Roddy Bottum of Faith No More and Imperial Teen released memoir ‘The Royal We’ through Akashic Books in late 2025, documenting his coming of age in 1980s San Francisco among bicycle messengers, punk rock, and rebellion. The book traces his journey from Los Angeles, where he grew up gay without role models, to San Francisco where he formed Faith No More and toured the world while surviving heroin addiction and the AIDS crisis. Bottum writes about encounters with Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, and Guns N’ Roses alongside recaps of gold records and arena rock, but the core focuses on tragedy, addiction, and life-altering moments told in a clear-eyed voice without self-pity. His pronouncements of achievement and unorthodox heroism flow through the narrative with unstoppable momentum. The book tour launches January 26 at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, continuing to Baltimore, DC, Cambridge, Providence, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, Nashville, and additional cities.
Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum Announces Speaking Tour For Memoir ‘The Royal We’
HTX Studio Unveils Interactive Piano That Visualizes Music After Three Years Development
HTX Studio transformed a piano into an interactive art piece that visualizes the music being played, completing a project that stretched across three years of development. The team prototyped displays using smoke, vortex rings, paint, oil, and glycerin droplets before settling on a final design that harnesses natural elements to create visual magic alongside sound. After multiple pauses due to unsatisfactory results, the studio persisted until achieving the vision they had carried throughout the process. The completed piano merges performance with visual spectacle, turning each note into something both heard and seen.
Rock The Country Festival Returns For 2026 With Kid Rock, Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean
Rock The Country Tour returns in 2026 with eight multi-city stops celebrating America’s 250th anniversary through rotating lineups and expanded fan experiences. Peachtree Entertainment announced the festival will visit Bellville, Bloomingdale, Sioux Falls, Ashland, Anderson, Hastings, Ocala, and Hamburg across two-day events from May through September. Artists performing across select dates include Kid Rock, Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Creed, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr., Shinedown, Jon Pardi, Ella Langley, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Brantley Gilbert, Treaty Oak Revival, Gavin Adcock, Ludacris, and Nelly, with daily throwback happy hour DJ sets and special host appearances by Chelcie Lynn in select markets. Each stop features unique lineups with no two weekends repeating the same artist combination.
The 2026 edition introduces significant upgrades including expanded shade and cooling throughout festival grounds, a newly built fan zone with a second stage presented by Raised Rowdy, and a dedicated food zone showcasing five or more local food trucks with shaded seating areas. VIP guests gain access to premium food offerings curated by David Bancroft, a nationally recognized chef and winner of Food Network’s Iron Chef Showdown, drawing from the bold Southern flavors of his restaurant Bow & Arrow. New Front Porch festival passes offer the ultimate all-inclusive weekend with elevated seating, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, dinner also curated by Chef David Bancroft, a dedicated festival entrance, weekend parking, and additional premium amenities in extremely limited availability. Kid Rock says, “Rock The Country isn’t just a music festival; it’s a movement. In 2026, as America celebrates its 250th anniversary, this is a place for hard-working, God-fearing patriots to gather as one and celebrate freedom, music, and the party of the year.”
Rock The Country 2026:
May 1-2 – Bellville, TX @ Austin County Fairgrounds
May 29-30 – Bloomingdale, GA @ Ottawa Farms
June 27-28 – Sioux Falls, SD @ W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds
July 10-11 – Ashland, KY @ Boyd County Fairgrounds
July 25-26 – Anderson, SC @ Anderson Sports & Ent Center
Aug 8-9 – Hastings, MI @ Barry Expo Center
Aug 28-29 – Ocala, FL @ Florida Horse Park
Sept 11-12 – Hamburg, NY @ Erie County Fairgrounds
Vicious Rumors Unleash “Abusement Park” Video And Announce U.S. Tour Dates
Vicious Rumors release the video for “Abusement Park” from their latest studio album ‘The Devil’s Asylum’ alongside a U.S. tour announcement. Founder and guitarist Geoff Thorpe describes the track as machine gun guitars and kick drums paired with melodic, harmony-filled choruses in classic Vicious Rumors style. The nightmare theme park concept emerged during a recording session between Thorpe and Jimmie Evans, evolving into the fourth single from ‘The Devil’s Asylum’. Filmed across Germany, Sweden, Florida, and Kentucky with editing by Ingo Sporl, the video captures the band’s blend of heavy metal and punk rock attitude through catchy riffs and blistering solos.
