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Last year, after two years of being cancelled thanks to the pandemic, Burning Man made a triumphant return — which is to say nothing newsworthy happened. This year wasn’t so lucky. Starting Friday, and continuing intermittently through Sunday, severe rainfall pummeled the grounds, turning the playa into a muddy hellscape that made transportation impossible. Tens of thousands of revelers were stranded. There was one death. But some more famous participants managed to escape relatively early on.

Diplo and Chris Rock were among those able to successfully skedaddle from the grounds. It wasn’t easy. The former went on CNN to tell the story of their herculean journey, and to reveal who else was with them:

“[Rock] had his New York Knicks jacket on and he just got up with us and started walking. And we walked about three hours in the mud. He was happy. It was me, I think Cindy Crawford walked with us. Kaia Gerber, Austin Butler, Randy Gerber, a writer, a couple of producers from TV, a couple of people who just wanted to get home to their children. They didn’t take no for an answer.

CNN’s Nick Watt explained what happened next: “So those walkers managed to get to an actual road out of the mud after a few hours, and a guy in a passing pickup truck apparently recognized DJ Diplo and gave them a ride, and eventually they all made it to Reno.”

For the record, that’s not just a random assortment of names: Crawford is married to Gerber, and their daughter is Kaira, who is dating Butler.

Many weren’t so lucky. As of this writing, the 70,000 attendees who’d been told to shelter in place were still awaiting the mass exodus. Some weren’t in any rush.

“But some people are going to stick it out a little bit longer because they plan to burn the man tonight,” Watt explained. “So there are people who want to stay there until the end, and you know, they’ll just be praying for no more rain. And there is no more rain in the forecast.”

However this ends, it will make for a riveting documentary — or maybe even two ones à la the dueling Fyre Festival docs.

(Via Mediaite)

Yesterday (September 3), it was reported that iconic Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell was under hospice care, with Smash Mouth manager Robert Hayes saying, “Although Steve is here with us still, sadly it will only be for a short time.” Hayes was tragically correct: Today, Harwell died at 56 years old.

As for the cause of death, Hayes confirmed in a statement that it was liver failure.

Harwell retired from Smash Mouth in 2021. In a statement announcing the news, it was revealed Harwell had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy eight years earlier. Harwell also had Wernicke encephalopathy, which had an effect on his motor skills, speech, and memory.

In that statement, Harwell wrote in part, “To our loyal and amazing fans, thank you, all of this was possible because of you. I’ve tried so hard to power through my physical and mental health issues, and to play in front of you one last time, but I just wasn’t able to.”

In a statement shared on social media, Smash Mouth wrote, “Steve Harwell was a true American Original. A larger than life character who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle. Steve will be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned determination to reach the heights of pop stardom. Rest in peace knowing you aimed for the stars, and magically hit your target. Rest easy.”

Joe Biden hasn’t really begun his 2024 campaign in earnest. Perhaps he’s content to let the Republican field duke it out and wait for its top contender to maybe finally get his comeuppance. But every now and then he’ll let loose some not-so-subtle digs. During a speech on Labor Day, he attacked a certain someone for not being a very good president, and he didn’t even have to say his name.

“The guy who held this job before me was just one of two presidents in history … who left office with fewer jobs in America than when he got elected to office,” Biden told a crowd of union workers in Philadelphia. “By the way, you know who the other one was? Herbert Hoover.”

The president wasn’t done. “When the last guy was here, he looked at the world from Park Ave.,” he said. ““I look at it from Scranton, Pa., I look at it from Claymont, Del.”

Biden talked up all the work his administration has done, including his infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. His and his team’s work has led to strong jobs reports but not-so-hot marks from voters. Still, at least he’s gotten stuff done, unlike You Know Who.

“Guess what? The great real estate builder, the last guy, he didn’t build a damn thing,” Biden told the crowd. “Under my predecessor, infrastructure week became a punchline. On my watch … it’s a headline.”

Biden also slammed conservatives, who have been claiming the country is on the wrong path.

“They keep telling us America’s failing. They’re wrong,” Biden said. “I’ve got news for them: America has the strongest economy in the world right now, today.”

Biden’s not the only presidential candidate who spent Labor Day weekend getting huffy, but at least Biden wasn’t out there vowing some vague but ominous-sounding revenge.

(Via New York Daily News)

The FIBA Basketball World Cup is seven games away from determining a winner. With teams 9-32 all sorted out and four squads from that group (Australia, France, Japan, South Sudan) having already punched their tickets to the Olympics in 2024, eight teams will take the floor over the next few days in the final round of the tournament.

Only two teams will enter the final round with an unblemished record, and perhaps surprisingly, neither of them are Canada or the United States. Instead, Germany was able to get through the first two rounds without a loss — which included an impressive, 100-71 drubbing of Luka Doncic and Slovenia without the services of Franz Wagner — while Lithuania was also about to go undefeated, most notably by knocking off the United States in the final game of Group J.

