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Willie Nelson Announces His 79th Solo Album ‘Dream Chaser’ for May 29

Eric Alper
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Willie Nelson Announces His 79th Solo Album ‘Dream Chaser’ for May 29

Willie Nelson has announced his 79th (!!!) solo studio album, ‘Dream Chaser,’ arriving May 29 via Sony. The title track is out now, a reflective piece co-written with longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon and Bobby Tomberlin. Pre-orders are open now on CD and vinyl.

The album continues Nelson’s extraordinary creative partnership with Cannon, with whom he has released nearly 20 albums over the past 13 years. The two co-wrote six of the ten tracks, three of which were also written with Tomberlin. The album’s most notable collaboration is “I Can’t Read Your Mind,” co-written with Bob Dylan, who toured with Nelson in 2025. The song began when Dylan brought Nelson the opening idea and the two developed it together before passing it to Cannon to complete.

‘Dream Chaser’ brings together story-driven songs focused on relationships, personal growth, and life on the road, rooted in classic songwriting traditions while carrying Nelson’s perpetually modern perspective. The title track captures that spirit directly, its narrator catching his own reflection and barely recognizing the wide-eyed kid who moved to Tennessee with an old guitar and a dream. At 92, approaching 93, the sentiment lands differently than it would from almost any other artist alive.

Nelson will host his annual Luck Reunion event at his Texas ranch this week, featuring St. Vincent, Booker T. Jones, Trampled by Turtles, Robert Lester Folsom, and more. A run of spring tour dates follows in April and May, most of which feature Drayton Farley, including stops in Birmingham, Atlanta, Asheville, Cary, Wilmington, and New Braunfels.

His 156th album overall. His streak intact. Willie Nelson remains one of music’s most remarkable forces.

‘Dream Chaser’ Tracklisting:

  1. Dream Chaser (Buddy Cannon, Bobby Tomberlin and Willie Nelson)
  2. Fly Away (Buddy Cannon and Bobby Whitlock)
  3. We’d Make A Good Movie (Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon and Bobby Tomberlin)
  4. I Can’t Read Your Mind (Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon and Bob Dylan)
  5. Whiskey Wants Me To (Buddy Cannon and Bobby Tomberlin)
  6. Wonder What I’m Gonna Do (Willie Nelson and Buddy Cannon)
  7. After All (Willie Nelson and Buddy Cannon)
  8. Love Overdue (Mickey Raphael, Donald W. Poythress and Anna Lisa Graham)
  9. I Don’t Think I’ve Cried Today (Buddy Cannon, Bobby Tomberlin and Willie Nelson)
  10. Developing My Pictures (Earl Montgomery)

2026 Tour Dates:

April 22 — Birmingham, AL — Avondale Brewing Company

April 23 — Atlanta, GA — Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park

April 25 — Asheville, NC — Asheville Yards Amphitheater

April 27 — Cary, NC — Koka Booth Amphitheatre

April 28 — Wilmington, NC — Live Oak Bank Pavilion

May 2 — New Braunfels, TX — Whitewater Amphitheater

Canadian Metal Legends Anvil Hit the Road on the “Pounding the Past” North American Tour

Eric Alper
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Canadian Metal Legends Anvil Hit the Road on the “Pounding the Past” North American Tour

Anvil are heading back out across North America this summer on the “Pounding the Past 2026” tour, a 27-date run kicking off June 3 in Rochester, New York and closing July 11 in Toledo, Ohio. New Jersey heavy metal outfit Midnite Hellion supports on all dates. The tour zeroes in on material from the band’s first three albums, ‘Hard ‘N’ Heavy’ from 1981, ‘Metal on Metal’ from 1982, and ‘Forged in Fire’ from 1983, alongside other catalog favorites.

Those three records carry genuine historical weight. ‘Metal on Metal’ in particular influenced an entire generation of heavy music, with Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax all citing Anvil as a foundational influence before any of those bands sold a single record. The 2008 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil, directed by Sacha Gervasi, brought that story to a wide audience and cemented the band’s reputation as one of heavy metal’s great overlooked originals.

