Jay Weinberg attends the New York Film Festival Spotlight Gala at Alice Tully Hall on September 28, 2025 in New York, New York. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios)
Former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg has opened up regarding his firing from the band in 2023 in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Weinberg had joined the masked metallers in 2014 in place of original drummer Joey Jordison. In announcing Weinberg’s departure, Slipknot put out a statement calling the move a “creative decision.”
Weinberg tells Rolling Stone that leading up to his firing he was trying to find time to schedule a surgery to repair a torn hip labrum. He says he got the OK from Slipknot to undergo the surgery in November 2023 after they finished a tour.
“They were like, ‘Yeah, good to go. Go for your surgery,'” Weinberg says. “And then I woke up the morning after traveling home from our last show together, and I received a phone call from the band’s manager in which he informed me that the band had made a decision to not renew my contract at the end of the year. I was shocked and full of questions. I was like, ‘Why? What happened?'”
According to Weinberg, the ‘Knot’s manager told him the band wanted to put out a joint statement with him the next day.
“I went on a walk with my wife to clear my head and process what had just happened,” Weinberg says. “And then 20 minutes later, they posted their own statement online.”
Reflecting on the firing now, Weinberg says, “It came without an explanation, no reason.”
“It was confusing then,” Weinberg says. “If I’m perfectly honest, it remains confusing.”
He adds, “Maybe I became a scapegoat for certain things.”
Weinberg has since launched a solo career and has released two songs.
Travis Barker and Malice and Pusha T of Clipse pose backstage at the Outdoor Theatre during the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 12, 2026 in Indio, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella)
Travis Barker was a surprise performer during the first weekend of Coachella 2026.
The blink-182 drummer joined rap duo Clipse onstage during their set on Sunday.
Barker previously played Coachella in 2023 with blink-182, which marked the band’s first concert with Tom DeLonge back since 2014.
Other surprise guests who showed up during Coachella’s first weekend included Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins and former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth, who showed up for sombr and Teddy Swims’ sets, respectively. Jack White was also a last-minute addition to the lineup.
The second weekend of Coachella takes place April 17-19. Like the first weekend, it will stream live on YouTube.
‘Foreigner The Hits Unplugged’ admat (Courtesy of Live Nation)
Foreigner is returning to Las Vegas for a very special show.
The band has announced they’ll play a special acoustic concert, Foreigner The Hits Unplugged, on Sept. 16 at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
The concert is a chance for fans to see reinterpretations of the band’s biggest hits, including “I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Cold As Ice,” “Hot Blooded” and “Juke Box Hero.”
The new show follows the band’s recently wrapped residency at The Venetian Theatre, Foreigner: The Hits Orchestral – Celebrating 50 Years Live in Vegas, which had the band performing their biggest hits alongside a 20-piece orchestra.
A Foreigner fan club presale begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT, followed by Live Nation, Ticketmaster and Venetian Rewards presales that begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. PT.
Foreigner is set to play a series of shows with the band’s original frontman, Lou Gramm, starting April 17 in St. Augustine, Florida. They’ll also hit the road this summer with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Double Trouble Double Vision Tour, which starts July 23 in Atlanta.
Zach Top’s Cold Beer & Country Music Summer Tour (Courtesy Zach Top/Sacks & Co.)
The “Cold Beer & Country Music” will keep flowing for Zach Top, as he extends his so-named tour throughout the summer.
The 14 new dates include stops at Orange Beach, Alabama’s The Wharf Amphitheater, Boise’s ExtraMile Arena and Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena.
Marcus King Band, Lukas Nelson, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Jake Worthington, Cole Goodwin and Wyatt McCubbin will join him at different points during the run.
Presales for the new dates on the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour start Wednesday, before tickets become available to the public on Friday.
The “South of Sanity” hitmaker has five nominations at May’s ACM Awards, before he hits the stage for CMA Fest at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in June. On April 24 he plays Lubbock with George Strait, with more stadium dates coming up in August and September with Chris Stapleton.
Zach Top’s Cold Beer & Country Music Summer Tour (Courtesy Zach Top/Sacks & Co.)
