Would you trust the Hold Steady, which Rolling Stone once dubbed “America’s best bar band,” with your kids? Well, America’s best bar band sure hopes so. The group has collectively written Stay Positive, an illustrated children’s book inspired by the title track of their 2008 album. The 32-page book, which arrives Oct. 1, follows an armadillo on his path to enlightenment, as it makes friends and learns to maintain a positive mental attitude. Cartoonist and comic book author David “El Dee” Espinosa illustrated the book.
Ahead of the fall release,...
Ahead of the fall release,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady have announced a new children’s book called Stay Positive, inspired by their 2008 song of the same name.
The 32-page books pairs the lyrics of “Stay Positive” with illustrations by award-winning cartoonist and comic book author David “El Dee” Espinosa, as it tells the story of “a humble armadillo who discovers along the way how music can pull together a disparate cast of characters.”
Get The Hold Steady Tickets Here
“‘Stay Positive’ has a line that says, ‘The kids at the shows will have kids of their own,’ and it’s true: each year more Hold Steady fans become parents or grandparents,” says The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn. “So, I’m thrilled that we’re offering the children’s book version of ‘Stay Positive,’ which brings Ths joy to the whole family.”
Stay Positive will be released on March 1st via Akaschic Books. Pre-orders are now ongoing,...
The 32-page books pairs the lyrics of “Stay Positive” with illustrations by award-winning cartoonist and comic book author David “El Dee” Espinosa, as it tells the story of “a humble armadillo who discovers along the way how music can pull together a disparate cast of characters.”
Get The Hold Steady Tickets Here
“‘Stay Positive’ has a line that says, ‘The kids at the shows will have kids of their own,’ and it’s true: each year more Hold Steady fans become parents or grandparents,” says The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn. “So, I’m thrilled that we’re offering the children’s book version of ‘Stay Positive,’ which brings Ths joy to the whole family.”
Stay Positive will be released on March 1st via Akaschic Books. Pre-orders are now ongoing,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Scoop Harrison
- Consequence - Music
On Wednesday, a host of musicians came together to honor late Irish legends Shane MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor with a tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Most notably, O’Connor’s daughter, Roisin Waters, paid tribute to her mother with a stirring performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
The concert also saw Bettye Lavette sing “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” Cat Power put her spin on “The Body of an American,” and Resistance Revival Chorus cover “Thank You for Hearing Me,” among other performances of O’Connor’s music. Additionally, Glen Hansard and Imelda May teamed up to perform MacGowan and O’Connor’s duet “Haunted.”
Among the artists who covered songs by MacGowan and his band The Pogues were Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano (“A Pair of Brown Eyes”), Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz (“The Church of Holy Spook”), Billy Bragg, The Hold Steady...
Most notably, O’Connor’s daughter, Roisin Waters, paid tribute to her mother with a stirring performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”
The concert also saw Bettye Lavette sing “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” Cat Power put her spin on “The Body of an American,” and Resistance Revival Chorus cover “Thank You for Hearing Me,” among other performances of O’Connor’s music. Additionally, Glen Hansard and Imelda May teamed up to perform MacGowan and O’Connor’s duet “Haunted.”
Among the artists who covered songs by MacGowan and his band The Pogues were Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano (“A Pair of Brown Eyes”), Gogol Bordello’s Eugene Hütz (“The Church of Holy Spook”), Billy Bragg, The Hold Steady...
- 3/21/2024
- by Scoop Harrison
- Consequence - Music
Building on the success of the 200 million minutes that listeners spent with Talkhouse productions in 2022, the award-winning podcast network has defied industry decline with another banner year of growth, expansion and increased production across a variety of mediums. In 2023, hit shows such as How Long Gone, Solicited Advice with Alison Roman and the brand new Odb: A Son Unique – which recently entered the Top 20 on Apple Podcasts – contributed to 148% increase in total listens across the Talkhouse Podcast Network. In addition, its unique audience reach soared by 148%, while ad revenue surged exponentially, further cementing Talkhouse as a leading partner for first-person, artist-focused storytelling.
From the Talkhouse Podcast Network to Talkhouse.com's daily digital publication, year-round Talkhouse Live events and a just-launched print zine called Talkhouse Reader, the company continues to prioritize authenticity, credibility and creativity with every step forward. Each Talkhouse production brings its audience deeper and more directly into the minds of its favorite musicians,...
From the Talkhouse Podcast Network to Talkhouse.com's daily digital publication, year-round Talkhouse Live events and a just-launched print zine called Talkhouse Reader, the company continues to prioritize authenticity, credibility and creativity with every step forward. Each Talkhouse production brings its audience deeper and more directly into the minds of its favorite musicians,...
- 12/19/2023
- Podnews.net
The Loved Ones, the Philadelphia band who supercharged the pop-punk genre in the mid-Aughts with songs like “Jane” and “The Bridge,” haven’t played a show in nearly eight years. That dormant streak will end when frontman Dave Hause revives the group at the 2024 Sing Us Home Festival.
Set for May 3 through 5 at Venice Island in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philly, Sing Us Home finds Hause playing multiple sets: with the Loved Ones, with his own band the Mermaid, and alongside fellow Philadelphia area native Langhorne Slim and Amythyst Kiah...
Set for May 3 through 5 at Venice Island in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philly, Sing Us Home finds Hause playing multiple sets: with the Loved Ones, with his own band the Mermaid, and alongside fellow Philadelphia area native Langhorne Slim and Amythyst Kiah...