VICIOUS RUMORS LIVE 2026:
2/25 -Orlando, FL – West End Trading Co.
2/26 – Tampa, FL – The Brass Mug
2/27 – Fort Myers, FL – Stet’s Bar
3/1 – Atlanta, GA – 529
3/3 – Wichita, KS – John Barleycorn’s
3/4 – Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street
3/5 – Dallas, TX – Haltom Theater
3/6 – Austin, TX – Kickbutt Coffee
3/7 – San Antonio, TX – Fitzgerald’s
3/9 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater
3/10 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
3/12 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
3/13 – Reno, NV – Alturas Center Stage
3/14 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon
3/15 – Colorado Springs, CO – LuLu’s Downtown
3/17 – Lincoln, NE – 1867 Bar
3/18 – Iowa City, IA – Wildwood
3/19 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
3/21 – Kent, OH – The Outpost
3/24 – Providence, RI – Alchemy
3/25 – Rochester, NY – Photo City
3/26 – Catonsville, MD – Morseburgers Tavern
3/27 – Newark, NJ – Halftime Sports Bar
3/28 – Bristol, CT – Bleachers
3/29 – Harrisburg, PA – HMAC
9/12 – Brooklyn, NY – Rage Of Armageddon Festival
9/18 – Madison, WI – Blades Of Steel Festival
Newcastle Jazz Collective Knats Unveil ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ Produced By Geordie Greep
Knats deliver ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ with production from Geordie Greep of black midi, who also appears on one of the album’s tracks. The record arrives March 6 digitally and March 29 physically through Gearbox Records. Stan Woodward and King David-Ike Elechi, lifelong best friends from Newcastle, lead the collective through sophisticated musical arrangements built around Olivier Messiaen’s modes, creating suspended and colorful sounds rooted in their hometown’s working class experience. The compositional approach gives the album an uncanny quality without sacrificing accessibility, balancing their genre-fluid grooves with heavier rock experimentation.
First single “Wor Jackie” centers on North East coal miners through the story of Newcastle football legend Jackie Milburn, who split his days between the pit and the pitch. Cooper Robson’s impassioned poetry navigates the narrative alongside blistering solos from Woodward and tenor saxophonist George Johnson, marking a shift in the band’s aesthetic through storytelling and weightier textures. The track grew from Woodward’s conversation with his grandfather about life as a pitman and his initial vision of a moody march, then evolved when Robson joined the project. This addition brings Northern optimism to themes including toxic masculinity, fighting culture, crime, alcoholism, and the mining industry, with the closing track featuring words from a BBC interview with Durham Miners from the 1960s.
The album’s artwork emulates Art Kane’s late-1950s Harlem photograph, framing ‘A Great Day In Newcastle’ as documentation of regional lived experience. Knats have spent the last year touring as the live band for both Greep and Eddie Chacon on their EU and UK dates, including two sold-out nights at London’s Koko, while earning a Parliamentary Jazz Awards nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist. They’ve also collaborated with Mike Keat of The Cuban Brothers, Simon Bartholomew of The Brand New Heavies, and hometown noise-rock outfit lots of hands. Their performances at The Great Escape, We Out Here, and Love Supreme have built significant word-of-mouth momentum.
Tour Dates:
Jan 21st – 100 Club, London
April 22nd – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
April 23rd – Voodoo Daddy’s, Norwich
April 24th – Where Else?, Margate
April 25th – Brick Lane Jazz Festival, London
April 27th – Quarry, Liverpool
April 28th – Band On The Wall, Manchester
April 29th – Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
April 30th – Hare & Hound, Birmingham
May 1st – The Glad Cafe, Glasgow
May 2nd – Cobalt, Newcastle
Miist Launches The Love Project With New Single “Love Will Show Us The Way”
Miist builds her creative world around small gestures that ripple outward. The Love Project arrives in 2026 as her most expansive undertaking yet, combining the upcoming single “Love Will Show Us The Way” with participatory storytelling and practices rooted in connection. This effort grows directly from her podcast Make Me Smile with Miist, now ranked among the Top 10 mental health shows in the United States, where each episode closes with a 15-second action listeners can implement immediately.
