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Rock Legends The Beatles Get Apple Corps Backing For Global Beatles Day On June 25th

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Global Beatles Day just earned its biggest endorsement yet. Apple Corps Ltd, the company The Beatles founded to manage their creative and business ventures, has formally acknowledged the fan-run celebration, which falls on June 25th. It’s a major milestone for a grassroots movement that began with one fan’s idea and grew into a worldwide tradition.

The date carries real history. On June 25, 1967, The Beatles walked into Studio One at Abbey Road Studios in London and broadcast “All You Need Is Love” live as part of the BBC’s Our World, the first international satellite television broadcast. An estimated 400 million people tuned in. For a few extraordinary minutes, the world watched together. Decades later in 2009, lifelong fan Faith Cohen decided the day deserved to be commemorated, and Global Beatles Day was born.

The celebration has grown organically ever since, from tribute concerts in Tokyo to Beatles-themed exhibitions in New York City, sing-alongs in Buenos Aires, and fan gatherings in Liverpool. Built on an enduring love for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, it’s become an annual event embraced by fans across generations and continents.

This year brings a special gift. On June 25th, alongside online and in-person events worldwide, The Beatles will release a colorized version of their BBC Our World performance of “All You Need Is Love” for free on YouTube. It’s the first time the iconic performance has been available online, and fans everywhere can relive that 1967 moment and share reactions in the live chat. It’s a genuinely thrilling way to mark the anniversary.

Apple Corps CEO Tom Greene praised the fan-led effort in a letter to Faith Cohen this week. “More than ever, the message of The Beatles, and of ‘All You Need Is Love’ speaks to something vital for community, connection, and the power of bringing people together,” he wrote. “That is what makes Global Beatles Day so special. It asks nothing more than for people, wherever they are, to stop, listen, and share a little joy.”

The recognition fits a group whose impact remains unparalleled. More than five decades after their split, their music still resonates across generations, from fans who lived through Beatlemania to new listeners discovering “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be” through streaming, or “Two of Us” in the hit film “Project Hail Mary.” They reshaped fashion, youth culture, songwriting, and album production, sparked the British Invasion, and redefined popular music with groundbreaking albums like ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. Their legacy still draws millions to landmarks like Abbey Road Studios, where fans recreate the famous crossing photo.

More is on the horizon. Earlier this month, it was announced that 3 Savile Row, home of their rooftop concert, will become the first official fan experience, opening in 2027. And a four-film Beatles cinematic event arrives in April 2028 through Sony Pictures Entertainment and Neal Street Productions, the first time Apple Corps and The Beatles have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film. Directed by Sam Mendes, it stars Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

Wyatt Flores And Friends Reinvent Iconic Songs In The ACM’s New ‘Our Country’ Series

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The Academy of Country Music has a fresh way to spotlight country’s rising voices. The organization just launched Our Country, a premium digital series built around the music, memories, and stories that define the genre. It frames country music as a unifying cultural force, honoring America’s past while shining a light on the artists shaping its future. The whole thing blends intimate storytelling with stripped-down acoustic performances.

The format is simple and affecting. Each episode pairs a reimagined performance with a personal conversation, letting artists reflect on heritage, identity, inspiration, and the moments that shaped their lives and careers. It’s a warm, genuinely engaging idea that lets familiar songs breathe in new hands.

The lineup leans on breakout talent taking on iconic material from across the musical map. Wyatt Flores performs The Fray’s “How to Save a Life,” Kaitlin Butts takes on The Steeldrivers’ “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” and Jo Dee Messina reaches for Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” Thelma & James cover “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease, Jackson Dean digs into Uncle Lucius’ “Keep the Wolves Away,” and Craig Campbell tackles Clint Black’s “Killin’ Time.”

The series launches this week with Wyatt Flores, and new episodes will roll out weekly across the ACM’s owned and operated digital platforms, including YouTube, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, and TikTok.

