Since co-founding Las Vegas rock group The Killers in 2001, Flowers has released 7 albums with the band, all of which have been UK Number Ones. With their hits including ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’, and their iconic debut ‘Mr Brightside’, The Killers have sold over 35 million records, been nominated for 7 Grammys, and won 2 BRIT Awards. The group’s shows have been celebrated as a fantastic live experience, having headlined Glastonbury in 2007 and the US’s Coachella Festival in 2009. While still active, The Killers have not released an album since 2021’s ‘Pressure Machine’, though Flowers told NME that their eighth album might release in 2027.

Flowers first stepped away from the fold to begin his solo career in 2010 with debut album ‘Flamingo’, which was again a UK Number One, as was his 2015 second album ‘The Desired Effect’. He toured ‘The Desired Effect’ extensively, including performances for Barack Obama and the British royal family.

In 2025, Flowers spoke to NME about the two “South West” styled solo albums he had recorded in Nashville, with a sound and feel inspired by Bruce Springsteen, hinting that they would be out before the next Killers album. He announced the first of them, ‘Thrasher’, earlier this week, with the lead single ‘Plans’ due to release tomorrow, the 26th of June. The full track-listing was made available this week:

1. Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?
2. One Of Us
3. Tiger’s Blood
4. Plans
5. Paradise
6. Miss America
7. Angel
8. The Red Ground
9. In A Heartbeat
10. An American Dream

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With the album’s announcement and ‘Plans’ releasing imminently, Flowers has announced his full solo tour since 2015, with September and October dates in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. His return to the Royal Albert Hall will be his first full show at the venue since The Killers played 2 nights there in 2009, which was recorded and later released as the album and concert film ‘Live From The Royal Albert Hall’. Here are the full dates for the UK and Ireland:

OCTOBER:

14 – Bournemouth, O2 Academy
15 – London, Royal Albert Hall
17 – Bristol, Beacon
18 – Nottingham, Rock City
20 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
21 – York, Barbican
23 – Glasgow, O2 Academy
24 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
27 – Dublin, Olympia

The single ‘Plans’ releases tomorrow ahead of ‘Thrasher’, which comes out on the 21st of August. Pre-ordering the album gives you access to the live show pre-sale, which opens on the Wednesday the 1st of July at 10am. General sale opens at 10am on Friday the 3rd.

Dua Lipa is indisputably one of the biggest British names in pop, already owning three Grammy Awards and seven BRITs, as well as two Guinness World Records for her incredible ticket sales and Spotify streaming figures. At the age of 30, she has already made multiple lists by publications like British Vogue and Time for most influential celebrities – outside of music, her philanthropic work and political outspokenness have made her a prominent figure in advocacy for peace initiatives and LGBTQ rights. Her now-husband Callum Turner, is an English actor best known for his roles in the Fantastic Beasts film series, and for his BAFTA-nominated performance in 2019 BBC series The Capture. 36 year-old Turner has been frequently rumoured to be a front-running candidate for the mantle of movie super-spy James Bond, following Daniel Craig’s retirement from the character in 2021.

The pair’s relationship was first reported in January 2024, when their appearances together started a paparazzi frenzy. Later that year, Lipa headlined Glastonbury Festival in June, before news of their engagement was reported by British Vogue in December. Lipa said to them at the time “It’s very exciting. This decision to grow old together, to see a life and just, I don’t know, be best friends forever – it’s a really special feeling.”

Reports came out yesterday that the couple had married in a private civil ceremony at London’s Old Marylebone Town Hall on Sunday the 31st of May. The venue previously held several celebrity weddings, including those of Sir Paul McCartney to Linda Eastman and Nancy Shevell, and Oasis’s Liam Gallagher’s marriages to Patsy Kensit and later Nicole Appleton.

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Dua Lipa was reportedly wearing a Schiaparelli Haute Couture outfit created by American designer Daniel Roseberry, while Callum Turner donned a stylish navy-blue suit. The couple were surrounded on the day by their nearest friends and relatives, with an insider telling People magazine that “The London ceremony was exactly what they wanted. It was intimate and meaningful, and they were surrounded by loved ones.”

The next plans for the happy couple allegedly involve three days of celebrations in Sicily at the end of next week. As it stands, Dua Lipa has not released her own new music since 2024 album ‘Radical Optimism’, the touring cycle of which ended last December. However, her performance of ‘Dance The Night’ and ‘Electricity’ while celebrating Mark Ronson’s Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s BRITs ceremony was a highlight of the year so far. As for Turner, GQ reported last week that auditions for James Bond are underway, and have confirmed the murmurs that he might be the top candidate.

