In a career that’s spanned over 20 years in the music industry, Hayley Williams has become the biggest female name in pop punk with band Paramore, established herself as a radio-dominating solo artist, and now she’s trying something very, very different with her new launch of ‘Power Snatch’.

From her first steps into the music business, Hayley Williams had the eyes of the industry on her. In 2003, Atlantic Records signed her as a solo artist at the age of just 14, but she opted instead to begin her career by forming Paramore with school friends and recording more rebellious pop punk music. By the time debut album ‘All We Know Is Falling’ came out in 2005, she was still only 16 and was embarking on tours of the US with established acts.

Paramore went on to have significant lineup changes across 6 studio albums, with Williams always the consistent core that the band was built around, before their indefinite hiatus was announced in 2025. Once the touring cycle for 2017 studio album ‘After Laughter’ had finished, she had expressed a need to take a break from writing and touring. By 2019, she’d used this respite to create her debut solo album ‘Petals For Armor’, which came out in 2020 to mass critical acclaim. On the record, Williams sang as well as playing keyboards, guitar and drums on various tracks.

William’s followed up with 2 further solo albums, ‘Flowers for Vases/Descansos’ in 2021, and last year’s ‘Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party’ which was met with rave reviews and holds a score of 91 out of 100 on review site Metacritic. She had evolved her previous Paramore and solo music sounds into a pop rock behemoth, with diverse influences and impeccable audio fidelity. The album was co-written with and produced by Daniel James, a record producer she had worked with in the past.

Now in 2026, Hayley Williams has revealed new band Power Snatch, working again with Daniel James. And where her recent releases had valued sharp songwriting and clean production, their releases so far have moved into a grungier style, with a very deliberate muddy, lo-fi tone to them.

The first single ‘Assignment’ appeared on Apple Music last week, before a three track demo was made available to purchase on Bandcamp yesterday. Rather mysteriously, fans swiftly discovered an Instagram account created in July of last year, with a single cryptic post featuring audio from song ‘DUH’, suggesting that this announcement had been a while in the making.

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Now after demonstrating another new musical venture while still celebrating the success of ‘Ego Death’, Williams will have no time to rest on her laurels – she embarks on her first solo tour in support of the album starting in the US this March. The sold-out ‘Hayley Williams At A Bachelorette Party’ road trip comes to the UK in June, hitting venues in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin.

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A post shared by hayley (@yelyahwilliams)

The collaborative performance came during Swift’s highly anticipated and adored surprise song section of the show, and followed a mashup of ‘thanK you aIMee’ and ‘Mean’, which Swift prefaced by saying, “Every time someone talks sh*t, it makes me work even harder”. You can watch the mashup below.

Williams and Swift met in 2009 at an afterparty after the Grammy’s, and have been life long friends ever since. This guest appearance is not the first time Williams and Swift have performed together, as Williams joined the stage in 2011 at Taylor Swift’s Speak Now tour in London. Thirteen years later, in the same location, they performed together again, and the performance saw Williams wearing a purple, Speak Now inspired dress, alongside lyric writing on her arm, mirroring their past performance and the album. You can watch the performance below.

The collaboration was emotional for both parties, as Swift paused mid song to embrace the moment, and saying “I love you so much” to Williams, and that “I can’t believe she’s ever talked to me once”, with Williams replying, “You’re my longest music friend. Thank you. I love you.”, making this performance a memorable moment of friendship for not only the fans but for Williams and Swift themselves too.

Paramore have been opening for Swift since the beginning of the European leg of the Eras tour, that began in Paris on May 9th, and does not finish until the 20th August. They play a nine song set, that includes some of their greatest hits such as ‘Still Into You’, ‘The Only Exception’ and ‘This Is Why’, however they also include their own surprise songs, and recently performed a cover of ‘Burning Down The House’ by Talking Heads. Before the tour began, NME spoke to Williams who said she was “so ready to be tour-mates” again, and expressed her respect for how “specific and colourful Taylor’s words get without ever losing the universal thread.”.

So far, the two of the three nights Swift is spending at Wembley this month have shaped up to be exciting and star-studded, with her performance on Saturday 22nd being attended by celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Greta Gerwig, Hugh Grant, and her partner Travis Kelce. The night before was equally as exciting, with none other than the Royal Family being in attendance, alongside the feature of what Prince Williams has described as his best “dad dancing”.

Following Swift’s performance on Sunday 23rd June, she moves on to Dublin, and does not return to London until the 15th August, when she will perform for five nights, marking the end of the European Eras tour.

Radio 1 presenter Sam MacGregor told BBC: “There has been a history of people who, when they have done a UK tour or European tour, have missed off Wales. But it’s exciting to see artists are starting to change that perception. And if people like Taylor Swift, the biggest artist in the world right now, can come to Cardiff, they why can’t some of the smaller or medium scale artists come?”

