Sinéad O'Connor Biopic Is Officially in the Works
According to Variety, the film will focus on O'Connor's early life and career, where she rose to an unlikely, at times controversial pop star, breaking out in 1990 when her cover of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' became a Number One hit.
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Variety reports that the biopic has been in development since Kathryn Ferguson's 2022 documentary Nothing Compares. The new film will be directed by Josephine Decker (who helmed 2020's Shirley) with a script by Stacey Gregg. The Irish company ie: entertainment — who executive produced Nothing Compares — are behind the project, as well as the Irish production company Nine Daughters and See-Saw Films.
O'Connor died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in July 2023 at the age of 56. At the time of her death, her final album was one track away from completion. According to her management company, she was also reviewing tour dates and considering a biopic, based on her 2021 memoir Rememberings.
O'Connor influenced countless singers like Tori Amos, Tegan and Sara, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, and many others. Following her death, boygenius covered 'The Parting Glass' — a Scottish and Irish traditional that Sinéad O'Connor recorded in 2002 — while Phoebe Bridgers paid tribute to her in Rolling Stone.
'She embodied what it means to be a musician and stand for something,' Bridgers told us. 'Maybe it's the internet, but in today's landscape, people are told what is kosher to believe in and they just do that or the bare minimum. She was not like that at all. She made me feel like I was allowed to stand for things. It's still hard, but I feel so lucky that I can feel validated and my beliefs are taken seriously. And that world exists because of Sinéad's sacrifice.'
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Mickey Hart on Dead's 60th Anniversary Shows: ‘I Saw Jerry and Phil and Pigpen Hovering'
Following Dead & Company's epic weekend at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Mickey Hart shared a poignant reflection of the 60th anniversary shows. 'This weekend was 3 days of coming home and in those final moments of the weekend, it was truly profound,' he wrote on Instagram. 'I saw 60,000 people sparking light, in love, entrained big time and coming our way. Different than applause after a song, it sounded more like an ahhhhhh. All the peace and love in proximity generated a collective energy that was shared by all. Very rare stuff indeed.' More from Rolling Stone The World's Hardest Grateful Dead Quiz 'An Affirmation, Not a Protest': How the First Be-In Changed the World Listen to Dead & Company's San Francisco Concerts to Celebrate the Grateful Dead's 60th Anniversary Hart then took a moment to mention late members of the Dead, including Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh, plus lyricist Robert Hunter and longtime roadie Ramrod (Laurence Shurtliff). 'I saw Jerry and Phil and Pigpen hovering over the crowd smiling like Cheshire cats,' he said. 'I saw Hunter and Ramrod through the beauty of the fog and lights.' He added: 'In the final moments of the weekend standing right next to Bob [Weir] and feeling the raw emotion coming our way from our fans, I felt Bob's heartbeat, along with mine, and the deep connection we have with all of you. All the years combine. They melt into a dream.' The Dead & Company shows featured special guest appearances from Trey Anastasio ('Scarlet Begonias' and 'Fire on the Mountain'), Sturgill Simpson ('Morning Dew'), Grahame Lesh (several songs, including his dad's 'Box of Rain' on Friday), and Billy Strings ('Wharf Rat'). 'No matter how many shows we play as a band, I will always be a guest in this musical world, and I'll never lose sight of what is the great honor of my life,' John Mayer said, following the three-night run. Next up, Deadheads can look forward to seeing 1977's The Grateful Dead Movie in IMAX this month, while a 50th anniversary deluxe edition of Blues for Allah arrives in September. 'If you hang in there long enough, people start paying attention to you,' Weir told us earlier this year. 'I guess if I ever have grandkids, they'll probably take me a bit more seriously. But really, I'm the same guy. I still have to get out of bed in the morning, and my back's cranky. Nothing much has changed.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
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15 Moments That Defined the Last 30 Years of the Grateful Dead
