázquez’s claim to fame as a Mexican pianist, the bouncy style of Spanish piano is featured prominently in the introduction of MC Pipo’s and Doc Filo’s “Bésame Mucho.”
However, it’s not long before the group’s intention becomes clear – to breathe new life into a famous and classic piece of music history.
After Doc Filo heard his son doing an instrumental of the original “Bésame Mucho” in the studio, he found himself inspired to bring a modern touch to the song. Collaborating with MC Pipo and KingAlex created the perfect storm of high energy and romantic swing.
“We like to merge many different styles of music and this song was perfect to make a version with our style. We wanted to keep the romantic concept while adding a splash of urban concepts.”
While MC Pipo and Doc Filo’s version of “Bésame Mucho” feels like a breath of fresh air, it is far from new. It’s hard to imagine that something so seemingly perfect sat on a “shelf” on someone’s hard drive for longer than a few months but, the truth is, “Bésame Mucho” is about five years old and, thanks to the duo’s new label, Montreal’s own Dance Plant Records, the push to release this absolute storm of a track arrived.
“Bésame Mucho” was released alongside a full-scale music video. As an additional tribute to the song’s roots in early Spanish music, the music video features 50’s attire and a standalone trumpet player accompanied by a burlesque singer.
“As the song is an old classic, we took inspiration from that for the video. We dressed like we were in the 50s to bring the music of today to a past era. We had a lot of fun making the video and everything came out as planned. We are very proud of the work done and hope that our fans will like it too.”
The best way to sum up “Bésame Mucho” is a well-executed project that expertly meshes a classic single from the 40’s with all of the high-energy drive of today’s hip-hop. Featuring sultry piano, bodacious trumpet, and a covetous vocal performance, “Bésame Mucho” is a production that rewards the listener with every listen.
Change is hard, letting go is even harder, and often the best way to deal with both is to simply rock. Canadian alt-country band Foreman & Co. know this deep in their bones and it shows on their infectious, head-bopping new single “Sun Still Rises.”
Fresh from the Grenville Sur La Rouge, QC-based band’s 2021 nine-track album, Waiting For A Sign, “Sun Still Rises” is a toe-tapping rocker heavy on Americana flavor. It’s got twangy guitars, an easy-rockin’ beat, and it’s full of that push-forward lament that makes country such a great genre for getting through tough times.
“Sun Still rises is the story of letting go, be it a relationship that’s failing, or a band that is collapsing,” the band says.
To that end, the song was written when the band was going through a lot of challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Foreman & Co share; as Covid took its toll on live shows and rehearsal options, the band began to struggle via the shedding of members.
Throughout most of the production period, it was just founding members Tom Foreman and Steve Larocque locked away ‘Hall and Oates-ing a band on life support, they recall. The result is an emotionally charged record that speaks to loss and frustration and looks to better days.
“It’s both a personal and an objective take on the great dumpster fire of life that was the winter of 2021,” the band says of the album. “But it’s not all dark; it is true that it takes a little rain and a little crap to make flowers grow.”
Waiting For A Sign also includes “Hometown Saturday Night,” an AC/DC-fueled anthem that refuses to go gently into the dark night, and begs for the return of the action-packed Saturday night. “Just Like You And Me” is a Springsteen-style fight to find some light in a dark day during a dreary winter commute. “President’s Day” is an acoustic song of heartbreak, while “Down To The River” offers a resurgence of hope.
Staying resolute in their own resurgence of hope and determination to remain a band, Foreman and Larocque found other members to round out the roster; Brooke Fullerton was able to make it into some of the recording sessions and contributed with thoughtful piano and B3 lines, as well as accordion and rich vocal harmonies and, by the spring of 2021, the band had added Dave Luker on drums and Matt Remenda of lead guitar — which brought things full circle, since Matt, Tom, and Steve had been friends and bandmates of one sort or another since high school.
Foreman And Co. are a rollicking loud alt-country rock band from Grenville Sur La Rouge, just outside of Montreal, Quebec. They write like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, but they sound like Skynyrd and Bon Scott-era AC/DC. If you love The Tragically Hip, Wilco, Blackberry Smoke, and Steve Earle, this band is for you.
