Chris Richards
@chrisrichards.bsky.social
đ€ 9495
đ„ 349
đ 238
Pop music critic at The Washington Post
If youâve already figured out that the promise of AI is nothing more than a corporate attack on human curiosity, contemplation, critical thinking and free will, ROSALĂAâs âLuxâ will sound like a new kind of feel-good music.
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Review | RosalĂaâs âLuxâ is taking prestige pop to new levels
RosalĂaâs new album, âLux,â wants to blow your mind. Give it your undivided attention instead.
https://wapo.st/47XrLS2
1 day ago
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Is this strange, unfamiliar sensation upon learning that half of the GRAMMY NOMINEES for album of the year make rap music⊠optimism?
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Column | Musicâs biggest night is finally changing its tune on rap
Kendrick Lamar leads the list of new Grammy Award nominees. Will rap music finally rule on musicâs biggest night?
https://wapo.st/47MeNGv
4 days ago
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If you want to improve your life, spend some time with this absolutely terrific piece by
@davesheinin.bsky.social
who gets behind the damn piano to show us how iconic sports theme music works
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The 10 best sports theme songs of all time â and what makes them great
Our list of the greatest sports theme music includes John Teshâs iconic âRoundball Rock,â several dark riffs on football and a whole lot of nostalgia.
https://wapo.st/480klhN
5 days ago
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The rock-and-roll biopic remains a cursed proposition but I felt like âSPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHEREâ made a few nudges in the direction of progress
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Review | This Springsteen movie doesnât live up to the album that inspired it
The rock-and-roll biopic is a cursed form. âSpringsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhereâ is an attempt to make a few fixes.
https://wapo.st/4ql7Gx4
20 days ago
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Made some posters for KEEP YOUR EAR TO THE GROUND - A HISTORY OF PUNK FANZINES IN WASHINGTON D.C. (The design references an old âD.C. tourâ poster c. 1999) Come ask John questions about his incredible book and grab a poster at these upcoming events!
25 days ago
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âWhat a teen girl goes through is what a teen girl wants to hearâ â BRI3 on rap music as truth-telling/truth-receiving
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Bri3 is turning teenage intuition into rainbow-bright rap music
The rising Waldorf phenom wants her listeners to feel good. Itâs working.
https://wapo.st/4oGojC3
26 days ago
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DâANGELO
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Column | DâAngelo showed us what the 21st century should sound like
His visionary R&B music â from âBrown Sugarâ to âVoodooâ to âBlack Messiahâ â rearranged our ideas about timelessness.
https://wapo.st/3KSHRUU
28 days ago
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Talking about the weather with the great RAFIQ BHATIA
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Rafiq Bhatiaâs idea of jazz has grown into a force of nature
The guitaristâs immersive new album, âEnvironments,â channels the unknowability of the outside world.
https://wapo.st/3Wi4BjT
about 1 month ago
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I love how these excellent newish books by/about SWIZ, HUGGY BEAR and BILLY CHILDISH tell bigger, broader punk rock truths
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Review | Punkâs next frontier: Revolutionizing the rock-and-roll memoir?
Exciting new books from punk heroes Huggy Bear, Swiz and Billy Childish might be reinventing the form.
https://wapo.st/3IUxejM
about 1 month ago
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Mixed feelings about TAYLOR SWIFTâs mixed feelings
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Review | Taylor Swift returns with an album of mixed emotions â and mixed results
âThe Life of a Showgirlâ wants to feel good, but other feelings keep getting in the way.
https://wapo.st/4mLaosQ
about 1 month ago
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DOGO DU TOGO AND THE ALAGAA BEAT BAND can take you there (even when itâs hard to come here)
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Dogo du Togo and the Alagaa Beat Band want to transport you
Though a travel ban has made things difficult for the Togolese group and its D.C. bandleader, the music remains.
https://wapo.st/4nzgTQM
about 1 month ago
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I have seen ADDISON RAE in concert and the dream is real is the dream
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Review | Addison Rae stepped into reality and became the perfect pop star
In concert, the former TikTok sensation wants to show us what dreams are made of.
https://wapo.st/4haGKfD
about 1 month ago
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THE D.C. CANON!
