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Music and fashion have gone hand in hand for decades. Since the ‘50s and ‘60s, dating back to the rise of Elvis and the Beatles, popular trends in music have influenced how people dress, from mods and the hippies to ‘70s punk styles and glam, and beyond. Today, fashion-conscious shoppers have more outlets than ever from which to choose, but one shopping method has exploded in popularity over the last decade: thrifting. And your favorite musicians are joining in by selling items from their closets.

Thrifting is nothing new, of course. Buying secondhand has long been a way for shoppers to save money, express individuality, and, more recently, reduce their carbon footprint. As buying and selling via secondhand/vintage/consignment apps (Depop, Poshmark, Tradesy, Mercaci, ThredUp) has risen in popularity, musicians have, in addition to the traditional band merch, started selling clothes they’ve worn on tour or for photoshoots, or just happened to have taking up space in their homes.

“What made me start a Depop shop was being a touring musician,” says Brooke Dickson of The Regrettes. “In-between tours, I need to have some kind of income. It’s kind of tough to have a job that you can hold down that’s totally fine with you being on your own schedule.

“I also have so many different costume-y kind of clothes I’ve used for performances and photoshoots,” Dickson adds. “[Selling] accomplishes multiple things at once, where I’m getting rid of old stuff that I don’t need to keep anymore, and then instead of just donating it, I figure I might as well sell some of the good stuff that people like me who would be on Depop as well would be looking for.”

Meanwhile, singer-songwriter Wafia Al-Rikabi, who also sells on Depop, grew up moving from country to country with her family. “We’d always have to pack up and leave, so I would [only] have things that I could fit into one suitcase,” she describes. “I’ve always been a not-owning-a-lot-of-things person because of my parents’ lifestyle.” Now, as a performer, Wafia has a surplus of pieces sent over from brands, and in the last few years, her visibility has increased following her successful cover of Mario’s “Let Me Love You.” Depop, which mainly attracts younger sellers hunting for Y2K-era garments, reached out to Wafia personally. “They reached out to me, and I just have so many things that I’ve only worn once. Even in the process of putting them on Depop, I was trying to be really considerate to not mark up the prices. If you want it, you can have it.”

For Speedy Ortiz singer/guitarist Sadie Dupuis, who also performs as Sad13 and runs a small Depop shop, donating and consigning clothes has been something she’s done since childhood. “I grew up with my mom going to consignment and thrift stores,” she says. “I got Depop when I was first moving to Philly in early 2016, and I had a feeling I was going to have a lot less closet space. I thought, ‘Maybe there’s somebody who wants to wear the dress that I wore to play with Junglepussy or something.’ I would try to put a nice note and some stickers or something, almost to make it like a merch item.”

While some artists look at selling their clothes as a passive side hustle, a pragmatic way to free up space in their homes, others, like Nashville-based performer Stef Colvin, are much more heavily engaged in the process, even making consistent income through thrifting. Colvin’s shop currently has 37K followers; it’s where she sells a wide array of ‘90s and ‘00s pieces to her Gen Z audience, who, Colvin theorizes, are most interested in following multidisciplinary creators who make content that is both aspirational and relatable. “I think [music and fashion] live very cohesively together,” Colvin says. “[Gen Z] is very into aesthetics, they’re into having things that no one else has, some of them are concerned about the environment. That’s why they thrift. Fashion is such a big part of my music branding as well, and I think Gen Z kind of looks for that in artists.”

Artists’ individual reasons for selling can vary, but one thing everyone seems to have in common is the destination: Depop. As opposed to consignment apps like Poshmark, which is probably Depop’s number one competitor, Depop, which was founded in 2011 and is based in London, is more focused on selling one-of-a-kind vintage pieces and tends to draw a younger, more creative class of shoppers.

When Dickson started her shop, she figured more fans of her band would already be Depop customers. “It seems like more young people, more trendy, alternative, whatever you want to call it, people closer to my age and fans of the band, would be on Depop versus Poshmark,” she says. “When I look on Poshmark, I tend to see more, I don’t know, Madewell, J.Crew, stuff like that. I still wear that stuff too, but that just leads me to believe that it’s slightly older, slightly more designer stuff. My older sister, for example, shops on Poshmark more.”

