in 2001 while waiting to go on the Howard Stern Show
and he turned into an awkward fan boy
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While dulcet harmonies of the Beatles may not have always been associated with his hard-rock sound and dark lyrics, Ozzy always held up the Fab Four as his biggest inspiration. Black Sabbath, the band that made Ozzy famous, achieved mainstream success in the early 70s, and it was decades before the singer came face to face with one of his idols and main inspirations, McCartney, describing the experience as “like meeting Jesus Christ”.
When asked what it was like to meet Ozzy Osbourne, Paul McCartney jokingly said “it was like meeting Satan.”
‘i think a lot of it has to do with putting your heart into what you do and wanting to entertain people.’
-gene autry, the most famous singing cowboy of all
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royal oak music theater, michigan, usa, summer 2024
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Matthew Charles Crockett (born1984) is an American blues, country, jazz, americana singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He has released twelve studio albums since 2015, with Lil G.L.’s Blue Bonanza peaking at number 11 on the US Billboard Blues Albums chart and The Man from Waco breaking the US Billboard 200
Heathrow Airport has launched a live music stage to give up-and-coming acts the chance to impress industry executives flying into London for the festival season.
Based in Terminal 5, the first show featured performances from acoustic rock band China Bears, folk singer-songwriter The Halfway Kid and R’n’B artist Olivia Nelson.
Heathrow said those performing on the stage have “access to an audience bigger than Glastonbury”, as it expects 30 million passengers to travel through its terminals this summer. The airport recently had its busiest day in its history, with 264,000 passengers – up 6% on last year.
“The Heathrow Introducing stage isn’t just about providing entertainment, it’s about propelling careers to new heights,” said Karoline Komolafe, of music events company Sofar Sounds, which has partnered with Heathrow.
“It’s a game-changer for those aiming to break into the industry, especially with festival season at its peak, offering exposure to execs traveling through. “I think Heathrow passengers are going to have a brilliant time at the gigs.”Heathrow director of services Tonia Fielding said: “We’re proud that we’re providing people from around the globe the chance to experience the best of Britain’s emerging musical talent and a taste of UK culture from the moment they reach the airport.
“We’re gearing up for the busiest summer on record, meaning we can give artists on the Heathrow Introducing stage massive audiences to play to.” Two more shows on the music stage will be held, on 12 and 24 July.
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‘the true beauty of music is that it connects people.’
-roy avers
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source credits: heathrow airport, bbc radio london
The music stage is a partnership with music events company Sofar Sounds.
what a lovely experience – attending a taping of singer-songwriter Devon Gilfillian performing at *The Leon Loft, featuring soulful songs from his new album Love You Anyway , a bit of Marvin Gaye, and some of his other favorite originals, all while chatting with local radio’s Rob Reinhart in between songs. a portion of the session aired live on ann arbor’s 107one and will air later, in its entirety, on Rob’s Acoustic Café show. this was an intimate setting, 75 seats, perfect acoustics, all close to the stage, tickets won on-air or by invite only, an eclectic mix of music lovers. meeting up outside, then moving in to share this space and time on a weekday afternoon.
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“art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time.”
-jean-michel basquiat
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*At Leon, we mix art with audio, design with technology, and business with bohemia. We’re a group of artists, designers, engineers, and craftsmen who are dedicated to producing the finest quality bench made American audio. For over 20 years, we’ve been meticulously handcrafting a full palette of custom speakers and technology concealment solutions that bring sound + style to any space. Leon products are available world-wide, exclusively at high-end audio/video retailers. And because music is our first love, we have a dedicated performance space, the Leon Loft, at our headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In this intimate, live performance venue, we’ve had the privilege of welcoming some of today’s biggest recording artists for a live recording of Acoustic Cafe with Rob Reinhart. For more information about the Leon Loft, visit leonloft.com
one of my all-time favorite musicians, george winston, has passed away
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i first ‘discovered’ george many years ago when on a road trip to toronto and heard one of his beautiful songs on the radio. i had no idea what the song was, or who the musician was, but i wanted to find out. when i arrived in toronto, i asked my friend who worked for a record company to help me figure it out. i tried to describe what i had heard, but i’m sure it didn’t translate, and we never figured it out. before i left. she gave me a pile of cd’s to listen to on the way home, that different record company reps had given her. imagine my surprise, when his song was featured on a windham hill compilation cd she had given me, and i found that it was george winston playing ‘thanksgiving,’ the very music i had heard and loved. from then on i was hooked, and listened to everything i could get my hands on.
years later, i finally had the opportunity to see him play in person and it was the most amazing thing. the stage was silent, he walked out quietly in his socks, made a gentle bow to the audience, sat at his piano and played incredibly beautiful music for the next two hours. a shy and humble man, a natural talent, and a very generous and giving soul, even when quietly fighting his own battles. he will be greatly missed by many, but his music will live on.
