Music

The Laurel Canyon songwriting circles of the Sixties and Seventies may be a thing of the past, but Los Angeles remains as connected as ever to its musical roots, with homegrown artists like Billie Eilish, Haim, and Kendrick Lamar carrying the torch for smart, poignant, and progressive music that crosses genres as easily as it crosses county lines. In her interview with Rolling Stone, Lana Del Rey spoke about the camaraderie of artists she found in her adopted hometown: “There’s a lot more music here,” she says, comparing Los Angeles...

Life Is Beautiful feels like Las Vegas … actual Las Vegas, not the touristy Strip about four miles south. While many festivals take place in unremarkable parking lots, dirt fields, or parks, Life Is Beautiful is baked into downtown Vegas. It may be the only large-scale festival where people actually live in houses and apartments within festival grounds.  Make no mistake about it, this is an urban festival, with all the markings of a hip downtown scene — a line of more than 30-people deep waiting to go to cocktail...

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian will release his next solo project through an augmented reality app.  On Monday, Sept. 19, the musician announced a five-track EP, Perplex Cities, which will arrive on Oct. 21. But before the full EP hits the usual streaming services, Tankian will trickle out tracks on the app Arloopa, starting today with “Pop Imperialism,” and continuing over the next four weeks. Each song will be accompanied by an AR video, in which Tankian discusses the new music and listens along to the tack.  “I’m always...

Long live Montero! Over the weekend, as fans waited to enter the MGM Music Hall ahead of Lil Nas X’s tour stop, a group of religious protesters gathered across the street, asking his stans to “repent and believe” with massive signs. In true Lil Nas X fashion, he took that seemingly negative moment and turned it into a silly, positive one, tweeting, “Just told my team to send them pizza, this is really good promo!” Lil Nas X updated his fans with a video of his team going over to...

Four days in and I'm running on fumes, but AmericanaFest continues to be a blast! After attending an enlightening Black Opry panel on Thursday and another on industry diversity on Friday I set my sights on music for the rest of Friday.Stops included The Local’s “T For Texas T For Tennessee IV,” Vinyl Tap’s Appalachian Record Company showcase and a nightcap at The Station Inn. Here’s the best things I saw from each on day four of AmericanaFest.T For Texas T For Tennessee IV at The LocalI arrived at The...

Since day one, Dolly Parton has told captivating, believable stories that speak for the people of East Tennessee without limiting themselves to regional appeal. Her debut album, 1967's Hello, I’m Dolly — released on Sept. 18 of that year — proves as much with characters ranging from one woman offering life advice to her younger sister to another ready to go Biblical and cast stones at a former lover’s bride-to-be.Read on to find out how The Boot ranks the tracks on a classic and influential 12-song collection without a dud:12“I Wasted My Tears”A...

Loretta Lynn is selling her luxurious home in a rural area outside of Nashville, and pictures show a property that's a perfect mix of classy and cozy.The Country Music Hall of Famer's 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 3,409-square-foot home in a rural community west of Music City is listed for sale for $799,000, and that price includes a residence that is "finished to a T," according to its listing. The beautiful home sits on more than five acres of rural land directly on the Harpeth River, offering more than 300 feet of direct...

Carrie Underwood was among the many top country artists who took the stage to perform tributes to Vince Gill during a CMT Giants episode devoted to the Country Music Hall of Famer. Underwood delivered a powerhouse rendition of "Go Rest High on That Mountain" that left Gill visibly emotional.Underwood hits the stage in a long, soft blue gown, with a single spotlight illuminating her as she begins to sing the song of loss, faith and ultimate redemption. She gives an understated, restrained vocal performance in the opening verse, building to...

Born Sept. 17, 1923, Hank Williams certainly packed a lot of living into his 29 short years of life. By the time the singer passed away on Jan. 1, 1953, he had already released more than 40 songs to radio -- and most of them found success on the charts.While country music has for generations mourned the loss of the music that Williams might have made had he survived his addiction problems and health issues, the now-legend still left his mark. His tunes have become country classics, and he's continued to inspire those who...

On Friday, Bad Bunny released the highly anticipated music video for “El Apagón,” a spirited ode to Puerto Rico that addresses several of the socioeconomic issues affecting the country. The song takes its title from the rolling blackouts that have plagued Puerto Ricans, especially after Hurricane María struck exactly five years ago. But, never one to shy away from what’s happening on the island, Bad Bunny surprised many by going much deeper into the track’s subject matter and  including an entire 18-minute documentary at the end of the video.  The...

On Monday evening (Sept. 12), many of country music's biggest stars came together to celebrate the life and career of Vince Gill.CMT Giants: Vince Gill will air Friday night (Sept. 16) on CMT beginning at 9PM ET. Filmed at Belmont University in Nashville, the television special will feature once-in-a-lifetime performances from Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris, Rodney Crowell and many more.Viewers will see many of Gill's closest friends and longtime collaborators take the stage to share stories, tributes and covers of the country star's biggest hits.Since the launch of Gill's solo career in the early 1980s, the Oklahoma...

There were hearts aflame both nights that Colombian popetón star Karol G played New York City as part of her  $trip Love Tour — literally. The Colombian singer, who recently kicked off her second headlining tour across North America, took the stage at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 13, marking her debut show at the hallowed venue, and then went on to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Sept. 15. Both shows started with flames igniting the upper rungs of the heart-shaped stage and the audience cheering “BI-CHO-TA!” The woman of the...

Bailey Zimmerman has announced plans for his debut project, and it's coming this fall. An EP, Leave the Light On, will be released on Oct. 14.The project will feature nine tracks, including Zimmerman's current Top 15 single, "Fall in Love." The EP is available for pre-order now. The newcomer is also releasing fan-favorite song "Never Leave," which gained traction on social media after Zimmerman shared the unfinished demo."I was in a pretty weird part of a relationship at the time, and just wanted to write something that expressed how I felt about the situation," he says of...

'The Hardest Part' "In the united hate of America," she sings. "The hearts are just as broken as the nation" Noah Cyrus just wants a love that’s real. Is that too much to ask for? On Friday, as she celebrated the release of her LP The Hardest Part, Cyrus dropped the introspective, metaphoric video for her single “I Just Want a Lover.” “In the united hate of America/The hearts are just as broken as the nation,” she sings to open the track. “Where all they do is tear each other...