374 bagpipe players gather at Melbourne’s Federation Square to perform AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock’n’Roll)” and break the world record for the largest bagpipe ensemble. Guardian Australia’s Matilda Boseley captures the moment as an early count showing 358 pipers in attendance grows to 374, comprehensively beating the previous record of 333 set in Bulgaria in 2012. The massive ensemble delivers the iconic Australian rock anthem on bagpipes, creating a spectacular tribute that brings together hundreds of musicians in one of Melbourne’s most recognizable public spaces. The performance showcases the unique combination of traditional Scottish instrumentation with classic rock, honoring AC/DC’s use of bagpipes in the original 1975 recording while setting a new benchmark for bagpipe gatherings worldwide.
374 Bagpipe Players Break World Record With AC/DC Tribute At Federation Square
Fender And Teufel Launch ROCKSTER GO 2 Bluetooth Speaker With 28 Hour Battery Life
Fender and Teufel unveil the ROCKSTER GO 2, a rugged waterproof Bluetooth speaker combining long-lasting battery and enormous stereo sound that can stand up to outdoor adventures. The collaboration between two iconic brands creates speakers that both sound and look outstanding, with Teufel’s legendary German-engineered audio meeting the classic American design of Fender guitars and amps. The ultra-portable Bluetooth stereo speaker features IP67 dust and waterproofing in cold and impact-resistant design, built to impress with two wide-band drivers in stereo arrangement made of lightweight, rigid aluminum.
The ROCKSTER GO 2 delivers up to 28 hours of battery life, USB-C fast charging, and flexible carrying strap that makes it easy to attach to bikes and backpacks. Two aluminum full-range drivers and one passive bass radiator pump out deep stereo sound, while Dynamic Bass ensures a crisp low-range at any volume. Teufel’s signature Dynamore technology serves to virtually widen the soundstage and make this handheld speaker sound truly enormous. The IP67 certification offers dust and waterproofing robust enough to take up to thirty minutes in three feet of water, and the speaker keeps rocking at temps as low as 15 degrees.
Connect two GO 2s wirelessly for true stereo, or up to 100 for extreme power with friends. The practical carrying strap can be put just about anywhere, on your belt, around a tree, or on a backpack. The quarter inch thread on the bottom is compatible with a wide range of stands and mounts, including GoPro mounts. The ROCKSTER GO 2 has buttons on the top to control all key functions, and on the back a set of LEDs display the battery status.
Stillnoah Share Six Song EP ‘Love Will Save The World’ With Good Vibes And Hopeful Message
Stillnoah release their new EP ‘Love Will Save The World’, a six-song collection all about good vibes and a hopeful message. The new EP is the group’s first release since their 2024 ‘Studio Sessions (Live)’, and it showcases the band having fun while simultaneously sharing what they believe. The collection opens with “Paradise”, a sunny, upbeat track that feels like hanging out at the beach with friends. Track four, “Avid For the Sign”, slows things down, floating along on smooth synth sounds and a groovy bass that delivers a big, dreamy feel. The record closes with the title track “Love Will Save The World”, a guitar-driven song that reminds listeners that love and kindness still matter. Stillnoah began back in 2006 as a home project of the band’s singer and bassist Chris. What started as a few recordings with friends has evolved into a full ensemble with Chris, Josh, guitarist Alex, drummer and singer Hannah, plus younger family members Tino and Joni. Together they mix alternative rock, pop, and a little bit of soul to create their sound. The band’s music has always focused on faith, hope, and love, and those themes remain consistent with this latest release. ‘Love Will Save The World’ is easy to enjoy and easy to believe in, music that says love can still make a difference.
JAY MALINOWSKI Returns With First Solo Album ‘Under A Landslide Of Stars’ And New Single “Holy Guns”
JUNO Award-winning and Platinum-selling artist Jay Malinowski, best known as one half of Bedouin Soundclash, returns under his solo moniker MALINOWSKI to announce ‘Under A Landslide of Stars’, his first solo album in over a decade. The album arrives March 13 via Dine Alone Records. Alongside the announcement, MALINOWSKI shares new single “Holy Guns”, available now across all digital streaming platforms.
Malinowski offers context for the new single: “There are no holy guns. There are guns of protection, there are guns of revenge, there are guns of greed, there are guns of hate, but there are no holy guns. Holy Guns is an oxymoron.” Written from the perspective of a soul slipping between faith and fanaticism, “Holy Guns” follows a voice who has been rejected and is teetering on the edge of revelation and ruin. As the chorus hits, a 150-person choir chants: guns for each and everyone, let’s shoot ourselves to heaven, like a bullet in the sun. What begins as exaltation of one becomes the bloodlust of the group.
