Royal wedding to include gospel music

LONDON (AP) – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are striking a different note with the music for their upcoming wedding, mixing gospel with choral works as the soundtrack for what they pledge will be a joyful
occasion.

Kensington Palace said Tuesday that Harry and his American fiancee “have taken a great deal of interest and care” in selecting the wedding music. The palace says there will be performances by the St George’s Chapel choir and Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir, a gospel group from southeast England.

The performers include 19-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who says he was “bowled over” when Markle called to ask him to play during the ceremony.

The couple has revealed details of their May 19 upcoming wedding over several weeks, with more to come.

Pandora to create 250 jobs in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) – One of the largest music streaming services will create 250 jobs in Atlanta.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said in a news release Wednesday that Pandora will expand its presence over the next three years. The company plans to hire for positions in product and engineering, sales, client services, legal and human resources.

Deal calls Pandora’s expansion an “investment” to a highly-skilled Atlanta workforce.

Pandora CEO Roger Lynch says Atlanta is a proper place to expand because of the city’s rich music history, startup company culture and extensive higher education community

J. Cole to launch music festival in North Carolina in Sept.

NEW YORK (AP) – Platinum-selling rapper J. Cole is honoring his home state by launching a music festival in North Carolina this September.

Dreamville Records and ScoreMore Shows announced Friday that the inaugural Dreamville Festival will debut Sept. 15 in Raleigh at Dorothea Dix Park.

J. Cole, who was born on a military base in Germany, was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

“We’ve been trying to put this festival together for a few years now,” said Ibrahim `Ib’ Hamad, Cole’s manager and president of his label, Dreamville Records. “It’s just hard to come into a city and get the whole city to approve it and (get) behind you. So it was great that we took our time … and really connected with the city (and) connected with the mayor.” Tickets are available at www.DreamvilleFest.com.

Performers will be announced at a later date. Hamad said fans can expect a mixture of local performers, acts from the Dreamville label and contemporary stars.

“It’s going to be a variety of different acts that we love or excite us,” he said. “It’s something we want to build for years and years to come.”

J. Cole, 28, is announcing the festival a week after his critically acclaimed fifth album, “KOD,” was released and broke streaming records. Billboard reported the album would debut at No. 1 on its 200 albums chart; it would give Cole his fifth No. 1 effort on the chart.

“This album came out with really no promotion; we announced the album before we even put out a single and the reaction has been incredible, probably the best reaction of any of his albums because he’s comfortable in who he is, and he knows what he wants to say,” Hamad
said.