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Heaven Announces Third Album ‘Dream Aloud’ with New Single “I Need You More Somehow”

Eric Alper
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Heaven Announces Third Album ‘Dream Aloud’ with New Single “I Need You More Somehow”

Heaven are excited to announce their third full-length album, Dream Aloud, out April 4, 2025, via Little Cloud Records. Forming an amalgamation of their influences, the single “I Need You More Somehow,” is out now, pairing timeless melodies with layers of reverb-driven guitar. Grounded by sirens of feedback, today’s single previews an album full of emotional exploration tied up in otherwordly instrumentation.

“Both at home on the beach in California or a seedy underground nightclub in Glasgow or Berlin, the song layers two worlds,” says vocalist and guitarist Matt Sumrow. “The lyrics are purposefully ambiguous, needing more of someone and longing for more connection, but also sounding content and blissful with the present situation at the same time.”

Premiering today, the official music video for today’s single was shot and edited to resemble old 1980s/90s video footage, CCTV or Straight-to-Home Video, harkening back to the era of their influences. Shot at New York City’s iconic Mercury Lounge, the band is covered in a blanket of haze, and blue and pink swirling stage light.

Dream Aloud was first teased last year by lead single, “I’ll Let You In.” The record was recorded in New York City, mixed by Jonathan Krienik (The Rapture, Gang Gang Dance), mastered by Christopher Colbert (The Walkmen, Pedro the Lion) and features guest guitar on the title track by Steve Schiltz (Longwave, Wah Together).

Halsey and Benson Boone Headline Coca-Cola’s Sips & Sounds Music Festival in Austin, March 7-8

Eric Alper
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Halsey and Benson Boone Headline Coca-Cola’s Sips & Sounds Music Festival in Austin, March 7-8

Coca-Cola’s Sips & Sounds Music Festival returns to Austin with powerhouse, Grammy-nominated headliners Halsey and Benson Boone, taking place at Auditorium Shores March 7-8.

The festival will feature 17 incredible artists over two days including performances by Khalid, AJR, Suki Waterhouse, Chelsea Cutler & Jeremy Zucker Present: brent, Ashe, Nessa Barrett, Gus Dapperton, Paul Russell, Claire Rosinkranz, Blusher, Arcy Drive, Disko Cowboy, DJ Cassandra, Dazzle Camouflage, and Austin Ashtin, showcasing some of today’s biggest names in pop music. 2-Day and 1-Day General Admission tickets are on sale now.

“We are thrilled to return to Austin, TX, in celebration of music and togetherness for the third iteration of our Sips & Sounds Music Festival”, says Derek Alexander, VP of Commercial & Digital at Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, the local bottler for The Coca-Cola Company. “Our exciting new lineup and on-site activations paired with a move to Auditorium Shores in the Spring will make for a memorable experience for fans of the brand and music lovers alike.”

Beyond the lineup, Coca-Cola brings back its fan-favorite immersive activations for festival-goers to experience as well as local food vendors to peruse for the perfect festival bite, all set against the lakefront backdrop at Auditorium Shores.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now at www.sipssoundsfest.com.

Benson Boone’s ‘Beautiful Things’ Was Most Streamed Song Of 2024

Eric Alper
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Benson Boone’s ‘Beautiful Things’ Was Most Streamed Song Of 2024

Grammy-nominated global pop sensation Benson Boone’s smash hit “Beautiful Things” is officially the #1 most streamed song in the world in 2024. Now RIAA certified 5x Platinum, the track has garnered over 3 billion streams since its release earlier this year.

Featured on his acclaimed, Platinum certified debut album Fireworks & Rollerblades, the viral smash logged an impressive 7 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, hit #1 at Top 40 and Hot AC radio, and vaulted to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It recently earned Boone two Billboard Music Awards for Top Billboard Global 200 Song and Top Billboard Global (Excl. US) Song.

