Nick Lowe: Last News

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Nick Lowe and Shakespeare were wrong, about having to be cruel to be kind. A tour stop Tuesday in Anaheim that had Lowe supporting headliner Elvis Costello as an opening act before eventually joining him for three climactic duets was kindly and 100% cruelty-free, reuniting the two former studio workmates in a fashion that made it seem as if no 40-year intervals had passed at all, except for the incidental actually-getting-better factors. (You’re not getting older, you’re getting Basher, etc.) Not that the show at the City National Grove of Anaheim — one of several SoCal appearances this week by Costello, with and without Lowe in tow — needed its crowning dream-teaminess to come up aces. Costello’s current sets with the Imposters represent the best example rock ‘n’ roll has at the moment of a vast catalog of classic material played with improvisational vigor by one of the great bands the medium has known, augmented by fresh material that can stand proudly alongside the vintage. “Indoor Fireworks” was one of the quieter songs performed Tuesday, but it’s an apt description of what’s occurring on this can’t-miss outing (with apologies to the shed stops where the group pyro happens outdoors).

Glastonbury 2025.The Liverpool band, best known for their their version of The Drifters’ hit ‘Sweets For My Sweet’, ‘Sugar And Spice’ and ‘Don’t Throw Your Love Away’, will end nearly 70 years of touring with their debut at Worthy Farm on the Acoustic Stage on Friday, June 27, after the line-up was announced yesterday (March 22).Founding member John McNally told BBC News: “A Glastonbury debut at 83, can anyone top that? I don’t think life gets any better, does it? There will be a few nerves, but in a good way, and we’ll be nicely warmed up from our shows in June. We can’t wait to see our fans again for this incredible final farewell.”Bassist and singer Frank Allen, who joined the group in 1964, added: “I have played shows across the world with The Searchers for over 60 years; Glastonbury has always been an ambition that has eluded us – until now.“The Searchers are finally performing at the greatest music festival of them all.

Glastonbury has added more names to its 2025 line-up, as organisers share the bill for this year’s Acoustic Stage.In early March, the festival shared its first line-up poster for 2025, which revealed that the previously-confirmed Neil Young would be gracing the Pyramid Stage with his live band The Chrome Hearts on Saturday night. He’ll headline alongside The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo on Friday and Sunday, respectively.Elsewhere on the bill are Loyle Carner, Charli XCX, The Prodigy, Biffy Clyro, The Maccabees, Lucy Dacus, Father John Misty, RAYE, Wolf Alice, The Prodigy, Doechii, St.

Billie Joe Armstrong has shared his support for those caught up in the LA wildfires, while calling out some of the online “shitposting” about the disaster.The Green Day frontman delivered an impassioned speech during an intimate gig with his covers band, The Coverups, at the O2 Islington Academy in north London last night (January 15).“I just wanted to tell you guys to keep everybody in your hearts, and don’t be afraid to reach out or anything like that,” Armstrong told the crowd ahead of the show’s final song – a cover of ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding’.“I don’t know… This is gonna keep going for a long time,” he continued. “I don’t know how specifically you can do anything [to help] right now ’cause there’s a lot of stuff that’s on the internet, that people just are shitposting right now.”The singer and guitarist, who is from Oakland, California, then introduced the “last song” of the evening.

White Stripes frontman Jack White joined Conan O’Brien for ‘We’re Going to Be Friends’ at Newport Folk Festival.O’Brien, who introduced himself to the crowd as “folk music legend Conan O’Brien” played the festival on Sunday (July 28), in what turned out to be a star-studded affair.O’Brien’s long-time friend and podcast partner White was the final guest of the evening, which included guest appearances from Langhorne Slim, Nick Lowe, Brittany Howard, Nathaniel Rateliff and Mavis Staples.The two traded verses on the ‘White Blood Cells’ hit ‘We’re Going to Be Friends’, which is the theme song for O’Brien’s podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend. White was on electric guitar and O’Brien on acoustic.Jack White joined Conan O'Brien to perform "We're Going to Be Friends" at Newport Folk Fest pic.twitter.com/DgKKIgk4SC— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) July 29, 2024Throughout the set, the former Tonight Show host was riffing with the crowd, warning them early on: “I am here to prove I can ruin any genre.”After playing the White Stripes classic, White and O’Brien performed Eddie Cochran’s ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, which O’Brien followed by bringing out singers from throughout the day for a Newport finale sing-along of the traditional ‘Midnight Special’.‘Forty Days‘Ramblin’ Man‘Found My Heart’ (with Langhorne Slim)‘So It Goes’ (with Nick Lowe)‘Cruel to Be Kind’ (with Nick Lowe)‘Buckets of Rain’ (Bob Dylan cover)‘Come and Get Your Love’ (with Brittany Howard)‘Everybody’s Talkin’ (with Nathaniel Rateliff)‘Let It Bleed’ (with Nathaniel Rateliff)‘I’ll Take You There’ (with Mavis Staples)‘We’re Going to Be Friends’ (with Jack White)‘Twenty Flight Rock’ (with Jack White)‘Midnight Special’Elsewhere in the show, O’Brien played an original song

A special Red Nose Day 2024 show was broadcast live from Media City on Friday night (March 15).

