Concert

Interior minister is ‘highly determined’ to block US rapper from performing in the southern city in June due to his past antisemitic remarks, sources sayFrance’s interior minister is seeking to block the US rapper formerly known as Kanye West from performing in the southern city of Marseille in June due to his antisemitic remarks, a source close to the minister said Tuesday.The interior minister, Laurent Nunez, is “highly determined” to ban the 11 June concert at Marseille’s Velodrome stadium and is exploring “all possibilities”, the source told Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

• Selena Gomez attended Demi Lovato's 'It's Not That Deep Tour' opening night in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, marking their first in-person reunion in nearly a decade. • Video footage captured Selena in a balcony seat smiling and engaged, with the pair sharing a sweet backstage moment before the show; Lovato debuted new song 'Lowrise Jeans' dropping Friday and performed with Joe Jonas. • The event highlights their enduring friendship amid both artists' personal and career comebacks in the music industry.

• The Monadnock region in New Hampshire and nearby Vermont feature a packed April 3-4 weekend with live music, Peking Acrobats at Colonial Theatre in Keene at 7 p.m. for $50 adults/$30 youth, and Easter events. • Gaslight Tinkers perform global-Celtic fusion at Next Stage Arts in Putney, VT until midnight, while Fat Angus AC/DC tribute hits Charlestown's Clubhouse at 9 p.m. for $12.51. • Saturday offers TAKAAT punk-rock at Nova Arts and Mike Block Trio roots music at The Showroom in Keene, alongside family egg hunts at East Hill Farm.

Boyband drops album that speaks to its Korean roots ahead of Seoul comeback concert, with more than a quarter of a million fans expected to attendK-pop stars BTS released a new album on Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band’s Korean roots and identity, as buzz built ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul.The Saturday night gig, which is expected to draw around 260,000 people, will be BTS’s first after a hiatus of almost four years while all seven members served compulsory military service. It comes ahead of an 82-date world tour. Continue reading...

Thousands of police prepare to deploy to South Korea’s capital ahead of K-pop’s most anticipated comebackSeoul has stepped up security ahead of BTS’s huge comeback concert on Saturday, which more than a quarter of a million fans are expected to attend, with authorities raising the terror alert in the area and preparing to deploy thousands of police to the capital.South Korean president Lee Jae Myung warned at a cabinet meeting this week that “the issue is safety” and urged heightened vigilance by the interior ministry and emergency services to prepare for every possibility. He described the concert as an important occasion to reaffirm the country’s global cultural standing. Continue reading...