There are two kinds of nature: the world around us and the world inside us. After musically addressing our global climate crisis with his most recent single, “Mother Nature,” Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Kalmakoff is turning his attention inward to aspects of human nature with his achingly beautiful interpretation of Jim Cuddy’s “You Be The Leaver.”
An original work by one of the five celebrated Canadian songwriters that Kalmakoff chose to pay homage to on his newest full-length album, Nature, released last November, “You Be The Leaver” is a story of love that faded and two lovers who drifted apart but, to Kalmakoff, it has a bigger scope that opened up some deep self-reflection too.
“This song definitely encompasses thoughts of heartbreak, but there are also lyrics in the song that speak to me about loss on other levels,” explains Kalmakoff. “Loss that many people have been going through over the last couple of years.”
“These particular lyrics in the song always get to me every time I sing them.”
I can’t explain
Oh well I guess I knew, as the shadows grew
But there was always so much time
So, you be the leaver, I’ll be the left behind
Kalmakoff’s dextrous and emotive tenor brings a sense of yearning to those lyrics, underlining how true it is that we really don’t know how finite our time really is with our loved ones.
Those feelings of self-reflection and loss figure prominently in the video for “You Be The Leaver,”, now available on YouTube. Taking great advantage of the lush natural surroundings near Kalmakoff’s home on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, video director Alexander Sharp wanted to emphasize the feelings of loss conveyed through the lyrics but visually mirror the feelings of self-reflection and isolation the song fosters as well.
“I loved the idea of watching Ron in this one as a reflection because when your heart is broken, it can feel, mentally speaking, there is nowhere to go except back to the past: a reflection of your former self,” notes Sharp. “Something about using mirror panes in the forest felt like a beautiful nightmare.”
From his first performance at age 16 at a talent show in his hometown of Canora, Saskatchewan, to appearing on the Tommy Hunter Show and moving to B.C. to perform several shows at Expo ‘86, and many more since, music has always been a vital thread through Kalmakoff’s life.
This directly reflects in his new album, Nature — a release Kalmakoff says is “part of the tapestry connected to my life. From my childhood in Saskatchewan to now living on the West Coast of Canada. The people I have known along the way. The artists who have inspired me and the beauty of Canada, woven here through the songs and the music.”
To produce Nature, Kalmakoff paired up with his close friend, well respected Vancouver producer and musician Michael Creber, who has also worked with luminaries such as Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, and k.d.lang. The two also co-produced Kalmakoff’s 2019 album Come to Me, which brought forth songs that have enjoyed airplay throughout Canada, the United States, Western and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and Turkey.
In addition to the seven tracks written by Kalmakoff on Nature, the Saskatchewan-raised, Vancouver-based artist chose to record five additional, hand-picked songs by Leonard Cohen, Loreena McKennitt, Jimmy Rankin, Michelle Creber, and of course, Jim Cuddy. Kalmakoff has admired Cuddy’s music for years and his songwriting style, especially his ballads.
“Jim’s song was one of the first I contemplated for my new album, but one of the final ones I recorded in the studio,” he recalls. “I loved the song right away when I heard it, but really had to think it through on how I could bring my own style to the piece, make it my own. I really hope that when Mr. Cuddy hears my version of the song he wrote; he will be pleased. His voice and songwriting are such a gift to Canada.”
In turn, Kalmakoff has brought his own musical gift to Canada with the 12 gorgeous songs found on Nature — including “You Be The Leaver.”
Nature, the album, and the new single “You Be The Leaver” are both available now.
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation today announces the launch of the Nile Rodgers “Hitmaker” Stratocaster guitar, a collaboration with the three-time Grammy winner, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a living legend of modern music with unfathomable cultural impact. This Fender Artist Signature Series release honors both Nile and the iconic guitar he used to write, produce and/or perform on countless hits for the likes of: David Bowie, Diana Ross, Madonna, Daft Punk, Duran Duran, The B-52’s, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Daddy Yankee, Robert Plant / The Honeydrippers, Jeff Beck, The Vaughan Brothers, Lady Gaga, Sister Sledge, INXS, Sam Smith and many more. Later this spring, fans around the world can also learn to play the culture-defining songs Rodgers produced, wrote or played guitar on via Fender Play, Fender’s complete online learning app for guitar, bass and ukulele. The Nile Rodgers collection will include words of advice from Rodgers himself, insight into his collaborative, creative process and individual video lessons for hits like “Good Times” and “Le Freak” (Chic); “I’m Coming Out” and “Upside Down” (Diana Ross); “Like A Virgin” and “Material Girl” (Madonna) when selecting the Pop path.
