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Rhiannon Giddens Gathers Mavis Staples, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Hurray for the Riff Raff for “American Tunes”

Eric Alper
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Rhiannon Giddens Gathers Mavis Staples, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Hurray for the Riff Raff for “American Tunes”

A summer of American song is taking shape under open skies. Pulitzer and Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddens has announced “American Tunes: Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” a five-night concert series that brings her together with Mavis Staples, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Hurray for the Riff Raff for a joyful celebration of songs that connect generations. The shows run between June 26 and August 2 at outdoor performing arts centers and amphitheatres.

Giddens conceived the series as an extension of her 2025 Juneteenth concert at the Hollywood Bowl, a gathering of banjo players called American Tunes that featured Steve Martin, Ed Helms, and Our Native Daughters, her supergroup with Amythyst Kiah, Allison Russell, and Leyla McCalla. The summer run explores female and Black perspectives on folk music while reflecting on America turning 250 years old.

Each artist performs their own set, with one-time-only collaborations in store across the dates. Mavis Staples joins every show except the June 26 opener. It’s the kind of bill that doesn’t come around often, four distinct voices in conversation on the same stage.

Giddens has stayed in perpetual creative motion throughout 2026. Her headlining run with her band has already taken in Carnegie Hall, an evening in her hometown of Durham, NC at DPAC, and a March program with the Silkroad Ensemble, where she serves as Artistic Director, titled Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual. She’s also confirmed for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and Biscuits & Banjos Presents: Rhiannon Giddens’ Beloved Community marked the first anniversary of the Biscuits & Banjos festival in Durham, featuring Mavis Staples, Blind Boys of Alabama, Rissi Palmer, and Toshi Reagon.

There’s a screen project on the horizon too. Giddens was recently announced as the lead in the forthcoming feature film ‘An Ode To Mary Joe,’ starring alongside Ed Helms with a cast that includes Jason Isbell, Steve Earle, Regina Taylor, and John Sayles, directed by Justin Liberman. Tickets for the summer series are on sale now.

American Tunes: Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing:

June 26 – Seattle, WA @ Venue TBA, with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Hurray for the Riff Raff

June 27 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater, with Mavis Staples, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Hurray for the Riff Raff

July 30 – Bentonville, AR @ The Momentary, with Mavis Staples, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Hurray for the Riff Raff

Aug 1 – Asheville, NC @ Hellbender by The Orange Peel, with Mavis Staples, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Hurray for the Riff Raff

Aug 2 – Pelham, TN @ The Caverns Outdoor Amphitheater, with Mavis Staples, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Hurray for the Riff Raff

Southern Rock Legends 38 Special Roll Out the Gritty “So Much So Right” Video

Eric Alper
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Southern Rock Legends 38 Special Roll Out the Gritty “So Much So Right” Video

Five decades in, 38 Special still know how to capture that first spark. The Southern rock legends have shared the video for their rollicking new single “So Much So Right,” a track from ‘Milestone,’ their first album in 20 years. The clip gives fans a front-row seat to the band’s recent shows as they enter their sixth decade together.

The song zeroes in on the rush of new romance. “38 Special songs have always been about the genuine emotions experienced by everyone,” says frontman Don Barnes. “They all have an element of truth in them that I think appeals on a universal level and proves why they have lasted through the years. ‘So Much So Right’ is unique. Every person remembers that heat of passion when they first met someone new and shared intimacy so strong that it could hardly be contained. Our take was simply to convey that overwhelming feeling of wanting and obsessing, longing for the opportunity to be together again.”

The video matches that energy with a raw, hand-made feel. “The video itself was made in an interesting fashion,” Barnes shares. “Nick Spanos was shooting behind-the-scenes scraps of video as well as concert footage. He took some risks in editing, kept it gritty like the song conveys, and with the final tinted, grainy look, he succeeded in portraying what real rock ‘n’ roll should feel like.”

“So Much So Right” follows the jangling “All I Haven’t Said” and “Slightly Controversial” featuring Train, both of which have surpassed one million streams. Marking the band’s 50th anniversary, ‘Milestone’ features guests and co-writes with Train’s Pat Monahan and Randy Bachman, plus longtime collaborator Jim Peterik (Survivor, Sammy Hagar, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick). The record debuted in the Top 10 on both the Rock and Independent Album charts and broke into the Top 30 of Billboard’s Current and Overall Album Sales charts.

