Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame
Gracie Abrams received the prestigious Hal David Starlight Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction gala on June 12 in New York City. The award, created in 2004, is given to young songwriters “who are making a significant impact in the music industry with their original songs.”
The award was presented to her by her co-writer and co-producer, Aaron Dessner of The National, who called her “one of the greatest songwriters and musicians in the world today” and “one of the most gifted lyricists and melodic writers.” After receiving the honor, Gracie sang her song “Free Now,” from her album The Secret of Us.
While there were plenty of other young songwriters who made an impact over the past year, Songwriters Hall of Fame chairman and songwriter/producer Nile Rodgers told ABC Audio why Gracie was chosen.
“Have you heard her music?” he said. “I mean, she’s remarkable. She’s got a hell of a career in front of her. If she loves music the way it feels like she loves music, she gonna be in the game her whole life.”
And Rodgers, who scored his own hits with the band Chic and also worked with Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Lady Gaga,Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Coldplay, Mick Jagger and dozens of others, believes he knows talent when he sees it.
“Her voice is special. Her lyrics are very special. And she just, she’s got a vibe,” Rodgers said of Gracie. “Y’know, it’s interesting. When you meet artists that are that unique and that special, you can feel it.”
Gracie, who’s been teasing new music, has a run of European festival shows starting later this month.
Sunday is Father’s Day, a holiday JohnOsborne from Brothers Osborne will happily celebrate, after he and wife Lucie Silvas welcomed twins Arthur and Maybelle in March 2023.
“The twins now, they turned 2 one month ago. They’re tall,” he told ABC Audio at the recent ACM Awards. “They’ve just recently realized that they can have opinions and that is not fun.”
“Suddenly you’re like, ‘Here’s this food you’ve always liked.’ And they’re like, ‘No!’ You’re like, ‘No? What the hell do you know about — you’re 2! You don’t know anything about any — just eat the damn food.’ So that’s where we are now,” he said, as he and TJ Osborne laughed.
Still, without hesitation, John says fatherhood is the best.
“As hard as it is sometimes, they are the light of my life. It is my favorite thing in the world. I didn’t think life could get much better, and by God it did when they showed up,” he adds.
The latest release from Brothers Osborne, “Finish This Drink,” was inspired by something TJ and John’s father used to say. It’s from the project they’re currently working on in John’s studio, Pine Box.
Singer/songwriter Max McKnown has broken through with his song “A Lot More Free,” which went viral on TikTok before becoming a radio hit. The song is somewhat unusual in that it’s about heartbreak, but it’s not necessarily sad — it’s more about the positive side of going through a breakup.
“I think a lot of songs kind of ignore the redemption that can be found when you escape a bad situation. And so that’s what ‘A Lot More Free’ is,” Max tells ABC Audio.
The song includes the lyrics, “Is it crazy that I’m grateful for all the pain?” and “When you love somebody and the love grows cold/ The sun starts shining when you let it all go.”
However, Max says he doesn’t want to go into too much detail about what inspired the song.
“I had been through some pretty difficult emotional heartbreak [and] relational betrayal,” he says. “And I purposefully have learned that I don’t like to go super far in-depth on specifically what I was feeling when I wrote [it], like the exact story, because I’ve seen it relate to so many people now for so many different reasons. … So I kind of leave it to the fans to decide like how it impacts them.”
Max also added musical elements to the song to symbolize his emotional state.
He explains, “When ‘A Lot More Free’ was being written, it was my personal kind of claim of freedom over that heartbreak I went through. … Everything down to the harmonica, which is kind of this harsher sound, which represents pain and the heartbreak, and the whistle representing freedom.”
Max will release an expanded edition of his sophomore album, Night Diving, on July 18. His Forever Ain’t Long Enough headlining tour starts Aug. 21 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Elton John leaves lawyer’s office in 1988, the day after the settlement was reached; Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
This year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival — the world’s largest performing arts festival — will feature a play inspired by an unusual subject: a legal battle between Elton John and a British tabloid that printed a scandalous fake story about him.
The play by Henry Naylor is called Monstering the Rocketman and tells the story of how Elton won Britain’s biggest-ever libel settlement. In 1987, The Sun Editor Kevin MacKenzie had the paper run a story about Elton having a sexual relationship with a male prostitute. The story wasn’t true, and Elton had proof of the lie.
However, MacKenzie refused to back down and began what Naylor calls a “massive campaign of media harassment” against Elton with multiple false stories, including one that accused the singer of mistreating his dogs.
The play’s description says that in the process of Elton filing libel suits against the paper, he “faces punch-ups, gangsters, bugged phone calls, a 10-million pound divorce suit and a pair of Devil Dogs. Will he remain still standing? Or will The Sun go down on him?”
Elton eventually won 1 million pounds in an out-of-court settlement — the equivalent of 3.4 million pounds in today’s money — as well as a front-page apology from The Sun. In an article for Must-See Theatre, Naylor writes, “I believe the battle was a defining moment in British history, for not only did it result in the country’s largest libel settlement but it also changed the British press forever.”
Monstering the Rocketmanruns from July 30 to Aug. 24.