- 12/11/2023
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
If the biggest, hookiest songs of 2023 are united by anything, it’s the insurgents who made them. For one, English singer PinkPantheress made good on her underground fandom with a remix of “Boy’s a Liar,” featuring raspy-voiced female rapper of the moment Ice Spice, whose eye-rolling attitude ingeniously cuts against her own unguardedly emotional pop minimalism.
Others similarly subverted expectations of what makes a hit. Troye Sivan ditched his moody bedroom-pop roots for unashamedly horny bangers that confront our collective hang-ups about what a gay artist should deliver. The aggro sonic hijinks of hyperpop duo 100 gecs coalesced into something strangely beautiful and profound, especially on “Hollywood Baby,” a satire of Barbie-fied showbiz aspirations that’s at least partly aimed at themselves.
Rock noise of the less blaring kind flourished elsewhere, proving that the genre was never dead, just slyly mutating. Lana Del Rey, reigning queen of the extremely extended cut,...
Others similarly subverted expectations of what makes a hit. Troye Sivan ditched his moody bedroom-pop roots for unashamedly horny bangers that confront our collective hang-ups about what a gay artist should deliver. The aggro sonic hijinks of hyperpop duo 100 gecs coalesced into something strangely beautiful and profound, especially on “Hollywood Baby,” a satire of Barbie-fied showbiz aspirations that’s at least partly aimed at themselves.
Rock noise of the less blaring kind flourished elsewhere, proving that the genre was never dead, just slyly mutating. Lana Del Rey, reigning queen of the extremely extended cut,...
- 12/6/2023
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Exclusive: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, one of the founders of the Wu Tang Clan, is getting the podcast treatment.
A new series, hosted by Khalik Allah, will tell the story of the rapper, the stage-crashing, secret weapon of the Staten Island group.
Eight-part series Odb: A Son Unique will explore the complex man also known as Ason Unique (and born Russell Tyrone Jones), who struggled with addiction and mental health and died in 2004, a few days before his 36th birthday.
The show, which launches on November 7, comes from Usg Audio, Novel and Talkhouse.
Host Khalik Allah, who started his career photographing the Wu Tang Clan, will explore the story of the young prankster who grew up in Brooklyn before becoming part of hip hop history. As well as the Wu Tang records, he also recorded three solo albums – Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, Nigga Please and A Son Unique.
A new series, hosted by Khalik Allah, will tell the story of the rapper, the stage-crashing, secret weapon of the Staten Island group.
Eight-part series Odb: A Son Unique will explore the complex man also known as Ason Unique (and born Russell Tyrone Jones), who struggled with addiction and mental health and died in 2004, a few days before his 36th birthday.
The show, which launches on November 7, comes from Usg Audio, Novel and Talkhouse.
Host Khalik Allah, who started his career photographing the Wu Tang Clan, will explore the story of the young prankster who grew up in Brooklyn before becoming part of hip hop history. As well as the Wu Tang records, he also recorded three solo albums – Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, Nigga Please and A Son Unique.
- 11/1/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Talkhouse, a Webby-Award-winning first-person media company and outlet for musicians, actors, filmmakers, and others in their respective fields is thrilled to announce the expansion of its ongoing partnership with Backyard Ventures, a dynamic advertising company specializing in podcast marketing and partnerships. Building on their successful collaboration, Talkhouse and Backyard Ventures proudly introduce a new podcast from Brooklyn-based cook, writer, and author Alison Roman, titled Solicited Advice. The podcast is launching with distribution and revenue support from Talkhouse and Backyard Venture handling sales and brand partnerships.
Solicited Advice is set to join Talkhouse’s esteemed lineup of shows, offering a platform for genuine conversations on various topics. With Backyard Ventures leading the advertising efforts, this addition to the Talkhouse family is assured to resonate deeply with both creators and listeners.
The extension of the partnership with Backyard Ventures highlights Talkhouse’s dedication to providing high-quality content and innovative advertising solutions. Backyard...
Solicited Advice is set to join Talkhouse’s esteemed lineup of shows, offering a platform for genuine conversations on various topics. With Backyard Ventures leading the advertising efforts, this addition to the Talkhouse family is assured to resonate deeply with both creators and listeners.
The extension of the partnership with Backyard Ventures highlights Talkhouse’s dedication to providing high-quality content and innovative advertising solutions. Backyard...
- 10/13/2023
- Podnews.net
What is a folk festival to do after becoming a global news story? That was the central question for this year’s Newport Folk Festival, which over the past half-decade has drawn increased attention with a slew of surprise guests, world premieres, and special appearances — from Dolly Parton to Chaka Khan, and culminating in last year’s revelatory return of Joni Mitchell after her several-decade absence from the stage.
By the end of this year’s festival, the answer to that question seemed clear: 2023’s Newport was a necessary restart and redirection,...
By the end of this year’s festival, the answer to that question seemed clear: 2023’s Newport was a necessary restart and redirection,...
- 7/31/2023
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady performed “Sideways Skull,” a track from their recently released The Price of Progress album, on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Wednesday.
Frontman Craig Finn peered out into the void while hectoring a typically verbose narrative about meeting another band, drinking Newcastle, accepting a woman’s schoolyard insult-flirts (“She’d like me better if I didn’t wear glasses”), and watching a band of burnouts in Beatle boots. About two-and-a-half minutes in, the throbbing bar-rock riffs give way to a quiet piano line before Finn & Co. wind things back up.
