North American tour kicks off February 17 in Albany, New York
John Mayer has announced concerts for his ‘Sob Rock’ Tour 2022, kicking off Thursday, February 17, in Albany, New York, running through Thursday, April 28 in Chicago, Illinois. Produced by Live Nation, the tour features stops in New York at the new UBS Arena in Belmont Park (March 1st) and Madison Square Garden (February 20), and two nights at the Forum in Inglewood, California (March 13 & March 15), among others. Tickets go on sale starting Friday, July 23rd, at 11 AM at JohnMayer.com. A full listing of tour dates can be found below.
In album news, Sob Rock, the eighth studio album from the GRAMMY® Award-winning artist, guitarist, and producer is available in stores through all DSPs via Columbia Records. Produced by John Mayer and Don Was, and recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles, the album marks Mayer’s first solo offering since 2017’s The Search for Everything. A full tracklisting can be found below. Check out Sob Rock here.
A signup to access presale tickets via seated is available now here. Fans can register until Tuesday, July 20, at 9:45 AM. Seated presales start Tuesday, July 20, at 10 AM Local, and run through Wednesday, July 21, at 10 PM Local.
A limited number of VIP packages will be available starting Tuesday, July 20, at 10 AM Local. Premium seats, preshow ‘Sob Rock’ lounge access, exclusive merchandise & more.
Two pairs of front-row tickets will be auctioned off for each show on the tour through https://www.
Photo by Carlos Serrea
The video for “Shot in the Dark” was released today and can be seen below. The first single and video from the album – “Last Train Home” – was released last month to critical acclaim. Catch John Mayer performing on ‘TODAY’ on Tuesday, July 20.
Photo provided by publicist
About John Mayer:
There’s nobody quite like John Mayer. He has emerged as a GRAMMY® Award-winning artist, celebrated songwriter, and iconic guitar player all at once. The Bridgeport, CT native introduced himself on the quintuple-platinum Room For Squares in 2001 and has earned three #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with the triple-platinum Heavier Things [2003], double-platinum Battle Studies [2009], and gold Born and Raised [2012]. In addition to selling over 20 million albums worldwide and gathering billions of streams to date, he has garnered seven GRAMMY® Awards, including “Song of the Year” for “Daughters,” and has earned a record seven U.S. No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart and 25 entries on the Hot Rock Songs chart, the most for any solo artist. In 2015, Dead & Company was founded, with Mayer on lead guitar as well as vocals. Since its formation, the band has completed six tours, playing to 3.4 million fans, and has become a record-breaking stadium act. Most recently, 2017’s The Search for Everything bowed at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 and went gold.
For more information, visit Johnmayer.com and Sobroc
Source: Press Release
“This track is dedicated to the eternal loving memory of Juan D. Nelson. Since 1993, Juan Leon and I spun around this world as fast and as far as we could dream together,” Ben reflected.
“I always have a few projects going at once,” Ben explained. “One of them is a reggae album which I’ve been working on for a while now. ‘Spin It Faster’ is the first single from this collection.”
Ben Harper & Ziggy Marley
Source: Press Release
Announced on July 2, coming off of the release of her highly-praised, sassy new single “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable),” indie country/pop singer-songwriter Caroline Jones today released “The Raglan Sessions,” an unplugged performance series alongside New Zealand bluegrass group The Trenwiths. Set atop a breathtaking cliffside in Raglan, New Zealand, the stripped-down session features a handful of Caroline’s original songs such as “What A View” and “Rise,” as well as covers of Mandolin Orange’s “Wildfire,” Emmylou Harris’ “If I Needed You,” “Wayfaring Stranger,” and more. To view these performances, as well as commentary on how the recording came about, view the video below:
“I was fortunate enough to spend most of the past year in New Zealand, where I met The Trenwiths, a bluegrass band whose founding members have been playing together since the 1960s,” said Jones. “Their family band now consists of three generations of musicians and singers. They are some of the most good-humored, good-natured, authentic people I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around. Before I left New Zealand to come back to America, I brought a couple of cameras along to capture one of our jams, which we edited down into this video called ‘The Raglan Sessions’.”
