Music News 7.18.16

Punk Pioneer Alan Vega Dies at 78

Punk pioneer and co-founder of the proto-punk band Suicide, Alan Vega, passed away on Saturday at the age of 78. Starting out artistically as a painter and sculptor, Vega later moved on to creating the group Suicide with Martin Rev, being among the first to describe their sound as “punk’ and pioneering the use of drum machines and synthesizers. Suicide (and later on, Vega’s solo work) influenced a spectrum of genres and musicians, from Bruce Springsteen to Trent Reznor to LCD Soundsystem. Between Suicide, solo work, and other collaborations, Vega released over twenty albums between 1977 and 2010.

original

 

Bonaroo Ticket Sales Down nearly 30,000 from 2015

Has Bonaroo finally hit a ceiling on justifiable ticket sales? Or did it happen a few years ago? At least in Bonaroo’s case, the annually-rising price of music festival passes is finally beginning to have a significant impact on ticket sales. The four-day festival sold just over 45.5 thousand tickets to this year’s event, down by over 28,000 from last year, translating into a financial loss of 9.07 million dollars for Bonaroo. The majority purchasing of the festival by Live Nation, a perceived so-so line-up, and rising competition from other music festivals have all been speculated as the reason or reasons for the severe drop in ticket sales, forcing the festival to consider for the first time in its 15-year run whether the Bonaroo ticket price is worth camping four days in the Tennessee summer heat.

bonnaroo-1435963252

 

This Week in Billboard Chart History

And some fun nuggets of trivia from This Week in Billboard chart history: This week in 1995 Canadian singer Alanis Morissette’s debut U.S. single “You Outta Know” hit No. 1 on the Alternative Songs chart, Destiny’s Child lands their first No. 1 spot in 1999 with “Bills, Bills, Bills,” and in 25 years ago this week, EMF’s one-hot wonder “Unbelievable” saw a short-lived, one-week stint at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Destinys Child_0_0

 

-Taylor Wallace

Support KUTX’s ability to bring you closer to the music.

Donate Today