Frontman Craig Finn peered out into the void while hectoring a typically verbose narrative about meeting another band, drinking Newcastle, accepting a woman’s schoolyard insult-flirts (“She’d like me better if I didn’t wear glasses”), and watching a band of burnouts in Beatle boots. About two-and-a-half minutes in, the throbbing bar-rock riffs give way to a quiet piano line before Finn & Co. wind things back up.
- 4/6/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady will mark their 20th anniversary with a new book featuring an oral history of the band, a trove of photographs, and memories from fans. Co-authored by Michael Hann and the Hold Steady, The Gospel of the Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels arrives July 25 via Akashic Books.
The Gospel of the Hold Steady will trace the band’s history, from their formation in Minneapolis to their rise up the indie rock pantheon. The oral history will include interviews with everyone who has played in the Hold Steady,...
The Gospel of the Hold Steady will trace the band’s history, from their formation in Minneapolis to their rise up the indie rock pantheon. The oral history will include interviews with everyone who has played in the Hold Steady,...
- 3/29/2023
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady celebrated their 20th anniversary on Saturday night with a hometown blowout in Brooklyn. It was a fittingly rowdy birthday bash for these guys. The Hold Steady might have started as Brooklyn’s finest bar band, dabbling in Last Waltz cosplay when they were barely into their thirties. But by now, they’ve been doing it even longer than The Band circa The Last Waltz. This band loves to revel in rock & roll rituals and fetishize the details, so they did this occasion right. It was exactly two decades after their first show,...
- 2/2/2023
- by Rob Sheffield
- Rollingstone.com
With the Eagles marching toward a Super Bowl berth (hopefully), Philadelphia has a lot to crow about right now (even Zach Bryan lives there). Add a dynamic new festival to the list, one developed by native son Dave Hause. The Americana-punk troubadour has announced the inaugural Sing Us Home Festival for May in the city’s Manayunk neighborhood and stacked it with Lombardi Trophy-level talent.
Set for May 5th and 6th, Sing Us Home features headlining sets by Drive-By Truckers and Hause himself, backed by his band the Mermaid.
Set for May 5th and 6th, Sing Us Home features headlining sets by Drive-By Truckers and Hause himself, backed by his band the Mermaid.
- 1/25/2023
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Jesse Malin sang about a “gypsy playing his nylon-string guitar” in his 2010 barnstormer and live-show staple “All the Way From Moscow,” a song about touring his way back to New York. The gypsy in question was the Ukrainian-born singer of Gogol Bordello, Eugene Hütz, who reunites with Malin for a cover of the Pogues’ “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” to benefit the people of Ukraine during Vladimir Putin’s assault on their country.
Released Friday via Velvet Elk Records, “If I Should Fall From Grace With God...
Released Friday via Velvet Elk Records, “If I Should Fall From Grace With God...
- 4/29/2022
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
One of the most high-profile benefit shows held to date in support of Ukraine took place in New York last night. Taking place at City Winery’s Manhattan location, the event featured performances by Gogol Bordello (whose leader, Eugene Hütz, was born in Ukraine), Patti Smith, the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, Suzanne Vega, Magnetic Fields auteur Stephin Merritt, reggae vet Matisyahu, Jesse Malin, O.A.R.’s Marc Roberge, and indie singer-songwriter Lady Lamb, all showing up to raise funds for financial and humanitarian relief in the embattled nation.
- 3/11/2022
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady performed their song, “Family Farm” on Late Night With Seth Meyers Monday, February 23rd.
The band barreled through the track, which is a classic blast of Hold Steady, alternating between driving guitars and twinkling piano, and accented at just the right moments with rich horn fanfare. The camera occasionally panned from the band on stage over to some empty bowling lanes, adding a slightly eerie and desolate feeling to the proceedings as Craig Finn sang, “With a flexible schedule and a willingness to trade your medications/Obsessive...
The band barreled through the track, which is a classic blast of Hold Steady, alternating between driving guitars and twinkling piano, and accented at just the right moments with rich horn fanfare. The camera occasionally panned from the band on stage over to some empty bowling lanes, adding a slightly eerie and desolate feeling to the proceedings as Craig Finn sang, “With a flexible schedule and a willingness to trade your medications/Obsessive...
- 2/23/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady have revealed “Heavy Covenant,” the latest single from their upcoming album Open Door Policy.
“I know the perfect place to go/Slide your little phone into the airplane mode,” Craig Finn sings over a buzzing guitar riff. “Motel Mariposa/A little south of downtown on the frontage road.”
In a statement, Finn said that “Heavy Covenant” is about travel, technology, and human connection. “The song came out of two different music pieces that Ths piano/keyboardist Franz Nicolay brought in, and with the help of producer Josh Kaufman,...
“I know the perfect place to go/Slide your little phone into the airplane mode,” Craig Finn sings over a buzzing guitar riff. “Motel Mariposa/A little south of downtown on the frontage road.”
In a statement, Finn said that “Heavy Covenant” is about travel, technology, and human connection. “The song came out of two different music pieces that Ths piano/keyboardist Franz Nicolay brought in, and with the help of producer Josh Kaufman,...
- 1/8/2021
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady have released a new song, “Family Farm,” which will appear on their upcoming eighth studio album, Open Door Policy, out February 19th, 2021, via the band’s own Positive Jams label and Thirty Tigers.
“Family Farm” is classic Hold Steady, opening with a driving guitar riff and a flourish of Springsteenian piano and horns, before settling into stripped-back verses that give way to a booming chorus. “I was personally happy to get a mention of Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’ in the lyrics, and I appreciate it even more...
