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Press Play At Home: Watch The Marías Deliver A Soothing Performance Of "Un Millón"

The Marías

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Press Play At Home: Watch The Marías Deliver A Soothing Performance Of "Un Millón"

On the latest episode of the Press Play At Home performance series, watch alternative-pop band the Marías perfectly capture the warm feeling of love in their performance of "Un Millón"

GRAMMYs/Sep 17, 2021 - 12:51 am

True love can feel hypnotic. On the latest episode of the Press Play At Home performance series, alternative-pop band The Marías perfectly capture the mesmeric feeling of love with their warm performance of "Un Millón."

Serving as a love letter to lead singer María Zardoya's birthplace, Puerto Rico, "Un Millón" allows her to sweep the listener off their feet by pairing her commanding yet calm stage presence with her soothing delivery of the song's passionate lyrics.

As masterful as the song may sound, "Un Millón" almost didn't make it onto the Marías' recently released debut album, CINEMA, and serves as the alternative-pop band's introduction into reggaeton-inspired music.

"This is the first reggaeton-inspired track that we created," María tells GRAMMY.com. "I grew up listening to reggaeton, and we were curious to see what it would sound like if we tried making a reggaeton track."

Check out the Marías' powerful performance of "Un Millón" above and explore more episodes of Press Play At Home below.

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Press Play: Marley Bleu Honors An "Unintentional" Love In This Intimate Performance
Marley Bleu (right) and her keyboardist.

Photo: Courtesy of Marley Bleu

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Press Play: Marley Bleu Honors An "Unintentional" Love In This Intimate Performance

R&B newcomer Marley Bleu offers a stripped-down performance of "Unintentional," her debut single with Republic Records.

GRAMMYs/Nov 7, 2023 - 08:38 pm

Sometimes love can catch you off guard — and in Marley Bleu's case, she may have found the perfect partner unintentionally.

"'Cause your love is so intentional/ Wrong time, I think I found the right one," the rising R&B star sings in her latest single, "Unintentional." "You're here, don't know where you came from/ What we got is so unintentional."

In this episode of Press Play, the Los Angeles native sings a stripped-down version of "Unintentional," supported by a keyboardist. The pair perform on her living room sofa, emphasizing the track's intimate nature.

"Unintentional," which originally features Pink Sweat$, is Bleu's major label debut under Republic Records. Her next single, "goodmorning," is slated to arrive later this year.

Bleu found her roots in performing from a musical family. Her great-great uncle is the late Chuck Berry, and her father, Al Berry, played bass guitar for industry titans like Nile Rodgers, Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne.

Watch the video above to hear Marley Bleu's live performance of "Unintentional," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.

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Press Play: Gavin Magnus Feels Like A "Psycho" In This Impassioned Performance of His Latest Single
Gavin Magnus

Photo: Courtesy of Gavin Magnus

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Press Play: Gavin Magnus Feels Like A "Psycho" In This Impassioned Performance of His Latest Single

Alternative singer and social media star Gavin Magnus performs "Psycho" from a music studio, accompanied by just an acoustic guitar.

GRAMMYs/Oct 31, 2023 - 06:06 pm

Gavin Magnus knows firsthand what it's like to love someone who only causes you pain — and he narrates the reality of toxic relationships in his swirling new single, "Psycho."

"You were never there for me when I needed you most/ But you would stick around and watch it all go up in smoke," Magnus sings on the second verse. "Burn my bridges down until there's only ashes left/ But the flames, they never rest at all."

In this episode of Press Play, Magnus delivers a performance of "Psycho" from a music studio, stripping down the song with just an acoustic guitar.

Released in September, "Psycho" marks Magnus' debut single under Big Noise Music Group. Earlier this year, he released two more solo tracks, "Exit" and "Lonely."

Along with his work as an artist, Magnus is a prolific content creator with over 6 million subscribers on YouTube and 2 million followers on TikTok. And on Nov. 10, he'll take his music career to the next level with the release of his debut project, Blurry Eyes.

Watch the video above to hear Gavin Magnus' cathartic, acoustic performance of "Psycho," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.

