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Download, the daddy of UK rock festivals, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. We take a look at two decades of (very) loud live music…

So, if you’ve never been to Download what can you expect?

This is a metal, mayhem and mud spectacular that is beaten in size only by Glastonbury. If you like your music loud, heavy and played on a screaming guitar and cannot resist a mosh pit, this is the festival for you.

Not for nothing is it such a big draw: over the years it has played host to names so big you don’t need to be a rock fan to know them. We’re talking Black Sabbath, Slipknot, Motörhead, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Kiss, Status Quo, ZZ Top and Guns N’ Roses. We could go on…

Where is it?

Download is hosted at what’s been dubbed the spiritual home of rock, Leicestershire’s Donington Park. The site also played host to the annual one-dayer Monsters Of Rock for 16 years from 1980 to 1996, with Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest putting in a one-time appearance in 2002.

Download set out to be something more ambitious though – originally conceived as a two-day camping festival with a more contemporary vibe.

These days it has grown into a four-day spectacular and has, in the past, spawned spin-off events in Paris, Sydney, Melbourne and Germany.

So why is it called it Download?

Glad you asked: the reason makes for an interesting trip down a musical memory lane. Back in 2003, downloading music was still a controversial concept. Three years earlier, Metallica had successfully sued Napster (then a peer-to-peer filesharing pioneer). Tickets in that first year included a special code that allowed festival-goers to download tracks for free.

And it’s been going ever since?

Yup. And there has been a festival every year since, including during the pandemic, when virtual events were staged with the launch of Download TV, which, despite its name, couldn’t be downloaded to watch at a later date. So just like the IRL event, you had to be there…

The debut year got off to a shaky start. Festival booker Andy Copping was convinced it was going to be a catastrophe after the headliner, Limp Bizkit, cancelled just weeks before.

‘We were a headliner down in our first year, which was a complete disaster,’ he says.

In the end just one of the 25,000 punters wanted their money back, and Download’s debut was deemed an overwhelming success.

Metallica are headlining this year, right?

They are. And it seems fitting – as they were there in 2003. ‘They did the secret set,’ Andy tells Metro. ‘We told nobody. They were halfway down the bill, on the second stage, as Everest – nobody knew who they were. That was a massive talking point.’

What have been some of the other highlights over the years?

Andy lists his personal favourites as AC/DC in 2010, The Prodigy and Black Sabbath (both in 2012) and Iron Maiden and Rammstein who were headlining a year later. Incidentally, Maiden’s appearance for the tenth anniversary included a Spitfire flyover, with frontman Bruce Dickinson personally co-ordinating with the fighter plane’s pilot so the second the aircraft swooped over the crowd, the band could leap out and play Aces High.

‘Quite possibly the best introduction to any band set ever,’ says Andy.

I’ve heard Downloaders are particularly dedicated bunch?

You could say that. As Andy explains: ‘I know of no other festival anywhere in the world where the fans have the festival name, or mascot, tattooed on their bodies. You don’t see anybody with a Coachella or a Glastonbury tattoo. Yet you see hundreds and hundreds of Download fans with Download tattoos. I think that says something about the festival that sets us so far apart from all the others.’

After 20 years, are there any rock bands that haven’t played Download?

After two decades of line-ups, it does feel like that. But Andy still has a sizeable wish-list. He says: ‘Green Day – I’d love them to play the festival. Also Blink 182, Foo Fighters. I think Bon Jovi would be great.’

I think we can safely call that your invite, guys…

Anyone else?

Shockingly, the festival is yet to have a female headliner. Paramore would be incredible!

Anything else it’s known for?

It was once dubbed Britain’s filthiest festival – something we rather suspect Download fans take as a badge of honour.

So who’s headlining this year…

Understandably excited about their big birthday, Andy and his team are going to town. Metallica – as you know – and then Slipknot, Bring Me The Horizon, Skindred… the list goes on.

Sounds fab. Can I still get tickets?

Way too late. But there’s always next year…

Download kicks off today and runs until Sunday, download.co.uk

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Neil Young is kicking off a tour in July following a four-year hiatus from the road — but don’t expect a traditional set. In a live Zoom late Wednesday afternoon with paid Patron subscribers to the Neil Young Archives, he revealed that he’s been rehearsing a show centered largely around songs he’s never played live. The official announcement is slated for Friday, but he said it’ll begin on the West Coast in early July.

