Long-awaited new Sarah McLachlan album slated for September

Grammy-winning singer Sarah McLachlan has announced Better Broken, her first album of new material in over a decade, due out September 19 via Concord Records. Her tenth studio album and debut release for the label, Better Broken takes its title from its opening track, out now. 

Pre-order the album and stream “Better Broken” HERE. Watch the “Better Broken” music video HERE.

“A lot of the lyrics on this record came from thinking about the world right now and asking, ‘How do we move through this landscape? How do we keep our heads above water when it feels like so much is falling apart?’” says McLachlan. “I don’t know if I have any answers, but channeling all that angst and uncertainty into the music has been so cathartic. I hope that this record provides people with some relief and release—but in the end I just want them to take whatever they need from it, and make the songs part of their own story.”

Mainly recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, Better Broken contains contributions from guitarist Wendy Melvoin (Prince and the Revolution), drummer Matt Chamberlain (Bob Dylan, David Bowie), pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Kacey Musgraves, Florence + the Machine) and others. McLachlan worked with producers Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, boygenius) and Will Maclellan (Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers). “Reminds Me” is a duet with MUNA’s Katie Gavin. 

Track listing:

Better Broken
Gravity
The Last to Go
Only Way Out Is Through
Reminds Me (feat. Katie Gavin)
One In a Long Line
Only Human
Long Road Home
Rise
Wilderness
If This Is the End...

Out this Friday: The new album by Jonathan Richman

Pop/rock legend JONATHAN RICHMAN will be digitally releasing his 18th studio album ONLY FROZEN SKY ANYWAY on July 4 via Blue Arrow Records (vinyl and CD will be released at a later date TBA).

Longtime drummer/percussionist Tommy Larkins and former Modern Lovers bandmate Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) play keyboards on it. 

Richman says in a press release that many of the songs either existed in a vague, skeletal form or not at all before recording on January 5th of '25 (and finished by January 10th). One theme took shape during that recording session: "How our friends are leaving, in their dying, on an errand, only to return in another role… with another mission. How do I dare say such a thing? Oh...I don't know.”

In addition to this album of all new material, Blue Arrow will be releasing his last three albums Ishkode! Ishkode! (2016), SA! (2018) and Want To Visit My Inner House? (2021) as well as the EPs Cold Pizza & Other Hot Stuff (2022) and Yatasamaroun (2023) to streaming services for the first time ever.

Previously only available via Bandcamp or for purchase at shows, the rollout of these releases finally makes them accessible to a much larger audience. Of these albums, Richman says, “Jerry Harrison, Nicole Montalbano and I produced [Want To Visit My Inner House?] as well as SA! (2018). To us, the two albums are related in the sense that Want to Visit My Inner House? suggests where SA was starting to head.”

In support of Only Frozen Sky Anyway, Richman has announced a Fall tour. Dates are below:

TOUR DATES:

01 Jul Aladdin Theater Portland, OR
02 Jul Aladdin Theater Portland, OR
31 Jul UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley Berkeley, CA
03 Oct Shrine Social Club (Shrine Ballroom) Boise, ID
04 Oct Zootown Arts Community Center Missoula, MT
07 Oct Royal Canadian Legion No.1 Calgary, AB
08 Oct Myer Horowitz Theatre Edmonton, AB
09 Oct Roxy Theatre Saskatoon, SK
11 Oct West End Cultural Centre Winnipeg, MB
15 Oct West Theatre Duluth, MN
16 Oct First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
17 Oct Englert Theatre Iowa City, IA
18 Oct Delmar Hall St. Louis, MO
19 Oct The Whirling Tiger Louisville, KY
21 Oct Manny's State College, PA
23 Oct Lark Hall Albany, NY
24 Oct Somerville Theatre Somerville, MA
25 Oct Somerville Theatre Somerville, MA
26 Oct Somerville Theatre Somerville, MA
28 Oct SPACE Gallery Portland , ME
29 Oct SPACE Gallery Portland , ME
01 Nov Alderney Landing Theatre Dartmouth, NS

Track listing:

I Was Just A Piece Of Frozen Sky
But We Might Try Weird Stuff
Night Fever
You Need Me Too
The Dog Star
Se Va Pa'volver
That Older Girl
Little Black Bat
O Guitar
David & Goliath
The Wavelet
I Am The Sky

New Zealand alt-rock band The Beths return with new album in August; U.S. tour starts in October

This band was one of my favorites at Coachella '24. Looking forward to the new album...

