Seven ways to get shiny, healthy hair

Get enough protein

As your hair is made of keratin, a protein, not getting enough protein in your diet can lead to dry, brittle strands, says the nutritionist Jo Lewin. She recommends adding chicken, turkey, fish, dairy products and eggs into your diet. Good sources for vegetarians and vegans are legumes, nuts, tofu and quinoa. Complex carbohydrates and iron are also important.

Brush hair gently

The trichologist Anabel Kingsley notes that diet, although important, will only strengthen newly forming strands, not hair that has already grown. She says using the wrong brush is one of the most common causes of breakage, and advises using a brush with plastic, rounded prongs. Brushing hair from the ends and gently working your way to the top of the head also helps avoid snapping strands.

Air dry your hair when possible

Hairdryers and heated styling tools can leave hair brittle and lacking in shine. "Heat can, in a sense, cook the hair," says the dermatologist Dr Zoe Draelos. "Think of it like a piece of steak – it starts out nice and soft and flexible, but when you cook it, the steak changes texture and becomes hard. Similarly, hair transforms when exposed to heat over time." She recommends allowing hair to air dry when possible, and if using a hairdryer, to use a protective spray or serum and to start off on the lowest setting before gradually increasing the heat.

Exfoliate your scalp

Cold weather can exacerbate dandruff. Shampoos containing zinc pyrithione or salicylic acid are recommended to treat dandruff, or, for a cheaper option, try the Guardian beauty columnist Sali Hughes’s homemade recipe: pour sea salt flakes into shampoo and rub energetically into the scalp pre-shower.

Manage stress

Stress can cause hair loss, says Kingsley. Exercise, a healthy diet, meditation and prioritising sleep all help to de-stress body and mind.

Hydrate grey hair

Grey hair is often finer and more fragile, but can look coarser due to oil glands producing less sebum as we age. Matt Hawes, of Josh Wood Colour, advises using a hydrating and moisturising conditioner and oils such as argan and jojoba as part of a routine to soften hair and counteract dullness. Purple- and blue-toned products are also designed to brighten grey hair.

Have regular trims

It is essential to get rid of split ends before the damage travels upwards. Charlotte Mensah, multiple winner of the best Afro hairstylist at the British Hairdressing awards, recommends a trim every six to eight weeks. "Even though it is less obvious than with straight hair, Afro hair needs to be trimmed regularly to ensure you have better curl definition."

From Trio to Boygenius: in praise of all-women supergroups

There have been few all-women supergroups: by my count, 14 of note, spanning 60s R&B trio Honey Cone to Boygenius, the trio comprising burgeoning indie talents Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, who release their debut EP today. It is a comparatively rich era for such allegiances: Boygenius's existence is mirrored in country by Pistol Annies and in folk by I'm With Her. Even so, the "supergroup" designation can feel like a bad fit for bands comprising noted women musicians.

When their male counterparts unite, it's often in a show of strength that upholds tired rock norms: behold, wearily, the travesty of Hollywood Vampires (Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry). Groups of famous men joining forces often feels like fantasy football – all-star names with no cohesion – whereas for women it's often more akin to sharing a single easel, creating a space for their talents to complement each other. The young members of Boygenius – named to mock how easily male musicians are lauded as prodigies – found solace in one another as their careers rose in parallel and they encountered the same issues. Miranda Lambert started Pistol Annies to lift up two struggling songwriter friends; I'm With Her have remarked on the creative possibilities that exist when they're not relegated to singing high parts with men.

Another reason is that the scourge of jam-band culture lends itself to these male formations. The handful of noteworthy women supergroups stem from collaboration-oriented genres. The most famous example is Pistol Annies'predecessors Trio, the Grammy award-winning group of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris that formed in the mid 70s; country music is rooted in the idea of the songwriters'circle. Riot grrrl was rooted in Olympia, Washington State, and produced a not-insignificant number of super-unions. Many of them included Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony of Helium and Autoclave: they followed 90s duo the Spells with 2010 four-piece Wild Flag, and Timony later formed Ex Hex with some fellow punk lifers.

Radiohead, Stevie Nicks and the Cure among 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has revealed the list of nominees for induction into its 2019 cohort. Def Leppard, Devo, Janet Jackson, John Prine, Kraftwerk, LL Cool J, MC5, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Roxy Music, Stevie Nicks, the Cure, Todd Rundgren, Rufus and Chaka Khan and the Zombies are all in consideration for the historic honour.

Artists become eligible for selection 25 years after the release of their first record. An international voting committee of more than 1,000 artists, historians and members of the music industry will select five or six of these acts for induction into the Hall of Fame. Fans are also eligible to vote: the top five artists selected by the public will be tallied along with the committee’s votes.

