CelebrityAccess

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Jon Platt, Chairman and CEO of Warner/Chappell Music, announced that Grammy Award-winning artist, songwriter, and producer Pharrell Williams will host the annual City of Hope Spirit of Life Award gala event when it takes place in Los Angeles later this year. “I’m honored to join my good friend Jon to support the groundbreaking and life-saving advances at City of Hope,” said Pharrell. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with this amazing organization before, and I’m looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic event.” City of Hope is a nonprofit clinical research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases that maintains several campuses in California. This year, the organization is honoring Platt with its Spirit of Life Award. Each year City of Hope recognizes a philanthropic leader whose work has fundamentally impacted music, film, or entertainment. The Spirit of Life Award is its highest honor, having been giv...

NEW YORK, NY — Primary and secondary ticketing service SeatGeek announced the hiring of James McClure as the company’s first ever General Manager International. McClure will be based out of SeatGeek’s London office and will have oversight of fostering growth for the company, with a focus on international expansion, the company said. McClure comes to SeatGeek from another tech company, Airbnb where he served as GM of their European operation. Prior to Airbnb, McClure spent eight years at Google in London, Sydney, and Singapore; most recently running their APAC Emerging Markets business. Originally a New York-based ticketing company SeatGeek has expanded rapidly in the past year after it acquired the Israeli-based company TopTix. Since then, SeatGeek has established itself in the UK and European markets. “SeatGeek has incredible momentum in Europe, and I’m looking forward to accelerating that success,” said McClure. “Our partners and prospects are quickly seeing the best-in-class t...

President of Atlantic Records in its heyday, he signed both Genesis and Abba and stewarded the success of Zeppelin, AC/DC and so many more. Ahmet rarely came into the office, he was out signing acts like the Rolling Stones. And Jerry Wexler was busy in the studio. Greenberg was hired to be in the office, to make the trains run on time and more! Jerry’s from New Haven, started playing in bands, became a local promotion man and when he had to move on he got his father, a jewelry salesman, his old job! And the company liked his father better! After Atlantic Jerry worked with Michael Jackson and so many more. You’re gonna enjoy these stories from the trenches! Jerry Greenberg on playing with Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden: https://bit.ly/2mXQ9fX Listen to Jerry Greenberg on… TuneIn: https://listen.tunein.com/JerryGreenbergLetter Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jerry-greenberg/id1316200737?i=1000416932628&mt=2 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Dfjag...

Ray Cooper, a former Virgin Records America Co-President, who helped to launch the Spice Girls to international fame, died on July 28th in Guildford, England. He was 69. According to Variety, Cooper had been suffering from primary progressive aphasia, a rare neurological condition which affects the ability to speak, read and understand language. Cooper started his industry career as a sales rep for Transatlantic Records, where he was eventually promoted to Sales Manager. Other early label jobs included roles at Anchor Records, and Jet Records, where he helped to establish Electric Light Orchestra. In 1980, he shifted to Island Records as a sales director and then marketing director, handling a roster tht included U2 and Bob Marley. While at Island, he met his future Virgin Records co-president Ashley Newton, and in 1986 the two partnered to launch Circa Records in the U.K. Circa would serve as a home to numerous influential artsts, including Massive Attack, Nenah Cherry, and Fluke...

LAS VEGAS (CelebrityAccess) — Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival announced the lineup for their comedy stage, with headliners Hannibal Buress, Michelle Wolf, Pete Davidson, Natasha Leggero, and Trixie Mattel scheduled to perform. The comedic bill for the festival’s Kicker Stage will also feature Nicole Byer (Nailed It), stand-up and music hybrid variety show The New Negroes With Baron Vaughn & Open Mike Eagle, and the L.A.-based stand-up/rock ‘n’ roll mash-up group The Goddamn Comedy Jam. Other performers on the lineup include Trixie Mattel, the winner of season three of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, as well as Silicon Valley actor Jimmy O. Yang and the trans comic Patti Harrison. Toronto based singing and comedy group Choir! Choir! Choir! are also scheduled to perform, while Kyle Ayers will bring SiriusXM’s Boast Rattle to the stage for an interactive competition. The comedy schedule this year will spread out showcases throughout the day and into the evening. The Life...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — The Los Angeles County district attorney declined to press charges against CBS chairman and chief executive Leslie Moonves, saying the accusations against him are outside of the statute of limitations. According to the Los Angeles Times, the unidentified woman reported the allegations in 2017 to the Los Angeles Police Department. She accused Moonves of sexual assault, assault, and battery, and exposing himself during incidents which occurred in July 1986 and Jan. 1, 1988, the Times reported. “Victim encountered suspect through her employment in the television industry. Victim has reported multiple incidents of assault by the suspect,” prosecutors wrote in an official statement declining the charges, which was signed by Deputy Dist. Atty. Darci Purvis, per the Times. “Victim disclosed the second two incidents to a friend approximately a year before making a report to law enforcement.” The allegations against Moonves was first reported by the New Y...

CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess) — Police in Chicago are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a woman at a Foo Fighters concert at Wrigley Field on Sunday. According to the Chicago Tribune, police said the assault occurred about 9:30 p.m. when a man groped a woman waiting in a food line. She then left the line and walked to a port-a-potty, but was followed by the man who pushed his way inside before she could lock the door. Once inside, the assailant grabbed her by the neck and struck her head against the side of the port-a-potty. She reported the incident to a nursing station, police were called and she was taken to a hospital by a private ambulance. Police told the Tribune that the alleged assailant was described as white, 40 to 50 years old, 5-foot-9 with brown, thinning hair, and possibly a receding hairline. He is currently not in custody. Police seized the port-a-potty as evidence and a spokesman for the Chicago Cubs said the organization is fully cooperating with investigat...

LOS ANGLES (CelebrityAccess) — It turns out that Billie Eilish’s North American headlining North American run is a hot ticket, and the tour has reportedly sold out on all dates in under a minute. To accommodate demand, Eilish announced additional live dates in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C, and Toronto. Eilish kicks the run off with a performance at the House of Blues in Chicago on August 1st, offering a preview of her show the following night at Lollapalooza. The tour runs through the fall and wraps with a trio of shows at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles from Nov. 20-23rd. Billie Eilish is currently working on her debut album, but she’s found traction with singles. Her debut EP entered the Top 40 in the Billboard 200 Charts and her music has been streamed more than 1 billion times worldwide. As well, she’s been named as a Vevo ‘Lift’ artist and featured on the video streaming platform. Each week, Vevo will debut new installments of performances and behind-the-scenes footage, hel...

(CelebrityAccess) Billie Ellish, one of the biggest stars on streaming video with more than 1 billion combined streams worldwide, has announced her North American tour – and it got sold out in a single minute. Ellish’s tour kicks off Aug. 1 at the House of Blues in Chicago and wraps with three nights at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles Nov. 20-23. Her Don’t Smile At Me EP has been released but her success comes from her debut single, “Ocean Eyes,” which accumulated more than 87 million streams on Spotify. Apple named Ellish its newest “Up Next” artist last October. NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES 08/01 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL – SOLD OUT 08/02 – Lollapalooza Festival – Chicago, IL 08/04 – Osheaga Festival – Montreal, ON 08/10-12 – Outside Lands Festival – San Francisco, CA 08/23 – Republik – Honolulu, HI – SOLD OUT 09/15-9/16 – Music Midtown Festival – Atlanta, GA 10/02 – Bridgestone Arena (Supporting Florence & The Machine) – Nashville, TN 10/03 – Spectrum Center (Sup...

( Hypebot ) — Alongside a backdrop of  late payments to at least one distributor , music download store eMusic has just released a white paper spelling out an ambitious blockchain ICO. But,  writes David Gerard, their plan leaves some significant questions unanswered. _____________________________ Op-ed by  David Gerard  of  Rocknerd After the  light paper a few months ago , venerable music download store  eMusic  has released the  full white paper  (PDF) for their ICO token offering! It’s a bit underwhelming. The plan is: Collect a great big pile of money by selling magic beans. Spend the money writing an all-new platform, to sell downloads and serve the streaming outlets. Pay people in more of the magic beans. The details of Stage 2 are a proper  Underpants Gnomes-style “???” The Plan eMusic’s present platform is a web-based download store. Customers subscribe and get a certain number of download credits each mont...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) United Attractions Agency has announced the signing of Flo Rida. The superstar’s career kicked into overdrive in 2007 with the RIAA 7x platinum certified hit, “Low (Feat. T-Pain)” – which spent 10 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard “Hot 100.” The Miami-based rapper continued with singles like the No. 1 “Right Round (Feat. Ke$ha)” (5x platinum), “In The Ayer (Feat. will.i.am)” (2x platinum), “Club Can’t Handle Me (Feat. David Guetta),” (3x platinum), “Good Feeling” (4x platinum), “Wild Ones (Feat. Sia)” (4x platinum), “My House” (4x platinum), “GDFR (Feat. Sage The Gemini and Lookas)” (2x platinum), “Whistle” (2x platinum), and “I Cry” (2x platinum). The post United Attractions Signs Flo Rida appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess https://ift.tt/2LPSLe5 via IFTTT

NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) — Nashville-based management duo of Doc McGhee and Scott McGhee are officially parting ways, at least as business partners. The two brothers announced the windup of their 25-year business partnership in McGhee Entertainment with Scott McGhee launching his own company 1˚ Entertainment Music & Management Group. 1˚ Entertainment will provide brand consulting, digital and social media strategy consultation, as well as content creation for alternative distribution with an eye towards artist tie-ins. Doc McGhee Entertainment will continue “business as usual” and Doc is currently working on an autobiography about his experiences working with artists such as Kiss, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, and Hootie & The Blowfish. “We were a good team; our skill sets complemented one another,” said Doc McGhee in a press statement provided to Music Row. “Together, we led the way to expand international touring opportunities and lent assistance to piece the puzzle to celeb...

The Rolling Stones have “curated” a blues album, with Mick and Keef taking credit for compiling cool blues classics on  Confessin’ The Blues that  includes tracks by the biggest blues pioneers including Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Big Bill Broonzy and Robert Johnson … Demi Lovato is reportedly still very ill from an overdose and isn’t in any shape yet to got to rehab … Speaking of  Demi Lovato , Yahoo News “ went there ,” suggesting that the overdose could include brain damage and may spell the end of Lovato’s singing career … It looks like  Conor McGregor  may be coming out of so-called retirement, telling TMZ Sports that he is finalizing a deal to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov this year, probably in October in Las Vegas. The post Rolling Stones, Demi Lovato, Conor McGregor … appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess https://ift.tt/2OrGRpf via IFTTT

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Paradigm Talent Agency has two newly-minuted agents in the company’s Los Angeles offices. Both Kristin O’Neill and Nate Sokolski have been serving in other roles at Paradigm but will now join the company’s music department as agents. Kristin O’Neill has been at Paradigm (and previously The Windish Agency, acquired by Paradigm in 2015) for five years, starting as a receptionist and later becoming assistant and then booking coordinator for agent Evan Hancock. At Paradigm, she represents a roster that includes Quinn XCII, Chelsea Cutler, ayokay, Parson James, Chrome Sparks, Hazey Eyes and Kelly Lee Owens. Nate Sokolski also came up the traditional route, first serving as an assistant and later a booking coordinator for agent Sam Hunt. According to Paradigm, Hunt has worked with many of Hunt’s clients, including big names like Diplo and Major Lazer, as well as assisting in booking events for brand properties like Brownies & Lemonade and the Mad Decen...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Willie Nelson’s annual, traveling Outlaw Music Festival has announced it will make its last stop this year at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with a whopper of a showcase. Since 2016, the Outlaw Music Festival has traveled the country each summer with a lineup that has included acts like Bob Dylan and Sheryl Crow. This year’s lineup, depending on the city, could include Willie Nelson & Family, Van Morrison, Neil Young & Promise of the Real (Saratoga Springs), Tedeschi Trucks Band, Sturgill Simpson, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Brandi Carlile, Margo Price, Greensky Bluegrass, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Terra Lightfoot, The Commonheart, and Particle Kid.. When it comes to the Hollywood Bowl Oct. 21, however, the show will feature Phil Lesh & Friends – a concert draw unto itself – along with acts like Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. “I’m excited to play the Bowl with my old...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) MoviePass, the movie theatre subscription service, has just announced new measures to accelerate profitability and Wall Street seems to like it, with the stock of its parent company jumping since the opening bell from $.71 to $1.81. MoviePass parent company Helios & Matheson Analytics (HMNY) announced the following: Actions that have been implemented are currently cutting the monthly burn by 60%. A future increase of the standard pricing plan to $14.95 per month within the next 30 days. First Run Movies opening on 1,000+ Screens to be limited in their availability during the first two weeks, unless made available on a promotional basis, Implementation of additional tactics to prevent abuse of the MoviePass service. “Over the past year, we challenged an entrenched industry while maintaining the financially transparent records of a publicly traded company. We believe that the measures we began rolling out last week will immediately reduce cash burn...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – J. Cole has announced actor, rapper, singer and songwriter Jaden Smith will join his highly anticipated North American KOD Tour as support, as well as Dreamville artist Earthgang and rapper Kill Edward. The new acts join previously announced special guest Young Thug. Produced by Live Nation, the tour will kick off in Miami, FL on August 9th and make stops in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and a number of other cities, before wrapping in Boston, MA on October 10. Tickets for the KOD tour are on sale now to the general public via www.dreamville.com and LiveNation.com . Full KOD Tour dates are available below: Aug 9 – Miami, FL – AmericanAirlines Arena Aug 11 – Tampa, FL – Amelia Arena+ Aug 12 – Atlanta, GA – Infinite Energy Center Aug 14 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center Aug 15 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center Aug 17 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center Aug 18  – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center Aug 21 – Phoenix, AZ – Talk...

