Alex Bechtel’s new musical, sort of “a pandemic parable,” gives voice to a mythical character in “The Odyssey.”The composer and lyricist Alex Bechtel didn’t go looking for Penelope, the mythical character in “The Odyssey” famed for her clever weaving and steadfast endurance of long abandonment.At a low moment in Bechtel’s romantic life, Penelope came to him, inspiring music that developed into a concept album. A breakup album, really, begun in 2020 during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. Bechtel was at home in Philadelphia, far from his partner in Boston, as their relationship fell apart — and as he wondered, with the nation’s stages shuttered, whether he would ever be able to work in theater again.The music, then, was also fed by what he called his “terror and confusion and grief and longing for this thing that I have chosen to do with my life.”“I started writing songs from the point of view of Penelope,” he said. “I never sat down to say, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting to do an adaptation of “The Odyssey” from her point of view?’ It’s just, I was going through this large experience, and that character was within arm’s reach.”For the next couple of weeks, on a sandy-floored stage in Garrison, N.Y., she will blossom into three dimensions. “Penelope,” the delicate, contemporary, unconventional musical that evolved from Bechtel’s aching album of the same name, has a preview on Saturday and opens Sunday at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. With five musicians — pianist, percussionist and strings — who function at times as a chorus in the ancient Greek sense, the show has a cast of one, Tatiana Wechsler, who plays Penelope.“It’s kind of like if she were putting on her own cabaret act,” Wechsler said, “but then she gets stuck in the imaginings.”Directed in its world premiere by Eva Steinmetz, “Penelope” has a size well suited to the American theater’s lately straitened economics.That’s coincidental, though. While Bechtel joked that it’s lucky he “didn’t come out of the pandemic with a 45-person musical,” a solo piece simply seemed right for expressing Penelope’s isolation and loneliness as she waits for her adventuring husband, Odysseus, to return.“It needed to just be her,” Bechtel said on a cool and rainy August afternoon, fresh from playing the keyboard at a rehearsal down the road from the festival’s tented stage.Wechsler and Bechtel at a rehearsal for the musical, which grew out of an album project that was released digitally on Bandcamp.Tony Cenicola/The New York Times‘Sort of dream time’When Bechtel and Steinmetz talk about the project’s origins, a slight but unmistakable haze of nostalgia sometimes softens their recollections.“He and I were having what we called weekly office hours,” Steinmetz said, “which was sitting on my porch drinking wine and eating pizza and talking about life and love and politics and art and grief. It was really sweet.”“Part of that for me,” he said, “processing this thing I was moving through, was asking her opinion on this music that I was trying to construct into an album that had a narrative and a shape and was theatrical in its sort of construct. A lot of the ways that that album moves are because of things she was whispering in my ear.”“As it grew,” she said, “and we realized that there really was a character here and this really was a story, then office hours became the sort of dream time when we imagined what it would be like to live in a world where we could do live theater again, and where we could turn it into a show, but kind of couldn’t imagine what that world would look like.”The phrase that Bechtel uses to describe music appearing unbidden in his mind is “showing up,” which is how the album project had begun. What surprised him, after he had sent the tracks into the world, releasing them digitally on Bandcamp, was that new “Penelope” music kept showing up.