On top of generational consuming habits, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic likewise plays a role in how artists are selling clothing and other merchandise to their fans. As a Spotify For Artists story points out, last year’s pause in touring meant that artists had to find other methods of engaging with their fans, and fans were hungry for ways to support their favorite artists. As a result, there’s been a marked rise in artist merch sales. Though secondhand selling is not quite the same thing as traditional band merch, artists offering items from their own closets is just another way for fans to foster a parasocial connection.

“I have bought more merch from artists I like during this last year or two than I probably did before,” Dickson says. “We all want to feel connected to the creatives or people we follow online. I think we all want to feel like we know them.”

Taking it a step further, Colvin is convinced that many artists might want to lean harder into the merchandise space. “I honestly don’t think enough artists capitalize off of the merch-clothing element,” she argues. “If you already have a fan base that wants to buy from you, why aren’t you dropping more consistent and better merch? I don’t think enough people do the clothing right, and they’re missing out on a lot of money that they could be making.”

For all of her success selling on Depop, however, Dupuis feels trepidation around the environmental implications when artists feel external pressure to capitalize on their merch. “It really freaks me out that the way that bands have to make money now is by entering the garment industry, which is so messed up for the planet and bands are expected to have, you know, six different, like, cotton t-shirt designs per year,” she admits. “I have complicated feelings about that as a sustainable way for music artists to make their income. There’s so many unseen things that go into making these products when we are in an unprecedented climate crisis.”

That isn’t to say that Dupuis isn’t all for secondhand sales, which is much more environmentally conscious. Likewise, Speedy Ortiz has switched to printing on sustainable materials and selling in lower quantities. But, she points out, artists shouldn’t have to feel like they have to depend on merchandise sales and “run secondhand boutiques” just to survive. “I feel like things produced in limited quantities with secondhand or found materials is a way forward to making an income for artists,” she continues. “But I also just wish that digital music could be valued at a more fair price point so that we wouldn’t have to be brainstorming every which way.”

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

As hip-hop continues to evolve and morph into its ever-growing wealth of styles and formats, it’s nice to just hear someone spit some bars over a cool beat once in a while. In that spirit, Symba’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Ain’t Saying Sh*t” is like a nice refresher on punchline-forward, swaggering battle rap as he goes for broke illuminating all his virtues and pointing out all foes’ many flaws.

Hailing from the Bay Area, Symba traded in hoop dreams for microphone skills in middle school, taking his name from an obvious source (The Lion King) and setting out to establish himself as royalty in his own right. He’s also one of those artists who approach the game with a degree of hard-earned business savvy from prior industry experiences. When a deal with Columbia Records in 2017 soured, he returned to the independent grind, generating enough buzz to attract another deal from Atlantic.

Making a splash earlier this year with a viral LA Leakers freestyle and a standout 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher verse, and building on his 2020 mixtape Don’t Run From R.A.P, Symba is a member of a new wave of rap-first hip-hop artists that is about to start flooding the game sooner than you might think.

Watch him perform “Ain’t Saying Sh*t” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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

Long ago in a galaxy far away, there were rumors that former Doctor Who star Matt Smith was meant to appear in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in a pretty substantial role. Now, two years later, the actor is finally setting the record straight, confirming the rumors were in fact true and the 39-year-old actor was almost at the helm of a major “shift in the history” of the Star Wars franchise.

In the most recent episode of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast (via The Wrap), Smith opened up about his almost-part on the project, driving both Horowitz and Star Wars fans everywhere a bit mad imaging what could have been. According to Smith, he took several meetings leading up the film’s production, going over his character and the impact he would have on the series, but was ultimately cut from the film when the role “became obsolete.”

“We were close to me being in it, but then it just never quite happened. I think the thing they were thinking of me for, eventually… it became obsolete. They didn’t need it. So I never got to be in Star Wars.”