Fireworks & Rollerblades also includes the Platinum certified hit “Slow It Down” and fan-favorites “Cry,” “What Do You Want,” and “Pretty Slowly.” 2024 was a record year for Benson, earning him a 2025 Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. He performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, where he won Best Alternative and received nominations for Best New Artist, Song of Summer and PUSH Performance of the Year. His impact has soared across the globe-this year also saw him perform at the MTV EMAs, the NRJ Awards, and the Los40 Awards, taking home trophies at every stop.

In June, he opened for Taylor Swift’s ERAS Tour in London at Wembley stadium, following a performance with Lana Del Rey at Hangout Festival in May. Earlier this year, Boone launched his fully sold-out Fireworks & Rollerblades Tour, playing shows across the globe.

BENSON BOONE 2025 TOUR DATES:

Jan 12 – Seoul, South Korea – Olympic Park Olympic Hall
Jan 14 – Tokyo, Japan – Zepp Haneda
Jan 16 – Melbourne, AUS – Festival Hall
Jan 17 – Melbourne, AUS – Festival Hall
Jan 19 – Sydney, AUS – Hordern Pavilion
Jan 20 – Sydney, AUS – Hordern Pavilion
Jan 22 – Brisbane City, AUS – Riverstage
Jan 23 – Melbourne, AUS – Australian Open
Jan 24 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena
Apr 3 – Mexico City, MX – Pepsi Center WTC
Apr 5 – Monterrey, MX – Tecate Pa’l Norte

 

TOMMY EMMANUEL Rolls Out New Single And Video For “Gdansk/Tall Fiddler” From ‘Live At The Sydney Opera House’ Out 3/21

Eric Alper
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TOMMY EMMANUEL Rolls Out New Single And Video For “Gdansk/Tall Fiddler” From ‘Live At The Sydney Opera House’ Out 3/21

TOMMY EMMANUEL is an acoustic guitarist extraordinaire, composer, global touring artist, and Grammy® Award winner. He’s also one of five people ever to be named a C.G.P. (Certified Guitar Player) by Chet Atkins, the great innovator, songwriter, producer, record company executive, and visionary.

Today (January 9), TOMMY has unveiled “Gdansk/Tall Fiddler,” two songs combined as one track from his upcoming album LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE (C.G.P. Sounds) that’s due out March 21. Listen to the track HERE and watch the live performance video, beautifully filmed by Bondi Rocks Media at the Sydney Opera House in his native Australia, HERE. Pre-order/pre-save the album HERE.

“Here’s an example of two songs that were written almost 20 years apart that fit quite nicely together,” says TOMMY. “One was written in Poland and the other backstage at a bluegrass festival. What a crazy world we all live in!”

The release of “Gdansk/Tall Fiddler” follows the 16-track album’s first offering last year, “The Jolly Swagman.” “I wrote ‘The Jolly Swagman’ for an imaginary character,” says TOMMY, “who makes us all happy by clicking his heels in the air while playing the concertina!!”

EMMANUEL is no stranger to iconic stages from Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to London’s Royal Festival Hall and Paris’ L’Olympia. The legendary entertainer has dazzled audiences across the world. But there’s something truly magical about the Sydney Opera House, and the magic of his sold-out performances there has finally been captured on this new EMMANUEL-produced album. It features 16 tracks, four of which are medleys, including his famous “Beatles Medley” (a previous live version of this has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube).

“The moment and power in these hours spent playing music, is perfectly preserved here on this record,” says TOMMY. “I hope you can feel the intensity of our musical and spiritual relationship… a bond built on a life freely given to all.”

He played two spellbinding shows on the Concert Hall stage in May 2023, with the best of both performances represented here. The setlist showcases the most beloved songs of TOMMY’s career—classic compositions like “Tall Fiddler,” “Mombasa,” and “Country Wide,” recent fan favorites like “Fuel” and “Sail On,” his now iconic arrangement of “Classical Gas,” and his thrilling “Beatles Medley.”

“As a 15-year-old boy living in Circular Quay, I spent many a time walking past the Opera House,” he says. “I would daydream about what it must be like in there, what it would be like to perform there. After fifty years in the business, we finally got there!”