When Jerry Garcia died in 1995, it seemed like the story of the Grateful Dead might end there. 'I didn't go out of my house for a week,' Mickey Hart recalled years later. But the Dead's music and community and culture rebounded and carried on, creating one of the most impressive second acts in rock history. To honor the band's 60th anniversary, here are some of the key moments that have defined the Dead's past 30 years, from their many musical reincarnations and subsequent tours to a five-hour tribute album to Kennedy Center honors and arguably the most epic Vegas residency of all time. More from Rolling Stone The World's Hardest Grateful Dead Quiz 'An Affirmation, Not a Protest': How the First Be-In Changed the World Mickey Hart on Dead's 60th Anniversary Shows: 'I Saw Jerry and Phil and Pigpen Hovering' November 1995: John Oswald reimagines 'Dark Star' with the two-hour mix 'Grayfolded' Sound-collage artist John Oswald, known for coining the term 'plunderphonics,' wasn't a particularly huge Deadhead when Phil Lesh invited him to work his cut-and-paste magic on the band's live vault in the early Nineties, but he found a unique way to celebrate fans' tape-trading culture. Oswald ended up splicing more than 100 performances of 'Dark Star' into the ultimate version of the ultimate live Dead song, stretching it out into a trippy odyssey that runs close to two hours. Since the performances that Oswald sampled range from 1968 to 1993, Grayfolded taps into something that no one bootleg, however transcendent, could. 'It's not a performably possible version of 'Dark Star,'' he said. 'You can't have three generations of Jerry Garcias live onstage together. But there's this illusion of it being the Grateful Dead in concert.' —Simon Vozick-Levinson May 10, 1996: The Internet Archive debutsThe digital librarian and historian — and Deadhead — Brewster Kahle started the Internet Archive in the spring of 1996; its mission was 'universal access to all knowledge.' Over time it would become a trove for all kinds of old media, from scanned vintage magazines to digitized tapes of old DJ sets to the famous 'Wayback Machine,' which has archived millions of now-dead web pages. The janky RealAudio files of 1996 — the era when internet cafes began sprouting up in American cities — would, by 2004, give way to mp3s and, increasingly, streaming, as connectivity became far faster and more reliable. That year, Kahle started the Dead Archive — by and for tape traders — helping fans get on the fast track to Dead-show knowledge. It was taken down by the band's lawyers in late '05 — a move so controversial within the band's inner circle that it made The New York Times. Eventually, the band and Kahle made an agreement: Soundboards made by the band were listen-only; audience tapes could be downloaded. Even after decades' worth of reissues and box sets, the Internet Archive remains the place to get your uncut Dead fix. —Michaelangelo Matos Summer 1996: The first annual Furthur FestivalOperating for three summers total in the immediate aftermath of Jerry Garcia's passing, the Furthur Festival adapted the Lollapalooza format for the jam-band circuit. The initial outing, which opened in Atlanta and closed in Phoenix, was headlined by two Dead men's bands, Bob Weir's RatDog and Mickey Hart's Mystery Box, along with the simpatico likes of Hot Tuna, Los Lobos, Bruce Hornsby, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and John Wesley Harding, plus jugglers the Flying Karamazov Brothers. They meshed in interesting ways — most of the groups played Dead songs routinely … except for the bands with actual Grateful Dead members: Hart's all-percussion group might encore with 'Fire on the Mountain' (done … yes … as a rap), while RatDog 'only knew two Grateful Dead songs,' Joel Selvin writes in his post-Garcia Dead chronicle, Fare Thee Well, summing up the Deadheads' frustration with them: 'Not only did [Weir] refuse to have a lead guitar in his band, he wouldn't even play rock music, much less Dead songs.' —M.M. July 24, 1998: The Other Ones start touringThree years after the death of Garcia, the revival the Grateful Dead reached another major landmark when Weir, Lesh, and Hart formed the Other Ones. Bolstered by Bruce Hornsby, Steve Kimock, Mark Karan, John Molo, and Dave Ellis, the lineup debuted its mojo on July 24, 1998, on the Further Festival tour. Dead favorites like 'Dark Star,' 'Hell in a Bucket,' and 'Scarlet Begonias' were all in the set, along with the song that gave the group its name, 1968's 'The Other One.' The band toured through 2002, with various personnel shifts, and ultimately transformed again in 2003, christening themselves the Dead. —Joseph Hudak 2008: The Core Four reunite to support Barack ObamaWeir, Lesh, and Hart hadn't shared a stage in four years before they reunited at San Francisco's Warfield Theater on Feb. 4, 2008. The man who brought them together? Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who was facing Hillary Clinton in California's Democratic primary the next day. Lesh, whose teenage son had been working as a volunteer on Obama's campaign, got the band back together for the concert dubbed 'Deadheads for Obama '08' after being impressed by the Illinois senator's hope-and-change-filled rallies. 'The first thing I thought of was to talk to these two guys and say 'Hey, are you with me on this?'' Lesh told Rolling Stone. 'Not only am I with you on this,' said Hart, 'I was just about to call you up for the very same reason.' Obama lost the California primary but won the Democratic nomination, and that October, the three musicians played another campaign rally in Pennsylvania, this time joined by Bill Kreutzmann, en route to the candidate's historic general election win. —S.V.L. Jan. 20, 2009: And play one of Obama's inaugural ballsIn a moment that would've been inconceivable when the band formed during the LBJ administration, the Dead were tapped to play one of the inaugural balls to honor new president Barack Obama. As Lesh recalled, 'We had about an hour. The way we were thinking of it, we could either do two songs for an hour, or do six songs and keep it down a little bit.' They're set was highlighted by classics like 'Uncle John's Band,' 'Sugar Magnolia,' and 'Eyes of the World,' and was briefly interrupted by the arrival of Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who slow danced to Van Morrison's 'Have I Told You Lately.' The Dead even complied with the night's formal-wear protocol. 'The inauguration crowd was pretty swinging,' Weir said. 'They were in a celebratory mood. We played a few songs before I took my coat off.' —Jon Dolan March 30, 2009: The Dead play three free New York club shows in one dayFresh off the reunion for Barack Obama in Pennsylvania, the 'core four' members decided to embark on their first tour together in five years, with guitarist Warren Haynes the latest to step into Garcia's sizable shoes. To get Deadheads psyched, the new lineup hopscotched around New York City in one day, playing three free shows at three different venues. The day began with an unlikely appearance on The View, where co-host Whoopi Goldberg exclaimed, 'I love me some Dead!' Then came a Weir, Lesh and Haynes acoustic set at a Lower East Side theater, followed by a full-band electric show at the Gramercy Theatre before a wrap-up concert at the since-closed Roseland Ballroom. Although Haynes' guitar and vocals were more rooted in barroom blues and Southern rock than any of his predecessors, so much else about the band — Lesh's fluid bass, the two-drum attack of Hart and Kreutzmann — remained intact. In the stamina department alone, the Dead's triple play was an accomplishment unto itself. —David Browne. March 12, 2012: Furthur celebrate Phil Lesh's 70th birthday in San FranciscoDuring the few years Furthur existed, the post-Dead reunion-tour band formed by Lesh and Weir was among the most limber of the post-Garcia combos. It was also the most eerily familiar: Guitarist John Kadlecik had Garcia's voice and guitar down. The band had many standout shows, like a celebratory one at New York's Madison Square Garden in late 2020, but this special San Francisco gig also stood out. To help Lesh celebrate entering his seventh decade, Furthur was joined by Black Crowes' Chris Robinson, who took the lead on 'Peggy-O' and a rare live version of Pigpen's 'The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion),' while new-gen jam master Jackie Greene handled 'Scarlet Begonias.' Amid the many smiles onstage was the sound of the Dead's repertoire being handed over to disciples willing to run — and have fun — with it. —D.B. July 2015: The 'Core Four' commemorate 50 years together with the Fare Thee Well concertsFare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead was a two-part series of concerts that brought the band's surviving 'Core Four' — Weir, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart — back together for the first time in years. Spread across two sets of shows — the first two concerts at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and then three at Chicago's Soldier Field — the performances featured Trey Anastasio of Phish, stepping into Garcia's role on guitar, former Grateful