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San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Benson Boone announces San Francisco tour stop after viral BottleRock moment with Steph Curry
Pop star Benson Boone, fresh off a standout performance at BottleRock Napa Valley that had Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry singing along, announced he's bringing his American Heart arena tour to the team's home court this fall. The San Francisco stop at Chase Center is set for Oct. 1 and will be part of Boone's sweeping North American tour supporting his upcoming album 'American Heart,' due out June 20. The tour is scheduled to kick off in Saint Paul, Minn., on Aug. 22, and includes marquee stops at Madison Square Garden in New York, Arena in Los Angeles and Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, before wrapping in Salt Lake City on Oct. 8. At BottleRock over the weekend — which included headlining sets by Green Day, Justin Timberlake and Noah Kahan — Boone drew one of the festival's largest crowds with a high-energy set that included his viral hit 'Beautiful Things.' Curry, standing near the stage with his wife Ayesha, filmed himself singing along and shared the moment on social media. The NBA star, who was sidelined for much of the Warriors' playoff run after a hamstring injury in Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, appeared fully in off-season mode. A veteran BottleRock festivalgoer, he was back representing his bourbon brand, Gentlemen's Cut, which debuted at the event in 2023. Boone, 22, leaned into the spotlight in Freddie Mercury-inspired fashion: mustache, white tank top and acid-wash jeans. But it was his backflips that really set him apart from the other performers. Boone was the only performer at the three-day Memorial Day weekend concert to go airborne onstage. In addition to Curry, fellow Bay Area sports stars George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk of the San Francisco 49ers were spotted at Boone's set, joined by their wives, Claire and Kristin. Backstage, Boone spent time with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, while celebrities including Leslie Mann, Judd Apatow, 'Righteous Gem Stones' star Adam DeVine, 'Survivor' host Jeff Probst, tennis legend Serena Williams and Governor Gavin Newsom with First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom were seen enjoying the festival. 📸 Benson Boone e Dave Grohl, vocalista do Foo Fighters, via Instagram stories (_chrispotter). — Benson Boone Brasil (@BensonBooneBRA) May 25, 2025 Tickets for Boone's Chase Center show go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, May 30. Presales begin earlier in the week through American Express and the artist's fan club. 'Beautiful Things,' now streamed more than 2 billion times on Spotify, earned Boone a Grammy nomination and the 2024 IFPI Global Single Award. He recently performed on 'Saturday Night Live' and made headlines at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival with a surprise appearance by Queen's Brian May.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes helped off court after being hit in the head
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes was helped off the court late in the second quarter of Wednesday night's game against the Mystics after taking an arm to the face from Washington's Shakira Austin and going down for several minutes in a scary scene. Hayes went hard to the floor beneath the Washington basket 3:43 before halftime of the expansion franchise team's second game. She was down for several minutes after the hit to her head as at least a half-dozen medical personnel rushed out to tend to her. She gave a thumbs up after she was helped up and went to the locker room with a towel pressed to her face. She received a standing ovation when she left. Golden State is beginning its first season and playing at Chase Center, also home to the Golden State Warriors. ___ AP WNBA:
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
The hidden meaning behind the Golden State Valkyries' logo and court design
The first thing fans will see when they walk into Chase Center this summer is the Valkyries brand new playing court. It's a design that was months in the making, and one Kimberly Veale, the team's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, said holds a plethora of hidden meaning. "We wanted something that was unique, ownable and that really stood out for the Valkyries," Veale said. It starts with the court's signature violet border. No other sports team in the world has this shade of purple as their main color and that was intentional. "It was important to come out with a bold, strong color that really amplified the story of the Valkyries," Veale said. Also unique is the court's chevron-patterned flooring. "This chevron, to us, leans into the bold angular features of the brand, and it points into Vs so when you zoom out and look at it from the bowl, you can see kind of that subtle V pattern throughout the entire court," said Veale. In the center of the court is the team's logo, a nod to both the Valkyries mascot and the Bay Area. "Overarchingly, the shape is a V for victory, for Valkyries. Down the middle we've got the Bay Bridge which is the connecting point, the connector between San Francisco where Chase Center's located, where we play our home games and the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland where our team goes to work every day, that's where they practice, where our front office is headquartered," Veale explained. "It also doubles as a sword, which is a common symbol associated with the Valkyries in the mythology." There is also a nod to the Valkyries' entry into the WNBA. "On the sides, you've got five slices which double as the bridge cables and wings. So we know Valkyries can fly, it's one of their superpowers, so building that into the logo was important for us. And then throughout the entire logo, there's 13 lines to represent that we're the 13th team entering the WNBA," Veale said. There are also a few additions solely for this inaugural season, including a crest that the players will run over every time they sub into a game. Veale told KPIX the goal was to create a bold, memorable look that both fans would love to look at and players would love to play on. She feels like they've succeeded in that, and now it's just time to put the shiny new court to some use. "It's really special to have had such a strong team designing it, the intentionality that went into it. But it's going to be really exciting to see this team come to life on this hardwood," Veale said.
