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How to watch (and stream) the Eurovision Song Contest final
Acts from more than two dozen countries will take the stage in Malmo, Sweden, to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. The action kicks off Saturday at 9 p.m. Central European Summer Time, which is 8 p.m. in Britain and 3…
Grupo Frontera’s hybrid Mexican music went global. On a new album, their genre-melding has no limits
A lot can happen in two years. Just ask Grupo Frontera, who released their highly anticipated sophomore album, “Jugando Que No Pasa Nada,” Friday. The sextet began their career playing quinceañeras in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. Viral fame…
Country star Cindy Walker posthumously inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame
Country star Cindy Walker was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Walker, who wrote countless hits across her six-decade career, was celebrated for her immediate, unpretentious songwriting style. The hall announced the…
Life after Florida Georgia Line: Brian Kelley ready to reintroduce himself with new solo album
Best known as one-half of the country super-duo Florida Georgia Line, Brian Kelley will release a solo album, “Tennessee Truth," on Friday. It is a collection of 12 anthemic, arena-sized country songs ripe for a road trip and tailgate in…
Eurovision explained, from ABBA to Zorra, as the Israel-Hamas war overshadows the song contest
Scores of musicians, hundreds of journalists and thousands of music fans are gathering in the Swedish city of Malmo, where the Eurovision Song Contest is building towards Saturday’s exuberant, glitter-drenched final. Thirty-seven countries…
Music Midtown, popular Atlanta music festival, canceled this year
A music festival that draws tens of thousands of people to Atlanta’s Piedmont Park will not take place this year. Posts Wednesday on the Instagram page and website of Music Midtown, a longtime fixture for pop music lovers, says the festival…
Washington Opera offers new ending to Puccini’s final work
Ever since Giacomo Puccini died in 1924 without finishing his last opera, “Turandot,” audiences have thrilled to its soaring melodies like “Nessun Dorma,” but also perhaps lamented the lack of a proper ending. The version most audiences…
Music Review: Sebastian Bach’s ‘Child Within the Man’ makes the case for a Skid Row reunion
Sebastian Bach's latest solo album, “Child Within the Man,” is a reminder that every once in a while, a man and a moment meet.
This is that time for Bach and his former band Skid Row. The vintage-sounding album has everything that made Bach…
Music Review: Kings of Leon electrify with new album that nods to the past, ‘Can We Please Have Fun’
Kings of Leon pose an existential question to listeners on the first single from their new album: Are you a mustang or are you a kitty? Well, turning that around: Which Kings of Leon are we getting now? The purring arena-rockers or an edgy,…
The Eurovision Song Contest kicked off with pop and protests as the war in Gaza casts a shadow
Competition in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Tuesday in Sweden. The war in Gaza is casting a shadow over the sequin-spangled pop extravaganza. The event began with the first of two semi-finals in the Swedish city of Malmo,…
Inside the Met Gala: A fairytale forest, woodland creatures, and some starstuck first-timers
Many celebrities are Met Gala regulars, invited again and again. Then there are the first-timers, who often express a bit of starstruck awe and even a case of occasional nerves, like a kid arriving at a new school. The K-pop band Stray Kids…
Music Review: Brad Mehldau connects Bach, Fauré to jazz on albums, ‘After Bach II’ and ‘Après Fauré’
Grammy-award winning jazz pianist Brad Mehldau connects the dots as though they were so many 16th notes.
His two new albums, “After Bach II” and “Après Fauré,” use classical music as a foundation for solo explorations that draw a through…
With help from AI, Randy Travis got his voice back. Here’s how his first song post-stroke came to be
With artificial intelligence, country music star Randy Travis has his voice back. In 2013, the Travis was hospitalized with viral cardiomyopathy and later suffered a stroke. He now has aphasia, a condition that limits his ability to speak.…
Music Review: Dua Lipa’s ‘Radical Optimism’ is controlled dance pop
NEW YORK (AP) — In the chorus of “Whatcha Doing," the fifth track on Dua Lipa's latest album, she sings: “But if control is my religion / And I'm headed for collision / Lost my 20/20 vision," referencing the unexpected pull of a new…
Singer-songwriter Jessica Pratt’s latest album is a distinct shift from her austere sound
When Jessica Pratt released her debut self-titled album in 2011, the singer-songwriter was critically praised for her austere guitar and hypnotic voice. She says it had virually no post-production. The album’s imperfections were a feature…