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Legendary Drummer Josh Freese Receives Drum Workshop’s Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award

Eric Alper
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Legendary Drummer Josh Freese Receives Drum Workshop’s Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award

Josh Freese gets his flowers. Drum Workshop, Inc. honored the legendary drummer with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the NAMM Show 2026, a recognition that is as overdue as it is deserved for one of the most versatile and in-demand drummers the music industry has ever produced.

The scope of Freese’s career is genuinely staggering. His credits span Michael Bublé, Nine Inch Nails, Suicidal Tendencies, Guns N’ Roses, Weezer, Sting, Devo, Katy Perry, Danny Elfman, M83, The Replacements, Glen Campbell, and Avril Lavigne, among dozens more. He has also co-written with Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, and Guns N’ Roses, making him as much a creative collaborator as a sideman.

Most recently, Freese stepped into one of the most scrutinized seats in rock, joining the Foo Fighters for two years following the death of Taylor Hawkins. He handled it with the same locked-in professionalism that has defined his entire career. Sting put it plainly: “Any band that Josh graced with his presence on the kit was fortunate indeed.”

“Thank you to DW Drums for this incredible lifetime achievement honor,” Freese says. “My journey’s been shaped by the countless musicians, crews, family and friends who believed in me and supported me along the way.” DW founder Don Lombardi, who has known Freese since his teenage years, called the recognition well earned, citing his contribution to drummers worldwide.

From playing drums at Disneyland at age 12 to logging sessions with rock’s elite across four decades, Josh Freese’s career represents something rare: total reliability at the highest level, across every genre, every situation, every stage.

The Cure, Gorillaz, and Moby to Headline Bulgaria’s Boldly Ambitious New PhillGood Festival

Eric Alper
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The Cure, Gorillaz, and Moby to Headline Bulgaria’s Boldly Ambitious New PhillGood Festival

Bulgaria is making its move. PhillGood, a brand new three-day music festival, arrives in Plovdiv this summer, July 17–19, headlined by The Cure, Gorillaz, and Moby. It’s a statement lineup for a first-year festival, and the setting matches the ambition.

Plovdiv is no ordinary backdrop. Set along the city’s Rowing Canal and framed by seven hills, the festival grounds sit within one of Europe’s oldest cities, where Roman ruins and Ottoman architecture share space with a thriving contemporary arts scene. PhillGood plants world-class music directly inside that landscape, and the combination is genuinely compelling.

The Cure open the festival on July 17th, making their Bulgarian debut, joined by Wolf Alice, dream-rock outfit Just Mustard, and French electronic producer Perturbator. Night two belongs to Gorillaz, bringing their full visual and musical universe to the Balkans for the first time, with Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap and electro-punk duo Sleaford Mods rounding out the bill.

Moby closes the festival on July 19th, a fitting choice for a lineup that spans decades of genre-defining work. Beyond the main stage, two additional stages showcase emerging talent and broader sounds, reinforcing that PhillGood is building something with range, not just a namecheck lineup.

Three-day, single-day, VIP, and camping tickets are on sale now. For a debut festival, PhillGood arrives with serious intent, and Plovdiv is ready for it.

Rush Deliver the Definitive ‘Grace Under Pressure’ With Massive 40th Anniversary Edition

Eric Alper
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Rush Deliver the Definitive ‘Grace Under Pressure’ With Massive 40th Anniversary Edition

Rush’s ‘Grace Under Pressure’ gets the treatment it deserves. UMe/Mercury and Anthem Records release the 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of the Canadian trio’s tenth studio album, out now in five configurations: a 4-CD/Blu-ray, 5-LP/Blu-ray, Super Deluxe Digital Edition, Dolby Atmos Digital Edition, and the full concert video ‘Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984’ at video DSPs.

