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Earth, Wind & Fire Press Their ‘Greatest Hits’ To Vinyl This Fall

Eric Alper
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Earth, Wind & Fire Press Their ‘Greatest Hits’ To Vinyl This Fall

17 of the most recognizable songs in funk and soul are about to spin on wax again. Earth, Wind & Fire and Sony’s Legacy Recordings announced ‘Greatest Hits’, a 2 LP vinyl set arriving September 18. A limited-edition aquamarine pressing will be available exclusively through Amazon, and a digital version is out now.

The release lands during a banner month for the group. Earth, Wind & Fire is Amazon’s Artist of the Month in June, drawing dedicated in-app marketing, curated “ReDiscover” playlists, out-of-home advertising, and more across Amazon Music.

The celebration keeps rolling with a new slate of physical and digital releases on July 17. That batch includes freshly pressed editions of ‘I Am’, ‘Open Our Eyes’, and ‘That’s The Way of the World’, plus ‘The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire Remixes’, available exclusively in digital form.

The catalog push arrives alongside the HBO Original documentary ‘Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s The Weight of The World)’, which opened the Tribeca Festival on June 3. Produced and directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the film digs into the group’s spiritual and musical origins and their lasting cultural impact, and it’s streaming now on HBO Max.

The band also kicks off a 26-city North American summer tour with Lionel Richie on June 24 at Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, hitting Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, and more before wrapping in Austin at the Moody Center on August 14. It’s a deep, joyous celebration of one of music’s most enduring catalogs.

‘Greatest Hits’ Track Listing:

  1. “Shining Star”
  2. “That’s the Way of the World”
  3. “September”
  4. “Can’t Hide Love”
  5. “Got to Get You into My Life”
  6. “Sing a Song”
  7. “Gratitude”
  8. “Serpentine Fire”
  9. “Fantasy”
  10. “Kalimba Story”
  11. “Mighty Mighty”
  12. “Reasons”
  13. “Saturday Nite”
  14. “Let’s Groove”
  15. “Boogie Wonderland”
  16. “After the Love Has Gone”
  17. “Getaway”

Itzy Bring Their 3rd World Tour To Europe And The UK This September

Eric Alper
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Itzy Bring Their 3rd World Tour To Europe And The UK This September

Four European cities are about to feel the full force of one of K-pop’s most explosive live acts. Itzy announced the European and UK leg of their 3rd World Tour, presented by Live Nation, bringing the group to London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Frankfurt this September. The run follows their acclaimed new ‘Motto’ EP and the global launch of the tour earlier this year.

The four-night swing builds on serious momentum. Itzy capped a three-night stand at Seoul’s Jamsil Indoor Stadium in February, showcasing the dynamic production and commanding stage presence that have defined their career. The current tour follows their landmark 2nd World Tour, which carried the group to arenas across 28 regions worldwide, including Australia, Mexico, England, Japan, and Canada.

The European dates support ‘Tunnel Vision’, the group’s acclaimed November mini-album that debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s World Albums chart. The run also arrives amid continued excitement around ‘Motto’, their latest EP featuring 8 new tracks, including its infectious title track that pushes their confidence and artistry further.

Itzy keeps proving themselves true stage masters, blending chart-topping hits with fan-favorite B-sides tailored for the live stage. Presales are underway, with general sale opening Tuesday, June 16 at 4pm local time, and VIP packages on offer.

Itzy 3rd World Tour European/UK Dates:

Sept 11 – London, UK @ OVO Arena Wembley

Sept 13 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live

Sept 15 – Paris, France @ Zénith Paris La Villette

Sept 17 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Festhalle

Australian Genre-Blender Billy Vincent Bares It All On New Single “The Story”

Eric Alper
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Australian Genre-Blender Billy Vincent Bares It All On New Single “The Story”

A raspy voice and a story worth telling arrive together on Billy Vincent’s latest. The Australian singer, songwriter, and guitar talent returned with his new single “The Story” via Columbia Records. The track leans on his unmistakable vocal, raw lyricism, and guitar-forward sound, blending country, rock, and grunge into something that feels both intimate and universal.

