U2 releases surprise EP, ‘U2 – Days of Ash’

U2 releases surprise EP, ‘U2 – Days of Ash’
U2 releases surprise EP, ‘U2 – Days of Ash’
Cover of U2 EP ‘U2-Days of Ash’ (Interscope Records)

U2 has surprised fans with some new music.

The Irish rockers just released a new six-track EP, U2 – Days of Ash. It features five new songs and a poem, with a guest appearance by Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian musician-turned-soldier Taras Topolia.

The EP is described in a press release as “an immediate response to current events and inspired by the many extraordinary and courageous people fighting on the frontlines of freedom.” It comes ahead of a new U2 record, expected in late 2026.

“It’s been a thrill having the four of us back together in the studio over the last year … the songs on Days of Ash are very different in mood and theme to the ones we’re going to put on our album later in the year,” Bono said in a statement. “These EP tracks couldn’t wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation.”

“I believe these new songs stand up to our best work,” Larry Mullen Jr. added, with Adam Clayton offering, “I’m excited about these new songs, it feels like they’re arriving at the right time.”

Songs on the EP include “American Obituary,” written in response to the death of Minneapolis resident Renee Good at the hands of federal agents, and “Yours Eternally,” which features Sheeran and Topolia. The latter song will be accompanied by a documentary, directed by Ukrainian cinematographer and filmmaker Ilya Mikhaylus. It will be released Feb. 24 to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U2 – Days of Ash is available now via digital outlets, with lyric videos for all the songs on YouTube. Here is the track list:
“American Obituary”
“The Tears of Things”
“Song of the Future”
“Wildpeace” – by Yehuda Amichai, read by Adeola, with music by U2 and Jacknife Lee
“One Life At a Time”
“Yours Eternally” (ft. Ed Sheeran & Taras Topolia)

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J. Cole adds dates to The Fall-Off World Tour

J. Cole adds dates to The Fall-Off World Tour
J. Cole adds dates to The Fall-Off World Tour
Cover art for J. Cole’s ‘The Fall-Off’ (Dreamville Records/Interscope Records)

Demand is high for J. Cole’s The Fall-Off World Tour, so much so that he’s added dates in select cities. 

After more than 1 million people joined the queues for the presales for tickets for the East Coast and Midwest shows, according to his manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, Cole announced second dates in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Toronto, Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, Oakland, Inglewood, Houston and Dallas. Following presales taking place throughout the week, all tickets will go on sale to the general public Friday.

J. Cole’s The Fall-Off World Tour will support his latest album, The Fall-Off. It will kick off its North American leg on July 11 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the run ending with Sept. 23 in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. The European/U.K. leg runs from Oct. 7 to Nov. 12 and will be followed by five dates in Australia. Cole’s final show will then take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, marking his first time in the region in 10 years.

The Fall-Off was released on Feb. 6 and has since topped the Billboard 200, with more than 20 songs from the double disc now on the Billboard Hot 100. J. Cole now has 111 entries, making him the 22nd act to have 100 titles on the chart. Thirteen of them have reached top-10 status.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

J. Cole adds dates to The Fall-Off World Tour

J. Cole adds dates to The Fall-Off World Tour
J. Cole adds dates to The Fall-Off World Tour
Cover art for J. Cole’s ‘The Fall-Off’ (Dreamville Records/Interscope Records)

Demand is high for J. Cole’s The Fall-Off World Tour, so much so that he’s added dates in select cities. 

After more than 1 million people joined the queues for the presales for tickets for the East Coast and Midwest shows, according to his manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, Cole announced second dates in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Toronto, Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, Oakland, Inglewood, Houston and Dallas. Following presales taking place throughout the week, all tickets will go on sale to the general public Friday.

J. Cole’s The Fall-Off World Tour will support his latest album, The Fall-Off. It will kick off its North American leg on July 11 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the run ending with Sept. 23 in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. The European/U.K. leg runs from Oct. 7 to Nov. 12 and will be followed by five dates in Australia. Cole’s final show will then take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, marking his first time in the region in 10 years.

