David Byrne

David Byrne

Photo: Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty Images

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David Byrne To Launch Trippy, Immersive "Theater Of The Mind" In 2020

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"It's about perception and sensory stuff, there's gonna be a lot of gummy bears and other stuff in there," the former Talking Heads frontman explained
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 7, 2019 - 5:14 pm

Today, the music and theater world got some exciting news: GRAMMY-winning multi-hyphenate and Talking Heads co-founder David Byrne is bringing his latest avant-garde art experience, "Theater of the Mind," to Denver in summer 2020. This trippy, interactive performance piece is centered on human perception and reality.

Byrne first tested out an initial version of the "Theater of the Mind" back in fall 2017 on Governors Island in New York City as "workshop performances" in partnership with 600 HIGHWAYMEN. According to his conversation with Rolling Stone, he decided to take the new run to Denver, specifically to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, because "the Denver Center for the Performing Arts have done immersive things like this before," he told the outlet.

"Not quite like this," he continued, "but they've cultivated an audience in Denver. I am so convinced that because it's about perception and sensory stuff, there's gonna be a lot of gummy bears and other stuff in there."

The "Once in a Lifetime" singer also explained a bit about the layout and interactivity of the experience, although exact run dates have yet to be revealed.

"It will be in a warehouse, where it's divided into a bunch of different rooms. A group of 16 audience members will go from room to room and experience these perceptual things. When they leave one room, another group goes in there. That way, you can get 400 people in from 6 p.m. to 10. You get the same number as if it were a theater show, but you get more in small groups," Byrne said.

"When people come out of this thing, my hope is that they will have had a really good time," he told the Denver Center.

The new Theater of the Mind Denver website, where you can sign up to be notified when tickets go on sale, reveals more details about the experience. The site says performances will begin in August 2020 and go "for several weeks." Tickets will be available in the spring

The immersive experience is co-created by Byrne and researcher/technologist Mala Gaonkar. The pair has worked together before; in 2016 they brought a theatric version of scientific research studies—which they named "The Institute Presents: Neurosociety"—to the forward-thinking Pace Gallery in Menlo Park, Calif.

"Inspired by both historical and current lab research, 'Theater of the Mind' takes you on an immersive journey inside how we see and create our worlds," its website states. "The show uses stories from their own lives to shape the narrative you'll see, feel, taste and hear.

Witness the wonders of your mind for yourself as you follow The Guide through a spectacular 15,000-square-foot installation with 16 fellow audience members. As you explore intriguing environments, participate in a narrative and try a series of sensory experiments, your Guide will question how beliefs, memories and even our identities are less fixed than we think."

Currently, Byrne is busy showcasing his critically acclaimed "American Utopia" show on Broadway, in which he and other musicians dressed in coordinating gray suits perform favorites from the Talking Heads and his solo albums, including 2018's American Utopia. As RS notes, the Broadway run was recently extended until Feb. 16, 2020.

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"WE ARE ALL WINNERS": 2020 GRAMMY Award Nominees React On Social Media

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From first-time nominees Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X to GRAMMY winners James Blake, H.E.R., Ariana Grande and The Chemical Brothers, current nominees are filling their social media with messages of gratitude and joy
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 20, 2019 - 1:06 pm

With the full 62nd GRAMMY Award nominations dropping bright and early this morning, the music industry is now wide awake and celebrating on social media.

Read on to share in the excitement with some of the 2020 GRAMMY nominees: Lizzo, James Blake, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Yola, Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande and more!

First-time nominee Lizzo is "feelin' good as hell" about her momentous eight nods, which include Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Best New Artist. She took to her Twitter bright and early, not long after the news went live to share the big mood. "THIS HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE YEAR FOR MUSIC AND IM JUST SO THANKFUL TO EVEN BE PART OF IT," she beamed in her second tweet, followed by "WE ARE ALL WINNERS." Congrats, queen!

Billie Eilish is another first-time nominee who's also up for Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year Best New Artist and more. The young anti-pop star, whose older brother FINNEAS produces her music, wrote "BETWEEN ME & MY BROTHER ITS 11 NOMINATIONS thank u grammyyys this is an honor." Talk about a sibling power duo!

Another first-time nominee and Best New Artist contender, Yola, is reveling in this big day. "I'm trying to find the right words for the @RecordingAcad nominations this morning, this is an absolute dream!!" the rising Queen of Country Soul first wrote on Twitter this morning.

