Woodstock 50 just can't catch a break in Vernon, New York. For the third time, the festival's proposal to move the anniversary event to Vernon Downs race tack has been denied, this time by the Vernon Planning Board who voted late Tuesday (July 16) to reject an appeal by festival organizers after their application was denied last week and their first appeal was turned down days later.

Johnny Clegg, a South African musician who performed in defiance of racial barriers imposed under the country’s apartheid system decades ago and celebrated its new democracy under Nelson Mandela, died Tuesday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 66.

Shawn Mendes and Carly Rae Jepsen were among the 40 long-list contenders knocked out of the running for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize when the final votes were tallied for the short list. The 10 titles up for best Canadian album are Marie Davidson’s Working Class Woman; Elisapie’s The Ballad of the Runaway Girl; FET.NAT’s Le Mal; Dominique Fils-Aimé’s Stay Tuned!; Les Louanges’s La nuit est une panthère; Haviah Mighty’s 13th Floor; PUP’s Morbid Stuff; Jessie Reyez’ Being Human In Public; Shad’s A Short Story About A War; and Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ Trapline.

On July 23, Christian book imprint Zondervan will publish The Latin Hitmaker, a memoir by Latin producer and songwriter Rudy Pérez. This exclusive excerpt begins when Ron Fair, then-head of RCA, asked Pérez to produce Christina Aguilera’s Spanish-language set, following the huge success of her debut album in 1999.

While live music and the hard-of-hearing might seem like an unlikely duo, more and more events are employing the services of sign interpreters for their deaf patrons. “Word has gotten around to the deaf community that they have a voice,” says Sara Groves, interpreter manager at RISE Interpreting. “They have the option to go and enjoy music just as anyone else would with the help of a facilitator to provide them communication access.”

Puerto Rican trap singer Bad Bunny has paused his European tour to go home and join thousands of civilians who are protesting against Governor Ricardo Rosselló, demanding his resignation.