Month: January 2024

On Wednesday, January 24, the Ohana Festival confirmed it will return to Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California from September 27 to September 29, 2024. Now the question becomes whether the 2024 staging will be able to top the sentiment expressed in Uproxx‘s Philip Cosores 2023 review, entitled, “Ohana Festival Does Everything Just A Little Bit Better.” There are a few other logistical questions as well, like the one below.

When Do Tickets For Ohana Festival 2024 Come Out?

Ohana Festival hasn’t announced anything beyond the dates for its 2024 festival, but the Instagram announcement also instructed, “Sign up for SMS at the link in bio to be the first to know about the 2024 lineup, tickets, festival updates, and more.”

Ohana Festival’s official website features an easy prompt to sign up for SMS (for mobile numbers from US carriers only) or sign up for email updates. You can sign up for ticket-specific updates here.

For reference, the 2023 Ohana Festival lineup was announced on April 11, 2023 — the headliners were The Killers, Haim, Eddie Vedder, The Chicks, Foo Fighters, and Pretenders — and the presale began two days later. VIP tickets sold out immediately, while 3-Day General Admission tickets were sold out by April 16. So, if you’re serious about attending Ohana Festival, be ready to pounce — likely in mid-April.

On Wednesday, January 24, the Ohana Festival confirmed it will return to Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California from September 27 to September 29, 2024. Now the question becomes whether the 2024 staging will be able to top the sentiment expressed in Uproxx‘s Philip Cosores 2023 review, entitled, “Ohana Festival Does Everything Just A Little Bit Better.” There are a few other logistical questions as well, like the one below.

When Do Tickets For Ohana Festival 2024 Come Out?

Ohana Festival hasn’t announced anything beyond the dates for its 2024 festival, but the Instagram announcement also instructed, “Sign up for SMS at the link in bio to be the first to know about the 2024 lineup, tickets, festival updates, and more.”

Ohana Festival’s official website features an easy prompt to sign up for SMS (for mobile numbers from US carriers only) or sign up for email updates. You can sign up for ticket-specific updates here.

For reference, the 2023 Ohana Festival lineup was announced on April 11, 2023 — the headliners were The Killers, Haim, Eddie Vedder, The Chicks, Foo Fighters, and Pretenders — and the presale began two days later. VIP tickets sold out immediately, while 3-Day General Admission tickets were sold out by April 16. So, if you’re serious about attending Ohana Festival, be ready to pounce — likely in mid-April.

ESPN’s main broadcast booth for NBA games is going through a midseason change. As a result of the news that Doc Rivers would return to the coaching ranks and take over for Adrian Griffin in Milwaukee, ESPN lost one of the two analysts that join Mike Breen to call its biggest games.

Fortunately, Doris Burke is still there, and a report indicates that ESPN might just roll with an alliterative Breen and Burke booth. The duo were on the call for the Worldwide Leader’s broadcast of the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, and before things could tip off, Breen decided to give a pretty funny tribute to Rivers as he embarks on a new chapter in his lengthy coaching career.

“Our dear friend has decided that life as an NBA broadcaster is way too stressful, so he’s decided to opt for a less stressful job: an NBA head coach on a team that’s trying to win a championship,” Breen said. “We thank him for all his many weeks of service, and we wish him all the luck in the world.”

It’s an extremely funny tribute from Breen, who changed his tone and got serious by saying that “we’re a little heartbroken today, disappointed, but we’re thrilled for our friend because coaching is in his blood, it’s what he loves to do.” Burke then chimed in and spoke glowingly of her time working alongside Rivers, saying he “brought unbelievable energy every single day” as a member of their booth.

Wisp has offered another contender for a future “All The Best Indie Music From This Week” list here at Uproxx, seeing as her “Once Then We’ll Be Free” made an early November edition. On Wednesday, January 24, the 19-year-old shoegaze artist dropped “See You Soon,” a hypnotic single capturing the relatable infatuation of an elusive crush.

“‘See You Soon’ is about being infatuated with a person and wanting to spend all of your time with them, but the resolve at the end of the song represents knowing that person will not last and the feelings on their side aren’t as passionate as yours,” Wisp said in a statement.

