US festival Lovers & Friends was cancelled less than 15 hours before it was scheduled to begin due to “dangerous weather”.

Promoted by Live Nation, the one-day festival was supposed to kick off on midday Saturday (4 May) in Las Vegas, US, with headlining sets from Usher, Backstreet Boys, Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys.

However, an overnight statement from organisers said they had been “monitoring the weather for several days and proactively preparing for a windy Saturday,” but decided it was too unsafe after advice from public officials and the National Weather Service, which warned of high winds and “gusts potentially more than 60 mph.”

“This was an incredibly heartbreaking decision to make as we are aware that fans have travelled from all over the world to enjoy this incredible lineup of superstars and have been looking forward to this event for several months,” the statement said. “We’ve worked hard to create an amazing event for you, and we are just as disappointed as you are.”

Ja Rule, Ashanti, Gwen Stefani, Monica, Brandy, Nas, M.I.A., Snoop Dogg, Ciara and Ludacris were also featured on the 90s-centric lineup.

“This was an incredibly heartbreaking decision to make as we are aware that fans have travelled from all over the world”

Tickets ranged from $325 (€302) to $695 (€645). Organisers said those who purchased tickets through official channels will receive a refund within 30 days.

Since launching in 2020, Friends & Lovers Festival has experienced its fair share of upsets. When it was first announced in 2020, several artists on its lineup denied their involvement. That year’s event was later cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The festival finally debuted in Vegas in 2022 but three attendees later sued organisers, claiming they failed to provide adequate safety and security measures when rumours of gunfire at the event caused them to be trampled in a stampede. The case is still pending.

Lovers & Friends is the latest festival impacted by extreme weather, following the recent cancellation of California’s Sol Blume.

In the US, adverse weather coverage has “increased significantly” in the last five years, according to Jeff Torda from Higginbotham. Backing this point, a recent Billboard article claimed premiums in North America had tripled in recent years.

The latest edition of ILMC also saw industry leaders discussing ways to cope with the impact of weather on festivals and open-air live music events.

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The 2020 Grammy Awards took place last night (Sunday 26 January), in a ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles that saw Paradigm-repped Billie Eilish become the second artist ever to take home all four top awards.

Billie Eilish, who performed a rendition of her song ‘When the Party’s Over’ at the event, was crowned the year’s best new artist, as well as winning prizes for album of the year (When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?), and both record and song of the year for ‘Bad Guy’. The 18-year-old, who also won the award for best pop vocal album, is the first woman to achieve a clean sweep of all four major awards.

Lizzo, who led the nominations list with eight in total, took home three awards, for best pop solo performance (‘Truth Hurts’), best traditional R&B performance (‘Jerome’) and best urban contemporary album (Cuz I Love You). The singer, who is represented by Matthew Morgan at WME, opened the ceremony with performances of ‘Cuz I Love You’ and ‘Truth Hurts’.

Other major awards went to Tyler the Creator for best rap album, Anderson Paak for best R&B album, Cage the Elephant for best rock album, Tanya Tucker for best country album, the Chemical Brothers for best dance/electronic album and Alejandro Sanz for best latin pop album.

Paradigm-repped Billie Eilish become the second artist ever to take home all four top awards

Several artists went home without an award, despite multiple nominations. Ariana Grande and H.E.R failed to convert despite appearances in five categories, whereas Lucky Daye, Yola and Thom Yorke missed out on silverware in four categories each.

Performances on the night came from an array of artists, including Ariana Grande, who sang ‘Imagine’ and ‘7 Rings’; Usher, who performed a Prince tribute with Sheila E. and FKA Twigs; best rap album winner Tyler the Creator, who performed ‘Earfquake’; Spanish star Rosalía, winner of best latin rock, urban or alternative album, who sang ‘Juro Que’; and host Alicia Keys, who delivered her own version of Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Someone You Loved’.

Alicia Keys made passing reference to the controversy which has gripped the Recording Academy in the past week, following allegations made by former CEO Deborah Dugan. The Grammys host was also among those on the night to pay tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

A full list of award winners can be found here.

Photo: © Lars Crommelinck Photography/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) (cropped)

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Songs performed at Saturday’s 61st Grammy Awards by Lady Gaga, Kacey Musgraves, Bradi Carlile, H.E.R. and others, collectively contributed to a 480% increase in digital download sales, according to Nielsen Music.

