Roger Waters performs onstage at Crypto.com Arena on September 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Roger Waters has released a new interpretation of Pink Floyd’s iconic tune “Comfortably Numb.”
“Comfortably Numb Re-imagined” has Waters collaborating with Palestinian artist Mona Miari, and features new verses in both English and Arabic.
According to the description posted with the song’s video, “[T]he work reframes the song through themes of displacement, memory, loss, and the enduring pursuit of justice and human dignity. … [T]his audio-visual piece transcends borders and languages, offering a powerful reflection on resilience, truth, and the shared humanity that binds us all.”
“Comfortably Numb,” written by Waters and David Gilmour, appeared on Pink Floyd’s 11th studio album, 1979’s The Wall. Released as a single in 1980, it has gone on to be one of the band’s most popular tunes.
Amy Lee from Evanescence performs at Marvel Stadium on November 08, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Sam Tabone/Getty Images)
Amy Lee’s voice is being brought to life in a different way than usual.
The Evanescence frontwoman’s vocals have been turned into a score for an upcoming short film called The Seventh Turn.
According to a press release, composer Michael Wandmacher “sculpted a complete sonic metamorphosis of Lee’s voice by transforming her vocal DNA into a ‘biological synthesizer’ generating bells, keys, percussion, strings, FX, and complex atmospheres, proving that a single human voice can generate an entire cinematic world.”
The release adds the project was completed without “physical instruments, synthesizers, samplers, and AI.”
“I had an unusual idea, if it is possible to create an entire score with only voices—not just the choral, vocal, and FX parts, but the whole score, where the voices substitute for the instruments, yet it doesn’t sound like that,” Wandmacher says in a statement.
“It’s very inspiring when there is this wild concept, and it gives you a bit of a roadmap,” Lee adds. “I thought, ‘Here are our parameters of what we’re allowed to do, and what we’re not.’ There are no instruments, no nothing, just only vocals. Even if they are effected or put through things, that’s fine. Every single thing is sourced from a voice. You can imagine how fun that is for a vocalist to hear that assignment and hearing it work so well.”
You can check out a preview of what that will sound like in the teaser for The Seventh Turn. The film will premiere July 1 via the streaming platform Kinema.
Lee is currently on tour with Evanescence in support of their new album, Sanctuary.
Madonna’s new album, Confessions II, exists because she kept on getting blocked from telling her life story.
As she tellsInterview magazine, her planned biopic, for which she spent two years writing the script, fell apart because the studio wouldn’t give her the money she wanted. “I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget,” she says. “They couldn’t get their heads around it.”
As a result, she says, “I was in limbo … and then Netflix reached out to make a series [about my life].”
“That was a whole other long process, because I couldn’t use the script I had with Universal unless I bought it from them for an extortionist’s price, even though I wrote it,” she continues. So she spent “eight or nine months” trying to find a writer, with no success.
“I was like, ‘Good thing I have another job because I need to work, I need to create. I need to do what I was put on this earth to do,'” she tells Interview.
She reached out to Stuart Price, who produced her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, because she felt that “people need to dance.” At the same time, there were several deaths in her family. “So I wrote about a lot of family trauma, and then we started making dance music,” Madonna says.
In the middle of the process she found a writer for the Netflix series, but she felt, “I can’t turn back now.” Plus, her daughter Lourdes Leon wanted to collaborate with her.
“She approached me about writing a song together as a way to heal our relationship,” Madonna says. “It was a really important moment, and it solidified the idea that now is the time to make this record.”
John Cooper of Skillet performs at the Marquee Theatre on September 2, 2019 in Tempe, Arizona. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Skillet is looking to the future and the past with a pair of announcements.
One of the announcements is that a new Skillet song called “Scream” is due out July 10. It will mark the band’s first fresh material to follow their 2024 album, Revolution.
“We went back to Memphis and worked with a producer who knew the band before we’d made our first record,” frontman John Cooper says of the origins of “Scream.” “Life has taken some great turns, but it’s also taken some painful turns. Now we’re here, and we still have more of a story to tell. The music kept getting heavier, and I said, ‘We’ve got to go all-in.'”
The other announcement is that Skillet is embarking on a U.S. tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 2006 album, Comatose.
The Comatose: 20 Years, Still Screaming tour launches Sept. 30 in Schenectady, New York, and wraps up Nov. 10 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
“At every show, someone tells me that [Comatose] helped them through the darkest times of their life,” Cooper says. “That is why we wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Comatose by doing something we have never done—commemorating the album by dedicating a large portion of the show to these songs that are so meaningful to the band and so many others.”
“Some of them we have played a thousand times. Others we have never played,” he continues. “We are excited to perform them alongside our catalog on this once in a lifetime tour.”
Presales begin Tuesday, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday at 1 p.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Skillet.com.
Daisy Chain Fields lineup poster. (Courtesy of Live Nation)
Stevie Nicks is set to perform at a new festival put on by pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
The festival, Daisy Chain Fields, will be held Aug. 29 in Irvine, California, and will feature a lineup made up entirely of women and female-fronted bands. Rodrigo is set to perform, along with Garbage, The Breeders, Bikini Kill, Chappell Roan and more.
