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Grammy Winners Steep Canyon Rangers Release “Circling The Drain” And Hit The Road With Steve Martin

Eric Alper
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Grammy Winners Steep Canyon Rangers Release “Circling The Drain” And Hit The Road With Steve Martin

Grammy-winning North Carolina sextet Steep Canyon Rangers have released “Circling The Drain,” the latest single from one of bluegrass and Americana’s most consistently vital bands. Opening with the declaration “feeling strong as a speeding train flying full steam ahead,” the song sets the tone for a year the band is treating as a full-throttle chapter. More than two decades into their run, the Rangers show no sign of easing up, in the studio or on the road.

Bassist Barrett Smith puts it plainly: “2026 is lining up to be a very exciting year for the Rangers. We’ve got a great touring schedule coming together that includes a lot of our favorite festivals and venues. The band feels as fun and strong as it’s ever been. The vibe is good, and we’re all very excited about another great year of making some good music together for our people.” Part of that schedule includes rejoining Steve Martin and Martin Short for their music-filled stage show, with several dates on the run marked alongside the comedy legends.

The tour stretches coast to coast through late May, hitting California for a five-day run in March, swinging through the Southeast with a stop at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and wrapping things up close to home at the Amphitheater at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Mills River, North Carolina on May 29.

Steep Canyon Rangers Tour Dates:

February 28 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre

March 4 – Saratoga, CA – Montalvo Arts Center

March 5 – Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage

March 6 – Santa Barbara, CA – Lobero Theatre

March 7 – Arroyo Grande, CA – Clark Center for the Performing Arts

March 8 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern

March 13 – Washington, DC – DAR Constitution Hall

March 14 – Hershey, PA – Hershey Theatre

March 20 – Live Oak, FL – Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park

March 21 – Duluth, GA – Red Clay Music Foundry

March 22 – Nashville, TN – Schermerhorn Symphony Center

March 26 – Parker, CO – Parker Arts, Culture & Events Center

April 11 – Savannah, GA – Johnny Mercer Theatre

April 12 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Concert Hall

April 25 – Cleveland, OH – KeyBank State Theatre

April 26 – Cleveland, OH – KeyBank State Theatre

May 8 – Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House

May 21 – Auburn, AL – Ham Amphitheater – Auburn University

May 29 – Mills River, NC – Amphitheater at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co

Post-Punk Rockers Charm School Cover The Damned’s “New Rose” As ‘Skadenfreude Ploy’ EP Arrives

Eric Alper
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Post-Punk Rockers Charm School Cover The Damned’s “New Rose” As ‘Skadenfreude Ploy’ EP Arrives

Charm School, the post-punk outfit led by Louisville-born, LA-based multi-hyphenate Andrew Sellers alongside longtime collaborators Matt Filip, Drew English, and Brian Vega, have shared a cover of The Damned’s classic “New Rose” as a teaser for their EP ‘Skadenfreude Ploy,’ out now. The EP was tracked and mixed by Mike Bridavsky at Russian Recording (known for work with Deerhoof and Built To Spill), with additional production and mixing by Solomon Krause-Imlach in Los Angeles, and mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering Service, co-owned by Bob Weston of Shellac.

Sellers came up in Louisville’s underground music scene, absorbing the catalogs of local legends Slint, Crain, and Rodan alongside the output of Chicago’s Touch & Go and Drag City labels. That education led him to figures like Steve Albini (Big Black, Shellac), Will Oldham (Palace Brothers, Bonnie “Prince” Billy), David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol), and John McEntire (Tortoise, The For Carnation), layered with post-punk from PiL, Swell Maps, and The Fall, and post-hardcore from Fugazi and Nation of Ulysses. The result is a sound that is distinctly his own while wearing its influences with confidence.

‘Skadenfreude Ploy’ (yes, spelled that way) picks up where their 2025 debut LP ‘Debt Forever’ left off, diving deeper into humanity’s collective tortured psyche and the confounding realities of life in a technocratic hellscape. AI looms large across the record, as do modern life’s manipulation traps, increasingly ubiquitous and increasingly inescapable. If there is a throughline, the band puts it plainly: “Reality is becoming increasingly blurred with something we don’t even have the words for yet.” Listeners drawn to sharp, satirical, crushingly loud rock with genuine philosophical weight are finding plenty to sink into here

Pink, Metallica, Tina Turner, Britney Spears And More Get The Funko Pop Treatment In Early 2026

Eric Alper
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Pink, Metallica, Tina Turner, Britney Spears And More Get The Funko Pop Treatment In Early 2026

Funko is rolling out one of its most ambitious music lineups in years, with a wave of new Pop figures dropping through early 2026. The releases span rock, pop, hip-hop, and country, and several are tied directly to iconic music video moments. Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” figure and Kane Brown’s signature look are available now, along with AC/DC’s ‘Powerage’ and Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Bark at the Moon’ Pop Album releases. Notorious B.I.G. arrives as a deluxe figure seated on a throne in a red leather suit, gold crown, and signature cane, shipping sometime in January.

