Month: August 2024

Before the first date of The Eras Tour, there was a lot of speculation about which song Taylor Swift would start the concert with. That’s how little was known about the show, which go on to be the most successful tour of all-time. Would the setlist stay in order of her discography, beginning with her self-titled debut album and close with Midnights (that came half true!), or did she have something else in mind? I was there in Glendale, Arizona, for opening night, and as the digital clock ticked down to zero and the dancers took the stage attached to flowing, morning sky-colored clamshells, all us Swifties in attendance were somewhere between screaming from excitement and holding our breath in anticipation for the unknown.

And then: “It’s been a long time coming…”

It had been a long time coming since Swift’s last tour before Eras. The Reputation Stadium Tour concluded in November 2018. Less than a year later, in August 2019 (five years ago today!), Swift released her seventh studio album Lover, a colorful return to open-hearted love songs.

Swift was going to support the album at international festivals in 2020, followed by two shows each at SoFi Stadium in California and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, dubbed as Lover Fest West and Lover Fest East, respectively. Those dates were to feature “Taylor Swift and Friends” and a heart-shaped stage. But then the pandemic happened, and the tour, scheduled from June to August, was canceled. Save for a few scattered appearances, the live debut of Lover wouldn’t come until the opening era of The Eras Tour in 2023.

Lover has an interesting standing in Swift’s discography. The top-selling album of 2019 has some of her best songs, including “Cruel Summer” (still waiting on that music video), “Cornelia Street,” and “Death By A Thousand Cuts,” in particular the monumental bridge. But there are blemishes: it’s at least four tracks too long, and because “Me!” and “You Need To Calm Down” flopped as singles, it’s arguably the album of hers with the least cultural impact. But the main issue with the Lover era, as it were, is that it feels incomplete.

The typical album rollout for Swift, at least in the pre-pandemic days, went like this: first single with a music video; months of building hype through interviews, TV show appearances, and magazine covers; second single; release the album; and tour. Lover had all of that — except the tour. There wasn’t a chance for a community to build around the album, and when the opportunity finally presented itself on the The Eras Tour, it was sharing space with her other albums. Especially the ones that came before and after it.

I remember a feeling in the air when Lover came out that maybe Swift’s popularity had peaked, which is funny to think about now, when she’s as popular as she’s ever been. Maybe as popular as any artist has ever been. Folklore is a big reason why. It’s the album that made some-indie-record-that’s-much-cooler-than-mine people take her seriously as a lyricist. Folklore was a bright spot during a dark time (I love you, too, Evermore). Meanwhile, the consensus opinion around Taylor’s actually dark album, Reputation, has consistently improved since it came out: once misunderstood, it’s now considered an angsty, messy, and thrilling highlight in her discography. Lover sits between the extremes of Reputation and Folklore, somewhat uneasily.

But — to borrow (steal) a premise from Marvel — what if Lover Fest hadn’t been canceled? Would that have made the era feel fully realized? It’s one of many “what if” questions I have about Lover, including:

What if… the poorly received “Me!” wasn’t the first single?

What if… “hey kids, spelling is fun” was left off “Me!” in the first place?

What if… album MVP “Cruel Summer” had been released as the first single, or the second single (instead of “You Need To Calm Down”), or the third single (instead of “Lover”), or the fourth single (instead of “The Man”)?

What if… she returned to working with Max Martin?

What if… the tracklist was re-arranged to have a stronger opener?

What if… Lover had a more consistent sound — would that made it better or worse?

We’ll never know the answers to these hypothetical “what if…” scenarios, and if I think about this alternate timeline for too long, I’ll spiral out from imagining a world without Folklore, Evermore, “Hits Different,” “The Black Dog,” Traylor, and maybe even The Eras Tour (and, y’know, no pandemic).

Looking back at Lover five years after it was released, I’m intrigued by what could have been with Lover Fest but thankful for what we have. It’s not her best album, but it’s also not her worst. Lover is a friend instead of a loved one. And you know what they say: it’s nice to have a friend.

At this point, the likelihood of an Outkast reunion is a faint dream. However, members André 3000 and Big Boi are united on one front — protecting their intellectual property.

According to AllHipHop, Outkast’s company High Schoolers LLC have filed a lawsuit against EDM duo ATLiens for trademark infringement.

In the paperwork, the hip-hop legends accuse ATLiens of “improper, willful, unauthorized and illegal use and registration of the ATLIENS mark,” which is owned by Outkast.

As evident in their claim, Outkast referenced ATLiens upcoming 2025 show at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Outkast has taken issue not only with ATLiens’ selected stage name, but also its use in their merchandise, among other things.

Although Outkast acknowledges the word, made popular by their standout 1996 album, was thrust into pop culture, and as a result the world’s “cultural lexicon,” they firmly stake creative ownership of the made-up word.

“Upon information and belief, Defendant selected the name ATLIENS for their EDM duo to trade upon the tremendous fame and goodwill associated with Plaintiff’s ATLIENS album, song, and mark, or, at a minimum, to call to consumers’ minds Plaintiff’s famous ATLIENS album, song, and mark,” reads the document.

Outkast has demanded that ATLiens “permanently enjoined and restrained from, directly or indirectly” further usage of their trademark. They always also asked that the United States Patent and Trademark Office cancel the ATLiens’ live and active service mark as they attempt to “collect compensatory, incidental and consequential damages.”

On the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website, ATLiens’ mark has a notion of this request. The last of Outkast’s request include for legal fees reimbursement, and ATLiens to remove any and all online usage of their mark, which encompasses their website and social media profiles.

