Beyonce already smashing records with Cowboy Carter Tour earnings
The 'Crazy In Love' hitmaker finished a run of five gigs at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on May 9, pulled in well over $50 million with 217,000 tickets sold.
As reported by Rolling Stone magazine, the Los Angeles run is the "biggest reported single-venue engagement" of the year so far.
It's also the fifth-highest grossing tour stop in Boxscore history, beaten only by U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas across 2023 and 2024, Harry Styles at New York's Madison Square Garden in 2022, and Take That's Wembley Stadium run in 2011.
It's also the highest-grossing single-venue engagement in history by a female artist.
Beyonce started her tour on April 28 and returned to the venue on May 1, 4, 7 and 9, pulling in an average of $11.1 million per night with over 43,000 fans in attendance for each show.
With three performances as SoFi in 2023, her eight gigs in total is more than any other artist in the venue's five-year history.
On the opening night of the SoFi run, the Grammy Award winner was joined onstage by her daughters Blue Ivy Carter and Rumi Carter.
Blue Ivy, 13, danced with her famous mother during her performance of 'America Has A Problem'.
Later on, it was time for Beyoncé and Jay-Z's seven-year-old, Rumi Carter, to make her onstage debut.
As Beyoncé belted out the moving ballad 'Protector', Rumi and her big sister stood with her under the spotlight.
Following the performance, pictures of Beyoncé and her three children - also including Rumi's twin brother Sir - appeared on a big screen behind her.
Blue Ivy was part of the backup dance troupe for her superstar mom on her 2023 'Renaissance Tour'.
She also joined her mother onstage for her NFL Christmas Day Halftime Show in 2024.
The talented teenager has followed in her famous parents' footsteps and voiced Kiara in the 2024 Disney film 'Mufasa: The Lion King'.
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The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
What made Charlie O'Derry cry as he sang his way into our hearts on The Voice
"When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist." "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes." Tears streamed down Charlie O'Derry's face before he could even finish his blind auditions performance on Sunday night's opening episode of The Voice Australia. The talented folk singer delivered a performance so raw and heartfelt, it brought the room to a standstill and had four seasoned pop stars - the show's coaches - wiping their eyes. Recalling the moment before it went to air on Seven, the 17-year-old from Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast said his performance was not his strongest work as a vocalist. But the moment carried a lot of emotional weight as he realised, in real time, that his dream was becoming a reality. "I have definitely sung my song better," he said, "but it was just all the emotions rushing through when I saw that I had actually made it. "I couldn't hold it together." Charlie earned a prized four-chair turn from the coaches on the popular talent quest's 14th season: Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating. Overwhelmed by the experience, Charlie said the emotions took over the moment he saw the first coach turn around "When I saw the first chair turn around, I started to burst into tears. My tears just kept dropping out of my eyes - it was crazy. I wasn't really expecting to get any chair turns, to be honest. To see one turn around, I was bawling my eyes out." As the chairs continued to turn, the emotions only intensified. "To see all four [coaches turn around], I started to wipe my eyes, and I could barely talk. And then to look over at my family - it was a very emotional moment for all of us." In the blind auditions, coaches build their team of hopefuls based solely on their voice, without seeing the contestants. If a voice captures their attention, they hit the button and spin their chair to see the performer and signal their interest. When more than one chair turns, the artist gets to decide which coach to team up with. But if no chairs turn, the journey ends there. Charlie performed a haunting, slowed-down, and at times tear-filled rendition of Djo's 2022 hit End of Beginning. Soulfully delivered, Charlie's version of the synth-pop track struck a chord far beyond the music itself. Coach and Grammy Award winner Richard Marx turned his chair within seconds of Charlie starting his performance, with Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke spinning around soon after. Spice Girl Melanie C and Boyzone lead vocalist Ronan Keating turned their chairs just as Charlie finished singing. Keating, who teared up along with the rest of the coaches, walked up on stage to embrace the 17-year-old after his emotionally-charged performance. "I felt all of that," he said as he hugged Charlie. "That was beautiful." Marx described Charlie's rendition as "heartbreakingly beautiful", while Miller-Heidke labelled the teen's performance as "something pure and from the heart". "You just made me feel something that I've never felt in this chair before," she said. After he completed his goosebump-inducing performance, Miller-Heidke asked what led to such a powerful moment on stage. Charlie then shared his heartbreaking story about his dad, a former pastor and prison chaplain, who was left in a wheelchair after suffering a severe brain injury in a workplace accident. "Music is something me and Dad can do together...," he said. "My dad had an accident at work, pretty much half his brain is gone forever, and he suffered from really bad seizures everyday for a long time. "He [had] brain surgery last year, and the seizures have stopped. I gave music my hardest crack and it's really emotional to see it's paying off." The teenager, who gave up a promising footy path to follow his heart, said it was humbling to receive such praise from the coaches. "To have people who are that solidified in the music scene, with all the accomplishments each and every one of them has made, to see that I made them feel like that - and that they reacted like that to my voice and the way I changed that song - made me very content with where I am in my journey. "It has given me a lot of confidence." In the end, Charlie chose to be on Miller-Heidke's team. He said it was by no means an easy choice between four "amazing coaches", but in the end, the decision came down to his roots. "What they said to me after they turned around, I was still undecided," he said. "But it all came down to: I love folk music, I write folk music, and that's the career I want to have. "Kate had folk roots when she first started out, and I just felt like, with her performing at Eurovision, and with her experience as an opera singer, a pop singer, a folk singer - doing all these different genres of music and having incredible achievements in every field - I thought she would help me become more of a well-rounded artist."
