Kiss bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons has spoken about the group's decision to stop touring in 2022, saying it was all about "respecting" their fans.

In a new interview with NewsNation's The Hill, Simmons reflected on the band's End Of The Road farewell tour, insisting that it was the right time for them to bow out.

"You’ve got to know when to gracefully and proudly step off that stage, because you have to understand that Kiss was and continues to be the only band of its type," he said.

"Every show I had to spit fire ... fly through the air, keep my tongue out all the time. Wear 70 lbs, as much as that, or as little as 50 to 60 lbs of armour, studs, guitars, and all on seven-inch platformed boots for two hours. It’s exhausting. I’m 77 now, and boy, do I look good. But you’ve got to know — you’ve got to respect the fans enough to know when to get off that stage.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Simmons talked about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in music, expressing hope about the possibilities it offers. On whether it will help or harm the music industry, he said: "It doesn't matter. The future is here. You've got to learn how to use it, otherwise it will use you."

For Kiss, this means the development of an avatar-based live show reportedly set to launch in Las Vegas in 2028. With Simmons revealing earlier this year that “Kiss was actually sold - the makeup and the tunes and the publishing and all that" for a presumably eye-watering sum of money, creative control for this show now rests with the Swedish music and entertainment firm Pophouse.

Co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, Pophouse has already produced several notable live music experiences and virtual concerts, including the record-breaking ABBA Voyage show.

Speaking in a promotional video for the avatar concert, Simmons explained: "We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamt of before."

"The technology is going to make [rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist] Paul [Stanley] jump higher than he’s ever done before ... If you think you are going to get rid of us then that's not going to happen."

U2 have announced a fresh UK and Europe leg for their The Greatest Show On Earth world tour, set to kick off in Spring 2027.

The Irish pop-rock superstars had already confirmed a run of dates in Latin America, with Beck supporting the band in cities including São Paolo, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City across February and March 2027.

After that, Bono and co. will jet off to Stockholm, before playing dates in Paris, Lisbon, Amsterdam, London, Berlin and Milan. In Europe, U2 will be joined by Mercury Prize-winning UK band Wolf Alice, with tickets for the newly announced shows going on sale on Monday 2 November.

The group recently gave a taste of what's to come on their forthcoming album Carnaval de Luz, with the release of the anthemic new single Street of Dreams. The track was accompanied by a music video in which the four-piece performed on the roof of a Mexico City bus in pouring rain.

Ahead of the newly unveiled Spring 2027 dates, Bono and The Edge also spoke out about one of the most controversial moments in the group's long history — their decision to have 2015's record Songs of Innocence automatically downloaded to over 500 million iTunes users across the globe.

"I went too far on that one," Bono admitted to the New York Times. "I mean, we were experimenting. We wanted to see if we could get Apple or another company to pay for our music and then they distribute it. And look, it’s going to take some experimentation to fix the music [business]. It’s astonishing how little other musicians are paid, and it’s frightening. But yeah, that was all on me."

The Edge chipped in to defend the decision, saying: "We have to take risks. So you fail, you fall on your face at times. That’s part of the gig." Previously, producer Flood argued that "what it did was raise whether music is valued in society right now, and I think that’s something that still hasn’t been answered correctly. It brought about the question of ‘What are people’s listening tastes?’"

The critic-baiting title of U2's new tour suggests the group is still well aware of their ability to polarise music fans around the world. But with tickets for the new round of dates set to fly off the shelves next week, their crowd is as loyal as ever.

It’s 20 years since Amy Winehouse released Back to Black, her career-defining second album.

For those who knew her, the milestone will doubtless feel bittersweet. The record was hugely successful and won countless awards, but Winehouse seemed ill-equipped to cope with the pressures of global fame, and died in 2011 at the tragically young age of 27.

Someone who knew Winehouse better than most was Dale Davis, her live bass player and musical director. He began working with the star in 2003 and, speaking to The Times, he’s been discussing the final conversation he had with her on the night before her death.

“She rang up, she said, ‘I’ve been watching YouTube clips of myself. I can sing, can’t I?’” says Davis. “I went, 'Yeah, of course you can sing, you’re the best.'”

Davis says that he planned to see Winehouse the next evening, when she was going to take his son to see Toy Story 4. “She said, ‘Well, I’m going now,’ and I went, ‘All right, Amy, I’ll see you tomorrow, love you.’ And she went, ‘Love you more,’ put the phone down. That was the last thing I heard from her.”

The Times also interviewed some of the other people involved in Back to Black, including songwriter Paul O’Duffy. He co-wrote Wake Up Alone, the album’s eighth track, and revealed that he bonded with Winehouse over a shared love of jazz singer Sarah Vaughan.

O’Duffy says that he played Winehouse an album that she hadn’t heard before – Sarah Vaughan with Michel LeGrand – which intrigued her. “One track, Deep in the Night, had a rhythm to it which was quite interesting,” O’Duffy remembers. “And I said, ‘well maybe we should try something that has a feel like that.’ She was quite engaged with that. I came up with a beat similar to that and then found some chords that I felt would work with it. And then she played the guitar and I’m thinking, ‘We’re going to get something. Something’s coming.’ And she said, ‘I’ve got something… just put the mic on.’”

It sounds like O’Duffy wasn’t fully prepared for what Amy did next: “She sang Wake Up Alone from beginning to end,” he says. “It was just like magic.”

To mark its anniversary, an expanded 20th anniversary edition of Back to Black was released today (23 October), and its legacy was also celebrated earlier this week at a special concert at London’s Roundhouse. The album was performed in full, with producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi among those joining Dale Davis and The Amy Winehouse Band on stage.

Guest singers included Baby Rose, Corinne Bailey Rae, FLO, Jessie Reyez, Jorja Smith, Lianne La Havas, Nia Smith, Sasha Keable, Skye Newman, Terri Walker and Yebba.

For those in the UK, the concert will be broadcast on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 24 October at 9.35pm as part of a night of programming celebrating Amy Winehouse’s life and career.

With Glastonbury already sold out for next year, attention now inevitably turns to who will be the three headliners on the main Pyramid stage in 2027?

Among the names bandied about for those three slots are Sam Fender, Taylor Swift, Fontaines DC, Bon Jovi, Harry Styles, The Rolling Stones, Kraftwerk and Ed Sheeran.

As yet we know it’s definitely not Madonna – Emily Eavis ruled her out in an interview in August. Oasis too appear to have ruled themselves out, with Liam Gallagher tweeting recently that "it's not happening".

But Kraftwerk could be a possibility. They have never played the festival before and even if just Ralf Hutter remains from the ‘classic’ line-up, would be a considerable draw. Intriguingly, there is a Glastonbury-shaped gap in their schedule next June and they have announced two large UK gigs in the week before the festival in Halifax (22 June) and Cardiff (23 June).

Harry Styles too has a gap in his schedule for Glastonbury weekend next year, though it should be said that the festival and Styles hardly need each other – both are capable of selling out in next to no time.

A more likely contender is Bon Jovi. They too have never played Pilton, have an ample festival-friendly back catalogue which feels ripe for reinvestigation by the hipster class. Plus they have a date in Hyde Park on the Thursday before the festival so they’ll be in the country anyway. However, it could well be that they're already pencilled in for the Sunday ‘legends’ slot.

Then there’s Sam Fender. One of the biggest artists in the UK and an all-round good egg, he would be a snug fit for the festival and its ethos. You’d think that at least one of the three headlining slots would be given to a female artist, so could it be that Rihanna finally makes good on the age old rumours that she’s finally going to play Glastonbury? Or possibly Chappell Roan? Or Raye?

Doubtless while these possibilities and permutations are being debated online and in the media, the festival team and the respective agents are getting down to the business of dotting the i‘s and crossing the t’s on the relevant contracts. We will all find out in the fullness of time - watch this space...

An admin error has meant that Glastonbury festival’s ticketing partner has oversold the official coach tickets to the world-famous festival next year.

More coach package tickets were sold for certain departures than there are seats available, according to the email that See Tickets has sent to its customers.

Punters are advised not to panic, though. Those who are affected won’t lose their tickets - their booking will simply be converted into a general admission ticket, and the coach fare will be refunded.

However, it does mean that they will have to get to Pilton next year under their own steam. Fortunately, they have eight months to make the necessary arrangements.

See Tickets has apologised and thanked customers for their understanding, adding: "We're looking forward to welcoming you to the festival in June."

As per usual, tickets for the iconic festival sold out in less than one hour when they went on sale earlier this month. However, don’t despair. Organisers have confirmed that there will be a resale date of tickets that have been cancelled or returned at some point, most probably next spring.

And of course, there is always the option of getting in via volunteering, either for the festival itself or for Oxfam, who are currently looking to fill their 2,000-strong team at Glastonbury.

For the next few months there will doubtless be speculation regarding the three headliners of the festival. We know that Oasis have said they won’t be performing, even though there is a mysterious gap in their schedule that weekend. Liam Gallagher has posted on social media that "it's not happening", anyway.

In a BBC Radio 4 interview a few weeks ago, Emily Eavis also confirmed that Madonna is “definitely not” headlining either. She did reveal, though, that the headliners had been lined up, which the team was "very excited about".

All will doubtless be revealed in due course, though Bon Jovi, of all people, are today's hot bookie's favourites.

Who would you like to see headlining Glastonbury 2027? Let us know below...

Miley Cyrus has delivered an on-stage riposte to those who claimed that she appeared to be disinterested in some of her older material during the first of her two Hollywood Bowl shows at the weekend.

The gigs were scheduled in support of Cyrus’s new album, Bass Persuades, which was released last month. The setlist for the shows leant heavily on that record’s tracklisting, and she also paid tribute to her godmother, the late Dolly Parton, becoming emotional as she prepared to sing her classic hit Jolene.

When footage from Friday’s gig surfaced online, though, Cyrus was accused by some of appearing to be less than fully engaged during some of her own older hits – the likes of Wrecking Ball, Party in the USA, We Can’t Stop and The Climb – leaving the audience to sing some of the lyrics.

Cyrus didn’t take this lying down, though: in fact, she addressed it head on during her second show on Sunday, delivering an impassioned defence.

Hitting back at the suggestion that she hadn’t “put her heart” into parts of the first show, Cyrus said that she wasn’t “even going to entertain that”. She did, however, say that it’s becoming more difficult for her to get up on stage: “It is hard for me to stand up here and do the show. It does not come as natural as it once did to me before because, like all of us, we change, we evolve, we grow.”

Cyrus has been open about the challenges she faces when performing live. In a 2025 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, she explained: “I have this very large polyp on my vocal cord, which has given me a lot of the tone and the texture that has made me who I am, but it's extremely difficult to perform with because it's like running a marathon with ankle weights on.”

She added some more context to her decision not to tour at the moment when she spoke to Variety earlier this year. “I actually miss and love live shows,” she said, “but me being on the road for six months out of the year and leaving my family and my normalcy and my routine is just not best for me.”