“Family Farm” is classic Hold Steady, opening with a driving guitar riff and a flourish of Springsteenian piano and horns, before settling into stripped-back verses that give way to a booming chorus. “I was personally happy to get a mention of Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’ in the lyrics, and I appreciate it even more...
- 12/1/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Frightened Rabbit will reissue their third LP, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, in a 10th anniversary package.
The vinyl set, available to pre-order and out December 11th, includes a blue LP edition of the original album and a bonus seven-inch featuring two live cuts (“The Wrestle,” tracked in 2010 at Cleveland’s Grog Shop, and a 2016 take of “Things” from London’s the Roundhouse).
“The Winter of Mixed Drinks, now 10 years old, is a cocktail of emotions for us,” the band tweeted Monday. “Perhaps through it we will all find a...
The vinyl set, available to pre-order and out December 11th, includes a blue LP edition of the original album and a bonus seven-inch featuring two live cuts (“The Wrestle,” tracked in 2010 at Cleveland’s Grog Shop, and a 2016 take of “Things” from London’s the Roundhouse).
“The Winter of Mixed Drinks, now 10 years old, is a cocktail of emotions for us,” the band tweeted Monday. “Perhaps through it we will all find a...
- 11/10/2020
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Thin Lizzy will pack 74 previous unreleased tracks into a new box set, Rock Legends, set to arrive October 23rd via Umc.
The six-cd/one-dvd collection, which is available to preorder, spans the band’s whole career and comprises a mix of demos, radio sessions, live recordings and rare single edits. The set is based around a collection of newly discovered tapes, and the tracklist was compiled by Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham and band expert Nick Sharp.
The first disc of the Rock Legends set will boast the single edits...
The six-cd/one-dvd collection, which is available to preorder, spans the band’s whole career and comprises a mix of demos, radio sessions, live recordings and rare single edits. The set is based around a collection of newly discovered tapes, and the tracklist was compiled by Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham and band expert Nick Sharp.
The first disc of the Rock Legends set will boast the single edits...
- 8/20/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
One of the highlights of Jesse Malin’s quarantined livestream series, The Fine Art of Self-Distancing, has been his cover of Tom Petty’s “Crawling Back to You,” a track off of Petty’s 1994 LP, Wildflowers. Malin saw Petty perform the song at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017 — at what would be Petty’s final show.
“I’d seen him before, but this was like magic,” Malin told Rolling Stone during an interview for his latest album, Sunset Kids. “That night under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl, he went into ‘Crawling Back to You,...
“I’d seen him before, but this was like magic,” Malin told Rolling Stone during an interview for his latest album, Sunset Kids. “That night under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl, he went into ‘Crawling Back to You,...
- 5/21/2020
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Joy Division/New Order’s Peter Hook discusses his friendship with Dennis Anderson and Lois Kahlert in a new clip — the New York couple are the subject of Chris Cassidy’s new documentary Dennis and Lois, out April 28th.
“They’re iconic in the way that they were there when a movement started,” Hook tells the camera as shots of him performing “Ceremony” play in the background. “When Manchester and New Order came to America and the way it affected the world, [it] was because of New York and people like them.
“They’re iconic in the way that they were there when a movement started,” Hook tells the camera as shots of him performing “Ceremony” play in the background. “When Manchester and New Order came to America and the way it affected the world, [it] was because of New York and people like them.
- 4/27/2020
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
Jesse Malin played his last live show before entering this quarantined life on March 13th in London. “The crowd was so good, I said to the band, ‘We’re going to leave some blood on this stage because we may not be back for a while,'” he says, calling from his apartment in the East Village. “We wanted to make it matter.” Since then, he’s been doing his best to stay creative, working on the follow-up to last year’s well-received Sunset Kids, co-produced by Lucinda Williams, and...
- 4/15/2020
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Fans of Danai Gurira were sad to see her leave The Walking Dead on Sunday. They said goodbye to the katana-wielding badass Michonne, but she probably received the best goodbye from her former co-star Andrew Lincoln who said farewell with a special song.
In a video on the official Walking Dead Instagram account, Lincoln — who played Rick Grimes on the AMC series — serenaded Gurira with a rendition of one of the most popular James Bond songs “Live and Let Die” — but he changed the words to “Simply Love You Danai.”
More from Deadline'The Walking Dead' Season 10 Finale Delayed Due To CoronavirusBig Theater Chains Regal, Cinemark, AMC & Their Furlough Dilemmas During The Coronavirus CrisisAMC Orders 'National Anthem' Musical Anthology Series From Scott Z. Burns, Mark Johnson, T Bone Burnett & Craig Finn
He then talked about meeting Gurira for the first time on the show as Michonne. He started to talk...
In a video on the official Walking Dead Instagram account, Lincoln — who played Rick Grimes on the AMC series — serenaded Gurira with a rendition of one of the most popular James Bond songs “Live and Let Die” — but he changed the words to “Simply Love You Danai.”
More from Deadline'The Walking Dead' Season 10 Finale Delayed Due To CoronavirusBig Theater Chains Regal, Cinemark, AMC & Their Furlough Dilemmas During The Coronavirus CrisisAMC Orders 'National Anthem' Musical Anthology Series From Scott Z. Burns, Mark Johnson, T Bone Burnett & Craig Finn
He then talked about meeting Gurira for the first time on the show as Michonne. He started to talk...
- 3/25/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Recently, Scott Z. Burns (“The Report“) has made headlines due to the unfortunate coincidences between his script for 2011’s “Contagion” and the current Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. However, we’re pleased to report that Burns has a new project he’s working on that is about as far away from global health crises that you can get—a new musical series, “National Anthem.”