The Fall-Off was released on Feb. 6 and has since topped the Billboard 200, with more than 20 songs from the double disc now on the Billboard Hot 100. J. Cole now has 111 entries, making him the 22nd act to have 100 titles on the chart. Thirteen of them have reached top-10 status.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

St. Vincent to perform at Willie Nelson’s 2026 Luck Reunion festival

St. Vincent to perform at Willie Nelson’s 2026 Luck Reunion festival
St. Vincent to perform at Willie Nelson’s 2026 Luck Reunion festival
St. Vincent performs onstage during a concert at Somerset House on July 16, 2025 in London, England. (Chiaki Nozu/WireImage)

St. Vincent will be performing at the 2026 edition of Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion festival, taking place on March 19.

The annual event, now in its 14th year, is held on the country icon’s famed Luck ranch in Spicewood, Texas. The 92-year-old Nelson will also perform.

“We’re thrilled to welcome our Luck Family back home to Willie’s backyard for another incredible year,” says Matt Bizer, CEO and founder of Luck Presents. “Fourteen years in, Luck Reunion continues to be about bringing people together in meaningful ways. This year’s lineup beautifully represents that spirit, with legendary artists who’ve been part of our story from the beginning, new voices we’re excited to introduce to our community, and more than a few surprise guests that we can’t wait to reveal.”

For more info, visit LuckPresents.com.

In other St. Vincent news, the “Los Ageless” rocker has announced a show at the Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl alongside the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The performance, taking place Aug. 2, is part of an upcoming series of orchestra-accompanied St. Vincent concerts.

For ticket info, visit HollywoodBowl.com.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

St. Vincent to perform at Willie Nelson’s 2026 Luck Reunion festival

St. Vincent to perform at Willie Nelson’s 2026 Luck Reunion festival
St. Vincent to perform at Willie Nelson’s 2026 Luck Reunion festival
St. Vincent performs onstage during a concert at Somerset House on July 16, 2025 in London, England. (Chiaki Nozu/WireImage)

St. Vincent will be performing at the 2026 edition of Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion festival, taking place on March 19.

The annual event, now in its 14th year, is held on the country icon’s famed Luck ranch in Spicewood, Texas. The 92-year-old Nelson will also perform.

“We’re thrilled to welcome our Luck Family back home to Willie’s backyard for another incredible year,” says Matt Bizer, CEO and founder of Luck Presents. “Fourteen years in, Luck Reunion continues to be about bringing people together in meaningful ways. This year’s lineup beautifully represents that spirit, with legendary artists who’ve been part of our story from the beginning, new voices we’re excited to introduce to our community, and more than a few surprise guests that we can’t wait to reveal.”

For more info, visit LuckPresents.com.

In other St. Vincent news, the “Los Ageless” rocker has announced a show at the Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl alongside the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The performance, taking place Aug. 2, is part of an upcoming series of orchestra-accompanied St. Vincent concerts.

For ticket info, visit HollywoodBowl.com.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Joan Jett, Cheap Trick & more to play Kentucky’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival

Joan Jett, Cheap Trick & more to play Kentucky’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival
Joan Jett, Cheap Trick & more to play Kentucky’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival
Admat for 2026 Bourbon & Beyond (Courtesy of Danny Wimmer Presents)

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Cheap Trick and Squeeze are among the artists set to play the 2026 Bourbon and Beyond Festival.

The festival, which will feature over 100 artists on five stages, will be held Sept. 24-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

Festival headliners include Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Mumford & Sons, Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, The Red Clay Strays, Dave Matthews Band and Hootie & the Blowfish.

Other artists on the bill include Counting Crows, 4 Non Blondes, Adam Ant, Violent Femmes, Better Than Ezra, Joan Osbourne, The Fray and Lisa Loeb.

Tickets for the four-day festival are on sale now. More info, including the complete lineup, can be found at BourbonandBeyond.com.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, Feb. 18, 1977: KISS plays their first-ever concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden

On This Day, Feb. 18, 1977: KISS plays their first-ever concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden
On This Day, Feb. 18, 1977: KISS plays their first-ever concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden

On This Day, Feb 18, 1977…

New York natives KISS headlined Madison Square Garden for the very first time.

The show was part of their Rock and Roll Over tour and featured opening act Sammy Hagar, who was also making his Madison Square Garden debut.

According to setlist.fm, the band’s set included KISS favorites like “Detroit Rock City,” “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Beth” and “Black Diamond.” During the show, Paul Stanley was injured when he was hit by a beer bottle thrown by somebody in the audience.