The singer-songwriter from Liverpool has scheduled his upcoming album to be released on Friday the 4th September ahead of his tour that will begin the day after on the 5th. The album will be his first follow-up since his Top Five album in 2024, ‘For The People’. He will be kicking off the live tracks in Southampton in The 1865.

The tour is set to differ from his last live appearances where he played to huge crowds that ranged from a massive hometown performance and area-based visits. This year he will be playing intimate shows for his fans in smaller venues to showcase his sound in a comfortable and close environment.

The singer announced his tour and album just this week with the release of ‘Just Begun’, where he also released a groovy music video for the track. From press talks, Webster speaks of the album reflecting notions of identity and reflection, that nonetheless, still spotlights his strength as a songwriter that released classic indie anthems such as ‘Weekend In Paradise’ and ‘Allez Allez Allez’. When he spoke of the new release he said: “This album is about trying to make sense of it all – life, pressure, expectations, the way things are changing around us and still holding onto who you are through it.”

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The news is exciting for indie fans, marking his return to the stage after a year off live performances, particularly after his year-after-year appearances at Glastonbury festival. Though, he kicked off his year of performing just last weekend at Warrington’ Neighbourhood Weekender, accelerating the excitement for new music from the legend.

Sat 5 Sep – Southampton, The 1865
Sun 6 Sep – Bristol, O2 Academy 1
Mon 7 Sep – Cardiff, Students Union
Wed 9 Sep – London, Electric Ballroom
Thu 10 Sep – Birmingham, O2 Institute 1
Fri 11 Sep – Manchester, Academy 1
Sun 13 Sep – Leicester, O2 Academy
Tue 15 Sep – Sheffield, Network
Thu 17 Sep – Leeds, O2 Academy
Fri 18 Sep – Hull, University Union
Sat 19 Sep – Newcastle, NX
Mon 21 Sep – Dundee, Live House
Tue 22 Sep – Glasgow, O2 Academy
Wed 23 Sep – Carlisle, The Old Fire Station
Fri 29 Sep – Isle of Man, Villa Marina Royal Hall

You can buy general sale tickets on sale tomorrow on the 29th of May 2026 at 10am here!

Founded in 2012, the festival has grown into a two-day celebration of electronic music and sound system culture, featuring house, techno, drum and bass, jungle, garage and hip-hop across multiple stages. From its early days in Castle Park through to Eastville Park, the festival eventually found a permanent home at the Ashton Court Estate where it hosts 860 acres on the edge of the city that has been visited by many, from Portishead to Robert Plant over the decades.  This year’s headliners included Sammy Virji, Confidence Man DJS, Chase and Status and more.

With Glastonbury taking a fallow year, Love Saves The Day has stepped up as the UK’s festival season opener, and the 2026 lineup reflected this. Temperatures hit 27°C across the weekend, and for the first time the main stage was powered entirely by solar energy. Saturday was headlined by Sub Focus, whose new audiovisual show drew in excited fans and festival goers. Sunday, last night, was handed to Sammy Virji to close up until next year.

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The Birmingham DJ and producer has spent the last two years converting underground credibility into a bigger discography and performance scale. His reputation was originally built in clubs where selection and timing matter, as well as dancers and dark rooms but the qualities he had in those spaces translate well to a main stage for his recent appearances at festivals over the years. He moves between drum and bass, jungle, and garage with beats that always keep the crowd moving. The DJ also came out with an album last year, ‘Same Day Cleaning’.

At Ashton Court on Sunday evening, Sammy Virji’s set rounded off the hot, summery weekend with some of his most famous bangers. His top charted songs include ‘Find My Way Home’, ‘Shella Verse’ and ‘Cops and Robbers’, where he merges his house music sound with garage and drum and bass genres. The closing act was the finish Love Saves The Day needed to complete the bank holiday weekend for Bristol.

Love Saves The Day has always paired big headliners with upcoming UK talent and local collectives, reflecting Bristol’s dance and techno heritage. Virji closing the weekend confirmed his place among the most compelling live draws in UK dance music right now and the continuation of dance anthems in the UK.

Look Mum No Computer already had an established presence online as a youtuber and curator in addition to his music. He previously had performed at Glastonbury Festival in 2015 with his former band Zibra. He now owns ‘This Museum is (Not) Obsolete’ in Ramsgate featuring experimental machinery and technology that is both musical and scientific. He has also just announced a UK tour for November where he will be visiting Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, and London.

