Music

Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson is paying tribute to the band’s original guitarist Mick Abrahams, who passed away Dec. 19 at the age of 82.

In a post on the band’s website, Anderson wrote that it was “with great sadness” that he learned of Abraham’s’ passing, noting Abrahams had “endured worsening ill health for the last 15 years leaving him finally unable to perform or interact socially to any degree.”

“Mick was vitally important to the early Tull formation” Anderson wrote, calling Abrahams “a strong vocalist and experienced, powerful and lyrical guitarist.”

Abrahams was a member of Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968. Regarding their relationship, Anderson wrote that he and Abrahams “had 11 months of mutual benefit and learning experiences before the eventual falling-out – caused primarily by our different preferences as to future musical direction.”

He concluded the message offering condolences to Abrahams’ family and friends, who he noted should “feel justifiably proud of his achievements and musical legacy.”

Abrahams left Jethro Tull after the release of their debut album, This Was. He then formed the band the Blodwyn Pig, which went on to release four albums.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Teddy Swims is celebrating Christmas this year as a first-time dad, and he says his baby son, whose name he hasn’t revealed, is going to make the holiday special for him and his partner, Raiche Wright.

“Oh yeah!” Teddy said when asked if he was excited for baby’s first Christmas. “Y’know, you lose the magic when you’re not a kid or don’t have kids, so I’m excited to have a baby [around].”

“I mean, he’s still too young to really know the magic yet,” Teddy added of the baby, who’s only about 6 months old. “But we’re still gonna roll out the red carpet for that little guy, for sure!” 

Christmas will be a welcome break for Teddy, whose 2025 was packed. He released I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2) in January, toured the world, recorded a song for the Nobody Wants This season 2 soundtrack and dripped a hit single with French DJ/producer David Guetta. Teddy also performed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, joined country star Thomas Rhett onstage in Boston and Rob Thomas in Australia, and received a Grammy nomination for best pop vocal album. He’ll find out if he won in February.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

An apparent Christmas miracle for metal fans in Spartanburg, South Carolina, actually turned out to be way more related to Christianity than it may have initially seemed.

A listing on StubHub showed that the band Lamb of God was set to play the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium on Dec. 20. However, instead of a performance from Randy Blythe and company, what the venue actually had scheduled for that day was a show part of Christian musician Andrew Peterson‘s Behold the Lamb of God tour.

“We acknowledge the listing for the December 20 event at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium was misleading and apologize for the confusion this caused,” a StubHub spokesperson says in a statement to ABC Audio. “Ahead of the show we updated the event page and reached out to customers to clarify the event details. Anyone who purchased tickets under the impression this was a different performance is encouraged to contact us—we’ll honor a full refund under our FanProtect Guarantee.”

LoG frontman Randy Blythe also posted a screenshot of a story on the mix-up to his Instagram Story, writing in the caption, “We usually play [Spartanburg venue GroundZero] NOT Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium.”

“This [is] why StubHub sucks,” Blythe added alongside a trio of crying-laughing emojis.

As for Lamb of God’s actual live schedule, they’re launching a U.S. tour in March.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

If you’re looking to “Feel Good” this holiday season, Damon Albarn is here to help.

The Gorillaz and Blur frontman read the Dr. Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! during an appearance on BBC Radio 2. 

You can listen to a clip of Albarn’s reading via the BBC Radio 2 Facebook.

While we hope this leads to an Albarn cover of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” we do have a new Gorillaz album to look forward to in the meantime. The record, called The Mountain, is due out Feb. 27.

Gorillaz will be performing The Mountain in full during shows in Los Angeles on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23. The band’s immersive House of Kong exhibition will also be open in LA from Feb. 26 to March 19.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Christmas is Thursday, and if you still need a last-minute gift for the special woman in your life, you may want to check out the kitchen appliances aisle. Apparently, it’s good enough for Taylor Swift.

In the latest edition of Travis Kelce‘s New Heights podcast, Travis and Jason Kelce were joined by Jason’s wife, Kylie Kelce. During a segment titled “Gift Guide for Dudes Who Can’t Shop Good,” the brothers asked Kylie to weigh in on various gifts for women, ranging from gift cards to jewelry.

Travis brought up kitchen appliances, explaining, “I will say, one of Tay’s favorite gifts that I got her was the bread slicer, because she’s been throwing together so much f****** sourdough.”

“Gosh, I got the best gut health there is,” Travis deadpanned. “I love you, Tay.”

