Entertainment

Gangstagrass hip-hop/bluegrass hybrid sensation releases Nickel and Dime Blues new anticipated single on May 15th.
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For Mother's Day we re-visit our Spotlight series of yore, where musician mamas and sons share how their moms Socially Sparked their lives. Click on the images below for these features: Live From Mom's House with Eliot Lewis Bill Morganfield Sings the Blues Away Trailblazing Musician Mamas Inspire Women Eliot Lewis Eliot Lewis and his [...]

International Jazz Day sparks will be at a social distance this year -- virtually. Jazz celebrations normally abound worldwide to close out the month of April. Physical events are cancelled due to COVID-19, but Jazz Day festivities are going on with Jazz Day at Home virtual events from artists around the world! TECHNOLOGY AMPLIFIES JAZZ [...]

Livestream benefit concerts are soaring in the pandemic era. Saturday brings two benefits to the limelight. All Together Now LA starts at 2PM PT/5PM ET and the Band Together Benefit online Festival for NOLA musicians at 3PM CT/4PM ET. A positive trend is brewing in the virtual benefit music event arena and it's via livestream [...]

Legendary singer Kenny Rogers is dead at 81 of natural causes. RIP.
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L'aissez les bon temps roulez is the Socially Sparked® quote of the week. Mardi Gras 2020 is in high gear through this coming Tuesday, February 25th. Known as Fat Tuesday -- this fitting expression truly captures the essence of one that is Socially Sparked! Through my travels to New Orleans over the last few weeks, I [...]

Folk singer songwriter Woody Guthrie’s legendary song ‘This Land Is Your Land’ is still made for you and me as the anthem turns 80 on February 23rd. The folk hero and his timeless song have Socially Sparked® our lives since 1940. There have been many renditions over the decades of Woody’s unofficial classic anthem since [...]

Twofers return as NYC Off-Broadway Week 2020 begins. From February 10th thru February 23rd, theatre lovers -- New Yorkers and visitors alike -- can seize the opportunity to take in an Off-Broadway show for a steal -- two for one tickets. The twice-yearly program celebrates live theatre at its most spontaneous and intimate. The 11th [...]

This year’s pricey Super Bowl Ad spots did not deter some brands to advertise their social responsibility messages for social change. The ad spots came at the high price of $5.6 million dollars, and that’s just for a thirty second spot! Yet, social justice messages flooded the Big Game’s Ads in 2020 reflective of the [...]

The ultimate music love-in fest is full of roots and called Folk Alliance International. This year in New Orleans, the music conference opened with a clear theme defining what Folk Music is all about and why it’s Socially Sparked® our lives. It’s all about the roots of people and place as the 32nd annual Folk [...]

EPILOGUE Remembering the legendary bassist Jim Rodford today. Jim Rodford died on January 20, 2018, months after our Socially Sparked® Spotlight Interview was first published for Father's Day 2017. His death was sudden due to a fall down the stairs; days after a performance. Socially Sparked News spotlight feature with the legendary bassist for The Zombies, [...]

The Light of Day Foundation and its quest to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease and the Parkinsonisms (ALS and PSP) begins with the power of music. The power of music to heal is a given. The power of music to raise awareness and funds for a cause -- in this case, for debilitating neuro-degenerative [...]

Comedian Yakov Smirnoff and his brand of neutral humor have Socially Sparked® our lives for over four decades. We caught up with the comedian at the APAP NYC conference this week to hear what he’s been up to, catch his APAP Showcase and discover what’s Socially Sparked his life. Russian born iconic comedian Yakov Smirnoff [...]

Six Oscar® Nominee facts that Socially Sparked® and a few that had the adverse effect. The Academy Awards® reveals this year's nominees with a few firsts and historical statistics. Yet, when it comes to the main categories, there is an obvious regression in all their 2018 progress towards leveling the playing field in Diversity and [...]

Here comes Winter Broadway Week 2-for-1 Tickets in 2020! Beginning January 21st thru February 9th, theater lovers will be able to purchase up to two tickets to select Broadway shows for the price of one! Tickets are on sale now through the official Broadway Week Page. Broadway Week is a bi-annual theater celebration offering discounted [...]

NYC Restaurant Week® is a culinary mecca that is Socially Sparked®. The city's flagship dining program returns this winter from January 21st and runs thru February 9th. Foodies and non-foodies alike will have the opportunity to experience and enjoy over 350 diverse participating restaurants across 45 diverse neighborhoods across all five  boroughs for the next [...]

The curtain goes up for JanArtsNYC on New Year's Day and does not come  down until the last day of January. Each year New York City becomes a performing arts mecca all month-long as artists and organizations around the globe trek to the Big Apple to network, perform and book their artistry and shows for [...]

Down to the Roots Deep in Muddy Waters

 

The NYE Crystal Ball and NYC are ready to sparkle atop One Times Square to ring in the new Decade. Each year the Times Square Alliance, NYPD and New York City prepare for millions of visitors converging on the 42nd Street area to celebrate the upcoming year. The iconic New Years Eve Crystal Ball receives [...]

The Socially Sparked® year in pictures returns with our annual round-up of all the people, places, events and causes that Socially Sparked® our world in 2019. SOCIALLY SPARKED NEWS brings you 'Real News that Sparks'. We spotlight the intersection of pop-culture and social change via the crossroads of advocacy / activism, entertainment, music and technology. [...]