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It’s a new day and that means there are new whiskeys on the shelf. Rye whiskey is bourbon’s funky cousin with notes that dip into florals, herbs, and sharp spices while still holding onto that American new-oak aging vibe with plenty of vanilla, cherry, and caramel notes (amongst hundreds of others). Today, I’m taking eight new rye whiskeys — some are brand-new releases, some are 2022 batches of classics — and tasting them blind to find the best rye whiskey for you to buy this November.

This is a really straightforward blind tasting. I’m looking for quality above all else (even price). What tastes the best? What has the most depth? What do I actually want to drink after this tasting? Sometimes it doesn’t need to be any harder than answering those questions.

Our lineup today is:

• Nashville Barrel Company Hand Selected Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength Batch One “Dads Drinking Bourbon”
• Kiamichi A Willett & Followill Family Collaboration Aged 8 Years
• Sazerac 18 Years Old (BTAC 2022)
• Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
• Bespoken Spirits Rye Whiskey
• Oak & Eden Charred Oak Rye & Spire
• 291 M Colorado Rye Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves and Maple Syrup Barrels
• Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey Cask Strength

Okay, let’s dive in and find you a great rye whiskey to sip this November!

Also Read: The Top Five Rye Whiskey from the Last Six Months on UPROXX

• The Single Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
• The Winning Scotch And Bourbon Whiskeys From This Year’s Ascot Awards
• The Best Whiskeys In The World, According To The John Barleycorn Awards
• The Best Bourbons And Ryes From The 2022 American Whiskey Masters Awards
• The Absolute Best Whiskeys We Tasted At This Year’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

There’s a soft, cherry-froward nose with hints of old boot leather, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, and black tea leaves with a hint of star anise and clove soaked in a hot toddy. The palate is thick and juicy with cherry vanilla spiced holiday cake — heavy on the dark cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg — with a hint of orange creamsicle that fades towards a singed herbaceous note almost like burnt caraway or coriander seeds. The end packs on the warmth with a spicy tobacco buzz full of dark cherry and woody winter spices.

This is a great place to start. I really liked the depth of this one, especially with the shift from spicy to almost botanical on the mid-palate.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

Subtle notes of old glove leather kissed with years of menthol cigarette smoke mingle with a spicy cherry-cinnamon cake frosted with creamed walnuts and vanilla with a brandy butter with a whisper of tannic old oak staves that has a twinge of waxy cacao nib. The palate soaks some dried figs in spiced honey with an Earl Grey vibe accentuating a bitter salted dark chocolate, rummy minced meat pies, and wet brown sugar cut with dried ancho chili flakes. The end leans into the spice with a Hot Tamales cinnamon candy sweet/spicy sensation next to a lush mouthfeel.

This is delicious. I want to call the tasting right here, pack in the rest of the Glencairns, and just call it a day.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

There’s a bitter burnt orange aura on the nose with lemon-poppy seed muffins, new leather, dark molasses sweetness, and plenty of orchard tree bark with a hint of singed sensations next to old tobacco leaves braided with old wicker canes. The palate leans into that dark molasses with layers of dusty cumin, hot red chili pepper flakes, and coriander-encrusted rye bread with a hint of woody maple syrup over cinnamon-apple fritters. The end goes slightly savory with fresh bay leaf next to wild sage and a hint of dry sweetgrass followed by a plush cherry/vanilla woodiness.

This is another winner. It didn’t quite hit the same heights as the last sip in grandeur, but it’s damn close.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

This has a lighter nose but it’s still full of dark orchard fruits, soft vanilla pods, old oak staves with a hint of old barrel house funk, and a mix of spicy orange rind next to freshly cracked black pepper and sharp cinnamon powder. The palate leans into the cinnamon and layers it into chewy and buzzy tobacco with hints of vanilla sweetness, cherry bark woodiness, and sharp fancy root beer vibes. The end pings on that old musty rickhouse one more time as a humidor full of vanilla, cherry, and cinnamon-spiced tobacco fades towards a rich and buttery toffee with a hint of rye fennel on the very backend.