This seems to be a simple case for United States Patent and Trademark Office to decide, unlike Eminem’s filing against Real Housewives of Potomac‘s Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon.

Chicken Shop Date has spawned many delightful moments since emerging as a more off-beat, less torturous, and more British alternative to Hot Ones. Host Amelia Dimoldenberg routinely keeps the energy weird and fun, which was a perfect fit for her latest guest: Sabrina Carpenter.

Towards the end of the video, Dimoldenberg recited a new “Nonsense” outro lyric she wrote to mark the occasion, saying, “Went to London ’cause I had a hot date / The food was average, but the company was great / Four plus four, me and Amelia ate,” and then she trailed off with a lack of confidence. They then workshopped it from there, with Carpenter dancing around a line she’d want to say if not for the fact she was on camera at the moment. They eventually got it out, though: “Later, I’m going to get my p*ssy ate.”

Elsewhere in the episode, she revealed her first experience with the word “wanker,” explaining, “The first time I came to London, someone on the street ran past me and yelled, ‘F*ckin’ wanker,’ and I was like, ‘Someone called me a wanker. I feel like I really lived the London experience.’”

All in all, it was a fun chat as expected, so check out the video above.

It only took ten years, but Travis Scott’s beloved mixtape Days Before Rodeo was finally added to streaming services today. The project arrived just a year before his official debut album Rodeo, and to this day, it still stands as one of the best projects in Scott’s discography. That was often the case for rappers, especially in the mixtape era. A lot of the projects that fans deemed to be their best work were indeed free mixtapes. At the time, mixtapes were a great promotional tactic for the album a rapper was about to put out, but now, many of them are going back in time to relive the success of the project, make some money off a great body of work, and also place the mixtape in the easily accessible and vast library of streaming services.

In celebration of Days Before Rodeo being available to stream on your favorite streaming service, we compiled a list of 12 mixtapes that also need the same treatment. Take a scroll and see our picks that include releases from Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, J. Cole, and more.

Dom Kennedy — Yellow Album

Dom Kennedy is a West Coast legend, there’s no question about it. If you asked 100 Dom Kennedy fans, or even 100 West Coast rap fans, what his magnum opus was, most will tell you his 2012 mixtape Yellow Album. Kennedy is one of the many examples of an artists’ best project arguably being a free collection of music, many coming from the 2010s mixtape era. Still, the impact of Yellow Album on Kennedy himself as well as rap altogether is undeniable. It pushed Kennedy to new heights, as he would tour the US and Europe after the project’s release. As one of the leaders of West Coast rap’s new age, Dom Kennedy influence traveled past the generations of his own to present-day artists like Larry June. Yellow Album is stamped culturally and is absolutely needed in the ever-accessible streaming libraries. Kennedy just needs a cool $2 million to get the project cleared for streaming — which should be doable, right?

DJ Esco & Future — Project E.T.

For the most part, Future’s vast mixtape catalog can be found on streaming services. 56 Nights, Beast Mode, Monster, and Purple Reign all live in between Future’s impressive batch of albums. One project that’s yet to receive this treatment is DJ Esco & Future’s 2016 collaboration Project E.T. At 16 songs, it features the Platinum-certified “Too Much Sauce” with Lil Uzi Vert and “Married To The Game,” one of Future’s best b-side tracks. We even have “Who” with Young Thug, the record that Future and Thug used to bury the hatchet in their brief beef. Project E.T. is one of the more fun projects Future has been apart of, but it’s also a great body of work with plenty of highlights and strong collaborations with a variety of artists. The mixtape is available to varying and unofficial extents on different streaming services, so making it available in full across the board would be incredibly ideal.

G-Unit — 50 Cent Is The Future

To understand the true legacy of 50 Cent and G-Unit is to understand and appreciate their mixtape catalog. No better example of the exists than G-Unit’s 2002 mixtape 50 Cent Is The Future. The project was a big turning point for both 50 Cent and G-Unit as a whole, which consisted of 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo at this point. 50 Cent Is The Future arrived after 50 Cent infamously escaped death as well as after he was dropped from Columbia Records and blacklisted from the industry. It was short-lived as 50 Cent released his classic debut album Get Rich Or Try Dyin’ in 2003. The promise of 50 Cent was on full display on 50 Cent Is The Future as he and his G-Unit compadres made street records out of R&B songs like Raphael Saadiq’s “Be Here” and Tweet’s “Call Me” while also massacring rap beats like Wu-Tang Clan’s “You’ve Been Warned” and Jay-Z’s “Lyrical Exercise.” 50 Cent Is The Future is key in understanding why 50 Cent became the superstar he is and why G-Unit became one of rap’s best hip-hop collectives.

J. Cole — Friday Night Lights

By the time J. Cole released his 2010 mixtape Friday Night Lights, the North Carolina rapper was already stepping into the star that we now know him as. The music on this project was originally intended for his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story, but his label did not believe the project would do well with the music on it. But boy, were they wrong. Friday Night Lights became an instant classic and still remains one of J. Cole’s best projects. Though “In The Morning” with Drake is the undeniable standout from the mixtape, other higlights like “Too Deep For The Into,” “Back To The Topic,” and “Premeditated Murder,” helped to confirm that Cole would have a successful rap career. With its 15th anniversary coming in 2025, next year would be a great time to bring the project to streaming services.