Having relocated to New Zealand towards the beginning of the pandemic, Jones set out to find inspiration and work on her sophomore studio album. Always open to trying different styles of music, and as COVID cases eased, she researched local musicians and was introduced to The Trenwiths, a bluegrass harmony band made up of two brothers and their father. This is the second time the two have worked together, as their first collaboration was in November 2020 for a two-track holiday collection, Silver Bells, featuring upbeat bluegrass renditions of holiday classics “Silver Bells” and “Winter Wonderland.” Watch their studio session:
Jones has been busy creating new music over the past year. In May, the multi-instrumentalist released her current single “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable)” from her forthcoming sophomore album (expected late 2021), as well as the accompanying, cinematic official video filmed at a ‘western-style’ bar in New Zealand, co-written and co-produced by Jones also.
Blues-rock guitarist, Seth Lee Jones, is pleased to announce that he will be releasing Flathead via Horton Records on September 10th.
What you hear on that record, it’s what you’re going to get live,” says Jones of his new album, a collection of nine rocking, road-tested blues covers. Recorded at Teegarden Studios in under seven and a half hours, straight to tape with no edits or overdubs, the tracks crackle with energy. They’re some of the band’s personal favorites, finely honed over years of performances at a weekly residency at Tulsa’s legendary venue, The Colony.
“We run a democratic ship in my band, and there’s never any drama,” Jones says of bandmates bassist Bo Hallford (Paul Benjaman) and drummer Matt Teegarden (Chris Duarte.) Teegarden is also the son of Grammy winner David Teegarden (Bob Seger, JJ Cale, Joe Walsh.) “It was a team effort to pick those songs.” While Flathead celebrates musicians as diverse as Muddy Waters and Roger Miller, the band puts its spin on each tune. Jones brings his open tuning to the band’s version of Muddy Waters “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” and his baritone guitar gives a sharp edge to “Moving Me (Way Too Fast),” written by fabled Tulsa bluesman, the late Steve Pryor. Ray Charles’ “Mary Ann” enabled Jones to pay tribute to one of his (and Pryor’s) musical heroes and an opportunity to utilize the prodigious skills of guest guitarist Mike Satawake.
A third-generation guitar player and a skilled luthier, Jones was born into a musical family in Tulsa, moving to Los Angeles at fifteen. He later studied classical and jazz at LA Valley College and graduated from Hollywood’s Musicians Institute at the top of his class. Jones returned to his hometown in 2010 when the lure of affordable housing and an inspiring local music scene proved irresistible. His first release was Live at the Colony (2018)
Jones regularly finds time to pursue his parallel passion as a guitarist and performs with his band as well as musician Jared Tyler and the band Saugeye. In the past, he’s played with roots country musician Jacob Tovar and the jazz-influenced Gogo Plumbay. He also played on the critically lauded Back To Paradise: A Tulsa Tribute to Okie Music.
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GRAMMY Award-winning rock band Switchfoot confirmed that their new album Interrobang will be released on August 20th, 2021 via Fantasy Records. interrobang is the follow-up to 2018’s Native Tongue and last year’s Covers EP. The band also shared the sparkling new track, fluorescent,” the second song from interrobang, following the recently released “i need you (to be wrong).” Listen to “fluorescent” and pre-order interrobang HERE.
Brimming with child-like imagination and a futuristic mindset, Switchfoot reaches a bold new creative peak on interrobang, the 12th full-length album of the multi-platinum selling rock band’s 20+ year career. Working with producer Tony Berg (Paul McCartney, Phoebe Bridgers, Andrew Bird) at both Sound City studio in Van Nuys, CA and the band’s own studio in Carlsbad, CA, Switchfoot: Jon Foreman, Tim Foreman, Chad Butler, Jerome Fontamillas, and Drew Shirley recorded the album in a burst of pent-up mid-pandemic creativity throughout last year and into 2021. Fearlessly marrying 60’s experimentalism and synth-driven new wave swagger, the band pushed past its comfort zones and retooled its sound.