(CelebrityAccess) – Jermaine Dupri has announced he’ll be hitting the road with a few friends  this fall on what he’s calling the So So Def 25th Anniversary CULTURAL CURREN$Y Tour . He’ll be joined by Xscape, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Bow Wow, Anthony Hamilton, Bone Crusher, Youngbloodz, Dem Franchize Boyz, and J-Kwon. In a statement announcing the tour, Dupri said: “Blessings are bigger when you share them. One of my biggest blessings is to be able to go tour with all my artists. I can’t wait!!!.” Tickets for go on sale Friday, August 3rd. Full tour dates are as follows: October 14 Washington D.C. Capital One Arena October 18 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center October 19 Baltimore, MD Royal Farms Arena October 20 Greensboro, NC Coliseum October 21 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena TBD Chicago, IL United Center October 25 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena October 26 Memphis, TN FedExForum October 28 Charlotte, NC Spectrum Center October 31 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena November 2 Los...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – eMusic has announced a $70M token sale to build a decentralized music distribution and royalty management system. As the first major music service to fully embrace blockchain, eMusic is essentially looking to balance the scales of the music industry by building a fair, simple and transparent music distribution platform for artists and service providers alike. “For two decades, eMusic has been a champion of independent artists and their fans. However, today’s supply chain for music is broken,” said Tamir Koch, CEO of eMusic. “While streaming has made it possible for anyone to listen to virtually any song ever recorded at any time, its underlying economics are financially crippling to the most vital piece of the music ecosystem — artists. And on the other side of the supply chain, service providers are losing billions and struggling to stay alive. Most fans don’t realize that this is an unsustainable future with fewer artists and fewer providers. “Today’s...

TORONTO, ON (CelebrityAccess) – Two of Canada’s biggest music rights agencies agreed to consolidate this week. The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) – i.e. the performance rights agency that collects money on behalf of more than 150,000 songwriters, composers and  publishers – has acquired Montreal-based reproduction rights organization the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC) in a historic non-monetary deal. According to Billboard, the acquisition, which is meant to improve efficiencies and streamline operations of the two rights groups, marks the first time in Canadian music history that a single organization will be able to license, track and distribute all royalties for both performing and mechanical rights. As part of the terms of the deal, the SODRAC name will seize the exist and SOCAN will form a new Reproduction Rights committee that includes directors of both non-profit organizat...

(CelebrityAccess) – Following the release of a successful Q1 earnings report earlier this week, it has been revealed that Sony Music Corp. has completed its acquisition of EMI Music Publishing from a consortium led by private equity firm Mubadala. We first heard about Sony’s purchase of a 60% equity interest in EMI for a whopping $2.3 billion dollars back in May. The music giant has now acquired the remaining 25.1% stake from the Estate of Michael Jackson for $287.5 million. While the deal must still be vetted by governmental regulatory agencies before it can proceed, if approved, EMI will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony with Sony agreeing to take on EMI’s debt of $1.359 billion. With Sony and Jackson’s share valued at a combined $1.091 billion, EMI Music Publishing will now be valued at roughly $4.75 billion, officially making Sony the world’s biggest music publisher. The deal is first major acquisition under President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida who too...