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Ride of the Valkyries: how the WNBA finally found a home in the Bay Area
Purple-dyed ponytails and sequin jackets glittering in shades of black and violet. Fans are decked out in sports logos and LGBTQ rainbows while Black Box's Everybody Everybody – a queer dance club classic – booms from the speakers. Ali Wong is playfully dancing on the Jumbotron. There's no misinterpreting it: the WNBA has arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Golden State Valkyries – who are owned by Golden State Warriors tech mogul Joe Lacob, and housed with their sibling franchise at Chase Center in San Francisco – were announced in 2023 (their name was confirmed in 2024) as the first WNBA expansion team since 2008. Last Friday, the team made their WNBA debut, against the Los Angeles Sparks, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,064. As local reporter Randy Dumalig said on KCBS, 'it felt like everyone and their mom was there.' The energy in and around the arena was electric. A diverse, intergenerational crowd that skewed noticeably more female than those at most Bay Area sporting events gathered from all over the region to celebrate the WNBA's splashy and long overdue arrival. With local celebrities such as Steve Kerr, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandi Chastain also in attendance, WNBA games are suddenly a real Bay Area attraction. But it has taken the WNBA a long time to arrive. When the 'W' started play in 1997, the San Francisco Bay was surprisingly excluded, despite its sports pedigree. Sacramento, roughly two hours away, was given its own team, the Monarchs, but they folded in 2009. Meanwhile, an opportunity for women's basketball had been steadily accruing in the Bay Area. The franchise has already made history by becoming the first in the WNBA to surpass 10,000 season-ticket holders, a feat that was declared mid-game against the Sparks, who ultimately defeated the still-inexperienced Valkyries 84-67 on Friday. Chants of 'GSV' and 'Let's Go Valkyries' broke out throughout the night at decibels that longtime Bay Area fans may recall from the days when the Golden State Warriors played at Oracle Arena. With the Valkyries' practice facility and headquarters located in the previously vacant Oracle in East Oakland, they're sure to appeal to fans from all over the Bay's shoreline, too. 'There was nothing like this for a long time,' says Mickey, a 74-year-old who made the commute from Silicon Valley during rush hour for the inaugural Valkyries game (she requested not to publish her full name). Before tip off, she sat in front of the arena in an electric wheelchair wearing her Valkyries gear, soaking it all in. 'I used to go to Sacramento to watch the WNBA; I didn't miss a single playoff game [during the team's championship season] in 2005. I've been waiting for a WNBA team in the Bay Area for over 27 years.' The air seems noticeably fresher in town with the WNBA – a league known for its social justice efforts, gender and labor equity advocacy, and its appeal to queer and non-traditional fans. Enthusiasts like Mickey abound here and are a reminder of the many dimensions of sports fandom that can thrive in a place like the Bay Area. And yet, Ballhalla (a de facto nickname for the Valkyries' home court, and a playful ode to Valhalla, the mythic hall of fallen warriors in Nordic myth) wasn't built overnight. Women's basketball has had a rich, if not overlooked legacy in the Bay. And its phalanx of supporters, in tandem with the Bay Area's vibrant arts and culture scenes, have been ready for their big shot. In 1969, Lew Alcindor – later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – was the No 1 overall pick in the NBA draft; he went on to become a dominant Hall of Fame force who would change the sport. Yet, a far lesser known prospect was drafted that very same night. She who would have just as profound effect on the sport by becoming the first hooper to break the league's gender barrier. Denise Long was selected by the then-San Francisco Warriors in the 13th round with the 175th pick, becoming the only female player to be picked in the NBA draft. This was nearly 30 years before the formation of the WNBA. Long's tenure as a professional basketballer in San Francisco didn't last. The league's commissioner, Walter Kennedy, immediately annulled the move, citing her status as a high schooler and gender. Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli, a bombastic Bay Area entrepreneur, had another gameplan – launching a women's basketball league in nearby Daly City. Long, who had scored more than 100 points in a single game three times in high school, would go on to headline the nascent, local women's circuit (Mieuli gave his young star a purple Jaguar to show his esteem for her skills). That season, four women's teams competed before every Warriors home game. But the league folded after one campaign, and Long moved back to her home state of Iowa to lead a quiet life away from basketball. Pro women's basketball wouldn't renew itself until 1979, when the San Francisco Pioneers of the Women's Professional Basketball League made Oakland native Anna Johnson the first professional women's player from the Bay Area. Like the Warriors' upstart efforts, however, it proved too difficult to maintain a professional women's franchise in the area. The San Jose Lasers (also funded by Lacob) would make an attempt in 1996, along with the San Jose Spiders, but both failed. And though the Stanford Cardinal assembled an college dynasty in Palo Alto, winning three national titles, the professional women's game never caught a break in the Bay Area. Until now. Michelle Miller has worked for the Golden State Warriors, Bay Area Panthers and California Golden Bears. Better known as DJShellheart, she keeps the energy high at Bay Area sporting events. As a Black, queer woman rooted in the local hip-hop scene, she says nothing feels quite like working with the Valkyries as one of the team's DJs. 