Entertainment
Best Festival Gear: What to Buy for Lollapalooza & Other Concerts This Summer
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If you love music, there’s a good chance that you’ll be heading to Coachella, Stagecoach, Lollapalooza or another music festival or concert this summer like Blackpink’s world tour. And you’ll need the right festival accessories or travel gear to pack for the trip.
There’s nothing worse than traveling to a music festival only to get stuck outside in the heat without necessities like proper sunglasses, a hat to keep your head cool, a portable phone charger just in case you’re low on juice, hand sanitizer, face masks, bandanas and other essentials such as sunscreen, portable fans, waterproof mascara and liquid eyeliners; and a bag to carry everything from your identification to water bottles.
To help you out, we rounded up a list of music festival necessities, some of which you can buy at Amazon and Walmart to ensure that they get delivered quickly.
First up, the Adidas Alliance Backpack is a comfy, convenient and great backpack for music festivals. It features a zipper pocket for valuables and two mesh slip pockets for water bottles. The back compartment is roomy enough to fit your wallet, Airpods and other small items, while the front pocket can be used for your ID, money, room key, etc.
Anker Portable Charger, Power Bank, 10,000 mAh Battery Pack with PowerIQ Charging Technology
A portable charger comes in handy regardless of whether you’re traveling to a music festival or not. Casely’s Here Comes the Sun Power Pod is an iPhone charging deck that fits in the palm of your hand. The power pod features MagSafe wireless charging and is available in tons of different colors and cool designs. Shop our favorite portable charger for iPhone and Android below.
Nike Apex Swoosh Bucket Hat
Looking for headgear? This simple bucket hat from Nike will keep you cool and block out the sun. The mid-depth design is made with soft woven twill and features an embroidered, color contrast Swoosh logo on the front panel for a clean, Nike finish.
KIRALUMI 8 PCS LED Glow Bracelets, Light Up Wristbands –
Get the glow! An LED wristband bracelet is a cool festival accessory if you’re traveling in a group. The bracelet set above comes with eight bracelets (batteries included) featuring three light modes: fast blink, slow blink and full glow.
Alo Yoga Explorer Fanny Pack
How about a fanny pack? Apart from being timeless and easy to find, if you’ve seen Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, then you know that fanny packs can be used for more than carrying personal belongings. Alo Yoga’s Explorer Fanny Pack is available in a limited-edition espresso color, black, white, limestone and fog. If you’re looking for a cheaper option, this Amazon fanny pack is available in 12 different colors.
USPECLARE Clear Purse/Messenger Bag Stadium Approved
Clear bags are required for entry into Lollapalooza (unless smaller than 6 x 9 inches to be clear bags are required it’s unless smaller than 6 x 9 inches) (no liquids). Bags must be made from vinyl or PVC and no larger than 12 x 12 x 6 inches, like the option pictured above. The clear purse is available in 14 colors including black, blue, green, purple, red and pink. Walmart has a clear bag on sale for $6.98. Click here to shop clear backpacks.
Coleman Broadband Mesh Quad Camping Chair
Plan on standing in line? Get a portable lawn chair! If you’re looking for a basic option, the Coleman Broadband Mesh Chair pictured above is on sale for $20 at Amazon. The chair has cup holder with a mesh back, supports up to 250 pounds and fits into a carry bag. This Alpha Mart camping chair ($43.98) is another good option (that we’ve personally used) for long days in the sun. Click here for more portable, camping chairs.
Stanley IceFlow Flip Straw Tumbler
Staying hydrated is the healthiest way to endure long days in the festival sun. Stanley released a summer-ready collection of vibrant colors for its bestselling IceFlow Flip Straw Tumbler. The collection is available in pink messa, pistachio and dew drop. Click here for more tumbler cups.
Jiyugala Hats Men Women Cowboy Hat Western Cap Wide Brim Sunhat
You can expect to see a lot of Cowboy hats this summer thanks to Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. Hop on the cowboy hat trend with this Walmart hat, currently on sale for less than $2. The hat is available in black, red and brown.
