Released in 1979, “Sail On” by The Commodores showcased Lionel Richie’s gift for bittersweet balladry. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Cash Box chart.
A Dulcimer Dream: Sam Edelston Reimagines “(They Long to Be) Close to You” with Joyful Charm
Sam Edelston brings the sunshine with a cheerful dulcimer cover of “(They Long to Be) Close to You” by The Carpenters. His love for Karen Carpenter’s timeless voice shines through every note. It’s gentle, joyful, and full of heart—a perfect tribute to a soft rock classic.
Abbie Callahan Spins Heartbreak into Gold with Twangy New Single “Yo-Yo”
Riding the momentum of her breakout single “Marry Jane,” country darling and singer-songwriter Abbie Callahan returns with “Yo-Yo,” a twangy, emotionally tangled track that captures all the dizzying ups and downs of a fleeting romance.
Penned by Callahan alongside Joseph Patton and Jason Gantt (Jordan Davis, Kameron Marlowe), and produced by Oscar Charles (Chase Rice, Kassi Ashton, Madeline Edwards), “Yo-Yo” features instrumentation from reigning CMA Musician of the Year Charlie Worsham, adding a vibrant yet grounded sonic layer to this standout track.
Abbie shares, “I wrote ‘Yo-Yo’ about an 8-day situationship, and I’m glad I at least got something good out of that whole experience. It’s light and fun sounding but lyrically dark and pretty sad, honestly. It is the catalyst for my forthcoming EP, setting the stage for a defining story in my life to unfold. I’m really excited to get it out there, and I hope people love it as much as I do!”
With roots deep in Americana, classic country, and pop, Callahan brings a fresh but familiar energy to the genre. Her songbird melodies and lyrical depth are unmistakable—delivering a voice that’s as captivating as it is emotionally raw. Nothing is off limits when it comes to Abbie’s lyrical poetry, derived from lived experience and a fearless sense of self.
Influenced by timeless icons like Linda Ronstadt and Don Williams, as well as modern torchbearers like Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings, and Leon Bridges, Abbie Callahan is carving out her own lane—where vulnerability meets vibrance, and where heartbreak becomes art. With “Yo-Yo,” she doesn’t just step into the spotlight—she commands it.
The track premiered yesterday on Holler Country and a mesmerizing visualizer went live this morning.
Just this past year, with smoke still curling from the fire she sparked, Abbie’s viral ode to an old familiar friend, ‘Marry Jane,’ has rolled up nearly 600K streams and generated over 5 million impressions across socials in just the past year.
In support of her new music Abbie will be making her Bonnaroo debut at the Who Stage on Friday, June 13 along with performing daily at the famed honky tonks of downtown Nashville.
Phil Vassar Drops Sun-Soaked New Single “All American Summer” with Tony Mullins
Phil Vassar cranks up the heat with his brand-new anthem “All American Summer,” out today. Having premiered exclusively with Storme Warren on Garth Brooks’ The Big 615, the feel-good track was co-written by Vassar – the multi-award-winning singer-songwriter and piano-pounding hitmaker – alongside longtime collaborator Tony Mullins.
Vassar shares, “‘All American Summer’ is a song I wrote with my good friend Tony Mullins, who’s not only a great guy and incredible songwriter but also a fellow Virginian. We actually grew up just down the road from each other, so we share a lot of the same memories – the lakes, the long summer days, all that good stuff. I’ve always loved summertime songs – like ‘Six-Pack Summer’ and others – and when Tony and I came up with the idea for ‘All American Summer,’ I really feel like we knocked it out of the park. It’s just a lot of fun, and really kicks off the season the right way!”
Tony Mullins is one of Nashville’s most accomplished GRAMMY Award-winning songwriters, known for crafting chart-topping hits across country music. His credits include the 2000 ASCAP Song of the Year, “How Forever Feels,” recorded by Kenny Chesney, along with standout songs for artists like Ricky Skaggs, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Tim McGraw, and Craig Morgan.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” Gets Soulful and Sunny in Vandelux’s New Remixes for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
UMe/Motown released two exciting new remixes of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s enduring hit, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” by multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Vandelux. An Official Visualizer will accompany the focus remix.