“Partly,” he said, “that was the cyclical, unpredicted and nonlinear nature of healing. Like, you can’t just decide you’re done healing from a heartbreak. That’s not how the heart works.”But hope was also in the mix. As the reopening of theaters started to seem possible, Bechtel had reason to keep writing. He and Steinmetz started shaping the songs into a musical.To workshop the show, they asked the actor and writer Grace McLean — of “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” and more recently of “Bad Cinderella” — to play Penelope.McLean was already a fan of “The Appointment,” the critically embraced Off Broadway abortion musical that Steinmetz and Bechtel made with Alice Yorke and the company Lightning Rod Special. But that show, which juxtaposes the lurid absurdism of imaginary fetuses singing for their lives with the stark realism of pregnant women seeking abortions, would seem to have little overlap with “Penelope.”Yet Steinmetz sees a common thread in each musical’s effort to “take a wild and often monstrous myth and expose the everyday humanity at the center of it. In both stories, there’s a person on the periphery, enduring consequences of the myth.”With “Penelope,” running through Sept. 17 at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Bechtel said he wanted his character to say “the stuff that she didn’t get to say in that poem.”Tony Cenicola/The New York TimesPenelope’s voiceBechtel’s long-ago first exposure to “The Odyssey” was an episode of “Wishbone,” the 1990s PBS children’s series where, he explained helpfully, “a dog becomes the lead character of classic tales of literature.” Penelope, however, “was a human woman, as I recall.”An inauspicious introduction? Maybe. Now, though, he has a long list of volumes that he considers the “works consulted” in the making of “Penelope.” Emily Wilson’s translation of “The Odyssey” is on it, as well as Margaret Atwood’s “The Penelopiad,” Mary Oliver’s “Devotions: Collected Poems,” and Annie-B Parson’s “The Choreography of Everyday Life,” a pandemic meditation that considers “The Odyssey.”The book that spoke powerfully to McLean was Madeline Miller’s novel “Circe,” in which Penelope and her loom figure vividly. McLean borrowed Bechtel’s copy — “He tends to carry all of his little source material books around,” she said by phone — and in it she “saw the influence of this strong, witchy woman that they wanted to invoke in their Penelope.”If the character was Bechtel and Steinmetz’s when they brought her on, the three of them tailored it to fit McLean, who ultimately wrote the musical’s book with them. Through improvisation, they found what she called “the connective tissue” between the songs. Then professional and personal scheduling conflicts kept her from taking on the role at Hudson Valley Shakespeare.“But what I’m hearing from Alex and Eva,” McLean said, “is that it’s not necessarily just bespoke to Grace McLean — that it’s translating to Tatiana as well. That makes me feel like we hopefully tapped into something that sounds like Penelope’s voice, not just Grace’s or Alex’s or Eva’s.”The sound of Penelope’s voice, of course, is open to invention. “The Odyssey,” for one, isn’t much interested in her.Bechtel, though, was drawn to that empty space where her voice might have been: “The stuff that she didn’t get to say in that poem, and the stuff that she didn’t get to experience in that poem.”This “Penelope” is all her story — and what he calls “a pandemic parable,” too. She is a woman trapped at home, suffused with longing, and taking the same nature walk too many times a day.Remember that? More

