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Protected: The Testaments: A Powerful New Chapter in a Dystopian World

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Protected: Are We Witnessing a Shift Towards Greater Theatricality in Music?

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Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox Hosts Star-Studded Birdi Celebrity Golf Invitational Benefiting Folds of Honor

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Gary LeVox is bringing music, patriotism, and purpose to the fairway. The Rascal Flatts lead vocalist and co-founder of premium performance eyewear brand Birdi will host the Birdi Celebrity Golf Invitational on August 11 at Old Hickory Country Club in Old Hickory, Tennessee, presented by Hard Rock and benefiting Folds of Honor, the organization that provides educational scholarships to the families of fallen and disabled military service members and first responders.

The event goes well beyond a golf tournament. Guests get 18 holes alongside celebrity players, premium hospitality, exclusive gifting, and a post-round guitar pull-style live music performance and awards dinner, with silent and live auctions expected to drive significant scholarship funding. “I have deep respect for our armed forces and am extremely grateful for all the hard work and dedication,” says LeVox. “I am excited to be partnering with Hard Rock as our presenting sponsor as we collectively join forces to acknowledge the great men and women who fight for our country.” The event arrives as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary on July 4, making the occasion carry even more cultural weight.

Ryan Hamilton Returns With “Dreaming Screaming” and Announces New Album ‘Haunted By American Dreams’

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Ryan Hamilton is back with his first new music in over three years, and he’s not easing into it. “Dreaming Screaming,” out now across all digital platforms, is a roots-leaning, guitar-driven track that channels the road-worn energy of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers while staying firmly in Hamilton’s own songwriting voice. The single also launches pre-orders for his forthcoming full-length ‘Haunted By American Dreams,’ arriving July 3 on Wicked Cool Records.

“It explores the cost of chasing a dream past its breaking point,” Hamilton says of the track, “when ambition erodes mental health and pulls you from family.” Driving instrumentation, introspective lyricism, and sharp hooks make “Dreaming Screaming” a strong opening statement for an album that promises hard truths delivered with warmth and melodic clarity.

Carly Simon’s ‘Anticipation’ Gets Its First-Ever 45RPM Audiophile Reissue From Mobile Fidelity

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Carly Simon’s 1971 sophomore album ‘Anticipation’ arrives in definitive form this May. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has announced a strictly limited 180g 45RPM 2LP reissue of the gold-certified classic, sourced from the original master tapes and pressed to just 3,000 numbered copies. It marks the first time ‘Anticipation’ has been presented in audiophile-grade 45RPM sound, and it’s available to order May 1.

The reissue was sourced from the original quarter-inch/15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket. The wider grooves of the 45RPM format bring out the full richness of the album’s spare soft guitars, mellow orchestration, and dreamy melodies, with Andy Newmark’s drumming sounding dynamic and balanced throughout, and Simon’s vocal investment in every lyric rendered with genuine intimacy.

Released before the singer-songwriter movement reached full bloom, ‘Anticipation’ stands as a courageous, deeply personal statement. Simon drew from her own experiences, including her relationship with Cat Stevens in the lead-up to recording, crafting songs of honesty, romantic yearning, and hard-won identity. The Grammy-nominated title track, written in just 15 minutes while Simon waited for Stevens to pick her up for a date, captures the record’s core in one extraordinary song. From the soulful “Legend in Your Own Time” to her cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “I’ve Got to Have You,” the album’s emotional directness remains remarkable more than 50 years on.

Simon would reach international fame with ‘No Secrets,’ but as this reissue makes clear, the rest of the world was simply catching up. Limited to 3,000 copies, order opens May 1.

‘Anticipation’ Track Listing:

Side One:

Anticipation

Legend in Your Own Time

Side Two:

Our First Day Together

The Girl You Think You See

Summer’s Coming Around Again

Side Three:

Share the End

The Garden

Side Four:

Three Days

Julie Through the Glass

I’ve Got to Have You

Video: Papa Roach’s Pukkelpop 2025 Main Stage Set Is Nu-Metal at Full Throttle

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Papa Roach hit the Pukkelpop main stage in Hasselt, Belgium in August 2025 and delivered a 60-minute set that had the crowd singing every word, running through “Last Resort,” “Scars,” “Getting Away with Murder,” and “Born for Greatness” with the kind of full-band intensity that’s kept them a live force for over two decades.