The Beths — the New Zealand-based quartet of vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck — announce their new album, Straight Line Was A Lie—their first for their new label ANTI—out August 29. They have unveiled new single/video, “No Joy.” 

The path from The Beths’ critically celebrated and year-end-list-topping 2022 album Expert In A Dying Field to Straight Line Was A Lie was anything but straightforward. For the first time, Stokes was struggling to write new songs beyond fragments she’d recorded on her phone. She’d recently started taking an SSRI, which on one hand made her feel like she could “fix” everything broken in her life, from her mental and physical health to fraught family dynamics. At the same time, writing wasn’t coming as easily as it had before.

“I was kind of dealing with a new brain, and I feel like I write very instinctually,” she says. “It was kind of like my instincts were just a little different, they weren't as panicky.”

While Stokes felt a huge relief from taking an SSRI, she articulates the emotional trade-offs on “No Joy.” 

"It's about anhedonia, which, paradoxically, was there both in the worst parts of depression, and then also when I was feeling pretty numb on my SSRI,” Stokes says. “It wasn't that I was sad, I was feeling pretty good. It was just that I didn't like the things that I liked. I wasn't getting joy from them. It's very literal.”

Watch the Video for “No Joy”

Pre-Order Straight Line Was A Lie

Watch the Video for “Metal”

Track listing:

Straight Line Was A Lie

Mosquitoes
No Joy
Metal
Mother, Pray For Me
Til My Heart Stops
Take
Roundabout
Ark Of The Covenant
Best Laid Plans

North American Tour Dates:

Thu. Oct. 30 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel*

Fri. Oct. 31 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Sat. Nov 1 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *
Mon. Nov. 3 - Dallas, TX @ The Studio At The Bomb Factory *
Tue. Nov. 4 - Austin, TX @ Emo's *
Thu. Nov. 6 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
Fri. Nov. 7 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern * ^
Sat. Nov. 8 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore * [SOLD OUT]
Sun. Nov. 9 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
Wed. Nov. 12 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades *
Fri. Nov. 14 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Sat. Nov. 15 - Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 16 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
Tue. Nov. 18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall *
Wed. Nov. 19 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 21 - Kansas City, MO @ The Truman *
Sat. Nov. 22 - St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 23 - Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (Indoor) * +
Tue. Nov 25 - Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron *
Wed. Nov. 26 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 27 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *
Fri. Nov. 28 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * [SOLD OUT]
Sat. Nov. 29 - Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
Mon. Dec. 1 - Boston, MA @ Royale *
Tue. Dec. 2 - Boston, MA @ Royale * [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Dec. 3 - Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall *
Fri. Dec. 5 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * #
Sat. Dec. 6 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * [SOLD OUT]
Sun. Dec. 7 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Tue. Dec. 9 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Dec. 10 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * [SOLD OUT]

! w/ Dateline
* w/ Phoebe Rings
^ w/ Bret McKenzie
+ w/ Squirrel Flower
# w/ illuminati hotties

The Cranberries' expanded 30th anniversary editions of 'No Need to Argue' coming in August

Since I interviewed guitarist Noel Hogan for the initial album release, I'm very anxious to hear the unreleased songs...

“Sometimes, it feels like it's only been a few years ago and other times it feels like an eternity. There are lots of memories still fresh in our minds. It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since its release,” says The Cranberries drummer Fergal Lawler about the 30th anniversary of their landmark second album No Need to Argue. 