Written by Vincent and produced by Dopamine and Andy Seltzer, “The Story” lands as momentum around the Queensland native keeps building. He first drew attention through performance clips and original music shared online, growing to more than 145k Instagram followers, 95K TikTok followers, and over 20 million views across his music content. Fans have spent months waiting on new music through teasers and acoustic sets across Australian pubs and social platforms.

The release follows his recent single “Fly Away,” which introduced many listeners to his powerful delivery and emotionally charged songwriting. Along the way, Vincent has earned praise from Luke Combs, Bailey Zimmerman, and acclaimed songwriter and producer John Shanks.

Earlier this year he joined fellow Columbia artist Koe Wetzel for select Australian dates, carrying his growing catalog to audiences across the country. “The Story” pushes that rise further, a compelling, emotionally honest single from one of the most promising new voices coming out of the region. More new music is on the way.

Video: Anika Nilles Commands The Drum Chair Through Rush’s Entire Fifty Something Tour Opener In Los Angeles

Eric Alper
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Video: Anika Nilles Commands The Drum Chair Through Rush’s Entire Fifty Something Tour Opener In Los Angeles

A full-show camera locked entirely on Anika Nilles now lets fans watch every move she made behind the kit on Rush’s reunion night. The video follows Nilles through the complete June 7 Kia Forum set, from the “Where’s Rush?” intro sketch and “Xanadu” through “The Spirit of Radio,” a three-part “2112” suite, “Tom Sawyer,” and the “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” encore, with full uncut audio of the entire performance. The German drummer steps into the chair once held by Neil Peart and carries the night, trading fills and locking in with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson while Loren Gold handles keys and Aimee Mann guests on “Time Stand Still.” By every account she absolutely killed it.


Father John Misty, Guster And Jerry Harrison Crown Sound Summit Atop Mount Tamalpais This September

Eric Alper
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Father John Misty, Guster And Jerry Harrison Crown Sound Summit Atop Mount Tamalpais This September

A festival with the best views in the Bay Area returns to its mountaintop perch this fall. Sound Summit, the daylong event atop Mount Tamalpais, comes back to the historic Mountain Theater on Saturday, September 12. Cinematic folk-rock troubadour Father John Misty headlines with his full band, five years after he played the festival as an intimate acoustic set.

The lineup runs deep. Harmony-driven indie rockers Guster join the bill, alongside Talking Heads co-founder Jerry Harrison and his 50 Years of Talking Heads project, surf-noir psych-rockers La Luz, and Bay Area funk ensemble Angeline Saris & The Snack Machine. Perennial emcees Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey, the longtime KNBR duo Murph & Mac, return alongside KPFA’s Tim Lynch, with Andy Cabic of Vetiver spinning as all-day DJ.

The event pairs world-class music with a conservation mission. Produced annually by Roots & Branches Conservancy, Sound Summit has raised more than $300,000 over the past decade for Mount Tamalpais State Park, funding trail restoration, historic preservation, fire prevention, water conservation, and other vital park work.

Founder and producer Michael Nash calls staging the event high above the Bay a continually nourishing adventure, pointing to the spirited crowd who climb the mountain for a day unlike anything down on the ground and the camaraderie that comes with making the trip. Past Sound Summits have featured Wilco, Lord Huron, The War On Drugs, Sierra Ferrell, Bob Weir & Phil Lesh, Herbie Hancock, and many more.

It’s shaping up to be a great party with a purpose, perched 4,000 seats high above the Bay.

