Taylor Swift won Video of the Year and shared smiles with Nicki Minaj at Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards ceremony — during which she also presented a lifetime-achievement award and an open mic to Kanye West.
Swift thanked Lamar, whose rap is featured on “Bad Blood,” and thanked her video co-stars, all of whom are women in show business. “There are two women in the video who I’ve named cats after,” she said. “I love them so much. … There’s been a lot of discussion this video and what it means, but I’m just happy that, in 2015, we live in a world where boys can play princesses, and girls can play soldiers.”
Swift later presented the Video Vanguard Award to West, who famously crashed her 2009 VMAs acceptance speech. “I first met Kanye West six years ago — at this show actually!” she said, while giving him the lifetime-achievement award. “Since then, we’ve had a lot of time to talk about a lot of different things.”
The rapper smiled when Swift revealed that his album “College Dropout,” was the “very first album that my brother and I bought on iTunes when I was 12 years old.” She added, “I have been a fan of his, since I can remember, because Kanye defines what is to be a creative force in music, fashion and, well, life. So, I guess I have to say to all the other winners tonight: I’m really happy for you, and I’mma let you finish, but Kanye West has had one of the greatest careers of all time!”
The Billboard Music Awards took place yesterday and was filled with performances and many awards. Taylor Swift took home the most awards winning eight in total, followed by Sam Smith, Pharrell, and Iggy Azalea each winning three. Swift is the most successful artist in the show’s history with 20 wins, beating Garth Brooks’ 19-win record. The show opened with the premiere of Taylor Swift’s video for Bad Blood which featured a star studded cast. She also swapped her first two verses with new ones from rapper Kendrick Lamar for her performance of “Bad Blood.”
Mariah Carey performed a medley of “Vision of Love” and her new song “Infinity.” Some criticized her due to her performance sounding too pitchy. Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea debuted their first live performance of their song “Pretty Girls,” which many said was a great performance. Kanye West closed out the show with a medley of his songs, “All Day” and “Black Skinhead.” For the most part, his performance was censored and you could not really see him due to the stage being so smoky. Which was your favorite performance of the night?
To see a full list of winners and photos head on over to: billboard.com
A partial list of the 2015 Grammy nominations were announced early this morning on CBS This Morning at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. Pharrell Williams and Ed Sheeran announced four categories for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. The remaining list of the nominees will be revealed through Twitter throughout the rest of the day from celebrities and artists. The first round has already been revealed by celebrities, Ryan Seacrest, Jared Leto, and Alanis Morissette.
Sam Smith is currently leading the amount of nominations with five- record of the year, best pop vocal album, best pop solo performance, song of the year, and best new artist.
In all, there are 83 categories at the Grammys this year. We just have to keep checking throughout the day to see who the other nominees are! But they are announcing the most coveted award last…
Nominees for album of the year – the Grammy’s biggest award – will be announced on A Very GRAMMY Christmas, which will air at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. There will be performances by Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, Maroon 5 and Tim McGraw. The show will be hosted again by LL Cool J. The 2015 Grammy Awards will air live on February 8 on CBS.
Taylor Swift headlined this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, which airs December 9 at 10 p.m. on CBS. The show was shot Tuesday in London.
Swift even closed out the show where she walked among the models on the catwalk. She performed her latest single, “Blank Space” along with another song from her 1989 album, “Style.”
Swift’s role in the show was very involved compared to past artists who have been performers for the show. The show featured a special segment dedicated to the models like Karlie Kloss praising the singer’s talent. Swift also walked hand in hand with model/BFF Karlie Kloss at the beginning of her “Style” performance. This kind of attention on a performer during the show was unprecedented. Past artists, like Fall Out Boy, merely served as background music.
Another artist that stole the show, in a different manner though, was Ariana Grande. During Grande’s performance Model Elsa Hosk who was wearing fluffy pink wings down the runway accidentally knocked the 21-year-old pop-star down into a crouching position. She might have cringed, but after the show she tweeted: “A Victoria’s Secret angel accidentally smacked me in the face with her wings and it was awesome #goals #bangbangintomyface.”
The annual fashion show also saw performances by, Ed Sheeran, and “Take Me to Church” singer Hozier.
