Shinedown’s Brent Smith performs on ‘American Idol.’ (Disney/Eric McCandless)
Shinedown has premiered the video for “Young Again,” a track off the band’s just-released new album, EI8HT.
The clip cuts between the band performing in a field and footage of kids running around and playing with each other, which fits with the nostalgic, Breakfast Club-referencing lyrics.
EI8HT, the aptly titled eighth Shinedown album and the follow-up to 2022’s Planet Zero, dropped Friday. It also includes the singles “Dance, Kid, Dance,” “Three Six Five,” “Searchlight,” “Killing Fields” and “Safe and Sound.”
Shinedown is currently on a U.S. tour, which continues Saturday in Tampa, Florida.
Grateful Dead, ‘Steal Your Face’ (50th Anniversary) (Rhino Records)
Fifty years ago, America celebrated its 200th birthday — and a lot of great albums were released.
That’s why Rhino Records has launched a Spirit of ’76 vinyl reissue campaign, with independent record stores carrying new editions of 23 albums that first arrived in 1976. It gets underway July 17 with the release of Bad Company’s Run with the Pack, Black Sabbath’s Technical Ecstasy, the Faces’ Snakes and Ladders/The Best of Faces and the Ramones’ self-titled debut.
On July 24, releases include X, the Grammy-winning album by Chicago; the Grateful Dead’s live album Steal Your Face; Linda Ronstadt’s Hasten Down the Wind; The J. Geils Band’s live album Blow Your Face Out; Todd Rundgren’s Faithful; and Rod Stewart’s A Night on the Town.
The campaign ends July 31 with Jethro Tull’s M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull, the Ramones’ Live at the Roxy, 1976, War’s Greatest Hits and ZZ Top’s World Wide Texas Tour.
Sam Fender and Olivia Dean accept the Song of the Year Award with Mastercard for ‘Rein Me In’ during The BRIT Awards 2026 on Feb. 28, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Olivia Dean’s duet with Sam Fender, “Rein Me In” — which just made Spotify’s list of “songs of the summer” contenders — has tied a chart record set last year by Alex Warren.
The song has notched a 13th week at #1 on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart. As per Billboard, “Reign Me In” is now tied with Alex’s “Ordinary” as the longest-running song of the 2020s. Until Alex broke it in 2025, the previous record was 11 weeks, held by Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits.”
“Rein Me In” is a song that Sam originally recorded for his album People Watching. It was then released as a remix with Olivia singing on it; the two have also performed the song live onstage together.
So far, “Rein Me In” has yet to have the same success in the U.S. But Olivia is doing just fine on her own, with two massive hits: “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love).” She brings her The Art of Loving tour to the U.S. July 10 in San Francisco.
When Lauren Alaina hears her new song, she can’t help but think about how far her life has come.
“I wrote ‘Better Off’ from the perspective of a girl who finally realizes she didn’t lose anything by being cheated on … in a lot of ways, she ended up much better off,” she says. “It’s full of sass and attitude, but underneath it all, it’s really about growth and knowing your worth.”
“I’m in such a beautiful season of life now with my husband and daughter,” she adds, “and this song feels like finally closing the door on a different stage of my life.”
“Better Off” is the latest track from Lauren’s new album, Stages, which drops Aug. 28. It also includes her top-25 hit with Chase Matthew, “All My Exes,” and the previously released “Raining Whiskey.”
After heading out on the Songs of Summer trek with Darius Rucker, Lauren’s set to launch The Stages Tour Oct. 1 in Milwaukee.
Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes appears at the Tenth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert for God’s Love We Deliver at The Beacon Theatre on March 05, 2026 in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver)
Gov’t Mule has announced a U.S. tour with Ziggy Marley.
The joint outing runs from Sept. 23 in New York City to Oct. 17 in Irving, Texas. It’s dubbed the Dreaming the Same Dream tour after the song “Dreaming the Same Dream,” which Mule frontman Warren Haynes wrote with Marley.
“I’m really looking forward to the tour with Ziggy Marley,” Haynes says in a statement. “We’ve known each other a long time and have shared the stage a few times but never done a tour together. There’s definitely an overlap between the two audiences, but I think a lot of Mule fans will be hearing Ziggy for the first time and a lot of Ziggy fans will be hearing Mule for the first time, which is great.”
“It’s gonna be a great jam session being on tour with Warren and the crew,” Marley adds. “I’m looking forward to the vibes.”
Presales begin June 3 at noon ET, and tickets go on sale to the general public on June 5 at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Mule.net.
You can also catch Gov’t Mule on tour throughout the summer, including dates with Joe Bonamassa.
Madonna’s romantic life is the stuff of legend, but she’s willing to name one of her past lovers as being the “best” — with one important caveat.
The Queen of Pop sat for a short video NSFW conversation with several gay friends for the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr, including her former opening act Bob the Drag Queen, designer Raul Lopez and playwright Jeremy O. Harris. During the conversation, Madonna was asked who her best lover was — except the word “lover” was not used, if you know what we mean.