After Smith dropped the news, Horowitz asked him the question I’m sure we’re all thinking right now: who was Smith supposed to play? Horowitz then suggested Emperor Palpatine’s son, which caused Smith to smile and quickly grow quiet, before replying, “I could not possibly say, I could not possibly say. But it was a pretty groovy thing.”

“It was a big thing.” Smith added. “Pretty big — it was like a big story detail, like a transformative Star Wars story detail. But it never quite got over the line.”

While everyone has their own feelings on how the Star Wars sequel saga ultimately ended, you can’t deny it’s pretty fun to speculate what Smith would have been up to in the final film had he been involved. Luckily for Smith, however, the actor is doing quite well and is keeping busy in some pretty major franchises, including Sony’s Morbius and the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon.

Anyone who’s been using Roku to get a porn fix (and there are presumably plenty of people who have been doing so) will have to find a new outlet for all of that energy. This week, the rapidly growing digital/streaming-player manufacturer (which is getting into the content game with upcoming new Reno 911 episodes) made that announcement during its developer conference. All of this means that Pornhub will no longer be available for Channel Store distribution, but how that’s happening is not exactly a straightforward process. That’s because Pornhub’s existence on Roku hasn’t been straightforward, in and of itself, either.

Porn content found its way onto Roku through private channels (known as “uncertified channels” in Roku terminology). They were intended for developer use, and these channels don’t appear in the Channel Store. This, naturally, led to Pornhub and similar providers to get their foot in the door, but that loophole will close on March 1, 2022 with the disappearance of private channels. While this news probably won’t affect as many people as when Roku wrapped up its HBO Max issue, the effective porn ban will surely be noticed. As first reported by Protocol, here’s the lowdown:

This includes many of the major adult content providers: Pornhub has its own private Roku channel, as do pay-per-view platforms like Adult Empire and AEBN, as well as adult video studios and subscription services like Wicked, Adult Time and Naughty America. All of these companies’ Roku channels are expected to disappear on March 1.

Roku’s existing policy of effectively turning a blind eye to private channels has been criticized in the past. Rights holders have at times clashed with the company over private channels that offered access to unlicensed content.

Gizmodo elaborates on the development while noting that Mexico briefly banned Roku due to concern over private channels. They’re developing a solution to the issue by transitioning to Beta Channels, which will satisfy developer needs while shutting down the non-certified mechanisms, and as a Roku spokesperson relayed to Gizmodo, “At our annual developer conference in October, we announced the launch of Beta Channels, a new feature that aligns with industry standards and offers a more dynamic and flexible environment for developers.”

So, no more explicitly naughty stuff will go down on Roku, but here’s some conciliatory news: there might very well be more “New Boot Goofin’” on the way from Lt. Dangle. Oh!

(Via Protocol & Gizmodo)

So far, Jenny Lewis has spent 2021 releasing new songs with Chicago rapper Serengeti, the latest of those being “GLTR.” Now, though, she’s back on the solo grind, as today brings a new single called “Puppy And A Truck.”

On the breezy track, Lewis starts by noting how rough things have been lately, singing, “My 40’s are kicking my ass / And handing them to me in a margarita glass.” In the chorus, though, she shares her solution to life’s troubles: “Like a shot of good luck / I got a puppy and a truck / If you feel like giving up / Shut up / Get a puppy and a truck.”

Lewis posted a message about the song on Instagram, showing her appreciation for Harry Styles’ fans showing her love while she opened for him on tour. She wrote, “i wrote this song in the spring and recorded it with [Dave Cobb] @ RCA studio A in the summer in nashville featuring my gorgeous friend [Jess Wolfe of Lucius] on backing vocals Greg Leisz on steel [Nate Smith on drums] brian allen on bass & myself on my 65 [Gibson] J45 from [Fanny’s House Of Music]. thank you to [Harry Styles’] lovely fans for singing along pre release on #loveontour i feel the love and so does [Lewis’ dog Bobby Rhubarb Lewis].”

Listen to “Puppy And A Truck” above.