For the U.S., losing to Lithuania has the potential to be a blessing in disguise. If they won, they would have found themselves going up against a difficult Serbia team in the quarters before a showdown with either Canada or Slovenia in the semis. Instead, that’s Lithuania’s potential path to the finals, while the Americans will have to play Italy in the quarters and, should they advance, Germany or Latvia in the semis.

While this is arguably the preferable route of the two that the Americans could take, it’s by no means an easy path — the Italians are the second-best rebounding team left in the tournament behind only Lithuania, and the inability to grab rebounds has been the United States’ achilles heel during the tournament. Germany has been excellent all tournament long and Latvia have knocked off powerhouses like France, Spain, and Brazil on their road to the quarters.

Here’s the schedule, tip times, and television info for both halves of the bracket as we enter the quarterfinals.

Sept. 5: Italy vs. United States, 8:30 a.m. ET, ESPN2
Sept. 6: Germany vs. Latvia, 4:45 a.m. ET, ESPN+

Sept. 5: Lithuania vs. Serbia, 4:45 a.m. ET, ESPN+
Sept. 6: Canada vs. Slovenia, 8:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+

The teams that lose these games will play on Sept. 7 and 9 to determine who will finish fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth in the tournament. The winners, meanwhile, will move on to the semifinals on Sept. 8, with all four teams playing on Sept. 10 to determine the three medalists and the fourth-placed squad. All games from this point in the tournament on will take place at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

Smash Mouth co-founder and former singer Steve Harwell passed away on Monday morning, September 4, at 56 years old. The news was confirmed by various publications, such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and Variety, citing Robert Hayes, a representative for the band.

“Steve Harwell was a true American Original,” Hayes said in a statement. “A larger than life character who shot up into the sky like a Roman candle. Steve should be remembered for his unwavering focus and impassioned determination to reach the heights of pop stardom. And the fact that he achieved this near-impossible goal with very limited musical experience makes his accomplishments all the more remarkable.”

Hayes continued, “His only tools were his irrepressible charm and charisma, his fearlessly reckless ambition, and his king-size cajones. Steve lived a 100% full-throttle life. Burning brightly across the universe before burning out.”

The band, best known for their late-’90s staple “All Star,” posted the same sentiment to X (formerly known as Twitter), and several other tributes followed.

Eve 6 offered a heartfelt reaction, tweeting, “RIP Steve Harwell. You brought a lotta joy to a lotta people. You were so much more than a meme [broken heart emoji].”

Guy Fieri shared a photo of himself with Harwell and wrote, “To my brutha Steve RIP. Today is a sad day, I will miss my friend.”

ESPN’s Linda Cohn shared a memory of Harwell, writing, “I remember meeting Steve when he and the band visited ESPN at the height of their popularity. Was so nice. RIP Steve. You’re an AllStar forever.”

Others reminisced about some notable Harwell social media moments, like when he got into a spat with the Oakland A’s on X (then Twitter) and when he stood in opposition of DJ Khaled’s views on oral sex.

There had been several indications that Harwell was in poor health in recent years, including a troubling performance in 2021 that preceded his retirement from music.

TMZ reported at the time, “We’re told he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy eight years ago, which has led to other medical setbacks like heart failure and Wernicke’s encephalopathy … a condition that impacts his motor functions, including speech and memory. He’s also battled substance abuse over the years, which is further contributing to his health crisis.”

James Blake chimed in on an August Billboard report about music executives’ cynical outlook on successfully breaking new pop artists since Olivia Rodrigo in 2021. “Forced us all onto platforms that reduce our art and now sad that it’s hard to find breakthrough artists,” Blake posted to X (formerly known as Twitter).

This week, however, the Grammy winner presumably only cares about the success of Playing Robots Into Heaven, his sixth studio album due out this Friday, September 8. Blake confirmed the project on June 28 and heightened the anticipation by dropping an accompanying album film on August 23.

Watch the trailer above, and check out everything else you need to know about Playing Robots Into Heaven below.

Release Date

Playing Robots Into Heaven it out 9/8 via Republic. Find more information here.

Tracklist

1. “Asking To Break”
2. “Loading”
3. “Tell Me”
4. “Fall Back”
5. “He’s Been Wonderful”
6. “Big Hammer”
7. “I Want You To Know”
8. “Night Sky”
9. “Fire The Editor”
10. “If You Can Hear Me”
11. “Playing Robots Into Heaven”

Features

As of this writing, James has not confirmed any featured artists.

Artwork

Singles

Blake’s June 28 Playing Robots Into Heaven announcement was accompanied by the single “Big Hammer.” He released “Loading” nearly one month later. It appears the next single will be “Tell Me” on September 7, according to an Instagram post.

Tour

Blake will embark on his Playing Robots Into Heaven Tour this September and October. The tour is scheduled to begin on September 18 in Milan, Italy and end with back-to-back shows in Los Angeles on October 19 and 20. See all of the dates below.

