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A Never-Heard 1986 Chuck Berry Concert Recording Arrives in Time for His 100th Birthday

Eric Alper
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A Never-Heard 1986 Chuck Berry Concert Recording Arrives in Time for His 100th Birthday

Chuck Berry would have turned 100 on October 18th. To mark the occasion, Chuck Rocks Live LLC is releasing a never-before-heard live concert recording from 1986, captured directly from the soundboard and mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London by Sean Magee. The album, ‘Chuck Rocks Live’, arrives by October 18th.

9 live performances from the original 1986 concert form the core of the record. The highlights speak for themselves: a version of “Johnny B. Goode” where Berry sings directly to his audience, “I love you / Singin’ my songs / All my rock children / All my rock children out there,” a 10-minute jam on “Reelin’ and Rockin’,” a deep rendition of “Every Day I Have the Blues,” and an emotionally charged take on “Bio.”

The album also includes 4 newly recorded tribute tracks performed by Chuck’s Rock Children, modern interpretations featuring the vocals of Dana Patrick-Gilbert and lap steel from Steve Scorfina of REO and Pavlov’s Dog. The tribute tracks cover “Let It Rock,” “Back in the U.S.A.,” “School Days,” and a slower boogie-rock take on “Johnny B. Goode.” Legendary pianist Johnnie Johnson appears as a special guest.

“Completing this album to honor Chuck has been a true labor of love,” says Michael Mesey of Chuck Rocks Live LLC. “Playing special events with him around the country for almost 20 years brought unforgettable memories and pure joy to my life. As a musician, there were none greater.”

The project carries personal history alongside the music. Mesey’s connection to the Berry family spans more than 4 decades, including a long friendship with Ingrid Berry and ties to Charles Berry Jr. and other family members. This record honors all of it.

Final licensing through the estate is being completed, with the album fully prepared for release and distribution through Chuck Rocks Live LLC. For anyone who understands what Chuck Berry built, October 18th is a date worth circling.

Noah Kahan’s Out of the Blue Festival Returns to Cancún With Hayley Williams and Mt. Joy

Eric Alper
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Noah Kahan’s Out of the Blue Festival Returns to Cancún With Hayley Williams and Mt. Joy

Noah Kahan’s Out of the Blue Festival heads into its fourth year January 7-10, 2027 at Moon Palace Cancún, and the lineup delivers. The two-time Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum singer-songwriter headlines alongside Hayley Williams, making her Out of the Blue debut, and indie-folk favorites Mt. Joy.

Rounding out the lineup are The Head and the Heart, Gregory Alan Isakov, 2025 festival fan favorite Gigi Perez, songwriter and producer Del Water Gap, Brooklyn-based indie rockers Buffalo Traffic Jam, and rising artist Mon Rovia. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

The festival has grown into something more specific than a destination concert. Produced by 100x Hospitality, Out of the Blue runs across custom beachfront stages, late-night venues, and poolside settings throughout the AAA Four Diamond resort. Spontaneous collaborations and unannounced sit-ins are built into the DNA of the weekend, with Kahan’s signature “Noah Kahan & Friends” closing set bringing the full roster together for covers, originals, and special duets.

The surrounding programming runs deep. Golf tournaments, sunrise DJ sets, pool parties, wellness programming, cenote diving, luxury catamaran cruises, and tours of ancient Mayan sites are all part of the package alongside unlimited top-shelf beverages, gourmet dining, and premium resort accommodations.

“Out of the Blue has become a reflection of the community Noah has built around his music, bringing together fans who share a genuine sense of connection and belonging,” says Dan Berkowitz, founder and CEO of 100x Hospitality. “We’re proud to help create an experience that feels intimate, welcoming, and true to the spirit that makes this event so special.”

With Kahan’s “The Great Divide World Tour” selling out stadiums across North America and arenas worldwide, Out of the Blue remains one of the few chances to experience his music up close, in a setting where the distance between artist and audience essentially disappears.

All-inclusive packages go on sale Wednesday, June 3 at 1 pm ET. Returning guests receive exclusive early access during the alumni pre-sale June 1-2. The festival and Moon Palace Cancún are committed to a single-use-plastic-free event with dedicated waste-sorting and local recycling support throughout the weekend.

