Tag: nashville
Taylor Swift announces ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ album at Nashville concert
Taylor Swift has done it again, giving her fans in Nashville Friday night the exclusive first look at the next release in her Taylor’s Version series of re-recorded albums. During the first stop of The Eras Tour in her hometown, Swift revealed that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) will be released on July 7 in all formats, including a violet vinyl that fans can pre-order now.
Swift surprised her fans at the Nissan Stadium by performing the album’s title track, “Sparks Fly,” before revealing the album cover and release date on the big screens. Swift indicated in an Instagram post that the updated version includes six previously unreleased tracks:
Initially released in 2010, the Grammy Award-nominated album featured singles like “Mean,” and “Ours,” with the former winning a Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song. Speak Now upon its debut sold more than a million copies in its first week, a record sales number for a solo female country artist.
Between the announcement, the spotting of Matt Healy at the show, and Swift and Phoebe Bridgers performing “Nothing New” live for the first time, Friday was a big night for Swifties. (Or a bad night if you weren’t there…sorry).
For context for those not in the know, since 2019, Swift has been re-releasing her pre-Lover albums in an effort to regain control of her music catalog. Swift’s former label, Big Machine Records, owned the rights to her first six studio albums, and in 2019, they were acquired by music manager Scooter Braun. In response, Swift announced her plans to re-record her earlier music and release new versions of her albums under her ownership. These new versions, dubbed “Taylor’s Version,” allow her to control the rights to her songs and receive royalties from their use. So far, Swift has released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in April 2021 and Red (Taylor’s Version) in November 2021.
Speak Now was a watershed release for Swift as it’s the only album where she has sole songwriting credits. With it’s new and improved re-release July 7, she’ll be halfway done with reclaiming control of her previous work.
Taylor Swift’s ‘boyfriend’ Matty Healy supports pop star at her Eras concert in Nashville as their new romance heats up
TAYLOR Swift’s rumored new boyfriend Matty Healy has been spotted supporting her during a concert in Nashville.
The apparent new romance comes just weeks after the Anti-Hero singer and her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn called it quits.
Rumors have been swirling that the pair are dating following her split from Joe Alwyn[/caption]
Taylor, 33, took the stage in Music City to perform to an eager hometown crowd of fans, family and more familiar faces.
Swifties spotted the Grammy winner’s rumored boyfriend, 1975 frontman Matty, 34, taking the show in from a private VIP gated area.
He kept it casual in a blue flannel shirt over a black T-shirt.
He was surrounded by a handful of other people, including Julien Baker and Gracie Abrams – who is an opener on the Eras tour.
A photo of the musician was tweeted by a fan-run Twitter account with the caption: “MATTY HEALY at #NashvilleTSTheErasTour #TSTheErasTour.”
The sighting came amid reports that the two were preparing to go public at the concert.
Taylor and Matty have been friends for over 10 years and share a lot of mutual pals.
Prior to their romantic reunion, the All Too Well singer had been in a six-year relationship with Joe, 32.
Her ex has also reportedly moved on and was most recently linked to Scottish actress Emma Laird.
The pair met while filming The Brutalist in Hungary.
FANS REACT
After the photo of Matty in the audience at Taylor’s show surfaced on Twitter, the social media site was flooded with fan reaction.
One fan tweeted: “LMAOOOOOOOOOO, either this is real or Taylor and matty are doing the funniest thing they could possibly do at this moment in time.”
Another wrote on Twitter: “this taylor and matty thing cannot be serious.”
A third fan tweeted: “why am i sweating thinking about taylor and matty I MISS WHEN THIS WAS A JOKE.”
Someone else speculated: “i feel like Taylor and Matty know all about the rumors so they’re playing with us.”
Another tweet about the rumored relationship read: “taylor and matty dating is something I’d never believe but imagine the songs they could write about each other after their break up.”
A sixth Twitter user suggested: “did it ever occur to you guys that taylor and matty might just be friends and he’ll just be a special guest like she was earlier this year???”
For all the critics, there were plenty of supporters of the relationship as well.
One wrote: “I’m so here for it honestly.”
SO IN LOVE?
A source close to Taylor told The U.S. Sun exclusively: “She and Matty are madly in love. It’s super-early days, but it feels right. They first dated, very briefly, almost ten years ago but timings just didn’t work out.
“Taylor and Joe actually split up back in February, so there was absolutely no crossover.
“Both Matty and Taylor have been touring over the past few weeks, so it’s been a lot of Face-Timing and texting but she cannot wait to see him again.
“But as two international megastars, they understand the pressures of one another’s jobs better than anyone, and are incredibly supportive of their respective careers.
“They are both massively proud and excited about this relationship and, unlike Taylor’s last one — which was very much kept out of the spotlight, deliberately — she wants to ‘own’ this romance, and not hide it away.
“Taylor just wants to live her life, and be happy. She’s told pals Matty is flying to Nashville over the weekend to support her on the next leg of her tour.”