Sun Hats for Men Women Fishing Hat UPF 50+ Breathable Wide Brim Summer UV Protection Hat
The proper hat will help keep you cool in the desert heat, which is especially useful if you plan on hitting up Lollapalooza. The sun hat pictured above offers UPF 50+ protection and has been tested to ensure safety from harsh UVA and UVB rays. The mesh fabric allows for moisture and heat to easily escape to keep your head cool and reduce sweating.
Achiou Neck Gaiter Face Mask Scarf Dust Sun Protection Cool Lightweight Windproof, Breathable Fishing Hiking Running Cycling
You’re probably tired of wearing face masks, but it can get dusty outside, so you might need some form of face protection at festivals like Coachella. If you don’t want a cloth face mask or the more durable N95 mask, the reusable cloth face covering pictured above is perfect for the dessert and other dusty destinations. The washable face mask features four-way stretch and fits snugly on all size heads and faces, and it’ll stay in place, even if you’re running or doing other vigorous exercises. Find disposable face masks here.
SOJOS Retro Oval Sunglasses for Women & Men Trendy Sun Glasses
Finding the perfect music festival sunnies depends on your style preference and budget, but there are a bunch of affordable sunglasses online like these Sojo oval sunglasses. Another festival options, these polarized glasses pictured above have a chain attached, so you won’t have to worry about misplacing them while you’re out. And they’re available in seven different lens frames including red, black, green, grey, blue, gold and red. Click here for more festival shades.
FEISEDY Retro Square Aviator Sunglasses
The sunglasses pictured above offer up a classic aviator style in nine different colors, including mirrored pink, brown and black.
Princess Polly Mora Sunglasses
Another trendy option, these ’90s inspired sunglasses feature a wraparound design and UV protection.
Festival Blanket: Stripes Retro
This portable picnic blanket folds up into a purse, so you can store your keys and other belongings. The waterproof blanket is available in different sizes including 60 x 79, 53 x 58 and 60 x 75 inches.
This fan-favorite, striped blanket from Nomadix is perfect for festivals, is another options for camping, picnics and other activities. Featuring a soft, microsuede top, the water resistant, sand-resistant and pet-hair resistant blanket measures 60 inches x 70 inches and is made from recycled polyester. Not into stripes? Find more Nomadix blankets here.
What to Wear to Music Festivals
Not sure what to wear to a music festival? Shorts, tees and comfortable shoes are a few fashion staples that you might already have in your closet, but if you’re looking for something more curated, you can find festival gear online at retailers such as Revolve, Nasty Gal, ASOS, StockX, Amazon, Walmart, and Farfetch.
See below for a few examples of clothes to wear to a music festival.
Breathable Boxers
Pair of Thieves Superiair Boxer Briefs (3Pack)
After selling out, the super light and breezy Superiair boxer briefs are available again right in time for Lollapalooza. Grab yourself a pair or a three pack to keep your private parts feeling breathable and cool all festival-long.
Cargo Pants
Uniqlo Ultra-Wide Cargo Pants
These Uniqlo ultra-wide cargo pants Aeropostale cargo shorts offer a comfortable fit and plenty of pockets, making them great for a music festival or concert. They are baggy, light and very on trend for summer fits. Grab these cargo bottoms in brown, black or green for only $40.
Short-Sleeve Shirts, Tees and Tank Tops
Abercrombie Camp Collar Summer Linen-Blend Shirt
When it comes to festival clothing, T-shirts and tank tops and linen short-sleeve shirts like the one pictured below will keep you cool in the festival heat, but you’re clothing choice will probably be depend on the weather. If you want to stay cool but don’t want to sacrifice style, this Abercrombie linen camp shirt is perfect for you. It’s available in a wide variety of colors and striped patterns for $60.
Lovers and Friends Meaux Scarf Top
Add some flower power to festival season with the Lovers and Friends Meaux Scarf Top. This scarf top and matching skirt would be perfect for Lollapalooza and other music festivals. You can wear it with a bikini underneath and the pieces are sold separately, so you can mix and match.
Denim Shorts
Denim Jean Shorts
These denim festival shorts are on clearance at Garage Clothing and only available in select sizes. Denim shorts aren’t very hard to find but the price can vary depending on the brand. Wrangler, Walmart, Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revolve, Anthropologie and Gap has a bunch of denim shorts on sale.