Her path to songwriting started in her 30s without formal training, following an early childhood marked by abandonment at age five and a terminal cancer diagnosis in her late 20s. Music became the vocabulary she needed when words alone could not carry what she had lived through. That discovery continues to shape how she creates. Her 2025 release “Could You Lend Me a Smile” began as a tribute to a man who died alone in Tokyo and expanded into a collaboration across 16 languages, drawing artists and audiences into a shared moment of acknowledgment.
The video for “Love Will Show Us The Way” invites fans to submit clips of everyday kindness, simple moments captured without performance. A hug, a smile, presence. Miist has framed the project as collective documentation rather than artistic showcase. For the second consecutive year, she is also giving away two GRAMMY Awards guest tickets to fans whose personal stories connect with her own, redefining the event as something shared rather than exclusive. Later in 2025, she will release a companion book to her podcast, designed with short chapters and music-based reflection that prioritizes momentum over expertise.
There is something quietly radical about insisting that meaningful change happens in 15-second increments. Miist turns attention toward what can be done right now, in the time it takes to send a text or notice someone nearby. The work lands with sincerity and practical warmth, offering tools that fit into a single breath.
XG Hits The Road Again With “The Core” 2026 World Tour Behind New Album ‘The Core’
The global force XG is wasting no time as they announce their massive second global trek “The Core” 2026 World Tour following the release of their debut full-length album ‘The Core’. This ambitious run of shows starts in Japan this February and expands across Asia, North America, the UK, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. Coming off the back of a forty-seven show world tour last year, the group is now ready to showcase the evolution of their signature X-pop sound in a brand new arena setting. These seven performers continue to push the boundaries of the genre with a distinctive style that has quickly earned them a reputation for precision and high-energy stagecraft.
The tour begins with a triple-header at the IG Arena in Yokohama before hitting major venues like Osaka-Jo Hall and the Glion Arena in Kobe. This new stage production brings the true essence of ‘The Core’ to life with powerful choreography and a visual aesthetic that remains completely unique in the current pop landscape. This specific live experience is a high-speed collision of talent and vision. Presales for these dates begin tomorrow, January 13, and the demand is already reaching a fever pitch. XG is a group that thrives on the road and this second world tour cements their status as an unstoppable international touring act.
XG 2nd World Tour: “The Core” 2026 Tour Dates:
Feb 6 – Yokohama, Japan – IG Arena
Feb 7 – Yokohama, Japan – IG Arena
Feb 8 – Yokohama, Japan – IG Arena
Feb 17 – Osaka, Japan – Osaka-Jo Hall
Feb 18 – Osaka, Japan – Osaka-Jo Hall
Feb 21 – Nagoya, Japan – IG Arena
Feb 22 – Nagoya, Japan – IG Arena
Mar 14 – Fukui, Japan – Sundome Fukui
Mar 20 – Sendai, Japan – Miyagi Sekisui Heim Super Arena
Mar 25 – Kobe, Japan – Glion Arena Kobe
Mar 26 – Kobe, Japan – Glion Arena Kobe
Apr 4 – Fukuoka, Japan – Kitakyushu Messe
Apr 5 – Fukuoka, Japan – Kitakyushu Messe
Transatlantic Radio Debut “City Of Angels” Video Ahead Of New Album ‘Midnight Transmission’
Transatlantic Radio launches the cinematic new single “City Of Angels” today as a high-speed preview of the debut album ‘Midnight Transmission’ arriving February 20 via Frontiers Music Srl. This international collective functions as a well-oiled machine under the direction of Swedish bassist Victor Broden who assembled a lineup featuring R.J. Ronquillo and Chris Reeve. The track serves as a sonic tribute to the dreamers of Los Angeles and hits with the kind of massive hooks that defined the golden era of melodic rock. Keyboardist Fred Kron brings a heavy dose of atmosphere to the arrangement while Mattias Osbäck delivers a vocal performance with a raw and necessary edge.
The project started in the quiet of the 2020 lockdown and grew into a powerful unit that bridges the gap between European melodies and American grit. This record avoids the traps of simple nostalgia by fusing polished 80s influences with a sharp and contemporary production style. The band proved their worth as a visceral live entity at the Malmo Melodic Festival and continues that momentum through these ten new tracks. This song is a glorious anthem to blast on a long road trip. It brings a fresh urgency to the genre and proves that the spirit of arena rock is still very much in the driver’s seat for 2026.