The limited-edition version of the Super Deluxe Edition includes four CDs, one Blu-ray, and a 52-page hardcover book. CD 1 features the album’s original 1984 stereo mix, newly remastered from the original analog stereo master tapes by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios. Although Grace Under Pressure was the first Rush studio album not produced by Terry Brown after a decade-long healthy working relationship, CD 2 now features Brown’s new stereo mix of the album, as created from the original studio album’s analog multitracks. To get the ball rolling, Brown reached out directly to surviving bandmembers Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee. Regarding his involvement, Brown confirmed that he “suggested it to Alex and Ged by saying to them, ‘Let me do a couple of tunes. If you love it, we can move forward.’ As it turned out, they did love it.” Brown’s goals for his remix were quite pure. “I had to give the guys something they would be excited about,” the producer continued, “so I went for a little more detail, different reverbs, and a larger footprint, all while maintaining the integrity of the original record.”

CD 3 and CD 4 present the first-ever complete setlist of the show Rush performed on September 21, 1984, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, which was also newly mixed from the original multitrack audio masters and has now been retitled Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984.

The Blu-ray features the above concert on video, newly edited and newly remastered in HD with the audio soundtrack offered in 48kHz/24-bit Dolby Atmos, 96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and 96kHz/24-bit PCM stereo options, all newly mixed by Terry Brown. Its previous incarnation as 1986’s Grace Under Pressure Tour concert home video and CD was somewhat incomplete, and this new full concert experience features 37 minutes of unreleased performances.

Also on the Blu-ray, the full 1984 studio album is newly mixed in 48kHz/24-bit Dolby Atmos and 96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1 by longtime band associate, producer/engineer Richard Chycki, from the original album’s multitracks along with the newly remastered 192kHz/24-bit and 96kHz/24-bit PCM stereo. Observed Chycki, “Listening to Grace Under Pressure in Atmos, you can really hear Rush’s progress and development as artists, because there’s much more room in the 360-degree soundfield to express it. Things that may have just gone by you in stereo now appear in separate speakers without being gimmicky. Instead, they act as micro-features for the Atmos listener to better appreciate the band’s intent.”

Additionally, on the Blu-ray, Terry Brown’s new album remix is presented in 96kHz/24-bit PCM stereo, along with the band’s music videos for “Distant Early Warning,” “Afterimage,” “The Enemy Within,” and “The Body Electric,” all of which have been visually remastered in HD and presented in 96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and 48kHz/24-bit PCM stereo. (“The Enemy Within” was the very first music video shown by Canadian TV channel MuchMusic, now known as Fuse, on August 31, 1984.)

The Super Deluxe Edition will also include new liner notes penned by Geddy Lee, reflecting on his memories of finding a new producer for the album and reminiscing on a recent re-listen of the album proper. Original album designer Hugh Syme reimagines the original album cover, along with creating brand-new illustrations for each of the album’s eight songs and other related visual elements in the book. Exclusive bonus collectibles in the box include a custom acrylic Grace Under Pressure LED light-up display; a replica of the Grace Under Pressure tour book; a replica Maple Leaf Gardens/Toronto show concert ticket; a Grace Under Pressure Tour total access backstage pass; “Pressure Release” a replica of the six-page press release; three bandmember live photo lithos; and a poster from the Toronto show. All contents are housed in a premium lift-top box.

The second Grace Under Pressure configuration will be released as a 5-LP plus Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition, which is the analog equivalent of the 4-CD edition. The LPs in the Super Deluxe Edition have been cut at Abbey Road Studios and pressed on 180-gram audiophile black vinyl at GZ Media in the Czech Republic.

Both the physical Super Deluxe Editions will also be offered at the Rush Backstage online store with three exclusive bonus lithos of Hugh Syme’s new illustrations.

The third configuration will be the Super Deluxe Digital Edition, which is the digital equivalent of the physical Super Deluxe Edition audio tracks.

The fourth configuration, the Dolby Atmos Digital Edition, is the digital equivalent of Richard Chycki’s Atmos mix of all eight tracks from the original 1984 album.

Finally, the fifth configuration is the Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live in Toronto 1984, newly edited, mixed and visually remastered in HD concert video made available to video DSPs.

