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Rock Festival Riot Fest Lands Alanis Morissette, Morrissey And Tool As 2026 Headliners

Eric Alper
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Rock Festival Riot Fest Lands Alanis Morissette, Morrissey And Tool As 2026 Headliners

Riot Fest has rolled out the lineup for its 2026 edition. The longtime Chicago punk and rock festival returns to its home base at Douglass Park September 18-20, with tickets on sale now. The headlining slots go to Alanis Morissette, Morrissey and Tool.

The top of the bill runs deep. Patti Smith & Her Band, Santigold, and Elvis Costello & the Imposters all top the lineup alongside the headliners, giving the weekend a span that reaches across punk, rock and beyond.

The undercard delivers a wild mix. This year’s event features Algernon Cadwallader, Angine de Poitrine, Chat Pile, This Is Lorelei, the Pixies and Jejune, plus the Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd (hopefully booked on different days). Even Insane Clown Posse make the cut, rounding out a roster of more than 100 artists across multiple stages.

Last year marked the festival’s 20th anniversary, celebrated with a stacked run of returning headliners including Blink-182, Green Day and Weezer. The 2026 edition keeps that momentum rolling with another sprawling, genre-hopping bill.

The festival packs more than music into the grounds. General Admission covers all three days with access to 90+ artists, food and retail vendors, carnival rides, a free on-site arcade and complimentary water stations. VIP, Deluxe, Deluxe+ and Backstage tiers layer on perks from air-conditioned restrooms and open bars to side-stage access and golf cart transportation.

For fans who’d rather skip online fees, 3-Day GA tickets are available in person, cash only, at Bucket O’ Blood Records and Reckless Records locations around Chicago. Payment plans and group rates for parties of 10 or more are also available.

Dream Pop Legends Cocteau Twins Get A Football Shirt Inspired By ‘Heaven Or Las Vegas’

Eric Alper
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Dream Pop Legends Cocteau Twins Get A Football Shirt Inspired By ‘Heaven Or Las Vegas’

Cocteau Twins are getting the football kit treatment. The dream pop legends have teamed with Full Kit on a Scotland-inspired football shirt, part of the new 4AD x Full Kit Complicated Opposition collection. Pre-orders run through June 8th via the 4AD webstore and Bandcamp.

The design pulls straight from the band’s landmark 1990 album, ‘Heaven or Las Vegas.’ It reinterprets the record’s dreamlike palette and atmosphere through the lens of Scottish national team iconography, merging classic football detailing with the visual world Paul West and v23 created for the album artwork.

The shirt carries real meaning for the band. It nods to their origins in Grangemouth and celebrates Scotland’s first trip to the World Cup in 28 years. The 130gsm jersey is made from 100% polyester, with shirts custom made and shipping six to eight weeks after the pre-order window closes.

The campaign gives back too. As part of the collection, 4AD will make a donation to War Child, the organization supporting children affected by war through education, protection and advocacy.

The shirt comes in sizes Small through XXL and carries a release date of June 26th, 2026. Photography for the campaign comes from Adam Powell, co-directed by Robbie Laing, with model Bruce Ebersole.

Prime Video Unveils Star-Studded Obsessed Fest Lineup With Lili Reinhart, Lana Condor And More

Eric Alper
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Prime Video Unveils Star-Studded Obsessed Fest Lineup With Lili Reinhart, Lana Condor And More

Prime Video is turning fandom into a real-world celebration. The streamer has revealed the first wave of talent for the inaugural Obsessed Fest, an immersive, all-day fan experience bringing audiences face-to-face with the stars, creators and authors behind its most buzzworthy YA titles. The event lands June 27th at nya Studios in Los Angeles, and tickets are on sale now.

The first-look guest list runs deep. Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman represent The Love Hypothesis, while Benito Skinner, Wally Baram and Mary Beth Barone arrive from Overcompensating. Gavin Casalegno, Lana Condor and Tommi Rose bring The Devil’s Mouth, and Lexi Minetree appears from Elle.

The casts keep coming. Off Campus sends Belmont Cameli, Stephen Kalyn, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Antonio Cipriano, Ella Bright, Mika Abdalla, Josh Heuston and creator Louisa Levy. Every Year After brings Matt Cornett, Michael Bradway, author Carley Fortune and showrunner Amy B. Harris.

