Spotify has launched a new beta feature called About the Song, and it addresses something every curious listener has felt at one point or another. A track hits you hard, and you immediately want to know where it came from, what inspired it, what was happening in the artist’s life when it was written. Now that context lives directly inside the Now Playing view, no browser tab required.
The feature surfaces short, swipeable story cards while you listen, pulling from third-party sources to deliver behind-the-scenes details and context about the track playing in real time. It’s a lean, well-placed addition to the listening experience, designed to deepen the connection between a song and the person hearing it without interrupting the flow of actually listening.
About the Song is currently in beta for Premium users on iOS and Android in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, with English-language support at launch. Finding it is straightforward: open the Now Playing view while a supported track is playing, scroll down, and the About the Song card appears. Both artists and listeners can submit feedback directly through the card, which means the feature will keep improving as more people use it.
For a platform built on discovery, giving listeners the tools to go deeper on songs they already love is a natural and smart expansion. About the Song is rolling out now.
Spotify’s lyrics feature gets hundreds of millions of views every day, and the platform has just made it significantly more useful with three updates rolling out now. For anyone who follows along with words while they listen, these are changes worth knowing about.
First, lyric translations are now available worldwide. After launching in 2022 and expanding to more than 25 markets last year, translations now reach every corner of the globe for both Free and Premium users. Tap the translate icon on the lyrics card and the translation appears beneath the original, based on your device’s language, with the option to switch back anytime. For listeners who’ve ever wanted to understand exactly what they’re singing along to in another language, this is a meaningful upgrade.
Second, offline lyrics. Premium users who download tracks for offline listening will now have the lyrics automatically saved alongside the audio. Underground commute, long-haul flight, dead zone road trip, the words stay with you regardless of signal. It’s a small addition that removes a genuinely frustrating gap in the offline experience.
Third, lyric previews now appear directly beneath the album artwork or Canvas clip as a song plays, bringing the words front and center without requiring an extra tap. Early testing shows the new layout increases engagement with lyrics and helps listeners return to songs they’ve recently discovered. The feature rolls out globally for Free and Premium users on iOS, Android, and tablet, and can be turned off anytime through the three-dot menu if you prefer the original view.
Three focused, practical upgrades to one of Spotify’s most-used features. All rolling out now.
Spotify has quietly solved one of the most frustrating problems for book lovers who split their time between print and audio. Page Match, a new feature rolling out now on iOS and Android, lets you switch between a physical book or e-reader and its audiobook counterpart with a single scan of your phone camera. Point, scan, and Spotify drops you exactly where you left off. No hunting through chapters, no guessing at timestamps.
The feature works in both directions. Reading and want to switch to listening? Scan the page you’re on and Spotify matches it to the corresponding moment in the audiobook. Listening and want to pick up the physical book? Scan any page and Spotify tells you exactly where to flip, forward or back, to find the precise passage where your audio stopped. It’s a genuinely elegant solution to a genuinely annoying problem.
Page Match works alongside Spotify’s existing Recap feature on supported titles, which offers short audio summaries tailored to your most recent listening point, useful for jumping back in after a break. Premium subscribers and Audiobooks+ plan members can use Page Match within their monthly listening allocation, while free users can access it on individually purchased audiobooks. Most English-language titles will be supported by the end of February.
Spotify also announced a partnership with Bookshop.org, allowing users to purchase physical books directly through the platform. Together, the two updates push Spotify’s book offering into genuinely useful territory, building an ecosystem where the format you choose at any given moment is simply a matter of convenience, not commitment.
The Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa has opened its newest exhibition, and ‘A Dozen Loops: The Radical Voice of Woody Guthrie’ arrives at exactly the right moment. Built around twelve songs that confronted some of the most pressing social issues of Guthrie’s time, the exhibit uses archival materials, audio, text, and video interactives to show how one songwriter transformed folk music into a sustained call for awareness and resistance. It’s an exhibition with genuine urgency behind it.
The title comes directly from Guthrie himself: “I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work.” Each of the twelve loops focuses on one song, one topic, one fight, covering racism, labor unions, environmental rights, voting rights, anti-fascism, and immigration. The breadth is as remarkable as the depth.
Cady Shaw, senior director of the Woody Guthrie Center, frames the exhibition’s timeliness plainly. “Woody Guthrie spoke boldly because he knew that silence only protects the status quo,” she says. “People are seeking out Woody’s voice because it reminds us that change begins when we confront uncomfortable truths within ourselves.” Songs written seventy or more years ago are finding new audiences because the questions they ask haven’t been answered yet.
The exhibition concludes with a call to action, inviting visitors to consider how Guthrie’s message resonates today and how they can carry it forward. Special programming continues throughout the run, with an educational workshop scheduled for May 1 among the upcoming events. ‘A Dozen Loops’ is open now at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa.
