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Bruno Mars and Hello Kitty Are Teaming Up Again for “The Romantic Tour” With Merch, Pop-Ups, and Cafe Takeovers

Eric Alper
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Bruno Mars and Hello Kitty Are Teaming Up Again for “The Romantic Tour” With Merch, Pop-Ups, and Cafe Takeovers

Bruno Mars kicks off “The Romantic Tour” at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 9, and Sanrio is along for the ride in a big way. Hello Kitty and Bruno Mars are collaborating again, this time with a full week of activations built around the tour launch, including a limited-edition merchandise collection, cafe takeovers across the city, and in-person Hello Kitty meet-and-greets on April 9 and April 11.

The Hello Kitty x Bruno Mars collection drops at a pop-up shop opening April 9 at The Shoppes at Mandalay Place, featuring co-branded tees, hoodies, hats, tote bags, water bottles, and more. The pop-up then travels to select tour stops including Glendale, Arlington, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, and Toronto, with more cities to be announced. Select items will also be available at the Hello Kitty Cafe in Las Vegas throughout the run.

The tour itself marks a genuinely significant moment. ‘The Romantic’ is Mars’ first solo album in a decade and his first to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. The 16-time Grammy winner has sold over 150 million records worldwide, recently became the first artist to hit 150 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and holds the highest-certified song in RIAA history with “Just the Way You Are.” “The Romantic Tour” arrives with serious momentum behind it.

Reggae Fusion Legend Maxi Priest Delivers Soulful New Single “Touch By An Angel”

Eric Alper
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Reggae Fusion Legend Maxi Priest Delivers Soulful New Single “Touch By An Angel”

Four decades into one of reggae’s most enduring careers, Maxi Priest still knows how to make a song that settles in and stays. “Touch By An Angel” is out now via his Level Vibes Music imprint and distributed through Intercept Music, produced by multi-Grammy Award-winning reggae and dancehall producer Paul “Jazzwad” Yebuah. The track moves fluidly between reggae, R&B, and soul, built around the kind of emotionally assured vocal delivery that has defined Priest’s catalog since the beginning.

“This song is about those moments when love feels effortless,” Priest says. “When being with someone brings a sense of completeness, like you’ve been touched by someone truly special, your angel.” The cover art adds a personal dimension, drawn from an original illustration by Priest himself. A series of remixes will follow, offering new interpretations of the single’s groove. The release follows his recent collaboration with Sean Paul on “Feel So Alive,” which launched the Level Vibes Music imprint in partnership with Intercept Music.

Priest is also looking ahead to ‘Family,’ an upcoming live album bringing together his sons, longtime collaborators, and a new generation of creatives across Jamaica, the UK, and the United States. Beyond the music, he’s been actively supporting hurricane relief efforts in Jamaica through partnerships with The Bob and Rita Marley Foundation Relief Fund and Tropical Sun. One of the only reggae artists to score a solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and now inducted into both the Jamaica Music Museum Hall of Fame and the Reggae Walk of Fame, Priest remains a genuine force in the genre.

Luke Grimes Delivers Sophomore Album ‘Red Bird,’ a Quiet and Uncompromising Country Statement

Eric Alper
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Luke Grimes Delivers Sophomore Album ‘Red Bird,’ a Quiet and Uncompromising Country Statement

Luke Grimes has spent years building two parallel careers with real credibility in both, and ‘Red Bird’ makes the strongest case yet that the music side is no side project. The 10-track sophomore album, produced by Grammy Award-winner Dave Cobb and out now via Range Music/MCA, was recorded between Georgia May Studio in Savannah and Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A. It’s a record that leans into classic country foundations, organic instrumentation, and Grimes’ steady baritone without reaching for anything it doesn’t need.

Grimes co-wrote the bulk of the project with Cobb and collaborators including Jessie Jo Dillon and Natalie Hemby, and he played acoustic guitar, percussion, and drums throughout. Tracks like “Drink Drink Drink” and “Haunted” sit with self-doubt and reckoning, while “Without You,” “A Little More Time,” and “Love You Now” move through commitment, loss, and presence. “Haunted” also appears in his new CBS series MARSHALS, creating a rare and genuine thread between his work on screen and in music.

Best known globally as Kayce Dutton on Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, Grimes now arrives in 2026 with both ‘Red Bird’ and MARSHALS in tandem. His debut catalog has already crossed 200 million global streams. This album moves with the confidence of someone done proving himself and focused on building something lasting.