Authors share the spotlight throughout. Asha Banks and author Mercedes Ron represent Your Fault: London, Ester Expósito comes from Drawn Together, and Damian Hardung arrives from Maxton Hall. Maia Reficco, Fernando Lindez and author Anna Todd represent The Last Sunrise, with author Casey McQuiston on hand for Red, White & Royal Wedding.

The programming spreads across multiple zones. A Main Stage anchors the day with a Welcome Assembly and live, talent-led sessions featuring exclusive footage and interactive fan moments. The Book Club lounge offers author signings, live conversations, workshops and curated shelves, and fans are encouraged to bring their own book.

The hands-on experiences go further. Content Creation studios let fans step into recreated scenes from key titles for personalized photo and video moments. A dedicated screening room hosts curated binges, alongside exclusive merch drops and food experiences inspired by on-screen moments.

Amazon Music serves as the official audio sponsor with a dedicated listening lounge. Fans can discover music from every Obsessed Fest show, settle in for a day-long DJ set, and explore headphone stations stocked with music, podcasts and audiobooks.

The festival headlines Obsession Is In Session, Prime Video’s expansive new initiative celebrating young adult storytelling and fandom culture. The day also marks the first live activation of Prime Book Club, a global initiative from Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios built around book-to-screen storytelling. Tickets are $25 and available at obsessed-fest.com.

Thrash Veterans Flotsam And Jetsam Unleash Brutal “Rats In The Temple” Video

Eric Alper
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Thrash Veterans Flotsam And Jetsam Unleash Brutal “Rats In The Temple” Video

Flotsam And Jetsam are back in attack mode. The thrash veterans have unleashed a music video for “Rats In The Temple,” the title track and first single from their forthcoming album. The record arrives August 28th via Napalm Records.

Vocalist Eric A.K. Knutson is fired up about leading with the title cut. “We’re super excited to release the first single from the album, which is very fittingly the title track, ‘Rats In The Temple,'” he says. The song rips with the kind of precision and aggression that’s kept this group at the front of the thrash pack for decades.

Knutson notes the track pushed the group hard in the studio. “This song has a lot to say, and we hope the fans love the song as much as we do,” he says, calling it possibly one of the most technically challenging songs Flotsam has ever recorded. He adds that they’re looking forward to delivering it live.

The frontman doesn’t mince words about the full-length either. “This record is a BEAST, truly our best effort to date,” Knutson says. His advice to listeners is simple. Dim the lights, grab a drink, put the headphones on, and crank it up.

King Crimson Capture Their Three-Drummer Era On ‘2014 NYC’ Live Sets

Eric Alper
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King Crimson Capture Their Three-Drummer Era On ‘2014 NYC’ Live Sets

BLOG POST King Crimson are opening the vault on one of their boldest lineups. The prog rock legends will release ‘2014 NYC’ as 2LP and 2CD sets on July 10th, 2026, drawn from live multi-track recordings of the group’s electric four-night run at New York’s Best Buy Theatre in September 2014.

New York has always held a special place in the band’s story. Label Glass Onyon traces the connection back to the 1969 Fillmore East breakthrough, through the early-’70s returns, the Larks’-era farewell at Central Park in 1974, the celebrated six nights at the Savoy in 1981, and a 2008 quintet that introduced Gavin Harrison. The 2014 stand marked the next major reset at that same venue.

The 2014 band looked like nothing else touring at the time, with three drummers lined up across the front. Robert Fripp described the idea as a sudden point of seeing, turning rhythm into a moving, interlocked engine.

The group treated its catalog as living material, rebuilt with microscopic attention rather than copied note-for-note. The trio of drummers delivered a choreographed surge and uncanny unity, with Harrison joking it felt like one drummer with six legs and six arms. The calmer chemistry among the seven players let them hit with brute force and fine detail at once, refreshing older classics and giving newer pieces extra muscle.

Performances like “Starless,” framed with a deliberate red-light nod to 1974, proved Crimson could honor its past without sliding into nostalgia. This is a thrilling document of a group still reinventing its own language with no obvious limit.

