Month: August 2021

It seemed like 2021 was the year the live music industry would start returning to normal. In some ways, it has, as concerts are starting to happen again, but things aren’t back to how they were just yet. We’re not out of the woods yet COVID-wise, and some artists and event organizers are realizing that, like Phoebe Bridgers, who just changed her 2021 tour so it’s outdoor shows only. Pixies, meanwhile, have gone ahead and outright canceled their September tour dates.

The band shared a statement on social media that reads, “Regretfully, we announce today that we are cancelling our 11-date U.S. September run. We have determined that with the current surge in COVID cases — made worse by the Delta variant — that this is the right decision for our fans and crew members’ safety, as well as our own. Ticket holders can obtain refunds from point of purchase. We ask that our fans stay safe and healthy and we hope to see you all soon.”

Check out the list of canceled shows below.

09/10 — Port Chester, NY @ Capitol Theatre
09/11 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
09/13 — Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
09/14 — Fort Wayne, IN @ Foellinger Theatre
09/16 — Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
09/17 — Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory at The District
09/18 — Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room/Outdoors
09/19 — Chicago, IL@ Riot Fest
09/21 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion, (with Nine Inch Nails)
09/23 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion (with Nine Inch Nails)
09/26 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom

Mike Richards will not host Jeopardy! after a tumultuously brief stint as the official replacement for Alex Trebek. But the show didn’t go far to find a guest host to pick up the slack.

According to a CNN report, Mayim Bialik will step in to host episodes in the wake of Richards abruptly leaving the role after a string of controversies involving comments that he’s made and a lawsuit during his time on The Price Is Right:

Bialik will host the episodes that are taped this week, people familiar with the matter told CNN Business. Since the game show typically tapes a week’s worth of episodes on a single day, this means she will host several weeks of “Jeopardy!”
Sony, the show’s producer, declined to comment.

Bialik, who according to a TMZ report was offered the full-time gig herself but could not accept because of other obligations, will fill in as the show’s first guest host of Season 38, which started taping last week. The CNN report notes that’s the case as well, though the altered timeline for finding a full-time host has apparently put her back in the running for the gig:

“The studio loves Mayim but at the time of the decision for the current season, her schedule for ‘Call me Kat’ was set and she wouldn’t have been able to juggle the syndicated show and her fox sitcom,” the person said.

“Now that there is some more time to figure things out, she has become a real viable choice for Sony,” the person continued. “It just makes sense to ask her to step in for several weeks while they figure out next steps.”

Richards is still serving in his executive producer role on the show, and there’s some speculation about whether he will be part of the decision-making on his full-time replacement. But it’s likely we see a number of guest hosts return who competed with Bialik and Richards for the hosting job that the latter won, then very quickly lost.

(Via CNN)

Basilica Soundscape 2021 has been canceled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns, organizers announced today.

“With heavy hearts, we write to inform you that Basilica Hudson has made the impossibly difficult, though necessary, decision to cancel Basilica Soundscape 2021,” wrote organizers in a statement posted to Instagram. “This was not an easy conclusion to come to, but ultimately one done out of caution to prioritize the safety of our beloved artists, team and you — our cherished audience.”

The note also mentioned how Soundscape artist William Basinski had previously decided to cancel his entire fall tour due to COVID concerns, and “our food vendors and various tech and photo staff have had to withdraw due to Covid-related obstacles.”

The September event, programmed by Basilica Hudson founders and creative directors Melissa Auf der Maur and Tony Stone, had been set to feature Moor Mother, Basinski, Circuit des Yeux, and Tomberlin. “Supporting independent and innovative artists is at the core Soundscape,” wrote the festival organizers. “We so appreciate you believing in this new, different iteration of the festival, and for trusting us to create an experience that you could safely put your creative faith in.”

For a look at the best festivals coming in 2021, be sure to check out the Uproxx Music Festival Preview.

Saweetie‘s McDonald’s meal has been out for a couple of weeks now, which means it’s time for its accompanying merch collection to hit the net as well. While Travis Scott’s collection included wild entries like Cactus Jack house slippers and Chicken McNugget body pillows, Saweetie’s stuff sticks to the most functional items like apparel and accessories.

In the press release, Saweetie noted that the designs here suit her own personal style, which includes oversized t-shirts and hoodies, and claimed a favorite. “Y’all know I stay dipped in the latest fashion, so it was only right I drop some icy merch to celebrate my McDonald’s collab,” she said. “There are so many oversized pieces that I love, like my favorites: the Saweetie ’N Sour Hoodie and Fry Tees.”