Jadakiss — Consignment

Six years went by in between Jadakiss’ third album 2009’s The Last Kiss and his fourth album Top 5 Dead or Alive. The latter was a project he spent the better part of five years working on, but in the meantime, Jadakiss adding to his discography with a slew of mixtapes. One of those is 2012’s Consignment, a Gangsta Grillz collaboration with DJ Drama. The project arrived as Jadakiss transitioned into an elder statesmen in rap, but it was an early sign that Jadakiss’ rap skills would not falter after the solo career high of Kiss Of Death. Consignment is a mixtape standout in Jadakiss’ career and with tracks like “Traffickin,” “Respect It,” and “Paper Tags,” the project is absolutely needed on streaming services.

Lil Wayne’s Entire Mixtape Catalog

Initially, Lil Wayne’s 2007 mixtape Da Drought 3 was the first that came to mind when thinking about mixtapes from him that need to be on streaming services. While that is certainly a priority, his 2006 mixtape Dedication 2 and 2008’s Dedication 3 are also a necessity on streaming. While we’re here, we can also add 2005’s Dedication and 2015’s Sorry 4 The Wait 2 because they’re also good projects from Wayne, and also, why not? With Wayne’s other mixtape standouts like No Ceilings and Sorry 4 The Wait already on streaming, there’s an argument to be made for Wayne to upload his whole mixtape catalog to be placed on streaming, or at least the mixtapes released during his impeccable 10-year run between 2005 and 2015. Regardless, what you can’t argue is that Lil Wayne is one of, if not the best mixtape rapper ever and that catalog of greatness needs to be more accessible.

Logic — Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever

Though Logic’s public appeal may have wavered over the last half-decade, that was far from the case prior to his debut album. His 2013 effort Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever is a project I would place at the top of his discography. With production from Logic himself, his longtime producer 6ix, as well as Don Cannon, Key Wane, No I.D., and others, Logic had the perfect sonic landscape to display his undeniable rap talents. Logic, who was months removed from beign a XXL Freshman Class inductee as well as signing a deal with Def Jam, pierced through beats laid before him with ease. “925,” “5AM,” and “Ballin” are bass-rattling highlights while “Break It Down” and “Walk On By” settle into a more reserved and relaxed pocket.

Meek Mill — Dreamchasers 2

A list about the mxitapes that need to be on streaming services cannot be complete without Meek Mill’s Dreamchasers 2. The Philadelphia rapper’s 2012 mixtape was the most popular release of all-time on the now-defunct mixtape hosting site DatPiff as it tallied 1.5 million downloads within 6 hours and 2.5 million in its first day. It’s no shock that Dreamchasers 2 was an incredibly successful project as it carries excellent highlights like “Amen” with Drake, “Burn” wiht Big Sean, and the massive “House Party” remix with Fabolous, Wale, and Mac Miller. The mixtape — and its success — perfectly captures the anticipation that fans had for Meek as he neared the release of his debut album. He was bigger than a lot of artists who were a couple of albums into their careers, and bringing Dreamchasers 2 to streaming will be a much-needed reminder of Meek’s peak.

Pusha T — Wrath Of Caine

More times than not, as seen with entries on this list, one of the better mixtapes in a rapper’s catalog comes when all eyes are them in anticipation of them breaking through the mainstream threshold. For Pusha T, his mainstream status had already been established through his career as one-half of Clipse, but as we entered the 2010s, it was time for him do the same for his solo career. Wrath Of Caine was a sweet appetizer ahead of his excellent debut album My Name Is My Name. Whether it be the triumphant “Millions” with Rick Ross” or the heavy-muscled “Doesn’t Matter” with French Montana or the tough-talking “Blocka” with Popcaan or Travis Scott, Wrath Of Caine helped Pusha make his mark on the rap game, independent of his brother.

Rich Gang — Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1

In a perfect world, Birdman, Young Thug, and Rich Homie Quan’s Rich Gang side project could’ve been more than the flash-in-the-pan moment that we know it as. In 2014, the trio released Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1 the first of what many thought would be many projects from them. The release carries highlights for rappers like “Givenchy,” “I Know It,” “730,” and “Tell Em (Lies).” After its release, the project was praised by fans and critics, and placed Thug and Quan in position to be the best rappers of hip-hop’s new wave. Unfortunately, only Young Thug reached those heights as a beef between him and Quan ruined their relationship and put a surprising halt to their undeniable chemistry. As great as Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1 is, the project equally represents what could’ve been and what actually was.

Rick Ross — Rich Forever

You know a mixtape is beloved and highly-regarded when the consensus is that it should’ve been an album. Rick Ross’ 2012 mixtape Rich Forever is one of the many projects from the mixtape era that left listeners with that feeling. This is no surprise though, as Rich Forever arrived in the midst of impressive project run from Ross that continued uninterrupted into 2014’s Mastermind. Rich Forever excelled as an epic and exhilerating experience provided by bangers like “King Of Diamonds” and the Drake and French Montana-assisted “Stay Schemin.” The luxurious and pristine Maybach Music touch also lives through the mixtape’s title track and “Keys To The Crib” with Styles P.

Tyga — Well Done III

Back during his days as a Young Money standout rapper, Tyga kept hip-hop fed with a consistent release of fun, strip-club friendly bangers, but the projects from his early days shouldn’t be slept on. His 2012 mixtape Well Done III, is a great example, putting together a strong combination of original tracks and freestyles over top hip-hop tracks. “Do My Dance” with 2 Chainz and “Switch Lanes” with The Game are great examples of the latter while the former can be found on “Desinger” (a remix of Kanye West’s “Mercy”). Well Done III, Tyga’s 2013 album Hotel California, and 2014’s Well Done IV make up Tyga’s best era as a rapper.

