Month: September 2022

San Francisco’s Portola Festival at the city’s Pier 80 experienced a crowd issue Saturday (Sept. 24) when a large group of people rushed an early evening set by English producer Fred Again.

The incident at the site occurred around 5 p.m. on the festival’s opening day. Video shared to social media shows members of the crowd jumping over the barricade surrounding the event’s Warehouse stage, a large enclosed space with two separate entrances for general admission and VIP attendees.

The crowd waiting to get in through the GA entrance began gathering outside the Warehouse roughly 30 minutes before Fred Again’s set was scheduled to begin. As the crowd ballooned in size, a large throng of people bottlenecked at the GA entrance, with many of them unable to get inside and with some members of this crowd then jumping over the barricade to gain entrance. According to festival promoter Goldenvoice and its owner AEG, no one is was injured. 

“There was a minimal, isolated issue with a festival stage entrance yesterday,” a representative for Goldenvoice parent company AEG says in a statement. “This occurred within the confines of the grounds and was quickly addressed and corrected. There were no reported injuries and the festival continued for another six hours without incident.”

The festival also reported no incidents of gate-crashing and no on-site arrests during the first day of the two-day event, which is hosting its debut event this weekend.

On social media, festival attendees took aim at Portola regarding crowd flow issues primary concerning the Warehouse stage, a permanent structure located on Pier 80, a shipping pier at the San Francisco Bay. Portola features an outdoor mainstage, two tents and the Warehouse space.

Portola’s day one lineup included Flume, Kaytranada, Fatboy Slim, Arca, Jamie xx, Jungle and Bicep. The festival continues Sunday (Sept. 25) with The Chemical Brothers, SG Lewis, Duke Dumont, James Blake, The Blessed Madonna, Four Tet and more.

Wynonna Judd is sharing her emotional journey following the passing of her late mother, Naomi Judd, the other half of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds.

In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, the country singer opened up about her relationship with her mother before her death in April, her experience of saying goodbye to Naomi and the various emotions she’s grappled with since.

“I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it because she had had episodes before and she got better,” the singer recalled. “And that’s what I live in is like, was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?”

Naomi died by suicide on April 30 at the age of 76, a day before The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was an event Wynonna ultimately attended with her sister, Ashley, by her side. The singer says that since her mother’s passing she’s leaned on her husband but also that the half-sisters have become closer, even as the family — which Wynonna says are “all very different” — grieves in their own ways.

“We both kind of look at each other, like, ‘I’ve got you,’ right? And we look at each other and we say, ‘Yeah,’” Wynonna explained. “We’re so united right now, I think more so than we have been in a long time.”

Throughout the interview, the singer discussed the fluctuating nature of her relationship with her mother and noted that in her grieving she has at times felt anger. But ultimately, it’s the love between them that has come through stronger.

“Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I say, ‘I really miss you. Why aren’t you here so we can argue?’” the singer shared. “She told me one time, she took my hand and she said, ‘My life is better because of you.’ Those are the memories that are starting to come through more and more.”

“I think when you lose your mother, a lot of that crap goes away because it doesn’t matter anymore,” she added.

Wynonna, who continues making music and touring, said she “has no idea” if it’s “therapy” in a way to perform, but that it’s in tune with her mother’s spirit of forging on and helps her handle her grief.

“I think it’s important to do it, if that makes sense. I feel like I have my marching orders,” she explained. “I want to come out on stage and sing from my toenails a song that helps someone out in that audience. It’s about me singing to help someone feel better. That’s always in my spirit.”

Actress Ashley Judd has also spoken publicly about her mother’s passing and in a Sept. 1 essay for the New York Times described how her and the family’s grieving process has been affected by privacy laws around police reports and the initial procedures authorities followed while responding to Naomi’s passing.

The Double Jeopardy actress said that after being the one to discover her mother, she was interrogated and at one point considered a possible suspect in her death. It was a “traumatizing” experience for the Judd sibling, who along with fellow family members had to share elements of Naomi’s “mental illness and its agonizing history” through “terrible, outdated interview procedures and methods of interacting with family members who are in shock or trauma.”

