Elvis Costello: Last News

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Along with the tracklist for Olivia Rodrigo’s hotly anticipated sophomore album, “Guts,” came its total time — 39 minutes — which has rather inexplicably led to hundreds of complaints online that the album is somehow short-changing her fans due to its apparently brief length. “So short!” one fan complained. “They really be calling anything a ‘Album’ nowadays huh,” groused another.

MTV has set three back-to-back re-airings of its two Unplugged specials featuring Tony Bennett, commemorating the beloved singer’s death today at 96. MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett from 1994 will return tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT, followed by 2021’s MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga at 11.

Associated Press, Bennett's publicist, Sylvia Weirner, confirmed the news of his death. The legendary singer died in his hometown of New York on Friday, just two weeks shy of his birthday, she told the outlet.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It’s not many tours that take a complete left turn from the style, content and tone of how they started with just a few dates left on the itinerary before everyone heads home. That’s coasting time. Yet that’s exactly what happened with the final six shows on Elvis Costello & the Imposters’ “We’re All Going on a Summer Holiday Tour,” where no one who saw any of the first 17 gigs on the outing would have much recognized how things transpired in the final half-dozen. It was all due to the transformative presence of a three-man horn section, which the advertising had accurately promised would only be showing up for the tour coda. What was unexpected was just how thoroughly Costello retooled the whole show to build it around these new brass arrangements, discarding certain set staples and adding new ones to show just what different flavors could be realized with horns o’ plenty.

SummerFest season in Milwaukee, WI from June 22 all the way up until July 8.Per usual, hundreds of artists from all genres — including big names like Jimmy Buffett, Zac Brown Band, James Taylor, Zach Bryan, Dave Matthews Band and so many more — will drop into Summerfest’s biggest venues: the American Family Insurance Amphitheater and BMO Pavilion.As a courtesy our team went ahead and found all the best prices on tickets for concerts at those two major venues.And we’re happy to report that some of are cheap.Really cheap.In fact, at the time of publication, we found Summerfest 2023 tickets going for as low as $14 before fees on Vivid Seats.Want to go to a show?We’ve got the skinny on 18 (!) upcoming concerts over the next three weeks for you below.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all dates, start times and links to the cheapest tickets available for all American Family Insurance Amphitheater Summerfest 2023 concerts can be found right here:(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

The consolidation in the talent representation space continues. Agency for the Performing Arts and music touring agency Artist Group International (AGI) are merging, with the combined full-service agency rebranded as Independent Artist Group (IAG). APA President Jim Osborne is being named CEO of IAG, with Dennis Arfa, founder and CEO of AGI, as Chairman of the Music Division of IAG. Former longtime APA CEO Jim Gosnell will serve on the board of AGI alongside Osborne and Arfa.

APA has taken a big step to fortify its future as a full-service talent agency by combining with touring powerhouse Artist Group Intl. to create the newly named Independent Artist Group, led by APA president Jim Osborne. Osborne will become CEO of Independent Artist Group (IAG), taking over day-to-day management of the firm. Jim Gosnell, APA’s longtime leader, segues into board member role with a mandate to evaluate growth and acquisition opportunities for the new venture. Dennis Arfa, co-founder of Artist Group Intl., will serve as chairman of IAG’s Music division. Artist Intl. Group president Marsha Vlasic becomes vice chairman of music.

It might sound like a backhanded compliment, but Downtown Owl feels more like a pilot than a feature film and may yet yield a series. In today’s market, that could work out just fine for directors Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe, who, after a choppy start, finesse Chuck Klosterman’s digressive 2007 novel into a thoughtful, broad-canvas ensemble piece. T Bone Burnett helps nail things down with an eclectic alt-country score and soundtrack, infused with the music and spirit of Elvis Costello, but it’s Rabe that holds it all together onscreen with a controlled yet still wildly uninhibited performance.

Friends supporting friends. Meg Ryan made a rare public appearance at a star-studded special screening for Michael J. Fox‘s Apple TV+ documentary.

New York no-wave pioneers Bush Tetras are back, announcing their first album in 11 years and only their fourth-ever studio LP over the course of more than four decades and a slew of lineup changes. They Live in My Head is due out July 28 via Wharf Cat Records, produced by Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley (now BT’s drummer as well) and featuring bass the group’s newest member: Rocky O’Riordan of The Pogues, The Radiators, and Elvis Costello & The Attractions.

Green Day have celebrated the 33rd anniversary of their debut album ’39/Smooth’ with a never-before-seen video and photos.The pop-punk icons shared an Instagram post that featured old throwbacks of the line-up that consisted of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Durnt and original drummer John Kiffmeyer.They also unveiled a video of them performing the LP’s track ‘Paper Lantern’ in a backyard in their home city of Oakland, California, a couple of weeks before the album’s release.A post shared by Green Day (@greenday)’39/Smooth’ was released on April 13, 1990 via Lookout! Records. It was later reissued in 1991 under the title ‘1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour’s, which included their earlier EPs ‘1,000 Hours’ and ‘Slappy’.Fans took to the comments section to celebrate the anniversary of the “bloody great album”.

Summerfest’s truly staggering 2023 lineup made up of over 100 of the biggest artists in country, rock, R&B, hip-hop and EDM.Taking place over three weekends in Milwaukee, WI, just a few of the top spots on the bill this year belong to major headliners like Eric Church, Zac Brown Band, Zach Bryan, Dave Matthews Band and James Taylor with Sheryl Crow.They’ll be joined by heavy hitters like Earth Wind and Fire, The Avett Brothers, Odesza, Imagine Dragons and Elvis Costello.Heck, even a few surprise groups from yesterday like A Flock of Seagulls, Smokey Robinson, Three 6 Mafia, Cypress Hill and Vanilla Fudge will be on hand to celebrate the annual festival’s 55th anniversary.Plus, 38 Special, Spin Doctors, Styx, Smash Mouth and Wang Chung too. Sorry — we couldn’t help ourselves.