Ameripolitan Icon Dale Watson Releases New Album ‘Unwanted’ and Hits the Road Hard

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Dale Watson doesn’t follow trends. He never has. The acclaimed Ameripolitan icon has released ‘Unwanted’ via 40 Below Records, an entirely self-written and self-produced album that delivers exactly what his most devoted fans and the country music tradition demand: lean, hard-hitting honky-tonk, outlaw country, western swing, and rockabilly from one of American roots music’s most uncompromising originals.

Backed by his longtime band The Lonestars and joined by Celine Lee, The Memphians, Katie Shore of Asleep at the Wheel, and pianist Matt Hubbard, ‘Unwanted’ carries the kind of lived-in authenticity that critics keep reaching for superlatives to describe. MOJO gave it four stars, Country Music People called him “the Ameripolitan torchbearer,” and Americana Highways put it simply: “Others drink ginger ale and smile; Watson is bourbon with a bite.” PopMatters puts his catalog “in the same jukebox as Willie, Waylon, Ernest Tubb, and Bob Wills,” and Saving Country Music calls him “the true embodiment of country.”

Watson has shared stages with Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Ray Price, Loretta Lynn, and Dwight Yoakam, and has appeared on Austin City Limits, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Show with David Letterman. None of it has pulled him off the road. “I still play over 300 shows a year,” he says. “That’s where the truth is. That’s where the songs tell you if they’re real.” As founder of the Ameripolitan Music Awards and an honored Texas State Musician, Watson views ‘Unwanted’ as part of a living tradition. “Outlaw country isn’t nostalgia. It’s alive, it’s loud, and it’s still being written.”

Tour Dates:

May 2, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke

May 2, Austin, TX, Brentwood Neighborhood Park

May 4, Austin, TX, The Continental Club

May 9, Yantis, TX, Neon Moon Restaurant & Social Club

May 11, Austin, TX, The Continental Club

May 16, West Jackson, TN, Ned R McWherter TN Cultural Arts

May 17, Nashville, TN, Eastside Rockin’ Rumble

May 21, Houston, TX, McGonigal’s Mucky Duck

May 22, Coupland, TX, Coupland Dancehall

May 23, Austin, TX, Rollins Theatre

May 24, New Braunfels, TX, Gruene Hall

May 25, Austin, TX, The Continental Club

May 28, Austin, TX, Parker Jazz Club

May 29, Memphis, TN, Memphis Italian Fest at Marquette Park

May 31, Llano, TX, Sundown

June 6, Dallas, TX, Sons of Hermann Hall

June 7, Buchanan Dam, TX, Pardners Nightclub Largest Dancehall

June 10, Tomball, TX, Main Street Crossing

June 13, Lewisville, TX, Lewisville Grand Theater

June 20, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke

June 21, Llano, TX, Sundown

June 25, St. Louis, MO, Off Broadway

June 26, Columbia, MO, Rose Music Hall

June 27, Kansas City, MO, Knuckleheads

July 2, Corpus Christi, TX, House of Rock

July 3, Austin, TX, The Continental Club

July 4, Taylor, TX, American Legion Post 39

July 9, Livingston, MT, Empire Twin Theatre

July 18, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke

July 19, Llano, TX, Sundown

July 24, Coupland, TX, Coupland Dancehall

August 1, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke

August 7, Robinson, ND, Hanson’s Bar

September 4, Bandera, TX, 11th Street Cowboy Bar

September 5, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke

September 30, Cleveland, OH, Beachland Ballroom

October 8, Columbus, MS, Barn Concert Series

October 9, Decatur, GA, Eddie’s Attic

October 16, Evansville, IN, Vanderburgh 4-H Center

November 7, Lockhart, TX, Manny Gammage’s Texas Hatters Inc

Romeo Channel Thin Lizzy and Cheap Trick on New Single “True Confessions” Ahead of Debut Album

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Romeo are a rock ‘n’ roll band formed in 2024 with a clear point of view and the songs to back it up. Their new single “True Confessions,” out now on all digital platforms with an accompanying music video, arrives ahead of their debut album ‘Deja Vu Letters,’ set for release May 29 via Street Symphonies Records and Burning Minds Music Group. Recorded at Slack Studios and Fico Studio, the album was produced by Romeo and Fede Randi.

