People
MINNEAPOLIS — Warner Bros. Records announced a new Prince album on what would have been the musician's 60th birthday.
The company said Thursday that “Piano & A Microphone 1983” from Prince's storied vault will be released on Sept. 21 on CD, vinyl and digital formats.
Warner Bros. says the album features Prince working through nine tracks in a private rehearsal recording at his now-demolished home studio in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen.
Among the songs are “17 Days,” Joni Mitchell's “A Case of You,” “Strange Relationship,” “International Lover” and “Purple Rain,” the title song of Prince's 1984 hit movie.
Also included is Prince performing the spiritual “Mary Don't You Weep.”
Prince was 57 when he died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2016.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For 17 years, the unofficial start of one of the biggest weeks for fans of country music has been Marty Stuart's “Late Night Jam,” which precedes the four-day Country Music Association Festival.
Stuart kicked it off this year on Wednesday night with performances by country vocal powerhouse Chris Stapleton, country-rock pioneers Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, singer-songwriter John Prine and country singer Margo Price, as well as others. The show raises money for MusiCares, the charitable arm of the Recording Academy.
At the Ryman Auditorium, Stuart told jokes and stories about growing up under the tutelage of Lester Flatts and Roy Acuff.
“I've got some cool friends, don't I?” Stuart told the sold-out crowd.
Stuart, with his shock of gray hair, mused that much has changed since he started hosting the show. “This used to be called 'Fan Fair,”' Stuart said, before adding an oft-cited but incorrect statistic that 100 people now move to Nashville every day. “Go home,” he joked.
Hillman and McGuinn, who recently announced that Stuart will join them on their 50th-anniversary tour celebrating their iconic record, “Sweetheart of the Rodeo,” played “You Ain't Going Nowhere,” a Bob Dylan tune from that record, as well as Pete Seeger's “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
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LOS ANGELES — VH1's upcoming Trailblazer Honors will celebrate television pioneer Ryan Murphy and Trayvon Martin's parents.
The event, now in its fifth year, recognizes champions of diversity and civil activism.
Murphy, known for creating “American Horror Story” and “Glee,” is being recognized for leading the way on LGBTQ representation on television. His latest FX series, “Pose,” has the largest LGBTQ cast ever for a scripted series.
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, parents of Trayvon Martin, whose death sparked the #BlackLivesMatter movement, are being recognized for their work on gun reform and social justice.
The American Civil Liberties Union and late author James Baldwin are also among this year's recipients.
The Trailblazer Honors will air as a one-hour special on VH1 on June 28.