The American Music Awards were last night with performances from a multitude of today’s top artists, including Lorde, Taylor Swift, and J. Lo. The award show was hosted by Pitbull this year which he also performed his latest single alongside Ne-Yo. Taylor Swift opened the show with her single, “Blank Space,” and brought the music video to life in her performance. Taylor Swift won the honor of the night with the Dick Clark Award for Excellence, which was presented to her by Diana Ross.
During her acceptance speech, Swift reiterated her stance towards pulling her music from Spotify.
“To the fans who went out and bought over a million copies of my last three albums, what you did by going out and investing in music and albums is you’re saying that you believe in the same thing that I believe in,” she said during her speech. “[You believe] that music is valuable and that music should be consumed in albums and albums should be consumed as art and appreciated.”
The show ended with the award for Artist of the Year, which was awarded to One Direction! Also, closing off the performances was the highly anticipated world tv premiere performance of J.Lo’s “Booty” remix featuring Iggy Azalea.
Taylor Swift shocked everyone this week on Spotify when her label, Big Machine Records, pulled all her music from the streaming service. Spotify did not have “1989” available to stream when it came out, which was not a surprise since Swift has made clear her distaste for free streaming sites.
The 40 million subscribers to Spotify won’t be able to listen to her new album, “1989,” or any of Swift’s past albums.
Swift told The Wall Street Journal last summer that “piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically and every artist has handled this blow differently.”
She also has been quoted saying, “Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for.”
Swift isn’t the first artist to withhold her music from Spotify. For instance, Beyonce’s lastest album only offers 4 songs available to stream.
As Big Machine Records pulled Swift’s songs Monday, Spotify responded by saying how much the company loves Swift.
“We hope she’ll change her mind and join us in building a new music economy that works for everyone. We believe fans should be able to listen to music wherever and whenever they want, and that artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy,” Spotify posted on its blog.
Spotify also posted playlists, “A Little Playlist Poetry for Taylor Swift,” and, “What to Play While Taylor’s Away.”
Swift’s music, including “1989” — which sold 1.3 million copies in just the first week of release — is still available on iTunes.
LA has something to rejoice about. We are in the middle of the 6th annual L.A. Beer Week. The event started on Sept. 20 and will be filled with nine days of appreciation for Los Angeles’ craft beer scene. The event is being organized by the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild this year. But that didn’t stop other local places to host their own appreciation events.
Many breweries, restaurants, bars and even music venues across LA are having non-Guild-organized events. Each establishment has added their own twist, highlight or special tapping.
Here are two events that might just be worth your time. For a full schedule, visit labeerweek.com/events or check your local craft beer bar as they probably have something scheduled too. Happy L.A. Beer Week!
WHAT: Beer and Whiskey Brunch
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 21; 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. ($70, buy tickets here)
WHY: It’s never too early for whiskey, we say, so why not start here, at Boneyard Bistro’s annual pairing of beer, whiskey and brunch food. This year they’ve teamed up with Firestone Walker, Deschutes and Golden Road for the occasion, featuring six courses paired with six beers and three different whiskeys.
WHERE: Boneyard Bistro, 13539 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.
WHAT: Musical Beer Crawl
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 23; 5 p.m.
WHY: An L.A. Beer Week favorite is back again with another year of stumbling up and down Sunset Blvd. for all the beer, music, dancing and discounts Echo Park has to offer. The Bruery is pouring special kegs of its “sessionable” version of the infamous Black Tuesday at beer establishments along the strip and everywhere from Two Boots Pizza to Origami Vinyl are offering deals to crawlers who stop by. End the night at Short Stop where the dance party goes until closing time.
WHERE: Various locations down Sunset Blvd., starting at Sunset Beer Co.
Read the full story and check out more events here: laweekly.com
In case you missed it, The Simpsons were at the Hollywood Bowl this past weekend. The show was appropriately titled, “The Simpsons Take the Bowl.”
Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, and Yeardley Smith were all in attendance as part of the core cast of the show. These actors voice the characters of Moe Szyslak, Lisa Simpson, and Bart Simpson, respectively. Unfortunately, those not in attendance included Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer and Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge.