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How Las Vegas Became A Punk Rock Epicenter: From When We Were Young To The Double Down Saloon
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day performs a"not-so-secret" show at Las Vegas' Fremont Country Club

Photo: Fred Morledge 

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How Las Vegas Became A Punk Rock Epicenter: From When We Were Young To The Double Down Saloon

Viva Punk Vegas! It might have seemed unthinkable a decade ago, but Sin City is "the most punk city in the U.S." GRAMMY.com spoke with a variety of hardcore and legendary punks about the voracious vibe in Vegas that lends itself to punk spirit.

GRAMMYs/Oct 25, 2023 - 04:28 pm

These days, what happens in Vegas, slays in Vegas when it comes to the harder side of music.

It might have seemed unthinkable a decade ago, but as Fat Mike of NOFX and Fat Wreck Chords has been putting out there for a while now, Sin City is basically "the most punk city in the U.S." at the moment. Some might find this statement debatable, but Vegas has long attracted subculture-driven gatherings, from Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekend to the all-metal Psycho Las Vegas to the mixed bag that was Las Rageous. The latest slate of huge punk and punk-adjacent music events (from Punk Rock Bowling and When We Were Young to the just-announced new lineup of Sick New World 2024) back his claim even further. 

Mike’s own Punk Rock Museum, which opened in April of this year, has cemented the city’s alternative music cred — even as it’s still best known for gambling, clubbing, and gorging at buffets. 

In fact, A lot of the audacious new activity is centered away from the big casinos and in the downtown area and arts district of what is known as "old Vegas." Just outside of the tourist-trappy, Times Square-like Fremont Experience, there’s a vibrant live music scene anchored by a few key clubs, and an ever-growing slate of fests.

Attendees at 2022's When We Were Young Festival┃Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/FilmMagic

Live Nation’s second annual When We Were Young Festival brought out a largely Millennial crowd to see headliners Green Day and blink-182 this past weekend, alongside over two dozen more recognizable openers from emo/pop-punk's heyday. Tickets sold so well when it was first announced, that a second day was added to the schedule.

Green Day didn’t stop with their fest gigs; the band played a "not-so-secret" pop-up show last Thursday night at one of the most popular venues in town for punk, alternative and heavy music: Fremont Country Club, just blocks from festival grounds. The show served as a warm-up gig as well as an announcement by Billie Joe Armstrong: His band will join Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and others for a 2024 stadium tour. The band also debuted a timely new track, "The American Dream Is Killing Me."  

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"People who like punk and other heavy music want to be in a club environment like ours, not a big casino," says Carlos "Big Daddy" Adley, owner of Fremont Country Club and its adjacent music space Backstage Bar & Grill. Both have become live music hotspots not unlike the ones Adley and his wife/partner Ava Berman ran in Los Angeles before they moved to Vegas over a decade ago. 

"Fremont East," as the neighborhood is called, will soon see a boutique hotel from the pair. Like everything they do, it will have a rock n’ roll edge that hopes to draw both visitors and locals.

Outside Fremont Country Club┃Photo: Fred Morledge

The duo told GRAMMY.com that a visit to Double Down Saloon, Sin City’s widely-recognized original punk bar and music dive was what first inspired them to come to Vegas and get into the nightlife business there. Double Down has been slinging booze (like Bacon Martinis and "Ass Juice" served in a ceramic toilet bowl mug) and booking live punk sounds since it opened back in 1992.

"It's kind of a stepping stone for a lot of bands," says Cameron Morat, a punk musician and photographer, who also works with the Punk Rock Museum as curator of its rockstar-led tour guide program. "People always assume that Vegas is just the strip, but that's only like four miles long. There's a lot more of the ‘‘other city.’ There are people who are just into music and into going to local shows who don't ever go to the main strip."

In addition to the Double Down, Morat says Vegas has always had a history of throwing local punk shows at spaces like the Huntridge Theater, which is currently being remodeled and set to re-open soon for local live music. He also points to The Usual Place as a venue popular with local punk and rock bands now, and The Dive Bar — a favorite with the mohawk, patched-up battle vest scene, featuring heavy music seven nights a week, including a night promoted by his partner Masuimi Max called Vegas Chaos.  

Cameron Morat┃Photo: Kristina Markovich

While glitzy stage shows from legacy artists and mega-pop hit makers like Usher, Elton John, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Gwen Stefani and Lady Gaga still get the most media attention, raucous local shows are starting to factor into a new generation’s vacation planning, too.

