the Beatles

the Beatles

Photo: Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images

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Peter Jackson To Assemble New Beatles 'Let It Be' Film From Archival Footage

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The "Let It Be" sessions have more than 50 hours of archival footage that will be culled through and re-edited for the new project
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Jan 30, 2019 - 3:35 pm

After the release of Abbey Road in 1969, the Beatles stopped recording together but the previous sessions of Let It Be were released in 1970. The album was released on May 8 and the film of the same name debuted in New York City on May 13. Now a new film is being prepared by director Peter Jackson of Lord Of The Rings fame based on more than 50 hours of never-before-seen footage.

For his first documentary, 2018's They Shall Not Grow Old, Jackson combined archival footage with 3D modeling to recreate British soldiers during World War I. Jackson's remarks about Let It Be raised expectations more realistic FX will be used for the Beatles too. "This movie will be the ultimate 'fly on the wall' experience that Beatles fans have long dreamt about," said Jackson. "It's like a time machine transports us back to 1969, and we get to sit in the studio watching these four friends make great music together."

Let It Be's title track and "The Long And Winding Road" both reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1970, and "Get Back" had already been a hit in a previous Billy Preston version. "Get Back" was a protest song, ridiculing politicians who whipped up voters' fears of outsiders. On Jan. 30, 1969 the Beatles were recording a third take of "Get Back" with Preston on the roof of their Savile Row Apple Corps headquarters as police arrived to shut down their now historic performance. The sense that this protest song was the Beatles' final public performance took on a greater meaning that stuck with the version on the album as well.

Accoriding to a statement, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison are all cooperating on the project, adding the excitement.

Giles Martin On Reissuing The Beatles' 1968 Enigma 'The White Album'

Cher

Cher

Photo: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images

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Cher Adds More 2019 Performance Dates In North America

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The diva adds to her demanding 2019 tour schedule while her recent albums chart at career highs
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 29, 2019 - 2:53 pm

Cher's Here We Go Again Tour has added 14 new North American stops in November and December of 2019. This year is keeping the GRAMMY-winning diva busy as she finishes one of her residency series at MGM Resorts' Park Theater in Las Vegas tonight and tomorrow night.

Touring with special guests Nile Rodgers and Chic, Cher's first of the new dates is Nov. 19 in Portland, Ore. with performances in Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Toronto through the end of the month. Next stop is Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 3, then heading south through Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., and New Orleans. The beat goes on in mid-December at Houston and San Antonio, followed by the last of the new dates in Dallas, Texas on Dec. 19 at the American Airlines Center.

If that sounds like a busy itinerary, glance at what Cher has going on before then. Beginning Apr. 18 in Pittsburgh, Penn., she'll be completing previously announced dates in North America and Canada through the end of May. In August, Cher returns to Park Theater in Las Vegas for another round of performances. Then from late September through early November she'll be visiting European capitals including multiple concerts in Germany and the UK including at London's O2 arena on Oct. 20 and 21.

After three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles in the early 70's, as a solo artist, in 1999 Cher's "Believe" went to No. 1 again and won Best Dance Recording at the 42nd GRAMMY Awards. Both 2013's Closer To The Truth and 2018's Dancing Queen reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album charts, Cher's career high to date.

Tickets for Cher's Nov. and Dec. performances go on sale on April 5 to the general public at Live Nation's website, with pre-sales opening on April 2.

Cher, Reba McEntire, "Hamilton" Receive Kennedy Center Honors

Cardi B

Cardi B

Photo: Randall Michelson/Getty Images

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Transformed Las Vegas Palms Counts Down To "Unstatus Quo" Relaunch

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Guests get their first look at the $690 million renovation's results next week
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 28, 2019 - 2:21 pm

Las Vegas, get ready to "Get On The Good Foot," as per the James Brown song providing both the promotional video soundtrack and the core philosophy behind the Palms Casino Resort's "Unstatus Quo" mega renovation. Set to open next week, the new Palms thinks of itself as "different by design" and seeks to share how they have "completely reimagined" the Las Vegas excursion experience, including the debut of their Kaos nightclub and dayclub venues.

The video, directed by GRAMMY winner Sam Brown, is a vision-statement featuring celebrities from sports and the fine arts as well as musical talents including GRAMMY winner Cardi B, Marshmello, Ezra Miller, Rita Ora, and Latin GRAMMY nominee Ozuna.

