Recent articles
September 2, 2026
Olivia Rodrigo and Cameron Crowe Go Deeper Into ‘The Cure,’ Confessional Songwriting and Daisy Chain Fields in a Grammy Museum Q&A and Acoustic Set
Filmmaker Cameron Crowe has biopics on the brain, being in late-stage development on his long-planned Joni Mitchell movie, the casting of which is still unknown. So he used his Q&A with Olivia ...
variety.com
September 2, 2026
David Byrne’s Hollywood Bowl Shows Put a Seal on One of the Greatest Rock Tours of All Time: Concert Review
Well, Brady Corbet has got his work cut out for him. That was one of the first thoughts that came to mind soon after David Byrne and company took the stage for the first of two shows at the Hollywo...
variety.com
September 1, 2026
Why Stella Lefty’s ‘Boston’ Became the Biggest Musical Punching Bag of the Decade — and One of the Biggest Songs of the Year
“I like it when you’re nice to me,” Stella Lefty sings in the hook of her breakthrough single, “Boston.” To which we can only reply right now: Hope you’re not reading the comments. Try to recall th...
variety.com
August 31, 2026
Dolly Parton Estate Sets Two-Day DollyFests for Nashville and London in 2027, Says These ‘Parties of a Lifetime’ Will Take the Place of a Public Memorial
The Dolly Parton estate has announced the first large public programs honoring the life and music of the late superstar, with events titled “DollyFest: The Celebration of a Lifetime” set to take pl...
variety.com
August 30, 2026
At Daisy Chain Fields, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan and Honored Forebears Convene for a Superb Festival That’s Hot to Go in Every Way: Concert Review
You know an inaugural festival has been a success when, after the temperature reached 95 degrees, humidity topped 80%… perspiration stains were so pervasive that it was the odd dry spots that looke...
variety.com
August 29, 2026
Sara Bareilles Sings About Loss — and It’s Our Gain — in the Beautifully Bittersweet ‘Good Grief’: Album Review
Well, just how good can grief be? That’s a question raised by Sara Bareilles’ “Good Grief,” which, true to its promissory title, deals primarily with loss and death and the kind of tough stuff that...
variety.com
August 29, 2026
Zak Starkey and the Who Have Kissed and Made Up, as Rehearsal Reunion Is Revealed
Apparently the deep and much-talked-about rift between the Who and former (and future?) drummer Zak Starkey was not quite a hell-freezes-over situation after all. Starkey, who was famously revealed...
variety.com
August 27, 2026
David Byrne’s Dazzling Tour Being Turned Into a Film by ‘Brutalist’ Director Brady Corbet, Shooting in 70mm
Ever since Jonathan Demme’s Talking Heads film “Stop Making Sense” picked up its reputation as the best concert movie of all time, David Byrne has kept designing dazzling tours, and prominent direc...
variety.com
August 27, 2026
Olivia Rodrigo Exhibit Coming to Grammy Museum, With Launch Including an On-Stage Cameron Crowe Q&A (EXCLUSIVE)
Olivia Rodrigo’s “The Cure” music video only came out three months ago, but it’s already a museum piece. An exhibit titled “Olivia Rodrigo: The Cure Unraveled” will open at the Grammy Museum in dow...
variety.com
August 25, 2026
Dolly Parton, 1946-2026, In Appreciation: A Life of Many Colors
There’s been a lot of talk about approval ratings lately, so let’s pour one out, or a few billion, for Dolly Parton, the only superstar in the history of entertainment to rise to a 100% public appr...
variety.com
August 25, 2026
Taylor Swift Sings Mashup of ‘All Too Well,’ ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ and ‘August’ in Grammy Museum Video
Most Taylor Swift fans probably do not think of the sad events of “All Too Well” and the ultimately happy “Toy Story 5” as occurring in the same cinematic or musical universe. But, to the contrary,...
variety.com
August 24, 2026
Foo Fighters and Gustavo Dudamel Blow Up the Hollywood Bowl as Conductor Blows Out the Candle on His Time With the LA Phil: Concert Review
The LA Phil has played with plenty of pop and rock acts before, but it may have taken Foo Fighters to really put the dude in Dudamel. And not a moment too soon, with this being famed conductor Gust...
variety.com
August 22, 2026
Dale Morris, Titan of Nashville Management Who Forged Superstar Careers for Kenny Chesney and Alabama, Dies at 89
Dale Morris, one of the leading names in the ranks of Nashville music managers, who helped build up superstar careers for the group Alabama and then Kenny Chesney nearly from scratch, died Friday a...
variety.com
August 22, 2026
Olivia Rodrigo Releases ‘Handmaid’s Tale’-Inspired Song, ‘Serena Joy,’ in a Tiny Run of CDs, With Digital Drop to Follow
It was already clear Olivia Rodrigo is in full feminist mode these days, with her all-female music festival, Daisy Chain Fields, set to take place in California’s Orange County next Saturday. But i...
variety.com
August 20, 2026
The Hollies Officially Call It Quits, as Last Two Members of Classic 1960s Lineup Retire After Being in Band for 63 Years
The Hollies have officially called it a day. And perhaps, like many, you didn’t even realize a version of that classic rock band was still performing. Yet the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted gr...