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Notes from his site:
*We are deeply saddened to share the news that George Winston has passed away after a 10-year battle with cancer. George quietly and painlessly left this world while asleep on Sunday, June 4, 2023. George courageously managed serious cancers, including having a successful bone marrow transplant for Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) in 2013 at City of Hope, in Duarte, California, that gratefully extended his life by 10 years. Throughout his cancer treatments, George continued to write and record new music, and he stayed true to his greatest passion: performing for live audiences while raising funds for Feeding America to help fight the national hunger crisis along with donating proceeds from each of his concerts to local food banks. Across an illustrious career spanning more than 50 years, George’s music first became known and loved by his fans with the release of his two most iconic albums, Autumn (1980) and December (1982). George’s recordings evolved with the times while garnering a GRAMMY Award for Forest (plus five GRAMMY nominations) and selling over 15 million albums. George touched the hearts of generations with his acclaimed solo acoustic piano compositions. From his early days in Montana, Mississippi and Florida, to his later life living in the San Francisco Bay Area and touring to cities worldwide, America’s beautiful landscapes and natural seasons shaped his singular instrumental folk piano. With 16 solo piano albums to his name, George recorded brilliant piano music, which includes tribute recordings for Vince Guaraldi, The Doors, a Hurricane Katrina relief benefit, Gulf Coast and Louisiana Wetlands benefits, September 11 benefit, a cancer research benefit for City of Hope, the Peanuts episode “This Is America Charlie Brown: The Birth Of The Constitution,” among others. George’s legacy includes his beloved catalog as well as an archive of his own acoustic guitar and harmonica recordings, and albums by an array of Hawaiian slack key artists on his own record label, Dancing Cat Records. George is pre-deceased by his parents, George and Mary Winston, and is survived by his sister, niece and nephew.
The family of George Winston will hold a private memorial service. For donations in memory of George Winston, please visit:
pandora cued up a classic ccr song for me on the way home
windows down sun shining warm spring air
thinking of this quote that i just love:
“We were ready to rock out and we waited and waited and finally it was our turn … there were a half million people asleep. These people were out. It was sort of like a painting of a Dante scene, just bodies from hell, all intertwined and asleep, covered with mud. And this is the moment I will never forget as long as I live: A quarter mile away in the darkness, on the other edge of this bowl, there was some guy flicking his Bic, and in the night I hear, “Don’t worry about it, John. We’re with you.” I played the rest of the show for that guy.
—John Fogerty recalling Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 3:30 a.m. start time at Woodstock.”
-hank bordowitz, bad moon rising: the unofficial history of credence clearwater revival
remembering 50 years of magical music memories at pine knob
one of the greatest outdoor amphitheaters ever, and still rocking.
i’m sure you can pick me out here,
on a typical night in the middle of the hill on the lawn
early 70s, where i saw my first live concert, Focus, performing their one hit, “Hocus-Pocus.”
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Pine Knob. A holy musical pilgrimage for metro Detroiters for 50 years.
The award-winning theater was christened with a matinee concert by teenage heartthrob David Cassidy on June 25, 1972 (a few days later, old-school crooner Andy Williams and Quincy Jones hosted a five-night run at Pine Knob to mark the occasion). It was the largest venue of its type in the country at the time, currently able to accommodate 15,000 patrons.
A couple of weeks later, the first rock concert at Pine Knob forced the police to shut the place down — a sign that Clarkston’s new venue had a little something for everyone.
When the James Gang rolled into Pine Knob that inaugural summer, an estimated 25,000 “young people” tried to storm the venue. That’s according to a report in the Detroit Free Press, which noted that the rest of the “hard rock” concerts scheduled for that summer would be canceled after the ruckus. That included an upcoming show by Detroit’s own Bob Seger, who would go on to play more than 25 sold-out shows at the venue over the years.
Maybe you were at that show, or the more than 3,000 other concerts that have taken place there. Thousands have made memories at Pine Knob over the years, whether blurry-eyed ones from the top of the hill or once-in-a-lifetime front row experiences from within the comfort of the pavilion (which, admittedly, could’ve been blurry-eyed, too).
When Pine Knob changed its name to DTE Energy Music Theatre in 2001, it was those memories that kept the original name alive. Even the bands that played there and recorded live albums there called it Pine Knob. “It’s always been Pine Knob to me. I always call it that from the stage,” Peter Frampton told Billboard earlier this year. “I am really happy Pine Knob’s true identity has finally been returned.” (Frampton recorded his 1999 album Live in Detroit at Pine Knob.) For its 50th anniversary, new sponsors made the wise move to tap into that well of nostalgia by bringing back the original name and some of the retro aesthetic to the signage and logo.
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“you create a community with music, not just at concerts but by talking about it with your friends.”
-david byrne
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credits: photo – james r. anderson, history – ryan patrick hooper, hour detroit, detroit free press
I didn't have my glasses on.... 