Silver Otto has a new single out and it lands right on time. “Favorite,” out May 15 via the Bay Area-via-New York pop project of TJ Sonnier, is a satin-smooth piece of summer pop built on addictive melodies, warmly layered production, and vocals that pull you in and don’t let go.
The song follows “I Really Need to Know,” which earned Silver Otto genuine critical heat, with Ladygunn declaring him “the pop alter ego we needed” and Kaltblut noting the track’s video drew on cinematic references ranging from Psycho to Showgirls to capture its sense of isolation and obsession. “Favorite” moves in a different emotional direction, looser and more intoxicating, but carries the same melodic precision.
Sonnier describes the track as a collision of 90s boy band structure and Rihanna-era production, built around the feeling of all-consuming, impossible love. “The song is about all consuming, cherubic, insane, and to me at least, destructive love,” he says. “This song is dedicated to the kid who has been fighting to make music his life because it is, well, his Favorite.”
“Favorite” is co-written by Louie Diller, Sean Walsh, Liz Nistico, and Bonnie McKee, and produced by Diller. The combination is immediately felt. The track moves with warmth and momentum, a hypnotic breakdown in the third act pulling things inward before the beat snaps back with full force.
Silver Otto created his project to reconnect with something essential, back to tarot cards and letters to Paula Abdul, as he puts it. The music carries that spirit: unguarded, melodic, and genuinely fun. “Favorite” is out May 15.
Brittany Tsewole, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind Senseless Optimism, has signed with leading independent publisher Prescription Songs, with new single “Heat” out now via Amigo Records. The track arrives as a sharp, self-assured statement: “It’s really just a reminder to myself to stay away from scrubs,” she says. “It feels good to stand on your boundaries, even if it’s a little bittersweet.” Listen here.
“Heat” follows the 2025 EP ‘graveyard flowers’, which introduced breakout track “war & peace,” a driving, hypnotic piece built on steady rhythms and introspective lyricism. Senseless Optimism’s guitar-driven pop carries a distinct worldview shaped by a childhood spent across Africa and Sri Lanka, where her foreign service parents were posted, giving her music a perspective that’s genuinely hard to replicate.
Her fanbase already spans from Willow to Pete Townshend of The Who, and her self-produced videos, where she clones herself playing guitar, bass, drums, and more, have pulled millions of views across TikTok and Instagram, building an audience of over 200K followers.
Prescription Songs VP of A&R Chris Martignago has been watching since 2023. “There was an honesty and sincerity that immediately set her apart,” he says. “She’s found a voice that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. There’s a rare fearlessness in the way she creates.”
The Bures Band walked into the KEXP studio and made it count. The five-piece ran through four tracks, “Avon Valley,” “Ozonia,” “Birds Nest,” and “The Pilot,” a focused, unhurried set that lets the band’s three-guitar dynamic breathe and build across 25 minutes of live performance.
Foo Fighters have spent the better part of 30 years filling arenas, but their first-ever NPR Tiny Desk Concert proves the songs work just as well at close range. The band opened with “Spit Shine” from their latest album ‘Your Favorite Toy’, moved through “Learn to Fly” from 1999’s ‘There Is Nothing Left to Lose’, pulled back for the introspective “Child Actor”, and closed the set with “My Hero” and “Everlong”, both from 1997’s ‘The Colour and the Shape’. Dave Grohl summed up the band’s approach simply: “If you put instruments in our hands and there are people, it’s fun to play.”
SPIN Magazine is coming to Canada. The iconic music media brand, a fixture of American music culture for more than 4 decades, announces a dedicated Canadian editorial presence built around local artists, culture, and live music.
Leading the expansion is Michael Hollett, veteran Canadian media executive and NXNE founder, named editor-in-chief of SPIN Canada. Hollett brings decades of experience championing Canadian music to a platform with genuine global reach. “I’ve spent decades in journalism championing Canadian artists and musicians,” he says, “and finding fresh new voices to tell these stories in SPIN will be incredibly satisfying.”