Read More: ‘Contagion’ Writer Says Trump “Has Gut Our Defense” Against Coronavirus By Slashing Budgets
According to Deadline, Burns has teamed up with “Breaking Bad” producer Mark Johnson and AMC to develop a new musical dramedy titled “National Anthem.” Burns will write and direct the series that tells the story of “a middle-class midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society; periodically bursting into song as they struggle to catch themselves.”
You can’t have a musical without music, and providing the sounds of “National Anthem” are...
Read More: ‘Contagion’ Writer Says Trump “Has Gut Our Defense” Against Coronavirus By Slashing Budgets
According to Deadline, Burns has teamed up with “Breaking Bad” producer Mark Johnson and AMC to develop a new musical dramedy titled “National Anthem.” Burns will write and direct the series that tells the story of “a middle-class midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society; periodically bursting into song as they struggle to catch themselves.”
You can’t have a musical without music, and providing the sounds of “National Anthem” are...
- 3/24/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
AMC has given out a series order to the musical anthology dramedy “National Anthem,” with the cabler giving the series an initial eight-episode order.
“National Anthem” hails from writer Scott Z. Burns with “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad” executive producer Mark Johnson also set to executive produce the new series. The show is the first under Johnson’s overall deal with AMC Studios.
The series tells the story of a middle class Midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society, periodically bursting into song as they struggle to catch themselves. The legendary T Bone Burnett is attached as the series’ music producer with words and music by Craig Finn.
“’National Anthem’ is a family drama with deep resonant things to say about the fragility of our country, our world and our planet,” said Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks’ Entertainment Group and AMC Studios. “Plus…it’s a musical!
“National Anthem” hails from writer Scott Z. Burns with “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad” executive producer Mark Johnson also set to executive produce the new series. The show is the first under Johnson’s overall deal with AMC Studios.
The series tells the story of a middle class Midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society, periodically bursting into song as they struggle to catch themselves. The legendary T Bone Burnett is attached as the series’ music producer with words and music by Craig Finn.
“’National Anthem’ is a family drama with deep resonant things to say about the fragility of our country, our world and our planet,” said Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks’ Entertainment Group and AMC Studios. “Plus…it’s a musical!
- 3/24/2020
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
AMC has greenlighted National Anthem, an eight-episode musical dramedy anthology series from writer/director Scott Z. Burns, and Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul executive producer Mark Johnson. Oscar and Grammy winning musician T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart) is attached as the series’ music producer with words and music by The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn
National Anthem is the first series greenlit under a new multi-year overall deal Johnson has signed with AMC Studios, under which he will develop new series for the company’s Entertainment Group as well as other content companies.
More from Deadline'The Walking Dead' Season 10 Finale Delayed Due To CoronavirusTheater Owners Boss "Hopeful" That $2 Trillion Stimulus Package Will Have Bipartisan Compromise Soon'Walking Dead's Danai Gurira & Ep On Michonne's Fate Tonight, Coronavirus, Rick Grimes & What's Next
Written by Burns, National Anthem is the tragically funny story of a middle class midwestern family...
National Anthem is the first series greenlit under a new multi-year overall deal Johnson has signed with AMC Studios, under which he will develop new series for the company’s Entertainment Group as well as other content companies.
More from Deadline'The Walking Dead' Season 10 Finale Delayed Due To CoronavirusTheater Owners Boss "Hopeful" That $2 Trillion Stimulus Package Will Have Bipartisan Compromise Soon'Walking Dead's Danai Gurira & Ep On Michonne's Fate Tonight, Coronavirus, Rick Grimes & What's Next
Written by Burns, National Anthem is the tragically funny story of a middle class midwestern family...
- 3/24/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
As the coronavirus pandemic halts production on nearly every TV show, AMC has greenlit a new eight-part musical dramedy anthology series from none other than the writer of “Contagion,” Scott Z. Burns.
Called “National Anthem,” the series is described as “the tragically funny story of a middle-class Midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society, periodically bursting into song as they struggle to catch themselves.”
“National Anthem” is executive produced by Mark Johnson, whose impressive list of produced-by credits include “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “Rain Man,” “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Rookie.” This is the first series of Johnson’s to be greenlit under his overall deal with AMC.
T Bone Burnett, whose past projects have included “Crazy Heart” and “The Hunger Games,” serves as the series’ music producer, with Craig Finn (“The Hold...
Called “National Anthem,” the series is described as “the tragically funny story of a middle-class Midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society, periodically bursting into song as they struggle to catch themselves.”
“National Anthem” is executive produced by Mark Johnson, whose impressive list of produced-by credits include “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “Rain Man,” “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Rookie.” This is the first series of Johnson’s to be greenlit under his overall deal with AMC.
T Bone Burnett, whose past projects have included “Crazy Heart” and “The Hunger Games,” serves as the series’ music producer, with Craig Finn (“The Hold...
- 3/24/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
As Contagion finds itself eerily relevant again, the film's writer, Scott Z. Burns, is doing something a bit lighter in the TV space as his next act.
AMC on Tuesday announced that it has picked up National Anthem, a musical anthology series from Burns, Breaking Bad's Mark Johnson, T Bone Burnett and The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn. Johnson will oversee via his new overall deal with the basic cable network.
National Anthem is described as the tragically funny story of a middle-class Midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society, periodically bursting into song as they struggle to ...