Young Thug — Slime Season 2

Young Thug is the lone artist on this list with two separate entries, and it’s only right as the Atlanta rapper helped to push a new wave of rap to the massses with a workhorse approach that was similar to his idol Lil Wayne. Though Thug crept into the mainstream spotlight in the mid-2010s, his official debut album did not arrive until 2019. So until then, Young Thug was a mixtape artist — and he was a good one too. Jam-packed 22-song release Slime Season 2, released in 2015, stands at the pinnacle of Thug’s catalog. There are career highlights like “Thief In The Night” and “Pull Up On Kid” as well as other excellent inputs like “Don’t Know,” “No No No,” and “Big Racks.”

There are few things in life that are more fun than getting a group of people together and just rattling off the names of old athletes. This game is affectionately known as Remember Some Guys, and it is a staple of any gathering of sports fans who have nothing else to do but want to get really happy in a short amount of time.

We’ve seen versions of this on the internet over the years, and on Friday, the Buffalo Bills decided to get in on the fun. The Bills’ social media team set up a camera at practice and invited players to name a random NBA player. If the intent was to have a bunch of guys walk past and, one by one, name one athlete, that didn’t quite happen. But if the intent was for Keon Coleman — the team’s rookie draft pick out of Florida State — to show off his gigantic personality by naming guys, over and over, with his teammates, then they succeeded.

The video, which you can watch right here, made me laugh no fewer than 10 times, as Bills players got incredibly into this — probably not surprising, as they clearly love basketball. I salute them for their efforts, and would like to say as I wrap up this post: Thabo Sefolosha, Scott Burrell, Bob Sura, and of course, DeSagana Diop.

Most people make it pretty obvious where they stand in the debate of Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar. Mustard, example, produced Lamar’s chart-topping Drake diss “Not Like Us.” He’s keeping that energy up, too, as he says he has no interest in working with Drake in the future.

In a recent Los Angeles Times interview, Mustard said, “I don’t think I want to make a song with that dude. He’s a strange guy.”

He also spoke about Drake’s fans, saying, “These guys don’t go to sleep — all they do is tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet. That’s where ‘the Nation of drizzlam’ came from. I said it in a joking manner, but I guess on Twitter it looked like I was mad [laughs]. Drake should use that phrase. I won’t charge him for it.”

Mustard has praise for Lamar, of course, saying, “He’s just a genius. He does the unthinkable every time. And on a human level — just as a normal person — I like his style. […] His whole mystique gives me the same vibes as Prince. Even now [after the success of ‘Not Like Us’], the guy has not posted anything. I told him, ‘I don’t know how you do that sh*t. Me, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, I’m No. 1!””

Check out the full feature here.

It’s hard to talk about eras without acknowledging the artist who basically owns the term now — Taylor Swift closed her European ‘Eras Tour’ run this week — but few artists reimagine and reinvent themselves from album to album like St. Vincent. The signifiers can be everything from hairstyles to full-on sonic aesthetics, but the always expanding vision makes it pretty essential to check in on St. Vincent from album to album.

Her latest run, for the strong All Born Screaming from earlier this year, turns its back on the ’70s scuz of her Daddy’s Home concept and couldn’t be farther from the industrial rubber of Masseduction. Long gone is the jagged art rock of Strange Mercy or her David Byrne period, where Byrne was both a collaborator and inspiration. It’s easy to forget that St. Vincent began her career as Annie Clark, member of The Polyphonic Spree, and then started her solo offerings humbly enough, known for her guitar wizardry, her knack for a catchy melody, and a camaraderie to many of the indie darlings of the time, including The Nationals and Sufjan Stevens.

So where does that leave St. Vincent in 2024? If anything, her Los Angeles headlining set last week at the Greek portrayed an artist free of being locked in to hard-lined signifiers and costuming. Persona is still in play — which I suspect is the case anytime Clark is in the public eye — but on this night, it was less costumed, less defined by the work she was supporting. It also allowed for a setlist that could touch on all eras of her career without needing to play many of her best-known singles. In fact, many of the songs you might consider St. Vincent staples were skipped in favor of tunes that complimented the new material.

Does that mean the show was any less theatrical? Of course not. This is a St. Vincent concert, after all. When she rolled through the punk blitz of “Krokodil,” Clark did her best version of hardcore posturing, even winding up crowd-surfing in a space where that’s truly a rarity. For “Dilettante,” she was a drunken lounge singer, stumbling across the stage with everything but a martini in hand. And for “New York,” she embraced the moment and embodied the young pop singers of today, taking time to take photos with fans in the front row.

There’s tons to be impressed with in a St. Vincent concert, namely in how completely she commits to all of her bits. It’s just a tad unhinged, a splash scary, where she seems to be embodying a person who could snap and break at any moment. Her smiles and laughter always a bit haunted, a bit disconcerting. Of course, this is all part of the performance and is meant to keep the audience on guard. And for the most part, she’s so entrenched in it that it feels seamless.

Where the seams do show is when she tries to reverse course and talk to the audience. It’s very difficult to play the part that St. Vincent does and then be able to reverse course to make band introductions feel sincere and grounded. Instead, moments of addressing the crowd feel too performative, like she lost control of the acceleration and can’t slow back down.