The UK has not won Eurovision since 1997 when Katrina and the Waves took home the UK’s fifth title. Although the UK has had an unlucky run, fans are hopeful that Look Mum No Computer could take home the win as they approach this year’s contest with a new perspective. ‘Eins Zwei, Drei’ will be partially sung in German and come with a flashy performance, contrasting the 2025 entry ‘What the Hell Just Happened?”- a pop song by girl band Remember Monday.

The UK is one of five countries that automatically qualify for the grand final on the 16^th due to their financial contribution towards EBU- the organisation running Eurovision. The big four consists of the UK, France, Italy, and Germany (as well as Austria the 2025 winners). For this reason, although these countries will perform during the semi-finals, they are only appearing as live guests and will not compete until the grand final.

The first semi-final took place on the 12^th of May in which 10 countries qualified to the next stage. Tonight another 10 countries will qualify leaving us with 20 countries in addition to the already competing 5 core countries.

For the semi-finals, you can only vote if you are a participating country. This means that tonight UK viewers will be able to vote up to 10 times, however you will not be able to vote for your own country. This will be the same for the grand final to prevent home advantage. All final scores from public televoting and from the national juries will be calculated giving us our winner this Saturday.

The semi-finals and grand final will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC One at 8pm and viewers can vote via SMS or the Eurovision app.

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A spokesperson for Shindig Festival said, “we are taking this process seriously and are working closely with our production teams, the artist and relevant authorities to ensure robust measures are in place.” Wiltshire councillor Paul Sample has said the request for review was submitted by an unknown party but that it had been made “on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.”

This potential review comes after Bob Vylan’s contentious set at Glastonbury last year. During the set, frontman Bobby Vylan led the crowd in chanting “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces].” The comments were condemned by Prime Minister Kier Starmer, who called it “appalling hate speech.”

The performance was the subject of an investigation by the Avon and Somerset Police, but the case was dropped in December. The force said the chanting “[did] not meet the criminal threshold outlined by the CPS for any person to be prosecuted.”

After this, Bob Vylan said in a statement the investigation was “never warranted,” saying their set was “not hateful” but intended to be a “display of solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Since their Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan has had multiple international shows cancelled, including Radar Festival in Germany. The duo had their US visas revoked ahead of a tour set to take place there. And The Standard also reported they were dropped from their talent agency, United Talent Agency, though UTA never acknowledged this. 

Shindig Festival announced Bob Vylan as headliners in February. They called the duo “one of the most vital, fearless and electrifying live acts in the UK right now.” They went on to say, “We believe art should challenge as well as unite. This will be powerful. This will be loud. And above all, it will be Shindig.” 

This week, a spokesperson for Shindig told the Local Democracy Reporting Service “clear performance conditions” had been agreed upon with Bob Vylan, amid the potential license review. They added the festival was completing “enhanced planning within [their] event management framework, including specific risk assessments, security measures, and the ability to intervene immediately if required.” Organisers assured that they “are confident the event will be delivered safely, responsibly, and in line with the high standards [they] have maintained over many years.” 

A public consultation period will last until May 6. After which, the review will be considered by a sub-committee on May 18. Shindig is set to open its gates on May 21 to 10,00 ticket holders. 

He performed the new track for the first time on the 16^th of April in Madison Square Garden and released it the following day with a visualiser that can be seen on Youtube.

The new release comes after a mysterious vinyl arrived in record stores. The plain white record was distributed in shops all over the UK and US without any artist name or title. According to NME, employees had described the record as a teaser by a “major artist”, which wasn’t far from the truth. Although the vinyl was given out for free to customers, a few of them have been sourced on eBay for up to £2000.

Although some suspected the unidentified voice belonged to Niall Horan and James Arthur, Capaldi confirmed the pitched-down record was him. After much speculation, with fans recognising his accent and lyricism, the ‘Someone You Loved’ singer  posted a snippet of him lip-syncing to ‘Stay Love’ affirming he was behind the unnamed vinyl.

This tour is especially meaningful to Capaldi fans, being the first set of tour dates after a two-year hiatus. Unfortunately, Capaldi had to cut his Glastonbury performance in 2023 short due to his mental and physical health. After a well-deserved break, he returned to Glastonbury in 2025 to finish his set and is now back to continue his artistry on his 2026 tour. He has since contributed to mental health organisations like BetterHelp offering 734,000 hours of free therapy.