Comfortable Shoes
1906 Utility Sneaker
Shoes can make or break an outfit, and if you’re trekking through a festival in the wrong shoes, you’ll definitely be sorry. There’s actually a science to picking the perfect shoe but if you don’t have the time to test out different styles, go for comfortable platform boots, walking shoes or running shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty such as Nikes, Pumas, Adidas, Salomon, New Balance, Cariuma, Vans or Converse Chuck Taylors. Other good options: Dr Marten, Burkenstocks, platforms and cowboy boots.
For more festival-related gear, see our recommendations for the best ear plugs for concerts, best travel backpacks and tote bags, and venue-approved bags.
Entertainment
Sam Mendes’ Four-Part Beatles Movies Cast Key Inner Circle Roles: Paul McCartney’s Dad, John Lennon’s Aunt, Brian Epstein & George Martin
The cast for director Sam Mendes’ upcoming four-part Beatles biopics, The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event, continued to fill out this week with the announcement of the actors tapped to play a number of the Fab Four’s most crucial inner circle confidants and family members.
Among the names on the roster is one with a familiar ring to it: Leanne Best (Line of Duty, Star Wars: The Force Awakens). The niece of original Beatles drummer Pete Best will play John Lennon’s beloved Aunt Mimi Smith, who was his guardian when he was as child.
In addition, The Walking Dead‘s David Morrissey will portray Paul McCartney’s father, Jim McCartney, James Norton (Bob Marley: One Love) will play manager Brian Epstein with Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones) has been confirmed as “fifth Beatle,” producer George Martin. Bobby Schofield (Cherry) has been tapped to portray the band’s road manager and McCartney and George Harrison’s lifelong pal music biz executive Neil Aspinall, Daniel Hoffman-Gill will step into the shoes of road manager and personal assistant Mal Evans, Arthur Darvill (And Mrs) is on board as journalist/publicist and producer Derek Taylor and Adam Pally (Sonic the Hedgehog 3) is slated to play the band’s quarrelsome music manager, Allen Klein.
They join the previously announced main cast — Paul Mescal (McCartney), Harris Dickinson (Lennon), Barry Keoghan (Starr) and Joseph Quinn (Harrison) — as well as the actresses portraying their wives: Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) as McCartney’s wife Linda McCartney, Shogun‘s Anna Sawai as Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono, The White Lotus‘ Aimee Lou Wood as Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd and How to Have Sex‘s Mia McKenna-Bruce as Starr’s wife, Maureen Starkey.
Check out the Instagram announcement about the latest cast additions here.
The four films are currently in production with all of them slated to hit theaters at the same time in April 2028.
WWE superstar and actor John Cena is facing a lawsuit over the iconic horn riff from his entrance theme song “The Time Is Now” – a questionable legal case, but one that shines a light on a tortured history of samples and credits behind the famed song.
The lawsuit was filed by the daughter of Pete Schofield, whose 1974 recording of “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is the undisputed source of the blaring horn blasts at the start of Cena’s 2005 track. In it, she claims that Cena and the WWE failed to properly clear the sample and breached an earlier $50,000 settlement over the dispute.
“Every effort at informal resolution has been met with threats, misrepresentations, and intimidation tactics, leaving plaintiff with no recourse but to seek relief from this court,” Kim Schofield writes her Dec. 2 lawsuit, obtained by Billboard.
“The Time Is Now,” in which Cena raps over a beat created by producer Jake One, was released in 2005 by Columbia Records and WWE Music Group. The track served as a theme song during Cena’s rise to superstardom, and later became a popular track in social media memes. The track will likely play at some point during his final WWE appearance next week before he retires from wrestling.
The song is also something of a crediting nightmare. The famed horns are pulled from Schofield’s recording of “The Night the Lights Went,” which is a cover of a composition by songwriter Bobby Russell that’s also been released by multiple other artists, including Vicki Lawrence and Reba McEntire. Cena’s song also samples heavily from M.O.P.’s 2000 hip hop classic “Ante Up,” which itself drew on samples from Sam & Dave’s “Soul Sister, Brown Sugar.”