“More than ever, we want our music to be a bridge, reaching out with melody and lyrics to sing an honest song for anyone who’s got ears to hear,” says Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman. “interrobang is an album that celebrates the journey, even when the arrival is unsure. interrobang is the sound of joy and pain, faith and doubt against the backdrop of the strangest, most difficult year we’ve ever experienced.”
An absorbing series of sharply drawn short stories underscored by a dizzying array of textures both vintage and modern, interrobang’s themes of alienation and self-reflection are amplified by the record’s inventive use of density and dynamics. Credit veteran mixer Tchad Blake (Arctic Monkeys, Fiona Apple) with aiding the album’s three-dimensional sound.
Interro is derived from “interrogation point,” the technical name for the question mark, and bang is printers’ slang for the exclamation point. Seeking freedom from the broken promises and failed expectations of 21st century America, on interrobang Switchfoot takes the listener on a twisty, surprising technicolor ride, all the while asking hard questions with eyes wide open.
On June 19, Switchfoot virtually hosted their 17th Annual Bro-Am with a livestream concert and fundraiser. The event featured performances from Switchfoot, Phantom Planet, Andrew McMahon, Madison Cunningham, and more.
Recently, Switchfoot announced they will join longtime friends NEEDTOBREATHE on their Fall 2021 “Into the Mystery Tour”, along with rising indie-pop group, The New Respects. The 37-city run kicks off on September 7th in St. Louis, MO, and will hit major markets across the U.S. including Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, CO, The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. For tickets and more information, visit www.switchfoot.com.
INTERROBANG TRACK LIST
1. beloved
2. lost ‘cause
3. fluorescent
4. if i were you
5. the bones of us
6. splinter
7. i need you (to be wrong)
8. the hard way
9. wolves
10. backwards in time
11. electricity
ABOUT SWITCHFOOT
San Diego’s alt-rock quintet Switchfoot has been continually breaking musical barriers in their 20+ career. They have sold almost 10 million copies worldwide of their eleven studio albums (including their 2003 double-platinum breakthrough ‘The Beautiful Letdown’ and 2009’s Grammy Award-winning ‘Hello Hurricane’), racked up a string of Alternative radio hit singles, and have had songs in numerous TV shows and movies. They have also performed sold-out tours with over 5 million concert tickets sold in over 40 countries around the world. Switchfoot has raised millions of dollars to aid kids in their community through their BRO-AM Foundation. Their emotionally intelligent and uplifting brand of alternative rock has earned Switchfoot a devoted and loyal global fan base. Switchfoot is Jon Foreman (vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Jerome Fontamillas (keys, guitar), Drew Shirley (guitar), and Chad Butler (drums).
Connect with Switchfoot on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Source: Press Release
Songwriter and guitarist, Carl Bell, and drummer, Kevin Miller, reform Fuel with new singeJohnr, John Corsale
Band teases first new single “Hard,” releasing on July 9, 2021
Watcher teaser trailer below:
Multi-Platinum alternative rock icons Fuel today announce the upcoming release of their first album in 18 years, ÅNOMÅLY, due out in October 2021. The 11 original tracks were written by songwriter/guitarist Carl Bell reunited with original Fuel drummer Kevin Miller, accompanied by new singer John Corsale [lead vocals, guitar], Mark Klotz [guitar, vocals], and Tommy Nat [bass, vocals].
Founding member Carl Bell, sole songwriter of all lyrics and music to all previous FUEL hits, returns to the helm as primary songwriter, and also as the producer. He even mixed the album. Carl wrote and recorded the songs in his Las Vegas studio with vocals recorded at Soundmine Recording Studio and King Studios in Pennsylvania.