“Playing the shows for this recording was a dream come true for me,” TOMMY adds. “I felt so ready! I was surrounded by my team of brilliant people, and I was looking into the faces of so many loving and happy fans in the concert Hall. The momentum and power in these hours spent playing music, is perfectly captured and preserved here on this record. I hope you can feel the intensity of our musical and spiritual relationship…a bond built on a life freely given to all.”

A noted fingerstyle guitarist, EMMANUEL frequently threads three different parts simultaneously into his material, operating as a one-man band who handles the melody, the supporting chords and the bass all at once. You can hear his wizardry captured brilliantly on LIVE AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE.

Here’s the album’s track listing:
1.Countrywide
2.Fuel
3.The Jolly Swagman
4.Deep River Blues
-Doc’s Guitar
-Blue Smoke
-Cannonball Rag
5.Song for a Rainy Morning
6.Since We Met
7.Secret Love
8.Drums/Mombasa
9.Gdansk
-Tall Fiddler
10.Smokey Mountain Lullaby
11.Windy & Warm
12.Beatles Medley
-She’s A Women
-Please Please Me
-While My Guitar Gently Weeps
-Day Tripper
-Lady Madonna
13.Classical Gas
14.April Sun in Cuba
15.Sail On
16.American Tune
-Waltzing Matilda

Here are TOMMY’s North American tour dates for 2024-25.
2025
January 9 – Malibu, CA – Smother Theatre @ Lisa Smith Wengler Ctr for the Arts
January 10 – Menlo Park, CA – The Guild Theatre
January 11 – Grass Valley, CA – The Center for The Arts
January 12 – Red Bluff, CA – State Theatre for the Arts
March 25 – Thunder Bay, ON – Thunder Bay Community Auditorium
March 26 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre
March 27 – Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place
March 28 – Regina, SK – Conexus Arts Centre
March 30 – Calgary, AB – The Jak Singer Concert Hall
March 31 – Edmonton, AB – Winspear Centre
April 1 – Kelowna, BC – Kelowna Community Theatre
April 2 – Vancouver, BC – The Centre for Performing Arts
April 4 – Victoria, BC – Royal Theatre
April 5 – Campbell River, BC – Tidemark Theatre
July 21 – Halifax, NS – Rebecca Cohn Auditorium

Third Annual ‘Hello From The Hills’ Benefit Back At Nashville’s City Winery For January 26

Eric Alper
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Third Annual ‘Hello From The Hills’ Benefit Back At Nashville’s City Winery For January 26

“Hello From The Hills,” a special collaborative benefit concert co-presented by The Hello in There Foundation and Hope in the Hills, will return to Nashville’s City Winery on Sunday, January 26. The third annual event will feature Ruby Amanfu, Cory Branan, Hayes Carll, Brad Goodall, Silas House, Amanda Shires, Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr, and Jesse Welles.

Tickets for the show will go on sale tomorrow, January 10, at 10:00 a.m. CT. Full details can be found HERE.

At the core of the event, The Hello in There Foundation and Hope in the Hills have selected three organizations to receive grants this year: Building Lives, which assists veterans in rebuilding their lives following service; Operation Stand Down Tennessee, a comprehensive veteran-serving agency that connects veterans with careers, community, and crisis services; and My Father’s House Nashville, an organization that provides shelter, parenting education, recovery information, and life skills for fathers coming out of institutions.

Of the event, Jody Whelan, Managing Partner of Oh Boy Records and The Hello in There Foundation Board Member and Treasurer, shares:

“‘Hello From The Hills’ is more than a concert—it’s a celebration of community, compassion, and the power of music to bring about real change. By coming together, we’re not just raising our voices, but lifting up those who need it most. We are so proud to share the stage with these nonprofits who are doing incredible work to support the community.”

The upcoming event follows last year’s “Hello From The Hills” concert, which featured performances from artists such as Tyler Childers, Wynonna Judd, Ben Folds, S.G. Goodman, and more, as well as the presentation of community grants to three organizations: MusiCares, which provides health and welfare services to the music community; Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors, an organization that provides compassionate immigration legal services to those seeking humanitarian relief; and Musicians Recovery Network.