Radiohead were among 2018’s potential inductees, but declined to attend the ceremony. The band’s guitarist, Ed O’Brien, said at the time: "As a British band, it’s one of those things that it’s very lovely to be nominated, but we don’t quite culturally understand it. It’s a very American thing. Us Brits are very bad at celebrating ourselves."

It is likely to be welcome news to Def Leppard. In 2017, guitarist Phil Collen said it was "pathetic" that the English heavy metal band had yet to be nominated for the award. "We’re a rock band that sold 100 million albums, most of them, actually, in America," Collen told Blabbermouth. "We’re a real rock band, we’ve been together for 30, or nearly 40 years, and the fact that that’s not recognised is kind of a bit weird."

LL Cool J was also nominated for the 2018 list. If the New York rapper is selected for the 2019 group, he will be the seventh hip-hop act to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, following Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, NWA and Tupac Shakur.

If Stevie Nicks makes the 2019 class, it will mark her second induction to the Hall of Fame. She is a member of Fleetwood Mac, who were inducted in 1998. She would become the first woman to be inducted more than once. As of 2017, 22 male performers had been inducted twice or more, with Eric Clapton receiving three inductions – as a solo artist, with Cream and with the Yardbirds.

Pop singer Børns accused of sexual misconduct

The US alt-pop singer Børns has been accused of sexual misconduct by a series of women.

The 26-year-old, whose real name is Garrett Clark Borns, is signed to Interscope and has released two albums, both of which reached the US Top 50. The second featured a guest spot from Lana Del Rey, who he has supported on tour. He describes the claims as "disturbing and false".

Four women have made allegations on Twitter. One former fan, Lyss, accuses him of "grooming" her for two years, including touching her inappropriately when she was 16 and requesting sexual images of her when she was 17. In an incident when she was 18, she says "he got me drunk, started touching me, and we went into his bedroom. The things he did were things I did not want, and it hurt. He was aggressive and controlling and I was so scared of him." She later added that she was not accusing him of rape or underage sex, and that the sexual contact was consensual.

Another woman, Mathilda, accuses him of exploitative and manipulative behaviour, saying he demanded nude photos and videos, and that their sexual contact, while consensual, made her "very uncomfortable".

A third woman, Nia, says she was "completely taken advantage of" by Borns while she was drunk, describing a sexual encounter that left her bleeding and another in which he refused to use protection. She also accuses him of inappropriately touching her in public.

An unnamed woman, whose messages were posted by the Twitter account "Exposing BØRNS", writes that the singer knew of her mental health issues and "took advantage of my being fragile … he goes after young, impressionable, unstable fans who he knows will do anything he wants them to including sending very explicit pictures and videos they're uncomfortable sending [because] they love him and don't want to lose his attention".

Borns has responded to the accusations in a statement on Instagram, saying: "I am both hurt and angered over the disturbing and false allegations over the past few days on social media. All of the relationships I have had were legal and consensual. They ended abruptly and that obviously caused hurt feelings, but for anyone to suggest anything beyond that is irresponsible."

What’s coming up in concerts and albums

Autumn is typically a wind-down time for the music business, with summer festivals and major album releases usually in the rear-view mirror. Speaking of things in the past, a survey of coming shows and anticipated albums reveals a slew of farewell tours, posthumous releases and even a “concert” starring a deceased singer.

But while we wave goodbye to two of the greatest pop songwriters of their generation (Paul Simon and Elton John, both on final tours) or listen to previously unreleased music from late icons Prince and Tom Petty, let’s loosen the black shawls a little. The coming music calendar includes the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s opera, a salute to Canada’s country music queen Shania Twain and highly anticipated books from a pair of acclaimed Indigenous musicians.


Paul Simon finishes off what he has announced to be his final tour with two shows at Madison Square Garden (Sept. 20 and 21) and a finale at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in his hometown of Queens, N.Y., on Sept. 22. Simon, 76, will release his latest album, In the Blue Light, on Sept. 7.

Fellow septuagenarian Elton John will don sequins and sunglasses for the last time for a Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour that hits Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City in late September.

Also quitting the road is Ozzy Osbourne (who plays Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on Sept. 4). Mind you, the Black Sabbath madman’s supposed farewell jaunt is called No More Tours 2, so don’t be surprised if he rises again.

Noticeably missing from the eclectic short list of 10 nominated albums for this year’s Polaris Prize are records by Neil Young, Gord Downie and the Grammy-winning Nova Scotia soprano Barbara Hannigan. Instead, those in contention for the $50,000 award are Alvvays, Jean-Michel Blais, Daniel Caesar, Jeremy Dutcher, Pierre Kwenders, Hubert Lenoir, Partner, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, U.S. Girls and Weaves. Despite the relative anonymity of some of the nominated artists, the gala ceremony (which happens in Toronto on Sept. 17) routinely features dynamite live performances by the musicians vying for the annual honour.