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The 101 greatest movies, songs, books, artworks (and more!) about Washington, D.C.
Introducing the D.C. Canon, starring Chuck Brown, Olivia Pope, George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, Duke Ellington, Rites of Spring and â who could forget? â Gort.
https://wapo.st/3IkMbM1
about 1 month ago
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Itâs been a legit joy to watch EL COUSTEAU grow up/level up
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Review | El Cousteau grew up to become your favorite rapperâs favorite rapper
Earl Sweatshirt and A$AP Rocky want to rap with him. On his sharp new album, âDirty Harry 2,â the stylish D.C. native shows why.
https://wapo.st/4gm40qo
2 months ago
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This OASIS reunion packs the life-affirming power of 10,000 karaoke nights but if youâre reticent to sing along, I invite you to join me in pondering the meaning of Liam Gallagherâs slouch
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Review | Oasis is back. And this time, the whole world is singing along.
Oasis, the reunited Brit-pop act, finally sounds like the classic rock band it always wanted to be.
https://wapo.st/4g0rGAl
2 months ago
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This new SABRINA CARPENTER is a gas (and maybe a new kind of pop album, too)
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Review | Is Sabrina Carpenter the funniest pop singer alive?
âManâs Best Friendâ is a pop album that feels as zesty, clever and cathartic as stand-up comedy.
https://wapo.st/4p0niFK
2 months ago
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I like traditionalism when, instead of taking us back, it brings good things from the past into the now â which is why I like the music of ZACH TOP
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Review | Zach Top is making a new kind of old-school country music
Like Randy Travis and Keith Whitley before him, the rising young singer knows how to make lifeâs heaviness feel light.
https://wapo.st/45VcIap
2 months ago
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TikTok is a funnel and SOMBR is a sound
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3 months ago
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NOURISHED BY TIME says âwe donât have to be so averageâ
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Review | Nourished by Time isnât your everyday R&B singer
The Baltimore singer-songwriterâs new album, âThe Passionate Ones,â reminds us that âwe donât have to be so average.â
https://wapo.st/4lOdMmr
3 months ago
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New signs were up this afternoon and bands were playing
add a skeleton here at some point
3 months ago
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This summer, the hazy punk of INTERMISSION sounds like a reminder that the algorithm has never been your friend
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Review | Intermission is the best new punk band youâve never heard
Intermission is the kind of punk band the algorithm could never help you find. But the groupâs debut album, âPower Corrupts,â is one of the yearâs best.
https://wapo.st/46tdtcC
3 months ago
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I love how harDCore keeps changing shape, which means I love how the straight edge screamo of EXPIRATION DATE pushes toward shapelessness
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Expiration Date pushes the sound of screamo into the unknown
The searing Maryland quintet finishes its first tour at 618 DC on Tuesday, July 29.
https://wapo.st/44IKvEm
4 months ago
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OZZY OSBOURNE
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Column | Ozzy Osbourneâs fame never felt as big as his music
Before he was a pioneering reality television star, he was a pioneering heavy metal singer. But Ozzy Osbourneâs music has always felt bigger than his celebrity.
https://wapo.st/4f0sjcF
4 months ago
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WHEN WILL THEY LEARN THAT LOVE IS THE POWER SUPREME?
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Column | Why the Silver Surfer is the superhero for our cosmically fraught times
The Silver Surfer is back. But long before âThe Fantastic Four: First Steps,â the most intriguing hero in comics history was predicting the doomscroll.
https://wapo.st/4eZLHGW
4 months ago
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This is how it felt to see BEYONCĂ in D.C. on the Fourth of July
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Review | Beyoncé's Fourth of July concert was an ode to an unfinished America
Beyonceâs spectacular Cowboy Carter tour finds the superstar reclaiming the futurism that her Grammy-winning album lacked.