The rationale for dumping his traditional repertoire is simple: “I don’t want to come back and do the same songs again,” he said. “I’ll feel like I was on some sort of carnival ride. I’d rather be doing these others songs I haven’t done…I won’t have to compare how I’m doing ‘Heart of Gold’ to [how I played it in] 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020…”

Young said that he’s prepared a list of about 15 tracks for the show, including “Song X” from his 1995 Pearl Jam collaboration Mirror Ball, “Prime of Life” from 1994’s Sleeps With Angels, and the 1982 Trans outtake “If You Got Love.” “I did a demo of [“If You Got Love”] a few years [after Trans] with a synclavier, a drum machine, harmonica, and some effects,” Young said. “I listened to it [recently], and it turned me on again. I’m now doing it with the organ and harmonica. It’s pretty cool.”

He’s not totally jettisoning his classic tunes, but he estimates that 80 percent of the show will be songs known largely to hardcore fans. “They’re not new songs,” he says. “They’re old songs. But I wake up with them in my head every morning. They are songs that apply to my life right now, and apply to everyone’s lives in this era that we’re in. Some of them were written 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago, but never really played live.”

We’ll have to wait until Friday to see where exactly the tour is hitting, but Young says it’ll begin with a four or five-night residency at a West Coast “tiny, little unknown theater that’s close to one of the most well-known theaters in the world.”

Young didn’t perform in public a single time between Farm Aid in September 2019 and the United For Old Growth Rally in Victoria, British Columbia, on February 25 this year. That was a mere two-song acoustic set, but he followed it up on April 22 with an extended show with former bandmate Stephen Stills at the Hollywood Bowl and a brief appearance at Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday concert a the Hollywood Bowl later the month.

Young’s reluctance to perform was largely rooted in concerns about the spread of Covid. “I don’t want to play until you feel safe, and it is indeed, safe,” he said when pulling out of Farm Aid in 2021. “My soul tells me it would be wrong to risk having anyone die because they wanted to hear music and be with friends.”

Earlier this year, he also blasted Ticketmaster for their exorbitant service fees and huge resale mark-ups. “The old days are gone,” he wrote. “I get letters blaming me for $3,000 tickets for a benefit I am doing. That money does not go to me or the benefit. Artists have to worry about ripped off fans blaming them for Ticketmaster add-ons and scalpers. Concert tours are no longer fun. Concerts tours are not what they once were.”

Los Angeles, Jun 8 (PTI) Late rapper Tupac Shakur was finally honoured with his Hollywood Walk of Fame star during a ceremony that saw his sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur accept the award on his behalf.

The honour comes almost 30 years after the hip-hop icon’s death. Also an actor, a poet and an activist, Shakur was killed in September 1996 in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas when he was only 25.

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The event was hosted by radio personality Big Boy on Wednesday, reported website Entertainment Weekly.

In her address, Sekyiwa said the ceremony recognised her brother’s dream of having a star on the historic landmark. Shakur received the 2,758th star, located at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard.

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“From the first time he stepped foot on the stage of the Apollo Theater at 13, before anyone recognised his name, he knew he had the dream to have a star here on the Walk of Fame.

“Today, we’re not just honouring a star in the ground, but we’re honouring the work and the passion that he’s put into making his dreams come true. His heavenly star will shine a little brighter today. And once again, he has made us all extremely proud,” Sekyiwa said.

The ceremony also witnessed speeches by Jamal Joseph and Allen Hughes, producer and director of Hulu’s docuseries “Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur”, rapper YG and members of Shakur’s Outlawz group.

Shakur, known for hits such as “California Love”, “All Eyez On Me”, and “Dear Mama”, was inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 by Snoop Dogg.

After his death in 1996, the rapper “performed” posthumously onstage via hologram with Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg at 2012’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)

Dean Dinning believes in the power of music. The longtime bassist of Toad the Wet Sprocket was once a teen in a crowd of 90,000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was 1987, and U2 was on its international Joshua Tree Tour. The show was over and Bono had left the stage, but it was the audience that awed him. “People kept on singing the last chorus while they were walking to their vehicles, like the concert never ended,” says Dinning. “And I thought, ‘This is incredible. These people are bonded now and together we can lift each other.’ We all felt hope.”

Today the bassist considers “opening people’s hearts” to be the best part of his job – the job he started just a year before that fateful concert. On June 17, Toad will lead a lineup of ‘90s icons at the One Roof Festival in Northampton.

