The Veronicas just delivered a knockout cover of sombr’s “12 to 12” for triple j’s Like A Version, and it’s out now. The Australian pop-rock duo brought their signature harmonies and full-band power to the segment, where every week an artist performs one of their own songs alongside a cover they love. Backed by a six-piece band, the sisters reshaped the track into something soaring and dynamic, the kind of performance that reminds everyone why their voices have anchored Aussie pop for two decades.
Kittie Mark 30 Years Of Uncompromising Metal On The Blazing “Legacy Of Fire Tour”
Canadian heavy music pioneers Kittie are out on the road celebrating three decades of uncompromising metal with the “Legacy Of Fire Tour: 30 Years of Kittie,” a 16-date North American headline run and their first full headline tour in over ten years. The trek honors 30 years since the band’s formation in 1996, and it rides the momentum of recent triumphs including 2024’s critically acclaimed comeback album ‘Fire’ and 2025’s ‘Spit XXV,’ a re-recorded and re-imagined anniversary EP. Kingdom of Giants and Gore join as special guests across all dates.
The band is fired up about the milestone. “We’re excited to announce our Legacy of Fire tour on the eve of our 30th anniversary as a band. Thirty years ago, we ignited a spark. Three decades later, that fire is still burning, stronger and more focused than ever. Legacy of Fire is a celebration of every stage, every struggle, and every fan who carried us forward. Coming back to the US + Canada for our first full headline tour over a decade feels incredible. We’re ready to honor our history while ushering in the next chapter,” they share.
The tour arrives during Kittie’s most successful era in over a decade. Since returning from hiatus in 2022, the band has experienced a remarkable resurgence, with ‘Fire’ reaching #13 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums charts and earning a 2025 Juno Award nomination for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year. Their ‘Spit XXV’ EP further proved the original album’s enduring relevance, with Rolling Stone having ranked the original title track #82 on their “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time.”
With 843,000 monthly Spotify listeners spanning multiple generations and festival performances at Sick New World, Welcome to Rockville, Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, ShipRocked, and Aftershock, Kittie have proven their relevance reaches well beyond nostalgia. The 30-year milestone stands as a testament to the band’s lasting impact on heavy music, and the “Legacy Of Fire Tour” celebrates their entire catalog, from huge hits to deep cuts, with Kingdom of Giants and Gore rounding out a powerhouse bill each night.
Legacy Of Fire Tour: 30 Years Of Kittie (w/ Kingdom Of Giants and Gore):
Mon, Jun 15 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre
Tue, Jun 16 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
Thu, Jun 18 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl
Fri, Jun 19 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Sat, Jun 20 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
Sun, Jun 21 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
Tue, Jun 23 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
Wed, Jun 24 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Fri, Jun 26 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Sat, Jun 27 – Montreal, QC – Théâtre Beanfield
Robin Beck Stands Tall On Her Vibrant 11th Album ‘Living Proof’
Acclaimed rock vocalist Robin Beck just released her new studio album, ‘Living Proof,’ out now via Frontiers Music Srl. It’s her 11th studio record, and it lands as one of the most confident, vibrant, and emotionally charged entries of her career. “This album is a mosaic of sound—each track a distinct piece, a portrait of my life,” she says.
Beck rolled out the album alongside its title track, which she co-wrote with James Christian and Tommy Denander, plus an official music video. The song cuts straight to the heart of the record. “‘Living Proof’ is my story—a song about a life lived, every stumble, every triumph. I’m still standing, still creating, and this road is one I’ll never abandon,” she shares.
The album blends soaring melodies, modern production, and classic AOR sensibility, capturing Beck at her most expressive and commanding. Tracks like “Love and Money” and “Trouble or Nothing” strike a balance between polished hooks and emotional intensity, while “What A Night” and “Karma” bring a vibrant, radio-ready edge. Her unmistakable voice, powerful yet nuanced, soulful yet razor-sharp, stays the focal point throughout. From the infectious energy of “Na Na” to the darker tones of “Voodoo” and “Don’t Tempt Me,” the standout “Never Gonna Let You Go,” and the reflective closer “Let It Rain,” the record moves through strength, vulnerability, and resilience.
Beck surrounded herself with a world-class team. ‘Living Proof’ features contributions from James Christian (House of Lords), Tommy Denander (Radioactive), Peppy Castro (Balance), Steve Bondy, Emil Theilhelm, and Johan Kullberg, who together build a rich, cohesive landscape moving between melodic rock, modern AOR, and subtle pop-rock. James Christian produced the album with Peppy Castro co-producing, the legendary Chris Lord-Alge mixed the title track and mixed and co-produced “What a Night,” and Dennis Ward mixed the bulk of the record. The result is a true tour de force, and Beck sounds inspired and empowered, reaffirming her place as one of melodic rock’s most distinctive and enduring voices.