Established in 2021 by the family of John Prine, The Hello in There Foundation continues the love, kindness, and generosity Prine shared with the world. The work of the foundation is inspired and guided by John’s simple song title, “Hello In There.” Their mission is to identify and collaborate with individuals and communities to offer support for people who are marginalized, discriminated against, or otherwise forgotten.

Started in 2017, Hope in the Hills is a non-profit organization committed to combatting the opioid crisis and supporting recovery across Appalachia. Created by a group of local community members and members of Tyler Childers’ team, Hope in the Hills raises funds and awareness to fight addiction through initiatives such as youth programs and recovery houses. Hope in the Hills celebrates recovery through its main event, Healing Appalachia, held each September, which has raised over $1,000,000 to support recovery since its inception. The organization also works year-round on additional projects to foster these communities.

Chris Stapleton Confirms Summer “All-American Road Show” Dates

Eric Alper
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Chris Stapleton Confirms Summer “All-American Road Show” Dates

Chris Stapleton will continue his “All-American Road Show” tour through this summer with newly confirmed shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Charlottesville’s John Paul Jones Arena, Denver’s Ball Arena, Salt Lake City’s Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre and Albany’s MVP Arena among many others. Special guests on the tour include Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Marcus King, Nikki Lane, Grace Potter, Maggie Rose, Brittney Spencer, Allen Stone, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives and The War & Treaty. See below for complete tour itinerary.

Stapleton’s fan club will have early access to tickets starting next Tuesday, January 14 at 10:00am local time with general on-sale following next Friday, January 17 at 10:00am local time. Sign up for fan club pre-sale access at StapletonFanClub.com. Full tour details can be found at www.chrisstapleton.com/tour.

The upcoming performances add to yet another landmark year for Stapleton, who is nominated for two awards at the upcoming 67th Annual Grammy Awards: Best Country Album (Higher) and Best Country Solo Performance (“It Takes A Woman”). Additionally, Stapleton won three awards at the CMA Awards this past fall, making him a 19x CMA Award-winner. With this achievement, Stapleton tied the record for most CMA wins ever with Brooks & Dunn, while also extending his own record for most wins in the Male Vocalist of the Year category (eight).

Produced by Dave Cobb, Morgane Stapleton and Chris Stapleton, Higher landed on several “Best of” lists including Billboard, Esquire, Vulture and Rolling Stone, who praised, “dazzling…the best evidence yet for the way one man’s voice has become synonymous with the very idea of a musical genre.” Additionally, GQ declared, “In an age rife with division, he’s maybe the only thing Americans all agree on…one of the most reliable hit makers in music” and NPR Musicproclaimed, “Higher puts him where he always really was—in that classic kind of rock and soul, Tom Petty, Eagles, going beyond the confines of the genre.” Listen to Higher HERE.

The 10x Grammy, 19x CMA and 19x ACM Award-winner has also recently collaborated with Post Malone (“California Sober”), Dua Lipa (“Think I’m In Love With You (Live from the 59th ACM Awards)”), Slash (“Oh Well”) and George Strait (“Honky Tonk Hall of Fame”), released a version of Tom Petty’s “I Should Have Known It” for the new Tom Petty tribute album and returned to NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” for the third time as musical guest. Additionally, he performed the National Anthem at 2023’s Super Bowl LVII and has collaborated in recent years with Adele, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Sheryl Crow, Santana and many more.

Higher follows 2020’s acclaimed Starting Over, which won three awards at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in addition to earning Album of the Year honors at both the CMA and ACM Awards. Called a “a sure-footed masterpiece” by the Associated Press, the album landed on “Best of 2020” lists at NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Esquire, Vulture, The Tennessean and The New York Times, who declared, “Chris Stapleton’s roar isn’t designed to scare you off. It’s regal, an announcement of an alpha figure asserting his primacy…on this, his fourth album, the thrill is back.” Prior to Starting Over, Stapleton released a pair of Platinum-certified releases in 2017—From A Room: Volume 1 and From A Room: Volume 2—as well as his 5x Platinum breakthrough solo debut album in 2015, Traveller.