In addition to those items, the collection includes the Dats Right fanny pack, the Pop Art sticker tote, a pair of trucker hats, and socks with her snowflake logo. The simplicity of the collection will probably ensure that the supply issues that plagued J Balvin’s collection can be avoided this time around. You can check out a few pieces below and make your purchases on the official website.

Music fans are celebrating the return of live shows this year, but several musicians themselves have tightened safety measures in recent weeks. A number of artists like Japanese Breakfast and Jason Isbell are requiring fans to show proof of vaccination against COVID before entering their concert, and Phoebe Bridgers is taking a similar stance.

Bridgers unveiled the dates to her 2021 Reunion Tour last month, which celebrates her 2020 album Punisher. But on Monday, the singer returned to announce the decision to move all of her upcoming shows to outdoor venues. The singer is also requiring fans to show proof of vaccination, or proof of a negative COVID test result in a few select cities:

“Let’s try this again… In the interest of safety, I’ve decided to only play outdoors for the upcoming tour. We are moving all previously scheduled indoor shows to outdoor venues and we’ve needed to postpone shows in a couple cities so please check the updated schedule.

At my request, there are updated health and safety requirements. Entry will require proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Where that’s not permissible by law, we’ll agree to proof of vaccination OR proof of negative test result (PCR preferred/Antigen accepted) within 48 hours prior to entering those venues.

And please wear a mask. I love you. See you soon.”

Check out Bridgers’ new 2021 Reunion Tour dates below.

09/03 — St Louis, MO @ Chesterfield Amphitheater
09/04 — Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
09/05 — Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater
09/08 — Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
09/10 — Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
09/11 — Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing Festial Field
09/12 — Madison, WI @ Breese Stevens Field
09/14 — Detroit, MI @ The Aretha Franklin Amphitheater
09/15 — Lewiston, NY @ Artpark Amphitheater
09/17 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Outdoors
09/18 — Columbus, OH @ Express Live
09/19 — Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheater
09/21 — Raleigh, NC @ Red Hot Amphitheater
09/22 — Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage At The Mann
09/23 — Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival
09/25 — New York, NY @ Governor’s Ball Festival
09/26 — Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
09/27 — Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
09/29 — Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion At Nautica
10/02 — Austin, TX @ ACL Festival
10/04 — Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
10/09 — Austin, TX @ ACL Festival
10/16 — Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/21 — Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/22 — Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/24 — Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival

For a look at the best festivals coming in 2021, be sure to check out the Uproxx Music Festival Preview.

Punisher is out now via Dead Oceans. Get it here.

It’s been just over a year since the NBA Foundation was created, a promise from the league to have a lasting impact on the Black community through $30 million in annual funding from the NBA’s 30 teams.

On the one-year anniversary of the foundation’s creation on August 6, they announced 22 more grants, totaling $6 million, would be going out to organizations across the country. The organizations span national and local groups in 10 of the league’s markets (Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.), all of which do work with Black youth in various ways.

The NBA also offered some insight into each of the organizations benefitting from this latest round of grants, which brings the total for the first year to $11 million in grants given to 40 organizations across the country.

All Star Code (New York): A nonprofit computer science organization founded in 2013, All Star Code is dedicated to building a sustainable talent pipeline of young men of color ready to enter, thrive and lead in the technology industry. All Star Code creates economic opportunity by developing a new generation of boys and young men of color with an entrepreneurial mindset who have the tools they need to succeed in a technological world.

Black Girl Ventures (National): The mission of Black Girl Ventures is to provide Black and Brown women-identifying founders with access to community, capital and capacity-building in order to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan (Detroit): The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan offer world-class programming which enables youth to become career, start-up and homeowner ready.

The Center For Teen Empowerment (Boston): With a mission to employ, train, and empower youth to create peace, equity and justice in collaboration with adults, The Center for Teen Empowerment (TE) is a critically conscious youth development organization inspiring young people to think deeply about difficult social problems and providing tools and skills to help them use their voices to catalyze significant positive change.

College Possible (National): College Possible makes college admission and success possible for students from low-income backgrounds through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support and commitment to providing the tools, strategies and support that students need to navigate and overcome systemic barriers to college graduation.

DC Central Kitchen (Washington D.C.): As the nation’s first and leading community kitchen, DC Central Kitchen’s mission is to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities. DCCK reverses the traditional soup kitchen model by preparing thousands of daily meals while empowering opportunity youth and adults with histories of incarceration, homelessness, addiction, and trauma to embark on meaningful culinary careers.

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (Detroit): Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation is a nonprofit formed to maximize impact and add value to Detroit residents and employers by providing quality services, connecting them via ‘Detroit at Work’ to resources and the support needed to thrive.

