#music-career-update

#music-career-update

Knumears is releasing their debut album Directions on April 3, showcasing their unique sound within the Los Angeles screamo scene. The album is available through Run for Cover and Summer Shade.

In early 1991, the composer Alan Menken took a keyboard to St Vincent's hospital in New York to visit his friend and creative partner, the lyricist Howard Ashman. Ashman was in the final stages of Aids-related illness, but was determined to finish his work on Disney's Aladdin.

Y&T, originally named Yesterday & Today, formed in 1972 and began as a cover band before transitioning to writing their own music by 1974.

The Pitchfork Selects playlist features a variety of tracks, including Los Thuthanaka's 'Ay Kawkinpachasa? (capo-kullawada)' and Ravyn Lenae's 'Reputation' featuring Dominic Fike.

When you get it, you'll see a SongDNA card 'on supported tracks'. If you tap this, you can explore the writers, producers, and collaborators behind a song, see samples and interpolations that shaped its sound, and browse the covers it inspired.

Jesca Hoop has announced a tour in support of her upcoming album Long Wave Home. Dates are with Faun Fables and include NYC's Le Poisson Rouge on June 29.

Puth describes 'Whatever's Clever!' as the first album where 'things are lining up musically in my life - like I'm living what the album is about.'

I'm excited to announce something that's never been done before. Better Than Ezra is teaming up with Soundbreak AI to do a songwriting contest. Go on soundbreak.ai, write with me, or write with [bass guitarist] Tom Drummond. Come up with your best idea, your best song.

The initiative aspires to create 'a new blueprint for artist launches moving forward.' This partnership integrates fan interaction, live broadcast distribution, and platform-native amplification.

"'The Life of a Showgirl' was really inspired by the energy that I felt like looking into crowds and seeing you guys every single night. This album probably also feels very happy and confident and free because that's the way that I get to feel every single day of my life because of my fiancé, who's here tonight."

R&B in the 21st century has been in a constant state of flux, tugged between safe traditionalism and blurry attempts at progression. For the last decade-plus that "progression" has seen R&B music become more indebted to trap records and the moody atmospherics of alternative bands like Radiohead, Coldplay, or My Bloody Valentine.

As the Grammy winners took to the stage in Los Angeles on Sunday night, one common thread emerged: many had once walked the halls of a comprehensive school in Croydon, south London. British performers Olivia Dean, who won the prestigious gong for best new artist; Lola Young, who took home best pop solo performance for Messy; and FKA twigs, who won best dance/electronic album for Eusexua, all attended the Brit school in Selhurst.

Designed by Korean up-and-comer Woojin Yang, Everglow is a handheld mini-keyboard that fits into any bag. The "musical sketchbook" of sorts allows artists to quickly jot down ideas when they're not in front of their instruments or computers. The sleekly-designed device comes with a generative AI-based sound system that allows them to iterate and develop a song on the spot, not just transcribe the initial tune.

The only song here that really matters. Written just hours after the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and released a few days later, Springsteen names names (looking at you, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem) and speaks bold, specific truth. With a title that recalls his own impactful Streets of Philadelphia, a melody reminiscent of Bob Dylan, and an urgency not felt since Neil Young's Ohio, it may not be groundbreaking musically, but Streets of Minneapolis is exactly what we need right now.

Destin Conrad dropped his second studio album, a jazz project titled wHIMSY. Both albums climbed the charts, and Conrad snagged a Grammy nomination for best progressive R&B album for Love on Digital his first as a solo artist. In an interview with All Things Considered, Conrad said he sometimes wondered if people wouldn't take him seriously as a musical artist because of his history on the former video-sharing app Vine, where Conrad shared quirky jokes and clips of himself singing samples

Last month, LaRussell announced his signing of a "project deal" with San Francisco label EMPIRE, one of the music industry's largest and most powerful independent labels and distributors. In 2023, he announced a deal with Live Nation for select concert dates. Both deals, LaRussell indicated, allowed him to make decisions on his own terms. The Roc Nation announcement comes after images of a late January meeting between LaRussell and Jay-Z were shared online.

James Taylor has announced a 29-date 2026 tour with his All-Star band. Taylor's trek will take place this summer and fall, kicking off on April 26th in Highland, California, at the Yaamava Theater and concluding on September 26th in Hollywood, Florida, at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Along the way, he'll play shows in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Boston, Atlanta, and elsewhere. Check out the full list of tour dates below.