This was the most accessible sip so far. This was quintessential Kentucky rye (cherry, toffee, vanilla heavy) that was truly easy to drink from top to bottom.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

Drip coffee and caramel come through on a tannic nose with a touch of brown spice and vanilla. The palate has a touch of celery salt that leads to caraway and rye bread vibes next to plenty of dark citrus and stone fruit with a hint of soft creamy honey. The end has a soft and very fruity finish with a hint of black pepper and cinnamon sticks.

This was fine.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

The nose is leathery and full of old vanilla, tannic bitter coffee notes, and general spiciness. The palate offers lush vanilla with more of that tannic nature followed by black pepper and chili pepper next to green dill and maybe some fresh mint. The end has a mild medicinal tone that leads back to the pepperiness and vanilla underbelly.

Eh, this wasn’t for me. It’s very all over the place and somehow light and listless.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

There’s a good sense of maple syrup on the nose with blueberry pancakes, fig jam, and toffee candies next to cinnamon sugar and a hint of burnt orange layered into caramel sauce. The palate has a French toast vibe with plenty of custardy lusciousness and nutmeg leading to dark chocolate and powdered sugar with a slight woody winter spice warmth. The end turns into a cinnamon bomb that’s kind of like taking a whole box of Hot Tamales to the face and chasing it with maple-syrup-soaked French toast and spiced apple cider.

I can’t decide if I love this or not. It’s very sweet and feels way more like a bourbon than a rye. Still, there’s nothing at fault here. I just might not have enough of a sweet tooth today to fully enjoy it.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a soft leatheriness that’s embued with dry chamomile tea, burnt orange, dark cherry bark, and old cinnamon sticks that spent too much time in mulled wine with a hint of sour cherry and tart apple. The palate amps up the tea leaf vibe with lush Earl Grey next to dark chocolate-covered espresso beans flaked with salt and maybe some dried nasturtiums that build out the spices toward a spiced winter cake. Those baked winter spices lead back to a soft creamy espresso dusted with nutmeg and dark chocolate powder and layered into a spiced tobacco leaf rolled with cedar bark.

This is another damn nice whiskey.

Part 2: The Ranking

8. Oak & Eden Charred Oak Rye & Spire — Taste 6

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

This is Indiana rye sent down to Texas where it’s bottled with a charred American oak spire to add a little something extra. The whiskey is MGP’s classic 95/5 (rye/malted barley) four-ish-year-old juice that ends up in a lot of bottles like this.

Bottom Line:

This was the lightest and most forgettable bottle on the panel today. It’s a pretty easy skip for me.

7. Bespoken Spirits Rye Whiskey — Taste 5

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $54

The Whiskey:

Yet again, we’re dealing with MGP’s 95/5 rye (like above). In this case, the whiskey is bottled in California.

Bottom Line:

This wasn’t bad by any stretch. There was a nice fruitiness. That said, this was the lightest whiskey of the bunch and one I’d be more inclined to mix with than sip.

6. 291 M Colorado Rye Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves and Maple Syrup Barrels — Taste 7

ABV: 63.5%

Average Price: $108

The Whiskey:

291 out in Colorado is an award darling distillery and a crowd-pleaser as well. This whiskey is made with shorter aging in new American white oak with treated Aspen staves in that barrel to accelerate the maturation process. That whiskey is then transferred to old 291 barrels that were used to age maple syrup in Wisconsin for Lincoln County Reserve Maple Syrup. Finally, those barrels were batched and bottled at cask strength as-is.

Bottom Line:

The remaining six whiskeys are all stellar. This was a little lower on the rankings today due to its audacious sweetness and breakfast diner vibes. I think I’m going to break this one out for brunch cocktails.

5. Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey Cask Strength — Taste 8

ABV: 58.2%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

This brand-new whiskey from cult-favorite Redwood Empire out in Sonoma, California, takes their tried and true method of blending California, Indiana, and Kentucky whiskeys to the next level. The blend ended up being a lightly wheated rye with a mash bill of 94% rye, five percent malted barley, and a mere one percent wheat. The barrels were all a minimum of four years old (with some reaching past six years) when batched and bottled as-is.