The legacy speaks for itself: more than 50 years together, 20 million albums sold, and over 15 albums of guitar-driven Southern rock stacked with hits like “Hold On Loosely,” “Caught Up In You,” “If I’d Been The One,” “Back Where You Belong,” and “Second Chance.” Formed in 1974, the Florida natives toured tirelessly from the start, sharpening the explosive live show that’s been their calling card for half a century, while fine-tuning a sound built on muscle, melody, and arena-rock hooks made for FM radio. The band has live dates scheduled through early October, hitting casinos, theaters, and festivals across the country.

Outlaw Country Maverick Shooter Jennings Reissues ‘Countach (For Giorgio)’ for Its 10th Anniversary

Eric Alper
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Outlaw Country Maverick Shooter Jennings Reissues ‘Countach (For Giorgio)’ for Its 10th Anniversary

Ten years on, one of country’s strangest and most rewarding left turns gets a fresh pressing. Shooter Jennings is marking the 10th anniversary of his genre-defying seventh studio album ‘Countach (For Giorgio)’ with a limited-edition neon purple vinyl reissue, the first time the record has appeared in a variant colour. The pressing is capped at 500 copies and shipping now while supplies last.

The album is a tribute to Grammy and Academy Award-winning producer and composer Giorgio Moroder, the Italian-born “Father of Disco” behind iconic soundtracks for Midnight Express, Top Gun, The NeverEnding Story, and Flashdance. Jennings fuses fiddle, outlaw country grit, DX7 synthesizers, and LinnDrum programming into something entirely his own.

Nearly a decade after its original February 26, 2016 release on Jennings’ own Black Country Rock label, the record’s genre-blurring DNA of outlaw country, synth-disco, and cinematic pop feels more culturally resonant than ever. It opens with an archival vocal from Waylon Jennings himself, threading the outlaw lineage directly into Moroder’s electronic cosmos, then unfolds as a sound-collage journey through 80s and 90s culture with guest turns from Brandi Carlile, Marilyn Manson, the late country-rock pioneer Steve Young, and computer-game visionary Richard Garriott de Cayeux.

The making of it rekindled something in Jennings. “I just started digging and researching and all of a sudden it hit me how much music Giorgio had made that had been an influence on me, even without knowing that it was him who was responsible for it,” he says. “Hearing all that stuff and adapting it to live instruments was, in a way, showing people how ahead of his time he was. Dissecting his pieces, doing each part by part, and really understanding it from the inside, it made me fall in love with making music again, in a way.”

The gamble paid off commercially too. ‘Countach (For Giorgio)’ peaked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums, a remarkable crossover for an artist then known primarily as the son of outlaw country legend Waylon Jennings. The placement affirmed both the album’s genuine electronic roots and Shooter’s ability to reach well beyond his core country following. A decade later, it stands as a love letter to the 80s written in the language of outlaw country.

‘Countach (For Giorgio)’ Tracklisting:

  1. Loading… featuring Waylon Jennings
  2. Countach
  3. From Here to Eternity
  4. I’m Left You’re Right She’s Gone
  5. Born to Die featuring Steve Young
  6. Chase featuring Richard Garriott de Cayeux
  7. Love Kills
  8. The Neverending Story featuring Brandi Carlile
  9. Cat People (Putting Out Fire) featuring Marilyn Manson

Travis Tritt Maps Out a Packed 2026 Across Theaters, Casinos, and Fairs

Eric Alper
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Travis Tritt Maps Out a Packed 2026 Across Theaters, Casinos, and Fairs

Travis Tritt isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The multi-platinum country entertainer has laid out a packed 2026 touring schedule, extending his relentless run with another year of crowd-pleasing live shows across the United States. The trek brings Tritt and his band to theaters, casinos, fairs, festivals, and major venues, with more dates still expected.

The setlist leans on the songs that built his name. Concertgoers will hear career-defining cuts including “Help Me Hold On,” “Anymore,” “Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares),” “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” and “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive,” all delivered with the raw country authenticity, Southern rock energy, and heartfelt storytelling that’s kept his audiences loyal for decades.