The next wave hits in February and March. Reba’s figure as Fancy Rae Baker from her 1991 “Fancy” video, draped in a mink coat and holding the gold heart locket her mother gave her, ships in early to mid February. Pink follows in early March in her show-stopping “Lady Marmalade” ensemble from the 2001 video and 2002 Grammy performance, complete with neon-pink hair and a black top hat. Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It” figure and Britney Spears’ “Work Bitch” Pop, which features a speech bubble reading “You better work, B!tch!,” both ship at the end of March. Metallica’s four-piece 72 Seasons set, featuring James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and Lars Ulrich in their black and yellow ensembles, ships around March 9. Rob Zombie, decked in full skeleton face paint and his western goth hat, was expected to ship at the end of January.

Tom Petty’s ‘Full Moon Fever’ Pop Album captures the Florida native in his relaxed white button-down and black jacket against the album’s signature pink, orange, and blue color scheme, released January 10. Rounding out the announced lineup, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” video-inspired figure, featuring her vintage pirate blouse and denim Daisy Dukes, is expected later this year. Pink is also available as a Funko web exclusive in her “So What” look, chainsaw in hand. Across the board, this is one of the strongest music Funko runs in recent memory, and collectors are already paying close attention.

$uicideboy$ Drop Explosive “Bloodsweat” Video From Surprise Christmas Album ‘Thy Will Be Done’

Eric Alper
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$uicideboy$ Drop Explosive “Bloodsweat” Video From Surprise Christmas Album ‘Thy Will Be Done’

$uicideboy$ released the music video for “Bloodsweat,” a standout track from their surprise album ‘Thy Will Be Done,’ which dropped on Christmas Day with zero advance promotion and immediately hit number one on Apple’s Rap Album Chart. The album pulled in over 30 million Spotify streams out of the gate, marked their sixth Top 10 debut on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and sent eight tracks onto the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Physical copies on vinyl and CD arrive March 6 via G59 Records and all retailers.

Directed by DILL35MM, the “Bloodsweat” video transforms the backwoods of New Orleans into a full-scale spectacle. A customized hearse converted into a monster truck crushes cars under exploding fireworks in a scene that is as unhinged and adrenaline-fueled as anything the duo has put their name on. The New Orleans roots are front and center, and the result is exactly the kind of over-the-top visual statement that has made uicideboyuicideboy uicideboy one of the most distinct acts in independent hip-hop.

‘Thy Will Be Done’ follows 2025’s ‘Thy Kingdom Come,’ which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and earned the duo their fourth number one on both the Hip-Hop/Rap Albums and Independent Albums charts, positioning them as one of only two independent artists in Spotify’s Top 10 Most Streamed Rappers of 2025. Their annual Grey Day Tour ranked as the number four highest-grossing hip-hop tour of 2025 according to Billboard Boxscore, trailing only Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour, Tyler The Creator’s Chromakopia Tour, and Nelly’s Where The Party At Tour.

Black Veil Brides Release Cinematic New Single And Video “Certainty” Ahead Of Upcoming Spinefarm Album

Eric Alper
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Black Veil Brides Release Cinematic New Single And Video “Certainty” Ahead Of Upcoming Spinefarm Album

Black Veil Brides have kicked off the new year with “Certainty,” an emotionally charged new single accompanied by a striking music video, and a preview of their upcoming album via Spinefarm. Directed by George Gallardo Kattah, whose credits include Chelsea Wolfe and Maneskin, the video was filmed on tour in Colombia and carries the visual intensity of an A24 production. It is already drawing serious attention as one of the band’s most compelling visual statements to date.

The song draws its inspiration from the film Conclave. “The concept of ‘Certainty’ is central to this record and appears throughout the album,” explains Biersack. “The song was inspired by the film Conclave, particularly its reflections on religious certainty and how rigid belief systems can become prisons of our own making. When certainty hardens, curiosity, growth, and the willingness to change become impossible. Much of today’s political and social discourse exists inside these echo chambers of absolute belief, and that tension drives the narrative of this record.”

The song itself came together fast. “This was the final song written and recorded for the album,” Biersack adds. “It started from an idea Jake sent over, and it came together quickly over the course of a few days. It felt essential both narratively and musically, capturing the overall tone of what we’re aiming for.” As for the video, Biersack is unequivocal: “His interpretation of fear and pride as biblical twins is stunning, and the visuals are incredible.” With the album still to come, “Certainty” sets the tone for what Black Veil Brides are building toward.