In her speech at the Hollywood Bowl, though, Cyrus was keen to stress that she still values her audience just as much as she always did. “You are more to me than an experiment – that is absolutely not what this is. This is not an experiment of you – this is an experience for me. And you all make the experience possible.”

Suggesting that she’d been stung by some of the criticism, Cyrus admitted that part of her didn’t want to perform the second show. “I had already told myself that I wasn’t going to come on stage, that I was going to run away,” she told the crowd, “but never would I leave you all sitting in these seats. I can take a lot, but one thing I will not stand is any question about where my heart is when I’m on the stage. I am fully present.”

Cyrus also referenced the furore during recent single Bass Persuades: “Oh, I forgot I’m supposed to sing every fucking line!” she joked.

Fans singing along at gigs has become surprisingly controversial over the past few years, particularly in the pop world. While some wear it is a badge of honour that know every word and like to prove it by singing every line at the top of their voices – sometimes even criticising those who choose not to – others are of the opinion that it’s the artist they’ve come to hear, not the person sitting or standing next to them.

It wasn’t always this way, though: in a 2023 interview with Total Guitar, Brian May of Queen – an audience participation band if ever there was one – admitted that he used to get annoyed when people sang along at their early gigs.

Remembering those days, he explained: “We were a group which was doing quite well, we had a good following, and we had this thing where people insisted on singing along to our songs. And I think we were quite irritated by it! Because we thought, ‘People, just listen. We’re working really hard, so bloody well listen!’”

Instead of continuing to get annoyed, though, May decided to embrace the fans’ behaviour. “I said to Freddie, ‘Maybe, instead of fighting this, we should be encouraging it. Maybe we should be harnessing this kind of energy which seems to be happening.’ And we all agreed that this was something really interesting that we should experiment with – letting the audience be a bigger part of the show.”

This led directly to May writing We Will Rock You, possibly the most audience-friendly song of them all.

Harry Styles has announced that he’s got a tour documentary in the works and has the acclaimed filmmaker John Wilson on board behind the camera.

Wilson is known for his offbeat style and is best known for his HBO comedy docu-series How To With John Wilson, and, more recently, his box-office hit The History Of Concrete. An intriguing choice for Styles, he’s been filming with the ex-One Direction star throughout his Together, Together tour, which is currently on its New York leg at Madison Square Garden.

The idea, apparently, is to mix live performances from the tour with a look into Styles’ world. One source, mentioned by Variety, described it “as featuring authentic human stories of everyone involved in the tour - from the singer and his fans to countless others behind the scenes.”

Universal, Peanut World Pictures and Styles himself are said to be producing the film. A full cinema release is expected for the picture, though nothing is confirmed at this stage.

Meanwhile, last month the 32-year-old singer recently confirmed that the Together Together tour will continue into 2027. He’s announced mini-residencies at North American cities for the spring in Arlington, Texas and Glendale, Arizona, as well as Chicago, Toronto, Pasadena and Atlanta.

Following those, he’ll be back in Europe for multiple shows in Berlin, Madrid, Nanterre in France, Rome and Dublin, before the tour ends up back in London for three more dates at Wembley Stadium on 25, 27 and 28 August next year.

We know that the songwriters Dijon and Mk.gee have been close buddies for some time, but last week the pair took their relationship to another level by teaming up to form a wedding band to perform at the nuptials of screenwriter and producer Jack Karaszewski.

And this wasn’t your standard wedding band setlist: no Dancing Queen or Mr Brightside for starters. No, for the first dance the duo played Big Star’s Thirteen. Other covers they played included Let Me Roll It by Wings and Cat Stevens’ Trouble. All very tasteful, you have to say.

How did they get the gig? Well, Karaszewski worked with them both on Dijon’s 2021 debut album Absolutely – he produced and co-wrote a couple of the tracks, and Karaszewski’s bride, Danica Kleinknecht, has directed videos for both artists, including the acclaimed visuals for Mk.gee’s album Two Star & The Dream Police.

Other than the odd one-off gig, it’s been a quiet year for both artists. Mk.gee has been working on the follow-up to that 2024 debut album, and the pair did team up briefly earlier on in the year when they played together at Dijon’s Coachella set. Expect to hear much more from both of them in 2027...

In 2026, even the most casual on-stage comment can get carried around the world and get turned into a ‘talking point’ via social media.

Take James Hetfield, for example. Last Saturday (10 October) at one of Metallica’s Sphere shows, the frontman took time to thank the audience for turning up and supporting the band. An uncontroversial thing to do, of course.

Hetfield said: “Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica. We’re grateful for that - your travels, the money you spend, the time it took, thanks for coming to celebrate with us.”

He then continued: “And I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, OK. No bullshit. We’re here to forget about all the outside shit, OK? Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”

Many on social media have interpreted this as some sort of dig at Macklemore and the recent controversy over his pro-Palestine comments on the Ed Sheeran Loop tour. Who knows? Hetfield didn’t mention Macklemore by name. He could have also been referring to countless other artists, from Lennon to Springsteen to the (Dixie) Chicks who have all ‘done’ politics at some point or other.

Anyway, since then a clip of Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe saying much the same thing as Hetfield has gone viral on the socials. Recorded at the North Carolina date on the Crüe’s Return Of The Carnival Of Sins tour, it shows Sixx saying: “It does not matter to Mötley Crüe if you're a Republican, it does not matter to Mötley Crüe if you are a Democrat, it does not fucking matter if you are gay or straight, or if you're right down the centre of the fucking lane in life, because we are all in this together. Can we agree?”

Now, Roger Waters has lumbered in on this mini-kerfuffle with his usual understated charm. Appearing on Katie Halper’s podcast, the ex-Pink Floyd man said of Hetfield: “Can we stop talking about this prick? I’m so bored with him. He’s got an IQ of about three, and why we’re talking about him I honestly don’t know because he’s a nobody."

Waters then landed a below-the-belt blow: "He’s no musician. I heard them playing acoustic instruments, and they couldn’t. It was appalling.”

He added: “It’s a shame this prick didn’t have somebody around him to explain that being kind is way more important than all that loud music and bouncing around and whatever.”

Lovely.

Meanwhile, Metallica’s Sphere residency – with its loud music and bouncing around – continues through to March next year. Waters’ Pink Floyd Legacy tour, which one suspects will involve very little bouncing around, starts in February. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone was the same?

U2 have announced the first dates of what is going to be their first world tour since before Covid.

And they’ve given the global jaunt a typically ambitious title that literally taunts their many critics. The Greatest Show On Earth tour will kick off in Mexico City in February with two dates apiece in the Mexican capital and then two in both Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. Support on all six dates comes from Beck.

The Greatest Show On Earth is also the title of one of the songs from the upcoming Carnaval De Luz album, which comes out next month. The track is being released as a single and its Anton Corbijn-directed video is already up on Youtube now.

The band have issued a statement about the tour: “‘The Greatest Show on Earth’? Now that's a throwdown. It's a dare, to ourselves as much as anyone, to try and have the best night of anybody's life.

“A bit of showman, a bit of shaman, a riot of colour, unreasonable guitar, bass and drums, and tunes you can hold onto. Because if people are gonna show up, we certainly are.”

Fans in North America and Europe are advised not to panic – there will be loads more dates announced over the next few weeks. The Greatest Show On Earth will be the band’s first extensive tour for eight years and their first dates with Larry Mullen Jr back behind the kit. The drummer had to miss out on U2’s Sphere residency between 2023 and 2024 due to his neck injury.

Anyway, those six dates are at Mexico City’s Estadio GNP Seguros (23 and 26 February), Sao Paulo’s Estadio Morum BIS (10 and 12 March) and Buenos Aires’ Estadio River Plate on 23 and 25 March. Given the space between those gigs, it could well be that additional shows are added.

For those dates, a presale via U2.com will commence on Monday 19 October, with remaining tickets being sold via Ticketmaster on Thursday 22 October.

And Carnaval De Luz, for those who don’t already know, comes out on 13 November.

Brandon Flowers’ love of Bruce Springsteen is well documented. In fact, when his band, The Killers, released their second album, 2006’s Sam’s Town, critics noted the sonic similarities to The Boss’s classic 1975 LP, Born To Run.

After that, some sort of collaboration felt kind of inevitable, and it duly happened in 2009 at the Pinkpop festival in the Netherlands, where Flowers joined Springsteen and the E Street Band onstage to duet on Thunder Road, Born To Run’s opening track.

For Flowers, we’re guessing that this remains a career highlight, but even though Springsteen was one of his heroes, he still had to prove his knowledge of the song he was going to sing.

Speaking to The Standard, Flowers remembers what Springsteen did backstage in his dressing room before the show: “He put a piece of paper down and a pencil, and it was almost like, ‘how well do you know the song? Write out what you’re going to sing, what I’m gonna sing.’”

Fortunately, Flowers was able to rise to the challenge and demonstrate his Bruce-loving credentials. “I knew every word,” he says now. “We sang it together alone in his room, and that is about as close to heaven as you can get.”

Speaking of collaborations, Flowers also revealed that he was forced to raise his game when he recorded his new solo album, Thrasher, with a group of top-notch Nashville session musicians.

“I was humbled, because I went there feeling like I was hot shit, but I didn’t know how good these guys were,” he admits.

The only real cure for grief is time and in a moving interview with Rolling Stone, Sharon Osbourne has been explaining how she feels about Ozzy’s passing and his farewell at the Back to the Beginning show, now more than a year has gone by.

The occasion for the interview is the release of the concert film of the event, something she admits she found “very hard” to watch. “It’s bittersweet. It’s amazing,” she says of it. “Everything about the show was amazing and just a joyous occasion and one that will go down in music history. I’m proud of that and that it was for my husband, and I’m so thankful to everyone that took part in it, for their time, their effort, their giving.”

She reveals that Ozzy did the gig against no less than six doctors’ advice. “They advised us not to do the show. They said it would kill him. We were all together and Ozzy said, ‘It’s not an option. It’s what I want.’ He said, ‘I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way. This is what I want.’ It was his wishes and we went through it. He said to me, ‘Another six months, what’s it going to do for me?’”

“He was very, very emotional,” she explains. “But you know what? It was beautiful too. It was amazing. How lucky was he to go out that way? I say he went out like a Viking. It was the way he wanted.”

“If we all have a chance to pick the way we go out … Do you know what I’m saying? It was a triumph to be surrounded by your friends, your family, your fans that adore you and what you are doing that day. It’s just amazing. It’s not sad. He was blessed to be able to choose the way you die.”

When asked if she felt Ozzy was still with her when she watched the film, she simply said: “He ain’t left me for a minute. I go to sleep wearing his T-shirts. I wake up wearing his glasses. I’m surrounded by him always.”

“That’s why there’s nothing to be sad. I was blessed to have him in my life, and nothing is forever. It’ll be my time soon, and it’s the circle. That’s what happens with everyone. It was just my time to lose the love of my life, but you go on.”

Ozzy and Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning opens at cinemas around the world on October 28.

Mike Love returned to live duties with the Beach Boys over the weekend after a summer that has seen the 85-year-old sidelined by some serious health issues. But concerns remain around Love’s condition – Rolling Stone has described his appearance at the show in Cincannati as “alarmingly frail”.