The band is celebrating the anniversary with a 2LP Deluxe Edition, 2CD Deluxe Edition, 1LP, 1CD and Digital Deluxe released on August 15 via Island/UMe (go to thecranberries.com for full detailed track listings).

Originally released on October 3, 1994 via Island Records, No Need To Argue serves as the commercial breakthrough for the band, led by global success of its signature single “Zombie.” Featuring the late Dolores O’Riordan on vocals, The Cranberries had no trouble writing music for their follow-up to their worldwide multi-platinum breakthrough debut Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? 

“There was no ‘difficult second album syndrome’,” says Lawler. “Dolores didn’t have any problems writing on the road and in fact was bursting with ideas. Often when a song was completed it’d go straight into the live set, so audiences got to hear a lot of the No Need To Argue songs way before they were recorded. I remember playing ‘Zombie’, for instance, early in 1993 on our first European tour with Hothouse Flowers. By the time the chorus came around for the second time, you could feel the reaction in the room. People just loved it from the get-go.”

Written about the political unrest in Ireland called “The Troubles” that lasted from the late 1960s to 1998, “Zombie” reflected on the innocent children who were killed due to the violence that erupted. "People say we shouldn't have done 'Zombie' but, excuse me, I'm Irish. I'm a human being,” explained O’Riordan about the song. “I'm allowed to have feelings about the North, the same way I'm allowed to have feelings about what's going on in Bosnia. I express those feelings in my songs. It's up to people whether they want to listen to them or not.”

The special limited-edition 3LP vinyl package includes a previous unreleased demo of “Zombie”, live recordings from Woodstock ’94, and MTV Unplugged which originally aired April 18, 1995. “It was an honour to do MTV Unplugged and I’m really proud that our songs didn’t need all the bells and whistles you get in the studio to sound good,” explains Lawler. “They worked just as well, stripped down and played acoustically, albeit with the help of the brilliant Electra Strings.”

Also included are two remixes by Scottish producer and CHVRCHES band member Iain Cook – the dancefloor ready “Zombie” and a much dreamier “Ode To My Family.” Recalls Lawler of the remixes, “Iain was very nervous about doing ‘Zombie’ because of its legacy. I told him not to worry about what other people think and just go for it. Originally, he went down the traditional Irish music route but then decided to do something dance-ier, which has worked out brilliantly.”

Cook’s reinvention of “Ode To My Family” took on a dreamier route. “There’s a groove on the original when the chorus comes in, which he leant into,” adds Lawler. “You’ll be nodding your head and tapping your feet for sure! Iain also added strings so, again, it turned out great.”

Often cited as the album that helped cement Irish music in the worldwide musical conversation, No Need to Argue saw the critical darlings (whose debut Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? introduced the band to the masses) embraced by a global audience due to the album’s universal appeal. No Need to Argue boasted a number of singles including “Ode To My Family”, “I Can’t Be With You”, “Ridiculous Thoughts”, “Dreaming My Dreams” and, of course, “Zombie” which reached No. 1 in Australia, Denmark, France, Belgium, Germany, and topped Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart and whose video counts an astounding 1.6B plays on YouTube. It was also crowned “Song of the Year” at 1995’s MTV Europe Music Awards.

The album’s enduring popularity keeps the band at the forefront of the mainstream’s consciousness, especially with the impact of “Zombie.” Whether being covered by Miley Cyrus at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood or belted out by a stadium full of Ireland rugby fans who’ve adopted it as their match day anthem, those tanks and bombs and guns stir the emotions as much now as they did then.

But “Zombie” wasn’t the only track that is singled out by pop culture. “Ode To My Family” even found its way into a 2019 episode of Family Guy with Peter – who was particularly fond of the “Doo doo doo”–ing – telling Lois: “You know once I hear that I can’t get it out of my head!” In fact, songs from No Need To Argue have been showing up in The Office (US), Pitch Perfect 3, Clueless, Yellowjackets, Army Of The Dead, Roswell, New Mexico and more.