Global Hitmakers Unite As FIFA Reveals Star-Packed ‘Official World Cup 2026 Album’

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FIFA has assembled a music squad to match the scale of the tournament. The full lineup for the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album is here, and it pulls together a global cast of artists, cultures, and sounds for the biggest World Cup in history. The 18-track collection lands Friday, June 5th. It’s the most extensive music and culture project ever built for the event, designed to capture the energy and spirit running across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The album follows the global releases of “Lighter,” “Por Ella,” “Echo,” “Illuminate,” “Goals,” and “Game Time,” and FIFA Sound has now revealed the complete creative vision behind it. Most of the artists on each track are joining forces for the very first time, linked through the pull of football. It’s a bold, genuinely thrilling spread of collaborations that few projects could ever wrangle into one place.

“FIFA has brought together an extraordinarily strong music squad and one befitting the biggest single-sport event in history,” says FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “From global superstars to breakthrough voices who are shaping the future of music, the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album features artists from across continents, languages and genres in a project designed to unite fans worldwide through the power of music and football.”

The album works as a platform for global collaboration, with artists from wildly different traditions building a soundtrack that mirrors football’s knack for bringing people together. More collaborations and singles will keep rolling out through the tournament. Fans will hear many of the tracks live during the Countdown Concert in Mexico City, Toronto, and Los Angeles, as well as the opening ceremonies in Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

‘Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album’ Track Listing:

Goals – Lisa, Anitta and Rema

Game Time – Future and Tyla

Illuminate – Jessie Reyez and Elyanna

Echo – Daddy Yankee and Shenseea

Por Ella – Los Ángeles Azules and Belinda

Three Nations – 21 Savage, Nata Cano and French Montana

No Place Like Home – Major Lazer, Nelly Furtado and Davido

In the Stars (Remix) – The Rolling Stones

Show Me – Ayra Starr and Latto

Mi México Lindo – Alejandro Fernández

Blessings – Stormzy, Fridayy and Angel

Energy – Ava Max and Bia

Lighter – Jelly Roll and Carín León

Siir Siir – Nora Fatehi, Vegedream and Sanjoy

Partidazo – Danny Ocean

Champion – IShowSpeed

Love Always Wins – Shaggy, Cimafunk and Zema

Dai Dai – Shakira and Burna Boy

Weezer Add Gold To The Palette With New Self-Titled 20th Album

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Weezer have a new color to add to the collection. The group just announced their self-titled album ‘Weezer’, out August 21st via Reprise/Warner Records, with the gold-themed record landing as their 20th over a decades-long run. The lead single “We Might As Well Be Strangers” featuring Wednesday is out now, weaving together the vocals of Rivers Cuomo and Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman. After Blue, Green, Red, White, Teal, and Black, gold joins the lineage.

The album traces back to a return to basics. Fresh off a sold-out 30th anniversary tour that saw the group play their iconic debut in full, the four reconvened in Orange County, a midway point between their California homes, and went straight back to where they started: a rehearsal space, playing and writing together, figuring out what came next. ‘Weezer’ was born from those sessions, four guys in a room creating together. It’s a tightly-wound, ready-to-spring record with songs written by three of the four members, and it marks the first time Cuomo and drummer Pat Wilson had written the basics of a song together since their first album.

For recording, the group brought in two producers with sharply different methods that still aligned with the vision: Klas Ahlund and Kenneth Blume, formerly Kenny Beats, who said he wanted to make “the most violent Weezer album ever.” Ahlund took a more mathematical, stringent approach, while Kenny chased the rock-band-in-a-room feeling, with no grid, no click track, and no pitch correction. Drums were tracked with all four playing live, listening to each other and reshaping the songs as they went.

The result plays to the group’s eternal strengths and feels like one of those imagined greatest-hits collections built entirely from new material. It’s a direct, raw iteration of the group, as urgent and vital as anything in their catalog three decades in. The record runs tongue-in-cheek meta songs about aging as a group, weighing a legacy, and carrying on, alongside tracks that celebrate exactly where they are now: as one of the most influential names in the world for anyone, any age, picking up a guitar, a bass, or a pair of drumsticks. It’s a genuinely exciting late-career swing that lands.