CD 1: Original Album – Produced by Rush and Peter Henderson / 2025 Remaster on CD for the first time

1. Distant Early Warning
2. Afterimage
3. Red Sector A
4. The Enemy Within
5. The Body Electric
6. Kid Gloves
7. Red Lenses
8. Between The Wheels

CD 2: Original Album – 2025 Terry Brown Mix [Previously Unreleased]

1. Distant Early Warning
2. Afterimage
3. Red Sector A
4. The Enemy Within
5. The Body Electric
6. Kid Gloves
7. Red Lenses
8. Between The Wheels

CD 3: Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live In Toronto 1984 (Maple Leaf Gardens – September 21, 1984) [Previously Unreleased]

1. The Spirit Of Radio
2. Subdivisions
3. The Body Electric
4. The Enemy Within
5. The Weapon
6. Witch Hunt
7. New World Man
8. Between The Wheels
9. Red Barchetta

CD 4: Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live In Toronto 1984 (Maple Leaf Gardens – September 21, 1984) [Previously Unreleased]

1. Distant Early Warning
2. Red Sector A
3. Closer To The Heart
4. Kid Gloves
5. YYZ
6. 2112: The Temples Of Syrinx
7. Tom Sawyer
8. Red Lenses / Drum Solo
9. Vital Signs
10. Finding My Way
11. In The Mood

Blu-ray: Grace Under Pressure Tour: Live In Toronto 1984 – Concert Video (Dolby Atmos / Dolby TrueHD 5.1 / PCM Stereo) [Previously Unreleased]

1. The Spirit Of Radio
2. Subdivisions
3. The Body Electric
4. The Enemy Within
5. The Weapon
6. Witch Hunt
7. New World Man
8. Between The Wheels
9. Red Barchetta
10. Distant Early Warning
11. Red Sector A
12. Closer To The Heart
13. Kid Gloves
14. YYZ
15. 2112: The Temples Of Syrinx
16. Tom Sawyer
17. Red Lenses / Drum Solo
18. Vital Signs
19. Finding My Way
20. In The Mood

Grace Under Pressure – Original Album Surround & Stereo Mixes

1984 Album Mix – Dolby Atmos / Dolby TrueHD 5.1 / PCM Stereo
2025 Album Mix – PCM Stereo

1. Distant Early Warning
2. Afterimage
3. Red Sector A
4. The Enemy Within
5. The Body Electric
6. Kid Gloves
7. Red Lenses
8. Between The Wheels

Bonus Promo Videos

Dolby TrueHD 5.1 / PCM Stereo

1. Distant Early Warning
2. Afterimage
3. The Enemy Within
4. The Body Electric

Hard Rock Risers Lost In Hollywood Get Brutally Honest on “I Should Have Known Better”

Eric Alper
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Hard Rock Risers Lost In Hollywood Get Brutally Honest on “I Should Have Known Better”

Lost In Hollywood are back, and they’re not pulling any punches. The hard rock outfit releases “I Should Have Known Better” alongside a music video, their most emotionally direct and sonically intense work yet. It’s out now.

The track hits that specific nerve where regret stops being self-pity and starts becoming something harder and more useful. Lost In Hollywood write personal songs that don’t stay personal for long, and “I Should Have Known Better” lands with the kind of weight that makes it immediately relatable. The balance of raw heaviness and cinematic atmosphere is exactly what this band does best, and here it’s sharper than ever.

The single follows a strong run of releases including “The Fire,” “Pretty Skin,” “Like a River” (featuring Of Virtue), and “The Art of Being Torn Out” (featuring Half Me), each one adding range and credibility to a catalog that keeps getting more compelling. Collaborations haven’t softened their identity one bit.

Lost In Hollywood continue to build something real. Every release tightens the sound, deepens the emotional stakes, and widens the audience. “I Should Have Known Better” is another strong entry in a catalog that rewards close listening.

JUNO-Nominated Blues-Rock Guitar Slinger Spencer Mackenzie Reimagines a Rory Gallagher Classic

Eric Alper
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JUNO-Nominated Blues-Rock Guitar Slinger Spencer Mackenzie Reimagines a Rory Gallagher Classic

Spencer Mackenzie takes on a classic and makes it his own. The JUNO-nominated, Maple Blues Award-winning Southern Ontario guitarist releases “Don’t Know Where I’m Going,” his fourth single from the upcoming album ‘Empty Chairs’, out now via Gypsy Soul Records.

