Chris Willman

Amanda Shires on Becoming ‘Nobody’s Girl’ With a Bracing Album That Straddles ‘Divorce Record’ and Reclamation Journal: ‘I Kept Telling Myself I Was Healed, When I Wasn’t Yet’ Amanda Shires talks about writing songs about her split from ex-husband Jason Isbell and boldly moving forward on her new album, 'Nobody's Girl.'

I got deep into it with Amanda Shires... which is always a very good place to go. She was as bold, funny and perceptive as always when we had a long conversation backstage at the Opry. variety.com/2025/music/n...

Paul McCartney Sings John Lennon’s ‘Help!’ in Full for the First Time, Opening a 2025 Tour That Finds Fresh Joy Even in Familiar Repertoire: Concert Review Paul McCartney opened his tour at the Santa Barbara Bowl with a John Lennon/Beatles number, "Help!," leading into a familiar but still thrilling setlist.

I reviewed Paul McCartney's tour opening at the Santa Barbara Bowl. variety.com/2025/music/c...

Shit...

‘Eureka Day’ Review: Pasadena Playhouse’s Production of the Tony-Winning School-Vax Comedy Provides Peals of Laughter 'Eureka Day,' now at the Pasadena Playhouse, has serious underpinnings aplenty, with vaccination debates driving its plot, but hilarity rules the day.

I had such a good time seeing "Eureka Day" at the Pasadena Playhouse. Here's my endorsement...

Jimmy Kimmel for President. (See: Ukraine 🇺🇦)

The Kimmel monologue was 18 minutes of extraordinary, raw television that will be hated by the people who wanted him off the air for good. Trump and Brendan Carr lost this one as badly as it's possible to lose.

YouTube video by Jimmy Kimmel Live Jimmy Kimmel is Back!

Jimmy Kimmel: "He's gunning for our journalists too ... They want to pick and choose what the news is. I know that's not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it's so important to have a free press and it is nuts that we aren't paying more attention to it."

Direct link. Watch these 60 seconds:

So many coverups.

Release the Epstein files.

Release the Homan tapes.

Release the Venezuelan fishing boats evidence.

Eleven hours of “Twin Peaks: The Return” down, only eight to go at the ⁦‪American Cinematheque‬⁩’s weekend marathon.… I was afraid this might not hold up, after not having seen any of it since first airing, but it does—I wish everyone could experience it in one fell theatrical swoop.

Who’s Crying? Not Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, but Most Everyone Else During the Who’s Hollywood Bowl Farewell Shows — Concert Review The Who's farewell tour hit the Hollywood Bowl and gave fans something to cry about, as the band that was once rock's greatest goes out on a high.

My review of the Who at the Hollywood Bowl: variety.com/2025/music/n...

David Gilmour on His Epic New Concert Film and Album, ‘Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome,’ and Being Happy to Leave the Pink Floyd Catalog in Other Hands David Gilmour discusses his concert film and live album, 'David Gilmour Live at the Circus Maximus, Rome,' and life after the Pink Floyd catalog sale.

variety.com/2025/music/n...

‘Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery’ Review: Music Doc Recalls a ’90s Festival That Made It Feel Like Women Might at Least Save Rock, if Not the World 'Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery' is an absorbing look back at why the Sarah McLachlan-led, female-fronted festivals of the 1990s felt revolutionary.

I recommend the new Lilith Fair documentary, out today on Hulu... variety.com/2025/music/r...

Natalie Weiner's piece looking back at "Nashville" is a great read... though you may not like it so much if you believe the movie is an unassailable masterpiece.

What a great piece!

Neil Young Plays Favorites and Shows ‘Em How Protest Music Is Done in an Ideally Balanced Hollywood Bowl Show: Concert Review Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts captivated a full house at the Hollywood Bowl with classics from his golden era and a nice selection of deeper cuts.

