THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI is a darkly comic drama from Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh (IN BRUGES). After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Academy Award winner Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.
Future Islands Use American Sign Language For Their Promo Clip Of “Cave”
I always have time for the fine Future Islands, but using American Sign Language in their lyric video for Cave was the first time in eons I’ve been excited to share a promo clip.
Ed Sheeran Cancels 50,000 Tickets On Latest Tour Sold To Scalpers, Gives Them Back To Fans
Ed Sheeran has a carrot and stick approach to the secondary market.
The carrot is Ticketmaster’s new Verified Fan program, requiring concert-goers to register in advance to purchase tickets for his upcoming Divide World Tour. The stick came in the form of 50,000 ticket cancelations aimed at scalpers, whose seats were revoked and then resold to fans who had already verified their identity with Ticketmaster.
“The Verified Fan program gives us some great tools to figure out who is a real fan, and who isn’t,” Ticketmaster’s President of North America Jared Smith tells Billboard. “It changes the equation and puts new assets at our disposal to identify fans.”
Smith explains that Verified Fan works because it slows transactions down and allows the company to scrub its list of bot and scalper purchases. Prior to Ed Sheeran’s fan presale, an email was sent to fans encouraging them to register to purchase tickets in advance. Fans were required to provide Ticketmaster with an email address and a phone number, and then that contact data was scrubbed against a database of known resellers and accounts tied to scalpers.
The coordinated effort between Ticketmaster and the Messina Touring Group, which is promoting the Sheeran run, resulted in the sale of 350,000 tickets to verified fans.
Sawdust City Music Festival Coming To Gravenhurst, Ontario August 4-6
In Celebration of Canada’s 150th, the inaugural Sawdust City Music Festival is launching this August long weekend (Aug 4-6) in Gravenhurst, ON. The 3-day festival is the creative brainchild of renowned Canadian Singer-Songwriter, Musician & Label Owner Miranda Mulholland and will feature an incredible lineup of musicians, including the Jim Cuddy Family Band. Programming will consist of 3 nights of music at the Sawdust City Brewery, an evening of music at the Opera House, a free Songwriters’ Workshop, a Sawdust Stripped Down acoustic series, and a free concert on Sunday evening as part of the Music on the Barge series (a 50+ year tradition). Additional artists confirmed for the festival are local darlings Bet Smith & The Currie Bros, C&C Surf Factory, Devin Cuddy, Zachary Lucky, Jessica Mitchell, NQ Arbuckle, and Roaring Girl Records’ own Harrow Fair, Benjamin Hermann, Tim Moxam and Liz Stringer (with many still to be announced). Tickets for the festival are available now.
Miranda’s vision of the festival came from her desire to celebrate her Gravenhurst heritage and was well received by the city’s Manager of Arts & Culture, Krista Storey. “We were very excited when Miranda approached us with this idea for a new music festival in town!” Krista continues; “We really appreciate that she wants to bring this festival featuring top notch talent back to her roots and we’re very proud to be a part of it. These are the types of unique, cultural initiatives that attract visitors and help create economic sustainability in small towns like Gravenhurst.”
Miranda’s Great-Great-Grandfather was Charles Mickle, who owned the lumber mill that dubbed the town’s Sawdust City nickname, was Gravenhurst’s mayor twice, and commissioned the construction of the Opera House for the town’s residents. As the founder and Artistic Director of the Sawdust City Music Festival, Miranda’s goal is to celebrate her heritage while providing an amazing experience for residents and visitors alike, increasing cultural engagement at the community level in the beautiful town of Gravenhurst.
“When I first created my label Roaring Girl Records, I had a hypothetical festival in mind. A festival that celebrated collaboration, cross-genre and musicianship, the cornerstones of the label. It is beyond my wildest dreams that it’s actually happening now and in Gravenhurst.” Says Miranda: “This town has been my favourite spot for my entire life – I was brought there in utero! My great great Grandfather Charles Mickle believed in the power of the Arts when he had the Opera House built on the main street. It was called “Mickle’s Folly” at the time but it is still going strong after 115 years. I’m so excited to be reinforcing his testament to the necessity of music, art and culture in our society with the inaugural Sawdust City Music Festival.”
Dwayne Johnson Honors His ‘Second Dad’ Ex-Boston Drummer Sib Hashian
Today I Learned Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has had a long relationship with former Boston drummer Sib Hashian’s daughter. Dwayne offers a particularly poignant tribute on Instagram, calling him his “second dad.”
State Farm Is Hooking Up With DJ Khaled To Give Back In The Community
On February 18th, L.A. Clippers star Chris Paul hosted a special State Farm Neighborhood Sessions in New Orleans, following State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night. The concert featured hip-hop artist DJ Khaled along with Jon Batiste, musician and bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and other special guests.
Neighborhood Sessions gives some of today’s biggest stars a chance to thank the neighbors who helped make them who they are today, and who continue to help life go right in their communities. Paul, Khaled and Batiste celebrated the community members who volunteered at State Farm-led community service projects in the New Orleans area leading up to the event, earning exclusive access to the invite-only live concert.
https://youtu.be/MLUny8mouwY
Jimmy Fallon and The Roots perform “Bad and Boujee” with Migos and office supplies
Hip hop group Migos made an appearance on a recent episode of The Tonight Show, where they performed their hit song Bad and Boujee, with host Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, with the help of office supplies.
2017 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival Revealed! Feist, Joss Stone, Serena Ryder, and more!
