Covers of Van Morrison’s ‘Astral Weeks’ and ‘Moondance’ (Warner Music Group/Rhino)
Two of Van Morrison’s iconic albums, 1968’s Astral Weeks and 1970’s Moondance, are the first releases of the new Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series, part of a partnership between Analogue Productions and Rhino Records.
Every album released in the series will be cut from the original analog tapes, or the best available source, to offer exceptional quality and sound. They will all be pressed on 180-gram black vinyl, with some also offered on super audio CD.
Following the January release of the Van Morrison albums, the series picks up again in March, with two albums released each month. The complete series will be made up of 40 titles, with future releases from artists like Genesis, Foghat, Little Feat, America, the Ramones and more.
Astral Weeks and Moondance are both available for preorder now. There is also the option to subscribe to the whole series; the first 400 customers will receive numbered LPs, with each month’s release marked with the same number.
‘NEVER ENOUGH’ album artwork. (Roadrunner Records)
If “All You Wanted” was for Michelle Branch to cover Turnstile, well, you’re in luck.
Branch has shared her take on “NEVER ENOUGH,” the title track off the hardcore outfit’s 2025 album. Her version, which was posted to Instagram, features her vocals over a piano line.
“Can’t get enough of this one from [Turnstile],” Branch writes in the caption.
If you want to see Turnstile play “NEVER ENOUGH,” they’ll be playing a number of 2026 U.S. festivals, including Coachella, Welcome to Rockville and Bonnaroo.
Meanwhile, both NEVER ENOUGH and its title track are nominated for the 2026 Grammys, as are the album’s songs “SEEIN’ STARS” and “BIRDS.” Turnstile is the first-ever artist to be nominated in the rock, alternative and metal categories in a single year.
Dua Lipastarred in an ad and recorded a new version of George Michael‘s song “Freedom” for YSL Beauty’s LIBRE fragrance a few years ago. Now, she’s covered another classic for LIBRE’s new campaign — Aretha Franklin‘s “Think” — to promote the Berry Crush fragrance. In the chorus, Aretha sings, “Freedom, freedom, freedom,” and “libre” is French for “free.”
After announcing his new album, Harry Styles teamed with Apple Music on two new playlists: “Kiss All The Time“features Harry’s love songs, including “Adore You” and “Love of My Life,” while “Disco, Occasionally“is comprised of upbeat jams like “Watermelon Sugar,” “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” and “As It Was.” Songs from the new album, Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally, aren’t included yet; the record drops in March.
Golden Globe-winning, Grammy-nominated artist EJAE — the singing voice of Rumi in Kpop Demon Hunters — has been selected as one of the 2026 Artists to Watch in Amazon’s new global campaign. One of her non-Demon Hunters songs is featured on a new dedicated playlist, with more of her music set to appear on other playlists throughout the year.
Olivia Dean has been nominated for four MOBO Awards, a U.K. honor which stands for “Music of Black Origin.” She’s up for song of the year for “Man I Need” and album of the year for The Art of Loving, as well as best female act and best R&B/soul act. The awards will be handed out on March 26 in Manchester, England.
If you missed it, you can watch Ed Sheeran perform “Drive” for the first time with collaborators including John Mayer and Dave Grohl on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube channel.
Honoree Bob Weir performs during the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year Honoring The Grateful Dead on January 31, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Paul McCartney is the latest artist to pay tribute to the late Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir,whose death at age 78 was announced on Saturday.
“Bob Weir was a great musician who inspired many people of many generations,” McCartney writes on Instagram. “I last saw Bob when we went to the Sphere in Las Vegas to watch Dead and Co. He was very welcoming and during the interval in the show he invited us into his trailer, and it was a special moment to meet his family and friends.”
McCartney writes about Weir showing him how he was set up to record music in the back of his bus while on tour, and how that almost led to a collaboration.
“I offered to play the bass on one of the tracks he played me but unfortunately that never came to pass,” McCartney notes.
“His humour, friendship and musicianship inspired me and will inspire many people into the future,” he continues. “Our family’s thoughts go out to Bob’s family at this time of loss, and I know they will remain as strong as he would wish them to be.”
McCartney signed the tribute, “God bless you Bob. See you down the road. Love Paul.”
Dolly Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” (Butterfly Records)
Not only will Dolly Parton‘s new version of her hit “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” arrive Thursday night, it will be accompanied by a new music video.
She teased the clip on Instagram, along with a short message announcing it will be released Thursday at 11 p.m. CT.
“I first wrote this song back in 1976 when I needed a little hope,” she recalls. “And this time around I’ve invited some very special women, some real shining lights to help me bring that hope to life again, and I can’t wait for you to hear what we’ve created together.”
Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire join her on the track, along with David Foster on piano and The Christ Church Choir on background vocals.
Proceeds from the song go to cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Photo of George Martin; in Air Studios (Photo by Hayley Madden/Redferns)
A new book about legendary Beatles producer George Martin‘s workis being released in celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday.
George Martin: The Scores is described as “the first-ever definitive collection of the legendary producer’s original music manuscripts.”
