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Billy Strings Takes His 2026 Headline Run Coast to Coast With Summer Dates

Eric Alper
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Billy Strings Takes His 2026 Headline Run Coast to Coast With Summer Dates

Billy Strings keeps the momentum going. The Grammy-winning guitarist and bluegrass powerhouse has expanded his 2026 headlining tour with a full summer run, adding seven new cities across the East Coast and Midwest to an already substantial year on the road.

The earlier stretch of the tour launched February 6 in Athens, Georgia and has moved through Asheville, Nashville, St. Augustine, Tampa, Savannah, Greensboro, Charlottesville, Charleston, and Fishers. Multiple nights in each city underscore the kind of demand Strings generates at every stop.

The summer leg opens July 14 in Roanoke, Virginia at Berglund Center, then moves through Portsmouth, Boston, Portland, Hartford, and Bethel before closing out with back-to-back nights in Ionia, Michigan on August 28 and 29 at the Ionia County Fairgrounds. Strings live is an experience that rewards repeat attendance, and this run gives fans plenty of chances.

Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster, with Ionia tickets available separately. Full details and ticketing links are at Strings’ official website.

Billy Strings 2026 Tour Dates:

02/06 – Athens, GA @ Akins Ford Arena

02/07 – Athens, GA @ Akins Ford Arena

02/10 – Asheville, NC @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena

02/11 – Asheville, NC @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena

02/13 – Asheville, NC @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena

02/14 – Asheville, NC @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena

02/20 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

02/21 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

02/22 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

04/02 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre

04/03 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre

04/04 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre

04/08 – Tampa, FL @ Benchmark International Arena

04/10 – Savannah, GA @ Enmarket Arena

04/11 – Savannah, GA @ Enmarket Arena

04/14 – Greensboro, NC @ First Horizon Coliseum

04/17 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena

04/18 – Charlottesville, VA @ John Paul Jones Arena

04/22 – Charleston, WV @ Charleston Coliseum

04/24 – Fishers, IN @ Fishers Event Center

04/25 – Fishers, IN @ Fishers Event Center

04/26 – Fishers, IN @ Fishers Event Center

07/14 – Roanoke, VA @ Berglund Center

07/17 – Portsmouth, VA @ Portsmouth Pavilion

07/18 – Portsmouth, VA @ Portsmouth Pavilion

07/21 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena

07/24 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena

07/25 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena

07/28 – Hartford, CT @ PeoplesBank Arena

07/31 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

08/01 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

08/28 – Ionia, MI @ Ionia County Fairgrounds

08/29 – Ionia, MI @ Ionia County Fairgrounds

Movement Festival Marks 20 Years in Detroit With Carl Cox, Dom Dolla, and Sara Landry

Eric Alper
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Movement Festival Marks 20 Years in Detroit With Carl Cox, Dom Dolla, and Sara Landry

Twenty years in, Movement Festival still hits differently. Detroit’s flagship electronic music event returns to Hart Plaza from May 23 to 25, 2026, celebrating two decades as one of North America’s most essential gatherings for dance music culture. The lineup delivers.

Carl Cox headlines. That alone is a statement. The techno institution brings his singular command of a crowd to a city that practically invented the genre. Alongside Cox, Dom Dolla returns to a festival he clearly loves. “The history, the scope of performers and range of people coming together from multiple generations and backgrounds, make it one of the most meaningful events to play,” Dolla said.

Sara Landry rounds out the headliners with full conviction. “The energy in this city is undeniable,” she said. “I’m going to bring something extra special to my set.” Landry performing in the birthplace of techno is exactly the kind of full-circle moment Movement does better than anyone.

The supporting lineup keeps the energy high. The Dare, Josh Baker, Eli Brown, AYYBO, Carl Craig, Zack Fox, and The Martinez Brothers are all confirmed, giving the three-day event serious depth across styles and generations. This is a festival that programs with purpose and delivers on it.

Tickets and the full artist lineup are available now at the official Movement Festival website.

Movement Festival 2026 marks twenty years of Detroit doing it right. Don’t sleep on this one.

