Along with the festivals, the run of Thom’s Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes headline shows in June and July has been postponed all due to the ongoing Covid virus situation.
Here is a 16-minute clip of Thom, Nigel and Tarik on stage last year, as a small reminder of what was possible, and will be again.
World Class performing artist Morris Day presents a live streaming and pay per view performance entitled Funk Corona! The pay per view and streaming special will air July 10th at 7pm Central and will be hosted by Comedian and host of The Talk, Sheryl Underwood. Featured act Morris Day and the Time will be joined by artists such as Cameo, Ready 4 The World, Original Mary Jane Girls Maxi and Cheri with more to be announced. Funk Corona will be available on cable, satellite and digital Pay Per View on Friday, July 10th at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT for a suggested retail price of $19.99 via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH or visit FITE.TV, Payperliveevents.com or download the FITE.TV app.
“My Vision for Funk Corona hit me at 3am while watching CNN News. I was looking at all the confirmed cases, and confirmed deaths from this virus, and knew that something more had to be done. I was watching how the nurses and doctors on the frontline were risking their own lives day in and day out, without proper PPE and lack of rest. All in the name of saving the lives of our love ones. So at that moment, I decide I would do my part. I hopped up and said F%#K Corona! Then the lightbulb went off and I said wait, “Funk Corona”.. A concert extravaganza of some of the biggest and most legendary Funk Bands in the game- would come together to raise money for the workers on the frontline, so that they have proper safety equipment to continue to do the remarkable job they are already doing for America. That’s what “Funk Corona” is all about” explains Morris Day.
The event will be streamed live with all artists socially distancing and wearing appropriate personal protection.
Courtney Benson, Manager for Morris Day and one of the event organizers says, “We have 2 viruses we must eradicate: Covid19 and racism. This event was designed to help the sick and spread love for all races through the common love of music.”
Morris Day is best known as a friend and associate of Prince starring alongside the Purple One in Purple Rain. They attended the same high school in Minneapolis and in 1974 as teenagers became bandmates in the band Grand Central and the rest is history!
Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a new re-mastered and expanded edition of THE LIVING ROOM CONCERT by original Genesis guitarist and celebrated solo artist and composer ANTHONY PHILLIPS.
Originally released in May 1995, the album featured highlights of a live solo performance by Anthony which was recorded on March 21st 1993 as part of the Living Room Concert Series for the US Radio program Echoes, a daily program of contemporary instrumental music. The show was broadcast on 120 public radio stations in America on 25th June 1993.
For the performance Anthony selected a number of acoustic guitar and piano pieces for the performance, drawing mainly on tracks originally released on the albums The Geese and The Ghost, Private Parts and Pieces and A Catch at The Tables, along with two pieces from New England, the eighth volume in the Private Parts & Pieces series and a solo 12-string version of the first movement of a Guitar Quintet that he had composed in 1976, which had subsequently been scored with parts for strings and wind instruments; “Conversation Piece.”
Unavailable on CD for many years, THE LIVING ROOM CONCERT has been remastered and expanded to include three previously unreleased tracks recorded for the original broadcast, “Jaunty Roads,” “Let Us Now Make Love” and “Lucy: An Illusion.”
This Esoteric Recordings edition restores the original artwork and includes new liner notes by Anthony Phillips archivist Jon Dann.
TRACK LISTING
1. REAPER
2. WHICH WAY THE WIND BLOWS
3. HENRY: PORTRAITS FROM TUDOR TIMES
4. CONVERSATION PIECE
5. FLAMINGO
6. FIELD OF ETERNITY
7. SISTINE
8. LIGHTS ON THE HILL
9. LAST GOODBYES
10. COLLECTIONS
11. SLEEPFALL
BONUS TRACKS
12. JAUNTY ROADS
13. LET US NOW MAKE LOVE
14. LUCY: AN ILLUSION
Todd Rundgren, dubbed “Rock’s Renaissance Man” in 1972 by Rolling Stone, will be premiering his bi-weekly live interactive virtual television series “The Todd’s Honest Truth” on his 72nd birthday, June 22, 2020 at 6pm PDT/9PM EDT. A new episode will then go live every other Friday beginning July 3 in the same time slot.