Ashley added that now the family faces a potential new media cycle with the release of certain police reports. The actress noted that currently undisclosed details around her mother’s death — found in toxicology reports and autopsies — are allowed to be made public in states after they are closed. That includes Tennessee, where her mother passed.

In her essay, she advocated for changes to these laws on the state and federal levels that would stop this information from becoming public. She said, “The raw details are used only to feed a craven gossip economy, and as we cannot count on basic human decency, we need laws that will compel that restraint.”

“We have asked the court to not release these documents not because we have secrets,” Ashley said. “We ask because privacy in death is a death with more dignity. And for those left behind, privacy avoids heaping further harm upon a family that is already permanently and painfully altered.”

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

BLACKPINK lands its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Oct. 1) as its second full-length studio album, Born Pink, starts atop the list with 102,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 22, according to Luminate. The eight-song set is the first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 by an all-female group since 2008.

Born Pink is the second top 10 for the South Korean quartet, which previously debuted and peaked at No. 2 in October 2020 with its full-length debut, The Album. In addition, Born Pink is the third album by a South Korean act to top the Billboard 200 in 2022, following BTS’ Proof and Stray Kids’ Stray Kids Mini Album: Oddinary. (Unlike those two albums, which are mostly in the Korean language, Born Pink is mostly in English — though with a fair amount of Korean lyrics.)

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Oct. 1, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Sept. 27. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Born Pink’s 102,000 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 75,500; SEA units comprise 25,000 (equaling 37.49 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 1,500.

Born Pink is the first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 by a female group since Danity Kane’s second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 5, 2008.

Born Pink also debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart with the seventh-largest sales week of any album in 2022 — 75,500 copies sold. Of that sum, 85% were CD sales (64,000), while 15% were digital album sales (11,500). The set was not available in any other configuration (such as vinyl LP or cassette).

The CD configuration of the album was issued in collectible packages (17 total, including exclusive variants for Target and the group’s official webstore), each with a standard set of internal paper items and randomized elements (such as photocards, postcards and stickers). Among those were four alternative cover art editions — each corresponding to a member of the group. CD sales were bolstered by the availability of signed editions of the album (the four cover variants) in the group’s webstore and at independent record stores, where each of the four versions was signed by its corresponding member.

Lavish collectible CD packages like Born Pink’s are typically expensive — as its standard digipack and box set editions originally sold for $26 and $50, respectively, in the group’s webstore. However, the digipack’s price fell to $14.99 during release week, while the autographed edition available at indie retail also went for $14.99.

Sale pricing also kicked in on the digital version of the album, which began selling for $7.99 in the iTunes and Amazon digital stores but fell to $3.99 midway through its debut week. In addition, three alternative digital editions of the album were released on Sept. 19 exclusively in the group’s webstore for $4.99 each. All three had the same eight song tracklist, but two came with an alternative cover art, and one was a “signed digital album” (with digital replicas of the quartet’s signatures on its cover).

Born Pink’s lead single “Pink Venom” debuted and peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Sept. 3. It has so far reached No. 36 on the Pop Airplay chart (through the most recently published list dated Sept. 24). The cut also spent two weeks on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, debuting and peaking at No. 9 (Sept. 3 chart).

Outside the U.S., “Pink Venom” is a major hit, spending two weeks atop the Billboard Global 200 and three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. tally. The two charts rank the world’s most popular songs of the week based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti falls 1-2 on the Billboard 200 after 11 nonconsecutive weeks atop the list. The set earned 93,000 equivalent album units in the latest tracking week (down 4%).

NCT 127’s 2 Baddies debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, giving the South Korean pop ensemble its third top 10-charting effort. It matches the act’s chart high, first achieved with its previous album, Sticker: The 3rd Album, which debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Oct. 2, 2021-dated list.

