Ritchie Valens was just 17 years old when he died alongside Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper when their private plane crashed during their tour of the Midwest. At the time of his death, Valens hadn’t released a single album, but had already established himself as one of the most talented young artists in rock…
The new wave met the old guard earlier this month as Lukas Nelson, son of Willie, captivated a packed house in Tucson. The 35-year-old Nelson has been playing music professionally since 2008, but it is performances like this that have liberated Lukas from his father’s shadow. Downtown Tucson’s historic Rialto Theatre hosted Nelson and…
Whether you know him best as an activist, a musician, or an actor, Willie Nelson is unquestionably one of the most recognizable names in country music. Over a seven-decade career, he’s pioneered outlaw country, influenced the alternative country movements of the 80s and 90s, won countless awards, and released a jaw-dropping 95 studio albums. His…
Eric Andersen was part of the early ’60s Greenwich Village folk scene in New York. After two decades of flying solo and releasing 16 studio albums, Andersen decided to be part of the Danko/Fjeld/Andersen trio. They would go on to release three studio albums together, performing together for nearly nine years. In 1998, Eric Andersen…
In late 1981, Tesla was formed by bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon By 1984, vocalist Jeff Keith and drummer Troy Luccketta had jumped on board. Over the next decade, they established themselves as the “thinking man’s hair metal band,” a welcome (if underappreciated) antidote to overblown posturing of the genre’s biggest bands In…
The Killers are a rock band formed in 2001 in Las Vegas. The founding members of the band are Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning. While Flowers is the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and bassist, Keuning plays the lead guitar and provides backing vocals. A year after the band was formed, Mark Stoermer joined the band as…
Billie Holiday was a singer known for performing jazz and swing music. She was born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia in 1915 and earned the nickname ‘Lady Day.’ The singer began her career in 1930, and she became an innovative influence on jazz and pop music genres. Holiday was also known for both her improvisational musical…
Born to Albanian refugees, Ava Max grew up listening to Mariah Carey’s pop hits, and her mother sang opera. After living in Paris for one year, her parents moved to Wisconsin, where a good Samaritan helped them acquire passports. Ava Max’s parents supported her decision to pursue music and always accompanied her to singing competitions…
In 1997, when Sugar Ray released the pop-influenced single, “Fly,” they were destined to be one of the best pop-rock acts of their time. However, their decline was quick and happened all at once, and by the early 2000s, the band could barely sell a thousand albums. The band, which featured members who grew together…