MUSIC | SAM SMITH FEAT. MARY J BLIGE

 

Sam Smith delivers the hit single ‘Stay With Me’ with a rendition that includes vocals from the legendary Mary J Blige.  His recently released album, In the Lonely Hour is dominating UK charts – even knocking out heavyhitters Coldplay out the #1 spot and earning him the current title of fastest selling album in 2014.

 

 

It gets better – SS has also announced a special concert at the renowned Apollo Theater in Harlem, NYC – upon which he will join many of the R&B legends that have inspired him.

For American fans of Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour releases in the US on June 17th.  See below for Sam Smith’s upcoming US and UK tour dates.

 

SAM SMITH AUTUMN NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

September 15               Boston, Mass.              House of Blues

September 16               Washington, D.C.          Echostage

September 19               New York, N.Y.             Hammerstein Ballroom

September 21               Toronto, ONT                Kool Haus

September 22               Chicago, Ill.                   Riviera Theater

September 24               Vancouver, BC              Orpheum Theatre

September 25               Seattle, Wash.               Paramount Theater

September 26               Portland, Ore.               Crystal Ballroom

September 30               Los Angeles, Ca.           The Greek Theatre

October 4                     Houston,                       Texas   House of Blues

October 6                     Atlanta, Ga.                   Tabernacle

October 7                     Nashville, Tenn.             Ryman Auditorium

October 9                     Dallas, Texas                House of Blues

 

UK AUTUMN TOUR

23^rd October                  Glasgow                       O2 ABC

24^th October                  Leeds                           O2 Academy

25^th October                  Newcastle                     O2 Academy

27^th October                  Birmingham                   O2 Academy

28^th October                  Nottingham                   Rock City

29^th October                  Manchester                   Albert Hall

3^rd November                Cambridge                    Corn Exchange

4^th November                 Bristol                           Colston Hall

6^th November                 London                         Eventim Apollo Hammersmith

 

MUSIC | The 1975 Announce New Tour!

Hot off completely selling out their last tour, UK darlings the 1975 have announced the dates for their new Autumn US and UK tour which kicks off this September in Glasgow.
Those who sign up for band’s mailing list will receive exclusive access to tickets at 9am on June 4. Tickets on sale to the general public on Friday, June 6.
Check the full tour dates below!

September:
25 – Barrowland – Glasgow
26 – O₂ Apollo – Manchester
29 – Civic Hall – Wolverhampton
30 – Alexandra Palace – London

November:
1 – Metropolis – Montreal, QE
2 – Kool Haus – Toronto, ON
4 – The Fillmore – Detroit, MI
7 – Eagle Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
8 – The Myth – St Paul, MN
11 – The Fillmore – Denver, CO
13 – Roseland Ballroom – Portland, OR
14 – Vogue Theatre – Vancouver, BC
15 – Vogue Theatre – Vancouver, BC
16 – The Paramount – Seattle, WA
19 – The Palladium – Los Angeles, CA
21 – Soma – San Diego, CA
22 – Commercia Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
24 – South Side Ballroom – Dallas, TX
25 – Austin Music Hall – Austin, TX
26 – Bayou Music Hall – Houston, TX
28 – Track 29 – Chattanooga, TN
29 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
30 – The Ritz – Raleigh, NC

December:
2 – Echostage – Washington, DC
3 – Tower Theatre – Philadelphia, PA
4 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY
5 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY

#POP | Icona Pop, Everywhere at Once

While you’re gazing at how awesome our #POP issue covers are – XO cover stars Icona Pop, are killing everything moving.  They played a kick ass performance, on last night’s Jimmy Fallon AND again this morning on Good Morning America. Their single, ‘I Love It’ has sold over 1,000,000 copies AND hit the #3 spot on billboard’s New Artist chart. 

Additionally, they’ve released some North American festival dates for you to check out below. 

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
06/02 – Wakarusa Festival – Mulberry Mountain – Ozark, AR
06/08 – The Governor’s Ball Music Festival – New York, NY

08/02 – Lollapalooza Festival – Chicago, IL

08/03 – The Grove Music Festival – Toronoto, Canada
08/04 – Osheaga Festival – Montreal, QC

Tickets

 

MUSIC | Terrible Twos : HUNTERS

It’s a new age for music. As more and more people decide to flip off the Man and follow the dream of playing music and touring – the logistics seem to lie in very different extremes: being truly independent and being corporately backed. Of course, we all know what corporate backing and packaging looks like (i.e., Britney, Rihanna… any boy band in existence) but on the independent front the story not only changes face, but wears many hats. 

Enter, Hunters. Derek Watson, 29 and Isabel Almeida, 28 are a duo from Brooklyn, brought together by a mutual hunger for music, but mainly an incomparable chemistry.  After a few demos, and bringing their writing styles together, one of their first gigs was a New Year’s party at Bard College and after playing an energetic, somewhat drunken set, couldn’t wait to produce more material. Isabel remarks, “When we first started working together, we were kinda just doing it for the fun…and if it didn’t work out it was fine. Because it was so easy to work together, that’s why we kept going. …Somehow we just worked really well together.”

It’s been two years playing and writing together, and the duo anticipate the release of their first full length album, sometime next year. “We keep delaying our recording, because every time were about to go record, we get a bunch of shows or something….but we have a bunch of stuff ready to record.” Isabel says. What of touring and the road? Derek says,“We’ve toured all over the place. We’ve been to Canada…the South. I think playing outside of New York is one of the best things [about touring], you get to see different versions of cities and meet new people…it’s always fun.”

And then there’s the music. Which is all about them. “I feel like our music is really wrapped up in our interaction with each other, says Derek.  Isabel continues to say, “It’s like therapy in a way…sometimes you get in touch with emotions, you’re not even aware of.” 

In order to get the music out, they consider themselves, self-sustaining, doing nearly everything with their own two hands— writing, producing, most of their booking — themselves and rallying up friends and colleagues to help make the rest happen. In terms of the music industry (which continues to change), they relish the control they DO have. “I know that there’s a lot of changes in the music industry, there’s a lot of drawbacks on one side…but I think on another side, I think it’s cool in way that artists have way more control of their work. I think it’s really cool and important to have more control over your art.”

Words | Moeima Dukuly

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