Described by producer Stephen Street as “a beautiful collection of people working together with the right intentions,” The Cranberries’ vigor and familial chemistry exudes throughout the album. “Call it youthful arrogance but we knew the songs we’d written were good and couldn’t wait to get them down,” adds guitarist Noel Hogan. “Stephen had bought a camcorder that we spent a lot of time messing around with in The Manor and you can see in the videos how happy and chilled everyone was. The mood in the camp was really, really good and it never felt like work.”

The one indelible mark The Cranberries upholds is their love and belief in their own music. The endurance of that message is the pinnacle of their legacy. “I really think that what makes people tune into The Cranberries is the honesty of the music,” O’Riordan is quoted as saying. “Some fans say, ‘Aren’t you embarrassed singing about such things?’ and I say, ‘That’s what makes me what I am.’ I’m not going to change for anyone.’”

SUPER DIGITAL DELUXE TRACKLISTING: 

1. Ode To My Family (2025 Remastered)
2. I Can't Be With You (2025 Remastered)
3. Twenty One (2025 Remastered)
4. Zombie (2025 Remastered)
5. Empty (2025 Remastered)
6. Everything I Said (2025 Remastered)
7. The Icicle Melts (2025 Remastered)
8. Disappointment (2025 Remastered)
9. Ridiculous Thoughts (2025 Remastered)
10. Dreaming My Dreams (2025 Remastered)
11. Yeat's Grave (2025 Remastered)
12. Daffodil Lament (2025 Remastered)
13. No Need To Argue (2025 Remastered)
14. Ode To My Family (Iain Cook Remix)
15. Zombie (Iain Cook Remix)
16. Zombie (Demo Version)
17. I Can't Be With You {Live From Woodstock 94'}
18. Ridiculous Thoughts {Live From Woodstock 94'}
19. Daffodil Lament {Live From Woodstock 94'}
20. Away
21. I Don't Need
22. So Cold In Ireland
23. (They Long To Be) Close To You
24. Zombie - Camel's Hump Mix
25. Song To My Family (Magic Shop Demo)
26. So Cold In Ireland (Magic Shop Demo)
27. Empty (Magic Shop Demo)
28. Ridiculous Thoughts (Magic Shop Demo)
29. Everything I Said (Magic Shop Demo)
30. Yeat's Grave (Magic Shop Demo)
31. Serious (Demo)
32. Away (Demo)
33. I Don't Need (Demo)
34. Dreaming My Dreams (Live At Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, UK/1994)
35. Daffodil Lament (Live At Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, UK/1994)
36. The Icicle Melts (Live At Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, UK/1994)
37. No Need To Argue (Live At Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, UK/1994)
38. Empty (Live At Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, UK/1994)
39. I Can't Be With You (Live From Milton Keynes)
40. Ridiculous Thoughts (Live From Milton Keynes)
41. Zombie (Live From Milton Keynes)

Coachella web series 'Arrival' features The Marias, DJO, The Dare, more

Arrival, a new limited documentary series from Coachella Valley Music and Artist Festival promoter Goldenvoice and produced by MGX Creative, has been rolling out weekly episodes this month on the Coachella YouTube channel.

The five-part series premiered on June 5, spotlighting music artists on the rise who played the Indio festival recently. Watch episodes from Shaboozey, The Marías – and newest episode with The Dare — now on the Coachella YouTube channel.

Episodes:

Series Trailer

Shaboozey (Episode 1)
The Marías (Episode 2)
The Dare (Episode 3)
Ivan Cornejo (Episode 4) – dropping Thursday, June 26
DJO (Episode 5) — dropping Thursday, July 3

Subscribe to the Coachella YouTube channel to watch every episode as it drops and download the Coachella Livestream app for more highlights and artist moments.