Planning corporate events is definitely no simple walk in the park because it takes a lot of time and effort. Financial resources are also a must. But how do you go about organizing a quality event everybody will enjoy when you are on a tight budget? After all, you can’t just postpone the event, as it will only upset everyone and demoralize your employees. Well, first of all, it would help knowing what types of corporate events your business can actually host.  This way, you’ll be able to make better estimates when it comes to expenses. Of course, there are other things you can keep in mind that will help you in the long run as well: Set a limit first It’s extremely important to never go over the limit, so talk with your financial advisors and set a budget first. This sounds like generic advice, but you would be surprised how many event planners and business owners actually skip this step. Once you have a budget set, you are good to go. This way, the spending will ...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Kanye West may be a lot of things — even he will tell you he contains multitudes — but one thing he is certainly is a financial prognosticator. For the past year. Maybe for just the past year. West, aka Mr. Kim Kardashian, gave his wife some stocks for Christmas. That’s cool. But it’s almost as if he went back in time and picked the best possible stocks, which have risen an accumulative total of 40 percent. One stock gifted: Netflix, which has gained more than 90 percent since West made it a pick. Some of that was fueled by Netflix getting more Emmy nominations for HBO, the first time in 17 years. Also in the portfolio: Amazon.  Amazon’s stock has risen more than 50 percent since the holidays. Next up: Apple.  Apple stock has risen a “meager” 14 percent since Kardashian got her stocks. Adidas. Adidas is considered a gem . Disney. That’s an OK 4 percent raise but it could have been an anchor that sank the portfolio – before the US antitrust ...

AUSTRALIA (CelebrityAccess) The use of sniffer dogs at music festivals is being reexamined in Australia after police revealed the enormity of false positives identified by the canines. Green party politican David Shoebridge originally questioned the effectiveness of sniffer dog programs, according to IQ . Since then he was contacted by people who claimed they were turned away by Sydney festival Midnight Mafia after being falsely singled out by drug-sniffing dogs and, despite no drugs being found, were banned from the event. Outrage has followed the release of the new statistics: according to the police numbers, sniffer dogs made 1,124 indications to NSW police and of those, 406 were ID’d with drugs, a 64 percent failure rate, as reported by IQ . Shoebridge and his party, the Green Party, have pooposed the use of sniffer dogs since 2002. The post Success Rate Of Drug-Sniffing Dogs At Music Fests Called Into Question appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess http...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Billboard is reporting that Steve Ackles has been named as senior director of touring and Anna Plumley as senior director of marketing for the company’s North American touring unit. Both come to the Live Nation team from AEG Presents and together, bring more than 20 years of experience to their new roles. Ackles will help oversee national stadium and arena tours in North America, while Plumley will oversee marketing for a variety of artists, including tours for Live Nation’s newly-acquired Frank Productions, Billboard reported. “With the expansion of our touring team, Live Nation is able to service an even wider breadth of artists and help them cultivate the best live experience for their fans,” said Bob Roux, President of U.S. Concerts in a statement. “Steve and Anna have already hit the ground running and we’re thrilled to have them on our team.” Ackles got his start in the industry as a concert promoter in New England. In 2011, he joined Bowe...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — The London Spitfire swept their rivals the Philadelphia Fusion at the Grand Finals of the inaugural season of the Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch League at the Barclays Center over the weekend. With near-capacity crowds, and more than 300,000 watching via streaming, London won the first ever finals for the league and secured a trophy along with a $1,000,000 cash prize. While the game is barely two years old, it has already generated a loyal following, and fans paid as much as $200 a piece for tickets to the finals. One unique aspect of the league that appears to be fostering its success is its geolocated team format, with each team representing a city, such as London or Philadelphia. While the teams are all currently based in Los Angeles and have yet to play in their home city, league officials hope to see the teams relocate to their home city by 2020, in time for the league’s third season. “The city-based format has really taken off in a faster and...