Little Big Town’s 12th Album ‘It’s A Dying Art’ Champions Human-Made Music With an All-Star Cast

Eric Alper
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Little Big Town’s 12th Album ‘It’s A Dying Art’ Champions Human-Made Music With an All-Star Cast

25 years into one of country music’s most consistent careers, Little Big Town have announced their 12th studio album, ‘It’s A Dying Art’, arriving August 28th via MCA. Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook aren’t coasting. They’re making a statement.

The album was co-produced by two-time Grammy winner Gena Johnson, known for her work with Jason Isbell, Dolly Parton, and Brandi Carlile, alongside Little Big Town’s own Karen Fairchild. That combination of inside knowledge and outside perspective shapes a record built around imperfection, emotion, and the irreplaceable quality of music made by human hands.

The collaborations alone signal how seriously this record was assembled. Jason Isbell appears on “The Door,” Kelsea Ballerini joins for the late-night soul of “Closing Time,” and Ashley Monroe features on “Sucker For A Sad Song.”

New single “Over and Over,” written by Fairchild, Ashley Ray, Jonnie Simpson, and Madi Yanofsky, is out now. The group debuted the track live during their set at this year’s Stagecoach, making its recorded release feel like the natural next step for a song that clearly holds up in front of a crowd.

The album’s first preview, “Hey There Sunshine,” made its debut at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards earlier this month. Two strong singles in, ‘It’s A Dying Art’ is already building the kind of momentum that a record this carefully made deserves.

‘It’s A Dying Art’ arrives in multiple configurations including CD, vinyl, and retailer-exclusive variants, with limited signed and special color vinyl editions available through the band’s website.

Track Listing:

  1. Intro
  2. Sucker For A Sad Song with Ashley Monroe
  3. The Door with Jason Isbell
  4. Dying Art
  5. Hey There Sunshine
  6. Over And Over
  7. The Idea
  8. We Could Have It All
  9. Crickets
  10. Closing Time with Kelsea Ballerini
  11. Long Way To Your Heart
  12. It’s Coming Around
  13. Jet Plane

Christian Metal Icons Stryper Hit the Road With Battle Cry Single “I’m Alright (I’m Okay)”

Eric Alper
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Christian Metal Icons Stryper Hit the Road With Battle Cry Single “I’m Alright (I’m Okay)”

Stryper have a new single out, and it sounds exactly like a band that knows who they are and isn’t interested in apologizing for it. “I’m Alright (I’m Okay)” is a melodic, full-throttle declaration from one of Christian metal’s most enduring acts, and it arrives just ahead of a major North American tour run.

Michael Sweet frames the track as a deliberate blend of eras. “This one is for the old school metal heads,” he says. “It’s a little 1985 mixed with a little 1991, with a little 2026 sprinkled on top.” The result carries all the melodic muscle Stryper built their name on, updated just enough to feel immediate without losing any of the original voltage.

The message is the core of it. “It’s a battle cry to stand strong and persevere no matter what, while believing that you will be alright, you will be okay,” says Sweet. In a moment when that kind of conviction resonates broadly, Stryper deliver it with the kind of hook-driven force that made them icons in the first place.

“I’m Alright (I’m Okay)” hits with the melodic authority that’s defined Stryper across decades of recording, a track that rewards both longtime fans and anyone discovering the band for the first time.

The tour kicks off June 5 in Anaheim, CA, and runs through December, with stops across the US before a European appearance at Germany’s Loud and Proud Festival in September and a closing date in San Juan, PR at Coca-Cola Music Hall on December 5.

Stryper 2026 Tour Dates:

June 5 – Anaheim, CA @ Grove of Anaheim

June 6 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre

June 18 – Decatur, IL @ Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater

June 19 – St. Charles, IL @ Arcada Theatre

June 20 – Shipshewana, IN @ Blue Gate Performing Arts Center

July 17 – Arlington, TX @ Arlington Music Hall

July 18 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues

July 19 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre

September 19 – Wissen, GER @ Loud and Proud Festival 2026

September 29 – Derry, NH @ Tupelo Music Hall

September 30 – Wantagh, NY @ Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall

October 3 – Harrisburg, PA @ XL Live

October 4 – Warrendale, PA @ Jergel’s Rhythm Grille

October 6 – Marion, IL @ Marion Cultural and Civic Center

October 9 – Wisconsin Dells, WI @ Crystal Grand Music Theatre

October 10 – Green Bay, WI @ EPIC Event Center

October 12 – St. Louis, MO @ The Hawthorn

October 13 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s

October 15 – Nashville, TN @ The Cannery Mainstage

October 16 – Newton, NC @ Newton Performing Arts Center

October 19 – Jacksonville, FL @ FIVE

October 20 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues

October 22 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage

October 23 – Liberty, SC @ Pickens County PAC

October 24 – Hopewell, VA @ Beacon Theatre

October 25 – Stroudsburg, PA @ Sherman Theater

December 5 – San Juan, PR @ Coca-Cola Music Hall

Randy Travis Brings 40 Years of ‘Storms of Life’ to CMA Fest With a Celebration Worth the Trip

Eric Alper
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Randy Travis Brings 40 Years of ‘Storms of Life’ to CMA Fest With a Celebration Worth the Trip

40 years after ‘Storms of Life’ changed the course of country music, Randy Travis is marking the anniversary the right way. A dedicated exhibit inside Fan Fair X at CMA Fest, running June 4-7 in Nashville, will honor the album with a life-size replica of the general store from its iconic cover art, plus vinyl, CDs, and a mailbox where fans can write Travis a letter directly.

The exhibit isn’t just a display. It’s a full celebration of an album that rewrote what was possible in country music. ‘Storms of Life’ became the first debut country album to achieve platinum status, launched the No. 1 single “On the Other Hand,” and followed it with “Digging Up Bones,” which spent 2 weeks at the top of the charts. By December 1986, Travis was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry as one of the youngest members in its history.

On Saturday, June 7 at 10:15 am, Fan Fair X’s Close Up Stage hosts “40 Years of Randy Travis: Exploring The Icon’s Legacy and Impact.” Travis and his wife Mary will be joined by ACM-nominated Emily Ann Roberts and rising star Colton Dawson, both of whom have named Travis as a direct influence on their careers. The conversation will dig into what his legacy actually means for country music across generations.

Fans can meet Travis in person at his booth on Friday, June 5 at 1 pm and Saturday, June 6 at 11 am.

Before CMA Fest opens, Travis kicks things off on June 3 at the Nashville Palace with the official naming of its front room as The Randy Travis Room. The free event starts at 5 pm CT and features live honky-tonk music led by longtime friends Steve and Becky Hinson. Fans, heroes, and friends are all welcome.

This is a rare, well-earned moment for one of country music’s most important figures, and Nashville is going to feel it.

The Ocean Lost Two-Thirds of Their Lineup and Came Back With Their Most Ambitious Album Yet

Eric Alper
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The Ocean Lost Two-Thirds of Their Lineup and Came Back With Their Most Ambitious Album Yet

What happened to The Ocean between 2022 and 2025 would have finished most bands. The lineup that made ‘Phanerozoic I’, ‘Phanerozoic II’, and ‘Holocene’ dissolved almost entirely, leaving founding guitarist, songwriter, and lyricist Robin Staps, longtime bassist Mattias Hagerstrand, and incoming drummer Jordi Farre (also of Crippled Black Phoenix) to decide what comes next. They decided to go bigger.

The result is ‘Solaris’, the 12th studio album from The Ocean, arriving September 25th. A near-70-minute record built around late Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky’s film of the same name, it’s the most conceptually and musically ambitious thing the band has put their name on across 25 years of existence.

The first single, “Light Pollution,” sets the tone immediately. It opens with synth textures that connect directly to ‘Holocene’ before building momentum and pivoting somewhere new entirely. The finale is orchestral, slow-burning, and genuinely crushing, a towering convergence of grandeur and heaviness that announces the new era without hedging.

The song’s themes run deep. Staps frames it around orbital motion, the idea that technology and communication have advanced without actually moving humanity forward. “We’ve witnessed several communication revolutions throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, but have we actually become any better at communicating?” he asks. “Has there really been forward movement, or has the motion been orbital, have we merely been treading water?”

The music video brings in filmmaker Craig Murray, known for his work with Mogwai and Converge, to introduce new vocalists Enrico Tiberi and Lane Shi (Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Otay:Onii). Murray’s approach is meticulous. Staps describes him as “a one-man army” who hand-sketches every scene before shooting and is still up at 2am glueing tentacles or smearing slime and sand at the end of a 20-hour day. The results are cinematic and fully earned.