SPIN Canada launches June 10-14 with the debut of the SPIN Canada Stage at NXNE, timed to FIFA World Cup programming week in Toronto. The festival brings together more than 350 artists and offers SPIN an immediate, high-profile platform to spotlight emerging and established Canadian talent right out of the gate.
While SPIN’s U.S. edition already reaches Canadian readers, this is something different. SPIN Canada builds a localized editorial operation dedicated entirely to Canadian artists, audiences, and cultural coverage, with original reporting, artist features, and cultural pieces tailored to the market, while plugging local talent into SPIN’s broader global network.
SPIN CEO Jimmy Hutcheson frames the expansion as a natural extension of the brand’s momentum. “From our recent 40th anniversary celebration during Art Basel in Miami, featuring Chance the Rapper and Clipse, to collaborations with brands like Urban Outfitters and Aviator Nation, the demand for SPIN continues to grow in new and unexpected ways,” he says. “Canada is a natural next step.”
The launch also builds on SPIN’s recent acquisition of Live For Live Music, which deepened the company’s footprint in live events and community-driven programming. SPIN Canada follows that same path, with live events in Canada already part of the longer-term plan.
Mo Ghoneim, president of Billboard U.K. and Billboard Canada/AMG, sees the timing as ideal. “SPIN has such a strong legacy in music journalism and culture,” he says, “and we see this as an exciting opportunity to help spotlight emerging artists, especially through a festival platform that brings together music fans from around the world.”
SPIN Canada is a significant moment for Canadian music media. The country has never lacked for talent. Now it has a publication with the muscle to match.
Jack Douglas built some of the most important rock records ever made. He did it from the bottom up, starting as a janitor at the Record Plant in Manhattan and rising to become one of the most trusted producers in the business. Douglas died on May 11, 2026, from complications from lymphoma. He was 80.
His family said it plainly: “He lived an incredible life and was an amazing storyteller. He was very, very funny and goofy and loved to tell jokes. He loved what he did, and he worked til the very end. We will miss him a lot.”
The resume is staggering. Douglas engineered John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ in 1971, the beginning of a deep personal and professional bond with the former Beatle. That relationship culminated in 1980 with ‘Double Fantasy’, the Lennon and Yoko Ono album that won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Lennon was killed in December of that year, just weeks after the album’s release. Douglas later worked on the posthumous ‘Milk and Honey’, assembled from the same sessions.
He was also present for the Who’s Lifehouse sessions at the Record Plant in 1971, recordings that were eventually reshaped into ‘Who’s Next’, one of the defining rock albums of the decade. His engineering credit on that record alone would be enough for most careers. Douglas was just getting started.
His work with Aerosmith across the 1970s remains his most commercially thunderous contribution to rock. He co-produced ‘Get Your Wings’ in 1974, then took full control for ‘Toys in the Attic’ in 1975. That album went nine times platinum and delivered “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” to the world. The story behind the latter is pure Douglas: he’d just seen Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein with the band and was goofing around recreating a bit from the film. Steven Tyler caught the energy and built the lyric from there.
‘Rocks’ followed in 1976 and ‘Draw the Line’ in 1977. Both have since been certified multi-platinum. Both appear on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. The band considered Douglas so integral to their sound that they called him the sixth member of Aerosmith. He even co-wrote their 1978 track “Kings and Queens.” After a brief separation, he returned for ‘Rock in a Hard Place’ in 1982, then again for the blues covers collection ‘Honkin’ on Bobo’ in 2004 and the band’s final album of originals, ‘Music from Another Dimension!’ in 2012, on which he provided the narration on the opening track “LUV XXX.”
The Cheap Trick relationship was equally deep and equally productive. Douglas helmed their self-titled 1977 debut, then the live record that became a genuine phenomenon, ‘Live at Budokan’ in 1978, and its companion ‘Budokan II’. He later produced ‘Found All the Parts’ in 1980, ‘Standing on the Edge’ in 1985, ‘Special One’ in 2003, and ‘Rockford’ in 2006. When Cheap Trick were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, they said directly from the stage that they were “forever indebted” to Douglas.
