The B-52s and Devo team up for the Cosmic De-Evolution Tour including Hollywood Bowl

The B-52s and Devo, will unite for the 2025 “Cosmic De-Evolution Tour”: a co-headlining 11-date run serving as both bands’ continuing concert farewells. Lene Lovich will open the celebratory trek, which runs late September to early November. 

Tickets will be available starting with CITI and AMEX presales (details below) happening now. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on sale beginning Friday June 20 at 10 AM local time at LiveNation.com.

CITI PRESALE: Citi is the official card of the Cosmic De-Evolution Tour*. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Monday, June 16 at 12 PM local time until Thursday, June 19 at 10 PM local time through the Citi Entertainment Program. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com. *LA date is not available within this presale.

AMEX PRESALE: American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets for the Los Angeles show before the general public beginning Monday, June 16 at 10 AM local time through Thursday, June 19 at 10 PM local time.

“In 2022, I swore I’d never get on a tour bus again” said Fred Schneider “but we were careful to say to our fans that we would still perform in special situations that don’t require all of the awful tour travel. Our Vegas residency is going great, and when we were offered the chance to do a small run of shows with Devo, we all said this is an extraordinary opportunity we couldn't say no to.”

Added Kate Pierson, “When we first came from Athens to New York City to perform, punk was in full force…and New Wave was right on its tail! We loved all the New Wave groups, including Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Blondie and the Ramones. We also really dug the far-out weirdness of Devo, which seemed very in tuned to our sensibilities. We remember one of our first shows-- amazed that David Bowie, Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, Allen Ginsberg, Talking Heads and Blondie all came to see us! When we opened the Mudd Club, we partied with Devo and really hit it off on the dance floor. Later, Brian Eno went onto to produce Devo’s incredible first album…and now we will align again ! So put on your wig hats and Devo bonnets and get ready to party! This is going to be wild.”

Said Cindy Wilson, “When both of our bands performed at the recent SNL 50 concert at Radio City, we started talking and agreed we had to do these shows” says Cindy Wilson. “Believe or not, we’ve never done more than a festival or two together in all this time. This will be amazing and I can’t wait for The B-52s to share these stages with Devo!”

Said Mark Mothersbaugh, "The B-52s had one of the best sounds of any of the bands out there in the late 70’s early 80’s - Rock Lobster is one of my favorite songs - DEVO used to sing it to Booji Boy after DEVO shows. It was either fate or luck or the SNL anniversary that brought us all together to create this amazing chance to go out on tour. All I can say is Cosmic Devolution is REAL!"

Added Gerry Casale, "Devo and The B-52s on tour together! That it took almost 50 years to happen is rather mind-blowing. But better late than never. We each did something right in different ways that withstood the test of time. Now we're here to prove we can still "bring it" as they say!"

The B-52s— led by original co-founders Fred Schneider (vocals), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards), and Cindy Wilson (vocals)—kicked off their extended goodbye run back in 2022. Since that time, they have electrified select venues and large music festivals across the U.S. and even established a Las Vegas residency at The Venetian Theatre, powered by their colorful, danceable iconic classics that have made a seismic impact on New Wave and music history. As they prepare for a 2025 farewell tour, a high-profile documentary and their first official book, The B-52s undoubtedly stand poised to inspire and influence future generations.

This curtain-call timing overlaps with Devo, who are also fronted by three of their original members: Mark Mothersbaugh (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Gerald Casale (vocals, bass, keyboards), and Bob Mothersbaugh (guitar, vocals). In 2023, the fellow New Wave icons (“Whip It,” “Uncontrollable Urge”) kicked off their own farewell tour, 50 Years of De-Evolution, paired with a compilation album of the same name. That jaunt has since been extended and continues through the summer and fall of 2025.

TOUR DATES:

9/24 - Toronto, ONT @ Budweiser Stage
9/25 - Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
10/2 - Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
10/4 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
10/5 - Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
10/16 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
10/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
10/24 - Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
10/25 - Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
11/1 - Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
11/2 - Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sponsored by Huntsman

Tour update: Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks has announced a new round of live performances. Ticket presales begin on Wednesday, June 18 at 10am local time. General on sale is Friday, June 20 at 10am local on livenation.com.

The singer, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee as a member of Fleetwood Mac and solo artist, released her first new music in nearly five years with the original song “The Lighthouse.” A women’s rights anthem, “The Lighthouse” received strong critical praise for its timely theme and was released alongside a powerful music video. 

Nicks did a live TV performance of “The Lighthouse” last October on NBC’s Saturday Night Live during their 50th anniversary season. Nicks began 2025 deeply affected by the damaging wildfires that swept through her Los Angeles neighborhood and gave a performance at the fundraising concert Fire Aid in February 2025. 

In a recent interview, Nicks said she is working on material for a new studio album. 

TOUR DATES:

August 8 – Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center^

August 12 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
August 15 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
August 19 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
August 23 – Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center
August 27 – Columbia, SC – Colonial Life Arena
August 30 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
September 3 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live^
September 7 – Detroit MI — Little Caesars Arena^
October 1 – Portland OR – MODA Center^
October 4 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center^
October 7 – Phoenix, AZ – PHX Arena
October 11 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
October 15 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
October 18 – Atlantic City, NJ – Boardwalk Hall^
October 21 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center^
October 25 – Hartford, CT – PeoplesBank Arena^

 

^NEW SHOWS: Tickets on Sale Friday, June 20

Veteran Canadian alt-rock band Sloan return with new album in September

Since I interviewed the band for 2018 album 12, I'm really looking forward to this...

Juno Award-winning Toronto-based rock quartet Sloan return with their fourteenth studio album, Based on the Best Seller, set for September 26 release on Yep Roc Records. 

The group has unveiled, “Live Forever,” the album’s first single available on all streaming platforms. Written by Sloan’s Jay Ferguson, Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland and Andrew Scott, and co-produced by the band along with Ryan Haslett, “Live Forever” blends existential humor with a dose of sharp pop commentary, exploring the unexpected downsides of immortality and the enduring pull of nostalgia.

“If given the chance to live forever, would we even want to? Careful what you wish for. Would you want to feel 80 for hundreds of years? I guess that’s the kind of hard-hitting question this song tackles. It also predicts that we will all have ‘90s nostalgia – once we’re 100 years old,” said Chris Murphy of Sloan.