‘Red Bird’ Tracklist:

High Rise Jeans

Come Home

Love You Now

Hummingbird

Drink Drink Drink

Love Me That Way

I’m Not Gonna Leave You

Without You

Haunted

A Little More Time

Florida Swamp Rockers Gunshine Drop Music Video for “Single Looks Good On You” Ahead of Album ‘Grand Rising’

Eric Alper
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Florida Swamp Rockers Gunshine Drop Music Video for “Single Looks Good On You” Ahead of Album ‘Grand Rising’

Gunshine have been rolling out ‘Grand Rising’ one strong single at a time, and “Single Looks Good On You” is the third and most immediate entry yet. The music video is out now, and the track itself is a gulf coast-flavored swamp rock anthem built for open windows and warm weather, hooky enough to stick after a single listen. It’s the kind of song that earns its place on a summer playlist without trying too hard.

The track was recorded in Vancouver with producer Brian Howes (Nickelback, Skillet, Hinder, Simple Plan) at The Armoury, then mixed and mastered by Chris Collier (Korn, Mick Mars, Whitesnake). The bulk of ‘Grand Rising,’ a 13-track full-length due digitally July 24 via vnclm_ / Create Music Group, was tracked in Las Vegas with Collier producing and mixing. “He has a great ear, and adds a heavy hitting production value that makes the songs sonically translate very well,” says guitarist and vocalist Austin Ingerman, who’s worked with Collier for nearly a decade.

Physical copies of ‘Grand Rising,’ including CD and double vinyl editions, are available now. The digital release follows July 24.

‘Grand Rising’ Tracklist:

Grand Rising

Finite

Goth Girl

Single Looks Good On You

My Oh Miley

Mystery

Man Down

Leave the Light On

I Know You Love Me

Capt’n Save a Hoe

Shark Lounge (feat. Michael Starr)

Valentine

Table Dancing

Twin Cities PBS Documentary “The Wild West Bank Sound” Uncovers the Music Scene That Shaped Minnesota

Eric Alper
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Twin Cities PBS Documentary “The Wild West Bank Sound” Uncovers the Music Scene That Shaped Minnesota

Long before Minneapolis became synonymous with Prince and the funk-driven sound that bears the city’s name, the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on the West Bank was already doing something remarkable. Twin Cities PBS’s new documentary “The Wild West Bank Sound” premieres at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival on April 19, followed by a broadcast on TPT 2 and the PBS App on April 21, and it makes a compelling case that this small, densely creative neighborhood deserves its own chapter in American music history.

The film blends archival footage, historic photography, and firsthand accounts from musicians and community members who lived through a scene that encompassed folk, bluegrass, reggae, rock, and more. It comes from the same studio behind acclaimed Twin Cities PBS music documentaries including “The Minneapolis Sound” and “First Avenue: Closer to the Stars,” a track record that signals serious depth of research and storytelling. “What makes this film special is hearing directly from the musicians and community members who lived it,” said Executive Producer Daniel Bergin.

Producer Kevin Dragseth framed the project as an act of listening. “As we began talking to people who were part of the West Bank music scene, it quickly became clear how many incredible stories were still waiting to be told.” Cedar-Riverside was more than a music hub. It was an incubator for activism, experimentation, and a community identity that still resonates in Minnesota’s cultural fabric today.

Warner Music Group Moves to Acquire Independent Music Platform Revelator in Major Distribution Play

Eric Alper
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Warner Music Group Moves to Acquire Independent Music Platform Revelator in Major Distribution Play

Warner Music Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Revelator, the B2B music platform built to serve the independent music community. Founded in 2012 by Bruno Guez, Revelator specializes in digital music distribution, rights management, royalty accounting, and real-time analytics, currently supporting hundreds of clients through cloud-based tools including Revelator Pro, Revelator API, and its White Label solutions. The deal is expected to close next quarter.

WMG CEO Robert Kyncl framed the acquisition as a direct acceleration of the company’s mission to support artists and labels globally. “The combination of Revelator’s leading-edge technology and array of premier services with our global infrastructure will turbocharge our joint mission,” he said. Revelator will continue servicing its existing customers post-closing while integrating its capabilities across WMG’s labels and ADA, the company’s independent distribution arm.

The why behind this deal isn’t complicated. The independent music sector has grown into one of the most competitive and lucrative corners of the industry, and the major labels have spent the last several years racing to build or buy the infrastructure to serve it. Revelator gives WMG a sophisticated, proven technology stack, real-time financial reporting, and a global client base it didn’t have to build from scratch. For WMG, this is about owning more of the pipeline, from distribution to royalty management, and making ADA a more complete and compelling option for independent artists and labels who might otherwise look elsewhere.

Babyface, Jodeci, and Deon Cole Headline the Soul Beach Music Festival in Curaçao This Memorial Day Weekend

Eric Alper
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Babyface, Jodeci, and Deon Cole Headline the Soul Beach Music Festival in Curaçao This Memorial Day Weekend

The Soul Beach Music Festival is heading to Curaçao for the first time, and the 2026 lineup makes a serious statement. Running May 20-25 on the island’s sun-drenched shores, the festival brings together 13-time Grammy winner Babyface, R&B legends Jodeci, and two-time Emmy-nominated comedian Deon Cole for a Memorial Day weekend that covers music, comedy, and everything in between. DJ Jazzy Jeff and Spinderella handle the after-hours, with Atlanta’s DJ E-Clazz also on the decks and Chris Spencer hosting throughout.