One Roof was founded on hope. The tiny nonprofit’s goal is to build tiny homes for the unsheltered, and 100% of festival sales, donations and sponsorships go to the cause. The staff are volunteers led by Dr. Jonathan Bayuk, a local allergist who was once an aspiring musician – specifically, an aspiring Pete Townshend – at the New England Conservatory of Music.

Now the president of the Allergy & Immunology Associates of New England, Bayuk became a critical community resource during the pandemic, even earning the moniker “Dr. Covid.” Still, he says, “It’s a lot easier to be a doctor than a rock star.”

Two years ago, the physician combined his love of music with another lifelong passion: to help the unsheltered. As a kid, he was introduced to homelessness while shopping for school clothes with his mom in Boston’s Downtown Crossing, where the unsheltered on the streets seemed to get lost in the crowd. He took up the cause as an adolescent.

In Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin and Berkshire counties there are 3,305 unsheltered individuals – the highest number recorded in the past 5 years – according to The Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness. The Rehousing Data Collective reported that last year there were 34,579 people experiencing homelessness statewide.

“It’s pretty clear that the existence of homelessness in a society like ours is a choice,” says Dan Prindle, Bayuk’s “partner-in-crime” at One Roof. “And we can make different choices.” The owner of the Easthampton-based Prindle School, he began his career touring with Rane, a New England-based rock band that opened for The Allman Brothers and Tom Petty. When he met Bayuk 2 years ago, he was happy to use his connections to get One Roof off the ground.

Prindle posits that apathy may be at the root of systemic problems like homelessness. “It’s not that people don’t care,” he says, “but we all live difficult and busy lives, and we’re all trying to make sure we take care of ourselves and our own families, so it’s hard sometimes to find the time or the energy to take up a cause.”

While it may seem counterproductive, Dinning notes that simply slowing down can shift perspective. “I think we go through life programmed with this ‘more, more, more’ attitude, not realizing that you can take a moment and look around and realize that you don’t need anymore,” he says. “When you can have that, you can have the realization that people need our help and we’ll all be better off if we’re a society that cares for each other.”

One Roof makes caring easy. “You can make a donation on the web site, you can buy a concert ticket, you can come to a concert, or you can encourage a business to sponsor,” says Prindle. “Just by doing those simple things you’re already making a contribution.”

“Tickets are $45,” says Bayuk. “It’s pretty reasonable for 9 hours of professional bands.”

This will be the organization’s 3rd festival. In addition to Toad and fellow headliners the Gin Blossoms, the bill features Juliana Hatfield, Kay Hanley (of Letters to Cleo), Marcy Playground, The Sighs and Amy Rigby. Local bands The Glad Machine and Eavesdrop round out the line-up. The show will take place on June 17 at the Pines Theater in Northampton’s Look Park at 1 p.m.

Eavesdrop’s frontwoman Kara Wolf is thrilled to be playing among so many ‘90s legends. “I may or may not have an old mixtape” of the artists, she says. If she did, the A-side would definitely feature the Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy” and Toad’s “Walk on the Ocean.” But like Toad, Eavesdrop is seriously invested in using music to make a difference.

“If you have a platform, you have to use it for good,” she says. “Dr. Bayuk has the ability to make this happen for us, but every time we’re on stage, we talk about who needs to be lifted up.” The 7-member band began as an acoustic trio and has been a fixture in western Massachusetts for nearly a decade.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bayuk told her when he first reached out. “But next time is going to be even bigger.” Ultimately, he sees One Roof becoming like Farm Aid. He has already reached out to Gillette Stadium, where ticket sales for 66,000 could yield one tiny neighborhood.

For now, the goal is to raise enough money for one or two tiny homes. The modest success would demonstrate to potential donors that One Roof is a big idea worth a large investment.

“We want to put on a great concert, and it’s going to be a great concert,” says Prindle. “But at the end of the day, that’s really a means to an end.”

Still, it’s a meaningful one. “Music is on a different level than thought,” says Dinning. “You can be overwhelmed and carried away by it – and that enters the realm of magic.”

To attend, donate, sponsor or volunteer, visit www.onerooffestival.org.

Miley Cyrus continues to enjoy tremendous success with her hit single “Flowers,” which has maintained a strong presence on the Billboard charts months after its initial release. The singer-songwriter has undoubtedly achieved a massive victory, with the American audience showing no signs of growing tired of the song.