From the world’s greatest jazz improvisers, jazz piano trios, to big band extravaganzas and a remarkable assemblage of the finest female vocalists in the world today, this year’s 37th edition of the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival from June 22 – July 2 has it all! Programming Manager Petr Cancura guides us through a remarkable gathering of jazz genres and musicians.
This year’s Discovery Series presented both at the National Arts Centre Backstage and La Nouvelle Scène’s ‘Studio A’ features several envelope pushing avant-garde jazz improvisation shows with a pronounced international flair. South Korea’s virtuosic vocalist Youn Sun Nah (June 27) “has a remarkably mesmerizing range that is incredible to watch. This is a unique opportunity to catch her performance since she doesn’t often travel,” explains Cancura.
Drummer Mark Guiliana (Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet on July 2) plays with the who’s who of Jazz. “When you close your eyes he sounds like an electronic drum machine, except he’s doing it live, it’s incredibly impressive,” says Cancura. Guiliana is also the drummer in Donny McCaslin’s Group (part of the Jazz Warriors Series at the National Arts Centre on June 29 in two back-to-back performances). The Donny McCaslin Group is the band that performed on David Bowie’s last album, Blackstar. The Blackstar group accepted the 2017 Rock Performance of the year award at the GRAMMY’s (view video) posthumously on behalf of David Bowie.
Several piano trios (made up of piano, double bass and drums) are performing at this year’s Festival. grünen (June 22) is an ‘out there’ improv piano trio from Germany that will leave the audience breathless. The Neil Cowley Trio (June 29) is an improv piano trio ‘that performs with a minimalist modern repetitive approach that builds its themes with a lot of energy.’
The Bad Plus (June 28) is one of the world’s most famous piano trios ‘performing thought provoking themed interpretations of famous classical pieces.’ Britain’s Phronesis (June 30) is one of Europe’s busiest and most inspiring bands playing non-stop.’ Pianist, record producer and arranger from Houston Texas, Robert Glasper has worked with many of the greats in the neo-soul, R&B and hip-hop world including Erykah Badu, Kanye West, Maxwell, Jay-Z, Bilal, Common, Mos Def, J Dilla and many others. Robert Glasper and his bandmates were personally invited to perform at the White House by President Barak Obama. The multiple GRAMMY award-winner is bringing his project the Robert Glasper Experiment to the OLG After Dark Series on June 26.
The Jazz Warriors Series (at the NAC Studio and Theatre) features such luminaries as Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan, Kenny Barron, Hudson: Jack DeJohnette / Larry Grenadier / John Medeski / John Scofield, and the Donny McCaslin Group.
Honoured by The National Endowment for the Arts as a 2010 Jazz Master, Kenny Barron has played with jazz heavies like John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins to name just a few. Barron has an unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms. The great Jazz Master will be playing a solo piano performance on June 24.
Hudson: Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, John Medeski, John Scofield (June 24) are an all-star Jazz group. John Scofield just won a GRAMMY. John Medeski is part of Medeski Martin and Wood who play very funky and groovy jazz. Larry Grenadier is the bassist in Brad Mehldau’s Trio. Jack DeJohnette has played with everyone significant in the jazz world including Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock and others.
Long active in the civil rights movement, Mavis Staples (June 26) began her career performing traditional spiritual gospel work with her family as part of the legendary Staples Singers. She progressed into an R&B solo career in 1969, while continuing her work with the Staples Singers. The legendary vocalist was recently recognized, this past December, by the Kennedy Centre Honors for her lifetime achievement in the performing arts and for her contributions to American culture.
An homage to the big band genre makes a giant appearance this year! To Ray, With Love; Maceo Parker & The Ray Charles Orchestra featuring the Raelettes (June 26) is a big band experience performed on the Tek Savvy Main Stage Concerts Under the Stars Series led by alto saxophone player Maceo Parker. Parker was part of the James Brown band and collaborated with Prince on many records. Known for being one of the funkiest saxophone players in the world, he is on tour with The Ray Charles Orchestra, including original members of the Ray Charles Orchestra and featuring the original Raelettes (Ray Charles’ famous backup singers). “This is a pretty stacked band and a must see act if you enjoy Motown, Funk and Jazz,” muses Cancura.
Charlie Haden was the legendary jazz bassist who’s played with Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and anyone and everyone throughout the 60’s and 70’s. After passing away in 2014, Haden’s collaborator, Carla Bley, a renowned jazz pianist/arranger took up Charlie’s work in his honour in Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, featuring Carla Bley (June 28).
Igor Butman and The Moscow Jazz Orchestra (part of the OLG After Dark Series on June 25) are known as some of the best musicians from Russia. Known as Russia’s Number One Jazz Personality, Igor Butman was invited by Wynton Marsalis, a close friend, on stage last summer at the Festival to play with the Lincoln Jazz Orchestra to great acclaim.
Also performing on the TekSavvy Main Stage Concerts Under the Stars Series are a remarkable array of headlining women including Canada’s Serena Ryder (June 23), Feist (July 2) – whose music was featured in an Apple commercial, and British R&B vocalist Joss Stone (June25).
The country legend Kenny Rogers, includes the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival as a stop on his final world tour on June 24, Kenny Rogers’ Final World Tour: The Gambler’s Last Deal with Special Guest Linda Davis.
Festival Passes and tickets are now on sale at ottawajazzfestival.com/tickets, by phone at 613-241-2633 and in person at the Festival Box Office at 602-294 Albert St.