Dead touring member Bruce Hornsby, and Ratdog/the Other Ones keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. There were several standout moments from the shows, including the Chicago July 3, 2015, opener, where Lesh opened the show singing 'Box of Rain,' and a gorgeous rainbow appearing after the first set on the first night in Santa Clara on June 25, 2015. —Alison Weinflash Fall 2015: Dead & Company launch their first tourJust when everybody thought they'd never see most of the Dead together again after the Fare Thee Well shows that spring, here came another incarnation with … John Mayer? The connection actually began with Rolling Stone, after Mayer mentioned his love of the band in an interview, leading to request from someone in the Dead camp for a contact for him. Despite Mayer's guitar skill set, it was easy to be skeptical about how he would blend with Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann (and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and bassist Oteil Burbridge). But from the kickoff, 'Jack Straw,' and building over two sets to a cathartic 'Morning Dew,' Mayer didn't just adequately play ball, but also seriously stepped up to the plate. Along with Burbridge, he proved himself a respectful student who took his new part-time job seriously. That show would set the stage for another, starting decades' worth of Dead & Company shows. —D.B. May 20, 2016: Five-hour 'Day of the Dead' tribute album is releasedAn astonishing tribute to the Dead's living legacy, this five-hour Dead-covers album helmed by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of the National is probably the most ambitious album of its kind ever created. There's Afropop (Senegalese guitar wizards Orchestra Baobob's shimmering 'Franklin's Tower'), country (Lucinda Williams' hot and heavy take on 'Going Down the Road Feeling Bad'), and soul music (Charles Bradley funking up 'Cumberland Blues'). But most of the album is a love letter from the indie-rock community, a world where the Dead's beautifully paradoxical notion of American beauty and guitar gorgeousness has had a massive resonance for decades. Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Stephen Malkmus, Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan, and many others all turned in reverent reimaginings of Dead classics. —J.D. Jan. 23, 2017: 'Long, Strange Trip' premieres at the Sundance Film FestivalBy 2017, there had already been lots of books about the Grateful Dead, plus a number of appearances by band members in various musical-history programs and films (see 2003's Festival Express, about a legendary 1970 Canadian tour by train, also featuring Janis Joplin, the Band, and Buddy Guy). There had even been The Grateful Dead Movie (filmed in 1974, released in 1977). But there was no full-on band-bio feature until Long Strange Trip premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that January. Originally planned for a 2015 release — 50 years from the band's inception — but completed on Dead time, Amir Bar-Lev's four-hour documentary history, co-executive-produced by Martin Scorsese, received a rapturous reception. No wonder — as Rolling Stone's David Fear reported from the festival, 'Most of the folks assembled for the Sundance premiere of Long Strange Trip were almost assuredly Deadheads at one point.' —M.M. 2020: Nike and the Dead team up for an epic sneaker launchYou could probably write a whole book about the relationship between the Grateful Dead and various kinds of merchandise, and this collaboration with Nike is a unique moment in that history. The overlap between Deadheads and sneakerheads might not be immediately apparent, but in 2020, when Nike released three Dead-themed versions of its SB Dunk Lows (in green, orange, and yellow, designed to pay tribute to the band's Dancing Bear mascot), the shoe was a smash. The first batch immediately sold out, and the shoes were soon going for as much as $3,500. —J.D. May 20, 2024: The Sphere residency beginsAfter months of mixed messages about their future, Dead & Company surprised fans by announcing a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The band confirmed a 24-show run beginning March 20, 2024, which was later extended to 30 shows. Guitarist John Mayer acted as creative director, working with digital studios and using visual effects to create the stunning visuals displayed on the Sphere's huge wraparound LED screen. The whole production took six months to develop, with new visuals added throughout the first part of the residency. Alongside the concerts, fans could visit the 'Dead Forever Experience' at the Venetian, which showcased a one-quarter scale model of the Wall of Sound, artwork by drummer Hart, a collection of concert tapes from archivist David Lemieux, and photos from Grateful Dead tours between 1965 and 1995. Dead & Company returned to the Sphere in 2025 for a second residency. Fans are hoping the band will come back in 2026. —A.W. Dec. 8, 2024: The Dead receive Kennedy Center HonorsJoe Biden held his final Kennedy Center honors ceremony in 2024, celebrating the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, and Francis Ford Coppola. 