Inspired by the vintage sound of mid-70s and early 80s rock, with Thin Lizzy, UFO, Cheap Trick, and The Dogs D’Amour as touchstones, “True Confessions” leans into the dark side with real swagger. The band puts it directly: “We stood in front of a mirror and confronted our evil side, took what we said, and combined it with a rock ‘n’ roll beat made for the occasion.” Nine tracks, a full band lineup, and guest appearances including Hammond organ, horns, and backing vocals round out a debut that sounds refined and built to ignite a room in equal measure. Pre-save ‘Deja Vu Letters’ now.

‘Deja Vu Letters’ Tracklisting:

Frankfurt Lights

Italian Guy

True Confessions

Romeo (A Loyal Borderline)

Soul Staller

No More Chances

I Need To Know

What’s Going On

Decadent Man

Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth Announce Summer 2026 Headline Dates Alongside Creed Support Run

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Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth are keeping busy this summer. The hard-rock outfit has announced a run of headline tour dates for July and August 2026, mixed in with previously announced support slots alongside Creed, all coming on the back of ‘The End,’ the band’s third full-length album released in October 2025. Big Wreck supports the Omaha headline date and 10 Years joins for the Myrtle Beach and Baltimore shows.

Mammoth 2026 Tour Dates:

July 12, Edmonton, AB, Exhibition Lands Racetrack (w/ Creed)

July 14, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Life Center (w/ Creed)

July 16, Des Moines, IA, Wooly’s (Headline)

July 18, Omaha, NE, The Astro Theater (Headline / Big Wreck Supporting)

July 19, Tinley Park, IL, Summer of ’99 and Beyond Festival 2026 (w/ Creed)

July 22, Huntsville, AL, Orion Amphitheater (w/ Creed)

July 24, Orange Beach, AL, The Wharf Amphitheater (w/ Creed)

July 25, Tupelo, MS, Cadence Bank Arena (w/ Creed)

July 27, Savannah, GA, Victory North (Headline)

July 29, Chattanooga, TN, Barrelhouse Ballroom (Headline)

July 30, Raleigh, NC, Lincoln Theatre (Headline)

August 1, Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues Myrtle Beach (Headline / 10 Years Supporting)

August 2, Baltimore, MD, Nevermore Hall (Headline / 10 Years Supporting)

August 4, Virginia Beach, VA, Elevation 27 (Headline)

August 5, Lititz, PA, Mickey’s Black Box (Headline)

August 6, Albany, NY, Empire Live (Headline)

August 8, Monroe, MI, Monroe State Fair

Jon Anderson’s Solo Landmark ‘Olias of Sunhillow’ Gets Its First Audiophile Vinyl Treatment for Its 50th Anniversary

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Fifty years on, Jon Anderson’s solo debut still sounds like nothing else ever made. Mobile Fidelity is marking the occasion with a strictly limited 180-gram reissue of ‘Olias of Sunhillow,’ pressed to just 2,000 numbered copies and representing only the second domestic vinyl release of the record since its original 1976 Atlantic Records pressing. It’s the first time this album has received the full audiophile treatment, and given the complexity of what Anderson created, that matters enormously.

The backstory remains astonishing. Following Yes’s 1975 Relayer tour, Anderson brought a mobile recording unit to his Buckinghamshire home and played every single instrument himself, from koto and ethnic flutes to harp, percussion, and modern electronic keyboards, assisted only by Yes sound engineer Mike Dunne. The album debuted at number 8 on the UK charts and number 47 on the Billboard 200, and its ambient landscapes, new-age synthesizers, and Anderson’s signature vocals have only grown in stature since. “The dream of Olias was to spend time learning how to play the numerous instruments I had collected,” Anderson says. “The evolution of the idea took me on an everlasting mission, driving me a bit crazy but nonetheless a satisfying experience which has stood the test of time.”

The Mobile Fidelity reissue replicates the original gatefold jacket with an inner hinged panel and embossed textures, with artwork by David Fairbrother-Roe, who stepped in when longtime Yes artist Roger Dean was unavailable. The vinyl is sourced from a quarter-inch/15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe. The reissue arrives this July. With only 2,000 copies pressed, this one moves fast.