https://wapo.st/4eKxQ79
4 months ago
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The music of HEATHER STEBBINS reminds us that all the layers of our lives overlap in the right-now
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Heather Stebbins is making music from sounds inside her home and her head
The adventurous Washington, D.C.-based composer performs at Rhizome on Sunday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2025/06/25/heather-stebbins-concert-dc/
5 months ago
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We can watch Robert Altmanâs NASHVILLE for another 50 years and thereâll still be more to see and hear
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Column | Robert Altmanâs âNashvilleâ made a noise louder than country music
Director Robert Altmanâs 1975 opus âNashvilleâ is an ensemble comedy that feels more vibrantly vivid and noisily prescient than ever.
https://wapo.st/40i28rM
5 months ago
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Feels weird wanting more from BENSON BOONE when heâs so clearly giving it everything heâs got
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Review | Benson Boone sings as if he has something to prove but nothing to say
Benson Boone is a pop phenomenon with a big mustache and an even bigger voice. Why doesnât his music feel like a bigger deal?
https://wapo.st/440tX92
5 months ago
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BRIAN WILSON
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Column | Brian Wilsonâs musical imagination was truly oceanic
Beach Boys bandleader Brian Wilson was a songwriting giant whose musical imagination felt deeper than the ocean and brighter than the sun.
https://wapo.st/4mWgtnp
5 months ago
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SLY STONE
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Column | The musical world that Sly Stone made for us still spins
Mixing styles at a critical moment in American history, Sly Stone helped create the musical world we live in today.
https://wapo.st/45W4xMm
5 months ago
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Last nightâs finale set from DOECHII at WorldPride was a double reminder that rap music synchronizes minds and that the streets belong to the people
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Review | Doechiiâs closing WorldPride set ended a tense weekend on a high note
As rap star Doechii brought this yearâs WorldPride festivities in Washington to a whirlwind close, fans rapped along in what felt like an expression of unity.
https://wapo.st/43AMgTv
5 months ago
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I was surprised by how much I love this new ADDISON RAE album until I realized why I shouldnât be
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Review | Addison Rae is making the pivot from influencer to pop star look easy
The debut album from TikTok phenom Addison Rae sounds like one of the yearâs best. Should we be surprised?
https://wapo.st/4dVDtz4
5 months ago
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New TURNSTILE feels so awesomely exciting but what this music actually means depends almost entirely on you
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Review | Turnstileâs new album sounds awesome, empty and irrationally inspiring
The Baltimore bandâs latest, âNever Enough,â sounds awesome, empty, undeniably thrilling and irrationally inspiring.
https://wapo.st/45IsczN
5 months ago
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Heavens to Murgatroyd, this new BRUISER WOLF album is truly fabulous
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Review | Bruiser Wolf is rapping at the intersection of street life and midlife
Bruiser Wolf is a stylish Detroit rapper making his big splash at midlife. His new album, âPotluck,â is his best yet.
https://wapo.st/3TafthS
5 months ago
0
7
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Feel like todayâs greatest living songwriters should be falling all over each other to get MILEY CYRUS to sing their songs
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Review | Miley Cyrus got her flowers for âFlowers.â Where does she go now?
On her craft-minded new album, âSomething Beautiful,â Miley Cyrus sounds content in her success.
https://wapo.st/3SscLEd
6 months ago
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On a new live recording, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN isnât warning us of whatâs coming, heâs speaking out against whatâs here
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Column | Bruce Springsteen is fighting for the America he sings about
On a new live recording from his Land of Hope and Dreams tour, Springsteen isnât warning us about authoritarianism: âThis is happening now.â
https://wapo.st/4dAgxFu
6 months ago
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This new MORGAN WALLEN album is stubborn, magnetic, demanding, semi-contrite, very lifelike, very long, sometimes very good, esp the moment when it almost sounds like Camâron
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Review | Morgan Wallenâs new album is stubbornly long. Live with it.