The show was a celebration filled with gratitude for the long running animated series. Many different clips were shown from the series and it was more of a hybrid show that featured the animated series as well as live action from performers.
Those in attendance were also treated to a mini-Simpsons carnival. There was a mini-Duff air blimp, and a battery of T-shirt cannons blazing away. Ushers from the venue wore red cornstalk-style wigs like Sideshow Bob, while many female orchestra members donned a mountain of blue hair just like Marge Simpson.
The show is premiering this month on September 28 on Fox for its 26th season with the episode titled, “Clown in the Dumps.”
This weekend marks the final 626 night market in Arcadia that ends their 2014 summer series. It starts this Friday night, September 12 at 4pm- 1am and runs through Sunday, September 14. If you have no other plans this weekend head on over to the 626 night market and enjoy 200+ food vendors to choose from along with crafts, music, and games.
You can expect to find interesting, tasty food including a Ramen Burger, potted plant ice cream, scallion pancakes, and much more. Performances will also be held all weekend long including a special cosplay costume contest on Sunday from 8 to 9pm. (Some vendors will be giving discounted rates for those dressed up in cosplay costumes on Sunday). YouTube sensations The Fung Bros with special guest A.J. Rafael and Jason Chen will be performing over the weekend.
The 626 night market is the largest Asian-themed market in the United States. It drew in over 50,000 people during their July weekend event. The event takes place at Santa Anita Park at 285 W. Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91007. Admission is $3, but children under 6 years old get in free. Parking is also free.
On top of unveiling the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple also announced today the new release of U2’s thirteenth studio album. Not only is it the first U2 album in five years, but it is also free to all iTunes users. The greatest part is that the album is already in your iTunes, under Albums or Purchased.
At Apple’s live event, the band debuted and performed a new song, “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) from their new album Songs of Innocence. The album is only available on iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music for now. The physical album will be available for purchase on October 13.
Frontman Bono described the album as deeply personal and called the release “instant gratification”. The day before the Apple event, Bono told Rolling Stone. “We wanted to make a very personal album,” Bono explained. “Let’s try to figure out why we wanted to be in a band, the relationships around the band, our friendships, our lovers, our family. The whole album is first journeys — first journeys geographically, spiritually, sexually. And that’s hard. But we went there.”
This isn’t the first time that an artist or band has released an album without announcing it prior to the release date. Beyonce dropped her self-titled visual album in December without any prior announcement to fans.
We chatted with Chicago Music Library’s Executive Vice President, Marrsha Sill.
We had the opportunity to catch up with Marrsha Sill of Chicago Music Library from our Hollywood Production Center location…
Marrsha Sill is the Executive Vice President at Chicago Music Library. Marrsha Sill began her music library career as an Account Executive at APM Music, where she spent many years becoming an expert at promoting and growing APM’s business in the areas of film, television and advertising. Then became Vice President of Film and TV Music at Megatrax and Opus 1 music Library. Marrsha is now a proud member of the “Chicago Music Library” team where she retains her outstanding industry-wide reputation for “representing the artists.”
Marrsha, how did Chicago Music Library (CML) come about?
The Chicago Music Library was the dream child of Robert J. Walsh (veteran film composer and creator of the Hollywood Film Music Library) and James E. Moore (Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur). On a flight back from Chicago to LA, both decided that there was a future for a new boutique online music catalog with unique, pristine content. They then were very fortunate to find the multi-talented Nicholas Castelli (VP – Operations), Marrsha Sill (Executive VP), Jason Jamison (Sales Manager), and Renee Dawes (Creative Manager). And POW! a diverse and talented team was born!
How is Chicago Music Library making its mark in the entertainment industry?
Look, we know music is everywhere so we must separate ourselves by being known as a reliable resource and service – focusing on providing the best content efficiently and affordably, no email goes unanswered. If we have what you’re looking for you will get it ASAP, usually within the hour, and if not we can create it on spec, and done with a smile.
Who is your typical client and how are most of their licenses used?