That complex audio lineage has already led to previous legal battles. Back in 2008, M.O.P. sued WWE over Cena’s use of the “Ante Up” sample, claiming that they had expressly refused to approve the use of their track and that WWE had cleared it by getting a signature from a receptionist at an unaffiliated company. But that case was quickly dropped a few months later on undisclosed terms.
In her new lawsuit, filed without the help of lawyers, Kim Schofield paints a muddled picture of her allegations. She says her family didn’t know about Cena’s use of the song until 2015, and that they then signed a settlement deal in 2017 with WWE for $50,000 covering the sample of the sound recording. But at some point later, she claims they realized they also owned publishing rights to aspects of Schofield 1974 song that were distinct from Russell’s original composition.
Such allegations will likely face an uphill climb in court. Decade-old claims of copyright infringement could very likely be barred by the statute of limitations, or by the earlier settlement. It’s also not legally clear that Schofield can claim the rights she says she owns, nor that she can blame WWE for the fact that she was unaware of them when she signed the earlier deal.
Reps for Cena and the WWE did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday. But in her own lawsuit, Schofield says lawyers for WWE told her that the 2017 settlement was final and binding on any claims related to “The Time Is Now,” and that she could not later reopen negotiations merely because she had “seller’s remorse.” They also allegedly told her that they had fully cleared the sample by inking a license with the heirs of Bobby Russell, the songwriter who wrote the song that Schofield recorded.
The lawsuit also names Russell’s heirs as defendants. The younger Schofield claims they have improperly been receiving the royalties for Cena’s use of the sample, and that they have recently threatened to sue her if she does not stop claiming her own rights to the song.
The Russell heirs could not immediately be located for comment, but they might have a point. While cover artists can get sound recording copyrights to their specific performance, they cannot typically claim composition rights – a commonsense rule since the underlying music in a cover was necessarily written by someone else. In fact, making substantial changes to the underlying song can turn a legal cover track into an unauthorized derivative.
Entertainment
Phil Upchurch, Legendary Guitarist Who Worked With Michael Jackson & Donny Hathaway, Dies at 84
Phil Upchurch, an iconic guitarist and session musician who collaborated with Donny Hathaway, Michael Jackson and countless other music legends, has died. He was 84.
Upchurch passed away on Nov. 23 in Los Angeles, according to his wife, Sonya Maddox-Upchurch. A cause of death was not revealed.
“Phil Upchurch was my personal gift from God, he was my best friend, my music partner, my life, and my hero,” she said in a statement. “Our love was supernatural, endless, timeless and as true as his favorite color blue. He was a master of chords and emotions. Anything that he placed his mind to complete — he did it. Well done my love. I love you more than words can say and the heart can hold.”
Over a remarkable career, Upchurch recorded nearly 30 albums and appeared on more than 1,000 recordings. Notable contributions include Chaka Khan’s 1978 hit “I’m Every Woman,” which topped Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks, and Jackson’s “Workin’ Day and Night,” from his 1979 solo album, Off the Wall.
Upchurch was also featured on all of Hathaway’s solo studio and live albums, as well as Curtis Mayfield’s soundtracks for the films Superfly, Claudine, Let’s Do It Again and Sparkle, the latter featuring Aretha Franklin.
He also performed or recorded with other music legends, including George Benson, Bob Dylan, Quincy Jones, Luther Vandross, B.B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, John Lee Hooker and Stan Getz.
Born on July 19, 1941, in Chicago, Upchurch began making music at a young age, starting with the ukulele at 13 before quickly mastering guitar, bass and drums. Influenced by jazz greats Oscar Peterson and Jimmy Smith, he began his professional career touring with the singing group the Spaniels after graduating high school in 1958. In 1961, he scored a hit under his own name with “You Can’t Sit Down.” Two years later, he was part of a studio band that backed Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) on the spoken-word/comedy album I Am the Greatest!
In the mid-1960s, Upchurch served two years in the U.S. Army in Germany. Upon returning, he became a regular session musician at Chicago’s Chess Records, collaborating with legends such as Ramsey Lewis, John Klemmer, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, the Dells and Etta James.
Beyond performing, Upchurch authored two instructional music books and completed an autobiography, which is set to be released posthumously.
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