Bottom Line:

This felt classic through and through. I really want to make a killer Manhattan with this whiskey.

4. Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey — Taste 4

ABV: 52%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

This hand-selected single-barrel expression hits on some pretty big classic rye notes with Kentucky bourbon vibes underneath it all. The juice is selected from the center cuts of the third through fifth floors of the Wild Turkey rickhouses. There’s no chill filtering and the expression is only slightly touched by water before bottling.

Bottom Line:

This had a light and fruity nature that just worked. It was also familiar and really easygoing. This is definitely what I’m going to reach for when making Sazeracs or rye sours this fall, but it also works wonders as a simple sipper.

3. Sazerac 18 Years Old (BTAC 2022) — Taste 3

ABV: 45%

MSRP: $99

The Whiskey:

This whiskey started its journey back in 2003 and 2004 when the original juice was distilled with Minnesota rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota barley. The hot juice was loaded into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char level (55 seconds) and left to rest in warehouses K, M, and P on the second, third, and fourth floors. Overly nearly two decades, an average of 74% of the juice was lost to the angels before proofing and bottling.

Bottom Line:

Now, we’re into the pure delicious part of the ranking. This was a little on the woody side, but that’s just me grasping for anything to rank these amazing whiskeys.

2. Nashville Barrel Company Hand Selected Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength Batch One “Dads Drinking Bourbon” — Taste 1

ABV: 57.25%

Average Price: $98

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is made from an extremely small batch of Indiana rye with a mash of 95/5 (rye/malted barley). The handful of barrels in the mix was around six years old when blended by the team at Nashville Barrel Company. Beyond that, this was bottled as-is with zero fussing.

Bottom Line:

This is luxurious and enticing rye. It’s just delicious.

1. Kiamichi A Willett & Followill Family Collaboration Aged 8 Years — Taste 2

ABV: 55%

Average Price: $249

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is the second in a series of collaborations between Kings of Leon and Willett Distillery. The whiskey is a six-barrel small-batch blend of Willett’s low-rye mash bill. The hot juice was loaded into ISC oak barrels that were cured for nine months before getting a semi-high char. The band hand-selected the barrels themselves and the team at Willett made sure the rest was done exactly right.

Bottom Line:

Goddamn, this is f*cking good whiskey. It’s so well-balanced and nuanced while still maintaining a completely accessible and even welcoming flavor profile. This is the stuff to chase down.

Part 3: Final Thoughts

The rub on rankings like this is “access.” Some of these are going to be pretty hard to find if you’re not in certain markets. That’s just the way things are. To that end, I’d highly recommend the Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Rye if you can’t find the others. You should be able to find that pretty much coast to coast and all stops in between. It’s affordable — while still feeling special — and truly a great drinking whiskey.

The rest of the top six are all worth the hunt and I wish you luck in seeking them out, trying them, and falling in love with their fantastic flavor notes.

When Lady Gaga strutted down the MTV VMA’s red carpet wearing a dress made of raw meat, she left a legendary mark on pop culture. Gaga was still a rising star at the time and the dress, of course, plastered headlines the next day. The divisive look was designed to garner a visceral reaction; some people were disgusted and others praised the pop singer for her ambition and inventiveness. The outlandish look positioned her as a groundbreaking artist committed to pushing the status quo and, because nothing like it had been seen before, the dress went down in history as one of the most memorable red carpet statements. But like most indelible pop culture moments of the past few decades, Gaga alone didn’t come up with the look. There was an entire team of people, helmed by a creative director, who conceptualized and executed the dress.

The average music fan is familiar with many front-facing roles in music industry. Publicists, managers, and booking agents are jobs that get a lot of mainstream credit. But many people would be surprised to learn all the work that happens behind the scenes in their favorite artists’ music, branding, concerts, and content. One of those roles is that of a creative director. But what exactly does a creative director do, and how does their work impact the music industry?

