MOJO : Patti Smith At St Paul’s Cathedral Reviewed: A transcendent rock and roll communion (by Lucy O'Brien) →

Gentle dub reggae plays through speakers by the North Transept inside St Paul’s Cathedral, while ushers show people to their seats. Hosted by nightclub Fabric, this is an unusual collaboration for a 350-year-old place of worship better known for grand royal weddings, funerals and classical concerts. The seating area is packed to its 2000 capacity, as club kids mingle with a rock crowd, and there’s a palpable sense of anticipation. [...] Starting with spoken word lines from the poem Cry Humanity: “Blessed are the children who will rebuild our world”, Patti Smith moves into the tribal, hypnotic chant of Easter’s Ghost Dance. [...] Subtle, careful arrangements – like Shanahan’s plangent notes on the grand piano – become huge and resonant as they float to the cathedral walls.

Read More

Delta Business Journal : Cash Named Recipient of Crossroads Music Award →

Four-time GRAMMY®-winning singer/ songwriter Rosanne Cash will be the recipient of the sixth annual Crossroads of American Music Award at GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi’s 2024 Gala, which will take place at the Museum in Cleveland, on October 3, at 6 p.m. [...] “As one of the most profound singer/songwriters of her generation, and a bestselling author, Rosanne Cash has had an immeasurable impact on the history of American music,” says Emily Havens, Executive Director of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi. “With her incredible voice and deeply personal songs, Cash has built an indelible career making commercially successful music across genres. We can’t wait to honor her incredible achievements with the sixth annual Crossroads of American Music Award at this year’s Gala.”

Read More

BG Independent news : Amy Helm brings songs of a road dog to the BSAF Main Stage (by David Dupont) →

The new recording of Amy Helm, "Silver City" features her original material, more than her previous three recordings. It hits the stands on Sept. 6. [...] Head north to perform a headline set at the Black Swamp Arts Festival. Helm will perform Saturday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. on the Main Stage. “I travel so much for work and the stories in the songs are very much about my experience at different times in my life that are always defined by the place I was,” Helm said. “There is a lot of motion." [...] Helm is excited to be bringing that joy to the Black Swamp Arts Festival. She said she’s heard “wonderful things” about the festival and she’s happy to have been invited to perform. “It sounds like a cool community building event. I’m excited to be there I love playing music for people. It’s happiest I am.”

Read More

Americana Highways : REVIEW: Amy Helm “Silver City”is Raw Emotion, Empathy and Ultimately Catharsis (by Brooke Billick) →

Amy Helm is the immensely talented daughter of Levon Helm, drummer and co-lead singer for The Band. With that kind of background and a life infused with music, including years of playing and touring with Levon Helm, she has developed some serious chops. That talent is displayed front and center on Amy Helm’s upcoming album, Silver City, which is being released on September 6, 2024. Americana Highways had the opportunity to get a pre-release of the album. Silver City is Amy Helm’s fourth studio album. Intensely personal, each of the songs represent individual stories and glimpses into Helm’s life and experiences including her roles as artist, mother, wife, and woman, while also drawing inspiration from the strength and struggles of women generally.

Read More

World Music Central : Milton + Esperanza, a Groundbreaking Album by Nascimento and Spalding” (by Angel Romero) →

Milton + Esperanza is a profound, exceptional collaboration between Brazilian music legend Milton Nascimento and Grammy-winning bassist and composer Esperanza Spalding. Recorded in Brazil throughout 2023, this 16-track album intertwines Nascimento’s classic Afro-Brazilian roots sound with Spalding’s contemporary jazz vibes, reflecting their shared musical bond. Produced and arranged by Spalding, the album masterfully revisits Nascimento’s well-known songs, introduces brilliant new compositions inspired by his work, and includes engaging reinterpretations of popular hits such as The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” and Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song.” These versions are not simply covers, but rather thoughtful reinterpretations that honor the originals while adding Spalding’s inventive perspective.

Read More

Rolling Stone : See Christine and the Queens’ Electrifying Performance at Paris Paralympics’ Opening Ceremony (by Daniel Kreps) →

Christine and the Queens delivered an electrifying take on an Edith Piaf classic during the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Paris on Thursday. [...] As the sun set at the Place de la Concorde, Chris arrived in a red car (naturally) and walked the tops of pianos before launching into an updated-and-nearly-unrecognizable rendition of Édith Piaf’s “Non, je ne regrette rien”.

Read More

Relix : Listen: Warren Haynes Previews New Solo Record ‘Million Voices Whisper’ with “This Life As We Know It” →

Warren Haynes has officially announced Million Voices Whisper, the fourth solo entry from the iconic jam and Southern rock figurehead. Set to release on Nov. 1 via Fantasy Records, the artist’s forthcoming independent record arrives as his first since 2015’s Ashes & Dust and sets a whole new era for the trailblazing artist to tape. To support today’s unveiling the artist has offered the brand new original “This Life As We Know It,” which shows the artist in a contemplative mood, wisened by four decades on the forefront of his form.

Read More

Irish Times : Singer Joan Baez to visit home of Seamus Heaney for poetry reading →

Singer and human rights campaigner Joan Baez is to visit the home of Seamus Heaney for a poetry reading during a forthcoming visit to Ireland. [...] The visit has been announced by the organisation Art for Human Rights. The screening of the documentary, directed by Karen O’Connor, Maeve O’Boyle and Miri Navasky, will take place in Dublin on December 10th, which is also International Human Rights Day. It is to be followed by a discussion with Ms Baez, Ms O’Connor and Ms O’Boyle, hosted by broadcaster Olivia O’Leary. [..] “For over 60 years Joan Baez has been the voice of civil and human rights struggles around the world and a passionate and consistent proponent of non-violence,” said Art for Human Rights founder and executive director Bill Shipsey. “We are grateful and humbled and cannot wait to meet and greet her.

Read More

Far Out Magazine : Joan Baez in Hanoi: Navigating mortality and the human cost of war (by Kelly Scanlon) →

Around 7.30am on Christmas Eve in 1972, Joan Baez was singing the Lord’s Prayer into a tape recorder. She was in Hanoi when America launched its worst bombing raids since the Second World War, having travelled to Vietnam with three others to experience the unrest first-hand and deliver mail to US prisoners. That morning, the unexpected sound of an exploding bomb interrupted her singing, leaving many to grapple with the unmistakable dilemma of fight or flight. [...] Baez is often linked to the counterculture movement of the 1960s, but beyond occupying the figure of someone willing to go against the artistic grain, her integrity and demand for greater justice made her one of the most impassioned campaigners of all time. After the war, she fought against human rights abuses by the Communist government, her willingness to exist alongside those hurt and scorned becoming a beacon of resilience and hope for the oppressed, even as she faced relentless persecution herself.

Read More