After telling all nearly 22 years ago, Bebe Buell wants to set the record straight. The former model and rock star muse, who went on to become a momager to daughter Liv Tyler, first co-wrote a memoir titled "Rebel Heart" in 2001. But this time, the 69-year-old was eager to share her story on her terms.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic What the world needs now is Burt, sweet Burt, and there’s a bereft feeling to be had in knowing we won’t be getting any more of the haunting, mind-twisting melodies that characterized the composer’s work over a period of more than six decades of sumptuous pop. But Burt Bacharach left a gift behind — something he actually held the finished product of in his hands, before he died Feb. 8 at age 94: “The Songs of Bacharach & Costello,” a deluxe boxed set of the material he worked on with Elvis Costello from the mid-’90s on up till nearly the present day. As anthologized by Costello with Steve Berkowitz (who also helps assemble Bob Dylan’s “Bootleg Series” sets), the new collection is a worthy testament to a true maestro who was doing some of the best work of his life in his final decades.

Madonna, Guns N’ Roses, Duran Duran, B-52s, Bruce Springsteen and many, many more.In fact, over 100 more.You wouldn’t believe it but A Flock of Seagulls, Rick Springfield, Slick Rick, Kenny G and Billy Idol are all performing live over the next few months as well.With that being said, it doesn’t matter if singling along to “Like A Virgin,” “Welcome to the Jungle” or “Born In The U.S.A.” sends you back — we’ve got ‘something for everyone.Below, you’ll find a comprehensive list of 107 rock, pop, hard rock, alternative rock, new wave, R&B, hip-hop, jazz, folk, country, punk and Latin concert options to choose from.Plus, if you scroll to the bottom we have the ultimate ’80s-tastic festival.So, if you want to re-live your Gen X glory days or catch your favorite group live for the first time, here’s who you have to see and everything you need to know about each and every tour from opening acts to tour dates to how to get tickets.Now, fire up the time machine (and grab your shoulder pads, leg warmers, and gold lamé leotards while you’re at it) — we’re going back to the ’80s.Runs March 2 through Dec. 10(co-headlining w/ Stevie Nicks on select dates as part of ‘Two Icons, One Night’ Tour)Runs March 10 through Nov. 10(co-headlining w/ Billy Joel on select dates as part of ‘Two Icons, One Night’ Tour)Runs March 10 through Nov. 10Runs April 16 through May 8Featuring Toto on select datesRuns March 1 through May 19Runs March 1 through April 8Runs March 1 through June 24Featuring John MayerRuns May 4 through July 16Runs April 27 through June 30Featuring Loverboy on select datesRuns March 24 through Sept. 30Runs March 30 through Sept. 3Featuring Iggy Pop, The Strokes, St. Vincent, Mars Volta, The Roots and moreRuns March 29 through July

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It used to be that it was considered a Herculean feat if artists dug into their back catalogs to recreate two, three or even four classic albums in their entirety for a run of back-to-back concerts. Now, Elvis Costello has pulled off something to make even a stunt like that seem like the stuff of slackers. His 10-night stand at New York’s Gramercy Theatre was billed as “100 Songs and More,” with the artist laying out 10 unique songs he would be playing each night, just as a starting point. By the time the run wrapped up with one final three-hour show Wednesday night, the emphasis was on the …and more, with Costello actually having played exactly 250 songs over the course of the Feb. 9-22 residency (not counting interpolations), with only a handful of those breaking his vow to have no repeats between shows.

Elvis Costello has shared what the late Burt Bacharach was like to work with in the studio.The pair met in 1989 while working at the same recording studio, and continued working together for almost three decades.Costello was discussing working on their 1998 joint album ‘Painted From Memory’ in an interview with The Times and said that Bacharach was “very considerate, but he won’t let anything get in the way of the music, and all the geniality and elegance on the surface of the songs hides the power at the heart of them”.He continued: “Once he gets the shape of a melody he won’t negotiate. ‘Could I get a triplet, so I can use it against this three-syllable word?’ – ‘No, you can’t.’ After a while, the sheer rigour of his approach makes you fall into line.”Such “chance encounters” like he and Bacharach had, Costello said, don’t happen today because most artists work and collaborate remotely.

The music community has been paying tribute to Burt Bacharach, who has died aged 94. A representative confirmed to media that the legendary music-maker died on Wednesday at home in LA of natural causes.Born in Kansas City, Bacharach studied music at universities and schools in Montreal, New York and California.

The celebration of the best in Latin music is upon us with the Latin Grammys 2022 and new performers have been added to the gala set to take place in Las Vegas.

Green Day have come good on their teaser from earlier this week, revealing an expansive deluxe edition of their fifth album, ‘Nimrod’ – dubbed ‘Nimrod XXV’ – alongside a previously unreleased demo from its recording sessions.The drop comes exactly 25 years since the band released ‘Nimrod’ – the follow-up to 1995’s ‘Insomniac’ (for which Green Day also released a quarter-centennial edition) first hit shelves on October 14, 1997. It spawned four singles: ‘Hitchin’ A Ride’, ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’, ‘Redundant’ and ‘Nice Guys Finished Last’.The original album sported 18 tracks (tying it with 2009’s ‘21st Century Breakdown’ as Green Day’s longest), but a Japanese edition featured a bonus song called ‘Desensitized’, while an Australian version also featured the demos ‘Suffocate’, ‘Do Da Da’ and ‘You Lied’.