Impressionist Jim Meskimen settled into a lounge chair and delivered one of his most entertaining performances yet, running Jackson Browne’s classic “The Pretender” through a remarkable lineup of celebrity voices including Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Ian McKellen, Colin Firth, George W. Bush, and Burgess Meredith, and the result is exactly as delightful as it sounds.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Drummer Chad Smith Is Putting Kids on Stage Through a Major New School of Rock Scholarship Push
Chad Smith has never forgotten what it felt like to get his first shot at music, and now he is making sure more kids get that same chance. At School of Rock’s recent bi-annual Overdrive conference in San Diego, the Chad Smith Foundation announced a partnership with the Play Without Limits Project to fund scholarships for students across the country who might not otherwise have access to music education. The conference brought together 549 School of Rock community members from 12 countries and raised more than $17,500 from over 165 donors, with the Chad Smith Foundation committing up to $25,000 in matching funds.
Students from Illinois to Texas, New York to Florida are already in rehearsal rooms and on stages because of Play Without Limits scholarships, which cover approximately one season of School of Rock programming including weekly lessons and group rehearsals. Smith, whose own path led from playing on makeshift drums as a kid to performing on some of the world’s biggest stages, has made expanding access to instruments and education for underserved youth the Foundation’s central mission. “Music changed my life, and it all started with having the chance to learn and play,” he says. “The friendships and shared experiences are what make it so powerful.”
School of Rock President Stacey Ryan points to the organization’s own Social Impact Study, surveying more than 1,400 parents, as proof of what this kind of access delivers: “Music has the power to build confidence, unlock creativity, and strengthen essential social and emotional skills.” Play Without Limits Executive Director Ian Hamilton puts it simply: “Every kid should have the chance to find out what music can do for them.”
This partnership is the kind of thing that actually moves the needle. Real scholarships, real stages, real communities built around music. To support student scholarships or learn more, visit playwithoutlimits.org and chadsmithfoundation.org.
Liverpool Metal Outfit Cut Short Confront the Weight of the Mind on Fierce New Single “Malcontent”
Cut Short are one of the most emotionally direct metal bands working in the UK right now, and their new single “Malcontent” makes that case without hesitation. Out now, the track is a hardcore-rooted gut punch about feeling trapped inside your own head, written from a place of genuine self-awareness. Vocalist Matthew Kean describes it plainly: “Malcontent is a raw, introspective track about feeling unheard and trapped inside your own mind and body. In life, we often know what will help us but when motivation is short, relief can feel out of reach.” That kind of honesty is exactly what makes Cut Short worth paying attention to. The Liverpool outfit draws from hardcore, metalcore, and progressive metal, and has already earned support from BBC Radio 1, Metal Hammer, Kerrang, and Rock Sound while sharing stages with Wargasm UK, Dream State, and Heart Of A Coward. “
18-Year-Old Banjo Prodigy Ettore Buzzini Drops Lush New Single “Flowers” Ahead of Debut Album ‘BLUE BLUE BLUE’
Ettore Buzzini is 18-years-old, a FreshGrass award winner, and one of the most compelling young voices in bluegrass right now. His new single “Flowers,” out now on Patuxent Music, is the latest preview of his forthcoming album ‘BLUE BLUE BLUE’, and it does exactly what the best bluegrass does: it pulls you in with something familiar, then reveals layers you didn’t expect. Produced by label founder Tom Mindte, the track traces its melodic DNA back through Ettore’s Swiss family heritage to Franz Liszt and Vincenzo Bellini’s opera Norma, filtered through hard-driving banjo and Ettore’s instinct for emotional storytelling. “The richness and intensity of Classical are ideal for taking bluegrass on a musical voyage,” he says. ‘BLUE BLUE BLUE’ arrives this summer featuring bluegrass legends Danny Paisley, Michael Cleveland, and Christopher Henry, and if “Flowers” is any indication, it is going to be a significant record.
Tour Dates:
Apr 11 & 12 – Durango, CO – Durango Bluegrass Meltdown
Jun 4 – Saluda, NC – The Purple Onion
Jun 19 – WDVX Summer Series, Yee Haw Brewing
Jun 19 – Greenville, NC – Poe Mill Music Hall
Jun 20 – Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Folk Society, Front Porch Concert Series
311 and Dirty Heads Are Taking the “So Glad You Made It” Co-Headline Tour Across North America This Summer
311 and Dirty Heads are hitting the road together this summer for the “So Glad You Made It” North American co-headline tour, a 33-date run produced by Live Nation that kicks off July 11 in Shakopee, MN and wraps August 30 in West Palm Beach, FL. Ocean Alley and Atmosphere join on select dates, with ROME supporting throughout. Tickets are on sale now at LiveNation.com.