From 2014 to 2021, the band played music that stayed, in Fripp’s words, new whenever it’s performed, freshly minted each night. They’d often stay in one city for multiple nights to meet ticket demand while keeping to venues where everyone could see and hear fully.

‘2014 NYC’ kicks off a new series compiled from those single-city runs, starting with the September 2014 New York shows. Later this year, in Autumn 2026, a 2x Blu-ray release will capture the band’s entire 19-date 2014 U.S. tour and include this compilation.

The sets feature Robert Fripp on guitar and keyboards, Jakko Jakszyk on guitar and vocals, Mel Collins on sax and flute, Tony Levin on bass, Chapman Stick and backing vocals, and drummers Gavin Harrison, Bill Rieflin and Pat Mastelotto.

‘2014 NYC’ 2LP Track Listing:

Side A: Introductory Soundscape

Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part I)

Pictures of a City

Side B: A Scarcity of Miracles

The Letters

The Sailor’s Tale

The Hell Hounds of Krim

Side C: Red

Improv: Hoodoo

The Talking Drum

Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II)

Side D: VROOOM

Coda: Marine 475

The Light of Day

21st Century Schizoid Man

‘2014 NYC’ 2CD Track Listing:

CD1: Introductory Soundscape

Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part I)

Pictures of a City

A Scarcity of Miracles

Banshee Legs Bell Hassle

Level Five

The Letters

The Sailor’s Tale

Interlude

The ConstruKction of Light

Red

CD2: One More Red Nightmare

VROOOM

Coda: Marine 475

The Light of Day

The Talking Drum

Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II)

Starless

The Hell Hounds of Krim

Improv: Hoodoo

21st Century Schizoid Man

Belinda Carlisle And Kate Pierson Headline Fourth Women’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp

Eric Alper
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Belinda Carlisle And Kate Pierson Headline Fourth Women’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp

Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp is marking its 30th year with a milestone all its own. The organization has announced the fourth Women’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, led by Belinda Carlisle, Kate Pierson, Kathy Valentine, Cherie Currie, Beth Nielsen Chapman and more to come.

The camp runs November 5-8, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA, and packs two immersive experiences into one event. Campers can join a band and perform live at two of LA’s most iconic rock venues while jamming with their heroes, or dive into a songwriting track focused on crafting original music with GRAMMY-nominated and winning writers. Women of all ages and experience levels are welcome.

“I am so looking forward to spending time with the Campers, making some music and sharing stories of my experiences in the industry,” says Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and Go-Go’s lead singer Belinda Carlisle.

B-52’s founding member and vocalist Kate Pierson is just as eager. “I’m really looking forward to collaborating and getting creative with the campers,” she says, adding that she’d love to share any lessons from her years in the music business. “See you there, happy campers.”

The rock performer track spans four days of rehearsals, jam sessions and Q&As, with each camper mentored by a rockstar counselor before taking the stage. The bands close things out live at the legendary Whisky a Go Go and The Viper Room. This year’s counselors include Eva Gardner (P!nk), Valerie Franco (Spinal Tap II), Ashley Reeve (Cher, Filter), Holly West (Zepparella) and Britt Lightning (Musical Director of Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, Vixen).

The songwriting track pairs aspiring writers with proven hitmakers. Beth Nielsen Chapman, whose songs have reached Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Willie Nelson and Neil Diamond, leads alongside GRAMMY-winning writer and producer Autumn Rowe (Dua Lipa, Pitbull, Cher). Songwriting campers also take part in Q&As with Carlisle, Pierson, Valentine and Currie, plus mentoring sessions with Susan Silver, an architect of the 1990s Seattle grunge scene.

The songwriting track wraps with a live performance of the campers’ original material at Whisky a Go Go. Campers can also add a recording session to their experience during the week.

Country Hitmaker Charles Kelley Drops Anchor With New SiriusXM Show “Y’all Aboard”

Eric Alper
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Country Hitmaker Charles Kelley Drops Anchor With New SiriusXM Show “Y’all Aboard”

Charles Kelley is setting sail into yacht rock season. The GRAMMY-winning hitmaker has launched ‘Y’all Aboard Hosted by Charles Kelley,’ airing exclusively on SiriusXM’s Yacht Rock Radio (ch. 15). The show is on the air now, having debuted with Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook as his first guests.