“It's not a challenge to make a 14th album,” Sloan’s Jay Ferguson says, “But sometimes it's a challenge to think of a new overarching theme for a 14th album (and The Kinks’ 14th album was Soap Opera, essentially a TV play and complete story arc set to music, so clearly Ray Davies didn't have that problem). Our band has the capability to perform different styles within the rock/pop (or pop/rock) sphere, but it's often hard to harness the group to adhere to one particular style or theme. That's okay though. With four songwriters, we tend to make music that perhaps doesn't always naturally hang together under one (opened) umbrella but that's our style, and that style is continued on Based on the Best Seller. Nevertheless, whether it's Chris harmonizing on my songs, Patrick harmonizing on Chris' songs or Chris and our keyboardist Gregory vocally backing-up Andrew, I think those elements help tie together this (and previous) Sloan albums.”

The First Edition LP of Based on the Best Seller is pressed on clear gold color vinyl! Limited to 2,000 copies worldwide. Pre-orders will ship in September. Go to yeproc.com for details.

Now more than 30 years into their career, Sloan has grown from a promising Halifax band into a revered indie rock institution. Celebrated for their unwavering lineup and democratic approach, all four members contribute as singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists. 

This summer, they hit the road to tour across Canada, with performances in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia and British Columbia, and more dates to be announced soon. 

Track listing:

Capitol Cooler
Dream Destroyer
Open Your Umbrellas
Baxter
Congratulations
Live Forever
So Far Down
Fortune Teller
No Damn Fears
Collect Yourself
Here We Go Again
I Already Know

Elton John news

Elton John - Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper will be released on July 25 via UMe. 

Initially released on a limited vinyl run for this year's Record Store Day, it now gets a wider release, available both digitally and on CD for the first time, alongside a vinyl repress. The CD and digital editions include a brand-new bonus track, "Goodbye," plus the original twelve-song tracklist, personally curated by Elton, and additional liner notes.

In May 1977, Elton John took the stage at London’s Rainbow Theatre with percussionist Ray Cooper for a six-show residency. These performances were the first of 233 Elton-and-Ray only shows that would follow and featured the live debut of “Roy Rogers”, “Cage The Songbird”, “Idol”, and “I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)”.

May 1977 was the first time in five years that a full month had passed without an Elton LP or single appearing on the UK charts. It had also been eight months since his last performance, after averaging one show every four days throughout the previous seven years. Ticket holders expecting to see a typical Elton concert were in for a big surprise. The first half of the set would be Elton alone at the piano, the second half would see him accompanied by Ray Cooper, the two performers working together telepathically, harking back to the earliest days of Elton’s rise to superstardom. The stripped-back performances have since been regarded as some of the finest of his career.

Speaking on the album, Elton John says: “I’m delighted that Live from the Rainbow Theatre with Ray Cooper will be available for my fans to enjoy. It’s an album I’m incredibly proud of, and listening back to it, I’m astounded by how great it sounds. The freedom I felt playing with just the two of us is something I will always remember.”

The release comes in the wake of Elton’s chart-topping album with Brandi Carlile, Who Believes In Angels? 

Track List:

The Greatest Discovery

Border Song
Cage The Songbird
Where To Now St. Peter?
Ticking
Better Off Dead w/Ray Cooper
Sweet Painted Lady
Tonight w/Ray Cooper
Idol w/Ray Cooper
I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford) w/Ray Cooper
Roy Rogers
Dan Dare (Pilot Of The Future)
Goodbye*

*Bonus track available on digital and CD release only

Elvis Presley news

RCA Records/Legacy Recordings will release Sunset Boulevard on August 1 — a 5CD collection chronicling Elvis Presley’s recording sessions and rehearsals at RCA’s legendary Los Angeles studios.

Spanning 89 rarities - over half of which have never been released in the United States - Sunset Boulevard covers Elvis’ 1970s recording output. This includes rare alternate studio versions of “Separate Ways, “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” and “Burning Love.”

Listen to “Burning Love - Take 2,” here: https://Elvis.lnk.to/BurningLoveTake2

The collection’s first two discs (which will also be released on their own, as a special 2 LP ‘highlights’ set) feature new and never-heard mixes from four-time GRAMMY winner Matt Ross-Spang - stripping all overdubs and delivering fresh insights in the process. It opens with selections from Elvis’ time in RCA Studio C, including material Kris Kristofferson, Paul Williams, Billy Swan and Don McLean. 

Sunset Boulevard is available for pre-order today - coming out August 1 in 5-CD and digital formats, including archival photographs and new liner notes from music historian Colin Escott, plus an introduction by longtime friend Jerry Schilling. Also available August 1 will be a 2-LP ‘highlights’ edition, comprising the newly mixed studio recordings and outtakes - which will also be available in a Graceland Exclusive Color Variant. For more information visit: https://Elvis.lnk.to/SunsetBoulevard

The release of Sunset Boulevard will also be celebrated at Elvis Week 2025 in August in Memphis - a special edition of the annual festivities, in honor of what would have been Presley’s 90th birthday year. Sony Music will host a Sunset Boulevard listening event at Graceland’s Guest House Theater on Wednesday August 13 - featuring a Q&A with special guests and much more. For more information and to reserve tickets visit: ElvisWeek.com

Disc 1 – The Masters

1. Burning Love

2. Always On My Mind
3. Where Do I Go From Here
4. Separate Ways
5. For The Good Times
6. It’s A Matter Of Time
7. Fool
8. T-R-O-U-B-L-E
9. And I Love You So
10. Susan When She Tried
11. Woman Without Love
12. Shake A Hand
13. Pieces Of My Life
14. Fairytale
15. I Can Help
16. Bringin’ It Back
17. Green, Green Grass Of Home

Disc 2 – Outtakes Highlights

1. Separate Ways - Take 25
2. For The Good Times - Take 3
3. Where Do I Go From Here - Take 2
4. Burning Love - Take 2
5. Fool - Take 1
6. Always On My Mind - Take 2
7. It’s A Matter Of Time - Takes 1–3
8. It’s A Matter Of Time - Take 4
9. Fairytale - Take 2
10. Green, Green Grass Of Home - Takes 2 and 3
11. And I Love You So - Take 2
12. Susan When She Tried - Takes 1 and 2
13. T-R-O-U-B-L-E - Take 1
14. Tiger Man
15. Shake A Hand - Take 2
16. Bringin’ It Back - Takes 2 and 3
17. Pieces Of My Life - Takes 2 and 3

Disc 3 – July 24, 1970 rehearsal:

1. That’s All Right

2. I Got A Woman
3. I Got A Woman
4. The Wonder Of You
5. I've Lost You
6. The Next Step Is Love
7. Stranger In The Crowd
8. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
9. Something
10. Don't Cry Daddy
11. Don't Cry Daddy
12. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
13. Polk Salad Annie
14. Bridge Over Troubled Water
15. I Can't Stop Loving You
16. Just Pretend
17. Sweet Caroline
18. Love Me Tender
19. Words
20. Suspicious Minds
21. I Just Can't Help Believin’
22. I Just Can't Help Believin’

