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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.

Pop-Punk Veterans Teenage Bottlerocket Release New Single “City At Night” Ahead Of Forthcoming EP ‘The Invisible Man’

Eric Alper
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Pop-Punk Veterans Teenage Bottlerocket Release New Single “City At Night” Ahead Of Forthcoming EP ‘The Invisible Man’

Teenage Bottlerocket have released “City At Night” as the lead single from their forthcoming EP ‘The Invisible Man,’ due March 6 on Pirates Press Records. The four-song EP was recorded during the same sessions that produced their 2025 album ‘Ready To Roll’ at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, recorded and mixed by Andrew Berlin and mastered by Jason Livermore. Each of the band’s three singer/songwriters contributes at least one track to the release.

Bassist Miguel Chen wrote the title track, a mid-tempo new wave-inflected piece built around cinematic imagery and his own need for solitude. “Despite spending my life surrounded by people I love, my family, my band, my friends, I’ve learned that I need a lot of alone time to stay balanced and happy,” he says. “Time alone is great for your well-being. I highly recommend it. Also, I love old horror movies.” Guitarist Ray Carlisle contributes “You Made Me Get Called A Poser,” inspired by a real-life moment when his kid wore a Less Than Jake shirt to school and got called out by a substitute teacher. Guitarist Kody Templeman rounds out the EP with “Pembrey’s Face,” drawn from his love of the Hannibal Lecter films. “I’ve always been a big fan of the Hannibal Lecter movies based on the Thomas Harris novels,” he explains. “Ray and I always quoted the Jim Pembrey line during the escape scene in The Silence of the Lambs.”

“City At Night” closes the EP and was previously available only on an ultra-limited 7″ included with the Deluxe Edition of ‘Ready To Roll.’ For most fans, ‘The Invisible Man’ marks their first chance to own a physical copy of the track, and the response since the digital single dropped has been nothing short of fervent. ‘The Invisible Man’ is available for pre-order from the Pirates Press Records webstore on 7″ Bone Vinyl, 7″ Violet Vinyl, and 7″ Black Vinyl, with 7″ Magenta Vinyl available exclusively at the band’s merch table on tour. The sleeve features artwork by longtime collaborator Oscar Puig, which also appears on a merch line including T-shirts, skateboard decks, patches, and stickers.

10 Soundtracks That Became Cultural Moments

Eric Alper
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10 Soundtracks That Became Cultural Moments

Some soundtracks do more than accompany a film. They detonate. They introduce new artists, revive legends, dominate radio, and in some cases, permanently alter pop culture’s trajectory. These 10 soundtracks did not just sell. They shifted the temperature of the room and turned movies into movements.

1967 – The Graduate
Simon & Garfunkel’s songs, especially “Mrs. Robinson,” became inseparable from the film’s identity. The soundtrack won Grammy Awards and pushed folk rock deeper into the mainstream. It proved a pop soundtrack could define a generation’s mood.

1977 – Saturday Night Fever
Powered by the Bee Gees, this became one of the best-selling albums of all time, moving more than 40 million copies worldwide. “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” helped drive disco into global domination. Dance floors changed forever.

1984 – Purple Rain
Prince blurred the line between artist and myth here. The album spent 24 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and won two Grammys and an Oscar. “When Doves Cry” and the title track turned Minneapolis into the center of the universe.

1992 – The Bodyguard
Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” became one of the best-selling singles ever. The soundtrack moved over 45 million copies globally and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Ballads ruled the world.

1994 – Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino resurrected forgotten classics and made surf rock cool again. The soundtrack hit the Billboard Top 40 and reintroduced Dick Dale to a new generation. Suddenly, retro was dangerous and stylish.

1996 – Romeo + Juliet
Baz Luhrmann’s modern Shakespeare came with Garbage, Radiohead, and The Cardigans. The album went triple platinum in the U.S. and helped cement alternative rock as cinematic currency. Love stories now had distortion pedals.