The Marias photo by Jason Whittington.

Stephen Bishop's final studio album, slated for August, includes star-studded crop of musicians

Oscar and two-time Grammy-nominated pop singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop made his solo recording debut in 1976 with the hit album Careless.

Now, he’s closing the chapter on 50 years in the music industry with his 20th and final album, THIMK, due out August 15. 

It brings together newly recorded songs, rare unreleased tracks, and collaborations with Eric Clapton, Sting, Graham Nash, Jimmy Webb, Art Garfunkel, Dave Grusin, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, David Pack, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of the band America, David Benoit, Marilyn Martin and more. 

For collectors and fans of physical media, THIMK will be available on CD and custom-colored vinyl. Each vinyl includes an exclusive booklet, and signed editions will also be offered. Every CD and vinyl purchase includes two bonus songs — not available on streaming platforms — plus behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the album and never-before-seen videos from Stephen’s career. 

Pre-Save THIMK on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.: https://ffm.to/thimk

Pre order the album on June 27 here: THIMK – Stephen Bishop Merchandise

THIMK also features performances by bassists Nathan East (Eric Clapton, Phil Collins), keyboardist Greg Phillinganes (Toto, Stevie Wonder, Bee Gees), Leland Sklar (James Taylor, Phil Collins, Toto), and Sean Hurley (John Mayer, Alanis Morissette), multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz (Jackson Browne, k.d. lang, Eric Clapton); drummer Nic Collins (Genesis, Phil Collins) — son of Phil Collins, continuing his father’s musical legacy; songwriter Jack Tempchin (Eagles, Glenn Frey) on harmonica, keyboardist Steve Porcaro (Toto, Michael Jackson); and drummer Steve Gadd (Paul Simon, Eric Clapton).

With the release of this album, Bishop looks back on his musical journey with warmth and gratitude.

“After five decades of recording music and performing, I figured it was time to close this chapter of my music career," he said in a statement. "THIMK—my 20th and final album—is a celebration of friendship, legacy, and all the people who’ve been part of this long, wonderful ride. I’ve developed a bit of arthritis in my hands over the past few years, so I wanted to give this last album everything I had while I still could. 

"I’m proud of it—and grateful for the chance to spend my life doing what I love.” 

THIMK was produced by singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist Marcus Eaton, and executive produced by music executive Liz Kamlet. 

Stephen Bishop on the meaning behind the name THIMK:

"THIMK, pronounced just like “think,” but with an “M.” Flashback to the 1980s. While out shopping, I stumbled upon a pin with the peculiar word THIMK on it. Given my penchant for collecting eccentric pins, I adorned many in those days, but this one left a lasting impression.

Over the years, I considered using THIMK as a title for an album many times but ultimately decided it was too unusual. Years later, my wife found the THIMK pin. She thought it was funny and quirky, just like me, and believed it would prompt people to think about THIMK. Now, after all these years, it finally found its perfect moment. Interestingly, we recently discovered that the word THIMK also appeared in the film “Taxi Driver.”

Track Listing:

Now That I’ve Hit The Big Time
Only The Heart Within You
She’ll Always Be My Girl
In The Limelight (Alternate Version)
The Money Girl
Liz (So In Love With You)
Really Wanting You
One More Night
You Don’t Need My Love
It Might Be You (feat. Dave Grusin)
Under The Rainbow
A Message From Stephen

Bonus Tracks – CD & Vinyl Only:

Dance Off The Moon
You Can Laugh at Me

The band Ivy schedule first album in 15 years, including music by Adam Schlesinger, for September

Ivy have announced their first new album in 15 years. Built from the ground up using demos and song fragments dating from between 1995 to 2012, Traces of You is due out September 5 via Bar/None Records.

“The world thought IVY was gone after 2012, and for a time we did too. And after Adam's death in 2020 it seemed certain,” shares the band’s Andy Chase “So Dominique and I are thrilled to give everyone a brand new IVY album, with our beloved Adam playing on every song!”