Carl and Kevin recently shared a video of their emotional in-person reunion after a decade. In a video posted on Facebook, fans reacted with the expected reverie as Fuel reignited their relationship with each other and with their fans.
“We were just patient with each other,” Carl says, “From the first conversation, I recognized the same feeling in Kevin’s voice. Fuel was huge for us. It was a great moment in our lives, and Kevin was as grateful for the opportunities that Fuel gave us as I was. We bonded on that fact. I would’ve taken a bullet for him—I still would.”
Kevin says, “For me new beginnings are exciting, but more often than not they scare the shit out of me! As much as I love touching my toe to new water I’m always afraid of the creatures lingering in the depths. I am incredibly excited about this new venture and new lineup of Fuel. Making this record shed a lot of light on what will be, such an amazing amount of talent in this band.”
New singer, John Corsale hails from Pennsylvania and joins Fuel as Kevin and Carl reunite after a decades-long separation.
Carl adds, “A few months ago I had no idea I would be returning to FUEL full time, so when it happened, my first call was to Kevin. He simply said, ‘I have the band. I promise you, these are the guys.’ He was right. All are great musicians, and John is this 26-year-old great guitarist as well as a great vocalist and frontman. He sounds fantastic on the album and amazing on our previous hits as well. From the moment I first heard him play and sing I thought, wow … this just got real interesting.”
The first single from ÅNOMÅLY, “HÅRD”, (the first song in the teaser), will be released on July 9, 2021, via Moon Chair Media/ONErpm and will introduce John Corsale to fans eagerly awaiting this new music, also marking a new era for the iconic band.
Carl posted an audio snippet via Facebook and fans raved:
- “God, I’ve missed Kevin Miller! And I’ve missed the Carl Creativeness! It’s been a loooong time since I’ve been excited for an album by any band.”
- “WELCOME BACK! The world needs Fuel music!”
- “Dang, I won’t lie, that’s sounding pretty awesome.”
- “Love it, classic Fuel!”
- “I need this blasting through my speakers”
- “Literally freaking out now!!!”
- After 14 years away, Carl and Kevin brought Fuel back to life in 2021. Their return may have been unexpected, but it couldn’t be more welcome.
Fuel will announce tour dates soon.
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Black album your way September 10th
The Metallica Blacklist Album featuring 53 artists
The Metallica Blacklist Album Pre-Orders Receive Instant Gratification Tracks “Nothing Else Matters” by Miley Cyrus (feat. WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith) and “Enter Sandman” by Juanes
The Black Album Pre-Orders Receive Instant Gratification Tracks “Enter Sandman (Remastered)“, “Enter Sandman (Live at Tushino Airfield)” and “Enter Sandman (July 12th, 1990 Demo)”
100% Of The Metallica Blacklist Sales To Benefit 52 Charities
Check out the trailer below:
Metallica marks the 30th anniversary of its self-titled fifth album — a/k/a The Black Album — with two landmark releases, both out September 10th on the band’s own Blackened Recordings:
The Black Album is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of all time. Its 1991 release not only gave Metallica its first #1 album in no fewer than 10 countries, including a 4-week run at #1 in the U.S., its unrelenting series of singles — “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Wherever I May Roam”, and “Sad But True” — fueled the band’s rise to stadium headlining, radio and MTV dominating household name status. The album’s reception from the press was similarly charged, building over the years from the top 10 of the 1991 Village Voice Pazz & Jop national critics poll to becoming a constant presence in the likes of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. The album’s impact and relevance continue to grow—as proven by one indisputable fact: The Black Album remains unchallenged as the best-selling album in the history of Nielsen Soundscan, outselling every release in every genre over the past 30 years.