Two hours later, the British songstress came up with a few more words to summarize her joy: "To be be nominated for four @RecordingAcad #GRAMMYs in the 10th month of my debut year is beyond a dream come true. Thank you to my incredible team and everyone who has supported and believed in me along the way. I'm truly honoured to be in the category with every artist nominated."

Country/trap king Lil Nas X also joined the first-time nominee rodeo with six nods, including for Best New Artist, Album Of The Year—for his debut EP, 7—and Record Of The Year for "Old Town Road."

"NO F***ING WAY" he wrote on Twitter. Yee-haw indeed, cowboy.

GRAMMY-winning alt-electro crooner James Blake, who was a Best New Artist nominee back at the 56th GRAMMY Awards, also took to social media to share the weight of this prestigious peer recognition. "Assume Form nominated for best alternative album! This one meant a huge amount to me. ahhhhhhhhh! LOVE YOU ALL," he wrote on Instagram.

Rising R&B powerhouse H.E.R., won her first two GRAMMYs at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, where she was a Best New Artist nominee. She is understandably thrilled about her five nominations this year, and gave her tweet the all-caps, multiple-exclamation-point treatment: "5 NOMINATIONS!!!! WHAAAAAT. THATS CRAZY!!!! AGAAAAAINNNNNN. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. GOD IS GREAT."

Pop queen Ariana Grande may have won her first GRAMMY earlier this year, for Sweetener, but she was still blown away by today's news. She is up for five awards this year, including for Album Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Album (the gramophone she snagged in 2019) for her 2019 follow-up, thank u, next.

In one of her excited tweets this morning she wrote, "thank u for acknowledging this music my beautiful best friends and i created in just a few weeks together. the acknowledgement is truly enough on its own for me and my heart."

GRAMMY-winning alt-rock stalwarts Cage The Elephant were stoked to earn another Best Rock Album nod, the category they won at the 59th GRAMMY Awards. The band wrote, "Such a blessing and honor to wake up this morning and see we're nominated for a GRAMMY!!! BIG LOVE!!!! @RecordingAcad #GRAMMYs2020 #GrammyNominations #GRAMMYs."

First-time nominees and Brit-rock experimenters The 1975 are celebrating their Best Rock Song nomination, sharing, "// B E S T R O C K S O N G - N O M I N A T I O N // @RecordingAcad L O V E #GRAMMYs," along with a picture featuring lyrics from the nominated song, "Give Yourself A Try."

Nigerian Afro-fusion artist Burna Boy also received his first GRAMMY nomination this year, as his major 2019 album, African Giant, is up for Best World Music Album. He joined in the conversation, retweeting a plethora of fan congrats, as well as his own post, which simply read, "African Giant #GRAMMYs @RecordingAcad!!"

Young rapper YBN Cordae officially joins the ranks of GRAMMY-nominated artists with his two first-ever nods (Best Rap Song and Best New Rap Album) for his 2019 debut LP, The Lost Boy. He shared his excitement with a tearful video of gratitude on his IG stories, as well as several tweets, one of which read, "Bro my DEBUT album got nominated for BEST RAP ALBUM..... this sh*t crazy."

He also tweeted a video of himself from just two years ago, prophesizing more was on the horizon ("This is just the beginning…give me two years"). "Don't let nobody tell you can't do whatever the f**k you put your mind too," this tweet read. Dayum, word.

While there are far too many nominees to share in this article, let's go out with pivotal U.K. electronic duo The Chemical Brothers, who are up for three GRAMMYs this year, including Best Dance/Electronic Album. They were first nominated (and won) back at the 40th GRAMMY Awards, for their classic 1997 track "Block Rockin' Beats."

"Joyful about today's 3 Grammy @RecordingAcad nominations for Best Dance/Electronic Album (No Geography), Best Dance Recording (Got To Keep On) & Best Music Video (We've Got To Try)! Love & gratitude to all that made it possible! #NoGeography #GRAMMYNoms #GRAMMYs #ChemicalBrothers," they shared.

Stay tuned to GRAMMY.com, our YouTube page, our social channels (follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and our newsletter (sign up below) for the latest on all things 62nd GRAMMY Awards. And don't forget to tune in on Jan. 26, 2020 to catch the Biggest Night In Music to find out who takes home the golden gramophones!