Throughout his incredible career there has been one essential element: his white 1960 Fender Stratocaster guitar. This Strat guitar became known as the “Hitmaker” after Nile used his guitar’s bright, energetic sound to write countless chart-toppers. For decades, Nile has maintained that the Hitmaker has a unique sound all its own. After working closely with Fender to ensure a faithful recreation, the Nile Rodgers “Hitmaker” Stratocaster guitar will enable players everywhere to experience one of the most ubiquitous guitars in recorded music. This Stratocaster is a true vintage rarity, a unique instrument and became an essential ingredient in Nile’s extraordinary rhythm tones. Watch as Nile plays through some of his top hits and dives into the story behind his iconic guitar.
“I’ve heard people say the Hitmaker is a $2 billion dollar guitar,” said Nile Rodgers. “When playing it, I’ve been a part of making some of the biggest-selling records of all time: David Bowie, Chic, Diana Ross, Daft Punk, Madonna and so many others. All I know is that it’s been my constant companion for almost fifty years. I can’t stop myself from playing it for hours each and every day. I’m therefore thrilled that now almost anyone can buy their own Hitmaker. Fender really got it right and focused on every little detail that made the original special. It’s going to be surreal to hear that unique sound on a record I didn’t make.”
After buying the Hitmaker at a small music shop in Miami in 1973, Nile used the guitar to create songs that have defined a multitude of genres, decades, movements and generations. It’s heard on the classic disco-era records “Everybody Dance”, “Le Freak” (the biggest selling single in Atlantic Records history!), “He’s The Greatest Dancer” and “Good Times”. The latter is one of the most sampled songs of all time and arguably gave birth to Hip Hop through the iconic “Rapper’s Delight,” many of which have been designated as “culturally significant” and selected for preservation by the Library of Congress. The latter of these songs is credited with bringing rap music to mainstream audiences, embedding the Hitmaker into the DNA of hip-hop and rap. Rodgers paved the way for further integration of guitar in rap and hip-hop music, and that influence lives on – as seen in the recent Super Bowl LVI halftime show – as more artists, producers and creators in those genres use guitar as a sonic paintbrush. To this day, Nile’s guitar is one of the most-sampled sounds in the Rap genre, heard on hits from the Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, A Tribe Called Quest, Will Smith, LL Cool J, and Slick Rick amongst many others. Nile’s peerless reputation as a producer, songwriter and guitarist made him the one to call when a major artist needed a hit record. David Bowie did so to create the Billboard #1 “Let’s Dance” in 1983. 30 years later Daft Punk would tap Nile for the Billboard #1 “Get Lucky.” The Hitmaker is heard on both of these records and virtually all of Nile’s best-known projects.
A number of features make the Hitmaker truly unique. It has the body of a 1960s Stratocaster guitar but the neck of a 1959 model. Its hardtail bridge gives it beautiful resonance and the guitar’s mirrored pickguard reflects stage lights beautifully. When played in Nile’s signature “chucking” style, the sound of this guitar became an essential component of Nile’s world-famous songwriting. Fender worked closely with Rodgers to study the original Hitmaker and design a meticulous recreation of the original guitar.
“The Hitmaker Stratocaster guitar is the epitome of what Fender’s Artist Signature Series is capable of,” said Justin Norvell, Executive Vice President of Product, FMIC. “These projects celebrate both guitar and artist, but in this instance, Nile and his Hitmaker are inseparable from each other. With that in mind, we had to nail every last detail: from the finish to the custom pickups, down to the bent-steel saddles that made his tone so bright and crisp. We’re grateful that Nile is letting us put such a revered piece of music history out into the world.”