The Patti Smith Group’s ‘Radio Ethiopia’ in 1976 is another standout, a raw and confrontational record that Douglas captured without blunting its edges. He also contributed to the New York Dolls’ self-titled debut, the album that inspired producer Bob Ezrin to encourage Douglas to step up and start producing himself. That nudge changed rock history.
Beyond those landmarks, Douglas worked with Lou Reed on ‘Berlin’, co-produced sessions with Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg, and brought his engineering skills to records by Miles Davis, Alice Cooper, Montrose, Mountain, Blue Öyster Cult, Starz, and Graham Parker. Later credits include albums by Supertramp, Zebra, Slash’s Snake Pit, Local H, and Clutch.
Douglas was born in the Bronx on November 6, 1945. He started out as a folk musician, wrote songs for Robert F. Kennedy’s 1964 senatorial campaign, then chased music to England before returning to New York and enrolling at the Institute of Audio Research. He was part of its first graduating class. The Record Plant hired him to sweep floors. Within months, he was behind the boards.
His introduction to Lennon became the stuff of legend. While editing tapes at the Record Plant ahead of a session, Lennon walked in. Douglas told him about his time in Liverpool, and Lennon realized he was one of the “Crazy Yanks” he’d read about in the papers. “He got really excited to meet me,” Douglas recalled in a 2012 interview. “He invited me into the tracking rooms, he gave me a ride home in his limo. Pretty soon, I was working on the record as an assistant. We became friends.”
That friendship produced some of the most emotionally significant recordings in rock. Douglas remembered the mood of the ‘Double Fantasy’ sessions with clarity and warmth. “Having been with John in L.A. during that time when he was just unbelievably depressed,” he told Rolling Stone in 1981, “the one thing that makes me feel not so bad now is that when he died he was real happy, maybe happier than he’s ever been.”
Jack Douglas worked until the end. Fifty-five years in the business, dozens of landmark records, and a reputation built entirely on sound and trust. Rock and roll lost one of its great architects on Monday night.
Ten years ago, one third of Canada stopped what they were doing to watch The Tragically Hip play their final show. That night didn’t fade. It became part of the country. Now the band is marking the decade with a live album and a nationwide rebroadcast that will bring it all back.
‘Live July 22 – August 20, 2016’ arrives August 21, 2026, via Universal Music Canada. Drawn from the band’s 15-date, coast-to-coast Man Machine Poem Tour, the collection spans arenas from Winnipeg to Hamilton to Kingston, capturing the full emotional arc of a farewell that felt like a national event because it was one. Listen to “Fifty-Mission Cap” and “Locked In The Trunk Of A Car” and Pre-order The Tragically Hip: Live July 22 – August 20, 2016 here.
The album is mixed and mastered in Dolby Atmos by longtime Hip audio engineer Mark Vreeken. The sonic presentation is immersive and detailed, doing full justice to performances that already carried enormous weight in the room. Two tracks are out now: “Fifty-Mission Cap,” recorded in Edmonton, and “Locked In The Trunk Of A Car” from the final Kingston night.
The Kingston finale itself gets its own moment. On Saturday, August 22, 2026, CBC rebroadcasts A National Celebration commercial-free at 7 p.m. local time on CBC TV, CBC Gem, and both CBC Radio services. The concert streams globally on CBC Music’s YouTube channel and throughout North America on SiriusXM on CBC Radio One (ch. 169) and Canada Talks (ch. 167). Simultaneously, ‘Live July 22 – August 20, 2016’ airs in full on SiriusXM’s The Tragically Hip Radio (ch. 757) and Iceberg (ch. 758).
“For three hours on a summer night, all of Canada paused to celebrate and pay tribute together through the power of music,” said CBC General Manager of Entertainment Sally Catto. The rebroadcast honours that collective experience and opens it up to a new generation hearing it for the first time.
