Bob Dylan won an Academy Award for best original song for “Things Have Changed,” from the Michael Douglas/Tobey Maguire movie Wonder Boys.
The category also featured songs from Sting, Björk, Randy Newman and others.
Dylan was not at the ceremony to accept the award in person as he was in Australia on tour. A recording of him and his band performing the song in Sydney was included in the Oscars telecast via satellite. He also gave his acceptance speech from the Aussie city.
“Things Have Changed,” which also won the Golden Globe for best original song, would wind up appearing on several Dylan compilation albums, including 2000’s The Essential Bob Dylan, 2005’s The Best of Bob Dylan and 2007’s Dylan.
Matt Maeson performs during the 2023 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on June 16, 2023 in Manchester, Tennessee. (Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)
Matt Maeson has announces a U.S. tour.
The headlining trek, dubbed Watch My Step: A Solo Experience, begins May 15 in Boise, Idaho, and concludes July 25 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.
For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit MattMaeson.com.
Maeson will be touring in support of his 2025 album, A Quiet and Harmless Living. The record spawned the single “Downstairs,” which hit #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart.
‘Gargoyle of the Garden State’ album artwork. (earMUSIC)
Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan has announced his debut solo album, Gargoyle of the Garden State.
The record is due out June 12. The first single, “At War with Myself” featuring Danko Jones, is out now.
“Gargoyle of the Garden State is not a project, it is every bit of my soul,” Bolan says in a statement. “Like me, it knows when to be serious and also knows where the party is.”
Other guests on the record include Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and Skid Row’s Scotti Hill, Dave “Snake” Sabo and Rob Hammersmith.
Skid Row, meanwhile, announced in February that they were launching a worldwide audition process to find the band’s next singer. Their most recent vocalist, Erik Grönwall, left Skid Row in 2024, after which Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale fronted the band for a run of live shows.
As for Skid Row’s classic lineup singer, Sebastian Bach, he will be performing with Twisted Sister in place of Dee Snider, who’s sitting out their upcoming shows for health reasons.
Fender Presents: Tele Town (Fender Musical Instruments Corporation)
Zach Top, Brothers Osborne, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs and Steve Warner will all step onto the legendary Ryman stage as Fender throws a 75th birthday party for the Telecaster on May 4.
Defined by Fender as the “world’s first mass-produced, solid-body electric guitar,” the Telecaster will be center stage for the show titled Tele Town.
Two-time ACM guitar player of the year Derek Wells is its musical director.
“Putting this show together has been about more than just great players, it’s about capturing the spirit of an instrument that’s shaped so much of the music we all love,” he says. “This lineup is full of people who’ve lived with this guitar onstage and in the studio, and I’m certain that when we all are together, you’ll see people playing with love and reverence for what this instrument has meant to us all.”
Legendary guitarists like James Burton and Brent Mason will be part of the night as well, with more names still to be announced.
Tickets go on sale Friday. Proceeds will go to Nashville charities.
The prestigious ceremony honors the best in songwriting and composing by British and Irish artists.
Wolf Alice’s 2025 album The Clearing is up for best album, while its song “The Sofa” will compete in the best song musically and lyrically category.
Florence + the Machine’s “Everybody Scream,” the title track off their 2025 album, is also nominated for best song musically and lyrically.
Other nominees include Gorillaz’s “Damascus” for best contemporary song, and Lola Young and Myles Smith’s respective breakout singles, “Messy” and “Stargazing,” for most performed work. Coldplay’s enduring hit “Viva La Vida” is nominated for most performed work, as well.
The 2026 Ivor Novello Awards will be held May 21 in London.
In other U.K. awards news, Sam Fender will receive the prize for best live act at the 2026 O2 Silver Clef Awards, taking place July 9 in London.
The annual ceremony is presented by the charity Nordoff and Robbins, which provides music therapy services to vulnerable and isolated people in the U.K.
“It’s an honour to receive the Best Live Act Award at this year’s O2 Silver Clef Awards,” Fender says. “I’m so lucky to do this as a job. This award is especially meaningful because of the incredible work in music that Nordoff and Robbins do.”
Lady Gaga arrives at Milan airport after 2 days of the filming of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ on Oct. 11, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Andrea Cremascoli/GC Images)
While it was reported last year that Lady Gaga would appear in The Devil Wears Prada 2, the movie’s star is keeping her mouth shut on that topic.
In a video for Harper’s Bazaar, Anne Hathaway is asked, “Can you confirm or deny a Lady Gaga cameo?”
“Who?” she responds, laughing. She then adds, “Oh, I know her, she was so good in A Star Is Born. Oh my gosh. Can you believe that somebody can be so talented? It just blows one’s mind.”
It would appear Anne is just playing coy, since Gaga was photographed reportedly leaving the movie’s set in Milan last year.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is set to hit theaters May 1. In addition to Anne, the returning cast includes Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.
Singer/songwriter Chip Taylor onstage during An Evening With Chip Taylor at The GRAMMY Museum on August 20, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Sullivan/Getty Images)
Chip Taylor, songwriter of such hits as “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning,” has died at the age of 86. The news was confirmed in a post on his official Facebook page.