The Fender Nile Rodgers “Hitmaker” Stratocaster guitar features a moderately thinner alder body with custom contours that match the original. The Hitmaker is finished in Olympic White lacquer with a one-piece maple neck with 9.5″ radius fingerboard, three custom Nile Rodgers Hitmaker single-coil Strat pickups, five-way switching, mirrored chrome-plated brass pickguard, hard-tail bridge with period correct bent-steel saddles, locking Sperzel tuners and a custom Hitmaker neck plate. Also included is a custom vintage-style case with Hitmaker-embroidered interior and a custom certificate of authenticity.
In true tradition, the Fender Artist Signature Series honors iconic musicians through product progression and storytelling, creating instruments inspired by the unique specifications of the world’s greatest guitarists and bassists. Watch “Freaky Rob” Gueringer demo the Nile Rodgers Hitmaker Stratocaster.
Nile Rodgers Hitmaker Stratocaster guitar ($2,599.99 USD, £2,499.00 GBP, €2,899.00 EUR, $4999.00 AUD, ¥363,000 JPY) Nile Rodgers has written, produced and performed on recordings that have sold more than 500 million albums globally. Every hit record he’s produced has shared one essential element: the used 1960 Fender hardtail Stratocaster guitar Nile bought in a Miami music shop nearly 50 years ago. Rarely is a single guitar so inseparably identified with its owner as the Hitmaker. The Hitmaker features a 1960 alder body that is uniquely smaller and more contoured than a typical vintage Strat guitar. The beautiful Olympic White lacquer matches the finish Nile sprayed on the guitar himself just after he acquired it in the early days of Chic. The custom ’59-profile one-piece maple neck has a 9.5″ radius fingerboard, medium jumbo frets and a satin finish. A “Nile Rodgers & Chic” logo adorns the back of the headstock and a custom Hitmaker logo is stamped into the neck plate. The Nile Rodgers Hitmaker single-coil Strat pickups are voiced to accurately replicate the quack, chime and bell-like clarity of the original Hitmaker. Other features include a hardtail string through bridge with period-correct bent-steel saddles, an eye-catching mirrored chrome-plated brass pickguard, locking Sperzel tuners and a set of white speed knobs. The guitar also comes with a vintage-style case with Hitmaker-embroidered interior and a custom certificate of authenticity.
Today globally-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli announced new US tour dates for December 2022. Andrea Bocelli In Concert includes eleven new show dates in major cities across the nation, including San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston, Miami, New York and Columbus with the support of the highly-regarded Columbus Symphony Orchestra. The tour also finds Bocelli performing for the first time ever in Bridgeport, CT, Savannah, GA, Indianapolis, IN with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and for the first time at the new venue UBS Arena in Long Island, NY. He is also set to return to the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 14.
Andrea Bocelli In Concert will feature performances from Bocelli’s uplifting album Believe, a poignant and personal collection of songs, celebrating the power of music to soothe the soul, as well as a selection of arias, his beloved crossover hits, famed love songs, and music in honor of the Holiday Season.
As one of the most recognizable voices in the industry, and revered by fans internationally, Andrea Bocelli has been entertaining audiences for over 20 years, counting nearly 90 million records sold worldwide. In addition to his sold-out arena-sized concert events and record-breaking live-streams, Bocelli has shared his talents at major events including the Olympic Games, the World Cup, and Global Citizen. He has earned a Golden Globe, seven Classical BRITs and seven World Music Awards, plus a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His 2018 album, Si, reached No.1 on both the US and UK charts.