In addition to their work as musicians, the Stapletons are founders of the Outlaw State of Kind charitable fund, which supports a variety of causes that are close to their heart. Stapleton also recently unveiled his new Traveller Whiskey, a first-of-its-kind collaboration created in partnership with Buffalo Trace Distillery’s Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley.

HIGHER TRACK LIST
1. What Am I Gonna Do
2. South Dakota
3. Trust
4. It Takes A Woman
5. The Fire
6. Think I’m In Love With You
7. Loving You On My Mind
8. White Horse
9. Higher
10. The Bottom
11. The Day I Die
12. Crosswind
13. Weight Of Your World
14. Mountains Of My Mind

CHRIS STAPLETON CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
BOLD on-sale next Friday, January 17 at 10:00am local time
February 25—Melbourne, Australia—Rod Laver Arena* (SOLD OUT)
February 26—Melbourne, Australia—Rod Laver Arena* (SOLD OUT)
February 28—Brisbane, Australia—Brisbane Entertainment Centre* (SOLD OUT)
March 1—Brisbane, Australia—Brisbane Entertainment Centre* (SOLD OUT)
March 4—Sydney, Australia—Qudos Bank Arena* (SOLD OUT)
March 5—Sydney, Australia—Qudos Bank Arena* (SOLD OUT)
March 7—Auckland, New Zealand—Spark Arena* (SOLD OUT)
March 8—Auckland, New Zealand—Spark Arena* (SOLD OUT)
June 4—Greenville, SC—Bon Secours Wellness Arena†
June 7—Charlottesville, VA—John Paul Jones Arena‡
June 12—Grand Rapids, MI—Van Andel Arena+
June 18—Greensboro, NC—First Horizon Coliseum^
June 20—Albany, NY—MVP Arena^
June 27—Tinley Park, IL—Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre#
July 11—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre‡
July 12—Milwaukee, WI—Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival
July 23—Belmont Park, NY—UBS Arena~
July 25—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden~
August 1—Noblesville, IN—Ruoff Music Center**
August 8—Phoenix, AZ—Desert Diamond Arena‡‡
August 15—Salt Lake City, UT—Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre*
August 22—Denver, CO—Ball Arena**
October 10—Hollywood, FL—Hard Rock Live

*with special guest Marcus King
†with special guest Nikki Lane
‡with special guest Brittney Spencer
+with special guest Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
^with special guest Maggie Rose
#with special guest The War & Treaty
~with special guest Grace Potter
**with special guest Allen Stone
‡‡with special guest Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives

Charlie Musselwhite to Release First Single “Storm Warning” from Forthcoming Release

Eric Alper
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Charlie Musselwhite to Release First Single “Storm Warning” from Forthcoming Release

Forty Below Records is thrilled to announce the signing of the legendary Blues musician Charlie Musselwhite. On January 10th, Charlie will unveil “Storm Warning,” the first single from his forthcoming Spring release. Pre-save “Storm Warning” here.

Charlie Musselwhite is an American icon whose story is entangled in a mix of Delta, Chicago Blues, and Memphis Soul. He’s been tracing its highways and entertaining its audiences, and those abroad, for nearly six decades. He’s a prolific songwriter who writes organic, compelling stories with ease. There is real emotional depth at the core of his songs.

More than any other harmonica player of his generation, Charlie Musselwhite can rightfully lay claim to inheriting the mantle of many of the great harp players that came before him with music as dark as Mississippi mud and uplifting as California’s blue skies. In an era when the term legendary gets applied to auto-tuned pop stars, this singular blues harp player, singer, songwriter, and guitarist has earned and deserves to be honored as a true master of American classic vernacular music.

Recorded at Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Studio in San Jose, California, it’s the first time Charlie has recorded with his long-time touring band, comprised of guitarist Matt Stubbs (GA-20), drummer June Core (Robert Lockwood Jr.) and bassist Randy Burmudes (James Cotton), along with Andersen who has been in and out of the band for many years. Their chemistry and command are abundantly clear from the opening notes. “We finished a gig at The Iridium in New York City and flew straight to California to record,” Charlie effuses.

