Latest news with #IrvingPlaza
Indianapolis Star
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Meet Maddox Batson, rising teen star who went from TikTok to Lainey Wilson tour opener
NEW YORK – Maddox Batson's latest trip to New York City is going much better than the last one. In April, the 15-year-old singer was forced to postpone a sold out show at Irving Plaza due to illness. But about a month later, Batson is back in the Big Apple and in better health. He caught a Yankees game in the Bronx, visited the Empire State Building, ate pizza in Manhattan and made up the concert, performing for a capacity crowd of 1,200 adoring fans. "You want to have confidence, but in the back of your mind you're like, 'What if no one shows up?'" the country singer admits before headlining USA TODAY Acoustic, a new series that provides a stage for notable and rising talent across the USA TODAY Network. "But when I get out there and I finally get on stage and I see all my fans singing the words back to me, it's just like the coolest experience ever. I mean, blows my expectations out of the water." Coming off his March debut at the Grand Ole Opry and ahead of his tour dates supporting Lainey Wilson, Batson chats with USA TODAY about his songwriting, the artists who inspire him and how it feels to go viral. In March, Batson released his debut EP, "First Dance." The artist also dropped "First Dance (The After Party)" with three additional songs. He said he whittled down the 10 songs that went public from hundreds, and his key criteria involved checking three boxes before deciding on a song. "You got relatability (lyrics), just to like my fan base but can also branch out to other people that aren't necessarily fans of me yet," he says. "Then you have catchiness; how good the song sounds. Then you have sound and production. There are plenty of songs that have one or two keys, but not a whole lot of them have all three." As far as the relatability part, Batson admits he's not living a typical teenager's life as a touring musician, but he's still finding inspiration on the road. "Every night there's things that happen to me or just things that I see that just sparks that little, 'Hey, you should write about this,'" he says. "Sometimes you really got to dig deep and sometimes it's right there in front of you. But I love writing." What else is inspiring his music? Earlier this year Batson told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, that girls and his social media feed have provided that "spark" for studio sessions. Batson has 3.4 million followers on TikTok. Before becoming a sensation on the platform, his account was getting banned but was unclear as to why, he says. While there's no public knowledge of music artists being outright banned for performing on the platform, TikTok has run in to royalty disputes with publishers that have forced the removal of certain song catalog (one such dispute with Universal Music Group was resolved last year). Batson would go live on TikTok, performing with his father Dan. Then in August of 2023, he decided to post a cover of Zach Bryan's "Something in the Orange." The floodgates opened. He sat in his garage, refreshing his page and watching the views increase exponentially. "I remember it hitting 1 million views and I ran around my house," Batson recalls. "I thought I was on top of the world. I thought I was 'him.' I thought I just entered celebrity status." It currently sits at 5.4 million views. Batson is not at a loss when asked about artists who have impacted his young career. The first name he mentions his country singer Bailey Zimmerman, who Batson says has become a friend. He also lists Morgan Wallen and Justin Bieber. The comparisons to Bieber are not hard to draw: Both gained fame in their teens, both first saw success covering songs online (for Bieber, it was his YouTube channel), both gained the moniker of a "teen heartthrob" and both are from towns not exactly known as showbiz hotspots (Batson was raised in Birmingham, Alabama before his parents moved to Nashville; Bieber was raised outside Toronto in Canada). "Being so young, I feel like it's hard to navigate what you're doing (in the music business)," he responds when asked about Bieber. "Me and him started at very similar ages, so just keeping a good stable family unit or good stable team around you, I feel like is very helpful. Being 15, I think I know everything, but I really don't." Batson's self-awareness is beyond his years, but he still isn't taking himself too seriously.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
What to Do in New York City in June
Comedy NY Laughs Fest June 5-8 in and around Union Square, Manhattan; Several past and present performers from 'Saturday Night Live' are taking part in a new comedy festival this weekend, the highlight of which involves the longtime 'Weekend Update' anchor Michael Che hosting what he's calling 'Che'Chella' at 10 p.m. on Saturday at Irving Plaza ($35 on Ticketmaster). The festival kicks off on Thursday with a free outdoor show starting at 6 p.m. in Union Square and featuring Emil Wakim, a current 'S.N.L.' cast member; and Chris Redd, a former cast member; as well as Sam Jay, Rachel Feinstein, Pete Lee and Shane Torres. There will be many shows to choose from all weekend at the Stand, like a free taping of Sean Donnelly and Dan St. Germain's podcast 'Burbs Bros' with their guest Michael Ian Black on Friday at 5 p.m. Back at Irving Plaza, you can catch up with Vinny Guadagnino from 'Jersey Shore' on Saturday at 7 p.m. (from $30 at Ticketmaster), and on Sunday at 8 p.m., you can top off the weekend by watching Hank Azaria, Big Jay Oakerson and others front a rock band in 'The Goddamn Comedy Jam' (from $25 on Ticketmaster). SEAN L. McCARTHY Music Pop & Rock Gov Ball June 6-8, noon-10 p.m., at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens; This weekend, Gov Ball — New York's flagship summer music festival, celebrating its 15th anniversary — will draw flocks of revelers to Queens and unofficially inaugurate outdoor music season in the city. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Time to Get Over Eurovision? ‘Hell No!' Joost Klein Says.