PARIS, France (CelebrityAccess) — Vivendi on Monday announced that it was no longer considering an IPO for Universal Music Group and was instead seeking a “strategic partner” to take a substantial stake in the company. In their most recent earnings statement, Vivendi said they had ruled out a potential IPO due to its “complexity” and that they were seeking to sell up to “50% of UMG’s share capital to one or more strategic partners, in order to extract the highest value.” UMG, which alongside Sony Music is one of the largest label groups in the world, controls a catalog that includes hits by Lady Gaga, Drake, Luke Bryan, and Migos among numerous others. According to Vivendi, the potential sale would take place within the next eighteen months, and the French media conglomerate will soon be engaging banks to identify potential suitors. Vivendi said they will establish a “floor price for the entry of partners into UMG’s share capital.” UMG has been the subject of speculation about an...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — After months of speculation, Spotify confirmed on Monday that global head of creator services Troy Carter would be leaving the company. According to Music Business Worldwide, Carter will exit the company by September but will continue in an advisory role at the streaming service. “I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved but with so much accomplished, it was the right time to move out of the day-to-day into an advisory role,” said Carter in a press statement. “By all measures, Troy has made a tremendous impact at Spotify,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement. “When he joined our team, there was skepticism from the artist community on streaming overall. Troy has been instrumental in changing that perception.” Carter’s exit from Spotify had been the subject of speculation for months. In May, Carter reportedly threatened to exit Spotify in protest over a change in the streaming services content policies that saw the company pull music from some controv...

YORK, UK (CelebrityAccess) — Sir Tom Jones apologized to fans after he was forced to cancel a planned concert on Friday at York Racecourse at the last minute in the face of dangerous weather. The Welsh singer took social media to express his dismay, writing: “So disappointed about York last night and so sorry for you all. But lightening (sic) is unpredictable, dangerous and causes havoc so better safe than talking about something tragic today. Hopefully see you soon, we are working on it.” A separate statement issued by the racetrack revealed that the weather interfered with Jones’s travel plans. “The decision was taken after it proved impossible to get Sir Tom to the racecourse given the atrocious weather conditions, with thunder and lightning storms over much of the country during Friday,” the statement said. “As anyone at the track on Friday evening will know, the weather closed in, with a series of storms hitting the course. More significantly similar storms blocked the ro...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — United Talent Agency announced on Monday that they had signed the noted Spanish-speaking comedian, musician and radio personality, Franco Escamilla for representation in all areas, worldwide. Known as the “Master of Sarcasm” Escamilla is the founder of the comedy collective La Diablo Squad who he performs with both live and on his weekly YouTube show “La Mesa Reñoña.” Escamilla was the first stand-up comedian to perform at the National Auditorium in Mexico, selling out two 10,000-cap shows in 2016 and has since gone international, staging successful tours in both Europe and Asia. As well, he was recently featured in a stand-up special by Netflix. The hour long show, “Por La Anécdota” was recorded at Arena Mexico in Mexico City, where Escamilla performed in front of 15,000 fans. Escamilla also hosts his own show on Estrella TV and has taped numerous stand-up episodes for Comedy Central. His upcoming tour, “RPM” will play in Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbour...

ENGLAND (CelebrityAccess) Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle, Dorset, had to end early as torrential rain and gail-force winds forced the festival to close Saturday, rather than Sunday. The UK has been suffering a heatwave, but the weather turned this weekend, causing flooding in the festival’s campground. All stages were shut down because of health and safety concerns. “Dear Camp Bestival, we are utterly devastated and heartbroken to say that we have been advised by our safety teams that we cannot re-open arenas again today due to the severe weather and the forecasting of continual high winds and rain today,” organizers said. “We have had the best 3 days in Camp Bestival’s history, it’s been our greatest ever show with all our favourite performers, shows, stages and artists which we have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with you all. You are by far the best festival audience and we love you dearly.” Sunday headliners of the Aug. 26-29 festival would have included headliner Simple Minds ...

