This is some real apex pre-gaming. The most cost effective, convenient, and — judging from the actions of the commuting 20-something year old Long Islanders traveling to Brooklyn — the most lit way to the Barclays Center is indeed the Long Island railroad.

It’s 7:22 PM, and a couple of dozen Travis Scott fans get on the LIRR, drinks in tow. It's more than 30 minutes before “AstroWorld” opening act Sheck Wes is scheduled to take the stage, but you can already (literally) hear the buzz, as they excitedly talk loud and proud about young La Flame.

As some guzzled beers, one young lady had a liter of Coca Cola in one hand and a bottle of liquor covered by a brown paper bag in the other. She alternated drinking both just seconds apart. One guy yelled “Astro” while the crowd answered back “World!!!” A few minutes later it seemed like just about everyone in the train car was shouting “f--k the club up!!”

They were feeling it. Because they’ve seen it. We’ve all seen it. Scott has steadfastly worked his way to top four status, along with the current rap crown-holders Drake, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.

Yes, his girlfriend and the mother of his child is one of the world’s most famous billionaires, and a member of the most headlining-grabbing family in the world, the Kardashians. But Travis built himself up by himself. By endorsing and designing sneakers for the Jordan Brand, curating music for the commercials for the immensely popular 2K video games with LeBron James, and producing for one of the greatest producers of all time, Kanye West, Scott has done the work and reaped the benefits. Nothing has paid off more than the reputation the Houston native has built with his “raging” stage shows. He’s arguably the best live performer of any genre right now.

Scott has become a fixture on the festival circuit the last half decade. From Coachella, to Rolling Loud, to Made In America, he has amassed a following that not only want to buy tickets to his show, but will stand in line for an hour at these shows just to buy hundreds of dollars of merch to collect and wear.

2018’s first leg of the “Astroworld” World tour was such a cash cow, that more dates were added for 2019 and Travis has been selling out shows of stage bonanza in every city.

From the train-ride to the rollercoaster ride, welcome to Travis’ funfair. The Astroworld moniker comes from a now torn-down amusement park that was that Scott frequented in Houston, and the tour is aimed to feel like a day at the park. To whit, the Barclay’s show featured the star rapping upside down while riding on a Ferris wheel, standing on roller coaster car that hung above the crowd crawling on a track while a fan strapped into the accompanying seat damn near giggled to death with glee.

Two stages on each side of the Barclays faced each other with a wide enough gap to fit a few thousand people on the floor in a giant mosh pit. The main stage had a screen which displayed everything from Scott being chased by some new world order, to computer animated kids having a ball throwing up green slime. The second stage had the aforementioned Ferris wheel. That’s where Travis would start the show.

“Star Gazing” fired up the rocket ship. Immediately the ragers were leaping up and down to the beat.

Scott definitely has the most energetic fans in all of hip-hop. Chairs can’t hold them. Nobody sat down.

“Choose a side,” Scott said as he gazed down on the fans from the stage telling them to open up the mosh pit. “Pick a side. Please choose wisely. Please keeps your hands and feet inside the ride at all times.”

Midway through the show, the moment arrived that that Long Island crew on the LIRR has practicing for.

“F--k the club up bi--h,” Scott and his following started chanting on “No Bystanders.” The audience looked they were engaged in a full-on Royal Rumble, but no. No violence, no animosity, and most importantly, none of that pretty or prissy stuff. This was intense, explosive energy.

Later, Scott’s DJ said he wanted to turn the concert into a house party and dropped “ZeZe” by Kodak Black.

“Ice water, turned Atlantic./ Nightcrawlin' in a Phantom,” Travis rapped.
Told them, ‘hold it, don't you panic’./Took an island, (Yeah) flood the mansion./Dropped the roof, more expansion.”

During “Beibs in the Trap” the front of the roller coaster track that hung above, slowly descended to the main stage. Travis and a fan got on the car and road it.

Travis kept it to the ground during “Antidote” and brought two more fans up on stage to ride the roller coaster when “Goosebumps” came on. 

Before the last call on the amusement rides, Travis imparted some sage words of advice.

“No matter what may come your way, always go ‘Sicko Mode on a muthafu--a.”