Earlier this year the group announced Weezer: The Gathering, a massive 32-date North American run with The Shins and Silversun Pickups in support. To mark the news, they hosted a week of events in Los Angeles, including Weezerpedia trivia and a pickleball tournament with fans.

‘Weezer’ Track Listing:

Say Yes

Shine Again

Don’t Make It Weird

We Might As Well Be Strangers ft. Wednesday

C.E.O.

Hoops

Nowhere

The Show Must Go On

Up In The Clouds

The LA Sound

Sara Bareilles Returns With ‘Good Grief’ Album And Fall Tour

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Sara Bareilles has a new chapter ready to open. The Grammy-winning, Tony and Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter just announced her seventh studio album ‘Good Grief’, arriving August 28th via Epic Records, and she’s paired the news with its first single, “Home.” It’s her first record since 2019’s Grammy-winning ‘Amidst the Chaos’, and it marks a fresh turn in her 20-year career. The 14-track collection is a reckoning with loss, yet every dark corner carries a luminous pull toward hope.

The songs arrived almost on their own. “This whole collection of songs felt like transmissions rather than a deliberate attempt to make sense of the world,” Bareilles says. “My deepest hope is that Good Grief provides some kind of comfort or catharsis.” That openness gives the album its quiet power.

“Home” sets the tone, and its origin is striking. The single grew out of a conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper about grief and loss on Cooper’s podcast. “It feels like an invitation and a tone setter for the specificity and depth of this record,” Bareilles explains. “It just feels really essential right now. In order for us as humans to really know and understand each other, we have to listen to each other’s stories.” It’s a stirring, generous lead single that pulls listeners straight in.

The record covers remarkable thematic ground, all rooted in Bareilles’ own experience, from intimate tributes to lost friends, to defiant anthems for women’s rights, to unexpected flickers of lightness in dark times. Bareilles produced it herself, recording most of it over six days at Dreamland Recording Studios in Woodstock, NY, with a band of longtime collaborators: drummer Charley Drayton, guitarist Butterfly Boucher, keyboardist Misty Boyce, bassist Solomon Dorsey, multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose, and co-producer, engineer, and mixer Jonathan Low. Later sessions ran with co-producer Aaron Dessner at his Long Pond Studios in the Hudson Valley, NY, with engineer and mixer Bella Blasko. The album also features Brandi Carlile, Andrea Gibson, Ingrid Michaelson, Joe Tippett, and Megan Falley.

The making of the album was captured in the documentary ‘Sara Bareilles: Good Grief’, premiering at the Tribeca Festival this week. The film offers an intimate, unfiltered look at her return to the studio with close friends for the first time in seven years, a portrait of her creative process that becomes a deeply personal, hopeful meditation on loss and the healing power of music. It’s a moving testament to creativity, community, and vulnerability.

This fall, Bareilles makes her long-awaited return to the stage on the deeply personal Good Grief Tour, promoted by Live Nation. The run opens September 9th in Boston and winds through iconic theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and more. The shows blend raw new material with the songs that have defined her career, all delivered with her signature wit and authenticity. Presales start Monday, June 8th, ahead of the general sale on Wednesday, June 10th, at 10 am local time, with VIP packages on offer.

The cause runs deep too. Bareilles has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold will be contributed by Live Nation to The Jed Foundation, supporting emotional health and suicide prevention among teens and young adults. One hundred percent of net proceeds from the tour’s VIP Upgrade Packages will benefit NAMI, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, funding free education, support programs, advocacy, and resources for individuals and families affected by mental health conditions.