As you can see from the footage below, the singer moved very slowly – with the help of his son Christian and fellow performer John Stamos - to his position centre stage, where he sat for the duration of the performance, contributing occasional backing vocals.

Neither the band nor Love himself have revealed the exact nature of his health problems. After an appearance in London in June, Love wrote on Instagram that “Losing my sister, Maureen, on the first anniversary of cousin Brian’s death, combined with my ongoing recovery from what started out as bronchitis, followed by Covid, has taken both an emotional and physical toll on me. I feel stronger every day physically, but I am heartbroken emotionally.”

Since then the group have pulled a number of shows, though they did play a private event in California the Saturday before last (3 October). Following that, a gig in Bloomington, Illinois on Friday (9 October) was cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

After the Cincinnati show, they were due to play in Nashville last night. Before the show, Stamos posted on social media that “My beloved friend, father figure, musical hero and mentor, Mike Love, is facing serious health challenges. We hope he’ll be doing what he loves for years to come, but we don’t know what the future holds. We have tonight. Mike is a fighter. Despite doctors, family and friends urging him to focus on his health, he insists on being on stage. He says he needs his band, the audience, his friends and drummer surrounding him to lift him up.”

He continued: "I’ve played with Mike for 41 years. I never imagined how deeply it would affect me to see someone larger than life face something so human and fragile. The Mike Love we see tonight may not be exactly the Mike we’ve always known. But he’s still every bit the Mike we love.”

All very concerning for the group’s many fans. As they know, Love has been the one continuous thread in the Beach Boys since they formed in 1961 - sadly, all three Wilson brothers have died and the other surviving founder member Al Jardine hasn’t been a part of the band since their 50^th anniversary reunion tour in 2012.

The government has made some encouraging noises about sorting out the more ridiculous aspects of Brexit that have burdened UK touring acts since 2020.

In his speech to the Labour Conference last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham insisted he was willing to “look at the options” regarding the country’s relationship with the EU, including “going all the way” and rejoining.

Now Minister of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Ian Murray has indicated that the government would like to see “real progress” in making life easier for musicians touring mainland Europe.

In a speech in Belgium, after meeting senior EU representatives as well as European legislators and music industry stakeholders, the minister hailed the importance of the music industries to both the UK and EU’s economies and pointed out that the Prime Minister (as we know, a keen music fan himself) agreed that “our creative industries are not a ‘nice to have’, but a real national and collective strength”.

However, he bemoaned the barriers that Brexit has thrown up between the UK and its largest export market. “Recently published government-commissioned research reveals that the real-world cost of reduced UK touring in the EU is significant. For the UK, £208 million in lost economic value and 2,500 jobs. Across the EU, around £1 billion has been lost, along with more than 17,000 jobs.

“These figures are a powerful reminder of how closely connected our music sectors are. But behind them are artists unable to reach new audiences, crews losing opportunities, venues missing performances, fans losing the chance to experience music from across Europe, and critically, opportunities for us all to tell each other’s stories through music.”

Murray said that the government and its EU counterparts were working hard to “explore pragmatic joint solutions that can make touring simpler and more affordable, particularly for emerging artists, the big superstars of the future”.

Fine words, of course. But EU institutions are hardly known for the fast pace of their negotiations. Agreements have been ratified by all 27 states. British musicians would be advised not to get ahead of themselves and get their hopes up just yet. The much-hated carnet - which a generation of touring acts assumed had gone for good – will be a fact of life for a while yet.

As we know, Kevin Parker is Tame Impala. In the studio, he plays all the instruments and writes all the songs. It’s his vision, his project. But what happens when he plays live? How much leeway do his touring musicians have?

That was one of the issues that was discussed when Parker appeared on Questlove’s podcast, er The Questlove Show. When the Roots man asked him about collaborating live with other musicians, Parker admitted: “We are amazingly on the same page these days. It took us many years to get there, and like in the early days, there was a lot of tension and a lot of friction, a lot of confusion about like what we're doing here.

“You know, it's like, 'Are we a band, Kevin, or is this the Kevin show, and we're just your session musicians?' You know, there was a lot of that so like we couldn't work out what it was, and what it was supposed to be. So I think for a long time it was difficult and caused a lot of arguments and just like you know bad vibes."

Parker admitted that he used to be quite controlling, especially about drum sounds: "I used to be such a stickler for sounds, drum fills.

"When Jay was on drums, be like, ‘Oh, Jay, I noticed you didn't do the drum fill that's on the album coming into the second verse’. And he'd be like, ‘Oh yeah, I just did my own drum fill. Is that okay?’ It's like, well, the kids are gonna wanna hear that drum fill, so maybe just do that one. He's like, ‘Well, fuck you. I'll do every drum fill in the fucking album’.

“Now it’s like we’ve dialled in the instruments, the synths we’ve got, like a Swiss army knife I can make them sound like anything. Now we appreciate the live versions as their own thing.”

Some things though are non-negotiable. “I’m big on recognisability,” he adds. “When that song starts, people have got to know it’s that song straight away. It’s got to be instant, right? That’s got to be the ‘everyone fucking hands in the air’ moment. But for the rest of the song, it can be its own thing. Whatever works best. Playing music in the arena is a completely different experience to headphones on in your bedroom, and it should reflect that.”

Questlove then asked if he had learned to let some things go. “Exactly,” Parker agreed. “Rehearsals are really fun now.”

Tony Iommi has been talking about his own experience at last year’s Back To The Beginning show and how shocked he was at the severity of Ozzy Osbourne’s condition.

Speaking to Guitar World, the guitarist said he found the gig “difficult”. Indeed he was reluctant when the idea was first floated: “Initially, when it was mentioned to me, I said no, because we’d done The End Tour (from 2016 to 17) and I didn’t want to be like, ‘Here we are again, another tour.’”

“But when it was mentioned about it being for charity, then yes, I was into it. Still, I thought, ‘What’s it going to be like? We haven’t played with Bill (Ward) for years.’”

Iommi hadn’t seen Ozzy since they had played together at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in 2022. “When he came over, and we met for rehearsals, we were floored, because he was carried in, basically. I couldn't believe how he’d deteriorated.”

The guitarist even offered to go through the whole set instrumentally. “We were all in shock, really,” he remembers. “He sat there, and I said to him, ‘You know, you don’t have to sing, we’ll just run through it instrumentally,’ but he said ‘No, I’ll have a go’ and he’d sing for a bit.”

“And then we’d finish for the day and I said, ‘Don’t bother to come in tomorrow, we’ll just run over the songs instrumentally with Bill.’ He said, ‘All right,’ and then he might turn up the next day – or not.”

Of course, in the end Ozzy was able to perform, albeit sat in a throne. Iommi was at the back, and so wasn’t able to see much of the singer. “It was very difficult, because I was so used to Ozzy jumping around and running up to me and grabbing me,” he remembers. “It was just a terribly different thing altogether, and it was very hard to do it.”

“But, you know, I’m glad we did it, because it was the original band and we won’t be doing it again. I’m really glad we did it for Ozzy and for the fans.”

Iommi was speaking ahead of the concert film of Back To The Beginning, which hits cinemas on 28 October.

We’ve often heard about the dance music ‘underground’ during its long history in the UK. Well, one of its leading figures is taking that phrase literally and plans to play the world’s deepest rave in an abandoned mine in a couple of weeks.

The DJ in question is drum n’ bass don Roni Size, who is set to perform at – or rather, in – a disused Welsh slate mine some 1,375 feet beneath the surface on Thursday-week (15 October).

And before you ask, yes, there will be some partygoers in attendance. Ravers will have to traverse dark stairways and descend on zip lines down sheer rock faces to reach the deep underground chamber where Size will perform. The lucky few to make it down there are to be picked out in a ballot.

Being a veteran of Bristol’s old skool rave scene, Size is well-versed in setting up his equipment in unusual places: "Back in Bristol, we’d put on a party wherever we could, and some of the sounds came from what we called happy accidents, playing a track at the wrong speed, hearing something that sounds new but still works," he said.

"Raves could take place in some crazy and unexpected places, on someone's front lawn, down in tunnels, but what I've always done is play to the environment and the crowd.

"The set is a living, breathing thing that reflects the people there with you."

The Reprazent man’s set will be broadcast on G-Shock Radio. How, you might well ask? Well, apparently specialist field recording equipment will be used and geophones and hydrophones will capture "frequencies travelling through rock, mud and water" as a way to record the mine’s acoustic response, with the reverberated sounds then used in the live mix.

"How much more could you reflect the environment than by pumping a set into the mountain, hearing the sound travelling through the slate, rock and mud, and bringing it back into the mix? It's the most underground of underground raves ever," Size added.

Assuming he doesn’t get buried under a pile of slate on 15 October, the breakbeat icon will play his biggest gig in some time next year. He’s announced an outdoor show at Bristol’s Lloyds Amphitheatre on 25 June 2027, which will double up as a celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of Reprazent’s New Forms album, which won the Mercury Prize that year. Fellow drum n’ bass legends Fabio and Grooverider will be supporting.

And if you fancy witnessing the deepest underground rave ever, get yourself in the ballot for tickets at the G-Shock website here.

Metal guitarist, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend has opened up about why he’s returned to the stage just 18 months after he said he would take an “indefinite” break from touring.

Talking to the Sixty Scales And The Truth podcast, the ex-Strapping Young Lad founder was blunt about the reasons for the sudden about turn: “Financial armageddon.”

It turns out that touring The Moth, his ambitious rock opera, blew a huge hole in his finances. “Yeah, we lost a ton of money off of The Moth show, for a number of reasons, which we're still trying to remedy, but it's been over a year. But the company I did a lot of the work for went bankrupt, and so we lost what our projected revenue was for that year. So I just found myself in a situation where the options for me to do other things for money just seemed limited.”

It has been a trying time for the Canadian guitarist in more ways than one. "My dog passed away. I split up with a partner of 36 years. I mean, it's like all these things have been fucking devastating. And you're up on stage. So I think that the one thing that I've recognised through this is it's, like, well, I have to do this, just on a practical level. But on another level, it's funny how these things force you into a position where you have to contend with yourself."

So Townsend has set out on a solo tour of Europe entitled Metamorphosis this autumn. “It really seems to be because I think that just as a result of having to do this, I'm different. It's just different. And I found that by putting myself into this, the fringe benefit of it is it seems to carry over to the audience to a certain degree.”

He elaborated: “There's a certain amount of - I don't know if it's vulnerability or just the raw nature of where I find myself as an entity right now.

"But you see a tangible reaction from the audience where it seems to be, like… I don't know if it's gratitude or if it's just, like, 'Okay, well, at least he's not full of shit,' or whatever it is.

"And again, it's, like, I need a job, and if I'm gonna have a job, I want it to help rather than hinder. And it seems to do that, so I'm grateful."

With the chances of the three surviving members of Pink Floyd ever performing again being virtually nil, Roger Waters has taken matters into his own hands and used the band’s name to front his own tour.

