The New Broadway Cast Recording of Hello, Dolly Out Now!

Masterworks Broadway proudly announces the release of The New Broadway Cast Recording of the 10-time Tony Award-nominated Hello, Dolly! starring three-time Grammy Award-winning legend Bette Midler as Dolly Gallagher Levi. Produced by multiple-Grammy Award winner Steven Epstein, with a cast of 37 and 28 musicians, the album is available everywhere now.

The Broadway revival of Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman's masterpiece Hello, Dolly! is directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle. Hello, Dolly! is now playing at Broadway's Shubert Theatre.  The official opening night was April 20, 2017.
Hello, Dolly! instantly became the hottest ticket of the year when it broke the record for best first day of ticket sales in Broadway history.  By the time it began previews, it had the largest pre-performance advance sale in Broadway history.  Recently, the production shattered the record for the highest weekly gross of any show in the history of the Sam S. Shubert Theatre – a record set by a previous tenant over a nine-performance week -- in just seven performances.

This Hello, Dolly! is the first new production of this classic musical (based on Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker) to appear on Broadway since it opened more than fifty years ago.  It pays tribute to the original work of legendary director/choreographer Gower Champion, which has been hailed both then and now as one of the greatest stagings in musical theater history.

"American Epic:The Collection" and "American Epic: The Soundtrack" Releases May 12

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release AMERICAN EPIC: The Collection, a 5-CD/100 song deluxe box set, and AMERICAN EPIC: The Soundtrack, a single disc anthology of 15 songs featured in the AMERICAN EPIC three-part historical
documentary on 1CD on Friday, May 12.

AMERICAN EPIC: The Collection and AMERICAN EPIC: The Soundtrack--each available as physical product--lead the way for a series of releases of music associated with the film series AMERICAN EPIC, produced by Allison McGourty, Duke Erikson and Directed by Bernard MacMahon, premiering in the U.S. on PBS on Tuesdays May 16, 23 and 30 at 9 p.m. (check local listings)

The AMERICAN EPIC historical documentaries are a journey back in time to the "Big Bang" of modern popular music.

In the 1920s, as radio took over the pop music business, record companies were forced to leave their studios in major cities in search of new styles and markets. Ranging the mountains, prairies, rural villages, and urban ghettos of America, they discovered a wealth of unexpected talent. The recordings they made of all the ethnic groups of America democratized the nation and gave a voice to everyone. Country singers in the Appalachians, Blues guitarists in the Mississippi Delta, Gospel preachers across the south, Cajun fiddlers in Louisiana, Tejano groups from the Texas Mexico border, Native American drummers in Arizona, and Hawaiian musicians were all recorded. For the first time, a woman picking cotton in Mississippi, a coalminer in Virginia or a tobacco farmer in Tennessee could have their thoughts and feelings heard on records played in living rooms across the country. It was the first time America heard itself.

Long Strange Trip Soundtrack out May 26

Long Strange Trip, Amir Bar-Lev's critically acclaimed documentary about the Grateful Dead, will be released theatrically on May 26 in New York and Los Angeles. Rhino will celebrate the premiere by releasing the soundtrack to the documentary, a career-spanning collection of studio and live recordings that includes several unreleased performances.

Two versions of the LONG STRANGE TRIP MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK will be released on CD on May 26. The first is a 2-CD set for $19.98.

Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux and director Bar-Lev co-produced the soundtrack.

Paul Weller Announces "A Kind Revolution" in May

Paul Weller has announced details on his upcoming new album. A Kind Revolution via Warner.  His 13th solo set streets on May 12. Listen to  “Nova” and “Long Long Road” below.   “Work began on the new record immediately after wrapping up  2015’s Saturns Pattern and once again features the full spectrum of Weller’s influences, from rock to R&B, soul to jazz, and funk to folk,” his official press release states. Weller long-standing touring band of Andy Crofts, Ben Gordelier, Steve Cradock and Steve Pilgrim are joined by a variety of guests.

Soul legend PP Arnold, who sang with the Small Faces and others, joins the cast along with Madeleine Bell, who has backed up the Rolling Stones and Elton John. And, Robert Wyatt contributes vocals and a trumpet solo to the track “She Moves With the Fayre.” The former Soft Machine member has worked with Weller in the past, but announced his retirement a few years back.

Strypes guitarist Josh McClorey also lends a hand, but a big surprise here is Boy George, who duets with Weller on the song “One Tear.” “It’s quite housey,” Weller recently told Uncut magazine. “George sings the first verse and then he comes in on the chorus. Our voices sound really good together.”

Todd Rundgren Spans Generations And Genres On 'White Knight' Out May 12 On Cleopatra Records

Todd Rundgren – the iconic songwriter, recording artist, producer and innovator – will release his newest album ‘White Knight’ on May 12 via Cleopatra Records. The 15-track collection features a dynamic range of original songs and deft studio work by Rundgren, with an incredible array of guests to match, including Dam Funk, Donald Fagen, Daryl Hall, Bettye Lavette, Robyn, Joe Satriani, Joe Walsh, and others.

The songs on ‘White Knight,’ all Rundgren originals or co-writes with some of the album guests, range from hip-hop flecked funk and dystopian synth rock to soaring ballads and crisp power pop. Album opener “Come” swirls with oscillating rhythms and sweeping layers of synths. More squiggling synths drive the feature with Daryl Hall, “Chance For Us,” giving way to a rich sax solo and a punchy, squelching bass line. Robyn soars on the pop anthem “That Could Have Been Me,” while Todd and Donald Fagen harmonize on the timely political jab “Tin Foil Hat.” “‘Cause the man in the tin foil hat / is sitting on the throne tonight / it kinda feels like a coup e’tat / but its gonna be great, tremendous, amazing and all that.”

Faith Evans And The Notorious B.I.G. "The King & I" Available May 19

Faith Evans and The Notorious B.I.G. famously met at a photo shoot in 1994 and were married nine days later. What followed would become one of the most legendary love stories in hip-hop history.

Evans has now, 20 years after B.I.G.’s still unsolved murder, created THE KING & I, a new album that tells the story of their life together. The album’s 25 tracks feature newly recorded vocals by Evans melded with vocals by Biggie Smalls, some well-known but also a selection of rare and unheard rhymes from the B.I.G. vault. THE KING & I also includes an impressive list of guest appearances by rap royalty including Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Lil’ Cease, Lil’ Kim, Sheek Louch, Styles P, and Snoop Dogg. Evans has also brought on some of the most acclaimed producers in hip-hop, many of which produced some of B.I.G.’s most famous tracks, including DJ Premier, Just Blaze, Salaam Remi, Stevie J, and Chucky Thompson.

“I remember telling Ms. Wallace years ago that one day it would be really dope if I could do something similar to Natalie & Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable,” says Evans. “Knowing the love that B.I.G. had for Tyanna & Ceejay, I feel it's my duty to uphold & extend his legacy, especially his musical contributions. This project is my creative reflection of the love we had & the bond we will always have. I'm elated to share this musical journey with our fans!”