‘Good Grief’ Track Listing:

  1. Home
  2. Just a Kid
  3. Still Crying
  4. A Love Story
  5. Hands Off My Body
  6. Ladies In A Line
  7. Heartland
  8. Capsize Me
  9. Nervous Breakdown
  10. Idiot Heart
  11. Say Leave
  12. Salt Then Sour Then Sweet featuring Brandi Carlile
  13. Forever
  14. Wind Is the Weather

Good Grief 2026 Tour Dates:

Sept 9 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway

Sept 12 – Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem

Sept 15 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall

Sept 18 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall

Sept 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met

Sept 24 – Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre

Sept 25 – Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre

Sept 27 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre

Sept 30 – Minneapolis, MN @ Orpheum Theatre

Oct 2 – St. Louis, MO @ Stifel Theatre

Oct 4 – Denver, CO @ Bellco Theatre

Oct 6 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall

Oct 7 – Houston, TX @ The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

Oct 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Dolby Theatre

Oct 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Dolby Theatre

Oct 16 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

Oct 19 – Seattle, WA @ The Paramount Theatre

U.K. Alt-Rock Trio Veins Go Cinematic On New Single “I Keep Falling”

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Veins are closing in on their debut album, and the latest preview makes a strong case. The U.K. alternative rock trio just shared “I Keep Falling,” an immersive new single and video, out now. It’s the newest taste of their long-awaited debut ‘A New Forever’, due Friday 5th June. The track leans into atmosphere and tension, unfolding with slow-burning intensity before it opens into sweeping, cinematic peaks. It’s a gorgeous, widescreen piece of writing.

Frontman Stevie Rees traces the song back to film. “I Keep Falling is probably our most cinematic sounding song and was actually inspired by a short film, Nuit Blanche by Arev Manoukian,” he explains. “The film visualises a fleeting, magical moment of fantasy between two strangers, highlighting a brief yet intense connection, which draws parallels with the themes of our music.” That spark of fleeting connection runs right through the track’s emotional core.

Formed in Corby, England, Veins first caught ears with their debut single “Ambi,” which picked up national radio support from BBC Introducing and BBC Radio 1. The group pull together towering post-rock textures, shadowy alt-rock melodies, and explosive dynamic shifts, building a sound that feels both vast and deeply personal. Early releases like “Blood On My Hands” cemented their reputation, while live shows alongside Holding Absence, InMe, and Press to MECO sharpened a commanding stage presence.

The single sets the stage for ‘A New Forever’, a record shaped by endurance, change, and finding light in difficult places. “This album has been a long time coming and we can’t wait to finally let people hear it,” Rees says. “Lyrically, it’s very personal, confronting some dark themes, but it’s also about hope. Musically, the atmospheric elements contrasted with the big cinematic moments really bring the mood of the record to life.” With the debut now in sight, the trio are stepping into a new phase with serious momentum.

Track Listing:

  1. Criminal
  2. Reign Down
  3. I Keep Falling
  4. Ambi
  5. Pulling Teeth
  6. Sunlight
  7. Everlasting Games
  8. Suddenly Revived
  9. Atoll K
  10. Champions Fall

Calgary’s Studio Bell Turns 10 With A Free Canada Day Bash And 10 Live Acts

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Studio Bell is throwing itself a birthday party, and the whole country is invited. Home of the National Music Centre, the Calgary landmark turns 10 on Canada Day, July 1, 2026, and NMC is marking the milestone with a building-wide bash across Studio Bell and the King Eddy. There’ll be 10 live acts, new exhibits, all-ages activities, and a rooftop party. Admission is free, thanks to ATB Financial.

The lineup leans into the multigenerational spirit of the day. A Sharon, Lois & Bram Singalong with Sharon & Randi brings the beloved mother-daughter duo through a catalogue that’s entertained families for nearly five decades. Genre-bending alternative act Kue Varo & The Only Hopes and seniors’ band The Rhythm Kats round out the bill, the latter covering popular hits across the decades. It’s a celebration built for every age in the room.