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Grammy-winner Lainey Wilson in Newcastle for Howlin' Country
Howlin' Country is bootscootin' its way back to Newcastle this summer with a line-up headlined by Grammy Award-winner Lainey Wilson and homegrown talent Morgan Evans. They'll be joined at the Foreshore on February 14 by US performers Kaitlin Butts and Flatland Cavalry, Lake Macquarie's Adam Newling, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues. More artists will be announced in the coming months. Newcastle-based Howlin' Country promoter Moe Matthew says 12,500 music lovers attended the inaugural festival on February 15 this year, which was headlined by Tyler Childers. The festival is "100 per cent locally owned and operated and has a strong commitment to the Newcastle community - whether that be through locally sourced vendors, staff or its commitment to showcasing some of the region's best local talent". "It's great to have Howlin' back for another year. From day one, the festival was built to support our local music scene, artists and businesses," he said. "Each year, we put a strong focus on showcasing homegrown talent, and having Adam Newling and Morgan Evans on the line-up this year really captures what Howlin' is all about. "We still have a few more artists to add to the line-up, but so far it feels like it's shaping up to be a fun day out in an awesome city, and one you can enjoy with the whole family." Mr Matthew has previously promoted music festivals This That, and Scene & Heard out of Wickham Park. Lainey Wilson has had a monumental rise to fame in recent years. She won a Grammy Award in 2024 for best contemporary country album for her album Bell Bottom Country, and has 16 American Country Music awards and nine Country Music Association awards to her name. The Nashville artist, who made her acting debut in popular US series Yellowstone in 2022, has had eight No.1 hits, including 4x4xU, Watermelon Moonshine and Heart Like A Truck, wrote and recorded Out of Oklahoma for the movie Twisters (2024), and has collaborated with the likes of Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton and Post Malone. ARIA Award-winning artist Morgan Evans, another Lake Macquarie local, last performed in Newcastle in 2023. He found fame overseas with his breakthrough Platinum-certified No.1 single Kiss Somebody and the Gold-certified Day Drunk, has more than 800 million streams, and has sold-out tours across the globe. Nashville and Texas-based sextet Flatland Cavalry have just celebrated 10 years together, and in that time have racked up six No.1 singles on Texas Country Radio and more than 500 million streams. They've also shared the stage with the likes of Willie Nelson, Luke Combs, Jordan Davis, and Midland. Kaitlin Butts has a deep affinity for country music's more theatrical side - the extravagant storytelling, dazzling showmanship, and songs embedded with unbridled emotion and quick-fire humour. At Howlin' Country, the Tulsa native will be bringing her 2024 album Roadrunner! to life; a 17-track high-concept album that acts as a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favourite musical, Oklahoma!. The 2026 edition of the festival will also feature some of Australia's brightest stars, including Adam Newling, who grew up in Warners Bay, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues. Howlin' Country is bootscootin' its way back to Newcastle this summer with a line-up headlined by Grammy Award-winner Lainey Wilson and homegrown talent Morgan Evans. They'll be joined at the Foreshore on February 14 by US performers Kaitlin Butts and Flatland Cavalry, Lake Macquarie's Adam Newling, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues. More artists will be announced in the coming months. Newcastle-based Howlin' Country promoter Moe Matthew says 12,500 music lovers attended the inaugural festival on February 15 this year, which was headlined by Tyler Childers. The festival is "100 per cent locally owned and operated and has a strong commitment to the Newcastle community - whether that be through locally sourced vendors, staff or its commitment to showcasing some of the region's best local talent". "It's great to have Howlin' back for another year. From day one, the festival was built to support our local music scene, artists and businesses," he said. "Each year, we put a strong focus on showcasing homegrown talent, and having Adam Newling and Morgan Evans on the line-up this year really captures what Howlin' is all about. "We still have a few more artists to add to the line-up, but so far it feels like it's shaping up to be a fun day out in an awesome city, and one you can enjoy with the whole family." Mr Matthew has previously promoted music festivals This That, and Scene & Heard out of Wickham Park. Lainey Wilson has had a monumental rise to fame in recent years. She won a Grammy Award in 2024 for best contemporary