The song is accompanied by an official visualizer, directed by Nick Vernet and Sophia Álverez. Wisp is wandering alone by the shore, but she’d rather be somewhere else.

“I’d trade hours for minutes with you,” she sings in the opening line. As described in a press release, “‘See you soon’ reinforces Wisp’s penchant for precise maximalism. The song’s verses gather momentum deliberately with a swirl of chorus-effects and glide guitar modulation so that when the inevitable explosion hits, it’s an indelible and cathartic release of tension.”

To that point, Wisp delivers a gut punch in the outro, singing, “To fall so fast for someone who may never last.”

Listen to “See You Soon” above.

Who’d a thought a movie about Barbie the doll would ever have its own awards page on Wikipedia? Certainly not Oliver Stone. On Tuesday last year’s biggest cinematic money-gobbler added a bunch more honors to its pile, amassing eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Alas, it missed out on two biggies, one for director Greta Gerwig and another for star Margot Robbie. (For what it’s worth, both were nominated in other categories.) The snubs prompted instant outrage. On Wednesday even a former FLOTUS and presidential candidate joined the angry mob.

Per The Daily Beast, no less than Hillary Clinton weighed in on the omissions. “Greta & Margot,” she wrote on Twiter/X. “While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You’re both so much more than Kenough.”

After Gerwig and Robbie’s names were AWOL from the Oscar nominations, not only did fans voice their displeasure. So did fellow Barbie alumni, even fellow performers. America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling, both of whom scored noms, spoke out, as did — why not! — John Stamos, who went so far as to do a weird re-enactment of one of its scenes.

Back in 2018, Gerwig became only the fifth woman ever nominated for the Best Director Oscar, for her solo directorial feature debut Lady Bird. The actress/filmmaker wasn’t nominated for her follow-up, the 2019 take on Little Women, which also led to similar backlash. Gerwig is nominated this year alongside her cowriter/now-husband Noah Baumbach in the Adapted Screenplay category. Robbie, meanwhile, is one of the film’s producers, which means her name is on the Best Picture nomination.

The 2024 Academy Awards are set to unfold on March 11.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Earlier this month, Bonnaroo announced its 2024 lineup, headlined by Pretty Lights, Fisher, Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Fred Again.. from Thursday, June 13, to Sunday, June 16. The festival will be staged on The Bannaroo Farm in Manchester, Tennessee, and it’s always one of music’s hottest tickets of the summer.

Is Bonnaroo 2024 Sold Out?

Good news! Tickets are still available for Bonnaroo 2024. According to the festival’s official website, there are four different ticket packages to choose from: 4-Day General Admission (starting at $435), 4-Day GA+ (starting at $695), 4-Day VIP (starting at $1,105), and 4-Day Platinum (starting at $4,155). Layaway plans are also available for each ticketing package, ranging from $25 down to $200 down.

Additionally, Bonnaroo offers camping and parking. Those prices range anywhere between $60 to $4,450.

For reference, tickets to Bonnaroo 2023 ranged from $299 to $1,250, but Bonnaroo explained the 2024 price hike in a statement last November, as excerpted below.

“Bonnaroo is incredibly important to each and every one of us who works to make it happen each year, and we know how special this experience is to you. We are proud of this community that we have built together. In the spirit of the Roo community and communication, we wanted to give you a heads up as we prepare for the annual presale.

Ticket prices are going to look different this year, and here’s why:

When you purchase your presale tickets, you’ll see a new price that includes all fees upfront — the only additions at checkout will be your chosen shipping option and your locally applicable sales tax.

For the first time in more than a decade, we’re also making a notable base price increase. This increase will still be far less than inflation over that time. The cost of producing this magical world has increased and our goal is to be as transparent with you as possible. To continue to deliver the quality experience you have to come to love and appreciate, prices need to go up just slightly.

The Farm is truly the most magical place on Earth and 2024 is going to be an incredible year. We can’t wait to see you next summer!”

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

Jim Harbaugh is on his way back to the NFL. After finally leading his alma mater, the University of Michigan, to a national championship earlier this month, Harbaugh is slated to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The news was confirmed by Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, along with Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.