About the single “Storm Warning,” Musselwhite explains, “The beat came from an old Gospel tune, and I just had it rolling around in my head until I caught the scent and found the trail that led to the melody and lyrics.” The groove is all business, hypnotizing like the white lines of the highway. The vocal is soulful and plaintive, and the harmonica playing is ferocious, as you’d expect.

Charlie Musselwhite has received 13 Grammy nominations throughout his illustrious career, including his last release, Mississippi Son, and 33 Blues Music Awards. In 2014 his collaboration with Ben Harper Get Up won a Grammy and in 2010 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Charlie’s career took off quickly soon after arriving in Chicago in the early sixties, where he was an integral part of the blues renaissance along with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, both genuine proteges of Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf. In 1967, at just 22 years of age, he released his debut album, Stand Back! , which garnered significant critical acclaim.

On a whim, Musselwhite relocated to San Francisco that same year. Contemporaries like Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield followed suit and were welcomed into the counterculture scene around the Fillmore West as authentic purveyors of real-deal blues.

Charlie has also collaborated with an eclectic list of incredible artists over the years, including Ben Harper, Cyndi Lauper, Eddie Vedder, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Gov’t Mule, INXS, Mickey Hart, and Japan’s Kodo Drummers, George Thorogood, Eliades Ochoa, Cat Stevens, Elvin Bishop and, close friend and best man at his wedding John Lee Hooker. In 2023, Musselwhite was cast in Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon.

Musselwhite’s sixty-year journey has taken him from Mississippi to Memphis, Chicago, and California. He is living proof that great music only gets better with age. Sixty years of nonstop touring, 20 albums, 1 Grammy, and 13 Blues Music Awards later, his depth of expression as a singer and an instrumentalist grew more profound with each passing year.

Forty Below Records, based in Los Angeles and helmed by Eric Corne, is proud to be Charlie’s new home. Corne declared, “Working with an artist of Charlie’s caliber is an honor and privilege. He’s one of the most iconic Blues musicians working today. And we look forward to taking his legacy to the next level.”

Neal Francis to Release New Album in March; Shares New Power Pop Song & Video

Eric Alper
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Neal Francis to Release New Album in March; Shares New Power Pop Song & Video

Acclaimed singer-songwriter-pianist Neal Francis is ringing in the new year with his eagerly anticipated third studio album, Return To Zero, arriving Friday, March 14 via ATO Records. Pre-orders are available now.

Francis’ first full-length studio effort in more than three years and most extravagantly realized work so far, Return To Zero sees the Chicago-based singer-songwriter-pianist creating a beautifully strange entangling of timeless rock ’n’ roll and ’70s-era dance music. Merging supremely heavy guitar riffs with lush and pulsating grooves, Francis constructed the album sans digital programming in keeping with his long-standing devotion to all things analog. The album is heralded by today’s premiere of the gorgeously sprawling power pop anthem, “What’s Left Of Me,” available everywhere now. A piercingly candid reflection on life on the road co-written with chart-topping Nashville-based songwriter Chris Gelbuda (Sabrina Carpenter, Meghan Trainor, Zac Brown Band), the track is accompanied by an official music video streaming now.

“Chris and I are good friends and we got to talking about the challenges of being in a committed relationship while you’re on tour,” says Neal Francis. “A lot of these songs were influenced by Electric Light Orchestra and the way Jeff Lynne synthesizes classical music and pop songwriting, and ‘What’s Left Of Me’ was definitely one where I was going for an ELO vibe.”

Hailed by SPIN as “a mesmerizing performer,” Francis will celebrate Return To Zero with an epic international tour schedule that will see him traversing the globe through 2025 and beyond, with full details to be announced soon. The first leg of North American headline dates begins March 20th in Cleveland, OH, and continues through mid-April. A pair of Japanese headline shows will be followed by a second US headline run, getting underway May 7 on the West Coast. In addition, Francis will also bring his show-stopping live set to an array of festivals around the world, beginning this weekend at Bobby Weir’s annual Dead Ahead in Riviera Cancun, Mexico (January 9-13), followed by Byron Bay, Australia’s famed Byron Bay Bluesfest (April 17-20), a two-night stand at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival set for New Orleans, LA’s historic Tipitina’s (May 2-3), and Denver, CO’s Outside Festival (May 31). Additional dates will be announced. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.nealfrancis.com/tour.