CBS Corp.’s board of directors meets today to discuss the fate of chairman-CEO Les Moonves, who has been accused of sexually assaulting and threatening women of the course of decades … Demi Lovato’s backup dancer Dani Vitale is denying claims that she is a bad influence on the singer and may have played a role in Lovato’s overdose. Madonna is celebrating her upcoming 60th birthday (Aug. 16) with a fundraiser for orphans and children in Malawi, telling the Associated Press she is teaming with Facebook to raise proceeds for her Raising Malawi foundation. Alex Trebek told TMZ’s Harvey Levin the names of two possible replacements to host “Jeopardy”: LA KIngs hockey announcer Alex Faust and CNN legal analyst Laura Coates.       The post Les Moonves, Demi Lovato, Madonna, Etc. appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess https://ift.tt/2NS2g9V via IFTTT

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (CelebrityAccess) The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y., is expected to have its grand opening tomorrow, Aug. 1, with a gala that includes several big-name comedians. Lily Tomlin, Dan Aykroyd, members of the orginal SNL cast like Lorraine Newman, and Amy Schumer are all expected to headline the grand opening of the 37,000-square-foot, $50 million center. The House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill July 23 designating the facility as the nation’s official comedy center. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, cousin to Amy Schumer, is working on Senate action. The nonprofit center is the inspiration of hometown hero Lucille Ball who envisioned a place that would celebrate comedy as an art form. The city already hosts events like the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and the facility Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum. “Everybody else has a place,” Billy Crystal says in a welcoming video at the center. “Why not us?” The building is a repurprosed 1930 art-deco train st...

TOKYO, JP (CelebrityAccess) – The Associated Press has today reported that Mansai Nomura, renowned actor in traditional Japanese theater, will be the chief executive creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games. Nomura’s family has participated in a form of theatre called “kyogen” for more than 250 years. Tokyo 2020 also named movie director Takashi Yamazaki as executive creative director for the two Olympic ceremonies, and ad agency creative director Hiroshi Sasaki to the same position for the Paralympic events. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are scheduled to take place July 24, 2020 – August 9, 2020, while the Paralympics are scheduled from August 25, 2020 – September 6, 2020. The post Tokyo Olympics Names Director for Opening & Closing Ceremonies appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess https://ift.tt/2NS46Yi via IFTTT

(CelebrityAccess) – Bobby Bones has been promoted to VP, creative director of iHeartCountry. Bones, who is best known as the host of the radio shows The Bobby Bones Show, Country Top 30 with Bobby Bones , and the podcast BobbyCast, will continue to preside over all three shows in addition to working with iHeartMedia on new programming initiatives. He’ll also be adding a brand new show to his roster called Women of iHeartCountry , which will be co-hosted by Amy Brown and will feature weekly guest appearances from other women working as on-air personalities at iHeartMedia. “Country continues to be one of the fastest-growing music formats and Bobby is the leading on air personality connecting with Country fans across multiple platforms nationwide,” said iHeartMedia Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman. “He has created a relatable, fun and engaging brand of entertainment that drives unmatched results for our advertising and partners. We’re proud to be in the Country music busines...

ANN ARBOR, MI (CelebrityAccess) – The Michigan History Project , a not-for-profit organization that rediscovers professional-quality tapes from Ann Arbor’s Canterbury House venue, has revealed that it has located long-lost live recordings by the likes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell that date back to 1968. Recorded at a student ministry on the University of Michigan campus, the seven-inch reel-to-reel audio tapes also feature concerts by Tim Buckley, Odetta, David Ackles and Dave Van Ronk among others. “We learned of the existence of the tapes about six years ago,” Michigan History Project president Alan Glenn said in a statement. “They were in the possession of a private collector. Then they disappeared, and we were afraid they were gone for good. But a few weeks ago they resurfaced, much to our surprise and relief. Now our first priority will be to get them transferred to a digital format, then make sure that the original analog tapes are safely archived.” The Michigan History Pr...

REYKJAVIK, IS (CelebrityAccess) – Iceland Airwaves has become the first festival to close the gender gap. The move is a part of a global initiative called Keychange , which 109 festivals pledged to support last September in order to further gender equality at music festivals with the goal of achieving an equal gender ration by 2020. In explaining just how simple it actually was for the festival to meet such a goal, Iceland Airwaves’ head of operations Will Larnach-Jones, recently told the New York Times: “We looked at people we really liked, and then in meetings said, ‘Do we have enough?’ Happily, we always did. That shows you don’t have to try hard — there’s so many inspiring women around.” To date, none of the world’s largest festivals including Glastonbury and Coachella have signed up to the initiative, though some have offered financial support. The 20th edition of Iceland Airwaves takes place November 7-10th. This year’s lineup includes international acts such as Faroese star...