1998 – Titanic
James Horner’s sweeping score paired with Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. The soundtrack topped charts in over 20 countries and became one of the best-selling scores in history.

2000 – O Brother, Where Art Thou?
A bluegrass revival no one saw coming. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the soundtrack won Album of the Year at the Grammys and sold more than 8 million copies. Americana suddenly had a mainstream audience.

2018 – Black Panther
Curated by Kendrick Lamar, this soundtrack debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. It blended hip-hop with cinematic ambition and earned multiple Grammy nominations. A superhero film soundtrack became a cultural statement.

2023 – Barbie The Album
From Dua Lipa to Billie Eilish, this neon pop collection debuted at #1 in multiple countries. “What Was I Made For?” won the Oscar for Best Original Song. Pink ruled the charts and the conversation.

Metalcore Force Spite Announce Spring And Summer Headline Tour With Emmure, Psycho-Frame, And Reverent

Eric Alper
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Metalcore Force Spite Announce Spring And Summer Headline Tour With Emmure, Psycho-Frame, And Reverent

Southern California metalcore quintet Spite released ‘New World Killer’ last Halloween via Rise Records, and they are wasting no time taking it on the road. The band have announced the NEW WORLD KILLER TOUR, a spring and summer 2026 headline run featuring Emmure, Psycho-Frame, and Reverent. The tour kicks off May 29 in Portland, Oregon at the Hawthorne Theatre and runs through June 26 in Mesa, Arizona at the Nile.

The run covers major markets coast to coast, hitting cities including Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Tampa, Houston, and Dallas, among others. With ‘New World Killer’ already making serious noise since its Halloween release, the tour gives fans across North America their first proper chance to hear the album live, and the lineup makes a strong case for this being one of the heaviest bills of the summer.

Spite Tour Dates:

May 29 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre

May 30 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile

June 1 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex

June 2 – Denver, CO – Summit

June 3 – Lawrence, KS – Granada Theater

June 5 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater

June 6 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge

June 7 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall

June 9 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix

June 10 – Montreal, QC – Beanfield Theatre

June 12 – Worcester, MA – Palladium

June 13 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre

June 14 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA

June 15 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre

June 17 – Baltimore, MD – Soundstage

June 18 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground

June 19 – Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl

June 20 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade

June 21 – Tampa, FL – Orpheum

June 23 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live

June 24 – Dallas, TX – South Side Music Hall

June 26 – Mesa, AZ – Nile

Folk Dub Post-Punk Duo MEMORIALS Announce New Album ‘All Clouds Bring Not Rain’ With Lead Single “Cut Glass Hammer”

Eric Alper
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Folk Dub Post-Punk Duo MEMORIALS Announce New Album ‘All Clouds Bring Not Rain’ With Lead Single “Cut Glass Hammer”

MEMORIALS, the duo of Electrelane frontwoman Verity Susman and Wire guitarist Matthew Simms, have announced ‘All Clouds Bring Not Rain,’ out March 27 on Fire Records, and launched it with lead single “Cut Glass Hammer.” The album arrives on digital, CD, and three limited citrus vinyl editions, including an Orange Vinyl, a Lemon Vinyl (indie store exclusive), and a Lime Vinyl Bundle featuring hand-stamped art prints in a signed, wax-sealed envelope with a sticker sheet (Fire Records and Bandcamp exclusive).

Recorded in a barn studio deep in the woods of southwestern France, the album pulls from folk, dub, post-punk, experimental tape music, sixties soul, garage rock, seventies spiritual jazz, and Canterbury prog. Written, performed, recorded, and mixed solely by the two of them, it is the kind of record that sounds like it was unearthed rather than made. Additional recording took place at 4AD’s London studio for harpsichord, and at Stereolab drummer Andy Ramsay’s Press Play studio for vibraphone and vintage Leslie speaker. Listeners are already calling “Cut Glass Hammer,” which debuted at Magnet Magazine, one of the most arresting singles of the year.

