new york

A digital vaccine passport app has been made available to New Yorkers in a bid to speed-up the reopening process for business and venues in the state. 

The “Excelsior Pass” is a free, voluntary app that uses secure technology to confirm if a person has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus, or has recently tested negative for the virus. The app will then generate a QR code for the user, which participating venues and businesses will be able to scan upon arrival. 

Parisian techno DJ and producer Anetha has announced a new compilation series on her label, Mama Told Ya. 

Each compilation in the four-part series will be inspired by one of the elements. The first, ‘L'eau repousse les feux agressifs’ – which translates as ‘Water repels aggressive fires” – is inspired by water, and features 16 tracks from the likes of Croatian Amor & Varg²™, Tommy Holohan, Sugar, Isabella and more. 

A new documentary on the power of dance music, Where Love Lives, is out this week.

New York music venues can open at 33% capacity from April.

Last month, NYC governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the city would begin to reopen venues in February with a number of precautions in place, including crowd numbers limited to 10%

The Notorious B.I.G. documentary has landed on Netflix today.

Earlier this month, streaming giant Netflix shared a trailer for a new documentary about Brooklyn-born rapper Biggie Smalls AKA The Notorious B.I.G., who was murdered in 1997, aged 24.

New York is planning to reopen large venues in the city this month.

Back in March 2020, clubs and live music venues across New York City were forced to close as a result of an order by mayor Bill DeBlasio, to help slow down the spread of the coronavirus.

It has now been announced by NYC governor Andrew Cuomo that the city, which was one of the worst impacted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, will begin to reopen venues later this month with precautions in place.

New York State is set to host over 300 free pop-up arts and music performances in a bid to “accelerate the revival of the arts” and “revitalise the spirit and emotional well-being of New Yorkers”.

NY PopsUp has been greenlit by New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and is set to kick off on 20th February, running until 6th September. The event series is described as being “the state’s first large-scale model for how to bring live performance back safely after this prolonged COVID-related shutdown”.

Rough Trade has announced plans to shut its NYC store.

In a statement on Facebook yesterday, record store chain Rough Trade announced that its flagship NYC store in Brooklyn would be closing after eight years.

Speaking about the decision, Stephen Godfroy, Rough Trade co-owner said that the pandemic had given the team a chance to “rethink our approach, giving us the opportunity to reconsider how best to serve the rapidly increasing number of vinyl lovers in New York - that in spite of the adverse conditions surrounding the pandemic, demand for vinyl is positively booming."