But if that’s the price to pay for St. Vincent’s now-singular brand of conceptual theater, so be it. We don’t go to St. Vincent concerts to meet Annie Clark the actual human being. We go to be swept up in her vision, to check in on how she is evolving and what tricks she has in store. She hasn’t delivered a boring era yet. In a world full of dull sincerity, St. Vincent would rather have a devilishly good time.

Just when you thought the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival couldn’t grow any more today (August 23) organizers proved otherwise. Back in June, the multiday event set to be held at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 20 and 21.

So far, musicians slated to perform include Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Gwen Stefani, and Uproxx cover star Paramore. Now, Billboard has exclusively revealed that Asap Rocky, Chris Martin, and The Weeknd were added to the lineup.

The summer has been filled with dozens of tours, festivals, and showcases tailored to specific genres. But the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival’s list of confirmed acts run the gamut of sonic influences including rock, rap, pop, and country. Tickets for 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival are on sale now. Find more information here.

If you aren’t able to catch the multi-day event in-person, you are in luck. The performances will be accessible in other ways. Hulu will livestream the sets, while and iHeartRadio station nationwide will broadcast the event.

Continue below to view the full 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival lineup.

2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival Lineup

ASAP Rocky
Big Sean
Camila Cabello
Chris Martin
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa
Gwen Stefani
Halsey
Hozier
Keith Urban
New Kids On The Block
Paramore
Shaboozey
The Black Crowes
The Weeknd
Thomas Rhett
Victoria Monét

Notre Dame will kick off their 2024 season on August 31 with a top-20 showdown against Texas A&M in College Station. As is the case every year, there are lofty expectations on the Fighting Irish, particularly in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

With a preseason ranking of No. 7, the Irish are supposed to be a factor for a playoff position, but will need to finally get over the hump against other top teams if they’re going to be a real threat in the title race. That is the challenge for Marcus Freeman in his third year at the helm, as he’s gone 19-7 in his first two seasons but is still looking for the kind of signature win that shows Notre Dame is ready to be a contender.

For the second year in a row, Notre Dame has brought in a highly-touted transfer quarterback to lead them offensively, as Riley Leonard comes in from Duke to replace Sam Hartman. This year, fans will not only get to watch Notre Dame’s journey on the field, as a new Peacock documentary titled “Here Come The Irish” will follow their progress all year and give everyone a look behind the curtain with insight and access to the players and coaches throughout the season.

The first episode will release on August 29, two days before Notre Dame’s opener against Texas A&M. We got a chance to sit down with Freeman to talk about what he’s excited for fans to see in the doc, the lessons he’s learned in his first two years as a head coach, his leadership style, what he’s been most impressed by with Leonard since he’s arrived on campus, and much more.

What do you hope that Notre Dame fans, in particular, can get out of this show and learn about this team from getting a peek behind the curtain here?

Well, I think they get a chance to see, most importantly, these young people as people and as individuals, not just football players. I think everyone has such a unique story to tell. And I think that’s what the follow doc is going to be able to capture is the life of young people, not just what the work they put in to achieve great results on a football field, but some of the events that life brings. And you’ll see, you know, one of our players, his mother passed away from cancer, and we have other players that are in their sixth year, maybe getting married, and dealing with other things. And so I love that the follow doc can truly capture, yes, the work they put in to achieve the results they want on a football field, but also how they really deal with the events of life.

I feel like that is something that is particularly unique to college sports. You see kids grow up. For you, is that a thing that is a separator for you in terms of being a college coach, is getting to watch these young men go through such a critical stage of their lives?

Yeah, 18 to 22 years old, it’s such a vulnerable period of life, and to help them along this journey, to be an example for them, but also to be somebody that can help navigate them through life, through the struggles they have in football, through adversity which they’re going to face in school, in life, and in football. Like, there’s so many parallels between the game of football and reaching your goals, and also in life. So that’s why I love being a college football coach, because you get young people from so many different backgrounds that have to really handle so many different expectations. From their personal expectations of what they want to be as football players, from the educational side, from the expectations that people outside of football put on them, from social media, from their family. And I love that I can be a part of this journey to try to continue to keep them focused on the things that really matter.

I talked to one of your guys that’s gone through that journey last year going into the draft in Joe Alt, and was just incredibly impressed by him. When you look at a guy like that, and you have an example you can show guys of what it looks like to follow the steps, how important is it to be able to point to guys and to show examples of, you know, this is a guy who came in, obviously he had pedigree, but he had to learn a position, and he had to go through the steps and go through the process to get to that NFL level, to get that top pick level? What does it allow you as a coach to talk to guys about not skipping steps, going through the process, and what it takes to get to that level?

I think it’s important to point out the things that Joe Alt intentionally did to put himself in that position. Everybody’s talent is different, right? But, but Joe Alt did some intentional things every day to maximize his ability, which ultimately made him a top five player chosen NFL draft after three years.

But what I want our young people to aspire to be is not just Joe, number five overall pick, but to be him, the guy. What traits did he possess that helped him put himself in a position to do that. And that’s so important, because everybody’s journey is different, right? You could be a guy that comes in and after four games or five games, like Joe, starts as a freshman. Or you can be a guy like Xavier Watts, who won the Bronco Nagurski award last year as the best defensive player of the year. That took him four years, and he started as a wide receiver, and then he had to move to safety, and then he didn’t even start. Then he started and he won the Bronco Nagurski award. I try to point out, everybody’s journey is different, but there’s things that Joe did intentionally every day to put himself in that position, and that’s the traits that I want to make sure we use as examples for our players.