Formed in 1994, Ivy includes Andy Chase, Dominique Durand, and the late Adam Schlesinger. Sadly, Durand and Chase assumed that Ivy was in the rearview after Schlesinger tragically passed away from COVID-19 in 2020. While prepping recent reissues of their back catalog, the band unearthed a trove of reel-to-reel tapes and old hard drives stored in their Rhode Island studio. The duo knew they would only consider working on Ivy demos featuring Schlesinger, but they were overwhelmed by deciding which songs to finish. In response, they reached out to Ivy's backing keyboardist and guitarist, Bruce Driscoll, to help go through the archives and revive these lost recordings.

Every song on Traces of You features contributions from Schlesinger, with the blessing of his family. Lead single “Say You Will,” featuring drums from Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.), was built from a 2009 demo where Schlesinger played bass and keyboard.

WATCH OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “SAY YOU WILL”

Previously, Ivy released six studio albums. Over the years, a new generation of artists discovered Ivy, citing them as a major inspiration and influence. These include Snail Mail, Beach Fossils, Momma, Slow Pulp, Wishy, DJ Python.

The band broke their years long silence in late 2021 to honor the passing of Adam Schlesinger, compiling home videos from studio sessions and those early tours in memory of their friend and bandmate into a moving tribute video. Over the last few years, they’ve reissued Realistic, Apartment Life, and Long Distance, including rare demos and unreleased music with each release.

Understandably, recording without Schlesinger was often an emotional experience, with Durand citing “Fragile People” especially as a tune that brought her and Chase to tears in the studio. “Unintentionally, the song stirred up something really melancholy for us— in a very specific way—about Adam,” she says. She notes that Ivy didn’t want to lean on cliches about losing Adam when writing lyrics. “It's influenced by the loss of someone like him, but we did it in a way that's very subtle,” she says. “There's a ghostly feeling in the meaning of the lyrics.”

Poignantly, Traces Of You ends with “Hate That It’s True.” A pop song about the pain of unresolved grief and the power of eternal love, it has Schlesinger on acoustic guitar. 

“You can imagine how terrible it's been to lose Adam,” Chase says. “The only silver lining is that we could breathe life into these songs that he contributed to and it was a great experience making this record happen. It was some of the most fun I've ever had, working on music with Dominique and Bruce.”

“It was also bittersweet,” he adds. “But what was nice about the bittersweetness was that I wasn't alone in feeling that way. We all did. We were like a school of fish— three little fish, missing that fourth fish, all swimming in perfect union with each other, going through both the highs and lows.”

Track list:

01 The Midnight Hour

02 Fragile People
03 Mystery Girl
04 Traces of You
05 The Great Unknown
06 Say You Will
07 Heartbreak
08 Lose It All
09 Wasting Time
10 Hate That It’s True

Chicago to release expanded hits collection in August, tour includes three nights at Hollywood Bowl

To mark the 50th anniversary of 'Chicago IX,' the band’s first greatest hits collection which topped the album chart in 1975 and sold more than five million copies to become one of their best-selling albums, Rhino Records will release CHICAGO IX: GREATEST HITS EXPANDED on Aug. 8 as a 2LP Black vinyl set and single CD. Pre-order HERE.

The new edition expands the original 11-track lineup into a 21-track collection that now includes songs from every studio album the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers released between 1969 and 1980.

New additions like “Street Player,” “Thunder and Lightning,” and “Baby, What A Big Surprise” extend the timeline through the ’70s and up to the dawn of the ’80s, while early cuts like “Questions 67 and 68” and “Free” help round out the band’s formative years. Signature tracks from the original release—such as “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” and “If You Leave Me Now”—remain central to the collection. Several songs from Chicago (1970) appear in their Steven Wilson remix/edit versions, first issued in 2017.