In May 2022, Aerosmith canceled its Las Vegas residency due to Steven Tyler voluntarily entering rehab. By the end of the year, Tyler was named in a lawsuit for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor in the 1970s. This April, the Aerosmith lead singer filed a denial in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

With all that going on, Aerosmith is still staging its Peace Out: The Farewell Tour. The band announced its final trek with a movie trailer-like video, which can be watched above. There was an accompanying news release from Live Nation, stating, “After 50 years, 10 world tours, and playing for over 100 million fans… it’s time for one last go.”

The Peace Out: Farewell Tour began on Saturday, September 2 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The next stop will be PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, September 6. See all of the dates between then and the grand finale on January 26, 2024 here.

According to setlist.fm, Aerosmith took the stage in Philly at 9 p.m. local time and delivered an 18-song set, including an encore of all-time classic tracks “Dream On” and “Walk This Way.” See the full setlist below.

1. “Back In The Saddle”
2. “Love In An Elevator”
3. “Cryin’”
4. “Janie’s Got A Gun”
5. “Adam’s Apple”
6. “Livin’ On The Edge”
7. “No More No More”
8. “Rag Doll”
9. “Hangman Jury”
10.”Seasons Of Wither”
11. “Movin’ Out”
12. “Stop Messin’ Around” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
13. “Rats In The Cellar”
14. “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”
15. “Sweet Emotion”
16. “Toys In The Attic”
17. “Dream On” (encore)
18. “Walk This Way” (encore)

Travis Scott had been on cruise control since the July 28 release of Utopia, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and kept the top spot for four consecutive weeks. And then, Zach Bryan happened.

Bryan’s self-titled album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated September 9 — his first career No. 1 album — demoting Scott’s Utopia to No. 2.

As per Billboard‘s Keith Caulfield, “The 16-song country-rock effort, his fourth full-length studio album, launches with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending August 31, according to Luminate — the largest week for any rock album in four years. It’s also the first rock effort to hit No. 1 in more than a year. The set’s opening frame is largely powered by streaming activity — and the album boasts the biggest streaming week ever for a rock album.”

Scott’s Utopia, which debuted with 496,000 equivalent US album units in its first week, generated 91,000 equivalent album units in the week ending August 31.

Bryan’s self-titled album was tapped among Uproxx’s Steven Hyden’s “Favorite Music Of August 2023,” while Uproxx’s Philip Cosores attended Bryan’s show at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on August 23 and left believing Bryan is “a must-see phenomenon.”

Bryan will continue touring in support of his latest effort in 2024. Last week, he announced his The Quittin’ Time Tour. See the dates below.

Zach Bryan is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

At times, it seemed as if Travis Scott would never release his Utopia album. On July 28, he finally did, and it was worth the way. Utopia debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. Scott will also soon stage his Utopia — The Circus Maximus Tour, with tickets going on sale last week. Tickets went so quickly that Scott added more dates.

In other words, Scott isn’t intimidated by delays, so it’s unsurprising that he wants to soundtrack a movie that might never happen.

On Monday morning, September 4, Scott posted to X (formerly known as Twitter), “Woke up thinking I would love to do the soundtrack to Blade.”

In May, The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported that Marvel Studios was “shutting down pre-production” on Blade, starring Mahershala Ali. The film was initially due to start filming in Atlanta in June, but that was nixed because of the ongoing Writers Guild Of America strike.

“That doesn’t mean a new Blade, with or without its two-time Oscar-winning star, will never happen,” Uproxx’s Matt Prigge explained at the time. “Marvel plans to restart pre-production when the strike ends, whenever that is. When/if it arrives, it will be the second big screen stab at the character, who was iconically played by Wesley Snipes over three films.”

Last September, Snoop Dogg visited Stephen A. Smith’s podcast and spilled some exclusive tea.

“You’re the first one to hear this,” Snoop told Stephen A. during the September 30, 2022 episode. “Me and Dr. Dre been working on an album for the past two months, and it’ll be done in November. And it’s produced by Dr. Dre. It’s our 30th anniversary to Doggystyle. And the name of the album is Missionary.”

One year on, Snoop and Stephen A. have given us another headline, as we wait on Missionary to materialize. This time, Stephen A. joined Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, Club Shay Shay. The Hall Of Fame NFL tight end offered to go to the gym with Smith, who couldn’t reject the invitation fast enough, and Snoop inexplicably caught a stray in the process.

“Listen, you want a meme that people will be laughing at me for the next two decades?” Smith said. “Have me in the gym with Shannon Sharpe. C’mon, man. That’s like The Rock standing next to Snoop Dogg. We ain’t doing that. Snoop is my dog. You know I love you, baby. I mean, come on, now. I ain’t doing that. I’m not getting in the gym with you.”

Snoop responded with a shirtless photo on Instagram, writing in the caption, “@stephenasmith @shannonsharpe84 I’m getting my weight up so when I come on the show will talk about [weightlifting emoji] Thanks 4 the motivation.”

Sharpe commented on the post with six flexing emojis.

See the clip above and Snoop’s post below.