Jenny Lewis is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When Cassandra Jenkins released her An Overview On Phenomenal Nature in early February, it debuted during a time when there were a lot of unknowns in the world. Now, revisiting the work several months later, the singer is set to share a collection of alternative tracks and outtakes from the albums’ recording process. After previewing the project with tantalizing track “Hailey (pRemix),” Jenkins returns with the serene track “American Spirits.”

The new single is a swell of swirling soundcapes brought together by the low hum of Jenkins’ moving vocals. She sings of getting a call from an unknown number, which is actually a real story that she says inspired the emotion behind “American Spirits”:

“I woke up one morning with a voicemail from an unknown number while I was on tour in 2018. The area code was from the Texas border, and I had a sinking feeling my friend had gotten arrested on his way to come see us play in Joshua Tree. I’m fortunate to be close to someone who can speak so candidly about their incarceration, and how the prison system has continuously affected their life. When we spoke recently about the voicemail in this recording, I asked him what he was feeling in that moment. He said ‘I was really scared. So I called you, and I called a lawyer.’ I cherished this voicemail for years because, even in that difficult moment, I could hear a tenderness in his voice as he confessed, as well as avoided, reporting that he had spent the night in jail. What resulted is the poetic ambiguity that can arise from the struggle of searching for the words to tell someone we love exactly what has happened.”

Listen to Jenkins’ “American Spirits” above.

(An Overview On) An Overview on Phenomenal Nature is out 11/19 via Ba Da Bing Records. Pre-order it here.

After a long, grueling two-year absence, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is finally returning for Season 15, and fans will not have long to wait. According to Deadline, the first two episodes of the new season will premiere on December 1, and in the process, make Sunny the “longest-running live-action comedy series in television history.” Tough luck, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, which… was the current record holder? Seriously? Wow.

FXX also dropped a pretty fun press release that hints at some of the trouble The Gang will get into this season, and yes, it involves running some sort of ocean-crisscrossing COVID scam because, well, of course it does:

Like a fine Irish whiskey, Sunny’s distinct flavor has gotten richer and intensified through the years. First barreled in 2005, the show has become a landmark for dark comedy and American satire, uniting the most devoted of fans from all over the country and abroad, and this monumental 15th season is truly one to crack open and celebrate. Continuing to deliver some of the hardest laughs on television while tackling society’s most pressing issues, Sunny turns its fearless focus both outward and inward: to a national and international level but also to a deeply personal level. This is a season that sees The Gang try to exploit pandemic aid, sidestep cancel culture, evade criminal justice, reflect on their origins, and reconcile their identities and homeland roots.

FXX also released a poster for the new Sunny season, which you can see below:

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 15 premieres on December 1 at 10 PM EST on FXX.

(Via Deadline)

When Boygenius came together for their self-titled EP in 2018, the indie rock world went wild. Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, and Phoebe Bridgers were climbing towards an individual peak in their careers and their music together was equally sublime. They embarked on an ambitious tour where each artist played their own set, followed by the Boygenius revue at venues that even touched the 3,000-person capacity. But the group has been on the back burner lately, as each artist as worked on their own brilliant solo albums: Little Oblivions for Baker, Home Video for Dacus (who appeared on Fallon last night), and the Grammy-nominated Punisher for Bridgers.

Now, for the first time since 2018, the trio are reuniting for a concert together and it’s a special benefit show. Taking place on November 19th in San Francisco, Boygenius will be headlining the Bread & Roses Presents Fall Benefit Concert held at the St. Joseph’s Arts Society. Bread & Roses is a storied organization — started by Joan Baez’s late sister, Mimi Fariña, in the 1970’s — that brings live music and entertainment to kids, teens, adults, and seniors in institutional settings who wouldn’t otherwise be able to experience the arts. They work with people in settings like hospitals, drug and alcohol recovery centers, mental institutions, hospice care centers, special needs schools, shelters for the abused or homeless, and a lot more. Artists like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal and Lily Tomlin have all been a part of Bread & Roses functions in the past and now Boygenius (along with opener Allison Russell) joins their ranks for the already sold-out show.