country album for her album Bell Bottom Country, and has 16 American Country Music awards and nine Country Music Association awards to her name. The Nashville artist, who made her acting debut in popular US series Yellowstone in 2022, has had eight No.1 hits, including 4x4xU, Watermelon Moonshine and Heart Like A Truck, wrote and recorded Out of Oklahoma for the movie Twisters (2024), and has collaborated with the likes of Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton and Post Malone. ARIA Award-winning artist Morgan Evans, another Lake Macquarie local, last performed in Newcastle in 2023. He found fame overseas with his breakthrough Platinum-certified No.1 single Kiss Somebody and the Gold-certified Day Drunk, has more than 800 million streams, and has sold-out tours across the globe. Nashville and Texas-based sextet Flatland Cavalry have just celebrated 10 years together, and in that time have racked up six No.1 singles on Texas Country Radio and more than 500 million streams. They've also shared the stage with the likes of Willie Nelson, Luke Combs, Jordan Davis, and Midland. Kaitlin Butts has a deep affinity for country music's more theatrical side - the extravagant storytelling, dazzling showmanship, and songs embedded with unbridled emotion and quick-fire humour. At Howlin' Country, the Tulsa native will be bringing her 2024 album Roadrunner! to life; a 17-track high-concept album that acts as a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favourite musical, Oklahoma!. The 2026 edition of the festival will also feature some of Australia's brightest stars, including Adam Newling, who grew up in Warners Bay, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues. Howlin' Country is bootscootin' its way back to Newcastle this summer with a line-up headlined by Grammy Award-winner Lainey Wilson and homegrown talent Morgan Evans. They'll be joined at the Foreshore on February 14 by US performers Kaitlin Butts and Flatland Cavalry, Lake Macquarie's Adam Newling, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues. More artists will be announced in the coming months. Newcastle-based Howlin' Country promoter Moe Matthew says 12,500 music lovers attended the inaugural festival on February 15 this year, which was headlined by Tyler Childers. The festival is "100 per cent locally owned and operated and has a strong commitment to the Newcastle community - whether that be through locally sourced vendors, staff or its commitment to showcasing some of the region's best local talent". "It's great to have Howlin' back for another year. From day one, the festival was built to support our local music scene, artists and businesses," he said. "Each year, we put a strong focus on showcasing homegrown talent, and having Adam Newling and Morgan Evans on the line-up this year really captures what Howlin' is all about. "We still have a few more artists to add to the line-up, but so far it feels like it's shaping up to be a fun day out in an awesome city, and one you can enjoy with the whole family." Mr Matthew has previously promoted music festivals This That, and Scene & Heard out of Wickham Park. Lainey Wilson has had a monumental rise to fame in recent years. She won a Grammy Award in 2024 for best contemporary country album for her album Bell Bottom Country, and has 16 American Country Music awards and nine Country Music Association awards to her name. The Nashville artist, who made her acting debut in popular US series Yellowstone in 2022, has had eight No.1 hits, including 4x4xU, Watermelon Moonshine and Heart Like A Truck, wrote and recorded Out of Oklahoma for the movie Twisters (2024), and has collaborated with the likes of Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton and Post Malone. ARIA Award-winning artist Morgan Evans, another Lake Macquarie local, last performed in Newcastle in 2023. He found fame overseas with his breakthrough Platinum-certified No.1 single Kiss Somebody and the Gold-certified Day Drunk, has more than 800 million streams, and has sold-out tours across the globe. Nashville and Texas-based sextet Flatland Cavalry have just celebrated 10 years together, and in that time have racked up six No.1 singles on Texas Country Radio and more than 500 million streams. They've also shared the stage with the likes of Willie Nelson, Luke Combs, Jordan Davis, and Midland. Kaitlin Butts has a deep affinity for country music's more theatrical side - the extravagant storytelling, dazzling showmanship, and songs embedded with unbridled emotion and quick-fire humour. At Howlin' Country, the Tulsa native will be bringing her 2024 album Roadrunner! to life; a 17-track high-concept album that acts as a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favourite musical, Oklahoma!. The 2026 edition of the festival will also feature some of Australia's brightest stars, including Adam Newling, who grew up in Warners