In the run-up to last year's Eurovision Song Contest final, Joost Klein was amped for victory. Klein, a Dutch pop star, was a favorite to win with 'Europapa,' a madcap song in which he raps over a bouncy beat and circling piano riff about a journey through Europe. The track ends in a hyperfast dance break, but the upbeat song also has a melancholy side: Klein wrote it as a tribute to his father, who died when Klein was 12. Then, just hours before the finale, Klein's chance to honor his father vanished when Eurovision organizers threw the singer out of the contest, saying he had threatened a camerawoman. When Klein learned he was in trouble, he was backstage and dressed up in a comically large blue suit for a rehearsal. He begged to talk to the upset camerawoman, in a desperate bid to change his fate. But his pleas went nowhere: Klein was out. Nearly a year has passed, and the incident doesn't appear to have hurt Klein's career. He now has over three million monthly listeners on Spotify, and in February, he released a new album, 'Unity,' to rave reviews in the Netherlands. After finishing a string of large European dates, this week he is embarking on his debut U.S. tour, including two shows at Irving Plaza in New York. Still, in a recent interview in London before a show, Klein, 27, was stuck under the cloud of his Eurovision misadventure. 'Everyone's like, 'Hey, your career grew,'' Klein said. 'I don't care.' 'Everyone's like, 'Hey, your career grew,'' Klein said. 'I don't care.' Credit... Jeremie Souteyrat for The New York Times The disqualification still 'stings,' he said, and he didn't expect to get over it soon. Klein said that both his parents died before he was 14, and it took him more than a decade to process their deaths. He feared that shrugging off the Eurovision fiasco could take just as long. His new album features several tracks brooding on the incident. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Forbes
28-03-2025
- Lifestyle
- Forbes
Upgrading Your Spring Style? Don't Forget Your Glasses
Barton Perreira Ebbets frames If the old adage that eyes are the window to the soul is true, then maybe it's time to add a little bit of decoration. More and more, people are embracing their prescription lenses and forgoing contacts in favor of a smarter, more put-together day-to-day look. This spring, it might be time to upgrade your frames to something that improves your eyesight and your style. Before delving into what frames to get this spring, it's important to know what shape of eyewear best suits your individual head shape. Just like clothing, certain frames may not look good on every person. It's important to know what will work with the angles and curves of your face, instead of fighting against them. As UK-based Banton Frameworks notes, the easiest way to find your face shape is to take a face-on photo and draw a line that circumvents the face. By doing so, you have a general shape to go off of that can fall into one of the general categories: round, square, triangle, oval and heart. This is your starting-off point to ultimately find the right frame for you. The next step is to identify the frame shapes that work best for your shape. When it comes to eyewear, it's a matter of contrasts by making sure the frames don't accentuate natural features and instead create contrast for a more interesting effect. Here is a brief overview of what the best frames are for each shape listed above: Once you know what style to look for, it's time to find a frame that fits this season's trends. Are you going for quiet luxury, 90's throwback or perhaps something across the pond? Canadian fashion model Linda Evangelista with her partner, actor Kyle MacLachlan at Irving Plaza, ... More New York City, USA, circa 1995. (Photo by) With little real estate, optical brands often need to set themselves apart. Whether through brand storytelling, high-end materials or creative designs, luxury eyewear brands are leading the pack when it comes to what makes the difference between glasses you have to wear and glasses you want to wear. Take, for example, Tejesta, a Miami-based eyewear brand whose frames often flirt with a $1,000 price point. Instead of mass production, Tejesta relies on creating small-batch collections which then gins up a sense of exclusivity—and, by extension, luxury. The styles are inspired by the Art Deco period, as well as the American Southwest, which can be seen in the bold designs that veer on modernity while still being classic. But there are many roads to becoming a luxury brand. Instead of relying on exclusivity, like Tejesta, brands can use their career as a springboard to building their own brand. That's, in fact, what Barton Perreira's founder did. Having previously helmed Oliver Peoples as CEO, Bill Barton founded his brand with design partner Patty Perreira (who counts Vera Wang, Prada, and Miu Miu as past