BONUS TRACKS: Feds File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Live Nation

It’s been hinted at and hoped for, and now it’s finally happening: The federal government has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation alleging that the company has eliminated choice and raised prices by locking out rivals in its ticket sales and venue operations since it acquired Ticketmaster in 2010. According to coverage in The Washington Post, the case “could dramatically reshape an ecosystem that has long sparked outrage from artists and fans alike.” In a Department of Justice news conference announcing the lawsuit Thursday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said: “It is time to break it up.” Thirty state and district attorneys joined the lawsuit. Read more about the lawsuit, including details of practices the DOJ says are in violation of antitrust laws, and Live Nation’s response in The Washington Post.

As Ani DiFranco winds down her time playing Persephone in the hit Broadway musical Hadestown, a new Persephone has been crowned. Yola will pick up the role starting July 2. It’s Yola’s Broadway debut, but not her first foray into acting. She played Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie in 2022. “When I saw I’d be playing the drunken goddess of spring I immediately thought, ‘that’s on brand,’” Yola remarked in a statement. “Not because I drink a lot, but because from time to time, I act like I do – but stone, cold sober. What a way to debut on Broadway.” Hadestown began as an independent theater production, then album, by Anaïs Mitchell. It was adapted and debuted on Broadway in 2019 and won eight Tony Awards, including one for Mitchell’s score. Read more about Hadestown’s DIY origins in a story from our Fall 2016 journal. (You can read an excerpt of that story here.) And learn more about Yola’s casting in Hadestown and other cast updates in this story from Broadway World.

Last weekend we lost singer-songwriter “Spider” John Koerner, who wasn’t a household name to a lot of folks, but he was a major influence on some musicians you’ve definitely heard of, including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, David Bowie, and Bonnie Raitt. Dylan spent time learning songs from Koerner in Minneapolis before his move to New York City’s folk scene, writing about that time in his biography, Chronicles, Vol. 1. Koerner’s trio with guitarist Dave Ray and harmonica player Tony Glover — Koerner, Ray & Glover — introduced blues to more folk-inclined audiences with their 1963 album Blues, Rags & Hollers. Koerner died of cancer at age 85 at his home in Minneapolis. Read more about Koerner in this remembrance from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and check out a collection of his key songs from Folk Alley.

WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO

Here’s a sampling of the songs, albums, bands, and sounds No Depression staffers have been into this week:

Danielia Cotton – “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” a Charley Pride cover from her upcoming EP, Charley’s Pride: Songs from a Black Cowboy Vol. I
Zach Bryan – “Pink Skies”
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys – “Lonely Pine”
49 Winchester – “Fast Asleep,” from their new album, Leavin’ This Holler, coming in August
Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss – “I’ll Fly Away” (for Betty Jane)
Yarn – “Grieve On,” from their new album, Born, Blessed, Grateful & Alive, coming in July
Molly Tuttle – “You Turn Me On I’m a Radio” (Joni Mitchell cover)
Shit Present – “Long Way”
Gladie – Purple Year [EP]
S.G. Goodman – Teethmarks
Aurelio – Darandi
Oliver Wood – “Light and Sweet,” from his new album, Fat Cat Silhouette, coming in June