December 2022 US Andrea Bocelli In Concert Tour
DECEMBER 1, 2022 / San Francisco, CA / Chase Center
DECEMBER 3, 2022 / Las Vegas, NV / MGM Grand Garden
DECEMBER 4, 2022 / Anaheim, CA / Honda Center
DECEMBER 7, 2022 / Indianapolis, IN / Gainbridge Fieldhouse
DECEMBER 8, 2022 / Columbus, OH / Nationwide Arena
DECEMBER 10, 2022 / Boston, MA / TD Garden
DECEMBER 11, 2022 / Bridgeport, CT / Total Mortgage Arena
DECEMBER 13, 2022 / Long Island, NY / UBS Arena
DECEMBER 14, 2022 / New York, NY / MSG
DECEMBER 16, 2022 / Savannah, GA / enMarket Arena
DECEMBER 18, 2022 / Miami, FL / FTX Arena
June 2022 US Believe Tour *previously announced
JUNE 15, 2022 / San Diego, CA / Pechanga Arena
JUNE 16, 2022 / Los Angeles, CA / Hollywood Bowl
JUNE 18, 2022 / San Jose, CA / SAP Center **
JUNE 22, 2022 / Austin, TX / Moody Center
JUNE 23, 2022 / Oklahoma City, OK / Paycom Center
**San Jose, CA is officially a rescheduled show from June 2020 and all tickets originally purchased are still valid for the new 2022 event.
Off the heels of his “‘Best’ Year Yet” (SPIN) and four 2022 Grammy nominations, keyboard virtuoso, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Cory Henry announces his 2022 world tour kicking off on April 13 in Australia. While down under, Cory will perform at the famous Byron Bay Bluesfest and headline shows in Melbourne and Sydney. In May, he’ll make a short return statewide to play at Beale Street Music Festival and Ground Up Music Festival, and then head to Japan for a run of dates at Billboard Live in Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka. His summer rounds out with a series of includes festival performances including Bonnaroo, Summerfest, Electric Forest, Summer Camp, Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Madrid’s Noches del Botánico, and shows at Red Rocks, KOKO (London), Amsterdam Bostheater, and Tel Aviv’s Barby. This fall, Los Angeles fans can catch a hometown performance on October 15 when Cory headlines The Fonda.
Arriving alongside the tour announcement is Cory’s latest single “The Fool.” “The Fool” sees Cory continue to push soul music forward into uncharted territory while paying homage to great soul visionaries such as Stevie Wonder and Prince. Cory’s unique “future soul” sound earned him a Grammy nomination this year for his 2020 solo album Something to Say, nominated in the Best Progressive R&B Album category. The first body of work solely produced by Henry, Something to Say showcases his multi-instrumental skills and powerfully mines 2020’s challenging emotional terrain.
One of the music industry’s most in-demand collaborators, Cory earned three more Grammy nominations this year for his contributions as a co-producer/writer on Ye’s DONDA, nominated for both Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, and Eric Bellinger’s New Light, nominated in the Best Progressive R&B Album category. Cory’s soulful organ soundscapes can also be heard on Imagine Dragons’ “Follow You,” Frank Ocean’s “Come On World, You Can’t Go!,” Rosalía’s “G3 N15,” and the new Red Hot Chili Peppers single “Poster Child.”
World-renowned artist, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and all-around keyboard master Cory Henry was born to be a musician. Picking up the organ at age two and becoming a permanent fixture of his church’s choir by five, it wasn’t long before he was sharing the stage with the likes of Ms. Lauryn Hill, Quincy Jones, and The Roots, and winning a Grammy Award as a vital part of the instrumental collective Snarky Puppy. Cory has made a name for himself as a vocalist, instrumentalist, and writer for icons spanning generations, but his work at the helm of his own band, Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles, is what shot him into superstardom. Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles are known for consistently enchanting live performances, and their viral NPR Tiny Desk show is a testament to this. NPR’s All Things Considered raved that Henry “can glide through just about any song on the Hammond with the ease of someone taking the family car out for a Sunday drive.” With over 100 million aggregated YouTube views, the Brooklyn-born and LA-based “future soul” maestro’s far-reaching impact is undeniable.