AMC on Tuesday announced that it has picked up National Anthem, a musical anthology series from Burns, Breaking Bad's Mark Johnson, T Bone Burnett and The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn. Johnson will oversee via his new overall deal with the basic cable network.
National Anthem is described as the tragically funny story of a middle-class Midwestern family tumbling down the ladder of American society, periodically bursting into song as they struggle to ...
- 3/24/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
AMC announced a number of potential series in development on Thursday, including new projects from Katie Couric, Stephen King and Ilana Glazer among others.
Couric will produce “More as This Story Develops” alongside colleague and friend Wendy Walker, a series about two young women beginning their careers in broadcast news in the 1980s. King will produce “Sleeping Beauties,” an adaptation of the novel he wrote with his son, Owen King. Glazer is also collaborating with a family member — her brother Eliot Glazer — on the comedy “I Run Hot.”
Other projects in the works at AMC Networks and at AMC Studios for third parties include a musical dramedy from T Bone Burnett, the futuristic cop drama “Nigeria 2099” and an adaptation of Lauren Groff’s acclaimed novel “Fates and Furies” from Zack Whedon and Eliza Clark.
Also Read: AMC Sets Linear TV Premiere for 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie'...
Couric will produce “More as This Story Develops” alongside colleague and friend Wendy Walker, a series about two young women beginning their careers in broadcast news in the 1980s. King will produce “Sleeping Beauties,” an adaptation of the novel he wrote with his son, Owen King. Glazer is also collaborating with a family member — her brother Eliot Glazer — on the comedy “I Run Hot.”
Other projects in the works at AMC Networks and at AMC Studios for third parties include a musical dramedy from T Bone Burnett, the futuristic cop drama “Nigeria 2099” and an adaptation of Lauren Groff’s acclaimed novel “Fates and Furies” from Zack Whedon and Eliza Clark.
Also Read: AMC Sets Linear TV Premiere for 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie'...
- 1/16/2020
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
Katie Couric, Stephen King and “The Report” director Scott Z. Burns are several of the creatives who are getting into business with AMC.
The network has unveiled an extensive development slate which includes both AMC Studios series being eyed for the company’s Entertainment Group, as well as projects that are being developed with an eye to being sold to other content companies.
The Couric series is inspired by her friendship with Wendy Walker and will chart their rise through broadcast news in the 1980s. While the King series is based on the “Sleeping Beauties” novel he co-wrote with his son Owen King, and the Burns project is a musical dramedy about a family that falls down the ladder of American life.
AMC Networks and AMC Studios president Sarah Barnett announced the slate at the network’s Television Critics’ Association press tour day.
“We’re looking for highly original visions...
The network has unveiled an extensive development slate which includes both AMC Studios series being eyed for the company’s Entertainment Group, as well as projects that are being developed with an eye to being sold to other content companies.
The Couric series is inspired by her friendship with Wendy Walker and will chart their rise through broadcast news in the 1980s. While the King series is based on the “Sleeping Beauties” novel he co-wrote with his son Owen King, and the Burns project is a musical dramedy about a family that falls down the ladder of American life.
AMC Networks and AMC Studios president Sarah Barnett announced the slate at the network’s Television Critics’ Association press tour day.
“We’re looking for highly original visions...
- 1/16/2020
- by Will Thorne
- Variety Film + TV
Indie-rock singer-songwriter David Berman passed away in August 2019, and over the weekend, numerous fans, friends and former bandmates gathered to celebrate what would have been the musician’s 53rd birthday with tribute shows in New York, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon.
At the Portland show — hosted by local zine chickfactor at Bunk Bar — Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich covered songs from Berman’s band Silver Jews, including American Water‘s “Random Rules” and Starlite Walker‘s “Trains Across the Sea.” (Both Malkmus and Nastanovich had occasionally performed with Silver Jews.
At the Portland show — hosted by local zine chickfactor at Bunk Bar — Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich covered songs from Berman’s band Silver Jews, including American Water‘s “Random Rules” and Starlite Walker‘s “Trains Across the Sea.” (Both Malkmus and Nastanovich had occasionally performed with Silver Jews.
- 1/6/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Brian Fallon has announced his upcoming third solo album, Local Honey. It arrives on March 27th via his label Lesser Known Records in partnership with distributor Thirty Tigers. The LP is available for pre-order and includes a download of lead single, “You Have Stolen My Heart.”
“And now if you need me, you know where to find me/I’ll be always falling under your spell,” he sings on the tender ballad. “And everything slows with my breath/As I watch you float across the floor/And the night came...
“And now if you need me, you know where to find me/I’ll be always falling under your spell,” he sings on the tender ballad. “And everything slows with my breath/As I watch you float across the floor/And the night came...
- 12/11/2019
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady played a rousing version of their single “Denver Haircut” on Tuesday’s Late Night With Seth Meyers.
The Brooklyn sextet captured a faithful version of the track, a trademark blast of crunching guitars, clattering cymbals and frontman Craig Finn’s clever lyrics about a “cesspool” town. “He shaved his head at the airport/In a bar at the end of the concourse,” he deadpanned over the din. “He said, ‘You’re kind of catching me at a transitional time/I’m a bright light burning into a dark horse.
The Brooklyn sextet captured a faithful version of the track, a trademark blast of crunching guitars, clattering cymbals and frontman Craig Finn’s clever lyrics about a “cesspool” town. “He shaved his head at the airport/In a bar at the end of the concourse,” he deadpanned over the din. “He said, ‘You’re kind of catching me at a transitional time/I’m a bright light burning into a dark horse.