The NMC Collection takes the spotlight too. Visitors can catch demonstrations on the majestic Kimball Theatre Organ, a longtime favourite, while Beatmap Music leads a drum-along with an array of percussive objects. The Music Odyssey Goosechase sends families through the museum on creative challenges. New exhibits honour Canadian Music Hall of Famers Nelly Furtado, Sum 41, and Oscar Peterson, and the updated Speak Up! exhibit spotlights a new group of Indigenous trailblazers, including Tudjaat, Crystal Shawanda, Andrea Menard, Jerry Alfred, and the Stoney Park Singers.

Over at the King Eddy, which celebrates over 120 years of history in 2026, families can enjoy free all-ages performances on the main floor and rooftop. The rooftop runs from 11:30 am to 7:00 pm with sets from Franco-Albertan country act Meera Sylvain, folk singer-songwriter Toni Vere, country artist Miles Canyon, and singer-songwriter Matt Beatty. The main floor opens at 11:00 am with live music from 4:00 pm, as country-rocker Ty Baynton, Cree-Métis outlaw country artist Jacquie Daniels, and acoustic roots duo The Charms carry the night.

“Ten years ago, National Music Centre opened the doors of Studio Bell with a bold vision: to unite Canadians through the power of music,” said Andrew Mosker, President and CEO of National Music Centre. “Since then, more than a million visitors have walked through our doors to discover Canada’s music story, experience unforgettable performances, and celebrate the artists who help shape our culture. As we mark this milestone, we’re grateful to the supporters, artists, staff, volunteers, and visitors who have helped make Studio Bell a source of Canadian pride over the past decade. This Canada Day, we invite everyone to join us in celebrating the music, culture, and spirit that bring us together as Canadians, and to help us kick off the next chapter of Studio Bell’s story.”

To thank the community for a decade of support, NMC is offering 50% off NMC Memberships for one day only on July 1, available in person at Studio Bell or online at studiobell.ca/become-a-member. It’s a genuinely joyful way to spend Canada Day, packed with music for every generation under one roof. The full schedule lives at studiobell.ca/whats-on.

Grammy-Nominated Hitmaker BLXST Recruits Sasha Keable For New Single “Ruin”

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BLXST has another standout on the board. The Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer just dropped “Ruin” featuring Sasha Keable, the focus track from his highly anticipated album ‘Labor of Love’. The record arrives June 12 via EMPIRE and International BLXST. It’s a smooth, emotionally charged cut that shows the West Coast favorite at his most open. Listen here.

Written and produced entirely by BLXST, “Ruin” digs into how fast small misunderstandings can spiral when communication breaks down. The song traces the back-and-forth of a relationship stuck in cycles of blame and reflection, while the chorus holds onto a single idea, refusing to let recurring arguments wreck something that matters. Keable’s voice gives the whole thing extra ache, and the two make a striking pair.

The single builds on the run BLXST started with “Just My Type” and “Day After Day” featuring Big Sad 1900, both of which land on the new album. ‘Labor of Love’ follows his 2024 album and short film ‘I’ll Always Come Find You’, a 20-track, four-act concept project executive produced in part by Sounwave. Where that release leaned into cinematic storytelling and character-driven narratives, this one returns to his roots and reconnects with the reason he started making music in the first place. Self-written and self-produced from top to bottom, it’s his most honest and vulnerable work yet.

BLXST has been pouring that energy back into his city too. He hosted a Mother’s Day pop-up at Harun Coffee, treating mothers in the community to complimentary drinks. Next Friday he joins Power 106 and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health for the ‘Labor of Love’ Listening Party hosted by B-Nyce, an evening built around music, healing, and connection. ‘Labor of Love’ hits all major streaming platforms that same day, June 12.

Born Matthew Burdette, BLXST grew up in South Central L.A. and taught himself to produce, sing, and write. He broke through with his 2020 debut EP ‘No Love Lost’ and its Platinum hit “Chosen,” then kept building with releases like ‘Before You Go’ and ‘I’ll Always Come Find You’, plus Grammy-nominated contributions to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’. He shapes every layer of his work, from production to visuals, and that command keeps him among the most compelling voices in R&B and hip-hop.

