Music – Page 144 – 105.7 WDNY

Weezer going gold with new self-titled album

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Weezer is back with a new album. The “Buddy Holly” rockers are set to release a new self-titled record on Aug. 21.

This of course, isn’t the first time they’ve released a self-titled record. In fact, Weezer has released six others, which have gone on to be referred to by the color of their album covers, including blue, green, red, white, teal, and black. The new album cover is gold.

According to the press release, the album, produced by Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume, saw the band returning to the way they started making albums, “in a rehearsal space, playing together, writing together, figuring out what they wanted to do next, and what the shape of that next project looked like.”

The album is described as “a tightly-wound, ready-to-spring record,” with Blume noting he wanted to make “the most violent Weezer album ever.”

Weezer is previewing the album with the release of the track “We Might as Well Be Strangers,” featuring Wednesday. It is available now via digital outlets.

Weezer is available for preorder now. Here is the track list:

“Say Yes”
“Shine Again”
“Don’t Make It Weird”
“We Might as Well Be Strangers” ft. Wednesday
“C.E.O.”
“Hoops”
“Nowhere”
“The Show Must Go On”
“Up in the Clouds”
“The LA Sound”

Taylor Swift praises Paul McCartney’s ‘inspiring’ new album

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Taylor Swift has met Paul McCartney several times, and she attended his concert in LA in March. Now, she’s promoting his new album on her Instagram Story.

Sharing one of Paul’s posts about his new album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, Taylor wrote, “Never not inspired by this eternally exceptional artist.”

During an interview last month with BBC Radio 2, McCartney was asked how he perceives Taylor’s global fame and if he’d give her any advice on dealing with it.

“You do see the parallel, y’know, like the fame and the amount of fame and the worldwide fame that Taylor Swift has and that [The Beatles] had,” he replied. “But I don’t think she needs any advice, [to] tell you the truth!”

But in a way, Paul may have inspired Taylor’s Eras Tour. When the two sat down for Rolling Stone‘s Musicians on Musicians series in 2020, she told him that she’d gone to see him around 2010 or 2011.

“The thing I took away from the show most was that it was the most selfless set list I had ever seen. It was completely geared toward what it would thrill us to hear,” she told him. “It had new stuff, but it had every hit we wanted to hear … [a]nd I just remembered thinking, ‘I’ve got to remember that,’ that you do that set list for your fans.”

She continued, “I think that learning that lesson from you taught me at a really important stage in my career that if people want to hear ‘Love Story’ and ‘Shake It Off,’ and I’ve played them 300 million times, play them the 300-millionth-and-first time.”

Riley Green, Luke Bryan & Jason Aldean help open JSU’s Randy Owen Center

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

The Randy Owen Center for the Performing Arts is now open on the campus of Alabama’s Jacksonville State University after a night that included some of the biggest artists in country music.

Named in honor of the JSU graduate who became a Country Music Hall of Famer as the lead singer of Alabama, the event featured a top-secret superstar lineup for the facility’s official opening May 27.

Former JSU quarterback Riley Green performed, as well as Jamey Johnson, who attended JSU in the ’90s.

“My wishes, and my hopes, and my dreams are that someday some kid will come through here, like me, and when they leave here, they have a dream,” Randy reflected. “Because if I can make it, anybody can. I’ve been so blessed to be here, and this is one day that I’ll never forget.”

Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Teddy Gentry, Pam Tillis, Mark Wills, The Oak Ridge Boys, Drake White and more also took the stage.

ICYMI: Megan Thee Stallion, Big Freedia and more

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Megan Thee Stallion is about through with playing the role of wifey in a relationships. In a teaser of her new song, she raps, “All that wifey s*** is dead/ Put that s*** to bed/ l’ma make him beg.” This song follows her breakup with NBA baller Klay Thompson.

Big Freedia is premiering another single and video as part the joint album with SOPHIE. “It’s about to GO DOWN my next single with SOPHIE drops THIS FRIDAY! Pre-save now, link in bio. sound on for first listen,” Freedia wrote on Instagram.

Some consider themselves the greatest of all time, but Rick Ross has another way to describe himself. “I’m the BOAT,” he said Tuesday on his Instagram Story. “Biggest of all time, baby. The BOAT.”

Michael Stipe & Andrew Watt perform ‘I Played the Fool’ on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and producer Andrew Watt were the musical guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday night, where they performed “I Played the Fool,” the theme song to Steve Carell’s HBO series The Rooster.

The pair was joined by some A-list friends for the performance, with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith behind the drum kit, and former Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer on piano. Klinghoffer appeared on the original recording of the song, while blink-182’s Travis Barker played drums on it.

Stipe and Watt released “I Played the Fool” in March to coincide with The Rooster premiere.

Stipe revealed during an April appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that his long-in-the-works debut solo album is expected out later this year. There’s no word on whether “I Played the Fool” will be on it.

In other R.E.M. news, Peter Buck’s band Drink the Sea, which also features Screaming Trees/Mad Season drummer Barrett Martin, has announced a new set of U.S. dates that begin Aug. 30 in Vashon Island, Washington, and wrap Sept. 24 in Kirkland, Washington. The tour will be in support of their new album, which is due out Oct. 2.

‘Good Grief’! Sara Bareilles announces new album and tour

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Sara Bareilles: Good Grief, a documentary about Sara’s first album in nearly seven years, has its premiere at New York’s Tribeca Festival on Thursday night, and now she’s announced details about the album that’s the focus of the doc.

