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Billy Corgan’s ‘A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness’ Tour For UK And Europe Announced

Rory Newland — Mon, 11 May 2026 22:53:43 +0000

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has extended the 30th anniversary run of operatic shows paying homage to the group’s 1995 classic album ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’. The European tour will play two nights in London this September, featuring Corgan backed by a 60-piece orchestra.

The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the more interesting bands in the US’s alternative rock scene throughout the 90’s. Forming in Chicago in 1988 and breaking through with 1993’s ‘Siamese Dream’, Corgan and co. set themselves apart from the pack of American grunge bands with their ambitious approach to songwriting and theatre with ‘Mellon Collie’ in 1995. A 28-track double-album with conceptual elements, diverse instrumentation and Corgan’s iconic nasal vocals, the album brought Smashing Pumpkins seven Grammy nominations. Five singles released from the album, including hits ‘Zero’, ‘Tonight, Tonight’, and ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ which won the Grammy in the Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal category.

Corgan, who wrote the majority of The Smashing Pumpkins’ music, gave ‘Mellon Collie’ a new lease of life in 2025 with its operatic reimagining. Working with Grammy-nominated conductor James Lowe, the music has been re-composed for the full 60-piece orchestra to back Corgan’s vocals. To give it its full title, the show ‘A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness Featuring Billy Corgan’ had a 7 show residency at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House last November.

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It was announced today that the show will be going international this September, starting with two nights at the Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre. From there, it goes to Belgium, France and Spain. Guest vocalists are arranged, with Ed Parks performing in London, Antwerp and Paris, while Madrid’s show has Sydney Mancasola, Zoie Reams, Dominick Valdes Chenes and Dean Murphy. The full list of shows is below.

September:
• 1 – Royal Festival Hall, London
• 2 – Royal Festival Hall, London
• 6 – Queen Elisabeth Hall, Antwerp (two shows)
• 8 – Salle Pleye, Paris
• 9 – Salle Pleye, Paris
• 11 – Palacio Vistalegre, Madrid

A press release describes the shows as looking to “re-imagine and pay homage to the era-defining album of the same name, whilst also expanding the definition and intention of opera”. Corgan, who is now also a popular podcaster and promotes his own wrestling company, posted on social media site X to say he was “so excited that this is finally announced! Thank you to all that have asked and are interested in attending. I guarantee you won’t be sorry if you do…”. He also took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the unique fusion of rock and opera in the concert, writing “opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way.”

Pre-sale tickets for the London shows go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday the 12th of May, at 10am, with general sale commencing at 10am on Thursday the 14th. A 30th anniversary reissue of ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ released in January this year, with The Smashing Pumpkins also due to drop a 35th anniversary version of debut album ‘Gish’ on the 29th of May on Corgan’s web store.

Five Finger Death Punch Announce New 20th Anniversary Tour

Rory Newland — Tue, 05 May 2026 23:15:47 +0000

US metal act Five Finger Death Punch have revealed the Europe and UK dates for their 20th anniversary world tour, following on from this year’s US leg. The run, starting in January 2027, will have stellar support from Lamb of God and Bleed From Within.

Five Finger Death Punch (FFDP) formed in Las Vegas in 2005, releasing their explosive debut ‘The Way Of The Fist’ in 2007. A ferocious, fast-paced blitz of heavy metal with emotional themes, the LP and its lead single ‘The Bleeding’ won the band a large audience almost immediately. Since its release, FFDP have become one of the biggest American bands in the genre, releasing 9 hugely-popular albums and breaking a record on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart for most consecutive number one singles. Last year’s ‘The End feat. Babymetal’ became their 13th chart-topper in a row, their 17th overall, and the first to use Japanese lyrics.

