Jenny Lewis (Opening for Harry Styles) - Love On Tour - Atlanta, GA - 10/28/21 - State Farm Arena

If there's one thing that could be said of our modern era, it's that nothing exists in isolation.

One could even say that nothing goes in just one direction anymore—instead, things are moving in multiple directions, operating in loops, often meeting at crossroads. For a long time, at least in the music industry, things appeared to be stratified, separated by genre, linear visions, and arbitrary categories. Rock artists toured with rock artists; indie stars opened for indie stars. Patrician music lovers looked down on pop-lovers, and pop-lovers bullied indieheads. Success could be purchased with a record deal and marked by a position on a top chart. Gender was divided between a man and a woman. Feminism was disconnected from race and class.

Times are changing. Pop, like fashion, has become fluid and multidimensional. Elton John can collaborate with Young Thug. Lady Gaga can ricochet from electronica to folk and back. Harry Styles has become a bisexual icon and a truly great songwriter, capable of drawing from multiple genres to create nuanced and political pop music.

And now he's going on tour with Jenny Lewis, Koffee, and King Princess. They'll all be opening for him on different stops on his 2020 "Love on Tour" tour, which will begin in April.


A little background: Jenny Lewis is an iconic songwriter who fronted the band Rilo Kiley before creating a body of intensely powerful solo work. Koffee is a singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician from Jamaica who's generated a huge amount of buzz in a short time by putting a fresh and experimental spin on reggae. King Princess is a dream pop star who may or may not be capitalizing on queer aesthetics but still embodies an inspiringly out and proud image.

Styles' choice of openers is brilliant because it brings together so many different devoted and passionate fan-bases. Queer fans will relish the chance to dance along to King Princess, while indie traditionalists and older millennials will come for Jenny Lewis, and Gen-Z fans of cutting-edge music will show up for Koffee. All these musicians are bound together by one common thread: Their music is really, really good. And isn't that what matters in the end?

Rilo Kiley - A Better Son/Daughterwww.youtube.com


King Princess - 1950www.youtube.com


Koffee - Toast (Official Video)www.youtube.com

Unfortunately, the existing tickets sold out with stunning speed and cost an exorbitant amount of money, sadly prohibiting many of Styles' fans from enjoying the experience. (Many of them feel scammed). If Styles were to truly embrace the ethos of his commitment to breaking down all genres and boundaries, he'd make his concerts free, but alas, one can only dream... Until then, let us keep listening to our descriptively titled crossover Spotify playlists (shoutout to "Creamy" and "Pollen"), saying "okay" to Boomers who insist that there are only two genders, checking Co-Star for evidence of discernible meaning, and praying for the day when everything and everyone will truly be free.

Harry Styles - Sign of the Times (Video)www.youtube.com

MUSIC

PREMIERE | Abhi the Nomad drops new single "Planes"

10 cities, 8 states, 4 countries, 1 Abhi.

Adderall - Abhi The Nomad [Official]

A man with no place.

Abhi the Nomad has lived in 10 different cities, in 8 different states, and in 4 different countries since leaving his native Madras, India. His new LP Marbled out February 9th tells the story of his journey. His journey doesn't sound unfamiliar to others who immigrated to the US. In fact, it sounds a lot like many of my international friends and colleagues I went to school with. Part of Abhi's journey was being denied another visa after college due to immigration laws. Abhi was torn from his job, girlfriend, and friends and forced back to India due to this hitch in the road. He quickly relocated to France and was able to come back to the US thanks to acceptance into a graduate program. Though frustrating and isolating, Abhi has always had music to turn to throughout these tumultuous times and Marbled is a product of that.

Abhi is no stranger to having to up and move at a moment's notice. He didn't add the modifier "The Nomad" to his name in this latest case of relocating but when he was very young. From a young age because of his father's job, Abhi has had to reluctantly move 8 times over the course of 18 years. From Madras, India to Beijing, to Hong Kong, to New Delhi, to the Fiji Islands, to New Delhi again, then finally in Thousand Oaks, California where he finished high school. Throughout these years, he's been writing songs that eventually became the outline to Marbled.

Listen to "Planes."

While Abhi continued to fines and work on Marbled, he released "Floors" and "Underdog" and created a buzz online. He eventually signed with Tommy Boy Records creating the opportunity to release Marbled that has ultimately been a lifetime in the making. Today Abhi the Nomad premieres with us his latest single from the highly anticipated LP. "Planes" has a certain smoothness and swagger to it. It's soothing in a way. The funky, groovy bass-line has a way of saying, "it's going to be alright." I love the instrumentation as a whole. Not only does it work incredibly well in tandem, each individual line takes you by surprise at just the right time. Abhi the Nomad has been compared to Childish Gambino. In ways, he also reminds me of Donnie Trumpet and this particular tracks rapping style gives me hints of the unapologetic delivery of Broadway hit Hamilton.

Listen to "Marbled" here.

If you can't wait for Marbled which Hot New Hip Hop calls, "funky, lyrical, and slightly weird," you can check out some of Abhi's other singles that have been released in anticipation for the album. So far he has released the title song "Marbled", "Sex n' Drugs", and "Mama Bling."

If you love Abhi the Nomad follow him on Facebook | Instagram


Anie Delgado is a contributor to Popdust and is an actress and musician based in NYC. Follow her on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter and check out her music on Spotify. Press inquiries here.


POP⚡ DUST | Read More…

Popdust Predictions for the 2018 Grammy's + iconic moments from years past

RELEASE RADAR | Loote remixes Eighty Ninety's "Your Favorite Song"

RELEASE RADAR | Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé collaborated and it's literally perfect