My review of a terrific Neil Young show at the Bowl... Neil Young Plays Favorites and Shows ‘Em How Protest Music Is Done in an Ideally Balanced Hollywood Bowl Show: Concert Review variety.com/2025/music/c...
via @variety.com

Is there a rule for why you’d capitalize the T in The New York Times but disallow the paper’s similar preferred usage for The Times? (My publication follows AP style and keeps the T lower-case in both cases; while I don’t always love AP, I’m personally prefer keeping “the” in its unexalted place.)

Americana Honors & Awards Hand Wins to Nathaniel Rateliff, Sierra Ferrell, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, MJ Lenderman and I’m With Her Winners at the Americana Honors & Awards included Sierra Ferrell, Nathaniel Rateliff, MJ Lenderman, I'm With Her and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings.

variety.com/2025/music/n...

How Oasis Turned L.A. Into Glorious Britannia for a Weekend At the Rose Bowl Stadium, fans from L.A. and across the pond described why seeing a reunited Oasis on stage stirred up deep emotions.

variety.com/2025/music/n...

variety.com/2025/music/n...

In ‘NCIS: Tony & Ziva’ the Gratification Is Beyond Delayed, but Reuniting Two of TV’s Most Beloved Characters After 12 Years Makes for the Best ‘NCIS’ Spinoff Yet: TV Review After 20 years of delayed gratification, 'NCIS: Tony & Ziva' allows its characters to show real love on-screen. It's also as funny as O.G. 'NCIS.'

I spent years covering "NCIS" at TV Guide, and "Tiva" most of all, since we put Michael and Cote on the cover more than anyone else. It felt like old-home week reviewing this spinoff show...which I was nervous to watch after all this time, but found completely delightful. variety.com/2025/tv/revi...

This is a great interview, and I'm looking forward to both of these movies.

Ethan Hawke on Directing the Merle Haggard Doc ‘Highway 99’, Playing Lorenz Hart in the Oscar Contender ‘Blue Moon,’ and Being Telluride’s King for a Day Ethan Hawke talks about being feted at the Telluride Film Festival with his Merle Haggard documentary 'Highway 99' and Lorenz Hart biopic 'Blue Moon.'

Here's my Q&A with Ethan Hawke from Telluride about the two movies he had here, on Merle Haggard and Lorenz Hart, both of them great. variety.com/2025/film/ne...

Bruce Springsteen Tells Telluride Why He Gave the Go-Ahead to Exploring His Darker Side in ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’: ‘Because I’m Old and I Don’t Give a F— Now’ Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong and Scott Cooper discussed 'Deliver Me From Nowhere' at the Telluride Film Festival.

Bruce Springsteen Tells Telluride Why He Gave the Go-Ahead to Exploring His Darker Side in ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’: ‘Because I’m Old and I Don’t Give a F— Now’ variety.com/2025/music/n...

Bruce Springsteen at Telluride

My review of Ethan Hawke's wonderful Haggard documentary, which just premiered at Telluride yesterday. variety.com/2025/music/r...

Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend’ Is One of the Year’s Best Pop Records — and Almost Certainly the Funniest: Album Review Sabrina Carpenter has her tongue in her cheek through 'Man's Best Friend,' but the witty songs underscore real skirmishes in the war between the sexes.

Had fun reviewing (and really just listening to) this one... Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Man’s Best Friend’ Is One of the Year’s Best Pop Records — and Almost Certainly the Funniest: Album Review variety.com/2025/music/a...

If you're in L.A., come to Book Soup Tuesday night to see me interview Barry Mazor, author of an outstanding new Everly Brothers biography that is a must-read for music fans. www.booksoup.com/event/barry-...

This is why I have a pull-out CB radio that I can carry inside with me everywhere I go, along with the detachable magnetic roof antenna

Yeah, criminals are definitely stealing radios right out of new cars, that's absolutely something that happens today in 1987.

Elvis Costello Turns 70: His 70 Best Songs, Ranked As Elvis Costello turns 70, Variety offers a list of the singer-songwriter's 70 best, most powerful songs, from 'Alison' up through his latest album.

Happy 71st birthday, Elvis. One year ago, I did this ranking of 70 favorite songs of his (feeling like I was barely scratching the surface of his catalog, and I'm sure I'd make a lot of different choices today)... variety.com/lists/elvis-...