The insider added: “Taylor’s pals are absolutely delighted because they reckon she and Matty are a brilliant match.
“Obviously putting two such famous names together means a lot of fan attention and a LOT of eyeballs on the pair.
“But Matty and Taylor are sensible enough, and fame-equipped enough, to handle it. Both of them have been — often unfairly — dragged through the ringer on a global scale.
“But crucially, they’re both brilliant, smart, kind people and, quite simply, have each other’s backs.”
DROPPING CLUES
Fans have been keeping a close eye on the Grammy winner and British crooner for some time.
Taylor is known to drop Easter eggs in her videos and some speculate that she’s been doing the same in her personal life.
Swifties have noticed some telling details popping up, convenient timing, and other “clues” that the singers are more than just friends.
In January, Taylor surprised fans with an appearance on stage at the London O2 during the first night of The 1975’s At Their Very Best tour.
She performed The City and Anti-Hero during the show and was hailed as “The Queen” by Matty.
Taylor was then photographed backstage with the singer’s famous mom Denise Welch, which set social media ablaze.
The buzz intensified after details of her split from Joe were leaked on April 8, which also happens to be Matty’s birthday.
Fans suggested the dirt was a “gift” to her new man.
Last month the Sex singer appeared to reference Taylor’s hugely successful Eras Tour while discussing his decision to quit all social media.
Matty explained at the time: “Everything happens in eras.
“The 1975 is a very eras band. The era of me being a f***ing a**hole is coming to an end.”
Taylor and Matty have a long history.
They briefly dated back in 2014 – the same year Taylor was seen wearing a 1975 T-shirt to one of their gigs.
In November 2022, Matty confirmed that his band teamed up with Taylor for a song on her album Midnights.
The track did not make the final cut, however, so fans never got to hear it.
Taylor and Matty were said to be planning this public confirmation before the show[/caption]
They briefly dated back in 2014 but did not last long[/caption]
Prior to the performance, fans spotted several ‘clues’ about Taylor and Matty’s romance[/caption]
I had an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction at the grocery store – there was a full moon in Nashville
IT turns out that you can see the moon better when you get away from home.
One Nashville woman proved that to be true when she took a trip to the grocery store.
Riley (@riyuhlee) revealed that she had an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction at the store but didn’t realize it until she had already left.
“Embarrassing things happen to me more than anyone I know but today might top it,” she prefaced in a sweater and leggings.
“This is me at the grocery,” she said, turning around to reveal rips in her jeans in the butt area, exposing her cheeks.
“Are you joking?” she asked. “I don’t even know how that happened.”
Fortunately, the content creator was able to be a good sport about the situation.
“Did anyone see the full moon in Nashville tonight!?” she asked.
People took to the comments to share their thoughts — many found it hilarious.
“Everyone at that grocery fake asf,” joked one commenter who thought bystanders should’ve informed her.
“OMFG HAHAHAHA,” said another.
“Every time I laugh harder,” said a third who couldn’t get enough of the story.
Others were curious as to how she didn’t feel the breeze: “You didn’t feel that lmao?” asked one.
Riley, unfortunately, did not: “NOPE,” she said simply.
Nashville gun control advocates rally for reform, accountability, and democracy
On Thursday morning, lawmakers in the capitol building in Nashville, Tennessee, were met with a sea of angry, heartbroken, and determinedly vocal young people.
“The energy is palpable — high school students, college students, and middle schoolers across the state are taking the lead in this space because they are tired of being ignored,” March For Our Lives student activist Ezri Tyler, 19, told Mashable.
In addition to continuing shouts for gun reform and school safety that resounded throughout the week — organized in the wake of the March 27 Nashville school shooting that left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead — the student activists and their allies were decrying the actions of Tennessee lawmakers against Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson.
The three legislators were stripped of their committee assignments and faced a vote from the Republican majority, led by Speaker Cameron Sexton, that would potentially expel each from office for violating House conduct rules. The lawmakers (dubbed the “Tennessee Three” online) had brought “No action, no peace!” chants to the House floor, using a bullhorn to amplify the demonstrators’ calls for action.
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National student-led advocacy group March For Our Lives, one of several organizing groups already taking over the city’s legislative center, immediately cried foul. “We do not live in a democracy if mics are being cut when we try to make a stand. This is an abuse of power. This is an attack on our democracy,” the organization tweeted.
So, they expanded their gun control protest into what they dubbed an anti-fascism rally. “Monday we walked out and marched; Today, we’re rallying for democracy.”
As Johnson, Jones, and Pearson waited out the vote with activists, cries rang through the building:
“Free, free, free. Free the Tennessee Three!” “Hey, reps, listen: Schools are not a prison!” “You ban books. You ban drag. Kids are still in body bags!”
“We have had hundreds of folks and dozens of students leading chants for almost four hours straight now in the rotunda, and it is disrupting the chamber,” Tyler described. “We have now had Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria come out, and each time they join us in song — same with when they speak in session, the gallery breaks out in song and they can hear us and have made it clear they are with us.”