When the beat came on, the entire Barclays began singing Travis’ first number one hit.

“Sun is down, freezin' cold,” they began singing for Drake who not present. “That's how we already know winter's here./ My dawg would prolly do it for a Louis belt./
That's just all he know, he don't know nothin' else./I tried to show 'em, yeah...”

La Flame later came in on his part.

“Woo, made this here with all the ice on in the booth,” he rapped. “At the gate outside, when they pull up, they get me loose. /Yeah, Jump Out boys, that's Nike boys, hoppin' out coupes. / This shit way too big, when we pull up give me the loot. /Was off the Remy, had a Papoose.”

More than five years after their split and following several months of rumors, The Jonas Brothers announced they were reuniting and sealed the deal by dropping a new song, "Sucker.”

Friday night they gave fans a taste of their new music with a surprise show in NYC, but it sounds like the rest of us won’t have to wait long to get our dose of JoBros – they hinted that there’s gonna be a tour. In an interview with Elvis Duran they said they’ve written 30 to 40 new songs already!

If you haven’t watched yet, check out the video for “Sucker” - it features the Jonas ladies. Nick's now-wife Priyanka Chopra, Kevin's wife Danielle Jonas, and Joe's fiancée Sophie Turner appear with the guys in the clip.

Plus the brothers are kicking off a week on The Late Late Show with James Corden starting TONIGHT! Tune in, but while we wait, check out “Sucker” and all the best new tracks on Slacker’s New Pop Now station!

Keith Flint, a provocative frontman of British electronic music giants The Prodigy, was found dead at his home in the east of England on Monday. He was only 49. Explore his legacy on '90s Electronic.

Reba McEntire will host the ACM Awards for the 16th time this year, and she was also the one who had the honor of announcing all the nominees.

Chris Stapleton and Dan + Shay lead the pack, with six nominations each, not counting four more for D+S’s Dan Smyers as writer or producer (yep, he’s got a total of 10). Kacey Musgraves is close to the top with five nominations, and Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha each got four.  First time nominee producer Ian Fitchuk, who produced Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour, got six nominations total, the other five in the studio recording categories.

It’s disappointing but not surprising that there are no women in the Entertainer of the Year category for the second year in a row. “It doesn’t make me very happy because we’ve got some very talented women who are out there working their butts off,” Reba said after making the announcements. “I’m missing my girlfriends on this.”

Also, how is it possible that Chris Young isn’t in the Male Artist category? And three-time Entertainer of the Year winner, and nominee again this year Jason Aldean isn’t in the Male Artist category, either. That’s weird, right? And where are Kelsea Ballerini, Dustin Lynch, Cole Swindell, and oh – a fifth New Female Artist nominee?

Surprises include Jake Owen’s nod for “Down to the Honky Tonk” as Single of the Year, his first nomination in a decade. He won New Male Vocalist in 2009, and that’s the last time he was nominated for anything. And David Lee Murphy is up for his first ACM in 23 years for Music Event of the Year with Kenny Chesney on “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”

Let’s talk about the new artist categories. Due to some loopholes, it’s possible to be nominated in those categories more than once, and a lot of this year’s nominees have been, even after having had massive hits for a couple of years. Luke Combs is a prime example, and I mentioned this when the CMA nominations came out, too. He’s had four number ones from two albums – is he really “new?” High Valley, LANCO, and Runaway June were all up for New Duo or Group last year, and here they are again. And Danielle Bradbery and Carly Pearce were both nominated for New Female Artist last year and again this year.

We’ll find out who wins what April 7th, live from Las Vegas on CBS. And here’s the full list of artist and song nominees:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban

DUO OF THE YEAR
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
LOCASH
Maddie & Tae

GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
LANCO
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Danielle Bradbery
Lindsay Ell
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jimmie Allen
Luke Combs
Jordan Davis
Michael Ray
Mitchell Tenpenny

NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
High Valley
LANCO
Runaway June

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Dan + Shay – Dan + Shay
Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers / Matt Dragstrem
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville

Desperate Man – Eric Church
Producers: Jay Joyce / Arturo Buenahora Jr.
Record Label: EMI Records Nashville

From A Room: Volume 2 – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb / Chris Stapleton
Record Label: Mercury Nashville

Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
Producers: Ian Fitchuk / Daniel Tashian / Kacey Musgraves
Record Label: MCA Nashville

The Mountain – Dierks Bentley
Producers: Ross Copperman / Jon Randall Stewart / Arturo Buenahora Jr.
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville

SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Down to the Honky Tonk – Jake Owen
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Big Loud Records

Heaven – Kane Brown
Producer: Dann Huff / Polow Da Don
Record Label: RCA Nashville

Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
Producer: Wilshire for Rock The Soul Ent
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records

Most People Are Good – Luke Bryan
Producers: Jeff Stevens / Jody Stevens
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville

Tequila – Dan + Shay
Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Break Up In The End – Cole Swindell
Writers: Jessie Jo Dillon / Chase McGill / Jon Nite
Publishers: EMI April Music Inc. / Nite Writer Music (ASCAP) / Songs of Universal, Inc. / Plum Nelly (BMI) / Big Music Machine (BMI)/ Big Ass Pile Of Dimes Music (BMI)

Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton
Writers: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
Publishers: WB Music Corp./House of Sea Gayle Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights/Spirit Catalog Holdings, S.a.r.l. admin. by Spirit Two Nashville (ASCAP); Straight Six Music (BMI)

Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
Writers: David Garcia, Tyler Hubbard, Joshua Miller, Bebe Rexha
Publishers: BMG Platinum Songs/Kiss Me If You Can Music (BMI) (all rights administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC) Big Loud Mountain (BMI) and T Hubb Publishing (BMI). All Rights Administered by Round Hill Works. Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. on behalf of itself and Songs of the Corn and Jack 10 Publishing. Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing (ASCAP) D Soul Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)

Space Cowboy – Kacey Musgraves
Writers: Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves
Publishers: Smack Hits/Smack Songs, admin by Kobalt Music Group ltd. (GMR); Universal Music Works/We Are Creative NBaSmack Hits/Smack Songs, LLC, admin. by Kobalt Music Group Ltd. (GMR); Universal Music Works/We Are Creative Nation/Jake and Mack Music, admin. by Universal Music Works; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./351 Music (BMI)

Tequila – Dan + Shay
Writers: Nicolle Galyon / Jordan Reynolds / Dan Smyers
Publishers: Beats and Banjos (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP), A Girl Named Charlie (BMI) / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) / Buckeye26 (ASCAP) / Jreynmusic (ASCAP)

Yours – Russell Dickerson
Writers: Casey Brown / Russell Dickerson / Parker Welling
Publishers: BMG Platinum Songs/Kailey's Dream / So Essential Tunes / Not Just Another Song Publishing / Hillbilly Science and Research Publishing/Trailerlily Music 

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
Babe – Sugarland featuring Taylor Swift
Producer: Roger Hunt
Director: Anthony Mandler

Burn Out – Midland
Producer: Ben Skipworth
Director: TK McKamy / Cameron Duddy

Burning Man – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne
Producer: Nate Eggert
Director: Wes Edwards

Drunk Girl – Chris Janson
Producer: Ben Skipworth
Director: Jeff Venable

Shoot Me Straight – Brothers Osborne
Producer: April Kimbrell
Director: Wes Edwards / Ryan Silver

Tequila – Dan + Shay
Producer: Christen Pinkston
Director: Patrick Tracy

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)
Ross Copperman
Ashley Gorley
Shane McAnally
Chase McGill
Josh Osborne

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Burning Man – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne
Producers: Ross Copperman / Jon Randall Stewart / Arturo Buenahora Jr.
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville

Drowns the Whiskey – Jason Aldean featuring Miranda Lambert
Producer: Michael Knox
Record Labels: Macon Music, LLC; Broken Bow Records; BBR Music Group; BMG

Everything’s Gonna Be Alright – David Lee Murphy featuring Kenny Chesney
Producers: Buddy Cannon / Kenny Chesney / David Lee Murphy
Record Label: Reviver Records

Keeping Score – Dan + Shay featuring Kelly Clarkson
Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville

Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha Featuring Florida Georgia Line
Producer: Wilshire for Rock The Soul Ent
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records