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Tenille Townes Strips Everything Back on Her Most Personal Album Yet, ‘The Acrobat’

Eric Alper
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Tenille Townes Strips Everything Back on Her Most Personal Album Yet, ‘The Acrobat’

Tenille Townes’ third album ‘The Acrobat’ is out now, and it marks a genuine turning point. Recorded, produced, and mixed entirely by Townes herself, with every instrument played by her, it’s the most stripped-back and intimate body of work she’s released, rooted in vulnerability, people-pleasing, self-abandonment, and the quiet tenacity it takes to keep moving when certainty falls away.

The title track, featuring Lori McKenna, arrives as an emotional anthem about trusting yourself and learning that you don’t have to reshape who you are to be worthy of love. “The Acrobat is about the slow erosion that comes from trying to become what someone else needs,” Townes shares. “The quiet whisper to the character in this song that I hope people hear, is that you don’t have to contort yourself to be worthy of love.” Writing it with McKenna, whose songwriting Townes describes as a compass influence since she first moved to Nashville, made the song a full-circle moment.

The album also features recent Grammy winners I’m With Her on “Grey Like Emmylou” and tracks written with Grammy-winning writers McKenna, Amy Wadge, and Daniel Tashian, alongside songs penned solely by Townes. The sparse production lets her storytelling and vocals do all the work, and the result lands with an intimacy that makes the listener feel genuinely present in the room.

Before the album’s release was even officially announced, Townes ran a fans-only pre-sale on social media that moved over 1,000 vinyl copies. That kind of connection between artist and audience is exactly what this record was built for.

The Canada-born, Nashville-based artist has earned 2 Juno Awards, 2 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 17 Canadian Country Music Association Awards, and has toured alongside Stevie Nicks, Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Reba, Zac Brown Band, George Strait, and Dierks Bentley.

‘The Acrobat’ Track Listing:

  1. Ordinary Love Song
  2. The Acrobat featuring Lori McKenna
  3. Enabling
  4. We Could Use a Little More
  5. Lonely Talking
  6. She Plays The Piano
  7. Grey Like Emmylou featuring I’m With Her
  8. What’s Meant for You
  9. In Love With the Sky

The Long Road Festival 2026 Adds Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Josh Ross, and Dozens More to an Already Stacked Lineup

Eric Alper
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The Long Road Festival 2026 Adds Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Josh Ross, and Dozens More to an Already Stacked Lineup

The Long Road Festival returns for its seventh year on the August 2026 Bank Holiday weekend, August 27-30, at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire, and the latest round of additions makes an already compelling lineup genuinely exceptional.

Headlining the announcement is Emmylou Harris, a 14-time Grammy winner who will wrap her lauded European Farewell Tour at the festival, making this a genuinely historic moment for UK Americana fans. Steve Earle brings “Copperhead Road” back to the region for the first time since 2023, and breakout Canadian country sensation Josh Ross, known for his chart-topping collaboration with Akon on a countrified “Na Na Na,” brings current radio energy to the mix.

They join previously announced Saturday night headliner Bailey Zimmerman, making his first UK appearance in more than two years following a sold-out UK and European headline run in 2024. Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member and multiple Grammy-winning legend Jim Lauderdale performs festival highlights from a decades-spanning career for the first time. Shakey Graves, The Felice Brothers, Uncle Lucius, Striking Matches, Oliver Hazard, and The 502s round out a lineup that spans indie grit, Southern soul, acoustic storytelling, and beach folk across six stages.

Rising stars Mia Kelly, Lily Fitts, Noah James, and Slow Motion Cowboys join alongside UK talent including Kezia Gill, Rose Betts, Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou, and Liam Price, winner of the festival’s inaugural Homegrown Talent Contest in 2025. Friday and Sunday headliners are still to be announced.

Beyond the music, the festival this year debuts a full-scale on-site Red Dog Saloon Texas-style BBQ restaurant, adding a communal dining experience to an event already known for its immersive country lifestyle atmosphere, classic cars, line dancing, vintage funfair rides, and campfires.

Tickets across all categories are on sale now.

Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and Inara George Unite on a Previously Unissued Cover of Lowell George’s “Willin'”

Eric Alper
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Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and Inara George Unite on a Previously Unissued Cover of Lowell George’s “Willin'”

A previously unissued recording of Lowell George’s signature song “Willin’,” performed by Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris and featuring Inara George, is out now as part of ‘Rock And Roll Doctor: Lowell George Tribute Album’, a long out-of-print collector’s edition released via Omnivore Recordings on vinyl, CD, and digitally.

The 2 LP set brings together 15 standout performances from Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Little Feat, Randy Newman, and more in celebration of one of rock and roll’s most underrated figures. Originally released in Japan in 1997 and in the US the following year, this new edition marks the first time the collection has been available on vinyl and introduces the previously unheard Nelson and Harris recording for the first time.

For Inara George, the track carries deeply personal meaning. “I remember how meaningful it was to sing ‘Trouble’ with Van Dyke Parks and Ry Cooder, they were both friends of my dad, which made it even more special,” she says. “So to be able to add voice, so many years later, to a track with such greats as Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson feels like a perfect bookend. It’s such a gift to celebrate my father’s work alongside his musical peers.”

Lowell George’s influence as a writer, guitarist, singer, and producer spanned rock, R&B, country, blues, and West Coast jazz. He co-founded Little Feat in 1969 after a stint with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, and alongside Bill Payne and Richie Hayward built a sound unlike anything else of the era. His songwriting delivered enduring classics including “Willin’,” “Dixie Chicken,” and “Sailin’ Shoes.” Tragically, he passed away in 1979 at just 34, while touring in support of his only solo album ‘Thanks I’ll Eat It Here.’

“It’s always fun when Little Feat gets to record with Bonnie Raitt, especially when we’re giving tribute to our brother Lowell,” says co-founder Bill Payne, whose presence on the collection gives it an extra layer of authenticity.

Kentucky Singer-Songwriter Tyler Booth Teams With Jamey Johnson on the Deeply Personal “Clean Dirt”

Eric Alper
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Kentucky Singer-Songwriter Tyler Booth Teams With Jamey Johnson on the Deeply Personal “Clean Dirt”

Tyler Booth’s debut release with Average Joes Entertainment and Jamey Johnson’s Big Gassed Records arrives in the form of “Clean Dirt,” a song about redemption, grace, and the unwavering nature of forgiveness, and it features Johnson himself on the track after hearing it and immediately wanting in.

The song was written by Booth alongside Phil O’Donnell, whose songs have been recorded by George Strait, Blake Shelton, and Montgomery Gentry, and Brian Davis, whose cuts include songs recorded by Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Jason Aldean. O’Donnell also produced the track. The writing session came together quickly around a hook the two writers had been sitting on for a while. “They had the hook: ‘three boards, two nails and one man to clean dirt,'” Booth says. “We wrote it that day.”

Johnson’s perspective on the song is equally direct. “It’s about redemption and God’s grace,” he says. “It points out that it isn’t what we do. It’s something Jesus Christ has already done and all we have to do is accept it. It’s a wonderful message that Tyler has woven into this song.” That Johnson chose to join the track rather than simply praise it from a distance says everything about how the song landed with him.

“Everybody has their trials and tribulations,” Booth adds. “There is always room for redemption.” It’s a straightforward sentiment delivered without apology, and the song is stronger for it.

Jason Aldean Announces 22-City Songs About Us Tour This Summer Behind His 31st Career Number One

Eric Alper
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Jason Aldean Announces 22-City Songs About Us Tour This Summer Behind His 31st Career Number One

Jason Aldean is taking his latest album on the road this summer. The Grammy-nominated entertainer has announced the 22-city Songs About Us Tour, sponsored by Patriot Mobile and produced by Live Nation, kicking off July 16 in Bangor, Maine and running through late September. Chase Matthew, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Dee Jay Silver support across the run.

‘Songs About Us’ is out now, arriving on the heels of Aldean’s 31st career number one at country radio with “How Far Does A Goodbye Go,” a milestone that underscores just how consistently he has performed across two decades in the format. The album also includes “Drinking About You,” “Dust on the Bottle,” and upcoming single “Don’t Tell On Me.”