Guitarist and vocalist Steve “Lips” Kudlow has never been shy about the irony of that legacy. In a recent interview he reflected on watching the world pick up what Anvil started in 1983 and leave the band behind, describing himself as “the bridge between hard rock and heavy metal.” That perspective, clear-eyed and undiminished, is exactly what makes an Anvil live show worth attending. These are musicians who have been playing this music longer than most of their peers, and they have never stopped.

The routing covers the US extensively before crossing into Canada for a western leg through Chilliwack, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg, then looping back through Minneapolis, Madison, Indianapolis, and Toledo. With Midnite Hellion bringing East Coast metal energy to every date, this is a bill built for fans who know exactly what they want from a night of heavy music.

“Pounding the Past 2026” Tour Dates:

June 3 — Rochester, NY — Pineapple Jack’s

June 4 — Lakewood, OH — The Foundry

June 5 — Chicago, IL — WC Social Club

June 6 — St. Louis, MO — Off Broadway

June 7 — Lawrence, KS — Bottleneck

June 10 — Austin, TX — Come And Take It Live

June 12 — El Paso, TX — Rockhouse

June 13 — Tucson, AZ — Club Congress

June 14 — Las Vegas, NV — The Tuscanny

June 17 — San Diego, CA — Brick By Brick

June 18 — Los Angeles, CA — The Moroccan Lounge

June 19 — Palmdale, CA — Transplants Brewing

June 20 — Santa Rosa, CA — Arlene Francis Center

June 21 — Sacramento, CA — Cafe Colonial

June 24 — Portland, OR — Dante’s

June 25 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon

June 26 — Chilliwack, BC — The Chill House

June 27 — Vancouver, BC — Astoria

June 28 — Victoria, BC — The Phoenix

July 1 — Calgary, AB — Palomino

July 2 — Edmonton, AB — The Dive Bar

July 3 — Saskatoon, SK — Black Cat Tavern

July 5 — Winnipeg, MB — The Park Theatre

July 8 — Minneapolis, MN — 7th St Entry

July 9 — Madison, WI — Crucible

July 10 — Indianapolis, IN — Black Circle

July 11 — Toledo, OH — Frankie’s Inner-City

Singer-Songwriters Rachel Bobbitt and Lia Pappas-Kemps Hit the Road Together This Spring

Eric Alper
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Singer-Songwriters Rachel Bobbitt and Lia Pappas-Kemps Hit the Road Together This Spring

Rachel Bobbitt and Lia Pappas-Kemps are touring together this spring, hitting nine cities across Canada and the US from May 23 through June 10. The run opens at The Garrison in Toronto and closes at Cabaret Foufounes Electriques in Montreal, with stops in Hamilton, Guelph, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Boston, New York, and Ottawa along the way.

Bobbitt arrives at this tour on the back of her debut full-length album Swimming Towards the Sand, a record rooted in the windswept Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia where she grew up. Raised in a household where her mom’s side hosted kitchen fiddle parties, Bobbitt built an early audience of 400,000 Vine followers at just 16, earning Shorty Award nominations and recognition from Buzzfeed before going on to study Jazz and Vocal Pedagogy at Humber College. Swimming Towards the Sand revisits those roots with the perspective of a decade’s experience, sharp contemporary songwriting, and an album-length meditation on what home means after you’ve left it.

Pappas-Kemps brings her own considerable momentum to the pairing. The Toronto-born singer launched her career with a run of singles including “Jinx,” “Sad in Toronto,” and “Object at Best,” before her debut EP ‘Gleam’ earned critical acclaim for its intricate blend of throwback alt-rock, 70s troubadour instincts, and modern indie rock. She writes with emotional precision and performs with a natural confidence that makes every track feel lived-in and specific.

Together, Bobbitt and Pappas-Kemps make for a compelling double bill, two Canadian singer-songwriters with distinct voices and strong bodies of work, sharing stages across a route that gives fans on both sides of the border a chance to discover both of them.