This will not be Harbaugh’s first foray into coaching in the NFL. From 2011-14, Harbaugh was at the helm of the San Francisco 49ers, and accrued a 44-19-1 record during his tenure. This included a berth in the Super Bowl during his second year in charge, and the team made it to the postseason in each of his first three years with the team. However, following an 8-8 season in 2014, the two sides parted ways, which beget Harbaugh taking the coaching job at his alma mater.

During his tenure at Michigan, Harbaugh went 85-25, and while it took him seven seasons to make a Big Ten championship game, the Wolverines were able to get there and win the game in each of the last three seasons. That included a trio of berths in the College Football Playoff, and after losing to Georgia and TCU in their first two attempts at winning a national title, Harbaugh capped things off by beating Alabama in the semifinal and Washington in the final earlier this year to give the program its first national championship since 1997. He’s leaving on the heels of a season that was filled with controversy, as Harbaugh was suspended on two separate occasions with the potential for more punishment from the NCAA coming down the line.

Harbaugh takes over a Chargers team that fired Brandon Staley midway through the 2023 campaign, which ended with the team going 5-12. He’s been a popular name to replace Staley, as Harbaugh has apparently expressed that he’s a big fan of Justin Herbert.

The word “smooth” in whiskey (or spirits in general) circles is often the heart of a heated debate. It’s similar to asking a serious food lover whether a hot dog is a sandwich or not. It’s part zero-sum game and part bandwagonism, with teams that fall on both sides. Translation: It’s exhausting.

So do some whiskeys actually taste “smooth?” And is that really a bad thing?

Short answers: Yes and No. Take that zero-summers!

As a professional in the ol’ whiskey game, I can tell you that this comes up way more often than it should. Last year, our friends at Bourbon Pursuit posted a fun IG Reel from the Kentucky Bourbon Festival that has a lot of whiskey pros smirking and saying “smooth” is the most annoying word in whiskey.

I get it. “Smooth” has been run into the ground by consumers to the point that it lost a lot — if not all — of its meaning to some aficionados. “Smooth” feels like a cop-out term when you could dive deeper into flavor profiles or mouth feel. It can also be conflated with “thin” or “one-note” by newbies. Having worked in whiskey media for years, I can also tell you that consumers search for “smooth” whiskey/bourbon/scotch more by far than any other descriptor. So much so that it’s almost comical.

At the end of the day, we’re talking about mouthfeel and/or texture when we’re talking about smoothness. Consumers — the people paying the whiskey world’s wages by actually enjoying the stuff — like a whiskey they can drink. “Smooth” simply relates to the fact that there is little to no burn, no rough edges, and no imperfections that distract from enjoying the deeper flavor profile built into the pour.

Smooth can be a good thing wherein a whiskey has a great mouthfeel that allows you to enjoy the profile. But it can also be a fault wherein the smoothness doesn’t reveal any nuance besides “easy to down.”As with all things in our life, it can be two things. Life is grey and context-driven, not black and white.

Frank Dobbins — whiskey writer, influencer, and judge — puts it this way: “Smooth is a common descriptor for a reason. Longtime enthusiasts cringe at hearing it and yet it’s something most newcomers to the category are looking for.”

Dobbins hits on a key demographic here “newcomers.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — no one likes that first mouthful of whiskey they taste when they’re young. It’s an acquired taste. You have to build up a palate for the heat of it, much less the nuances of the flavor profile. Forcing a Hazmat-proof (above 70%) whiskey on someone and expecting them to fall in love with whiskey is a wildly crazy ask. Whereas, offering someone, say, a Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon at 45% throws open the gates to a life spent loving whiskey. Why? You can taste those aforementioned nuances when the proof is lower and it won’t feel “rough.”

That Hazmat pour will feel like sipping whiskey with razorblades in it if you’re not ready for it. It’s hellish for newcomers.

Don’t believe me? Every single whiskey is tasted at 20%/40 proof in the lab by the distillers and blenders before it’s chosen for blending and bottling. Why? That’s the proof when whiskey presents the clearest profile, allowing faults and perfections to shine the clearest. Proof any whiskey down to 20% and it’s going to taste “smooth” while highlighting the most prominent flavor notes.