2 Baddies bows with 58,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 55,500; SEA units comprise 3,000 (equaling 3.85 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

The CD configuration of 2 Baddies was issued in collectible deluxe packages (eight total, including a Target-exclusive edition), each with a standard set of items and randomized elements (like photocards and posters). Sales were also enhanced by the availability of deluxe box set editions that were packaged with branded merchandise like shirts, hats and tote bags. Nearly all of its sales for the week were on CD (a little under 1,000 were sold via digital download); the set was not issued in any other physical format.

2 Baddies will be released in further iterations on Oct. 7, as its CD digipack edition will street that day — available in nine different cover variations (one for each of the group’s members), each with a standard set of paper goods and randomized photocards.

Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album is a non-mover at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with 48,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%).

Dangerous: The Double Album has now accumulated 88 nonconsecutive weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard 200. It now solely has the sixth-most weeks in the top 10 among all albums since the chart began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956.

The all-time top 10 record-holder is the original cast recording of My Fair Lady, with 173 weeks in the top 10 between 1956-60. See list, below.

Albums With Most Weeks in Top 10 on Billboard 200 Chart (March 24, 1956-onwards)

Weeks in Top 10, Artist, Title, Year First Reached Top 10

173, Original Cast, My Fair Lady, 1956
109, Soundtrack, The Sound of Music, 1965
106, Soundtrack, West Side Story, 1962
105, Original Cast, The Sound of Music, 1960
90, Soundtrack, South Pacific, 1958
88, Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album, 2021
87, Original Cast, Camelot, 1961
87, Soundtrack, Oklahoma!, 1956
85, Peter, Paul and Mary, Peter Paul and Mary, 1962
84, Adele, 21, 2011
84, Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A., 1984

(through the Oct. 1, 2022-dated chart.)

The Weeknd’s compilation album The Highlights vaults back to the top 10, rising 32-5 with 39,000 equivalent album units earned (up 139%). The set contains such hits “Blinding Lights” and the resurgent “Die for You” (from The Weeknd’s studio albums After Hours and Starboy, respectively). On the new chart, the TEA and SEA units for those songs contribute to The Highlights, as a song’s activity is assigned to the artist’s album with the most traditional album sales in a week. (The Highlights sold nearly 1,000 copies in the latest tracking week, while After Hours and Starboy each sold under 1,000.) A week ago, the TEA and SEA for the songs were directed to After Hours and Starboy, respectively, as they outsold The Highlights that week.

Beyoncé’s former leader Renaissance climbs 8-6 on the new Billboard 200 with 36,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%) and Harry Styles’ chart-topping Harry’s House is stationary at No. 7 with 35,000 units (down 8%).

EST Gee clocks his second top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as I Never Felt Nun bows at No. 8 with 30,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 29,000 (equaling 41.15 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks) while album sales comprise 1,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

Closing out the top 10 are Rod Wave’s former No. 1 Beautiful Mind, holding steady at No. 9 (29,000 equivalent album units earned, down 9%), and YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Realer 2, falling 6-10 in its third chart week (27,000, down 30%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras‘ new collaboration “Unholy” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 23) on Billboard, choosing the devilish team-up as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Unholy,” which will be featured on Smith’s upcoming album, beat out new music by Lil Nas X (“Star Walkin’”), GloRilla featuring Cardi B (“Tomorrow 2”), Joshua Bassett (Sad Songs in a Hotel Room), Kelsea Ballerini (Subject to Change), and others.

“Unholy” is the latest single off of Smith’s forthcoming, yet-to-be-announced fourth studio album, which they told Billboard in an August cover story would be their “first non-heartbreak album,” and mark a new, more optimistic sound for them. “I think joy for me, and for a lot of queer people, is quite a dangerous place,” they said. “We’re all masters of pain, and I think it’s actually a very courageous act to step into the queer joy of it all.”

Produced by Smith, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Blake Slatkin, Cirkut, Omer Fedi and Jimmy Napes, the new song marks a significant departure for Smith, with the almost-sinister-sounding bass complemented even further by a pounding club beat. “Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot/ At the body shop/ Doing something unholy,” Smith belts over the bass-heavy chorus.

