“She has so many songs that are these massive hits that, at least for someone my age, you can’t have grown up and not heard those songs. She has a knack for saying something hard, but making it feel like she’s ready to acknowledge it and be cool with this hard acceptance.”

Listen to Soccer Mommy’s cover of “Soak Up The Sun” below:

Allison, however, is also a brilliant songwriter in her own right. The 26-year-old, who was introduced to the guitar at age six, began posting songs as Soccer Mommy in 2015, before landing a recording contract with Fat Possum. In 2017, she dropped out of college to pursue a full-time music career and has gone on to release three albums, the most recent of which was named one of the best albums of 2023 by the likes of The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, and more. 

The Line Of Best Fit described Sometimes, Forever as “an astounding artistic accomplishment that deserves to propel Allison to the very highest ranks of the indie world”, while The New Yorker pronounced the record Soccer Mommy’s “gnarliest and most resplendent, fashioning poppy melodies, disarming lyrics, and twisted sounds into dismayed songs of young adulthood.”

Listen to lead single “Shotgun” below:

The Daniel Lopatin-produced album sees Allison explore new sonic landscapes, including shoegaze and industrial noise, cementing her status as one of the most gifted songwriters making rock music right now. Once again, the singer taps into the turn-of-the-millenium sensibilities and confessional lyricism she’s known for, this time inspired by the idea that neither sorrow nor happiness is eternal. Sometimes, Forever is a glimpse into the mind of an artist who synthesizes everything — retro sounds, personal tumult, the relatable disorder of modern life — into original music that feels built to last a long time. 

In 2022, following the release of the album, Allison completed a largely sold-out international headline tour and hosted Roblox’s most successful Listening Party to date with 10.8 million unique visitors. 

Catch Soccer Mommy on tour:

21/09/2023 – 3 Arena – Dublin
23/09 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
24/09 – OVO Hydro Arena – Glasgow
26/09 – Alexandra Palace – London
27/09 – Alexandra Palace – London

Get tickets here.

Stream Sometimes, Forever here.

The track, titled “Little Darlin” was released this week by Rhino Entertainment and was originally recorded by McVie in 2004 when working on her solo album, In the Meantime.

McVie would have turned 80 on 12th July 2023, with Rhino working together with McVie’s nephew, Dan Perfect, to release a remastered version of “Little Darlin” on this date to celebrate the singer’s legacy. Perfect was involved in the original writing and production of In the Meantime back in 2004, and has continued to play a significant role in his aunt’s career.

Rhino have also shared further plans to release reissues of McVie’s solo album In the Meantime as a whole, in addition to a reissue of her self-titled 1984 album later this year. These projects are also being overseen by McVie’s nephew, Dan Perfect, who shared his thoughts in the liner notes of the re-release.

Perfect said, “When my aunt Christine McVie died unexpectedly last year, plans were already afoot for the re-release of this solo album, which is perhaps her most personal and intimate project.”

Perfect also shared, “Chris and I had been working for some time on remixing the original tracks in Dolby Atmos, and Chris was excited and intrigued by this process, which was bringing fresh life and contemporaneity to the songs… I dearly wish that she could have lived to see this re-release as she would have been delighted.”

McVie’s former Fleetwood Mac band member Mick Fleetwood also paid tribute to her to mark her 80th birthday. He released a spoken word adaptation of McVie’s track, “Songbird,” saying in the track, “As the songbird sings, now from the heavens, to you Christine, I wish you all the love in the world. But, most of all, I wish it from myself.”

Mick teamed up with Jake Shimabukuro to produce the track, with Mick on vocals and percussion.

“Songbird” was also performed by Mick Fleetwood, Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt in tribute to McVie at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this year.

McVie passed away in November of 2022 following a brief illness, and has left behind a huge legacy that is still being celebrated after her passing.

Fleetwood Mac shared their thoughts via social media, writing, “There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed.”

The two artists are set to be joined by five other American acts, including country icon Willie Nelson, rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, rapper Missy Elliott, singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and rhythm and blues vocal group the Spinners.

Bush has been nominated three times in the past five years (2018, 2021, 2022) but 2023 is the year she finally claims her prestigious place among music’s greats. Having released 25 UK Top 40 singles, including her first, “Wuthering Heights“, released in 1978 when only 19 years old, which reached number one in the UK and stayed there for four weeks, Bush is a late 70s and 80s music icon.

