Benefits: Last News

Empire State Bastard have announced that Benefits will serve as opening support during their 2023 winter UK and EU tour.Kicking off on November 2, both bands will play the first show of the tour at the Alhambra venue in Paris, before making stops in Cologne, Amsterdam, Berlin and Hamberg that same week.From there, they will start the UK leg of the tour with a show in Cardiff on November 9. Other cities the band will hit include Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, as well as a slot at London’s Electric Ballroom on November 11.NEWS NEWS NEWS!!! Massively excited to say we're going to be supporting @ESB666_ on tour in November!!! Such an amazing band, we LOVE them and can't wait to play then have our ears blasted to smithereens every night.

Babyface, “My, My, My.”That was the feeling in the house at the Apollo on Tuesday night when both Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Usher Raymond IV — but really, only one name is necessary for each — were honored at the iconic Harlem institution as it celebrated its 90th anniversary with its annual spring benefit.No doubt — it was the ultimate soul-man showtime at the Apollo, raising more than $3 million for the nonprofit organization that has been the music mecca for everyone from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to James Brown and Aretha Franklin.Those velvet seats were feeling extra cushy on this night.After 2007 “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks opened the night with a medley of classics, it was all about the boys 90 years after the Apollo opened on Jan. 26, 1934, turning 125th Street into hollowed ground for generations of African-American artists.Given the fancy footwork that took Usher to the Super Bowl halftime stage this year, it was fitting that a dance performance including hits such as “Caught Up,” “Burn” and of course “Yeah!” paid tribute to the 45-year-old singer before he accepted the 2024 Icon Award.“It’s an Icon Award, so I feel like I can take a little more time,” Usher joked as he began his acceptance speech.And then he told the crowd that was standing in salute, “Don’t sit down — I love it.

Leslie Uggams made her debut at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater in 1952, she instantly won over the notoriously tough crowd as the “extra added attraction” on a bill with jazz great Louis Armstrong as headliner.“It was terrific … They loved me,” Uggams, now 81, told The Post about her 20-minute act, which included singing, tap-dancing and impressions. “I remember one of the songs was ‘When You’re Smiling.’ And another song was ‘Exactly Like You.’ And also ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street.’ ”The Harlem native — who earned her coveted spot on the Apollo stage by repeatedly winning a radio contest — wasn’t even nervous about not getting the local love when she was known as “Little Leslie Uggams.”“I was a ham,” she said with a laugh.

Spiritualized, The Mysterines and Benefits.This year’s event will be the 14th edition of the festival, and it will take place from May 9 to 11, and over 70 live acts have now been confirmed to appear. Tickets are available here.Other names on the bill include Deerhoof, Skinny Pelembe, Snapped Ankles, Melin Melyn, Flamingods, The Royston Club and Adwaith.A post shared by FOCUS Wales (@focuswales)FOCUS Wales claims to showcase more Welsh artists than any other regular event, and is sponsored by Creative Wales, a Welsh government agency that supports creative industries in Wales.

Benefits has shared a powerful statement regarding the ongoing Israel-Palestine war as well as Armistice Day.On November 9, the band took to their official Instagram account to discuss the current state of the world, specifically the ongoing Israel-Palestine war. “For the last week, we’ve travelled around a chunk of Northern Europe going from major city to major city with absolute ease.

Benefits have spoken to NME about making their Glastonbury Festival debut tonight (Friday June 23).The Teesside noise punks will be performing under the invitation of Billy Bragg on his legendary Left Field stage this evening, shortly after the mysterious set from The Churnups – widely believed to be Foo Fighters, or least something featuring Dave Grohl, after he was spotted on site earlier today.Still, Benefits frontman Kingsley Hall isn’t worried about pulling a big crowd shortly after. “We’re not up against them,” replied Hall. “As soon as they finish, we start. There’s no crossover.

Benefits, Cavetown, Big Joanie, Cassyette and more have been announced for Glastonbury‘s 2023 Left Field line-up.Other acts announced on the line-up, which spotlights “voices from the front line of the struggle in debate and performance”, include Deadletter, Crawlers, Billy Bragg, Delilah Bon, Kid Kapichi, Dréya Mac, Tom A. Smith, Lime Garden, Jamie Webster and Will Varley.“Recharge your activism with this year’s @glastoleftfield line-up,” the festival posted on Instagram, which hosts “purveyors of pop and politics at Glastonbury since 2002”.“As the shape of the post-pandemic world begins to form, it’s clear that people are more willing to stand up and be counted,” stage host Bragg wrote in a statement.

Benefits have announced debut album ‘Nails’ and shared its first single, the furious ‘Warhorse’.The band, led by frontman Kingsley Hall, have signed to Bristol’s Invada Records, the label of Portishead and BEAK>‘s Geoff Barrow, for the album, which will come out on April 21.“We could have released a record at any point over the last couple of years but held back because I wanted to wait until the right people came along,” Hall said of the signing and forthcoming album.Watch him sign the record contract at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium below.Ok. Here's some massive news. pic.twitter.com/a8DVTSubDG— Benefits (@Benefitstheband) February 27, 2023Of first single ‘Warhorse’, Hall added: “At some point if the boot continues to stamp on us, we’re going to react.