Bay, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues. Howlin' Country is bootscootin' its way back to Newcastle this summer with a line-up headlined by Grammy Award-winner Lainey Wilson and homegrown talent Morgan Evans. They'll be joined at the Foreshore on February 14 by US performers Kaitlin Butts and Flatland Cavalry, Lake Macquarie's Adam Newling, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues. More artists will be announced in the coming months. Newcastle-based Howlin' Country promoter Moe Matthew says 12,500 music lovers attended the inaugural festival on February 15 this year, which was headlined by Tyler Childers. The festival is "100 per cent locally owned and operated and has a strong commitment to the Newcastle community - whether that be through locally sourced vendors, staff or its commitment to showcasing some of the region's best local talent". "It's great to have Howlin' back for another year. From day one, the festival was built to support our local music scene, artists and businesses," he said. "Each year, we put a strong focus on showcasing homegrown talent, and having Adam Newling and Morgan Evans on the line-up this year really captures what Howlin' is all about. "We still have a few more artists to add to the line-up, but so far it feels like it's shaping up to be a fun day out in an awesome city, and one you can enjoy with the whole family." Mr Matthew has previously promoted music festivals This That, and Scene & Heard out of Wickham Park. Lainey Wilson has had a monumental rise to fame in recent years. She won a Grammy Award in 2024 for best contemporary country album for her album Bell Bottom Country, and has 16 American Country Music awards and nine Country Music Association awards to her name. The Nashville artist, who made her acting debut in popular US series Yellowstone in 2022, has had eight No.1 hits, including 4x4xU, Watermelon Moonshine and Heart Like A Truck, wrote and recorded Out of Oklahoma for the movie Twisters (2024), and has collaborated with the likes of Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton and Post Malone. ARIA Award-winning artist Morgan Evans, another Lake Macquarie local, last performed in Newcastle in 2023. He found fame overseas with his breakthrough Platinum-certified No.1 single Kiss Somebody and the Gold-certified Day Drunk, has more than 800 million streams, and has sold-out tours across the globe. Nashville and Texas-based sextet Flatland Cavalry have just celebrated 10 years together, and in that time have racked up six No.1 singles on Texas Country Radio and more than 500 million streams. They've also shared the stage with the likes of Willie Nelson, Luke Combs, Jordan Davis, and Midland. Kaitlin Butts has a deep affinity for country music's more theatrical side - the extravagant storytelling, dazzling showmanship, and songs embedded with unbridled emotion and quick-fire humour. At Howlin' Country, the Tulsa native will be bringing her 2024 album Roadrunner! to life; a 17-track high-concept album that acts as a modern-day reimagining of the soundtrack to her all-time favourite musical, Oklahoma!. The 2026 edition of the festival will also feature some of Australia's brightest stars, including Adam Newling, who grew up in Warners Bay, and Brisbane's Tyla Rodrigues.
7NEWS
4 days ago
- 7NEWS
AI rise like 'Terminator-style apocalypse': James Cameron
Hollywood director James Cameron says the world is on the brink of a 'Terminator-style apocalypse' if artificial intelligence is allowed access to weapons systems. Cameron conceded it's possible for humankind to be left facing extinction as predicted in his 1984 sci-fi movie The Terminator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. 'I do think there's still a danger of a Terminator-style apocalypse where you put AI together with weapons systems, even up to the level of nuclear weapon systems, nuclear defence counterstrike, all that stuff,' he told Rolling Stone magazine. 'Because the theatre of operations is so rapid, the decision windows are so fast, it would take a super-intelligence to be able to process it, and maybe we'll be smart and keep a human in the loop. 'But humans are fallible, and there have been a lot of mistakes made that have put us right on the brink of international incidents that could have led to nuclear war. So I don't know.' Cameron added: 'I feel like we're at this cusp in human development where you've got the three existential threats: climate and our overall degradation of the natural world, nuclear weapons, and super-intelligence. 'They're all sort of manifesting and peaking at the same time ...' Cameron recently signed an open letter calling for nuclear disarmament and his next film is Ghosts of Hiroshima, based on the Charles Pellegrino book of the same name which tells the story of the atomic bomb blast in 1945 and its aftermath. The director admitted the movie might be the most 'challenging film' he will ever make.