The 29-year-old musician is currently touring North America but will be back to do shows in UK & Ireland in June. The first UK show will take place in Exeter on the 27^th of June and will end his tour in Manchester on the 22^nd of August. This will include headlining at London’s BST Hyde Park and Roundhay Festival in Leeds which will be supported by Conan Gray and Jacob Alon.

While many of his shows have sold out, some locations still have tickets up for grabs on ticketing platforms.

Jacqueline Springer, curator of Africa & Diaspora: Performance at the Victoria & Albert Museum, carefully curated the exhibition. Springer told Rolling Stone that it is a “celebration and understanding of how social and political histories are responded to by people and their cultures to provide the art we all enjoy.”

The exhibition explores the transformation of black music in Britain through colonialisation over the years and commemorates the legacy of these artists by shining a light on all their historic moments. By exploring 8 different genres, visitors can learn about the roots of black music and where it came from and what gives black music its own identity. Nearly 300 objects have been displayed to represent the origin of these genres: 2 tone, lovers rock, Brit funk, jungle, drum & bass, trip hop, UK garage and grime.

This immersive experience combines sound and video to create a sensory landscape in which cultural artifacts can also be seen. The collection will include a plethora of items ranging from instruments to costumes as well as photography.

Culturally significant objects like Stormzy’s Union Jack vest can be viewed, reminding visitors that he made history being the first black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury. The stab proof vest was designed by Banksy in 2019 and was a political statement, tackling the issues of identity and knife crime in the 2010s. Other notable exhibits are a piano from Winifred Atwell who became the first black artist to reach Number 1 on the UK single charts, and JME’s game console on which he recorded his first debut album before having professional equipment.

Springer also told Billboard that she wants people to leave this experience thinking “how incredible it is to live under the same sky as somebody who makes music that makes you feel better about yourself.” To have the full experience visitors will be given a headset to listen to the carefully curated playlist that is personalised to different sections within the gallery. The playlist for the audio soundscape can be found here, featuring artists like Stormzy and Skepta.

Under 26s and student tickets are priced at £11, while regular tickets are between £22.50-£24.50, and can be found via the V&A Museum’s website

The festivities will take place at London’s Southbank Centre this summer with a host of events highlighting the some of the best in indie music, art and culture. Pulp will go on at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 18 July. On the set will be their 2025 album ‘More’ performed in full for the first time ever, as well as a host of fan-favourites.

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This performance is set to be one of Pulp’s only UK showings this year. The band embarked on the Here Comes More Tour last June, their most expansive tour since the 1990s. It has taken them to arenas across the country and even to a surpise appearance at Glastonbury’s iconic Pyramid Stage last year.

Other 2026 UK/IE appearances for Pulp include headlining the All Together Now Festival in Ireland this July as well as Dorset’s End of Road Festival in September. They will also play a one-off show at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester on August 28^th.

As for the further Rough Trade 50 bill: fellow Rough Trade signees, Scritti Politti will play two sets at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on Saturday 18 July: a matinee set at 3 pm and an evening show at 8 pm. And on Sunday 19 July, London-based rock band, caroline, will play the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with special guests My New Band Believe.

Rounding out the celebration of all things indie will be a series of performances across music, film and the written word. An Evening with Rough Trade Books will take place on Friday 17 July and include author appearances and a record fair from the record label’s publishing venture. A special new staging of Hannah Patterson’s debut novel, Ungone will take place in the Purcell Rooms on Saturday 18 July. And Sunday 19 July will see Pulp’s own Jarvis Crocker present a screening of the Northern coming-of-age classic, Kes (1969), which will feature a live orchestral accompaniment of the film’s soundtrack.

Geoff Tavis, founder of Rough Trade Records, said of the label’s Golden Jubilee “this year means it’s 50 years since the day the first shop opened its doors on Kensington Park Road.” He went on to say, “the Rough Trade shop, which became a distributor and then a Record label, has helped to bring into the world some of the very best music.”

Pulp recently appeared on ‘HELP (2)’ , the compilation charity album from War Child Records. They contributed ‘Begging for Change’ to the project. The band shared that the song was recorded during sessions for ‘More’ but never finished. It was completed for War Child project at Abbey Road Studios.

In a four-star review of 2025’s ‘More,’ NME said, “Pulp have retained their original spirit and flair into a statement of middle age without feeling any less vital.” The band will perform ‘More’ in full at Rough Trade this July.

Tickets for all events, except for Pulp’s headline show, go on sale 2 pm Thursday April 16.

For Pulp’s gig, pre-sale begins Friday 17 April at 10 AM. General sale will be on Monday 20 April at 2 PM. Tickets can be found here.