Trailing behind “Unholy” on the fan-voted poll was Lil Nas X’s new song “Star Walkin’,” the official anthem for the ongoing League of Legends World Championship, with 21% of the vote. Placing third was the “other” category with nearly 14% of the vote, followed by GloRilla’s “Tomorrow 2” featuring Cardi B, with 8% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

“Welcome to Farm Aid 37!” 

Willie Nelson’s greeting ahead of the annual Farm Aid benefit concert for family farmers in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday (Sept. 24) reaffirmed the organization’s nearly four-decade commitment to the men and women who feed the nation. 

This year, Farm Aid focused on the challenge those farmers face amid the climate crisis — a challenge intertwined with the nation’s legacy of racial injustice.

“Our struggle right now is beyond us. It’s cutting deep. It’s the very planet that we’re standing on that’s in peril and we’ve got to figure it out,”  said Savonola “Savi” Horne, executive director of Land Loss Prevention Project, which advocates for black farmers in North Carolina, speaking during a gathering of Farm Aid supporters the evening before the concert. 

“And even as we figure that out, we’ve gotta find justice for the legacy issues of our lifetime — racial inequality, environmental justice,” Horne said. “We can’t just kind of glaze it over and just say okay let’s all save the planet. We’ve got to really figure out ways in which we can mend the brokenness within all of us. Because all of us are part of this.”

Since the first Farm Aid concert in 1985, the organization has raised more than $64 million to support a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America.  

Wait… make that some $65 million. 

In a late-evening surprise appearance Saturday, Jim Irshay, owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts — and frontman of a band that jammed with John Mellencamp at the Colts Kickoff Concert earlier this month — joined Mellencamp onstage to present a $1 million check to Farm Aid.

From the Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, here are 14 more inspiring things we saw and heard at Farm Aid 2022.

‘A Major Farmer Mobilization in Washington’

Due to the pandemic, this marked the first time since 2019 that Farm Aid began with a press conference to highlight farmer concerns — and it was the first time ever that the press conference was live-streamed. That livestream carried the news that Farm Aid, in partnership with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and some 35 other activist groups, planned “a major farmer mobilization in Washington” in March 2023, according to Farm Aid cultural impact director Michael Stewart Foley. “Congress needs to get the message that farmers are counting on a Farm Bill that delivers climate solutions — climate solutions that center racial justice, that address on-farm climate challenges and prioritize what works for family farmers,” Foley said.

Raising Food and Rising Stars

Every year Farm Aid showcases performers who are just on the edge of greater stardom and the honor this year went to Nashville’s Britteny Spencer and Texas-bred Charley Crockett. “My grandmother’s family is from Raleigh,” Spencer said. “But I think we’re all friends and family here now.”  In a style that edged from country to mainstream pop, Spencer sang with sweetness and honesty in the heartfelt “Sober & Skinny,” a highlight of her set. Crockett’s career has been on a slow burn ready to explode.  After six years of recording, he earned the 2021 emerging artist of the year Award from the Americana Music Association. His sound — soulful, twanging vocals backed by pedal steel and trumpet — soared over the amphitheater.

The Legacy of Music Activism 

Among those who had traveled to Saturday’s concert were Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson and the Rev. Allyn Maxfield-Steele, co-executive directors of the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tenn. They were representing one of the great activist organizations in American history, one rooted in music. Founded in 1932 as the Highlander Folk School — where Pete Seeger came to sing and mobilize — the center today works with people in Appalachia and the South in fighting for justice, equality and sustainability through grassroots organizing and movement building. Woodward-Henderson and Maxfield-Steele were embraced by one of the activists who trained at Highlander — Carolyn Mugar, who has been executive director of Farm Aid since its creation in 1985.

