Around the Tubes: May 8, 2021

          

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting:

- Pearl Jam has once again made history, releasing a digital collection of music from a staggering 186 live shows that includes 5,404 individual tracks. Spanning two decades of shows, this gargantuan drop consists of the most sought-after bootlegs from fan favorite tours during 2000, 2003, 2008, and 2013. The release is sure to appeal to the band’s diehard fan base while also giving access to a new generation of Pearl Jam fans in the streaming era.  Check out the release HERE.  Continuing to engage those diehard fans worldwide while also appealing to fans who may not be familiar with the band’s tenured live history, Pearl Jam also launched the immersive live web hub, Deep, on Deep.PearlJam.com. By accessing this hub, fans may search their favorite shows by category and listen to fan-curated playlists, including “Best of” Tours, “Covers”, a politically charged playlist “Know Your Rights” & many more. Deep will enable easier discoverability across the catalog and allow newer audiences to experience the best of the band suited directly to their personal preferences. Each live bootleg on Deep has the added bonus of show descriptions written by Ten Club superfans adding a personal fan story to each and every record. 

- Buckle up! Check out the new red band trailer for Hulu’s Original Film PLAN B. Directed by Natalie Morales in her directorial debut, follow Sunny and Lupe on their hilarious quest. The Hulu Original film premieres on May 28 on Hulu.  After a regrettable first sexual encounter, a straight-laced high school student (Kuhoo Verma) and her slacker best friend (Victoria Moroles) have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America's heartland.

- Multi-platinum award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and author Jann Arden announces her livestream event, Jann Arden On Stage, set for May 20 at 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT.  Widely known for her numerous hit songs and many laughs, Jann Arden will perform some of her biggest hits and share first-time performances of her interpretation of Paul McCartney’s “Lavatory Lil” and a cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong.” Tickets for Jann Arden On Stage are on sale now at JannArden.com with additional options that will give fans access to an exclusive VIP meet & greet, limited edition commemorative merch, and more.

- GRAMMY® Award-winning, multiplatinum singer, songwriter, producer, and actor, Anthony Hamilton returns with a new single and music video entitled “You Made A Fool of Me.” Get it HERE via his own label My Music Box in partnership with BMG.  The song came to life during a recent studio session between Hamilton and legendary GRAMMY® Award-winning producer and the second hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Jermaine Dupri [Mariah Carey, JAY-Z, Aretha Franklin], and is co-produced by longtime Dupri collaborator, Manuel Seal. Together, the song’s writers Hamilton, Dupri, and Seal, along with Ramon Montgomery, nodded back to Hamilton’s biggest tune and rekindled “the emotions people felt from ‘Charlene’.” 

- Platinum selling, chart topping, pop singer and songwriter Conan Gray returns new track “Astronomy” today. Stream the track HERE, watch the lyric video for the track HERE, and later today watch the official music video HERE at 12 noon EST.

- The official music video for emerging singer, songwriter and musician Joy Oladokun’s new song, “sorry isn’t good enough,” is debuting today.  Watch/share HERE.  Her first release since signing a joint partnership with Amigo Records/Verve Forecast/Republic Records, “sorry isn’t good enough” is from Oladokun’s highly-anticipated forthcoming major label debut album. Of the track, Billboard praises, “Singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun is ready for a new era of her career. On ‘Sorry Isn't Good Enough,’ the rising talent trades in her soft, acoustic musings of the past for some excellent pop production—complete with slamming drums, keyboard riffs and an enchanting melody, the track treads new ground in Oladokun’s career. But one thing certainly remains, and that’s the star’s songwriting; taking a half-hearted apology and using it as fuel to her fire.”  

- A new era of hope, survival, and prosperity comes calling with the release of CRASH OF THE CROWN, STYX’s new studio album, which was written pre-pandemic and recorded during the trying times of the pandemic.  The legendary rockers--James “JY” Young (lead vocals, guitars), Tommy Shaw (lead vocals, guitars), Chuck Panozzo (bass, vocals), Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion), Lawrence Gowan (lead vocals, keyboards) and Ricky Phillips (bass, guitar, vocals)--will release their 17^th album June 18 on the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe, which will be sold as clear vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and on digital platforms. Fans can pre-order it here and at Styxworld.com starting Thursday, May 6.

- American Documentary is proud to announce the national broadcast premiere of PBS alumnus Loira Limbal’s (Estilo Hip Hop) second feature documentary, Through the Night, premiering THIS MONDAY, May 10, 2021 on PBS at 10 p.m. ET (check local listings) and at pov.org as part of the program's 33rd season. The film will also be available to stream for free at pov.org until June 10, 2021.  An official selection at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival as well as at DOC NYC and AFI DOCS, Through the Night is an intimate cinema verité portrait of three working mothers whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, New York: a mother working the overnight shift as an essential worker at a pediatric hospital; another holding down three jobs in order to support her family, and a woman who, for over two decades, has cared for the children whose parents have nowhere else to turn.

- POV returns to PBS in July with its 34th season, a slate of films that reaffirm public media’s vital role as a platform for the people and in sparking national dialogue. America’s longest-running documentary series’ newest season follows artists, activists, elders, comedians, frontline workers and politicians across the globe as they navigate their personal stories and the larger histories under which they take shape.  The season kicks off with writer and comedian CJ Hunt’s directorial debut, The Neutral Ground, on July 5. All films are accompanied by educational resources and will be available to stream on all PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video App. Premieres continue through fall 2021, with primetime specials in early 2022. 

- All-time boxing great and 2020 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Floyd “Money” Mayweather will make his return to the ring as the undefeated, 12-time, five-division world champion squares off in an exhibition bout against social media sensation and pro boxer Logan “The Maverick” Paul, headlining a blockbuster SHOWTIME PPV event on Sunday, June 6. The anticipated clash pits superstars from two different worlds in a must-see showdown for sports and entertainment fans around the globe.  The event is presented by Mayweather Promotions, Fanmio and Mavathltcs and will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The pay-per-view event also will feature a pair of intriguing professional boxing showdowns, as WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal and two-division world champion Badou Jack meet in a 12-round rematch in the co-main event. Plus, former unified super welterweight champion “Swift” Jarrett Hurd returns to the ring to face Luis Arias in a 10-round bout.