Nicks, Sarah McLachlan — who created the female-focused festival Lilith Fair in the ’90s — and Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O are billed as “special guests.”
“Daisy Chain Fields is built on the belief that joy, community, and creativity can inspire meaningful change,” says Rodrigo. “I’m so excited to celebrate this incredible lineup of women, and I’m grateful to all of our partners in helping us make this festival come to life.”
She adds, “By bringing together women in music and organizations helping shape a better future for women and girls, I hope we can build a community that inspires hope and positive change.”
Net proceeds will support nonprofit organizations “dedicated to advancing and advocating for women and girls,” a press release says.
Presales begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit DaisyChainFields.com.
Daisy Chain Fields lineup poster. (Courtesy of Live Nation)
Garbage and The Breeders are among the artists playing Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival, taking place Aug. 29 in Irvine, California.
The bill, which is made up entirely of women and female-fronted bands, also includes Mitski, Not for Radio, Bikini Kill, Chappell Roan, KATSEYE, Doechii and Rodrigo herself, among others.
Additionally, Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O, Fleetwood Mac icon Stevie Nicks and Lilith Fair founder Sarah McLachlan are listed as special guests.
“Daisy Chain Fields is built on the belief that joy, community, and creativity can inspire meaningful change,” Rodrigo says in a statement. “I’m so excited to celebrate this incredible lineup of women, and I’m grateful to all of our partners in helping us make this festival come to life. By bringing together women in music and organizations helping shape a better future for women and girls, I hope we can build a community that inspires hope and positive change.”
Net proceeds will support nonprofit organizations “dedicated to advancing and advocating for women and girls,” a press release says.
Presales begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit DaisyChainFields.com.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields festival (Live Nation)
Sarah McLachlan said in a recent interview that if her groundbreaking Lilith Fair concept were ever to be revived, it would have to be by “someone who’s relevant and coming up in the world.” Enter Olivia Rodrigo.
In the ’90s, Lilith Fair broke ground by featuring largely female acts — something music biz execs at the time said would never work. Olivia, who was featured in the 2025 Lilith Fair documentary Building a Mystery, announced Monday that she’s spearheading Daisy Chain Fields, a new, all-female festival.
The festival, set for Aug. 29 in Irvine, California, will feature Olivia, as well as Chappell Roan, Doechii, Bikini Kill, The Breeders, Garbage, KATSEYE, Mitski, Santigold and more. Special guests include none other than Sarah McLachlan, as well as the legendary Stevie Nicks.
Net proceeds from the festival will benefit nonprofit organizations that advance and advocate for women and girls.
Olivia says in a statement, “Daisy Chain Fields is built on the belief that joy, community, and creativity can inspire meaningful change. I’m so excited to celebrate this incredible lineup of women, and I’m grateful to all of our partners in helping us make this festival come to life.”
“By bringing together women in music and organizations helping shape a better future for women and girls, I hope we can build a community that inspires hope and positive change,” she adds.
Presales start Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT; you can sign up for a presale passcode now at DaisyChainFields.com. Visit the website for more ticket details.
Charlie Benante performs onstage at SoFi Stadium on August 25, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
Anthrax will be without drummer Charlie Benante on the road for a bit.
Benante said in an Instagram post that he’s suffered an injury to his right hand and is on doctor’s orders to take a break from performing to “give it the proper time to heal.” He will be absent from the band through a July 4 date in Spain.
The affected dates will feature drummer Darby Todd in Benante’s place.
“I’m incredibly grateful that Darby Todd will be stepping in behind the kit for these dates and helping keep the shows rolling while I recover,” Benante says. “I’m already focused on getting healthy and look forward to being back on the road soon. Thank you all for the support and understanding.”
Benante is expected to return for a July 7 date in Portugal. Anthrax will then kick off a North American tour with Iron Maiden and Megadeth beginning in September.
Kenny Chesney Live at Sphere Las Vegas (Messina Touring)
Kenny Chesney set his second residency at Sphere Las Vegas in motion on Friday with a special appearance by Eric Church.
The Country Music Hall of Famer delivered a 29-song set for the sold-out crowd of nearly 17,000 people that included “Here and Now,” “Livin’ in Fast Forward,” “Young,” “Beer in Mexico,” “Keg in the Closet,” “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven,” “Guitars, Tiki Bars (& a Whole Lotta Love),” “Come Over,” “Noise,” “All the Pretty Girls,” “Carry On,” “Knowing You” and “Out Last Night.”
Kenny’s second summer run adds both fresh visuals and set changes.
“Sphere lets me take people back home with ‘I Go Back,’ to piers that don’t exist for ‘Til It’s Gone,’ flying through downtown Los Angeles for ‘Settin’ The World on Fire,’ inside a pinball machine with ‘Big Star’ and some of my favorite places in ‘When I See This Bar,’” Kenny explained after the show. “You can take them, give them even more of what the song is.”
Eric surprised the crowd during “When I See This Bar,” going on to do “Drink in My Hand” and “Springsteen.”
Kenny’s 2026 Sphere show wrapped with a three-song encore of “American Kids,” “Anything But Mine” and “Don’t Happen Twice.”
The run resumes Wednesday, with shows continuing through July 11.