Watch the music video for “Wuthering Heights” below:

She recently came back to the limelight following the resurgent success of hit single “Running Up That Hill“, reaching UK number one a full 38 years since it was first released. The resurgence came after the song featured in the extremely popular Netflix drama Stranger Things. If Bush was to travel to New York to accept her induction and perform, as is customary, it would be her first public appearance since 2014, and as such would greatly excite her many fans.

Michael received his induction by way of a fan vote, receiving 1.04 million votes, just ahead of fellow nominee and singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper. Michael is one the best-selling musicians of all time, achieving widespread success both in the UK and the US, releasing seven UK number one singles and eight US number ones. His induction also coincides with the 40th anniversary of Wham!’s debut album, Anniversary. 

Watch the music video for “Careless Whisper” below:

Artists who were nominated this year but din’t make the cut include English post-punk band Joy Division (subsequently New Order) and English heavy metal group Iron Maiden. Cyndi Lauper, as previosly mentioned, also didn’t make it, along with American rock band Soundgarden, brother and sister rock duo the White Stripes, singer-songwriter Warren Zevon and legendary New York hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest.

Other winners include DJ Kool Herc and guitarist Link Wray, both receiving the Musical Influence Award, while the Music Excellence Award will be awarded to singer Chaka Khan and songwriters Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin, and television presenter Don Cornelius is set to win the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center in New York in November.

So here’s that Radio 2 Live at Home line-up in full!

Featuring
Classic Hyde Park sets
New sets from @SherylCrow, @nilerodgers @CHICorg @RebeccaFMusic, @CraigDavid, @erasureinfo, @RealSirTomJones, @thekillers, @johnlegend, @mcflymusic, @GregoryPorter, @ThePretendersHQ pic.twitter.com/TnRTlvMQhT

— BBC Radio 2 (@BBCRadio2) September 1, 2020

The festival will take place over the weekend of September 12/13. All the sets will be available on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer. Throughout the weekend there will also be highlights shows and compilation footage, and furthermore, special BBC Red Button content. After this, the footage will be available for another month.

On Saturday, the live hosts include Fearne Cotton and Rylan Clark-Neal. Sunday’s sets will be presented by Trevor Nelson, Sara Cox and Zoe Ball. A detailed line-up is available in the tweet below.

The UK acts will film their performances at Radio 2’s Live At Home stage which is somewhere in the British countryside. American performers will stream their sets from remote locations; rumour has it that The Killers’ set takes place on the roof of a Las Vegas hotel, and Nile Rodgers and co. will be live in Central Park, New York.  British synth pop duo Erasure will perform live from either side of the Atlantic!

In addition to new sets, the other ‘headliners’ will be compiled of some of the best previous performances from earlier years. These will be available on iPlayer in the lead up to the event. They include Elton John, The Pet Shop Boys, Take That and Kylie Minogue. BBC Radio 2 have shared a teaser clip from Elton John’s “spellbinding” 2016 set – watch it below!

“And you can tell everybody this is your song…” You can now re-live @eltonofficial‘s spellbinding Hyde Park set as part of Radio 2 Live at Home. Watch on @BBCiPlayer. Listen on @BBCSounds. pic.twitter.com/e8KMGbfsKB — BBC Radio 2 (@BBCRadio2) September 1, 2020

Speaking about Radio 2 Live at Home, Craig David says: “Whilst we can’t party in person, we can have a house party for Radio 2 Live at Home.” Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders adds that, “After months in lockdown, come rain or shine, we are so happy to be able to perform in the glorious British outdoors for Radio 2 Live at Home!”

The Head of Music for Radio 2, Jeff Smith, had this to say about the newly digital festival: “Radio 2 Live At Home will celebrate some of our favourite artists performing in the great outdoors, as well as offering the opportunity to relive some classic sets from our Festival in a Day from years gone by. Who wouldn’t want to relive Jeff Lynne’s amazement at 55,000 people singing along as ELO performed their first full set in 27 years, or Kylie’s impromptu reunion with Jason Donovan on stage for a unique performance of Especially for You.”

St. Vincent, otherwise known by her real-life name Annie Clark, plays the guitar on the new track, alongside lending both backing and lead vocals at different points. The song was written by Crow, who immediately rang Clark to ask her to contribute before the song was released.

According to an interview with NME, Clark was thrilled to be asked to be involved with the project, calling Crow “a wonderful singer, player, songwriter and a rad woman to boot”. According to Crow, when Clark responded to an email asking about her interest in the project, she responded with just a single line: “Fuck yes”.

The release comes just days after Clark released a video own single under the St. Vincent name, “Fast Slow Disco”, a reworked version of the single from her last album – 2017’s “MASSEDUCTION”.