The three-volume book will be released in April. It contains a forward by Paul McCartney, as well as full-sized reproductions of Martin’s handwritten scores, including those for songs like “Yesterday,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Here Comes the Sun” and “Live and Let Die.” The book also contains commentary, and new orchestral recordings from Abbey Road Studios, which “allows the reader to experience Martin’s arrangements on their own.”
“It’s a book of art, if you like, because his scores are very beautiful,” Martin’s son Giles Martin tells Rolling Stone. “There’s a fluidity to it. There’s a vibrancy to looking at that music on a page.”
The project was in development before Martin’s death in 2016 at age 90. He would have turned 100 on Jan. 3.
George Martin: The Scores is being released in three different formats — standard edition, deluxe edition and signature edition — with varying bonus material. Among the extras is documentary footage from the orchestral recording sessions in the deluxe and signature editions, with the latter also including a signature page signed by George at the beginning of the project.
American rapper, songwriter, and actor (1971-1996) Tupac Shakur poses for a portrait during the 1994 Source Awards on April 25, 1994 at the Paramount Theatre in New York, New York. (Photo by Bob Berg/Getty Images)
Some of 2Pac‘s earliest known surviving recordings are set to go up for auction through Wax Poetics. The items come from the Ge-ology Collection, curated by Gerard “Ge-ology” Young, who had a working relationship with the late rapper, born Tupac Shakur.
Included in the collection is a cassette tape of 2Pac and his Born Busy members that was recorded in Geo-logy’s parents’ home in Baltimore in 1988, when 2Pac was just 16. The tape, which is considered one of 2Pac’s earliest recordings, predates any of his commercial releases. It was created so Ge-ology aka DJ Plain Terror could learn the verses and build beats around his voice, as well as Tupac, Darrin K Bastfield aka Ace Rocker and Dana “Mouse” Smith aka Slick D‘s voices, who were rapping a cappella.
The auction marks the first time Ge-ology is sharing the full cassette, which has never been commercially released. Other items in the collection include Tupac’s handwritten lyrics, a Baltimore School of the Arts graduation banner he signed, archive photographs and a birthday part invitation from Jada Pinkett Smith, whom Tupac met in Baltimore. The auction is now live and will remain open through Feb. 11.
“This wasn’t meant to be a performance or a release. We were recording [a capella] so I could learn the rhymes and build the beats around them,” Ge-ology said in a statement. “That tape is one of the earliest moments of Tupac being documented, before the world knew who he was. I’ve protected it for decades, and now it feels right for it to be shared properly, as history.”
He added that the collection is an act of preservation, intended to be told by those who were there and “safeguarded in contexts where they are respected, protected and historically understood,” according to a press release.
Luke Bryan‘s officially in the guitar business thanks to his collaboration with Bourgeois Guitars.
More than a decade ago, Luke asked founder Dana Bourgeois if the walnut trees on his Tennessee farm were suitable for making guitars. When he responded affirmatively, they picked out the specific trees, and the wood’s been curing for the past 10 years.
The Luke Bryan Signature Limited Edition is the result, made of Flint Rock Farms Black Walnut, and featuring a custom antler inlay pattern on the fretboard and headstock. There are only 30 of the guitars up for grabs, all numbered and signed by Luke. They start at about $9,000.
If you’re looking for a less pricey option, the Luke Bryan Touchstone Edition is virtually identical to the more rare version, though the black walnut wasn’t grown on Luke’s farm.
Tobias Forge performing as Cardinal Copia of Ghost at Barclays Center on December 15, 2018 in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Ghost is set to officially release their cover of the Pet Shop Boys song “It’s a Sin.”
The recording, which was previously exclusive to deluxe editions of the 2018 Ghost album, Prequelle, will be available widely across streaming platforms on Friday.
The announcement was made in the latest chapter of Ghost’s ongoing mythology series, streaming now on YouTube.
Ghost previously released a covers EP called Phantomime in 2023. It includes renditions of songs by Iron Maiden, Genesis and Tina Turner, among others.
The most recent Ghost album is 2025’s Skeletá. The band’s Skeletour continues Jan. 21 in Orlando, Florida.
Noah Kahan performs at CMA Fest. (Disney/Larry McCormack)
If you want to drink something other than alcohol ’til your friends come home for Christmas, Noah Kahan is here for you.
The “Stick Season” artist has teamed up with the beverage company Culture Pop Soda to create his own signature flavor, Noah Kahan’s Limited-Edition Sparkling Black Cherry.
“Culture Pop is the real deal,” Kahan says in a press release. “It’s not full of the fake stuff; it’s good for your gut, and Black Cherry is genuinely my favorite Culture Pop flavor to drink. Drink up, I hope you love it.”
As part of the collaboration, Culture Pop Soda is making a $100,000 donation to Kahan’s mental health initiative, The Busyhead Project.
“The best part about this collab is that it’s in support of The Busyhead Project, an initiative I founded to provide resources and information needed to end the stigma around mental health,” Kahan says. “Having a partner that supports that mission means the world to me.”
In addition to a new soda, Kahan has new music in the works. He posted in a recent Instagram Story that his next album, the follow-up to his 2022 breakout album, Stick Season, is done.