Rachel Bobbitt and Lia Pappas-Kemps 2026 Tour Dates:

May 23 — Toronto, ON — The Garrison

May 26 — Hamilton, ON — Mills Hardware

May 28 — Guelph, ON — Sonic Hall

May 30 — Philadelphia, PA — MilkBoy

May 31 — Washington, DC — Songbyrd

June 3 — Boston, MA — Warehouse XI

June 4 — New York, NY — Night Club 101

June 9 — Ottawa, ON — 27 Club

June 10 — Montreal, QC — Cabaret Foufounes Electriques

Award-Winning Stars Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver Unite in ‘Holy Days’

Eric Alper
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Award-Winning Stars Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver Unite in ‘Holy Days’

Holy Days, the heartwarming comedic adventure starring Academy Award nominee Judy Davis, BAFTA winner Miriam Margolyes, and two-time Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver, opens in North American theatres March 27. The film world premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and marks the feature directorial debut of Vancouver-based writer and director Nat Boltt. Canadian screenings run across British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, PEI, and Saskatchewan, with US dates also available.

The film follows three unconventional nuns on a last-ditch road trip across New Zealand from north to south, fighting for their independence while forming an unlikely bond with a young Māori boy on his own deeply personal mission. When an unexpected snowstorm derails their journey, the group confronts mortality, loss, and the transformative power of love and connection. Based on the acclaimed novel by Dame Joy Cowley, Holy Days is joyful, life-affirming, and built on three central performances that carry the full weight of its emotional range.

A special event screening takes place March 25 at Cineplex Yonge-Eglinton in Toronto, with Boltt in attendance alongside country musician Tami Neilson, who will perform two songs from the film’s soundtrack. Boltt will also appear for Q&As at the Vancouver and Los Angeles screenings. The film runs March 27 through April 2 at the Park Theatre in Vancouver and Cineplex Varsity in Toronto, with further Canadian dates extending through June.

Holy Days also carries significant cultural weight as a launch project for New Zealand’s Kahurangi Toi Atea Screen Industry Training Initiative, produced at Kōawa Studios at the University of Canterbury. The production was made with support from the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand Screen Production Rebate, Telefilm Canada, Creative BC, and CBC Films.

This is a film built on craft, character, and considerable star power.

Indigo Girls and Trampled By Turtles Head a Stacked Lineup at the Evanston Folk Festival

Eric Alper
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Indigo Girls and Trampled By Turtles Head a Stacked Lineup at the Evanston Folk Festival

The Evanston Folk Festival returns for its third year on September 12 and 13 at Dawes Park, with Indigo Girls and Trampled By Turtles headlining across two days and three stages. Tickets go on general sale Friday, March 20 at 10 a.m. CT at evanstonfolkfestival.com. The festival holds approximately 5,000 capacity, and additional after shows at SPACE and Cahn Auditorium will be announced.

The supporting lineup is deep and genuinely varied. Josh Ritter, Valerie June, Kathleen Edwards, Tift Merritt, and James McMurtry bring established songwriting credibility, while Mdou Moctar, Sierra Hull, Hayden Pedigo, and Margaret Glaspy push the programming in exciting directions. Angela Autumn and Australian three-piece Folk Bitch Trio represent some of the genre’s most compelling new voices, and their inclusion signals a festival with real curatorial ambition.

The weekend opens Friday, September 11, with a kick-off show at Cahn Auditorium featuring Punch Brothers, led by Chris Thile. The Chicago Public Media Tent Talks series runs alongside the main programming, with a session on John Prine’s Chicago featuring Mark Guarino and special guests, and a conversation with Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers and Amy Ray alongside NPR music critic Ann Powers.

Jake Samuels, Director of Music for SPACE and 16 On Center, described the festival’s growth since its 2024 launch as inspiring: “Seeing our Lakefront filled with music fans and families enjoying artists from around the world is so fulfilling for all of us.” Two editions in, the Evanston Folk Festival has already earned its place as a fixture in Chicago’s music calendar.