Morgan Wallenâs new album, âIâm the Problem,â leans hard into the controversial country superstarâs ups and downs.
https://wapo.st/4jVvp3j
6 months ago
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The way BRANDON WOODY compares a trumpet solo to a bus ride across Baltimore says so much about the space he wants to inhabit in the jazz world
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Brandon Woody strides into the jazz world without leaving Baltimore
Brandon Woody is making big moves in the jazz world â but on his splashy debut album, the young trumpeter vows to never leave his native Baltimore.
https://wapo.st/3ET7dj2
6 months ago
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Talking about the paradox of old-school newgrass with THE SELDOM SCENE
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The Seldom Sceneâs old-school ânewgrassâ still feels timeless
The Bethesda-born troupe celebrates the release of a new album, âRemains to Be Scene,â at the Birchmere on Sunday, April 13.
https://wapo.st/42B3QGi
7 months ago
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On his spectacular âChromakopiaâ tour, TYLER, THE CREATOR is also Tyler, the RoboCop, Tyler, the Thriller zombie, Tyler, the Fred Sanford, Tyler, the Darby Crash, Tyler, the Marilyn Monroe
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Review | Tyler, the Creatorâs imagination keeps growing. And he can dance, too.
His spectacular Chromakopia Tour is shoring up Tyler, the Creatorâs reputation as one of the most imaginative voices in pop music.
https://wapo.st/42eL5XO
7 months ago
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My favorite band is STRAW MAN ARMY and this is why I believe in them
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Straw Man Army sound like punk visionaries. Can they see whatâs next?
Straw Man Army are making visionary punk music in an era when the the future has become hard to imagine.
https://wapo.st/3YcalN6
7 months ago
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Asked Mark Robinson of UNREST about intuitive set-lists, the origins of âCath Carroll,â sleeping where Nirvana slept and three decades of âPerfect Teethâ
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Unrestâs Mark Robinson looks back on three decades of âPerfect Teethâ
On March 27, the indie scene hero will perform a solo show at the Black Cat in celebration of the albumâs 30th anniversary.
https://wapo.st/4iTT0As
8 months ago
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Do you love PLAYBOI CARTIâs new oblivion raps as much as I do?
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8 months ago
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I like this new LADY GAGA album a little bit
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Review | Lady Gaga used to be larger than life. Then life got bigger.
âMayhemâ channels Lady Gagaâs absurd and spectacular glory years. It hits very differently in absurd times.
https://wapo.st/4bGNG13
8 months ago
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Last night I went to Mr. Henryâs and played ROBERTA FLACK songs on the jukebox
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Column | When Roberta Flack got inside a song, she made it feel infinite
Among the biggest voices of her era, Roberta Flack launched her storied career at Mr. Henryâs, a small bar on Washingtonâs Capitol Hill.
https://wapo.st/3QBLOgy
9 months ago
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Chuck Brown gave his music its name because it âgoes and goes.â At the new GO-GO MUSEUM in Anacostia, the music finally has a place to stay
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The Go-Go Museum & Cafe gives D.C.âs music a place to call home
Go-go is the official music of Washington. And now thereâs a museum to prove it.
https://wapo.st/4gMh9aJ
9 months ago
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I was wishing/hoping/praying DRAKE might try to get back into the zipcode of âHotline Bling,â but these $exy $ongs are not 4 me
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Review | Drakeâs new love songs are easy to hate
Drake is still spinning from his beef with Kendrick Lamar. His new album, â$ome $exy $ongs 4 Uâ is a failed attempt at damage control.
https://wapo.st/3CGbSnp
9 months ago
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I loved the KENDRICK LAMAR halftime show
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Column | At the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar came ready to play
Kendrick Lamar performed hits including âNot Like Usâ at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, joined by Mustard, SZA and Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam.
https://wapo.st/4aQRa0E
9 months ago
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I asked JAMES BRANDON LEWIS about tenacity, time management, Don Cherry and go-go. He gave me a definition of the pocket that almost made me weep. And thereâs more.
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James Brandon Lewis wants to turn everything into music
James Brandon Lewis is an omnivoreâs omnivore. The jazz saxophonistâs fantastic new album channels the work of Don Cherry, Amiri Baraka and so much more.
https://wapo.st/416MYqr
9 months ago
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Wrote both of these late at nite, then collapsed into deep sleep and forgot to post them, whoops. A recap of FIREAIDâŠ
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Review | FireAid brought big voices and deep healing to Los Angeles
FireAid, a sprawling benefit concert for wildfire relief, featured Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, members of Nirvana and dozens more.
https://wapo.st/42LTG6i
9 months ago
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