Tag: Hozier

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Mavis Staples Performs “Human Mind” on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”

The beloved national treasure Mavis Staples‘ latest solo album, the Brad Cook-produced Sad And Beautiful World is slated for a November 7, 2025 release through Anti- Records. The album reportedly sees the 86 year-old legend standing side-by-side with us in the face of dangers she knows all too well — and comes at a time when increasing number of people out there have reason to wonder who and what could be lost.

The new album spans seven decades of the American songbook — a range nearly as vast as Staples’ remarkably lengthy career — and includes reinventions of timeless songs, as well as a batch of originals.

Recently, the legend performed the Hozier and Allison Russell co-written album single “Human Mind” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “Human Mind” was the first track recorded for the Sad And Beautiful World sessions and the single sees the legend acknowledging the complexities, contradictions, violence and heartbreak of our world, while still finding hope and goodness in people — and in turn, the world over a slow-burning, Staple Singers-inspired arrangement.

The song seems to say, “Yes, life will break your heart many times over; but there are small yet mighty measure of love, kindness and faith that hold it all together, barely. And that is what we should cling to when it’s especially dark.

Music Festivals by William Ruben Helms

Spring and summer, along with warmer weather are just around the corner. And you know what that means? Festival announcements, followed by festival season.

Presented by Bell and Coors Light, OSHEAGA Music and Arts Festival‘s 17th edition will take place August 2, 2024 – August 4, 2024 in Montréal‘s gorgeous Parc Jean-Dreapeau. Over the course of 16 previous editions, OSHEAGA has become a global reference for great music and top-notch festival experiences: Attendees come to the Montréal and the festival to experience something that they simply can’t find anywhere else. Located on two islands, one which is man-made, just off the shore of Montréal Island and Vieux Montréal, Parc Jean-Drapeau was the site of the Expo 1967. The park has one of the most stunning views of Montréal’s skyline and Mont Royal, and while in the park, you’re able to catch a wide variety of artists, both emerging and established across an array of genres.

Festival organizers and books have curated this year’s festival with the explicit mission of appealing to fans of every genre, style and generation. Grammy nominated, rinsing folk pop artist Noah Kahan will be headlining the festival’s first day, August 2, playing what will be a rare festival set this summer. Fans of singer/songwriter pop can also catch Hozier, who played a sold-out show at Laval’s Place Bell last year; Teddy Swims, the genre-bending artist, who has dominated Tik Tok; Melanie Martinez, the alt-pop phenom, who has amassed over 12 billion streams and more; and singer/songwriter and actor Reneé Rapp, who starred in the Broadway production of Mean Girls — and played a much-talked about, sold-out show at MTELLUS last October.

If you dig punk and alt rock — and you were a child of the 90s or came of age in the 90s, OSHEAGA has got something for you: 90s punk icons Green Day will be headlining the festival’s second day, August 3. Fully expect to hear tunes from Dookie, American Idiot and more. But personally, I’d love to hear songs off Warning. Beloved old-school punks Rancid, rising Los Angeles rockers The Linda Lindas, riot grrrl legends Sleater-Kinney and The Smashing Pumpkins are the day’s biggest names. The Smashing Pumpkins return to the OSHEAGA stage for the first time in 17 years.

SZA, the biggest name in pop at the moment will be headlining the festival’s third and final day. And if you dig genre-bending pop anthems. T-Pain will be making his OSHEAGA debut. The festival’s bill features a wide variety of Afrobeats and Afropop including Grammy Award winner Tyla, who won the first ever Best African Music Performance Award for her global smash hit “Water;” Nigerian artist Ayra Starr; Haitian artist Michaeël Brun, who played a sold-out Festival International de Jazz Montréal show last year.

If you’re a hip-hop head who digs both chart-topping and underground emcees from across the globe, OSHEAGA will have something for you: This year’s lineup will feature Denzel Curry; Bronx emcee Lil Jay, who played Place Bell back in 2022; Swedish, experimental beat-driven sensation Bladee; British emcee Skepta, who has made a name for himself for pairing UK grime-driven bars with Afrobeat influences; Belgian emcee Hamza, who spits bars in a silky French; and Moroccan emcee ElGrandeToto.

If you dig electronic dance music, OSHEAGA will have something for you: Wildly popular Dutch DJ and producer Martin Garrix, who headlined last year’s îLESONIQ Festival will be playing; acclaimed French electronic duo Justice will be playing OSHEAGA to support their first album of original material in seven years; British electronic music artist and producer Labrinth, best known for the music in acclaimed series Euphoria will be making a rate live appearance this year, too. Additionally, there’ll be live performances from Overmono, Iréne Drésel, Confidence Man, The xx‘s Romy and DJ sets from Uncle Waffles and Mochakk.

This year’s edition will also proudly showcase homegrown acts. Roughly a third of the 2024 lineup features artists from Québec and Canada at large, including Ontario-based TALK, an acclaimed, multi-Juno Award-nominated, bilingual artist, with massive following in la belle province will be playing the festival. Acclaimed, Prince Edward Island-based indie outfit Alvvays are on the bill. Local funk outfit Clay and Friends, who I believe I caught at M for Montréal in 2019 or so will be playing. ASDIQ Félix Award winner CRi and local hip-hop outfit Planet Giza will also be playing on the OSHEAGA stage.

3 Day Tickets are already available. Single-day tickets go on sale Friday at 10:00am. Pricing and links are below y’all.

OSHEAGA 2024 TICKET PRICES
(Taxes and service fees included. Prices are subject to change without notice.)