The calendar comes loaded with notable company. Tritt appears on select dates alongside some of today’s biggest live acts, including direct support slots with Jason Aldean, The Red Clay Strays, Zach Top, and Koe Wetzel. Other highlights include festival appearances across the country and shows featuring special guests Tyler Reese Tritt, Tristan Tritt, and The Frontmen.

It’s the kind of coast-to-coast haul that confirms Tritt as one of country’s hardest-working live draws, and there’s plenty more road ahead.

Travis Tritt 2026 Tour Dates:

Jun 11 – Decatur, AL @ Rock the South @ The Fields at Decatur

Jun 26 – Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall

Jun 27 – Valdosta, GA @ Wild Adventures Theme Park

Jul 10 – Youngstown, OH @ YLIVE @ Stambaugh Stadium

Jul 11 – Fort Loramie, OH @ Country Concert at Hickory

Jul 16 – Eau Claire, WI @ Country Jam USA

Jul 17 – West Fargo, ND @ Essentia Health Plaza at The Lights

Jul 18 – Walker, MN @ Northern Lights Casino

Jul 22 – Helena, MT @ Last Chance Stampede & Fair

Jul 24 – Toppenish, WA @ Legends Casino Hotel Event Center

Jul 25 – Post Falls, ID @ MØDE Stadium @ Stateline Speedway

Jul 26 – Ridgefield, WA @ ilani

Aug 7 – Manhattan, KS @ Rock The Plains

Aug 8 – Fort Dodge, IA @ Fort Dodge Country Jam

Aug 14 – Rockford, IL @ Hard Rock Live Rockford

Aug 15 – Centralia, IL @ Castle Ridge

Aug 21 – Corbin, KY @ The Corbin Arena

Aug 22 – Paoli, IN @ Castle Knoll Amphitheater

Aug 23 – Erie, PA @ Reibech Investments Amphitheater

Aug 26 – Harbor Springs, MI @ Emmet Charlevoix County Fair

Aug 28 – Farmington, PA @ Timber Rock Amphitheater

Aug 29 – Woodstock, VA @ Shenandoah County Fair

Sep 17 – Jim Thorpe, PA @ Penn’s Peak

Sep 18 – Marietta, OH @ Peoples Bank Theatre

Sep 19 – Cherokee, NC @ Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center

Sep 25 – North Charleston, SC @ North Charleston Performing Arts Center

Sep 26 – Macon, GA @ Macon City Auditorium

Oct 3 – Richmond, VA @ Altria Theater

Oct 9 – Biloxi, MS @ IP Casino Resort Spa

Oct 10 – Lake Charles, LA @ Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino – Grand Event Center

Oct 11 – Ennis, TX @ Stars of Texas Music Festival

Oct 15 – Durant, OK @ Choctaw Grand Theater

Nov 13 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena

Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots, and Mumford & Sons Lead 2026 Oceans Calling

Eric Alper
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Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots, and Mumford & Sons Lead 2026 Oceans Calling

The Ocean City Boardwalk is set for another stacked weekend. Organizers of the Oceans Calling Festival in Ocean City, Maryland, have unveiled the lineup for 2026, with the fourth annual three-day event running September 25 to 27. Built in partnership with O.A.R., the festival packs over 40 performances across three stages.

The headliners span three decades of radio favourites. Dave Matthews Band and Hootie & The Blowfish lead Friday, Twenty One Pilots and Gwen Stefani take Saturday, and Mumford & Sons and Matchbox Twenty close things out on Sunday.

The depth of the bill is where it gets interesting. Additional performers include Ludacris, O.A.R., Yellowcard, Shaggy, Liz Phair, Everlast, Gavin DeGraw, Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, All Time Low, 311, Dashboard Confessional, Caamp, My Morning Jacket, The Head and the Heart, Hanson, Ok Go, and more.

The food side carries real star power too. Oceans Calling welcomes back renowned Chef Robert Irvine alongside culinary stars including Antonia Lofaso, who’ll present lively cooking demos hosted by Jason Biggs. Festival goers also get access to the Ocean City Boardwalk and its resident businesses, plus the iconic Jolly Roger at the Pier amusement park, both inside the festival grounds and included with admission.

With a lineup this deep and a setting this distinctive, the 2026 edition looks like one of the boardwalk’s biggest yet. Tickets are on sale now.