Fans had been eagerly awaiting information regarding Swift’s upcoming tour, and when the 34-year-old announced what cities she, along with support from American rock band Paramore, would be visiting, many were ecstatic to discover the singer would be hitting Cardiff this summer. The “Anti-Hero” singer will be playing Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on June 18, her only Welsh date for the entire tour.

Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m… pic.twitter.com/kl1aijxR2o

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 5, 2023

Taylor Swift isn’t the only superstar to be performing in Cardiff this summer, as the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Billy Joel, and Pink will be performing at the Principality Stadium, giving Wales an unforgettable summer of live music.

Emily Cotterill from FOR Cardiff, a group representing businesses in the city centre, believes each event is a big opportunity. She said: “We want people who have maybe come to Cardiff once for a gig to think ‘we want to go back and spend a weekend’. Lots of the time, especially with these big names, they are a reason to come here for the first time and then it’s up to us to help those people come back for a second, third or fourth time.”

For more information on Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour, click here.

Tour dates:

07/06/2024 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
08/06 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
09/06 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
13/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
14/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
15/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
18/06 – Principality Stadium – Cardiff
21/06 – Wembley Stadium – London
22/06 – Wembley Stadium – London
23/06 – Wembley Stadium – London
28/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
29/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
30/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
15/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
16/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
17/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
19/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
20/08 – Wembley Stadium – London

“Re: This Is Why

9.28 – This Is Why

10.2 – Why Is This?

10.6 – Is This Why?”

pic.twitter.com/W4hVAEzWHY

— paramore (@paramore) September 25, 2023

The Tennessee trio didn’t keep fans waiting long, as they announced a companion album to their 6th LP This Is Why, released earlier this year on February 10th, that will feature remixes, reworked and rewritten tracks, as well as some collaborations and an unreleased demo.

Earlier today, Paramore revealed the track list for their upcoming release, which showed a variety of artists taking on a song from the album and making it their own. Artists featuring on Re: This Is Why include UK acts such as Wet Leg, Foals and The xx singer Romy.

Re: This Is Why. The Tracklist.

1. This Is Why (Re: @foals)
2. The News (Re: @thelindalindas)
3. Running Out Of Time (Re: @pandabear)
4. Running Out Of Time (Re: @zanelowe)
5. C’est Comme Ça (Re: @wetlegband)
6. Big Man, Little Dignity (Re: @DOMiAndJDBECK)
7. You First (Re:… pic.twitter.com/flTS59qSH6

— paramore (@paramore) October 4, 2023

The band took to Twitter to share “We’ve long wanted to recognize the connection we have with some of the artists who’ve influenced us as a band and/or who have cited our band as an influence. Re: This Is Why is almost a remix album. Some of the songs have been remixed sort of classically, while others were reworked or rewritten. It’s incredible to hear all our worlds colliding. Out 10/6.”

We’ve long wanted to recognize the connection we have with some of the artists who’ve influenced us as a band and/or who have cited our band as an influence.

Re: This Is Why is almost a remix album. Some of the songs have been remixed sort of classically, while others were… pic.twitter.com/X3BpsFhD7s

— paramore (@paramore) October 2, 2023

Oxford based band Foals, who joined Paramore on their North American tour earlier this year, are taking on the album’s title track. Back in 2022, Paramore front-woman Hayley Williams praised the English band on an episode of her podcast Everything Is Emo, and spoke of their evolution.

Williams stated “I really respect this band’s journey and how they continue to evolve. I think it takes a lot of guts too. I think of every time we’ve gone home to write a new album, or we have an album in the can but haven’t presented it to the world, it’s a really scary feeling. It can be nerve-wracking to present yourself in a new way and essentially, grow in front of the world. Any time a band re-emerges with a new picture, a new frame of mind, I think it’s courageous and cool and I’m really enjoying their evolution.”

Re: This Is Why will be released this Friday (October 6th).

Benn, in referencing the stage changes, told NME, “There are always changes in the artists, but there will be to the stages as well. It’s a mix of all sorts of things, really. I’m not quite ready to announce it yet, but I’m really very excited about it.”

As for the possible headliners for next year’s Reading & Leeds festival, Benn was quick to rule out the likes of Yungblud, Paramore, Dua Lipa, Drake and Queens Of The Stone Age, lightheartedly replying, “You’ve lost a lot of money” in response to the interviewer’s claim of betting on the aforementioned acts to perform at next year’s event.

Others, though, may be well in the mix, including Central Cee, whom Benn has said of, “The trajectory of Central Cee is just incredible. He played Wireless Festival last year and it was an explosion in that sense with a really big crowd compared to what he’d been having. He’s really worked it since then. He’s getting breakthroughs in the US and working with some really important artists, and it just feels like he’s got a great future. I’m not going to say he’s going to be a future headliner because I don’t want to give anyone that burden. I felt like it was a burden I’d given to Foals. They came through with it, but I don’t want to do that again.”