- 9/11/2019
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Craig Finn has characterized his last two albums with the Hold Steady–2010’s Heaven is Whenever and 2014’s Teeth Dreams–as creative low-points. Despite their bright spots, those records sometimes felt as though the group was suffering from the age-old rock & roll problem: how does a band grow up and still maintain its sense of self?
On Thrashing Thru the Passion, the Hold Steady’s first record in five years, and their first with keyboardist Franz Nicolay in over a decade, the newly reconfigured sextet arrive at a simple answer:...
On Thrashing Thru the Passion, the Hold Steady’s first record in five years, and their first with keyboardist Franz Nicolay in over a decade, the newly reconfigured sextet arrive at a simple answer:...
- 8/16/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, Sarah Silverman and more remember Scott Hutchison in Tiny Changes, a short documentary about the recently released tribute album for the late Frightened Rabbit singer.
The Twilight Sad, the National’s Aaron Dessner & Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry, Biffo Clyro, Julien Baker and more also contributed to the Tiny Changes LP, an all-star covers album dedicated to Frightened Rabbit’s acclaimed 2008 LP The Midnight Organ Flight.
“The Midnight Organ Flight was, for me… one of those albums that completely arrested me.
The Twilight Sad, the National’s Aaron Dessner & Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry, Biffo Clyro, Julien Baker and more also contributed to the Tiny Changes LP, an all-star covers album dedicated to Frightened Rabbit’s acclaimed 2008 LP The Midnight Organ Flight.
“The Midnight Organ Flight was, for me… one of those albums that completely arrested me.
- 8/15/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
At some point in the past 15 years, The Hold Steady was the best rock band in America. It won the title by synthesizing the rawness and subject matter of punk rock with the shamelessly pleasurable riffing of classic rock, taken high as hell by the literary voice of frontman Craig Finn. It’s hard to say exactly when…...
- 8/15/2019
- by Jesse Hassenger on Music, shared by Jesse Hassenger to The A.V. Club
- avclub.com
The Hold Steady have released a new song, “You Did Good Kid,” the latest preview of their forthcoming album, Thrashing Thru the Passion, out August 16th. The album is the first to feature the band’s current six-piece lineup, which includes keyboardist Franz Nicolay, who rejoined the band in 2016 after leaving in 2010.
“‘You Did Good Kid’ is the first song we worked on for this session, and remains a favorite,” frontman Craig Finn said in a statement. “It went though a few iterations before we came to this arrangement, and...
“‘You Did Good Kid’ is the first song we worked on for this session, and remains a favorite,” frontman Craig Finn said in a statement. “It went though a few iterations before we came to this arrangement, and...
- 7/23/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady will release their seventh LP, Thrashing Thru the Passion, on August 16th. The album, which follows 2014’s Teeth Dreams, compiles five new songs with five others issued digitally over the past three years.
The Brooklyn sextet previewed the record with opener “Denver Haircut,” a signature surge of snarling electric guitars, chiming piano chords and the clever, deadpan observations of frontman Craig Finn.
“He shaved his head at the airport/In a bar at the end of the concourse,” the singer notes on the track. “He said you...
The Brooklyn sextet previewed the record with opener “Denver Haircut,” a signature surge of snarling electric guitars, chiming piano chords and the clever, deadpan observations of frontman Craig Finn.
“He shaved his head at the airport/In a bar at the end of the concourse,” the singer notes on the track. “He said you...
- 6/19/2019
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady will host weekend-long residencies in a handful of cities across North America later this summer.
The band’s “Constructive Summer 2019” series will launch with three shows at the Crocodile in Seattle, Washington, August 15th, 16th and 17th. The band will then play three gigs in Chicago, Illinois, October 22nd through 24th, with the first and last shows at Thalia Hall, and the middle gig at the Empty Bottle. The Hold Steady will then perform in Nashville, Tennessee September 5th through 7th and Boston, Massachusetts September 12th through 15th.
The band’s “Constructive Summer 2019” series will launch with three shows at the Crocodile in Seattle, Washington, August 15th, 16th and 17th. The band will then play three gigs in Chicago, Illinois, October 22nd through 24th, with the first and last shows at Thalia Hall, and the middle gig at the Empty Bottle. The Hold Steady will then perform in Nashville, Tennessee September 5th through 7th and Boston, Massachusetts September 12th through 15th.
- 5/13/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Following an inspiring performance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Craig Finn appeared on CBS This Morning to perform a trio of songs from his new solo LP I Need a New War.
The Hold Steady frontman and his band delivered an evocative mini-concert featuring renditions of “Something To Hope For,” “Blankets” and “Grant at Galena” from his latest project, which is the third album in a trilogy that began with 2015’s Faith in the Future.
Finn, who has released four solo LPs in addition to his work in the Hold Steady,...
The Hold Steady frontman and his band delivered an evocative mini-concert featuring renditions of “Something To Hope For,” “Blankets” and “Grant at Galena” from his latest project, which is the third album in a trilogy that began with 2015’s Faith in the Future.
Finn, who has released four solo LPs in addition to his work in the Hold Steady,...
- 5/4/2019
- by Ilana Kaplan
- Rollingstone.com
Craig Finn delivered a rousing performance of his new single “Something to Hope For” on Late Night With Seth Meyers. The song is a highlight from Finn’s fourth solo album, I Need a New War, which the singer released this month.
I Need a New War is the third part in a kind of trilogy of records Finn made the past few years with a group of collaborators that includes Josh Kaufman and Joe Russo.
“These three records are really about the same kind of people,” Finn recently told Rolling Stone.
