Topic: Music

Music news, from stadium-filling icons to the artists shaping the charts this week, covering new releases, reissues and the interviews and anniversaries that put a record's story in context. It ranges across genres and eras, so a look back at how a soul classic or disco anthem came together sits alongside coverage of what's charting or making headlines right now.

Beyond the music itself, this is where the people and decisions behind it get examined: why a band turned down a big break, how a songwriter settled on a lyric overnight, or what a veteran musician makes of the industry and the world today. There's also room for the wider culture around music, from touring and nightlife to the health and social benefits some readers get from it.

Taken together, it's a mix of nostalgia and the present tense, useful for anyone who wants to understand not just what's playing now but the stories and decisions that shaped the music they already know.

  • Legendary Rock Band JEFFERSON STARSHIP Releases New Single ‘Jetpack’

    Jefferson Starship, the veteran rock band formed by Paul Kantner in the 1970s, has released a new single called “Jetpack” alongside an official lyric video, marking a fresh chapter for a group that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. The release arrives while the band is on tour supporting Deep Purple across North America, offering fans…

  • Farm Aid 2026 to Air Live on CNN With Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and More

    Farm Aid will return to CNN for a second consecutive year, with the 2026 edition of the long-running charity concert airing live on Saturday, 26 September at 7pm. Founded in the 1980s by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp to support American farmers, the festival has raised more than $85 million for the Good…

  • Nickelback Unveil New Single “Leave Me Behind”: Stream

    Nickelback have released “Leave Me Behind”, the third single from their forthcoming album Everything Under the Sun, due out on 30th October. The mid-tempo rock track carries an emotionally weighty theme, continuing the band’s rollout of material ahead of the record’s release and giving fans another preview of its sound and lyrical direction. Frontman Chad…

  • Slayyyter Nails Hole Cover, To Courtney Love’s Delight

    Pop artist Slayyyter covered Hole’s 1994 song “Violet” for Triple J’s Like A Version series, earning a public seal of approval from Hole frontwoman Courtney Love. Love praised the performance in a cheeky social media post, joking that she had “employed” Slayyyter to work in her salon, delighting fans and underscoring the cover’s warm reception.…

  • The Hollies Break Up as Final Two Members of Classic Lineup Retire

    British Invasion band The Hollies have effectively broken up after guitarist Tony Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott, the last remaining members of the group’s classic line-up, announced their retirement on Thursday 20 August. Hicks, 80, is stepping back from touring for health reasons, and Elliott, 84, has chosen to retire alongside him in solidarity, bringing…

  • Napsack Announce New Album More Mountains: Hear “If I Could Write”

    Cleveland alt-country band Napsack have announced a new album, More Mountains, due out in October via the label Just Because. The band, formed in Chicago by singer Sarah Cuturic and drummer Will Cuneo before relocating, have not yet revealed much about the record’s full tracklist or themes, but they have shared a preview song alongside…

  • Trump’s Patriot Games Bomb in Ratings

    A ratings tracker reports that Donald Trump’s “Patriot Games” event, staged by the White House as part of the “Freedom 250” celebrations, drew a poor television audience on ABC. The broadcast pulled in just 1.21 million viewers, fewer than the network’s usual audience for a repeat episode of the decades-old game show that normally occupies…

  • Bonnaroo Music Festival to pause for 2027

    The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, held annually in Manchester, Tennessee, since 2002, will not take place in 2027, organisers confirmed in a social media statement. Producers C3 Presents, owned by Live Nation, described the hiatus as a “much-needed year off” and a difficult but deliberate decision intended to strengthen the festival’s future. The announcement…

  • Stray Kids Search For Connection in Emotional ‘After You’ Video

    Stray Kids have released the music video for “After You,” a pop dance track from their album THIS & THAT, which recently became their ninth consecutive Billboard 200 number one. The video, released on Spotify, marks the latest milestone for the K-pop group as the album continues to perform strongly, having reportedly surpassed 100 million…

  • Sam Smith Wears Their Heart on Their Sleeve With the Lovestruck ‘Hazel Eyes’: Album Review

    Variety’s Jem Aswad has reviewed Sam Smith’s new album “Hazel Eyes”, describing it as a lovestruck, largely acoustic reset that marks a stark departure from the singer’s previous record, 2023’s “Gloria”. Where “Gloria” was musically wide-ranging but sonically consistent, built around big pop moments such as the global hit “Unholy”, “Hazel Eyes” strips things back…