The ACM Artist of the Decade has delivered 13 top 10 country albums in 20 years, and his career-spanning collection ’30 Number One Hits’ debuted at number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart last year. His 2026 Full Throttle World Tour recently wrapped a first-ever headlining run in New Zealand and a return to Australia for the first time in over a decade, and the Songs About Us Tour picks up that momentum through the North American summer and fall.

2026 Songs About Us Tour Dates:

July 16 – Maine Savings Amphitheater, Bangor, ME

July 17 – PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ

July 18 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY

July 23 – INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS

July 24 – Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK

July 25 – Morton Amphitheater, Kansas City, MO

July 30 – Cascades Amphitheater, Ridgefield, WA

July 31 – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, Nampa, ID

August 14 – Toyota Amphitheatre, Wheatland, CA

August 15 – Save Mart Center at Fresno State, Fresno, CA

August 22 – Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH

August 27 – Brookshire Grocery Arena, Bossier City, LA

August 28 – Brandon Amphitheater, Brandon, MS

August 29 – The Wharf Amphitheater, Orange Beach, AL

September 10 – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, VA

September 11 – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY

September 12 – The Meadows Music Theatre, Hartford, CT

September 17 – TD Coliseum, Hamilton, ON

September 18 – Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview, Syracuse, NY

September 19 – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJ

September 25 – BankNH Pavilion, Gilford, NH

September 26 – BankNH Pavilion, Gilford, NH

Beastie Boys’ Platinum-Selling ‘To the 5 Boroughs’ Gets Its First-Ever Physical Deluxe Release With 11 Bonus Tracks

Eric Alper
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0
Beastie Boys’ Platinum-Selling ‘To the 5 Boroughs’ Gets Its First-Ever Physical Deluxe Release With 11 Bonus Tracks

Beastie Boys’ ‘To the 5 Boroughs’ is out now in its first-ever physical deluxe edition via UMe, and it’s a proper collector’s piece. The limited-edition 3 LP and 2 CD set features 11 bonus tracks including remixes and B-sides, bringing the 2019 digital deluxe edition to physical formats for the first time.

The 3 LP set is pressed on 180-gram vinyl in a triple gatefold jacket with pop-up elements and a subway map lithograph, all housed in a firm slipcase. The 2 CD version comes in a multi-paneled soft pack. Both formats reflect the care and New York City pride that defined the original release.

‘To the 5 Boroughs’ arrived in 2004 as a self-produced love letter to the band’s home city, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and topping the Top Rap Albums, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Album Sales, and Top Album Sales charts simultaneously. The album balanced deep pop culture references across tracks like “Shazam!” and “Ch-Check It Out” with more pointed social and political commentary on “Right Right Now Now,” “It Takes Time To Build,” and “An Open Letter To NYC.”

The bonus disc adds remixes from Just Blaze, Brainpower, Graham Coxon, and others alongside B-sides and rarities that round out the full picture of that creative period.

CD 1:

  1. Ch-Check It Out
  2. Right Right Now Now
  3. 3 The Hard Way
  4. It Takes Time To Build
  5. Rhyme The Rhyme Well
  6. Triple Trouble
  7. Hey Fuck You
  8. Oh Word?
  9. That’s It That’s All
  10. All Lifestyles
  11. Shazam!
  12. An Open Letter To NYC
  13. Crawlspace
  14. The Brouhaha
  15. We Got The

CD 2:

  1. Brrrr Stick Em
  2. And Then I
  3. Now Get Busy
  4. Ch-Check It Out (Just Blaze Remix)
  5. Triple Trouble (Brainpower Remix)
  6. Triple Trouble (J. Wizzle Remix)
  7. Triple Trouble (Dexter’s Triple Decollte Situation)
  8. Triple Trouble (Graham Coxon Remix)
  9. Rizzle Rizzle Nizzle Nizzle
  10. MTL Reppin’ For The 514
  11. RRNN: Straight Outta Shibuya

Matchbox Twenty Answer a Decade of Fan Requests With ‘The North (B-Sides)’ EP, Now on Global Streaming for the First Time