Kicking off the Canadian Country Music Association’s yearly award-giving bash will be a tribute to Shania Twain, the Grammy-decorated singer from Timmins, Ont. The salute, broadcast live from Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre (Sept. 9 on CBC), will feature Jess Moskaluke, Kira Isabella and Madeline Merlo.

Country music singer's uplifting new post-cancer album

 CATHERINE Britt has beaten breast cancer, but she didn't want her next album to focus on her health scare.

She says the roller coaster of diagnosis, treatment and remission over the past three years was crucial, though, to the outlook she now has on life.

The country music singer's seventh studio album Catherine Britt & The Cold Cold Hearts, out today, is steeped in positivity.

"You have to make a decision when you're going through something like that if you're going to be public or private about it, and that depends on the person's personality and your way of dealing with crisis," she says.

"I don't think anyone knows how they're going to act in that situation. My only real way to get through it was to work harder and keep busy. I did things during my treatment like the F U Cancer tour with the McGrath Foundation. It was my way of coping for sure.

"This new album is really not about that at all. It's got one song on there (I'm Not Ready) about almost dying and living life to the fullest, but I don't see it as a cancer song. I see it as a realisation to live life like everyday day is your last. I'm very blessed with that hindsight at 33. I feel very grateful in that way and I wanted to express that in the album.

"The rest of the record is such a positive record. It's all about travelling and our life for the past three years, and I'm really proud of that. I couldn't have written this record until after everything that happened."

There are a few love songs for her husband, James. The couple welcomed their son Hank into the world just two days after Catherine finished recording the album in her home studio, aptly named Beverley Hillbilly Studios.

"The next single is Met My Match. It's all about James, which he loves," she says.

"Every artist wants their own creative space but to record at that professional level is really cool. I was really lucky the label bought into the idea of doing the home studio thing instead of flying me to another part of the world and paying a big-time producer. After everything I've been through I want to be home."

Packing her family up in a camper van, Catherine is on the road in support of the album.

"We've officially rented our house out and are living in the caravan full time," she says.

"We're travelling with a six-month-old, but he's so good. We left when he was three weeks old, so he doesn't know any different. That's his life, which is pretty special."

She's looking forward to showcasing her long-time band members Michael Muchow and Andy Toombs, who make up The Cold Cold Hearts.

"These two guys are my best mates. They've been in my band for 20 years," she says.

"I've always wanted to do one of those 'artist and a band' projects like Ryan Adams & The Cardinals and Emmylou Harris & The Hot Band.

"When you're seven albums in you've got to do something different. I felt like it was finally time to give it a go and see where it goes. Maybe we can do a couple of records like this."

Enduring legacy of UWF music scholarship

The legacy of a longtime music enthusiast in Pensacola will benefit generations of University of West Florida (UWF) students.

A $166,000 gift will establish the Doris Jean Kahn Music Scholarship Endowment, supporting music students through an annual competition.

When Doris Jean Kahn arrived in Pensacola in 1946, she was already an experienced musician. She expressed her devotion to the art by joining the Pensacola Music Study Club and supporting the Pensacola Symphony and Pensacola Opera.

A special interest of hers was the Pensacola Music Study Club's scholarship competition for teens. The competition, hosted by the university, provides $1,000 scholarships to students between the ages of 14 and 19. The categories are strings, piano juniors, piano seniors, woodwind/brass and voice. Runners-up in each category receive an award of $200.

Dr. Sheila Dunn, chair of the UWF Department of Music, received one of those scholarships. "The Music Study Club's scholarship competition is near and dear to my heart," Dunn said. She won the Doris Jean Kahn scholarship in 1994 as a junior in high school and used the funding to attend Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. "Without question," she says, "that summer experience was the beginning of my journey toward becoming a professional musician. I am absolutely thrilled that the scholarship competition will live on to inspire future generations of young musicians."

The next scholarship competition will be held March 16th, 2019. It will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Pensacola Music Study Club.

Kahn's daughter, Dottie Kahn Galloway, said, "My mother enjoyed and studied music all her life. She would be so pleased to know her legacy continues through a scholarship endowment in her memory that encourages young music students in pursuit of excellence in performance."

UWF leaders say the endowment, given by the Robert H. Kahn, Jr. Family Foundation, will allow the competition and the scholarships to continue in perpetuity.