NEAL FRANCIS – TOUR 2025

JANUARY
9-13 – Riviera Cancun, Mexico – Dead Ahead *
MARCH
20 – Cleveland, OH
21 – Pittsburgh, PA
22 – Toronto, ON
26 – Boston, MA
27 – New York, NY
28 – Philadelphia, PA
29 – Portland, ME
APRIL
1 – Raleigh, NC
2 – Charleston, SC
3 – Asheville, NC
4 – Atlanta, GA
5 – Nashville, TN
8 – Oklahoma City, OK
9 – Kansas City, MO
10 – St. Louis, MO
11 – Louisville, KY
12 – Indianapolis, IN
17-20 – Byron Bay, Australia – Byron Bay Bluesfest *
24 – Tokyo, JP – Shibuya Club Quattro
25 – Osaka, JP – Umeda Shangrila
MAY
2 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival @ Tipitina’s *
3 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival @ Tipitina’s *
7 – Solana Beach, CA
8 – Los Angeles, CA
10 – Stateline, NV
13 – Chico, CA
15 – Bend, OR
16 – Portland, OR
17 – Seattle, WA
31 – Denver, CO – Outside Festival *
* Festival Appearance

5 Surprising Facts About Tears For Fears’ “The Hurting”

Eric Alper
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5 Surprising Facts About Tears For Fears’ “The Hurting”

Released on March 7, 1983, The Hurting was an emotional journey to anyone that heard the album. Tears for Fears channeled psychological trauma and childhood pain into a record that struck a chord globally. While it produced iconic tracks like “Mad World,” “Change,” and “Pale Shelter,” the album’s depth goes far beyond its hits. Here are five lesser-known facts about this masterpiece.

1. The Album’s Unique Inspirations
The Hurting is a rare example of music deeply influenced by psychotherapist Arthur Janov’s primal scream theory. Tracks like “Ideas as Opiates” and “The Prisoner” draw directly from Janov’s writings, translating psychological concepts into powerful melodies.

2. A Struggle with Production
The band initially faced creative differences with producer Mike Howlett, leading to a split after working on early tracks like “Pale Shelter.” Chris Hughes eventually stepped in, helping shape the album into its cohesive, emotionally raw form.

3. “Mad World” – A Gibberish Ending with a Story
The iconic track “Mad World” includes an unusual ad-libbed phrase in its final chorus: “Halargian world.” While it sounds like gibberish, the word “Halarge” was an inside joke from the recording sessions, referring to a fictional planet invented by the producers. This playful moment added a unique charm to the song’s otherwise poignant tone.

4. “Change” – A Song with Multiple Versions
“Change” underwent several iterations before reaching its final form. The album version was slightly edited for the 7″ single, while the 12″ featured an extended remix. Some releases also included an earlier “New Version,” which predated the album cut and showcased alternate lyrics, adding layers to the track’s evolution.

5. “Pale Shelter” – More Than a Love Song
Often misinterpreted as a romantic ballad, “Pale Shelter” actually explores the emotional complexities of parental relationships. Its title references a 1941 Henry Moore drawing, giving an artistic layer to its poignant themes.

The Hurting remains a landmark album that marries personal pain with universal resonance. Its ability to transform heavy themes into chart-topping hits solidifies Tears for Fears’ place in music history. Whether it’s the introspective “Mad World,” the infectious “Change,” or the layered emotions of “Pale Shelter,” this album continues to inspire and connect listeners four decades later.

Elvis Presley’s Isolated Vocals For “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care”

Eric Alper
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0
Elvis Presley’s Isolated Vocals For “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care”

“(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care” is a playful rock ‘n’ roll classic from Elvis Presley, featured in the iconic Jailhouse Rock film. Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the song is about loving someone despite (or because of) their “square” ways, it’s a timeless ode to individuality and affection.

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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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