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Master the Touge Showdowns in Forza Horizon 6

Eric Alper
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By Mitch Rice

With the festival heading to Japan, Forza Horizon 6 introduces the highly anticipated Touge Showdown mode. This mode challenges everything players learned from wide-open highway sprints. To dominate these mountain passes, drivers must focus on maintaining maximum grip, refining cornering lines, and tailoring vehicle suspension to eliminate understeer on narrow roads.

The tight, 1v1 layouts of Japan’s mountain roads heavily penalize wide, smoky drifts. Clean lines and precise racing represent the fastest path to victory.

Core Gameplay Mechanics

Touge Showdowns feature unique operational rules compared to standard street races:

  • 1v1 Layout: You face exactly one opponent in a point-to-point sprint either uphill (climb) or downhill (descent).
  • Cat and Mouse: Battles test your ability to pull away as a leader or apply relentless pressure to force a mistake as the chasing car.
  • Narrow Routes: These mountain passes feature wide, sweeping hairpins connected by highly restrictive, tight straights that limit traditional overtaking opportunities.
  • Progression Hub: Touge activities are tracked directly through the Discover Japan system, allowing players to unlock regional stamps and progressive rewards as they conquer the mountains.

The 5 Touge Battle Locations

Unlocking map markers and tracking progression requires driving past the starting entry points of these five iconic passes located across the distinct regions of the map:

LocationRegionCharacteristics
Hakone NanamagariNangan (Southwest)Highly technical layout featuring a dense, rapid sequence of sharp switchbacks.
Mount HarunaShimanoyama / Northern AlpsLegendary winding asphalt pass famous for its consecutive, rhythmic hairpins.
Norikura SkylineSotoyama (High Altitude)High-elevation technical route with sweeping corners and dramatic elevation shifts.
Bandai AzumaShimanoyamaFast, flowing upper sectors transitioning rapidly into dangerous, cliffside braking zones.
Arashiyama TakaoMinaminoTucked away into the scenic, narrow forested valleys outside the primary city grids.

Best Touge Showdown Cars

  • 2018 Lotus Exige Scura Motorsports (R-Class / S2-Class): This is currently the most dominant high-tier meta car in the game. It features an incredible power-to-weight ratio and immense cornering speeds, allowing you to fly through mountain hairpins without needing to brake heavily.
  • 2024 Nissan GT-R NISMO (S1-Class / S2-Class): An absolute powerhouse for the upper-tier street and touge rivals. Its advanced all-wheel-drive system provides immediate traction out of tight corners, preventing the rear end from sliding out and costing you time.
  • 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STi (A-Class): One of the best all-around A-class choices. With an AWD grip build, it handles the transitions between narrow paths and steep elevation changes perfectly, making it incredibly stable against the aggressive Unbeatable AI.
  • 2022 Toyota GR86 (B-Class / A-Class): Essential for early progression and seasonal playlist events like the Gazoo Racer Weekly Challenge. When built for a balanced grip-focused setup, its chassis excels at maintaining momentum through consecutive hairpins.
  • 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata (B-Class): The definition of a lightweight mountain weapon. By maximizing its tire width and softening the front suspension, you can carry massive amounts of speed through the technical sections of Hakone Nanamagari.

When looking to conquer these challenging mountain passes, selecting the right vehicle is just as critical as mastering your driving lines. From the lightweight precision of the 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata and the balanced momentum of the 2022 Toyota GR86 in the lower tiers, to the rock-solid stability of the 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STi in A-Class, having a tailored grip setup makes all the difference. For higher stakes, the 2024 Nissan GT-R NISMO offers unmatched AWD exit traction, while the dominant 2018 Lotus Exige Scura Motorsports stands as the ultimate S2-class meta choice for carrying extreme speed through hairpins. If you want to skip the grind and get behind the wheel of these top-tier machines immediately, you can head over to U4N to buy Forza Horizon 6 cars and instantly optimize your garage for the mountains.

Essential Tuning Tactics

Standard open-world speed builds will fail on these technical passes. Vehicles must be optimized specifically for agility and mechanical grip.

