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Country Cruising Announces Randy Travis More Life Tour And Craig Morgan For 2027 Voyage

Eric Alper
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Country Cruising Announces Randy Travis More Life Tour And Craig Morgan For 2027 Voyage

Flying Dutchmen Travel announces Country Cruising’s seventh festival-at-sea adventure, departing April 11 through 18, 2027 from Tampa, Florida aboard the Celebrity Summit. The seven-night voyage visits Western Caribbean ports including Cozumel, Belize, and Costa Maya with a lineup featuring Randy Travis and his More Life Tour, Craig Morgan, Paul Overstreet, and James Dupre, alongside returning artists Whey Jennings, Dirty Grass Soul, and Chad Bushnell. The More Life Tour features lead vocalist James Dupre performing classic hits from Travis’ iconic career with his original touring band while the seven-time GRAMMY winner appears onstage with his wife Mary, interacting with fans as he is unable to sing due to aphasia from his 2013 stroke. The tour played over 50 venues to 60,000 fans last year and returns this spring for a limited run.

Craig Morgan brings more than 2.5 billion career streams and over 25 songs on the Billboard charts to the voyage, including hits “Redneck Yacht Club,” “Almost Home,” “Soldier,” and “That’s What I Love About Sunday.” The 2008 Grand Ole Opry inductee served seventeen years in the Army and Army Reserve and enlisted again in 2023, continuing his military career as a Chief Warrant Officer 2 while supporting active duty and veteran members through Operation Finally Home and the USO. Paul Overstreet headlines Country Cruising’s Songwriters Rounds featuring fellow artists alongside his hit songs “When You Say Nothing At All,” “Forever and Ever, Amen,” and “Deeper Than The Holler.” The two-time GRAMMY winner and NSAI Songwriter’s Hall of Famer released his latest single “Doin’ It to Country Songs” last month to Texas Radio.

James Dupre performs his own sets onboard including favorites from recent solo projects ‘It’s All Happening’ and ‘Perfect Time’. The season nine contestant on NBC’s The Voice and Rolling Stone “Country Artist You Need To Know” tours the nation as recurrent lead vocalist with Randy Travis’ More Life Tour. Last year’s cruise sailed from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau featuring onboard activities including rum tastings, poker tournaments, live podcasts, and line dancing, with shore excursions offering food tours, dolphin watches, ecological adventures, and snorkeling. Emceed by award-winning radio broadcaster Storme Warren, the ship hosted 2,000 country music fans of all ages.

Marcello Hernández Brings Two Shows To OLG Stage At Fallsview Casino In June

Eric Alper
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Marcello Hernández Brings Two Shows To OLG Stage At Fallsview Casino In June

Marcello Hernández performs two shows at the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino on June 12 and June 13, both at 8 pm. Tickets go on sale today, Wednesday, February 11 at 6 pm through Ticketmaster. “Marcello Hernández blends sharp insightful humour with a fresh comedic voice. From vivid anecdotes to personal stories, the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino will be filled with a lot of laughing for two nights solid,” says Cathy Price, Vice President of Marketing & Resort Operations, Niagara Casinos.

The comedian, writer, and actor currently serves as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, known for fan-favorite sketches including “Protective Mom,” “Immigrant Dad Talk Show,” and the “Domingo” series, along with regular appearances on “Weekend Update.” In 2025, TIME recognized Hernández as one of the year’s Latino Leaders, The Hollywood Reporter named him to its “Latin Power List,” and Variety selected him as one of its “Power of Young Hollywood” honorees in 2024. He received a Webby Award for Outstanding Comedy Performance for his work on SNL. His debut comedy special ‘American Boy’ premiered on Netflix in January 2026 and quickly landed in Netflix’s Top 10.