As a coach, what have you learned about being able to tailor things to — you mention every kid’s going to be different, and you have 85 kids on the roster, and if each one’s different, what is the challenge as a coach to making sure that each one of them gets what they need individually, while also considering, obviously, what you have to do as a team?

Yeah, I think no matter where you come from, the example you’ve had in your life, there’s still daily actions and choices that you have to make if you want to be great right now. I tell it all the time, you have an option to choose easy, choose hard, but your choices reflect what you value and it’s important that they understand those things. Then I think you have to be able to pour into them as an individual, to continue to earn their trust and develop that connection that I think a great leader must have with their players and their young people. But we have a great coaching staff that does a great job of pouring into their room, right? You have a head coach that’s, really, in front of 120 players, and then you have position coaches that, from anywhere from 10 to 15 guys, they’re responsible for. And so it’s important that every person pours into the individual, because they’re all different. They learn different, they perform different. Their talent level is different. So in order for them to trust you, they have to know you care about them, right? It’s so important. But they also have to be challenged, and that’s where you have to challenge them every day you’re with them and to really make the choice to do the things that it takes to be great.

You’ve gone through the process of going from position coach, coordinator, now head coach. And in the trailer it talks about how being the head coach at Notre Dame is such a unique job. And for you, what has been the biggest adjustment that you had to make that was either surprising or just took the most effort on on your part in adapting and going from coordinator to head coach?

I think that you have to be able to spend time where it’s truly needed, and you don’t know where it’s going to be truly needed every single day, right? That’s your job, is to be a master observer and know where you need to spend time. What areas need your attention and focus? And I think that’s probably something I’ve learned more anything, is that you can’t just worry about football, X’s and O’s, 24/7. That is such a major part of being a college football coach. But as a head coach, you have to make sure that every department and every part of your organization is truly functioning at its highest level. And I think that’s the thing that I’ve learned more than anything, is to spend time and to recognize what needs your attention. You have to be a master observer. You have to be able to see everything from a 500 level.

This will be your second year with a transfer quarterback coming in. What have you learned about Riley Leonard since he’s been in the building that has you particularly excited for for what he’s going to do?

Yeah, I’ve always known the talent he’s had. Obviously, we faced him last year, and you know, you can see the type of football player he was. But what I respect most about Riley is — there’s a couple things. One, he’s an ultimate competitor. He is one of the most competitive people you’ll meet. You’ll talk to him outside a competitive environment, you’re going, ‘Man, this guy is nice, like, is he really a competitor?’ And you see him in a competitive environment, watch out. But he’s also come in just trying to become a great teammate. He’s trying to get to know everybody on the team, spend time with everybody, which gains their trust, and then once you gain their trust, now you lead them. And now he’s becoming a great leader, and he’s doing great things on the field. He’s a very confident but humble individual. He understands he can handle the expectations that other people have, but he understands what’s important to him, and that’s being the best version of him, but also his relationship with God. And you know what? He’s a great example of not letting outside things affect who you are to core your heart

You mentioned the trust piece, and that’s so important for a QB coming in with the players and with the coaching staff. Going through that process with Sam Hartman, is there any way to accelerate that trust with between a quarterback and players, or between a quarterback and the coaching staff that you learned from going through it last year with a new guy?

Yeah, I think more than anything, you got to understand trust takes time, right? And I don’t know if you can accelerate it, but it’s intentional actions that you have to do to earn the trust of others. And that’s what I tell our quarterbacks, any transfer, any of our young guys, like our coaches, trust takes times, and it takes intentional actions to build it. But it’s easily lost. And so it’s a great reminder that you got to value delayed gratification. You got to value that, hey, the actions you’re intentionally putting in to build trust doesn’t build trust immediately. It takes time, and that you can’t rush it. So I think, more than anything, the encouragement of spending time with your teammates, to be intentional on your actions, but understand trust isn’t built in one day.

When you look at the this team as a whole, and know people are going to get a chance with this doc to get to know them as people and not just players, what are some of the things that you hope that not just Notre Dame fans, but anybody that comes in and watches this gets to take away about the young men on this team?

Well, I think you got to respect the work they put in to try to achieve the desired results that they want. They work tirelessly, and you’ll be able to see that when the series comes out, because the cameras are here 24/7, they’re seeing the work they put in, but also a respect for all the other demands they have. In terms of, class is going to start here soon, so now you’re going to be able to say, okay, they have class demands, they have football demands, they have study demands, and they have a life outside of football and school demands. And for them to handle all this is a huge challenge, and that’s where you see the difference between a freshman and somebody that has done it a couple years. There’s a huge difference, right? And the freshmen are trying to figure out. What’s my routine to really produce the results that I want? Whereas some of the older guys are saying, ‘Okay, I have my routine. How do I even make it better?’ The things that guys are worried about in year three or four, totally different than guys in year one. And I think that’s going to be things that you’ll be able to see with the follow doc.

Experience is the best teacher, but as a coach, how do you kind of toe that line of trying to guide guys and keep them from having to make some of the mistakes that others make, and learning those things and learning how to manage the time and the demands?

Well, I think everybody’s different, right? Some people, they have a great foundation through whatever reason, and they come in at a different level than some of the other freshmen. But what you can’t do is get discouraged, because maybe at this point as a freshman, this person’s handled it better and performing better than you are. And so that’s that goes back to that notion of trust your journey, and trust that every journey is different. And when you hear our seniors, we have seniors that give speeches that I’m sure it’s going to be captured on the follow doc. One part of that speech is any advice to the freshmen and to the team, I think all the seniors have a common message to them that time flies, enjoy it. Be intentional about the relationships you’re trying to make and the lessons you want to learn, but understand there will be frustrations. Like, there’s going to be highs, there’s going to be lows. You have to trust your process, and I think it’s important that every freshman understands that.