The updated selection reflects a broader retrospective of Chicago’s first decade, with the cover artwork subtly revised from its original white background to a new gold backdrop in honor of the album’s golden anniversary.

Chicago launched the year with an appearance and live performance of two songs on NBC’s The Kelly Clarkson Show, and will tour through 2025. Full dates are below. For ticket information visit www.chicagotheband.com.

2LP Track Listing:

LP One

Side One

“Questions 67 And 68”
“Beginnings”
“Make Me Smile” (2017 Steven Wilson Remix/Edit)
“25 Or 6 To 4” (2017 Steven Wilson Remix/Edit)
“Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
“Free”

Side Two

“Colour My World” (2017 Steven Wilson Remix)
“Saturday In The Park”
“Dialogue (Part I & II)”
“Feelin’ Stronger Every Day”
“Just You ’n’ Me”

LP Two

Side One

"(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long”

“Call On Me”
“Wishing You Were Here”
“Old Days”
“If You Leave Me Now”

Side Two

“Baby, What A Big Surprise”
“Alive Again”
“No Tell Lover”
“Street Player”
“Thunder And Lightning”

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:

Friday, June 20 Appleton, WI Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
Saturday, June 21 Ft Wayne, IN Embassy Theatre
Tuesday, June 24 Kalamazoo, MI Miller Auditorium
Wednesday, June 25 Mt Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort
Friday, June 27 St. Louis, MO Stifel Theatre
Saturday, June 28 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theatre

Tuesday, July 1 Peoria, IL Prairie Home Alliance Theater
Wednesday, July 2 Louisville, KY The Louisville Palace Theatre
Friday, July 4 Milwaukee, WI BMO Pavilion
Saturday, July 5 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival
Sunday, July 6 Huber Heights, OH Rose Music Center at The Heights
Tuesday, July 22 Virginia Beach, VA The Dome
Wednesday, July 23 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap
Friday, July 25 Newark, NJ New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Saturday, July 26 Atlantic City, NJ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
Sunday, July 27 Atlantic City, NJ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
Tuesday, July 29 Bridgeport, CT Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Thursday, July 31 Bangor, ME Maine Savings Amphitheater

Friday, August 1 Gilford, NH BankNH Pavilion
Saturday, August 2 Boston, MA Leader Bank Pavilion
Tuesday, August 5 Bethlehem, PA Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza
Wednesday, August 6 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Friday, August 8 Lewiston, NY Artpark
Saturday, August 9 Verona, NY The Event Center at Turning Stone Resort Casino
Sunday, August 10 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Thursday, August 21 Sandy, UT Sandy Amphitheater
Saturday, August 23 Colorado Springs, CO Ford Amphitheater
Sunday, August 24 Denver, CO Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
Wednesday, August 27 Boise, ID Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden
Friday, August 29 Woodinville, WA Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
Saturday, August 30 Woodinville, WA Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
Sunday, August 31 Bend, OR Hayden Homes Amphitheater

Tuesday, September 2 Jacksonville, OR Britt Pavilion
Wednesday, September 3 Santa Rosa, CA Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Friday, September 5 Lincoln, CA The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino Resort
Saturday, September 6 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery
Sunday, September 7 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery
Tuesday, September 9 Paso Robles, CA Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Wednesday, September 10 San Diego, CA The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park
Friday, September 12 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
Saturday, September 13 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
Sunday, September 14 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl

Wednesday, November 5 Coraopolis, PA UPMC Events Center*
Thursday, November 6 Johnstown, PA 1st SUMMIT ARENA at Cambria County War Memorial*
Saturday, November 8 Columbus, OH Mershon Auditorium*
Sunday, November 9 Northfield, OH MGM Northfield Park*
Wednesday, November 12 East Lansing, MI Cobb Great Hall at Wharton Center for Performing Arts
Thursday, November 13 Rockford, IL Coronado Theatre
Sunday, November 16 Brookings, SD Dacotah Bank Center*

*- Newly announced dates

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