[Standard Build] —> High Top Speed / Soft Drift Bias (Fails on tight hairpins)
[Touge Upgrade] —> High Lateral G-Force / Front-End Rotation / Rapid Acceleration (Wins)

Eliminate Understeer

Tight hairpins demand a responsive front end. Soften the front anti-roll bars (ARBs) and slightly lower front spring stiffness relative to the rear. This allows effective weight transfer to the front tires under heavy braking, pinning the nose to the apex.

Prioritize Grip Over Drift

While drifting looks impressive, sliding loses precious fractions of a second. Swap out drift tires for high-grip racing compounds. Tune the differential to minimize drift bias, ensuring the vehicle tracks perfectly along the intended driving line.

Maximize Mid-Range Torque

Top speed is practically irrelevant on short, twisty stretches. Build the engine around mid-range torque and optimize gear ratios for rapid 0–60 mph acceleration to power out of slow corners efficiently.

Adjust AWD Bias

If using an All-Wheel Drive setup, avoid an even 50:50 power split, which induces heavy understeer. Shift the torque distribution to a 30:70 or 40:60 rear bias. This setup preserves agile, rear-driven rotation while retaining all-wheel traction to launch cleanly out of hairpins.

Transforming your vehicle from a standard top-speed build to an agile, grip-focused touge weapon requires meticulous fine-tuning. By softening your front anti-roll bars to eliminate understeer, swapping out slick drift tires for high-grip racing compounds, maximizing mid-range torque for rapid acceleration, and dialing in a rear-biased AWD distribution, you can transform how your car attacks Japan’s tightest hairpins. However, acquiring the premium performance parts, high-tier racing compounds, and rare donor cars needed to experiment with these specialized setups requires a massive amount of in-game credits and resources. To bypass the tedious mountain grind and instantly secure the funding required for your ultimate garage, you can visit U4N to buy Forza Horizon 6 Super Wheelspins and quickly unlock the rare cars and millions of credits necessary to dominate the leaderboards.

Defeating Unbeatable AI and Rivals

To consistently defeat high-level AI or secure clean rival times, drivers should apply these mechanical strategies:

Slow In, Fast Out: Brake early in a straight line before turning the wheel into hairpins. Missing the braking marker results in pushing wide into the outer dirt. Settle the chassis, hit the apex, and apply heavy throttle only after the front wheels begin to straighten.

  • Defensive Lane Positioning: Because the mountain routes are incredibly narrow, defensive positioning is crucial. Drive defensively by positioning the vehicle squarely on the inner apex during corner entries to block the AI from squeezing through on the inside line.
  • Avoid the Wall Penalty: Scraping or colliding with the cliffside guardrails triggers an immediate, temporary engine slowdown penalty. A single wall contact can instantly ruin a high-stakes run, making spatial awareness far more important than raw speed.

Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.

Protected: Beginner’s Guide to Heat Press, Vinyl Cutter, and Puff Vinyl

Eric Alper
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Stone Temple Pilots’ Platinum Classic ‘No. 4’ Gets Its First-Ever Audiophile Vinyl Upgrade

Eric Alper
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Stone Temple Pilots’ Platinum Classic ‘No. 4’ Gets Its First-Ever Audiophile Vinyl Upgrade

‘No. 4′ always deserved this treatment. Stone Temple Pilots’ 1999 platinum-certified album is getting its first-ever audiophile vinyl reissue courtesy of Mobile Fidelity, available today as a numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set, with a Hybrid SACD following at a later date. Order it here.

The source chain here is serious. Pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing and sourced from the original analog tapes at 1/2″ / 30 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe, the set is housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket. Quiet surfaces, exceptional groove definition, and black backgrounds give this pressing the kind of presence that prior versions simply couldn’t deliver.

The most immediate beneficiary is Scott Weiland’s voice. On earlier pressings, imaging and separation were partially obscured. Here, the tenor, grain, attitude, and full dynamic range of one of rock’s most distinct vocals come through with new clarity and immediacy. Producer Brendan O’Brien’s dense, thick-sounding record finally has a format worthy of its construction.