Six more episodes are on deck, with a guest list that spans Russell Dickerson, Dustin Lynch, Richard Marx, Trisha Yearwood and more. The format is loose and friendly, built around Kelley inviting his country music friends into the studio each week.

“’80s music always hits, but it’s the best time of the year to turn up some Yacht Rock,” says Kelley. “I’ve been having such a good time kicking back with my friends and vibing out to some of my favorite songs ever released.”

Each episode finds Kelley and his guests swapping stories, spinning favorite yacht rock tracks, and occasionally attempting a Michael McDonald impression or two. To celebrate the show, he’ll also appear for a special episode of SiriusXM’s Music Row Happy Hour, live from Nashville, TN on July 24th.

The show rides the same wave Kelley’s been surfing since his sophomore album, ‘Songs For A New Moon.’ American Songwriter praised the infectious melodies and luxurious pop production driving the record, while Atwood Magazine pointed to its bold ’80s-inspired sounds and raw honesty. PEOPLE credited Kelley with transporting listeners to a time when music simply felt better.

He recently leaned deeper into the era’s steamy ballads, adding Maren Morris to an original album cut for their “Can’t Be Alone Tonight” collaboration, which MusicRow called swoon-worthy.

Kelley knows his way around a creative detour. As one-third of country trio Lady A and a chart-topping songwriter, he’s co-penned favorites for Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Brett Young and more. His 2016 solo debut ‘The Driver’ earned him another GRAMMY nomination for its title track, and the new show extends that streak of going his own way.

Australian Indie Favorite Grace Cummings Shares Haunting “My God” Video Ahead Of ‘Bloodhorse!’

Eric Alper
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Australian Indie Favorite Grace Cummings Shares Haunting “My God” Video Ahead Of ‘Bloodhorse!’

Grace Cummings is stepping further into the dark. The Australian indie favorite has released “My God,” the first single from her upcoming fourth album, ‘Bloodhorse!,’ announced today for August 14th on ATO Records.

Cummings spent years quietly building a following in her native Australia with a run of impressive releases. Her profile went global when her third album, ‘Ramona,’ drew widespread critical acclaim in 2024. Like that record, ‘Bloodhorse!’ was recorded in Topanga Canyon, California with GRAMMY-nominated producer Jonathan Wilson, whose credits include Father John Misty, Angel Olsen and Margo Price.

“My God” arrives with a homespun video from director Ben Portnoy. The song is a haunting piano piece built around Cummings’ deep, breathy vocals, which she recorded while suffering from pneumonia. “Lyrically, this song is about hatred, jealousy, rage,” she says, describing the title’s God as the dark forces of the modern world, the toxic energy we scroll through and the fear we feed it every day.

Wilson, recently nominated for a GRAMMY for his work on Father John Misty’s ‘Chloe and the Next 20th Century,’ doesn’t hold back in his praise. He calls Cummings a once-in-a-generation voice and says her songwriting keeps getting sharper, adding that she delivers the new album with humanity, power and emotion like no one else on earth.

The title carries its own weight of meaning. Cummings explains that a bloodhorse is a horse bred to win, though one that’s often temperamental, fearful and easily broken. She compares the feeling to a trapped animal twitching in the starting gate, then bolting the moment she opens her eyes.

Fight or flight powers the record from end to end. ‘Bloodhorse!’ moves through anxieties, confessionals, hopes and nightmares, swooping from gorgeous to grotesque, velvet to violent, sacred to profane. If ‘Ramona’ widened her world from folk into something cinematic, this album drives deep into the night with the headlights off.

“In the past few years I’ve gone through one of the biggest personal changes of my life,” Cummings says. She frames ‘Bloodhorse!’ as an attempt to express the things she can’t say, a confession and an act of courage made for no one but herself, representing not the way life is but the way it feels.

Those feelings run large. Themes of life, death, agency, abuse and self-examination pulse through the lyrics, carried by shuddering synths, tense strings and woozy grooves that meet Cummings’ gift for campfire melodies, expressive piano and that soulful voice. The thrill comes from hearing her push at the edge of her own understanding.