To answer that question, Uproxx spoke with Original Creative Agency co-founders Jesse Rogg and Jesse Rose. Original Creative Agency — OCA for short — is the first of its kind. They represent nearly 50 of the leading creative directors across the globe whose portfolios include work like Beyonce’s Homecoming film assets, Travis Scott’s Astroworld tour, and yes, even Gaga’s raw meat dress.

To better explain creative directors’ roles in projects, OCA’s co-founder Jesse Rose likened it to building a house. “Creative directors are really like architects,” he says. When a person hires an architect, they sign on during the very early stages of a project. The client usually has some vague idea of how they want their house to look, including layouts that are non-negotiable like number of rooms, bathrooms, and specific details like exposed beams and crown molding. But for the most part, the architect is the one that takes their client’s general idea and creates a blueprint of the bigger picture. “If you imagine an architect doing the drawings to build a house, then the creative director is building the vision of a campaign,” Rose says. Creative directors create decks and outlines to conceptualize everything from what an artist will wear in a certain project to which director, photographer, and graphic designers will best fit the project’s vision. From there, they hire a project manager to keep everything on track and work with stylists and makeup artists to make sure the project’s concept stays focused. “Like an architect, once you’ve laid those plans, you are there building the house with the artist and with the team,” Rose adds. “And it becomes a coherent world.”

OCA’s job comes even before a creative director signs on, though. When a musician, brand, or fashion designer comes to them, OCA pulls from their master list of the world’s top creative directors to find which person will best match the client’s personality to push the envelope and help their vision come to life. “It’s almost more of a talent agency, if you will, that represents these creative directors,” Rogg describes. “We’re the first and only company in the world that’s done this purely for creative direction. We wanted to give [creative directors] an environment where they can really focus purely on the creative and we handle all the rest of the communication, accounting, forward-planning, and all that stuff.”

The world of creative direction looked very different when OCA was first founded. “It was still in the days when creative directors were considered sort of a dirty little secret that the artists wanted to keep private, because they wanted it to look like it’s all coming from the artist,” Rogg says. But now, artists are proud to credit their creative directors. “Creative directors have come out of the shadows, if you will.”

Like many fields, the pandemic played a part in altering the industry and helping creative directors go from dirty little secret to front and center. For one, there was a massive influx of demand for OCA’s services. Touring — which up until 2020 had been one of the biggest ways to promote releases — wasn’t happening, so artists found themselves suddenly competing for attention in a way they never had before. “Creative directors are more needed than ever because it’s sort of an arms race to have the most viral or most exciting visual campaign in the world. Because that’s what gets shared around,” Rogg says. So, they had to get clever. With the help of creative directors, artists promoted their music with everything from video games to stop-motion videos. Soccer Mommy, for example, created 8-bit performance videos in lieu of her canceled tour. Doja Cat did something similar, redesigning her website into an 8-bit video game world.

The musicians aren’t the only clients OCA works with. Their portfolio includes brand work for companies like Nike and creative direction for fashion brands like Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton. “When we first started this company, we started it purely aimed at music because we both come from music,” Rose says. At the time, Rose was a DJ managed by Roc Nation and Rogg was producing and in a band signed to Island Records. In fact, the two met because Rogg was producing an artist Rose worked for. That’s when they realized even massive artists in the industry were lacking a creative team. “We met up and were like, we’ve managed to change culture a bit within our music careers, but how do we change culture on the world stage? And knowing that there was a need for a creative agency, we started the company,” Rose recalls. That was only five years ago. “And then when we started getting approached by brands and fashion houses, we thought, “Oh, this is a completely different type of world,” Rose says. But they soon found out that the fashion and music industries aren’t so different after all.

“Especially in the lifestyle and culture side of things, brands look to the music industry and what people are doing in music for inspiration and for sort of lead creative leadership,” Rogg says. “So a lot of the brand work comes through the music work that we’ve done, and then vice versa.” Rose agrees, adding: “I think fashion has always been influenced by music. In fact, any youth culture brand, music is normally the catalyst for inspiration. And then it makes sense that [fashion brands] would want to work with the people who are starting that inspiration.”