With 20 years passing since their inception, the band announced a massive 48-show US tour two weeks ago, as the first part of a world tour reveal. Today’s set of dates for the UK and Europe was just the second instalment in a bigger list of anniversary celebrations, as founding guitarist Zoltan Bathory says – “This World Tour is the celebration that milestone deserves. First leg is America in 2026, then Europe in 2027, and we’re not stopping there! South America, Australia, Asia are all in the talks. This is going to be a big two or three years for Five Finger Death Punch, and we’re just getting started.“

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The tour opens in January next year with five dates in Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, Birmingham and London, before travelling across mainland Europe. FFDP will be bringing US metal veterans Lamb Of God along for all but the Prague and Copenhagen shows, as well as Scottish modern-metal titans Bleed From Within for all dates. The UK and Ireland shows for January 2027 are:

16 – AO Arena, Manchester
17 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
19 – 3Arena, Dublin
22 – BP Pulse Arena, Birmingham
23 – The O2, London

According to Kerrang, the setlist for the 20th anniversary tour will include songs from across their career, ranging from their 2007 debut to as-yet unreleased music from their rumoured 10th album. The band’s last releases were their 2025 ‘Best Of’ re-recording compilations – re-tracked and reissued after former label ‘Prospect Park’ sold the master recordings without FFDP’s consent.

Tickets for Five Finger Death Punch’s European Tour go on general sale on Friday the 8th of May at 10AM. Check the band’s website for full world tour dates and news.

Eve Announces UK and European Tour Celebrating 25 Years of ‘Scorpion’ Album

Emily Johnson — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:04:14 +0000

American rap legend, Eve has announced her first headline tour in the UK and Europe. The tour will mark the 25^th anniversary of her 2001 album, ‘Scorpion.’

The rapper said of the upcoming tour, “This album means so much to me and my career and I can’t wait to see all the fans and celebrate with you all. This will be a celebration of my career across all my albums musically.” The tour will span 15 nights, beginning October 9 in Helsinki, Finland. She will continue across the Nordic countries, appearing in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. Then, she will make her way through Denmark, Germany, Poland, Austria, France and the Netherlands. The final show will be in Amsterdam on November 4. But before that, she is set to play the O2 Forum Kentish Town on November 2.

Eve will set out on the road this autumn in celebration of her multi-Platinum album, ‘Scorpion.’ The album earned her first Grammy Award for the single, ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind Ft. Gwen Stefani,’ winning the first Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, a then-new category at the 44^th Grammy Awards. ‘Scorpion’ was also nominated for Best Rap Album in the same year.

The album has earned Platinum status in the US and Canada, and Gold in the UK. It peaked at Number 5 on the UK R&B Album Chart and Number 22 on the Official UK Albums Chart. Pitchfork gave the album an 8.3/10 in 2021, after it was rereleased for the 20^th anniversary. They say songs such as ‘Who’s That Girl?’ and ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’ “double and triple as power anthems and kiss-offs that affirm Eve as a multifaceted, enterprising rapper, singer, and pop star with a high emotional IQ.” They hail ‘Scorpion’ as “one of the most explicit pro-woman declarations in rap.”

Just last month Eve appeared in the UK, co-hosting the 2026 MOBO Awards in Manchester. Other future UK appearances from the rapper will be at the Love Saves the Day Festival taking place in Bristol this May as well as at Boomtown Fair in Hampshire this August.

Pre-sale for The Scorpion Tour will begin April 30 at 10am local time. Fans can sign up for pre-sale here.

Eve’s The Scorpion Tour 2026 Dates

9/10 – Apollo Live Club – Helsinki, Finland

10/10 – Fallan – Stockholm, Sweden

12/10 – Rockefeller – Oslo, Norway

13/10 – VEGA – Copenhagen, Denmark

14/10 – Docks – Hamburg, Germany

16/10 – Progresja – Warsaw, Poland

17/10 – Huxleys – Berlin, Germany

19/10 – Muffathalle – Munich, Germany

20/10 – Ottakringer Brauerei – Vienna, Austria

21/10 – X-TRA – Zurich, Switzerland

23/10 – Zoom- Frankfurt, Germany

25/10 – Live Music Hall – Cologne, Germany

2/11 – O2 Kentish Town Forum – London, UK

3/11 – Bataclan – Paris, France

4/11 – Melkewg – Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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Manic Street Preachers and Suede Announce Joint UK Headline Tour

Emily Johnson — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:03:44 +0000

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have just announced a co-headline tour of UK arenas this autumn. This marks the British rock groups’ third joint tour. The two groups played shows together in North America in 2022, and more recently a UK tour in 2024. Their first outing together was a 1994 tour of Europe. But the run to begin at the end of October will be their largest tour to date.

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The tour begins in Glasgow at the OVO Arena and will head to Leeds and then Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. They will spend two nights in Cardiff at the Utilita Arena before playing the O2 Arena in London. They’ll wrap up the run with nights in Birmingham, Nottingham and Bournemouth.