Well, sort of. Waters has announced an extensive tour of North American arenas under the banner Roger Waters Presents LEGACY – A Pink Floyd Show. It’s in two legs, with an initial run starting at Columbus, Ohio on 15 February 2027 that runs until 2 May in Wilmington, North Carolina and a further series of dates from 31 August in Vancouver to 25 September when the whole thing wraps up in St Louis.

His accomplice in all this isn’t another Floyd member or associate, but his own son, Harry Waters. In fact, the live band is entirely Harry’s. His father won’t be performing at any of the dates but the whole thing is “created” under his “direction”.

The pair announced back in April they were looking to launch the tour but needed a singer to front the band: “My son Harry Waters has put a great band and show together to go on the road next year to pay tribute to the music from the golden era of Pink Floyd, and maybe a couple of songs from my subsequent solo career. Harry’s band is missing one thing: The voice I had when I was young.”

They found their man in one Clifton David Broadbridge, a Canadian singer who has worked with Les Claypool on his Claypool Gold tour.

Anyway, Waters Sr has said in a statement: “These songs have meant so much to so many people for so many years, and I’m excited for audiences to come together and experience them live again. Harry has assembled a terrific band, and I can’t wait for fans around the world to see the special show we’ve created together.”

Harry has added: “I fell in love with the music immediately. It really had an impact on me, irrespective of any bias because it was Dad’s music. I still love it deeply to this day. Collaborating with Dad on this new production is such an honour, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to bring this music to fans old and new, around the world.”

A European and UK tour is expected to be announced soon. In the meantime, tickets go on sale for the North American dates this Friday via Ticketmaster.

It looks like Rod Stewart has finally reached the end of the road. He’s announced The Final Encore, which he’s flagging up as his last ever tour for next year.

In a statement, the 81-year-old singer has said: “My dear friends, The time has come to say farewell to life on the road. After more than six decades, The Final Encore will most definitely be my last.”

“I’ve been singing the music I love since I was 19 years old, and I’ve had the privilege of taking it around the world to all of you. It has given me a life beyond anything I could ever have imagined, and I hope I’ve given you some fond memories in return.

"So, may I take this opportunity to thank you for making this extraordinary life possible. I hope you’ll join me so I can thank you the best way I know how… with the music and one hell of a show. See you there.”

The tour begins in April in Ireland and the UK before heading to mainland Europe in June and July. He’s pencilled in five UK dates, in Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and at London’s O2.

Rod has not been in the best of health of late. Last month he cut short his final US tour for what was described as “routine” heart surgery. This followed an episode in June when at a date in Utah, the singer had to receive oxygen mid-set and was forced to sit down for a section of his performance.

The surgery was a success. Indeed, soon afterwards Stewart posted on Instagram: "I'm already feeling better and very much on the mend. I want to thank the doctors, nurses and everyone who has taken such wonderful care of me.”

Fingers crossed his health holds for what is bound to be an emotional final traipse round the arenas and festivals of Europe. For more details about the tour head over to Stewart’s website at rodstewart.com.

She admits that she’s not the world’s greatest guitarist, but that doesn’t mean Olivia Rodrigo doesn’t love a striking, highly individual guitar.

Rodrigo kicked off her Unraveled tour on Friday and played several guitars during the show, the most eye-catching of which was the heart-shaped peach-coloured instrument that she used during 2024 song So American.

It transpires that this was built for her by renowned LA luthier and touring guitar technician Luis Muñoz, who operates under the name Modern Guitar Tech and expressed his delight on Instagram.

“I’ve somewhat retired from touring to be home,” he began, “but getting to contribute like this? La neta [honestly], that means everything. I’m sure Olivia has every guitar company in the world in her DMs, and she still trusted a small shop in East LA.”

Muñoz goes on to say that perfecting the shape wasn’t easy: “Five prototypes before I got the body right. It had to look cool, play easy, feel comfortable, and most of all, sound good.”

The guitar looks set to become a fan favourite and it’s safe to assume that there will be demand for it to be released as a signature model, but Muñoz says that it’s “one of one. For now.”

That does sort of suggest that a wider release could be possible at some point, but given that Rodrigo’s original was “built completely by hand” outside of Muñoz’s regular shop working hours, it might be tricky.

That said, Muñoz has one potential customer already: he says that he took the guitar home to show his daughter, who didn’t want to give it back.

On her previous tour, Rodrigo was regularly seen playing a custom purple Music Man St Vincent Goldie signature model, which she later praised for its comfort and playability.

“[St Vincent] made a guitar that's specifically designed for women, because she plays her guitar really high up, and it's cut so that you can have boobs and play guitar, which is so awesome.”

Rodrigo has already received strong notices for the Unraveled show, which also saw her try her hand at a bit of lead guitar playing on Maggots For Brains, a song from her most recent album, 2026’s You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love.

There were some impressive theatrics, too, including a ‘field’ of flowers and a ‘dissolving dress’, which quickly went viral.

Today is the day that those who were lucky in the ballot for Oasis tickets will start to receive their access codes, but the band have warned against scammers who are sending fake ones.

“Important: We have been made aware of possible Oasis ticket scams,” they wrote. “As ticket information and unique codes are about to be distributed, please remain vigilant. Scammers may attempt to impersonate Oasis, our mailing list or our ticketing partners.”

Genuine access codes will arrive via the email address oasis@openstageit.com, and the selling of codes is strictly forbidden. “Any codes that are offered for sale are fraudulent and will not enable you to buy tickets,” they have added.

snknknncfs

By now, anyone wanting to purchase tickets for the band’s 2027 tour should have registered. Those who have been randomly selected to receive access codes will get them between now and Sunday 27 September. Receiving a code does not, however, guarantee you success when you come to purchase the tickets. They merely give you a ticket in the lottery for the tickets, so to speak.

And to no-one’s great surprise, extra dates have already been added to the band’s Live 27 tour. Another two Knebworth shows on 25 and 26 September next year have been confirmed, taken their run there to six dates over three weekends. There’s also another Munich date for 6 July, a third Rome show on 26 July and a minor alteration to their Paris date – that’s been moved from 24 July to 20 July.

Safe to say that next summer is going to be all about Oasis, again.

Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher has promised on one of his seemingly regular appearances on Talk Sport that next year’s shows are going to be better than 2025’s. “All of us will be way more relaxed than we were last time,” he told the radio station. “We were all anxious last time as to how rehearsals were gonna go and how the tour was gonna be received and all the mithering about the tickets and that kind of thing.”

“But this is gonna be a lot more fun this time and we’re gonna put on a great show and it’s gonna be unbelievable.”

It will be 20 years since the release of Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black next month. An anniversary reissue is already in the pipeline and, in addition to that, a special Back To Black 20 concert has been announced.

It’s at the Camden Roundhouse on October 21 and has been put together by the original album’s producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Reni with the singer’s musical director Dale Davis. The gig will feature Amy’s original backing band performing Back To Black in full, with the help of a long list of guest vocalists.

Those guests include contemporaries such as Corinne Bailey Rae, along with a number of younger artists who were undoubtedly inspired by the late singer: Jorja Smith, Lianne Le Havas, Baby Rose, Flo, Jessie Reyez and Yebba, as well as the writer and producer p*nut.

In a statement, Mark Ronson has said: “I’m honoured to be asked to come celebrate Amy alongside Salaam and some amazing artists worthy of singing her songs. Doing justice to the legacy of Back to Black is the order of the night.”

The concert will be broadcast in full on BBC Radio 2 a few days later. You’ll be able to hear it during Jo Whiley’s evening show on 26 October, following which the station will repeat the two-part documentary about the singer, Amy Winehouse: Legacy Of A Lioness.

Both of those will be available via BBC Sounds and there will be a dedicated iPlayer channel to stream many of the memorable Winehouse performances captured by the BBC over the years.

And BBC 6Music will be celebrating her legacy during the day on Friday 23 October on Amy Winehouse Forever. The station’s daytime presenters will be playing her music, discussing her legacy and talking to those who knew her.

Talking about the tribute, Lorna Clarke, BBC Director of Music, said: “Amy Winehouse was an exceptional talent whose songs continue to be cherished by so many. We’re proud to celebrate the enduring appeal of Amy’s work with the broadcast of this special concert, alongside a range of performances that were captured by the BBC throughout her career.”

Who knows what the singer herself would have made of it all?

Anyway, tickets for the Roundhouse gig will doubtless be like gold dust. If you fancy your chances, they’re on sale from 10 am on Thursday 1 October via Metropolis at www.metropolismusic.com.

William Shatner and his metal band made their live debut over the weekend in Chicago. They played on the main stage at Riot Fest on the Sunday, but the night before they treated fans to an intimate warm-up gig at Park West in town.

Shatner’s group, named, the, ahem, *uckers, are made up of guitarists Marcus Nand and Britt Lightning, Phil Soussan on bass and drummer Fred Achin. At the Park West gig they played some well-known covers: Enter Sandman, Ace Of Spades and Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train alongside some original tunes that may or may not end up on the forthcoming album What The F Is Heavy Metal?

As you can see from above, Shatner’s diction is the same as it was on his records going back to The Transformed Man album in 1968. But he moves with admirable agility for a 95-year-old man. That he’s performing live at all is pretty astonishing.

Prior to the shows over the weekend, the actor put out a social media post, saying: “I have explored space. I have explored time. Now… I explore distortion.”

In an interview with the Moynihan Report podcast earlier this month, Shatner admitted that he didn’t have much knowledge of heavy metal but had written an “impassioned” response song to Guns N’ Roses’ Patience: "I'm tired of old age. I'm tired of losing hair. I'm tired of not eating. I'm tired of catching a cold. I'm tired of being tired. I'm tired!'"

There’s no news yet regarding a release date for the Shatner metal album. But we do know that this isn't the end of his live career.

He and the *uckers have been booked to play Coachella next year. Shatner unwittingly leaked the news in an interview with CNN last month when he said he was going to play “the one in the desert” next year, which his daughter Melanie Shatner Gretsch later confirmed was indeed Coachella.

Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour continued as planned in Philadelphia over the weekend but the singer admitted on stage that the events of the last week made him consider cancelling the tour completely.

In a lengthy speech towards the end of his set on Sunday, the singer said: “I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on. I really didn’t know whether I’d even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly.

"And the whole time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour, and so many people coming out of my life that I’ve known for years and years and years just kind of backing away.”

Sheeran admitted he’d had to make adjustments to the production of the show and had had to abandon the B stage he’d usually venture out onto. “I didn’t know if I’d have things thrown at me.... I was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle and I will admit that.”

Earlier on in the show, he had addressed the central issue at hand: the ongoing horror in Gaza and the censorship of pro-Palestine voices such as Macklemore’s. “I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.

"My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone and that matters hugely to me. Honouring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am, and that’s why I’m here tonight on my own and continuing my current tour.

"But I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approve content of performers. This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”

He continued: “I’ve tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind... But, this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate.

"My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives. And the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”

He added that he was “speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims” because “I do not know enough”.

Sheeran will be glad to have put the past week behind him, but those gigs at the Robert Kraft-owned Gillette Arena in Massachusetts await next weekend...