Whether it’s creating a campaign in the fashion world or creating a show-stopping stage design for The Weeknd’s tour, one thing OCA strives to be is intentional. “Having an intention and staying on that track is so key,” Rogg says. When a number of people from an artist’s management team to higher-ups at a label are involved, it’s easy for a project to become disjointed. “Unless there’s one person, one creative director that is that wayfarer that keeps things on track and keeps things moving forward and upwards, the intentionality can get lost.”

Being intentional isn’t something OCA does alone. The co-founders believe it’s a trait all artists should have, especially those trying to break into the industry. “I think when you start and your an upcoming artist, you should really be reading magazines, going to art galleries, really just looking around and finding a definition for yourself and who you see yourself as,” Rose advises. Once you have a vision and enough of a following, bringing a creative director onto your team is vital. “At the beginning, I think you find your own voice and then you have creative directors to amplify it,” he adds. Rogg agrees: “No matter if you’re a young artist starting off or if you’re a hugely established artist, being aware of who you are and what your vision is and how people see you is important.”

Ross Chastain has enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, but the driver of the No. 1 car for TrackHouse Racing wasn’t likely someone casual sports fans who don’t watch NASCAR week-to-week knew much of.

That was until Sunday when Chastain’s last lap pass, flooring it in the final turn and riding the wall to move from 10th to 5th and passing Denny Hamlin in the process to get into the Championship 4, went viral after he brought video game racing to real life. It was a surreal moment to witness, but Chastain isn’t so sure he deserves too much credit for brilliance in taking his NASCAR 2005 skills to the real track, as he’s quick to point out that he expected to end up wrecked moreso than punching his ticket to the final race still part of the NASCAR Playoffs.

Even as he’s deflected a bit, it’s been a move that captivated the sport and sports fans well beyond NASCAR diehards. On Wednesday, we got a chance to talk with Chastain about the move, going viral, his breakout season, and why the new car has created opportunity for smaller teams as he got ready to fly out to Phoenix for the final race of the season with the Cup Series Championship on the line (Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC).

How’s the last week been for you? Because it has to have been pretty crazy since Sunday.

Yeah, man it is. It’s been it’s been good obviously, right? A lot of good. A lot of people reachin’ out, so there was a little bit of time of reflection on it, but then it’s been full speed ahead on Phoenix.

We’ve all seen the videos, the in car, everything, but as you’re going through that and when you get told you’ve got to get two spots, as it just this is the only possible shot? Like what are the things that go through your mind as you’re trying to process how do I get to Phoenix in the Championship 4?

Yeah, I mean, it was the thought came to my head when we took the white flag and, and really had no thoughts about it before that and just thought that was my only way to try, and I wanted and had to try something and I was willing to do whatever it took and for some reason it worked.

Have you been surprised at all by the by the reaction to it and how it became this, this theme that so many people have latched on to and it’s kind of gone beyond just NASCAR fans and it’s become such a big thing for for sports fans in general?

I was just more surprised that it worked in the first place. I mean, I just fully when I committed to turn three up on the wall I just I had no idea what was gonna happen. If I was gonna just come to a stop, crash, wreck, something, you know, but the risk of it was worth the potential reward of transferring and so that’s my surprise. The rest of it, that’s what’s so great about social media. Stuff can get from Martinsville, Virginia across the world in an instant and we did that with the NASCAR race.

As you mentioned you shift your attention now to Phoenix. That’s a track where you finish second earlier this year, so you’ve got some good vibes there. Is it nice going to that track knowing like you’ve performed well there and you theoretically have an idea for setup and how to handle it?

Yeah, look, I feel a lot better that we finished second and not 22nd in the spring. So that’s not to say that we’re going to get to finish second again or anything. This car has been the greatest reset the sport has ever seen and for the duration of this year from the preseason testing to the March Phoenix race to this November race, the car is evolving at a rate that’s just unprecedented. It’s handling different, it’s driving different, it looks different on the setups, and nothing will be the same as what we had in the spring. So no guarantees but it does feel good just as a competitor and just the racer in me that we had a good run, but I’ve been around long enough though it doesn’t really mean much.