In a review of their joint UK run in 2024, Clash said, “As it transpires, one of the few allies Suede can count on in British music are Manic Street Preachers. Literate, devoutly non-laddish indie rock, the pair are honorary members of the awkward squad, influencing the mainstream while facing antithetically against it. Hence this tour: Manic Street Preachers and Suede on the bill, swapping positions dependent on who the ‘home team’ – the headliner – is deemed to be that night.”

The band’s parallels has been reflected not only in their sound but also in similar moments in their careers. James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers spoke about this to NME ahead of the band’s 2022 North American run. He recalled the 1994 European tour with Suede, “I vividly remember those gigs because Richey [Edwards, now missing guitarist] was coming back from what you might call his emotional event and was insisting that he wanted to come on the road.” He spoke to the ways band had to adjust, saying “we were treading softly with Richey at some points,” But found commonalities in this with their tour mates: “Suede had lost Bernard Butler as their guitarist and were going through the transition of Richard Oakes coming into the band.” Commenting on both their careers as well as their performance, Bradfield said “[Suede] kind of share the same path as us. They’ve been through a few things and they’re still here.”

In February 2025, Manic Street Preachers released their 15^th studio album, ‘Critical Thinking.’ It peaked at Number 2 on the UK Official Album charts and received 4 out of 5 stars from The Guardian, The Times and NME.

Suede released their tenth studio album, ‘Antidepressants’ in September 2025. It also peaked at Number 2 on the UK Official Album charts, nodding again to the parallels in Suede and Manic’s careers. The album received a 9/10 from Line of Best Fit and an 8/10 from Clash.

Tickets go on sale at 9:30am BST Friday May 1. Find access to those here.

Joan Jett And The Blackhearts Return To The UK For First Headline Tour in 16 Years

Rory Newland — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:02:40 +0000

US punk rock queen Joan Jett is bringing her band, The Blackhearts, on a five date UK tour this summer, her first British live shows since 2011. Best known for hits including ‘Bad Reputation’, ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You’ and their timeless cover version of ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’, Jett’s band have been active for nearly 50 years with a varied supporting cast, and are regarded as pioneers and icons of the rock genre.

Following the 1979 dissolution of female punk trendsetters The Runaways, in which Jett played guitar and sang backing vocals, she found herself in England starting her journey as a solo artist. Here, she recorded three songs with the Sex Pistol’s Paul Cook and Steve Jones, one of which was a demo version of ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’, before recording a self-titled solo album at London’s Ramport Studios, which was owned by The Who. She then formed The Blackhearts, and later reissued the self-titled album as ‘Bad Reputation’ in 1981.

From there Joan Jett and The Blackhearts released their full debut LP as a group, 1981’s ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’, the title track of which topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 7 successive weeks and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Jett established herself as one of the most important female trailblazers in rock, both as a singer and guitarist, going on to receive a Grammy nomination for 1989 single ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You’ and earn the induction of herself and The Blackhearts into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Jett and the group have just completed a US tour with Iggy Pop, and were due to hit the UK this July supporting former-Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar on his star-studded ‘Best Of All Worlds’ tour. Hagar recently announced that these shows would be down-sizing venues to foster a more intimate atmosphere, which sees Joan Jett and The Blackhearts now missing from the current billing.

The vacuum from the Sammy Hagar tour has been filled by Jett’s first headlining UK shows since 2010, and her first trip across the pond since 2011’s Isle of Wight Festival. The tour will visit Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, and Wolverhampton before finishing at the brand-new British Airways ARC venue in London’s Olympia redevelopment project, which is due to open in June. Jett has said of the announcement “We can’t wait to be back on stage in the UK this Summer! I wrote and recorded Bad Reputation, my first solo LP in London. It’s been too long since we’ve been in the UK and we’re excited to see everyone!”

Tickets for Joan Jett and The Blackhearts solo dates go on sale at 10AM on Friday the 24th of April. Essex punk two-piece The Meffs are opening on all dates. Their UK shows conclude with one night supporting emo heroes My Chemical Romance on their Black Parade 20th anniversary tour, hitting Wembley Stadium on the 10th of July. Check the poster below for their headline run:

Noah Kahan Will Return To The UK On The Great Divide World Tour

Emily Johnson — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:06:39 +0000

Noah Kahan has announced his The Great Divide World Tour which will take the American folk artist to the UK, Ireland, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The tour will be in support of his forthcoming album, ‘The Great Divide,’ releasing on April 24. Kahan promises, in his announcement post, that the tour will bring “great sadness and reflection” overseas.