OSF HealthCare, a Catholic hospital system out of Illinois, has restricted the employee health plan benefits it offers to LGBTQ employees.The health care system changed its policy by narrowing the insurance plan’s definition of “infertility” from any person unable to get pregnant to “the inability for a married couple of opposite sex spouses to conceive.” According to Bloomberg News, OSF HealthCare has characterized the policy shift as attempting to “assist married opposite sex spouses” in conceiving a child.OSF HealthCare operates around 147 medical facilities in Illinois and Michigan, with over 24,000 employees. By amending the definition of fertility, only straight people — more accurately, employees in opposite-sex relationships — will be able to have their fertility treatments covered by their employee health care plan.Given the Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality and marriage, it is not surprising to see religious institutions or religiously-affiliated employers adopting policies that exclude LGBTQ individuals from benefits typically offered to married couples.Critics were quick to denounce OSF HealthCare’s new policy, arguing that an employer is not denying treatment to some of its workers due to “objections to the treatment they are seeking” — as it might in the case of an abortion or gender confirmation surgery — but merely due to their LGBTQ identity.Peter Romer-Friedman, an attorney who is representing a same-sex male couple who claims they were denied coverage for in vitro fertilization under New York City’s health insurance plan, told Bloomberg that he believes OSF HealthCare’s actions are a clear “violation” of federal workplace discrimination.

Benefits have announced plans for a headline UK tour in the autumn.The Teesside punk outfit will hit the road in November kicking off at Glasgow Stereo on November 18 with further dates lined up in Sunderland, Southampton, Exeter, Bristol Birmingham, London, Nottingham, Manchester and Leeds. You can view the full list of dates below.Tickets go on sale on Friday (April 29) at 10am and can be purchased here.Frontman Kingsley Hall also shared a lengthy message apologising for not being able to play Wales and Northern Ireland yet along with a host of towns and cities.Before you ask… pic.twitter.com/8DdMJVfBB2— Benefits (@Benefitstheband) April 27, 2022“There’s loads of places we’d liked to play that we’ve so far managed to miss – Wales, Northern Ireland, most of Scotland, East Anglia, the bit between London and the Midlands and we WILL rectify this, please be patient, we’re not ignoring you,” he wrote.“With a big wedge of luck and a decent slot at a pressing plant we’re hoping to have something to promote around this time next year and when that happens we want to be everywhere.

Benefits have announced details of their first ever 7″ single, to be released via Yard Act‘s Zen F.C. label.The new release will land on June 3, the day of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and feature recent singles ‘Empire’ and ‘Flag’.To celebrate the announcement of the new 7″ single, Benefits – aka Teesside-based artist Kingsley Hall – has shared a new video for ‘Flag’, which sees him taking a dip in the North Sea.Discussing the link-up with Yard Act, Benefits said: “In late 2020 we released a song called Traitors and I got a message from Yard Act saying they liked the song, in particular the line ‘we get the future you deserve‘.

Benefits, has thanked promoters for granting his wish that the band’s rider should include “something that will make my little girl smile”.Hall gave “special thanks” to promoters at The Bodega in Nottingham, York’s Fulford Arms and more venues for supplying the band’s tour rider with soft toys, books, chocolate and other gifts for his young daughter.It was in effort to reduce “frivolous waste” and to save money on bands’ typically booze-stocked riders, Hall explained to The Line of Best Fit.“One of the points of what we’re doing is to try and reimagine the way we’re doing gigs. When I booked the dates we were asked by various venues as to what our rider was and to be honest the usual staples that are usually provided don’t really appeal anymore.

Benefits have shared a fierce new track titled ‘Meat Teeth’ – you can check out its accompanying video below.The latest release from the Teesside punk outfit tells the tale of “overheard conversations and frustrations, underpinned by disillusionment and rage”.“Where will you be?/ Alone on your meat rack? Poundshop Balzac, where will you be?/ Up against some television piss wall, gimp faced clown in hand me downs. Plastic frowns.

Benefits have announced their first UK headline tour – you can find all the details below.The Teesside punk outfit will hit the road in February, with shows scheduled for Birmingham (February 21), London (22), Manchester (23), Nottingham (24), York (25) Newcastle (26) and Glasgow (27).Tickets go on general sale tomorrow (October 29) at 10am BST – you can buy yours from here.Announcing the tour on social media today (October 28), Benefits wrote: “Please buy tickets early if you’re coming, we’re fucking class and you don’t want to miss us.“We’re keeping ticket prices down as much as we can, everywhere is less than a tenner a ticket. We’re skimping on riders too, rather have cheaper tickets than half a crate of carling and some crisps.

Benefits have shared the typically stark new video for new single ‘Empire’. See it first on NME below.The latest track from the rising Pixies and Sleaford Mods-approved Teesside noise punks sees frontman Kingsley Hall launch another dissonant tirade about the dark side of life in Britain or, in his words, “an island of poppies and crosses, Union Jack carrots, flagpoles in the sand, rewritten history, industrial wastelands; the pub’s back open so no one cares“.It comes accompanied by a video filmed along The Black Path in Middlesbrough by Steven Bardgett of Teesside band Mouses.“‘Empire’ is about the constant conflict of bullshit that is gripping the country,” Hall told NME.

Youth will be served — in the most giving spirit.