A Day to Remember to receive keys to their hometown

West Palm Beach, FL (Aug. 5) – A Day to Remember at the Perfect Vodka Amphitheater

When you write a song with lyrics like “I hate this town/it’s so washed up,” it’s only natural that listeners would assume how much you despise the town you were born/raised in. For A Day to Remember, it looks like things have changed since the release of “All Signs Point to Lauderdale” off of 2010’s What Separated Me From You. On Tuesday (Feb. 14), the Florida-founded band announced on Instagram that they will be given the key to their hometown of Ocala on Saturday, March 18.

“Incredibly excited to be getting the keys to our hometown, the city of Ocala,” writes the band. Along with the caption is a picture of frontman Jeremy McKinnon holding a sign that says “City of Ocala”; a screenshot from the band’s music video for “City of Ocala.  In addition to being given the keys to the city, the group has also announced that they will perform a hometown show on the same day. Tickets for the show are currently on sale and cost $10. On the day of the show, the price will increase to $15.

A Day to Remember’s hometown show will kick off Ocala’s “Feel Downtown LIVE” concert series which will take place at Tuscawilla Park’s outdoor stage. To purchase tickets or find out more information about the concert series, head on over to the event’s website here.

A Day to Remember’s 2016 was a massive one for the group. They released Bad Vibrations, their sixth studio album, and tour behind it extensively. Last summer/fall, ADTR hit the road alongside The All-American Rejects and Blink-182 for Blink’s “California” summer tour. Check out our recap and photos from the West Palm Beach stop of the tour here.

Ray Toro Releases Song to Honor Leelah Alcorn

Former My Chemical Romance guitarist Ray Toro has released another new song from his solo project.
The new song is titled, “For the Lost and Brave.”

Along with the song, Toro released a message on his website about the song in which he reveals he had held back releasing the song on countless occasions, but decided to release it now that he released to honor of 17-year-old transgender teenager, Leelah Alcorn, after she committed suicide this past Sunday.

Read his statement below.

“I wrote this song about a year ago, waiting to release it on my record when it was complete. There have been many times that I’ve almost put it out, but have always found a reason to hold it back. But lately there seems to be so much hate and misunderstanding in this world.

As I’m sure many of you felt after reading the news of young Leelah Alcorn taking her own life, my heart sank. I felt sick. Yet another young life gone because of not being heard, not being understood, and not being unconditionally loved for who they truly were. After hearing her story, and reading her final Tumblr post, I finally felt it was time to share the song.

It is time we learn to accept each other for who we truly are. Being seen, heard, and truly loved as our authentic selves is something we all want, and something we all deserve.”

For those interested in an update on Leelah’s story, a private burial was reportedly held for her today because her spineless jellyfish parents were scared of all the backlash they have received from the public after her suicide and even more so after her mother went on national television and continued to refer to her by not only her given name but also using male pronouns.

As for Toro, this will be the third song he has released since announcing his plans to become a solo artist back in August.

‘Aladdin the Musical’ Cast Pay Tribute to Robin Williams

The death of Robin Williams hit a cord with movie goers, fans and people who had grown up watching the comedian go from funny films and shows like Mindy & Mork, Jumanji, Night at the Museum to serious roles like Dead Poet’s Society and Good Will Hunting.

From children, to teenagers to adult who had seen most, if not all of his works, it was as if they lost a friend who would make them smile, even if they did not personally know him.

In honor of the late actor, Broadway will dim their lights to show respect for the actor who had made an impression on the community, but one show in particular which is currently on Broadway owed a lot to the late actor; Aladdin.

The show, which began its run in February, paid tribute to Genie during its performance last night (August 12). Instead of ending the show in its usual fashion, they decided to pay homage to Williams by ending with a sing-along version of “A Friend Like Me.”

The sing-along was led by James Monroe Iglehart, who happened to win a Tony Award earlier this year for playing the role made famous by Williams in the 1992 animated film.

Iglehart with the help of the rest of the Aladdin company, broke the fourth wall to encourage the audience to sing to the rafter to pay tribute to the original Genie.

Watch the video and try not to sing along. Or cry.