Cory Henry 2022 World Tour
April 13 — 170 Russell — Melbourne, AUS
April 14 — The Factory Theatre — Sydney, AUS
April 16-18 — Byron Bay Bluesfest — Byron Bay, AUS
May 1 — Beale Street Music Festival — Memphis, TN
May 6 — Groundup Music Festival — Miami, FL
May 16 — Billboard Live — Tokyo, JPN
May 17 — Billboard Live — Tokyo, JPN
May 18 — Billboard Live — Tokyo, JPN
May 20 — Billboard Live — Yokohama, JPN
May 23 — Billboard Live — Osaka, JPN
May 27 — Red Rocks — Morrison, CO
May 28 — Summer Camp — Chillicothe, IL
June 4 — Capital Jazz Festival — Columbia, MD
June 17 — Brown’s Island: Friday Cheers — Richmond, VA
June 18 — Bonnaroo — Manchester, TN
June 23 — Electric Forest — Rothbury, MI
June 25 — Summerfest — Milwaukee, WI
June 30 — Ottawa Jazz Festival — Ottawa, ON
July 1 — Festival International de Jazz de Montréal — Montreal, QC
July 6 — KOKO — London, GB
July 8 — Bospop — Weert, NLD
July 10 — Amsterdamse Bostheater — Amsterdam, NLD
July 12 — Noches del Botánico — Madrid, ESP
July 14 — Barby — Tel Aviv, ISR
September 3 — Jazz Aspen Snowmass — Aspen, CO
October 15 — The Fonda — Los Angeles, CA
Today, Mandy Moore debuts “Little Dreams,” the latest single from her forthcoming full-length studio album In Real Life, out on May 13 via Verve Forecast. This summer, Moore will headline an extensive tour of North America in support of the new album. It is her first tour in over a decade and tickets are on sale now.
The wildly glittering “Little Dreams,” which features a lavish string arrangement by composer Trey Pollard (Snail Mail, Faye Webster), takes on a heady velocity as Moore pays homage to the tiny moments that make up the patchwork of our lives.
Mandy shares, “Instead of getting lost in ruminating on the bigger picture. I wanted to write a song about how a life is comprised of these seemingly mundane moments that ultimately all piece together to form something greater. It’s about the little things we look back on with such nostalgia when we’re reflecting on a particular point in time: the walk you took with someone right after it had rained, or the drive when someone introduced you to a record that wound up becoming one of your favorites. It doesn’t always have to be about the flashy things that scream out to us—it’s all those quieter, simpler moments that are worth recognizing and celebrating too.”
The new album, In Real Life, brings a heightened sense of self-possession to Moore’s songwriting, imbuing each track with both detailed storytelling and lucid self-reflection. Produced by Mike Viola (Andrew Bird, Ondara, Lori McKenna), the album expands on the whirlwind creative momentum Moore first set into motion on 2020’s Silver Landings. To that end, Moore matches the album’s potent emotional current with a gloriously unpredictable sound, touched with elements of everything from jangly college-rock to cinematic synth-pop to classic singer/songwriter simplicity. Thanks to the charmed camaraderie and playful experimentation of Moore and her collaborators—including Goldsmith and his brother/Dawes bandmate Griffin Goldsmith, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, keyboardist Lee Pardini (The War on Drugs, Aimee Mann), and bassist Sebastian Steinberg (Sharon Van Etten, Phoebe Bridgers)—In Real Life embodies a dreamy effervescence even in its most heavy-hearted moments.
IN REAL LIFE TRACKLIST
1. In Real Life
2. Heartlands
3. Little Dreams
4. Just Maybe
5. Living In The In Between
6. In Other Words
7. Four Moons
8. Little Victories
9. Heavy Lifting
10. Brand New Nowhere
11. Every Light
MANDY MOORE 2022 TOUR DATES
Friday, June 10 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Saturday, June 11 – The Charleston Music Hall – Charleston, SC
Sunday, June 12 – The Carolina Theatre of Durham – Durham, NC
Tuesday, June 14 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Wednesday, June 15 – Webster Hall – New York, NY
Friday, June 17 – The Lawn of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg – Williamsburg, VA
Saturday, June 18 – Music Box at the Borgata – Atlantic City, NJ
Sunday, June 19 – Royale – Boston, MA
Tuesday, June 21 – The Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, CT
Wednesday, June 22 – The Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON, Canada
Thursday, June 23 – Roxian Theatre – McKees Rocks, PA
Saturday, June 25 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
Wednesday, July 06 – AT&T Performing Arts Center – Strauss Square – Dallas, TX
Thursday, July 07 – The Heights Theater – Houston, TX
Friday, July 08 – The Paramount Theatre – Austin, TX
Sunday, July 10 – Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO
Monday, July 11- The Vic Theatre – Chicago, IL
Tuesday, July 12 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
Thursday, July 14 – The Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO
Friday, July 15 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
Sunday, July 17 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
Monday, July 18 – Aladdin Theater – Portland, OR
Wednesday, July 20 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
Thursday, July 21 – Belly Up – Solana Beach, CA
Friday, July 22 – The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, July 24 – Newport Folk Festival – Newport, RI
Spontaneity may well be the most important element of jazz expression — the immediacy of creativity in its purest and most adventurous manifestation. For extraordinary pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, the live performance represents the pinnacle of that level of spontaneity and, in his outstanding new release on Justin Time Records, Alive – Live at Dièse Onze, Montréal, Pilc and his bandmates Rémi-Jean LeBlanc and Jim Doxas on bass and drums respectively, splendidly offer proof of this concept.