This is a well-built lineup in a beautiful setting. September 12 and 13 at Dawes Park.

Rebelution, The Offspring and Kolohe Kai Head Up San Diego’s Mission Bayfest This October

Eric Alper
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Rebelution, The Offspring and Kolohe Kai Head Up San Diego’s Mission Bayfest This October

Mission Bayfest returns to San Diego’s Mariner’s Point Park for its fifth year, running October 16 through 18 with a lineup built squarely around the SoCal musical identity. Headliners Rebelution, Kolohe Kai, and The Offspring anchor three days of reggae, pop, and alternative music on the waterfront. Single-day and three-day tickets go on general sale March 20 at 10 a.m. PT, with a presale launching March 19.

The supporting lineup fills out the bill with depth and range. Steel Pulse, SOJA, The Movement, and Common Kings bring serious reggae credibility, while The Interrupters and Goldfinger add ska-punk punch. The Expendables, Surfer Girl, and Jakob’s Castle round out a roster that reads like a love letter to Southern California’s musical heritage. VIP options are also available.

Bayfest was founded by local operators with deep roots in San Diego’s music and hospitality scene. Dominic Coleman of Single Fin Surf Grill and Sport Fishing, Joe Rinaldi of Music Box, and DJ Mikey Beats of Sleeping Giant Music built the festival to channel the spirit of the city’s legendary 1990s festival culture into something built for the present. In four years it has grown into one of Southern California’s most anticipated outdoor music events.

The setting remains one of the festival’s strongest assets. Mariner’s Point Park offers waterfront views, sandy shores, and grassy lawns alongside a curated marketplace of local artisans and a lineup of gourmet food trucks and local eateries. Three days of live music with the Pacific as the backdrop is exactly what San Diego does best.

October 16 through 18 at Mariner’s Point Park. General on-sale is March 20.

Disney’s Worlds Collide Concert Tour Expands to 48 Arenas Across North America This Fall

Eric Alper
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Disney’s Worlds Collide Concert Tour Expands to 48 Arenas Across North America This Fall

AEG Presents and Disney Concerts have announced the Worlds Collide Concert Tour, a 48-arena North American run featuring stars from the Descendants, ZOMBIES, and Camp Rock franchises. The tour kicks off September 25 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert and closes December 13 at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. A Disney+ Perks presale begins March 23 at 10 a.m. local time, with general on-sale launching March 27.

The cast includes Malachi Barton, Liamani Segura, Dara Reneé, Mekonnen Knife, Hudson Stone, Swayam Bhatia, Kiara Romero, and Alexandro Byrd, bringing together talent from across three generations of Disney franchise storytelling. The addition of Camp Rock to this year’s lineup expands the musical universe considerably, and the production promises next-level choreography and special effects to match the scale of the venues.

The numbers behind last year’s run make the expansion feel earned. The 2025 Descendants/ZOMBIES: Worlds Collide Tour grossed more than $40 million, sold 457,949 tickets across 44 shows, and earned a Pollstar Awards nomination for Top Family Tour. This year adds four more dates, three countries, and a deeper catalog of songs to draw from.

The routing covers the full breadth of North America, with major stops at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, United Center in Chicago, Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, TD Garden in Boston, State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and Toyota Center in Houston, before crossing into Mexico for arena dates in Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City.

VIP packages are available, including Q&A opportunities with the cast. Full details at worldscollidetour.com.

