December 9, 2022 The British rock band Slaves change their name to Soft Play. Meant to reference "the grind of day-to-day life," they say the name "doesn't represent who we are as people or what our music stands for any longer."
October 14, 2022 After teasing songs on social media for two years, Noah Kahan finally issues his third album, Stick Season, which marks his shift from indie-pop to folk and launches him into the mainstream.More
May 27, 2022 Abba's virtual reality show Voyages opens in London with digital avatars performing in place of the actual band members.More
May 26, 2022 Andy Fletcher, a founding member of Depeche Mode, dies at 60. He played keyboards in the band and also served at times as peacemaker and business manager.
November 5, 2021 ABBA release Voyage, their first album in 40 years, and also their last. They decided to make it while preparing for their show Voyage, which features digital avatars ("Abba-tars") of the band members. The album goes to #1 in most European countries and also Australia.
October 30, 2021 Harry Styles, known to wear a dress on occasion, plays his Madison Square Garden show in costume as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, with his band dressed like characters from the movie. He calls it "Harryween"; the next night he takes the stage as a Pierrot clown.
August 24, 2021 Thirty years after appearing as a baby grasping for a dollar bill on Nirvana's Nevermind album cover, Spencer Elden sues the band and others associated with the photo shoot, claiming it caused him "extreme and permanent emotional distress." He ends up losing the suit.
July 29, 2021 After postponing the previous year's festival due to the coronavirus outbreak, Lollapalooza returns in full force for a four-day music event in Chicago's Grant Park. But there's a catch: Festivalgoers must provide proof of vaccinations or negative COVID tests to gain entry. Those who have tested negative but are unvaccinated also have to wear a mask.More
July 27, 2021 Dusty Hill of ZZ Top dies at 72, ending a 51-year run where the band's lineup was always Hill, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard.
June 11, 2021 Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son and Van Halen's bass player from 2007 until their disbandment in 2020, releases his first album, Mammoth WVH. He plays all the instruments and does all the singing on the album, which is well reviewed and launches him as a solo artist.
March 5, 2021 Kings Of Leon release their album When You See Yourself in a non-fungible token (NFT) auction that also includes digital artwork and "Golden Tickets." Other acts (notably, Grimes) have sold NTF art, but KoL is the first big name to try it with an album and VIP package.More
December 18, 2020 Paul McCartney releases McCartney III. He's a one-man band on the album, playing all the instruments (save for one track) and writing all the songs, which he also did on the prequels, McCartney in 1970 and McCartney II in 1980.
November 6, 2020 System Of A Down release two songs - "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" - supporting their home country of Armenia in a war that has broken out in the region. It's the first new material from the band since their album Hypnotize in 2005.
August 14, 2020 The sports comedy drama Ted Lasso premieres on Apple TV+ with a theme song by Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons. Jason Sudeikis, who portrays the title character, is a longtime friend of the British folk rocker. He even portrayed Mumford in the band's music video for their 2013 single "Hopeless Wanderer."
July 31, 2020 The Psychedelic Furs release Made Of Rain, their first album since 1991, the year they disbanded. The group re-formed in 2000 but didn't get around to releasing new music until 20 years later.
July 25, 2020 Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green dies at 73. Green gave the band a strident blues sound before leaving in 1970.
July 6, 2020 Charlie Daniels dies at 83 after suffering a stroke.
June 11, 2020 Country trio Lady Antebellum change their name to Lady A to avoid connotations with slavery. "Antebellum" refers to the period before the Civil War in America; the band name referred to the architectural style of Southern homes built during this period.
June 10, 2020 Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne takes innovative social-distancing measures on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: The band sings their tune "Race For The Prize" from inside massive plastic bubbles. Each audience member is also enclosed their own bubble to keep the coronavirus at bay.More
May 14, 2020 Keith Urban becomes the first major artist to play a drive-in concert in America during the coronavirus pandemic, performing to an audience of health care workers at the Stardust Drive-In in Watertown, Tennessee.More
May 5, 2020 The Guns N' Roses version of "Live And Let Die" blares as President Donald Trump tours a mask factory in Arizona during the coronavirus pandemic without wearing a mask. Intrigued by the irony, many news outlets show the footage. The band later sells T-shirts saying "Live N' Let Die With COVID 45."
March 17, 2020 With St. Patrick's Day festivities shut down due to the coronavirus, Dropkick Murphys livestream a free concert from an empty venue in Boston. Over the next few weeks, many other artists follow suit, using livestreaming as a way to perform for fans during lockdown.More
March 1, 2020 Public Enemy kick Flavor Flav out of the group, claiming he often missed live gigs and recording sessions. "He always chose to party over work," the statement reads. On April 1, the band releases a new song with Flav and claims kicking him out was a hoax.
February 10, 2020 While performing at the Get Out The Vote rally in New Hampshire in support of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, The Strokes debut the animated video for their new single "At The Door." They also perform the forthcoming followup single "Bad Decisions" for the first time.More
December 13, 2019 Harry Styles releases his highly anticipated second album, Fine Line, which includes the hits "Adore You" and "Watermelon Sugar." It's a global smash, putting Styles way ahead of his One Direction bandmates in solo success.
October 2, 2019 Kim Shattuck of The Muffs dies at 56 after a battle with ALS. Her bandmates remember her as "a brilliant songwriter, rocking guitarist and singer/screamer extraordinaire."
September 30, 2019 Green Day and the National Hockey League announce a partnership deal that includes the band playing halftime of the 2020 All-Star Game, and their song "Fire, Ready, Aim" as the opening theme to the Wednesday Night Hockey broadcasts.
September 10, 2019 John Cooper of Skillet releases the graphic novel Eden, which follows the band's adventure through a dangerous post-apocalyptic world to find a mysterious paradise.
August 2, 2019 Skillet release their 10th album, Victorious, featuring the songs "Legendary" and "Save Me." The album is produced by the band's frontman, John Cooper, and his wife/bandmate, Korey Cooper.
July 25, 2019 PledgeMusic, a platform for fans to fund musicians, goes offline without delivering the money pledged to hundreds of artists.More
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