To commemorate its 30th anniversary, the GRAMMY-winning, 16x platinum-certified Black Album is receiving its definitive re-release. Remastered for ultimate sound quality, The Black Album remaster will be available in multiple configurations including 180 gram Double Vinyl LP, Standard CD and 3 CD Expanded Edition, digital, and Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set (containing the album remastered on 180G 2LP, a picture disc, three live LPs, 14 CDs (containing rough mixes, demos, interviews, live shows), 6 DVDs (containing outtakes, behind the scenes, official videos, live shows), a 120-page hardcover book, four tour laminates, three lithos, three guitar picks, a Metallica lanyard, a folder with lyric sheets, and a download card).
Much more than a mere tribute album, The Metallica Blacklist celebrates the enduring influence of this musical milestone with one of the most ambitious projects ever conceived by the Metallica team: An unprecedented 50+ artists spanning an unbelievably vast range of genres, generations, cultures, continents and more, each contributing a unique interpretation of their favorite Black Album cut.
The Metallica Blacklist offers up new dimensions of the record whose gravitational pull first drew the mainstream to Metallica—and provides new insights into the universal and timeless appeal that kept it there: the boundary-smashing influence these 12 songs have had on fans and musicians of all stripes. The Metallica Blacklist’s 53 tracks find singer-songwriters, country artists, electronic and hip hop artists sharing their love of these songs alongside punk rockers, indie darlings, icons of rock, metal, world music, and many, many more… and for 50+ good causes: Profits will be divided evenly between charities of the artist’s choice and Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation.
The Metallica Blacklist is a fitting and limitless homage, one that features bands who’ve shared stages with Metallica alongside artists who are younger than the original album. It’s a truly staggering, at times mystifying assemblage of musicians, dozens of whom have little to nothing in common other than the shared passion for the music that’s united them for this album: 1 Album. 12 Songs. 53 Artists. Unlimited Possibilities.
The Metallica Blacklist will be available in formats including digital, 4 CD, and a limited edition 7 LP vinyl pressing. Pre-orders will instantly receive multi-platinum selling recording artist, songwriter, philanthropist, and trailblazer Miley Cyrus’ version of “Nothing Else Matters” featuring WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, and Chad Smith, and Colombian-born rock/pop superstar, and winner of 20+ Grammy & Latin Music Grammy Awards Juanes’ interpretation of “Enter Sandman.”
*All profits from The Metallica Blacklist will be split evenly between the All Within My Hands Foundation and 50+ charities chosen by the artists who play on the album. All Within My Hands was founded by the band in 2017 as a way for the entire Metallica family to give back to communities that have supported the band by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services.
Source: Press Release
Legendary and multi-Platinum rockers FOGHAT–Roger Earl (founding member/drums), Bryan Bassett (lead guitar, formerly with Wild Cherry and Molly Hatchet), Charlie Huhn (lead guitar and lead vocals, formerly with Ted Nugent, Gary Moore, Victory, and Humble Pie), and Rodney O’Quinn (bass, formerly with the Pat Travers Band)–celebrates 50 years of Rock n’ Roll with 8 DAYS ON THE ROAD, a 14-track live performance that will be released as a double CD/DVD package on July 16, 2021, on their own Foghat Records label, distributed by Select-O-Hits (which is part of the Sun Records family and is owned by Sam Philips’ son and nephew).
Pre-orders are now available on these digital outlets, which includes an instant download of “Road Fever” with purchase, as well as a pre-save on Spotify. A video for the song can be seen on the band’s official YouTube page, as well below. The collection will also be available on 180-gram vinyl in the coming months. Pre-save 8 DAYS ON THE ROAD on Spotify.
Recorded on November 17, 2019 at Daryl’s House Club in Pawling, NY, the collection features the band’s biggest and most legendary hits, including “Slow Ride,” “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” “Fool For The City,” and so many others.