I Need a New War is the third part in a kind of trilogy of records Finn made the past few years with a group of collaborators that includes Josh Kaufman and Joe Russo.
“These three records are really about the same kind of people,” Finn recently told Rolling Stone.
- 4/30/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
In the first song on I Need A New War, Craig Finn takes up the sweep of an American life in a handful of lines — guy meets girl, maybe at a Dead show; she’s in recovery; they move to Montana. Things get “druggy” and fall apart; he pieces together life without her, finds religion, has a kid and, eventually gets ominous news from a doctor: “we’re looking at these numbers from your tests.” That’s just the first two verses — it gets sadder, deeper and more provocatively unsettled from there.
- 4/24/2019
- by Will Hermes
- Rollingstone.com
Ask a Craig Finn fan to picture the contents of the singer’s brain on a given day, and they might imagine a steady stream of the sort of first-pumping underdog tales he’s spent 16 years shouting onstage as frontman of the Hold Steady. But these days, the singer often fixates on a different kind of narrative.
“Honestly, where my head’s at, as far as what I think about when I walk around, is the more mundane stuff, more the people in these songs,” Finn says.
He’s referring...
“Honestly, where my head’s at, as far as what I think about when I walk around, is the more mundane stuff, more the people in these songs,” Finn says.
He’s referring...
- 4/23/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Frightened Rabbit have released a live tribute album in honor of late singer Scott Hutchinson. The album was recorded last December when a group of musicians, including Death Cab For Cutie singer Ben Gibbard and The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, gathered at Brooklyn’s Rouge Trade to celebrate Hutchinson’s music. Titled Tiny Changes: A Celebration of the Songs of Scott Hutchison, the album also features tracks by The National’s Aaron Dessner, Julien Baker and Kevin Devine.
Frightened Rabbit released the 25-track album for free to stream or download.
Frightened Rabbit released the 25-track album for free to stream or download.
- 3/25/2019
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady adopt an Exile on Main St. swagger with their brass-heavy new song “The Last Time That She Talked to Me.”
Throughout the track, frontman Craig Finn gazes back on a past relationship, picking apart scenes in reliably dense detail. “If all of my existence is ever on exhibit, tell the curator to emphasize the tape machine,” he speak-sings over chiming 12-string guitars and honking saxophones. “Cause that’s what she was sitting on when we finally started kissing on the last time that she talked to me.
Throughout the track, frontman Craig Finn gazes back on a past relationship, picking apart scenes in reliably dense detail. “If all of my existence is ever on exhibit, tell the curator to emphasize the tape machine,” he speak-sings over chiming 12-string guitars and honking saxophones. “Cause that’s what she was sitting on when we finally started kissing on the last time that she talked to me.
- 3/4/2019
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Craig Finn, frontman of the Hold Steady, detailed his forthcoming solo album, I Need a New War, which will be released this Spring on Partisan Records. The album is the third in a trilogy of solo records that began with 2015’s Faith in the Future and continued with 2017’s We All The Want Same Things, which critics considered to be an artistic breakthrough for Finn.
I Need a New War, out April 26th, was produced by Finn’s longtime collaborator Josh Kaufman and recorded in upstate New York. The first...
I Need a New War, out April 26th, was produced by Finn’s longtime collaborator Josh Kaufman and recorded in upstate New York. The first...
- 1/30/2019
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
A mentally ill man who allegedly was obsessed with the Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn turned himself into Brooklyn police Thursday for violating two restraining orders. Benjamin Campbell, a 35-year-old from Ottawa who lives with a girlfriend in Brooklyn, had been charged with stalking Finn in August 2017 when he sent the singer hundreds of Instagram messages, up to 30 a day, for more than two months. At one point, according to the New York Daily News, he threatened to slit the singer’s throat and promised that an upcoming Hold Steady...
- 9/28/2018
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady continued their new-song hot streak with “Confusion in the Marketplace” and “T-Shirt Tux.”
The former track blends heavy distortion with anthemic piano, trumpet and zooming synthesizer leads. Frontman Craig Finn opens the cut with an array of surreal lines full of alliteration: “Princess came to breakfast looking puffy from the Prednisone/ Someone’s little sister had me marching to the metronome,” he snarls. “The Maharaji on the mountain with a megaphone/ Reaching for the secrets in the static on the stereo.”
The band adopts a similarly sprawling approach on “T-Shirt Tux,...
The former track blends heavy distortion with anthemic piano, trumpet and zooming synthesizer leads. Frontman Craig Finn opens the cut with an array of surreal lines full of alliteration: “Princess came to breakfast looking puffy from the Prednisone/ Someone’s little sister had me marching to the metronome,” he snarls. “The Maharaji on the mountain with a megaphone/ Reaching for the secrets in the static on the stereo.”
The band adopts a similarly sprawling approach on “T-Shirt Tux,...
- 9/5/2018
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
The Hold Steady released two new songs to their Bandcamp. First, “The Stove and the Toaster” is a stomping rocker punctuated with piles of guitar licks, a piano interlude and brass. Singer Craig Finn narrates a story about all sorts of nefarious characters and revenge plots.
During the chorus he sneers, “Got some new information from the chef and the chauffeur/ They put the stash in the stove, they keep the cash in the toaster/ Down in Las Cruces they don’t play with jokers/ I hope I still know...
During the chorus he sneers, “Got some new information from the chef and the chauffeur/ They put the stash in the stove, they keep the cash in the toaster/ Down in Las Cruces they don’t play with jokers/ I hope I still know...
- 7/17/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
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