Music

John Prine died on April 7 of COVID-19 complications. He was 73. Tributes have been pouring in from the music world in the days following his passing. Today, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd shared a cover of “Paradise” from Prine’s debut self-titled album. “Miss you, brother.” Watch it happen below. Following Prine’s death, countless genre-spanning

This week’s episode of Saturday Night Live was entirely remote, with cast members broadcasting from their homes and a special appearance from host Tom Hanks. Coldplay’s Chris Martin served as the musical guest for the episode, offering up a cover of the Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks classic “Shelter From the Storm.” Watch it

Bonnie Raitt has shared a new video paying tribute to the late John Prine, who passed away on April 8 from COVID-19 complications. In the video, Raitt performs “Home,” originally written by Karla Bonoff and covered by Raitt on her 1977 album Sweet Forgiveness. “For those who aren’t blessed to have a secure and safe

Sturgill Simspon has tested positive for COVID-19, as the singer revealed via a post to his Instagram account earlier today. Simpson said he first sought medical attention on March 13, when he began to experience “chest pains, fever, and pre-stroke blood pressure levels,” but was unable to be tested for coronavirus until April 6. He

Consequence of Sound has announced Angel from Maywood: A Livestream Tribute to John Prine. The homage to Prine, who died earlier this week, will feature performances by the Decemberists’ Colin Meloy, Kevin Morby, the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle, Grace Potter, Norah Jones, the Head and the Heart, Lake Street Dive, and more. The tribute will

Travis Nelsen, longtime drummer in Austin indie rock group Okkervil River, has died. Okkervil River announced the news in a statement on their Instagram account on April 9. “Travis Nelsen, Okkervil River’s drummer from 2003-2010, passed away on Tuesday,” the band wrote. “He was a radiant, hilarious, charismatic, generous, passionate human being with a heart

Grizzly Bear drummer Christopher Bear has announced his first solo record, as BrooklynVegan notes. Bear, who records under the name Fools, will release Fools’ Harp Vol. 1 on May 18 via Music From Memory. Below, hear a new song called “Deefyfe.” “When I set out to start making this collection of music last summer, the

Phoebe Bridgers was the musical guest on last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where she teleconferenced in from her bathtub to perform “Kyoto.” Bridgers accompanied herself on synthesizer. Check it out below. Last month, Jeff Tweedy and his sons performed “Evergreen” for Kimmel while sitting in their bathroom. Bridgers’ new album Punisher—the follow-up to

Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris have released a new song. The latest track from the team behind “Yeah!” is called “SexBeat.” That’s it below. Usher’s song “Climax” recently came up in an interview with the Weeknd, which then led to social media challenges and subtweets. (Here’s a summary, if you’re interested.) Ludacris’ most recent album

Pitchfork is pleased to announce that Phoebe Bridgers will play a stay-at-home concert that will broadcast live on Instagram this Friday afternoon (April 10) at 4 p.m. Eastern. You can tune in at Pitchfork’s Instagram. The performance will be part of a series of concert sessions that take place on our Instagram every Wednesday and

The Roots’ Black Thought is the latest guest on NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, the domestic spin on the popular session series. From a black armchair flanked by Grammys, he played “Thought Vs. Everybody” and “Nature of the Beast” from the forthcoming Streams of Thought Vol. 3, as well as “Yellow” from his off-Broadway musical Black

Philadelphia rapper Chynna Rogers died today at age 25. Following the news of her passing, tributes poured in from her peers and friends. “I don’t like doing this when my people go but I think everybody needs to know that you were special,” Vince Staples wrote. “Too special for words. Stay outta trouble lil cuh.”

Randy Newman has written a new COVID-19-inspired song at the request of Southern California radio station KPCC. After noting that the station asked for a personal message about social distancing (“Apparently there’s some disease that’s going around”), Newman instead sits at the piano to perform an original song called “Stay Away.” It includes instructional lyrics

Iconic singer-songwriter John Prine has died, The New York Times reports. His family confirmed that he died of COVID-19 complications. He was 73. Prine’s songwriting has been honored by the Americana Music Awards, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and more institutions. He won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1992 and 2006

The music world is reacting to the death of John Prine, who died today (April 7) of COVID-19 complications at the age of 73. “A simple majority of who I am as a person, let alone a musician, is because of John Prine,” Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon tweeted. “He is my number 1.” Amber Coffman

Film, TV, and music producer Hal Willner has died at the age of 64, a representative tells Pitchfork. A formal cause of death has not been established, but Willner experienced symptoms consistent with COVID-19, according to the representative. Willner, born in Philadelphia, produced records for Lou Reed, Marianne Faithfull, Laurie Anderson, Lucinda Williams, and more.