Dog Chocolate Release “Infinite Nuggets” And Announce ‘So Inspired, So Done In’ Album Launch Shows

Eric Alper
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Dog Chocolate Release “Infinite Nuggets” And Announce ‘So Inspired, So Done In’ Album Launch Shows

HEADLINE: Dog Chocolate Release “Infinite Nuggets” And Announce ‘So Inspired, So Done In’ Album Launch Shows

TAGS: Dog Chocolate, Rattle, The Plan, Andrew, Rob, Matthew, Jonathan, Toby Burroughs, POZI, Sofia Lopes, Smooth Futon, Upset The Rhythm, Paper Dress Vintage, Truck Store, Deerhoof, No Age, Dry Cleaning, Palm, Daniel Wakeford, Shopping, Yeborobo, Limn,

BLOG POST:

Dog Chocolate release “Infinite Nuggets,” the new single from their fourth album ‘So Inspired, So Done In,’ out February 27 via Upset The Rhythm. The fizzing track features Andrew’s chorus “Nuggets, nuggets, infinite nuggets, I didn’t make ’em I found ’em,” which the band suggests would be a stadium anthem in an alternate universe. The lyrics relate to Andrew’s recently diagnosed ADHD, specifically exploring how intense ideas big and small zoom through the brain and vanish. “Infinite Nuggets is about getting used to the fact that the richest and purest ideas are gonna pop into my conscious and disappear as they please, and a reminder that there’s a garden bursting with these nuggety fruits just beyond my conscious,” Andrew says. The video by Smooth Futon features an ever-changing collection of characters and shapes appearing out of the ether before disappearing into obscurity.

‘So Inspired, So Done In’ tackles subject matter as diverse as overheard conversations, healing fungal toenails, the Rogerian concept of the Actualising Tendency, bronze age living conditions, and human-plant relations. Work and anti-work recur throughout the 16 tracks, as do artistic inspiration and burnout. Recorded and mixed by POZI’s Toby Burroughs and mastered by Sofia Lopes, the album charts a long and confusing period in the band’s collective life marked by major life changes, losses, and shifts. After the pandemic, band members moved to different cities, got new jobs, some had babies, and some encountered bereavement, slowing the pace of the band and making it harder to practice and play together. The songs came together in bedrooms, over the internet, and in a large shed in Shropshire during a weekend writing get-together rather than in the usual practice space.

Dog Chocolate announce album launch shows at Paper Dress Vintage in Hackney on Friday, February 27 and Truck Store in Oxford on Saturday, February 28, both with support from The Plan and Rattle. The South-East London band formed after members Andrew, Rob, Matthew, and Jonathan played in theatrical punk bands Yeborobo and Limn, sharing a desire to make simpler music with small amps, light guitars, no more than two drums at any one time, and a keyboard no longer than a ruler. The band floated the term “pencilcase punk” to describe their jumbled, colorful, dense music, building on this scrappiness over albums “Or” (2014), “Snack Fans” (2016), and “Moody Balloon Baby” (2018) while playing gigs with Deerhoof, No Age, Dry Cleaning, Palm, Daniel Wakeford, Shopping, and POZI.

The String Cheese Incident Announces 33-Date ‘Just Keep Spinning’ Tour Across America

Eric Alper
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The String Cheese Incident Announces 33-Date ‘Just Keep Spinning’ Tour Across America

The String Cheese Incident announces the Just Keep Spinning tour, a 33-date run bringing the Colorado-based jam band across the country throughout 2026. The tour launches May 28 at Stable Hall in San Antonio and runs through August 15 at Campout in the Pines in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, featuring marathon sets of the ensemble’s genre-blurring mix of rock, bluegrass, funk, electronic, and world music. Clay Street Unit joins the band July 17 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, while Leftover Salmon, Lettuce, Eggy, and Dogs in a Pile appear at the Campout in the Pines dates.

HeadCount will be highlighted each night of the tour, the national nonpartisan organization that uses the power of music, culture, and community to turn fans into voters. The nonprofit meets young people at concerts, festivals, and online, making it easy to register to vote, learn about elections, and take part in democracy. Since 2004, HeadCount has registered over 1.7 million new voters through work with artists like Ariana Grande, Dave Matthews Band, Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter, and Green Day.

