Music essayist Film Retrospective has taken a rare look inside the 1968 recording of ‘Led Zeppelin I’ at Olympic Studios, and the detail that stands out most is just how prepared the band was from the moment they walked in the door. Engineer Glyn Johns, accustomed to working with the Rolling Stones and their famously relaxed approach to punctuality, was caught off guard by a band that showed up, set up, and started playing within minutes of arriving. Jimmy Page had it all mapped out before a single tape rolled: “I knew exactly what I wanted to do in every respect. I knew what all the guitars were going to do and how it was going to sound, everything.”
Video: How Jimmy Page Walked Into Olympic Studios and Recorded Led Zeppelin’s Debut in Days
‘Color Me Country’ Celebrates the Black Women Who Built Country Music and Rewrites the Narrative
‘Color Me Country: A Celebration of Black Women Who Shaped Country Music’ is out May 5 from Candlewick Press, and it’s the kind of book that fills a gap that should have been filled a long time ago. Edited by Kelly McCartney and Rissi Palmer, with illustrations by Grammy Award winner and Pulitzer Prize recipient Rhiannon Giddens, the book pairs nearly twenty mini-biographies with full-color portraits of the pioneers who built country, Americana, and roots music from the ground up.
The title draws directly from Linda Martell, the first Black woman to perform on the legendary Grand Ole Opry, whose 1970 debut album ‘Color Me Country’ marked a milestone that the genre was slow to acknowledge. This book does the acknowledging. Each profile is a love letter to artists who loved a genre that didn’t always love them back, and the writing carries that weight with honesty and care.
The roster runs deep. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Odetta, Tina Turner, Valerie June, the Pointer Sisters, and Our Native Daughters are all here, each given the space and context their contributions deserve. These aren’t footnotes. They’re the foundation.
Rhiannon Giddens brings her own extraordinary credentials to the illustrations. A MacArthur Fellow, Pulitzer Prize winner, founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and artistic director at Silkroad, her lifelong mission has been to restore Black Americans to their rightful place in the story of American music. This book is a natural extension of that work.
Rissi Palmer hosts Apple Music Country’s Color Me Country Radio. Kelly McCartney hosts Apple Music’s Record Bin Radio and co-founded the Rainey Day Fund, supporting roots artists with marginalized identities. Together, they’ve assembled something that belongs in every music lover’s collection.
Musical Pokies to Try Today
Music and slots just go together. Both rely on timing and that moment where something either lands or doesn’t. Add a familiar song into the mix and suddenly the whole thing has a lot more personality. That’s why musical pokies stuck around. They’re not just spinning reels with background noise. The good ones actually use the music as part of the experience.
Jimi Hendrix
This slot focuses on what Hendrix was known for.
His guitar is used as the Wild symbol, and features like Pick and Click, Re-Spins, and Wild Transformation add some variation. These give you chances to increase wins, but they also keep things from feeling repetitive.
KISS
KISS was always about presentation, and their slot reflects that.
It’s designed like a concert stage, with lighting, equipment, and the band members showing up across the reels. With 100 paylines, there’s a lot going on, but it matches the band’s over-the-top image. It’s one of the top online pokies games, especially for players who like high energy slots that feel more like a live show than a standard spin game.
Saxon
Saxon keeps things simple and sticks to classic British heavy metal.
You get strong vocals, bikers, riffs, and fiery visuals. It doesn’t try to be subtle and sticks to what works for the genre.
Elvis Presley
Even decades later, Elvis is still everywhere.
Developers like IGT and WMS have created multiple versions of his slot, all built around his music and image. They’re familiar, and don’t need much explanation. Even now, that seems to be enough to keep players interested.
Guns N’ Roses
This one is all about the band.
You hear their songs while playing, and the visuals include real concert footage, which makes it feel authentic. The band members appear as symbols, and the bonus features are connected to specific tracks.
Megadeth
Megadeth is more intense.
The slot uses visuals tied to the band’s themes, as well as amps, picks, guitars, and drums. Instruments and band members appear across the reels, and those symbols can lead to bigger payouts if they land.
Black Mamba
Black Mamba takes a darker turn.
Inspired by the Italian hard rock band, Black Mamba has a grunge setting. Band members appear as high-value symbols, and their solos trigger different features. This one’s more about the atmosphere with dim lighting and heavy sounds.
Punk Rocker
Punk Rocker feels rough.
Set in gritty 80s London, it uses graffiti visuals and an aggressive soundtrack. The features don’t always feel predictable, which matches the theme.
Jammin Jars 2
A completely different vibe here.