Robin Beck Live:
July 24th – Vienna, Austria @ Forever Young – Das 80er Festival
Finnish Metal Powerhouse Crimson Day Sign To WormHoleDeath For Bold New Album ‘Dark Dimension’
Finnish heavy metal rockers Crimson Day just announced a worldwide distribution deal with WormHoleDeath Records, setting the stage for their highly anticipated new album, ‘Dark Dimension.’ The signing opens a bold new chapter for the Tampere five-piece, who’ve spent over a decade building a sound that fuses crushing riffs, atmospheric depth, and emotionally charged songwriting.
‘Dark Dimension’ digs into themes of inner conflict, alternate realities, and the shadows that shape human existence, all delivered through the band’s signature blend of melodic intensity and relentless heaviness. The record promises massive choruses, intricate guitar work, thunderous rhythms, and a dark, almost cinematic atmosphere.
The band is fired up about the partnership. “This partnership represents a major milestone for us. WormHoleDeath understands our vision and the sonic universe we’re building with ‘Dark Dimension.’ We’re about to push our sound further than ever before,” they say.
Crimson Day formed in Tampere and made their debut in 2013, releasing early material through Iron Shield Records. Since then they’ve put out three studio albums, a string of acclaimed singles, and high-profile covers of Led Zeppelin, Bonnie Tyler, and Shakira, drawing strong international response and radio airplay across the USA, Brazil, Germany, France, and beyond. They’ve played nearly 100 shows across Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the Baltic region, including tours with Herald and support slots for Wolf, plus festival appearances alongside Sonata Arctica, Turmion Kätilöt, Turisas, Reckless Love, and Korpiklaani.
‘Dark Dimension’ marks the band’s fourth studio album and their most immersive, dynamic material yet, raising the bar on production, songwriting, and conceptual scope. Mixed by Jussi Kulomaa and mastered by Svante Forsbäck, it’s a powerful step forward for a band on a steady rise. WormHoleDeath will handle worldwide distribution, promotion, and marketing, carrying Crimson Day’s sound to an even broader global audience.
How Karol G Became a Global Superstar
Not long ago, the idea of a Spanish-language artist headlining stadiums across the world, topping the all-genre album charts, and closing Coachella would have been treated as a long shot. Karol G didn’t just clear that bar. She redrew it entirely. The Colombian singer’s climb from MedellÃn to the very top of global music is one of the great success stories of this era, and it’s worth celebrating how she got there.
She Built Her Foundation in Reggaeton, Then Refused to Stay Put
Karol G earned her stripes in a genre that didn’t always make room for women at the top, and she did it the hard way, with relentless output and an unmistakable voice. By the time her momentum was peaking, she had racked up milestones like surpassing 50 million Instagram followers and releasing 100 singles, each one proof of a devoted and growing fanbase. But the secret to her longevity is that she never let herself get boxed in. Her recent work shows an artist constantly stretching. Her 2025 album ‘Tropicoqueta,’ a 20-track project, blends reggaeton with classical Latin influences including vallenato, merengue, bachata, and Brazilian funk, showcasing real artistic maturity and a willingness to explore well beyond the sound that launched her.
She Shattered Records That Had Never Been Touched
Here’s where the scale of the achievement becomes impossible to ignore. Karol G hasn’t simply succeeded, she’s broken barriers that stood for decades. Her ‘Mañana Será Bonito’ era reshaped expectations entirely, with the album debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, a first for a Spanish-language album by a female artist. The hits kept stacking up from there. Her 2025 album ‘Tropicoqueta’ became her fourth consecutive No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart and delivered the largest U.S. streaming week ever for a Latin album by a woman. The cumulative numbers are staggering. She has amassed more than 128 billion career streams and over 310 RIAA Platinum certifications in the United States.
She Became a Touring Powerhouse
Plenty of artists chart well. Far fewer can fill stadiums around the planet, and this is where Karol G truly separated herself. The historic ‘Mañana Será Bonito’ World Tour was a multi-continent run that sold more than 2.3 million tickets across 62 shows and grossed over $300 million, closing with four sold-out nights at Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. That demand has only intensified. After announcing her latest world tour, the stadium trek sold more than 2 million tickets within four days, prompting organizers to expand it from 39 to 63 dates, with multiple cities adding second, third, and even fourth shows. Her next chapter breaks new ground yet again. The ‘Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour’ will see her become the first Latina artist to headline stadiums across Europe as part of a global tour.