Gaye and Terrell originally released “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” as a Tamala single on April 20, 1967, and included it as the opening track of their first full-length LP, United, later that year. The song was a #3 R&B chart smash and peaked at #19 on the Billboard Pop Chart, but its impact has endured beyond those charts: “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, joined the Spotify Billions Club and has generated more than 76 million YouTube views. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 1999 and was recently certified 7x-Platinum, while United was certified Gold earlier this year.
Vandelux reinvents “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with a pair of stunning remixes that each carve their own lane. The first is soulful and seductive, featuring an addictive, driving groove. The second, dubbed “Club Mix,” takes a brighter turn radiating warmth and vibrancy; tropical tones and upbeat percussion make it a joyful, feel-good anthem built for celebration.
GROUPLOVE’s Wild New Live Singles Are a Love Letter to Chaos, Crying, and Candy-Flipping Guitars
A band that transcends their ever-shapeshifting genre, GROUPLOVE has spent over a decade channeling their ecstatic energy while embracing the contradictions and complexities of existence. Capturing the band at their most uninhibited and electrifying, their latest release, a triple single that includes live versions of fan favorites “Raspberry”, “Borderlines and Aliens”, and “Cruel and Beautiful World”, is a thrilling document of their live prowess.
Recorded during their Winter 2024 tour at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago, the three singles serve as a preview of their upcoming album Rock N’ Roll You Won’t Save Me [Live], out May 30th via Glassnote Records and available for pre-order here. This release follows the first double-single release, which included live versions of “Colours” and “Malachi”.
Led by the powerhouse duo of vocalist Hannah Hooper and guitarist/vocalist Christian Zucconi, alongside guitarist Andrew Wessen, bassist Daniel Gleason, and drummer Ben Homola, the band continues to evolve while staying true to their defiantly sincere songwriting. This live album will serve as both a celebration of their journey and an invitation to lose yourself in the unfiltered, euphoric experience of a GROUPLOVE show.
Building on the raw intensity of their studio work, the live tracks showcase fan-favorites in their most dynamic form, infused with the sweat, spontaneity, and communal spirit of a GROUPLOVE show.
GROUPLOVE explains: “Raspberry” is an anthemic reminder not to lose your mind regardless of how much the boat is rocking. Andrew Wessen’s soaring guitars live take the song to this wildly insane place where candy flipping at a Phish show can’t even carry you.
You ready for a cry? You storing up some pain in your body that needs to be released? “Cruel and Beautiful World”‘s harmonies live cut through no matter how numb we’ve become. A reminder to hold onto the ones you love because this long winding road is going to get very hard and bumpy.
“Borderline and Aliens” has that Prog rock timing and cryptic lyrics about not fitting in, but live there is an undeniable coolness that accompanies feeling alone. It makes me want to head bang my way into a place of total self-love and acceptance.
82 Surprising Facts About Mick Jagger
- Happy birthday to the man who turned a microphone into a lightning rod and a stage into sacred ground. Sir Mick Jagger didn’t just front the Rolling Stones—he rewrote the rules of rock and roll, charisma, and cultural rebellion. From Dartford classrooms to Hyde Park elegies, from “Satisfaction” to global superstardom, he’s danced, wailed, and strutted through every era with tireless fire. Over six decades, he’s shaped not just music, but the very idea of what it means to be alive, loud, and legendary.
- Mick Jagger was born on July 26, 1943, during a World War II air raid in Dartford, Kent.
- His full name is Sir Michael Philip Jagger, and he was knighted by Prince Charles in 2003.
- As a child, he was in the church choir and loved singing along to BBC radio.
- He met Keith Richards on Platform 2 of Dartford Station while holding Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records.