The Royal Mint Honours Pop Icons The Spice Girls With Their Own Collectable Coin

Eric Alper
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The Royal Mint Honours Pop Icons The Spice Girls With Their Own Collectable Coin

Girl Power just got minted. The British Royal Mint is marking 30 years of the Spice Girls with an official collectable coin, honouring the groundbreaking debut of “Wannabe” and their first album ‘Spice.’ The collectable £5 coin celebrates the best-selling female group of all time.

The Spice Girls exploded into the charts in 1996, reaching No. 1 in 37 countries and launching a Girl Power movement that inspired millions. Artist Ffion Gwillim created the striking design, capturing all five members posing in silhouette alongside their authentic autographs, immortalising 90s fandom and nostalgia.

In a first for The Royal Mint’s Music Legends collection, fans can choose from five limited-edition packaging designs, each capped at 15,000 coins worldwide and showcasing a different member: Baby Spice, Ginger Spice, Posh Spice, Scary Spice, and Sporty Spice.

The group are thrilled with the recognition. “It’s a huge honour for us to be celebrated by The Royal Mint and follow in the footsteps of some true music icons. 2026 marks a special year for us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our debut single and album,” they share. “We could never have imagined that we would be recognised in this way, the first female group to be given their very own coin. What a moment for Girl Power!”

The honour places the Spice Girls in serious company. They join Freddie Mercury, Elton John, David Bowie, George Michael, Shirley Bassey, and Paul McCartney in The Royal Mint’s Music Legends coin series. The coin features the official portrait of His Majesty King Charles III on its obverse and is available now, also offered in Gold Proof, Silver Proof, and as limited-edition prints.

Charli XCX, Rufus Du Sol, and The Strokes Top the 2026 Outside Lands Lineup

Eric Alper
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Charli XCX, Rufus Du Sol, and The Strokes Top the 2026 Outside Lands Lineup

Golden Gate Park is gearing up for another August takeover. The 18th annual Outside Lands festival returns to San Francisco from August 7 to 9, and the 2026 lineup leads with three heavy hitters: three-time Grammy winner Charli XCX, making her long-awaited Outside Lands debut, Australian electronic trio Rufus Du Sol, and the returning Grammy-winning band The Strokes.

The festival remains the largest independently owned festival in the United States, co-founded by Another Planet Entertainment and Superfly back in 2008. It spreads the best in music across seven stages alongside food, wine, beer, cocktails, art, and cannabis, with over 100 restaurants and a roster of wineries and breweries nearly all local to Northern California.

The undercard runs deep. The bill also features The XX, Baby Keem, Turnstile, Geese, GRIZTRONICS (Subtronics and GRiZ), Djo, Labrinth, Empire of the Sun, Dijon, Disco Lines, Death Cab For Cutie, GloRilla, Ethel Cain, Clipse, Lucy Dacus, Wet Leg, Malcolm Todd, Modest Mouse, Mariah the Scientist, Sierra Ferrell, Tinashe, Audrey Hobert, Jade, DJ Trixie Mattel, Destin Conrad, Cruz Beckham, Bay Area locals The Story So Far, and many more.

Outside Lands has also revealed the lineup for Soma, its dedicated house and techno stage, an open-air club experience featuring Boys Noize, Lane 8, Hyperbeam, Boris Brejcha, Carlita, Miss Monique, Ben Böhmer, and more.

Beyond the music, the festival leans into everything that’s made it a Bay Area institution. Grass Lands returns for its eighth year, spotlighting innovation in the cannabis space, alongside the Taste of the Bay Area, Wine Lands, Beer Lands, and Cocktail Magic, plus curated programming on the Soma, Dolores’, and Duboce Triangle specialty stages.

The festival has generated over $1 billion for the local economy since its inception, and the 2026 edition looks set to keep that creative, community-driven spirit going. Tickets are on sale now, with 3-Day GA passes starting at $445 plus fees, GA+ at $699, VIP at $1,150, and the elevated Golden Gate Club at $4,895, with payment plans available across all ticket types starting at $99 down.