As original drummer Roger Earl explains, “Eight days on the road is more like 80,000 days on the road for us, but that’s OK, I love my job! It was a change and a real pleasure to play this particular small room. I explained to a couple of folks sitting down front as we were about to take the stage that we sweat a lot, and they might want to finish eating. They just grinned and said, ‘we’re ready.’ And so were we!”
“To play in a small intimate venue like Daryl’s club was really fun and something we don’t do often,” says lead guitarist Bryan Bassett. “Combine that with the fact that this venue has been fine-tuned for acoustics by the on-site recording professionals and this became a great place for us to play and record.”
While bassist Rodney O’Quinn shares, “In 2019, we were definitely living up to the title, 8 DAYS ON THE ROAD. Having played at Daryl’s House once before, I remember that it was such a great sounding room. The energy in the room that night was electric, and the band was hitting on all cylinders.”
Singer/guitarist Charlie Huhn concludes, “Playing in an intimate club is so much more energetic and exciting, because as a performer, when you are close to the audience it’s as though you are really in there with them and they are onstage with you. This closeness feeds on you to bring out the best which is a very cool feeling. After playing in larger, more distant stage scenarios like fairs, festivals, casinos and theaters, it was really awesome to be right in with the audience. The close proximity lends an especially exuberant feel that is infectious, and this show was no exception.”
Formed in 1971 when “Lonesome” Dave Peverett and Roger Earl left the British blues-rock band, Savoy Brown, FOGHAT has earned eight Gold albums, one Platinum album and one Double-Platinum album. They’ve continued to release new music every few years and have never stopped touring and recording, although there have been several ups and downs, and lineup changes over the years. They sadly lost Lonesome Dave Peverett in 2000, Rod Price in 2005, and Craig Macgregor in 2018, but founding drummer Roger Earl kept the band’s musical legacy going.
If FOGHAT had only given us “Slow Ride,” the band’s place in rock history would be secure, but the band is so much more than that. As stated by Roger Earl, “We are still a ‘work in progress,’ writing and recording and plan to be until the day we depart this earth.”
The band has already started to work on a new Blues/Rock studio album to be released in 2022.
Here’s the track listing for 8 DAYS ON THE ROAD:
1. Drivin’ Wheel
2. Road Fever
3. Stone Blue
4. Fool For The City
5. It Hurts Me Too
6. Take Me To The River
7. Home In My Hand
8. 8 Days on the Road
9. Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie
10. I Just Want To Make Love To You
11. Chevrolet
12. Maybellene
13. Play That Funky Music
14. Slow Ride
Check out the band’s itinerary below, with more shows to be announced in the coming weeks on Foghat.com:
DATE CITY VENUE
Sat 7/17 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre
Fri 7/23 Walker, MN Moondance Jam (with Cheap Trick and Todd Rundgren)
Fri 7/30 The Woodlands, TX Dosey Doe
Sat 8/7 Danbury, WI St. Croix Casino Danbury
Fri 8/13 Eldon, MO Shawnee Bluff Vineyard
Sat 8/14 Granite City, IL Nick’s Bar & Grill (outside)
Sat 8/21 Canyonville, OR Seven Feathers Casino Resort
Fri 8/27 Kennewick, WA Benton Franklin Fair 2020
Sat 9/4 Mulvane, KS Kansas Star Casino (w/ Atlanta Rhythm Section, Firefall and Pat Travers)
Sat 9/11 Huntington, NY The Paramount
Thu 9/16 Ocean City, MD OC Bikefest (with George Thorogood & the Destroyers)
Sat 9/18 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
Sun 9/19 West Springfield, MA The Big E
Thu 9/23 Ashland, KY Paramount Arts Center
Sun 9/26 Roanoke, VA Berglund Performing Arts Theatre
Sat 10/2 Ojai, CA Ojai Nest Fest
Sat 10/9 Port St. Lucie, FL Mid Florida Credit Union Event Center
Sat 10/16 Santa Fe, NM Buffalo Thunder Resort
Sat 11/20 Miami, FL Magic City Casino
Sat 11/27 Hiawassee, GA Anderson Music Hall (with Night Ranger)
Sat 2/26/22 Biloxi, MS IP Casino Resort & Spa
10/29-11/5/22 Port Canaveral, FL High Seas Rally 2022-Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas
Connect with the legendary Foghat on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Source: Press Release
Streaming on the newly launched BGR! TV network & Black Girls Rock! YouTube Channel
On June 18, leading women’s empowerment organization, BLACK GIRLS ROCK! — which has received praise from luminaries such as Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, and Angela Bassett for its work in empowering and celebrating Black women from all walks of life — will broadcast their BLACK GIRLS ROCK! 15-Year Anniversary Fundraising Gala on the newly launched BGR!TV Network and the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! YouTube channel. The virtual gala, powered by Microsoft, will be an illustrious celebration of Black Girl Magic featuring phenomenal musical performances by the iconic Queen of Funk Chaka Khan, GRAMMY® nominated virtuosos Alice Smith and Maimouna Youssef aka MuMu Fresh, DC’s all-woman go-go band Bela Dona, GRAMMY® Award-winning gospel singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard, and an exclusive collaboration with Chaka Khan and Def Leppard lead guitarist Phil Collen. The event will be hosted by esteemed actress Tatyana Ali and hip-hop icon MC Lyte, with appearances by Tracee Ellis Ross, Common, Estelle, India Arie, Yara Shahidi, Ledisi, Wood Harris, Misty Copeland, Jay Ellis, Rapsody, and a special virtual appearance by Michelle Obama. Event details are as follows:
WHAT: BLACK GIRLS ROCK!® BGR! 15-Year Anniversary Fundraising Gala
WHEN: Friday, June 18, 2021 at 7/4:00 p.m. ET/PT
WHERE: Livestreaming on the all-new BGR!TV Network and BGR!’s YouTube channel.
WHO: Hosted by Tatyana Ali and MC Lyte, with performances by Chaka Khan; Alice Smith and Maimouna Youssef aka MuMu Fresh; DC’s all-woman go-go band Bela Dona; gospel sensation Tasha Cobbs Leonard; celebrity DJ Aktive; an exclusive collaboration with Chaka Khan and Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, and more.
WHY: To celebrate and support 15 years of philanthropic work that BLACK GIRLS ROCK! continues to pioneer via its 501(c)(3) programs and initiatives. Streaming during Black Music Month, the BLACK GIRLS ROCK! 15-Year Anniversary Fundraising Gala and concert will highlight Black women in music while benefiting the advocacy and expansion of the organization.
For more information, please visit: http://www.blackgirlsrock.com
Headline dates with Radkey as support, 'Lifers' LP out now
Local H have announced their 2021 tour supporting Soul Asylum, alongside Juliana Hatfield. They also announce headlining dates with Radkey as support for the fall for The Lifers Retour. On 10/22, Local H will be performing at Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta.
“Hold That Thought” Live:
SOUL ASYLUM | LOCAL H | JULIANA HATFIELD
Back In Your Face Tour Dates
8/3 – Reverb – Reading, PA
8/5 – The Vault Music Hall – New Bedford, MA
8/6 – Aura – Portland, ME
8/7 – Orange Motorsports & Entertainment – Middletown, NY
8/8 – Wally’s Pub – Hampton Beach, NH
8/10 – The Ramkat – Winston-Salem, NC
8/11 – Oceanfront Concert Series – Virginia Beach, VA
8/12 – House Of Blues – North Myrtle Beach, SC
8/14 – Saint Louis Music Park – Maryland Heights, MO
8/15 – Grinders KC – Kansas City, MO
8/20 – Castle Theater – Bloomington, IL
8/21 – The Plaza – Aurora, IL
8/22 – Garfield Park – Indianapolis, IN
8/26 – The Red Carpet – Charleston, WV
8/27 – Jergel’s – Warrendale, PA
8/28 – Riverfront- Cincinnati, OH
8/30 – ACL Live – Austin, TX
9/01 – Lava Cantina – The Colony, TX
9/03 – VBC Mars Music Hall – Huntsville, AL
9/04 – Hop Springs Beer Park – Murfreesboro, TN
9/05 – Pierre’s Entertainment Center – Fort Wayne, IN
9/17 – Menominee Nation Arena – Osh Kosh, WI
LIFERS features contributions by an array of respected friends and guests —including Juliana Hatfield, John McCauley of Deer Tick, and legendary rock engineer Steve Albini— LIFERS is the first album from Local H in five years, and the release coincides with the group’s 30 year anniversary (and our collective doom). LIFERS was released April 10th, 2020 on AntiFragile Music. Physical Orders of the album are available here.