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One month after performing at ‘United at Home’ on a rooftop in Miami, Florida, the ‘Dangerous’ hitmaker prepares for a second virtual benefit show that will take place in New York City.
May 29, 2020
AceShowbiz – Dance superstar David Guetta decided to take his live lockdown performances outdoors after finding it “frustrating” to play without an in-person crowd.
With concerts and club nights shut down around the globe due to the coronavirus pandemic, many musicians have taken to the Internet to livestream gigs from the comfort of their own homes, but staging the shows indoors just wasn’t working for the Titanium hitmaker.
“A lot of artists, especially DJs, were doing performances from their bedrooms. I felt like that was a little bit frustrating. I really wanted to feel like I have a crowd,” Guetta explained to The Associated Press.
The French star came up with a plan to stage a virtual benefit gig last month on a rooftop in Miami, Florida, complete with festival-grade production, and the location of the first event, titled United at Home, allowed residents in nearby apartment buildings to view the concert in person, while still abiding by social distancing regulations.

Guetta said, “I had the idea of doing this in the middle of (apartment) towers and people were on the balconies and that was absolutely amazing.”
The livestream attracted over 12 million viewers and raised more than $700,000 (£568,000) for COVID-19 relief efforts, and Guetta is now preparing to play his second United at Home show at an undisclosed location in New York City on Saturday, May 30.
During the Miami event, he also connected with fans via video conferencing app Zoom so he could watch them enjoy his concert as it happened, and he will be doing the same for the Big Apple bash.
“To me it’s essential,” he shared of the fan engagement. “That was the idea behind the show. I’m going to do it in a different way in New York City, but we were also interacting with people on Zoom. I thought that was so cool. I could see the kids dancing at home. I could see everybody having their own little parties. I could interact with them. Some people would write messages to me and I would answer them. Like, this is really cool! It feels more real.
“We’re entertainers, this is what we do. It’s not just like playing at home on the keyboard. I’m performing for the people. It’s amazing to receive energy back.”
And while the concert will be raising donations for good causes, Guetta is thrilled to be able to entertain fans as best he can until the live music industry is up and running again.
“We’re doing something good. And also, we’re bringing a little bit of happiness in people’s life (sic) which is what I’m trying to do as a DJ,” he smiled.
Fans can join the next United at Home concert from 7pm EST here.

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The ‘Willow’ songstress has been removed from the iconic mural at Legends Corner on Lower Broadway which is dedicated to some of country’s biggest superstars.

Dec 26, 2020
AceShowbiz – Taylor Swift’s status as a country music star is once again questioned after she’s removed from a famous Nashville mural. The Grammy Award-winning artist has now been replaced with another country music singer, Brad Paisley, on the iconic mural at Legends Corner on Lower Broadway in Nashville.
The mural, which is dedicated to honor some of country’s biggest superstars, is one of Music City’s landmark attractions. It features 14 icons, including Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.
Artist Tim Davis who painted the mural apparently felt that the mural needed some changes. He has reportedly said that Taylor’s image is being retired and 3 other stars, including Brad, will join the mural. While Brad’s face has been displayed on the mural, it’s currently unknown who the other two stars will appear on the mural.
Needless to say, Swifties are enraged by this. “they really replaced taylor swift with brad paisley on the country legends mural in nashville as if taylor hasn’t always been more popular than him,” one person tweeted along with picture of the mural before and after the change was made.

A fan reacted to Taylor Swift being removed from the Nashville mural.

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Another bewildered fan wrote, “Nashville really just PAINTED OVER @taylorswift13 in the legends corner mural on Broadway… she is a country music legend and so what if she moved over to different genres?? Confused why they didn’t just make the mural bigger.”
A third one called it “disgraceful,” while someone else blasted another person who supported Taylor’s removal from the mural. “Sounds like you need to use your time a lot more wisely than to argue that a woman who is extremely successful be erased from a painting that has no impact on your life,” the fourth commenter reacted.
Some others, however, agreed that Taylor no longer fits into the lineup of country music legends. “Makes sense to me. She’s more popular but she’s not really country anymore,” one person countered the fan’s complaint.
Another explained, “Might want to consider that she is ‘was’ the only non country artist. Makes perfect sense. If you don’t think Brad Paisley is popular then you don’t know country.” Another agreed, stating, “I think Brad looks better on it.”
“She ain’t nothing but a city girl,” another shaded the “Cardigan” hitmaker. Someone else said of the Pennsylvania-born star, “She graduated from ‘Legend’ status. Doesn’t Brad do auto insurance commercials.”

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The ‘Cornelia Street’ singer announces a one-hour concert special featuring her performances of hit singles during one of her tour stops at the L’Olympia Theater in Paris.
May 9, 2020
AceShowbiz – Taylor Swift will perform a selection of her biggest hits during her upcoming one-hour special, “City of Lover Concert”.
ABC will air the concert on May 17, 2020, which was filmed last September 2019 in Paris at the L’Olympia Theater. The following day, the concert will be available to stream on both Hulu and Disney+.
It comes after the “Red” hitmaker was forced to axe a limited run of tour dates to promote her most recent record, “Lover, due to the coronavirus pandemic, including two events called Lover Fest in Los Angeles and Boston.
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During the Paris show, Taylor performed tunes such as “Death by a Thousand Cuts”, “Cornelia Street”, and “The Man”, all of which are taken from the record, alongside hits including “ME!” and “I Knew You Were Trouble”.
Gushing over the event on the night, she told the crowd, “In my mind, I look at this (concert) like a release party.”