After various blind taste tests and rankings, we can say with absolute authority that the sweet spot for “good” tequila is around $40. Whether you’re looking for the ideal bottle for shots, a great foundation for your cocktails, or something worthy of the slow sip treatment, at this price point you can find a great bottle of tequila that fits your needs.

But just because that’s the sweet spot, doesn’t mean more expensive tequilas aren’t worth the price.

There is a reason hardcore tequila fans love these pricier bottles, and it’s not just about being snobby about an additive-free small-batch bottle over something mass-produced and more readily available. There is depth and nuance to these more expensive bottles that someone with a well-experienced palate can appreciate. But that has us wondering — how noticeable are these nuances?

So we put bottles that hover around our $40 sweet spot against some high-end bottles that cost double or more than double the price in a blind taste test. Will the expensive bottles outright crush the cheaper stuff? There is only one way to find out!

Methodology:

For this blind taste test, we wanted to keep the flavors as consistent as possible, so we limited our tasting pool to a single expression: blanco. Because blanco tequilas are un-aged, the higher price point is a little bit harder to stomach for some people, and we get that.

It’s easy to accept a higher price tag when you account for aging, but that’s not the case here, so does that high price tag on a blanco really make that much of a difference? Let’s find out together. Here is our tasting class, from cheapest to most expensive:

• Don Julio Blanco
• Nosotros Blanco
• Lunazul Humoso Blanco
• Alma De Jaguar Blanco
• Chrome Horse Society Blanco
• Valor Tequila Blanco
• Cazcanes Blanco No 9
• Cierto Reserve Blanco

We took these bottles, shuffled them around, and took a pour from each in an unmarked glass, jotting down my first impressions of each. Our top choice didn’t shock me, but the overall results did. Let’s get into it.

Part 1: The Affordable And Expensive Blanco Tequila Blind Taste Test

Taste 1:

Nose: Grassy and peppery on the nose. I’m getting a warm and inviting aroma from this one.

Palate: A mix of asparagus, refreshing spearmint and thyme. The herbal qualities really live on the tip of the tongue.

Finish: Floral and sweet with a juicy fruity finish.

Taste 2:

Nose: There is an addicting palpable sweetness on the nose. A nice balance of roasted agave and vanilla with just a hint of cinnamon.

Palate: Spiced chocolate and crispy green pepper. Vegetal and natural, I dig it.

Finish: The finish reminds me a bit of celery. It’s peppery but very crisp and refreshing. I’m also getting some citrus zest on the backend.

Taste 3:

Nose: The nose here is astounding. Compared to Taste 1 and 2 this one really comes alive with sweet floral notes and raw agave. I’m also getting a fruity sweetness here with a nose-tickling quality.

Palate: Rich caramelized agave leads the way, joined by a floral honey sweetness, some minerality with an interesting cheesy funk to it.

Finish: Creamy and smooth with a hint of pineapple, pepper, and a elegant spicy finish.

Taste 4:

Nose: There is a lot of warm agave and vanilla on the nose here, with a nice layer of cinnamon spice.

Palate: Surprisingly smokey! I’m getting a lot of cracked black pepper, tobacco leaf, and earthy minerality on the palate.

Finish: That pepper quality lives on the backend too with a surprisingly dry finish.

Taste 5:

Nose: Juicy and tropical with notes of pineapple, lime rind, and a hint of salt. Has a cocktail vibe to it, I can already tell this would make a great mixer.

Palate: Bright and citrusy with more of that pineapple juiciness mixed with roasted agave.

Finish: Highly peppery on the finish with a bit of minerality.

Taste 6:

Nose: Wow, a lot is going on here. I’m getting agave sweetness, warm chocolate tones, a bit of jasmine, vanilla, and marshmallow.

Palate: A nice mix of spices, heat, black pepper and roasted agave. There is a highly vegetal and earthy vibe here. A nice natural flavor.

Finish: Wonderfully buttery on the finish. It leaves your mouth watering for more as juicy citrus notes rest on the tongue.

Taste 7:

Nose: Rosemary leads the way with some citrus zest and wet earth. Seriously, this stuff smells like a garden that has been hit with fresh rain. Very pleasant.

Palate: Juicy agave sweetness with sea salt, rich earthy tones, and crushed black pepper.

Finish: Citrusy and bright on the backend with some vegetal pepperiness and strong minerality.

Taste 8:

Nose: I’m getting a mix of honey and nail polish. A bit nervous about this one closing the list.

Palate: Surprisingly smooth, especially given the nail polish aroma. I’m getting a lot of vegetal notes with a big dose of smoke.

Finish: Citrus and more smoke. Overall pretty good but flat in comparison to everything else we tasted today.

Part 2: The Affordable And Expensive Blanco Tequila Ranking

8. Lunazul — Primero Humoso Blanco (Taste 8)

ABV: 40%
Price: $35.99

The Tequila:

Coming in last place in today’s taste test is Lunazul’s Primero Humoso Blanco. The agave for this tequila is mesquite wood smoked, and you can really taste that smokiness here. Unfortunately, while that is interesting it wasn’t enough to win us over against the more expensive brands.