Malinowski recalls, “I can understand the lone soul who turns radical, but a congregation, bound by faith, who enact their devotion through violence is wild. And to further believe that God reserves a special place in heaven for such acts is a plot torn from the pages of Camus.” “Holy Guns” became the heartbeat of ‘Under A Landslide of Stars’, an exploration of love stretched from the intimate to the infinite. Malinowski explains: “The album is about love and devotion. I was writing about the deep love I have for my wife Steph and my son Finn, and then juxtaposing that against pseudo-fanatical characters I conjured up in my mind that are expressing love for their god or gods in impossibly twisted and violent ways.”
Recorded at the legendary Armoury Studios in Vancouver and mixed in Los Angeles by Davey Badiuk, ‘Under A Landslide of Stars’ features choirs across the continent, from gospel singers in New Orleans featuring the work of Rick Nelson and Clint Maedgen of Preservation Hall Jazz Band, to a 150-person community choir recorded live in a church in Victoria, British Columbia. The album traces the thread of love as it unfurls, stretching outward in ever-widening circles until its expression inverts. Yet rather than sinking into nihilism or drifting into detachment, the album turns its gaze toward redemption, a return to the sacredness found in the smallest gestures and the intimate authenticity of the love for those around you. Malinowski shares, “We live in wild times. Sometimes I forget the stars above, how immaterial and small it all is under that landslide of stars.”
Black Stone Cherry Unveil ‘Celebrate’ EP With Title Track Music Video Featuring Confetti Finale
Black Stone Cherry announce their brand new EP ‘Celebrate’, digitally available March 6 via Mascot Records. Following the recent release of lead single “Neon Eyes”, the Kentucky hard rockers drop the music video for the EP’s title track “Celebrate”. The band shares their vision for the video: “We had so much fun coming up with the concept for the ‘Celebrate’ video. We got on a phone call with director Kyle Loftus, and we all hashed out ideas until we landed on something that got us all excited. We wanted the video to show what it’s like to be stuck in something, whether that be a boring job or maybe stuck in your own head, and how any little opportunity can lead to a small victory.”
The song itself celebrates every little thing in life, even if it’s just making it through the day. The band adds, “The video came out amazing with an amazing actor and musician, Aaron Paulsen, as the lead, and we get chills every time we watch it. The confetti at the end was one of our main requests as we wanted to visually show what it mentally feels like to celebrate inside your mind.” Black Stone Cherry are masters of taking a sombre subject and flipping it on its head, creating punchy, empowering rock songs.
Produced by the band and recorded at High Street Studios in Bowling Green, Kentucky, ‘Celebrate’ embodies happiness and heartache, muscular hooks and raw soul. The life experiences of four men approaching forty, two of them parents, shine through in one emotive, unpolished diamond of a record. Singer and guitarist Chris Robertson shares, “Any piece of art is a snapshot of that artist’s life. So I look at these songs as a culmination of everything we’ve lived since ‘Screamin’ At The Sky’.” Ben Wells adds, “None of us is precious, because we’re all fighting on the same team.”
The EP delivers six commanding, stage-ready original tracks and an inspired cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” featuring Tyler Connolly of Theory Of A Deadman. “I’m Fine” offers a dreamily woozy, Nirvana-laced grunge singalong. The searing, mid-tempo heartache of “Deep” struck a particularly pertinent chord with Ben Wells, who channeled personal struggles into the track. The Simple Minds cover, immortalized in John Hughes’ seminal 1985 film The Breakfast Club, turns out to be a surprisingly natural fit for the band’s soulful gravel and sincerity.
Toy Car Drop Debut Album ‘Cream’ With Life-Affirming Single “Fishes” Leading The Charge
Liverpool alt-rock four-piece Toy Car release their highly anticipated debut album ‘Cream’ with life-affirming single “Fishes” leading the charge. After a whirlwind of festival appearances and national radio attention, the band delivers an elaborate and determined collection built on stadium-sized riffs, hook-laden choruses and lines that hit like confessions shouted through a megaphone. Following electrifying sets at Y Not Festival and Isle of Wight Festival, Toy Car have carved their name onto the list of the UK alternative scene’s ones to watch.
Produced and mixed by Ben Harper at Liverpool’s iconic Motor Museum Studios, ‘Cream’ captures ten tracks of raw urgency, social edge and big-room intentions. The band offers soul-bearing lyricism reminiscent of Wunderhorse and a natural drift into stadium-sized choruses alongside The 1975. With support from BBC Radio 1, Radio X, Earmilk, and a sync feature on Made in Chelsea, Toy Car have proven themselves worthy of media and public attention as a band constructing songs wrought with emotion, whether in hope, sorrow or elation.
At the heart of the album sits “Fishes”, a soaring emotional alt-rock anthem built for the long nights of winter and the long days of summer to come. “Fishes is a confession. It’s someone asking for help,” says frontman Shaun Hough. “The other character is down to interpretation, but Fishes comes from a point of if people start talking, things can get better. It’s a pretty blunt reminder to live life, because we don’t know what’s waiting just around the corner.”