She Made History on the World’s Biggest Stages
The crowning moments of her rise have been the kind that shift the culture, not just the charts. Following two headline performances at Coachella, she made history as the first Latina to top the iconic festival’s bill, in a set widely praised as a celebration of Latin music, identity, and unity. The honors have followed accordingly. In May 2026 she received the International Artist Award of Excellence at the American Music Awards, recognizing her profound impact on global music culture, an honor previously given to the likes of Whitney Houston and Beyoncé. She also holds the industry’s top prize, having earned a Grammy for Best Música Urbana Album along the way.
What Her Rise Really Represents
The most beautiful part of the Karol G story is that her success has never been just about her. Throughout her climb, she has carried Latin music and culture with her onto every stage she’s conquered, turning personal milestones into collective ones. Her achievements have come to symbolize the continued global expansion of Latin music itself, marking defining milestones not only in her career but in the genre’s worldwide reach. She has consistently woven messages of female empowerment and cultural pride into her work, making her ascent feel like a win for an entire community.
The Takeaway
Karol G became a global superstar by mastering her genre, then fearlessly outgrowing it; by breaking records that had never had a Latina’s name on them; by building a live show the whole world wanted a ticket to; and by carrying her culture proudly every step of the way. Hers is a story of talent meeting tenacity, and of an artist who decided the ceiling everyone assumed existed simply didn’t apply to her. The best part? With new stages still to conquer, she’s nowhere near finished.
What Fleetwood Mac Can Teach You About Creating Great Work While Your Team Is Falling Apart
There’s a version of every workplace story we don’t like to admit happens: the one where the team is quietly coming undone, people aren’t speaking, trust has frayed, and somehow the deadline is still next week. Most teams in that situation produce something forgettable, or nothing at all. And then there’s Fleetwood Mac, who walked into a studio in the middle of total personal collapse and made one of the best-selling albums in history. The story of how they did it holds some genuinely useful lessons for anyone trying to do great work when the team around them is in pieces.
First, Understand Just How Bad It Was
To appreciate the achievement, you have to grasp the chaos. Over the year the band spent recording ‘Rumours,’ Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were splitting up after eight years together and erupting into arguments whenever they shared a room, Christine and John McVie were going through a divorce, and Mick Fleetwood was dealing with the collapse of his own marriage. The studio itself became the battleground. Tensions ran so high that recording sessions sometimes had to stop entirely because of screaming matches and quarrels. If any team ever had an excuse to produce nothing, it was this one. Instead, they made a masterpiece. Here’s what we can learn from how.
Lesson 1: Pour the Tension Into the Work, Not Around It
The remarkable thing Fleetwood Mac did was refuse to let their conflict become wasted energy. They channeled it directly into the songs. Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way” addressed his split with Nicks, Christine’s “You Make Loving Fun” celebrated a new romance away from John, and group recordings like “The Chain” became collective expressions of betrayal and stubborn loyalty. The members themselves understood this alchemy. Nicks has said the band made its best music when they were in the worst moods, while Buckingham felt the tension actually helped the process, making the whole more than the sum of the parts.
The business takeaway is a powerful one: friction is energy, and energy can be directed. A team in conflict has enormous emotional charge running through it. The question is whether that charge gets spent on hallway gossip and silent resentment, or aimed squarely at the work itself. The best creative leaders find a way to make the work the place where all that intensity lands.
Lesson 2: Let People Contribute Separately When Together Isn’t Working
Here’s a beautifully practical detail. The band didn’t force a fake harmony that wasn’t there. Musicians would sometimes record their parts alone to avoid awkward encounters, then overdub layered harmonies afterward so the final tracks sounded cohesive despite the personal fractures.
That’s a genuinely useful model for any manager. When two people can’t be in a room together productively, you don’t have to wait for them to reconcile before progress can happen. You can restructure the workflow so each person contributes their best individually, then assemble the pieces into something whole. Sometimes protecting the work means giving people space rather than forcing collaboration that isn’t ready. The harmony can be built in the edit.
Lesson 3: Honesty Is What Made It Resonate
The reason ‘Rumours’ connected with millions wasn’t its polish. It was its raw truthfulness. The high emotions resulted in hit songs with brutally honest lyrics, a confessional laid out on vinyl exposing the group’s innermost thoughts and feelings. That honesty became the album’s superpower. What keeps ‘Rumours’ appealing even now is its honesty about the human condition, capturing not just a couple splitting but everything that comes after, from the messiness and longing to the anger and, eventually, acceptance.
