By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
With 2023 coming to an end of the momentous celebrations of 50 years of hip hop, many wondered what could be next. The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has an answer with the announcement that for the first time ever the famed Roots Picnic, previously held in Philadelphia, is coming to the West Coast.
As part of the Hollywood Bowl 2024 season, Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop Is the Love of My Life will be staged on June 29.
Produced in cooperation with Live Nation Urban, The Roots are inviting their musical heroes and peers, including Queen Latifah, Common, Digable Planets, Arrested Development, The Pharcyde, Black Sheep and more to the event.
Tickets for Roots Picnic: Hip-Hop is the Love of My Life are now on sale at hollywoodbowl.com with the full 2024 season to be announced in February. For more information, visit the website or call 323-850-2000.
TICKET WATCH: Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 World Tour is a go. With 32 stops in arenas including a previously announced March 15 date in Inglewood as part of Rolling Loud California, it looms to be the biggest slate out ever for the rap star. Tickets go on sale to the public on Dec. 15 prior to her appearance that evening on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” via nickiminajofficial.com/tour.
Also going on sale that day at 10 a.m. are tickets for a couple of residencies in Las Vegas. Renowned hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan is making The Theater at Virgin Hotels their home in the city beginning Feb. 9 with select dates through March. AXS.com has the details.
Bruno Mars’ Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM is adding five new dates: Feb. 1–2, 5, 7 and 9. Ticketmaster.com will have your seats.
TASTY QUIP: “To be completely honest about it, if you were doing this film for $30 or $40 million, the interest in the cast would be very different. Once the film moved to $90 to $100 million, then everybody wants us to bring Beyoncé. ‘Can you get Beyoncé or can you get Rihanna?’ So we’re sitting in a room saying, ‘Listen, we love Beyoncé. We love Rihanna, but there are other actors who can do this job.’” – Producer OPRAH WINFREY to the Hollywood Reporter on casting “The Color Purple” opening Christmas Day in theaters.
CLIPPETTES: Grammy Award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Cory Henry (formerly of Snarky Puppy) and special guests are set for the Live In Love Benefit at The Mint on Dec. 15. The evening also finds DJ Quik with Jon B at The Novo, James Blake at The Bellwether, Ozomatli at The Observatory, the Depeche Mode Farewell Tour at Crypto.com Arena (also the 17th), and the beginning of two nights at the Cerritos Center for the Dave Koz & Friends (Jonathan Butler, Marcus Anderson, Rebecca Jade & Justin-Lee Schultz) Christmas Tour 2023 …
Marvel Studios announced that a new animated series titled “Eyes of Wakanda” will revisit the “Black Panther” lore and is due on Disney+ next year …
Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony perform Dec. 16 at The Bellwether while Lil Yachty is at Boardner’s, The Whispers are at Morongo Casino, Sarah Silverman & Friends cut up at Largo, and DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia hits the stage of Whisky A Go Go …
Lil Rel Howery & Friends Birthday Comedy Show is being held at Largo on Dec. 17, as Christmas shows are led by Wayne Brady & the Gay Men’s Chorus of L.A. at The Saban, Tower of Power at the Cerritos Center, Jane Monheit at Catalina Bar & Grill, and David Benoit at The Coach House …
Dec. 19 finds rapper Jay Electronica kicking off two nights at The Observatory, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons & Friends starting three nights at The Troubadour, and Victoria Victoria with guitarist Charlie Hunter at The Venice West …
Opening at the Pantages Theatre Dec. 20 for a run through Jan. 28 is the Broadway in Hollywood presentation of the national tour of “MJ The Musical.” The electrifying show featuring Roman Banks as the adult Michael Jackson hits all the right notes through its career-encompassing songbook. For tickets, visit: broadwayinhollywood.com/events …
Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton’s Just for The Funk of It Tour lands at Pomona’s Fox Theater on Dec. 21 as Blueface holds down The Observatory.