Sasha Keable brings serious firepower to the collaboration. The British Colombian singer-songwriter is a three-time MOBO nominee, picking up nods this year for Best Female Act and Best R&B/Soul Act. She’s a BRIT nominee, landed on the BBC Sound of 2026 list, and recently sold out KOKO while touring the EU, UK, and USA with Giveon. Her COLORS session and Tiny Desk appearance went viral, she sang at GQ’s Music & Style dinner for Christian Louboutin, and she’s racked up over 100 million global streams. With co-signs from Rihanna and a personal shout from Beyoncé, Keable has cemented herself as a defining voice in UK R&B.

L.A. Punk Trio Drama Dolls Scream Through Diet Culture On New Single “Salad”

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Three women, three chords, and a whole lot of pent-up frustration about lettuce. Drama Dolls have unleashed “Salad,” and the L.A. trio turn the misery of a never-ending diet into a loud, funny, and painfully relatable anthem. It’s out now. The track swings back to their trademark hard-hitting drums, screaming vocals, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics that somehow land with total sincerity, and it’s a riotous reminder that the group can make the smallest gripe feel enormous.

The premise is gloriously simple. “I want some fried dough. I want some pizza,” goes the rallying cry, and the group don’t bother dressing it up. “This song is about the emotions that come up when you realize that you have to eat salad for like the rest of your life and you are sick of it and sad,” they explain. It’s a mundane anxiety blown up to full volume, and that’s the joke and the catharsis rolled into one.

Drama Dolls give us a chance to scream out our irritation through the joy running through every song. Formed by Egg, Scrambles, and Mama-T, the trio throw age expectations out the window and make loud, chaotic rock with reckless abandon. They’ve got range too. The blistering “I Hate Your Face” rips with the fury of a thousand suns, the brat-punk anthem “Horchata” is an instant classic, and “We Like to Party” rides danceable ska and new wave beats. Across all of it, the group cover the full spread of old-school SoCal punk filtered through modern mixing board polish. These three Dolls are showing us how to enjoy life through creativity no matter what state you’re in.

Prince Unearth 10 Rare Cuts On New Compilation ‘Timeless’

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A new window into Prince’s legendary Vault is opening. ‘Timeless’ gathers 10 rare and unreleased studio recordings, and it spans the full arc of his career, from 1977 all the way to 2016. The collection arrives on CD and vinyl on 28 August 2026 via Sony. For anyone who’s chased the deep mythology of Prince’s archive, this is a major haul.

The set runs chronologically, and the early material alone reads like a treasure map. ‘I Am You’ is a home recording from 1978 that Prince performed live just twice in early 1979 before retiring it for good. ‘Tick, Tick, Bang’ is an unreleased 1981 recording that he later re-cut for the ‘Graffiti Bridge’ album. ‘Heaven’ was committed to tape in 1985 and never issued, while ‘I Wonder’ followed four years later in 1989 and also stayed locked away.

The later years carry just as much intrigue. ‘Stone’, a 1995 recording, was once slated for ‘Emancipation’. ‘The Guilty Ones’ pushes into more recent territory as an unreleased track from 2007. The compilation also includes ‘With This Tear’, the November 1991 recording that surfaced digitally last month on the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death, plus a live version of the 1999 B-side ‘How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore’. Ten songs, decades apart, finally sharing one home.

The audio comes courtesy of Chris James, the engineer behind the acclaimed Prince Atmos mixes of recent years. James has mastered the collection and, in many cases, likely handled the mixing too. He’s become the trusted hand for Prince mix and master projects, having previously delivered the celebrated Purple Rain Atmos mix. That pedigree gives the whole set a serious sonic backbone.

It’s a thrilling addition to the Prince catalog, the kind of release that rewards both lifelong devotees and newer listeners digging into the legend.

Tracklisting:

I Am You

Tick Tick Bang

Heaven

I Wonder

With This Tear

Stone

Calabama

The Guilty Ones

Bestest Friend

How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore? (Live)