This week, “Flowers” holds its position at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart, which ranks the tunes that reach the largest audience at radio in the United States. The track’s reign atop this fiercely competitive tally has now extended to an impressive 16 weeks. Billboard points out that this achievement places “Flowers” among the longest-running No. 1 hits in the history of the chart.

“Flowers” is now tied as the third-longest-running No. 1 song on the Radio Songs chart. With its sixteenth week at the top, Cyrus surpasses Adele’s “Easy on Me.” Both tracks had been on equal footing with 15 weeks each, but Cyrus has now forged ahead while Adele’s most recent chart-topper remains steady.

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Cyrus finds herself in the company of three other major hit singles, as all four tracks share the distinction of spending 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart. Alongside Cyrus are Maroon 5 and Cardi B’s “Girls Like You,” Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together,” and No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.”

While “Flowers” has achieved remarkable success, there are two tracks that have spent even more time reigning over the Radio Songs chart. Leading the pack is The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” which holds a significant lead with an impressive 26-week run at No. 1 a few years ago. Sitting in second place are the Goo Goo Dolls, with their pop-rock anthem “Iris” having enjoyed 18 weeks at the chart’s summit in the late ’90s.

Considering the continued popularity and airplay “Flowers” is receiving across the United States, it has the potential to surpass Maroon 5 and Cardi B, Carey, and No Doubt in just a matter of days. The song shows no signs of descending from its peak position on the Radio Songs chart, further solidifying its status as a historic and bona fide hit.

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by: Wil Day

Posted: Jun 7, 2023 / 05:04 PM CDT

Updated: Jun 7, 2023 / 05:09 PM CDT

DERBY, Kan. (KSNW) — Smoke on the Plains, Derby’s annual barbeque and music festival is returning for its 12th year.

The festival takes place June 9th and 10th at High Park in Derby. There will be food trucks, and a Kids Corner featuring princess and superhero lessons, inflatable bounce houses, face painting, and other activities.

Visitors can sample and judge professional barbeque during two competitions following the Kansas City Barbeque Society rules and judging. Saturday will feature a morning 5K run and a car show.

There will be live music throughout the festival, with concerts on both nights. For more information and a complete schedule of events, click here.

A few weeks ago, I highlighted some of the summer concert events I am most excited about — from Nipperfest in Schenectady’s Central Park on July 22 to the triple bill of hip-hop pioneers Big Daddy Kane, Black Sheep and Roxanne Shante at Empire Plaza in Albany on Aug. 2.

But that column was more about my taste, so I decided to query some local music fans to find out what upcoming musical events they are most excited to attend this summer.

Summer tends to bring larger acts to the area at venues such as Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and a sense of nostalgia is often involved in the concert choices. We like music that brings us back to our youth.

For Kathy Conway of Amsterdam, that means seeing Gary Puckett & The Union Gap on the Happy Together tour with the Turtles, the Cowsills and other 1960s pop bands at Albany’s Palace Theatre on Aug. 1.

“In the late ’60s, my first concert was Gary Puckett & The Union Gap opening for Judy Collins in Albany. My dream came true!” said Conway. “Attending Gary Puckett & The Union Gap shows are a way for me to relive my first favorite band from my teenage years.”

Conway owns a complete collection of 45 RPM records from the ‘60s pop band, known for hits such as “Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower” and “Woman, Woman.” She first heard the band playing on her transistor radio, and even got to meet Puckett at a Spectacular Sixties concert at Proctors in Schenectady in 2014.

“Gary Puckett is still singing songs and touring even after all those years. I picked a keeper ‘first band’ to follow way back in the late ‘60s,” Conway said.

For the Generation X cohort, the nostalgia concert of the summer might be the indie rock triple bill of the Pixies, Modest Mouse and Cat Power at MASS MoCA’s Joe’s Field on Aug. 26.

The Pixies were a relatively short-lived band in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but following their acrimonious 1993 breakup the group’s stature in the music world only grew, influencing bands from Nirvana to Weezer. When the Pixies re-formed in 2004, fans were ready.

The offbeat indie rock band, known for gloriously quirky songs like “Monkey Gone to Heaven” and “Here Comes Your Man,” have now been together longer post-reunion than they were initially a group. The Pixies regularly release new music and tour, although the role of original bassist Kim Deal, an integral part of the group, is now filled by bassist Paz Lenchantin.

Still, the nostalgia component to the Pixies’ appeal remains.