Brynn Jones, 21, another March For Our Lives activist on the ground in Nashville, explained that the group isn’t letting lawmakers distract the public from the issue at hand. “I definitely think that this expulsion is political theater, with the majority moving bills on ‘school safety’ to today to try to demonstrate that it’s not about gun violence. But that is exactly what this is about. The House is desperate to silence their opposition and protesters, and the students that have stayed here for almost four hours prove that they are not going to be successful.”
Hours later, the House voted to expel Reps. Jones and Pearson. The resolution to expel Rep. Johnson failed by a single vote.
National walkouts continue a larger movement
The week of action began with a 7,000-student walkout from nearby Nashville schools to the capitol — met by allies, educators, supportive lawmakers, and even other issue protesters in an intersectional display of youth activism — and led into nationwide protests from student activists on April 5.
Credit: John Amis / AFP
Students Demand Action, the student advocacy arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, organized the walkouts en masse to show lawmakers everywhere that Nashville is one of many instances of a nationwide problem — a cry they’ve been shouting for years.
Zack Maaieh, a 20-year-old Students Demand Activist and leader of Nashville’s Vanderbilt University chapter, told Mashable that the feeling on the ground in Tennessee was one of anger and energy.
“I and a lot of people were heartbroken, as shooting after shooting kept happening, but I think the feeling of that heartbreak turned into anger. I got frustrated because we have all of this gun violence happening every day in this country, here in Tennessee, and yet our legislators are doing nothing to stop it. Instead of focusing on the issue at hand, which is people with negative intent getting access to firearms, they are putting more guns in people’s hands,” Maaieh said.
Students Demand Action activists, including Maaieh, also attended a Wednesday hearing over a bill that would allow teachers to carry concealed handguns on campuses, which many say is just adding more risk and distracting from effective legislative options.
“No one was there to support the bill. There was a room full of people frustrated, mad, and angry, and yet they ignored that. They ignored the pleas from students, from parents, and from teachers,” Maaieh said. “It goes to show just how frustrating it is to have a legislature that isn’t working with us, even though we are coming to the table and we are offering solutions.”
Credit: Everytown for Gun Safety
Rather than actions that put more guns in public spaces, common sense gun reform advocates like those with Students Demand Action want to see actions that prioritize safety and controlled access. Extreme Risk or Red Flag Laws, for example, establish ways for concerned citizens and law enforcement to intervene when they believe a gun holder may be at risk of harming themselves or others.
Students Demand Action also advocates against laws like permitless carry, the manufacturing of high capacity assault weapons, and the marketing of weapons to young people.
“I want to emphasize that we want to work with everybody who wants to work with us,” Maaieh said. “This is an issue we all agree on, we just need to sit down together.”
March For Our Lives imagines a policy agenda that rewrites the “glorification” of guns, political apathy, and corruption underlying gun violence, including the arming of state actors and the low standards for gun owners. Other organizations like Team Enough seek to reduce gun violence by acknowledging systemic factors like racism, poverty, and other environmental considerations, with specific focus on helping communities of color.
As these groups take to the streets and legislative buildings in Nashville and beyond, their proposed approaches of addressing the epidemic of gun violence haven’t yet convinced enough representatives to step up and take meaningful action, activists emphasized.
“I hope nationwide there are condemnations of the actions of the Tennessee legislators, more conversations about common sense gun control, and an acknowledgment of the importance of this moment in Nashville,” Jones said. “People have been coming out by the thousands to protest gun violence over the last 10 days, and the importance of these demonstrations cannot be overstated. Today is fundamentally about supporting the representatives who advocated for their constituents and protest against the backsliding of democratic norms that this action by Speaker Sexton and the House represents.”
Credit: Everytown for Gun Safety
Maaieh echoed the thoughts of others on the ground regarding the actions of Tennessee lawmakers bogging down an already uphill climb to passing effective gun reform legislation. “This story isn’t necessarily unique to Tennessee. There are other states with legislatures actively refusing to pass safety legislation. It just so happens that Tennessee is in the headlines.”
Even though there appears to be growing, nonpartisan agreement on the need for action, national gun reform advocacy groups are still at odds with the actions of state representatives. Instead of productive conversations, activists like Maaieh say, lawmakers are still hemming and hawing across political (and moral) lines decades later.
Credit: John Amis / AFP
“We’ve had so many thoughts and prayers, but our prayers are empty if we don’t act on them,” he said. “I think we have to act against gun violence precisely because God has given us the tools to do so. ‘God won’t help those who won’t help themselves.’ This is how God has answered those prayers.”
UPDATE: Apr. 6, 2023, 8:47 p.m. EDT This story was updated to include the expulsion of Rep. Justin Pearson and the failed vote to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson on Thursday evening.
UPDATE: Apr. 6, 2023, 5:30 p.m. EDT This story was updated to include the expulsion of Rep. Justin Jones on Thursday afternoon.