The String Cheese Incident Tour Dates:

5/28 – San Antonio, TX @ Stable Hall

5/29 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater

5/30 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues

5/31 – Dallas, TX @ Longhorn Backyard Amphitheater

6/3+4 – Crested Butte, CO @ Center for the Arts

6/5+6 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Pepsi Amphitheater

6/18 – Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company

6/19 – Charlotte, NC @ The Amp Ballantyne

6/20 – Charlottesville, VA @ Ting Pavilion

6/21 – Outer Banks, NC @ Roanoke Island Festival Park

6/23 – South Deerfield, MA @ Summer Stage at Treehouse Brewing

6/24 – Liverpool, NY @ Sharkey’s Event Center

6/25 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre

6/27 – Rothbury, MI @ Electric Forest

7/17+18 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

7/22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Venue TBA

7/23 – Lake Tahoe, NV @ Gambler’s Run Music Festival

7/24 – Eugene, OR @ Cuthbert Amphitheater

7/25 – Jacksonville, OR @ Britt

7/26 – Seattle, WA @ The 5th Avenue Theatre

8/5 – Harrisburg, PA @ Riverfront Park

8/6 – Hyannis, MA @ Cape Cod Melody Tent

8/7+8 – Hampton Beach, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

8/9 – Selbyville, DE @ Freeman Arts Pavilion

8/11 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Cain Park Evans Amphitheater

8/12 – Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live!

8/13 – Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater

8/14+15 – Eau Claire, WI @ Campout in the Pines

Monstrosity Announces ‘Screams Across Europe’ Tour Supporting ‘Screams From Beneath The Surface’

Eric Alper
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Monstrosity Announces ‘Screams Across Europe’ Tour Supporting ‘Screams From Beneath The Surface’

Monstrosity announces the Screams Across Europe Tour 2026 in support of their new album ‘Screams From Beneath The Surface’, releasing March 13 via Metal Blade Records. The Florida death metal veterans will devastate the continent with Bio Cancer, Reject The Sickness, and Deadwood as special guests. The tour launches April 18 at Metalstorm Festival in Luzern, Switzerland and runs through May 10 in Lublin, Poland, hitting venues across Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Slovakia, and Czech Republic.

‘Screams From Beneath The Surface’ marks Monstrosity’s first release in seven years, featuring drummer, founder, and primary songwriter Lee Harrison, long-tenured guitarist Matt Barnes, returning original bassist Mark Van Erp, and new vocalist Ed Webb of Massacre. The ten-track album showcases the band’s signature blend of aggression, technical precision, and intensity while pushing genre boundaries. Standout tracks include “Banished To The Skies” and “The Atrophied” with bone-crushing riffs, intricate drumming, and visceral lyrical imagery, while “The Dark Aura” and “Fortunes Engraved In Blood” introduce fresh sonic dimensions while maintaining savage intensity.

Monstrosity Tour Dates:

4/18 – Luzern, Switzerland @ Metalstorm Festival

4/19 – Salzburg, Austria @ Rockhouse

4/21 – Zagreb, Croatia @ Vintage Industrial Bar

4/22 – Bologna, Italy @ Alchemica Music Club

4/23 – Geneva, Switzerland @ L’Usine

4/25 – Saint Omer, France @ Brutal Swamp

4/28 – Kortrijk, Belgium @ DVG

4/29 – Tilburg, Holland @ Hall of Fame

4/30 – Amersfoort, Holland @ Fluor

5/1 – Essen, Germany @ Turock

5/2 – Jena, Germany @ F Haus

5/3 – Swidnica, Poland @ Bolko

5/5 – Krakow, Poland @ Zaścianek

5/6 – Bielsko Biala, Poland @ Rude Boy

5/7 – Bratislava, Slovakia @ Pink Whale

5/8 – Jablunkov, Czech Republic @ Rock Cafe

5/9 – Kosice, Slovakia @ Collosseum

5/10 – Lublin, Poland @ Fabryka Kultury Zgrzyt

Boys Noize Releases “HYYTUP” And “Sh5b0mbe” As Nine Inch Nails Tour Resumes

Eric Alper
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Boys Noize Releases “HYYTUP” And “Sh5b0mbe” As Nine Inch Nails Tour Resumes

Boys Noize releases “HYYTUP” and “Sh5b0mbe” on his ONES and ZEROS label, a pair of explosive club bangers following a massive run of co-productions for LSDXOXO, Ty Dolla $ign, Kungs, Keinemusik, and Nine Inch Nails. The German producer recently won a GRAMMY for his work on Nine Inch Nails’ “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” and contributed to the near-entirety of the Tron: Ares soundtrack before carving out time for these original tracks. ONES and ZEROS launched in early 2025 with a 22-track compilation focusing on young international producers revitalizing techno by shattering its rules.

