Music

Bettye LaVette has released her bluesy new ballad “One More Song,” the latest single from the Blues Hall of Fame singer’s upcoming album Blackbirds. “One More Song” was penned by long-time Leonard Cohen collaborator Sharon Robinson and features all-star session musicians like guitarist Smokey Hormel, keyboardist Leon Pendarvis, drummer Steve …

The title of Waylon Payne’s upcoming second album is a mouthful. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s Blue Eyes, the Harlot, the Queer, the Pusher, & Me derives its name from a bleak period in Payne’s life when he was in the grips of a debilitating drug addiction and grieving the death of …

Hailey Whitters sings about a chance encounter and living a full life in “Janice at the Hotel Bar,” a standout from the Nashville singer-songwriter’s 2020 album The Dream. The story of their enlightening interaction comes to life in a new video released on Wednesday. Directed by Erica Silverman in partnership …

In the six weeks since nationwide Black Lives Matter protests rose up after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, musicians have been reckoning with their own complicit role in the longstanding structural racism of the music industry. Those efforts have ranged from the largely symbolic (removing the word “urban” from radio …

Usher released a self-directed video for “I Cry,” a song he released last month inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests. The clip features Usher singing over stark piano as photographs by the late Gordon Parks flash across the screen. “I usually don’t show my emotions,” he sings. “But it …

Disclosure have released “My High,” a high-octane collaboration with British rapper Slowthai and Oregon MC Aminé that comes with an equally balls-to-the-wall music video. It’s the latest track shared from the U.K. dance duo’s upcoming album Energy, out August 28th via Capitol Records. Directed by French filmmaker Simon Cahn, the …

The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards will take place at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn on August 30th, according to an announcement from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo confirmed the show at a press conference Monday as New York State, and specifically New York City, continued its COVID-19 re-opening …

Halsey and Marshmello have shared the colorful new video for their collaborative single “Be Kind,” which the pair initially released May 1st. The visual — shot during the COVID-19 isolation, as evidenced by its extensive use of green screen and artificial backgrounds — features Halsey dancing along to “Be Kind” …

Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, penned an open letter to Senate leaders urging them to pass a COVID-19 relief bill that includes significant funding for the upcoming November elections. Knowles-Lawson wrote the letter in partnership with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ campaign, And I Still Vote. It’s addressed …

In early March, the veteran A&R Chris Anokute was listening to a SoundCloud link from an aspiring artist. The track came to an end, and the platform’s algorithm automatically queued up Curtis Waters’ “Freckles.” “I felt like he was telling my story,” says Anokute, who worked with Katy Perry at …