SAN MARCOS, TX (CelebrityAccess) – EVO Entertainment Group have announced plans for their newest entertainment destination, a 15,000 seat Amphitheatre called EVO Live located in Schertz, Texas . The massive 150,000 square foot venue will sit on 27 acres directly behind EVO’s previously announced cinema-entertainment center at The Ranch at Old Wiederstein, which is currently under construction. When complete, the state-of-the-art live music venue will offer multiple tiers of covered & uncovered seating, multiple food & beverage options, private clubs & viewing areas, and a massive stage which will host global talent as well as local community events. “Music & Live Entertainment has been a passion of mine for my entire life, and something I’ve dreamt of incorporating into the EVO vision from the start,” says EVO Entertainment Group CEO, Mitch Roberts . “The 35-corridor, particularly the Schertz area, is absolutely exploding but has a noticeable void when it com...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Paramount proved that the Mission Impossible franchise still has some life in it after “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”, debuted to $153.5M in worldwide box office revenue, according to estimates compiled by comScore. The cast was lead by Tom Cruise, who reprised his role from previous entries in the Franchise, as did Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin. This installment, the sixth in the increasingly hoary series of spy dramas, was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie is a frequent collaborator with Cruise and directed him in other films including “Jack Reacher” and the previous M.I. installment, “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation”. McQuarrie’s writing credits include the cult favorite “Usual Suspects.” After a strong debut last weekend, “Mama Mia” quickly slipped under the waves this weekend, earning just $15 million in North America, and $41.6M. Other notable debuts this wee...

(CelebrityAccess) The deaths of Nikolai Volkoff, 70, and Brian Christopher Lawler, 46, two stars of World Wrestling Entertaiment, were announced today, July 29. Details of the death of Volkoff, real name Josip Nikolai Peruzovic, were not known at press time. Volkoff’s career spanned 40 years, antagonizing patriotic fans with his love of Russia, even asking the crowd to stand for the Russian national anthem. He played the perfect foil to wrestlers like Sgt. Slaughter, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino. “Volkoff’s infamous rendition of the Soviet National Anthem before his matches made him an instant icon in the eyes of the WWE Universe as a Superstar they truly loved to hate,” the WWE said. “Jim Ross inducted Volkoff into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2005.” I always loved our conversations backstage … Nikolai Volkoff was so special to my dad and the entire Hart family. We will miss you, Nikolai. My thoughts and condolences go out to Nikolai’s family. pic.twitter.com/...

BASALT, Colo. (CelebrityAccess) Neil Diamond and his wife made a surprise visit to the fire station in Basalt, Colo., to thank firefighters for battling the Lake Christine Fire and to play them some tunes like “Sweet Caroline.” The fire, possibly by arson, began July 3 at a shooting range near Basalt and has burned 12,287 acres and destroyed three homes so far, according to KDVR News. It was 45 percent contained by Saturday morning; firefighters hope to have it fully contained by Thursday, Aug. 2. Diamond made his intentions clear: “You have to save my house,” he told the crowd. The post Neil Diamond Sings For Colorado Firefighters appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess https://ift.tt/2vfCncx via IFTTT

ZAGREB, Croatia (CelebrityAccess) Oliver Dragojevic, 70, one of the most popular pop singers of the former Yugoslavia, died in a hospital in his hometown of Split, on Croatia’s Adriatic coast, July 29. Dragojevic’s romantic music gained a huge following in the former Yugoslavia, sung in his Dalmatian dialect, and the media throughout the region called him a “legendary singer” upon his death, according to the Associated Press. Dragojevic remained popular in Yugoslavia even after the country broke up in a war in the 1990s and he remained popular in Serbia in the 90s despite refusing to stage concerts there during the Croatian war for independence against the Serb-led Yugoslav army.   The post Yugoslavian Singer Oliver Dragojevic Dies appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess https://ift.tt/2uYhm6T via IFTTT