Our typical client is a studio music exec/creative and/or an independent music supervisor, independent filmmaker, or online content creator, who use “Trusted Sources” such as CML to acquire the music that they need for their production. Some clients score their entire production with library music, or a variation of custom and library music. And some peeps use us for everything the composer does not do (needle drops).
Any notable movies or shows?
Well, over the years we’ve had hundreds of placements, however, some recent feature films would be The Butler, Runner Runner and Paranormal Activity 5. Further, we’ve had several placements on TV such as, ABC’s Revenge and Warner Brothers’ Shameless, and several placements in Sony’s shows Justified and Community, to name a few.
Your company was founded in 2011. What key changes have you seen the industry take since then?
Wow, well since 2011 we just like all industries have felt the economic changes, everything from decreased budgets to music sources giving away music for free. Most notably would be the increased requests for indie bands by music creatives and, subsequently, the demand for independent music libraries such as CML to carry this content. In essence we are becoming the new record industry!
What’s in the future for Chicago Music Library?
The Chicago Music Library is constantly growing and innovating – offering it’s diverse catalogs at moderate industry rates in many unique ways; constantly featuring new catalog expansion, and the best possible service to our clients in the Film, Television, Advertising, and Online world. Most importantly, we feel it is our duty to educate others and take the lead in moving the industry forward. We are constantly on social media engaging with others and have actually just launched our Face the Music Blog Series (#FTMBS) on our website, where we will offer unique industry insights and news.
The Chicago Music Library team would like to extend a neighborly offer to all HPC tenants, which includes 25% off all annual and per project blankets!
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to interview with us, Marrsha!
Yes, American Idol is here to stay. Fox has announced that American Idol will return for its 14th season this year. There has been no confirmation as to who will be at the judges table this time around, but they finished off season 13 with Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban.
The network made the news official by announcing the audition dates that will bring in the ultra-talented singers for this season. American Idol auditions will hit 15 cities across the country, with its launch on June 18 in Minneapolis. The reality singing competition is sure to be a good one, as always.
Fox sees competition with other reality singing competitions, such as NBC’s The Voice, which is on its 6th season. The Voice is home to judges/coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani. The most recent performance episode of American Idol brought in 8.65 million viewers.
Beyonce and Jay-Z fans rejoice. The Carters have announced their On The Run tour to take place this summer. The duo will be doing a 16-date stadium tour, which is set to kick off in Miami on June 25 and finish in San Francisco on August 5. The tour will be stopping in Los Angeles as their second to last date, which will take place on August 2nd at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. It is also said that there are tentative plans to take the tour to Europe.
This will be Beyonce and Jay-Z’s first tour together. Jay wrapped up his Magna Carter tour (with Justin Timberlake) earlier this year. Beyonce’s Mrs. Carter tour finished up in March.
The couple got married in 2008 and has since had a beautiful baby girl, Blue Ivy Carter. Beyonce did the unexpected last year when she dropped her self-titled album without any prior promotion. The visual album came with a music video for every song, which became her 5th consecutive number-one album in the US. Jay-Z and Beyonce also appeared at weekend one of Coachella this year, Jay-Z joining Nas’ set, and Beyonce with her sister Solange.
The MTV Movie Awards are taking place this Sunday, April 13, and a new performance announcement has been made today: we can expect an unforgettable performance by Eminem and Rihanna this year. The duo is about to head out for their co-headlining summer stadium tour to take place in August, but before then, they will be making a stop at MTV. The frequent collaborators will be making their first televised performance of their single, “The Monster.” The night will also include fantastic performances by Ellie Goulding, Zedd and Twenty One Pilots. Mark Wahlberg and Channing Tatum will also be making an appearance to accept their awards, the Generation Award and the Trailblazer Award, respectively.
Eminem and Rihanna are no strangers to collaborating on hits together, some of which have included “Love the Way You Lie” and “Numb.” The duo’s six-date concert tour titled The Monster Tour will hit three cities in August, starting in LA. The tour will move on from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to East Rutherford, NJ, and then come to an end in Detroit, MI.
The MTV Movie Awards will be hosted by Conan O’Brien live from the Nokia Theater at L.A. Live on Sunday, April 13 at 9PM.