Disc 4 – July 24, 1970 rehearsal (continued):

1. Tomorrow Never Comes
2. Mary In The Morning
3. Twenty Days And Twenty Nights
4. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
5. Just Can't Help Believin’
6. Heart Of Rome
7. Heart Of Rome
8. Memories
9. Johnny B. Goode
10. Make The World Go Away
11. Stranger In My Own Home Town
12. I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water

August 16, 1974 rehearsal

13. If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
14. If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
15. Promised Land
16. Promised Land
17. Down In The Alley
18. Down In The Alley

Disc 5 – August 16, 1974 rehearsal (continued):

1. It’s Midnight
2. It’s Midnight
3. Your Love’s Been A Long Time Coming
4. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues
5. Softly As I Leave You
6. Softly As I Leave You

7. I’m Leavin’
8. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
9. Proud Mary
10. If You Talk In Your Sleep
11. If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
12. If You Love Me (Let Me Know)
13. The Twelfth Of Never
14. Faded Love

15. Just Pretend

For more format details, go to elvis.com. 

David Byrne album, tour news

Last week, Talking Heads revealed a new music video for its classic 1977 tune "Psycho Killer" starring Saoirse Ronan in advance of a deluxe reissue edition of the album More Songs About Buildings and Food.

Now comes word of singer/songwriter David Byrne's Who Is the Sky? - his first new album since 2018’s acclaimed and award-winning American Utopia. It will be released September 5 by Matador Records. 

The album was produced by Grammy-winner Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), while its 12 songs were arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. Click here to pre-order the album, including a limited Cantaloupe Orange / Strawberry Pink split vinyl featuring a lenticular cover.

Musical friends old and new, including St. Vincent, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, The Smile drummer Tom Skinner and American Utopia percussionist Mauro Refosco, also make appearances on Who Is the Sky?, which is led by the single "Everybody Laughs.” Along with the song, Byrne has released its official video, directed by multimedia artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo.

“Someone I know said, ‘David, you use the word “everybody” a lot.’ I suppose I do that to give an anthropological view of life in New York as we know it,” says Byrne. “Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling. Everybody’s wearing everybody else’s shoes, which not everybody does, but I have done. I tried to sing about these things that could be seen as negative in a way balanced by an uplifting feeling from the groove and the melody, especially at the end, when St. Vincent and I are doing a lot of hollering and singing together. Music can do that – hold opposites simultaneously. I realized that when singing with Robyn earlier this year. Her songs are often sad, but the music is joyous.”

“It took me a second to realize, oh yeah, these songs are personal, but with David’s unique perspective on life in general,” adds Kid Harpoon (aka Tom Hull). “Walking around New York listening to the demo of ‘Everybody Laughs’ was so joyous, because it made me feel like we’re all the same – we all laugh, cry and sing. The thing about David that resonates with a lot of people is that he’s in on the joke. He gets the absurdity of it all, and all of these personal observations are his perspective on it.”

Byrne will also return to the road with a brand new live show in support of Who Is the Sky?. The touring band will comprise 13 musicians, singers and dancers, including members of the American Utopia band, all of whom will be mobile throughout the set.

The North American tour begins in September, with Australia & New Zealand dates kicking off in January 2026 and European & United Kingdom dates starting the following month. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 13 and can be purchased HERE. Fans can sign up for the artist presale now through June 12 at 10 p.m. local HERE. The artist presale will begin Tuesday, June 10 at 10 a.m. ET through Thursday, June 12 at 10 p.m. local. See the full tour itinerary below.

In 2023, as his triumphant American Utopia era came to a close after morphing from an album and tour into an acclaimed Broadway show and then a Spike Lee-directed HBO film, Byrne began jotting down the occasional groove, chord or melody. It had been a minute.

During the tumultuous three prior years, “I did a LOT of cooking (Mexican and Indian mostly) and a LOT of drawing,” says Byrne, who also started compiling lyric ideas and phrases for possible songs. “I’ve found that when the time comes, it’s easier to start if there’s a little stockpile – and before too long there was. Very rudimentary songs began to emerge, with just me on acoustic guitar singing over a programmed loop or beat.”

And with the world, and the in-progress American Utopia Broadway run, on pause, he, like much of humanity, took the opportunity to ask, “Do I like what I'm doing? Why am I writing songs, or working this job, or whatever? Does any of it matter?"

Byrne’s attempts to answer those weighty questions can be found on Who Is The Sky?, which builds upon the optimistic themes laid out by American Utopia and its supporting tour, and more specifically spelled out by the Grammy-winning Broadway show and subsequent movie. 

Byrne was inspired to enlist Ghost Train Orchestra for the album after hearing their 2023 tribute album to the blind New York composer and street poet Moondog, and later that year jumped on stage with the group during a Brooklyn performance. Enticed by the 15-member Ghost Train’s varied instrumental lineup – which includes drums, percussion, guitar and bass along with strings, winds and brass – he thought to himself, “what if that’s what these new songs of mine sounded like?” Byrne asked if they’d want to serve as his band for the Who Is The Sky? sessions, and they quickly agreed.

“David sent me some demos and asked us to put together some orchestral ideas,” says Ghost Train Orchestra leader Brian Carpenter. “Curtis Hasselbring and I quickly wrote a couple rough draft arrangements of his songs for Ghost Train, including ‘My Apartment Is My Friend,’ which was the first song we rehearsed at our tiny rehearsal space in Chinatown. To hear him singing with us for the first time on that song was just incredible.”

Via an introduction at a party by a friend, Kid Harpoon came into the picture next. “Sometimes things do happen at parties,” Byrne notes. “I knew this could all get complicated and I also wanted to be sure the recordings sounded as good as possible. An outside set of ears can be super helpful. A few artists I knew had worked with Kid Harpoon, and I thought those records sounded really good.” Byrne sent Harpoon some demos, and after a discussion at the former’s Santa Monica hotel, he jumped aboard too.

There are “more story songs than usual” on Who Is the Sky?, according to Byrne. These “mini-narratives are based on personal experience.”

Added Byrne:

“I suspected that intimate orchestral arrangements would bring out the emotion I sense is there in these songs,” says Byrne. “It’s something that folks don't always hear in my work, but this time for sure I thought it was there. At the same time, I also see myself as someone who aspires to be accessible. I imagined that Kid Harpoon would help with that, as well as being a set of trusted ears, since there was a lot going on. People think of producers as people who mainly make a record sound good, and Kid Harpoon did that, but he was also aware of how important the storytelling is.”