Also called Good Grief, the album arrives Aug. 28 and is available for preorder and presave now. Sara will donate 100% of the proceeds of the album sales from her website to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The album is Sara’s first since 2019’s Amidst the Chaos, and she says of the project, “This whole collection of songs felt like transmissions rather than a deliberate attempt to make sense of the world. My deepest hope is that Good Grief provides some kind of comfort or catharsis.”

The first single, “Home,” was inspired by a conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper on Cooper’s podcast. Sara writes on Instagram, “Hearing their stories of loss, I started feeling more courageous to tell mine.”

“For me, this encapsulates the message of this record – sharing the thing that’s the most true, and through that building threads of connection between you and the people around you. It’s why we’re all here.”

Sara’s Good Grief tour will star Sept. 9 in Boston and is scheduled to run through Oct. 19 in Seattle. Presales start June 8: You can sign up for the artist presale at 12 p.m. local time; various other presales start at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public June 10 at 10 a.m. local time.

One dollar of every ticket purchased will go to the The Jed Foundation, which works to prevent suicide among teens and young adults.

Maren Morris gives her ‘HERO’ a ‘Second Wind’

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Maren Morris’ debut album came out on June 3, 2016, and to mark a decade of music, the “My Church” hitmaker is expanding the collection.

“HERO is officially 10!” she shared on Instagram. “to celebrate, i wanted to share a few pieces from this era that never made it out into the world. two new songs from the vault and four never-before-heard demos.”

In addition to the record’s original 11 tracks, HERO: A Second Wind includes the new songs “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Hard Liquor and Soft Rock,” as well as the demos for “Company You Keep,” “I Wish I Was” and “Drunk Girls Don’t Cry” plus “Sugar,” which is out now.

Available as a double vinyl set and CD, the revamped collection comes to streaming June 26, complete with the previously-released bonus songs “Bummin’ Cigarettes,” “Company You Keep” and “Space.”

Ahead of Tony Awards, Pink shares her Broadway dreams

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Pink has never been in a Broadway show, but the star, who’s hosting the Tony Awards Sunday night on CBS, has Broadway dreams.

Speaking to Billboard, Pink says she’s been approached “many times” about turning her catalog into a Broadway musical but notes, “I don’t know if I have an opinion just yet.” She did, however, enjoy the musical & Juliet, which is based around songs written by Max Martin, including her hit “Perfect.”

“I think & Juliet was the coolest. It’s a really good show, I really liked it, and I was skeptical, even though I love Max Martin. I think anything is possible if it’s done right,” she tells Billboard. She adds she has also been asked to play Shakespeare in the show.

“I thought that was hilarious and awesome and would certainly be the role for me. But I’m not doing anything right now,” she says, before sharing she’d be interested in writing an original musical.

Pink and her family recently moved to New York to support her daughter, Willow Sage Hart, 15, in her dreams of being a Broadway star. Pink tells E!, “She’s doing the damn thing. She’s in cabarets for charity, she’s in workshops, she just did Carrie the musical — which was dark. She’s killing it. It’s fun to watch.”

On Sunday, Pink says she’ll be “living out my childhood dreams” by performing a Chicago medley on the Tonys. “It’s gonna be amazing,” she tells Billboard.

As for new music, Pink says, “I’ve been writing some songs just because my heart needs it. But no, I don’t have any plans right now. I’m just mom-ing and seeing where the day takes us.”

Dylan, Springsteen, Joel make ‘New York Times’ readers’ choice list of the greatest living American songwriters

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

The New York Times released a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters back in April, based on feedback from more than 250 music insiders and six Times critics. The list drew criticism from music fans, so the paper has now decided to give them their say.

The Times has now released a readers’ choice list of the 100 greatest American songwriters, noting, “As soon as we decided to make a list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters, we could guess how readers would respond to the results: with a combination of enthusiasm and outrage, quickly letting us know which of their favorites we had unconscionably forgotten.”

“We didn’t want all that passion to go undocumented. So we invited readers to assemble their own list — with a formal poll,” they added.

The new list is the result of over 25,000 ballots cast, resulting in “nearly 12,000 distinct choices,” which were narrowed down to 100 artists.

While the original list didn’t rank the songwriters, the reader’s choice list does. Bob Dylan lands at #1, followed by Paul Simon at #2, Bruce Springsteen at #3 and Carole King at #4. Billy Joel, who did not make the original list, ranks at #5.

Rounding out the top 10 are Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, James Taylor, who also didn’t make the original list, and Willie Nelson.

Other artists who didn’t make the original cut but landed on the readers’ choice list include: Jackson Browne, David Byrne, Stevie Nicks, Donald Fagen, Don Henley, John Fogerty, R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, Jack White, Pearl Jam, Stephen Stills, Patti Smith, Beck, Lana Del Rey, Noah Kahan, John Mellencamp, Chrissie Hynde, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, The National and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl.

Jordan Davis may have had to ‘Learn the Hard Way,’ but his efforts paid off

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

When Jordan Davis made his third album, Learn the Hard Way, his intention was clear: to color outside the lines a bit.

As his latest hit, “Turn This Truck Around,” becomes his 10th career #1, he can rest assured his efforts paid off.

“I think the overall inspiration for this album really was to do something different, to do something that me and [producer] Paul [DiGiovanni] haven’t done, to kind of show influences instead of just talk about them,” Jordan says. “And I think we did that with a few different songs in this: ‘Son of a Gun,’ ‘Louisiana Stick,’ ‘Turn This Truck Around.'”

“I feel like it’s stuff that we haven’t done before,” he continues. “It’s a different sound for us, so that was really what we wanted to do, and I think we accomplished it.”

Learn the Hard Way marks its first birthday on Aug. 15, and featured his previous hits “I Ain’t Sayin'” and “Bar None.”

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