For teams, the lesson is that authenticity travels. Work made by people willing to be real, to put genuine feeling and truth into what they create, tends to land harder than work polished into something safe and hollow. Difficult circumstances, handled honestly, can produce work with a depth that comfortable circumstances rarely do.
Lesson 4: Finishing Is Its Own Form of Greatness
It’s worth sitting with the sheer improbability of completion. That ‘Rumours’ was ever finished, let alone topped the charts for 31 weeks, won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and became one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, is a testament to the artistry of the individuals involved and to the idea that great things can emerge through adversity. They did it through brutal hours and sheer will. In that studio, the band labored through eighteen-hour days, recording the sounds of separation alongside the very people they were separating from.
The lesson here is quiet but important: sometimes the win is simply that you finished at all. When a team is falling apart, just shipping the work, completing the thing you set out to make, is an act of enormous discipline and a victory in itself. Don’t underestimate the people who deliver under conditions that would have given anyone permission to quit.
The Honest Caveat
One thing worth naming, because the story isn’t a tidy fairy tale. The triumph came at real personal cost, and the success didn’t heal the wounds. The album’s success didn’t calm the storm; if anything it heightened it, as the band had to tour together, perform the breakup songs nightly, and pretend nothing was wrong. Great work born of turmoil is genuinely possible, but it’s worth caring for the people producing it, so that the masterpiece doesn’t quietly cost them everything.
The Takeaway
Görel Hanser, Longtime ABBA Manager and Confidante, Dies at 76
Görel Hanser, the Swedish music manager who spent decades at the heart of ABBA’s world, guiding the group’s affairs and becoming a trusted friend to all four members, has died at the age of 76. She passed away on June 13, 2026, her death announced jointly by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
Born Görel Kristina Johnsen on June 21, 1949, near Skövde in Sweden, she began what would become a lifelong career in the music business in September 1969, joining Stig Anderson’s publishing company Sweden Music and his record label Polar Music. She quickly proved indispensable, rising from Anderson’s secretary to become a key figure in the organization and, by the early 1970s, Vice President of Polar Music.
It was during ABBA’s meteoric rise that Hanser became central to the group’s story. She managed the group’s relationships with the many record labels releasing their music around the globe, served as their personal manager, handled the press, and accompanied them on tours and promotional trips across the world. In the process, she grew close to Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid, becoming not just their manager but a genuine friend.
That affection was immortalized in one of the rarest treasures in all of ABBA lore. In 1979, the group, together with Stig Anderson, wrote and recorded “SÃ¥ng Till Görel” as a gift for her 30th birthday, a humorous, loving ode to how everyone in the office needed Görel. Pressed on blue vinyl in only a handful of copies and never permitted to be played on radio, the record has become one of the most sought-after ABBA collectibles in existence, fetching thousands of dollars at auction.
After ABBA’s breakup, Hanser continued working with Sweden Music and Polar before founding her own company, Music & Artist Service Görel Hanser, in 1987. From there she managed much of Benny Andersson’s work, including the celebrated Andersson and Ulvaeus musicals, and oversaw ABBA-related business on behalf of Andersson and Ulvaeus for years to come. She remained a beloved ambassador for the group, representing ABBA at fan club anniversaries, and in 2018 her lifetime of contributions to Swedish music was honored with a Grammis.
She is survived by her two children. Her husband, journalist and photographer Anders Hanser, whom she married in 1980 after meeting him while he covered ABBA, predeceased her.
Görel Hanser was 76.
Aldon Smith, Former 49ers Pass-Rushing Star, Dies at 36
Aldon Smith, the explosive pass rusher who burst onto the NFL scene as one of the most dominant young defenders in football before his career was derailed by years of personal struggles, has died at the age of 36. He passed away on June 13, 2026, at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California.
Born Aldon Jacarus Smith in Kansas City, Missouri on September 25, 1989, he starred at Raytown High School before playing college football at the University of Missouri. With the Tigers, he made an immediate impact, earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors in 2009 and recording 11 sacks. After two seasons, he declared for the NFL draft, where the San Francisco 49ers selected him seventh overall in 2011.
What followed was one of the most electrifying starts to a defensive career the league had seen in years. As a rookie, Smith recorded 14 sacks despite not starting a single game, finishing half a sack shy of the all-time rookie record and earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors from the Pro Football Writers of America. His second season was even better. In 2012, he piled up 19.5 sacks, breaking a 49ers single-season franchise record that had stood since 1971, and earned First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition. Along the way he became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 30 career sacks, doing it in just 27 games, and set a record for the most sacks in a player’s first two seasons with 33.5. He helped lead San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII and was voted the team’s MVP, ranking among the very best defensive players in the entire league.