Well, even factoring in the changes, recently you’ve been having plenty success with with four top fives, and what do you feel has kind of come around for this team and has made you guys so consistently good to be able to bring a good car to the track and have a good strategy to get you guys up near the front pretty consistently during the playoffs?

It’s just a continuation of our preparation. I mean the races are — the speed is found at the race shop. And then executing it, throughout the summer I didn’t do a great job but earlier in the year and late this year we’ve done a really good job of just finishing where we belong, and then the times like Martinsville outkicking our coverage a bit. So just learning the cup series. It’s hard. These are the best drivers in the world and we’re going up against them.

What has this been like for you in the playoffs? With the week to week stress and handling that and what has the learning experience been for you as a driver in your first championship chase?

It’s been learning, a lot of learning. Look, from myself to my crew chief, spotter, we’ve never won races in our current roles in the Cup series. We’ve never been in the playoffs. So we as TrackHouse are learning all this as we go and I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anybody else. And the fact that we’re building this together, the way we are is just absolutely incredible. It’s just not supposed to happen this way. And I’m thankful it is.

Yeah. We’re so used to seeing the big teams, seeing the Hendricks and the Gibbs and the established teams that we’ve known for years. What does it feel like when you’re building something and just kind of bringing something fresh to the sport, having a team that we aren’t necessarily accustomed to seeing in the Championship 4?

It’s our arrival. So it’s kind of hard to give an unbiased opinion, because I’m on the inside looking out, right? But I think you’re gonna you’re gonna see this man. This sport is changing and evolving and your legacy teams are going to continue, but with this new car, there’s more opportunity than ever for a team to come in and compete. So, I’m glad to be in the sport at this time and in the potential that this car affords all of us, it’s just unmeasurable right now and it’ll be years maybe even decades down the road before we truly, I think understand what this car has done for the sport.

Is there is there anything specific that you can speak to as to why that is, you know, for somebody who doesn’t necessarily know the ins and outs of the car and what has changed so dramatically?

They’re truly the same. Never before in the history of our sport has this been the case. So in the past, from the very first NASCAR race to Phoenix in 2021, each team was a manufacturing facility. We manufactured race cars and then we raced them. Now we buy race cars and we assemble them so I truly have the same chassis that another competitor has on another manufacturer team. I have the same control arms. I have everything the same — now we can assemble them different, we can bolt them together at different angles and use different parts, but we all have the same parts book to order out of and that’s just never been the case in the sport.

Megan Thee Stallion fans aren’t the only ones upset about a possible mention on Drake and 21 Savage’s new album Her Loss. Virginia crooner DRAM “woke up to some f*ck sh*t” and felt the need to vent on Twitter, as well. Apparently, he’s miffed about lyrics from the song “BackOutsideBoyz,” which he believes name check and taunt him over an old dustup between the two.

In the song, Drake rhymes, “Tried to bring the drama to me, he ain’t know how we cha-cha slide.” DRAM, who once accused Drake of copying his breakout hit “Cha Cha” on the 2016 megasmash “Hotline Bling,” obviously feels that this constitutes a shot across his bow, which he addressed in a video posted on Twitter earlier this morning.

“Ay, somebody tell Drake to shut the f*ck up about that sh*t, man,” he says in the clip. “[It was] f*ckin’ five years ago. This n**** never even f*ckin’ touched me. I pressed his ass. His bodyguards went to town on the kid. He ain’t touch me, he’s a b*tch. What’s good with the one-on-one though?”

Meanwhile, fans think another Drake line refers to Megan Thee Stallion. On “Circo Loco,” he raps, “This bitch lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion,” which some fans have interpreted as a reference to Megan Thee Stallion’s accusation that Tory Lanez shot her in the foot. Contextually, it seems to be about a different kind of shots — i.e. fat injections to the posterior or the infamous “Brazilian butt lift” — while “stallion” is a longstanding slang term for a woman with large hips, thighs, and rump, but that hasn’t stopped those fans from grilling the Canadian star over it, even with his history of beef with Tory Lanez.

