Pentatonix

Pentatonix

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Pentatonix Announce New Album, Extensive North American Tour

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The GRAMMY-winning a cappella masters wow fans with announcement of new album and tour
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Feb 27, 2018 - 5:34 pm

GRAMMY-winning vocal group Pentatonix announced their plans for a full return to their pop a cappella thrones with a new album, PTX Presents: Top Pop Vol. 1, duo out April 13. At the risk of overloading their devoted fans with joy, the group also announced a sprawling 39-date North American Tour kicking off June 12 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The album will be the first in their PTX Presents series and will feature Pentatonix' recently released cover of Camila Cabello's hit "Havana."

Pentatonix: 59th GRAMMY acceptance speech

After winning back-to-back-to-back GRAMMY Awards at the 57th, 58th, and 59th GRAMMY Awards, Pentatonix eased off the gas pedal long enough for Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying to pursue their pop-duo side project, Superfruit and Kristin Maldonado to prepare for her Broadway debut. In late 2017, Pentatonix returned, introducing a new face in the group with Matt Sallee taking over bass duties for a holiday tour and single release.

The group hits the road with new album in tow this summer, stretching across the U.S. and jumping up to Canada in an ambitious run through Sept. A full list of tour dates and ticket information can be found on Pentatonix website.

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Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder

Photo: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images

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Ry Cooder To Release 'The Prodigal Son,' First New Album In Six Years

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The GRAMMY-winning guitar guru unleashes a new single from his forthcoming album to go along with news of his first North American tour in nine years
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 1, 2018 - 3:53 pm

Guitarist/songwriter Ry Cooder's long and varied career stretches back to his first band, Rising Sons, which he joined at age 16. Countless signature sessions, shows, collaborations, tours, and guitar licks later, he's come full circle, announcing his first new album since 2012's Election Special. Ahead of the release, Cooder has dropped the album's first single, "Shrinking Man."

The 11-song track list for The Prodigal Son, due out May 11, is a mixture of original material (including "Shrinking Man") and new interpretations of songs by Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Roosevelt Graves, the Stanley Brothers, and other. Cooder describes this new project as, "a deft commentary on our ailing moral state," saying in a statement, "I do connect the political/economic dimensions with the inner life of people, since people are at risk and oppressed on all sides in our world today.”

Known for his staggering mastery of his instrument, especially on slide guitar, Cooder has graced recordings by The Rolling Stones, Captain Beefheart, Little Feat, Taj Mahal, Randy Newman, and many more, in addition to his own prolific output of solo recordings since his 1970 self-titled debut. Along the way, Cooder has racked up 14 career GRAMMY nominations and six wins spanning such varied categories as Best World Music Album, Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album, and Best Recording For Children.

Cooder's return comes complete with the announcement of his first North American tour in nine years, kicking off June 3 in Alexandria, Va. and running through July 21 where it wraps up in Napa, Calif. A full list of dates and ticket info can be found on Cooder's website.

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Arctic Monkeys at the 57th GRAMMYs, 2015

Arctic Monkeys

Photo: Frank Tapper/Getty Images

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Arctic Monkey Announce New Album 'Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'

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The GRAMMY-nominated English rock band have officially announced their sixth album
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Apr 6, 2018 - 11:41 am

Less than a month before embarking on their new North American tour, GRAMMY-nominated English rock band Arctic Monkeys have announced the release of their first album in nearly five years, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, set for May 11.

The album will be their sixth studio LP and first new release since going on temporary hiatus following an extended tour in support of 2013's AM. "Do I Wanna Know?," one of AM's biggest hit singles, earned the band their third career GRAMMY nomination at the 57th GRAMMY Awards.

Along with the forthcoming record, Arctic Monkeys are preparing to hit the road for a 10-date tour of North America, starting off in Los Angeles at the iconic Hollywood Forever Cemetery on May 5. The tour will run through Aug. 5, wrapping up in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre. Tickets and show date info for the North American tour, as well as additional dates in Europe throughout the summer, can be found on the band's official website.

