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Portuguese Post-Hardcore Firestarters Junkbreed Drop Blistering New Video for “Misantrophe”

Eric Alper
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Portuguese Post-Hardcore Firestarters Junkbreed Drop Blistering New Video for “Misantrophe”

Junkbreed have a new video out for “Misantrophe,” and it arrives as a sharp reminder of exactly what makes ‘Sick Of The Scene’ one of the most uncompromising heavy releases of the past year. The track is pulled from their second full-length, out now via Raging Planet, and the video captures the band’s volatile, high-impact energy in full. Punk urgency, post-hardcore abrasion, and raw rock momentum, delivered with zero patience for anything hollow or performative.

‘Sick Of The Scene’ tears into conformity, creative burnout, AI in art, and the empty spectacle of modern music culture with a sneer and real conviction. The album artwork, ironically generated with AI by founding member Miranda, mirrors that tension deliberately. It’s darkly humorous and provocative, a visual extension of the band’s core ethos: question everything, stay loud, stay human. That kind of self-aware irreverence gives the record an extra layer of bite that most heavy albums never bother reaching for.

Junkbreed emerged from the 2020 lockdown as a raw creative outlet before building into one of the most electrifying forces in the Portuguese heavy underground. The lineup of Miranda, vocalist Pica, bassist Karia, drummer Antero, and guitarist Tiago locked into place and hit hard, following their 2021 debut ‘Music For Cool Kids’ and the 2023 ‘Cheap Composure’ EP with an album that kicks the doors wide open and keeps pushing.

‘Sick Of The Scene’ is out now via Raging Planet. The “Misantrophe” video is out now, and this is a band that absolutely rewards your attention.

Blues Guitar Legend Tinsley Ellis Delivers Raw and Deeply Personal All-Original Acoustic Album ‘Labor Of Love’

Eric Alper
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Blues Guitar Legend Tinsley Ellis Delivers Raw and Deeply Personal All-Original Acoustic Album ‘Labor Of Love’

Tinsley Ellis has spent four decades earning the right to make a record like this. ‘Labor Of Love,’ out now on CD, Georgia peach-colored vinyl, and digital, is his second acoustic album and his first to feature entirely original material. Self-produced and performed with pure emotional honesty, the 13-song collection pulls from blues tradition while spinning modern tales of floods, voodoo spirits, personal struggle, and hard-won grace. Premier Guitar called him “a legend of American blues music and an American music treasure,” and ‘Labor Of Love’ is the fullest expression yet of why that designation fits.

The new radio single “Too Broke” hits with the kind of lyrical directness that cuts through immediately, inspired by blues great Tommy Johnson’s “Big Road Blues” and built around themes everyone can relate to right now. The album moves through the feral opener “Hoodoo Woman,” a John Lee Hooker-groove on “Long Time,” Skip James-inspired depth on “To A Hammer,” and a Son House-style stomp on “Sunnyland.” Ellis inhabits each song completely, mixing foot-pounding ferocity with moments of genuine, quiet beauty.

The record carries the weight of a specific creative pilgrimage. During recording, Ellis traveled to Bentonia, Mississippi, birthplace of Skip James, where he spent time with blues legend Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and performed at his famous Blue Front Café. “Once I got home,” Ellis notes, “I went right back to the studio and incorporated everything that I just experienced into my music.” That immersion is audible throughout. Ellis recorded using six different open tunings across his 1969 Martin D-35, his 12-string Martin D-12-20, and his 1937 National Steel O Series guitars, and played mandolin on three tracks for the first time in his career.

Ellis is currently touring solo on his aptly named “Two Guitars And A Car” tour, bringing this music directly to audiences across the country. ‘Labor Of Love’ is out now.

Bardcore Musician Algal the Bard Transforms Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” Into a Rousing Medieval Tavern Anthem

Eric Alper
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Bardcore Musician Algal the Bard Transforms Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” Into a Rousing Medieval Tavern Anthem

Algal the Bard has taken one of rock’s most beloved anthems and hauled it back six centuries, and the result is exactly as delightful as it sounds. The talented bardcore musician composed and performed an entirely instrumental Medieval tavern version of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” playing every traditional instrument himself, including bouzouki, whistle, and lute-guitar. The arrangement captures the jovial, communal energy of the original while wrapping it in the warm, wooden tones of the Middle Ages, proof that a great melody is a great melody in any era.