An admitted “stickler when it comes to grooves,” Byrne welcomed late-in-the-game contributions from Skinner and Refosco, with whom he’s recorded and toured for more than 30 years. Mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent and mastered by Emily Lazar, the finished product is about both hiding and revealing, or as Byrne puts it, “a chance to be the mythical creature we all harbor inside. A chance to step into another reality. A chance to transcend and escape from the prison of our ‘selves.’” These concepts are heavily incorporated in the Who Is The Sky? album package, which was designed by Shira Inbar and finds Byrne nearly obscured by radiating, colored patterns and psychedelic, spiky outfits designed by Belgian artist Tom Van Der Borght.

“At my age, at least for me, there's a ‘don't give a shit about what people think’ attitude that kicks in,” Byrne says. “I can step outside my comfort zone with the knowledge that I kind of know who I am by now and sort of know what I'm doing. That said, every new set of songs, every song even, is a new adventure. There's always a bit of, ‘how do I work this?’ I've found that not every collaboration works, but often when they do, it's because I'm able to clearly impart what it is I'm trying to do. They hopefully get that, and as a result, we're now joined together heading to the same unknown place.”

Track list:

Everybody Laughs

When We Are Singing
My Apartment Is My Friend
A Door Called No
What Is the Reason for It?
I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party
Don't Be Like That
The Avant Garde
Moisturizing Thing
I'm an Outsider
She Explains Things to Me
The Truth

North American tour dates:

09/14/2025 - Providence, RI - Veterans Memorial Auditorium
09/16/2025 - Pittsburgh, PA - Benedum Center PAC
09/17/2025 - Columbus, OH - Mershon Auditorium
09/19/2025 - Akron, OH - Akron Civic Theatre
09/21/2025 - Schenectady, NY - Proctors
09/23/2025 - Syracuse, NY - Landmark Theatre
09/25/2025 - Buffalo, NY - Shea’s Buffalo Theatre
09/27/2025 - Washington D.C. - The Anthem
09/28/2025 - Washington D.C. - The Anthem
09/30/2025 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
10/01/2025 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
10/03/2025 - Boston, MA - Boch Center Wang Theatre
10/04/2025 - Boston, MA - Boch Center Wang Theatre
10/07/2025 - Wallingford, CT - Toyota Oakdale Theatre
10/08/2025 - Portland, ME - Merrill Auditorium at City Hall
10/10/2025 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
10/14/2025 - Richmond, VA - Altria Theater
10/16/2025 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
10/17/2025 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
10/21/2025 - Toronto, ON, Canada - Massey Hall
10/22/2025 - Toronto, ON, Canada - Massey Hall
10/25/2025 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
10/28/2025 - Chicago, IL - The Auditorium
10/29/2025 - Chicago, IL - The Auditorium
10/31/2025 - Chicago, IL - The Auditorium
11/03/2025 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
11/04/2025 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
11/06/2025 - Denver, CO - Bellco Theatre
11/07/2025 - Denver, CO - Bellco Theatre
11/11/2025 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
11/12/2025 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
11/16/2025 - San Francisco, CA - The Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
11/17/2025 - San Francisco, CA - The Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
11/20/2025 - Los Angeles, CA - Dolby Theatre
11/21/2025 - Los Angeles, CA - Dolby Theatre
11/25/2025 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
11/26/2025 - Austin, TX - Bass Concert Hall
11/28/2025 - Dallas, TX - Music Hall at Fair Park
11/29/2025 - Dallas, TX - Music Hall at Fair Park
12/02/2025 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
12/03/2025 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theatre
12/05/2025 - Miami, FL - Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theatre
12/06/2025 - Miami, FL - Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theatre

Josh Ritter professes 'I Believe in You, My Honeydew' on September album

Americana musician Josh Ritter will release his new album, I Believe in You, My Honeydew, September 12 via Thirty Tigers (pre-order/pre-save here). Ahead of the release, his new song, “You Won’t Dig My Grave,” is out now. Listen/share HERE.

Throughout his decades long career, Ritter has released 12 albums and earned the respect of countless music legends, with artists such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Bob Weir having performed and recorded his songs.

Ritter worked with frequent collaborator/producer Sam Kassirer (Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim) as well as live group, the Royal City Band: Kassirer (piano, organ, synthesizer, accordion), Zachariah Hickman (acoustic and electric bass, thumb piano, mandolin), Rich Hinman (guitars, pedal steel, mandolin) and Ray Rizzo (drums, percussion).

Of the project, Ritter shares:

“I lived in the woods when I was a kid. I used to believe (and maybe I was right) that I could walk out of our front door, across the gravel road and, pointing myself north, I could walk to Canada, never once leaving the tree line. Wonder was a temple with no walls, and the Muse was still just a ripple in the ponderosas. 

I felt no fear. I’m 48 now. Decades have passed. There have been times I felt my inspiration, my Muse, had passed along with them. And then, not too long ago, I decided that instead of waiting for the Muse to write me a song, I would write the Muse a song instead. I started referring to my Muse as my Honeydew. And this album was born.

The songs on Honeydew are songs for my Muse, my invisible and blinding companion of long-standing. I hope it enjoys them. I hope that it experiences a bit of what it’s like to be human, a bit of what it’s like to be lonely, scared, uncertain, joyful, righteous. I believe in you, my honeydew.”

Ritter will tour starting in August. Tickets will be available for pre-sale starting June 11 at 10:00am local time with general on-sale June 13 at 10:00am local time. A portion of the proceeds from pre-sale tickets sold via joshritter.com will be donated to Immigrant Defense Project. Pre-sale sign up and full details can be found at www.joshritter.com.

I Believe in You, My Honeydew follows Ritter’s 2024 release Heaven, or Someplace as Nice, which he recorded with legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, and his acclaimed 2023 full-length project, Spectral Lines. 

In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter is also a national best-selling author, having released two novels to date: 2011’s Bright’s Passage and 2021’s The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All, for which the film rights have recently been optioned for development. Released to critical attention, Stephen King wrote in The New York Times Book Review that Bright’s Passage “shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime…This is the work of a gifted novelist.”