But there is more to the discussion than that. Nate Gana — whiskey investor, judge, writer, and international ambassador — notes that whiskey is never bottled at 40 proof.

“Whiskey is meant to be edgy and sophisticated and make you think about what’s in your glass.” Gana says that he understands why the term is used but that “whiskey is supposed to open your eyes wider. You’re meant to feel it in all your senses.”

Sometimes you have to feel the burn to feel the full brunt of a bourbon’s beauty. Still, Gana agrees that everyone has to start somewhere — so we’ll likely always have people looking for “smooth” whiskeys when they’re starting out.

Bob Book — whiskey judge and podcaster of the Film & Whiskey Podcast — has a clear sense of using smooth and says, “I honestly think ‘smooth’ is a perfectly acceptable and neutral descriptor.” He continues, “For me, it’s always indicated a whiskey without harshness or rough edges.”

Look, when writing a whiskey review, I could say “silky” or “velvety” or “svelte” but — in the end — I’d just be using synonyms for “smooth” and we all know it. So … it all sort of comes out in the wash anyway. Book pushes a great point in the end, noting that “Sometimes ‘smooth’ is a good thing, like when you’re pleasantly surprised that a young whiskey isn’t astringent. Sometimes it’s bad, like when a well-aged barrel-proof bourbon lacks any serious character or bite.”

Dobbins tends to agree, adding, “It’s imperfect, but we all definitely know what it means and so I think smooth is a great descriptor.”

So going back to my original point, some whiskeys simply are “smooth” and others are not, intrinsically. Is that a bad thing? No. Is the term overused? Absolutely. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. So when I blindly taste and rank “smooth” bourbon or ryes or Scotch whiskies, it’s on you to read the parameters set forth and then the tasting notes to know what I’m saying about the whiskey being critiqued.

If you find yourself wanting some smooth whiskey after all that reading, Uproxx has some options for you:

• The 10 Smoothest Bourbon Whiskeys, Ranked
• The 20 Smoothest Bourbons Under $100, Ranked
• The 20 Smoothest Single Malt Whiskeys, Ranked
• 12 Smooth Single Barrel Bourbons, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The 12 Smoothest Rye Whiskies, Ranked
• The Smoothest Scotch Whiskies Under $100, Ranked

The world could have lost Mark Ruffalo prematurely. In the early aughts the then-future big screen Bruce Banner was diagnosed with a vestibular schwannoma, which is a form of a brain tumor. It was benign, but removing the mass resulted in temporary partial facial paralysis and hearing loss. That went away, though he still can’t hear out of his left ear. It certainly could have been worse. Indeed, Ruffalo might not have ever discovered the condition had he not had an eerily prophetic dream.

“I had one of those 4 a.m. calls, and I woke up probably around 3, and I just had this crazy dream. It wasn’t like any other dream I had had,” Ruffalo recently revealed on the podcast SmartLess. “It was just like ‘You have a brain tumor.’ It wasn’t even a voice, it was just pure knowledge: ‘You have a brain tumor, and you have to deal with it immediately.’”

At the time he was filming the 2001 prison thriller The Last Castle, and though it was just a dream, he still brought it up to the on-set doctor.

“I said, ‘Listen, this is gonna sound crazy, but I had this dream last night that I have a brain tumor,’” Ruffalo recalled. “And she said, ‘That is crazy, but there’s no reason that you should have to worry about it, I’ll order you a CAT scan and we’ll go right after work today and we’ll show how crazy you are.’”

Sure enough, they found a mass the size of a golf ball, and the rest is history.

Thing is, Ruffalo withheld telling his wife about his diagnosis until after the birth of their first son.

“I was just like, I can’t. She’s already like, ‘Oh god, him again? Does everything gotta be about him?’” Ruffalo explained. “So I just couldn’t. And like a week after the baby I had to go in and meet the neurologist and decide what I was gonna do. I hadn’t told her until the night before.”

His wife did not react lightly, as one would imagine. “When I told Sunny about it, first she thought I was joking, and she just burst into tears and said, ‘I always knew you were gonna die young!’” he remembered. “If you wrote it in a script, it’d be too much.”

