Violet Grohl took her latest to late night. The rising singer-songwriter performed “Bug in the Cake” as the musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, delivering the track to a national audience on June 4. It’s a confident, magnetic showing that follows the song’s official music video, released days earlier, and builds on the momentum of her earlier single “THUM.”
Violet Grohl Brings “Bug in the Cake” To Fallon
Violinist Patrick Yim Bridges Chinese And Western Worlds On New Album ‘Bamboo Grove’
Patrick Yim has built something rare and beautiful. The violinist and violist will release ‘Bamboo Grove’ on PENTATONE on August 21, 2026, an album of world premiere recordings made in close collaboration with Chen Yi and Zhou Long, two of the most distinguished composers working at the meeting point of Chinese and Western musical traditions. It’s a luminous, ambitious project that opens up an entirely new sound world for Western strings.
Recorded during a week-long residency at the University of Notre Dame in April 2024, the album gathers four works that reimagine the expressive range of the violin and viola through the textures of Chinese musical culture. The collaboration runs deep, shaped by the composers’ own histories spanning the Cultural Revolution, studies at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and artistic refinement in New York at Columbia University with mentors Chou Wen-chung and Mario Davidovsky. Across the record, Yim evokes the guqin, erhu, pipa, xiao, lusheng, ancient bell ensembles, Peking opera percussion, and regional folk traditions.
Yim speaks warmly about the partnership at the album’s heart. “I have long admired the work and personal histories of Chen Yi and Zhou Long, and it has been a profound privilege to collaborate with them on this recording and to come to know them personally,” he said. “Their stories of collaborations with artists such as Yehudi Menuhin and Yo-Yo Ma offered a living connection to a remarkable musical lineage. From a performer’s perspective, these works are both idiomatic and imaginative, pushing the limits of Western instruments through a deep familiarity with their traditions and a rich creative vision. It is an honor to bring this music to life and share it with a wider audience.”
The program is full of discovery. It opens with Zhou Long’s ‘Bamboo Grove’ for unaccompanied violin, a 2024 work commissioned for Yim and premiered at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, inspired by Ruan Xian of the famed Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. Chen Yi’s ‘Xian Shi’, heard in its trio version for viola, percussion, and piano, was her earliest orchestral composition and the first viola concerto by a Chinese composer, featuring a striking four-finger rapid pizzicato roll that’s unprecedented in the viola repertoire. Zhou Long’s ‘Tales from the Nine Bells’ draws on a millennia-old legend from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, while Chen Yi’s ‘Suite for Viola and Chamber Winds’ closes the album by evoking the lusheng, ancient set bells, the hsiao and ch’in, and a brilliant Chinese percussion ensemble.
The lead single, the fourth movement of the Suite, “Flower Drums in Dance,” arrives July 31 ahead of the full release. Yim is joined throughout by a deep bench of collaborators, including percussionist Paul Vaillancourt, pianist Shuai Wang, violist Kirsten Docter, clarinetist John Diodati, and the chamber winds led by conductor Paul Hostetter, with Jesse Lewis producing.
Honolulu-born and praised by The Strad for his deeply expressive, finely nuanced playing, Yim has performed at Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Teatro alla Scala, and the Musikverein. A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has commissioned 70 works, many pairing violin with non-Western instruments, and collaborated with composers including Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Ken Ueno, and Bun-Ching Lam. He serves as Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Notre Dame.
‘Bamboo Grove’ Track Listing:
- Zhou Long – Bamboo Grove for Unaccompanied Violin (2024)
- Chen Yi – Xian Shi for Viola, Percussion, and Piano (1982)
- Zhou Long – Tales from the Nine Bells for Clarinet, Violin, Viola, and Piano (2013)
- Chen Yi – Suite for Viola and Chamber Winds: I. Lusheng Ensemble
- Chen Yi – Suite for Viola and Chamber Winds: II. Echoes of the Set Bells
- Chen Yi – Suite for Viola and Chamber Winds: III. Romance of Hsiao and Ch’in
- Chen Yi – Suite for Viola and Chamber Winds: IV. Flower Drums in Dance
Richard E. Grant And Claire Foy Lead The Darkly Satirical Period Romp ‘The Savage House’
Paramount has a wickedly sharp period piece on the way. ‘The Savage House’ lands in theatres June 5, led by Richard E. Grant and Claire Foy as Sir Chauncey and Lady Savage, a couple chasing a better life with reckless abandon. Set in 18th century England against a massive Pox outbreak and the Jacobite Uprising, the film plays as a timely, darkly satirical story stuffed with duels, decadence, and bloodshed. The family name carries its own irony, because this is a Savage house indeed. It’s a madcap takedown of class and power, and the ensemble runs deep, with Jack Farthing, Bel Powley, Kíla Lord Cassidy, Vicki Pepperdine, Richard McCabe, and Pip Torrens rounding out the cast.