Elvis Costello has unveiled details of a huge 10-night residency in New York next year.Costello revealed the plans for the residency while on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and said the gigs would feature a changing setlist.“I’m gonna play a 10-night stand in New York City next February,” Costello explained on the show.“But here’s the thing – I’m going to print a list of 10 songs a night that’s gonna give you a clue to what the night’s gonna be like. And the other 10 songs that I might play are a secret.”He went on to say that fans will “never hear the same song twice” and that the setlists would add up to “200 songs [played] over 10 nights.”He also revealed that for fans wanting to go to all 10 nights of the residency, a “special price” would be set.The residency will take place at Gramercy Theatre in February 2023.

Elvis Costello and Allan Mayes have reunited for their old musical project Rusty, and are releasing a new collection of music called ‘The Resurrection Of Rust.’Costello joined Mayes’ band Rusty on New Year’s Day in 1972 and while the band toured extensively for the next year, they didn’t make it into the recording studio.Now, Costello and Mayes have reunited and have made newly recorded renditions of six songs drawn from the band’s set lists from 1972.There are recordings of two Nick Lowe songs, ‘Surrender To The Rhythm’ and ‘Don’t Lose Your Grip On Love,’ as well as a version of Kentucky songwriter Jim Ford’s ‘I’m Ahead If I Can Quit While I’m Behind’.There are also two originals, ‘Warm House’  and ‘Maureen And Sam’ together with an arrangement incorporating the Neil Young songs ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’ and ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’, the latter of which sees Costello making his debut on the electric violin.‘The Resurrection Of Rust’ will be on sale on CD at Costello’s in-person events and concerts.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticEarlier this year, Elvis Costello released an album titled “The Boy Named If.” Now, as a follow-up, he’s putting out an EP of songs that really were conceived or covered when he was a boy.His first band, in 1972, was called Rusty, and now he and another principal from that group, Allan Mayes, have joined forces to record and release the very first Rusty EP — or, as Costello says of it, “the record we would have cut when we were 18, if anyone had let us.”The six-song release, “The Resurrection of Rust,” is already being released, exclusively for now, at Costello’s tour stops in the U.K.; it showed up at his merch table Sunday night in Leeds, much to the puzzlement of fans who wondered what a “Rust” was. It comes out for everyone else on June 10, digitally and on CD in territories except the U.S.; July 1, on CD in the U.S.; and on vinyl worldwide later in the summer.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters have unveiled details of a new, North American tour today (February 17).The Imposters are comprised of Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Davey Faragher (bass/backing vocals).

Chris Willman Music WriterElvis Costello and the Imposters will embark on a U.S. tour this August, joined on most of the dates by Nick Lowe, Costello’s original late ’70s/early ’80s producer and, of course, the man who knows the answer to the question “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.”Costello and Lowe last shared a touring bill in 1989.

Elvis Costello stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Friday night (January 21) to deliver a pair of performances including an impromptu medley.The singer-songwriter released ‘The Boy Named If’ – his new album with The Imposters – last week (January 14), which features the singles ‘Farewell, OK’, ‘Magnificent Hurt’ and ‘Paint The Red Rose Blue’.The Imposters are comprised of Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Davey Faragher (bass/backing vocals).During Costello’s appearance on the US late night chat show, he and the band performed a standalone rendition of ‘Magnificent Hurt’ followed by a surprise medley that combined ‘Farewell, OK’ and his 1978 cover of Nick Lowe’s ‘(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, And Understanding’.You can check out Costello’s performances below:In addition to the performances, Costello sat down with Colbert for a three-part interview which saw him discuss the new album, working with Paul McCartney, Peter Jackson’s recent Beatles documentary Get Back, defending Olivia Rodrigo and more. You can see his chat with Colbert below.Produced by Sebastian Krys and Costello, and released on EMI, ‘The Boy Named If’ – the full title of which is actually said to be ‘The Boy Named If (And Other Children’s Stories)’ – was released on CD, vinyl, cassette, download and streaming. There were also some numbered and signed, 88-page “Hardback Storybook Edition” versions.Costello and the band recently announced that they’ll be heading out on a UK tour in support of the new album.