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET / SINGLE-DAY: starting at $165 CAD
GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET / 3-DAYS: starting at $395 CAD

CASINO DE MONTRÉAL GOLD TICKET / SINGLE-DAY: starting at $320 CAD
CASINO DE MONTRÉAL GOLD TICKET / 3 DAYS: starting at $745 CAD

PLATINUM TICKET / SINGLE-DAY: starting at $685 CAD
PLATINUM TICKET / 3 DAYS: starting at $1,620 CAD

American Express Cardmembers can get Front Of The Line® presale tickets started yesterday at 10:00am ET and goes until tonight at 10:00pm ET tonight.

Click HERE to take advantage of the offer.

3-Day Tickets are available here: https://osheaga.com/en/tickets-osheaga-2024

Single Day Tickets will be available here, tomorrow morning: https://osheaga.com/en



Music Festivals by William Ruben Helms

Festival season is right around the corner. And you know what that means — more festival announcements. So let’s get to it.

Yesterday Starr Hill Presents, Haymaker Productions, IMGoing Events, and Lovely Day Presents announced the inaugural Iron Blossom Music Festival. The inaugural edition of the festival will take place August 26, 2023 – August 27, 2023 in Richmond, VA‘s Monroe Park. Located in the heart of the Virginia’s capital city, next to Virginia Commonwealth University‘s campus, the idyllic and historic Monroe Park, is one of the city’s oldest parks.

Iron Blossom will draw from its host city’s vibrant and diverse community to bring fans a unique musical experience with local artists sharing the stage with regional acts and internationally known headliners — while marking a bold, new chapter in the city’s history as a top music festival destination.

The inaugural edition’s headliners include Billboard Hot 100 and Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Hozier, Los Angeles-based indie rock outfit Lord Huron and indie pop singer/songwriter Noah Kahan. Elie King, Faye Webster, Rayland Baxter, Colony House, The Heavy Heavy, Nikki Lane, Devon Gilfillian, Mipso, Son Little, Celisse, Danielle Ponder, Trousdale, Josiah & The Bonnevilles, Briscoe, Angelica Garcia and The Legendary Ingramettes round out the inaugural lineup. But more artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

IMGoing Events’ Ken McDonald, the visionary behind Iron Blossom Festival says ““The growth of Richmond is on full display here. We look forward to having Iron Blossom be a showcase for the vibrancy and culture of the city and a positive, enduring part of the community.”  

“This is the moment the people of Richmond deserve and Iron Blossom is the ‘arrival’ moment for music fans in Richmond.” says Haymaker Productions’ Tom Beals. ““It’s because of the fans that we’re able to do this at all. The love of live music is part of Richmond’s culture, and we get to share in that by bringing these artists to Monroe Park.”

In addition to eclectic and vibrant music, the festival will bring attendees the very best of Central Virginia’s food, beverage and artisan communities. Fans will be able to enjoy farm-to-table and delicious street foods, craft beers and cocktails and wares from dozens of vendors. And of course, a VIP experience is being offered, giving fans up-close stage views, an exclusive lounge with cash bars, vendors and more.

Tickets went on sale already, and you can get them exclusively at IronBlossomFestival.com.

  

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jackson Dyer is an Sydney, Australia-born, Berlin, Germany-based singer/songwriter and is part of a growing number of Australians who have relocated to the Germany city for a creative and personal renewal and to advance their careers; in fact, since Dyer relocated to Berlin three years ago, he has opened for Grammy-nominated acts and countrymen Hiatus Kaiyote and Hozier, and has extensively toured throughout the European Union with Berlin, Germany-based indie folk act Mighty Oaks and Jamie Cullum. Adding to a growing profile, the Sydney, Australia-born, Berlin, Germany-based singer/songwriter has played at several European festivals.

Dyer’s third EP, Compartments was released earlier this year to critical praise, as the effort thematically and lyrically may arguably be one of the most personal efforts he’s released to date. And as Dyer explains in press notes, “Compartments is an EP of self-­reflection that I wrote at a time when I faced a lot of uncertainty and questions about my place in the world. Far away from home, often spending long hours in my studio on the industrial outskirts of Berlin, it was a period of introspection when I experimented with production and songwriting. In this space, I wrestled with many of my misgivings about the music industry, the nature of humanity and my own personal motivations. The title Compartments refers to the lyrics in “Pariahs,” which is about how close many people live to each other in cities and apartment blocks, but still lead very enclosed lives, unwilling to engage with even their neighbours. Ironically, I spent a long time in my own ‘compartment’ writing these songs and it wasn’t until I collaborated with others that they really came alive.”

Compartments’ second and latest single is EP opening track “The Absolute” and sonically speaking the track nods at the work of renowned Swedish singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez and his work both as a solo artist and with Junip, as the song has Dyer pairing bluesy guitar chords played through generous amounts of reverb, swirling electronics, glitchy and stuttering drum programming with his soulful vocals to create a song that’s deeply introspective and achingly earnest; in fact, the song captures and evokes a narrator, who feels profoundly lost and alone and wrestling with the sort of existential questions that don’t have an easy answer. And while capturing someone at perhaps one of their darkest periods, the song manages to possess a resoluteness that suggests while many answers won’t come quickly, the song’s narrator will move forward and many of life’s most difficult questions will resolve themselves accordingly.

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

A Q&A with Hillary Capps

Born in Vermont and now based in New York, singer/songwriter Hillary Capps comes from a very musical family as her father is part of a jazz ensemble that tours around New England and the Northeast. […]