‘No. 4’ is the heaviest and edgiest entry in the STP catalog, and tracks like “Down,” “Heaven & Hot Rods,” “No Way Out,” and “Sex & Violence” hit with visceral, muscular force on this pressing. The massive riffs and sledgehammer rhythm section land with the kind of physical weight that audiophile vinyl does best.

The album’s range comes through just as well. “Sour Girl,” named by Billboard as one of the 100 Best Rock Songs of the 2000s, sits alongside the country-tinged “I Got You,” the glam-nodding “Glide” with its zither outro, and the string-accompanied mini-epic “Atlanta.” The songwriting chemistry between Weiland and guitarist Robert DeLeo holds up across every side of this 2LP set.

Recorded after Weiland’s time in jail for drug violations, ‘No. 4’ addressed addiction, personal loss, and toxic impulses without protective shielding. That emotional directness is part of what makes the record resonate decades later, and this reissue gives it the sonic platform it always warranted.

The numbered edition is available now. Order at mobilefidelity.com.

‘No. 4’ Track List:

Side One: Down / Heaven & Hot Rods / Pruno

Side Two: Church on Tuesday / Sour Girl

Side Three: No Way Out / Sex & Violence / Glide

Side Four: I Got You / MC5 / Atlanta

Swiss New Wave Quartet Lone Assembly Brings Debut Album ‘Knots & Chains’ to the UK

Eric Alper
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Swiss New Wave Quartet Lone Assembly Brings Debut Album ‘Knots & Chains’ to the UK

Lone Assembly arrived with a debut album that means something. The Swiss quartet’s ‘Knots & Chains’ is a gothic new wave and synth-pop record built around the theme of control, examining how it’s imposed by others, cultivated within ourselves, and embedded in the cities we move through. It’s a heavy concept handled with real musical confidence.

The record leans into an eighties coldness that carries obvious admiration for the Factory Records era while pulling toward the expansive pop of bands like Editors. Soaring guitars, a locked-in rhythm section, and Raphaël Bressler’s deep, gravitational vocals give the album an aesthetic that feels both rooted in a tradition and fully present in the moment.

Structurally, ‘Knots & Chains’ moves like a cycle. Bressler describes it as “moving from suffocation to openness, from closed spaces to greater, albeit fragile, breathing space.” That arc gives the record emotional shape, making it feel like a complete statement rather than a collection of songs. Standout moments include the driving “In the Open,” the introspective “The Pain Keeper,” and the vivid urban portrait of “The City Works Like This.”

Lone Assembly formed out of something more urgent than musical ambition. Their 2024 debut EP ‘That Never Happened’, a tribute to a lost loved one, established the band as a space for healing and connection. ‘Knots & Chains’ builds directly from that foundation, pushing the emotional stakes higher and the sound wider.

The UK tour is underway now, wrapping at The Moth Club in London on May 24. Tickets are available at fanlink.tv/badapplemusic_la_rn.

Lone Assembly UK Spring 2026:

May 19 – Bristol – The Jam Jar

May 20 – Manchester – FAC251

May 21 – Leeds – Belgrave Music Hall

May 22 – Brighton – Patterns

May 23 – Glasgow – Oran Mor

May 24 – London – The Moth Club

Lucky Break Drops Dreamy “Pictures of Herself” Video as Debut Album ‘Made It!’ Arrives on Fire Records

Eric Alper
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Lucky Break Drops Dreamy “Pictures of Herself” Video as Debut Album ‘Made It!’ Arrives on Fire Records

‘Made it!’ is out now, and lucky break has arrived with a debut that feels genuinely lived-in. The San Francisco via New York City indie rock artist released her first full-length via Fire Records, an 11-track collection built from four years of life experience, one dissolved relationship, and a creative instinct that draws from Fiona Apple, Pavement, Lucinda Williams, and Joni Mitchell in equal measure.