With the hoo-hah over Ed Sheeran’s stadium gigs being the story of the week, it should be noted that there is one show on the Suffolk singer songwriter’s tour that will be graced by a support act: Mexico City.

That’s because there is currently a competition being run by the Guitar Center to open up that show. The contest was opened on August 19 long before the controversy with Macklemore even started.

Nevertheless, if you are free on December 11 and you do fancy the gig, the competition page is still live. Just head over to the Guitar Center website here.

At this rate, the winning hopeful could find themselves doing a few more shows than just the one...

Meanwhile all sorts of folk have been chucking in their ten cents'/ tuppence’ worth on the issue of the day. Previous Sheeran support acts BIIRD (yes, that’s really how they spell it) and Myles Smith have both lined up in support of Macklemore.

The Irish folk band BIIRD have said: “We stand unequivocally behind every word [Macklemore] said,” whilst Smith has posted that “what Palestinians are enduring is devastating and impossible to look away from. No child, no family, no innocent person should have to live under bombing, displacement, hunger, grief or fear.”

Long-time Palestine activist Roger Waters has stuck his oar in, too posting that: “There are two kinds of people in this world. There’s people who do the right thing – the rapper Macklemore would be one of those people.”

“And there’s people – many of them, sadly – little f… excuse me, I nearly used the F-word then… pricks like you who do the wrong thing. Goodbye.”

Massive Attack have expressed similar sentiments, albeit in a rather more elegant manner, writing on Instagram that “Entertainment can never be bigger than resisting the apartheid and genocide of fellow human beings. ‘Neutrality’ in the face of the slaughter of more than 20,000 children can never be neutrality.”

Ed Sheeran will doubtless be glad when this week comes to an end.

Another day, another new development in the Ed Sheeran/Macklemore/Robert Kraft fallout.

As Sheeran is working out how to fill several hours of stage time without any support acts or a backing band, it’s emerged that the singer asked Kraft – the owner of Gillette Stadium, who was instrumental in getting Macklemore thrown off the tour – to match his $2 million donation to aid in the region.

The 85-year-old billionaire and owner of the New England Patriots has made a statement saying: "Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.”

However, Kraft did not say whether he had agreed to make the donation. He simply added: “I have dedicated much of my life to building bridges between all people. I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting. Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges."

Kraft’s statement comes after Macklemore announced that he was donating the $1 million fee he earned supporting Sheeran on his Loop tour to organisations working with Palestinian people and relief in Gaza. He also challenged Kraft to match his donation.

“With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom,” the rapper posted on Instagram.

“I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organisations working directly to support the Palestinian people. And I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation.

"Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting. A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.”

As things stand, there’s no doubt who’s been the winner – in terms of PR, at least - from this episode. Macklemore may have lost a few stadium support slots but has gone from being a hitherto semi-obscure figure to a world-famous artist, not to mention an internationally renowned man of integrity and courage, within a week.

Ed Sheeran meanwhile has maybe learned the limitations of his strategy of trying to be all things to all people. It's been reported that in the two days since the announcement that Macklemore had been dropped from the tour, he's lost nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram.

Macklemore, conversely, has gained 1.6 million followers on the platform since Tuesday...

It looks like Ed Sheeran’s might just have to do extended sets on the remainder of the his Loop tour. The rest of his support acts have quit in solidarity with Macklemore.

You may recall that Macklemore was booted off the tour, a decision that seems was largely made by Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran is due to play two dates on 25 and 26 September.

It seems that Kraft – a prominent donor to Israel - rallied fellow stadium owners and pressurised Sheeran to dispense with Macklemore after the rapper told the audience during his support slot a couple of weeks back that he wanted the people of the West Bank and Gaza to “know that they have not been forgotten... I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom.”

Macklemore was careful to point out that his criticism of the Israeli government was not intended as a criticism of the Jewish religion or its people.

Now Finneas – a much more prominent name and one who was also due to support Sheeran on South American dates in November – has quit the tour.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas posted on Instagram. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”

He followed Aaron Rowe, an Irish singer-songwriter who was due to support Sheeran on ten of his North American shows.

"I don’t take the decision lightly,” Rowe wrote on social media. “Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this.”

“But as Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children. I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal.”

Sheeran has also lost his backing band. Beoga, the Irish group who have played with him on this tour, have also quit, citing “silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies”.

And Lukas Graham (who are a band, not a singer) have also gone. “We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them,” their lead singer Lukas Forchhammer wrote on social media. “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”

Sheeran did break his silence on all this yesterday. Writing on Instagram, the singer said that he had spent a week “trying to build bridges, to find a solution and unfortunately, was unable to do so,” and that the “venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”

In theory, Sheeran could do the rest of the tour on his own – he did, after all, entertain Wembley Stadium with no more accompaniment than his guitar back in 2015. But as he’s clearly discovering, sitting on the fence is not a comfortable position when you’re in the middle of the crossfire.

After a week of speculation, Macklemore has been dropped from the Ed Sheeran Loop tour.

However, in a statement, the rapper has made it clear he does not blame Sheeran for this turn of events and points the finger clearly at one Robert Kraft. The 85-year-old Kraft is the owner of the New England Patriots and owns the Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran and Macklemore were due to play on 25 and 26 September. Macklemore claims that Kraft rallied other stadium owners on the tour to ban him from their venues.

In the post, Macklemore said: “Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.

"I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’"

“And I get why people don’t. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.”

Since Macklemore’s post, Kraft himself has defended his decision in a statement: “Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech.

"Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”

He continued: “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real. But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a United States and globally (including Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, and Japan) designated terrorist organisation whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”

Kraft added that he would “welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”

One wonders if the rapper will take the billionaire sports owner up on that offer...

It’s official: after weeks of speculation. Oasis will be touring in 2027.

The announcement was made this afternoon. “START THE CELEBRATIONS!!!!,” said the band’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement. “After a period of reflection, ‘The Most Damaging Pop Cultural Force In Recent British History’ has declared itself fit for purpose and will once again return to lift the spirits of the people.”

They added, quoting Roots Manuva of all people: “Come witness the fitness. It shall be a sight to behold.”

(Incidentally, that ‘Most Damaging...’ reference is a nod to a disparaging article music writer Simon Price wrote in the Guardian around the time of their 2024 reunion. He’s not a fan, let’s say…)

Anyway, here are the details: Oasis will play five nights at Glasgow’s Celtic Park between May 21 and 29 and there’s a whopping 11 nights at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium in June. July sees the tour move to Europe, with dates in Munich, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris and Rome. August sees the Gallaghers take on the USA once more with three dates in Boston and Las Vegas apiece, whilst September sees them return to Europe with two nights at Slane Castle in Ireland and four Knebworth stretched across two weekends.

There may well be more dates added – spaces have been left in the itinerary for extra shows to be added.

In terms of tickets, the band have decided to stick with the model they used for the Live 25 shows. So fans must register before 17 September at 4pm in the UK/ 5pm Central European time/ 8am Pacific time in the US/ 11am Eastern time.

Those fans that are successful in the ballot will then be sent a unique non-transferable code to access an allocated on-sale window at a specific time. That on-sale time will take place on September 25, 26 and 27, with three windows each day.

At the moment it sounds like the controversial dynamic pricing tactic has been dumped. Apparently, ticket prices will range between £71.50 and an upper limit of £266.60 without fees.

It looks like Macklemore has kicked up a veritable hornets’ nest by using his support slot on Ed Sheeran’s current North American tour to call for a “free Palestine”.

The controversy started the week before last when the rapper was warming up for Sheeran at his gigs at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Macklemore made an impassioned speech saying that he wanted Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank to know “they have not been forgotten...I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom.”

He added: “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.

"My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. I say Free Palestine, free Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran and all the people of America who live in fear because of this terrorist organisation ICE”

Following this, the Israeli-American Council launched a petition urging Sheeran to kick Macklemore off the tour. And then other musicians began to weigh in on the issue. Pink reshared a post that accused the rapper of being anti-Israel.

Joe Bonamassa – not a figure who has ever previously intervened about anything politically – tweeted: “When you fill stadiums you can say what you want. When you are the opening act for someone who fills stadiums ... STFU! Simple rules and etiquette when operating on tour.. It's not that hard kids.”

However, others have leapt to Macklemore’s defence. Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett replied to Bonamassa by pointing out that “Maybe speaking out against genocide trumps etiquette.”

When someone else questioned Shiflett’s use of the word genocide and accused him of overlooking other atrocities around the world, he countered with: “The Israeli genocide in Gaza is one that our country has a particularly close relationship too, so you should expect criticism.”

Meanwhile Pink – who had received a fair amount of flak for her initial response to the incident – posted a measured explanation of her own position on Friday (11 September). “I was born a Jew. I didn’t pick it, and I’ve never hidden it,” she began before saying: "I don’t speak for Israel, or for any government. I never have.

"What I said in October 2023 is still exactly what I believe: Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Palestinians deserve a future that honours their humanity and their aspirations. Protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere, and nobody should ever celebrate the death of a child. Anybody’s child.”

This may all well rumble on for some time yet. Ed Sheeran – whose gig it was in the first place, remember – has yet to make any public statement about the whole thing, or Macklemore’s continued presence on his Loop tour. After a two week break he’s back on stage at Lincoln Field, Philadelphia this coming Saturday.

The two remaining members of Queen seem to be considering an avatar show in the same vein as Abba Voyage.

That’s what Roger Taylor suggested during an appearance on Virgin Radio’s Breakfast Show. When the host Chris Evans asked about future Queen activity, the drummer replied: “Brian and I talk because we live near each other. There is a possibility of doing something...not quite sure what it is yet.”

“But technology has come on so far,” he mused. “Like the Abba show, for instance. It’s come on…”

At which point his host (and his production colleagues) became audibly excited. “So you’re going on tour with Freddie?” Evans said. “This is what’s happening! Is that what’s happening?”

“No,” said Taylor, sounding somewhat embarrassed at having raised the subject. “I wish it was.”

“It could happen, though, couldn’t it?” asked Evans puppishly.

“Sort of,” replied Taylor. “It sort of could.”

It’s not the first time Taylor and Brian May have publicly pondered the possibility of a Queen avatar show. Last year May told The Big Issue he was open to the possibility of using new technology to create such a spectacle: “It wouldn’t be just playing old footage or whatever. It would be creating Queen as if we were creating it today. I’m very taken with the idea that we can be the original Queen again.”

For such an idea to go from a ‘could’ to a ‘definitely will’, it would need to overcome some fairly considerable barriers. The two largest stumbling blocks are of course the non-availability of the other half of Queen. As we know, Freddie Mercury has been dead since 1991.

Meanwhile, John Deacon retired from public life in the late 1990s. It is very much doubtful whether the bassist would be willing to submit to the time-consuming motion capture technology necessary to create a digital avatar, or re-record his parts for such a project.

Aside from Abba Voyage, the only other ‘avatar show’ (scare quotes used deliberately) to make it from the drawing board to first night is Elvis Evolution. The dictionary definition of a damp squib, it consisted of a live band playing against projections of old footage of Elvis. It remains to be seen whether the Kiss avatar show – which is set to open next year – marks any sort of improvement.