'This is the start of something bigger, just having a safe space to go, to feel comfortable and not be scared to speak about sports with [like minded] people,' she says. 'The Valkyries coming to the Bay has shifted the energy. Since last year we've been doing community drives, girl's camps focused on mental health, things that are just bringing positivity. This is the ideal place to have a team like this.' She's just one of the Valkyries' community partners. Others include artists like Kehlani, P-Lo, E-40 – who performed for the opening game's half-time show to a raucous crowd – and Goapele, a legendary R&B singer who is appointed as one of the Valkyries' public ambassadors. In an effort to build inroads within local arts and culture, the team has also initiated its Valkyries Collective program, featuring athletes, influencers and entertainers from the area. Even the Valkyries' head coach Natalie Nakase, who became the first Asian American head coach in league history, has quasi-local roots. The Californian began her professional career as a point guard with the San Jose Spiders about an hour south of San Francisco. The organization's focus on the local area can be seen in the arena's rafters. Allison 'Hueman' Torneros is a decorated Filipina muralist from the East Bay who grew up watching the Warriors. Though she has worked with the NBA in past seasons – even designing a Nike uniform for the Dubs in 2022-23 – she is particularly excited to team up with the V's. Her work often incorporates womanhood, femininity, and Bay Area immigrant identity. So it's no surprise that she was brought on to paint a Valkyries-sponsored mural at their practice facility in Oakland. The work is sprawling, covering 200ft and unfurls elegantly across a long hallway: a surrealistic rendition of women in battle, running mid court, swords drawn, galloping towards what appears to be victory, clouded in a purplish, dreamlike haze. It is everything that a women's basketball team in the Bay Area is, and may one day yet be. Back in San Francisco inside Splash Bar – a Steph Curry-backed sports bar, in which the NBA star has expressed his support for the Valkyries – WNBA games are being shown on a huge screen before Friday's game. Outside, flocks of Valkyries fans mingle hours before tip off, eager to be a part of history. Fans like Teresa Guillen and Diane Rosen, Gen Xers who live in San Francisco and have had ties to the Warriors since the 70s, now have a top-shelf women's team to root for. Former high school players like Yolanda Shavies, who grew up across the Bay Bridge in Oakland and once had aspirations of playing professionally. These are the fans who the team represents; and they certainly didn't disappoint when they showed up for game number one. 'We've been waiting a long time for this,' says Shavies, who crafted a Valkyries-emblazoned sword, which she carried around as an accessory to complement her violet shirt and color-coordinated Nikes. 'I've been waiting a long time for this.' 'We've found the finishing piece to what the Bay Area was missing,' DJShellheart says. 'Adding the WNBA is like finishing that thousand-piece puzzle. It's an image and color we could never fully see until now.'
India Today
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Billie Eilish Tour 2025: New dates, Austin concerts, and ticket info
Global pop sensation Billie Eilish has added 23 new dates to her 2025 'Hit Me Hard and Soft' world tour, including a much-anticipated stop in Austin, Expansion: More Shows, More CitiesBillie Eilish has expanded her ongoing world tour, bringing the total number of shows to 106. The tour began in Quebec, Canada, in September 2024 and has already captivated fans across North America, Australia, and Europe. The newly announced dates include stops in Japan and an extended second leg across the United Among the tour's highlights are six sold-out shows at The O2 in London, five at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, and three at Madison Square Garden in New York Fans RejoiceTexan fans who missed the first US leg now have another opportunity to see Eilish live. The pop star will perform at the Moody Center in Austin on November 13 and 14, 2025, as part of her newly announced US Dates of the New Tour As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, the tour kicks off its extension on August 16 in Tokyo, Japan, and concludes on November 23 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Notable US stops include:Oct. 9–12: Miami, FL (Kaseya Center)Oct. 14: Orlando, FL (Kia Center)Oct. 16–17: Raleigh, NC (Lenovo Center)Oct. 19–20: Charlotte, NC (Spectrum Center)Oct. 23: Philadelphia, PA (Wells Fargo Center)Nov. 13–14: Austin, TX (Moody Center ATX)Nov. 22–23: San Francisco, CA (Chase Center)advertisementTicket InformationAmerican Express cardholders can access a special presale beginning May 20 at noon. General ticket sales open May 22 at uses Ticketmaster's Face Value Exchange to ensure that fans get fair pricing, which blocks scalpers from reselling tickets at inflated prices. However, in New York, tickets remain transferable due to state in Texas and beyond now have another chance to experience Billie Eilish's electrifying stage presence as she continues her record-breaking global READ: Alex G Announces 2025 North American tour with Nilfer YanyaMust Watch