The album’s latest video, “Pictures of Herself,” is out now and directed by close collaborator Margaret Elle. Shot between an all-pink bedroom and open farmland with animals and mountains in the background, the visual pulls from Liz Phair’s video aesthetic and Elliott Smith’s “Rose Parade.” Lucky break explains the concept: “This pink room is where lucky break wakes up after she crawls through the tunnel in ‘Crush.'” The extras in the video include her little sister and Elle’s childhood best friend, keeping the whole thing close and personal.

‘Made it!’ began when lucky break moved abroad to teach English, fell in love for the first time, got ghosted, got sick, and spent months confined to a bedroom writing songs. Eleven of them made the record. “It captures my life from 19 to 23 as I was going through major transitions, finding my inner compass and figuring out how to live in alignment with my values,” she says.

Produced alongside friend and co-producer Elliott Woodbridge out of a Burbank studio next to the train tracks, the album was mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Jessica Thompson, whose credits include Margo Guryan and Erroll Garner. The sound they landed on blends 90s alternative indie grit with country-informed Americana warmth, and it holds together with real coherence across all 11 tracks.

Earlier singles give a strong map of the record’s range. “Head Down” earned praise from Clash Magazine as channeling “90s indie pop bliss,” while “If People Could Fly,” inspired by drives to the beach and wandering around Malibu, landed with Ones to Watch as “a gentle love letter to the West Coast.” Both tracks reflect an artist who writes with specificity and emotional clarity.

Lucky break also illustrates all her own album and tour artwork, including a limited edition zine and sticker pack. Hole’s Melissa Auf der Maur is among her earliest supporters, a co-sign that reflects exactly the lineage this music sits within.

Live dates are underway now, with a Los Angeles show tonight at Permanent Records. The summer run continues through July with select dates alongside Nashville artist Maisy Owen.

Lucky Break Live 2026:

May 22 – Los Angeles, CA – Permanent Records

Jun 11 – New York, NY – Night Club 101

Jul 10 – Nashville, TN – Vinyl Tap*

Jul 11 – Memphis, TN – Haven Haus*

Jul 12 – Birmingham, AL – Birmingham Mountain Radio*

Jul 14 – Asheville, NC – Golden Folk, Grey Eagle*

Jul 15 – Greenville, SC – Horizon Records*

Jul 16 – Four Oaks, NC – Old Records Off The Shelf*

Jul 17 – Raleigh, NC – School Kids Records*

Jul 18 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle*

*with Maisy Owen

‘Made It!’ Tracklisting:

  1. Big Swing
  2. Burning String
  3. Camp Song
  4. City Lights
  5. Crush
  6. Darklight
  7. Head Down
  8. If People Could Fly
  9. Pictures Of Herself
  10. Red Balloon
  11. Spinning Cup

Viral Microtonal Duo Angine de Poitrine Expands a Sold-Out 2026 Tour Into Late December

Eric Alper
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Viral Microtonal Duo Angine de Poitrine Expands a Sold-Out 2026 Tour Into Late December

Something genuinely strange and genuinely thrilling took over social media feeds earlier this year, and the music world is still catching up. Angine de Poitrine, a mysterious polka-dotted Canadian duo playing relentlessly experimental microtonal music, went viral in a way that algorithms rarely manufacture and audiences can’t manufacture at all. The buzz is real, the sold-out shows confirm it, and now the tour keeps growing.

The duo has extended their 2026 run deep into December, adding a wave of newly announced dates across North America on top of an already packed schedule of festival appearances and headline shows. The expansion includes a Toronto date at History on November 5, Brooklyn Steel on November 16 and 17, and a string of U.S. cities running through a December 8 stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland and a December 11 closing night at Crystal Ballroom in Portland.

Part of what makes Angine de Poitrine so compelling is what nobody knows. The identities of the musicians remain officially undisclosed. Their alternating black-and-white costuming and their math-rock-meets-prog-meets-microtonal sound create a presentation that stops scrolling cold. Popular music personality Rick Beato is among the many who’ve posted reaction videos, and the response chain online shows no signs of slowing.