London Theatrical Indie Favorites Balancing Act Kick Off 2026 with Irresistible New Single “Sunshine” and UK/EU Tour

Eric Alper
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London Theatrical Indie Favorites Balancing Act Kick Off 2026 with Irresistible New Single “Sunshine” and UK/EU Tour

Balancing Act have been sitting on “Sunshine” since before they knew who they were as a band, and the wait has clearly done the song nothing but good. The Manchester-via-London four-piece open their 2026 account with a mischievously sharp send-off to a relationship well past its expiry date, dripping in devilish jabs, tight one-liners, and the theatrical, inky charm that has made them one of UK indie’s most compelling prospects. The band’s own description lands perfectly: “It’s hot out of the gates, it sounds best loud and it’s ready to burst your ear drums.”

Balancing Act draw from a genuinely distinctive set of reference points, Tim Burton’s gothic allure, Father John Misty, The Marías, Richard Hawley, and The Walkmen, synthesizing all of it into something that feels entirely their own. Their stage shows are fully realized theatrical experiences, their van-dwelling, farm-camping, river-washing DIY ethos bleeds directly into the music, and their live reputation has been built one sold-out room at a time across London, Manchester, Paris, and Amsterdam. Support slots with The Amazons and Bad Nerves have only broadened the audience catching on.

Radio 1’s Jack Saunders called them “potentially the new generation’s favourite band.” Clash named them “the dark horses of the current indie scene and the It band to catch live before they inevitably blow up.” Both assessments feel accurate, and “Sunshine” does nothing to soften that momentum.

The April UK headline tour now extends into Europe, hitting Hamburg, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris after wrapping the UK leg in London. Tickets are on sale now.

Balancing Act 2026 Tour Dates:

Apr 10 — Liverpool Arts Club, Liverpool

Apr 11 — Think Tank, Newcastle

Apr 12 — King Tut’s, Glasgow

Apr 14 — Gorilla, Manchester

Apr 15 — Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

Apr 16 — Key Club, Leeds

Apr 18 — Green Door Store, Brighton

Apr 19 — Exchange, Bristol

Apr 21 — The Dome, London

Apr 25 — Nochtwache, Hamburg

Apr 26 — Cirque Royal Club, Brussels

Apr 28 — Cinetol, Amsterdam

Apr 29 — Supersonic Records, Paris

Cream Reissues the Legendary ‘Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005’ for Its 20th Anniversary

Eric Alper
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Cream Reissues the Legendary ‘Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005’ for Its 20th Anniversary

Twenty years ago, three of rock’s greatest musicians walked back onto a stage together after 37 years apart, and the result was one of the most celebrated reunion performances in music history. Cream’s ‘Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005’ is out now via Surfdog, reissued on blue and green splatter triple vinyl and blue and orange double CD to mark the anniversary of those four extraordinary nights in London.

Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton reunited as the original supergroup with nothing to prove and everything to deliver, and the recordings capture exactly that. Nineteen tracks drawn from the best of those shows, running from “I’m So Glad” through “Crossroads,” “White Room,” and closing on “Sunshine of Your Love,” the setlist is a masterclass in blues-rooted rock played by three musicians at the absolute peak of their collective craft. The alternate take of “Sleepy Time Time” rounds out the collection as a final gift to anyone paying close attention.

Cream built their legacy in just four years between 1966 and 1968, releasing four albums that permanently reshaped rock, blues, and psychedelia. The Royal Albert Hall reunion shows demonstrated that the chemistry between Baker, Bruce, and Clapton never faded. It just waited. These recordings have the warmth and weight of a band that understood exactly what the moment meant.

The 20th anniversary reissue is out now. Essential for longtime fans and a compelling entry point for anyone still discovering why Cream remain one of rock’s most vital stories.

Track Listing:

  1. I’m So Glad
  2. Spoonful
  3. Outside Woman Blues
  4. Pressed Rat and Warthog
  5. Sleepy Time Time
  6. N.S.U.
  7. Badge
  8. Politician
  9. Sweet Wine
  10. Rollin’ and Tumblin’
  11. Stormy Monday
  12. Deserted Cities of the Heart
  13. Born Under a Bad Sign
  14. We’re Going Wrong
  15. Crossroads
  16. White Room
  17. Toad
  18. Sunshine of Your Love
  19. Sleepy Time Time (Alternate)

Alt-Metal Six-Piece Scratch One Grub Arrive Fully Formed with Debut Album ‘One’ and Blistering Single “#1”

Eric Alper
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Alt-Metal Six-Piece Scratch One Grub Arrive Fully Formed with Debut Album ‘One’ and Blistering Single “#1”

Scratch One Grub have emerged from Aberdare with something immediate and fully realized. The Welsh six-piece’s debut album ‘One’ is out now, and lead single “#1” announces their arrival with biting rhythms, big hooks, and the kind of intricate musicianship that signals a band who have been preparing for this moment for a long time. Progressive ambition, alt-metal grit, and raw emotion, all of it locked into eight tracks that move with real purpose.