Dirty Heads arrive with serious momentum. Their ninth full-length album, 7 Seas, drops June 12 via Better Noise Music, and the lead single “One of Those Days” is already making the case for another strong chapter. Singer Dustin “Duddy B” Bushnell describes the track as being about “getting together with close friends and enjoying the moment,” while bandmate Jon Olazabal calls it “something you want to blast in your car and sing along with at the end of a long week.” That energy translates directly to their live show, and this tour is going to be a showcase for everything the album delivers.
311 come in off a massive “311 Day” celebration in Las Vegas, where the band delivered two unique sets including a special collaboration with Blue Man Group, debuted the first-ever 311 Museum, and announced the return of their 311 Day Cruise in 2027. Five decades deep into one of the more distinctive careers in alternative rock, they remain a powerhouse on the amphitheatre circuit with a catalogue that spans funk, reggae, hip-hop, and hard rock in ways few bands have ever pulled off.
Together, these two acts represent a combined fanbase that has been showing up for this kind of summer tour for years. The “So Glad You Made It” run hits amphitheatres and outdoor venues coast to coast, including stops in Chicago, Toronto, Denver, Concord, Austin, and Tampa. This is the kind of bill that was built for summer nights outdoors.
Tour Dates:
Sat Jul 11 – Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater
Sun Jul 12 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Wed Jul 15 – Grantville, PA – Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
Thu Jul 16 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Sat Jul 18 – Atlantic City, NJ – Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort
Sun Jul 19 – Syracuse, NY – Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
Wed Jul 22 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Thu Jul 23 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat Jul 25 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE Outdoor
Sun Jul 26 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
Tue Jul 28 – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
Thu Jul 30 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Fri Jul 31 – Thornville, OH – Everwild Music Festival
Sat Aug 1 – Thornville, OH – Everwild Music Festival
Sun Aug 2 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
Tue Aug 4 – Kansas City, MO – Morton Amphitheater
Wed Aug 5 – Council Bluffs, IA – Harrah’s Stir Cove
Fri Aug 7 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre (311 only)
Sat Aug 8 – West Valley City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tue Aug 11 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
Wed Aug 12 – Airway Heights, WA – BECU Live at Northern Quest
Thu Aug 13 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 15 – Concord, CA – Toyota Pavilion at Concord
Sun Aug 16 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
Tue Aug 18 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Amphitheater
Wed Aug 19 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 22 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sun Aug 23 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Tue Aug 25 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Wed Aug 26 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Fri Aug 28 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 29 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sun Aug 30 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
David Byrne Brings “Who Is The Sky?” Tour Ensemble to The Late Show for Stunning “When We Are Singing” Performance
David Byrne brought the full ensemble from his “Who Is The Sky?” tour to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for a special live performance of “When We Are Singing,” and it is exactly the kind of television moment that reminds you why Byrne remains one of the most vital live performers working today.
Kool & The Gang and Default With Wide Mouth Mason Are Headed to OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino This Summer
Two major shows just landed at OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino. Funk and soul legends Kool & The Gang take the stage on August 28, followed by Juno Award-winning rock outfit Default with special guests Wide Mouth Mason on September 3. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 3 at 10:00am through Ticketmaster.ca.
Kool & The Gang need no introduction. With more than 5 decades in the game, the group behind “Celebration,” “Ladies Night,” and “Get Down on It” has sold millions of records worldwide and performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history. Their funk-driven catalogue has also made them the most sampled R&B band of all time. This is a live show built entirely on feel-good energy, and it delivers every single time.
Default brings the rock. The Vancouver outfit, best known for “Wasting My Time,” “Deny,” and “It Only Hurts,” is one of the most recognizable names in early 2000s Canadian rock. Lead vocalist Dallas Smith has since built a record-setting country career, but Default is back and ready to remind Niagara Falls exactly what a hard-rocking Canadian band sounds like live. Wide Mouth Mason joins as special guests, bringing their blues-rooted, fluid musicianship to round out what is shaping up to be a genuinely strong night.
Cathy Price, Vice President of Marketing & Resort Operations at Niagara Casinos, puts it simply: “Between the soulful rhythms of Kool & The Gang to the incredible Canadian talent of Default and Wide Mouth Mason, the entertainment options are better than ever.” Both shows go at 8:00pm at the 5,000-seat OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, ranked the number one venue in Canada by size.
Show Dates:
Friday, August 28, 2026 — Kool & The Gang, OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, 8:00pm
Thursday, September 3, 2026 — Default with special guest Wide Mouth Mason, OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, 8:00pm
BritBox Gives Jane Austen’s Most Overlooked Bennet Sister Her Own 10-Episode Series Starting May 6
Mary Bennet finally gets her moment. BritBox drops the official trailer and key art today for The Other Bennet Sister, a 10-episode series premiering May 6 in the U.S. and Canada. Based on Janice Hadlow’s acclaimed novel, the show pulls Pride and Prejudice’s oft-ignored middle sister out of the background and puts her front and center, in her own story, on her own terms.