Available now, the liner notes of Alive reveal Pilc describing this state as “improvising musicians in their natural habitat, the jazz club, playing music for the sake of music, never repeating themselves, and creating sounds that they will never replicate.”
“Improvisation is often associated with freedom, but beware of appearances,” Pilc expands. “When inspiration strikes, music has a way to lead you from one moment to the next that gives you no choice but to follow the flow. And when all the members of the band hear the same sound, all of it, and react not as individuals but as part of that sound, then it feels like home, or family.”
This concert, recorded in June 2021, marked the trio’s first performance since the onset of the COVID pandemic. “The music was vital, to us and to the audience, and we experienced the full gamut of human emotions,” Pilc shares. “When we played that night for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, that feeling of evidence was palpable, more than ever; Montreal is lucky to have such a beautiful club as Diese Onze, and I’m sure the listener will feel the warmth and swinging atmosphere of the place.”
As intense as the emotions may have been, the music is brilliantly crafted and totally cohesive – a testament not only to the mastery of the musicians but also to the deep understanding and sensitivity to each other and the pursuit upon which they embarked as a unified force.
It’s also an example of collective improvisation at its highest level.
“Since a while ago, all my concerts are totally improvised — no setlist, nothing prepared, just let the music lead the way,” Pilc reveals. “I come on stage as a newborn, ready for a new life, a new journey, a new experience every time. My bandmates are part of that experience as much as I am myself, every note they play becomes part of this life we are living together on the stage.”
Collective improvisation is often dismissed as a method of haphazardness and serendipity, hoping that things may work out and expecting the audience to simply enjoy the adventure. But in the hands of superb musicians united by purpose, the results can be exhilarating, utterly captivating, and tremendously uplifting.
That is certainly the case here. As the legendary Harry Belafonte has said of Pilc: “Beyond all that can be said about his masterful technique and his beauty of touch, it is the unpredictability that is central to his remarkable talent.”
At its higher levels, jazz tells vivid stories, and those told by the trio are fascinating, multi-nuanced, intricately woven tales of rich texture, color, and unexpected plot twists.
Reflecting this, the music travels roads that are remarkably winding and varied in steepness and direction, but always totally focused on the ultimate destination. Through this journey – as Pilc goes on to say “unpredictability becomes evidence.”
The music here contains endlessly delightful surprises woven seamlessly into the intricate fabric within the individual pieces themselves. Two Miles Davis classics provide excellent examples, from the sheer simplicity of lyricism in “Nardis,” like a consistently evolving, but persistently gentle snowfall of filigreed delicacy, to the rumbling and rolling “All Blues,” escalating into a two-fisted romp that culminates in a scalding rapid-fire explosion of breathtaking intensity and ferocity.
The Hammerstein/Romberg song that became a jazz standard “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise” passes through so many stages of musical evolution, from its fragments of melody Tristano-ish opening through thunderous crescendos that never lose the sensitivity of the song, and culminating in a tantalizingly slow bluesy swing evoking the territories explored by Bud Powell and Herbie Nichols.
A pair of Pilc originals are also included – “11 Sharp,” a highly rhythmic, somewhat Monkishly grooved excursion, consistently evolving in melodic variety and emotional intensity, and the title piece “Alive,” an evocative, persistently explorative foray in gently insistent lyricism, which ends this wonderful album on a subtly provocative note.