This tequila is made at NOM 1512, Tierra de Agaves, with agave cooked in an earthen pit (mezcal style), before being roller mill extracted and twice distilled in a stainless pot with copper coil.

The Bottom Line:

Smokey and interesting, but not interesting enough to compete with the brands twice the price. Still though, this is a very interesting bottle that can be used as a wonderfully nuanced base in any smokey cocktail recipe.

7. Nosotros Tequila Blanco (Taste 1)

ABV: 40%
Price: $35.59

The Tequila:

I almost feel bad for ranking this tequila so low because for the price, you get a lot of great quality here, and it tastes great! But this is the way the cards fell. This additive-free tequila is produced at NOM 1438, Destiladora del Valle de Tequila, from a mix of lowland and highland agave.

It is an award-winning tequila, garnering Double Gold recognition from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The Bottom Line:

A wonderful additive-free tequila with a grassy vibe and juicy fruity finish. But there are better-tasting bottles here.

6. Chrome Horse Society Blanco (Taste 4)

ABV: 40%
Price: $75.49

The Tequila:

There isn’t a whole lot of information about Chrome Horse Society outside of its own website, which we don’t love. According to the site, this additive-free tequila (not confirmed by a third party) is made from blue weber agave harvested between 6-8 years.

We couldn’t find anything about the cooking process, other than the tequila is distilled through copper-plated column stills. Lack of transparency aside, the liquid tasted pretty good but wasn’t able to compete with a majority of the other bottles in this taste test.

The Bottom Line:

Peppery and dry, a very crisp blanco tequila. But for the price, we’d have higher expectations than what is on offer.

5. Alma del Jaguar Tequila Blanco (Taste 5)

ABV: 40%
Price: $47.99

The Tequila:

Produced at NOM 1414, Feliciano Vivanco y Asociados, where 38 other brands are produced, Alma del Jaguar is a fairly new brand on my radar. This is a brand that has consistently surprised me this year. This stuff is pretty great.

The agave here is cooked low and slow in stone ovens before being roller mill extracted, mixed with well water and fermented in open-air stainless steel tanks before being twice distilled through a copper pot. It is certified additive-free by Tequila Matchmaker.

The Bottom Line:

Peppery and mineral rich. A wonderful clean tasting blanco tequila.

4. Don Julio Blanco (Taste 2)

ABV: 40%
Price: $34.49

The Tequila:

Don Julio blanco is one of the most readily available tequilas on the market. This stuff is pretty much everywhere, and given just how great it tastes, that’s pretty amazing.

This tequila is made from 100% blue agave at NOM 1449, cooked in stone brick ovens, roller mill extracted, and fermented in stainless steel tanks.

The Bottom Line:

Always solid, Don Julio blanco is one of the best blanco tequilas you can find in its price range, and it holds up pretty well against bottles twice its price.

3. Cierto Reserve Collection Blanco (Taste 3)

ABV: 40%
Price: $129

The Tequila:

This was one of the biggest surprises in this blind taste test. Cierto Reserve is a premium tequila, coming in at over $100 for a single bottle. And yet, it didn’t top our ranking, which is an indication that price isn’t everything.

That isn’t to say this tequila isn’t wonderful. It’s straight-up amazing. Produced at NOM 1146, the legendary Tequileña, the agave here is cooked in a low-pressure autoclave with the juices extracted via a roller mill. After being mixed with spring water, the tequila is fermented in open-air stainless steel tanks and twice distiller through a copper pot.

The tequila is certified additive-free by Tequila Matchmaker.

The Bottom Line:

A fantastically creamy and smooth luxury tequila. A nice mix of juicy fruit tones and elegant spices.

2. Cazcanes Blanco No. 9 (Taste 6)

ABV: 50%
Price: $91.99

The Tequila:

Now that I know Taste 6 was Cazcanes Blanco No. 9, its highly vegetal flavor and mouth-watering buttery finish make sense. This is a high-proof tequila that smacks your palate with flavor.

It is produced at NOM 1614, Tequilera Tap, from agave that is cooked in a low pressure autoclave, roller mill extracted, and mixed with natural spring water. It is then fermented in stainless steel tanks and twice distilled through a stainless pot with a copper coil.

It is certified additive-free by Tequila Matchmaker.

The Bottom Line:

Highly vegetal, mineral-rich, and buttery, this is a fantastic high proof blanco tequila that deserves to be experienced.

1. Valor Spirits Blanco (Taste 7)

ABV: 42%
Price: $78.99

The Tequila:

Valor has proven itself to be one of my favorite tequilas this year, so it comes as no surprise to see it place so highly in this blind taste test. This additive-free tequila is produced at NOM 1599, Familia Landeros, from agave cooked in a low-pressure autoclave, roller mill extracted, mixed with well water, and twice distilled through a stainless steel pot.

From nose to palate, to finish, this one made an impression and took me on a journey. That’s what I look for in a great tequila.

The Bottom Line:

Valor offers a truly wonderful slow-sipping experience. This is one of the finest blanco tequilas you’ll ever drink and was the obvious standout in this blind taste test.

The Big Takeaway

Our big takeaway from this blind taste test is that yes, the more expensive tequilas taste a bit better, but not always! The most surprising thing to note is that flavor and quality don’t always follow a parallel line with price.

Our favorite tequila of this blind taste test wasn’t the most expensive bottle, nor was it the second most expensive bottle. While the pricier bottles will offer a better experience, I’d say the experience offered by every bottle in this blind taste was worthy of revisiting. And that’s exciting for tequila fans of every budget.