Lewis Calpaldi, who unfortunately had to pull out of this year’s festival, and who was ultimately replaced by The 1975, is always welcome back to perform a headline show at Reading & Leeds, with Benn stating, “I think there will always be an open offer, but at the same time the only thing that needs to be thought about is Lewis’ health. We certainly wouldn’t be having a discussion prior to Lewis’ health being right.”

Rage Against The Machine, however, are a band that are unlikely to feature after cancelling last year, as Benn spoke about their potential return, “It’s not an agenda item at the moment, let’s put it that way. Rage are a US-based act and would very rarely do one-off shows, so it would need to fit in to a lot more scheduling.”

Additionally, Benn has also confirmed that a headliner has in fact been chosen for 2024 already, stating, “We have one of the headliners confirmed, and have had them confirmed for a little while actually. They’ve headlined in the past so we know their strength with it and we’re pleased with that.”

Yesterday (July 5), Taylor made her announcement on social media with an image of lead singer, Hayley Williams, and herself with their arms around each other’s shoulders. The pop singer wrote, “Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m screaming???”

Check out Taylor Swift’s announcement and new European tour dates on Twitter below:

Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m… pic.twitter.com/kl1aijxR2o

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 5, 2023

Scheduled for release this Friday (July 7), Hayley Williams and Taylor Swift have collaborated on Swift’s upcoming album Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Hayley will be featured on the song “Castles Crumbling” which was not a song recorded during the original Speak Now album. The album was released in 2010 and will be Taylor’s third re-recorded album, following Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) both released in 2021. Listen to “Castles Crumbling (Taylor’s Version)” below: Swift announced the collaborations with Hayley Williams from Paramore and Fall Out Boy last month. She wrote, “I’m VERY excited to show you the back cover of Speak Now (my version) including the vault tracks and collaborations with Hayley Williams from @paramore and @falloutboy. I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album.” See Taylor Swift’s tweet announcement below:

I’m VERY excited to show you the back cover of Speak Now (my version) including the vault tracks and collaborations with Hayley Williams from @paramore and @falloutboy. Since Speak Now was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most… pic.twitter.com/UJOqUNfCGp — Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 5, 2023

Paramore are currently on the second half of their North American tour. They will be performing in New Orleans tonight (July 6) and wrap up their tour in St. Paul, MN on August 2nd.

Taylor Swift New UK Tour Dates:
07/06/2023 – BT Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
08/06 – BT Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
09/06 – BT Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
13/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
14/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
15/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
18/06 – Principality Stadium – Cardiff
21/06 – Wembley Stadium – London
22/06 –  Wembley Stadium – London
23/06 –  Wembley Stadium – London
28/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
29/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
30/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
15/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
16/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
17/08 – Wembley Stadium – London

Tickets are available to purchase here

Bloc Party reveal their first ever collaboration on the brand new single, “Keep It Rolling”, which features KennyHoopla https://t.co/uwzx6iBWWC pic.twitter.com/TOZ65ErdX2

— THE LINE of BEST FIT (@bestfitmusic) June 2, 2023

The new song, entitled “Keep it Rolling,” is a result of KennyHoopla’s and Okereke’s prolific writing sessions together in London with the Bloc Party singer divulging that the work resulted in many songs being written. “Keep it Rolling” however, was one that Okereke felt partiularly attached to, feeling the song would make a great single for his band.

Speaking about writing songs with KennyHoopla, Okereke said, “I’ve been a fan of Kenny’s for awhile now, so when he came to London I jumped at the chance of getting in the studio together. We wrote a bunch of songs in one afternoon and ‘Keep it Rolling’ was one of those ideas. I always felt quite attached to that idea so I decided I would like to bring it to Bloc Party, so we turned it into a song.” 

Based in Ohio, USA, KennyHoopla has made a name for himself within the indie scene, releasing a number of singles and two EPs. The singer/songwriter has cited Bloc Party as a major influence for him and his close friendship with Okereke made the writing sessions fun and fulfilling. Speaking about the collboration with Okereke, KennyHoopla said, “I’ve always been a huge Bloc Party fan so this has been a bucket list collab for me. I’m happy to call Kele a friend and it was amazing to get to do a song together.”

Formed in 1999, Bloc Party met with considerable critical and commercial success with their debut album Silent Alarm in 2005-  winning the NME award for best album.  After announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2013, the band returned to the scene in 2016, releasing two albums since their reforming-Hymns and Alpha Games.

The band has sought to broaden their fan base even further, currently providing support for pop punk powerhouses Paramore on their world tour in the US and UK. Hayley Williams, frontwoman for Paramore, has cited Bloc Party as huge influences on the band and in particular, the current record.