On her solo tours, Dacus notably raises money at each stop for a charitable organization local to that city, or she’d pick an organization in her native Richmond, Virginia — like Art180, an art therapy-based organization — that the whole tour would benefit. Each of the three artists also focused a lot of their efforts on raising money for charity through a broad range of livestreams during lockdown. It’s safe to say their spirit of giving back is strong.

You can donate to Bread & Roses Presents if you’re able to do so here.

In The Eye, music’s brightest up-and-comers take to a minimal studio space for intimate performances that let the songs speak for themselves. Next up is Canadian-American singer/songwriter Grandson (real name Jordan Edward Benjamin), who performs three of his biggest successes so far: “Rain,” “Dirty,” and “Blood/Water.”

It didn’t take long for Grandson to start seeing success. Benjamin started performing under the moniker in 2015, and not long after, he began dropping singles that racked up millions of plays online. His biggest hit so far is the 2017 single “Blood/Water,” which would go on to appear on his 2018 debut EP, A Modern Tragedy Vol. 1. The song found its way near the top of the US rock charts and is certified Platinum by the RIAA. He had a big song this year, too, as he teamed up with Jessie Reyez on “Rain” from the soundtrack for The Suicide Squad. Beyond that, he has also collaborated with Vic Mensa, Travis Barker, Kesha, and others.

While the studio version of “Blood/Water” is built on a foundation of acoustic guitar, its production expands beyond that to include electronic influences. For Grandson’s The Eye performance of the song, though, he takes it back to basics. Accompanied only by a guitarist, Grandson puts the focus on the relationship between his vocals and the six-string, which works wonderfully and shows off the songwriting behind the highly produced original studio recording.

He does the same thing with his rendition of “Rain,” for which he was not accompanied by Reyez. He delivered a strong solo rendition of the track, though, showing off his vocal range by letting his falsetto take center stage. As for “Dirty,” a highlight from his 2020 debut album Death Of An Optimist, Grandson succeeds in adapting the upbeat rhythm of the original song to this more stripped-down setting.

Aside from The Eye, Grandson finds himself in a great spot now. As for when he got started in music, he said in an interview with The Eye that that’s not something he can specifically pinpoint, as music has always been a significant factor for him. All he knows is that it has become a potent tool for him to tell stories, both his own and those of others who may not be able to as effectively get their points across: “As early as I can remember, music was a vehicle with which me and the people around me expressed ourselves, both the family I grew up in and the family I chose later on in life. We have all been artists, we have all sought to tell our story and amplify the voices of those who aren’t as fortunate and privileged to tell theirs.”

Watch Grandson perform “Rain,” “Dirty,” and “Blood // Water” for The Eye above.

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

Omar Apollo may have started as a songwriter in his small Indiana hometown. But after signing to a major record label and dropping his 2020 debut album Apolonio, the singer has gone on to play sold-out shows, take the stage at major festivals, and perform his songs on various late-night TV shows. The singer recently followed up his debut album with the effortlessly fun 2021 single “Go Away” and now returns to team up with another Latinx singer for a laid-back track.

Apollo and Kali Uchis shared their new collaboration “Bad Life” on Wednesday, a moody track that speaks to the experience of wishing ill will on someone after a particularly painful breakup. The tender tune showcases both singers’ room-filling vocals and cathartic songwriting.

About the song, Apollo said:

“To me, ‘Bad Life’ represents putting in energy into a relationship and not getting anything in return. It’s a song about being resentful towards somebody — wanting them to have ‘bad life’ with whoever they’re with now. I posted a snippet in January teasing it and Kali called me telling me she loved it, so I asked her if she wanted to get on it. Her voice sounds amazing on it, I love her tone.”

This isn’t the first time Apollo and Uchis have teamed up on a vibe-heavy collaboration. Last year, the duo got together to record the short-but-sultry tune “Hey Boy,” a jazzy number that clocks in at one minute and 44 seconds and originally appeared on Apollo’s debut album Apolonio.

Listen to “Bad Life” above.

Omar Apollo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.