variety.com
August 18, 2026
C+C Music Factory Co-Founder Robert Clivillés Sues Freedom Williams for $30 Million, Alleging He Wrongfully Claimed Trademark Despite Never Being a Group Member
Whatever fallout came as a result of the canceled Freedom 250 concerts on the National Mall in Washington this summer, we can add a lawsuit that otherwise might not have happened. One prominent fig...
variety.com
August 17, 2026
Noah Kahan Turns His ‘Miserable’ Material Into Manic Elation at Triumphant Rose Bowl Stadium Show: Concert Review
“My name is Noah Kahan and I am here to make you fucking miserable!” the biggest male rock star on the charts right now announced almost at the outset of his sold-out show Saturday night at Pasaden...
variety.com
August 14, 2026
Frankie Valli Denies News Reports He Has Retired, Disavowing Brother’s Statement
Frankie Valli is telling the world that he has not retired, contrary to reports over the last few days from multiple news outlet that took at face value a statement posted by his younger brother th...
variety.com
August 14, 2026
Phoebe Bridgers Leads Delighted Fans Around the Rink at a Rollerskating Listening Party for ‘Lost Weekend’
Phoebe Bridgers tends to stand out in a crowd, and not just because of her celebrity or natural star quality, but because of the hair; other women around L.A. may go for the platinum blonde look, b...
variety.com
August 13, 2026
Ritchie Blackmore Performs With Deep Purple for First Time Since Acrimonious Split in Early ’90s, After Warning Fans: ‘I Have Not Played Rock Music in 25 Years’
Most Deep Purple fans had long since given up any hope of seeing the band ever share a stage with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore again, due to a well-know, decades-long estrangement. But that...
variety.com
August 12, 2026
The Band Perry’s Family Feud Lights Up: Neil Perry Says He Was ‘Terminated’ From Sibling Trio, as Kimberly Perry’s Husband Stepped In to Make It a Marital Duo
The Band Perry used to have sibling “blood harmony,” but now things are just looking bloody between the sister and two brothers who used to make up country music’s foremost contemporary family band...
variety.com
August 11, 2026
Kennedy Center Ordered to Pay $250,000 to Jazz Musician It Unsuccessfully Sued for Backing Out of Concert After Trump Rebranding
A judge has ruled that the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. must pay a jazz musician $252,000 in legal fees and costs, following the organization’s unsuccessful lawsuit against him for pulling ou...
variety.com
August 11, 2026
Taylor Swift Named to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Becoming Its Youngest Inductee Ever
Taylor Swift will be adding another trophy to her shelf, as the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced Tuesday that the superstar will be inducted into the hall this fall, becoming, at 36, th...
variety.com
August 11, 2026
Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ Spends 17th Week at No. 1, Now Solely Holds Fourth Place Spot Among All-Time Hot 100 Streaks
Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is unquestionably the biggest hit single of the year, and all that’s left to decide is where the seemingly unstoppable song ultimately lands among the biggest chart ...
variety.com
August 9, 2026
Phoebe Bridgers Sings about Love and Death and the Whole Damn Thing in ‘Lost Weekend,’ a Captivating Record Worth the Six-Year Wait: Album Review
If there’s anything Phoebe Bridgers knows how to do, it’s land a punch line. There are a lot of them in “Lost Weekend,” her first solo record in six years, and she doesn’t waste any time in getting...
variety.com
August 9, 2026
Ariana Grande Debuts at No. 1 on Album Chart With ‘Petal,’ Earning Her Best First-Week Numbers in Seven Years
Ariana Grande has earned her seventh No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with “Petal,” which bows in the top spot with 295,000 equivalent album units, her best opening-week figure this decade. “...
variety.com
August 7, 2026
Judy Collins on Doing a Farewell Tour While ‘Having a Lot More Steam in My Engine’: At 87, ‘I’m the Betty White of the Folk Movement’
How sweet — or suite — it still is. Judy Collins is doing a valedictory lap or two around the country on what is billed as a farewell tour, even though, at 87, she’s showing little in the way of we...
variety.com
August 6, 2026
Phoebe Bridgers Will Unveil ‘Lost Weekend’ Album in Planetariums in More Than 30 Cities
Phoebe Bridgers will premiere her “Lost Weekend” album to the public in planetariums, it was announced Thursday, with a global series of listening sessions accompanied by visual content taking plac...
variety.com
August 3, 2026
Country Songs Take All Five Slots in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 5 for the First Time in Chart History
Country music is ruling the roost like never before, at least when it comes specifically to the Billboard Hot 100. For the first time in history, country songs are claiming all five of the top five...
variety.com
July 29, 2026
St. Vincent Gets Her Phil: Annie Clark on Reimagining Her Catalog for a Full Orchestral Tour, Climaxing at the Hollywood Bowl
St. Vincent’s music goes beyond the merely dramatic, at times; it can be harrowing, if not soul-shaking, in its most intimate and passionate moments. So it’s not completely surprising that Annie Cl...
variety.com