TRACK LIST:

1. You Won’t Dig My Grave
2. Honeydew (No Light)
3. Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding)
4. Noah’s Children
5. Wild Ways
6. Thunderbird
7. Kudzu Vines
8. I’m Listening
9. The Wreckage of One Vision of You
10. The Throne

TOUR DATES:

August 9—Three Rivers, PEI—Cloggeroo Festival (solo show)
August 10—Truro, NS—Marigold Cultural Centre (solo show)
August 20—Westport, CT—Levitt Pavilion*
August 21—Portland, ME—State Theatre*
August 22—South Burlington, VT—Higher Ground*
August 23—Easthampton, MA—Arcadia Folk Festival
August 24—Lowell, MA—Lowell Summer Music Series*
November 1—Rochester, NY—Concerts at Beston Hall
November 2—Grand Rapids, MI—St. Cecilia Music Center
November 3—Ann Arbor, MI—The Ark
November 4—Cincinnati, OH—Taft Theatre
November 6—St. Louis, MO—The Sovereign
November 7—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall
November 8—Minneapolis, MN—Fitzgerald Theater
November 9—Des Moines, IA—Hoyt Sherman Place
November 12—Pittsburgh, PA—Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
November 13—Washington, D.C.—Lincoln Theatre
November 14—Philadelphia, PA—Keswick Theatre
November 16—New York, NY—Brooklyn Steel

In stores now: 'Greetings from Echo Park' by Ryan Cassata

In his debut album for the Kill Rock Stars label - Greetings from Echo Park - Ryan Cassata (he/him), performs folk, punk, blues, and pop/punk songs about anxiety, escapism, illness, and transphobia. The album is out now.

Collaborators include Jason Hiller, David Scott Stone (Melvins, LCD Soundsystem), Mark Pelli (MAGIC!). The album art plays homage to Bruce Springsteen's iconic Greetings from Asbury Park.

Partially written and recorded while battling an autoimmune illness and Lyme Disease coinfections, the album serves as both a cathartic release and a deeply personal chronicle of survival. Songs like “a Knack for Overthinking” capture the relentless grip of anxiety, blending emo pop-punk with confessional lyricism. “I’ve got a knack for overthinking, tip me over so you can stop the shout,” Cassata sings, embodying the push-and-pull of intrusive thoughts and self-doubt. Elsewhere, tracks like “i feel like throwing up” reflect on the isolation of sickness, featuring trans youth actors in its accompanying music video to highlight the systemic loneliness queer people often endure.

Ryan Cassata’s music has long been intertwined with activism; he is an award-winning singer-songwriter, actor, performer, published writer, LGBTQ+ activist, and transgender motivational speaker. 

With over 650 performances nationwide and internationally and seven original and critically-acclaimed musical albums, Cassata is proud to be recognized as the first openly-trans performer at the Vans Warped Tour, in addition to featured performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Green Show, Global Pride, and SXSW.

Scissor Sisters' U.K. juggernaut debut album gets deluxe treatment for 20th anniversary

Scissor Sisters continue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their self-titled debut – the UK’s best-selling album of 2004 – with the release of special limited deluxe 2LP vinyl and 3CD editions on July 18. 

The 20th Anniversary expanded 2LP and 3CD features the hit singles “Laura,” “Comfortably Numb,” “Take Your Mama,” “Mary,” and “Filthy / Gorgeous” alongside B-sides and rarities. The new deluxe CD version features seven previously unreleased Scissor Sisters songs taken from the vaults, including “Step Aside for the Man,” “Night of the Comet,” “Magnifique,” and others.

The LP includes three of these previously unreleased songs. The 20th Anniversary 3CD also includes an updated booklet with additional imagery and new liner notes (written by Nick Levine), alongside a third disc of bonus remixes includes “Take Your Mama (Hot Chip Remix),” “Filthy/Gorgeous (Martini Bros Remix),” “Comfortably Numb (Tommie Sunshine Remix)” and more.

Pre-order HERE

Scissor Sisters have just begun their first live tour in over 12 years. Lead singer Jake Shears, multi-instrumentalist Babydaddy and guitarist Del Marquis – will play UK arenas soon.

The album Scissor Sisters was the best-selling album in the UK of 2004, selling nearly 4 million copies globally (2 million were UK sales). Ranked as the 20th biggest-selling album of the 21st century in the UK and the 35th biggest-selling album of all time, the album went 9 x Platinum in the UK, and won three BRIT Awards in 2005, including Best International Album, Best International Group and Best International Breakthrough Act, making Scissor Sisters the first act ever to win all three international categories. The album has had over 300 million streams to date.

Released in February 2004, the group's debut album achieved the biggest selling week one of any international artist in the last 20 years. 

Track listing 3CD:

CD1

Laura
Take Your Mama
Comfortably Numb
Mary
Lovers In The Backseat
Tits On The Radio
Filthy / Gorgeous
Music Is The Victim
Better Luck
It Can't Come Quickly Enough
Return To Oz
A Message From Ms Matronic
The Skins

Get It Get It

CD2

Electrobix
Available (For You)
Step Aside for the Man
Night of the Comet
Magnifique
Rock My Spot (Crevice Canyon)
Destiny Every Day
Filthy/Gorgeous (Extended Version)
Bicycle of the Devil
Borrowed Time
Doctor (I'm Only Seeing Dark)
Forever Right now
Backwoods Discotheque, Pt. II
Take Me Out

CD3

Comfortably Numb (Fatboy Extended Mix)
Take Your Mama (Hot Chip Remix)
Filthy/Gorgeous (ATOC vs Superbuddha Remix)
Laura (City Hi Fi Remix)
Comfortably Numb (Tiga Remix)
Mary (Junkie XL Mix)
Filthy/Gorgeous (I Love You - See You Next TuesdayMix)
Comfortably Numb (Paper Faces Mix)
Laura (Riton Re-Rub)
Filthy/Gorgeous (Martini Bros Remix)
Take Your Mama (National Forest Remix)
Comfortably Numb (Tommie Sunshine Remix)
Filthy/Gorgeous (Paper Faces Vocal Edit)

Ron Sexsmith goes to the 'Hangover Terrace' in August

Ron Sexsmith will release new album Hangover Terrace on August 29 via Cooking Vinyl. It was recorded at London’s Eastcote Studios with producer Martin Terefe. Hangover Terrace will be available on limited edition turquoise vinyl and limited edition cd in a cardboard gatefold sleeve.

NEW SINGLE "DON'T LOSE SIGHT" OUT TODAY

PRE-ORDER HERE // WATCH VIDEO HERE

One of Canada's most accomplished singer-songwriters, Sexsmith has released 17 studio albums since 1991. The most recent was The Vivian Line (2023). He has collaborated with Daniel Lanois, Mitchell Froom, Tchad Blake, and Bob Rock. Sexsmith's songwriting appears on albums from Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, k.d. lang, Emmylou Harris and Feist. Film-maker Doug Arrowsmith made an acclaimed documentary about Ron in 2010 called ‘Love Shines’. In 2017 Ron published his first book, a fairy tale entitled ‘Deer Life’.

