Scotty McCreery and Darius Rucker finally got the chance to sing “Bottle Rockets” together Friday night at the Country 2 Country festival.
“Unreal night in London!” Scotty wrote on Instagram, along with some photos. “Singing ‘Bottle Rockets’ with D for the first time at The O2 during C2C is definitely one for the memory book. Thanks for coming out, Darius!!”
“Bottle Rockets” hit #1 in September for Scotty and Hootie & the Blowfish. It features a rerecording of the band’s 1995 hit, “Hold My Hand.”
The two also performed “Wagon Wheel,” a smash for Darius in 2013.
Scotty played Belfast, Glasgow, and Berlin as part of C2C. On Friday, he’ll play the Grand Ole Opry at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold performs at Krianke on June 18, 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Mario Skraban/Redferns) Good Charlotte on ‘GMA3’ on August 8, 2025. (ABC/Paula Lobo)
Avenged Sevenfold and Good Charlotte have added a show in Los Angeles to their upcoming joint summer tour.
The show takes place Aug. 30 at LA’s BMO Stadium and will also feature A Day to Remember on the bill.
Members of A7X and Good Charlotte’s respective fan clubs will have access to request tickets starting Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT. An artist email list presale takes place Thursday at 10 a.m. PT, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. PT.
Michael Stipe attends Focus Features’ “The Phoenician Scheme” New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 28, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
In a 2023 New York Times article, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe opened up about his long-in-the-works solo album. Well, fans are still waiting on that album, and now Stipe’s giving them another update on the project.
In an interview with the U.K. Times, Stipe says the album has “taken longer than I wanted,” noting, “Covid didn’t help, but I’m finishing it.”
R.E.M. broke up in 2011, and Stipe tells the paper that after that he “just needed a break,” adding, “I took five years but I got pulled back into music.”
“It’s been a struggle. That’s the main thing,” he says of the album. “I want it to be great, but I’ve got the pressure of having been in R.E.M. and it’s a high bar, because I want this to be as good as that, and that’s near impossible.”
“So it’s f****** exciting but also terrifying, and I’m doing the music for the first time too, and I think I’m good at it but not great,” he says of the album. “But I love my voice. I don’t like my speaking voice but I love my singing voice, and I so want to immerse myself back into offering music to the world.”
It sounds like Stipe has plenty of work to do, with the article noting he still has lyrics to complete on eight songs before the album’s done, although he’s hoping to have it out before the end of the year.
As for the title, Stipe says he hasn’t settled on one yet, noting, “But I did think about Meet THE Michael Stipe.”
Brian May and Benson Boone pose at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, April 11, 2025 in Indio, California. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella)
Since last year, Benson Boone has made it sort of a habit to perform with legendary Queen guitarist Brian May, so it was no surprise that Brian showed up at Benson’s concert March 15 in Birmingham, England. Brian has now documented the gig on Instagram, and explained why it was a very special one.
“Benson himself is not only an awesome performer but one of the most genuine, thoughtful and generous people I’ve ever met,” Brian wrote on Instagram. He added, “I’m not sure how many people realise this, but this show was originally planned to happen about three months ago, and Benson was forced to cancel at the last minute, because of strain to his voice. He was mortified, and promised to come back as soon as he could to make it up to the Birmingham fans.”
“Not only did he fulfil that promise tonight, but he and the whole band and crew came back to the UK just to play this ONE show. It’s hard to imagine how much trouble and expense had to be put into making that happen,” Brian continued, noting, “I don’t know many performers who would take that hit to fulfil a promise. That, to me, signifies decency and dedication. I was proud to be the extra gift.”
During the show, Brian played guitar while Benson sang the Queen classics “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions,” as well as his signature song “Beautiful Things.”
In another post, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer thanked the “good people of Birmingham” for giving “Mr. Boone the appreciation he so richly deserves.” He went on to write, “Epic !!! One of the best gigs I’ve ever been involved in.”
Noah Kahan has the announced the Netflix premiere date for his upcoming documentary, Out of Body.
The film will debut on the streamer April 13. It follows Kahan during his tour in support of his breakout album, 2022’s Stick Season.
Along with the news, Kahan has shared a video on Instagram detailing what you can expect from the doc, which premieres at the South by Southwest festival on Monday.
“If you’ve listened to my music for awhile, I do talk about my family and I talk a lot about my self-image, kind of get into body dysmorphia and some of the mental health struggles I’ve had,” Kahan says in the clip. “But it’s very much front-and-center during the documentary.”
“It’ll be the first time I’ve really talked about it in a way that wasn’t through music, so I’m obviously a little nervous about baring my soul in that way,” he continues. “It’s very vulnerable, and it’s hard for me to watch, but also something I think is really important to share.’