Artists Come Together to Celebrate Nirvana

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have finally been admitted to the museum and how else do you celebrate the honor than to host a big ceremony and then follow it up with an invite-only, intimate show?

That is exactly what went on last night. The remaining members of Nirvana -Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear- reunited at St. Vitus in Brooklyn, New York for an intimate set of Nirvana songs. Though Kurt Cobain left big shoes to fill, Joan Jett, St. Vincent, Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon all did their best to fill the role, even for one song.

Jett sang “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” St. Vincent performed “Lithium,” Gordon also sat in throughout the jam session while surprise guest Lorde took on “All Apologies.”

As for the ceremony, R.E.M. frontman, Michael Stipe was chosen to honor the band and that he did when he proclaimed that they “tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard.” It also helped that Stipe was the godfather to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s daughter, Frances Bean.

Watch all the videos from the show here:

LORDE, “ALL APOLOGIES”:

JOAN JETT, “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT”:

ST. VINCENT, “HEART SHAPED BOX”:

ST. VINCENT, “LITHIUM”:

Also included in this year’s induction class were  Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, KISS, The E Street Band and many, many more.

 

Lenny Kravitz Covers the Beatles

With February marking the 50th anniversary since the Beatles made their debut in America, it is only fitting that artists from all different genres of music gather to honor one of the most iconic bands.

The Late Show With David Letterman has begun their own homage to the foursome by having the musical guest stars perform some of the Beatles tunes. Last night, Lenny Kravitz, for those of you that know him as an actor, yes Cinna from The Hunger Games films, took on “Get Back,” the closing track on Let It Be.

Kravitz’s performance marks the halfway mark on the homage weeks. On Monday, Broken Bells performed a synthy version of “And I Love Her” while on Tuesday, Sting performed a duet version of “Drive My Car” with neo-soul singer Ivy Levan. As for tonight, Sean Lennon and the Flaming Lips are set to perform “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” while rumor has it Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are due to appear on Friday night’s show to perform.

The Eurythmics to Reunite for Beatles Tribute

Sweet dreams are definitely made for fans of the Eurythmics because it has been confirmed that the 80s duo will once again reunite in honor of the Beatles.

The Recording Academy announced today that Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart will ‘come together’ as part of The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles.

Longtime Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich, who also happens to be the one producing the special thought that the duo would be the perfect candidates to join in on the special event paying tribute to iconic and influential rock band. 

“When it came around to booking this show, what I felt was important was to try and find those artists who not only would be able to interpret Beatles songs, but would also have an … understanding of what they meant,” he revealed in a recent interview.

During the interview, Ehrlich didn’t reveal which Beatles song the Eurythmics would be performing during the special, but he did reveal which songs other performers taking part in the special will perform. John Mayer and Keith Urban will pair up to perform “Don’t Let Me Down,” while Alicia Keys and John Legend will perform a duet version of “Let It Be.” Maroon 5, alongside a dozen other artists are scheduled to perform on the special.

The special will be taped at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 27, a day after the Grammy Awards while the special will air on CBS, February 9, exactly 50 years after the Beatles made their U.S. debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Ehrlich also wouldn’t confirm if Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr will attend the special.

So which song do you guys think or hope the Eurythmics will perform during the special?

Brendon Urie Covers Billy Joel at ‘Kennedy Center Honors’

Is what might be one hell of an honor, Panic! at the Disco frontman, Brendon Urie got the opportunity to perform Billy Joel’s hit song “Big Shot” for the piano man himself last night as part of The Kennedy Center Honors on CBS.

Joel had two others performers pay tribute to his honor; country singer Garth Brooks also paid homage to him with “Allentown” and “Good Night Saigon” and Rufus Wainwright with “New York State of Mind” and “Piano Man.”

Other performers that took the stage last night included Snoop Dogg for Herbie Hancock, Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick performed “It’s Not Where You Started, It’s Where You Finish” for Shirley MacLaine. Taking the reigns for Carlos Santana’s tribute were Steve Winwood, Sheils E. and Orianthi as well as Buddy Guy slaying on guitar for “I’m Your Hoochie Coohie Man.”