It might be more than 10 years since the world lost Prince, but thanks to regular posthumous music releases and frequent remembrances from those that knew him, it can sometimes feel like he’s still around.

To illustrate these points, the latest Prince album, Timeless, was released just a couple of weeks ago – not without a little controversy, it should be said – and now R&B star Jill Scott has been telling the slightly surreal story of the time that Prince and Stevie Wonder came into her dressing room after she’d played a show at The House Of Blues on Sunset Strip on 2011.

The gig had already been a memorable one for Scott, as she’d performed a new song, And I Heard… (Do You Understand), that she’d written the day before when it came to her, fully formed, in a dream.

“It woke me up and I sat straight up in the bed,” she tells Scott Evans. “I got some paper, and I just started writing, and it didn’t stop. I didn’t have to question. I didn’t have to go back and erase. I didn’t have to do anything. It came out as a fluid, 100% fact.”

So taken was she with the song that Scott decided to play it at her House of Blues show, teaching it to the band at the venue. It sounds like it went down a storm; the biggest thrill, though, was still to come.

“I was in the dressing room after the show and Prince comes in in a white pant suit,” Scott remembers. “It looked like it was made out of angel hair.”

“I’m talking to Prince and the people who are in the parking lot outside of the House of Blues are still singing [the new song],” Scott continues, “and then who should walk in but Stevie Wonder.

“And he’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ and Prince says ‘Jill sang a song tonight – it’s a new song.’ And Stevie Wonder was like ‘Oh, how does it go?’”

According to Scott, Prince immediately started singing the song, with Stevie providing rhythmic backing.

“Stevie Wonder is beatboxing and Prince is singing this song verbatim. What? How? How?” wondered Scott. “Prince is singing the words that came to me last night like they came to him. He is singing it word for word. Stevie Wonder’s beatboxing and Prince is singing this song. I think I just had my mouth open. Like, this is amazing.”

The night didn’t end there, though: after everyone had left, Scott got a call from Prince’s assistant saying that he wanted her to hang out with him. At first, she turned him down – she had to travel to the next show – but Prince then ended up calling her personally.

“He calls me himself and he’s like ‘I want you to come dance with me,” says Scott. “So, I go to the Roosevelt Hotel and he has rented out this disco room in there. And that man twirled me around like I was nothing. When I say smooth, I mean so smooth. I danced with Prince until four o’clock in the morning.”

Scott described the evening as “the best night of my life,” and, to be fair, it does sound like it would take some beating. She would later release tAnd I Heard… (Do You Understand) in its live incarnation – check it out below.

The Oasis documentary hits screens this week, and the directors of Don’t Look Back In Anger have given an interview to the Guardian which reveal some interesting insights into the dynamic behind the Gallaghers’ reconciliation.

We already know that the pair - Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace - hid their cameras in the sound kit whilst the brothers ran through their set for the first time in 16 years. But they also had one trained on the door to capture Liam’s arrival.

The singer was late, you see. “Nobody knew exactly when he was coming,” says Southern. “There was a palpable tension. We knew we had these historically volatile characters, so you ask yourself, ‘Are they going to fight – or hug each other?’ And of course they do neither. They have a job to do. Apart from a very brief photoshoot, they hadn’t been in a room together for 16 years.”

“Then Liam walks in, drops his bag and goes, ‘Are we ready then?’ Two hours later, while they’re playing the outro to Champagne Supernova, he picks up his bag and leaves. He did that every single day. And then suddenly they were playing the gigs – and the tension started melting. You could see Noel and Liam getting closer every night.”

“The reconciliation didn’t happen in rehearsals,” the director says. “It started happening on stage and continued happening.” Lovelace adds: “They’re healing this enormous chasm not in private, but in public. And things were forgiven without saying a word. Maybe that’s part of what people are responding to.”

Both men reveal that back in the day they were Oasis fans themselves. Lovelace was still a teenager when Definitely Maybe came out and remembers thinking: “This is the first music that feels like my own.” Meanwhile Southern was lucky enough to catch them at the 200-capacity Hull Adelphi in 1994. Oasis “felt like our band”, he says.

And like so many people, they both initially failed to get tickets when the reunion gigs were first announced in August 2024. Lovelace was “in a car on my phone failing to get a ticket” while Southern “eventually gave up”. Don’t Look In Anger provides a happy ending in all sorts of ways...

The Oasis documentary Don’t Look Back In Anger hits the big screens this week and we’ve already found out one eye-rolling nugget from the film.

According to the Daily Mirror, Liam Gallagher missed the final rehearsal before the band’s opening night of their 2025 tour in Cardiff and only rocked up to gig 20 minutes before show time.

One can imagine Noel’s reaction. Indeed, in the film the guitarist says: “We’ve got a chance here to change the narrative of the band. We have got a chance to fix all the shit that we have just let drift apart.

"The final run-through, the night before the thing. Didn’t see him. Ohh. The next thing is one of the biggest fucking moments of our lives, right? And he’s not rehearsed.”

“I am like, oh yeah? He turns up 20 minutes before the gig - ‘alright, what’s the catering like?’.

Noel continued: “I am like, how the fuck is this… what the fuck. And then he grabs my hand and I am like ‘what the fuck?’. And off he goes, sounding like he was 30 years young.

"Just rocked up and did it. And I am like ‘you absolute mad…’”

In other Oasis news, a treasure trove of recordings of the band, many of which have never been heard before, are up for auction, despite the objections of the Gallaghers.

The collection was amassed by Huw Richards, who worked as the group’s sound engineer between 1994 and 2001. It features over 100 hours of rehearsals, soundchecks and live concerts, including the only known recording of their 1996 gig at Loch Lomond. The auctioneers in question – Littleton Auctions of Evesham – have set aside a guide price of between £1.2 and £1.6 million.

However, the Gallaghers are said to be far from happy about the situation. Understandably so, given the tapes are likely to contain all sorts of arguments between Noel and Liam, just at a time when - publicly, at least – all is sweetness and light between the brothers.

Ben Homer, Littletons' managing director, has said in a statement: “The Oasis camp is aware of the auction and has expressed concerns, which is entirely understandable given the scale and significance of the material.”

Apparently, the tapes are in a good enough condition to be released. It should be said that they just cannot be put up on YouTube by whoever buys them. Oasis retain the intellectual property rights, meaning the audio collection cannot be commercially exploited without the band’s cooperation.

Burning Man finished today (7 September), and the sad news is that two people are reported to have died during the week-long festival.

The festival organisers have identified one of the two people as 60-year-old Craigh Mann. They have said that he was found dead by his friends at his camp at around 3pm on Saturday (5 September). A cause of death has not been provided as yet.

The organisers have put out a statement saying: “Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss.”

Mann’s death comes a couple of days after another man died at the festival, which is held annually in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

According to the organisers, the man in question received lifesaving measures before being transported to the on-site emergency care centre, where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not yet been released.

It comes a year after the festival ended in a murder investigation. The 2025 Burning Man was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Initially, the festival was hit by dust storms, 50 mph winds that demolished camps and then flash floods. More serious was the killing of Vadim Kruglov. The 37-year-old was found fatally stabbed on the Saturday night of the festival. As yet, no one has been arrested in that case.

Other incidents at this year’s edition include one punter who was seriously injured earlier on in the week after falling from the 55-foot Nest Tower at the Square One camp. Other than that, there has been one arrest related to domestic violence and 34 connected with drug dealing, the latter of which is par for the course at a countercultural gathering such as Burning Man.

The festival has been running since the mid-1980s and is unique in terms of US mass festivals in its emphasis on participation and the creation of art during its duration, not to mention its strict no-corporate sponsorship policy.

Though once a purely underground event, it has faced problems of scale in recent years, as well as accusations that it’s become a magnet for influencers and celebrities. Interestingly, whereas once tickets sold out in minutes, they are now noticeably slower – in 2024, the event’s CEO Marian Goodell went public with a plea for donations to secure the festival’s future.

Could Zak Starkey reunite with The Who? That seems to be what Roger Daltrey is suggesting might happen in a new podcast interview.

The singer was speaking on LifeMinute with Joann Butler and the conversation turned to drummers, with Daltrey musing that things hadn’t really been the same since Keith Moon died in 1978.

“We were firing on all cylinders,” he recalled. “You could fire anything at us and we would make something of it. That kind of disappeared when Keith died.”

“But we found Zak Starkey. We tried Kenny Jones – who is a great drummer. A straight drummer just does not work with The Who. Just does not work. Zak Starkey is not Keith Moon, but he’s come very close.”

Starkey joined The Who in 1996 and stayed for almost 30 years – several times the amount of time Moon spent in the band – until his messy exit last year. You may recall that after The Who’s Teenage Cancer Trust gig at the Albert Hall in March, Starkey was sacked. Then reinstated. And then sacked once more.

The tit-for-tat via social media and various interviews between the two parties went on for months. Meanwhile, the drum stool in The Who was filled by Scott Devours from Daltrey’s touring band.

So with Daltrey talking so admiringly about Starkey’s talents, Butler asked the obvious question: is a reunion possible? “I don’t know. We did a rehearsal recently, and Zak was the drummer.

"We love Zak, but sometimes the road doesn’t like Zak. Sometimes it gets on top of him, and it becomes difficult.”

“He was drumming at the rehearsal, and we did the rehearsal to see if we can possibly do shows next year,” the singer explained. “Still hit the notes, still get the drive. Who music demands an incredible amount of drive, and without that, it would be Herman’s Hermits without the Herman.”

The Who toured North America last year, a jaunt that they said would be their last in that territory. But of course if they are bringing the band to a close in the live setting, that would suggest a final European tour as well, which presumably is what the rehearsal was for.

Daltrey didn’t say whether the rehearsal proved that he can still hit the notes. Or if Starkey passed his audition to rejoin. No doubt all will be revealed in the fullness of time...

Olivia Rodrigo has been expressing what it meant to pull off her festival Daisy Chain Fields over the weekend. In an emotional Instagram post, she said that seeing the event come together was “the greatest joy” of her life.

Organising any festival is a massive undertaking, and Rodrigo was personally involved in the event. It was her vision to revive the spirit and the format of the all-female Lilith Fair fest of the late 1990s and, like that event, Daisy Chain Fields was also a fundraiser for non-profit organisations working with women and girls. Rodrigo put the bill together and personally made the calls. All at the same time she was putting together her own album.

“I am still in a bit of disbelief that it happened,” she posted, “and I still feel incapable of properly expressing the gratitude that I feel for every person who believed in this vision and fought so hard to make it a reality.”

Performers included Chappell Roan, Doechii and Bikini Kill, though Rodrigo’s own set was memorable for a number of reasons. The singer brought out Sarah McLachlan, the Lilith Fair organiser, and the pair duetted on Angel, which was dedicated to Dolly Parton.

Later on. Stevie Nicks joined Rodrigo for a version of Nicks’ own Landslide, and Alanis Morissette (a late replacement for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O) came on to perform Ironic with the singer.