The lineup is deep and deliberately assembled. Aled Trigg on vocals, Lewis Griffiths on drums and vocals, Sean “The Grub Man” Barry on samples and vocals, Evan Cook on lead guitar, Alex Lewis on rhythm guitar, and Zac Cross on bass form a unit that plays with the expansive scope of modern progressive metal while keeping the urgency and heart of the alt scene front and center. ‘One’ is sprawling yet direct, experimental yet groove-rooted, the kind of debut that takes the genre seriously without taking itself too seriously.

Scratch One Grub have already shared stages with Dead Flesh, Continents, Confessions of a Traitor, Manumit, Calvaria, House of Hosts, and Confessions of a Serial Killer, building visceral live energy into the foundation of everything they do. That experience translates directly onto record. This is a band that knows how a room feels when the music hits hard, and they’ve captured that feeling on ‘One.’

Welsh heavy music has produced some of the UK’s most vital acts, and Scratch One Grub are carrying that tradition forward with genuine force.

‘One’ Track Listing:

  1. Swamp Scum
  2. Vagabond
  3. GTFP
  4. Absolution
  5. Bad Habit
  6. #1
  7. Ysbryd
  8. Planet Killer

Rising Alt-Rock Trio People I’ve Met Prove Their Range with Infectious New Single “For Hire” via Interscope

Eric Alper
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Rising Alt-Rock Trio People I’ve Met Prove Their Range with Infectious New Single “For Hire” via Interscope

People I’ve Met made their recording debut just months ago, and they’re already demonstrating serious range. “For Hire,” out now via Interscope Records, follows their debut single “Promise,” which earned praise from NME for its euphoric chorus, and takes the trio somewhere entirely different. Same emotional territory, completely different energy. That kind of creative confidence this early in a career is worth paying attention to.

The trio of vocalist/guitarist Moses Martin, drummer Orlando Wiltshire, and bassist Andrew Suster built this sound from the ground up, literally. Wiltshire and Suster have played together since middle school jazz band, eventually moving into Wiltshire’s garage during high school before bringing Martin into the fold. That history shows in how naturally the three move together. “For Hire” was produced by the band alongside Noah Conrad, who has worked with Chappell Roan and Role Model, and the production reflects that caliber of collaboration.

Where “Promise” processed a painful breakup with poetic elegance, “For Hire” captures the raw, conflicting emotions that follow. Buoyant melody, layered vocals, and a lyric built around reclaiming personal space. Martin frames it directly: “The lyric ‘you’re not getting us for hire’ conveys the sentiment of ‘you can’t just have me when you want me.'” It lands with the kind of melodic punch and emotional clarity that turns new listeners into committed fans.

Two singles in, People I’ve Met are already showing they know exactly what they’re doing. “For Hire” is out now, and this is a band building something worth following from the very beginning.

Country Rocker Frankie Ballard Steps Into a New Chapter with Honest and Gritty New Single “Money Runs Out”

Eric Alper
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Country Rocker Frankie Ballard Steps Into a New Chapter with Honest and Gritty New Single “Money Runs Out”

Frankie Ballard has a new single out, and “Money Runs Out” arrives with the kind of grounded, lived-in conviction that has always defined his best work. Released via By Design and BMG, the track was written by Ballard and Dave Barnes and produced by Grammy Award-winner Tyler Bryant. It’s a clear-eyed look at loyalty, the people who stay when circumstances strip everything else away, and the ones who don’t. Rooted in gritty country charm and delivered with real personal weight, this is Ballard at his most direct.

The song reflects a man who has done some living since his debut run of back-to-back-to-back Billboard No. 1 singles. “It’s honest, lived-in and truly where I’m at in life,” Ballard shares. “This song reflects some of the lessons I’ve learned, paired with the country sounds I love to make.” Faith, family, and hard-won perspective sit at the center of “Money Runs Out,” and the music earns every word of that framing. The accompanying video captures his timeless charisma and the high-energy performance style that made him a fan favorite from the start.

Ballard’s track record speaks clearly. Nearly a billion global streams, the gold-certified “Helluva Life,” the platinum-certified “Sunshine & Whiskey,” and “Young & Crazy” established him as one of country’s most reliable hitmakers. His 2025 record ‘The Messenger’ showed a deeper, faith-rooted side of his artistry, drawing on gospel, blues, and rock. “Money Runs Out” threads both worlds together with ease.