Bright colours, upbeat music, and fruit symbols that move across the grid instead of staying fixed. They build multipliers, which keeps things going even during quieter moments.
DJ Psycho
This one feels more like a club than a concert.
Instead of reels, you get patterns that shift during play. The soundtrack builds with wins, so the pace changes depending on how things are going.
Final Thoughts
Some musical pokies are built around well-known artists, while others just focus on sound and movement. That’s what keeps them interesting. You can go from something heavier like Megadeth to something lighter like Jammin Jars 2 without it feeling repetitive. It really just depends on what you’re in the mood for.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
Video: Arctic Monkeys Owned Pinkpop 2014 and This Full Concert Proves It
Arctic Monkeys’ 2014 headline set at Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Netherlands, is now streaming, and it’s exactly as good as you remember. Riding the global momentum of ‘AM,’ the Sheffield four-piece commanded a crowd of approximately 65,000 fans through a setlist that opened with the sludgy, unmistakable riff of “Do I Wanna Know?” and never let up, weaving in ‘AM’ cuts like “Arabella” (complete with a Black Sabbath “War Pigs” snippet) and “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” alongside early-career anthems “Brianstorm” and “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.” Alex Turner was fully locked into his rock-and-roll swagger mode, and the band matched him every step of the way. It’s one of their finest festival performances on record, and now you can watch the whole thing.
Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass Crew Are Back One Final Time for “jackass: best and last”
Twenty-five years of broken bones, bad ideas, and genuine camaraderie comes to a head this summer. “jackass: best and last” hits theatres June 26, 2026, and the title says exactly what it means. Johnny Knoxville and the full crew are back for one final run at the big screen, and they’re bringing everything with them.
The film delivers all-new stunts and stupidity alongside the greatest hits from the franchise’s full run. It’s equal parts victory lap and farewell, a joyously raucous celebration of the kind of mischievous chemistry that’s kept this group relevant across a quarter century of willful self-destruction. No other cast could pull this off, and no other franchise has earned a sendoff quite like this one.
Directed by Jeff Tremaine and produced by Tremaine alongside Spike Jonze, Knoxville, and Shanna Newton, the film reunites the complete roster: Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Wee Man, Dave England, Danger Ehren, Preston Lacy, Rachel Wolfson, Jasper, Dark Shark, Poopies, and Zach Holmes. Paramount Pictures and MTV Entertainment Studios present the film in association with Domain Entertainment, a Dickhouse Production.
“Grab your dumb little buddies, raise your glasses, and come experience the cinematic event that promises to be the last time you’ll ever laugh this hard in a theatre.” That’s the promise. Based on the track record, it’s a safe bet they’ll deliver.
The official trailer is out now. “jackass: best and last” opens June 26, 2026, only in theatres.
SkyDog: The Shoals Experience Debuts This August in the Birthplace of Southern Rock
A new destination music event is coming to one of America’s most storied recording communities. SkyDog: The Shoals Experience debuts August 28-30, 2026, in Florence, Alabama, bringing together live music, food, film, and storytelling at the Renaissance Shoals Resort and Convention Center. Ticket bundles are available now, with additional artists and programming to be announced through the summer.
The lineup already runs deep. Jackson Dean, Marcus King, Maggie Rose, Wet Willie featuring Jimmy Hall, The FAME Gang, Mike Farris, Gary Nichols, Spooner Oldham, Scott Sharrard of Little Feat, Peter Levin of the Gregg Allman Band, and Sons of Legion are all confirmed, alongside a collective of legendary Muscle Shoals session players who shaped some of the most important recordings in rock, soul, and R&B history.
The name SkyDog was the endearing nickname of Duane Allman, and the event is built around his spirit and the wider legacy he helped create in The Shoals. Scott Sharrard, serving as guitarist, vocalist, and musical director for the all-star sets, put it plainly: “This show is about honoring Gregg’s brother Duane and his pioneering musical soul and visionary spirit.”
The Shoals connection runs as deep as American music gets. It was Duane Allman who talked Wilson Pickett and Rick Hall into recording “Hey Jude” at FAME Studios, a moment that helped define what Muscle Shoals could do. “My father, Rick Hall, was part of building that foundation,” said Rodney Hall, co-owner and president of FAME Publishing and FAME Studios. “This event is about honoring that legacy and giving people an elevated way to experience The Shoals.”
Organizers describe the concept as a “cruise ship on land,” with the hotel, convention center, outdoor staging, and surrounding programming designed to function as a single immersive weekend. Beyond the music, SkyDog Shoals includes regional food, books, film, and storytelling across the property, VIP experiences tied to the onsite Caution! Stones Ahead Rolling Stones Museum, and an intimate Sunday brunch to close the weekend.