Eric Alper
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Matchbox Twenty Answer a Decade of Fan Requests With ‘The North (B-Sides)’ EP, Now on Global Streaming for the First Time

Matchbox Twenty have done something fans have been waiting on for over a decade. ‘The North (B-Sides)’ EP is out now via Rhino Records, bringing five tracks from the ‘North’ era to global streaming platforms for the very first time. Previously scattered across limited-edition retail pressings and international exclusives, “Don’t Wanna Be Loved,” “Waiting on a Train,” “I Believe in Everything,” “Help Me Through This,” and “Straight for This Life” are now together in one definitive collection, completing the story of that era for both longtime fans and new listeners.

The timing is meaningful. Later this year, the band will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their diamond-certified debut ‘Yourself or Someone Like You’, one of the defining rock albums of the 1990s. Further details on that celebration are expected in the coming months, and the release of this EP feels like the beginning of a broader moment of reflection for a band with over 50 million records sold worldwide.

The catalog that surrounds this release is remarkable by any measure. Number one hits across four decades, Grammy nominations, billions of streams, and a run of multi-platinum albums from ‘Mad Season’ through ‘More Than You Think You Are’ through ‘North’ itself. Rob Thomas has added three Grammy Awards and multiple BMI honors to that legacy through his solo career, while Paul Doucette has built a parallel career scoring film and television projects.

‘The North (B-Sides)’ Track Listing:

  1. Don’t Wanna Be Loved
  2. Waiting on a Train
  3. I Believe in Everything
  4. Help Me Through This
  5. Straight for This Life

Belfast Heavy Rockers ForeignWolf Step Up With New EP ‘Merely Mortal’ and Lead Single “Imposter Syndrome”

Eric Alper
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Belfast Heavy Rockers ForeignWolf Step Up With New EP ‘Merely Mortal’ and Lead Single “Imposter Syndrome”

ForeignWolf have released their new EP ‘Merely Mortal’, and it marks a genuine step forward for the Belfast heavy rock four-piece. Loaded with heavy riffs, strong hooks, and songs that dig into the parts of being human that don’t always get talked about, it’s the most focused and emotionally direct work the band have put out since forming in 2019.

Lead single “Imposter Syndrome” arrives with a video and sets the tone for the EP’s themes immediately. The band draws from influences including Alexisonfire, Alter Bridge, and Deftones, blending melody and substance into something that feels both heavy and deeply personal, and that combination runs through all 4 tracks.

“This EP is about the parts of being human we don’t always talk about,” the band says. “It looks at self-doubt, fear, emotional dependency, and the connections we struggle to let go of. We wanted to capture what it feels like to be trying to grow while still feeling fragile and imperfect.” That honesty is exactly what gives the record its character. Gerard McCann, Dave Brady, Conor Forbes, and Max Couhig have been building toward this together, and the tightness of the band shows in every track.

ForeignWolf have already picked up support from BBC Radio One, BBC Ulster, Total Rock, Hard Rock Hell, and Sirius XM. ‘Merely Mortal’ is the record that should widen that audience considerably.

‘Merely Mortal’ Track Listing:

  1. Tyrant
  2. Hollow
  3. Imposter Syndrome
  4. Resolve

Paris Post-Metal Force The Prestige Go Deeper and Darker on New Album ‘Isthmos’ and Lead Single “Noire Nuit”

Eric Alper
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Paris Post-Metal Force The Prestige Go Deeper and Darker on New Album ‘Isthmos’ and Lead Single “Noire Nuit”

The Prestige’s new album ‘Isthmos’ is out now via Banshies, and lead single “Noire Nuit” makes clear exactly what kind of record the Paris-based post-metal band have built. Heavier, lower-tuned, and more emotionally raw than anything in their catalog, it’s a deeply introspective album that pushes their hardcore and post-metal identity into new and demanding territory.