The expanded lineup for ‘Solaris’ brings in Emmanuel Jessua of Hypno5e and Marco Gennaro on guitar, while Thorsten Quaeschning of Tangerine Dream contributes modular synthesizers. Jens Bogren, who mixed ‘Pelagial’ and both ‘Phanerozoic’ records, returns for mixing and mastering duties.

“Light Pollution” arrives as one of the most fully realized singles The Ocean have released, a statement track from a band that refused the easy exit and came back with something that demands to be heard. ‘Solaris’ lands September 25th.

Replaced By Robots Turn Junk, Toys, and a Slinky Into the Coolest Video You’ll See This Week

Eric Alper
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Replaced By Robots Turn Junk, Toys, and a Slinky Into the Coolest Video You’ll See This Week

Replaced By Robots have released “Zero Joy Zero,” a stop-motion short film soundtracked by their self-titled theme song. Directed by Damon Wellner and Heather Joy Morgan, it’s the kind of project that makes you wonder why everyone isn’t making music this way.

The concept starts with a joke and ends up somewhere genuinely inspired. Vocalist and synth player Heather Joy Morgan describes the band as “obsolete bohemians wandering through this electronic wasteland, creating music for the end of the world and the day after.” Singer and bassist Goolkasian frames the short film as a Monkees-style TV show, with a theme song that lands somewhere between Batman, Peter Gunn, and Soul Train. That combination works better than it has any right to.

The song itself came together fast. Goolkasian wrote the lyrics in a single sitting and laid down a rough sketch. Guitarist Adam Wade listened once, then recorded all his parts in a single take without ever seeing the chord chart. “I don’t even show him the chords, he just plays and it’s awesome,” says Goolkasian. The result has that loose, locked-in energy that no amount of over-production can replicate.

Wellner built the 4 robots from spare parts and toys sitting around his Hollywood apartment: Star Wars, Lost In Space, Matchbox, LazerTag, Fisher Price, and found objects including dog chew toys used for Wade’s robot legs. The design references range from War of the Worlds and Metropolis to Knight Rider’s K.I.T.T. and Marvin the Martian. Morgan’s look is a direct nod to Daryl Hannah’s Pris in Blade Runner. One robot is modelled after a vintage guitar amp.

Wellner has been connected to the band since the 90s Boston music scene, though he’s since relocated to Hollywood where he founded Probot Animation and worked as stop-motion animator on Sia’s “Snowman” video. On the ray effect in “Zero Joy Zero,” he’s emphatic: “No AI was used. I made the ray effect with a slinky.”

“Zero Joy Zero” is the band’s 4th release, following 2025’s ‘The Experiment EP’ and singles “Since You Broke My Ouija Board” and “The Ocean.” Wade has outlined the band’s release strategy plainly: “All our songs will be released as singles and videos. They’re like shots, and if you want to buy the bottle, we’ll collect them later as an album.”

Replaced By Robots came together in 2023 after Wade visited Goolkasian and Morgan’s home to see Mark Burgess of The Chameleons play a living room gig. The band brings together members of The Elevator Drops, The Texas Governor, and Funeral Party, and “Zero Joy Zero” makes a strong case that whatever they’re building, it’s worth watching closely.

Paul McCartney’s ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’ Is the Story Before the Story

Eric Alper
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Paul McCartney’s ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’ Is the Story Before the Story

Paul McCartney’s new studio album, ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’, is out now via MPL/Capitol Records. It’s his first solo album in over 5 years, and by every measure, it’s the most personal thing he’s ever put his name on. Listen here.

The album turns the clock back to post-war Liverpool, to childhood streets, resilient parents, and the early friendship between a young McCartney and two boys named George Harrison and John Lennon. Long before Beatlemania. Long before any of it. This is where the whole story actually starts.

14 songs, written with rare openness, form a collection that’s candid and reflective without being sentimental. McCartney revisits formative years with the kind of honesty that only comes from an artist who’s earned the right to look back. The songs are modest, homespun, and emotionally rich in a way that doesn’t announce itself.

The critical response has been immediate and nearly unanimous. Rolling Stone calls it “a late-career masterpiece.” Variety declares it “McCartney’s best album of the 21st Century.” The Daily Telegraph gives it 5 stars and calls it “a joyous late-career reminder of McCartney’s melodic genius.” The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, MOJO, and the BBC all weigh in with equal enthusiasm.

The Financial Times puts it simply: “I find it impossible to listen to ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’ without feeling moved.” That kind of response doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when an artist makes something true.

‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’ is the sound of one of music’s most culturally significant figures writing without a net, and landing perfectly.

Track Listing:

As You Lie There

Lost Horizon

Days We Left Behind

Ripples in a Pond

Mountain Top

Down South

We Two

Come Inside

Never Know

Home to Us

Life Can Be Hard

First Star of the Night

Salesman Saint

Momma Gets By

Dragged Under Are Back Together and “Rebel Son Rise!” Proves Why That Matters

Eric Alper
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Dragged Under Are Back Together and “Rebel Son Rise!” Proves Why That Matters

Dragged Under have returned with “Rebel Son Rise!,” a new single and lyric video that does exactly what the title suggests. It’s loud, it’s frenetic, and it carries a message that runs deeper than the riff.

The song clocks in at 3 minutes and doesn’t waste a second. Singer Tony Cappocchi wrote it as a direct address to the next generation, specifically his own 2 kids, with a message about finding your own path regardless of what the world expects. “I just want them to be rebels,” he says, “and realize that what’s popular or approved by their peers isn’t always what’s right. It’s perfectly acceptable to be the one swimming against the current.”

“Rebel Son Rise!” follows “AlgoRHYTHM,” their pointed shot at algorithm-chasing culture. Both tracks continue building a catalog that’s already crossed 100 million streams across 2022’s ‘Upright Animals’ and their 2020 debut ‘The World Is In Your Way’. The momentum is real and the trajectory keeps pointing up.

What makes this moment extra charged is who’s in the room. Cappocchi and rhythm guitarist Sean Rosario are reunited with original members Ryan “Fluff” Bruce on guitar and Hans Hessburg on bass, 3 years after both departed unexpectedly. That reunion alone changed the energy of everything that followed.

“Our band was never better than it was with our core members,” says Cappocchi. “Those dudes have been as committed to Dragged Under and as stoked about it as they were when they first joined. Knowing that only made us want to be bigger than ever.”

Dragged Under have earned their reputation as a devastating live act. Festival appearances at Louder Than Life, Aftershock, Slam Dunk, Download, 2000Trees, Hellfest, and Full Force have put them in front of massive crowds across North America and Europe, with tours alongside Beartooth, The Used, The Ghost Inside, Pierce The Veil, and more adding serious miles to that record.

“Rebel Son Rise!” delivers the kind of urgent, anthemic rock that reminds you why this band has always had a ceiling no one’s found yet. With the original lineup locked in and firing, Dragged Under sound exactly like a band with something to prove.

Judah & The Lion Turn 15 Years of Hard-Won Growth Into New Album ‘I Am A Prism’

Eric Alper
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Judah & The Lion Turn 15 Years of Hard-Won Growth Into New Album ‘I Am A Prism’

The arc of Judah & The Lion’s career has always bent toward honesty. Their 6th studio album, ‘I Am A Prism’, arrives August 14 via Dualtone Records, and the Nashville folk-hop duo are marking the moment with the release of the first single, “Maybe The Best Is Now,” complete with an official visualizer.

This one carries real weight. After a trilogy of releases that moved through mental health struggles, heartbreak, addiction, and grief, ‘I Am A Prism’ finds Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald stepping into something harder to articulate but easier to feel: genuine optimism, earned the long way.

“Maybe The Best Is Now” works as a direct conversation with their 2019 track “Family / Best is yet to Come.” It’s a sequel in spirit, a shift in perspective. And it brings back a signature move first heard on their 2016 breakout ‘Folk Hop n Roll’: fan voices recorded live at recent shows, woven into the track itself.

That choice means something. These aren’t studio sweeteners. They’re the community Judah & The Lion have spent 15 years building, literally singing alongside them on the record.

Akers describes the song’s core idea plainly: “Life doesn’t happen to you. It happens for you.” It’s a line that fits the album’s larger arc, connecting who they were when they started to who they’ve become, through fatherhood, hard seasons, and everything in between.

Macdonald frames the whole project with equal directness. “We use our music to propel us through hard things in life and shoot us forward into a more hopeful space,” he says. “Getting to that space isn’t always easy, but we always come back better for it.”

“Maybe The Best Is Now” lands with warmth and genuine momentum, a song that opens the door to ‘I Am A Prism’ with exactly the right energy. If this is the first preview, the full album has a lot to live up to, and everything suggests it will.

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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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