Natalie Brooke had a 2025 that demanded attention, and her Spring 2026 tour is the natural next move. Her studio project ‘Measured in Moments’ was named one of The Baltimore Banner’s Top 10 Albums of 2025, recognized for fearless composition, dynamic arrangements, and a rare ability to bridge improvisation with emotional storytelling. That kind of critical validation doesn’t happen by accident, and the Spring tour is built to show exactly why the praise landed.
Brooke’s live reputation is the engine behind everything. Known for her command of keys and keytar, her performances have increasingly leaned into extended grooves, evolving arrangements, and spontaneous musical dialogue that shifts the setlist from night to night. That improvisational DNA has made her a rising force in the jam circuit, and this Spring run deepens that connection with headline dates alongside select shows supporting Dogs In A Pile, Big Something, and Houseplant.
The routing covers serious ground, spanning the Midwest, East Coast, and Mountain West, including Brooke’s first-ever run through Colorado. One date carries particular weight. Brooke headlines Baltimore’s legendary The 8×10 in April, her final show in the nationally acclaimed room before it permanently closes its doors this summer. For a Baltimore-connected artist, that’s a moment that goes well beyond a regular tour stop.
‘Measured in Moments’ is out now, and the Spring tour brings those songs to life in the way they were always meant to be heard: stretched, transformed, and alive in the room.
Banda AL9 have made their American entrance, and “She Can Do It All” is the single that opens that door. The Brazilian indie rock outfit, now signed to Little Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records, bring their global rock and roll revival to US audiences with a track that carries strong melodies, sharp vocal arrangements, and lyrics about love that sit at the heart of everything this band does. The single also launches the pre-order for their upcoming album ‘Hey! Hey! We’re Banda AL9,’ arriving July 17.
The band’s path to this moment is one of the more compelling stories in recent rock. Starting in 2017 with acoustic covers online, Banda AL9 shifted to original material and went viral on TikTok in 2021 and 2022 with videos surpassing 12 million views. Their 2023 debut album ‘Amor É A Lei’ broke through in Brazil, earning airplay on Little Steven’s Underground Garage and a co-sign from Justin Hawkins of The Darkness. Steve Aoki then covered their hit “Chama de Amor” and invited the band to perform with him live at Tomorrowland Brazil, before they joined him again at São Paulo’s Allianz Parque Stadium for their first-ever stadium appearance in 2025.
The English-language releases have steadily built their international profile. ‘Love Is The Law’ in 2024 introduced Banda AL9 to US and global audiences, followed by sophomore LP ‘O Nono Rei’ and its English counterpart ‘The Ninth King’ in 2025, the latter featuring collaborations with Ruby Leigh and Nasri of MAGIC!. This is a band that has been methodically and successfully expanding their reach at every step, and the Wicked Cool Records signing marks the clearest signal yet that the next phase is fully underway.
“As soon as we heard ‘She Can Do It All,’ it immediately felt like a perfect fit,” the band shares. “The song has strong, memorable melodies, great vocal openings, and lyrics about love that really reflect what the band is all about.” That self-awareness and enthusiasm is exactly what you’d expect from a group that has built this kind of momentum from the ground up across two languages and multiple continents.
‘Hey! Hey! We’re Banda AL9’ arrives July 17 via Wicked Cool Records here. “She Can Do It All” is out now.
Sofia Isella is 21 years old and already playing Madison Square Garden. That fact alone tells you something, but the music tells you everything else. Her third EP ‘Something Is a Shell’ is out now independently, arriving alongside lead single “Numbers,” a stripped, percussive reckoning that pairs her unflinching vocal delivery with a track that confronts control, autonomy, and the dark underbelly of institutional power. This is not background music. It demands your full attention and earns it completely.
“Numbers” opens the EP with immediate weight, setting the tone for a project that builds on previously released tracks “Out in the Garden” and “Above The Neck.” Together the three tracks form a cohesive statement from an artist who has moved from viral momentum to sold-out rooms to arena stages in the span of a single banner year. The trajectory here is not gradual. It’s vertical.
The world tour that accompanies ‘Something Is a Shell’ is a serious undertaking. Starting tonight in Washington DC at Capital One Arena with Florence + The Machine in support, the US leg runs through arenas including two nights at Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center before the European headline run takes Isella through Brussels, Berlin, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, and London’s Roundhouse. A summer festival appearance at Hinterland in Iowa closes things out in July. For a 21-year-old independent artist, this is a genuinely extraordinary itinerary.
Isella’s rise has been built on the kind of creative and commercial independence that makes the scale of this tour even more remarkable. No major label infrastructure behind it, just music that connects hard enough to fill rooms of this size on its own terms. ‘Something Is a Shell’ is the document of where she is right now, and where she is right now is somewhere most artists spend entire careers trying to reach.