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2020 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominees List

GRAMMYs
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Record Of The Year Nominees Revealed | 2020 GRAMMY Awards

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Bon Iver, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, H.E.R., Khalid, Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lizzo, Post Malone and Swae Lee are the artists in consideration for the momentous award
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 20, 2019 - 5:38 am

The 2020 GRAMMYs are just around the corner, and now the nominations are in for the coveted honor of Record Of The Year. While we'll have to wait until the 62nd GRAMMY Awards air on CBS on Jan. 26 to find out who will win, let's take a look at which records have been nominated for one of the most anticipated GRAMMY Awards each year.

Following last year's expansion of eight nominees to the first four categories (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist), eight songs are in the running for Record Of The Year—"Hey, Ma" by Bon Iver, "bad guy" by Billie Eilish, "7 rings" by Ariana Grande, "Hard Place" by H.E.R., "Talk" by Khalid, "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X, featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, "Truth Hurts" Lizzo and "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee.

Record Of The Year is a cross-genre award given to the song's recording artist, the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s). We've included all of these nominees below, along with more info and music video embeds to help you dive a little deeper into the tracks.

"Hey, Ma" - Bon Iver

GRAMMY-winning Wisconsin-bred alt-rock group Bon Iver—consisting of Justin Vernon, Sean Carey, Matthew McCaughan, Michael Lewis, Andrew Fitzpatrick and Jenn Wasner—released their fourth studio album, i,i, on Aug. 9, three years since their last, the GRAMMY-nominated 22, A Million. Ahead of the LP, the group dropped two singles on June 3, "Hey, Ma" and "U (Man Like)." 

The fellow nominees for "Hey, Ma" are BJ Burton, Brad Cook, Chris Messina and Vernon, as producers, Burton, Zach Hansen and Messina as engineers/mixers and Greg Calbi as the mastering engineer.

Bon Iver is also nominated for Album Of The Year and Best Alternative Music Album for i,i. The album is also nominated for Best Recording Package, an award for the art directors of the physical LP. Back at the 54th GRAMMY Awards, the group won the coveted Best New Artist gramophone, as well as Best Alternative Music Album for their self-titled sophomore effort.

"bad guy" - Billie Eilish

Following a massive rise to fame in 2018, first-time nominee Billie Eilish released her highly-anticipated debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? on March 29, along with its fifth single, "bad guy." As with all of her music released so far, the dark-electropop artist's older brother, a fellow first-time nominee FINNEAS produced the hit single, which later spawned a Justin Bieber remix. 

"bad guy" is nominated for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance and WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? is up for Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (an engineers' award). 

Eilish is also up for the coveted Best New Artist award, bringing her to six total nominations and FINNEAS is up for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical. Rob Kinelski, who assisted FINNEAS with engineering/mixing and John Greenham, who served as the mastering engineer are nominated for their work on "bad guy." 

Check out the complete 62nd GRAMMYs Awards Nominees List

"7 rings" - Ariana Grande

Earlier this year, at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, pop princess Ariana Grande won her first-ever GRAMMY, for Best Pop Vocal Album for her 2018 No. 1 album Sweetener. 2019 also saw the release of its follow up, her fifth studio album, thank u, next, on Feb. 8, which was preceded with is second viral lead single, "7 rings," on Jan. 18. 

"7 rings" is up for Record Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, while thank u, next is in the running for Album Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. Grande, along with featured artist Social House, is also up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the non-album single "boyfriend," bringing her to five total nominations this year.

The producers, engineers and mixers of "7 rings" are also nominated for Record Of The Year their work on it: Charles Anderson, Tommy Brown, Michael Foster and Victoria Monet, as the producers, Serban Ghenea, John Hanes, Billy Hickey and Brendan Morawski, as the engineers/mixers and Randy Merrill as the mastering engineer.

"Hard Place" - H.E.R.

Following her first-ever nominations and two wins at the 61st GRAMMYs in February, R&B songstress/guitarist H.E.R. dropped another emotive track, "Hard Place," on April 26. The I Used To Know Her mixtape/compilation LP followed on Aug. 30, which combined the two EPs sharing the same name into a cohesive album, along with a handful of new songs, including "Hard Place."