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His sixth album, “Justice,” tries out several production styles, but never nails a mood.It is with some awkwardness — confusion? — that I must inform you that the first voice you hear on the new Justin Bieber album, “Justice,” is Martin Luther King Jr.’s.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” King returns mid-album, on an interlude that samples a speech about how a life without conviction and passion is no life at all, which is absolutely true.King’s calls to action are, indisputably, powerful — they should be heard widely. And yet, as a framing device for an album by the 27-year-old pop star, they feel unanchored: a Big Gesture in search of equivalently ambitious commitment — political, spiritual, emotional, even musical — to bolster it.It only calls attention to the persistent underlying conundrum with all things Bieber, which is that despite some indelible hits, his fame vastly outpaces his catalog, and that throughout his career — in ways overt or reluctant, destructive or self-protective — he has never rested in one place for very long, nor sought to make a case for his own particularity.That’s why his last album, “Changes,” full of medium-stakes R&B well-suited to his lightly silky voice, was one of his most successful. It wasn’t a runaway triumph, but it was coherent and soothing, and notably free of baggage. It was also a reminder that perhaps Justin Bieber the musician and performer isn’t actively interested in — or an especially good fit for — the scale of song ordinarily mandated for someone as popular as Justin Bieber the celebrity.The disorganized, only sporadically strong “Justice,” though, feels like a slap on the wrist to “Changes,” or the version of Bieber it nurtured. Rather than settle for one groove, this album shuttles between several: quasi new wave, Christian pop, acoustic soul, and many more. Bieber’s sixth studio album, “Justice” is full of songs that feel like production exercises lightly spritzed with some Eau de Bieber, the musical equivalent of merchandise.A host of guest features serve as opportunities to try on different guises, with varying levels of success. The production of “Love You Different,” with the dancehall rapper Beam, nods wanly to the Caribbean, but nowhere near as effectively as Bieber’s 2015 smash “Sorry.” The Nigerian star Burna Boy appears on “Loved by You,” but Bieber doesn’t match his guest’s casual gravitas.“Die for You” is perhaps the most ambitious stylistic collision here. An up-tempo, synthetic duet with the upstart pop slacker Dominic Fike, it harks back to the mid-1980s, but Bieber isn’t the sort of power singer who can outperform the flamboyance of the production. The same is true on “Unstable,” with the Kid Laroi, the Australian singer-rapper who’s adept at a post-Juice WRLD whine — Bieber sings earnestly and plainly, while his partner leans into the anguish.Of the collaborations, by far the most successful is “Peaches,” a sun-dappled and slinky R&B number — featuring the rising stars Daniel Caesar and Giveon — that finds Bieber at his most vocally flexible (though he was in even better form when he debuted this song, solo, on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert).More often, though, “Justice” attempts to impose big-tent pop onto Bieber — the John Hughes movie chords on “Hold On,” or the runway-walk bop of “Somebody.” In places, like on “Ghost,” those impulses are at least leavened with acoustic guitar, and the shift in his singing is notable — he goes from accent piece to main character.Lyrically, “Justice” focuses on songs about triumph over regrettable behavior, about preaching devotion to a more powerful entity — a wife, a God — who didn’t abandon you in a time of need. “You prayed for me when I was out of faith/You believed in me when ain’t nobody else did/It’s a miracle you didn’t run away,” he sings, pointedly, on “As I Am.”At the end of the album is “Lonely,” the moving piano ballad he released last October that felt like the cleanest break with his former self that he’d ever committed to song. These songs are Bieber at his most self-referential, his least cluttered and also his strongest — they book end a steady, intimate sentiment running through an album that does everything it can to distract from it.Justin Bieber“Justice”(Def Jam) More