"There’s a really good scene here," Morat proclaims. "It's funny because a lot of people, the sort of gatekeepers of punk, ask ‘why is the punk museum in Vegas?’ But it is a punk city, and not just because you've got all the local bands and the venues."

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Morat, whose own band Soldiers of Destruction, plays around town on occasion, also notes other acts such as Gob Patrol, Suburban Resistance, and Inframundo as having fierce local followings. He says there’s a certain voracious vibe in Vegas that lends itself to punk rock creation, performance and attitude. "A lot of the anger from punk rock — like the disparity of wealth, for instance, is here," he says. "Five minutes down the road, you've got people throwing away a million on the roll of a dice. But you've also got people who are doing like three jobs just trying to pay their rent." 

Over at the Punk Rock Museum, Morat, who moved from Los Angeles to Vegas about seven  years ago, is keeping busy booking big-name guests to share inspirations and war stories, both weekly, and specifically timed with whatever big festival or event happens to be in town. He says he wants to feature artists that might not be thought of as traditional punk rock, but who have relevant backgrounds and stories to share. 

"A lot of these people have punk history the public doesn’t know about," he says. "I think if we just stick to a very small well of people, it's going to get pretty boring. So I'm trying to open it up for a bigger cross-section." 

Imagery from "Black Punk Now" | Ed Marshall

The museum is already showing the breadth of punk rock’s influence on music in general. During WWWY, the museum held events tied to its new exhibit "Black Punk Now," curated by James Spooner, director of the 2003 documentary Afro-Punk. As Spooner spoke about the film’s 20th anniversary and his new book of Black punk authors, musicians playing the weekend’s festivities from Sum 41, MxPx, Bayside, Less Than Jake came through to talk too. Warped Tour’s Kevin Lyman and Fat Mike himself also took part in the museum’s new after-dark guided tour series.

Bringing in a wider audience and a new generation of rebellious kids who seek to channel their angst and energy into music is part of what the museum — and, it seems, the myriad of events in Las Vegas these days — is all about. Despite what some punk rock purists and gatekeepers might say, the inclusion of tangent bands and scenes is in the original punk spirit. He’ll be booking guests tied to next year’s Sick New World, the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly bash and even EDC in the future (electronic bangers are not unlike hardcore ones and even Moby was a punk before he became a DJ). 

"I think that the museum is great for the punk scene here," he adds. "People will literally come to town just to see the museum, and then if there's a band playing in town in the evening, they'll go. So it's broadening the support for all the bands, local and touring. Some punk bands used to skip Vegas completely on their tours, but not anymore." 

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Press Play: Lindsey Lomis Delivers A Stripped-Down Performance Of Her New Single, "Outta Sight (On My Mind)"
Lindsey Lomis

Photo: Courtesy of Lindsey Lomis

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Press Play: Lindsey Lomis Delivers A Stripped-Down Performance Of Her New Single, "Outta Sight (On My Mind)"

Up-and-coming pop singer Lindsey Lomis offers an acoustic take on her first independent single in nearly four years, "Outta Sight (On My Mind)."

GRAMMYs/Oct 17, 2023 - 05:03 pm

Like the old saying goes, out of sight often means out of mind. But pop singer Lindsey Lomis has someone consuming her thoughts everywhere she goes — whether she's out with her friends or alone in her bedroom. And she's just as surprised by her behavior as everyone else may be.

"No, they've never seen me like this/ Woah, I've never seen me like this," Lomis sings in the second verse of "Outta Sight (On My Mind)." "You're outta sight, but you're on my mind/ Thinkin' 'bout how I'm thinkin' bout you all the time."

In this episode of Press Play, Lomis delivers a stripped-down rendition of her latest release, performing the track in her bedroom with an acoustic guitar.

The track — which Lomis dropped on Sept. 22 — marks her first independent release in almost four years. Earlier this year, she dropped an EP, Universe, via Warner Records.

Lomis recently wrapped up a tour supporting Bruno Major. She also toured with Joshua Bassett on his Complicated Tour this past spring, before headlining six of her own shows in June.

Watch the video above to hear Lindsey Lomis' sweet performance of "Outta Sight (On My Mind)," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play.

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