Ella Bruccoleri leads the cast as Mary, alongside a lineup that includes Richard E. Grant, Ruth Jones, Indira Varma, Tanya Reynolds, Dónal Finn, and Laurie Davidson. The series is produced by Bad Wolf, the Cardiff-based company behind His Dark Materials and Industry, in co-production with BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Nine of the ten half-hour episodes were written by Sarah Quintrell, with Maddie Dai contributing one. Jennifer Sheridan and Asim Abbasi share directing duties.
The story picks up at Longbourn, where the Bennet household hums with the pressures of Regency England and five unmarried daughters navigating a world where marriage is both aspiration and necessity. While Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, and Lydia pursue their familiar paths, Mary leaves for London to live with her aunt and uncle on Gracechurch Street, stepping into a journey of self-discovery that Pride and Prejudice never gave her. Iconic settings from the original story make appearances, including the Meryton Assembly Ball and the Netherfield Ball.
The series debuts May 6 with 3 episodes, followed by a weekly rollout for the remaining 7. It lands as part of BritBox’s “Austen Forever” programming slate, a six-month celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday covering adaptations and documentaries across all six of her completed novels. Sony Pictures Television handles international distribution.
Just Cause Vol. 2 Drops Today With 63 Tracks and 100% of Proceeds Going to Immigrant Defense Project
63 tracks. Nearly 4.5 hours of music. All of it new, all of it unreleased, and every dollar raised going directly to the Immigrant Defense Project. Just Cause Vol. 2 is out today on Bandcamp and Nina Protocol, and it is one of the most ambitious benefit compilations independent music has produced in years.
The roster is genuinely remarkable. Allegra Krieger, Okkyung Lee, Mourning [A] BLKstar, The Soft Pink Truth, Lucy Liyou, Giant Claw, Nate Wooley, Tashi Dorji — names that span experimental, avant-garde, folk, electronic, and well beyond. The material is equally wide-ranging: original songs, live recordings, demos, collaborations, remixes, and covers. Co-organizer Evan Welsh of Bayonet Records puts it plainly: “There’s something for everyone, and we hope listeners discover new favorites alongside familiar voices.”
The Immigrant Defense Project works to protect and expand the rights of immigrants, with particular focus on the intersections of criminal and immigration systems. 100% of proceeds go there, in perpetuity. This isn’t a one-time gesture — it’s a standing commitment baked into the release itself.
Just Cause Vol. 2 follows Vol. 1, which raised funds for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The series has found a clear identity: serious music, serious purpose, no hedging. The artwork comes from Pinoy writer and visual artist Aldrin Regina Valdez, and mastering was handled by Andrew Weathers, who also contributes a track. The whole thing holds together as both a document of a vital independent music community and a direct act of support for people who need it.
Stream it, buy it, share it. It’s out now.
Tracklist:
01 alana amore colvin: “minnesota”
02 Alcove (Alfredo Colón & Hank Mason): “Opal”
03 alice does computer music with Kitba: “Marble Rock”
04 Allegra Krieger: “see through (demo)”
05 Amirtha Kidambi, Chris Williams, & Farida Amadou: “Radical Surrender”
06 Andrew Weathers: “Cuba Notes”
07 Ben Seretan: “life is merely”
08 Brutus VIII: “D.A.R.V.O. Dub Mix”
09 Caitlin Pasko & Kyle Wilson: “where have all the flowers gone (Pete Seeger)”
10 Cameron Knowler: “Placer Camp Blues (Nagra Demo)”
11 Cassandra Croft: “Dark Blue”
12 Darlin’: “The Differences”
13 Dear Laika: “Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai (Robert Schumann)”
14 Erika Dohi: “Myth of Tomorrow (Ambient Mix by sous chef)”
15 Fernette: “Turing Test”
16 Gían Pérez: “Skater Music”
17 Giant Claw: “fallen empire’s silver phoenix”
18 hemlock: “big backyard magnolia”
19 Houndsteeth: “Losing Dogs (Live at 360 Record Shop)”
20 Iceblink: “Sunday Chores”
21 Jadelain: “February 25”
22 Josephine’s Next Million Miles: “Two guys standing on horses while a crowd watches”
23 Kaho Matsui & Heather DiStefano: “all the time”
24 KING VISION ULTRA: “rain dress”
25 Kissy Noises: “Attitude”
26 Kolb: “Otherworldly Weather”
27 Lea Jaffe: “Eyewall (demo)”
28 Leah B. Levinson: “Generate”
29 Libby Quinn: “Muzzleloader (live)”
30 Lucy Liyou: “Gullible Gospel”
