Latest Music News
Guster, Avett Brothers and Florence Welch are helping bring alt-rock to the musical theater stage
NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Miller, lead singer of alternative rock band Guster, has a new gig that even he's a little surprised about: Musical theater songwriter. He laughs that he's gone all Broadway. “I just went full-into the ballpit — just, like, face-first,...
Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone, has died at 63
Christopher Ciccone, a multihyphenate artist, dancer, designer and younger brother of Madonna, has died. He was 63. Ciccone died Friday in Michigan, his representative Brad Taylor told The Associated Press Sunday. He had cancer. Madonna posted a tribute to him on...
Q&A: RZA on the nostalgic origins of his first classical album, 'A Ballet Through Mud'
LOS ANGELES (AP) — RZA’s hoarding habit led to his newest adventure in music: a ballet and surprisingly traditional classical album he calls “A Ballet Through Mud.” Early in the pandemic, the 55-year-old Wu-Tang Clan founder, born Robert Diggs, was rummaging through a bag of...
Q&A: Mariah Carey wasn't always sure about making a Christmas album
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mariah Carey relishes the fact that she has become culturally synonymous with Christmas — thanks in part to the longevity of her iconic song “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and its ubiquity every year when the holidays roll around. But the Grammy winner...
The Grammys' voting body is more diverse, with 66% new members. What does it mean for the awards?
NEW YORK (AP) — For years, the Grammy Awards have been criticized over a lack of diversity — artists of color and women left out of top prizes; rap and contemporary R&B stars ignored — a reflection of the Recording Academy's electorate. An evolving voting body, 66% of whom have joined in...
In music and dance, Sudanese performers transport refugee audiences back home
CAIRO (AP) — As the performers took the stage and the traditional drum beat gained momentum, Sudanese refugees sitting in the audience were moved to tears. Hadia Moussa said the melody reminded her of the country's Nuba Mountains, her family's ancestral home. "Performances like...
Music Review: James Bay's 'Changes All the Time' is soulful folk-pop for the stomp and holler crowd
“Talk,” like much of British troubadour James Bay 's latest album, “Changes All the Time,” ends with a rousing chorus sung above a guitar melody. To get there, he starts with a confession: “I don’t know how to talk to you/I gotta give you something true.” The truth is,...
Oasis adds US, Canada and Mexico stops to reunion tour
NEW YORK (AP) — Oasis shocked fans by announcing a reunion tour last month, ending a 15-year hiatus and, presumably, the long-held feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. But those were only U.K. dates. On Monday, the band shared that they're planning on heading to North America in 2025,...
Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan died from an accidental drug overdose, medical examiner says
ATLANTA (AP) — Rapper Rich Homie Quan died from an accidental drug overdose, the medical examiner's office in Georgia confirmed. The cause of death for the hip-hop performer, born Dequantes Devontay Lamar, was from a slew of drugs such as fentanyl, alprazolam, codeine and...
AP PHOTOS: A blind pianist from Nagaland says music is 'one thing that has kept me alive'
KOHIMA, India (AP) — Takosangba Pongen had his vision for 14 years. He has been blind for the past 13. But in front of a piano, nobody can tell. “Playing the piano transports me to another dimension. After losing my vision, music has been one thing that has kept me alive. It...
