NEAR TRUTHS: FAMILY ACTS

KICKING UP SOME DUST: Word has it that Fred again.. is a lock for the Coachella 2025 lineup, but much chatter surrounds the other headliners. Will Jelly, Post or Morgan top the bill? Will anyone fill the No Doubt slot? Where is Travis Scott, given that Kendrick Lamar is unavailable due to his Super Bowl halftime commitment? Time to slather on some sunscreen, because this thing’s already blazing hot.

THE FAMILY BUSINESS: The Grainge family’s prominence in today’s business—as chronicled in a recent Sunday Times piece and elsewhere—is remarkable and unparalleled. Much has been made of the fact that dad Lucian runs UMG and son Elliot now runs Atlantic Music Group. And let's not forget the importance of Lucian’s late, great older brother, Nigel, whose influence stretched over several decades and whose Ensign Records (Thin Lizzy, 10cc, The Waterboys, Sinead O’Connor, Boomtown Rats, World Party) was a force to be reckoned with. Lucian and Nigel’s dad, Cecil, ran a London shop that sold records—no doubt sowing the creative and commercial seeds of the present dynasty.

There are other prominent music-biz families, of course, from Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun and the Lipman brothers to the Ienners (Donnie’s torrid run at Columbia, Jimmy’s impressive stretch as producer of Grand Funk, Three Dog Night, The Raspberries and more), Irving Azoff and son Jeffrey—whose family business is an empire, with Full Stop, GMR, Oak View and more worlds to conquer—and Clive Davis and his sons Doug and Fred.

And then there are the Dickinses: WME honcho/Adele agent Lucy, Adele manager Jonathan, dad and ITB founder Barry, uncle and erstwhile Warner U.K. boss Rob and granddad Percy, who founded NME in 1952.

Two Grainges atop two different companies, however, would appear to be unprecedented.