‘A Beloved Community‘

“I am a black, queer, new immigrant,” said Canada’s Allison Russell, who was returning to the Farm Aid stage for the second time after performing in Hartford last September. “It has been life-changing to be welcomed into this community. This is a beloved community and we are changing this world for the better.” Joined by Farm Aid board member Margo Price, co-headliner Sheryl Crow and Britteny Spencer, Russell brought her set to a peak with only the second live performance of “Georgia Rise,” which she performed Monday (Sept. 19) to support Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

‘The Unequal Distribution of Resources‘

Decton and Christina Hylton brought their message of farming, climate activism and racial justice to Farm Aid in a video message shown during the concert. “If we really want to solve the problem of climate change, we already have the resources,” said Decton Hyton.  “The issue is the unequal distribution of the resources. It is really hard for people of color to get access to loans and grants to implement the things that are necessary to make a change” in how they farm.

The Presence of Patagonia

Farm Aid has a rigorous process for vetting corporate sponsors of its concerts. The outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia passed that test — even before the announcement earlier this month that company founder Yvon Chouinard was transferring ownership of Patagonia (valued at about $3 billion) to a trust and foundation set up to combat climate change. At Farm Aid, the company was showcasing its latest venture, moving the source of industrial hemp used in its Workwear clothing line from Northern China to a small family farm in Bourbon, Kentucky. 

‘That’s Some Hard Work‘

“This is literally my favorite event,” declared Sheryl Crow, a repeat Farm Aid performer.  She described growing up in Missouri amid cotton farms and spending time picking cotton as a high school project. “That is some hard work!” Farm Aid is the concert that most speaks “to where I’m from. I feel incredibly humbled to be included.”  In a set packed with her own hits, Crow blew scorching blues harp on a cover of “Live With Me” from the Rolling Stones. “I’m no Mickey Raphael, I’ll say that,” she quipped, in tribute to Willie Nelson’s longtime harmonica player.

The Brothers Nelson

It is a tribute to Willie Nelson’s musical eclecticism that he and his wife Annie have raised two sons, Micah and Lukas, who have taken such disparate but rewarding musical paths. Micah Nelson, billed as Particle Kid, played early in the day Saturday with his compelling style of alternative rock that defies easy categorization.  Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real followed Sheryl Crow’s set with songs that were alternately intense, playful and wistful. Lukas Nelson welcomed Britteny Spencer, Allison Russell and Dave Matthews’s accompanist Tim Reynolds on stage to perform “Poor Elijah (A Tribute to Robert Johnson),” first recorded in the early 1970s by Delaney and Bonnie with Eric Clapton. But the crowd pleaser, of course, was his romp through “Carolina.”

Missing Neil Young

In previous years, Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Year have backed Neil Young with an energy that rivals Young’s legendary sessions with Crazy Horse. This was the second year that Young, a Farm Aid board member, opted to sit out the benefit, citing concerns with COVID-19. A survivor of a life-threatening brain aneurysm in 2005 and the father of children with serious health conditions, Young has more reason than most to be cautious. But perhaps his absence was a reminder of the importance of not judging how any individual continues to cope with a pandemic that has killed more than 1.05 million in the United States alone. (Farm Aid noted before Saturday’s event it was  “staying up to date on the latest CDC guidance and industry best practices to limit the transmission of COVID-19.”)  Two days before the festival, a COVID case caused Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats to cancel their Farm Aid performance.

The Great Inheritor

Chris Stapleton himself needed to postpone shows earlier this summer after a COVID-19 diagnosis. But Stapleton showed no ill effects as he took the Farm Aid stage. The headliner of his own All-American Road Show tour this year, Stapleton graciously took a spot on Saturday’s bill just behind the four Farm Aid board members: Margo Price, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson — but he certainly contributed to the sell-out of this year’s show.  If Nelson and his colleagues in Austin in the 1970s invented the outlaw country-rock style, Stapleton’s set proved he is the soulful, driven, muscular inheritor of that great roadhouse tradition.  And his performance of “Broken Halo” offered a reminder of why the ACM in 2019 named Stapleton the songwriter of the decade.