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Previously announced was an expansive run of North American dates beginning on June 12 in Orlando, Florida, spanning across the States and ducking into Canada. The run includes four sold-out nights at Fenway Park in Boston, as well as nights in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Minneapolis and many more major US cities. But, as the official information account for the singer said in their announcement post, “you thought he was done!” Kahan has added 21 international dates to his 2026 tour.

In September, Kahan will embark on The Great Divide World Tour with two nights in Melbourne. The Australian/New Zealand leg will continue through October with nights in Sydney and Auckland.

The singer returns to the UK with two shows at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena on November 5 and 6. The singer is set up for a string of two-night sets at arenas across the nation. After Glasgow he will play two nights at the AO Arena in Manchester, then to London’s O2 Arena before capping off the UK/IE run at Dublin’s 3Arena on November 21 and 22.

From there, he will head through Europe on the final leg of the tour. Through December he will visit Zurich, Cologne, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris and Munich.

Support for the UK leg of the tour comes from New York native singer-songwriter, Bella Kay. Recently, Kay received her first career entry on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts with her single, ‘ILOVEITILOVEITILOVEIT.’

The Great Divide Tour will also continue Kahan’s philanthropic pursuits. A portion of every ticket sale will go towards The Busyhead Project, a mental health initiative founded by Kahan in 2023. The Busyhead Project aims at providing resources and information needed to end the stigma around mental health. According to the official site, $6.6 million has been raised for their work since 2023.

It was announced just last week that Kahan will appear on SNL (US) as the musical guest with host Matt Damon on May 9. Additionally, his documentary, Out of Body will come to Netflix April 13, just ahead of ‘The Great Divide.’ The documentary will see him reckon with his recent launch to fame as he returns back to his home state, Vermont. Kahan called the experience of being filmed for the documentary “weird, difficult, and genuinely beautiful.” He said he is looking forward to fans seeing it despite also being “nervous” about the more personal and “painful” things the documentary touches on. But, he said “anything scary or hard is usually worth sharing with the world” and he hopes that “it will reach [fans] in a time when [they] need it.”

Tickets for The Great Divide World Tour go on general sale this Friday 17 April at 10 AM local time in the UK and Europe. Artist presale will commence on Wednesday 15 April, also at 10 AM local time for the UK and Europe. Sign up for artist presale here.

The Great Divide World Tour UK/IE Dates

5/11 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow, UK

6/11 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow, UK

9/11 – AO Arena – Manchester, UK

10/11 – AO Arena – Manchester, UK

13/11 – O2 Arena – London, UK

14/11 – O2 Arena – London, UK

21/11 – 3Arena – Dublin, IE

22/11 – 3Arena – Dublin, IE

Jack White Adds UK Dates To 2026 Tour

Emily Johnson — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:24:53 +0000

American rock soloist, Jack White, has just unveiled a massive run of new dates for his 2026 tour, including a string of appearances across the UK. Last week White announced a tour across mainland Europe, not including the UK and Ireland, but this new announcement brings the Jack White Live Tour to some major UK/IE cities including Newcastle, Bristol, Belfast and Dublin.

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White will land in the UK at the end of August with two shows at London’s Eventim Apollo. Then, he will head to the fairly new Bristol venue, The Prospect Room, before heading on to O2 City Hall in Newcastle. He will then spend a night at the Telegraph Building in Belfast before finishing off the UK/IE run of with two nights at the 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin.

Before hitting the UK, White is set to spend his summer touring Europe. On May 30^th the former White Stripes frontman will play in Latvia at the Sigulda Castle. He will then stop in Poland for shows in both Warsaw and Krakow, then on to Germany, playing in Berlin and Hamburg. Then, there will be a jaunt to Scandinavia for a show at the Northside festival in Denmark, and appearances at both the Grona Lund and Liseburg concert series in Stockholm and Gothenburg Sweden, respectively.