The 29-track album is a deep and generous document. Spread across 6 sides of vinyl, it pulls performances from Kingston, Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Edmonton, Ottawa, and London, covering the full geography of a band whose music has always been tied to this country’s landscape. The setlist reaches across the catalog, from “New Orleans Is Sinking” and “Bobcaygeon” to “Ahead By A Century” and “At The Hundredth Meridian.”
The Tragically Hip have 17 Juno Awards, over 12 million albums sold in Canada, and a humanitarian legacy that spans decades. This September, they’ll be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at Massey Hall in Toronto. ‘Live July 22 – August 20, 2016’ arrives at the right moment, a definitive archive release for a band whose catalog only grows in stature.
Pre-order is available now. The album releases August 21. The rebroadcast airs August 22. Communities across Canada are already planning events around the airdate. Follow along at CBCMusic.ca/thehip.
‘Live July 22 – August 20, 2016’ Tracklisting:
Side 1
At Transformation – Winnipeg
In View – Calgary
In A World Possessed By The Human Mind – Kingston
Family Band – Hamilton
Lonely End Of The Rink – Hamilton
Side 2
Something On – Toronto
Locked In The Trunk Of A Car – Kingston
Opiated – Winnipeg
Nautical Disaster – Kingston
New Orleans Is Sinking – Ottawa
Side 3
Yer Not The Ocean – Calgary
Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park – London
At The Hundredth Meridian – Toronto
Daredevil – Toronto
Bobcaygeon – Calgary
Side 4
Lake Fever – Kingston
Escape Is At Hand For The Travelin’ Man – Kingston
Thirty-six seasons in, the Lowell Summer Music Series keeps delivering. The beloved outdoor concert series returns to Boarding House Park in downtown Lowell from July 11 through mid-September with a stacked lineup that runs the full spectrum of American music.
Graham Nash, Iron & Wine, Margo Price, JJ Grey & Mofro, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Watchhouse, and Ripe are among the nationally touring acts confirmed for the 2026 season. That’s a murderers’ row of talent spread across a summer of live music in one of New England’s most distinctive outdoor venues.
The setting is half the story. Boarding House Park is a tree-lined, intimate space in the heart of downtown Lowell where fans spread out on blankets and beach chairs just steps from the stage. Series Director James Macdonald puts it plainly: “A summer night on the grass, under the stars, in one of the most unique and beautiful concert environments in Massachusetts.”
For the first time, the series is offering Season Pass Memberships, and the math is hard to argue with. A limited run of 100 passes covers all 12 concerts for the price of 6, working out to under $30 per show. “At a time when ticket prices continue to rise,” says Macdonald, “this gives fans the chance to experience an entire summer of music at one of the best concert values anywhere in New England.” Season Pass Memberships go on sale Friday, May 15, at 10:00 AM at LowellSummerMusic.org. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
The 2026 season also marks something extra. Lowell is celebrating its bicentennial, and the series is marking the occasion with a free concert on July 12. The Rat Pack Show brings Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. back to life in a full-on 1960s tribute. Doors open at 5:30 PM, showtime at 6:30 PM.
September brings the 45th Annual Banjo and Fiddle Contest, a free all-day event on September 12 running from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Workshops, jam sessions, and competition make it a standout day for traditional music lovers. Registration is open now at LowellSummerMusic.org.
The series also continues its Free Fun for Kids program through July and August, offering family-friendly performances, free lunches from Lowell Public Schools, free books, creative activities, and complimentary trolley rides from the National Park Service. The program serves thousands of children and families every summer at no cost.
The Lowell Summer Music Series is produced by the Lowell Festival Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit running entirely on ticket sales, sponsorships, grants, and community support. No taxpayer funding. Just great music in a great park.
Tickets for most shows are on sale now at LowellSummerMusic.org. Boarding House Park is located at 40 French St, Lowell, MA.