SkyDog Shoals is a weekend that could only happen in Muscle Shoals. August 28-30 is the date. Florence, Alabama is the place.
SkyDog: The Shoals Experience:
Aug 28 — Florence, AL @ Renaissance Shoals Resort and Convention Center
Aug 29 — Florence, AL @ Renaissance Shoals Resort and Convention Center
Aug 30 — Florence, AL @ Renaissance Shoals Resort and Convention Center
ZHU Takes ‘BLACK MIDAS’ on the Road With the “ON THE MOVE” World Tour
ZHU has a new album out and a world tour to match. The GRAMMY-nominated producer and DJ has announced “ON THE MOVE,” a run of dates across Europe, South America, and North America in support of ‘BLACK MIDAS,’ out now on Broke/BLACKLIZT Sound Syndicate. Artist presale launches Wednesday, April 29 at 10 AM EST via laylo.com/zhu/m/ONTHEMOVE, with general on sale Friday, May 1 at 10 AM local time.
‘BLACK MIDAS’ is a focused, dancefloor-driven statement, deep house and melodic techno built for rooms that move. Tracks like “5STARRR,” “LEVELZZZ,” and “BURN” hit with the kind of atmospheric weight ZHU has been refining since his 2014 breakout “Faded” earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Dance Recording. The album also features collaborations with Mahmut Orhan, GCBestBelieve, THEY., and Joyia.
The “ON THE MOVE” dates kick off May 15 in Bogota and roll through a mix of clubs and festivals that map ZHU’s global reach. Festival slots include Into The Horizon in San Diego, Audioriver in Poland, and Tomorrowland in Belgium. First-time plays include Medusa Club in Medellin, Club Chinois Ibiza, Pacha Munich, The Concourse Project in Austin, and SILO in Dallas. He also returns to London’s The Roundhouse and Turkish clubs La Nouba, Yuzu Beach, and MAGI Beach, where his BLACKLIZT events previously made their mark.
ZHU is encouraging fans to wear all black to “ON THE MOVE” shows, an extension of the immersive BLACKLIZT concept he’s been building for years. This isn’t just a DJ tour. It’s a full atmospheric experience, and ‘BLACK MIDAS’ gives it the right soundtrack.
2026 ON THE MOVE Tour Dates:
May 15 — Bogota, Colombia @ Octava
May 16 — Medellin, Colombia @ Medusa Club
Jun 27 — San Diego, CA @ Into The Horizon Festival
Jul 10 — Lodz, Poland @ Audioriver Festival
Jul 17 — Cetinje, Montenegro @ Monte 1350
Jul 18 — London, England @ The Roundhouse
Jul 22 — Ibiza, Spain @ Club Chinois Ibiza
Jul 24 — Munich, Germany @ Pacha Munich
Jul 25 — Boom, Belgium @ Tomorrowland
Jul 31 — Yani, Cyprus @ La Nouba
Aug 1 — Izmir, Turkey @ Yuzu Beach
Aug 2 — Bodrum, Turkey @ MAGI Beach
Aug 14 — El Paso, TX @ The Elmont
Aug 15 — Chicago, IL @ Navy Pier Open Air
Sep 11 — Brooklyn, NY @ Pacha New York
Sep 25 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
Oct 16 — Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
Oct 23 — Austin, TX @ The Concourse Project
Oct 31 — San Francisco, CA @ Goldbar Distillery Treasure Island
Nov 13 — Albuquerque, NM @ Revel
Nov 14 — Dallas, TX @ SILO
‘BLACK MIDAS’ Track Listing:
MIDAS INTRO
BLACK MIDAS
IN THE WILD with Mahmut Orhan
LEVELZZZ with GCBestBelieve
5STARRR with THEY.
BURN with Joyia
ONE DESIRE
HURTS4ME
WHAT I NEED
KEEP IT MOVING
FIREAWAY
NEW SHOES
TANGIER
RAINDOWN
What an All-In-One AI Studio Looks Like in 2026
By Mitch Rice
If you walked into a working AI creator’s studio a few years ago, the setup would be one large monitor and four browser tabs. Midjourney for images. Runway for video. ElevenLabs for voice. A spreadsheet for tracking what was generated where.
Walk into the same creator’s studio today and the setup looks different. One tab. One workflow. The same image, video, and voice tools, but bundled and stitched together in a way that lets a single creator move at the speed of a small production team.
This is what an all-in-one AI studio actually contains, and how working creators are using each piece.
