Google announced in an email to G Suite users on Friday, June 5, that Currents, the Google+ replacement, will be available to users beginning July 6. Google touts Currents as a tool where companies can “build a productive community where everyone stays on the same page.” Currents has an updated look and feel to Google+ and provides additional features for users and administrators.

In April 2019, Google shut down Google+ due to low interest and usage of the social network product and announced the beta launch of Currents. After Currents becomes generally available on July 6, 2020, users and their organization’s existing Google+ content will be automatically transitioned to Currents.

Currents includes a home stream and allows sharing of links, images, etc. Additionally, the new Currents mobile app will replace the Google+ iOS and Android mobile apps, which will no longer be supported. After July 6, 2020, it will not be possible to opt out of Currents or revert back to Google+.

In Currents, enterprise administrators will have the ability to enable certain content moderation and administrative privileges for users in their organization.

The rollout of Currents occurs during a time when many are working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currents is not a social media platform and its look is different from Google+, more closely resembling Slack or Microsoft Teams products.

Willie Nelson and wife Annie Nelson will welcome James Taylor, Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, and more as part of A Night For Austin, a benefit concert to aid those in Austin, Texas, who have been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-hour event, which premieres June 10 at 8 p.m. CT, will be televised locally on CBS Austin (KEYE) and available for viewing via livestream.

The concert event is produced by Luck Productions. Viewers can also make donations virtually, with all proceeds benefiting the Austin Community Foundation’s Fund, which will help MusiCares Austin, People Fund, Central Texas Food Bank, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, and other charities.

“We were incredibly honored and excited that Paul Simon and his team tapped Luck to produce this event and to benefit our own community of Austin,” said Matt Bizer, co-founder of Luck Productions. “It means a lot for us to be able to support this community that has always inspired and provided for us and we are excited to be doing it alongside an amazing group of talented individuals, organizations, artists who themselves represent the unique fabric and soul that makes Austin our home.”

Also appearing are Edie Brickell, Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, John Hiatt, Jerry Douglas, Boz Scaggs, Ryan Bingham, Black Pumas, Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, Augie Meyers with Los Texmaniacs, Flaco Jiménez with Los Texmaniacs, Patty Griffin, Alejandro Escovedo, Lukas Nelson, Gary Clark Jr., Britt Daniel (Spoon), Jimmie Vaughan and The Tilt-a-Whirl Band, David Ramirez, Charlie Sexton with Doyle Bramhall II, Terry Allen, Norah Jones, Ethan Hawke, Renée Zellweger, Woody Harrelson, and Owen Wilson.

Riser House/Columbia Nashville recording artist Mitchell Tenpenny was surprised Thursday (June 4) by the founding member of his Night Owls fan club, Chris, with an RIAA Gold certification plaque for “Alcohol You Later.” The news came during a Q&A livestream session Tenpenny was hosting for his fans. Tenpenny closed out the livestream session with an acoustic performance that included “Alcohol You Later.”

“This is how important the fans are!” Tenpenny said. “This is 100% the fans gold record and I am forever indebted to those who have given me a career and a chance. Thank y’all from the bottom of my heart.”

Tenpenny previously earned a 2x multi-Platinum certification for his single “Drunk Me.”

All Them Witches is releasing a new album, Nothing as the Ideal, on Sept. 4 via New West Records.

The eight-song set was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in the legendary Studio Two and was produced by the band and Mikey Allred. The new album is the group’s most experimental work to date, and is also their first full-length album as a trio. The project follows up All Them Witches’ acclaimed 2018 ATW LP and last year’s standalone single “1X1.” The first track from the album is “Saturnine & Iron Jaw.”

Nothing as the Ideal will be available digitally, on CD, and as a standard black vinyl. A limited clear vinyl version will be available at indie retailers, and an opaque green vinyl edition will be available via their U.S. webstore while a green, olive, and peach tri-color vinyl edition will be available on their European webstore with both U.S. & Euro versions limited to 500 copies apiece. A deluxe picture disc vinyl edition with reversed cover artwork and a 24×36 poster limited to 750 copies will also be available.

Three music veterans have teamed to form one of Nashville’s newest bands. Producer and multi-instrumentalist Marshall Altman, Death Cab for Cutie drummer Jason McGerr, and vocalist Audrey Assad have formed trio The Overstory, and release their first track, “Perfect Sense,” today (June 5).

“The songs have come from real places, without fear, and are filtered through each of our experiences as musicians, writers, partners, and parents trying to balance life,” says McGerr, whose previous collaborations with Altman include Matt Nathanson’s platinum-selling, career-defining album Some Mad Hope. “It goes without saying that it’s a paramount time to be documenting one’s emotional output with people you love and respect.”

The group’s three members wrote and recorded half of the album in a single week at Altman’s Berry Hill studio, and finished the work early in 2020.

“As a band, we’re determined to make music we believe in, and write songs that reflect the truth of our experiences,” says Altman, who produced Assad’s first two critically-lauded albums, The House You’re Building and Heart. “I am so grateful to pursue that end with these two people.”

Assad agrees, adding, “Making music with Jason and Marshall is a dream come true for a tired artist. In my previous lane, I got so used to pulling punches — I forgot what I was even trying to say in the first place. We tell the truth. And it feels like breathing pure oxygen.”

Altman has produced for artists including Amy Grant, Frankie Ballard, Eric Paslay, Natasha Bedingfield, and more. McGerr has been with Death Cab for Cutie since 2003; in that time, the band has released five albums and was nominated for eight Grammys. As a solo artist, Assad has released six full-length albums.

The Overstory will release a full-length, self-produced album later this year.