Video: Zara Larsson Conquers A Hometown Lollapalooza Stockholm Crowd In 2023
Zara Larsson came home and owned the night. The Swedish pop superstar co-headlined the Friday of Lollapalooza Stockholm in 2023, commanding a massive crowd in the city’s beautiful Gärdet park with the charisma of a seasoned headliner. The set was a showcase of modern pop, pairing high-energy choreography with powerful vocals. She opened with the electric “Can’t Tame Her” and rolled through “Ruin My Life,” “Ain’t My Fault,” and the global smash “Lush Life,” then nodded to her country’s legacy with a dazzling cover of ABBA’s “Lay All Your Love on Me.” A standout came when Swedish legend Carola joined her for a duet of “Säg Mig,” a memorable cross-generational moment for the local crowd. From the infectious “Symphony” to the heartfelt “Uncover,” the performance proved Larsson’s versatility and star power in full.
Jack Johnson Maps Out His Sprawling “SURFILMUSIC Tour 2026”
Jack Johnson has a big summer and fall ahead. The surf-folk favorite just announced the SURFILMUSIC Tour 2026, a wide-ranging run with special guests Hermanos Gutiérrez that stretches from June through October. The trek opens June 19 in Gilford, New Hampshire, and winds through the Northeast, Midwest, Canada, and the West Coast before wrapping with two nights in Los Angeles on October 10 and 11. It’s a generous, far-reaching itinerary built for the season.
Johnson’s laid-back blend of acoustic songwriting, surf culture, environmental consciousness, and warm live performances has long made him a festival-season fixture. This time he’s paired with Hermanos Gutiérrez, the duo whose cinematic, guitar-driven sound makes a gorgeous match across the run. The two should fit together beautifully night after night.
SURFILMUSIC Tour 2026 Dates:
June 19 — Gilford, NH
June 20 — Mansfield, MA
June 21 — Holmdel, NJ
June 24 — Saratoga, NY
June 26 — Columbia, MD
June 27 — Philadelphia, PA
June 28 — Wantagh, NY
June 30 — Toronto, Canada
July 1 — Canandaigua, NY
July 3 — Burgettstown, PA
July 4 — Noblesville, IN
July 5 — Grand Rapids, MI
July 7 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH
July 8 — Cincinnati, OH
July 10 — Clarkston, MI
July 11 — Chicago, IL
July 12 — Shakopee, MN
September 26 — George, WA
October 6 — Phoenix, AZ
October 9 — Chula Vista, CA
October 10 — Los Angeles, CA
October 11 — Los Angeles, CA
TWEET
Indie Songsmith Jenny Gillespie Mason Shares Dream-Prayer Single “Touch Everyone On Earth”
Jenny Gillespie Mason has unveiled the final piece of her next record. The songwriter just shared “Touch Everyone On Earth,” the third and last single from her forthcoming album ‘In the Safety of the Light’, due 12th June, 2026 on Native Cat Recordings. Produced by Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Bert Jansch, Vashti Bunyan), the track unfolds like a dream-prayer, drawn from a sleepless night in a New York City hotel room where its narrator imagines the Divine Mother answering a plea to heal a traumatised world. Recorded on Wurlitzer at Georgeson’s suggestion, it carries a plaintive, tender quality that mirrors the act of prayer at its core.
Mason traces the song to a single restless night. “This song draws from a spiritual experience I had on a sleepless night visiting New York City a few years ago. I often have really beautiful, deep experiences there, sometimes pretty intense and weird, that end up changing me,” she explains. “I heard recently the city is built on a bedrock of quartz, so it’s just super charged and can be transformative if you’re open. Noah Georgeson who produced the record suggested I record this song on Wurlitzer which I think fits perfectly as it’s such a plaintive, tender sound and the song’s chorus describes the act of prayer.” It’s a quietly transfixing piece of writing.
The single follows “Rungs of Love” and “Medicine of Light,” which together trace the ladder between earthly love and higher devotion. With this final preview, the full scope of ‘In the Safety of the Light’ comes into view: music spare and intimate in form but expansive in its spiritual ambitions. The album was recorded in spring and autumn 2025 at a private studio in Los Angeles, with most of the songs captured live as an ensemble.
After more than a decade exploring psychedelic pop, jazz, and electronic textures through her project Sis, most recently as Sis and the Lower Wisdom, Mason returned to the acoustic guitar she first began writing on as a teenager. The album moves through questions of how to live a spiritual life while staying fully human, drawing on her practice as an aspiring yogi, her life as a mother and wife, and her deep engagement with the teachings of Mother Mirra Alfassa. Sonically, it glows with 1970s British folk, echoing Catherine Howe and Fairport Convention, while opening into the ambient textures of Hiroshi Yoshimura and the cosmic folk of Beck. It’s a gorgeous, deeply felt return to her roots.