The Voice is well into its 6th season, but we’ll be seeing a new face for the 7th season. It has been announced that Pharrell Williams will be taking Cee Lo Green’s spot as a coach for the new season of The Voice. Cee Lo Green announced his departure from the show in February, and has since been covered by Usher and Shakira.
Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green were the original coaching panel when the show started in 2011, and they continued to be the face of The Voice through season 3. For season 4, Christina and Cee Lo took a hiatus from the show, in which Shakira and Usher filled their spots. While season 5 had the original 4 coaches reinstated, season 6 is back with Adam, Blake, Shakira and Usher. Pharrell is the only confirmed coach for the 7th season of NBC’s The Voice.
Pharrell Williams will make a great addition to The Voice team, as they have in the past had the biggest and most current musical talent as coaches. Pharrell made quite a name for himself with the Despicable Me franchise soundtracks, and his 2014 Oscar performance of his Oscar nominated song ‘Happy.’ Pharrell made a guest appearance in the 4th season of the show, as a guest mentor for Usher and his team.
Airbnb is putting on a contest in LA where 5 lucky winners will win an overnight stay at one of five iconic LA locations.
We all love the iconic Los Angeles spots, but what if you could spend the night there? Airbnb is coming to Los Angeles, and in true Hollywood style, they are coming in with a bang. Airbnb is putting on a contest where 5 lucky winners will have the chance to stay overnight at places frequented by the die-hard Angelino, but never before with an overnight invitation. The only requirement to enter into the contest is to go onto their Facebook page and tell them in 10 words why you love Los Angeles. The 5 best stories will win a day and night to experience the iconic Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Viper Room, Arts District Downtown LA, The Grove or The Cook’s Garden by HGEL.
Even if you don’t win one of the fantastic location, there are a plethora of events and activities to keep you active and happy. The first event kicks off on Friday, September 27 and will continue through Monday, September 30 and will take place at each of the 5 locations every day.
Airbnb was founded in 2008 in San Francisco. They are a trusted community marketplace for people to list and find unique accommodations around the world. In more than 33,000 cities and 192 countries, Airbnb can allow you stay in an apartment for a night or a castle for a week.
Glendale Arts is hosting Pop Up!, an outdoor concert series throughout the month of September.
Downtown Glendale – Glendale keeps the summer month going strong by hosting the Glendale Art’s Pop Up! Concert series this month. Pop Up! is a month long event that brings in different musical talent every Thursday night during the month of September. The free outdoor concerts take place at the Glendale City Center and each week they bring out a different restaurant to provide appetizers, such as BJ’s, Olive Garden and California Pizza Kitchen.
The concerts kicked off on September 5th when crowds listened to some great music by Sean Wiggins and Lone Goat. This week, crowds gathered around to listen to Rock Bottom Betty play fantastic music. The series will continue on for the next two weeks, with the next concert taking place Thursday, September 19, featuring Shane Henry. The month long concerts will come to an end on September 26 with The Essentials playing for Glendale.
The event is absolutely free and has been a great way for the Glendale Arts to stay involved in the community as their current project is underway. The Glendale Arts have been behind the Alex Theatre renovation project that started earlier this summer. The expansion project is set to finish in November when they will have a grand re-opening.
Bruno Mars will be performing at the 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII Pepsi Halftime Show in February.
The Super Bowl halftime show has been the performance to watch every year, and the 2014 show is no different. It was recently announced that the Grammy award-winning pop singer Bruno Mars will be delivering the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show next February. The Pepsi Super Bowl halftime show is one of the most acclaimed musical performances, with both crazed football fans and non-fans alike tuning in to watch. Beyonce’s performance in 2013 was wildly popular, and had more than 110.5 million viewers watching. Other past performances have included Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, Bruce Springsteen and the controversial performance with Janet Jackson. The Super Bowl game is set to take place on Sunday, February 2, 2014 in New Jersey at the MetLife Stadium.
Bruno Mars is 27 years old and has been nominated for 14 Grammys and has sold over 115 million singles. His single, “Just The Way You Are” won him a Grammy for best male pop vocal performance in 2010, and in 2011 his hit single “Grenade” got him 3 Grammy nominations. Mars started his musical career as a writer and producer for other music artists, but in the past three years has succeeded in making a name for himself in the music industry.
