John Williams

John Williams

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Anne Akiko Meyers To Honor John Williams On "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends"

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The violinist pays tribute to the prolific composer at the Recording Academy's 2018 Special Merit Awards recipient tribute concert that will air on PBS on Oct. 5
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 27, 2018 - 5:50 pm

GRAMMY-winning composer John Williams is responsible for striking a mood and setting the scene for so many classic films over the years. He composed many iconic GRAMMY-winning and -nominated scores, including for the Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones franchises. A few of the other classic films whose scores he also wrote – although there are many more – are Jaws, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan, all three of which won him a GRAMMY for Best Instrumental Composition Written For A Motion Picture Or For Television. It is hard to imagine what these movies – and so many others – would feel like if not set to his masterpieces.

Sep 27, 2018 – 5:47 pm

Anne Akiko Meyers Honors John Williams

On the upcoming broadcast of "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends," Williams, a Recording Academy Trustees Award recipient, will be honored by classical concert violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who will perform his haunting "Schindler's List."

"His absolute generosity with people, and his humanity, his person is so extraordinary," Meyers shares about Williams. "Not only is he just one of the greatest composers to ever write music, but he's so generous in his spirit and such a kind human being."

You can watch the performance during the special tribute concert that will air on PBS at 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5 (check your local listings) and will be available to stream starting the next day via pbs.org/gperf.

"GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" To Air On PBS Oct. 5

Sammy Hagar

Sammy Hagar

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Sammy Hagar To Honor Queen On "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends"

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Hagar pays tribute to fellow rockstar Freddy Mercury and his iconic band at the Recording Academy's 2018 Special Merit Awards recipient tribute concert that will air on PBS on Oct. 5
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 25, 2018 - 2:12 pm

The term rockstar itself evokes grandiose images of someone making their mark on the world by living big; not everyone who fronts a band is granted rockstar status, it must be earned. Freddy Mercury, the late lead singer of Queen was one of his generation's quintessential rockstars, with a larger-than-life persona and stage presence and an out-of-this-world vocal range to match. As the frontman of his equally legendary band Queen, he and his bandmates rocked stadiums globally throughout the '70's and '80s with hits long outlasting their reign, including "We Will Rock You," and GRAMMY-nominated classics "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Another One Bites the Dust."

Sep 25, 2018 – 2:11 pm

Sammy Hagar To Honor Queen

On the upcoming broadcast of "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends," Queen, a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement recipient, will be honored by GRAMMY winner and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar, who will perform "We Will Rock You."

"[Queen was] one of the greatest vocal bands of all time. I mean Freddy Mercury's vocal arrangements were on fire," Hagar said.

Watch the performance during the special tribute concert that will air on PBS at 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5 (check your local listings) and will be available to stream starting the next day via pbs.org/gperf.

"GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" To Air On PBS Oct. 5

Martin Garrix

Martin Garrix

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

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Martin Garrix, G-Eazy, Machine Gun Kelly & More To Play Snowfest 2019

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As the annual Sundance Film Festival kicks off on Jan. 24, special performances at Park City Live will keep Utah dancing
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 14, 2018 - 4:37 pm

Every winter, Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah draws tens of thousands of industry professionals and film buffs alike to the snowy mountain town. Meanwhile, over on Main Street, the Park City Live music venue hosts Snowfest, and this year’s lineup doesn't disappoint, with three nights of DJs ready to get you dancing: GRAMMY winner Diplo, GRAMMY nominee Kaskade and Martin Garrix, and performances by rappers G-Eazy and Machine Gun Kelly.

Diplo will kick -off the fun as Sundance opens on Jan. 24, with G-Eazy performing the next night, followed by Kelly on Jan. 28. Garrix will perform on Feb. 1, for what the venue says is the Dutch DJ/producer's "first-ever Utah appearance." Finally, Utah's own Kaskade closes the fest on Feb. 2.

Tickets for all five shows are on sale now on Park City Live's website.

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The Cure

The Cure

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Robert Smith Teases New Cure Album, Confirms Tour Dates

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The Cure frontman revealed that fans can expect the band's first new album in over a decade in early 2019
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 14, 2018 - 2:18 pm

Yesterday, on Dec. 13, the iconic GRAMMY-nominated group the Cure was announced as one of the 2019 inductees into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Following the exciting news, frontman Robert Smith shared in an interview that it's only a matter of weeks before the group finishes up work on their first studio album since 2008.

Smith's interview with SiriusXM Volume may have only been 23 seconds long, but it gave enough information to show that the legendary group who put out such '80s and '90s classics like 1987's "Just Like Heaven" and 1992's "Friday I'm In Love" definitely still have some musical gems up their sleeves.

"Primarily because of the Meltdown [music festival] thing and seeing all these new bands, I've listened to so many new bands and met so many of them, it's kind of inspired me to do something new," Smith shared. "We're going in about six weeks' time to finish off what will be our first album in more than a decade. It's very exciting times for us all around."

Meltdown, according to the organizers, is the "U.K.'s longest-running artist-curated music festival." Smith led the charge for their 25th anniversary in June 2018, which included artists like GRAMMY winners Nine Inch Nails, GRAMMY nominees Death Cab For Cutie and post-rock group Mogwai on the impressive lineup. Smith himself closed out the festival on a high note, with the Cure performing a 28-song, two-part set, for one of the group's only shows in 2018.

Shortly after Meltdown, on Sept. 21, Smith shared an excited update via Twitter: "WE WILL BE HEADLINING AROUND 20 FESTIVALS NEXT SUMMER - MOSTLY IN EUROPE - DETAILS WILL BE POSTED ON thecure.com AND facebook.com/thecure/ WHEN WE GET THEM."

Smith should probably just take over for Santa Claus this year, because indeed the Cure's site currently lists 18 European summer music festivals, including Mad Cool Fest in Madrid, plus two spring shows in South Africa, giving fans exactly 20 festivals, mostly in Europe, where you can catch the group performing.

Topping it off with new music on the way, we're currently singing "it's Friday, I'm in love."

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Apple Music

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Apple Music Removes In-App Social Sharing Function

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The streaming platform notified musicians they are taking away the Connect feed, launched in 2015 for artists to share content with fans
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Dec 13, 2018 - 6:16 pm

Apple Music has reportedly sent artists an email to notify them that the Connect social sharing feed is being phased out and they would no longer be able to use it to share content with fans. Instead, streamlined artist pages on the platform will feature new design and functionality.

As reported by Variety, Apple initially unveiled the Connect function with the launch of Apple Music (its debut into music streaming) in 2015 as a way for artists to share content directly with fans in the platform, yet "saw less traction from artists than Apple had anticipated."

As 9to5Mac, the Apple-centric site who shared the message sent to artists, pointed out, Connect was popular with artists upon Apple Music's launch, but its popularity quickly dropped off. They highlighted that many artists only have posts from several years back, consequentially pushing Apple to shift focus away from it, moving it from its own visible tab within the app to a more hidden location below music recommendations and playlists.

9to5Mac shared the content of Apple Music's email, which included the following: "We're always looking for ways to enhance our focus on artists and help them better connect to fans. So we've given Artist Pages an all-new design and added new, personalized Artist Radio."

While Connect was originally billed as a way for artists to share special content with their fans, the popularity of other preexisting social platforms like Twitter and Instagram likely had an impact on its popularity.

It sounds like Apple Music, which has recently made major moves on its main competitor Spotify, is helping perfect the craft of music discovery and artist-fan connection in the music-streaming arena.

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