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Jason Aldean to perform at The Bonnaroo Farm in May

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ABCJason Aldean locks in two nights at The Bonnaroo Farm. 

The “She’s Country” hit maker is taking part in the Concerts on the Farm series with two outdoor, socially-distanced shows on the Bonnaroo property in rural Manchester, Tennessee on May 14 and 15.

This marks Jason’s first full production showcase since the COVID-19 pandemic led to the mass shutdown of concerts and live events in March 2020. The shows will be limited capacity and tickets will be sold in pods of four people, each pod spaced six feet apart.  

“You could’ve asked me to play a gas station at this point and I would say yes, so being able to setup the full show with all the band guys plugged in is going to make for a really good time,” Jason says in a statement. “We’re going to turn it up — there’s nobody out there to bother — and make up for some lost time for sure.”

Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

Jon Pardi and Jameson Rodgers are among the other artists taking the stage at The Bonnaroo Farm next month.

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Taylor Swift releases complete 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' track list, confirms two Keith Urban collaborations

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Beth GarrabrantAfter tasking her “expert level” fans with decoding a series of word scrambles, Taylor Swift released the names of all the tracks featured on her upcoming album Fearless (Taylor’s Version), which is due out at the end of the week.

Taylor is known for leaving Easter eggs ahead of a new music release and, on Saturday, praised her dedicated followers for solving her latest puzzle in 24 hours.

“You cracked the codes and guessed all the ‘From The Vault’ titles,” she applauded on Instagram, listing all 26 titles, plus a bonus track. Fans can get them all starting April 9.

Fans appeared most excited to learn that country superstar Keith Urban will be featured not once, but twice, on the upcoming record. 

Taylor gushed about adding one of her idols onto the album, telling fans on Saturday, “I’m really honored that @keithurban is a part of this project, duetting on ‘That’s When’ and singing harmonies on ‘We Were Happy.'”

“I was his opening act during the Fearless album era and his music has inspired me endlessly,” she continued.  “I’m counting down the minutes til we can all jump into this brave world together, filled with equal parts nostalgia and brand newness.”

Taylor signed off by telling fans, “Head first, Fearless.”

Fearless, originally released in 2008, won the Grammy for Album of the Year.  The rerecorded version is available for pre-order now.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version), will feature 27 tracks in all: 20 re-recordings, six never-before-heard songs “From The Vault,” and the Elvira remix of “Love Story (Taylor’s Version).”

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

"I’m taking back what's mine": After years living with a credits typo, Thandiwe Newton reveals her true name

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Mikael Jansson/Vogue(LONDON) — (NOTE LANGUAGE AND CONTENT) Westworld star Thandie Newton’s name is actually “Thandiwe,” but thanks to a misspelling in the credits of her first film, 1996’s Flirting, she’s gone by Thandie in dozens of projects.

But that was then and this is now. The actress tells British Vogue in a feature piece dubbed “The Rebirth of an Icon” that it’s time to take her name back, and more.

Newton, who famously called out Hollywood sexual abuse last August — promising to name names on her “deathbed” — is embracing her roots. The 48-year-old performer, the daughter of a Zimbabwean princess-turned NIH health care worker and a former scientist from Cornwall, England, was given the name Thandiwe, which means “beloved” in her mother’s native tongue, Shona.

Newton, a staunch advocate for the Me Too movement, cataloged the years of racism and sexual abuse she suffered in Hollywood, beginning with her first role that led to the credits typo, and abuse, she weathered for years.

Australian Flirting director John Duigan, whom Newton has repeatedly accused of abuse, said of her light-skinned complexion, “Can you be a bit darker?” she recalls to the magazine. “‘Be darker by Monday.” She claims to have tanned the entire weekend. “Colourism has just been the funniest,” Netwon says. “I’ve been too Black, not Black enough. I’m always Black. I’m just like, whadda you people want!”

Newton, who was 16 at the time, tells Vogue of the filmmaker, “I was traumatized. It was a kind of PTSD for sure. I was so distraught and appalled that a director had abused a young actress, and that it was happening elsewhere, minors getting abused…”

Now, Newton is no longer afraid to embrace herself, her heritage — and her name. “I’m taking back what’s mine,” she says.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Benedict Cumberbatch explains why he believes he was COVID-19 "patient zero"

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STX Films/Graham Bartholomew(LONDON) — Benedict Cumberbatch is taking a closer look at the mysterious sickness that left him nearly incapacitated in 2019.  After going over his symptoms, the Doctor Strange star now believes he was among the first people to contract COVID-19.

“I was incredibly ill,” Cumberbatch recalled to The Independent on Saturday, “to the point that when all this COVID stuff suddenly broke in the new year.”

After reading reports about the pandemic, the 44-year-old expressed concern that he could have contributed to the outbreak, telling the publication, “I was thinking, ‘Oh my god was I actually patient zero.'”

The British actor had flown to South Africa toward the end of 2019 to film his new movie The Mauritanian when he was struck by the mysterious illness.

“I was so ill – it was borderline pneumonia,” he described, saying he powered through the sickness to complete filming despite “throwing up between takes.”

Cumberbatch says, illness aside, working on The Mauritanian opened his eyes about Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. military prison near Cuba that was established after the 9/11 attacks to house terrorism suspects.

After filming the movie, which is based off the memoir Guantanamo Diary written by former detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Cumberbatch says he is joining the efforts to have the detainment center shut down.

Slahi — played by Tahar Rahim in the film — was accused of helping organize the 9/11 attacks and was incarcerated for 14 years, without charge, before being released in October 2016.

Cumberbatch said he plans to reach out to President Joe Biden, who said he is open to shuttering Guantanamo.

“I’m going to plead with the guy. It is a huge spend. It’s the most expensive prison on earth,” said the Sherlock star. “I feel quite strongly that Guantanamo doesn’t have a place in our world.”

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Luke Combs, Eric Church & Miranda Lambert among 2021 ACM Awards performers

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Academy of Country Music The 2021 ACM Awards has a booked a star-studded lineup of performers. 

Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett are among the many artists who will take the stage during this month’s show.  The ceremony will take place across three famed Nashville venues: the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry and the Bluebird Cafe. 

Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Carly Pearce, Lee Brice, Kane Brown, Chris Young,Brothers Osborne, Alan Jackson, Ryan Hurd, Elle King, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde andChris Stapleton are also among the lineup of more than 25 artists performing over 30 songs, including “unprecedented collaborations and surprising moments,” the Academy of Country Music teases in a statement.

ACM Awards co-hosts Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, the latter of whom’s also nominated for New Artist of the Year, will pull double duty as performers.

Gospel legend CeCe Winans, Miranda’s The Marfa Tapes collaborators Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, and award winning Americana husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty are also part of the performance lineup. 

The ACM Awards air live Sunday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.