The original is an acoustic Rory Gallagher track. Mackenzie’s version is anything but. He cranks the voltage, laying down a deep, gritty guitar tone over a fast-moving rhythm section that transforms the song into a full blues-rock statement. It’s the kind of reimagining that respects the source while staking its own territory, and Mackenzie pulls it off with confidence.

‘Empty Chairs’ is produced by Ross Hayes Citrullo, a two-time JUNO-nominated producer, mixer, engineer, and Emmy Award-winning recording mixer, known as the guitarist of The Commoners. The album draws on blues tradition and present-day blues-rock energy in equal measure, featuring electrifying guitar, punchy riffs, soaring organ, dynamic vocals, and an explosive rhythm section throughout.

Mackenzie has built his reputation across Canadian, European, and U.S. stages, with appearances at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Festival d’été de Québec, Moulin Blues Ospel, and Ribs & Blues Raalte, sharing stages with Walter Trout, Fantastic Negrito, Samantha Fish, and Jesse Dayton.

Zac Brown Band Member Caroline Jones Is Fully Committed on “You’re It For Me, Honey”

Eric Alper
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Zac Brown Band Member Caroline Jones Is Fully Committed on “You’re It For Me, Honey”

Caroline Jones is having a moment, and ‘Good Omen’ is the proof. The singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Zac Brown Band member releases “You’re It For Me, Honey,” the latest single from her forthcoming album, out February 13th via Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment.

The track is a 90s country-pop-inspired declaration of devotion, written during Jones’ maternity leave and drawn directly from her real-life marriage. It’s confident, flirtatious, and genuinely fun, exactly the kind of song that reminds you great country writing doesn’t always have to carry weight to carry meaning.

“I wrote this song when I was home on my maternity leave and I just knew it could be a very Shania-esque song,” Jones shares. “It was a lot of fun writing it because it’s so empowering and very tongue-in-cheek.” The comparison earns itself. The track lands with warmth and a knowing wink, and it fits perfectly alongside the album’s broader emotional range.

“You’re It For Me, Honey” joins “All The Things,” “Divorce In A Small Town,” “No Tellin’,” and the title track in previewing ‘Good Omen’s’ 12-song tracklist. Jones’ Good Omen headlining tour is underway now, running nearly 20 dates across the U.S. through May.

Morgan Evans and Laci Kaye Booth Deliver Stunning Duet “Two Broken Hearts”

Eric Alper
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Morgan Evans and Laci Kaye Booth Deliver Stunning Duet “Two Broken Hearts”

Morgan Evans and Laci Kaye Booth make a compelling pair. The Australian-born, Nashville-based Evans teams up with the Geffen Records singer-songwriter on “Two Broken Hearts,” a stripped-back duet written by Evans with Fraser Churchill and out now via Solrise Records and Virgin Music Group.

The song is raw and unguarded, two voices navigating the complicated space between heartbreak and connection. Evans and Booth’s harmonies carry real emotional weight, and the lyric doesn’t flinch. It’s the kind of track that lands differently each time you hear it, and Evans knows it.

“This song still hits me like the day I wrote it,” Evans says. “It wasn’t written as a duet, but Lace’s voice took it somewhere I couldn’t have imagined on my own.” That chemistry is audible throughout, and it makes “Two Broken Hearts” one of the more quietly affecting country releases so far this year.

The single joins “Beer Back Home” as the second preview of Evans’ sophomore album ‘Steel Town’, arriving March 20th. Written during time spent back in his hometown of Newcastle, Australia, the record finds Evans returning to Nashville with sharper focus and deeper material.

Country Hitmaker Chase Matthew Delivers New Single “Holdin’ It Down” While on World Tour

Eric Alper
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Country Hitmaker Chase Matthew Delivers New Single “Holdin’ It Down” While on World Tour

HEADLINE

Country Hitmaker Chase Matthew Delivers New Single “Holdin’ It Down” While on World Tour

BLOG POST

Chase Matthew is not slowing down. The Warner Records Nashville artist releases his new single “Holdin’ It Down,” a roots-deep country track co-written with Ethan Escue, Alex Maxwell, Jordan Centers, Presley Aaron, and Evan Mayo. It’s out now.