Jessy Lanza recently sat down on her couch to deliver an hourlong DJ set for the Lot Radio. It’s now available to watch below in its entirety, as Gorilla vs. Bear points out. The set features music from Ikonika, MHYSA, Addison Groove, and more. It also includes visuals from Winston H. Case. Watch it below.

Over a decade after their 2009 debut album II, Desire—the project fronted by Megan Louise—have announced their second album. It’s called Escape, and it arrives this summer via Italians Do It Better. The album was produced by Johnny Jewel. Check out the tracklist in the Instagram post below. Check out the Johnny Jewel-directed video for

Charli XCX has announced a new album. “I’m going to use this isolation time to make a brand new album from scratch,” she said in a video posted online today (April 6). “I’m only going to be able to use the tools I have at my fingertips to create all music, all artwork, all videos…

Lady Gaga recently postponed her new album Chromatica, which was originally scheduled to arrive on April 10. A new release date hasn’t been confirmed just yet, but today she’s shared the album’s artwork. Check it out below. https://twitter.com/ladygaga/status/1246905802952077312 Chromatica is the follow-up to Joanne and her A Star Is Born soundtrack. The record includes her

Laura Marling has announced she has moved up the release date of her new album, Songs for Our Daughter. Originally slated for a summer release, the record will now arrive April 10 via Partisan/Chrysalis. “In light of the change to all our circumstances, I saw no reason to hold back on something that, at the

My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way has shared rough versions of four new solo songs: “Phoning It In,” “Crate Amp,” and “Welcome to the Hotel.” Listen to them all below. In a statement posted along with the tracks, Way said that he had been working on some of the tracks with the intention of eventually

Marianne Faithfull has been hospitalized in London due to coronavirus (COVID-19). She is “stable and responding to treatment,” according to her manager François Ravard. Faithfull’s longtime friend Penny Arcade told Rolling Stone that Faithfull had checked herself into a hospital on Monday (March 30) following a few days of symptoms. She told the outlet that

Justin Vernon performed a new Bon Iver song during Bernie Sanders’ virtual town hall about the COVID-19 pandemic Saturday night. It’s called “Things Behind Things Behind Things.” Vernon also performed “Towers,” and “Blood Bank,” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “With God on Our Side” during the broadcast. Watch it all below—Soccer Mommy performs “Circle

Panamanian singer Sech has shared a brand new track called “Relación.” The single arrives with a colorful music video that centers on a woman leaving a toxic relationship. Watch the visual below. “Relación” was produced by Dímelo Flow and Slow Mike (Miguel Andrés Martínez Perea). It marks Sech’s first solo single of 2020, following his

Octo Octa, the Brooklyn-based house producer Maya Bouldry-Morrison, has released a new hour-long mix on T4T LUV NRG’s SoundCloud page. Listen to the mix in full below. While the mix is available to stream for free on SoundCloud, T4T LUV NRG (Octo Octa’s label with Eris Drew) is also selling copies of it on their

P!nk has revealed that she recently tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The singer broke the news in a statement posted on her Twitter account. “Two weeks ago my three-year-old son, Jameson, and I were showing symptoms of COVID-19,” she wrote. “Fortunately, our primary care physician had access to tests and I tested positive.” P!nk wrote

There is a new release date for Wes Anderson’s forthcoming film The French Dispatch. The movie was scheduled to arrive July 24, but will now hit theaters on October 16. The French Dispatch stars Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Benicio del Toro, Owen Wilson, Elisabeth Moss, Adrien Brody, Timothée Chalamet, and more. Revisit the

SiriusXM has announced that it is making its subscription-based radio programming free until May 15. Howard Stern shared the news in a Thursday night broadcast of his long-running eponymous talk show. No credit card is required to access the platform’s music, sports, and talk programming, though it’s limited to phones and at-home devices. See more

YNW Melly has tested positive for COVID-19 while in a Florida jail, the Florida rapper’s official Instagram account claims. He’s currently awaiting trial in a Broward County jail after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The rapper’s team announced plans to file a motion for restricted release. Pitchfork has reached out to YNW