Mother Vulture Tease ‘Cartoon Violence’ With Moody New Anthem “Knuckles” Ahead Of January Release
The high octane Bristol quartet Mother Vulture unleashes “Knuckles” as the final preview of their highly anticipated second album ‘Cartoon Violence’ which arrives tomorrow. This track hits with a moody and infectious groove that highlights the sharp riffs and genre bending energy found across the upcoming record. The band recently collaborated with Gretsch guitars for their previous single “Phoenix” and spent the end of 2025 touring alongside Reef. This new material builds on the foundation of their debut ‘Mother Knows Best’ with a sound that fuses stoner punk and fuzzy riff rock into a massive sonic wall.
The group takes the stage at the Phoenix in Exeter on January 31 to launch the new record before heading out on an extensive run of UK dates. Known for an explosive live presence that mirrors the intensity of early hardcore, the band translates that raw power directly into the studio with ‘Cartoon Violence’. These tracks possess a gritty and chaotic spirit that demands attention through heavy rhythms and monster hooks. The release of “Knuckles” is a masterclass in heavy groove. Fans can pick up the limited first pressing of the album while the band prepares for a busy year on the festival circuit following successful turns at Bloodstock and ArcTanGent.
Tracklist for ‘Cartoon Violence’:
- Mike Check
- Sufferin’ Succotash!
- Treadmill
- Slow Down
- The Masquerade
- Phoenix
- (corporate programming)
- Double Down
- Knuckles
- Bed Bugs
- La Matadora
- (For Years I’ve Been Searching)
- Mountain Of Youth
“Cartoon Violence” Tour Dates:
Sat 31st Jan 2026 – EXETER, Phoenix
Sat 7th Feb 2026 – CARDIFF, Cwlb Ifor Bach
Thu 12th Feb 2026 – SOUTHAMPTON, The Joiners
Sat 14th Feb 2026 – BOURNEMOUTH, Bear Cave
Fri 20th Feb 2026 – GLASGOW, Audio
Sat 21st Feb 2026 – SHEFFIELD, Corporation
Thur 26th Feb 2026 – EDINBURGH, Bannermans
Fri 27th Feb 2026 – MANCHESTER, Satan’s Hollow
Sat 28th Feb 2026 – NOTTINGHAM, Rough Trade
Thu 5th Mar 2026 – CHELTENHAM, Frog and Fiddle
Fri 6th Mar 2026 – ALTON, The Lounge Bar
Sat 7th Mar 2026 – LONDON, Rough Trade East
Carpenter Brut Concludes The Epic Trilogy With New Album ‘Leather Temple’ And Title Track “Leather Temple”
French synthwave titan Carpenter Brut completes his legendary cinematic trilogy with the release of ‘Leather Temple’ on February 27 via No Quarter Prod and Virgin Records. This final chapter thrusts the saga of Bret Halford into a dystopian 2077 where nuclear ruins and transhuman overlords define a brutal new reality. The album follows the glam rock energy of ‘Leather Teeth’ and the slasher horror of ‘Leather Terror’ by delivering a saturated 90s electro atmosphere filled with distorted layers and unrelenting tension. Every track acts as a high speed chase through the neon lit wreckage of Midwichpolis.
The music dives into a raw and restless energy that functions as a living weapon for the rebellion led by Lita Connor. This record hits fast and hard with a direct orchestral scale that makes the heartbeat accelerate and the engines of a collapsing world roar. It is a sonically aggressive masterpiece that distills pure adrenaline into ten concise and punishing tracks. The story sees Bret Halford upgraded with advanced tech to become a half man and half machine ally against the paranoid tyrant Iron Tusk. This direct and unflinching soundscape provides a massive finale to one of the most ambitious concepts in modern electronic music.
Tracklist for ‘Leather Temple’:
- Ouverture (Deus Ex Machina)
- Major Threat
- Leather Temple
- She Rules The Ruins
- Start Your Engines
- Neon Requiem
- Iron Sanctuary
- The Misfits The Rebels
- Speed or Perish
- The End Complete