TRACK LISTING: 

1 . Don't Lose Sight

2 . Cigarette and Cocktail

3 . Damn Well Please

4 . Easy For You To Say

5 . Camelot Towers
6 . It's Been A While
7 . House of Love
8 . Rose Town
9 . Please Don't Tell Me Why
10 . Outside Looking In
11 . Angel On My Shoulder
12 . When Will The Morning Come
13 . Burgoyne Woods
14 . Must Be Something Wrong With Her

Russell Dickerson is 'Famous Back Home' in August

Multi-Platinum artist Russell Dickerson announced his fourth studio album, FAMOUS BACK HOME, set for release on Aug. 22 (via Triple Tigers). Ten of the 12 tracks were co-written by Dickerson. He co-produced with Josh Kerr, plus Casey Brown and Chris LaCorte on select songs.

Pre-order HERE.

“Growing up in a small town, I had this idea ‘I’m going to make it out of here. I’m going to make it big. Everybody is going to know my name,’” said Dickerson. "But then you have a family and it’s like, ‘Actually, all I want to do is be famous at home.’ The further down this road I get, the more I realize the only thing that matters is my family.”

“Dust” is a nod to David Lee Murphy’s “Dust on the Bottle,” and “Heard It In A Country Song” salutes some of country music's most iconic lyrics. “Never Leave” is a plea for redemption with Vince Gill on guest vocals. Both it and “Sippin On Top of the World” mark the first outside cuts of Dickerson's career. 

Says Dickerson, “I’m so pumped on this one. It’s just song by song...To go from ‘Yours’ to where we are now, it’s opened up a whole new facet of me and my personality. What you get on stage is so connected to these songs – it finally caught up to my personality, who I am.”

This week, Dickerson launched the second leg of his RUSSELLMANIA Tour with a sold-out show in New York, NY, where he was also honored with a 2X PLATINUM certification for “Love You Like I Used To.” For more tour details, visit RussellDickerson.com.

Track List:

1. Dust
Written by Dickerson, Josh Kerr, John Byron

2. Sippin On Top of the World
Written by Travis Wood, Casey Brown, Hunter Phelps

3. Happen To Me
Written by Dickerson, Chris LaCorte, Jessie Jo Dillon, Chase McGill, Robert Hazard
4. Worth Your Wild
Written by Russell Dickerson, Parker Welling, Casey Brown

5. Heard It In A Country Song
Written by Russell Dickerson, Chase McGill, Chris LaCorte, Parker Welling
6. Sunrise in my Silverado
Written by Russell Dickerson, Chase McGill, Hunter Phelps, Casey Brown

7. For A Truck
Written by Russell Dickerson, Blake Pendergrass, Casey Brown

8. Love That I Love You
Written by Russell DIckerson, Casey Brown, Ashley Gorley, Chris LaCorte

9. Never Leave
Written by Josh Miller, Greylan James, Matt Roy

10. Bones
Written by Russell Dickerson, Parker Welling, Chris LaCorte, Chris McGill

11. 16 Me
Written by Russell Dickerson, Andy Albert, Chris LaCorte, Cole Taylor

12. Famous Back Home
Written by Russell Dickerson, Casey Brown, Parker Welling

Belinda Carlisle news

Having recently covered the Go-Go's performances at Coachella 2 and Cruel World (see elsewhere on this blog), I'm looking forward to hearing this...

Belinda Carlisle, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and voice of the Go-Go’s, returns to her roots with the release of a new studio album Once Upon a Time in California, slated for release on Aug. 29 via Demon Music.

Featuring 10 new studio tracks including the lead track, “The Air That I Breathe” were recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Gabe Lopez, who worked with Belinda on her 2017 studio album Wilder Shores. Once Upon a Time in California will be available on CD, vinyl and digital formats and available for pre-order HERE

Following the success of Belinda’s 2023 EP Kismet, and the single “Big Big Love” HERE Once Upon a Time in California sees Belinda Carlisle delve into the sounds of her youth. 

There is a remake of Burt Bacharach & Hal David's hit song for Dionne Warwick, "Anyone Who Had A Heart."  Belinda also covers the Carpenters ("Superstar"), Gordon Lightfoot ("If You Could Read My Mind") and Jim Croce ("Time In A Bottle") as well as others by The Hollies, Harry Nilsson and more. Although this marks the first time all the tracks have been available on one album, three of them – "Superstar," "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Get Together" have been available on previous Belinda Carlisle collections.

Commenting on the album in a press release, Belinda says, “I was born and raised in California at a time when music was an important part of Californian culture. I lived and breathed music, it was my great escape - a refuge of fantasy and imagination. Every day after school and when it was summer vacation, I would listen and sing along to the music on the radio for the entire day. Always fantasizing about being a singer myself, one day.

"This collection of songs is the best representation of what I loved back then that I could think of - listening to it brings back so many memories of a time and a California that doesn't really exist anymore. That’s not meant to sound like a bad thing, it's just different - there was an innocence and energy back then that was unique and magical. Things I doubt will ever be felt in quite the same way again. Here's to the California of my dreams.” 

Release formats: Vinyl, Vinyl (Signed Edition), Picture Disc Vinyl, CD, CD Signed Edition

Track Listing:

Anyone Who Had A Heart
If You Could Read My Mind
One
Never My Love
The Air That I Breathe
Time In A Bottle
Superstar
Everybody’s Talkin’
Get Together
Reflections Of My Life

Album reviews: Pearl Harbor & the Explosions, Suzanne Vega, Peter Murphy

NEW ALBUM REVIEWS

Pearl Harbor & the Explosions

Pearl Harbor & the Explosions

(Liberation Hall)

Similar artists: The Waitresses, Holly & the Italians, Kirsty MacColl, Patty Smyth

Pearl Harbor & the Explosions was a brief shining star on the Bay Area music scene at the dawn of the new wave era. Led by Pearl E. Gates (a former backing singer/dancer for The Tubes, later known as Pearl Harbour and now Palm Springs resident), the quartet enjoyed a regional hit with “Drivin” on influential San Francisco indie label 415 Records and signed to Warner Bros. for its lone album released in January 1980. David Kahne (The Bangles, Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett), who worked with Warner's Howie Klein at 415, produced it. 

This terrific reissue replaces one from Blixa Sounds that went out of print. It features the original album's nine pop/new wave-tinged tunes, seven bonus tracks (encompassing spirited live Nick Lowe, Ron Wood and Joe Bennett covers), astute liner notes by veteran Bay Area music critic/author Joel Selvin, new cover art and multiple archival photos. 

