Song tips

I’m a U2 fan. So when tickets went on sale on April 27 at a new, not-yet-open dome-shaped Las Vegas entertainment facility called The Sphere, I went to the Ticketmaster Web site. I ended up with four seats for the Irish band’s October 27th show. Tickets in the near-nosebleed 400 section were a reasonable $140, including Ticketmaster’s notorious fees.

In the ancient artform of Noh, masked figures clad in elaborate robes use songs and chants to weave tales of gods and ghosts, love and loss from Japanese legends. It emerged in the 14th century, making it one of the world’s oldest surviving theater traditions. But despite its long history and influence over other art forms—including Kabuki—Noh remains relatively lesser known.

It’s not often that traveling off-grid for a vacation actually accomplishes lasting relaxation. For any sense of real remoteness, I’ve long come to terms with the fact that you usually need to sacrifice some luxury: Hiking through silent desert valleys, camping in elephant-adjacent safari tents, and sleeping in jungle-nestled tree houses lit only by candlelight all come to mind as the kinds of places I’ve savored the off-grid experience, but felt there was a mandatory “roughing it” subtext. Often, you have to choose between remoteness and relaxation—but every once in a while you find the rare place that serves you both on a silver platter; that happened for me for the first time recently over a stay at Ambergris Cay, a completely private island located in the southwest Atlantic off the main chain of Turks and Caicos.

The first time I was introduced to a Japanese workout routine called Radio Taiso was on a trip to Japan in 2020. Radio Taiso is translated as "radio calisthenics," and it's based on a public-radio broadcast that began in 1928 in Japan.

I was sitting on the couch in my sweatpants, waiting for the phone to ring while pretending I wasn’t, when I got the call. “I’m so sorry, Annie,” my fertility nurse, Mio, said sympathetically. “Your embryo transfer didn’t work.”

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In today's hospitality industry, only some resorts truly grasp the art of holistically catering to adults and children. Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, especially post-pandemic, has discerned the growing need for parents and children to emphasize mental and physical wellness. What makes Punta Mita uniquely captivating is its commitment to striking a balance, ensuring both age groups are indulged in equal measure.

The late Jimmy Buffett’s popular song “Margaritaville” was based on his time in Key West. Although Margaritaville was a fictional oasis (turned restaurant and resort) where people operated on island time, the Florida Keys is a real-life sanctuary where the sun sets in the west and it's always five o’clock. It's also a great place for a group trip. I hadn’t been on one of this magnitude since my high school marching band and I bombarded the staff at Kalahari. During the week-long vacation with 14 friends, I was most interested in going to the beach, enjoying the pool, and napping in the sun (lathered in sunscreen, of course) without a care in the world.

While all living animals require sustenance to fuel their bodies, the relationship between humanity and food is far more complex than simply a means of survival. A wealth of iconic films, television series, and songs have been created to pay homage to dishes all across the globe, and beyond the world of media, each individual culture across the planet is intimately familiar with the concept of “comfort food.” From Louisiana’s jambalaya to Colombia’s ajiaco to South Korea’s tteokbokki, these storied dishes highlight the deep solace that humans can find through a simple meal—and in the modern era, Silent Chef showcases this storied relationship at its most visually stunning.

After playing three years with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and establishing himself as one of the nation’s best college tennis players, Christopher Eubanks turned pro in 2017 and recently won his first ATP title at the 2023 Mallorca Championships. Before he began competing in the 2023 US Open, I met with Eubanks at Parker’s at Thompson Central Park — a craft cocktail bar in the lobby atrium redesigned by Thomas Juul-Hansen and named after Jazz legend Charlie Parker — where we discussed his warm-up music, playing Pickleball with Jamie Foxx and the power the crowd can have during a tennis match.

“In 2016 my dear friend the hotelier Liz Lambert, who owns El Cosmico in Marfa, held her wedding reception at her ranch nearby. She's from West Texas—her family are cattle ranchers. The people who have opened businesses in Marfa all live in the town or are from Texas, so there's a personal touch to everything. I live in New York, where I'm surrounded by buildings and people, hustle and bustle. Marfa, though, is true tumbleweeds. You can hear all the animals, bugs, and snakes clicking, rattling, and shuffling. You also can't go anywhere without being accosted by the sun. The adobe and the bricks, everything, feels warm and baked. We flew into El Paso and then drove for four hours. The movie Bagdad Cafe has this song with the line “A desert road from Vegas to nowhere.” That's what it was like: stretches of land where there was absolutely nothing. Then the rain swept in and completely took over. The air smelled sweet because all the cacti were blossoming. When we arrived, this guy Dan had made a humongous barbecue pit the size of an actual cow, and there were all these cowboys hanging out, drinking beer, and stoking the fire. Liz collects a really interesting cornucopia of people. You'll be at dinner sitting next to a very famous person on one side and a cattle rancher playing the banjo on the other. The night of the wedding, the style was insane. Guests wore custom boots and hats with their own specific shape, right down to the brim. It started pouring rain, and we were all under a tent lit by a handful of candles. People were dancing on tables. I don't really care for country music. It's not my thing. But the stomping and the laughing…every single person flooded the dance floor and was celebrating. I find that the level of intimacy you have with a place when you're with somebody local is so much deeper than when you just go and look around as a tourist. It's such a different feeling.”

Having journeyed through London with my excited five-year-old by my side this summer, I've realized that the UK's bustling capital, often imagined as a playground for adults, holds numerous hidden treasures for the younger ones. If your child dreams of Peppa Pig adventures and majestic palaces like mine, London will transform those vivid fantasies into cherished memories. Beyond the iconic landmarks they recognize from beloved cartoons, the city offers unique and often overlooked experiences tailored just for children. Here are the best activities for kids in London.

Few rock musicians are better qualified to talk about the intersection of music and healing than Rick Allen, drummer of Def Leppard . The band’s album ‘ Pyromania ’ was selling millions of copies in the U.S. and their videos were all over MTV when in 1984 he lost his left arm in a car crash. His bandmates famously stood by him and he remained in the group — retraining himself with new techniques and a customized electronic drum kit. Allen’s Raven Drum Foundation now helps other survivors of trauma. I spoke with Allen about the power of drum circles, drinking tea with AC/DC’s Bon Scott and the music he is most proud of making.

Yodeling has been practiced probably for as long as humans have expressed themselves through song. But the singing style synonymous with Switzerland and its Alpine neighbors hasn’t always been a crowd-pleaser.

Despite being the region’s smallest country, Estonia’s dizzying shift from Soviet state to high-tech hub catapulted the nation onto the world stage. But digital innovation is not this compact country’s only draw. To help maximize your trip, we consulted local experts, ranging from film directors to tour guides and musicians, for their best tips.

Hong Kong's Intervals lounge is a new airport bar concept that offers great views and a space that is open to all ... for a price.

Whether you’re cooling off on the East or West coast this summer, you’ll want to take in one of the hottest shows now playing. If you’re in New York, your choices are vast but you’ll also find plenty of high quality theater in California.

If the Irish didn’t invent the pub, they’ve certainly espoused its cause with great vigour. The pub retains a pivotal place in Irish society. It’s the place where stories are narrated, deals and pacts are made, jokes are told and traditional music is heard.

Game of Thrones, or rather the book on which it’s based (A Song of Ice and Fire), is set in an immense world, incorporating several continents, seven kingdoms, and large unmapped areas. The HBO film crews travelled thousands of miles to capture environments for the show.