The “Cold Beer & Country Music” will keep flowing for Zach Top, as he extends his so-named tour throughout the summer.
The 14 new dates include stops at Orange Beach, Alabama’s The Wharf Amphitheater, Boise’s ExtraMile Arena and Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena.
Marcus King Band, Lukas Nelson, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Jake Worthington, Cole Goodwin and Wyatt McCubbin will join him at different points during the run.
Presales for the new dates on the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour start Wednesday, before tickets become available to the public on Friday.
The “South of Sanity” hitmaker has five nominations at May’s ACM Awards, before he hits the stage for CMA Fest at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium in June. On April 24 he plays Lubbock with George Strait, with more stadium dates coming up in August and September with Chris Stapleton.
The Hookers’ boat, “Soulmate,” is seen in Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, April 8, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — The husband of a woman who was reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy was questioned again by police on Monday as he awaits any charging decision in connection with her disappearance, according to his attorney.
Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, has been missing for over a week. She and her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for their yacht, Soulmate, in Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, when bad weather caused Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband told authorities.
Brian Hooker was arrested on Wednesday in connection with his wife’s disappearance and interviewed by Bahamian police for approximately three hours on Friday. Police subsequently requested an extension to give them until Monday evening to make any charging decision, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler.
He was questioned by police again on Monday for about an hour, according to Butler, who said investigators did not present any new evidence. She also said police have not given Brian Hooker any updates on the search for his wife since his arrest.
Police have until 7:20 p.m. ET Monday to charge or release him, according to Butler.
Butler said Brian Hooker is considered a suspect in his wife’s disappearance and denies any wrongdoing.
Following his initial interview on Friday, Butler said Brian Hooker was “questioned in relation to causing harm, which resulted in her death.”
“He definitely denies causing her death and he’s still asking about her and is hopeful that she will be recovered,” she continued, saying they have not been informed of any evidence that her body has been recovered.
The attorney said Brian Hooker is “heartbroken” over the disappearance of his wife of 25 years and that his arrest has been “traumatic.”
His arrest came after multiple sources told ABC News a criminal investigation had been opened into whether there was any wrongdoing in the case. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the probe, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
In a statement posted to social media last Wednesday, Brian Hooker said “unpredictable seas and high winds” caused his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy” near Elbow Cay.
“Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus,” he said.
Brian Hooker told police that his wife was holding the boat key when she went overboard, causing the 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy’s engine to shut off, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. He subsequently paddled the boat back to shore, arriving at a marina at around 4 a.m. on April 5, and reported his wife overboard, police said.
The Hookers documented their sailing travels on social media under the name “The Sailing Hookers.”
Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has called for a “full and complete investigation” into her mother’s disappearance.
She told ABC News her stepfather, Brian Hooker, told her that her mom “fell out of the boat and that he threw a life jacket to her or something, and he doesn’t know if she got it or not.”
Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, told ABC News she hopes “we find the truth” amid the investigation and alleged the couple have had a volatile relationship.
“I just want the truth to come out and I’m hoping that they can do that, and I hope they find her and that that will help clear up all of this,” she said.
Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy in ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.’ (Lionsgate)
The odds are in your favor to watch The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping‘s official trailer.
Lionsgate released the full trailer for the highly anticipated sixth Hunger Games film on Monday.
Joseph Zada stars as a young Haymitch Abernathy in the film that follows his journey through the Second Quarter Quell.
Zada leads a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Billy Porter and Kieran Culkin.
The trailer starts with Haymitch entering into the bright, candy-colored green meadow of an arena. We then see a clip of President Snow, as played by Fiennes, talking to the young boy.
“Haymitch Abernathy. I bet I know a thing or two about you. You love her and she loves you,” President Snow says, referencing Haymitch’s girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird, who is played by Peak. “But now, you are on your own.”
The trailer also shows off Culkin in the role of Caesar Flickerman and Fanning as Effie Trinket — roles that were originated by Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks in the previous films.
“Go out there and make them remember you,” Effie says to Haymitch before he heads out to be interviewed by Caesar.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name. It revisits the world of Panem almost 25 years before the events of the original book and film saga.