The remainder of his career was shadowed by a long and public battle with addiction and repeated legal trouble, which led to suspensions and lengthy absences from the game. He made determined efforts to return, signing with the Oakland Raiders and later mounting a notable comeback with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, when he posted five sacks and scored the first touchdown of his career on a 78-yard fumble return. He had a brief stint with the Seattle Seahawks before stepping away from football for good.
Across six NFL seasons, Smith recorded 52.5 sacks, 228 tackles, six forced fumbles, and a defensive touchdown, numbers that hint at the towering talent that, at its peak, placed him among the most feared pass rushers in the sport.
Aldon Smith was 36.
How to Use LinkedIn as a Musician (and Why It Might Be Your Most Underrated Tool)
When musicians think about where to build an audience, LinkedIn rarely makes the list. It feels like the place for résumés, corporate updates, and people humblebragging about promotions. But here’s a friendly reinvention worth considering: for a working musician, especially one interested in sync licensing, brand work, or session gigs, LinkedIn can quietly become one of the most valuable rooms you walk into. Let’s talk about how to use it well, without ever feeling like you’ve sold out or turned into a spreadsheet.
Start by Rethinking What LinkedIn Is For
The first shift is mental. Most of the people who actually pay for music live and work on LinkedIn. Music supervisors, brand managers, ad agency creatives, and licensing reps are active there, and LinkedIn is widely considered the best professional network for pitching music directly to supervisors. These are the folks deciding what song goes in the next streaming series, the next national ad, the next indie film. They generally aren’t scrolling Instagram hoping to discover you. They’re in a professional space, looking for professional collaborators. So showing up there isn’t about chasing fans. It’s about being visible to the people who hire.
Build a Profile That Speaks to Value, Not Just Job Titles
Your headline is prime real estate, and “musician” alone undersells you. Think instead about what you make and who it helps. Something like “I write cinematic, sync-ready music for film, TV, and brands” tells a supervisor in one glance exactly why they’d want to talk to you. The same goes for your About section: a short, warm story of what you create and who you create it for, two paragraphs at most. And do use a banner image that reflects your sound, a studio shot or something evocative of your world, rather than leaving it blank.
Connect With the Right People Before You Post Anything
Here’s a gentle truth about LinkedIn: your reach grows from your network first and the algorithm second. So it pays to build relationships before you start broadcasting. A good approach is to connect with a handful of music supervisors or sync reps with a simple, genuine note appreciating their recent work, no sales pitch attached. Roles worth searching for include music supervisor, sync licensing coordinator, brand partnerships manager, advertising creative director, and independent film producer. The aim is simply to be a friendly, familiar presence in the space, so that when you do share something, you’re talking to a room that already knows you.
Share Content That Only You Could Make
Once you’re connected, the question becomes what to post. The happiest answer is: things drawn from your real working life. A short note about a decision you made in a session, a reflection on the independent path, a milestone like a placement or a collaboration. Sharing updates, commenting thoughtfully on others’ posts, and consistently offering value is exactly how musicians turn LinkedIn connections into meaningful professional relationships. You don’t need to post daily. A single thoughtful post a week, rotating between how you work, what you think, and what you’ve accomplished, is plenty to stay credible and present.
Keep Posts Easy to Read
A small practical tip that makes a big difference: write for the scroll. Short sentences, generous white space, one idea at a time. Lead with a line that earns the click, expand briefly, then offer something useful, an observation, a lesson, a result. Close with a soft, human invitation to respond rather than a hard sell. People engage with warmth and curiosity far more than with pitches.
Play the Long, Relationship-First Game
The thing that makes LinkedIn work for musicians is the same thing that makes the whole sync world work: relationships, nurtured patiently. This industry runs on relationships, and when someone licenses your track, the smart move is to stay in touch, send them new music before it’s public, and build a genuine connection, because supervisors who love your sound will come back to you again and again. There’s a lovely international upside here too. Many independent artists were surprised in 2025 by how much of their income came from outside the US, with international royalties becoming more consistent and sometimes more meaningful than domestic ones. A global, professional network like LinkedIn is a natural place to nurture exactly those far-flung connections.
The Takeaway
LinkedIn won’t replace your streaming numbers or your live following, and it isn’t meant to. Think of it instead as the room where the buyers of music gather, a place where showing up consistently, generously, and as your professional self can open doors the other platforms simply can’t. Build a profile that speaks to your value, connect before you broadcast, share from your real creative life, and treat every connection as a relationship rather than a transaction. Do that, and you may find that the least “musical” platform out there becomes one of the most rewarding parts of your career.