Standouts include a breezy and insanely catchy “You Got It (Release It),” edgy rocker “Shut Up and Dance,” the frenetic epic “Up and Over,” where Peter Bilt's guitar work evoked Andy Summers (Harbor & the Explosions opened concerts for The Police and Talking Heads during its brief career), the urgent “Drivin'” and appropriately-titled "Busy Little B-Side." The reissue comes in CD, digital and limited edition opaque sky blue vinyl.  

Also reissued via Liberation Hall: Pearl’s vibrant old school rock ‘n’ roll-leaning solo bow Don’t Follow Me, I’m Lost Too, with contributions from The Clash, Ian Dury & the Blockheads members, plus BJ Cole and Geraint Watkins. 

Info: bandcamp.com

Suzanne Vega

Flying with Angels

(Cooking Vinyl)

Similar artists: Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, Aimee Mann, Jewel

Emerging from Greenwich Village folk clubs, Suzanne Vega released her debut album in 1985. Over the ensuing decade, she landed hits like “Luka,” “Book of Dreams,” “Tom’s Diner,” and “Blood Makes Noise,” having a major impact on young female singer/songwriters of the era and the Lilith Fair festivals. 

Vega is back with this long-awaited studio album and it’s among her best ever. Frequent collaborator and guitarist Gerry Leonard produced; Catherine Russell – like Leonard, a David Bowie alum – also returns to add sublime backing vocals (Vega's daughter Ruby also sings on a couple songs). Vega’s literate songcraft is often Dylan-esque, so the nod to The Bard of Folk on delightful highlight “Chambermaid” makes perfect sense, while the bright, groovy “Lucinda,” a long-gestating tribute to fellow performer Williams, is equally memorable. 

Elsewhere, the jangly “Speakers’ Corner” deftly delving into the effect of social media dominance, the manic rocker “Rats” inspired by a pandemic-related NYC rodent problem, lovely Irish folk ballad “Galway,” luxurious, nearly disco “Love Thief” and dark, percolating “Witch” are other winners.

Info: suzannevega.com

Peter Murphy

Silver Shade

(Metropolis)

Similar artists: Bauhaus, Tool, Nine Inch Nails

Whether serving as frontman for seminal darkwave band Bauhaus or a solo act, Peter Murphy is always a captivating presence. His deep and dramatic, instantly recognizable baritone and oblique lyrics have kept the British singer entrenched within the alt-rock consciousness since the early ‘80s. 

Murphy’s first new studio album since 2014’s Lion is a fascinating keeper. Killing Joke bassist Youth returned to produce and play various instruments. This time around, they recruited guests from Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor on vocals) and Tool (Justin Chancellor and Danny Carey, on bass, drums) for selected tracks. Several clock in past the five-minute-mark. 

The results are both riveting and startling. Key picks to click: the slinky, foreboding “Swoon,” exotic sonics on the Spanish guitar-tinged ballad “Time Waits” and creepy “Xavier New Boy,” the primal “Cochita is Lame” (co-written by Bauhaus bandmate Kevin Haskins) and the chugging, foreboding title track.

Info: bandcamp.com

These reviews originally appeared in Desert Star Weekly. 

Original Broadway Cast Recording to Tony Award-winning 'Kinky Boots' set for vinyl debut in July

Happy #PrideMonth. Here's some news that is sure to excite the LGBTQ+ and Broadway communities and beyond...

The music is by Cyndi Lauper. The book is by Harvey Fierstein. It garnered 13 Tony Award nominations, and won six of them including Best Musical, Best Actor (for Billy Porter), and Best Score. The cast album went to #1 on Billboard's Cast Albums chart. “Sex in the Heel” was the first Broadway song to hit the Top Ten on the Club charts in 25 years. And it’s been 12 years since the album was released.

Still, a vinyl edition has never hit record stores. Until now. On July 11, Real Gone Music will release it on 2LP. Vocalists on the album include Porter, Stark Sands and Annaleigh Ashford. 

Format variants/bundles:

Vinyl Bundle: 1 Test Pressing and 1 copy of the Fuchsia and 1 copy of the Union Jack, Limited to 30 Bundles. 1 PER PERSON/HOUSEHOLD.

Fuchsia Edition, Regular Variant

Limited "Union Jack" Edition) Limited to 100 copies. 1 PER PERSON/HOUSEHOLD.

Track lisitng:

SIDE A

1. Price and Son Theme/The Most Beautiful Thing in the World

2. Take What You Got
3. Land of Lola
4. Charlie’s Soliloquy
5. Step One

SIDE B

1. Sex Is in the Heel
2. The History of Wrong Guys
3. Not My Father’s Son

SIDE C

1. Everybody Say Yeah
2. What a Woman Wants
3. In This Corner

SIDE D

1. Charlie’s Soliloquy Reprise
2. Soul of a Man
3. Hold Me in Your Heart
4. Raise You Up/Just Be

Info: realgonemusic.com

Punk/pop band Cartel celebrates 20th anniversary of 'Chroma' with reimagined album, Warped and headline tour dates

Alternative rock band Cartel has unveiled “Honestly – 2025,” a re-recording of their hit single from the 2005 album Chroma. Fans can listen now here. 

“Honestly – 2025” will be featured on Chroma – 2025, an updated version of the album out later this year in celebration of Chroma’s 20th anniversary.

On “Honestly – 2025” front man Will Pugh shares: “Bigger, Louder, Prouder. We aspired to bring the energy from our live performances to this one. After 20 years, I think we figured it out!”

Chroma - 2025 will be released on September 12 via Field Day Records. Vinyl pre-orders are available now at fielddayrecords.com.

In addition to the release of Chroma - 2025 Cartel will be embarking on a North American headline tour this fall, kicking off with the album release on September 12th in Charlotte. The tour features stops in Nashville, Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, Austin, and more, concluding with a hometown headline show in Atlanta. Tickets and VIP packages can be purchased at www.chroma20.com.

Prior to their fall headline tour, fans can catch Cartel at the Vans Warped Tour on June 14-15 in Washington, D.C. and July 26-27 in Long Beach, CA.