'Technical virtuosos fiercely dedicated to their craft, they fused decades and dozens of musical styles to create a whole new American sound. Experimental, innovative and brave,' the president said in his remarks. Weir, Hart, and Kreutzmann were on hand for a televised performance that included Sturgill Simpson performing 'Ripple' with help from a video of Jerry Garcia singing the song, and Derek Trucks, Suzan Tedeschi, and Dave Matthews teamed up for 'Sugaree.' The peak moment had to be Queen Latifah doing the disco-Dead classic 'Shakedown Street' backed by dancing bears. —J.D. Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
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60 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Played the First-Ever Major Stadium Rock Concert
60 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Played the First-Ever Major Stadium Rock Concert originally appeared on Parade. Six decades ago, the loudest sound in New York wasn't a jet overhead—it was 55,600 fans screaming for four guys from Liverpool. On August 15, 1965, The Beatles walked onto a stage planted over second base at Shea Stadium and made music history. It was the first major stadium rock concert, the night Beatlemania scaled up to sports-arena size, and the blueprint for every mega-tour that came after. Fast forward to today, the New York Mets are honoring that milestone with The Beatles Night at Citi Field as they host the Seattle Mariners. The celebration includes a pregame set by tribute band 1964 The Tribute at the Shea Bridge starting at 6:15 p.m., a Shea Stadium replica for the first 15,000 fans, and a Beatles-soundtracked fireworks show after the game. Even members of the 1965 gameday staff are returning to throw out the first pitch. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Back in '65, the idea of a rock band filling a baseball stadium was untested. Promoter Sid Bernstein booked it anyway, selling tickets for about $4.50 to $5.65. The gamble paid off. The Beatles, made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, brought in roughly $304,000 (pocketing $160,000), which Bernstein proudly called 'the greatest gross ever in the history of show business.' Introducing them that night was Ed Sullivan, the TV host who had famously introduced the band to America a year earlier, declaring, 'Honored by their country, decorated by their Queen, and loved here in America… here are The Beatles!' The setlist was short by today's standards—just 12 songs including 'Twist and Shout,' 'Ticket to Ride,' 'A Hard Day's Night,' and 'Help!'—but it hardly mattered. In a 2015 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Starr recalled that the band 'couldn't hear [themselves]' over the wall of screaming fans, who 'just screamed until we bowed and left.' And the frenzy didn't stop when the music did. According to The Washington Post, the group had to be rushed off the field in a white station wagon driven by Shea groundskeeper Pete Flynn, then transferred to an armored truck to make their escape. Celebrities were in the stands too: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Marvin Gaye, plus future Beatles spouses Linda Eastman and Barbara Bach. The whole thing was filmed with 14 cameras and later aired as The Beatles at Shea Stadium, though several songs were overdubbed in post-production to fix the audio lost in the chaos. 🎤 SIGN UP for our The Voice newsletter to get access to exclusive news, interviews, insider info, sneak peeks & more 🎤 McCartney would later call it 'magic—just walls of people,' as he recalled in The Beatles Anthology. Lennon described it as 'the top of the mountain,' a line he repeated in multiple interviews about the Shea concert. In one night, they proved stadium concerts could work, paving the way for everyone from Elton John to Taylor Swift. 60 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Played the First-Ever Major Stadium Rock Concert first appeared on Parade on Aug 15, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