31 M. Sage: “Night Pours Out”
32 Mal Devisa: “Sweet Soul”
33 Matteo Liberatore and Jason Nazary: “there are many of us”
34 Meadow System: “Poem (demo)”
35 Michael Beharie: “After the Rain”
36 Michael Cormier-O’Leary: “The Tyranny of Our Beating Hearts (demo)”
37 Middle Sattre: “Confidence”
38 Miti: “Something I Can’t See”
39 MIZU: “Beneath the Siren’s Gaze”
40 Mourning [A] BLKstar: “These Stars Collide [AgainAgainAgain]”
41 Natalia Catalan: “Head Chest Feet”
42 Nate Wooley: “High Tension Lake Roosevelt Columbia River”
43 Nico Hedley: “Inspirational Quotes (demo)”
44 Okkyung Lee: “somewhere in your heart (the 2nd love song)”
45 or best offer: “they know what you did”
46 Otracami: “Sharp Axe”
47 Photokem: “Mr. Rubbish”
48 Pleasure Systems: “The Wind (demo)”
49 Prevail : (: “Ghost Face”
50 Sam Wenc: “Two Arrows”
51 Samantha Kochis: “Violet”
52 Scree: “25.3”
53 Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson: “Some Stuff’s Still Normal, Some Stuff’s Now Normal”
54 Seylu: “Not Your Role”
55 Shallowater: “Cross Plains”
56 silktense: “Empty Gesture / Hollow Shell”
57 Starcleaner Reunion: “Copper Cup”
58 Tashi Dorji: “untitled”
59 The Ark of Teeth: “CHIZU”
60 The Soft Pink Truth: “Cloud (Just Cause Mix)”
61 Tristan Allen: “Tregva”
62 waterproof goldstar: “i spread misinformation on flight simulator games”
63 Yaz Lancaster: “perennial (feat. Tyler Neidermayer)”
Doug Irwin, Luthier Who Built Jerry Garcia’s Most Iconic Guitars, Dead at 76
Doug Irwin, the Northern California luthier whose handcrafted guitars became inseparable from the sound and identity of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, died on March 27, 2026. He was 76. No cause of death has been announced.
Irwin was born October 29, 1949, and spent his life doing what very few craftspeople ever get to do: building tools that became genuinely historic. Over the course of his career he designed and built five custom guitars for Garcia — Eagle, Wolf, Wolf Jr., Tiger, and Rosebud — instruments so closely associated with their player that it’s nearly impossible to think of one without the other. Tiger, which Garcia played as his primary instrument from 1979 to 1989, sold at Christie’s in New York just weeks before Irwin’s death for $11.56 million, a staggering figure that speaks to the cultural weight these objects carry. Garcia had commissioned it in 1973; Irwin spent roughly 2,000 hours over six years completing it.
That kind of devotion to craft is worth sitting with for a moment. Two thousand hours. Six years. For one guitar.
His work for Garcia began in the early 1970s after Garcia purchased one of his instruments and simply asked him to build another. What followed was one of the most consequential partnerships in rock history — not celebrated in the way that Garcia himself was, but foundational to everything that came out of those marathon Grateful Dead performances that defined an era. The guitars were visually unmistakable: ornate woodwork, brass hardware, custom electronics. They weren’t just tools. They were statements.
Beyond Garcia, Irwin also built instruments for Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh and bassist-keyboardist Pete Sears, as well as a small number of other custom pieces over the years. Much of that broader history, along with photographs and documentation, was lost in a fire at The Art Farm — a reminder of how fragile legacy can be, and how much depends on the people who think to preserve it.
After Garcia’s death in 1995, his will directed that the Irwin-built guitars be returned to their maker. What followed was a legal dispute with the remaining members of the Grateful Dead, eventually settled with Irwin receiving Wolf and Tiger, while Rosebud and Wolf Jr. went to GD Productions. Irwin auctioned both guitars — Wolf fetching $789,500 and Tiger $957,500, believed at the time to be the highest price ever paid for a guitar at auction. Tiger, of course, has now shattered even that record.
Garcia’s equipment manager Steve Parish perhaps said it best years ago: “We slept with these instruments. You could lose amps. You could break things, and sometimes we did. But I could never look Jerry in the eye and say, ‘I don’t have your guitar.'”
That’s what Doug Irwin built. Things you couldn’t afford to lose.
His legacy, as Irwin Guitars wrote upon announcing his death, “will live on through the instruments he created and the music they helped bring to life.”
He is survived by his work — which, in his case, is no small thing.