‘Kids in America’ singer returns to music because of UFOs

“Kids in America” singer Kim Wilde said an encounter with a UFO in 2009 was one of the reasons she decided to return to music and make a comeback.
                                                 

Wilde told the BBC after leaving the music business she got married and raised her children. However, two events pushed her to come back and give music a second chance.

Wilde claims she had an encounter with a UFO in 2009. She said she was sitting in the garden at her home with a glass of wine when she saw something.

“Then I looked up in the sky and saw this huge bright light behind a cloud. Brighter than the moon, but similar to the light from the moon,” she said.

“I said to my husband and my friend, ‘That’s really odd,’ so we walked down the grass and looked to see if there was any source. All of a sudden it moved, very quickly, from about 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock. Then it just did that, back and forth, for several minutes,” Wilde recalled.

“Whenever it moved, something shifted in the air — but it was silent. Absolutely silent.

The singer said she thinks about the moment every day and it gave her an idea for her new album, “Here Comes the Aliens.”

She sings on the album that maybe the aliens will “save us from the apocalypse.”

She said her career started to flatline in the 1990s when she became older and felt she could not keep up.

“I’d been in it since I was 20, then I was 36 and everyone, I felt, was doing it a lot better than I was. They had the ambition that I didn’t have anymore. When Madonna came along, I didn’t feel I could compete, so I said, ‘You know what? You’re best off being who you are, and that’s going to have to be enough,’” Wilde told the BBC. “Sometimes it was, and a lot of the time it wasn’t.”

Women in Music Comes to Miami

Women in Music held it’s first ever event in Miami with some 80 women in attendance, ranging from senior publishing executives to managers, publicists, concert promoters, songwriters and media executives. The turnout on a Friday night (Feb. 23) at Social Hive, an upstart video production and digital marketing company doing exciting creative work, signaled that Miami’s women in Latin music (because the vast majority were Latin) are more than ready to have a discussion about their place in the industry.
                                                   

The fact that many in attendance run their own companies after having worked for multinationals didn’t go unnoticed.

“When I moved to the U.S. there were a lot of women in the charts, and something happened and they disappeared,” said Paula Kaminsky, who was formerly VP of marketing for Sony Music Latin and now runs her own company, with Maná and Luis Fonsi among her clients. “I think the industry is not giving the support and patience women artists need.”

And because there seems to be limited space for women, they tend to compete with each other, added someone wryly.

But the tone on Friday evening was anything but competitive. Instead, it granted a rare opportunity to discuss as a group, and on many levels, how to move women’s issues forward in a positive and proactive manner.

Bringing Women in Music to Miami was the brainchild of Mayna Nevarez, who owns PR and marketing firm Nevarez Communications (clients include Daddy Yankee, Carlos Vives and Elvis Crespo) and met Women in Music directors at a breakfast at Midem last year.

Nevarez contacted Women in Music president Jessica Sobhraj and planned for a launch event in October that got postponed after hurricane Maria. On Friday night, global membership co-chair Cassandra Kubinski attended, and plans are underway to officially open a Miami chapter.

Motéma Music Turns 15: Jazz, Soul, World Music & More

On West 127th Street, inside the Harlem brownstone where she runs Motéma Music, label founder Jana Herzen, 58, sits in a high-ceilinged office with a stack of CDs in front of her. In recent years, an array of jazz, soul and world music artists have knocked on Herzen’s door and auditioned for her.
                                                 

Motéma has launched the careers of jazz-soul singer Gregory Porter, child-prodigy pianist Joey Alexander and Latin-funk bandleader Pedrito Martinez, among many others. It also has given refuge to veteran artists from major-label upheavals, including National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master pianist Randy Weston, pianist Monty Alexander, vocalist René Marie and the late pianist Geri Allen. In 2014, the label also released Why?, the first album in 13 years from former Cream drummer Ginger Baker.

How did you transition from theater to being a singer-songwriter?

I left the theater to pursue my muse as a musician. I traveled around the world and eventually recorded an album [Soup’s On Fire] produced by a French African [Shaka Ra Mutela]. That was in 1999. When I was promoting it, I got the idea of starting my own label. I got a couple of bites to sign, but I decided to do the DIY thing that led me to make it grow by promoting other people.

You went from artist to entrepreneur?

I had this huge learning curve, and [former Narada label executive] David Neidhardt helped me figure out how to run a label. We got noticed at the center of the jazz scene at the time. People like Todd Barkan at Jazz at Lincoln Center helped me to meet the right people musically, like [pianist] Randy Weston. I came from way outside of the jazz world, so I knew I could bring a new flavor in my approach to it.

How did you finance the label in the beginning?

I came into a little bit of money. My parents were arts supporters. Through their scientific work, significant patent money emerged. They told me at one point, “If there’s anything you want to do, talk to us, and maybe we can support you.”