More new music and upcoming shows are on the way in 2026. A hitmaker reconnecting with his roots, and making it sound effortless.

Country Legends Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Announce Final Tour Dates Capping 60 Years of Dirt

Eric Alper
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Country Legends Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Announce Final Tour Dates Capping 60 Years of Dirt

Sixty years is a remarkable run by any measure, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band are closing it out with the full weight it deserves. The legendary Grammy-winning country group has unveiled the final leg of their All The Good Times: The Farewell Tour, now fittingly subtitled 60 Years of Dirt, with dates running through June and wrapping at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on June 18th. The centerpiece of the run is a special 60th anniversary celebration at the Grand Ole Opry on May 13th, exactly six decades to the day from the band’s formation.

Founding member Jeff Hanna leads the group through this final chapter alongside bandmates Jimmie Fadden, Bob Carpenter, Jaime Hanna, and Ross Holmes. The new video for “Nashville Skyline,” a whiskey-soaked tribute to the Nashville of another era, arrives alongside the tour announcement. The song was written by Hanna, his son Jaime, and celebrated songwriter Matraca Berg, a family affair that captures exactly what this band has always been about.

Their recent ‘Night After Night EP,’ produced by Grammy-winning dobro master Jerry Douglas, stands as one of the finest late-career statements in country music. Douglas appears on lap steel alongside guest Viktor Krauss on acoustic Tic-Tac bass, and the five-song collection sounds like a band fully at peace with their legacy and still fully engaged with the music.

Tickets are on sale now. This is the last time Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will trek across the country, and every remaining date is a chance to be part of one of country music’s great final chapters.

All The Good Times: The Farewell Tour 2026 Dates:

Mar 20-25 — Outlaw Country Cruise, Miami, FL

Apr 9 — Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY

Apr 10 — State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton, PA

Apr 11 — The Cabot, Beverly, MA

Apr 12 — American Music Theatre, Lancaster, PA

Apr 14 — The Paramount Theatre, Rutland, VA

Apr 16 — Plymouth Memorial Hall, Plymouth, MA

Apr 17 — Nashua Center For The Arts, Nashua, NH

Apr 18 — Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, ON

Apr 19 — The Egg Center For The Performing Arts, Albany, NY

May 7 — Lincoln Theatre, Washington, DC

May 8 — Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Bristol, VA

May 9 — The Carolina Opry Theater, Myrtle Beach, SC

May 10 — Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington, NC

May 13 — Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville, TN (60th Anniversary Celebration)

Jun 5 — United Wireless Arena, Dodge City, KS

Jun 6 — The Astro, La Vista, NE

Jun 7 — The Monument, Rapid City, SD

Jun 9 — Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, Jackson Hole, WY

Jun 10 — Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, Jackson Hole, WY

Jun 11 — Helena Civic Center, Helena, MT

Jun 13 — Alberta Bair Theater, Billings, MT

Jun 14 — Sandy Amphitheater, Sandy, UT

Jun 16 — Dillon Amphitheater, Dillon, CO

Jun 18 — Mission Ballroom, Denver, CO

Bruno Mars Named 2026 Record Store Day Ambassador Ahead of Massive ‘The Romantic Tour’

Eric Alper
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Bruno Mars Named 2026 Record Store Day Ambassador Ahead of Massive ‘The Romantic Tour’

Bruno Mars is the 2026 Record Store Day Ambassador, and the timing couldn’t be better. With his album ‘The Romantic’ out now via Atlantic Records, and independent record stores across the country already having hosted listening parties in celebration, Mars brings genuine enthusiasm to the role. His message lands with the warmth you’d expect: “Nothing is better than sitting on your couch putting on a record and just listening to music like that. It feels like a lost art.”

Record Store Day 2026 falls on Saturday, April 18th, marking the 19th year of the movement that began in 2008 to protect independent brick-and-mortar record shops worldwide. The full release list is still forthcoming, but Mars’ involvement as Ambassador signals the kind of mainstream attention that keeps the day relevant and drives real foot traffic into stores that need it.

‘The Romantic’ arrives as Mars prepares for his first full headlining tour in nearly a decade. The Romantic Tour generated the largest single-day ticket sales in Live Nation history across North America, Europe, and the UK, moving 2.1 million tickets worldwide in a single day and setting a new Ticketmaster record in the process. Seventy-two stadium shows. Mars’ first-ever full stadium tour. One of the largest global tours of the year by any measure.

The last time Mars headlined a world tour, the 24K Magic World Tour became one of the highest-grossing runs in music history. The Romantic Tour is already outpacing it at the starting line. Record Store Day has the right Ambassador this year.

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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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