TASTY QUIP: “These Nielsen people try to say our ratings weren’t great, but we won a certain demographic. Hey man, to my team, f—- them. Don’t you worry about what people tell you about your ratings. Nobody knows what people are watching. They don’t! You got a group of people who get to dictate who gets hired and fired, and that’s the part that sucks about the Nielsen ratings.” – CHARLES BARKLEY on “The Steam Room” regarding “King Charles” – his new CNN Wednesday evening talk show with Gayle King
TC ON TV: Dec. 15 – “Barbie” (MAX): The top grossing movie of the year arrives to the streaming service. “The Family Plan” (Apple TV+): Mark Wahlberg stars in this “True Lies” like action comedy with Felicia “Snoop” Pearson of “The Wire” in a supporting role. “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” (Netflix): A sequel to the animated hit with voices by Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi and Nick Mohammed. “Finestkind” (Paramount+): A family drama with Ben Foster, Tommy Lee Jones and Jenna Ortega. “Yoh! Christmas” (Netflix): A South African comedy about a woman scrambling to bring a boyfriend home for the holidays. “National Christmas Tree Lighting” (CBS): Mickey Guyton hosts from the nation’s capital with performances by Samara Joy, Ledisi, Dionne Warwick, Darren Criss, Reneé Rapp, Joe Walsh and St. Vincent. “The 91st Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade” (CW): Montel Williams, Erik Estrada, Laura McKenzie and Dean Cain co-host the festivities that recognize Paula Abdul as the Humanitarian of the Year. “The 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards” (CBS): Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner of “Entertainment Tonight” host live from L.A.’s Westin Bonaventure. Susan Lucci (“All My Children”) is to receive Lifetime Achievement Honors from Shemar Moore.
Dec. 16 – “The Holiday Proposal Plan” (Lifetime): Tatyana Ali is the star and executive producer of this romantic movie. “The Christmas Detective” (OWN): Javicia Leslie (“Batwoman”) and Brad James (a holiday movie vet who happens to be married to Keisha Knight Pulliam of “The Cosby Show” fame) lead the cast. “A Christmas Intern” (Lifetime): Starring Jackée Harry and Vivica A. Fox. “Saturday Night Live” (NBC): Kate McKinnon hosts with musical guest Billie Eilish
Dec. 17 – “Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration” (CBS): A historic concert event featuring unforgettable collaborations and once-in-a-lifetime performances by Nelson, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert, Dave Matthews, Keith Richards, Chris Stapleton and others.
Dec. 19 – “Trevor Noah: Where Was I” (Netflix): The comedian riffs on national anthems, derailing a German sightseeing tour and getting roasted in Paris in this special about his world travels. “The Voice” (NBC): The live finale, part 2. “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (HBO): After 28 seasons, TV’s most-honored sports news magazine series, with 35 Sports Emmy Awards, including 20 for Outstanding Sports Journalism, comes to an end.
Dec. 20 – “Maestro” (Netflix): Oscar buzz surrounds this biopic of famed conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein produced by and starring Bradley Cooper. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” (Disney+): Another adaptation of the children’s book series with this version containing one of the final performances by Lance Reddick (“The Wire”) and a supporting cast featuring Glynn Turman and Lin-Manuel Miranda. “Gone Before His Time” (Tubi): Freddie Prinze Sr. “The Masked Singer” (Fox): The 10th season finale. “Survivor” (CBS): The 45th season finale.
Dec. 21 – “Whatever It Takes” (BET+): A holiday drama with Tami Roman, Kandi Burruss, Brely Evans and A.J. Johnson. “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2023” (ABC): With performances by Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Miguel, Jelly Roll, Flo Rida, Niall Horan, OneRepublic and more. “Selena + Chef: Home For The Holidays” (Food): The series closes with Chef Eric Adjepong. “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire” (Netflix): The latest from filmmaker Zack Snyder (“300,” “Army of the Dead”) is an ambitiously gorgeous looking sci-fi epic said to be what he had in mind for a now scuttled “Star Wars” movie. It stars Sofia Boutella (“The Mummy”), Charlie Hunnam (“Sons of Anarchy”), Djimon Hounsou (“Black Adam”) and Ray Fisher (“Justice League”).
END QUOTE: “Empathy begins with understanding life from another person’s perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It’s all through our own individual prisms.” — STERLING K. BROWN
As featured in the Los Angeles Wave and Independent, Tasty Clips is one of the leading entertainment columns in the nation, serving nearly one million weekly readers. Bill Vaughan may be reached at tastyclips@yahoo.com, via Twitter @tastyclips, or Instagram @tasty_clips.