The novel begins on the morning of the 50th annual Hunger Games, when Haymitch Abernathy is chosen to compete in the deadly arena. Haymitch eventually wins the games, as he goes on to be the mentor for Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters on Nov. 20.
: Lil Jon attends the 5th Annual Sno Ball Gala at Delta Flight Museum on October 9, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Nykieria Chaney/Getty Images)
“Snap Yo Fingers” and get ready to learn a little more about Lil Jon. He’s telling his life story in an upcoming memoir titled I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, set to arrive on Oct. 20 via Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster.
In the memoir, Lil Jon, born Jonathan Smith, discusses his rise as a pioneer of hip-hop’s crunk movement who helped bring Southern rap into the mainstream, starting with his first DJ job at the New York Sound Factory in Atlanta. He reflects on his work with Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz and his collaborations with Usher, Pitbull, Ice Cube, Ciara, Too $hort, the Ying Yang Twins and more. Jon also opens up about deeply personal moments, including shocking family revelations, his commitment to meditation, healthy eating, mindfulness, herbalism and Islam, as well as the passing of his son, Nathan “DJ Slade” Smith, who died from accidental drowning in February, according to a release.
“I’ve worked on a lot of different projects over the years, but this one right here made me dig deep and turn inward,” Lil Jon says in a statement. “Y’all have heard my voice for over three decades, but here’s a chance to read what I really have to say about it all, and catch a glimpse into the innermost circles of both my professional and personal worlds.”
“I’ve been blessed to amass enormous wins, but with that I’ve also had to endure immense hardships and painful losses privately and publicly … and I’m finally ready to share that with you all,” he continues. “This ride ain’t been an easy one, but who ever said chasin’ your dreams was easy?”
Jon dropped a mindfulness-focused book, Manifest Abundance: Affirmations for Personal Growth,in 2024.
: Lil Jon attends the 5th Annual Sno Ball Gala at Delta Flight Museum on October 9, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Nykieria Chaney/Getty Images)
“Snap Yo Fingers” and get ready to learn a little more about Lil Jon. He’s telling his life story in an upcoming memoir titled I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me, set to arrive on Oct. 20 via Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster.
In the memoir, Lil Jon, born Jonathan Smith, discusses his rise as a pioneer of hip-hop’s crunk movement who helped bring Southern rap into the mainstream, starting with his first DJ job at the New York Sound Factory in Atlanta. He reflects on his work with Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz and his collaborations with Usher, Pitbull, Ice Cube, Ciara, Too $hort, the Ying Yang Twins and more. Jon also opens up about deeply personal moments, including shocking family revelations, his commitment to meditation, healthy eating, mindfulness, herbalism and Islam, as well as the passing of his son, Nathan “DJ Slade” Smith, who died from accidental drowning in February, according to a release.
“I’ve worked on a lot of different projects over the years, but this one right here made me dig deep and turn inward,” Lil Jon says in a statement. “Y’all have heard my voice for over three decades, but here’s a chance to read what I really have to say about it all, and catch a glimpse into the innermost circles of both my professional and personal worlds.”
“I’ve been blessed to amass enormous wins, but with that I’ve also had to endure immense hardships and painful losses privately and publicly … and I’m finally ready to share that with you all,” he continues. “This ride ain’t been an easy one, but who ever said chasin’ your dreams was easy?”
Jon dropped a mindfulness-focused book, Manifest Abundance: Affirmations for Personal Growth,in 2024.
Alice Cooper speaks on stage during CoopStock 2026 at Las Sendas Golf Club on April 11, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
No more Mr. Nice Guy, say hello to Mr. Grunge Guy.
Alice Cooper performed a cover of the Nirvana classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” during his Coopstock benefit concert, which took place Saturday in Mesa, Arizona.
You can watch footage of the rendition via Cooper’s Instagram Story.
Coopstock raises money for Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, which are located throughout Arizona.
Cooper launches a U.S. tour Tuesday in San Antonio. The trek will feature new guitarist Anna Cara, who is filling in for Nita Strauss while she’s on maternity leave.