The lesson? If you have a dream about having a disease that’s hard to detect, perhaps it’s best to go hypochondriac. That way you won’t rob people of joining what’s become the Philadelphia Extended Universe.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. After a series of grim weeks and poor-quality drops, we’re finally back baby! Mark it, this is the first week of 2024 with any significant sneaker drops — we can’t say for certainty that one of these sneakers will end up on our end-of-the-year list come December, but there are certainly a few candidates. That should speak to the strength of this week.

We’re still light on big brand collaborations, but this week brings some notable designs out of Nike including a Chinese New Year-themed Jordan 1, a shaggy suede Dunk, and the return of the Nike Attack. The other brands are keeping things mostly quiet still, but Adidas has snuck in with a new signature basketball sneaker. Things should pick up even more come next week, so prepare yourself for the real start of 2024’s flyest sneakers.

Let’s dive into the best sneakers of the week.

Nike Women’s Air Jordan 14 Love Letter

Price: $180

Nike keeps showing the ladies all the love with some of the dopest colorways to come out of the brand in some time. This week brings the Jordan 14 Love Letter, which features a shimmering teal and purple upper with metallic silver accents. This silhouette is the last Jordan wore for Chicago, so it has a special place in the Jordan lineage.

If you’ve got big feet, you’re out of luck here, as this sneaker tops out at women’s size 12 and men’s 10.5. Luckily, there is a notable Jordan drop this week for people with bigger feet.

The Nike Women’s Air Jordan 14 Love Letter is out now for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Nike Air Jordan 1 Low OG Chinese New Year

Price: $160

In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Nike is dropping a special colorway of the Jordan 1. Dubbed “Chinese New Year,” this sneaker pays tribute to the year of the dragon with a scaly leather overlay in Oil Green over a white leather upper with a satin collar lining, and gold and red details.

The insole has a special ceremonial take on the Jumpman logo. It’s a dope design just based on the color combination alone.

The Nike Air Jordan 1 Low OG Chinese New Year is out now for a retail price of $160. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Nike Women’s Dunk Low Light Armory Blue and Photon Dust

Price: $135

If you’re looking for a shaggy Dunk that looks well-worn and yet super fresh at the same time, look no further than the Light Armory Blue and Photon Dust Dunk Low. Featuring full distressed suede construction, this Dunk looks incredibly cozy.

This one should go in the books as one of the best Dunk colorways of all time.

The Nike Women’s Dunk Low Light Armory Blue and Photon Dust is set to drop on January 25th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $135. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Adidas AE1 Arctic Fusion

Price: $120

Basketball shooting guard and Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Adwards now has his own Adidas signature sneaker and we’re digging on it! The sneaker features a textile upper with a super lightweight BOOST midsole a rubber outsole, and a unique midsole design that sports several air vents.

As far as modern basketball sneakers go, the AE is refreshingly classic. No weird plastic details, no crazy psychedelic colorways — just a straightforward performance-focused sneaker.

The Adidas AE1 Arctic Fusion is set to drop on January 25th at 12:00 AM PST for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Adidas webstore or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Nike Attack OG Light Smoke Grey

Price: $120

If you follow Uproxx for sneaker coverage (note: we’re the best and most consistent curators of the best sneaker drops on a week-to-week basis) you’re probably aware that I’m all in on the John McEnroe signature sneaker, the Nike Mac Attack. I named it one of the best sneakers of 2023, and now the OG colorway is getting a refresh.

The sneaker features an iconic checkered tongue label, a grey and black upper, and classic ‘80s design language.

The Nike Attack OG Light Smoke Grey is set to drop on January 26th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $120. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Air Jordan 6 Yellow Ochre

Price: $200

The Yellow Ochre Jordan 6 is a legendary colorway, one of the all-time best in the sneaker’s run. And this week the colorway is getting a refresh. The Yellow Ochre sports a soft nubuck upper with a warm yellow-toned base and white overlays, with black contrast points on the throat and heel.

The Nike Air Jordan 6 Yellow Ochre is set to drop on January 27th at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.