The NFL season kicked off last week with the first match of the season between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos on Thursday. The season continued on with the first Sunday of football on September 8.
The L.A. County Fair opened on Friday, August 30 and will continue through September until closing day on Sunday, September 29.
Los Angeles experienced the L.A. County Fair opening weekend, with the festivities that started on Friday, August 30. The 31-day fair will go on throughout the month of September, until its closing day on Sunday, September 29. Adults, children and families will be flocking to the Fairplex in Pomona, just down the 10 freeway. The fair will include carnival rides, food, vendors, shopping and so much more!
A popular attraction this year will be the End of Summer Concert Series, which will take place 20 of the nights that the fair is going on. There is a huge concert lineup ready for all of the fans, and free concert tickets will be given away during the day-of the event at the fair each day. Some of the big names performing this year are: Ke$ha, Demi Lovato and Trace Adkins. Other special attractions at this year’s fair will be the exhibitions, which include ‘Star Trek: The Exhibition,’ ‘Pencil 2 Pixels – The Art of Animation,’ ‘Beneath the Sea: An Underwater Adventure’ and ‘Esmeralda’s Traveling Circus.’
The L.A. County Fair continues to bring in families to enjoy the day or an entire season of fun and entertainment, and it continues to grow every year. To find more information about the fair, please visit: www.lacountyfair.com
Good Food Fridays continues August 30 from 5pm to 9pm at Santa Monica Place.
Good Food Fridays is back on August 30 for a night of food, drinks and entertainment in Santa Monica. Good Food Friday is a fun, free community event that is put on to support local businesses and allow residents to come out and enjoy the area. This week there is a special “Back to School” theme, and the event will be starting earlier at 5pm. The night will include food sampling, local high school musicians, face painting, wine tasting and an array of local vendors with pop-up shops. The whole night is sure to please and is made for the whole family to enjoy!
The event takes place at Santa Monica Place, an open air shopping and dining destination just steps away from the Third Street Promenade. Good Food Friday takes over The Market, which is the third-floor Dining Deck of Santa Monica Place. Special guests include the Almond Milk LA, Gindo’s Spice of Life, Green Brooms Music Academy, KRAVE Jerky, KIND Bars, Go Green Nopal Foods, ZYL Collections, Naam Yoga and more. The event will take place on the last Friday of every month through October.
The MTV VMA’s took place in Brooklyn on Sunday, August 25 and presented 17 awards for various talented work.
MTV aired the Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 25, and as always, the entire award show was a night to remember. The night was filled with an *NSYNC reunion, a Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke duo performance, Katy Perry’s performance of her newest single ‘Roar,’ and so much more.
The award show presented awards to amazingly talented individuals in the music industry. The list of winners this year is as follows:
Video of the year: Justin Timberlake, “Mirrors”
Best female video: Taylor Swift, “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
Best male video: Bruno Mars, “Locked Out of Heaven”
Best pop video: Selena Gomez, “Come & Get It”
Best hip-hop video: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton, “Can’t Hold Us”
Best rock video: Thirty Seconds to Mars, “Up In the Air”
Best collaboration: Pink and Nate Ruess of fun., “Just Give Me a Reason”
Best video with a social message: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert, “Same Love”
Best song of the summer: One Direction, “Best Song Ever”
Artist to watch: Austin Mahone, “What About Love”
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Justin Timberlake
Best direction: Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” (director David Fincher)
Best visual effects: Capital Cities, “Safe and Sound”
Best choreography: Bruno Mars, “Treasure”
Best art direction: Janelle Monae featuring Erykah Badu, “Q.U.E.E.N.”
Best cinematography: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton, “Can’t Hold Us”
Culver City’s Fiesta La Ballona will kick off Friday, August 23 and will conclude Sunday, August 25.
Culver City’s annual Party in the Park will take place this weekend, August 23 through August 25 at Veterans Park. The weekend will include carnival rides and games, live performances, over 100 booths featuring artisan wares, a petting zoo and pony rides, beer and wine garden, food trucks and other fun contests and events, all open to the community.