The band recorded ‘All Clouds Bring Not Rain’ in the summer of 2025, after spending the first half of the year composing the soundtrack to an acclaimed Kate Bush documentary, and before heading out on tour with Stereolab across the U.S. They describe their approach plainly: “We are increasingly drawn to the way records used to be made, both the sound of the equipment used and the choices forced by that equipment. It’s far more satisfying to record sounds that exist in a real space and so become unique to us.”

MEMORIALS Tour Dates:

April 08 – Le Hasard Ludique, Paris, France

April 09 – Le Tangram, Evreux, France

April 10 – Variations Festival, Nantes, France, w/ Einsturzende Neubauten

April 11 – Calm, Limoges, France

April 12 – La Petite Populaire, La Reole, France

April 14 – Le Consortium, Dijon, France

April 15 – Le Grand Mix, Tourcoing, France, w/ Bibi Club

April 22 – The Croft, Bristol, UK

April 23 – Little Bully, Oxford, UK

April 24 – Prince Albert, Brighton, UK

April 26 – Heartbreakers, Southampton, UK

April 29 – The Lexington, London, UK

April 30 – Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, UK

May 01 – The Castle Hotel, Manchester, UK

May 31 – Nachtasyl, Hamburg, Germany

June 01 – Kantine am Berghain, Berlin, Germany

June 02 – Noch Besser Leben, Leipzig, Germany

June 03 – Kohi, Karlsruhe, Germany

June 04 – Club Manufaktur, Schorndorf, Germany

June 05 – Bellevue Di Monaco, Munchen, Germany

June 06 – Rotown, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Folk Metal Institution Subway To Sally Unveils Haunting New Version Of Cult Track “Feuerkind”

Eric Alper
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Folk Metal Institution Subway To Sally Unveils Haunting New Version Of Cult Track “Feuerkind”

Subway To Sally have released a reinterpretation of “Feuerkind,” one of the most emotionally charged tracks in their catalogue, and the timing is deliberate. The new version arrives as the Potsdam folk metal band prepares to launch NACKT III – Lügen & Legenden, the third chapter of their celebrated intimate concert series, kicking off March 27, 2026 in Berlin. The accompanying music video captures exactly the atmosphere the band is building toward: fragile, haunting, and charged with the kind of raw presence that only comes from three decades of knowing exactly who you are.

“Feuerkind” originally appeared on ‘Nord Nord Ost,’ the band’s eighth studio album, which entered the German album charts at number five in 2005. The track has remained one of the most intense moments in their live repertoire ever since. This stripped-down reinterpretation pulls the song even further into the emotional core, and listeners are already calling it one of the most powerful things the band has released in years.

The band frames NACKT III with characteristic depth: “We delve deep into our history, from the quietest ballad to wild escalation, from bittersweet melancholy to unrestrained excess. What is true, what is invented, which lies have long since become legends? In an intimate atmosphere, close to you, an evening awaits us between living room and theatre stage, between poetry and pure joy of performance. Let us celebrate life, and perhaps be naked together one last time.” With the first dates already sold out, “Feuerkind” sets the tone for what promises to be an extraordinary run.

Grand Funk Railroad Legend Mark Farner Brings Rock Funk Fire To New Single And Video “Same Game”

Eric Alper
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Grand Funk Railroad Legend Mark Farner Brings Rock Funk Fire To New Single And Video “Same Game”

Mark Farner, the original frontman of Grand Funk Railroad, has released the video for “Same Game,” pairing the new track with a cinematic visual that matches his creative vision from the ground up. Farner wrote the lyrics and brought his signature lead guitar work to the song before taking it to James Romeo of J Romeo Media, who translated that vision into what Farner describes as a rock funk statement with an unmistakable message.

The video drives home the song’s central theme with over-the-top visual architecture and a charismatic presence that pulls no punches. “Same Game” carries that same high-energy, straight-talking spirit that made Farner a household name. The track’s rock funk presence and its repeated hammer of “lies, lies, lies” gives the song a sharp edge that listeners are responding to with real enthusiasm.

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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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