Famously outspoken and opinionated (he was among one of Bill Maher’s most frequent guests on the original “Politically Incorrect”), Rundgren will host the show live from his Kauai property, interlaced with his throwing to pre-recorded packages shot in front of a green screen to provide mood-appropriate settings (a recurring segment dubbed “The Word of Todd”, in which he will be waxing eloquent on any number of topics). He will also be answering audience questions in real time, there will be a live chat window open for viewers to interact, and Todd will encourage audience members to submit content which he will curate in between shows and select standouts for inclusion on upcoming episodes.
“Forty years ago I reserved a transponder on a satellite, hoping to broadcast to homes across the world. Apparently, that satellite got lost or blew up or something so a dream was put on hold… until now! And I don’t even have to leave my house!!!”, Rundgren explained.
The virtual box office to purchase tickets for “The Todd’s Honest Truth” episodes is open as of today here.
The series is being produced in partnership with Future Beat, the leading company producing VIP package experiences for concert tours — futurebeat.com. Todd’s longtime manager, Panacea Entertainment chairman Eric Gardner, is executive producing. In addition to an unlimited number of “general admission” tickets priced at $15 per episode (which includes access via VOD for anyone who missed a live stream), forty virtual one-on-one meet & greet packages will be available for $95 per episode, which will include shipping of an item of exclusive series-related merchandise.
In other news, Todd Rundgren and some well known guest artists are re-recording his 1973 anthem “Just One Victory” and giving it away for free to the Democratic National Committee for use by candidates throughout the US running for public office this fall. Participants include Joe Walsh and Paul Shaffer, along with Don Was, who is co-producing with Todd.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rundgren began playing guitar as a teenager, going on to found and front Nazz, the quintessential ’60s psychedelic group. In 1969, he left the band to pursue a solo career, recording his debut offering, Runt. But it was 1972’s seminal Something/Anything?, on which he played all the instruments, sang all the vocal parts, and acted as his own producer, that catapulted Todd into the superstar limelight, prompting the press to unanimously dub him “Rock’s New Wunderkind.” It was followed by such landmark LPs as The Hermit of Mink Hollow and A Wizard, A True Star; evergreen hit singles include “I Saw The Light,” “Hello It’s Me,” “Can We Still Be Friends,” and “Bang The Drum.”
Although James Corden, Reggie Watts and The Muppets can’t be together in a studio, the group comes together on video chat to sing The Beatles classic “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Sing along with Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Swedish Chef, Animal, Gonzo and so many more.
“Oh Yeah.” You’ve heard this song—full of oh yeah, bow bow and ch-ch ch-ch ch-ka!—who knows how many times over the years. Recorded by the Swiss synth pop duo known as Yello, “Oh Yeah” became a pop culture phenomenon after being featured in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” In the 1986 movie, the percussive piece is the soundtrack to the scene where Cameron shows off his father’s prized Ferrari to his friend Bueller. And we all know what happened after that. (If you don’t, you must watch this ’80s teen classic.) But what’s the story behind “Oh Yeah?” We meet up with Yello—composer Boris Blank and lyricist/vocalist Dieter Meier—in Zurich to hear it straight from them. They even perform some fresh oh yeahs just for us.
Advances in science and technology have revealed that the universe is not silent: the stars produce infrasound acoustic waves which can be recorded, though the human ear cannot perceive them.
These infrasounds were computed by astrophysicist Garik Israelian in 2005. This unique acoustic library inspired Israelian and Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist and legendary guitarist of Queen, to create a festival to bring together stars and music, and so Starmus was born.
The first Starmus Festival (2011) featured Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, William Anders and Charlie Duke along with Alexei Leonov, the first human to walk in space. Brian May was joined by Tangerine Dream to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first space flight.
Starmus quickly gained popularity, and more space, science and music stars joined the festival including Professor Stephen Hawking and Peter Gabriel who became members of the Starmus Advisory Board. Starmus has also established a prestigious award for science communication, the Stephen Hawking Medal, awarded to Elon Musk, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Eno, Hans Zimmer, Jean-Michel Jarre and the documentary Apollo 11.
Many art and science projects were inspired by Starmus. Thus, in 2016 Nobel Prize winner Kip Thorne and Oscar winners Hans Zimmer and Paul Franklin created the concert “The Warped Side of the Universe”, reimagined and extended in 2019 under the title “Once Upon a Time on the Moon” with the added participation of Brian May, Rick Wakeman and Steve Vai to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s Moon landing.