Their second album, ‘Vol. 2’, arrived in April 2026 and landed directly into a wave of momentum the duo had already been building. The record gave a touring machine something new to feed into the live show, and the sold-out run across Europe and North America reflects an audience that arrived ready.

Among the highlights ahead, the duo plays the RBC Amphitheatre in Toronto on July 14 supporting Jack White, followed by three sold-out nights at the Mod Club. The festival run includes Fuji Rock in Japan on July 26, Field of Vision II in Colorado on August 14, and Levitation in Austin on September 12, among many others.

Remaining tickets where available are moving fast. The newly announced dates marked with an asterisk are the best chance to get in.

2026 Tour Dates:

Jun 20 – Joliette, QC – Parc Louis-Querbes

Jun 26 – Picton, ON – Base31 *

Jun 27 – Montreal, QC – Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

Jul 2 – Saguenay, QC – La Noce (SOLD OUT)

Jul 3 – Trois-Rivières, QC – Festivoix

Jul 8 – Edmonton, AB – Fan Park at ICE District *

Jul 10 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Folk Festival

Jul 12 – Victoria, BC – Phillips Backyard Music Festival

Jul 14 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre (supporting Jack White)

Jul 14 – Toronto, ON – Mod Club (SOLD OUT)

Jul 15 – Toronto, ON – Mod Club (SOLD OUT)

Jul 17 – Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Bluesfest

Jul 18 – Toronto, ON – Mod Club (SOLD OUT)

Jul 19 – Guelph, ON – Hillside Festival

Jul 26 – Niigata, Japan – Fuji Rock Festival

Aug 13 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre *

Aug 14 – Buena Vista, CO – Field of Vision II

Aug 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom (SOLD OUT)

Aug 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom (SOLD OUT)

Aug 19 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent (SOLD OUT)

Aug 21 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater (SOLD OUT)

Aug 23 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl (SOLD OUT)

Aug 24 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl (SOLD OUT)

Aug 25 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom *

Aug 28 – Lisbon, PT – Meo Kalorama

Aug 30 – Vlieland, NL – Into The Great Wide Open

Aug 31 – Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje (SOLD OUT)

Sep 1 – Cologne, DE – Live Music Hall (SOLD OUT)

Sep 4 – Dorset, UK – End of the Road

Sep 5 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Psych Fest

Sep 6 – Edinburgh, UK – Edinburgh Psych Fest

Sep 9 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge (SOLD OUT)

Sep 10 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge (SOLD OUT)

Sep 11 – Elizabethtown, NY – Otis Mountain Get Down

Sep 12 – Austin, TX – Levitation

Sep 15 – Washington, DC – The Atlantis (SOLD OUT)

Sep 16 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts (SOLD OUT)

Sep 17 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre *

Sep 19-20 – Richmond, VA – Iron Blossom Festival

Oct 13 – Bristol, UK – Prospect Building (SOLD OUT)

Oct 14 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy Glasgow (SOLD OUT)

Oct 16 – Dublin, IRE – Vicar Street (SOLD OUT)

Oct 18 – Leeds, UK – O2 Academy Leeds (SOLD OUT)

Oct 19 – London, UK – Troxy (SOLD OUT)

Oct 20 – London, UK – Troxy (SOLD OUT)

Oct 21 – Paris, FR – Élysée Montmartre (SOLD OUT)

Oct 22 – Paris, FR – Élysée Montmartre (SOLD OUT)

Oct 24 – Lyon, FR – L’Épicerie Moderne (SOLD OUT)

Oct 25 – Antwerp, BE – Trix (SOLD OUT)

Oct 27 – Berlin, DE – Astra (SOLD OUT)

Oct 28 – Hamburg, DE – Molotow (SOLD OUT)

Oct 29 – Heidelberg, DE – Metropolink (SOLD OUT)

Oct 31 – Amsterdam, NL – London Calling (SOLD OUT)

Nov 1 – Groningen, NL – VERA (SOLD OUT)

Nov 5 – Toronto, ON – History *

Nov 6 – Quebec City, QC – Impérial Bell (SOLD OUT)