Nashville Rock Outfit Laney Jones and the Spirits Deliver Long-Awaited Self-Titled Debut Album

Eric Alper
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Nashville Rock Outfit Laney Jones and the Spirits Deliver Long-Awaited Self-Titled Debut Album

Laney Jones and the Spirits have released their self-titled debut album, and it sounds like a band that has been waiting a long time to say exactly this. Co-produced by Jones alongside Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Langhorne Slim), the record was born from genuine loss, written in the wake of losing their dog Hap and shaped by the isolation and grief that followed. That emotional weight runs through every track, from the guitar-clamoring grit of “Bitch Year” to the lyrically layered “Knowme,” which captures the specific alienation of pursuing a creative life among people who love you but cannot quite follow where you are going. Jones frames it with characteristic directness: “Anyone who’s pursuing a dream looks crazy from the outside, I guess.”

The band, rounded out by Dowd, Carson Lystad, and Glen Hruska, recorded the album as genuine collaborators for the first time, and that chemistry is audible. “We Belong Together,” inspired in part by Kurt Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan, is the kind of rock song that feels physical from the first note, about belonging in the deepest sense rather than the romantic one. Jones puts the full picture plainly: “Being an indie artist these days without the help of a big team and money is a test of resilience and scrappiness. This record wrestles with that, and I believe this is our best work yet.”

Hawaii-Manchester Duo Still Blank Deliver Their Self-Titled Debut Album via Capitol Records

Eric Alper
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Hawaii-Manchester Duo Still Blank Deliver Their Self-Titled Debut Album via Capitol Records

Still Blank arrived from a chance encounter in Liverpool’s basement music scene in 2022, and their self-titled debut album, out now via National Anthem / Capitol Records, is the fully realized version of everything that meeting promised. Hawaii-born singer and multi-instrumentalist Jordy and Manchester guitarist Ben recorded across London, Los Angeles, and a cabin in Wales with producer Joel Pott (George Ezra, Shura) and later Flood (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), building ten tracks that move between shoegaze, psych-folk, and post-punk without settling into any single lane. New single “Dead and Gone,” born from late-night improvisation on analog synths with a fire going and whiskey in hand, is a wistful and sprawling reflection on a relationship’s end. Jordy pulled the lyrics from a poem written years earlier, and the vocals on the final recording came straight from the demo because nothing they tried afterward carried the same feeling. Listen here.

The album’s creation was anything but straightforward, taking in Jordy’s unexpected deportation mid-process, a transatlantic move to Los Angeles, and songs written before the duo even had a name. Jordy describes it simply: “The whole creation of this album felt serendipitous, from a chance meeting between ourselves to magically finding likeminded collaborators who took a chance on 2 kids and allowed us to experiment without any pressure.” Drawing comparisons to Yo La Tengo, Big Thief, and Cat Power, and earning early praise from Stereogum, CLASH, and DIY, Still Blank are one of the more genuinely compelling new acts in alternative music right now.

Still Blank Tracklisting:

  1. What About Jane
  2. Ain’t Quite Right
  3. Dead and Gone
  4. Get Over It
  5. Sundown Dialogue
  6. Same Sun
  7. Vacancy
  8. Denial
  9. Cut Slack
  10. Rainman

‘HELP (2)’ Unites Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Fontaines D.C., and Dozens More for War Child UK

Eric Alper
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‘HELP (2)’ Unites Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Fontaines D.C., and Dozens More for War Child UK

HELP 2 is out now, and the weight of what it represents is impossible to separate from the music. Recorded in just a few days at Abbey Road Studios with executive producer James Ford, the album follows the spirit of the original 1995 Help Album, which brought together Paul McCartney, Blur, Radiohead, Oasis, Massive Attack, and Sinéad O’Connor to raise over a million pounds for War Child UK. Thirty years later, the roster is equally staggering: Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Fontaines D.C., Beck, Depeche Mode, Pulp, Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, King Krule, Wet Leg, The Last Dinner Party, Arlo Parks, Kae Tempest, Young Fathers, and many more. Creative Director Jonathan Glazer built the visual concept around children themselves, connecting with fixers and filmmakers in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, and Sudan to gather footage shot by kids on the ground in conflict zones. Ford puts the experience plainly: “To have the opportunity to help galvanize our music community into doing something as unarguably positive as helping children in war zones seemed like a no brainer. I’m extremely proud of the results.” All proceeds go to War Child UK.