2026 Season Lineup:
July 11: Back to the 80’s with Jessie’s Girl
July 12: The Rat Pack Show (Free Bicentennial Celebration)
July 17: The Fab Faux
August 2: JJ Grey & Mofro
August 7: Iron & Wine
August 8: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
August 9: Ripe
August 14: Watchhouse
August 15: Pink Talking Fish
August 20: The Record Company Featuring the Charlie Musselwhite Duo
Nate Amos and his project This Is Lorelei have signed to Matador Records, and the announcement arrives alongside one of the more sprawling tour itineraries of the year, running from May through December across North America, the UK, Ireland, and South America.
The New York Times recently profiled Amos as “a phenomenon” who crafts “immaculately crafted bedroom-pop gems.” Hayley Williams put it more personally: “Nate feels like a classic American songwriter. I listen to his writing and think, ‘Man, I wish I could do that.'” That kind of endorsement carries real weight.
The signing follows a strong stretch of momentum behind ‘Box For Buddy, Box For Star’, which landed on year-end lists at Rolling Stone, Billboard, GQ, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and The FADER. A Super Deluxe version of the album recently arrived featuring fully reimagined versions of every song, with contributions from Hayley Williams, Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, Jeff Tweedy, Snail Mail, SASAMI, Momma, and more.
The tour includes festival appearances at Kilby Block Party, Newport Folk, and Just Like Heaven, support dates with Bleachers and Colin Miller, and a full UK and Ireland run in November closing at Electric Brixton in London before South American dates at Primavera Sound in Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Toronto’s Lee’s Palace gets a Halloween show on October 30.
Tickets go on sale Friday May 15 at 10 am local time.
This Is Lorelei Tour Dates:
May 17 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
Jul 25 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
Aug 22 – Pasadena, CA @ Just Like Heaven Festival
Sep 22 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Sep 23 – Indianapolis, IN @ Turntable
Sep 25 – Waukee, IA @ Vibrant Music Hall*
Sep 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory*
Sep 27 – Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Music Hall*
Sep 29 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre*
Sep 30 – Cincinnati, OH @ Andrew J Brady Music Center*
Oct 3 – Houston, TX @ HOB Bronze Peacock
Oct 5 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy*
Oct 6 – Raleigh, NC @ The Red Hat Amphitheater*
Oct 8 – Nashville, TN @ The Truth*
Oct 10 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas^
Oct 11 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger^
Oct 13 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar^
Oct 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy^
Oct 16 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent^
Oct 17 – Healdsburg, CA @ Little Saint^
Oct 19 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater^
Oct 20 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre^
Oct 21 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos^
Oct 23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge^
Oct 24 – Denver, CO @ Marquis^
Oct 27 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall @
Oct 28 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s @
Oct 30 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Oct 31 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB @
Nov 2 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair @
Nov 4 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis @
Nov 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church @
Spike Lee’s acclaimed concert film of David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’ returns to cinemas on August 5 for a single night, newly restored in 4K, marking 5 years since it first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Tickets go on sale June 18 here.
Directed by Lee using 11 camera operators, the film captures Byrne’s Broadway production of the same name, which ran at New York’s Hudson Theatre from October 2019 to February 2020. Choreographed by Annie-B Parson, the show featured Byrne and an 11-person ensemble performing barefoot in sharp grey suits, with no amps or microphones visible on stage, drawing from both his solo catalog and Talking Heads classics including “Once in a Lifetime” and “Burning Down the House.”
The production also featured a performance of Janelle Monáe’s “Hell You Talmbout,” with the ensemble calling out the names of Black Americans killed through racial violence and police brutality, giving the show a political weight that matched its theatrical ambition.
NME gave the film 5 stars, calling it “New York’s finest teaming up for a greatest hits extravaganza that doubles as one of 2020’s best films.” The tour that preceded the Broadway run earned the same outlet’s verdict of “the most ambitious and impressive live show of all time,” a quote Byrne subsequently used as the title of a live EP.