Slightly Stoopid Capture Their 2005 Hometown Peak On Live DVD
Slightly Stoopid bottled lightning across two nights at the House of Blues in San Diego. Recorded in November 2005 for the band’s first full-length concert DVD, the show catches the Ocean Beach natives unleashing their signature blend of reggae, punk rock, funk, and hip-hop for a packed hometown crowd. It arrived just after their acclaimed 2005 album ‘Closer to the Sun’ had raised their profile, and the performance lands as a raw time capsule of a band hitting its stride. The interplay between co-founders Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald drives everything, their distinct vocals and intricate guitar work backed by a tight rhythm section and vibrant horns. It’s an irresistible document of the Southern California sound they helped pioneer.
GoldenSky Music Festival Rides Back To Sacramento With A Three-Year Country Commitment
GoldenSky Music Festival has a date with Sacramento again. Danny Wimmer Presents and Visit Sacramento just announced the festival’s return to Discovery Park in October 2027, kicking off a three-year commitment that brings GoldenSky back in 2027, 2028, and 2029. After a two-year hiatus, the country gathering is officially on its way home.
Fans can circle the weekend of October 15, 2027. Exact festival dates, the initial artist lineup, and early bird on-sale details all arrive this October. Music fans can also help shape the fourth edition by joining GoldenSky surveys all summer, and those who sign up get the first crack at early bird tickets this fall.
Danny Wimmer framed the return around the festival’s roots. “There’s a magic that happens when you see thousands of people singing along as the sun sets over Sacramento, and that’s what GoldenSky has always been about for us,” he says. “This festival was built on community, connection, and creating memories that last long after the weekend is over. As we’ve prepared for GoldenSky’s return, we’ve worked closely with Visit Sacramento, the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County, and our local partners because we believe the best festivals never stand still. Our goal has been to honor what we started together in those first years, while building something even more meaningful for the future. The community embraced GoldenSky from day one, and we’re committed to delivering something truly special when it returns.”
Local leaders share the enthusiasm. “After a two-year hiatus, we are beyond excited to welcome GoldenSky back to Sacramento,” said Visit Sacramento President & CEO Mike Testa. “Sometimes, the best opportunities are worth the wait and we are grateful for the vision of DWP and for all the people who worked together to make this a reality for our city.” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty added, “Serving as a host for DWP’s incredible festivals for 14 years has left an indelible mark on our city. We’re thrilled GoldenSky is coming back for the next three years, 2027, 2028, and 2029, and our community is committed to partnering with DWP to provide an unmatched experience for music fans for years to come.”
The festival built a serious reputation fast. During its first three years from 2022 to 2024, GoldenSky hosted country superstars and breaking talent alike, including Ashley McBryde, Bailey Zimmerman, Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Clint Black, Elle King, Eric Church, Gabby Barrett, Jon Pardi, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Megan Maroney, Midland, Parker McCollum, Parmalee, Riley Green, Sam Hunt, Shaboozey, Thomas Rhett, Tim McGraw, Turnpike Troubadours, and Wynonna Judd. It’s a genuinely exciting return for one of country’s most beloved festival weekends.
GoldenSky has also become known for an immersive experience that reaches past the music, blending country culture, local flavor, interactive fan moments, curated hospitality, nightlife, and unique activations that celebrate Sacramento itself. This summer’s fan surveys are designed to shape the next evolution of all of it. Produced by Danny Wimmer Presents in partnership with Visit Sacramento, GoldenSky is the second of DWP’s back-to-back Discovery Park weekends, following Aftershock, and the two events deliver roughly $54 million in annual economic impact to the local community.
San Francisco Trio Wealthy Women Storm The Past On New Single “Men of the West”
Wealthy Women keep raising the stakes ahead of their debut. The San Francisco three-piece just shared “Men of the West,” the third single from their debut album ‘Children’, due 7th August and produced by Scott Evans (Neurosis, SUMAC, Thrice, Autopsy). Where earlier singles drew from the political present, this one reaches into historical conflict to dig at terror, courage, and claustrophobia. It’s a punishing, dramatic piece of writing that hits hardest in its closing minutes.
The group walk through the song’s origins. “The war in Ukraine was never far from our thoughts during the writing process. With ‘Men of the West’ I wanted to explore themes that are common in war throughout history, but it felt inauthentic to try to place myself in the context of a modern, high-tech conflict,” they explain. “Instead, I turned to the past, where those same themes of terror, courage and claustrophobia are heightened by the reality of an inescapable situation. Musically, it makes with metal tropes, from the grinding opening to the sing-song refrain bellowed over almost unreasonably busy riffage. The song builds to its conclusion with a dramatic switch to half time, a crowd favourite moment at live shows, as the protagonist gathers his men for their final stand.”