Every Supermarket Scan Is a Vote

Margo Price, whose family lost its Illinois farm during the mid-’80s “to greed, right when Farm Aid was being conceived,” she recalled, commanded the stage as a brilliant sunset fell over the amphitheater field. “I grew up in the late 1980s and 1990s in rural America, and even though we were surrounded by farmland, I didn’t always have access to healthy food like we do today,” she said earlier. “The average consumer may not feel very powerful. But every time you scan food at the supermarket, you are voting — you are voting for local or non-local, for organic or non-organic. And there’s power in where we put our money. If Neil was here, he would say, if you see a farmer’s market, stop and pull over and support them.  So that is what I’m trying to do.”

‘That’s a Magical Thing‘

“I remember being a teenager, stoned, in a crowd watching his show,” Price quipped, introducing Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds for their entrancing acoustic set. “It’s good to spend the day talking about the people who feed us,” Matthews said. Earlier in the day, Matthews spoke of the danger of industrial agriculture practices that “pump carbon into the air.  We have the knowledge to turn that around,” he said, “to have plants do what they’re supposed to do, while they feed us,” taking carbon out of the air and sequestering it in the soil. “While we’re being fed by all these magnificent farmers, we can also be feeding the earth — and that’s a magical thing.”

The Million Dollar Backstage Pass

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irshay asked his friend John Mellencamp what would it take to attend his Farm Aid show, with a backstage pass? How about a million dollars, Mellencamp replied. So before Mellencamp’s set, Irshay took the stage to present an oversized check payable to Farm Aid for $1 million — as stage crew spiralled footballs into the crowd. Mellencamp’s set was a greatest-hit collection, no less energizing for its familiarity, including songs like “Small Town” and “Rain on the Scarecrow,” which have become Farm Aid anthems.

A Mystical Power

Opening, as ever, with “Whiskey River,” Nelson’s set flowed like a spring freshet in the Hill Country of Texas. Seated at center stage (the only concession to his 89 years) and flanked by sons Micah and Lukas, Nelson was greeted by a standing ovation from his first note. Lukas took lead vocals on “Texas Flood,” which featured a guitar solo by Willie of astounding dexterity (and a penny whistle solo by 92-year-old virtuoso David Amram) that drew cheers.  Micah sang lead on the hilarious pandemic composition in honor of his dad, “If I Die When I’m High, I’ll Be Halfway To Heaven.”  

With Nelson’s voice strong and clear, his classics flowed on: “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,”  “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” “On the Road Again,” “Always On My Mind,” “Good Hearted Woman, “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” and more.

“I just released my 98th album,” remarked Nelson of his new disc A Beautiful Time. “It came out on my 89th birthday,” he added, introducing Rodney Crowell and Chris Stapleton’s  “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die,” from that new set.

Nelson welcomed his fellow Farm Aid musicians onstage for his traditional show closers, “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and “I’ll Fly Away.”  But before the night ended, Nelson punctured any pontification about his importance with a Mac Davis cover, “It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re Perfect In Every Way).”

For all the artists and music that preceded his appearance on stage, Nelson on Saturday conveyed a star power that surpassed all others, a good-natured, almost mystical presence that has inspired all involved with Farm Aid for nearly four decades now.  

It is not an exaggeration to say that generations of farmers have drawn strength from Nelson’s commitment to their cause — and that Farm Aid, in promoting the importance of family farms since 1985, has had a profound influence on the culture of the nation.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has canceled concerts planned in Poland amid outrage over his stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, Polish media reported Saturday (Sept. 24).

An official with the Tauron Arena in Krakow, where Waters was scheduled to perform two concerts in April, said they would no longer take place.

“Roger Waters’ manager decided to withdraw … without giving any reason,” Lukasz Pytko from Tauron Arena Krakow said Saturday in comments carried by Polish media outlets.

The website for Waters’ This Is Not a Drill concert tour did not list the Krakow concerts previously scheduled for April 21-22.

City councilors in Krakow were expected to vote next week on a proposal to name Waters as a persona non grata, expressing “indignation” over the musician’s stance on the war in Ukraine.

Waters wrote an open letter to Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska early this month in which he blamed “extreme nationalists” in Ukraine for having “set your country on the path to this disastrous war.” He also criticized the West for supplying Ukraine with weapons, blaming Washington in particular.

Waters has also criticized NATO, accusing it of provoking Russia.