Xmas Rock

Jingle Ball 2017 holiday concert returns to Dallas with Kesha and more

Jingle Ball is back.

Photo courtesy of Kesha

The Jingle Ball Tour, the annual holiday pop-music concert, is back in 2017, and Dallas will be the launch point, with a lineup that includes The Chainsmokers, Kesha, and Camilla Cabelo.

Two of the other cities on the tour feature Taylor Swift as a headliner. But when you have Kesha, who needs Taylor?

Officially called the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2017 Tour Presented by Capital One, the tour will stop in only a dozen cities. Even without Taylor, Dallas can feel good. It's the first stop on an itinerary that includes big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Tampa, and Miami.

Tickets go on sale on October 16 at 12 pm, and will be available at iHeartRadio.com/JingleBall. Capital One cardholder get early access to tickets from October 11-14, or while supplies last. They're so optimistic! Those special early tickets will be available at iHeartRadio.com/CapitalOne.

At each city, one Capital One cardholder will also get an exclusive opportunity to announce an artist on stage.

The 2017 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball tour schedule is as follows:

November 28 — Dallas/American Airlines Center
The Chainsmokers, Charlie Puth, Kesha, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

November 30 — San Francisco/Sap Center, San Jose
Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

December 1 — Los Angeles/The Forum
Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, The Chainsmokers, Sam Smith, Demi Lovato, Logic, Kesha, Niall Horan, Halsey, Charlie Puth, and Liam Payne

KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball 2017 will video stream exclusively live on CWTV.com and The CW App and will air as a 90-minute special on The CW Network on December 14.

December 4 — Minneapolis/Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul
Fall Out Boy, Kesha, Charlie Puth, Niall Horan, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

December 6 — Philadelphia/Wells Fargo Center
The Chainsmokers, Fall Out Boy, Kesha, Halsey, Logic, Niall Horan, Charlie Puth, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

December 8 — New York/Madison Square Garden
Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, The Chainsmokers, Sam Smith, Halsey, Fall Out Boy, Demi Lovato, Logic, Charlie Puth, Niall Horan, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

December 10 — Boston/TD Garden
Fall Out Boy, Kelly Clarkson, Fifth Harmony, Halsey, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello, and Why Don’t We

December 11 — Washington, D.C./Capital One Arena
Fall Out Boy, Kesha, Logic, Zedd, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

December 13 — Chicago/Allstate Arena
The Chainsmokers, Demi Lovato, Charlie Puth, Kesha, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

December 15 — Atlanta/Philips Arena
Demi Lovato, Logic, Zedd, Fifth Harmony, Nick Jonas, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

December 16 — Tampa/Amalie Arena
Zedd, Nick Jonas, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, and Why Don’t We

December 17 — Miami/BB&T Center, Fort Lauderdale
Demi Lovato, Logic, Fifth Harmony, Nick Jonas, Charlie Puth, Camila Cabello, Liam Payne, Julia Michaels, and Why Don’t We

As always, 106.1 KISS FM's Jingle Ball in Dallas will work with the Kidd's Kids program of the Kraddick Foundation, whose mission is to provide hope and happiness by creating beautiful memories for families of children with life-altering or life-threatening conditions.

festivals

Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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Jingle Ball 2017 holiday concert returns to Dallas with Kesha and more

Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

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