Equal Opportunity Schools (National): Equal Opportunity Schools’ (EOS) mission is to ensure that low-income and students of color have equitable access to America’s most academically intense high school programs and succeed at the highest levels. EOS will work in collaboration with Kingmakers of Oakland, a leadership development and systems change organization committed to fundamentally transforming the education system and building the capacity of people to design and sustain thriving and liberated systems, structures, conditions and culture to improve educational and life outcomes for Black young men.

The Hidden Genius Project (National): The Hidden Genius Project is an international, Oakland-based organization whose mission is to train and mentor Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities. Through a student-centered, project-based approach, The Hidden Genius Project invests in young Black men, gives them access to technology training, and plugs them into an ecosystem of innovation and empowerment.

Hopeworks Camden (Philadelphia): With a focus on education, technology and entrepreneurship, Hopeworks provides a positive, healing atmosphere that propels young people to build strong futures and break the cycle of violence and poverty. Hopeworks connects youth to life-changing opportunities where their growing technology skills are utilized for enterprising businesses within the community.

iMentor (National): iMentor builds mentoring relationships that empower first-generation students to graduate high school, succeed in college, and achieve their career ambitions. In a world where talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not, iMentor is fighting to rebalance the odds and give every young person a fair chance to realize their dreams.

Just The Beginning – A Pipeline Organization (Chicago): With a mission to encourage students of color and from other underrepresented groups to pursue career and leadership opportunities in the law, Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization’s vision is a legal profession in which lawyers and judges reflect the backgrounds and perspectives of the populations they serve.

National Summer Learning Association (National): For more than 25 years, NSLA has operated as a national, nonprofit organization whose mission is to combat summer learning loss and close the achievement and opportunity gaps which grows most dramatically between lower and higher income students over the summer months. NSLA ensures all young people in America, regardless of background, income and zip-code, can participate in a high-quality summer learning experience every year.

New Door Ventures (Bay Area): New Door’s mission is to prepare Bay Area transition-age youth for work and life by providing the jobs, training, education and support they need to discover and achieve their potential, and successfully transition to independent adulthood.

Running Rebels Community Organization (Milwaukee): The Running Rebels Community Organization engages the community, youth and families, prevents involvement in the juvenile justice system, intervenes and guides youth by assisting them with positive decision-making, and coaches youth through their transition into adulthood through relationship building and the necessary resources and skills necessary to become thriving, connected and contributing adults.

The Sanneh Foundation (Minnesota): The Sanneh Foundation serves the holistic youth development needs of the increasingly diverse Twin Cities metro area by empowering youth, supporting and promoting educational attainment through in-school and after-school support, improving lives through programs that strengthen physical health and social and emotional development, and uniting communities by advancing diversity, equity and community well-being.

SGA Youth And Family Services (Chicago): SGA Youth & Family Services helps children, families and communities facing great challenges to realize their potential. SGA is replacing the cycle of poverty by using a unique and proven service model, the Cycle of Opportunity®, which focuses on early childhood, parenting, educational supports and workforce development.

Sphinx Organization (Detroit): The Sphinx Organization transforms lives through the power of diversity in the arts, focused on fulfilling that mission through artist and ensemble development, music education, and by creating opportunities to support diverse talent in classical music and the performing arts.

Sponsors For Educational Opportunity (New York): SEO was founded in 1963 as one of NYC’s first high-school-to-college mentoring organizations. Today, SEO has multiple distinct programs that share the mission of creating a more equitable society by closing the academic and career opportunity gaps for motivated young people from historically excluded communities. SEO provides educational and career programs and addresses inequities in education and opportunity that often limit success.

Summit Academy OIC (Minnesota): Summit Academy OIC is recognized as a regional leader in workforce development, educational services and policy innovation. Summit Academy also fundamentally believes that the best social service program in the world is a job.

Women’s Housing And Economic Development Corporation (New York): WHEDco creates and bridges access to resources that create thriving neighborhoods – from high-quality early education and after-school programs to fresh and healthy food, cultural programming and economic opportunity. WHEDco builds sustainable, affordable homes with the belief that affordable housing must be anchored in strong communities.

YouthForce NOLA (New Orleans): YouthForce NOLA is an education, business and civic collaborative that builds bridges between school and work through its network of partner schools, employers, training providers, and community organizations. Its vision is that New Orleans public school graduates will thrive economically as a result of being the most sought-after talent for hiring and advancement in the region’s high-wage career pathways.

Matt Gaetz, the Republican congressman who is under investigation by the FBI for alleged sex trafficking, got married in California over the weekend.

