Author - Alanna Yao

JAY Z Reveals North American "Magna Carter" Tour Dates, and Penn State is on the List, Timbaland to Perform as well

September 6, 2013

*UPDATE* It has been announced that Timbaland will join Jay-Z on this tour.

Following the success of his Magna Carta Holy Grail album and The Legends Of The Summer stadium tour, JAY Z will be hitting 34 cities across the nation including our very own Bryce Jordan Center on January 31st. The North American leg of the Magna Carter World Tour will kick off on November 30th in St. Paul, MN and continue until the end of January.

Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 AM on Thursday, September 12th through LiveNation and Ticketmaster. For all you keeners out there, there’s a presale that will happen on Monday, September 9th for Citi® cardmembers, and on Wednesday, September 11th for LiveNation app/mobile users. For more details about these presales, check out the Life+Times site.

Subscribe to our Jay Z Spotify playlist:

MAGNA CARTER WORLD TOUR – NORTH AMERICA

November 30th – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
December 1st – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
December 2nd – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
December 6th – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
December 7th – San Diego, CA – Valley View Casino Center
December 9th – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
December 10th – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center
December 11th – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose
December 13th – Las Vegas, NV – Mandalay Bay Events Center
December 18th – Oklahoma City, OK – Chesapeake Energy Arena
December 19th – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
December 20th – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
December 21st – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
December 27th – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
December 28th – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Arena
January 2nd – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BB&T Center
January 4th – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
January 5th – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum Complex
January 8th – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
January 9th – Chicago, IL – United Center
January 10th – Detroit, MI – The Palace Of Auburn Hills
January 12th – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
January 13th – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
January 16th – Washington DC – Verizon Center
January 17th – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
January 18th – Boston, MA – TD Garden
January 19th – Uniondale, – NY Nassau Coliseum
January 21st – Pittsburgh, PA – CONSOL Energy Center
January 22nd – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
January 24th – Montreal, PQ – Bell Centre
January 27th – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
January 29th – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
January 30th – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
January 31st – State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center

iTunes Festival 2013: Line-Up

September 5, 2013

Alanna Yao

Mainstream Music, Music

As if we needed another reason to be jealous of the British. The annual iTunes Festival is currently going on and will continue throughout September. The festival has been bringing in some of music’s most talented artists since 2007 and this year is no different. What I love about iTunes Festival is that they don’t just feature the latest and the greatest, but they showcase emerging artists as well, like Jake Bugg and The 1975. From Kendrick Lamar to Sigur Rós to Avicii to Lady Gaga, there’s bound to be a show you want to see. You can watch the performances live or view them afterwards on your computer using iTunes or on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch through the official iTunes Festival app.

Shows I’m looking forward to: Bastille, Kings of Leon, The 1975, Vampire Weekend, Kendrick Lamar, Haim, Ellie Goulding, Iggy Azalea, and Justin Timberlake…just to name a few.

iTunes Festival 2013 Line-Up:

Sept. 1: Lady Gaga
Sept. 2: Sigur Rós, Poliça
Sept. 3: The Lumineers, PHOX
Sept. 4: Paramore, Fenech-Soler
Sept. 5: Rizzle Kicks, Eliza Doolittle
Sept. 6: Queens of the Stone Age, Palma Violets
Sept. 7: Phoenix, Little Green Cars
Sept. 8: Bastille, The 1975
Sept. 9: Arctic Monkeys, Drenge
Sept. 10: Jake Bugg, Valerie June
Sept. 11: Kings of Leon, Jimmy Eat World
Sept. 12: Elton John, Tom Odell
Sept. 13: Avicii, Henrik B
Sept. 14: Chic Featuring Nile Rodgers, Janelle Monáe
Sept. 15: Vampire Weekend, The Olms
Sept. 16: Jack Johnson, Bahamas
Sept. 17: Ludovico Einaudi, Agnes Obel
Sept. 18: Thirty Seconds to Mars, The Family Rain
Sept. 19: Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q
Sept. 20: Primal Scream, Skinny Girl Diet
Sept. 21: Haim, Gabrielle Aplin, Bipolar Sunshine, Dan Croll
Sept. 22: Ellie Goulding, Laura Welsh
Sept. 23: Jessie J, Lawson
Sept. 24: Robin Thicke, Aloe Blacc
Sept. 25: Pixies, NO CEREMONY///
Sept. 26: Tinie Tempah, Naughty Boy
Sept. 27: Dizzee Rascal, Katy B
Sept. 28: John Legend
Sept. 29: Justin Timberlake, Mikky Ekko
Sept. 30: Katy Perry, Iggy Azalea, Icona Pop

For set times, check iTunes or the iTunes Festival app.