Chroma - 2025 tracklist:

1.) Say Anything (Else) - 2025

2.) Honestly - 2025
3.) Runaway - 2025
4.) Burn This City - 2025
5.) Save Us - 2025
6.) Luckie St. - 2025
7.) Settle Down - 2025
8.) Matter of Time - 2025
9.) If I Fail - 2025
10.) The Minstrel's Prayer - 2025
11.) Q&A (feat. Cassadee Pope) - 2025

Tour Dates:

6/14-6/15 – Washington, DC @ Vans Warped Tour
7/26-727 – Long Beach, CA @ Vans Warped Tour
9/12 – Charlotte, NC @ Underground #&
9/13 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music #&
9/15 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry #&
9/16 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Sound Stage #&
9/17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw #&
9/19 – Philadelphia, PA @ TLA #&
9/20 – Boston, MA @ Paradise #&
9/22 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House #&
9/23 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall #&
9/24 – Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues #&
9/26 – Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues #
9/27 – Milwaukee, WI @ Rave #^
9/28 – Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam #^
9/30 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant #^
10/1 – Kansas City, MO @ Truman #^
10/3 – Denver, CO @ Summit #^
10/4 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot #^
10/6 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon #^
10/7 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne #^
10/9 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall #^
10/10 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory #^
10/11 – San Diego, CA @ HOB #^
10/12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren #^
10/14 – Dallas, TX @ Echo #^
10/15 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk #^
10/17 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham #
10/18 – Tampa, FL @ The Ritz #
10/19 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida @ Revolution #
10/25 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Heaven) #

# - Hunny
& - Landon Conrath
^ - Macseal

Out now: The eponymous debut album by The Speaker Wars featuring Stan Lynch (ex-Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)

Stan Lynch, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, drummer and founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has released the self-titled debut of his new band The Speaker Wars. 

After two decades of recording and touring multiple albums with The Heartbreakers, Lynch moved to the other side of the recording console and shifted his focus to production and songwriting. Over the years, he has written and produced hits for artists in multiple genres, including the Eagles, Don Henley, Tim McGraw, The Mavericks, Ringo Starr, The Byrds, Toto, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

While writing in Nashville, a publisher introduced Lynch to Texas singer-songwriter, Jon Christopher Davis, who was gathering material for a solo record on a major label. After accumulating an album’s worth of songs, Jon abandoned working on a solo record and the two decided to start a band to perform the newly created material. They added Jay Michael Smith on guitar, Brian Patterson on bass, Steve Ritter on percussion, and Jay Brown on keyboards.

Watch the Debut Music Video for The Speaker Wars' “You Make Every Lie Come True” HERE

Stan Lynch says:

"After my 20-year tenure with the Heartbreakers, I got a second act writing and producing. It was educational beyond measure to learn how to create music from the other side of the glass. Around this time, I met Jon Christopher Davis in Nashville who casually mentioned that we should start a band –– so here I am –– in The Speaker Wars and it's good to have my old job back. The guys in our new band know how to make great music, and I'm looking forward to another round.”

Pre-Order 'The Speaker Wars' HERE

Track List:

1. You Make Every Lie Come True
2. It Ain't Easy
3. Taste Of Heaven
4. Never Ready To Go
5. The Forgiveness Tree
6. When The Moon Cries Wolf
7. Trader's South
8. Leave Him
9. Sit With My Soul
10. I Wish You Peace

Photo courtesy Frontiers Records

Talking Heads reissue news

Talking Heads’ second album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, returns July 25 as a Super Deluxe Edition from Rhino. Released as the band celebrates its 50th anniversary, the collection marks the first of three albums produced with Brian Eno.

The 3CD/1Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition features the remastered album alongside 11 rarities, including four previously unreleased alternate versions of album tracks. One of those, “Found A Job,” is available digitally today ahead of the full release. Listen Now.

The set also includes a live recording of the band’s August 1978 show at New York’s Entermedia Theatre. Footage from that show and another at Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley, both appear on the Blu-ray. 

Additionally, there are Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 surround sound mixes by E.T. Thorngren and group member Jerry Harrison, plus a high-resolution stereo version of the album. A 60-page hardcover book rounds out the package, with previously unseen photos and new liner notes with recollections from Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Harrison.

A 4LP vinyl version of the Super Deluxe Edition, also available July 25, features the remastered album, rarities, and the New York concert recordings. A second version—available exclusively at TalkingHeadsOfficial.com—includes reissues of four international 7” singles: U.S., U.K., and Japanese versions of “Take Me To The River,” plus “The Good Thing,” from the Netherlands. Each comes in a reproduction picture sleeve, all packaged alongside the 4LP set in a custom die-cut folio. Pre-order HERE.

Additional Deluxe Editions will be available on 2LP black vinyl with a red vinyl pressing offered at TakingHeadsOfficial.com and select indie retailers. Both feature the remastered album and a selection of rarities.

Originally released on July 14, 1978, More Songs About Buildings and Food earned the band their first appearance on the Billboard 200. Their reimagining of Green’s “Take Me To The River” cracked the Billboard Hot 100 and became a radio success, helping introduce the band to a wider audience. At the time, critics took note of the album’s songwriting and Eno’s layered production—with The New York Times naming it the “No. 1 disk of 1978” and Vogue calling Talking Heads the “most fascinating experimental rock band in the world.”

The new release launches a yearlong celebration of Talking Heads’ 50th anniversary. 

MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)

3CD/1BR Track Listing

CD One: 

Original Album (2025 Remaster)“

Thank You For Sending Me An Angel”

“With Our Love”
“The Good Thing”
“Warning Sign”
“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls”
“Found A Job”
“Artists Only”
“I’m Not In Love”
“Stay Hungry”
“Take Me To The River”
“The Big Country”

CD Two: 

Rarities

“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” (Alternate Version)
“With Our Love” (Alternate Version) *
“Found A Job” (Alternate Version) *
“The Good Thing” (Alternate Version) *
“Warning Sign” (Alternate Version)
“Electricity” (Instrumental)
“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” (Alternate Version) *
“I’m Not In Love” (Alternate Version)
“Artists Only” (Alternate Version)
“The Big Country” (Alternate Version)
“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” (“Country Angel” Version)

CD Three: 

Live At Entermedia Theater, New York, NY (August 10, 1978)

“No Compassion” *
“Warning Sign” *
“The Book I Read” *
“Stay Hungry” *
“Artists Only” *
“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *
“Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *
“With Our Love” *
“Love Goes To A Building On Fire” *
“Don’t Worry About The Government” *
“The Good Thing” *
“Electricity”*
“The Big Country” *
“New Feeling” *
“Pulled Up” *
“Psycho Killer” *
“Take Me To The River” *
“Found A Job” *
“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” *

Blu-Ray

Audio: Hi-Res Stereo, 5.1 & Atmos Mix of original album (2025 Remaster)

Video: Concert Footage

Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978“Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

“The Good Thing” *
“Take Me To The River” *
“Found A Job” *
“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” *

Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978“The Big Country” *
“Warning Sign” *
“The Book I Read” *
“Stay Hungry” *
“Artists Only” *
“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *
“The Good Thing” *
“Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *
“Psycho Killer” *
“I’m Not In Love” *
“Pulled Up” *