Spanish Psych-Rockers Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba Tear Through a Bilbao Church Live on KEXP

Eric Alper
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Spanish Psych-Rockers Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba Tear Through a Bilbao Church Live on KEXP

Spanish psych-rock outfit Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba bring their heavy, flamenco-tinged groove to Live on KEXP, recorded at the Iglesia de la Encarnación in Bilbao as part of a partnership with BIME. The Seville six-piece, fronted by Dandy Piranha, tear through three tracks, “La Fuente,” “Prodigio,” and “Gitana,” inside a setting that turns their fuzzed-out, ritualistic sound into something genuinely cinematic.

Manchester Dream-Pop Risers Marie Franc Smoulder on Brooding New Single “Fabric”

Eric Alper
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0
Manchester Dream-Pop Risers Marie Franc Smoulder on Brooding New Single “Fabric”

Manchester’s Marie Franc don’t deal in half-measures. Their 2025 debut EP ‘Saturday Boy’ twisted dream-pop, soul, folk, and shoegaze into something raw, intimate, and cinematic, music you feel before you try to define it. Now they step into 2026 with their new single “Fabric,” a real statement of intent.

The band have already turned heads with BBC Introducing support, sold-out headline shows, and main-stage festival appearances, and “Fabric” captures them in full flight: fearless, emotionally charged, and impossible to pin down. It arrives sounding like a band that’s emerging fully formed.

At its core, “Fabric” is a song about coming out of the dark and into the light. It wrestles with self-reflection, self-loathing, and the uneasy beauty of acceptance. A heartbreak anthem threaded with cult-like imagery and existential gravity, it explores the idea of becoming your own god, surrendering to the lucid, uncontrollable nature of life and choosing self-love within the chaos.

Marie Franc don’t just write songs, they build worlds. One moment you’re drawn into a velvet-lit haze of late-night folk noir, the next you’re submerged in shoegaze distortion and slow-burn desire. Fragile yet incisive vocals soar and fracture against arrangements that are equal parts delicate and devastating. There’s a sensual darkness here, gritty and unapologetically human, echoing the emotional weight of Mazzy Star while carving out something unmistakably their own.

Fronted by singer-songwriter Rachel Maria Francesca, the band’s most melodic strands come alive on record and on stage. Her emotive vocal narratives arrive with swash and swagger, carrying the jazz-ballroom chanteuse sheen of Alice Phoebe Lou or Weyes Blood alongside the bedroom-born sincerity of Faye Webster, Merce Lemon, and Allegra Krieger. Buttery warm, yet sharp as ice.

Around her, the band weave tinges of country, pop, and jazz around a folk-rooted core. Spacious, lush, and laidback, their instrumentation lays down a bed of soulful ambience reminiscent of Foxygen or BADBADNOTGOOD, drifting at times into the slow-motion indie shapes of Mac DeMarco. It’s music that breathes, confident and unhurried and rich with tension.

“Fabric” slips effortlessly between overt pop beauty and brooding country-folk mystery, built on gliding hooks and a stark, ’70s-leaning arrangement. It’s a track that smoulders rather than shouts, pulling the listener closer with every bar. ‘Saturday Boy’ planted a flag, and “Fabric” proves Marie Franc are only getting bolder. For fans of Alvvays, Weyes Blood, and Aldous Harding, keep them firmly on your radar.

Kenora Punk Road Scholar Duane Regretzky Runs Wild on New Album ‘Mind Palace’

Eric Alper
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Kenora Punk Road Scholar Duane Regretzky Runs Wild on New Album ‘Mind Palace’

14 tracks of vaudevillian mania make up the latest from one of Canada’s more unpredictable punk minds. Duane Regretzky, the road scholar out of Kenora, Ontario by way of Kamloops, British Columbia, has released his new album ‘Mind Palace’ on High End Denim Records, and it’s out now.

The record marks a real evolution of his sound. ‘Mind Palace’ free-falls through full-band punk anthems, heartfelt protest songs, culinary calamities, and acoustic ballads, occasionally exploding into a flourish of skate punk or power metal riffage. It runs the gamut thematically and musically, a genuine testament to Regretzky’s versatility.

His frenzied blend of punk rock sensibilities and sincere, thoughtful songwriting tends to leave onlookers entertained and a little stupefied in equal measure. For fans of Jeff Rosenstock, SNFU, and acoustic punk, the whole thing is an invitation to buy the ticket and take the ride. ‘Mind Palace’ is available now on all streaming service or Bandcamp.

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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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