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Wayne Kramer of MC5 holding American flag Stratocaster

Wayne Kramer

Photo: Chris McKay/Getty Images

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MC5's Wayne Kramer Announces 50th Anniversary 'Kick Out The Jams' Tour

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The band's guitarist sets the scene for an epic celebration featuring drummer Dennis Thompson, members of Soundgarden, Fugazi, Kings X, and more
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 6, 2018 - 6:11 pm

MC5-founding guitar icon Wayne Kramer has revealed plans for a world tour in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the band's seminal 1969 album (recorded live in 1968) Kick Out The Jams. Kramer will be bringing an all-star cast on stage with him, including MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson on select dates, plus Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, King's X bassist Doug Pinnick and Zen Guerrilla vocalist Marcus Durant.

“The message of the MC5 has always been the sense of possibilities: a new music, a new politics, a new lifestyle,” Kramer said in a statement. “Today, there is a corrupt regime in power, an endless war thousands of miles away, and uncontrollable violence wracking our country. It’s becoming less and less clear if we’re talking about 1968 or 2018. I’m now compelled to share this music I created with my brothers 50 years ago. My goal is that the audience leaves these concerts fueled by the positive and unifying power of rock music.”

The trek will take this supergroup across Europe this summer before landing stateside in September, where the tour will run through the Oct. 27 closing night in MC5's hometown of Detroit. A full itinerary of the tour is forthcoming.

Kramer also announced plans to release a memoir entitled The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities. Due out Aug. 14 via Da Capo Press, the book is reportedly “an intimate portrait of Kramer’s post-MC5 life, which included a federal prison term, addiction struggles that lasted decades, reconnection with his long-absent father, finding the path to sobriety at 50, and, incredibly, first-time fatherhood” at age 65.

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Grace VanderWaal, 2017

Grace VanderWaal

Photo: Ben Gabbe/Getty Images

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Grace VanderWaal To Open For Imagine Dragons On New Arena Tour

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The rising star and "America's Got Talent" winner will join the GRAMMY-winning rock band on 40 dates of their upcoming arena tour
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Mar 5, 2018 - 5:16 pm

In the 18 months since winning the 11th season of "America's Got Talent," Grace VanderWaal has indisputably proven that singing and playing her way into the hearts of millions of viewers en route to taking home the grand prize on NBC's flagship talent competition truly was just the beginning.

Grace VanderWaal On Singing With Her Hero

And the hits just keep coming.  To wit, VanderWaal has some exciting news to share with her growing community of fans. A community which now counts some 2.5 million Instagram followers amongst its ranks, by the way. Starting this April, the young phenom will be joining GRAMMY-winning rock band Imagine Dragons as their opening act on 40 (!) show dates on the North American leg of their upcoming Evolve World Tour.

In just the last 12 months, VanderWaal has won awards, she's been featured in ranked lists of the hottest rising talent in music, she's performed at the Special Olympics, she was called one of the "biggest breakout acts" at Austin City Limits 2017, she sold out her debut headlining tour, and she released her debut studio LP Just The Beginning. In short, it's been a pretty busy year for the 14 year-old singer/songwriter.

Amid such a torrent of activity, Ii's all the more impressive that VanderWaal has also made a commitment to leverage her platform as a rising star to take action to give back to the community through working to help promote music education and music programs in schools.

Utilizing a portion of her winnings from the "AGT" competition, VanderWaal was able to partner with school officials and politicians to bring funding for arts programs back to a public school in her district where those programs had been cut. Along with donations of instruments and microphones from companies like Fender and Shure, VanderWaal put together a show choir at the school called "the Little Miracles" and performed with them in the school's auditorium. The initiative was documented by Uproxx and Honda as part of Honda's "Backstage" documentary series on rising stars.

VanderWaal's upcoming tour appearances with Imagine Dragons will kick off on April 21 at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, N.N, and run through Aug. 10, wrapping up at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa, Fla. Presale tickets for most dates went on sale on March 2. Tickets and full show date listings can be found on VanderWaal's official website.

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