Image generation across multiple models
The image side starts with model variety. The studio that wins includes the major options each creator might want to reach for:
- A Midjourney-class model for aesthetic baseline
- A Flux 2-class model for prompt adherence
- A Nano Banana 2-class model for fast iteration and editing
- A QWEN-class model for character consistency
- A Seedream-class model for stylized aesthetics
- An Ideogram-class model for images with text
The reason the diversity matters is that no single model wins every shot. The studio that lets a creator pick the right model per generation produces better output than any single-model setup, and the Create Anything with Professional AI Tools framing reflects what creators actually need.
Video generation that pairs with the images
The video models follow the same pattern. The major options bundled together:
- Kling for cinematic shots
- Veo for action and motion-heavy work
- Wan for talking-head and dialogue
- Pika and Runway for short cutaways
- Higgsfield for cinematic atmosphere
- Sora 2 for photorealistic scenes
The connecting tissue is the character preserve workflow that lets a character generated in the image side carry into the video side. The same face shows up across image and video shots, which is the workflow that single-tool stacks could never quite handle.
Voice tools that complete the deliverable
The third leg is voice. ElevenLabs-class voice cloning. Multi-voice TTS for dialogue scenes. Voice direction tools for emotional inflection. The voices generated in the studio drop into the video tools without leaving the workflow.
For talking-head video, this matters more than it sounds. A creator generating a talking-head AI avatar in Wan and a voice in ElevenLabs separately needs to manually sync them. A creator generating both in the same studio can lock the avatar to the voice and have lip sync handled automatically.
Editing tools across modalities
Generation is only half the work. The studios that win include the editing tools that the working creators actually use:
- Inpainting to fix small problems in generated images
- Outpainting to extend a frame
- Regional prompts to direct different parts of an image differently
- Video timeline editing for trimming and assembling shots
- Voice editing for splicing and refining audio
The pattern is that any output worth keeping needs some editing. A studio without editing tools forces the creator to export, edit elsewhere, and re-import. That round trip kills speed.
Project organization that scales
Working creators do not produce one piece at a time. They produce projects with dozens or hundreds of assets, often across multiple deliverables, often over weeks. The studio that wins includes project structure that scales with that:
- Project folders with their own asset libraries
- Tagging and search across assets
- Version history so you can roll back when an edit goes wrong
- Templates for repeated shot types
The flat asset bucket model breaks down past a hundred assets. The studios that have invested in the organization layer are the ones working creators have stayed with.
Render queue and parallel generation
The single largest workflow speed unlock is the ability to queue many renders at once across many models. A creator planning a video might queue 30 shots: 5 cinematic to Kling, 8 action to Veo, 6 talking-head to Wan, 11 cutaway to Pika. All at once. The studio runs them in parallel, the creator goes to lunch, and the renders are done by the time they’re back.
The studios that have built real queueing systems unlock a different kind of working pace than the studios that still process generations one at a time.
Pricing that bundles intelligently
The economics matter. A creator subscribing to the major image, video, and voice tools individually might spend $200-300 per month and still not have everything in one place. A studio that bundles all of them at $100-200 per month is both cheaper and more functional.
The pricing works because the bundled studios negotiate volume access to the underlying models. The savings get passed through.
Workflow integrations
The best studios include integrations with the tools that sit upstream and downstream of generation. CapCut and DaVinci for compositing. Adobe Premiere for long-form. Notion or Asana for project management. The friction points where creators previously copy-pasted assets between tools are the friction points the studios have worked to remove.
The character thread that holds it together
The single feature that ties everything together is character consistency. A character generated once should:
- Appear in any image generation that needs them, with the face within tolerance
- Carry into video shots with the same face
- Pair with a consistent voice in any audio work
- Maintain identity across project sessions, weeks apart
Studios that handle this well make serial content viable. Studios that don’t force creators to either accept drift or do enormous manual work to maintain consistency.
This is the structural shift. The all-in-one studios that have caught on are the ones that solved the cross-modal character problem. Once that works, every other workflow benefit compounds. The creators who have moved to this stack are producing more output faster than the creators still juggling separate tools, and the gap is widening.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
Simple Plan Are Bringing Their Pop-Punk Legacy to Niagara Falls This December
Simple Plan are coming to the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino on Saturday, December 19, 2026, and it’s the kind of booking that makes a lot of sense. One of Canada’s most enduring rock exports, playing one of the country’s top-ranked venues, right before the holidays. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 1 at 10:00 a.m. through ticketmaster.ca.
The Montreal-formed quartet have accumulated over 10 billion streams worldwide and built a catalog that’s held up across two decades of pop-punk. Their 2002 multi-platinum debut ‘No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls’ launched with “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just A Kid,” “Addicted,” and “Perfect,” and the hits kept coming from there. “Welcome To My Life,” “Summer Paradise,” and “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)” are the kind of tracks that still move rooms full of people.