Anticipation during this lead-up is intense. The Palms invested $690 million to embody its bid for restored relevance as a cultural destination. Restaurants, gaming, luxury suites, multiple music venues and residencies, surrounded by museum-caliber fine art are about to be put to their first real-world test — combining graciously together into an unforgettable get-away.

A signed Cardi B microphone and one of Marshmello's signature helmets are among the giveaways in the "Unstatus Quo" video, which can be unlocked in daily YouTube Card promotions from Mar. 29 to Apr. 5. The Palms website has also been redesigned so that visitors' digitally interactive experience blends seamlessly with the Palms' on-site hospitality.

The attitude, vision and commitment are reassuring. The new Palms' first guests will judge their success in just a few days.

KAOS Las Vegas To Feature Sets From J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Ozuna, Deadmau5, Eric Prydz & More In April

Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

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Childish Gambino And Kacey Musgraves To Headline Outside Lands 2019

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Lineup for August is filled with artists prominent at the 61st GRAMMY Awards
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 26, 2019 - 5:29 pm

The Outside Lands festival is coming to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on the weekend of Aug. 9–11. They announced their lineup this morning including 61st GRAMMY Awards Record Of The Year winner Childish Gambino and Album Of The Year winner Kacey Musgraves. Gambino aka Donald Glover also won for Best Music Video, Best Rap/Sung Performance and Song Of The Year. Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour also won Best Country Album. Her track "Space Cowboy" won best Country Song and "Butterflies" won Best Country Solo Performance. The overlap between Outside Lands and winning at the 61st Awards doesn't stop there.

Other 61st winners in Outside Lands' lineup announced on March 26 are Leon Bridges, Lauren Daigle, Ella Mai, PJ Morton, and Anderson .Paak. Nominees from this year's show include Bebe Rexha and Tierra Whack. Tyler Joseph from Twenty One Pilots was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 61st as well.

The Outside Lands lineup is filled with winners of GRAMMY awards from other years as well. The list includes Edie Brickell, Flume, Lil Wayne, Paul Simon, and Mavis Staples. Blink-182, Counting Crows, Hozier, the Lumineers, and Bob Moses are among the artists in the lineup who've previously been nominated for GRAMMY awards.

GRAMMY wins and nominations are recognition for artists but the lesser-known acts coming to Golden Gate Park in August are also exciting and well worth a listen. We've covered San Holo, Yaeji and others. With a lineup this entertaining, the experience in the park this summer is bound to be fantastic.

Tierra Whack Talks Creative Process, Netflix Recommendations And Checkers' Fries

Brooklyn Record Exchange

Brooklyn Record Exchange

Photo: Courtesy of Mexican Summer

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Indie Label Mexican Summer Launches Brooklyn Record Exchange Vinyl Expansion

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Indie locals join forces to expand into the retail space and bring BRE to Bushwick
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 26, 2019 - 3:24 pm

Brooklyn, New York's Bushwick area is getting an expanded new record store as proprietors set to soft-launch Brooklyn Record Exchange on March 28, with a full opening this Saturday, on March 30. The space is expanded from the much-loved Co-Op 87 with the help of nearby Greenpoint indie label, Mexican Summer Records, home to artists including Best Coast, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Jessica Pratt, and Weyes Blood.

More than just an expanded Co-Op 87, the Brooklyn Record Exchange fulfills the hopes that started the shop as well as bringing together other local creative forces. Mike Hunchback and Ben Steidel began Co-Op 87 and Keith Abrahamsson and Andrés Santo Domingo founded Mexican Summer Records. All four men are behind the BRE launch.

The new storefront vinyl shop shares a compound with major local music landmark called Elsewhere, a reconfigured industrial space hosts multiple venues, unexpected niches, and reconditioned office space. It also attracts a great deal of young-adult foot traffic and is part of the greater Bushwick Collective effort to enrich the local scene.

"The biggest benefit is just being able to design it from the ground up," said Seidel. With rack after rack of vinyl titles to choose from, the expansion matches demand and should add to Bushwick's cultural capital as a hip locale.

Legacy Recordings To Drop Live Performances From Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley & More For Record Store Day