‘Children’ is a record shaped by the political weight of 2025. Written largely after Trump’s re-election and recorded at Antisleep Audio in Oakland, the album moves between outrage and grief across eight tracks, using satire and dark observational humour to shift the emotional register. Its subjects include toxic masculinity and the online radicalisation of young men, the human cost of immigration policy, and the inhumanity of modern war. The title track closes the album in mourning for the children of Gaza and Ukraine.
The group’s outsider vantage point drives the whole thing. The trio (Don Doblados on bass, Andrew Harms on drums, and Peter Sisk on guitar and vocals) carry a particular distance from their Bay Area home. Doblados is the San Francisco-born son of Filipino immigrants, Harms arrived from Kansas, and Sisk, the chief songwriter, is Irish and only moved to the US in 2017, during the earliest months of the first Trump administration. He’s watched the country shift ever since, and as the album’s subjects grow heavier, the tunings drop lower to match.
“We’ve been working towards this for quite a while; the album was written and recorded during 2025 and the themes of that year definitely form a huge part of it,” the group say. “Since then the band has been focused on touring and we’ve been really enthused by the reaction to the songs live. We’re excited to share them with a wider audience. The themes of the album feel just as present in 2026 as they did last year, dealing as it does with war, the death of innocents and the assault on democracy.” Working again with Evans, the group land ‘Children’ with undeniable urgency.
‘Children’ Track Listing:
37 Days
Men of the West
Take It Back
Atheist Wife
Worst Date
Shit Breaks
Siege
Children
Lowell Folk Festival Gathers Throat Singers, Zydeco Stars, And Scissors Dancers For Its 39th Year
The Lowell Folk Festival just expanded one of the most globe-spanning lineups in American music. The free festival returns to downtown Lowell, Massachusetts from July 24-26 for its 39th edition, and the newly announced performers pull traditional music from Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and right across North America. It’s a stunning sweep of living traditions, all landing in one city over three days.
The reach is remarkable. Alash carry on xöömei, the Tuvan throat-singing tradition from Central Asia, where a single voice produces several pitches at once, a low drone beneath shaped harmonic melodies. The Chankas of Peru perform the danza de las tijeras, an acrobatic Andean scissors dance recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. From Louisiana, “The Creole Cowboy” Geno Delafose brings irresistible dance-floor zydeco with French Rockin’ Boogie when he isn’t running his Double D Ranch in Eunice. Each act arrives with deep roots and serious command.
Bluegrass and jazz pedigree run through the bill too. Authentic Unlimited carries the legacy of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, founded by Eli Johnston, Stephen Burwell, and Jerry Cole, with three-time IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year Jesse Brock and rising guitarist Colton Baker. The group already holds a Grammy nomination and three consecutive IBMA Vocal Group of the Year awards. Catherine Russell, daughter of Louis Armstrong’s longtime musical director Luis Russell, has become one of today’s most captivating interpreters of the Great American Songbook after singing on more than 200 albums with David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, and others.
The depth keeps going. Boston-based Kunal Gunjal and Amit Kavthekar pair the hundred-stringed santoor with tabla in a two-decade Indian classical partnership rooted in the lineage of Zakir Hussain and Alla Rakha. Michela Musolino & Rosa Tatuata revive the outdoor folk songs of Sicily and southern Italy. The Eastern Sound Orchestra has played high-energy East Coast Polish polka for more than 50 years, while the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers deliver soaring unaccompanied gospel harmony. It’s a thrilling, genuinely joyful spread of sound and movement.
The festival roots itself in place as well. The Wampanoag Nation Singers & Dancers, from the Cape Cod, Aquinnah, and Herring Pond regions of Massachusetts, share songs and dances tied to their environment and culture. The Middlesex County Volunteer Fife & Drum Band, now 40 years strong, leads the opening parade Friday night, a fitting nod to America’s 250th birthday. Haitian dancer and drummer Peniel Guerrier brings the rhythm and spirit of Vodou, and Tres en Punto carries the romantic trío tradition of northern Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley from their home base in Mission, Texas.
These newly announced names join previously confirmed artists Elida Almeida, Melissa Carper & Emily Gimble, Dat Mighty 9, John Doyle & Friends, Fabiola Mendez, and Super Chikan & the Fighting Cocks. Beyond the four stages of music, the festival offers the Discovery Lowell Playspace for kids, Global Foods prepared by local cultural non-profits, and the Experience Lowell Marketplace of regional artists and craft makers. Lowell, celebrating its own Bicentennial this year, makes a fitting host for one of America’s great free summer gatherings.