“Gaetz and Ginger Luckey eloped Saturday, with the politician sharing a series of tweets and photos celebrating the occasion,” the New York Daily News reports, including one that reads, “On one of my amazing Wife’s final days as a fiancé, she was right there with me campaigning in Iowa. It is pure joy to walk through life with ⁦@LuckeyGinger.”

In another, Gaetz wrote, [extremely Borat voice] “I love my wife!”

If the name “Ginger Luckey” sounds familiar, that’s probably because you know her sister, Roxanne Luckey, who called Gaetz “weird and creepy” and “a literal pedophile” on TikTok. “I saw the character and type of person he is, and when everything came out about him, I honestly, unfortunately, was not surprised,” the former-White House intern said, adding, “As someone who has personally experienced a ton of creepy old politician men hitting on me when I was underage, and experiencing sexual assault at that age by people of power, it’s very disheartening and I have zero tolerance of people like [Gaetz].”

About 40 people attended the ceremony (Roxanne was likely not one of them), which had an official hashtag of #GaetzGetsLuckey. Twitter users had a better suggestion.

There was a competing hashtag, too:

(Via the New York Daily News)

Lizzo recently kicked off a new era of music with “Rumors,” her single with Cardi B. The single dropped alongside a regal video, which included several callbacks to Disney’s 1997 film Hercules. While the new track topped the iTunes chart, it also subjected Lizzo to a number of bodyshaming trolls. The comments led Lizzo to go on an emotional Instagram Live session, and now many celebrities are jumping to her defense.

Along with Cardi B and Offset sharing their support, T.I. is the latest celebrity to tell the haters to leave Lizzo alone. The rapper shared an encouraging message to the singer in a video shared to social media, reminding Lizzo that negative comments are just a projection of haters’ own insecurities:

“My message to Lizzo. I don’t know Lizzo personally. Listen, sweetheart, you are beautiful, you are talented, you are good enough for all the great things the world has to offer, don’t wait on nobody out there in the public to validate that. Don’t do that because their perception of you has more to do with them than it does with you. All these people who out here who have negative sh*t to say it’s because they feel negatively about themselves. Them speaking negatively about you or me or anybody else has more to do with them than it does with you. Please don’t wait on them to give you the okay to be happy. Please don’t wait on them to give you the okay for you to be satisfied with yourself, your accomplishments, your achievements.”

T.I. then ended his message by repeating some choice words. “F*ck them people,” he said. “F*ck what people say. You hear me? F*ck ’em.”

Watch T.I.’s full message above.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

After exiting The View at the beginning of August, Meghan McCain has resorted to tweeting aggressively partisan attacks that, just like her arguments on The View, have routinely blown up in her face. This time around, McCain took a shot at Vice President Kamala Harris by retweeting a right-wing video accusing Harris of “laughing” about the situation in Afghanistan. The former talk show host even went so far to accuse the vice president of having a disorder similar to Joaquin Phoenix’s version of the Joker. It was pure class all around.

“This may be some kind of real issue (like Joaquin phoenix in the joker),” McCain tweeted. “[B]ut she’s the Vice President and she’s hand ample time and resources to media train herself out of reacting to every SINGLE crisis situation like she’s walking onto a late night show. She comes off so craven.”

Despite firing off her tweet early Monday morning, it didn’t take long for people to flood McCain’s replies and point out that Harris is clearly not laughing about the situation in Afghanistan, but at the throng of reporters crowding her and yelling at her over the sound of a helicopter. When she is asked about Americans still trapped in the country, the vice president’s demeanor noticeably changes to match the seriousness of the topic.

There were also plenty of quips about McCain’s time on The View, and how she probably isn’t the best person to lecture others about professionalism while on camera considering her penchant for on-screen shouting matches and routinely mentioning that she’s John McCain’s daughter.

You can see some of the reactions to McCain’s tweet below:

(Via Meghan McCain on Twitter)

An album can be utterly disappointing, and still be excellent. This is the paradoxical feat that Solar Power, Lorde’s third, hotly-anticipated album has executed. And part of the problem lies within that hot anticipation, more than it does in what the artist herself has delivered. Disappointing early singles like the peppy, toothless title track and Lana Del Rey-cosplay “Stoned At The Nail Salon” alerted fans to an obvious sea change, and a third single, “Mood Ring,” which tried and seemingly failed to parody nü-wellness culture initially landed on my ears as the biggest bummer of all. Within the context of the album as a whole, though, all three have gained at least a sense of place.