- Mick briefly studied at the London School of Economics—he almost became a politician instead of a rock star.
- He once said being a rock star and being a politician weren’t that different.
- His first band was called The Blues Boys.
- Jagger’s voice has been described as a hybrid of a preacher’s roar and a carnival barker’s swagger.
- He still covers about 12 kilometers per concert—often in tighter pants than most Olympic athletes.
- “Moves Like Jagger” was named after him—he called it “flattering.”
- In 1967, he sued a tabloid for libel after they mistook Brian Jones for him in a drug exposé.
- Jagger’s famous lips were caricatured so often they became their own cultural shorthand.
- He was arrested in 1967 for possessing Italian over-the-counter pep pills.
- He spent one night in Brixton Prison—then walked free as a counterculture icon.
- He once recorded vocals for a Kenneth Anger film using only a Moog synthesizer and his voice.
- Mick was considered for the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- He performed “Dancing in the Street” with David Bowie in separate cities for Live Aid.
- Jagger’s iconic chicken strut was partly inspired by watching James Brown perform.
- He called Brian Jones “not psychologically suited to this way of life.”
- He has released four solo albums—but still jokes that he does best “when Keith is around.”
- He has eight children with five women, plus seven grandkids and three great-grandchildren.
- He reportedly runs 12 kilometers a day and does yoga, ballet, and kickboxing.
- The Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford supports young musicians—funded by Mick himself.
- He played a reclusive rock star in the cult film Performance (1970).
- He dedicated the 1969 Hyde Park concert to Brian Jones by releasing thousands of butterflies.
- Jagger once owned a mobile recording studio in a van—the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.
- His style evolved from Mod to Glam to Custom-tailored Don Juan.
- He wore glitter makeup and jumpsuits on the Stones’ 1972 U.S. tour.
- He inspired Andy Warhol, who painted several portraits of him.
- “Brown Sugar” was allegedly inspired by his relationship with Marsha Hunt.
- He learned guitar in France during the band’s tax exile years.
- He helped manage the Stones’ finances after their messy split with Allen Klein.
- He produced the film Enigma (2001) through his company Jagged Films.
- Jagger co-created the HBO series Vinyl about 1970s music biz chaos.
- The fossil “Jaggermeryx naida” (a long-legged pig) is named after him.
- Another fossil, Petroperla mickjaggeri, is part of a group called the “Rolling Stoneflies.”
- He sang “Salt of the Earth” at the Concert for New York after 9/11.
- He released “Gotta Get a Grip” in 2017 as a Brexit-inspired anthem.
- In 2020, he released “Living in a Ghost Town,” written during pandemic isolation.
- He co-wrote the Emmy-nominated theme song “Strange Game” for Slow Horses in 2022.
- Jagger once said he’d rather die than sing “Satisfaction” at 45. He was joking. (We think.)
- He created a harmonica line in 2023 to inspire young musicians.
- In 2021, he dedicated a Rolling Stones show to Charlie Watts: “We all miss Charlie so much.”
- He sang “Sweet Home Chicago” with Obama at the White House.
- He tore Tina Turner’s skirt off mid-song during Live Aid. She laughed.
- His children range in age from 7 to 53.
- He once collaborated with will.i.am and Jennifer Lopez on a single.
- He co-produced the James Brown biopic Get On Up.
- He owns houses around the world—including a castle in France.
- Mick and Keith call each other “Brenda” and “Gladys.”
- He performed with Arcade Fire and Foo Fighters on Saturday Night Live.
- His goddaughter is supermodel Georgia May Jagger—also his daughter.
- He was nearly cast in Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, but had to drop out for a Stones tour.
- He was offered the role of Feyd-Rautha in Dune (the Jodorowsky version).
- He’s performed with everyone from Lady Gaga to B.B. King.
- His tongue logo is one of the most famous branding icons in history.
- His childhood nickname was “Mike,” not “Mick.”
- He wrote “Street Fighting Man” after protesting outside the U.S. Embassy.