“The Pixies album ‘Surfer Rosa’ was released my junior year of high school, and along with ‘Doolittle’ it was a major part of the soundtrack of my youth,” said Kim Marsella of Gansevoort.

“The later albums helped me get through college and grad school, but I’ve never seen the band live. Although I would love to see Kim Deal, who I just worshipped in high school and still do, I’m still super excited. I also think Modest Mouse will be fun to see. I love their energy.”

For many area music fans, the tour by Dead & Company, which comes to SPAC on June 17, is not to be missed.

This summer’s tour will be the final one by Dead & Company, who represent the best opportunity to relive the spirit and music of legendary jam band the Grateful Dead, which ended in 1995 after the death of frontman Jerry Garcia.

Dead & Company formed in 2015 when the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir joined forces with musician John Mayer, Allman Brothers’ bassist Oteil Burbridge, and Fare Thee Well and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. The supergroup quickly became one of the most popular touring bands.

“I grew up listening to taped copies of recorded Grateful Dead shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s,” said Tara Eaton of Saratoga Springs. “I was at the last show Jerry played at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany in March 1990. So, for me, seeing a Dead & Co show is an embodiment of the ‘60s and ‘70s counterculture and the San Francisco revolutionary spirit of that moment in our history. It’s happy, exciting, everyone is vibin’, and the songs are poetry in motion.”

“At a Dead show, you feel like there is a real chance for peace and love for our fellow humans to reign — like there’s hope for a better world,” Eaton said, adding. “Let your love light shine!”

Another undeniably popular act is Dave Matthews Band, which has performed at SPAC more than 40 times since 1994. The South African-born Matthews has always been a big fan of the Saratoga Springs amphitheater, where he typically returns for two shows every summer.

Alisa Huggins of Glens Falls has been to every Dave Matthews show at SPAC since 2000, and has seen his band perform a total of 58 times throughout the Northeast. She and her friends make a full day of it, staging picnics in the pavilions at Saratoga Spa State Park before Dave takes the stage. She even met Matthews at Farm Aid at SPAC in 2013, when he was on the bill for the farm advocacy organization, of which he is a founding member.

Matthews’ deeply nostalgic songs tend to resonate personally with his audience.

“It’s a yearly tradition. I’ve made a number of friends through the years bonding over our love for the music,” said Huggins.

Here are some other picks by area music fans:

Laura Jane Grace, Empire Underground in Albany, June 28

“I’m excited because I think the songwriting and music are fantastic, and they speak to me. But I also recognize the importance of LJG as a visible role model for those who might be transitioning or struggling with their own gender dysphoria. Brave people inspire other people to be brave and be themselves.” — Diana Steenburg, Albany

Tears for Fears, SPAC in Saratoga Springs, July 2

“Tears for Fears remain my favorite pop band from the ‘80s. Their more recent albums are just as good or better than their early work. Solid songwriting, catchy hooks, great balance of new wave sounds and electric guitar work. I saw them open for Hall & Oates some years ago, and they stole the show. I’m excited to see them in a headlining slot.” — Bob Buckley, Albany

X, Empire Live in Albany, July 3

“To me, they remain an important band, and they get out there and prove that they still enjoy sharing the music and history with the crowd. I missed the very early iterations of their fame, so this is only my third live X show, and I wouldn’t miss it.” — Chris Nemeth, Albany

Big Thief, Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston, July 19

“Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker has gotten increasingly adventurous with her songwriting and arrangements, so I’m eager to see how the band performs her songs live.” — Eric Schneider, Saratoga Springs

Julia Jacklin, Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, Aug. 4

“She’s an Aussie singer with an incredible voice. I caught her twice pre-COVID at the Shaky Knees festival in Atlanta, and it will be amazing to see her in such an intimate venue.” — Craig McAvoy, Waterford

Messer Chups, No Fun in Troy, Aug. 21

“Summer is all about hitting the beach and catching some tasty waves, so I’m eagerly looking forward to the killer surf/rockabilly/twang/rock ‘n’ roll lineup of Messer Chups, Ichi-Bons and Albany’s own Jagaloons. Messer Chups from St. Petersburg, Russia, look like a motorcycle mechanic and a craft brewer kidnapped a Bettie Page look-alike to have her play bass in their band. I’m interested in any band that has been known to rock the ‘Twin Peaks’ theme live.” — Leif Zurmuhlen, Schenectady

Categories: Entertainment