Los Angeles Times : Bob Clearmountain, L.A. studio icon, lost his home in the Palisades fire: ‘This could be the end of our world’ →

On Tuesday afternoon, Bob Clearmountain was driving back from Apogee Studios in Santa Monica to his home in Pacific Palisades. The revered producer and mixer has helmed records by such rock legends as Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Roxy Music and David Bowie, often out of his home studio, Mix This!, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He could feel the Santa Ana winds ripping up the coast and through the canyons.

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Clash : U2 Singer Bono Receives Presidential Medal Of Freedom (by Robin Murray) →

U2 frontman Bono has picked up the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The award is the highest that can be bestowed by the United States of America upon a civilian, with the ceremony taking place over the weekend. (...) “Thank you for all you’ve done to help this country. You all literally embody the nation’s creed,” Biden said. “Your innovation, you inspire, you bring on healing and joy to so many lives that otherwise wouldn’t be touched. You answered the call to serve and led others to do the same thing.” U2 frontman Bono picked up the medal, writing on social media: "Thank you President Biden. Frontmen don’t do humble, but today I was. Rock n roll gave me my freedom… and with it the privilege to work alongside those who’ve had to fight so much harder for theirs. And I want to give it up for my band mates – Edge, Adam, and Larry – without whom I would never have found my voice."

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Rolling Stone : Lupe Fiasco Will Teach Rap at Johns Hopkins’ Peabody Institute (by Tomas Mier) →

Lupe Fiasco is headed to Johns Hopkins as a professor. On Wednesday, the rapper announced that he’ll be a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute this year. The rap star will teach a course for their four-year hip-hop program that starts in 2025. “Let’s hit the ground running in 2025… Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining the faculty at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute in Fall 2025 as a Distinguished Visiting Professor,” Fiasco wrote, thanking the degree program leader, musician Wendel Patrick.

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UT : Joan Baez Receives Medal From Historical Society (by Eliora Abramson) →

Joan Baez received a gold medal for her outstanding contributions in art and public discourse, the highest honour awarded, from the Historical society on Friday, December the 13th. Baez, who rose to fame in the 60s, has become a legend in folk music and has advocated for nonviolence and human rights throughout her long and illustrious career. Baez was first introduced and awarded the medal for her work in activism and art before sitting down for a Q&A session with the Auditor of the Hist, Tom Francis. Francis asked Baez questions about the intersection between music and activism and the particular current state of the world. Of activism and social change, Baez stated, “I wouldn’t be interested in it without the music. I believe that it’s the spirit and it’s really the only thing that crosses borders”.

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Forbes : Rosanne Cash Honored With New Exhibit At The Country Music Hall Of Fame Pam Windsor →

Her career stretches back to more than four decades ago with her first album in 1979. It was the next record, Seven Year Ache, that led to her first No. 1 first with the title track. Over the next decade, Rosanne Cash lit up the country charts with a string of No.1’s like “Blue Moon with Heartache,” Tennessee Flat Top Box,” “Runaway Train,” and others.

With her distinctive vocal style, talent for songwriting, and extensive catalogue blending country, country rock, pop, and Americana, the four-time GRAMMY winner Rosanne Cash has cemented her own place in music history. To celebrate her many contributions, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has opened a new exhibit: Rosanne Cash: Time Is A Mirror.

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RTE : Joan Baez joined by Irish stars for Dublin documentary screening (by Laura Fletcher) →

There were stars a plenty at the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin last night. Yet they were all playing second fiddle (excuse the pun) to a global star who was in Dublin for a screening of a documentary about her life, Joan Baez. Now 83, Ms Baez is as famous for her decades of political activism as she is for her music, and indeed the two became interwoven over the years. "The activism came a teeny bit earlier than the songs and the guitar and the ukulele and all of it," Ms Baez said. "All I can tell you is that when I was eight and my parents joined a quaker church, it was about learning about violence and non-violence and nation-state versus human beings and I found that all through the years I've been the happiest and felt the most reason to be here when I was doing music and activism at the same time," she added.

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Leaf Chronicle : Rosanne Cash reflects on career, legacy as new Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit opens (by Marcus K. Dowling) →

Rosanne Cash's journey from curiosity-driven teenage rock fandom to a Grammy and Americana Music Association award-winning and 11-time Country Music Association award-nominated musician is highlighted via the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's newest exhibition, "Rosanne Cash: Time Is a Mirror." It runs through March 2026 and is included with museum admission.

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The Irish Times : Looking young and powerful at 83, Baez is still engaged in politics (by Patrick Freyne) →

Baez is a legendary folk musician and a lifelong activist who was at the forefront of 1960s counterculture. She marched with Martin Luther King, opposed the war in Vietnam, attended peace marches in 1970s Belfast. A recent documentary about her life, Joan Baez: I Am a Noise, tells the story of her music and activism but also deals with her struggle with anxiety and some upsetting family secrets. It’s all the more affecting given how powerfully Baez has moved through the world. The impression most fans would get from her is that she is someone who’s at peace and knows exactly what she’s doing. She laughs. “That’s true now.”

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