- He holds honorary degrees from multiple institutions—but never finished university.
- He was the first person Carly Simon asked to sing on “You’re So Vain.” He did.
- He and Keith once lived off baked beans in their Edith Grove flat.
- He often tweaks Stones setlists on the fly during concerts.
- He inspired the Maroon 5 hit without lifting a finger.
- He’s known to send emojis to friends—including the salsa dancer.
- He reads a lot of history, especially biographies of Napoleon.
- In 1969, he wore a white dress on stage at Hyde Park.
- He started singing after watching The Singing Fool with Al Jolson.
- He has a pet lizard named Bowie. (Just kidding—but wouldn’t it be cool?)
- He once called himself a “Dionysian businessman.”
- He’s said his favorite Stones album is Exile on Main St.
- He was cast in the TV pilot The Knights of Prosperity—and played himself.
- He released an album called Primitive Cool with a mullet and no regrets.
- He plays a mean tambourine.
- He believes in giving everyone one good solo… except the bass player.
- He impersonated Mick Jagger on SNL. Nailed it.
- He can recite large chunks of Shakespeare from memory.
- He was voted Britain’s “Most Stylish Man” by GQ in 2004.
- He once tried to buy Manchester United.
- He’s admitted to liking karaoke—he just doesn’t do it in public.
- He often rewrites lyrics during rehearsal—sometimes seconds before the show.
- His 1985 solo hit “Just Another Night” was about… just another night.
- At 81, Mick Jagger is still strutting, still singing, and still defining what it means to rock.
Fields & Forest Forever Music Fest Returns Aug. 2 with The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow
After completing a massive conservation project in Barre, Massachusetts last year – one that has permanently protected over 800 acres of fields, forests and farmland – Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust and Stone Cow Brewery are teaming up once again to host their third annual Fields & Forest Forever Music Fest to celebrate and benefit local land conservation on Saturday, August 2.
The outdoor concert will run from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM at Stone Cow Brewery in Barre, Massachusetts, located at scenic Carter and Stevens Farm. Proceeds from ticket and merchandise sales will benefit Mount Grace, helping to support and expand the nonprofit’s conservation efforts across the North Quabbin region in Massachusetts. Tickets are available for $20 here .
The evening will feature live music, BBQ, local food trucks, and a wide selection of Stone Cow Brewery craft beer and other beverages. This year’s lineup includes a performance from Americana/roots rock band The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow, featuring five Massachusetts singer-songwriters. The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow has been featured in Rolling Stone, No Depression, and American Songwriter, has performed at festivals including Green River Fest, Fresh Grass, The Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, The Rock Boat, and Strange Creek, and was also named the 2022 New England Music Awards Roots Act Of The Year. The beloved local group Petersham Jams House Band opens the show.
Representatives from Mount Grace will be on-hand at the event to talk with attendees and share information about their work.
“There is no better place for Mount Grace to showcase the importance of landscape-scale conservation than on a property that we’ve helped protect,” said Emma G. Ellsworth, Executive Director at Mount Grace. Much of the local food and beer that gets sold at Stone Cow Brewery comes directly from the Carter and Stevens Farm – a farm whose vegetable fields can be seen from the festival venue. “Lively celebrations like this one deepen our community’s connection to the land. From enjoying locally grown food to creating unforgettable memories, conservation connects us to the working and natural landscapes that define our region.”
“Five generations of family have lived and worked on this land,” says Phil Stevens, owner of the 1,000-acre Carter and Stevens. “This concert is a celebration of our community’s shared connection to the land and all that it provides.”
During the festival, attendees are welcome to stop by the Stone Cow Brewery’s famous Field to Flame BBQ for offerings including Carter and Stevens Farm’s own grass-fed beef burgers cooked over a wood fired grill, along with local pork and chicken smoked to perfection in a giant wood fired smoker, local veggie burgers, and other seasonal specials. The menu includes local produce from Carter and Stevens Farm.