2026 Worlds Collide Concert Tour North American Dates:

September 25 — Palm Desert, CA — Acrisure Arena

September 26 — Phoenix, AZ — Mortgage Matchup Center

September 28 — Los Angeles, CA — Crypto.com Arena

September 30 — Inglewood, CA — Kia Forum

October 1 — Anaheim, CA — Honda Center

October 3 — San Francisco, CA — Chase Center

October 4 — Sacramento, CA — Golden 1 Center

October 6 — Portland, OR — Moda Center

October 8 — Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena

October 10 — Tacoma, WA — Tacoma Dome

October 11 — Spokane, WA — Spokane Arena

October 13 — Boise, ID — ExtraMile Arena

October 14 — Salt Lake City, UT — Delta Center

October 17 — Kansas City, MO — T-Mobile Center

October 18 — Minneapolis, MN — Target Center

October 19 — Chicago, IL — United Center

October 21 — Rosemont, IL — Allstate Arena

October 22 — Cincinnati, OH — Heritage Bank Center

October 23 — Detroit, MI — Little Caesars Arena

October 25 — Cleveland, OH — Rocket Arena

October 27 — Indianapolis, IN — Gainbridge Fieldhouse

October 28 — Pittsburgh, PA — PPG Paints Arena

October 30 — Ottawa, ON — Canadian Tire Centre

October 31 — Hamilton, ON — TD Coliseum

November 1 — Toronto, ON — Scotiabank Arena

November 3 — Boston, MA — TD Garden

November 4 — Worcester, MA — DCU Center

November 6 — Hartford, CT — PeoplesBank Arena

November 7 — Brooklyn, NY — Barclays Center

November 8 — Belmont Park, NY — UBS Arena

November 10 — Newark, NJ — Prudential Center

November 13 — Philadelphia, PA — Xfinity Mobile Arena

November 14 — Baltimore, MD — CFG Bank Arena

November 16 — Charlottesville, VA — John Paul Jones Arena

November 17 — Washington, DC — Capital One Arena

November 19 — Charlotte, NC — Spectrum Center

November 20 — Greensboro, NC — First Horizon Coliseum

November 22 — Nashville, TN — Bridgestone Arena

November 24 — Sunrise, FL — Amerant Bank Arena

November 25 — Orlando, FL — Kia Center

November 28 — Tampa, FL — Benchmark International Arena

November 30 — Atlanta, GA — State Farm Arena

December 2 — Houston, TX — Toyota Center

December 3 — Dallas, TX — American Airlines Center

December 4 — Austin, TX — Moody Center

December 8 — Monterrey, Mexico — Arena Monterrey

December 11 — Guadalajara, Mexico — Arena Guadalajara

December 13 — Mexico City, Mexico — Arena CDMX

Placebo Announce a Massive 30th Anniversary Tour and Reworked Debut Album

Eric Alper
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Placebo Announce a Massive 30th Anniversary Tour and Reworked Debut Album

Placebo have announced a sprawling UK and European 30th anniversary tour celebrating their 1996 self-titled debut album, kicking off September 28 in Porto and closing December 7 in Cardiff. Alongside the tour comes Placebo RE:CREATED, a reworked and embellished version of all ten original album tracks plus two bonus tracks, arriving June 19. Pre-orders open March 22, with an artist presale launching March 24 and general on-sale March 27.

The band describe RE:CREATED with rare precision: “We think of this record as a director’s cut. We went back to the original master tapes and brought 30 years of playing these songs live back into the record.” This is not a nostalgia exercise or a cash-in reissue. It is a deliberate act of completion, dragging a foundational record into the present while preserving everything that made it matter in the first place.

The tour is substantial by any measure. Forty-plus dates across Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ireland, and the UK. Venues include the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Accor Arena in Paris, OVO Arena Wembley in London, and OVO Hydro in Glasgow. The setlist will draw from the debut alongside its celebrated 1998 follow-up ‘Without You I’m Nothing.’

Before the main run, Placebo play a special show at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 28 in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust, and appear at Zermatt Unplugged in Switzerland on April 11. Both dates arrive ahead of the RE:CREATED release and give a preview of what the anniversary celebration has in store.

Placebo emerged during the height of Britpop in 1996 with a sound that sat deliberately outside the era’s dominant aesthetic, darker, more confrontational, and more emotionally raw. Thirty years on, the debut still holds. RE:CREATED makes the case that it always will.