Over $10 million dollars was raised for non-profits including Baby2Baby, which distributes supplies to children and parents in need, and the National Women’s Law Center. Appearing later that night, Melinda French Gates joined Rodrigo on stage and announced that she was matching that amount to make the final total raised $20 million.

But by all accounts, Daisy Chain Fields wore its activism lightly. In her post, Rodrigo said that one of her own highlights was hanging out at Yoko Ono’s ‘Wish Tree’ installation after the crowds had gone home. It was here that punters were encouraged to write their deepest desires.

“By and large almost every tag said the same thing,” said Rodrigo. “Everyone hoped for the world to be more peaceful, they all hoped that the people they loved were happy, they all hoped to make a difference.

“It made me so emotional and I realised that was exactly why Daisy Chain meant so much to me. The artwork reminded me of how we are all much more alike than we are different and how deep down, we all just want to help each other and make the world a better place. Yesterday, Daisy Chain felt like just that: a collective hope that things can get better and a reminder of how much we really care about people at the end of the day.”

We’re just a few weeks away from the 20th anniversary of Back to Black, the second album from Any Winehouse and the one that turned her into a global superstar.

As you’d expect, this occasion is being marked by a deluxe reissue of the record, but if you’d rather celebrate Winehouse’s legacy in a live setting, her former band are also heading out on a UK tour to perform both Back to Black in its entirety and other songs that she recorded.

The shows are being led by Winehouse’s long‑time musical director and bass player Dale Davis, and the band features guest vocalists and members who both toured and recorded with Amy throughout her career.

“I can’t believe that it’s the 20th anniversary of Back To Black this year,” says Davis. “When I congratulated Amy on the success of this incredible album, she said to me, not with any arrogance: ‘I knew what I was doing’, and at that moment, I realised that she knew exactly what she had created.

“It’s still an honour, pleasure and privilege to be performing these songs, from this timeless classic.”

With new shows announced in England and Wales – joining the previously confirmed gigs in Scotland – the tour will now take in more than 50 dates. Beginning on 20 October in York, the 2026 run will reach a fitting conclusion in Camden, London at the Roundhouse on 18 December – Camden being the place where Winehouse lived and tragically died in 2011. The 2027 tour will then kick off in February.

Tickets are available via the Amy Winehouse Band website.

Olivia Rodrigo’s festival Daisy Chain Fields arrives at Irvine, California this weekend. It features an all-female line-up and an exceeedingly strong one at that – artists include Chappell Roan, Stevie Nicks, The Breeders, Garbage, Doechii, Mitski, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Santigold.

Artists putting on their own one-day events isn't anything new, of course, but it seems that Rodrigo was deeply involved in formulating the bill. According to Shirley Manson, who has talked about the festival in a Guardian feature, she called up every act personally, one by one.

“I told her it was very unusual for an agent not to be doing that.” the Garbage singer said. Rodrigo is, of course, very open about her influences, and Manson’s band are just one of the many older acts that she has gushed about. “Unlike many artists, she doesn’t say she’s inventing the wheel; she knows she’s just a spoke within it,” said Manson.

Another interesting facet is that no act will overlap with another and every artist on the poster is the same font size. “It creates a necessary and refreshing culture of community, setting up women’s art to be received and valued in a less competitive and capitalist environment,” suggests Eli, the 25 year old singer who is one of the younger artists on the bill.

Rodrigo’s model for Daisy Chain Fields was the Lilith Fair, a touring all-female fest that ran for several years in the late 1990s. Like its predecessor, net profits from the fest will go to charity, in this case non-profit organisations dedicated to ‘advancing and advocating for women and girls’. Indeed when she first had the idea for the event, Rodrigo called Lilith’s founder Sarah McLachlan for advice and the Canadian singer-songwriter is set to perform in Irvine on Sunday.

Lilith was partly set up to counter all-male concert line-ups back in the 1990s. And whilst in some areas there has been progress since then – female festival headliners are certainly more common now – in other ways things have gone backwards.

Back then Garbage turned down a chance to play at Lilith Fair. “I might have been naive, but it felt like there was more progress for women then,” Manson said. “And here we are in 2026, as women’s rights are regressing all over the world. We’re at a crisis point.”

Daisy Chain Fields takes place at Great Park, Irvine on Sunday 29 August.

Dolly Parton is still in the thoughts of many in the music world, and in the last 48 hours, a number of artists have been paying tribute to her in the live arena.

During John Mayer’s concert at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York, the guitarist played I Will Always Love You as the intro to his 2006 hit Gravity, which was his final song of the night. As you can see below, it’s a particularly tender and soulful version of the song that Parton released back in 1974 and which later became a blockbuster hit for Whitney Houston.

Prior to the gig, Mayer reflected on Parton's death with SiriusXM's Andy Cohen, calling it a "huge loss", but also took the positives from the collective outpouring of warmth since her passing.

"While the world is paying tribute to one person and one soul, which feels good on its own, we're all connected while that's happening and I haven't felt connected like that for a long time."

Mayer went on to say: "This is one human being who's left this incredible testament to love throughout their whole life and you can feel it. This is what a life well-lived looks like, feels like, sounds like, and you take apart every layer of herself and career, and it's a brilliant, classy, talented, fully artistic rendering. That is how you give your life to the thing you love."

Elsewhere in New York, Harry Styles was playing the first night of his residency at Madison Square Garden and took time to share his thoughts about the singer: “I just wanna give a proper thank you to all the musicians who have inspired me over the years. Dolly, we love you. Thank you so much.” Later, her original version of I Will Always Love You was played over the venue’s speakers as the sold-out audience sang along.

Meanwhile at a concert in Pittsburgh, the singer Kesha covered a slightly more obscure Dolly hit Old Flames (Can’t Hold A Candle To You). The song was originally released by Joe Sun in 1978 with Parton’s version coming two years later. Kesha revealed to the audience that the song has a family connection to her – her mom was one of its co-writers.

“I’m sure many of you all know that we lost Ms Dolly Parton,” Kesha told the crowd. “We literally lost an angel. But through her art and through her kindness and through her love, she will live forever. And I want to talk about her a little bit. For those of you who don’t know, I come from a long lineage of songwriters and before I was born, my mom wrote a song for Dolly Parton. And that song bought us a house. That song put me through school.”

In 2017 Kesha recorded a cover of Old Flames with Dolly herself while she was embroiled in a legal battle with her ex producer Dr Luke. “I was making that album in the middle of a very scary litigation,” she explained to the audience, "and I was in the MeToo movement, and having such a legendary woman do this song with me and stand beside me, it made me feel like God was on my side.”

Over the next few days there will doubtless be more tributes to an artist who drew admiration and warmth from across every music genre.

The film makers behind the upcoming Oasis tour documentary Don’t Look Back In Anger have revealed the lengths they went to ensure they were invisible to their subjects.

And by ‘invisible’ they mean literally. In the current issue of Billboard, Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace have explained that they hid a camera rig in the London studio where Noel and Liam met and rehearsed for the first time in 15 years. “I don’t think Liam even realised there were cameras there for the first week,” Southern says.

The duo filmed the rehearsals and every gig on the band’s reunion tour, as well as the Gallaghers’ first joint interview in over 20 years. But whilst the two brothers are undoubtedly the stars of the show, almost as important are the fans, who had waited so long for their reconciliation.

“When the lights came up at the end of the first concert in Cardiff,” Southern explains, “we have a sequence where you just see people looking shell-shocked, like they’ve been through every possible emotion. Seeing that in real time... we were like, ‘We knew this was going to be big, but it’s on a different level emotionally than what we’d thought.’

“Then, as the film progresses, you see the music bringing (the brothers) together,” Southern continues. “The [fan] reaction is a huge catalyst in where they end up in terms of their relationship by the end of the film.”

Southern and Lovelace said that they had prepared for “any eventuality” before filming began (it’s easy to forget that many scoffed that the Gallaghers would be able to make it through an entire world tour without the whole thing exploding in a familiar familial conflagration). But of course, in the end, both the film and the fans were provided with a happy ending. “Our hope was to make a film about reconciliation and forgiveness,” Southern says, “and I think it’s ultimately about those things - and the breakthrough moments that happened throughout.”

Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger will get a cinema release on 9 September. But before then it premieres at the Venice International Film Festival. Later this year it will be available for streaming on Disney+ and in the US, both Disney+ and Hulu.

Kiss can never perform again without the permission of people outside the band.

That’s according to no less an authority than Gene Simmons. The bassist was talking on the Detroit classic rock station WCSX about the band’s future and whether they’d ever reunite.

“Kiss was actually sold - the makeup and the tunes and the publishing and all that - for a…” At that point the bassist garbled his words to suggest an unnamed sum that is a lot of money.

Indeed, Simmons and co sold the Kiss catalogue, brand name, likenesses, the whole kit and caboodle to Pophouse, a Swedish ‘global entertainment and music investment firm’ back in 2024. Pophouse is the group that's developing the Kiss avatar show, which should – if all goes according to plan – be with us in 2027.

“We're involved together in the future,” Simmons said of the Pophouse deal. “So there's gonna be a motion picture, which is being cast now, and there's gonna be - I don't know - cartoon shows, theme park, you name it, it's all coming up. So it's gonna be bigger and better than you've ever heard, including the avatar show.

“But that also means that Kiss can't play live without Pophouse's permission,” he continued, “because they own the makeup and everything.”

That, of course, doesn’t mean that they won’t ever play live again. Indeed, since what was supposed to be their final performance in 2023, Kiss have already reunited for a handful of shows in November last year. These were the Kiss Kruise: Landlocked in Vegas fan club events and featured the band ‘unmasked’ or without makeup. It’s not clear whether Pophouse had to provide their permission for those gigs to go ahead.

Simmons did admit in the interview that he still has a performance itch that he has to scratch. So he’s created the Gene Simmons Band to assuage that desire: “I didn't wanna stay away from the stage,” he explained. “It's the most fun. Being up on that stage and rocking out is the most fun I can imagine with my pants on. And there's a magic that happens there.

"Imagine being a painter, and you paint something, and you're really proud of it, and it just stays in your living room, and nobody sees it. Or if you write a song, and you really like it, you go, 'Whoa, this thing rocks,' but you're the only one who hears it. No, no, no. So I can't stay off the stage," he admitted. "I love it too much."

ZZ Top have got back on the horse in double quick time. Just five days after Frank Beard’s passing last week, they’ve resumed their Big One! tour in Austin.

Earlier this month the band announced that Michael Monahan would take over Beard’s place on drums for the time being. At the time, no further information was given about the reason for Beard’s absence. We know now, of course, that the 77-year-old drummer was entering hospice care, although we still don’t know the specific cause of Beard’s death.

Founder member Billy Gibbons introduced Monahan during Saturday’s gig at Austin City Limits. After the opener, Got Me Under Pressure, the guitarist got straight to the point: "I guess some of you probably know there’s a new man in town.