Lineup:

Father John Misty — full band

Guster

Jerry Harrison’s 50 Years of Talking Heads

La Luz

Angeline Saris & The Snack Machine

Event Details:

Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026

Gates: 10:30am

Music: 11:30am – 7:00pm

Venue: The historic Mountain Theater, Mount Tamalpais State Park

Tickets are on sale Friday, June 12 at 10:00am PDT via SoundSummit.net

Adults: $149.50

Youth 12 and under: $74.75

Children 2 and under: Free

Reserved Mountain Parking: $75

Round-Trip Shuttle from Mill Valley: $35

Video: Imagine Dragons Tear Through Las Vegas At The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival

Eric Alper
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Video: Imagine Dragons Tear Through Las Vegas At The 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival

Las Vegas lit up in September 2018 when Imagine Dragons hit the stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival inside the massive T-Mobile Arena. The setlist barreled through their biggest hits, with stadium-shaking takes on “Radioactive,” “Believer,” and “Thunder,” plus the live debut of “Zero” from ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet.’ Frontman Dan Reynolds commanded the room with the kind of raw energy that turned an arena full of strangers into one massive crowd.

Guitar Giant Fender Levels Up Its DAW With AI Studio Assistant And Moises Integration In Pro 8.1

Eric Alper
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Guitar Giant Fender Levels Up Its DAW With AI Studio Assistant And Moises Integration In Pro 8.1

The company that put a guitar in everyone’s hands is sharpening its software side. Fender Studio announced Fender Studio Pro 8.1 today, the latest update to its award-winning DAW, packing in a set of co-production tools built to keep creators in the flow. The headline addition is Studio Assistant, an in-DAW, natural-language guide that delivers real-time answers, creative direction, and technical support, now in public beta for Fender Studio Pro+ users.

The update also marks an industry first with a built-in Moises Studio integration. The partnership brings vocal transformation, the ability to generate stems from existing tracks, and best-in-class stem separation directly into the DAW, with 10 stem separations, 120 stem generations, and 5 voice conversions per month at no extra cost.

A new native Vocal Tune Plug-in rounds out the marquee features, giving creators precise pitch control that runs from subtle correction to stylized tonal transformation with formant shifting. Pitch Curves on Audio Events let producers draw real-time pitch changes straight onto audio for expressive bends and clean fixes.

Under the hood, 8.1 adds scoring and articulation improvements, faster local stem separation, better Audio-to-Note conversion, a customizable browser, Dolby Atmos headphone personalization, and shared virtual instrument sets that cut setup time across sessions.

Max Gutnik, Chief Product Officer of Fender Electronics, framed the company’s approach to AI around the player, saying its value lies in how it helps musicians create, learn, and express themselves rather than in the technology itself. Artist and producer Josh Cumbee echoed the point, praising anything that keeps him working inside the DAW instead of breaking focus for a browser.

The release lands as Fender celebrates 80 years of building instruments, and the Fender Studio brand continues to pair PreSonus hardware and software with Fender’s legacy in tone. It’s a serious, artist-first toolkit that keeps the focus where it belongs, on finishing the music.

Pricing:

Perpetual License: $199.99 USD

Pro+ Annual Subscription Plus Perpetual: $179.99 USD

Perpetual License Upgrade: $99.99 USD

Monthly Subscription: $19.99 USD

Veteran Hollywood Actor Anthony Guidera, Of ‘The Godfather Part III’ And ‘Species,’ Dead At 61

Eric Alper
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0
Veteran Hollywood Actor Anthony Guidera, Of ‘The Godfather Part III’ And ‘Species,’ Dead At 61

Anthony Guidera, the American actor who built a steady career across some of the biggest films of the 1990s, has died at the age of 61. He passed away on June 6, 2026.

Born October 18, 1964 in San Francisco, Guidera landed his first role as a bodyguard in ‘The Godfather Part III’ in 1990. From there he became a familiar presence in major studio productions, with appearances in ‘Species’, ‘The Rock’, ‘The Postman’ and ‘Armageddon’.

His television work ran just as wide. Guidera guest starred in series including Renegade, Baywatch, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Angel, moving easily between action, drama and genre fare across a career that spanned from 1990 to 2005.