Placebo 30th Anniversary Tour 2026:

March 28 — London, UK — Royal Albert Hall (for Teenage Cancer Trust)

April 11 — Zermatt, Switzerland — Zermatt Unplugged 2026

September 28 — Porto, Portugal — Super Bock Arena

September 29 — Lisbon, Portugal — Sagres Campo Pequeno

October 1 — Madrid, Spain — Movistar Arena

October 3 — Barcelona, Spain — Sant Jordi Club

October 5 — Toulouse, France — Zénith de Toulouse

October 7 — Saint-Herblain, France — Zenith Nantes Metropole

October 9 — Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg — Rockhal

October 12 — Leipzig, Germany — QUARTERBACK Immobilien AG

October 15 — Vilnius, Lithuania — Twinsbet Arena

October 16 — Riga, Latvia — Arēna Rīga

October 18 — Helsinki, Finland — Hartwall Arena

October 20 — Stockholm, Sweden — Annexet

October 22 — Oslo, Norway — Oslo Spektrum

October 24 — Frederiksberg, Denmark — K.B. Hallen

October 26 — Hamburg, Germany — Barclays Arena

October 27 — Amsterdam, Netherlands — Ziggo Dome

October 29 — Frankfurt, Germany — Festhalle Messe Frankfurt

November 1 — Antwerp, Belgium — AFAS Dome

November 2 — Cologne, Germany — Lanxess Arena

November 4 — Zurich, Switzerland — Hallenstadion

November 6 — Milan, Italy — Unipol Forum

November 9 — Munich, Germany — Olympiahalle

November 10 — Vienna, Austria — Wiener Stadthalle

November 13 — Budapest, Hungary — Papp László Budapest Sportaréna

November 15 — Prague, Czechia — Sportovní Hala

November 16 — Berlin, Germany — Uber Arena

November 18 — Lodz, Poland — Atlas Arena

November 21 — Stuttgart, Germany — Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle

November 23 — Lyon, France — LDLC Arena

November 25 — Paris, France — Accor Arena

November 28 — Nottingham, UK — Motorpoint Arena

November 30 — Glasgow, UK — OVO Hydro

December 2 — Dublin, Ireland — 3Arena

December 4 — Manchester, UK — Co-op Live

December 5 — London, UK — OVO Arena Wembley

December 7 — Cardiff, UK — Utilita Arena Cardiff

Passion Pit Announce a Massive Summer Tour and New EP

Eric Alper
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Passion Pit Announce a Massive Summer Tour and New EP

Passion Pit are back on the road. Michael Angelakos and his full band have announced a North American summer tour stretching from June through August, hitting club dates, major festivals, and two nights at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. Tickets are available now. The run includes stops at Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Summerfest, Middle Waves Music Festival, Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, and Up In The Sky Festival in Aspen.

The tour arrives alongside the announcement of the Pretty Penny EP, a new release celebrating twenty years since the Chunk of Change debut EP, which launched Passion Pit from Angelakos’ dorm room in Boston to sold-out shows and a Best New Band award from the Boston Phoenix. The release date and tracklist will be announced soon, but Angelakos has signaled it will point toward a significant volume of new material recorded with the full band, a first for Passion Pit.

That full band, Giuliano Pizzulo on lead guitar and synths, Eric Scullin on bass and synths, Denzel Cox on organs and synths, and Ben Barter on drums and drum machine, brings a new dimension to Angelakos’ songwriting that fans have not heard on record before. The live show has always been where Passion Pit’s layered, emotionally charged sound hits hardest, and a full-band studio record promises to capture that energy in a new way.

“Sleepyhead,” the triple-platinum breakthrough from Chunk of Change, remains one of indie pop’s most beloved songs. A new remix with Sofi Tukker, released in March 2025, introduced it to a fresh generation. The Pretty Penny EP and this tour together frame a band that is honoring its origins while moving decisively forward.

Thirty-five dates. Two decades of music. This summer, Passion Pit are everywhere.