More European highlights include two nights at the L’Olympia in Paris as well as at two nights at Ancient Belgique in Belgium. White will close the European leg with a headline slot at the INMusic Festival in Croatia.

But White is set to stay on the road until well into November, playing shows across a variety of US cities. He was also recently added to the Coachella bill, where he will play the Mojave tent at 3pm Pacific time on April 11. Fans can catch a livestream of that on Coachella’s website.

Just last week, White released two singles ahead of his appearance on SNL (US). The first of the two, ‘G.O.D And The Broken Ribs’ transforms biblical imagery, putting Adam and Eve in an apocalyptic version of Eden. The second, ‘Derecho Demonico’ (translating from Spanish to “demonic right”), is the awaited studio version of the song which he debuted live in 2025 while touring his last album, ‘No Name.’

The singles were available on both tri-color and black 7” vinyls at White’s own Third Man Records shops in Nashville, Detroit and London. Third Man Records posted videos of excited fans lined up outside all three shops—including the London location—ahead of the release. The records sold out soon after.

White performed both ‘G.O.D And The Broken Ribs’ and ‘Derecho Demonico’ live as the musical guest for the April 4th SNL (US) show. He also joined host Jack Black during the show to perform a version of The White Stripes hit, ‘Seven Nation Army.’

Tickets for these new dates of Jack White’s forthcoming tour go on Vault pre-sale Monday 13 April at 10 AM local time. Laylo pre-sale commences on the same day but at 12 PM local time. Fans can sign up for access here. General sale begins on Friday 17 April at 10 AM local.

Jack White Live Tour UK/IE Dates

25/8 – Eventim Apollo – London, UK

26/8 – Eventim Apollo – London, UK

28/8 – The Prospect Building – Bristol, UK

29/8 – O2 City Hall – Newcastle, UK

31/8 – The Telegraph Building – Belfast, UK

1/9 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin, IE

2/9 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin, IE

Bleachers Announce 2026 UK/EU Headline Tour

Emily Johnson — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:59:42 +0000

American rock band, Bleachers, have just announced a tour of the UK and Europe, beginning this autumn. The Bleachers Forever Tour will be in support of the band’s fifth studio album, ‘everyone for ten minutes.’ It will be their biggest European headline tour to date. In the tour’s announcement, the band wrote they “cannot stress how thrilled we are to be back in you Europe England Ireland etc.”

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‘everyone for ten minutes’ is due to release on 22 May. The band recently released the third single from the album, ‘the van’ which looks retrospectively at the band’s beginnings in New Jersey. It joins previously released singles, ‘you and forever’ and ‘dirty wedding dress.’

On 3 April, Bleachers stopped by the BBC Radio 2 studios to premiere the ‘the van,’ and record a cover for Jo Whiley. Antonoff cut a low-key folk-inspired rendition of Hayley Williams’ ‘Love Me Different.’ He wrote about the experience in a message attached to the tour announcement, “something special is happening with UK / EU Bleachers. I feel that outside of America, the understanding of American music is crystal clear. The elements we’re playing with, all inherently political, make perfect sense without the emotions and fear of what part we play in it.”

That crystal clear understanding of American music shows as the band is about embark on their biggest European headline tour to date. It will kick off in Milan on 5 November, hitting Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and France before landing in the UK.

Bleachers will appear in several cities across the UK and Ireland including Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, Dublin and Manchester. They will cap off the tour with a show at London’s Eventim Apollo on 3 December.

Bleachers has not been back to the UK since the 2024 Reading and Leeds festivals, where they played in support of the self-titled fourth studio album. The critically acclaimed album, ‘Bleachers,’ received a 9/10 from Clash Magazine and 4/5 stars from NME. NME called the album “the collective’s most quintessentially “them” release yet.” Saying that, “it evolves into new territory, of course, but is equally deeply connected to past releases – a by-product of spending a decade honing their dynamic and sound.”

Their latest music also sees Antonoff coalescing lessons learned over the bands’ career. Clash Magazine wrote in review that ‘you and forever’ displays “an almost stand-up comedic style of songwriting which Antonoff has tapped into for a while […] but now appears to be embracing entirely in his songwriting.”

Antonoff writes of a childlike creativity in the Instagram-posted message to fans, “I heard music and then I tired to play it. And those early days – 11 or so years old, sitting at the piano – I went somewhere very far away.” Antonoff promises, “that’s where I am right now and that’s where I’ll be touring from.”