“Simple Plan has been a defining force in Canadian rock, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino this December,” said Cathy Price, Vice President of Marketing and Resort Operations for Niagara Casinos.
The OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino holds 5,000 and is ranked the number one venue in Canada based on size. For a band that’s headlined main stages around the world, it’s a fitting room. December 19 is going to be a good night.
Show Details:
Simple Plan Saturday, December 19, 2026 Showtime: 8:00 PM OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls, ON Tickets on sale Friday, May 1 at 10:00 AM via ticketmaster.ca
Bring Me The Horizon Bring “POST HUMAN: NeX GEn – The Third Ascension Program” to North America This Fall
Bring Me The Horizon are heading back to North America, and this run is a long time coming. The BRIT and GRAMMY-nominated Sheffield outfit have announced “POST HUMAN: NeX GEn – The Third Ascension Program,” a nine-date headline tour spanning Canada and the U.S. this fall. Support comes from Motionless in White and The Plot in You.
The dates matter beyond the scale. This marks the band’s first performances in nearly 15 years in select Western Canadian cities, a gap that makes stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg feel genuinely significant. The Canadian run kicks off September 20 in Vancouver and works its way east before crossing into the U.S. for dates in Grand Rapids and beyond.
The tour expands on the fully immersive live universe the band has been building throughout the POST HUMAN era, a high-impact, multi-sensory experience blending cutting-edge visuals, cyberpunk aesthetics, and relentless energy. If you’ve seen what they’ve been doing on the current global run, you already know what’s at stake.
Tickets go on sale Friday, May 1 at 10 AM local time at BMTHofficial.com/live. An artist presale runs Wednesday, April 28 at 10 AM local for 36 hours, followed by a Spotify presale Thursday, April 30 at 10 AM local for 12 hours. VIP packages are also available, including premium tickets, early entry, exclusive merch, and access to a curated display of rare and archival band items.
The Third Ascension Program tour announcement comes alongside news that the band’s seminal 2006 debut ‘Count Your Blessings’ is getting a full re-recording for its 20th anniversary. ‘Count Your Blessings | Repented’ arrives July 10 on vinyl, CD, and streaming, with Sykes and guitarist Lee Malia joined by Buster Odeholm on mixing. The album will also be celebrated live at Outbreak Festival in Manchester on July 10.
Bring Me The Horizon have sold over 7.2 million albums worldwide and hold multiple UK No. 1 records. The Third Ascension Program is the next chapter in a live show that keeps raising the bar.
2026 Tour Dates:
POST HUMAN: NeX GEn – Ascension Program 2
Tues Apr 28 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
Weds Apr 29 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Fri May 1 — Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
Sat May 2 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Mon May 4 — Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
Tues May 5 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
Thurs May 7 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Sat May 9 — Daytona, FL @ Welcome to Rockville
Mon May 11 — St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
Tues May 12 — Kansas City, MO @ T Mobile Center
Weds May 13 — St Paul, MN @ Grand Casino Arena
Fri May 15 — Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena
Sat May 16 — Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Festival
Festival & International Dates
Jun 3–6 — Solvesborg, SE @ Sweden Rock Festival
Tues Jun 9 — Kraków, PL @ Tauron Arena
Fri Jun 12 — Hradec Králové, CZ @ Rock for People
Sun Jun 14 — Nickelsdorf, AT @ Nova Rock
Thurs Jun 18 — Clisson, FR @ Hellfest
Sat Jun 20 — Dessel, BE @ Graspop
Jun 24–27 — Oslo, NO @ Tons of Rock
Thurs Jun 25 — Copenhagen, DK @ Copenhell
Jun 25–27 — Seinäjoki, FI @ Provinssi
Jun 26–28 — Helsinki, FI @ Tuska
Thurs Jul 2 — Ferrara, IT @ Ferrara Summer Festival
Fri Jul 10 — Manchester, UK @ B.E.C. Arena (Outbreak Presents: Count Your Blessings | Repented)
Fri Aug 14 — Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festival
Sat Sep 5 — Rio de Janeiro, BR @ Rock in Rio
POST HUMAN: NeX GEn – The Third Ascension Program
Sun Sep 20 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
Weds Sep 23 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
Thurs Sep 24 — Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
Sat Sep 26 — Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre
Weds Sep 30 — Quebec City, QC @ Videotron Centre
Fri Oct 2 — Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
Sat Oct 3 — Hamilton, ON @ TD Coliseum
Tues Oct 6 — London, ON @ Canada Life Place
Thurs Oct 8 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena