Music

In 1964, Pete Townshend heard the best songwriter ever. Decades later, he still worships the ground he walks on

• Ray Davies’s songwriting influenced Pete Townshend from the start.
• Townshend praised Davies’s poetic language and originality.
• The Kinks’ songs captured a changing English landscape.

Pete Townshend has credited Ray Davies of The Kinks with shaping his approach to songwriting, particularly its poetic language and narrative focus. The article argues that Davies’s influence helped inspire Townshend’s later ambitions to make rock music more expansive and conceptually ambitious, including works such as *Tommy*. Townshend…

The Chicks and Kacey Musgraves complete State Fayre’s 2027 line-up

• The Chicks and Kacey Musgraves join Shania Twain as headliners.
• Organisers call it a first for a major UK camping festival.
• State Fayre returns to Chelmsford from 18 to 20 June 2027.

Newly announced headliners The Chicks and Kacey Musgraves complete State Fayre 2027’s bill alongside Shania Twain. Organisers describe it as the first all-female headline lineup for a major UK camping festival, as the event returns for its second edition. State Fayre will run at Hylands Park in Chelmsford…

Agents Look Ahead as AI Keeps Advancing: ‘We Have the Privilege of Being in a Human Industry’

• Rising costs are squeezing tour margins.
• Ticket gross plateaued in 2024 and 2025.
• Agents see touring as too human for AI to replace.

Six booking agents from major agencies said live music is adjusting to slower growth, tighter tour budgets and rising production costs, while touring remains a relationship-driven business they do not expect AI to transform substantially. Their comments matter for artists and fans as higher costs and ticket prices…

Coachella Reveals 2027 Lineup

• Dua Lipa, Tame Impala and SZA will headline Coachella 2027.
• The festival runs across two weekends in April.
• A Justice exhibit and a special Daddy Yankee billing are planned.

Coachella has announced Dua Lipa, Tame Impala and SZA as the headliners for its 2027 festival, confirming reports that had circulated for months. The event will return to the Empire Polo Club in Indio across two April weekends, with a wide-ranging line-up spanning pop, rock, electronic and hip-hop.…

Coachella reveals 2027 line-up with four headline acts

• Dua Lipa, Tame Impala and SZA lead the 2027 bill.
• Daddy Yankee joins as a fourth headliner.
• The festival runs across two April weekends.

Coachella has revealed the line-up for its 2027 festival in Indio, California, with Dua Lipa, Tame Impala and SZA headlining Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. Daddy Yankee is also billed as a fourth headliner, with a special production planned. The festival runs over two weekends, 9–11 and 16–18…

21-year-old Russian soccer star Aleksey Batrakov is tearing up the Champions League for Galatasaray. Turkish fans are even serenading him with ‘Kalinka.’

• Batrakov has scored four goals in four Champions League appearances.
• Galatasaray fans have embraced the 21-year-old Russian midfielder.
• His summer move followed a 17-goal, 12-assist season at Lokomotiv.

Aleksey Batrakov, a 21-year-old Russian midfielder, has made an immediate impact since moving from Lokomotiv to Galatasaray at the end of the summer. His Champions League goals have made him a fan favourite in Turkey and drawn attention across European football, at a time when Russian players rarely…

Artist creates world’s biggest soil painting

• Phil Lambert’s soil painting measures 61,000 sq cm.
• It surpasses the previous record of 59,458 sq cm.
• Save Soil hopes it will raise soil health at COP31.

Artist Phil Lambert has created the world’s largest soil painting, verified at 61,000 sq cm, to draw attention to soil health and the need to restore degraded land. Save Soil says the artwork supports its call for soil regeneration to be prioritised at the UN climate conference COP31.…

Ole Miss student apologises; Senate backs permit bill as Shakira announces Venezuela return

The student acknowledged making racist gestures outside a flat shared by three Black students. A Senate-backed bill would set firmer deadlines for project challenges, while Shakira is set to return to Venezuela in 2027.

“That’s absolutely the biggest factor”: When might King Crimson offshoot Beat make new music?

• Beat will reassess its future after next year.
• New music has not been attempted because members are busy.
• Belew expects to decide his own plans by January.

Adrian Belew says Beat will decide its future after the end of next year, once members’ existing commitments allow them to consider what to do next. The King Crimson offshoot has so far focused on touring music from the band’s 1980s era, and it remains undecided whether Beat…