2026 Tour Dates:
April 18 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena*
April 19 – Boston, MA – TD Garden*
April 21 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden*
April 22 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden*
April 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center*
April 25 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena*
May 5 – Brussels, Belgium – La Madeleine&
May 7 – Zürich, Switzerland – X-TRA&
May 8 – Luxembourg City, Luxembourg – den Atelier&
May 11 – Hamburg, Germany – Docks&
May 12 – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle&
May 14 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega&
May 15 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene&
May 16 – Stockholm, Sweden – Fryshuset Arenan&
May 19 – Prague, Czech Republic – SaSaZu&
May 20 – Vienna, Austria – Arena Wien&
May 22 – Munich, Germany – Tonhalle&
May 23 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk&
May 25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg MAX&
May 26 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg MAX&
Pink Fuzz have been earning their stripes the right way, and ‘Resolution’ is the record that proves it. The Denver trio’s critically praised album, produced by Kevin Mckeown of Black Pistol Fire and mixed by Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, Chris Cornell, PJ Harvey, Arctic Monkeys), has been turning heads since its release, and now the band brings it to a fresh run of Midwest dates this spring.
The road work behind this album has been relentless in the best possible way. Pink Fuzz toured the US supporting The Sword and Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol before closing that run with a sold-out headlining album release party at Denver’s Bluebird Theatre in November 2025. That kind of grassroots momentum, built night by night in rooms across the country, is exactly what ‘Resolution’ deserves.
The album itself is a ten-track statement that moves with real purpose. Mckeown’s production gives it punch and grit, while Johannes’ mix brings out the nuance and texture that sets Pink Fuzz apart from the crowded field of rock trios. Available on LP, cassette, and download, it’s a record that rewards multiple listens and sounds even better live.
The spring run takes the band through Oklahoma City, Lawrence, Omaha, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Chicago, and Cleveland, giving Midwest audiences a chance to experience what the sold-out Denver crowd already knows. Pink Fuzz are the real thing, and ‘Resolution’ is the proof.
‘Resolution’ Tracklist:
Trigger
Long Gone
Coming For Me
No Sympathy
Worst Enemy
So Sad
Resolution
Cycles
Am I Happy?
Animal
2026 Tour Dates:
May 1 – Oklahoma City, OK – Resonant Head
May 2 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
May 3 – Omaha, NE – Reverb
May 4 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
May 6 – Milwaukee, WI – Falcon Bowl
May 7 – St. Louis, MO – Blueberry Hill Duck Room
ENMY hit the ground running in 2026 with a reworked edition of “Last One Standing,” and the overhaul is significant. Originally released for the game Bloodhunt, the track has been rebuilt from the ground up into something more aggressive, more empowering, and more unapologetic than its first incarnation. Crushing riffs, a massive chant-ready chorus, and a central message about outlasting everything stacked against you, this is a track that lands with real force.
The Cincinnati hard rock outfit have been steadily building one of the most emotionally resonant catalogs in modern rock, blending soaring vocals, groove-oriented instrumental play, and electronic melodies into a sound that draws comparisons to Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, and Three Days Grace without sounding like any of them. Their self-titled sophomore album, which features standout singles “Survive” and “Silver Bullet,” has already surpassed seven million streams across platforms, a number that reflects just how quickly their audience is growing.
Singles like “Hourglass,” “Broken Man,” and “The Ledge,” the last of which arrived with an ominous music video directed and produced by Will Story, have demonstrated repeatedly that ENMY understand how to fuse hard rock urgency with genuine emotional weight. There’s nothing performative about what this band does. The intensity is real, and it shows every time.
“Last One Standing” adds another strong entry to a catalog that keeps getting harder to ignore. ENMY are building toward something substantial, and this reworked single makes a compelling case for paying close attention to every move they make next.
The Italian AOR scene has a compelling new name to pay attention to. Lexyia has signed with Art Of Melody Music and Burning Minds Music Group, and her debut album is now in development. It’s the kind of signing that happens when the right voice finds the right team at exactly the right moment, and everything about this one suggests the timing is exactly right.
Lexyia first came to wider attention through social media clips from her cover band Winona Joyce, where her voice caught the ear of Pierpaolo “Zorro” Monti, A&R of Burning Minds Music Group. That led to her stepping in as lead vocalist on “I’m Alive,” the comeback single from Shining Line after fifteen years of silence. The response from AOR media and fans was immediate and enthusiastic, and a record deal followed. Monti puts it plainly: “It’s not easy to find musicians capable of handling a challenge of this kind with the right mindset. She has shown remarkable talent still waiting to be fully realized.”
The debut album will be produced by Monti and Davide “Dave Rox” Barbieri, with songwriting contributions from across the Burning Minds Music Group roster. Lexyia handles the lyrics herself, supported by Monti and novelist Peter Darley. Mixed and mastered by Roberto Priori at Pri Studio, the project has serious craft behind it from top to bottom.
Lexyia is direct about what this moment means. “Joining the Burning Minds Music Group family is the realization of the dream of a little girl who pretended to be a singer,” she says. “My amazing producers and vocal coaches are doing an exceptional job and giving me the chance to express myself and tell my story through something truly my own.” That kind of grounded self-awareness, combined with a voice that stopped people in their tracks from a cover band clip alone, is a strong foundation for everything that comes next.
Further details about the album and backing band will be revealed in the coming months. Watch this space.