“HYYTUP” operates at a stomping 107 BPM with dark, detuned portamento buzzsaws and cinematic textures that build tension before a thick, visceral drop. The bassline growls with distorted harmonics while hallucinatory sonics and Memphis samples push the track into futuristic territory. Live hi-hats arrive to ride complex switch-ups of rhythm and bass patterns, culminating in a second drop announced by a siren. “Sh5b0mbe” accelerates to 134.4 BPM with analogue menace fueled by a 1/16th note square-wave arpeggio, working at an intersection of EBM, acid, and industrial techno. Kicks pummel while snares snap and slap over a twisting bassline, with ominously discrete atmospheres amplifying doom during the mid-track breakdown before wild modulations slam back in.

Boys Noize Tour Dates:

2.11 – Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena

2.13 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden

2.14 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center

2.14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Basement

2.16 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre

2.18 – Hamilton, ON @ TD Coliseum

2.20 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center

2.22 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena

2.23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum

2.25 – St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center

2.27 – Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center

3.01 – Austin, TX @ Moody Center

3.03 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center

3.06 – Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena

3.07 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena

3.09 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena

3.10 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center

3.13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center

3.15 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center

3.16 – Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center

3.28 – Miami, FL @ Ultra Music Festival

4.10 & 4.17 – Indio, CA @ Coachella (Nine Inch Noize)

4.11 & 4.18 – Indio, CA @ Coachella (Boys Noize)

5.16 – Las Vegas, NV @ EDC

5.25 – Detroit, MI @ Movement

Women In Music And Women In Music Canada Announce Global Summit Programming

Eric Alper
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Women In Music And Women In Music Canada Announce Global Summit Programming

Women in Music Org and Women in Music Canada present the first Women in Music Global Summit in Toronto from March 2 through 4 at Allied Music Centre and TD Music Hall. The three-day event brings together over 60 female and gender diverse speakers and mentors from 13 countries for bold conversations, hands-on workshops, mentorship, and networking sessions. Programming includes a leadership keynote convening Canada’s top female music industry executives for discussions about power, progress, and contemporary leadership, alongside panels on caregiving in the music industry, data-driven radio conversations, and sessions on live music, touring, global markets, mental health, and sustainable careers.

“We’re incredibly excited to unite our global community for the WIM Summit 2026 in partnership with Women in Music Canada,” said Nicole Barsalona, President of Women in Music. “Across three days, we’ll welcome industry leaders and change-makers from around the world to connect, share knowledge, and offer industry insight. Beyond its educational and career development impact, and perhaps most importantly today, the WIM Summit is about building meaningful bridges with people who share a mission to uplift one another. So whether you’re joining us in person in Toronto or virtually from anywhere in the world, we invite you to dig in with us and savor the moment – make a new connection, celebrate our collective power, and help us shape a more inclusive future for music.” The Power of Song, a Songwriters in the Round event presented with support from SOCAN and TD Bank, takes place March 3 at TD Music Hall featuring performances by Molly Johnson, Billianne, CJ Wiley, and Ila Baker with Kayla Diamond as host.

The Summit assembles leading music festivals advancing gender equity on their stages and examines where women stand in their careers today through real-time studies and data comprehension sessions.

Support comes from FACTOR, the Government of Canada, Ontario Creates, Amazon Music, Believe, Canadian Federation of Musicians, CIMA, City of Toronto, CMRRA, DISCO, EMPIRE, National Arts Centre, Senyk Investment Management Ltd, Toronto Musicians Union, and TuneCore.

Dawson’s Creek’s James Van Der Beek Has Died At Age 48

Eric Alper
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Dawson’s Creek’s James Van Der Beek Has Died At Age 48

James David Van Der Beek, best known for his role as Dawson Leery on Dawson’s Creek, died on February 11, 2026, at the age of 48 after a journey with stage 3 colorectal cancer.