Sleep Token will play what is perhaps the biggest show of the band’s career when they headline England’s Download Festival Saturday.
Back when the Download 2025 lineup was first announced in November, some were skeptical that Sleep Token could credibly lead the bill for what’s self-described as “the U.K.’s premier rock festival” alongside veterans Green Day and Korn, so much so that the creator of Download had to defend the booking in interviews.
Now, a sold-out U.S. arena and a #1 album on both sides of the Atlantic later, making Sleep Token a Download headliner feels downright prescient. John Fleckenstein, COO of Sleep Token’s label, RCA Records, tells ABC Audio that the skepticism around the Download booking is reflective of the general skepticism that a masked band that blends metal, alternative, pop, R&B and hip-hop in songs routinely over five minutes long has faced.
“A lot of people had that opinion [about Sleep Token headlining Download], but I think a lot of people had that opinion about this band all along the way,” Fleckenstein says. “It’s kind of part of what’s happening.”
“Obviously we’re super biased, so we weren’t surprised by that booking, but I understand why the rest of the world would be,” he laughs.
Sleep Token’s Download set will mark their third show supporting their aforementioned #1 album, Even in Arcadia, following their sets at Germany’s Rock am Ring and Rock im Park over the weekend.
“I think people are gonna be really rocked — and I mean, like, emotionally rocked — when they see the scale at which Sleep Token is gonna go in a live perspective,” Fleckenstein tells ABC Audio.
The Even in Arcadia live experience will come the U.S. in September.
Coco Jones has been on the road bringing her Why Not More? album to life onstage. She tells ABC Audio she’s been working her behind off “to keep the show very fun and very honest.”
“I love to have my conversational moments in between songs and show people the inspiration behind songs. I love to hear them singing and I’m very in your face,” Coco says of her approach to performing. “Like I wanna feel like we hanging out, we at the club together and I just happened to be singing songs but we’re singing them together.”
She describes her show as a “fun experience,” one that has allowed her to see fans’ live reactions to the songs on her album.
Among those are “Here We Go (Uh Oh)” and “On Sight.”
Another surprising one is “Hit You Where It Hurts”: “I’m seeing people really be excited for that one each night,” she says.
Other songs performed on Coco’s tour, according to setlist.fm, are “Taste,” which samples “Toxic,” the 2003 hit from Britney Spears. She’s said on multiple occasions that the song was a scary one because it pushed her out of her comfort zone. As for why she chose that specific pop track, she says it just “fit perfectly in the melody of what was already the music to ‘Taste.'”
Coco also shares that “Keep It Quiet” was another song that pushed her past her boundaries because of the “cursing in it” and the “very harsh energy about it.”
“It’s kind of like rock in a way. It feels like kind of metal in a sense. Like the hook is very like, you’re basically yelling for real,” she says.
The U.S. leg of Coco’s Why Not More? tour with label mates Lady London and TA Thomas comes to an end on June 26; its international leg picks up in September.
Billy Idol is subject of the new documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on Tuesday.
The film doesn’t hold anything back as it explores the rock star’s career and personal life, covering his struggles with addiction, including almost dying from a heroin overdose; his 1990 motorcycle accident, in which he almost lost his leg; and discovering he had a long-lost son.
Asked whether he has any regrets about being so open in the film, Idol told ABC Audio on the red carpet that sharing everything was something he felt he had to do.
“I mean, that’s a big part of making the documentary. It’s a big part of being alive, really, at this age. I’m 69,” he said. “You really do have to have to own it. Also I’ve written songs about my life, as well. I’ve sort of always faced up to it in lots of ways. So it wasn’t so difficult.”
While Idol said discussing with his relationship with his father in the film “wasn’t so easy,” he wasn’t about to leave it out.
“I think it was important it’s all in there. … It’s Billy Idol, warts and all,” he added.
And while many of the revelations could be considered shocking, he’s not embarrassed by anything in the film and said he’d be OK with his grandchildren watching it one day.
He shared, “I think they’ll be able to watch it and they’ll see what Granddad put himself through.”
As Warped Tour returns, so does the Warped Tour Program.
The annual festival guide, which would be handed out to attendees of Warped Tours past, will be back for its 2025 comeback events, taking place June 14-15 in Washington, D.C., July 26-27 in Long Beach, California, and Nov. 15-16 in Orlando, Florida.
“Back in the day, the Vans Warped Tour program was more than just a guide—it was a snapshot of a moment in music history,” says festival founder Kevin Lyman. “People used it to map their day, jot down set times, collect autographs, or just feel plugged into something bigger than themselves.”
He adds, “Bringing it back now isn’t just about honoring that past—it’s about making the experience whole again for a new generation that deserves something just as tangible.”
The 2025 Warped Tour Program will feature interviews with performers including mgk, Avril Lavigne, All Time Low, Ice Nine Kills and Simple Plan, plus a foreword from Lyman. You’ll also find artistic representations of past Warped moments featuring blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus, Paramore‘s Hayley Williams and My Chemical Romance‘s Gerard Way.
Photo by Ricky Vigil M / Justin E Palmer/GC Images
This story may contain accounts and descriptions of actual or alleged events that some readers may find disturbing.