One of his most memorable moments came in 1996, when he and co-star Natasha Henstridge won the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss for ‘Species’. The honor placed him alongside a roster of pop-culture moments that defined the era’s biggest ceremonies.

Guidera leaves behind a body of work that put him in the orbit of some of the decade’s most enduring films. He was 61.

Alt-Country Renegade Very Old Morris Drags You To Last Call On “Ladies’ Darts Night”

Eric Alper
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Alt-Country Renegade Very Old Morris Drags You To Last Call On “Ladies’ Darts Night”

A basement bar at last call sets the scene for the first taste of Very Old Morris’ new record. The project shared “Ladies’ Darts Night,” the lead single from the forthcoming album ‘Boogedy Boogedy Boogedy Shoop’, out October 2 on vinyl, cassette and digital platforms. Very Old Morris is the solo project of San Antonio-based singer-songwriter Jerid Reed Morris of The Texases, featuring members of Sub Pop act Rose Windows.

The album lands as an irreverent love letter to ’90s radio country, the likes of Garth, George, and Alan, filtered through a contemporary alt-country lens. Recorded at Jett Bass Studios in Windcrest, Texas, it pairs pedal steel and fiddle with raucous guitars and surprise mariachis. Morris’ lean vocals dovetail with Jordan Bryant’s dulcet timbre and the band’s dense harmonies, cutting through the twang with something closer to dream-pop transcendence.

The lyrics swing between deadpan absurdity and emotional devastation. Opener “Howdy Arabia” plays out as a surrealist Western, “That’s No Way To Act” dissects modern masculinity over Gin Blossoms jangle, and closer “Long Oval” stops everything cold for a father-son reckoning about inheritance and forgiveness that earns its tears honestly.

The record also folds in two covers, Iron & Wine and Calexico’s “Sixteen, Maybe Less” rebuilt as a haunted his-and-hers duet with Bryant, and The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Thirty-Three” reborn as a banjo-driven two-stepper with a mariachi payoff. The eight originals carry the heart of it, a literate, hilarious, formula-subversive country record that sends up the genre’s greatest decade with real affection. Morris is just old enough to desecrate it properly, and the result sounds like nothing else out right now.

Holly Humberstone Strips Down Four Cuts On ‘It’s A Real Cruel World’ EP

Eric Alper
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Holly Humberstone Strips Down Four Cuts On ‘It’s A Real Cruel World’ EP

Four of the year’s most beloved songs get pulled back to their bones. Holly Humberstone released ‘It’s A Real Cruel World’, a strikingly intimate EP that reimagines four standout tracks from her critically acclaimed second album ‘Cruel World’. The collection offers a fresh perspective on the originals, with new versions of “White Noise,” “Red Chevy,” “Cruel World” and “To Love Somebody.” Listen here.

The EP arrives during a landmark stretch for the British singer-songwriter. She’s delivered striking performances on “Later… with Jools Holland,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” plus an appearance on the season one finale of “SNL UK.” In April, she released ‘Cruel World’ via Interscope Records, a record that has amassed over 83 million streams to date.

The album captures the tension between pain and pleasure, where chaos and acceptance sit side by side. Humberstone built a dark fairytale world of her own making, where childhood relics, monsters and memory collide, and her lucid storytelling carries it all. The stripped-back EP lets that songwriting breathe in its quietest form.

She’s taking the live show back on the road for a run of North American dates, with support from Diva Smith and Leyla Ebrahimi. The Cruel World North American Tour kicks off in June, with festival stops at Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, Summerfest and All Things Go Toronto, plus headline shows at venues like Los Angeles’ The Fonda Theatre, Boston’s Paradise Rock Club, DC’s 9:30 Club, Chicago’s The Vic Theatre, Minneapolis’ Varsity Theater and San Francisco’s The Fillmore. After the headline run, she supports Gracie Abrams at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles this December.

It’s a gorgeous, vulnerable companion piece that proves these songs hold up under any light.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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