For many, he will always be Dawson – the earnest, film-obsessed teenager growing up in Capeside. The series ran from 1998 to 2003 and became one of the defining teen dramas of its era, helping establish The WB and launching the careers of its young cast. Van Der Beek appeared in every episode of the six-season run.

Born March 8, 1977, in Cheshire, Connecticut, Van Der Beek began acting in middle school productions before pursuing professional work as a teenager. At 16, he made his professional debut off-Broadway in Edward Albee’s Finding the Sun. By his late teens, he had appeared in films including Angus and I Love You, I Love You Not before landing the role that would change his life.

During hiatuses from Dawson’s Creek, he expanded into film, starring as quarterback Jonathan “Mox” Moxon in Varsity Blues, which opened at number one at the U.S. box office and earned him an MTV Movie Award. He later took on darker material in The Rules of Attraction, which developed a cult following.

Over the next two decades, Van Der Beek built a diverse career across television and film. He appeared in Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, playing a fictionalized version of himself to critical praise. He held recurring and main roles on series including CSI: Cyber and Pose, and co-created and starred in What Would Diplo Do?. He also competed on Dancing with the Stars and The Masked Singer, continuing to embrace reinvention and humor about his public image.

In August 2023, after a routine colonoscopy, Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He publicly shared the diagnosis in November 2024, saying he had been privately dealing with it while focusing on his health and family. He described the experience as life-altering, requiring patience and strength he did not know he possessed.

In December 2024, he participated in The Real Full Monty, raising awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing and research. In 2025, he auctioned memorabilia from Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues to help with treatment-related costs.

Van Der Beek married business consultant Kimberly Brook in 2010. The couple had six children: daughters Olivia, Annabel, Emilia and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah. In 2020, the family moved from Los Angeles to Texas. In interviews, he frequently spoke about fatherhood as the most meaningful role of his life.

He is survived by his wife, their six children, his father, his brother Jared and his sister Juliana.

James Van Der Beek’s career spanned more than three decades, from off-Broadway stages to network television, studio films and streaming series. His legacy includes an iconic teen drama, a willingness to evolve, and a public openness about illness that brought awareness to colorectal cancer.

He was 48.

BilloBuckers Release “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay” Addressing Male Depression With Empathy

Eric Alper
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BilloBuckers Release “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay” Addressing Male Depression With Empathy

BilloBuckers release “It’s Okay Not To Be Okay” today via Deadly Records, a poignant single addressing male depression with empathy and understanding. The Leicester/Nottingham indie band tackles how men mask emotional struggles and the importance of offering support through this stirring track, which is currently featured on BBC Introducing and attracting attention from major radio DJs and stations. The five-piece group previously released debut EP ‘Eloquently Common’ and three singles that accumulated over 60,000 streams combined. Vocalist Billy Buckler shared a spoken word piece about the single’s meaning and message.

BilloBuckers combine the grit and force of conventional rock with the introspectiveness of indie rock, exploring themes of love, sorrow, and personal development through rich guitar riffs, dynamic rhythms, and soul-stirring vocals. The band draws influence from Arctic Monkeys, The View, Kasabian, Rat Boy, The Stone Roses, and The Libertines, wearing these inspirations heavily on their sleeve throughout their music. Each song creates sonic journeys that capture the essence of human experiences with a distinct sound that blends raw energy and emotional depth.

Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige And Hozier Lead 10th Annual Love Rocks NYC Lineup

Eric Alper
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Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige And Hozier Lead 10th Annual Love Rocks NYC Lineup

The 10th annual Love Rocks NYC takes place March 5 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, bringing together an all-star lineup to benefit God’s Love We Deliver. Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige, Hozier, Billy F Gibbons, Elvis Costello, Goo Goo Dolls, Jon Batiste, Linda Perry, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Trombone Shorty, and Warren Haynes will perform at the fundraising concert, led by music director and band leader Will Lee of the CBS Orchestra and the Late Show with David Letterman. JB Smoove, Jeff Ross, Julianne Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Shaffer, and Zarna Garg will make appearances throughout the evening. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 13 at 10 am ET via Ticketmaster.

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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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