Today Starmus announces the result of another art-science project involving Dr Israelian, Brian Eno, Paul Franklin, Oliver James and DNEG, the “Starsounds” project. It is based on Dr. Israelian’s lecture “Our Acoustic Universe” published in the book “50 Years of Man in Space” (lectures of Starmus I, 2014). Brian Eno arranged the acoustic waves from Dr. Israelian’s library into a new composition by speeding them up so that they could be heard. Then Paul Franklin and Oliver James of DNEG, the world-leading Oscar winning visual effects studio, created images based on the star waveforms and images of our Sun. “Starsounds”, a hypnotic piece with complex harmonies and mesmerising visuals, is being made available on the internet for the first time – finally, we can listen to the stars and both see and hear the music that they make!
Today, Live Nation announced their first ever U.S. drive-in concert series — LIVE FROM THE DRIVE-IN — will bring fans a live music tailgating experience unlike any other, kicking off July 10-12 in Indianapolis, IN, Nashville, TN, and St. Louis, MO. Brad Paisley will headline performances in all three cities, marking the start of a much anticipated return to in person live events. Darius Rucker and Jon Pardi will also headline the series in Nashville and Nelly along with hometown legends El Monstero will headline in St. Louis, while Jon Pardi and local favorites Yacht Rock Revue will headline in Indianapolis.
Live Nation is reimagining the live music experience during a time of social distancing by allowing fans to enjoy concerts in a one-of-a-kind drive-in setting from their own private tailgating zones next to their cars. Guests are allowed to bring chairs, food and drinks to party in their zone to personalize their experience. More details including event guidelines can be found at LiveNation.com/DriveIn.
Live From The Drive-In will start off with events at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN and at Live Nation venues Ruoff Music Center in Indianapolis, IN and Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, MO. Fans can expect contactless ticket scanning through their window when they pull into the venue and then will be shown to their designated tailgate area where they can park and enjoy the show from their own marked-off space. There will be dedicated buffer space around each vehicle to ensure social distancing measures. All artists will be performing full live sets on stages set up in the parking lots of each of the venues. The events will also feature full LED screens and speakers throughout so fans can enjoy a truly live concert experience.
“Around the world, we’re seeing a real eagerness from our fans and artists to safely get back to the concert experience,” said Tom See, President Live Nation Venues – US Concerts. “We are excited to unveil Live From The Drive-In – a completely unique outdoor concert series that will allow fans to enjoy live shows again, while socially distanced. We have an incredible line-up of artists like Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Nelly, Jon Pardi and more, who all share our vision to continue to create once-in-a-lifetime moments for fans and are excited to get back to live music through this reimagined experience.”
Tickets will be available to purchase per car, with a maximum of four (4) people permitted per car. Please note in order to maintain social distancing, events will be limited capacity. Citi is the official presale credit card of Live From The Drive-In. As such, Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Tuesday, June 23rd at 12pm local time until Thursday, June 25th at 10pm local time through Citi Entertainment®. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com. Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning this Friday, June 26th at 10am local time at LiveNation.com/DriveIn.
Exclusive Live From The Drive-In merch is available for purchase in advance online HERE to commemorate Live Nation’s first ever U.S. drive-in concert series. 100% of net proceeds will be donated to Crew Nation – a global relief fund for live music crews.
Budweiser Zero is an official sponsor of the Nashville and St. Louis Live From The Drive-In concerts. 21+ fans in attendance will have the opportunity to sample the new zero alcohol (0.0% ABV) brew while watching their favorite artist.
Each event will comply with all health and safety standards per local jurisdictions and state regulations in order to protect fans, artists, crews and staff. This includes thorough sanitation throughout the event and hand-sanitizing stations will be available, along with a number of other preventive measures. For more information on the health and safety precautions we are taking, event guidelines and FAQs, please visit LiveNation.com/DriveIn.
LIVE FROM THE DRIVE-IN UPCOMING DATES:
St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Friday, July 10 – Brad Paisley
Saturday, July 11 – El Monstero
Sunday, July 12 – Nelly: 20th Anniversary Celebration of Country Grammar
Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
Friday, July 10 – Jon Pardi
Saturday, July 11 – Brad Paisley
Sunday, July 12 – Darius Rucker
Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
Friday, July 10 – Yacht Rock Revue
Saturday, July 11 – Jon Pardi
Sunday, July 12 – Brad Paisley
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Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.
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