Toy Car’s blend of high-energy alt-rock and lyrical vulnerability draws from influences like Cage the Elephant, The Strokes, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, making them a must-see live band. Hough adds context to the album’s themes: “Lyrically, Cream is about growing up and finding your place in a world full of noise and opinions. It’s a rollercoaster, there’s something for everyone here. This record is about frustration with ourselves, with the idea that things get better just because you want them to. We didn’t want to play it safe, we wanted to challenge the room.”
LostAlone Unveil ‘Memories Under A Microscope’ With New Track “Compilation Of Complications”
LostAlone unveil ‘Memories Under A Microscope’, a lavish double vinyl compilation via SO Recordings. The riff-heavy, melody-drenched alt-rock-pop anthems of Steven Battelle have earned adoration from peers like Hayley Williams and My Chemical Romance, leading to a Warner Brothers signing in America at Gerard Way’s insistence. This collection serves as both introduction and celebration, pairing greatest hits with new, unreleased and rare works across nineteen tracks.
The compilation arrives in two parts. Disc one offers an easy digest of the most overtly commercial and pop-tastic morsels from the LostAlone catalogue. Disc two delivers new, unreleased and rare works for devoted fans. One vinyl disc is opaque pink, the other very clear. The announcement comes alongside brand new single “Compilation Of Complications”, available to stream now.
Hailing from Derbyshire and soaked in influences running from Queen to the solo albums by members of Queen, LostAlone have existed since Steven Battelle and drummer Mark Gibson were eleven years old. They added bassist Alan Williamson and toured with Enter Shikari, Paramore and Thirty Seconds To Mars. The band released four albums, received five star reviews, earned BBC Radio 1 playlisting, and even split up before reforming to play at My Chemical Romance’s request during their 2022 UK comeback shows.
LostAlone play their only headline show of the year the evening prior to release at London’s Oslo venue in Hackney on December 11, with support from Fearless Vampire Killers and BEX. Steven Battelle has kept busy between albums, deputising for Frank Iero on an LS Dunes European tour, co-writing McFly’s ‘Power To Play’ album, and writing for Tom Fletcher’s ‘The Creakers’ stage musical with Danny Jones and Dougie Poynter.
Unleash Debut EP ‘No Ball Games’ With Five Tracks Of Raw Alternative Fire
CRITCH have arrived with their debut EP ‘No Ball Games’, a raw and unfiltered expression from one of the North’s most exciting new alternative bands. The dynamic four-member band has spent the past year making waves with blistering live performances that have captivated audiences across festivals, headline gigs, and venues in two countries. Their emergence has been loud, unapologetic, and impossible to ignore.
‘No Ball Games’ springs from lived experiences, capturing real moments, late nights, and the chaos of figuring it all out. The EP sheds light on darker emotions, paired with crisp instrumentation and relentless energy. Across its five tracks, “Healing Alone”, “Animal Kingdom”, “Coffee Stain”, “Skint”, and “Punk Floyd”, the band encapsulates the restless pulse of modern life and finds beauty in its imperfections.
Frontman James Critchlow explains the journey through the EP. “This EP holds a special place in my heart, as it’s a perfect blend of our first chapter. Starting with ‘Healing Alone’, which starts dark and melodic, gradually building into a harmonic chorus and building with each verse. Meanwhile, ‘Animal Kingdom’ and ‘Coffee Stain’ are our proven catchy singalong hits, garnering the most attention previous to the release. Not to forget ‘Skint’ and ‘Punk Floyd’, which demonstrate our heavier side that is adored live.”
The Most Popular Music for Gaming Playlists
By Mitch Rice
Gaming is no longer just a visual experience it’s auditory too. The right music can enhance focus, elevate excitement, and even improve performance during long gaming sessions. For many players, curating the perfect gaming playlist has become as essential as choosing the right controller or headset. Whether you’re immersed in competitive esports, exploring open-world adventures, or spinning online slots, music sets the tone for your gaming experience. Let’s explore the most popular music choices gamers are adding to their playlists.
High Energy Electronic and EDM
Unsurprisingly, electronic music dominates many gaming playlists. Genres like EDM, house, and trance are particularly popular among players who thrive on high energy beats. The driving rhythms, layered synths, and pulsating bass lines help maintain focus and provide an adrenaline boost during fast-paced action sequences.
For competitive gamers, EDM can improve reaction time by keeping the heart rate elevated and the mind alert. Many online streamers and esports players have popularized this trend, creating gaming mixes that combine popular tracks with game sound effects. If you want your gameplay to feel cinematic and intense, high energy electronic tracks are a go to choice.