Kahan’s follow-up to Stick Season, The Great Divide, drops April 24. The title track and the song “Porch Light” are out now.
“Animal I Have Become” single artwork. (Zomba Recording)
Three Days Grace’s “Animal I Have Become” has become the band’s latest entry into the Spotify Billions Club.
The 2006 single marks the second 3DG song to reach the 1 billion stream milestone, following “I Hate Everything About You.” According to a press release, Three Days Grace is now the only Canadian band to have 1 billion streams on Spotify with two different songs.
“On the back of a bus in Germany, what started as a dissonant riff and a nod to the Beatles became ‘Animal I Have Become,'” Three Days Grace says in a statement. “What began as a raw idea on the road for a band from a small town like Norwood grew into a song that connected with millions around the world. Seeing it now join the billions club — and becoming the only Canadian band with two songs there — is pretty incredible.”
Three Days Grace is currently on tour in support of their latest album, 2025’s Alienation. It’s the band’s first record with their revamped two-vocalist lineup featuring returning frontman Adam Gontier and longtime singer Matt Walst.
Don Toliver performs at Kozel Carroponte of Sesto San Giovanni on June 13, 2025, in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images)
It’s been less than two months since Don Toliver released his latest album, Octane, and he’s already cooking up some new music. During a conversation with Billboard at South by Southwest, he revealed that he’s working on his next album.
Don said his creative juices have been on a high due to all that’s going on his life, hence the reason he’s been in the studio.
“I just feel like right now if I don’t put out anything, I just need to capture this moment because it’s a lot going on in my life,” he said. “Both when I was making this album and when it came out… it’s just fueling me to want to be as creative as I can possibly be.”
He adds that his desire to grow and evolve as an artist remains, though he has to balance that with quality time with his loved ones.
“Even with the balance of just trying to make as much time as I can for my family, I still want to make sure that I fulfill my duties as an artist and as a creator,” Don said. “As somebody who really tries to push things forward… to continue to create.”
“Famous Friends” will soon be more than Chris Young’s #1 hit from 2021 — it’ll also be the name of his new Nashville sports bar.
Famous Friends won’t be located on Lower Broadway near most of the other country stars’ bars, however. It’ll call Demonbreun St. in midtown Nashville home.
“I’m very excited for Famous Friends to be open in Nashville!” Chris tells Billboard. “I have been working on this as a passion project for a while now. A sports bar that will be Nashville famous for a reason. Something completely different where you can bring all your friends for a great time!”
Look for more details about Famous Friends’ opening date to be announced soon.
‘I Built You a Tower’ album artwork. (ANTI- Records)
Death Cab for Cutie has announced a new album called I Built You a Tower.
The 11th studio effort from the “I Will Follow You into the Dark” outfit is due out June 5. It’s the follow-up to 2022’s Asphalt Meadows.
The first single is called “Riptides,” and is out now alongside a video, which you can watch streaming on YouTube.
“‘Riptides’ is about the challenge of dealing with personal struggles as the world around us experiences tragedy and loss on an unfathomable scale,” says frontman Ben Gibbard. “And how when these two elements intertwine themselves in our psyches, it feels utterly paralyzing.”
Death Cab for Cutie will launch a U.S. tour in July.
Here’s the I Built You a Tower track list:
“Full of Stars” “Punching the Flowers” “Pep Talk” “I Built You a Tower (A)” “Envy the Birds” “Stone Over Water” “How Heavenly a State” “Trap Door” “Riptides” “The Flavor of Metal” “I Built You a Tower (B)”
Elton John attends during Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 34th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on March 15, 2026 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation)
Elton John’s annual Oscar viewing party, a fundraiser for his AIDS Foundation, took in $10.6 million Sunday night in West Hollywood.
The party featured Grammy-winning singer Lola Young as the musical entertainment, and included a cocktail reception, dinner and an auction where guests bid on an Elton John pinball machine, dinner with Elton and his husband David Furnish, jewelry, art photography, Rolex watches and a painting that was created live while Elton played a solo piano version of “Tiny Dancer.”
Guests at the event included Olympic star Alysa Liu, Dua Lipa and her fiancé Callum Turner, Fran Drescher, JC Chasez of *NSYNC, Brandi Carlile, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Adam Lambert, Melissa McCarthy, Patricia Arquette, Tiffany Haddish, Yungblud, Donatella Versace, Bernie Taupin, Damiano David and his fiancée Dove Cameron, Keke Palmer and many more.
Over the years, Elton’s viewing party has raised over $125 million for the Foundation’s efforts to end AIDS. On Sunday night, Elton thanked his guests, adding, “We have a lot of work to do, still, but we’re gonna fight on. You know, I said I will never rest until this is finished. Well, I’m not gonna rest until it’s finished, and you’ve been a huge part of that.”