“In fact, it all started a little while back. [Bassist] Elwood [Francis] and I got an unexpected call from our dear Frank Beard, our dear drummer for 50 years. I've never heard him admit, he said, ‘My bass drum foot’s a little weak. Can you get my man [Monahan] to take over?’

"I said, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, he’s been doing pretty good.’ Frank said, ‘Yeah, that’s what worries me.’ "

Gibbons then shifted his tone a little bit, telling the audience: “We’re all here for a celebration, you know what’s going on. So we’re gonna have a good time.”

It’s not the first time ZZ Top have got back up quickly after a long standing member’s death. In 2021, longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis took over on bass just days after it was announced that Dusty Hill had passed on.

The group are on the road in the US all the way through to October when their The Big One! tour winds up in Port Wentworth, Georgia. Following that they have dates in Mexico and South America in November. It’s not known yet whether Monahan will remain behind the kit for those shows.

The old adage is that if you work hard enough you will – eventually - make it. But a 26 year old singer songwriter is intent on testing that theory to destruction.

Derby-based musician Isaac Neilson is the fellow in question and at the time of writing he’s 235 gigs into a bonkers challenge that will see him play live every day in 2026. And almost bankrupt himself in the process.

In a feature in the Guardian, Neilson explains why on earth he’s doing it. “I was in a position where I could maybe put a deposit on a house or I could do this crazy experiment. I chose to go all in on the music.”

He’s set himself two rules – he has to perform every day and busking doesn’t count. To his credit, he’s kept it up so far. His gig list for 2026 so far includes more than 60 gigs in Derby alone, a support slot with Cast and some deserted rooms during the recent men’s World Cup. “Christmas Day is going to be difficult but I have a plan,” he says.

Part of his objective, it seems, is to see if it’s possible to make it the old-fashioned way, by working hard on the live scene and building up a genuine following. “Virality is overrated,” he says. “People are yearning for community and looking for a connection. Numbers on a screen don’t represent the impact you can make in the world if you actually go out and meet people. My marketing budget is the time I spend in a room with you.”

So far he says he’s had “two major mental breakdowns and six minor ones.” Almost as serious is the sheer cost of the undertaking. Neilson estimates that he had £30,000 in savings at the beginning of the year and will probably end 2026 with about £3,000. It costs around £400 a week to keep going with fuel costs not surprisingly the biggest expense.

His music? The sort of indie-rock that there could be an audience for... somewhere out there. Will he be able to find it by the end of the year? Will he get through to 31 December with his sanity intact? “Regardless of the outcome of this year, I can die knowing I threw everything at it,” he says.

For more details about his upcoming gigs, head over to Neilson’s Instagram.

As Ariana Grande prepares to play the final few dates on her Eternal Sunshine tour, fans still have a few chances left to enjoy her undoubted talent before she takes a step back from public life.

Her current show has received rave reviews, and one of the most talked about moments comes when Grande stands alone on her B-stage and asks the audience for quiet as she begins a performance of the title track of her 2024 album, Eternal Sunshine, by live looping her vocals.

Given the scale of the venues she’s playing, it seems like an audacious move, but as longtime Grande watchers will know, she’s been a fan of looping hardware since the start of her career.

In fact, we have her own YouTube channel to prove it: take this clip from 2007 that features a 14-year-old Grande using what appears to be a Boss RC device of some sort to create a live cover of India Arie’s There’s Hope.

Grande was at it again a few years later, in 2013, when she gave us this live looped version of Imogen Heap’s Just For Now using what looks like a Boss RC-50, another guitarist-centric product.

“I know I'm not supposed to use these foot pedals like this but it works,” she wrote, acknowledging that she was using her hands rather than her feet to press them.

Grande did get a tabletop Boss looper eventually, though – the RC-505 MkII – and used it to great effect in the intro of a live version of 2020 single Positions, which she performed for Vevo in 2021. According to Vevo’s Ed Walker, who was interviewed by Business Insider at the time, Grande told the producers of the video that she hadn’t used a looper for some years, but the RC-505 had seemingly reignited her love affair with its concept.

“She got one in the studio and she just used it and then she was like, ‘Right, we're starting the song with this,’” recalled Walker. “It took her back to being in her bedroom.”

When Grande appeared with what looks like an RC-505 on the Eternal Sunshine tour, then, it was far from a surprise.

At the time of writing, only seven performances remain – all at London’s O2 – after which we may not see the star on stage again for quite some time.

There were embarrassed looks and much apologising backstage at a Matchbox Twenty gig on Sunday night after frontman Rob Thomas accidentally clobbered one of his bandmates.

The incident happened at the Illinois State Fair on Sunday night. Thomas was - as he does - swinging his mic stand around when he let go, and it hit his colleague Paul Doucette in the head. Footage from the concert shows the multi-instrumentalist, who was playing guitar at the time, having to leave the stage to seek assistance.

Needless to say, Thomas was mortified, telling the crowd: “Every night I’m over here, and I’m throwing this Goddamn thing around. It nailed him. It nailed him hard. My best friend in the world, and I think I almost killed him, and I feel really bad about this.”

“By the way, it felt like a really good idea right up until now,” he added, “I feel like an ass.”

After a short interlude, Doucette returned to the stage clutching what looked like a glass of wine, and jokingly said: “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you about swinging that f***ing thing. I knew it was only a matter of time. It’s been 30 years. Now, admittedly I’ve been in the back [meaning on the drums] for the first half of that and maybe I’ve gotta go back there because obviously it’s safer.”

Thomas then promised, “I think I know one thing I’m gonna stop doing.” Footage taken from later on in the gig shows the singer apologising once more to Doucette, saying: “I’m so sorry. I’m gonna keep apologising to you, like, all month.”

Doucette was clearly unhappy at the incident. Later on he posted a video to Instagram that shows him on the band’s tour bus with people examining his ear, using tweezers and the flashlight from a phone.

Doucette can be heard saying: “So here’s what’s happening right now, Rob took me the f*** out with his swinging the f***ing mic stand during that show, and I have bits of my in-ears - which he f***n’ smashed - in my ear,” Doucette said as someone removed a fragment from his ear. “Oh, I f***ing feel that. That is not fun. That is not fun. Please don’t move the bus.”

After the broken in ear piece was removed, Doucette shouted to the camera, “F***in’ Rob!”

We’ve heard about the preparation that new drummer Anika Nilles had to put in ahead of Rush’s 50 Something tour, but what about the other two? Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have both had to get match fit after a decade’s absence from the live stage.

In a fascinating Rolling Stone feature, Lee has been talking about the vocal prep he’s had to put in. The bassist’s high-pitched voice is one of the band’s signature sounds and to access its full range at the age of 72, was a task that took a lot of work, hours of practice and, for the first time in his life, singing lessons.

His tutor was a fellow called Mitch Seekins who’s worked as a vocal coach for over 30 years and was also a Rush fan. Initially Seekins could see Lee was a long way from match fitness. “ It was shocking,” he says of the frontman’s voice before they started working together. “I mean, it was horribly out of shape. The muscles weren’t responding in the top end anymore.”

“I could hear that it was there, he just couldn’t do it yet. He wasn’t sure if he was ever gonna be able to do what he did when he was much younger… But there was no degradation at all, even due to age.”

Part of Seekins task was convincing Lee he could actually get there. “The hardest part of the repair part is the psychological end of the thing. Because it is subconscious, and if you’ve convinced yourself that you can’t do something, well, guess what? You can’t.”

Lee stuck to his task. “ It’s no different than going to the gym and getting strong,” he suggests.  ”You have to get this muscle strong, and that’s what I’ve worked on - and to take a more forensic look at how a voice makes a sound, and apply it.”

Gradually though, his confidence came back and colleagues began to notice. Dave Hislip who has directed the tour’s opening film remembers: “ We were just looking at each other like, ‘Holy crap,' Like, he has turned back time.”

Astonishingly, Lee has managed it and the band have even incorporated songs like the title track to Farewell To Kings, which push both Lee and Lifeson to the limit. ”You kick off the verse, and I have to sing in this fucking stratosphere,” says Lee. “There’s a lot of insecurity that comes with bringing back a song from that long ago… When you’re at this age, people expect you to be a lesser version of yourself, and that’s just not acceptable to me.”

Rod Stewart has had to cancel the remainder of his current US tour after having what has been described as “routine” heart surgery.

The 81-year-old singer has had a coronary stent procedure, in which a small wire tube is inserted into the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart, if they have become narrowed or blocked.

The operation is said to have been successful, but on the advice of doctors, Rod is having to take four weeks to recuperate and regain full fitness. This means that dates this week in Des Moines and Kansas City have been shelved, along with a six-date Las Vegas residency.

Writing on Instagram, he said: "I'm already feeling better and very much on the mend. I want to thank the doctors, nurses and everyone who has taken such wonderful care of me.”

"I am deeply disappointed to miss these shows and sorry to let my fans down, but I look forward to getting back on stage and having a good time with you all again soon."

The singer’s US tour hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride. Back in June, he cancelled a show in San Diego, allegedly due to a throat infection. The following day he rather unwisely posted a pic of himself looking cheery and, apparently, in fine fettle on a plane bound for Boston to watch the Scotland v Haiti World Cup game.

Later in that month at a show in West Valley City, Utah, Rod required medical intervention mid-show. Looking out of breath and having to prop himself up, he was seen on some fan footage requiring oxygen between songs and admitted to the audience: “I nearly f***ing fainted there. Would you mind if I sit down for this one?”

All things being equal though, this isn’t the end of the road for ex-Faces singer. He has talked about doing “one more” UK tour in 2027, although no dates have been confirmed as yet and he already has two shows lined up at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado in September next year.

Punk rock shows can be raucous. Stage diving, crowd surfing and the like are all par for the course. But being injured by a flying instrument is, thankfully, less common.

However, one guitarist, Yoyoyoshie, who plays with Japanese punkers Otoboke Beaver, has gained quite a reputation for chucking her instrument into the crowd. It seems that her signature move hadn’t ever been a problem. Until the gig when it was.

Back in April, Otoboke Beaver played a show at Osaka’s Umeda Club Quattro, Yoyoyoshie threw her guitar into the crowd, and this time it did injure a punter. In fact, they ended up having to go to hospital and receive seven stitches in their forehead.

Belatedly, Otoboke Beaver have issued a statement apologising for the incident and apologising for taking four months to acknowledge it, a delay which is not really adequately explained. “To the person who was injured in the accident, we accept the incident seriously and deeply apologise,” they begin.

“After the incident, we and the staff were not prompt in cooperating and establishing a post-fact response, resulting in a delay in direct apology and publication. I’ve reflected deeply on the overwhelming burden and heartache I have caused this person due to the inadequate response.”

“We deeply apologise to everyone who came to the venue on the day and all involved for the disruption caused in the venue and the overwhelming inconvenience and concerns.”

“Our members and crew are taking this situation extremely seriously. In future performances, we will try our best to ensure it never happens again,” they promise. “Once again, I sincerely apologise for the overwhelming concern and inconvenience caused. I am very sorry.”

Lesson learned, you’d hope. Flying guitars hurt people and fans ending up in hospital isn’t a good look for any band...