“Oh my God,” Madonna says. “I’m gonna only name dead people.” She then whispers, “John Kennedy Jr.”
Raul Lopez notes that “everyone says” the late attorney and publisher, who died in 1999, was good in bed, adding that Madonna is “the third person” to say that, as she nods in agreement.
Madonna also reveals that her “post-coital room service order” is a club sandwich, her “sex playlist” is mostly classical music, and that she feels the “Mother” nickname given to her by the LGBTQ+ community has a lot to do with being “protective.”
“When I first came to New York and started seeing — especially at the beginning at the AIDS epidemic, I saw how s*** people were to gays, and that’s all I wanted to do is take care of them and fight for them and give them courage,” she says. “When I was coming up, they were my ride-or-dies. I didn’t feel judged by them.”
To which Bob the Drag Queen replies, “That’s impressive, to not be judged by the judgiest group in the world!”
The Band Perry’s “Kill It” (Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment)
The Band Perry’s new song, “Kill It,” completes the “romantic-goth trilogy” they started with their previous tracks “PSYCHOLOGICAL” and “Buzzards.”
“I thought someone new could fix it/ Told myself some lies to trick it/ Drank too much just to forget it/ Tried to put it six feet deep in a hole,” Kimberly Perry sings on the new song. “Thought I had the guts to pull the trigger but I didn’t/ If this is a game, I’d say that you’re winning/ My love’s still alive and kicking/ Guess only one of us knows how to kill it.”
Even though she didn’t write it, it expresses a sentiment Kimberly knows well.
“‘My love’s still alive and kicking’ is my favorite line in this song and, honestly, my entire personality,” she says. “I never know when to give up on someone … or something. ‘Kill It’ is my confession that I’d rather lose with my heart still beating than win by burying mine first.”
Next up, Kimberly and husband Johnny Costello play CMA Fest in Nashville, complete with a June 5 set on the main stage at Nissan Stadium.
Artwork for Syd’s ‘Beard’ (Free Lunch/Warner Records)
Syd is embracing her “peach fuzz,” unique identity and current chapter in life on Beard, her first new album in four years. She co-produced the record and worked with Raphael Saadiq, Big Sean, Rodney Jerkins, James Fauntleroy, Van Hunt and others.
“It’s a snapshot of what my life looks like right now,” Syd said in a statement. “The title was inspired by the peach fuzz on my upper lip that society has always taught me to hate. I fell in love with my peach fuzz and it made me rethink everything that was supposed to make me feel insecure. It allowed me to take my confidence into my own hands, and own everything that I am and everything I love about myself, regardless of what anyone else thinks.”
She added that Beard also “represents the way I see myself in relation to my peers, especially in music. ‘The bearded lady.’ Not so much a spectacle in my case, but an anomaly and an outlier. Hard to compare. I’m owning that too.”
Syd previews the album with its lead single “Callin” featuring Blu June, out now on streaming services.
Beard is set to arrive on July 17 and will be supported with a tour of the U.K. and Europe.
Corey Kent’s ‘Heartland Rock and Roll’ (Sony Music Nashville)
When Corey Kent’s new record arrives Sept. 25, he’ll have officially defined his sound, in more ways than one.
“Heartland Rock and Roll is my third major label album, and it’s really the first time I’ve been able to finally name the sound I’ve been working towards my entire career,” Corey says. “These songs sound like where I’m from. The lyrics span from nostalgia, to honest regrets and gratitude for the simple things I value most in life.”
“From top to bottom, this is me,” he continues. “Every artist wants to leave their mark in music … a way to say, ‘I was here and I did it my way.’ This feels like mine. This is heartland rock and roll.”
The 16-track album features his top-10 hit with Koe Wetzel, “Rocky Mountain Low,” as well as the previously released “Empty Words” and “Wannabe,” plus “Cigarette Burns,” which is out now.
Noah Kahan performs at CMA Fest. (Disney/Larry McCormack)
Summer is fast approaching, so what songs are going to soundtrack the season?
Spotify has released its list of predictions for song of the summer and is allowing fans to vote on their favorites within the Spotify app.
Making the list this year are Ariana Grande’s newly released single “hate that i made you love me,” Zara Larsson’s “Midnight Sun,” Noah Kahan’s “Doors,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “drop dead” and Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.”
Also in the running are Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s “Rein Me In,” PinkPantheress’ “Girl Like Me,” Dominic Fike’s “Babydoll,” Malcolm Todd’s “Earrings,” Bebe Rexha and Faithless’ “New Religion,” and Tame Impala and JENNIE’s viral hit “Dracula – JENNIE Remix.”
“I think above everything, we all know that a song of the summer is about the vibes,” Spotify’s Talia Kraines says in a statement. “It’s a song that makes you feel good, that you can listen to outside in the sunshine with your friends, and that has the ability to travel across genres, people, and countries.”