Willie Nelson, T Bone Burnett And Nashville’s Finest Shine On Reissued Grammy-Nominated Classic ‘Country Music’

Eric Alper
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Willie Nelson, T Bone Burnett And Nashville’s Finest Shine On Reissued Grammy-Nominated Classic ‘Country Music’

Willie Nelson’s Grammy-nominated 2010 album ‘Country Music,’ produced by T Bone Burnett, is now reissued via Craft Recordings and the newly relaunched HighTone Records. The album arrives as a 2-LP set in a gatefold jacket, with limited-edition pressings including Sky Blue Swirl vinyl at Barnes & Noble and Opaque Grass Green at Books-A-Million, alongside CD and hi-res digital formats. It marks the second release under the revitalized HighTone Records, which returned in 2025 with the first ever vinyl pressing of Tulare Dust: A Songwriter’s Tribute to Merle Haggard.

Recorded in Nashville, ‘Country Music’ finds Nelson interpreting 15 country standards that shaped him, from Hank Williams’ “House of Gold” and Ernest Tubb’s “Seaman’s Blues” to Merle Travis’ “Dark as a Dungeon” and his own 1959 single “Man With the Blues.” Burnett brought a rustic, stripped-down sound to the sessions, enlisting Buddy Miller on guitar, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Russell Pahl on pedal steel, and Stuart Duncan on fiddle. “They’re all really good songs that I grew up singing,” Nelson told CMT of the track listing, adding to The Boot that the material “speaks to you in a lot of ways and you feel it move you. You cry or laugh; when you have those kinds of emotions, when a song brings them out, it’s pretty safe to say this is a great song.”

The album debuted at number four on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and number 20 on the Billboard 200 upon its original release, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. At 92, Nelson shows no sign of slowing down, having released two solo studio albums in 2025 alone, ‘Oh What a Beautiful World’ in April and ‘Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle’ in November. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the National Agricultural Hall of Fame, among many other honors, Nelson remains one of the most decorated and tireless figures in American music.

Willie Nelson ‘Country Music’ Track Listing:

  1. Man With The Blues
  2. Seaman’s Blues
  3. Dark As A Dungeon
  4. Gotta Walk Alone
  5. Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down
  6. My Baby’s Gone
  7. Freight Train Boogie
  8. Satisfied Mind
  9. You Done Me Wrong
  10. Pistol Packin’ Mama
  11. Ocean Of Diamonds
  12. Drinking Champagne
  13. I Am A Pilgrim
  14. House Of Gold
  15. Nobody’s Fault But Mine

Scotty McCreery, Rhonda Vincent, The War And Treaty And More Bring The Grand Ole Opry To Carnegie Hall

Eric Alper
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Scotty McCreery, Rhonda Vincent, The War And Treaty And More Bring The Grand Ole Opry To Carnegie Hall

The Grand Ole Opry is bringing its centennial celebration to one of the world’s most storied stages. On March 20, 2026, the Opry takes over Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall for An Evening with the Grand Ole Opry, featuring Opry members Scotty McCreery, Rhonda Vincent, and comedian Henry Cho, alongside Grammy-nominated duo The War And Treaty, with additional artists still to be announced. The one-night-only event is part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.

This marks the Opry’s fourth headlining performance at Carnegie Hall, a lineage that stretches back to 1947, when Ernest Tubb and the Grand Ole Opry Stars sold out the hall in a historic debut featuring Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, Minnie Pearl, Red Foley, Eddy Arnold, and The Carter Sisters with Mother Maybelle Carter. A 1961 return benefited the Musicians’ Aid Society and featured Patsy Cline in her first and only Carnegie Hall appearance. The 2005 performance, marking the Opry’s 80th anniversary, brought together Trace Adkins, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, Trisha Yearwood, Charley Pride, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Bill Anderson.

The March 20 show continues the Opry’s 100th year with the same spirit that has defined every chapter of its history: honoring the past, showcasing the present, and shaping the future of country music through performances that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else. With a lineup this deep and a stage this iconic, An Evening with the Grand Ole Opry at Carnegie Hall is shaping up to be one of the landmark live events of 2026.

Southern Rock Titans Toy Factory Project Honor Marshall Tucker Band Legend Toy Caldwell With All-Star Debut

Eric Alper
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Southern Rock Titans Toy Factory Project Honor Marshall Tucker Band Legend Toy Caldwell With All-Star Debut

Toy Factory Project is a Southern rock supergroup built around love, loss, and the enduring legacy of Toy Caldwell, co-founder of the Marshall Tucker Band. Assembled by MTB drummer and Grammy-winning co-founder Paul T. Riddle, the band brings together Marcus King, Dead & Company bassist Oteil Burbridge, Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr, and multi-instrumentalist Josh Shilling to breathe new life into Caldwell’s songbook. Live, the lineup expands further with violinist and fiddler Billy Contreras and percussionist Jimmy Rector rounding out one of the most formidable ensembles in recent Southern rock memory.