Kele Okereke is also noted as a successful solo artist outside the popularity of Bloc Party and has released six studio albums to date. Politically and socially aware through his music and lyrics, Okereke has also written a musical entitled Leave to Remain-a Brexit influenced story about an interracial gay couple struggling to live in a culturally bereft Britain.

You can find tickets to Bloc Party dates here.

Bloc Party Tour Dates UK:

20/07/2023 – Standon Calling – Standon
21/07/2023 – Tramlines – Sheffield

The British rock band, Bloc Party, was formed in the 90’s and has a hold on many hearts that grew up in the 00’s. The American rock band Paramore is also one of those bands, formed in 2004 and securing the sound everyone loves from that era.

Kele Okereke came on stage during Paramore’s live show to play a stripped back version of the Bloc Party song. Hayley Williams, the lead singer of the American band, expressed her love for the group and are, to this day, still a great influence on her music; “Bloc Party has been a huge influence on Paramore since we were little kids, you know? Picking up guitars and writing songs for the first time. And we’ve grown up with this band, the same way that a lot of you have grown up with us and probably have grown up with Bloc Party as well. So it only feels right to sing a song together that I used to cry to in my car. And maybe we can all cry together.

The performance turned out to be a very emotional one. Combining Williams angelic voice and Okereke’s unmistakable tone, the outcome created an enthralling harmony and a beautiful version of the song. Their fans feedback was a very welcomed one.

Paramore are currently on tour. Having just finished visiting UK cities, they will be returning to the states. Their next gig is on the 19th of May at the Hangout Music Festival in Alabama. They will be touring their way through until August. Their final destination being in St Paul, Minnesota playing at the Xcel Energy Center.

During Paramore’s tour this year, Bloc Party have been opening as their support act. They will be doing so for the rest of the American post-punk band’s journey around the US, set to kick off next month (May). Alongside Bloc Party, they will be joined by other artists like Genesis Owusu and The Linda Lindas.

When We Were Young Fest

Register now for Presale that starts Friday, January 21st, 10 AM PT. All tickets start at $19.99 down https://t.co/KUp7CwEQEV pic.twitter.com/mG5jQPsBm8

— When We Were Young (@WWWYFest) January 18, 2022

Set to hit the sands of Las Vegas’ Nevada desert on October 22^nd, the festival boasts an impressive level of pop-punk throwbacks I wasn’t even aware were still together. Boys Like Girls, Sleeping with Sirens, Pierce the Veil and 3OH!3 stick out as artists just waiting for their time back in the sun. While Bring Me the Horizon fit into the line-up like they were born for it, all while maintaining a level of relevance that not many other artists on the roster have. The group have moulded their sound over the years to keep up with the ever-changing musical climate without just collapsing into obscurity, their most recent output “DiE4u” sums up just how malleable the group can be if needed. This appearance, alongside their Reading and Leeds Festival headlining slots, confirms the staying power of the band.

Not long after the announcement that Wolf Alice will be postponing their UK and EU tour, the group have also announced their involvement in WWWY Festival. With the festival taking place in October, I feel like most touring artists are going into the festival season with a whole lot of hope. My Chemical Romance, for instance, has only played one show since their split in 2012; and their reunion tour dates in the UK have already been rearranged 3 times. These shows are currently set to go ahead this May with an appearance at the Eden Project on May 16^th, 3 nights at Milton Keynes’ Stadium MK on the 19^th, 21^st and 22^nd, and a few other days around the UK in the following weeks. See here for more details.

2007 is back! So if you want to convince your parents that it really wasn’t a phase you can find ticket information here.

In an announcement on her Instagram page Williams has said that her dates will be performed in 2021. The tour was following her recent release of her first solo project “Petals for Amor 1”.

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posting this tour postponement announcement to the feed. im very sorry we wont see each other in real life soon. eventually, though

A post shared by hayley williams (@yelyahwilliams) on Apr 28, 2020 at 5:21pm PDT

This is due to be her first album away from her more well known project of Paramore, they announced that the band would be on a hiatus while Williams needed time away from touring to focus on her solo material. She has since released two EPs and plans to release her debut solo album in May of this year. Listen to single ‘Dead Horse’ below;

This comes as no surprise to her fans as multiple music artists across the world have been announcing the postponing of their tours. While this does mean they will not be able to see her this year, they will be able to next.

Though they may not be able to see Williams perform, they are still looking forward to getting to listen to her album later this year. This will provide something for them to look forward to as they will be looking forward to hearing a continuation of the direction she has been moving in.

Though these are Hard Times Williams fans will be glad to know she is no longer “in the business of misery” and is still on course to release and perform, though it may be at a later date.