clients). Together, they've created a brand that relies on Japanese artisans and a handmade production line to create their range of classic frames. Interestingly, Oliver Peoples has another connection to a stylish independent brand that whispers 'quiet luxury', Garrett Leight. Garrett is the son of Oliver Peoples' cofounder, Larry Leight, and has used his lifetime in the industry to design a range of classic designs ranging in styles from wire-rimmed classics to more vibrant cellulose acetate options. In fact, father and son have designed a collection within the Garrett Leight brand called Mr. Leight, which balances Garrett's forward-thinking colorways with Larry's more classic shapes. Garrett Leight models wear Cascade M in Bronze and Cascade M Sun in Gold/Pure Almond Gradient Since the 1990s, wire-rimmed frames have been on the decline—but that's about to change. For spring, WWD has forecasted that the 'office siren' or 'corpcore' trend will continue well into the year. While this was originally a style trend found for young women across social media, it has slowly but surely crept into menswear. In short, 'corpcore' is a stylized version of corporate fashion which emphasizes minimalistic style and has been inspired by the '90s and early aughts. Wire frames are a low-effort way to achieve this look without investing too much money into a new wardrobe. If you're in the market for a high-end option, Austrian brand Silhouette has an array of options which fit this aesthetic and offer a range of customization, including lens shape and color. Two American brands, Serengeti and Erker's, provide excellent options in the sub-$400 range for those looking for premium options at a mid-market price point. Silhouette frameless lenses, courtesy of brand Brits have long carried the mantle for being a nation that knows how to accessorize. From ties to socks to umbrellas, there is an English sensibility that comes with dressing that's not easily replicated abroad. Luckily, this spring is the perfect time to skip across the pond and find a style that's on-trend, while remaining timeless enough to wear year after year. Cubitts has become something of a cult favorite for their unique styles, colorful frames and price point. Many of Cubitts' frames are also clip-on compatible, turning them into sunglasses with ease. A perfect option for those sunny days ahead. Alternatively, if you're looking for something a bit more classic, how about a brand from 1886? Curry & Paxton has kept the design philosophy from its forebears alive with a limited set of options in traditional colorways. In fact, if you peruse their online store a certain model, the Yvan, may seem familiar. It was the same style worn by Michael Caine in some of his most famous roles, including The Italian Job. While you may not be planning a robbery anytime soon, you can look the part of Caine's Charlie Croker—and that's half the fun. British actor Michael Caine poses with his co-star Sue Lloyd during a break in the location filming ... More of 'The Ipcress File' in London, 1965. (Photo by)
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
It's about damn time: Lizzo is back with new music and will play First Avenue in March
Lizzo is back. The Grammy winner, who took off while in Minnesota, released a new single on Friday alongside an announcement that she'll head to First Avenue for an intimate gig on March 18. The "It's About Damn Time" singer will have two other underplays leading up to the "homecoming" show in Minneapolis, including the Wiltern in Los Angeles and Irving Plaza in New York City. The flute-playing hitmaker has kept a low profile in recent years. Outside of contributing to Barbie, her last album was released in 2022. In 2023, Lizzo was sued by three former dancers who accused her of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. The singer said the allegations were "as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed" in a social media post. She later denied the charges in court. She was also sued that year by an employee from her wardrobe department. In December, a federal judge in California ruled that the former employee did not have standing to bring the case. Lizzo's sole live performance in 2024 was at a Joe Biden fundraiser, where she appeared with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at Radio City Music Hall. Despite speculation that a 2024 "I quit" tweet signaled she was done with the music industry — she later clarified that she wasn't quitting music — she's not just doing a couple of shows. A new album, Love in Real Life, will be released this summer. A music video for the title track (see above) was released alongside the announcement of the three underplays. Tickets for the First Avenue concert, which will surely go fast, go on sale Thursday, March 6 at 10 a.m. A presale will take place the day before. Fans can access the presale by signing up at