The mysterious vocal powerhouse is up for five more GRAMMYs this year: Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for "Hard Place," Album Of The Year for I Used To Know Her, Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song for "Could've Been" featuring Bryson Tiller.

GRAMMY-winning hit-maker Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins shares the Record Of The Year nomination as the producer on "Hard Place;" Joseph Hurtado, Jaycen Joshua, Derek Keota and Miki Tsutsumi, as the engineers/mixers and Colin Leonard, as the mastering engineer, are also nominated for their work on the track.

"Talk" - Khalid

Past Best New Artist nominee Khalid released the sophomore follow up to his critically acclaimed, GRAMMY-nominated 2017 debut, American Teen, on April 7. The album, Free Spirit, was led by the hit single "Talk," on Feb. 7, which is currently nominated for Record Of The Year. 

The catchy electro-R&B track was produced by electronic wunderkids Disclosure and Denis Kosiak, who thus share the Record Of The Year nod. Ingmar Carlson, Jon Castelli, Josh Deguzman, John Kercy, Kosiak, Guy Lawrence (half of sibling duo Disclosure) and Michael Romero, who engineered/mixed the track, and Dale Becker, who was the mastering engineer, are also nominated for their work on "Talk."

"Old Town Road" - Lil Nas X Ft. Billy Ray Cyrus

Rising genre-nonconformist rapper/cowboy Lil Nas X wraps up a monumental debut year with his first-ever GRAMMY nominations, earning six total. His breakout hit, "Old Town Road," featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, is up for Record Of The Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video. 

The record-breaking viral hit served as the first official "remix" of the young star's self-released track, in which he reached out to the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer to add a dose of OG country twang, after the original version infamously got pulled from Billboard's country charts. It was produced by Andrew "VoxGod" Bolooki and YoungKio, with Bolooki and Cinco serving as engineers/mixers and Eric Lagg, as mastering engineer—all of whom share the Record Of The Year nod.

Galloping forth with the smash success of "Old Town Road," Lil Nas X dropped his debut EP, 7—featuring the original and Cyrus versions of the hit—on June 21. The EP is up for Album Of The Year, and one of its other hit singles, "Panini" is up for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Lil Nas X is among the eight bright contenders for Best New Artist. 

"Truth Hurts" - Lizzo

Rapper/singer/flautist/twerk queen Lizzo has earned her first-ever GRAMMY nominations this year, rounding up eight total nods. The self-love-affirming bop maker is up for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for 2017's "Truth Hurts" alone, as well as the prestigious Best New Artist award. 

As the producers of "Truth Hurts," Ricky Reed and Tele also share the Record Of The Year nod, along with Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin and Ethan Shumaker, the engineers/mixers, and Chris Gehringer, the mastering engineer.

Additionally, her 2019 major label debut (and third LP overall), Cuz I Love You, is up for Album Of The Year and Best Urban Contemporary Album. Two of its singles, "Exactly How I Feel," featuring Gucci Mane, and "Jerome" are nominated as well—for Best R&B Performance and Best Traditional R&B Performance, respectively. 

"Sunflower" - Post Malone & Swae Lee

Finally, the eighth song in the running is the hit down-tempo track from Post Malone and Swae Lee, "Sunflower," from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack. The two versatile young rap stars add two more nominations to their belt for the 62nd GRAMMYs; "Sunflower" is also up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Louis Bell and Carter Lang share the Record Of The Year nomination as producers, as well as Manny Marroquin, who engineered/mixed the album with Bell.

Stay tuned to GRAMMY.com, our YouTube page and our social channels (follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) for the latest on all things 62nd GRAMMY Awards. 

Jesse & Joy

Jesse & Joy

Photo: Jason Koerner/Getty Images

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Jesse & Joy, Pablo Lopez, Fito Paez & More To Perform At Latin Recording Academy Person Of The Year

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On the eve before the 20th Latin GRAMMYs, Rosalía, Alejandro Sanz, Sebastián Yatra, Ozuna and many more will celebrate Juanes as the Latin Recording Academy's Person Of The Year, with special performances of the Colombian icon's music
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 7, 2019 - 1:08 pm

Today, the Latin Recording Academy announced the performers for their prestigious Person Of The Year gala, which will be held next week, Nov. 13, in honor of 23-time Latin GRAMMY winner and two-time GRAMMY winner Juanes, who was previously announced as their POTY.