“It feels kind of weird to have a record coming out while all of this is happening. The only thing that I’ve ever seen that’s been anything close to this is 9/11. Our fourth record was supposed to come out that month in 2001, but after THAT day it got pushed back to the following year. Tour dates got canceled. A bunch of s*** got shut down. At the time, those delays and setbacks felt like everything. Like it was the worst thing that could happen to us. It was childish and more than a little selfish — and I’m ashamed to admit that I even felt that way.
And now, even MORE shit has been shut down. More people are going to be directly affected. And what’s worse, we can’t gather together and try to make sense of it — not in the way we used to be able to. We can’t go out and see our friends. Most of us can’t even visit our families. On top of that, people are losing their jobs. People are losing their LIVES. So once again, I’m a little ashamed. I’m ashamed to ask anybody to pretend that our little f****** record means anything in this time of great and collective tragedy.
But you know what? If nothing else, sticking to the schedule and insisting on releasing this record on time has certainly helped keep US sane. All the small mundane tasks that go into promoting a new record —the bios, the interviews, the FaceStagram updates and TwitTube posts (ESPECIALLY when we can’t play live in front of actual people!) —that’s been a lifeline for us. It’s given us a reason to get out of bed. Maybe it’s not much, but it’s something. And we’re grateful for it. We’re also grateful for the feedback that we’ve received and the sense of connection that it’s given us. Even if it’s been transmitted through a screen — it’s felt real. (And we surely can’t be the only band out there that’s felt like this.)
So yeah, it’s weird and it’s silly and it can seem like none of what we’re doing actually means anything. But I’m glad we have a record coming out while all of this is happening.” -Scott Lucas
On the genesis of the album, Lucas explains:
“When the re-release of the White Album came out a few years ago, I became re-obsessed all over again. One aspect that really hit me about it (this time) was how it’s not really a concept record — but it feels like a concept record. I wanted to do that with LIFERS. This might be a concept record about the end of the world. Or it might just be a party record with loud guitars and cowbells.”
“Winter Western” featuring Juliana Hatfield
Unlike so many of their peers from the 90s, Local H have refused to slow down. Since the band’s formation in 1990, they have released 8 studio albums, countless EPs and live records, a well-received series of “Mix Tapes” featuring a surprising mix of cover songs, and a steady stream of memorable singles that include “Eddie Vedder”, “Hands On The Bible”, “California Songs” and the rock radio staple “Bound For The Floor”. In addition to all of that, guitarist/vocalist Scott Lucas and drummer Ryan Harding have maintained a near constant international touring schedule — forging a blistering live show that has amassed a loyal and enthusiastic fan base.
LIFERS – Tracklisting:
01 Patrick Bateman
02 Hold That Thought
03 High Wide And Stupid
04 Turn The Bow
05 Winter Western
06 Beyond The Valley Of Snakes
07 Sunday Best
08 Demon Dreams
09 Farrah
10 Defy And Surrender
11 Innocents
Connect with Local H on Instagram and Facebook. Listen to their music on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.
Source: Press Release