“Hi all – we are sad to tell you that Chip passed away last night. His last days were peaceful,” read the post signed by his children Kris and Kelly. “Chip loved the amazing blessing it was to connect with people through music and truly appreciated this community. He considered you all friends. We will miss him greatly.”
Taylor, born James Wesley Voight, was the younger brother of actor Jon Voight. He had his first big hit with “Wild Thing,” which was a #1 hit for the Troggs in 1966. Their version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2019. Jimi Hendrix also gave a memorable performance of the track at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where he set his guitar on fire at the end.
Taylor’s other big hit, “Angel of the Morning,” has been covered by several artists. Merrilee Rush’s 1968 version of the song was the first to hit the top 10, peaking at #7. Juice Newton also charted with the track, with her 1981 version peaking at #4. The song was also interpolated for Shaggy’s 2001 hit “Angel,” which went to #1 on the Hot 100.
Taylor wrote several other pop and country songs over the years, which have been recorded by such artists as Tom Petty, Janis Joplin, The Hollies, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Linda Ronstadt, Willie Nelson and more.
Taylor was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.
It hasn’t even been two months since HARDY released “McArthur,” and the generational saga is already a top-25 hit.
While it seems to be making its way up the chart quickly, HARDY recalls it wasn’t one of his quickest compositions.
“It took a couple, three hours maybe. I mean, to me that’s a medium one. A fast one is, I always like to think under an hour,” he says. “But this one was a regular write. We definitely had to do like some surgery on this one, and make sure we had the timelines and all that kind of stuff in order. So it took a little bit of extra time.”
Eric Church, Morgan Wallen and Tim McGraw join HARDY on the “McArthur” recording, which means he has a hit he can’t exactly replicate on the road. So he’s decided to play it completely solo.
“It’s not really a song that I want to play with my band,” he explains. “I feel like if it’s already such a chill song, it’s something that I’ll just do with my acoustic guitar.”
HARDY’s currently on the COUNTRY! COUNTRY! TOUR, which resumes Thursday in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Ace Frehley’s Les Paul guitar (Courtesy of Julien’s Auctions)
Personal items from the late KISS guitarist Ace Frehley are among the pieces of memorabilia up for sale at Julien’s Auctions upcoming Music Icons auction.
Over 800 items will be part of the auction, including instruments from Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward and more.
The highlight of this year’s auction is Frehley’s most played 1975 Les Paul guitar, which is expected to sell for between $400,000 and $600,000. According to a press release, the guitar was Frehley’s “constant companion” from the beginning of his career and was used “more than any other guitar in his arsenal.”
Other Frehley memorabilia up for grabs include a 1977 tour jacket, a full-length kimono from the Rock & Roll Over Tour era and a purple velvet stage-worn jumpsuit.
Also part of the Music Icons auction is Hammett’s first Ouija ESP custom guitar, which is signed with an inscription from the rocker; Vaughan’s 1969 Guild F-412 Twelve String guitar, played during his 1990 MTV Unplugged performance; Ward’s used Zildjian Gong and RIAA Platinum records; and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin’s 1987 Gibson HR Fusion 1 guitar, used during the recording of the band’s debut album, Appetite for Destruction.
Bidding for items will open online April 27, with the two-day live auction happening May 29 -30 at the Hard Rock Café Times Square in New York. More info can be found at JuliensAuctions.com.
Highlights from the auction will be on display at the Hard Rock Piccadilly Circus in London through April 13, before moving to Japan’s Hard Rock Café Tokyo for display on April 27. Additional items will go on display at the Hard Rock in New York starting May 13.
Miley Cyrus attends the premiere of the ‘Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special’ (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. It features Miley Cyrus performing your favorite Hannah hits plus a new song, “Younger You,” which she wrote just for the occasion.
“It’s really just something that felt like it came naturally and organically in support of this special,” Miley told ABC’s Good Morning America at the premiere. “So it’s always exciting when I can use music to kind of translate all the emotions that I’m feeling.”
Miley added paying tribute to the role that made her famous is “just a celebration.”
“It’s all joy. It’s a gift, you know, obviously to the fans, but also for me to get to be a part of it in a way that I wasn’t when I was kind of in the middle of it,” she explained.
In addition to stars from Hannah Montana, the premiere attracted other celebs, including David Archuleta, who sang a duet with Miley in the show’s third season. “People still remember it, they still love it, and it’s a part of their childhood,” David said. “And so to be a part of people’s growing up is really special.”
HUNTR/X singing voice Rei Ami, a huge Hannah fan, said, “Miley raised me.” She also revealed that she was once “caught by a fan at a convention and they started calling me ‘Asian Hannah Montana,'” adding that made the premiere a “full circle moment” for her.
Miley’s mom, Tish Cyrus-Purcell, said that for her, “one of the coolest” things is seeing “how proud” Miley is of being Hannah Montana.
“When you see her come out [onstage in the special], it’s pretty crazy,” noted Tish. “She’s kind of like this Miley/Hannah mix … and I love it. It’s amazing.”
(Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Hulu.)