Nov 14 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda (SOLD OUT)

Nov 16 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel *

Nov 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel *

Nov 19 – Boston, MA – Royale *

Nov 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall *

Nov 25 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade *

Nov 27 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl *

Dec 2 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *

Dec 4 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern *

Dec 8 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *

Dec 11 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom *

Stray Kids Bring the ‘STRAYCITY’ Experience to Latin America This September

Eric Alper
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Stray Kids Bring the ‘STRAYCITY’ Experience to Latin America This September

Stray Kids are taking their live experience to Latin America this September with ‘STRAYCITY’, a special series of performances hitting Bogotá, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City. Built around the group’s full festival production, the shows are designed as immersive, high-energy events with support lineups varying by city, featuring NEXZ, Bad Milk, Kei Linch, K4OS, Andrés Obregón, and RENEE across the dates.

‘STRAYCITY’ is a concept built around collective energy and self-expression, inviting fans known as STAY into a shared space designed for movement and full immersion. The series builds anticipation for which new city Stray Kids will stray into after this run, with each stop adding to the mythology of the experience.

These dates land in the middle of one of the biggest years in the group’s already record-laden career. On September 11, sandwiched between the Latin America shows, Stray Kids headline Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro, making history as both the first K-pop act to headline the festival and the first K-pop act ever to perform there.

Before that, they headline The Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City on June 6. Add their 2024 headline slots at BST Hyde Park in London and Lollapalooza in Chicago, and the trajectory here is impossible to ignore.

Their most recent release, ‘SKZ IT TAPE DO IT’, dropped November 21, 2025 via JYP Entertainment and Republic Records, and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. That made Stray Kids the first act in history to debut their first eight charting albums at number 1 on that chart, extending their own record as the K-pop group with the most Billboard 200 number 1 albums of the 21st century.

The catalog certifications keep stacking too. Six new RIAA certifications arrived recently, including Platinum for “God’s Menu” and Gold for “KARMA,” “LALALALA,” “Chk Chk Boom,” “S-Class,” and “Case 143.” No K-pop artist in history holds more RIAA Gold Album certifications.

Tickets for Bogotá and Buenos Aires go on sale May 27 at 10am local time. Mexico City tickets go on sale May 29 at 2pm local time. Both are available at livenation.lat.

Stray Kids Latin America ‘STRAYCITY’ Show Dates:

Wed, Sep 9 – Bogotá, Colombia – Vive Claro Distrito Cultural

Fri, Sep 11 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Rock in Rio

Mon, Sep 14 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Hipódromo de San Isidro

Fri, Sep 25 – Mexico City, Mexico – Estadio GNP Seguros

Video: Paolo Nutini’s TRNSMT Homecoming Reminds Glasgow Exactly Why They Never Stopped Believing

Eric Alper
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Video: Paolo Nutini’s TRNSMT Homecoming Reminds Glasgow Exactly Why They Never Stopped Believing

Paolo Nutini’s 2022 TRNSMT headline set at Glasgow Green was a full-circle moment, arriving one week after the release of his critically acclaimed fourth album ‘Last Night in the Bittersweet’ and eight years after his last record. The setlist moved from the atmospheric opener “Afterneath” through soulful crowd favorites like “Scream (Funk My Life Up)” and “Pencil Full of Lead,” with a raw acoustic stretch mid-show that drew one of the night’s loudest responses. The encore sealed it, closing on a cover of Dougie MacLean’s “Caledonia” before the emotional gut-punch of “Iron Sky.” Backed by a phenomenal live band, Nutini’s raspy vocals carried across the park with the confidence of an artist who never lost a step, and a hometown crowd that had been waiting years to hear it all again.

Maybe It Was The Roses Brings Three Days of Grateful Dead Magic to the California Coast

Eric Alper
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Maybe It Was The Roses Brings Three Days of Grateful Dead Magic to the California Coast

Three days. An oceanfront setting. A lineup built entirely around the music of the Grateful Dead and Bob Weir. The Maybe It Was The Roses Music Festival arrives in Ventura, California, May 29 through 31, and it’s shaping up to be exactly the kind of gathering the Dead community does better than anyone.