Glen Hansard Unveils ‘Transmissions West’ And The Live Single “Revelate”

Eric Alper
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Glen Hansard Unveils ‘Transmissions West’ And The Live Single “Revelate”

Glen Hansard is opening the next chapter of an ambitious live document. The indie folk favorite has announced ‘Don+t Settle – Transmissions West,’ the second volume of his new album ‘Don+t Settle – Transmissions East & West,’ arriving June 26th, 2026 via Plateau/Secretly Distribution.

The record came together over two nights in April 2025, performed in front of an audience at Berlin’s historic Funkhaus. Its 20-song tracklist gathers live reinterpretations of material spanning Hansard’s full career, drawing from his four solo albums, his work with The Frames, and his time as half of the Oscar-winning duo The Swell Season alongside Marketa Irglova.

The full ‘Transmissions East & West’ wears several hats at once. It works as a career retrospective, a ‘Best Of’ collection, a live record, and a new studio album all in one.

To mark the announcement, Hansard has shared the single “Revelate,” paired with a live performance video filmed at Funkhaus during the sessions. The track carries decades of fire, and it remains one of the most stirring pieces in his catalog.

The song’s roots run deep. Hansard describes “Revelate” as an arms-to-the-sky plea for intervention, written during a stretch of disappointment in the early ’90s when The Frames were dropped from Island Records. He’d been signed to the label by the legendary Chris Blackwell just two years earlier, and recalls every interaction with him as positive.

Hansard later learned that Blackwell had semi-retired, and that the band got swept up in a routine corporate clear-out. He points to the young lives and dreams that get overlooked when companies treat such moves as “just business.” His response was the only one an artist could make.

“No one was gonna tell me we were done,” Hansard says. “And we dealt with the earthquake the way any artist must. We wrote our way through it.” “Revelate” became the first single from the band’s self-funded second album ‘Fitzcarraldo,’ and he still sings it proudly today.

Ukulele Virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro Reinvents “Golden” From KPop Demon Hunters On New Covers Album

Eric Alper
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Ukulele Virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro Reinvents “Golden” From KPop Demon Hunters On New Covers Album

Jake Shimabukuro is turning a viral movie anthem into his next statement. The renowned ‘ukulele virtuoso has reimagined “Golden” from the hit film KPop Demon Hunters as the first single from his new covers album, ‘Pop Experience.’ The record arrives July 10th, 2026 on digital and CD.

The project gathers a diverse slate of contemporary pop songs filtered through Shimabukuro’s signature instrumental style. He spans chart-topping smashes and introspective ballads, transforming familiar melodies into expressive, genre-defying arrangements that show off both his technical command and his musical sensitivity.

“I’ve always loved taking songs that mean something to people and seeing how they feel on the ‘ukulele,” says Shimabukuro. He describes ‘Pop Experience’ as eight tunes he’s loved over the years, from Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire,” and calls the process a chance to explore a different side of songs he thought he already knew.

The “Golden” cover already has momentum. Videos of the arrangement have circulated widely across social platforms, drawing enthusiastic reactions from fans who praise his knack for translating a contemporary pop anthem into a rich, expressive ‘ukulele piece.

“When I first heard ‘Golden’ from the KPop Demon Hunters movie, I knew it was something special,” says Shimabukuro. He calls it the kind of song that invites listeners in and reminds them why music matters, adding that the track has been living in his head ever since he first heard it.

The arrangements run deep across the tracklist. From the haunting introspection of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” to the emotional pull of Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends,” Shimabukuro captures the spirit of each original while making every piece unmistakably his own. The result is some of the most inventive playing of his career.

‘Pop Experience’ continues a run of innovation from a player who’s collaborated across genres and won over audiences worldwide. The album will be available on all major streaming platforms and on CD upon release.

‘Pop Experience’ Track Listing:

Golden (HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI)

Die With A Smile (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)

We Can’t Be Friends (Ariana Grande)

Opalite (Taylor Swift)

Rose (HANA)

Vampire (Olivia Rodrigo)

What Was I Made For (Billie Eilish)

Angel (Sarah McLachlan)

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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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