Though this New Zealand “teen millionaire” has assuredly divorced herself from the pop star sound and accoutrement that used to fit like a glove, the weight of who she was hangs over the record like a cloud. “If you’re looking for a savior, that’s not me,” she sings on “The Path,” a direct juxtaposition to her clunky title track assertion, “I’m kind of like a prettier Jesus.” Solar Power isn’t a record about coming back to reality after several years spent hiding out in the bush — it’s a record about how hiding out in the bush is Lorde’s reality now, and the celebrity stuff is what she’s closing the book on. In that sense, it doesn’t deliver what fans thought it would, but it also offers a more intimate portrait of Lorde than any set of bangers could’ve. A Laurel Canyon-inspired portrait of life in New Zealand isn’t going to qualify as gospel for most American listeners, but after some getting used to, it’s an unexpectedly beautiful left turn.

From the woozy album opener “The Path” all the way through the lush “Fallen Fruit” and trippy, barely-minute-plus “Leader Of A New Regime,” Lorde traces a tongue-in-cheek argument for remove from society, justifying her decision to look for meaning elsewhere in real life disappointments. It’s the logical decision of someone who is rich enough to be fully offline for years at a time, but certainly not a concept album that’s one that’s going to resonate with her extremely-online, college-loan-debt-laden fans. At least these three, and the other standout, “California,” offer enough atmosphere to anchor “Mood Ring” in the breezy, sardonic climate it needed to feel funny.

We always knew she was going to go full Kate Bush — if early covers of “Running Up That Hill” didn’t alert you, her split with Max Martin over “Green Light” phrasing should’ve — we just didn’t know it would be so soon. Goodbye to all that, and hello Lorde’s 24-going-on-25 epiphany: Being famous isn’t worth the hassle. This seems like the healthiest conclusion a pop star has come to in years, but again, it isn’t necessarily relatable en masse. The sense of resignation that permeates the album is perhaps unexpected for a songwriter as young as Lorde, but considering how much life she lived in the first two decades of her life — again, typified in “California” — it feels earned. Since that song essentially takes “Royals” and applies the same dismissal to the very worst of LA celebrity culture, it might be hard for the entire rest of the state to stomach the rather stereotypical generalization, except for when remembering Lorde’s respect for hip-hop. I’ll take it as a subtle nod to Tupac and Dre et al. and not the lowkey insult it can sound like upon a less generous listen — especially since the entire sound of the album is inspired by and owed to the state this song sorta maligns.

When it hits, the record hits, sun on skin. But when the songwriting stumbles, which is almost solely on a lyrical level, the missteps are egregious, and too jarring to ignore. “Stoned At The Nail Salon,” a deeply beautiful song, feels lifted wholecloth from Lana’s entire shtick, and the fan-discovered melodic overlap with “Wild At Heart” off Chemtrails doesn’t help the cause. On the other end of the spectrum “Secrets From A Girl (Who’s Seen It All)” could’ve almost passed as a fine ’90s throwback tune, except for the spoken word outro from Robyn that is truly awful. Fashionable representatives from Lorde’s old Rookie set might be tempted to archly quote Jenny Holzer’s “abuse of power comes as no surprise” over this misuse of the Swedish icon, but it’s also indicative of what can happen when an artist has no one around them willing to be brutally honest.

Contrary to what the baseless pontifications from Antonoff armchair critics assert, Jack doesn’t seem to wield that kind of editing pen or veto power in his collaborative pop star relationships. Quite the opposite, he doesn’t seem to offer constructive criticism when maybe he should. So just as I won’t credit Antonoff for the sparkling pathos of the actually brilliant “Big Star,” I can’t blame him for the album missteps, either. “The Man With The Axe” and “Dominoes” prove that Paul Simon’s influence is harder to escape on a lighthearted-yet-heavy songwriters album than it appears to be, and the latter’s strangely Swiftian lyric reference (“Out Of The Woods”) feels more like an oversight than an allusion. But whether reference or homage, similarity to Taylor and Lana feels inevitable for Lorde, whose past approach to the world of pop seemed to rest gently between the two.

If Lorde failed to live up to the standards this pair set on this latest album, it’s because they’ve only been setting the lyrical bar higher all throughout her hiatus, and again, that’s the primary area where Solar Power lags. Whatever is lacking in lyrics is almost made up for in her newly-realized vocal control, which is so much more intricate here, improved by leaps and bounds. “I can make anything real,” she boasts on the Fleet Foxes-indebted “Oceanic Feeling” (“Grown Ocean,” “Sunblind”) a blazing six-minute epic that feels like it could’ve been the album opener for a completely different version of Solar Power. On this song most off all, the daylight is worth chasing, and ironically, most indicative of the state I know and love.

Solar Power is out now via. Get it here.