Jason approved of the idea, saying, “One of the most unfortunate things with making fresh bread is trying to cut that s***. It is hard.”

When Taylor appeared on New Heights in August, she spent an inordinate amount of time talking about baking sourdough bread and shared multiple bread-related puns based on her song titles, including “It’s a loaf story, baby just say yeast,” “Loafing him was bread” and “Bready for it.”

Travis then asked Kylie about red light face masks and exfoliators, while Jason stared blankly. Travis then nodded when Kylie explained a woman would appreciate if you go into her bathroom and notice she already has exfoliators and “all of the different night serums.”

“The face mists,” Travis added sagely. Hmm … sounds like he’s been rummaging through Taylor’s medicine cabinet for gift inspo.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Late Motörhead frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister would’ve turned 80 on Wednesday, and the band is celebrating the occasion with a throwback to another milestone birthday.

The Motörhead YouTube channel has uploaded the band’s full 1995 performance at the famed Whisky A Go Go club in Los Angeles, which celebrated Lemmy’s 50th birthday.

The set included renditions of classics including “Ace of Spades,” “Bomber,” “Iron Fist,” “Stay Clean,” “Metropolis” and “Killed By Death.” Before Motörhead took the stage, Metallica played a surprise opening set billed as The Lemmys.

The Whisky concert is also available as a live album as part of Motörhead’s The Löst Tapes series. 

Lemmy died on Dec. 28, 2015, four days after his 70th birthday. The 10th anniversary of his death is Sunday.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne has shared a statement on the departure of multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd.

Drozd, who joined the band in 1991 and was the longest-tenured Lips member aside from Coyne, seemed to confirm he left the group in a since-deleted social media post. The post, captured by Stereogum, read, “They’re done with me.”

However, in his statement, Coyne claims, “For anybody who read [Drozd’s] post about the reason he is no longer in the Flaming Lips … I can say that is absolutely not true.”

“The reason he left is sad , and infuriating,” Coyne writes in an Instagram post. “It is HIS responsibility to tell everyone what happened… what he told everyone was a lie.”

“I was trying to give him ( Steven ) his own space and time to let everyone know what REALLY happened,” Coyne continues. “I will post more in just a few days.”

The Flaming Lips will wrap up 2025 with a New Year’s Eve show in Washington, D.C.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

It’s a very special Christmas at Cody Johnson‘s house this year, as he and his wife Brandi Johnson celebrate for the first time as a family of five. 

Jaycee Daniel Johnson arrived Oct. 21, joining 10-year-old Clara Mae Johnson and 8-year-old Cori Johnson.

“He’s perfect. Man, it’s been so great,” Cody tells ABC Audio. “I was so thankful. I’ve thanked God every day for a perfect pregnancy, perfect delivery. He’s healthy. I mean, you really can’t ask for anything better.”

“And my daughters are going crazy over him. And he’s gonna be spoilt,” he laughs. “He’s gonna to be so spoilt with those two sisters.”

Cody says this year’s yuletide celebration will be simple, with a likely focus on the new baby.

“Just stayin’ at home,” he says of his plans. “I mean, really taking this time and saying, ‘Look, let’s focus on our family.’ We’re not doing any big plans and we’re just gonna be home and probably dote on that little boy.”  

Cody’s next show isn’t until Feb. 6 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Every country has different Christmas traditions, but Zara Larsson says one of the most beloved traditions in her home country of Sweden involves something very American.

“Every Christmas [Eve] at 3 p.m., we have Donald Duck’s Christmas on TV and you just have to sit down and watch it,” she explains.

“Everybody’s watching it. I don’t know when it started. It’s been my whole childhood and everyone — everyone — just sits down, 3 p.m., you watch Donald Duck, then you have your dinner, and then you open your presents.”

In fact, the animated special, which is officially titled Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas, has been shown every Christmas on Swedish TV since 1960, and is watched by around 40% of the entire population. The show originally aired in the U.S. in 1958 on ABC, under the name From All of Us to All of You. However it was retitled for the Swedish market because Donald Duck is way more popular than Mickey Mouse in Sweden, for some reason.

But if Swedes celebrate the holiday on Christmas Eve, what do they do on Christmas Day?

“So Christmas, like the 25th — that’s when everybody goes out clubbing!” Zara says.

Looking ahead to the end of December, Zara is one of the artists who’ll be performing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2026 with Ryan Seacrest, airing Dec. 31 on ABC.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.