The song is a grounded, genuine celebration of small-town life and generational values, the kind of track that doesn’t reach for metaphor when the real thing works better. Square forty fields, half-tons circled in parking lots, a way of life worth protecting. Matthew delivers it with the kind of direct conviction that made his audience pay attention in the first place, and the song holds up strong.

“Holdin’ It Down” follows Matthew’s multi-week No. 1 “Darlin’,” the breakthrough single that established him as one of country’s most compelling new voices. The momentum hasn’t let up. He’s a current iHeartRadio Award nominee for Best New Country Artist of the Year and was named one of CRS’ New Faces of 2026.

Matthew is currently on the road for his “Holdin’ It Down” World Tour, running through the U.S. and Australia this summer. The live show brings the same directness and personal weight that defines his recordings, and right now he’s building the kind of touring track record that sticks.

Punk Legends NOFX Are Getting the Documentary Treatment They Absolutely Deserve

Eric Alper
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Punk Legends NOFX Are Getting the Documentary Treatment They Absolutely Deserve

NOFX is getting a documentary, and it sounds exactly like you’d expect from the most successful independent punk group in history. Fat Mike announced ’40 Years of Fuckin’ Up’ at The Punk Rock Museum’s NOFX Exhibit in January, and the film is currently in post-production. Director James Buddy Day, known for ‘The Secrets We Bury’ and ‘Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein’, is at the helm.

The film follows Fat Mike, Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta, Eric Melvin, and Erik “Smelly” Sandin across four decades of chaos, survival, and improbable success. The premise is simple: how did a group of self-described untalented teenage punks build an independent empire entirely on their own terms? The answer, apparently, involves ambulances.

“Most people wouldn’t be ok with releasing a film that shows footage of getting whipped in their dungeon, or their drug use for the past 20 years,” Fat Mike says. “I’m not like most people.” The doc promises unreleased NOFX songs, available only to filmgoers. That alone makes it an event.

The team is crashing SXSW with sneak peek screenings March 15th and 16th at Brushy Creek Commons in Austin, TX, complete with surprise Q&As. Tickets are on sale now, and the film heads to curated theaters worldwide starting in April, with full rollout details coming soon.

Produced by Fat Mike and executive produced alongside Abeyta, Sandin, Melvin, Gary Ousdahl, Day, Cisco Adler, and Jon Nadeau for Pyramid Productions, with score by Fat Mike and Matt Nasir.

A Second Sphere Is Coming to the U.S. and the D.C. Region Is Ready

Eric Alper
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A Second Sphere Is Coming to the U.S. and the D.C. Region Is Ready

Sphere is expanding. Sphere Entertainment Co., the State of Maryland, Prince George’s County, and Peterson Companies have announced plans to develop a new Sphere venue at National Harbor, just 15 minutes outside Washington, D.C. It would be the second Sphere in the U.S. and the first to use a smaller-scale design model.

The National Harbor venue would seat 6,000 and bring the full Sphere technology stack: a 16K by 16K interior LED display (the highest-resolution screen in the world), Sphere Immersive Sound, haptic seating, 4D environmental effects, and the iconic Exosphere exterior display. Nothing gets stripped out.

The numbers behind this project are significant. Development would draw on approximately $200 million in combined public and private incentives, support 2,500 construction jobs, and generate 4,750 permanent positions once operational. Annual economic impact is projected to exceed $1 billion for the region.

Sphere Las Vegas, already ranked No. 1 on both Billboard’s and Pollstar’s 2025 lists of top-grossing venues worldwide, sets the standard this new venue builds toward. National Harbor welcomes more than 15 million visitors annually, making it one of the most strategically placed entertainment destinations on the East Coast.

“Our focus has always been on creating a global network of Spheres across forward-looking cities,” says Sphere Entertainment Executive Chairman and CEO James L. Dolan. The National Harbor project joins a growing portfolio that includes Las Vegas and a planned venue in Abu Dhabi. Final development remains subject to definitive agreements and governmental approvals.

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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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