You can check out the seeming DRAM reference below.

Paramore returned this year with the announcement of their long-awaited sixth studio album This Is Why. Their live performances at festivals and on late-night television have been nothing but spectacular. After announcing some shows this year, they’re back today with the announcement of a full-on 2023 North American tour.

It’ll kick off in Charlotte, NC in May and end in St. Paul, MN in August. Accompanying them on the road will be Bloc Party, Foals, The Linda Lindas, and Genesis Owusu. In July, Hayley Williams said that Bloc Party was “the number one reference” when it came to making the new album.

Check out the tour dates below.

05/23 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center *^
05/25 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena *^
05/27 — Atlantic City, NJ @ Adjacent Festival
05/30 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden *^
06/02 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena *^
06/04 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse *^
06/05 — Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse *^
06/07 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena *^
06/08 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena *^
06/10 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *^
06/11 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paint Arena *^
06/13 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center *^
06/14 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live *^
07/06 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center +%
07/08 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena +%
07/09 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center +%
07/11 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center +%
07/13 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena +%
07/16 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena +
07/19 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum +
07/22 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center +
07/24 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena +%
07/25 — Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum +%
07/27 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena +%
07/29 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center +%
07/30 — St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center +%
08/02 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center +%

* with Bloc Party
+ with Foals
% with The Linda Lindas
^ with Genesis Owusu

Tickets go on sale Friday, November 11 at 10 a.m. local time here.

This Is Why arrives 2/10 via Atlantic Records.

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

Drake and 21 Savage’s new album, Her Loss, continues to cause a stir online. As fans dig through each track’s lyrics and other production credit, many have begun to ask will Megan Thee Stallion receive writing credit? The simple answer — yes.

To be clear, Meg didn’t write on the album. However, 21 Savage did use an interpolation of her flow on song, “Rich Flex,” where he raps, “I’m a savage / smack her booty in Magic / I’ll slap a p*ssy n**** with a ratchet.”

The H-town hottie won’t be the only people unwittingly added to the credits, “Savage” co-writers J. White Did It and Bobby Sessions will also receive acknowledgment. This is not the first time an interpolation has been heatedly discussed online. Earlier this summer, Beyoncé’s usage of the 2003 song “Milkshake” on her album, Renaissance, sparked several debates on Twitter. Afterward, the interpolation was removed following Kelis’ expressed displeasure in not being asked beforehand.

On hearing lyrics from the song “Circo Loco,” some fans believe that Drake seemingly defends his fellow Toronto native Tory Lanez’s claims that he did not shoot Meg. After hearing the line, “this b*tch lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion / She don’t even get the joke, but she still smiling,” Meg immediately shared her disgust on Twitter.

Receiving writing credits on an album where you are possibly being dissed — now, that’s savage!

U2 singer Bono recently released his first book, a memoir called Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. He popped up on The Late Show yesterday to promote it through a chat with Stephen Colbert. During the conversation, the Beatles documentary Get Back came up and Bono came up with a funny comparison.

Colbert asked Bono about Get Back, specifically about if Bono noticed any parallels between the creative process of The Beatles and that of U2. Bono exalted the film, saying:

“I was riveted. I mean, first of all: who knew that The Beatles had created reality TV? I was like, ‘Wow!’ They had microphones in the flower pots and… and then, I also felt so privileged because it was like being there when Jesus wrote, you know, the Sermon On The Mount. You know, if Jesus had a roadie be like, ‘Blessed are thee… blessed are the… geek! No, meek! Meek!’ I mean, you’re hearing them write these songs and they’re going, ‘What is it,’ you know? ‘Hey George’… no, ‘Jude.’”

He then went on to more directly answer Colbert’s question, saying that improvisation is a big part of U2’s songwriting process. He noted that while he and The Edge do most of the “formal” songwriting for the band, most of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.’s creative input comes through improvising.

Check out the interview above and below. Bono also performed a modified solo rendition of U2’s “With Or Without You,” so find that below as well.