The star-studded, pre-Latin GRAMMY Awards show event will feature performances by current Latin GRAMMY Awards nominees Rosalía, Alessia Cara, Ozuna, Fonseca, Juan Luis Guerra, Mon Laferte, Alejandro Sanz—who was their 2017 POTY!—and more.

All of the musical guests will perform songs from Juanes' rich, three-decades-long musical catalog. Other artists announced in today's announcement include fellow current Latin GRAMMY nominees Sebastián Yatra, Cami, Morat, Draco Rosa and Paula Fernandes.

Past Latin GRAMMY- and GRAMMY-winning Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy, past Latin GRAMMY-winning and GRAMMY-nominated rock pianist Fito Páez and past Latin GRAMMY nominated singer/songwriter Pablo López will also serve up their best renditions of Juanes hits. Australian guitar slayer Orianthi will also take the stage, as well as Colombian comedian Andrés López.

This year's event will also showcase the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation scholarship recipients, featuring the Foundation's global ambassador Sofia Carson. Net proceeds from the sold-out gala will support the Foundation, "whose mission is to further international awareness and appreciation of the significant contributions of Latin music and its makers to the world's culture through scholarships, grants, and educational programs. The Foundation's primary charitable focus is to provide scholarships to students interested in Latin music with financial need, as well as grants to scholars and organizations worldwide for research and preservation of diverse Latin music genres."

A portion of these proceeds will also benefit Juanes' Colombia-based nonprofit, Fundación Mi Sangre. Founded in 2006, the organization aims to help young people heal from and overcome violence, to help them "exercise their powers as builders of peace" and create more peaceful, connected communities.

The Ricky Martin-hosted 20th Latin GRAMMY Awards is just one week away, on Nov. 14, the evening after POTY. Juanes is up for three awards, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year for "Querer Mejor," his 2019 duet with Cara—the first time the GRAMMY-winning pop star recorded in Spanish. For his third nomination, Juanes is also up for Record Of The Year for his upbeat track with Lalo Ebratt, "La Plata."

To catch all the excitement of the Biggest Night In Latin Music, tune into Univision on Nov. 14 at 8-11 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT).

 Stay tuned to GRAMMY.com, as well as @RecordingAcad and @LatinGRAMMYs on Twitter next week, to find out what went down at POTY and to catch the biggest wins and onstage magic from the show itself.

Ricky Martin To Host The Biggest Night In Latin Music 19 Years After Performing At Inaugural Show

Bikini Kill in 2019

Bikini Kill in 2019

Photo: Debi Del Grande

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Bikini Kill Announce Dates For 2020 World Tour, Including Olympia Benefit Show

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On March 13, 2020, the legendary Riot Grrrl founders/'90s punk group will return to where it all began—Olympia, Wash., for a special show benefiting local homeless shelter Interfaith Works
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 6, 2019 - 4:13 pm

Today, the iconic '90s punk group Bikini Kill announced a 14-date 2020 world tour, kicking off where the band was founded, in Olympia, Wash. on March 13. This first show, at Capitol Theater, is a special one, as it will benefit local female- and LGBTQ- focused homeless shelter, Interfaith Works.

The 2020 tour will also bring the iconic Riot Grrrls to U.S. cities, including Seattle, Portland, Ore, Philadelphia and Boston during the months March and May. Internationally, they'll touch down in Victoria, B.C., Montreal and Oslo. The Norway date, which will take place at Øya Festival on Aug. 12, is currently slated to be the final show of the jaunt.

The 2020 tour follows Bikini Kill's reunion at the beginning of the year, which led to four sold-out shows total in New York and Los Angeles from punk queens Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox and Erica Dawn Lyle. They also played their first-ever festival headline set, at 15th anniversary Riot Fest in Chicago in September.

The "Rebel Girl" group also recently reissued two of their classic albums on vinyl and CD, Pussy Whipped and Reject All American, from 1993 and 1996, respectively. Both have been out of print for seven years, and proceeds the release of their entire musical catalog on streaming services (Apple Music, TIDAL and Spotify) last fall.

Tickets for their 2020 tour go on sale this Fri., Nov. 8 at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET, with a fan presale beginning 24 hours earlier. A presale code will be sent out via the Bikini Kill newsletter, which you can sign up for on their homepage.

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