Pre-sale for Bleachers Forever Tour begins on Wednesday 15 April at 10 AM local time. Fans can sign up for pre-sale here. General sale will begin on Friday 17 April at 10 AM local time.

Bleachers Forever Tour UK/EU Dates

EUROPE

5/11 – Alcatraz – Milan, Italy

7/11 – Tonhalle – Munich, Germany

9/11 – Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany

10/11 – Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany

12/11 – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, Norway

13/11 – Annexet – Stockholm, Sweden

15/11 – Sporthalle – Hamburg, Germany

17/11 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands

18/11 – Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands

20/11 – Cirque Royal – Brussels, Belgium

21/11 – Salle Pleyel – Paris, France

UK/IE

24/11 – O2 Academy – Bristol, UK

25/11 – O2 Academy – Glasgow, UK

26/11 – O2 Academy – Leeds, UK

28/11 – O2 Academy – Birmingham, UK

30/11 – 3Olympia – Dublin, IE

2/12 – O2 Apollo – Manchester, UK

3/12 – Eventim Apollo – London, UK

J. Cole’s 2026 “The Fall-Off” Tour To Make 8 UK Stops

Rory Newland — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 21:13:35 +0000

With the release of his seventh studio album ‘The Fall-Off’ at the start of February, US hiphop mega star J. Cole is planning for it to be his last hurrah before sailing off into the sunset. In support of what he wishes to be his final record, he’s just announced an extensive world tour, spanning 4 continents and making 8 appearances in the UK.

Real name Jermaine Lamarr Cole, J. Cole has been one of the most insightful hiphop artists of the last 20 years, bringing an introspective depth and social consciousness to his art that can be uncommon in the current American rap scene. His fourth album 2016’s ‘4 Your Eyez Only’ was his biggest commercial success, while his 2018 fifth album ‘KOD’ broke a record previously held by The Beatles, by having six singles simultaneously in the Billboard Charts top 20. Cole has received 18 Grammy nominations, winning Best Rap Song in 2020 with 21 Savage’s hit ‘A Lot’ and in 2024 claiming Best Melodic Rap Performance for his feature on Lil Durk’s ‘All My Life’.

‘The Fall-Off’ is at its heart a concept album, telling over its two discs a story of J. Cole’s rise to stardom following the launch of ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’ in 2014, and the emotions he felt trying to work out what he would do next. He has explained that A-side “Disc 29” discusses his experiences returning to his hometown at the age of 29 grappling with the realities of achieving his wildest dreams so young, while “Disc 39” covers another visit home as an older, more grounded person. The full release runs for over an hour, spanning aggressive hiphop flows, moving singing, and lo-fi instrumentals, all packaged in a brilliantly polished mix. If this is to be his last album, it’s a fantastic send-off.

J. Cole recently took to Instagram to share his comments from an Ask Me Anything post in a forum on his site inevitable.live, saying “’The Fall-Off’, a double album made with intentions to be my last, brings the concept of my first project full circle”. He has expressed that in the not-so-distant future, he wishes to dedicate his time to his passion of making beats, working to produce for other artists instead of himself.

Before stepping away from releasing his music, he’s going out with a bang – ‘The Fall-Off’ tour was announced yesterday, opening with a North American run from July to September this year, before heading to the UK and Europe in October, ending with dates in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These are the dates for the UK and Ireland, including extra London and Manchester dates added due to popular demand:

19/10 – London- O2 Arena
20/10 – London- O2 Arena
22/10 – Dublin- 3Arena
25/10 – Birmingham- Utilita Arena
26/10 – Glasgow- OVO Hydro
28/10 – Manchester- Co-op Live
29/10 – Manchester- Co-op Live
31/10 – Nottingham- Motorpoint Arena
02/11 – London- O2 Arena

Tickets go on sale this Friday, the 20th of February, at 9AM and can be found here, although news site HotNewHipHop have reported multiple complaints about long queues and difficulties purchasing tickets for the US leg. ‘The Fall-Off’ released on the 6th of February through J. Cole’s label Dreamville and Interscope records.

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Hayley Williams Trades Bright Pop For Lo-Fi Minimalism On New Project ‘Power Snatch’

Rory Newland — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:12:14 +0000

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.

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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