The songs performed at the awards ceremony, including H.E.R.’s ‘Hard Place’ (up 102,000%), Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Rainbow’ (up 9,430%), Brandi Carlile’s ‘The Joke’ (up 2,771%) and Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ‘Shallow’ (up 229%), collectively sold 71,000 downloads on the day of the show, 12,000 more than on the day before the awards.

‘Shallow’, winner of best pop duo/ group performance, was the biggest seller of all Grammy-performed songs, selling 14,000 downloads on the day of the awards. The song lost out to Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ in the record of the year category, a win predicted by artificial intelligence platform, DataRobot.

Musgraves’ Golden Hour, winner of album of the year and best country album at the Grammys, also saw a vast increase in sales, selling over 3,000 copies on Saturday, up from less than 1,000.

Songs performed at the awards ceremony collectively sold 71,000 downloads on the day of the show, 12,000 more than the day before

Songs featuring in a Dolly Parton tribute performed by Musgraves, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Parton herself, among others, also registered sales increases. The original Parton versions of the five songs performed in the medley sold 6,000 downloads collectively, up 718% in comparison to the previous day’s 1,000 downloads.

The sum includes Parton’s renditions of ‘Here You Come Again’, ‘Jolene’, ‘Red Shoes’ and ‘9 to 5’, along with her version of Neil Young’s ‘After the Gold Rush’.

This year’s Grammy Awards, held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, saw other notable performances from awards host Alicia Keys, Janelle Monae, Shawn Mendes, Cardi B, and St Vincent and Dua Lipa, winner of best new artist.

See the full list of winners at the Recording Academy website.

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Alicia Keys has been announced as the third and final headliner for Dubai Jazz Festival 2019, the first edition of the long-running event under new owner Done Events.

Joining the previously announced Snow Patrol, who will headline on Wednesday 20 February, are Jamiroquai, who will top the bill on Thursday 21 February, and Alicia Keys, who takes headliner duties on Friday 22 February, the final day of the festival.

Both acts last played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2013.

Three-day festival tickets for Dubai Jazz 2019 went on sale today via www.dubaijazzfest.com and Virgin Megastores across the UAE.

Dubai Jazz Festival, which celebrates its 17th edition in 2019, was acquired by Done Events, the promoter of RedFestDXB and largest events firm in the region, earlier this month.

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German singer-songwriters Tim Bendzko and Max Giesinger tonight bring a successful 2017 edition of Baloise Session to a close, with the Swiss festival just missing selling out after having welcomed more than 15,400 people to Basel’s Messeplatz over its ten days.

The indoor festival, which takes place in an “intimate club-like setting by candlelight”, this year ran from 21 October to 9 November, with its traditional series of themed shows this year featuring ‘Electronic Cosmos, ‘Pop Superstars’, German- and Icelandic-themed nights and two “Evenings with…” Alicia Keys.

In addition to Keys’ (pictured) two shows, highlights included well-received performances by Chris Rea, Nelly Furtado, Goldfrapp, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Imelda May, Madness and Kool & the Gang.

“The two appearances by Alicia Keys were the realisation of a long-held dream”

CEO Beatrice Stimmerman says she is “delighted by the success of our 2017 edition. “For us, the two appearances by Alicia Keys were the realisation of a long-held dream,” she explains. “With feeling, power and soul, [she] raised goosebumps among the audience in our intimate club-like setting. A real milestone in our 32-year festival history!”

She continues: “Lots of music fans around the world followed the concert live over the online live-streaming platform ARTE Concert, and the performance by Kool & the Gang was also streamed live. This extends the international reach of Baloise Session.”

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Swiss festival mainstay Baloise Session has unveiled its 2017 line-up, with Alicia Keys, Madness, Chris Rea, Goldfrapp, Kool & the Gang and Clean Bandit among the big names appearing on this year’s characteristically genre-bending bill.

The indoor festival, which takes place in an “intimate club-like setting by candlelight” at Messeplatz in Basel, this year runs from 21 October to 9 November, and, as is tradition, features a series of themed shows, including ‘Electronic Cosmos, ‘Pop Superstars’, German- and Icelandic-themed nights and two “Evenings with…” Keys.

The number of dates has been trimmed from 12 to ten for Baloise Session 2017 – its second festival following the passing of founder Thomas Müller last July – something festival director Beatrice Stirnimann says is a reflection of its philosophy that “less is sometimes more”. “We’re focusing on quality, not quantity”, she said at a press conference earlier this week.

The full line-up is below:

Tickets are on sale at 8am next Wednesday (30 August) from www.baloisesession.ch and Ticketcorner.

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