Babyface alone is a catalog unto himself. Co-founder of LaFace Records, the label that launched Usher, Toni Braxton, TLC, Outkast, and P!nk, he’s also the only producer to win the Grammy’s Producer of the Year award four times, including three consecutive years from 1995 to 1997. Jodeci brings equal weight, with over 20 million records sold, three consecutive number one albums on the Billboard R&B charts, and a run of sold-out reunion tours behind them. DeVanté Swing, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci, and JoJo remain one of the most influential groups the genre has ever produced.

Deon Cole headlines comedy night fresh off his Netflix special ‘OK, Mister,’ bringing sharp, high-caliber performance energy to the international stage. The whole event unfolds against the backdrop of Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with catamaran excursions, beach events, and signature main stage concerts rounding out the experience.

Lee Newton Strips Down Fan Favorite “Carolina Rain” With a Raw New Acoustic Version

Eric Alper
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Lee Newton Strips Down Fan Favorite “Carolina Rain” With a Raw New Acoustic Version

Lee Newton knows how to make a song her own, and the new acoustic rendition of “Carolina Rain” proves it. The stripped-back version of the fan-favorite single, featured on her upcoming project ‘Beautifully Undone.’ Written by Tommy Barnes and Charlie Floyd, the song has clearly found a deep home with Newton. “It takes me back home, to the roots, the memories, and the heart of who I am,” she said. “This acoustic version is stripped down, raw, and real.”

The release adds to a stretch of strong momentum for the multiple Josie Music Awards winner, including Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year. Newton recently shared an acoustic take on her own song “Your Hat,” and earlier this year joined Georgette Jones and Heidi Parton for a recording of the classic “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” a song with roots stretching back to rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson and later associated with Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and Loretta Lynn. Three artists honoring a tradition that runs deep.

Country Singer-Songwriter Sarah Harralson Finds Hope in a Classic Film Line on New Single “It Can’t Rain All The Time”

Eric Alper
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Country Singer-Songwriter Sarah Harralson Finds Hope in a Classic Film Line on New Single “It Can’t Rain All The Time”

Sarah Harralson has been building her Nashville career for over a decade, and her new single “It Can’t Rain All The Time” shows exactly why she’s still here. The song draws its title and emotional core from a line in the 1994 film The Crow, reframed as a pop-country and blues meditation on resilience. Harralson co-produced it with Dale Penner (Nickelback, Loverboy) at The Owl in Nashville and co-wrote it with Bill DiLuigi, known for his work with Bonnie Tyler. It’s out now on all major streaming platforms via Synapse Publishing & Entertainment. Listen here.

The track carries real personal weight. Harralson performs it regularly for hospital patients through her volunteer work with Nashville non-profit Musicians On Call, an organization she’s been part of since 2015 and through which she’s reached over 19,000 patients. The official music video, directed and produced by Dante Nazzaro and due April 10 on her YouTube channel, also reflects on the loss of her mother in 2024 and offers a preview of the upcoming documentary Women Behind the Lyrics, in which Harralson is profiled alongside three other independent country artists.

Session players Cole Edmonson (Tigirlily Gold) on guitar, David Santos on bass, and Bryn Scott-Grimes (Goldpine) on harmonica round out the track, with Harralson’s husband Andrew Kugler on drums. Harralson herself handled piano, acoustic guitar, and harmonies. Her autobiographical EP, ‘Just the Beginning,’ arrives this May with a corresponding short film.

Actor and Composer Greg Evigan Records New Orchestral Album at Abbey Road With the Royal Philharmonic

Eric Alper
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0
Actor and Composer Greg Evigan Records New Orchestral Album at Abbey Road With the Royal Philharmonic

Greg Evigan has spent decades on stage and screen, but his new album makes a strong case that his most compelling work is happening right now. Recorded in Studio One at Abbey Road Studios with a 65-piece London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Joe Curiale, ‘Greg Evigan with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’ is a collection of eight original cinematic compositions that Evigan had previously only played on piano. Curiale’s orchestral arrangements gave them a full, sweeping life.

Evigan is best known to TV audiences from B.J. and the Bear and My Two Dads, but his musical roots run deep. He sang the theme for B.J., co-wrote the theme for Dads, studied piano classically, and has written for artists including Meghan Trainor and Chromeo. The new album was mixed and edited at the Los Angeles studio of his Grammy-winning son Jason Evigan, making it a genuinely family affair.

Tracks like “Breath That Runs Through” and “Tears Like Rain” land with the kind of melodic weight that holds up well on repeat. “His lush arrangements transformed the music I had previously only played on piano,” Evigan said of Curiale, “and brought it to life with the grandeur of a 65-piece orchestra.” The album is available here.

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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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