KISS went on to headline MSG multiple times over the years.

They wrapped their last-ever tour, dubbed the End of the Road World Tour, at the historic venue with two shows that took place Dec. 1 and 2, 2023.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Olympic skier Breezy Johnson says Taylor Swift is ‘of course’ invited to her wedding

Olympic skier Breezy Johnson says Taylor Swift is ‘of course’ invited to her wedding
Olympic skier Breezy Johnson says Taylor Swift is ‘of course’ invited to her wedding
Gold medalist Breezy Johnson of Team United States celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Feb. 8, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Olympic skier Breezy Johnson says Taylor Swift is “welcome” to attend her wedding after she responded to her engagement post.

On Feb. 11, Breezy’s boyfriend Connor Watkins proposed to her at the finish line of the super giant slalom race, using a wooden ring box engraved with these lyrics from Taylor’s song “The Alchemy”: “Who are we to fight the alchemy?”

When Breezy posted the moment on Instagram, Taylor commented with another lyric from the song — “Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me” — and added, “CONGRATULATIONS!!!”

Johnson told People that the lyrics Taylor used to comment are some of her other favorite lyrics from “The Alchemy,” which appears on The Tortured Poets Department and is widely assumed to be about Taylor’s fiancé, Travis Kelce.

“The Taylor Swift comment was not something that I ever expected,” Breezy added. “It was really cool seeing her comments, seeing her just love love,” Breezy said People. 

When asked whether she’s going to invite Taylor to her nuptials, Breezy laughed, “I mean, listen, Taylor can probably go to any wedding in the U.S. and everybody would welcome her with open arms. She is of course welcome to join. I do not expect her to have any time to do that, but…”

By the way, Breezy’s proposal wasn’t a surprise. She’d been telling Connor that she loved the “idea of getting engaged at the Olympics” for more than a year. “Everything kind of went to plan … It was perfect,” she told People.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paul McCartney and Wings exhibit to open at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Paul McCartney and Wings exhibit to open at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Paul McCartney and Wings exhibit to open at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Artwork for Paul McCartney and Wings Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit (Courtesy of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

Paul McCartney and Wings will be the subject of a new exhibit at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

The exhibit, opening May 15, is described in a press release as “the first major museum exhibit” to explore McCartney’s post-Beatles band, which released its self-titled debut in 1970 and broke up in 1981.

Simply titled Paul McCartney and Wings, the exhibit will feature the largest collection of artifacts from McCartney’s personal archives, including instruments played during recording sessions and concert performances, handwritten lyrics, clothing worn by the band, tour memorabilia and previously unseen photography, plus archival video and audio.

In addition to the exhibit, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is set to host an early screening of the new Paul McCartney and Wings documentary, Man on the Run, on Feb. 21. The documentary, directed by award-winning director Morgan Neville, will hit theaters for one night only on Feb. 19 and debut on Prime Video Feb. 27.

More info on the exhibit and screening can be found at RockHall.com.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

‘Time’s Ticking’ & Justin Moore thinks all his success is ‘just ridiculous’

‘Time’s Ticking’ & Justin Moore thinks all his success is ‘just ridiculous’
‘Time’s Ticking’ & Justin Moore thinks all his success is ‘just ridiculous’
Justin Moore’s “Time’s Ticking” (Blue Highway Records)

As Justin Moore’s latest hit, “Time’s Ticking,” rises into the top 10, he’s reflecting on how far he’s come. 

“It’s pretty amazing, man,” the Arkansas native says. “When I moved to Nashville, #1 was never in the equation. [My goal] was just, have a couple of hits and be able to play music and make some money. And to be where we are — you know, to have 20-plus top-10 records and 13 number ones is just ridiculous.”

“[The] point being, I’m very, very humbled with the career that we’ve had, and it’s just ridiculous, to be honest with you,” he adds. “I don’t even know what to say about it, but ‘thank you,’ you know?”

Justin found his first chart success with 2008’s “Back That Thing Up,” though it only made it to #38. The subsequent “Small Town USA,” however, became his first #1. 

His most recent chart-topper, “This Is My Dirt,” hit the pinnacle in October 2024. 

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