The cross examination of Sean Combs girlfriend appearing as “Jane” continued Thursday, with her description of an alleged physical assault by Combs in June 2024 that she previously testified left her with welts and a black eye.
By then, “Jane” had seen the widely circulated 2016 hotel surveillance footage of Combs attacking then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
“You had never seen Mr. Combs in your relationship act like that before?” defense attorney Teny Geragos asked.
“Right,” Jane testified.
“He had never laid a hand on you prior to this night?” Geragos followed up.
“No,” “Jane” testified.
In that moment, “Jane” told the court, Combs said, “Now you want to attack me?”
“Jane” testified she had a “feeling” Combs had taken another woman on a family trip.
“It was a ball of emotions that night. Just resentment for so many things,” “Jane” told the court, before she instigated the physical altercation, about which she previously testified.
“Did you tell defense counsel that you slammed his head into the counter?” Geragos asked, referring to Combs.
“I think I did,” “Jane” testified in response.
“Did you tell the government you pushed his head?” Geragos asked.
“Yes,” Jane testified.
“Do you remember calling him a piece of s—?” Geragos asked.
“Yes,” “Jane” testified.
Geragos emphasized the champagne and tequila “Jane” testified both she and Combs had consumed.
“Jane” told the court that Combs escalated the violence: “He kicks me on the back of the leg and I fell on my buttocks. He lifted me up in a chokehold.”
“Jane” also testified that Combs dragged her and slapped her.
When the fighting stopped, “Jane” told the court she changed into an “outfit” and a male escort, named Anton, arrived for a so-called “hotel night” sexual encounter.
“Jane” testified that before there was any sexual contact, she told Combs about seeing Anton in Las Vegas at the January party she attended with an unidentified famous rapper.
Geragos quoted Combs as saying, “I can’t believe you went to another man’s ‘freak-off,’” the latter another name Combs used to describe sexual encounters with multiple partners.
She testified that she did not mention to Anton the violence that preceded the encounter.
“I was just trying to cover my wounds with my hair as much as possible,” “Jane” told the court.
“Jane” testified that Combs left that night without the two of them having their customary one-on-one sex session following a performance with an escort because, “Jane” told the court, he couldn’t believe she “went to another man’s freak off.”
Overall, the cross-examination appeared designed to establish that “Jane” kept returning to Combs and routinely agreed to participate in sexual encounters he desired.
Prosecutors then sought during their re-direct questioning to reframe how to interpret those messages.
“Jane,” who’s testifying under a pseudonym, read aloud a text she sent, which read, “I know what you want, baby,” and “Don’t want to make you mad” before a sexual encounter with a male escort named Paul.
Prosecutor Maurene Comey showed the jury a message that Combs sent to Paul not long after: “Imma need you to persuade her,” the message said.
Did you know that Sean had sent this text to Paul saying ‘Imma need you to persuade her?’” Comey asked on redirect.
“I’ve never seen these messages,” “Jane” testified in response.
“Did you derive physical pleasure from sex with entertainers?” Comey asked.
“No,” “Jane” testified. “I was putting on a show.”
“Jane” told the court she did not orgasm during such encounters but routinely faked it, “Because I was putting on a show.” She also began sobbing when Comey asked about her jealousy of other women that Combs was seeing during their relationship.
“I was just made to be, just carry this impossible pressure and they weren’t asked to hold any of that, that pressure, like I did,” “Jane” testified through tears and sobs. “I just thought it was unfair. All the nights with these men.”
“Jane” also wept while telling the court, “Why do I have to break all my boundaries and compromise myself and they don’t have to? It was never about the women — it was, ‘why am I being treated like this?’”
On re-cross examination, defense attorney Geragos pointed out that the violence occurred while “Jane” knew Combs was under federal investigation, suggesting that she could have reported it.
“Jane’s” testimony is now over.
Court has adjourned for the day. It will resume on Friday with testimony from a federal agent; from Jonathan Perez, a Combs assistant; and an additional witness.
If you are affected by abuse and needing support, or know someone who is, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). You can also chat online at thehotline.org or online.rainn.org, respectively.
The Kinks have shared another preview from their upcoming compilation The Journey – Part 3, which focuses on the band’s career with RCA/Arista from 1977 to 1984, a breakthrough for The Kinks in America.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have shared two tracks, including a live performance of “Sunny Afternoon” that was recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1993.
“As far as performances go, it was a high point achievement of The Kinks,” Dave Davies said of the show.
The other is a remastered version of “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy,” which Dave called “a personal favorite.” He noted it was his brother Ray Davies‘ “sensitive portrait of a super fan based on his impressions of different people.”
The Journey – Part 3, dropping July 11, is a two-disc compilation featuring songs handpicked by Ray and Dave. It includes a disc of 11 remastered tracks and a disc featuring a never-before-released live concert from the band’s archives, a recording of their July 1993 show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. It will be released as a two-CD or two-LP set, and both are available for preorder now.
The compilation is a continuation of the band’s 60th anniversary celebration. They previously released The Journey – Part 1 and The Journey – Part 2 in 2023.