“Noire Nuit,” translating as “black night,” addresses depression through a central metaphor of a viscous swamp where every attempt to move only worsens the sinking. Vocalist and guitarist Alex Diaz draws from personal experience. “The more I tried to struggle and look for futile solutions, to the point of draining all my energy, the deeper I was sinking into a state of distress,” he says. “It was by understanding that I had to accept my situation and make sense of it that I was able to climb back up.” That shift from resistance to acceptance is embedded in the song’s structure, an unstable, deliberately disorienting meter that makes each bar feel heavier than the last.

Drummer Thibaut Cavelier describes the beat as reinforcing “the impression of mud that’s hard to move through,” while guitarist Fabien Gagnière points to the song’s sung central refrain as something genuinely new for the band. “The sung chorus reminds us that despite the feeling that nothing can get better, there is always a light in the darkness.” It’s a melodic anchor within the chaos, rare in The Prestige’s discography and more effective for it.

The track’s lyrics blend French and English, languages intertwining and clashing to mirror spiraling, contradictory thoughts. Recorded live, then mixed by Amaury Sauvé and mastered by Thibaut Chaumont, the production captures the band’s visceral energy while letting its vulnerability breathe. Their 2025 album ‘Amer’ earned the band praise from Metal Hammer as “one of the year’s most interesting post-hardcore releases,” and ‘Isthmos’ pushes that trajectory further into the dark.

Nashville Alternative Rockers Cinema Stereo Release “So Sorry, My Dear” and Announce a 27-Date Debut European Tour

Eric Alper
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Nashville Alternative Rockers Cinema Stereo Release “So Sorry, My Dear” and Announce a 27-Date Debut European Tour

Cinema Stereo’s new single “So Sorry, My Dear” is out now on all streaming platforms, and it arrives alongside two pieces of news that make this a significant moment for the Nashville-based alternative rock band. A limited edition 7-inch vinyl featuring an exclusive B-side, “Keep Me Down,” is available now while supplies last, and the band has announced their debut European tour, a 27-date run kicking off October 15 across Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The single pairs driving rhythms and soaring melodies with a rock sensibility that draws from a wide range of influences including Queen, The Police, Tame Impala, Aerosmith, and The Killers. Originally from Orlando and now based in Nashville, Cinema Stereo balance nostalgia and forward momentum in a way that gives their sound genuine personality, and “So Sorry, My Dear” is a strong demonstration of where they are right now.

“Keep Me Down,” the B-side available exclusively on the physical pressing, expands the single’s sonic universe and showcases another dimension of the band’s evolving sound. For fans who want something tangible and rare, the vinyl is the way to go.

The European tour marks the first time Cinema Stereo have taken their live show overseas, and the routing is extensive, moving through Spain in particular with a run of 12 dates before heading into France and Germany for the closing stretch.

2026 European Tour Dates:

October 15 – Spirit of 66, Verviers, Belgium

October 16 – Kulturrampe, Krefeld, Germany

October 17 – Bully On Rocks Festival, Bully-les-Mines, France

October 20 – Niagara, Santander, Spain

October 21 – Babylon, León, Spain

October 22 – Mardi Gras, A Coruña, Spain

October 23 – Café Cultural, Ourense, Spain

October 24 – Sala Even, Sevilla, Spain

October 25 – La Guarida del Angel, Jerez, Spain

October 27 – La Gramola, Orihuela, Spain

October 28 – Loco Club, Valencia, Spain

October 29 – Sala Because, Castellón, Spain

October 30 – Rock ‘n Blues Café, Zaragoza, Spain

October 31 – AMC Bocanegra, Valles, Spain

November 1 – Urban Rock Concept, Vitoria, Spain

November 3 – Razz 3, Barcelona, Spain

November 4 – Brin de Zinc, Chambéry, France

November 5 – Wunderbar Weite Welt, Eppstein, Germany

November 6 – VAZ, Regensburg, Germany

November 7 – Real Music Club, Lauchhammer, Germany

November 10 – Nachtleben, Frankfurt, Germany

November 11 – Meisenfrei, Bremen, Germany

November 12 – Musiktheater Piano, Dortmund, Germany

November 14 – Umma23, Heilbronn, Germany

November 15 – Music Star, Norderstedt, Germany

November 18 – Cowboy un Indianer, Hamburg, Germany

November 21 – MFC, Coevorden, Netherlands

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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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