DJ Snake Kills This AlunaGeorge Remix

July 31, 2013

Alanna Yao

Mainstream Music, Music

I didn’t think an AlunaGeorge track could get any better, but DJ Snake just proved me wrong. Aluna Francis and George Reid are an electro-pop duo and together they create beautiful music under the name AlunaGeorge. Their track, “You Know You Like It,” has been floating around since 2011 and it’s my favorite tune of theirs. With bouncing synths and Aluna’s husky voice, the song is sleek, moody and sensual. Oh, and it’s so catchy it’s stupid. So when I stumbled across this remix by French producer DJ Snake, I just had to hit the play button. The Parisian artist adds soft synths, throws in some finger snaps and changes up the pace which all bring the song to a whole new level and I’m definitely a fan.

Also, AlunaGeorge just released their debut album last week and I’m glad to say they did not disappoint. Give it a listen if you like what you hear!

DJ Snake Remix of “You Know You Like It”:

Original version of “You Know You Like It”:

Haim Previews New Single, "The Wire", From Debut Album

July 29, 2013

Alanna Yao

Mainstream Music, Music

Sorry not sorry for the consecutive Haim posts. Last week, I introduced you all to the wonderful band known as Haim (which you can check out here if you haven’t already), and it just so happens that they released a new single today called “The Wire.” For those of you who have been following Haim for awhile now, you won’t be a stranger to this tune. They’ve been known to include this track in their set at all of their live shows and the song has definitely become a crowd favorite. With warm harmonies, a thumping drum-beat and a chorus worthy of shouting along to, Haim definitely does not disappoint. Personally I prefer the live version of “The Wire” over the studio version, but I do love this track regardless. Check out both versions and if you feel the same way, it kind of makes sense since the girls are often praised on their live performances and consider themselves a live band, opting to play a show than hit the recording studio any day.

Studio version:

Daytrotter Session (2012):

iTunes Festival (2012):

Haim: Why I Love Them And Why You Should Too

July 25, 2013

Alanna Yao

Mainstream Music

You may remember a piece Joey did earlier on in the year entitled, “5 Acts You Should Know: The UK Does It Better.” If not, then you should probably read that first. Done? Good. Now, onto a little band called Haim.

Known for their infectious concert energy and sweet dance moves, Haim is a band consisting of three sisters from the Valley. (That’s the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, for those of you who aren’t familiar with California lingo.) Este, Danielle and Alana Haim have been playing music together basically since they came out of the womb. Growing up, the sisters perfected their musical craft by playing in a classic rock band, aptly named Rockinhaim, with their parents. Now that they are all in their 20s, the trio is flying solo with Danielle as the guitar-playing lead vocalist, Alana on keyboard and rhythm guitar, Este on bass and drummer Dash Hutton.

Playing percussion-driven, indie rock that features vocal harmonies that resemble those in modern R&B songs, it’s hard to label Haim’s sound as a single genre. I’d have to say they are a mix of rock and indie pop with a splash of modern R&B. Really though, I don’t care what you wanna call it, these sisters are damn talented and that’s that. Did I mention that they’re pretty damn charming, too? Maybe it’s the laid-back California vibe they’ve got going on or the fact that they are so down-to-earth, but these girls have some serious charisma. They tell it like it is and are always down to crack a joke at their own expense in between songs or share some crazy stories during interviews. Recounting tales like receiving their first ever creepy message that was slipped under their hotel room door after playing a show in Palm Springs or Este almost getting arrested at a Prince concert for trying to climb on stage, it’s never a dull moment with the Haim sisters. A personal favorite Haim moment of mine is when Este gave out her phone number during their show at iTunes Festival last year, just because she felt like it. Anyone can see that they are doing what they do for the love of it and just want to share that love with the rest of the world.

Collaborating with artists such as A$AP Rocky and Kid Cudi and touring with bands such as Florence + The Machine and Mumford & Sons, Haim shows off their creative versatility and ability to play in the big leagues. Over the past couple of months the girls have been killing the festival circuit, playing at huge events like Glastonbury, T in the Park and Firefly Music Festival. The trio is currently performing all over the globe until the end of October and will be embarking on a tour with Phoenix in November. With all of the attention they’ve garnered, you’d think they would have a platinum album by now. Nope, they haven’t even released their first album yet, just an EP in 2012 and a few singles in 2013. To think that they have found so much success from just an EP, it’s hard to imagine what the release of their first studio album will be like (which will be released sometime this year…I hope).

For now, here are a few of their tunes and a video of their live show that you should definitely watch:

Witness Raps Drops Single Entitled "4chan Cookies"

April 24, 2013

Alanna Yao

Penn State News Reviews and Interviews

The only adjective that comes to mind when describing the music of Evan Witmer, also known as Witness Raps, is eclectic. His latest track is called “4chan Cookies” and features some clever rhymes over a minimalist beat. The background track sounds exotic and kind of makes me feel like I should be walking through a jungle. What I really enjoy about Witness Raps is that he’s all about his words. There is no sign of any overbearing bass beats or flashy melodies to distract from his vocals. Sure, his sound may not be conventional or mainstream, but I’m always game for something different. You should definitely check out Witness Raps’ SoundCloud if you like what you hear.