Mount Grace hosted the first Fields & Forest Forever Music Fest in 2023, drawing more than 1,000 concertgoers. The festival has since become a summer staple, drawing people from throughout New England for an evening of music under the mid-summer sky.
Fields & Forest Forever Fest sponsors include Dodge Contracting and Barre Center For Buddhist Studies.
Event Details
Name: Fields & Forest Forever Music Fest
Date: Saturday, August 2
Festival Hours: 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Location: Stone Cow Brewery, 500 West Street, Barre, MA 01005
Parking: free
Music Lineup
The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow
Petersham Jams House Band
Balu Brigada Preview Debut Album ‘Portal’ with Euphoric Existential Pop Anthem ‘What Do We Ever Really Know?’
Acclaimed alternative pop duo Balu Brigada have shared their latest release, “What Do We Ever Really Know?,” available now via Atlantic Records/ARRO Records/Warner Australia. The song is also joined by an official video. The new anthem heralds the band’s highly anticipated full-length debut album, Portal, arriving everywhere on Friday, August 29.
“‘What Do We Ever Really Know?’ is an existential crisis, peppered with a euphoric appreciation of the present” said Balu Brigada. “Feeling the weight of existence and all the intensities that come with ambition, but finding the sweet spot that lets you release all the tension and live in the reality that no one knows anything, and we’re all just idiots on a spinning rock, doing our bestest.”
Recently named among SiriusXM’s 2025 “Future Five” as well as Amazon Music’s “Breakthrough: Artists To Watch 2025,” Balu Brigada – brothers, co-vocalists, co-writers, and co-producers Henry and Pierre Beasely – spent three years creating Portal in studios around the world, spanning their native New Zealand to New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, and beyond. Each location left its imprint on the music, yielding “heavier and grungier energy” for the NYC recordings and “a softer and calmer” vibe for the NZ material. Living out of suitcases between sessions and tours, the brothers wholly devoted themselves to pushing the envelope musically, writing and producing every note themselves. By challenging one another, they bottled the tension, vulnerability, and understanding between them into the music, delivering an honest and cathartic aural odyssey that teeters on an axis of otherworldly escapism and personal experience. While the melodies of Portal may resound to the heavens, its emotion is irrefutably grounded and utterly relatable.
Greensky Bluegrass Celebrate 25 Years with New Album ‘XXV’ Featuring Billy Strings, Out October 31
Beloved bluegrass-americana band Greensky Bluegrass is set to release their new album XXV on October 31—the exact date of their 25th Anniversary. The LP will be released via Big Blue Zoo Records/Thirty Tigers. Today the band unveils their new single “Reverend” featuring bluegrass superstar and Grammy-Award winner Billy Strings.
“We’ve called on some dear friends to breathe a touch of new life into some classic Greensky songs for your listening pleasure,” says dobroist Anders Beck. “We’ve reinvented the sounds of some of our (dare I say) ‘hits’ because after a quarter century of Greensky Bluegrass, with plenty of new music on the horizon, we believe it’s worth celebrating what the five of us have created together… and we want you to have a damn good time listening to it.”
“This is quintessential Greensky to me,” says the band’s Paul Hoffman of the single. “When we were about to record ‘five interstates,’ our producer and long-time friend, Tim Carbone, told me he thought there was one more important song missing. Something I still needed to write. Shortly after, I spent a night talking songs with a Michigan musician named Seth Bernard, affectionately referred to as ‘the reverend’. He uses his music for community and activism… the next morning this song kind of fell out of me.”
Hoffman continues, “Keeping the song in its Michigan roots, we asked Billy to play and sing on this. I love the way he relates to this song and how he participates when he performs with us. His love for our band has always been generous, so why not have a quintessential Greensky fan participate on the quintessential song?”