North American Passion Pit Tour Dates:

June 6 — Fort Wayne, IN — Middle Waves Music Festival

June 7 — Detroit, MI — Majestic Theatre

June 9 — Richmond, VA — The National

June 10 — Norfolk, VA — The NorVa

June 11 — Columbia, SC — The Senate

June 13 — Manchester, TN — Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

June 14 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore

June 16 — Indianapolis, IN — Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

June 18 — Milwaukee, WI — Summerfest

June 19 — St. Louis, MO — The Hawthorn

June 20 — Kansas City, MO — The Truman

June 22 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE

June 23 — Columbus, OH — Newport Music Hall

June 24 — Cleveland, OH — Globe Iron

June 26 — Rothbury, MI — Electric Forest

July 19 — Saint Paul, MN — Minnesota Yacht Club Festival

July 20 — Chicago, IL — Riviera Theater

July 22 — Buffalo, NY — Electric City

July 24 — Boston, MA — House of Blues

July 25 — New York, NY — The Rooftop at Pier 17

July 26 — Philadelphia, PA — The Fillmore

July 28 — Washington, DC — 9:30 Club

July 29 — Washington, DC — 9:30 Club

July 31 — Raleigh, NC — The Ritz

August 1 — Atlanta, GA — The Eastern

August 3 — Oklahoma City, OK — Tower Theatre

August 5 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren

August 7 — Aspen, CO — Up In The Sky Festival

August 9 — Denver, CO — Ogden Theatre

August 11 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Complex, Rockwell

August 13 — Seattle, WA — Showbox SoDo

August 14 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theater

August 16 — Oakland, CA — Fox Theater

August 18 — Los Angeles, CA — The Bellwether

Wayne Perkins, Legendary Session Guitarist Who Was THIS Close To Joining The Rolling Stones, Dead at 74

Eric Alper
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Wayne Perkins, Legendary Session Guitarist Who Was THIS Close To Joining The Rolling Stones, Dead at 74

Wayne Perkins, the Alabama-born guitarist whose extraordinary career brought him within inches of joining the Rolling Stones, died on March 16 after suffering a stroke. He was 74. His brother Dale confirmed the news on social media: “He was one of a kind, and we loved him very much.”

The story of Wayne Perkins is one of music history’s great near-misses, and one of its great careers. After Mick Taylor left the Stones in late 1974, Eric Clapton, a close friend of Perkins, personally called Mick Jagger to recommend him. Perkins played lead guitar on three tracks from the band’s 1976 album ‘Black and Blue,’ including the scorching “Hand of Fate,” the ballads “Memory Motel” and “Fool to Cry,” and a fourth track, “Worried About You,” later released on 1981’s ‘Tattoo You.’ Keith Richards wrote warmly of him in his 2010 memoir ‘Life’: “We liked Perkins a lot. He was a lovely player.” In the end, Ronnie Wood got the job, Richards explaining simply that the band wanted to keep an Englishman in the lineup.

It was not the first legendary band to come calling. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant, one of Perkins’ closest friends, asked him to join the band. Perkins declined, saying “they didn’t need me and I had a lot of other stuff coming my way.” That other stuff was considerable. Working out of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in the early 1970s, he became one of the most sought-after session guitarists in the world, playing on records with Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Jimmy Cliff. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell was so impressed he brought Perkins to London as part of trio Smith Perkins Smith, the first American act signed to Island Records.

In London, Blackwell placed Perkins in the sessions for Bob Marley and the Wailers’ breakthrough 1973 album ‘Catch a Fire,’ where he contributed lead guitar overdubs to “Concrete Jungle,” “Stir It Up,” and “Baby We’ve Got a Date.” His playing helped make the record more accessible to rock audiences, though he went uncredited on the original liner notes until a 2001 reissue. A year later, he played on Joni Mitchell’s landmark ‘Court and Spark,’ with Sounds magazine specifically citing his guitar work on “Car on a Hill.” For a period, he and Mitchell were also romantically linked.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1951, Perkins taught himself guitar at 12 and was playing session work by 15. He is survived by his brother Dale and his four sisters. Al.com, which profiled him extensively in 2017, described him as “arguably the greatest guitarist Alabama ever produced.” Based on the records he left behind, that is a difficult argument to dispute.

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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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