Riddle is clear about what drives the project. “Everyone has so much love and respect for this music and each other,” he shares. “Oteil said this is one of his favorite bands to be a part of and I agree with him. It brings us complete joy. It’s all about the love for the music and the love in the room.” The band made its live debut at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, where their electrifying chemistry and sheer joy of playing together left the crowd buzzing.

The project extends well beyond the stage. The band traveled to Peter Frampton’s Nashville studio to record tracks live in the same room, a deliberate choice that captures the spontaneity and camaraderie at the heart of Toy Factory Project. Behind-the-scenes content from those sessions is rolling out on Instagram, giving followers a window into the process. The forthcoming album (release date to be announced) features special guest performances from Peter Frampton, Vince Gill, Derek Trucks, and others, making it one of the most anticipated Southern rock releases in years.

Alternative Rockers Good Terms Celebrate A Breakthrough Year With New Deluxe Edition ‘Burnout Deluxe’

Eric Alper
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Alternative Rockers Good Terms Celebrate A Breakthrough Year With New Deluxe Edition ‘Burnout Deluxe’

Good Terms closed out their most successful year yet with the release of ‘Burnout Deluxe,’ an extended edition of their 2024 album ‘Burnout.’ The new record adds recent single “Progress” alongside new track “All In,” which landed in heavy rotation on Sirius XM Faction Punk ahead of its official release. The band has been building serious momentum, and ‘Burnout Deluxe’ arrives as a direct reflection of everything that momentum produced.

The band is candid about what the album means to them. “‘Burnout’ has been a life changing album for us, and putting out ‘Burnout Deluxe’ is our way of celebrating it. We definitely did literally burn ourselves out, but the journey of going from writing riffs for ourselves in our bedrooms to playing to hundreds of people has been so rewarding and energizing that it’s all felt worth it. The experience has directly impacted the new songs on the deluxe album.”

That impact runs deeper than chart positions or radio play. “Meeting new people, seeing what songs got people singing along, and just finding out what songs were the most fun for us to play turned into new songs that we really believe in,” the band continues. “I’ve also met so many people who’ve related to our songs in ways I never expected. They’ll tell me how our song helped them get through a hardship in their life, and their hardship will be so different from what I experienced that inspired me to write the song in the first place. The deluxe album feels like a celebration of all of these moments over the last few years with ‘Burnout’.”

Power Pop Lifer Kurt Baker Delivers Hook-Heavy New Single “Undertow Afterglow” Backed With A McCartney Cover

Eric Alper
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Power Pop Lifer Kurt Baker Delivers Hook-Heavy New Single “Undertow Afterglow” Backed With A McCartney Cover

Kurt Baker opened 2026 with a double-sided statement. His new 7-inch and digital single pairs the original “Undertow Afterglow” with a cover of Paul McCartney’s “My Brave Face,” originally co-written with Elvis Costello, out now via Wicked Cool Records. The release marks the label’s first single of the new year and continues Baker’s long-running relationship with Little Steven Van Zandt’s imprint. Best known for his hook-heavy rock and roll rooted in classic pop structure and punk urgency, Baker has built his reputation through relentless touring across the U.S., Europe, and Japan, drawing comparisons to Ramones and Green Day along the way.

“Undertow Afterglow” came together fast. Written in Brooklyn with collaborator Dan Miraldi, the song captures the push and pull of relationships with the kind of melodic immediacy Baker has built his name on. “He came over to my apartment in Brooklyn, and we ended up writing ‘Undertow Afterglow’ in minutes,” Baker says. “The chorus just came to me instantly. This song really exemplifies the ups and downs of life, especially in relationships, getting pulled in by the undertow, yet holding out for the light at the end of the tunnel, the afterglow.” The personal weight behind the song is real. Baker moved to New York, went through a divorce, and pulled back from touring through much of 2025 before finding his way back to the music.

The B-side deepens the picture. McCartney’s “My Brave Face” is a song about masking heartbreak behind bright pop melodies, and for Baker the fit was immediate. “It’s about putting on a cheerful front to hide heartbreak and inner turmoil after a breakup, pretending to be okay when you’re falling apart inside,” he explains. “A classic pop song with a sad, unresolved core. So yeah, it hits home.” Listeners are already pointing to this single as some of the most emotionally direct work of his career, a natural next step from his 2023 full-length ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Club,’ which cemented his place as one of modern power pop’s most dependable voices.

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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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