With only a few days left until the midterm elections, Oprah Winfrey offered her full endorsement to Pennsylvania Lt. Gov John Fetterman as he fights for a Senate seat against Winfrey’s former daytime TV rival Dr. Oz. While Fetterman has maintained a lead in the polls thanks to his relentless pummeling of Oz’s residency status (and the whole crudités thing), that gap has closed in recent weeks. Fetterman is also recovering from a stroke, which affected his sole debate performance against Oz. Republicans have capitalized on Fetterman’s oratory stumbles, but Oprah isn’t having it.

While hosting “A Virtual Voting Conversation” on Thursday, Winfrey threw her support behind Fetterman and outlined the direct threat posed Republicans picking up wins in the House and Senate. Via TODAY:

“If we do not show up to vote, if we do not get fired up in this moment, the people who will be in power will begin making decisions for us,” she said. “Decisions about how we care for our bodies, how we care for our kids, what books your children can read, who gets protected by the police and who gets targeted.”

Winfrey also threw her support behind Democratic candidates Val Demings in Florida, Beto O’Rourke in Texas, and both Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams in Georgia for representing “the values that we hold dear, the values of inclusion, the values of compassion and community that so many of us share.”

“So use your discernment, which seems to be missing in a lot of our, our our country today,” Winfrey concluded. “Use your discernment and choose wisely for the democracy of our country.”

(Via TODAY)

John Wick fans are eager for a fourth movie in the franchise, but 2023 will also see the Wickiverse expand to streaming platforms as well. The Continental, a Wick-related spinoff prequel about the assassin hotel featured extensively in the later films, will arrive next year on streaming services.

As Deadline reported on Friday, things have shuffled from the original plan to debut the series on Starz. The show will now air on Peacock when it debuts in 2023, while Amazon Prime will have its rights internationally. As the outlet reports, Peacock will also have the rights to the first three John Wick movies as well, so all your Wick is now in one place.

The Continental serves as an origin story of sorts for both The Continental and its staff, with new actors playing existing characters as they flesh out the logic of an assassin-only hotel secretly taking up prime real estate in New York City. From the Deadline description, it sounds like The Continental will have a bit of The Deuce in it. Oh, and Mel Gibson is there, too:

The Continental explores the origin story and inner workings of the exclusive Continental Hotel, a centerpiece of the John Wick Universe which serves as a refuge for assassins. It told from the perspective of the hotel manager, portrayed by Ian McShane in the film franchise – a young Winston Scott, played by Colin Woodell. Throughout the series, viewers will follow Winston through the underworld of ‘70’s New York, where he will battle demons from his past as he attempts to seize control of the iconic hotel – a hotel that serves as a meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals.

Woodell stars alongside Ayomide Adegun, who will portray a young Charon, Peter Greene, who plays Uncle Charlie, Mel Gibson as Cormac, Ben Robson as Frankie, Hubert Point-Du Jour as Miles, Jessica Allain as Lou, Mishel Prada as KD and Nhung Kate as Yen.

That makes 2023 a big year for Wick, with John Wick 4 also slated for a release next year. It’s been a long wait for fans of the series due to the pandemic, so it’s about time everyone gets what they want here. And now we know where to find it all.

(Via Deadline)

Paramore’s long-awaited return has been one of the most exciting parts of 2022. First there was the release of “This Is Why,” alongside the announcement of their forthcoming album of the same title, and then there was the resurrection of their hit “Misery Business,” which they played live for the first time since 2018 last month.

Last night, the band brought “This Is Why” to life in a vivacious performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Bandleader Hayley Williams’ stage presence is as energetic and exuberant as ever, imbuing the song with a special flair.

Upon the track’s release, Williams shared a statement: “’This Is Why’ was the very last song we wrote for the album,” she wrote. “To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor [York] convinced Zac [Farro] and I both that we should work on this last idea. What came out of it was the title track for the whole album. It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last 3 or 4 years. You’d think after a global pandemic of f*cking biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something.”

Watch Paramore’s performance above.

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