Greensky Bluegrass started at an impromptu show in 2000 in Kalamazoo, Michigan and have developed into a marquee live act and staple in the progressive bluegrass space. XXV brings together many friends and collaborators of the band throughout their 25-year run — Sam Bush, Billy Strings, Lindsay Lou, Nathaniel Rateliff, Aoife O’Donovan, Holly Bowling and more. Each of these special guests represent chapters of the band’s continued journey.
The group is on the road for a host of headline and festival dates across North America, continuing their landmark 25th year. Stops include Charlotte, Milwaukee, Miami Beach, Jacksonville and Madison, as well as the band’s 20th performance at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, plus two special hometown anniversary shows at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, MI on October 31 and November 1. See HERE for tickets and additional information.
For over two decades, progressive bluegrass band Greensky Bluegrass—Anders Beck (dobro), Michael Arlen Bont (banjo), Dave Bruzza (guitar), Mike Devol (upright bass), and Paul Hoffman (mandolin)—have become known for their dynamic live performances and extensive touring schedule. With music reflecting their own lives and collective experiences, their songwriting stays true to traditional bluegrass. The band’s die-hard fans travel in droves across the country and pack multiple-night show runs at iconic venues like Red Rocks and The Ryman.
XXV TRACK LIST
1. Can’t Stop Now (feat. Sam Bush)
2. In Control (feat. Lindsay Lou)
3. Reverend (feat. Billy Strings)
4. Broken Highways
5. Old Barns
6. Last Winter in the Copper Country (feat. Holly Bowling)
7. Past My Prime (feat. Nathaniel Rateliff)
8. 33443
9. What You Need (feat. Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman)
10. Who is Frederico? (feat. Jason Hann)
11. Lose My Way (feat. Aoife O’Donovan and Ivan Neville)
12. Windshield (feat. Holly Bowling)
13. Drink Up and Go Home
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS TOUR DATES
July 31—Happy Valley, OR—Pickathon
August 1—Bend, OR—Century Center*
August 2—Seattle, WA—Oodalalee – Concerts at Pier 62
August 3—Kaslo, BC—Kaslo Jazz, Etc.
August 9—Alta, WY—Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival
August 15—Park City, UT—Park City Song Summit
August 20—Toronto, CA—The Mod Club
August 21—Detroit, MI—The Fillmore
August 22 —Interlochen, MI—Kresge Auditorium
August 23—Interlochen, MI—Kresge Auditorium
September 13—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre†
September 18—Utica, NY—Saranac Brewery
September 19—North Adams, MA—FreshGrass Music Festival
September 20—Annapolis, MD—Annapolis Baygrass Festival
September 21—Camden, NJ—XPoNential Music Festival
October 2—Harrisburg, PA—XL Live
October 3—Raleigh, NC—Red Hat Amphitheatre^
October 4—Aiken, SC—Southern Strings Festival
October 5—Oxford, MS—Lyric Oxford
October 7—Tuscaloosa, AL—Bama Theatre
October 9—Eureka Springs, AR—Hillberry Music Festival
October 10—St. Louis, MO—Pageant
October 11—St. Paul, MN—Palace Theatre
October 12—Milwaukee, WI—Aurora Pavilion
October 29—Des Moines, IA—Hoyt Sherman Place
October 30—Madison, WI—The Sylvee
October 31—Kalamazoo, MI—Wing’s Event Center
November 1—Kalamazoo, MI—Wing’s Event Center
November 4—Cleveland, OH—Globe Iron
November 6—Roanoke, VA—Jefferson Center
November 7—Charlotte, NC—The Fillmore
November 8—Charleston, SC—Charleston Music Hall
November 9—Jacksonville, FL—FIVE
November 12—Cocoa, FL—Cocoa Riverfront Park
November 13—Clearwater, FL—The BayCare Sound
November 14—Jupiter, FL—The Abacoa Amphitheater
November 15—Miami Beach, FL—Miami Beach Bandshell
December 11-15—Puerto Morelos, QR—Strings & Sol
*with River Whyless
†with Margo Price
^with JJ Grey & Mofro