Hollywood Friendship Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Ace GQ Friendship Quiz

Eric Alper
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Hollywood Friendship Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Ace GQ Friendship Quiz

Longtime collaborators Ben Affleck and Matt Damon prove their bond is as sharp as ever in GQ’s Friendship Quiz, breezing through questions about each other’s early jobs, career ambitions, and creative choices with ease and plenty of humour. From Affleck’s first gig to Damon’s reasons for staying behind the camera less often, the duo trade answers and stories that highlight a partnership built on decades of trust, shared history, and mutual respect, offering fans a candid and entertaining look at one of Hollywood’s most enduring friendships.

Metalcore Heavyweights ERRA Release ‘silence outlives the earth’ and Hit the Road with Currents

Eric Alper
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Metalcore Heavyweights ERRA Release ‘silence outlives the earth’ and Hit the Road with Currents

ERRA’s new album ‘silence outlives the earth’ is out now via UNFD, and the six-week co-headline North American tour with Currents is already deep into its run. The record explores existence and the human condition across eleven tracks, moving from the atmospheric opener “stelliform” through a closing three-part suite that pushes the band’s compositional range further than anything in their catalog. New single “further eden” marks a deliberate tonal shift. Guitarist Jesse Cash describes it directly: “The pentatonic leaning roots the song into a lighter energy than we typically employ, and the song feels like a fresh form of expression from the band.” That willingness to expand without losing the band’s core intensity is what makes ‘silence outlives the earth’ such a strong record.

The tour is selling fast. Chicago’s House of Blues is already gone, and multiple other dates are running low on tickets. The run continues through April, hitting Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Anaheim, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio before wrapping in Texas. ERRA and Currents co-headlining is one of the stronger metalcore bills of the year, and the remaining dates will not last.

‘silence outlives the earth’ Tracklisting:

  1. stelliform
  2. further eden
  3. gore of being
  4. black cloud
  5. cicada siren
  6. echo sonata
  7. lucid threshold
  8. spiral (of liminal infinity)
  9. i. the many names of god
  10. ii. in the gut of the wolf
  11. iii. twilight in the reflection of dreams

Remaining Tour Dates (w/ Currents):

March 28 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues (SOLD OUT)

March 31 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave

April 1 – Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Theater

April 3 – Lawrence, KS – Granada Theater

April 4 – Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall (low tickets)

April 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex

April 7 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox (low tickets)

April 8 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater

April 10 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24

April 11 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues (low tickets)

April 12 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues

April 14 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee

April 15 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater

April 17 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues

April 18 – Houston, TX – House of Blues

April 19 – San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center

Canadian Hip-Hop Veteran D.O. Gibson Drops “Learned From The Greatest” and Launches National School Tour

Eric Alper
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Canadian Hip-Hop Veteran D.O. Gibson Drops “Learned From The Greatest” and Launches National School Tour

D.O. Gibson has spent 25 years proving that hip-hop can change a room, and “Learned From The Greatest,” featuring O’Sound, out now via Believe Digital, is the clearest distillation of that philosophy he has put to record. The track draws from legendary figures across hip-hop, sports, and culture, honouring the discipline and resilience that define genuine excellence. Gibson holds a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous freestyle, has delivered more than 4,000 school shows across Canada since launching his Stay Driven program in 2001, and brings all of that lived experience directly into the song. It blends classic hip-hop foundations with a modern motivational edge without losing its emotional core.

Gibson frames the track through personal history: “‘Learned From The Greatest’ is about honouring the people and moments that shaped me. One of those people was my Uncle Charlie, someone who taught me work ethic, humility, and how to move with integrity long before I ever touched a mic. This song, the tour, and the book all live under one idea: greatness is learned, and when you respect the lessons, you eventually find your flow.” The single anchors the “Learned From The Greatest Tour,” a Canada-wide run through schools and community venues, combining live performance, storytelling, and interactive discussion around leadership, perseverance, and self-belief. Twenty-five years in, and Gibson is still building something that matters.

Maldives Progressive Metal Outfit Chronyx Make Their Entrance with Debut Single “Ruin”

Eric Alper
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Maldives Progressive Metal Outfit Chronyx Make Their Entrance with Debut Single “Ruin”

Chronyx are a progressive metal band from the Maldives, and “Ruin” is their first song on record. That detail matters because it means this is exactly who they are, no warm-up, no transitional release, just a clean statement of where they stand. Produced, mixed, and mastered by guitarist Shahyd Legacy at Legacy Studios, the track blends symphonic weight with djent-driven rhythms, orchestral layers, and melodic hooks into something that sits confidently in the modern progressive metal space. Lyrically it looks at a world coming apart while keeping its focus on resistance and unity, which gives the heaviness somewhere to go beyond the obvious.

Progressive metal has a global reach, but debut singles this fully formed from an unexpected geography are worth paying attention to. Chronyx have put their first song out and it sounds like a band that has been building toward this for a long time. “Ruin” is out now via Legacy Studios.

Sevendust Drop “Is This The Real You” and Announce 15th Album ‘ONE’

Eric Alper
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Sevendust Drop “Is This The Real You” and Announce 15th Album ‘ONE’

Sevendust have released “Is This The Real You,” the latest single from their forthcoming 15th studio album ‘ONE’, due May 1 via Napalm Records. Nearly three decades into their career, the GRAMMY-nominated Atlanta five-piece remain one of the most consistent and compelling forces in hard rock, and this single makes that case without breaking a sweat. Guitarist John Connolly puts it plainly: “It was as honest, natural, and pure as any song can be. If you really want to know what Sevendust sounds like in 2026, ‘Is This The Real You’ gives you a good idea.” The driving, melodically charged track is exactly that, a band operating at full confidence with nothing to prove and everything to deliver.

The accompanying animated video, directed by Paul Ribera, follows a sharply dressed character with the power to compel people into actions they would not normally take, each confronted with a hidden side of themselves. It builds panel by panel toward a dark finale that mirrors the song’s central question. ‘ONE’ spans ten tracks, moving from the driving title track through atmospheric closer “Misdirection,” with standouts like “Unbreakable” and “We Won” sitting confidently in the band’s catalog. A 27-date spring tour kicks off in April and runs through late May, hitting rooms from the Egyptian Room in Indianapolis to Sonic Temple in Columbus to The Pinnacle in Nashville.

‘ONE’ Tracklisting:

  1. One
  2. Unbreakable
  3. Is This The Real You
  4. Threshold
  5. We Won
  6. Construct
  7. Bright Side
  8. The Drop
  9. Blood Price
  10. Misdirection

Tour Dates:

April 16 – Carterville, IL – Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort

April 17 – Riverside, IA – Riverside Casino & Golf Resort

April 18 – Larchwood, IA – Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort

April 20 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

April 21 – Lexington, KY – Manchester Music Hall

April 22 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City

April 24 – Mobile, AL – Soul Kitchen Music Hall

April 25 – Destin, FL – Club LA

April 26 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy

April 28 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues

April 29 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom

May 1 – Denver, CO – Summit

May 2 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater

May 4 – Wichita, KS – The Cotillion

May 5 – Springfield, MO – The Regency Live

May 6 – Fayetteville, AR – Ozark Music Hall

May 8 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome To Rockville

May 9 – North Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues

May 11 – Norfolk, VA – The NorVa

May 12 – Harrisburg, PA – XL Live

May 14 – McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre

May 15 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple

May 16 – Baltimore, MD – Nevermore Hall

May 17 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom

May 19 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore

May 20 – Knoxville, TN – The Mill & Mine

May 21 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle

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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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