Lo-Fi Beats for Relaxed Gameplay
While high intensity music works well for action packed games, lo-fi hip-hop and chill beats are increasingly popular for more relaxed or strategic gaming sessions. These soft, repetitive rhythms reduce distractions and create a soothing atmosphere, making them ideal for long RPG explorations, puzzle games, or strategy titles.
Lo-fi playlists often include rain sounds, soft percussion, and mellow synths that blend seamlessly into the background. Gamers report that this type of music reduces stress, improves focus, and creates a sense of flow, allowing them to stay immersed in the game without feeling overstimulated.
Video Game Soundtracks and Orchestral Scores
For many players, nothing beats the music designed specifically for gaming. Iconic soundtracks from franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Cyberpunk 2077 are frequently included in playlists. These scores are carefully composed to match gameplay mechanics, creating tension, excitement, or a sense of wonder exactly when it’s needed.
Orchestral scores and cinematic tracks are particularly popular for players who enjoy single player adventures or story driven games. The sweeping strings, bold percussion, and layered harmonies provide an immersive experience that draws players deeper into the game world. Including classic game soundtracks in a playlist also adds a nostalgic element, reminding players of their favourite gaming memories.
Pop and Mainstream Hits
Many gamers also mix in mainstream pop, rock, or hip-hop tracks. Catchy hooks and familiar rhythms can energize gameplay while maintaining a sense of fun. Some players prefer upbeat songs to keep morale high during challenging levels or long gaming marathons.
Streaming platforms and social media have made it easier than ever to discover trending tracks that resonate with the gaming community. In fact, some songs become synonymous with popular games simply because they are widely used in playlists by the community.
Loops, Remixes, and Mashups
Custom loops, remixes, and mashups have become a unique trend in gaming playlists. By taking existing songs and blending them with electronic beats, gaming sound effects, or other tracks, players create a personalized auditory experience that enhances immersion.
Platforms like YouTube and Spotify have entire communities dedicated to gaming remixes, allowing players to explore an endless stream of curated music tailored specifically for gaming. This trend highlights the creative ways players engage with music to enhance their gameplay experience.
Interactive and Dynamic Music
Emerging technology in gaming is making music more interactive. Some games now feature adaptive soundtracks that respond to player actions, creating a personalised experience. Players are increasingly seeking out music with similar dynamic qualities for their playlists tracks that can build tension, release energy, or create calm depending on the gaming context.
For example, rhythm based games and music centric titles encourage players to interact directly with the soundtrack, blending gameplay and music in an immersive way. Gamers who enjoy these experiences often incorporate similar tracks into their playlists for other genres, creating a seamless transition between interactive and background music.
Casino and Slot Themed Tracks
For fans of online casino games, music can set the stage for excitement and anticipation. Slot games have inspired specific sound preferences. Games like Rainbow Riches Casino are known not just for their colourful visuals but also for catchy, upbeat background music that keeps players engaged and entertained. Players often add tracks from these games to their playlists, combining the thrill of the casino with their personal gaming routine.
The playful, energetic tunes associated with slot games are designed to be fun and uplifting, making them perfect for boosting mood during gaming sessions. For fans of slots, including these tracks in a playlist creates a sense of continuity and nostalgia, even when playing entirely different types of games.
The music you choose for gaming can dramatically influence your experience, whether you’re seeking focus, excitement, or relaxation. From high-energy EDM and iconic video game soundtracks to lo-fi beats and casino inspired tunes, today’s gaming playlists are diverse, personalized, and carefully curated to match gameplay styles. As gaming continues to evolve, players are increasingly treating music not just as a background accessory but as an essential element of the gaming experience. Crafting the perfect playlist is now a key part of being a modern gamer and with so many options available, the possibilities are endless.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
Phillgood Festival Launches In Bulgaria, With The Cure, Gorillaz, And Moby
Fest Team has announced a new festival for 2026, Phillgood, set to debut July 17 to 19 at the Rowing Canal in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The inaugural edition is headlined by The Cure, marking their first-ever performance in Bulgaria, alongside Gorillaz, Moby, and Kneecap. The event introduces a three-stage concept, with programming divided across the Phillgood main stage, the electronic-focused Phillrave stage, and the more experimental Phillcool stage.
The Phillgood main stage also features Wolf Alice, Einsturzende Neubauten, Just Mustard, Sleaford Mods, Apashe and The Brass Orchestra, Thievery Corporation, The Subways, Son Lux, and Los Bitchos. Phillrave hosts artists including Acid Arab, Daniel Avery, Sofia Kourtesis, HAAi, KiNK, Kelly Lee Owens, Pretty Girl, and Swimming Paul, while Phillcool showcases KLAS, Cartrader, Zhluch and Gena, Jin Monic, Lunikk, and Hug or Handshake. Tickets are on sale via ticketstation.bg, with limited three-day and one-day passes remaining.