Music

Mile 0 Fest was one of the few country music festivals to happen in 2020, and it was one of the first to return in 2021. Dozens of artists headed to Key West, Fla., for the April 27-May 1 event.Mile 0 usually runs in late January -- in 2020, it ended on Feb. 1, about six weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic really took hold in the United States -- but for 2021, festival organizers pushed the event back about three months. They also capped attendance at 75 percent capacity --...

Eddie Vedder delivered an updated rendition of Pearl Jam’s “Corduroy” and a cover of Little Steven’s “I Am a Patriot” during Global Citizen’s Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World. Backed by a band that included former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitiarist Josh Klinghoffer, Vedder powered through a harder, accelerated version of the Vitalogy classic. “I Am a Patriot” was similarly louder and quicker than the often-acoustic version that Pearl Jam has performed throughout the past few decades. Vedder’s latest cover also caught the attention of its songwriter, Steven Van...

On Mother's Day (May 9), Keith Urban tributed his wife, actor Nicole Kidman, in a social media post celebrating some of the special qualities that she has passed down to their two daughters, 12-year-old Sunday Rose and 10-year-old Faith Margaret."Our girls are ALL love, color, kindness and compassion, curiosity and so much more because YOU are all these things...and so much more," the singer wrote on Twitter. "We LOVE you!"The celebrity husband-and-wife duo of 14 years are known for their frequent, adoring posts celebrating one another and their sweet love story. While they...

Jennifer Lopez led a singalong of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” to kick off Global Citizen’s Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World, a Covid-compliant event at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium that marked for many both onstage and in the crowd their first concert since the pandemic began. “We’re all here in the same room,” Lopez exclaimed before bringing her own recently vaccinated mother Guadalupe Rodríguez onstage to perform “Sweet Caroline,” which her mom sang to her as a child. Keeping with the Mother’s Day theme, Lopez also delivered her single...

Thomas Rhett and his wife, Lauren Akins, are adding a fourth baby to their family.The singer shared the big news onstage during his show at the Fort Worth, Texas, honky-tonk Billy Bob's on Saturday night (May 8). The set was one of a string of shows Rhett booked for Billy Bob's in May -- some of his first full-band live shows since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.After revealing Lauren's pregnancy to the crowd in person, Rhett followed it up with a social media announcement, where he also explained the backstory behind the...

Tawny Kitaen, the model and actress who appeared in a string of Whitesnake music videos — including 1987’s iconic “Here I Go Again,” in which she danced on the hood of a Jaguar — has died at 59. Kitaen, born Julie E. Kitaen in San Diego, died in her Newport Beach, California, home, on Friday. The Orange County Coroner’s Office confirmed her death to Variety. No cause of death was provided. Kitaen costarred in the 1984 Tom Hanks comedy Bachelor Party and scored a number of TV roles in series...

Thirty-two years ago today (May 9, 1989) was one of the saddest days in the history of country music: It was on that date that Keith Whitley died, at just 33 years old.Whitley was found dead in his home by his brother-in-law, Lane Palmer, who had been with the singer-songwriter earlier that morning. The two men had coffee and made plans for a day of golf and lunch. When Palmer returned, however, he found Whitley deceased in his bed; the country star's blood alcohol level was .47, and his cause of death...

Two more women have come forward with allegations that EDM star Bassnectar sexually abused them when they were minors. The accusations were revealed Friday in an amended lawsuit that added two more women to the suit filed in April by two other accusers of the producer-DJ born Lorin Ashton. That lawsuit, on behalf of Rachel Ramsbottom and Alexis Bowling, accuses Ashton of engaging in human trafficking and manufacturing and possessing child pornography. The two new plaintiffs, Jenna Houston and Jane Doe #1, similarly detailed allegations of sexual abuse, human trafficking...

Country music legend Eddy Arnold suited the industry’s desired image during two phases of a career that spanned seven decades. Born Ray Edward “Eddy” Arnold on May 15, 1918, in Henderson, Tenn., he went from a young fan of Georgia’s Pete Cassell and other “hillbilly” crooners to a radio star in his own right at age 16.When World War II ended in 1945, Arnold’s backstory as a sharecropper’s son earned him the nickname "Tennessee Plowboy." That image suited a post-war preference for sentimentality, while his smooth vocals appealed to fans of...

Common enlists Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley for a reggae remix of “What Do You Say (Move It Baby),” a track from the rapper’s 2020 EP A Beautiful Revolution (Pt. 1). “This remix took me to another place that I had never been musically,” Common said of the song in a statement. “I’ve always been a fan of reggae music and dance hall, so to work with one of the greats has been inspiring.” The “Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley Remix” was paired with a visualization by young Jamaican artist Bonito Thompson....

On May 8, 2009, Dolly Parton gave the University of Tennessee, Knoxville graduating class a commencement speech to remember. The country icon's address mixed self-deprecating humor, anecdotes from her own life and inspirational encouragement."Do not confuse dreams with wishes," she said at one point to the 12,000-strong crowd. "There is a difference. Dreams are where you visualize yourself being successful at what’s important to you to accomplish. Dreams build convictions because you work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true. Wishes are hoping good things...

A viral moment forever stamped into my mind is DJ Khaled’s 2015 Jet Ski incident. Using his then-ascendant Snapchat account, Khaled documented a quick jaunt from his Miami beachfront mansion to his buddy Rick Ross’s nearby beachfront mansion. As millions of people watched in real-time, Khaled found himself in the dark unable to navigate home. He grew increasingly panicked, all while keeping his phone’s camera pointed at his face. “The key is to make it,” he chanted, turning to his signature catchphrase in a time of crisis. This was before...

Alan Jackson stays country with "I Can Be That Something," his new song.The country legend offers the type of classic country heartbreak song that one would hear pouring out of an old fashioned jukebox in a honky-tonk. The song finds Jackson setting himself up as a shoulder to cry on for a heartbroken woman whose lover left her out of the blue, with tear-in-your-beer lyrics suggesting that love can either fill your heart with joy or make it drown in sorrow."I can be that whiskey in your bottle / I can be that smile...

Elohim and Big Freedia exude self-confidence in their new video for “Strut.” The song will appear on the Los Angeles-based singer-producer’s upcoming four-part EP, Journey to the Center of Myself, which will be released over the course of the year. In the Chase O’Black-directed video, Elohim and Big Freedia hit the runway, embracing who they are in the empowering clip. “Fuck the sidewalk/It’s a runway,” Elohim commands on the pulsating track. “Strut, strut, strut, strut.” Flashing lights pave their paths as they revel in the freedom found in being true...