Presented by Golden Road Festival, the event takes over the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach at 450 E Harbor Blvd, putting the Pacific Ocean directly behind the stage. Few backdrops suit this music better. The setting alone makes this weekend worth the trip.

The 2026 lineup covers serious ground. Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Stu Allen and The Mars Hotel, Lebo and Friends, Spaga Plays Dead, Jerry’s Dead, Bone Diggers, No Simple Highway, Jax Plays Dead, The McCrees, and the Ventura All Stars are all on the bill. Special guest Don Was also appears as part of the weekend.

After the sun goes down, the festival keeps moving. Late-night programming includes DJ Logic, a Drums and Space Night, and DeadTronica. For anyone who knows how these gatherings work, the after-parties are as essential as the main sets.

This is a festival designed around community as much as music. Deadheads, Bob Weir fans, families, dancers, and first-timers are all welcome. The shared language here is the songs, and those songs have a way of making introductions unnecessary.

Golden Road Festival has built Maybe It Was The Roses around a straightforward idea: bring people together through live music, create space for connection, and let the spirit of the Dead do the rest. It’s a simple formula that the Grateful Dead universe has been proving for decades.

Tickets and package options are available now through Golden Road Ticketing at goldenroadticketing.com. Full festival information is at goldenroadfestival.com.

Maybe It Was The Roses Music Festival 2026:

Friday, May 29, 2026

Saturday, May 30, 2026

Sunday, May 31, 2026

Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach, 450 E Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001

Blue Öyster Cult Founder Albert Bouchard Drops Imaginos II Graphic Novel With Full Album Integration

Eric Alper
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0
Blue Öyster Cult Founder Albert Bouchard Drops Imaginos II Graphic Novel With Full Album Integration

Albert Bouchard has spent decades shepherding one of rock’s most ambitious mythologies, and the Imaginos saga just got a major new chapter. The founding Blue Öyster Cult member and Deko Entertainment have released the Imaginos II interactive graphic novel, an immersive experience built around all 14 songs from his ‘Imaginos II Bombs Over Germany’ album.

This isn’t a standard graphic novel with a playlist attached. The Imaginos II release connects readers directly to all 14 tracks, never-before-seen videos, and includes a download card for the full digital version, making it fully navigable on computer, phone, or tablet. It’s the Imaginos story delivered at its most complete and accessible.

The graphic novel covers the second third of the Imaginos saga, a concept rooted in the late Sandy Pearlman’s feverish, sprawling mythology about a shapeshifting figure moving through history. Bouchard has been the primary force translating that vision into music and now into sequential art, building on the foundation laid by the Imaginos I graphic novel.

One of the standout moments in the release is “Three Sisters,” featuring Buck Dharma. The song has deep roots, written during the ‘Fire of Unknown Origin’ sessions and held back for years. Bouchard reached out to Dharma for the track, and the response was enthusiastic. “He told me he was delighted because he always loved the song,” Bouchard says. The full video is out now and worth your full attention.

Bouchard is clear about what these graphic novels are designed to do. “These graphic novels expand on the saga of Imaginos, which is itself an extremely expandable story,” he says. “The videos expand upon both the comic and the songs, making this the most complete version of the Imaginos story to date.”

The Imaginos albums rework classic Blue Öyster Cult catalog deep cuts and fan favorites alike, including “Astronomy,” “E.T.I.,” “Godzilla,” and “Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll.” For longtime BÖC followers, hearing these tracks reimagined within the full Imaginos framework adds a new layer of context to songs they’ve known for decades.

The full Imaginos catalogue is available now, including ‘ReImaginos’, ‘Imaginos II Bombs Over Germany’, and ‘Imaginos III Mutant Reformation’. With Imaginos IV already on the horizon, Bouchard is moving with real momentum toward completing one of rock’s most singular long-form creative projects.

Order the Imaginos II graphic novel and the full catalogue at dekoentertainment.com/albertbouchard.

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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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