This year’s Fiesta La Ballona will start Friday at 4pm until 10pm, on Saturday 11am to 10pm and will conclude on Sunday from 10:30am to 9pm. Entrance to the event is free, but food, carnival rides and attractions are extra. There will be various live entertainment performances ranging from a cover band playing AC/DC to a Mariachi band. Saturday night’s performances will end with a two-hour dance party by “The World’s Grooviest Live Disco Show” The Funky Hippeez with Disco Diva. Stilt walkers will also be gracing Culver City with their presence! This event focuses on being green by promoting recycling awareness during the event and has a specialized valet service if you ride your bike to the event.
FYF will be returning to the LA State Historic Park on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25.
The Los Angeles State Historic Park has become a popular location for musical events, and this weekend is no exception. The FYF Fest is back for its 10th year and will be hitting Los Angeles August 24 to August 25. The F’ Yeah Festival will be featuring 71 different bands that will perform throughout the course of two days. The LA State Historic Park will open its gates Saturday and Sunday at 2PM and is scheduled to end at midnight.
While the festival features various musical performances, there will be a few headliners that have made this an event you won’t want to miss. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are the headliners for Saturday and this New York band is no stranger to being front and center at musical festivals. The band recently released their fourth album, Mosquito in April. Sunday’s headliner will be My Bloody Valentine, a band from Ireland that broke up in 1997, came back together in 2007 and will be playing in their first American gig since 2009. The band has since gained notoriety and released a new album earlier in 2013, which spurned into a world tour.
FYF is expecting to draw in thousands of musical fans this weekend. Single day tickets are now sold out, but the 2-day passes are still a third of the price of other musical festivals. Other bands include TV On The Radio, Deerhunter, Yo La Tengo, MGMT, Washed Out, Toro Y Moi, Death Grips,The Breeders and FLAG. The festival will also feature comedy showcases, making this weekend’s event one you won’t want to miss!
The Third Annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival will start August 22 and continue on through August 25.
The Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival is back in Southern California for its third consecutive year. The festival brings together some of the most celebrated culinary talent in the country for a four day event that takes place in various areas of Los Angeles. The festivities offer guests a chance to sample the cuisines and specialized products of the most prominent leaders of their industry. The entire event caters to nearly all of the human senses by also hosting the entertainment industry’s biggest talents during the live culinary demonstrations, wine and spirit tastings, book signings and many more.
The first annual Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival took place in 2011 and brought in over 15,000 attendees to witness and taste firsthand food from140 celebrity chefs and almost 300 wineries. Hollywood celebrities filled the event lineup, such as Kathy Griffin and Randy Jackson. The entire five-day event raised $400,000 to support St. Vincent Meals on Wheels.
This year’s festival will take place August 22 through August 25, and will spread its events between Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Learn more about the festival and all the events that will be taking place later this month here: www.lafw.com.
CityWalk celebrates its birthday in true Hollywood fashion with events going on all summer.
Universal CityWalk is turning 20 and bringing it in with a bang. In true Hollywood fashion, CityWalk will be throwing a huge Birthday Bash that lasts all summer. CityWalk will be providing free live music all summer long at the 5 Towers through September 2nd. They are also offering $2 parking when you go to the nearby AMC to watch a movie, and with so many great summer blockbuster hits this is hard to resist.
The first summer concert kicked off on Saturday, June 29 and featured The Ready Set and Kelsi Luck. This Saturday, August 3, Hollywood is in for a treat with Chris Rene, and on Sunday, August 4 the long list of performers includes Angel & Khriz, Sensato, Henry Santos and Maffio. Saturday concerts start at 7PM and go until 10PM, while Sunday concerts can be enjoyed from 6PM to 9PM. The final performance will take place on Labor Day, Monday, September 2nd and will feature The Summer Set and Echosmith.
For $2 summer movie parking, pay for general parking at the CityWalk toll booth, then present your parking stub at the AMC box office to receive your rebate on parking. This offer expires September 2nd. August’s movie releases include 2 Guns, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Kick Ass 2 and One Direction: This isUs.
City Walk is located at Universal Studios Hollywood at 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608. For more information, please visit http://www.citywalkhollywood.com.