Music like this can only be achieved by such consummately impeccable musicians as these three gentlemen. LeBlanc and Doxas are not simply sidemen by any means, as Pilc’s music demands far more ownership of the music by all the collaborators. Throughout the album, the bass and drums solos are never just there to give them some playing space but are fully woven into the textural fabric of each piece.
Seven additional exceptional pieces cover a wide spectrum, including three more Miles Davis affiliated items — a highly exciting spin on Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance” and two standards, a jauntily swinging “Someday My Prince Will Come” and an appropriately moody, atmospheric “My Funny Valentine”; along with a complex take on Lennon & McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby”; a delightfully whimsical version of Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are”; a lovely version of Rodgers & Hart’s “My Romance”; and a dynamically Latin-tinged and often explosive journey into John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.”
Enormously prolific and multi-faceted as composer and pianist, including musical directorship for Harry Belafonte; a duet performance with operatic legend Jessye Norman; a large-scale commissioned work based upon a major inspiration Charlie Chaplin; and over a dozen albums as a leader and almost as many as co-leader, Jean-Michel Pilc has become one of the most highly respected pianist/composers of the past 25 years.
Alive – Live at Dièse Onze, Montréal is available via Justin Time Records now.
Chin Injeti’s new song “YUH” feels like warm air and blooming fields, almost as if winter is ending and a new wave of spring is preparing to unfurl itself. In other words, exactly as the JUNO and GRAMMY Award-contributing winning producer intended it to be.
Featuring Iman Wamboi for the lead vocals, “YUH” — available now — infuses Injeti’s passion for funk and boogie music into a fresh-feeling classic-in-the-making. “I was trying to elicit the feeling of springtime and endless possibilities,” Injeti shares. “Something that could usher in the feeling of seasons changing; I think we achieved this with Iman Wamboi’s voice and her overall vibe as a creator.”
One of the things that makes “YUH” such an interesting production is its use of vintage samples with new wave-producing methods to create a time capsule that preserves everything you love about your favorite oldies while introducing new players to the music industry; the song samples a Galanti organ as well as the Casio Bossa Nova drums, both prominent figures in producer’s synth libraries during the 70’s/late 80s. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Stereo Lab & The Style Council. I wanted to make a track that was charming and reminiscent of samba with a light-hearted Casio Drum feel.”
“YUH”s potential to be a timeless hit is rooted in its natural fluid feeling. Like a spring runs down a mountain, “Yuh” trickles down through the listener’s ear and into the feet as they find the groove and passion put into Injeti’s newest single. The feel-good vibe that Injeti and Wamboi can manufacture effortlessly on their most recent collaboration is paired with relatable down-to-earth messages that will hit home for listeners across the board.
“Wish I’d never met you / Sometimes I regret it bad
But those eyes, they hit me so hard / I never had a chance”
Chin Injeti is a key player in the established music culture we all know and love. His career took off in the ’90s when he fronted for Bass is Base — a Canadian R&B group. The group went on to create hits such as “Funkmobile” — a production that went on to win a JUNO for Best R&B Record as well as a MuchMusic Video Award. Injeti was then awarded a Songwriter of the Year award by SOCAN. Landing a deal with Universal Music and Island Records was merely the beginning of this soundscaper’s career.
As Bass is Base came to an end, Injeti spent his time creating, touring, and performing all over North America with groups such as The Fugees, The Roots, Jamiroquoi, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and many more. Through his extensive tenure, he honed in on carving out frequencies while observing the importance of impactful lyrics and melodies.
Injeti finessed his production skills, finding himself behind a mixing board more frequently. Teaming up with DJ Khalil, Injeti went on to make music for Dr. Dre, Eminem, Drake, Pink, Aloe Blacc, The Clipse, Lecrae, K’Naan, and artists of the like. Chin Injeti received multiple JUNO Awards nominations, was namechecked as a producer on several albums winning GRAMMY Awards, finding his music slowly impacting the culture within music production as his records went Gold and Platinum.
