Don McLean was celebrated backstage at the Grand Ole Opry with a stack of RIAA Gold and Platinum awards recognizing the enduring impact of “American Pie,” “Vincent,” and “And I Love You So.”

Becky Hill kicks off a bold new era with “Hands On Me,” her first new music since 2024’s UK Top 3 album Believe Me Now? — and the first taste of her highly anticipated third album.

Portland’s industrial/nu-metal shock rockers Amerakin Overdose strip it all down — masks included — for their first-ever acoustic track, “My Endless Battle,” featuring and produced by Jonny Santos (Spineshank/Silent Civilian). The song tackles mental health, suicide, and frontman Cody Perez’s hard-won journey of recovery.

GRAMMY-winning duo Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 2nd, just before the 152nd Run for the Roses.

Testament frontman Chuck Billy lifts the curtain on thrash metal’s wildest chapter — and his harrowing fight with cancer — in his forthcoming memoir “Holding My Breath: The Two Testaments of Chuck Billy,” arriving November 10, 2026 via Permuted Press.

NYC dream pop outfit Whisper Doll, led by Fiona Tagami, break a two-year silence with the cinematic new single “Am I a Knife” and announce their signing to Brooklyn’s Take Care Records.

Swedish melodic hard rockers NESTOR announce their first-ever live album, “Live At Gothenburg Film Studios,” arriving August 14 via Napalm Records. Pre-orders are open now.

NYC alternative rock trio King Falcon return with “Wait,” a thunderous plea for forgiveness paired with a moody black-and-white video shot between a recording studio and a 1959 Corvette. The band plays Mercury Lounge on May 12 before hitting the Midwest and Canada this June.

Keith Urban swaps his amp for an anchor on Flow State, a yacht rock-soaked 13th studio album featuring Michael McDonald, Little Big Town, and John Mayer. Out June 12 via MCA.

Melbourne indie-rock artist Local the Neighbour unveils his debut EP Sword, led by emo-tinged focus track “Are you okay?” — the very first song David Quested ever wrote — ahead of a national tour with Hudson Freeman and Rum Jungle.

Craig Campbell’s 12th Annual Celebrity Cornhole Challenge & Concert hits 6th & Peabody in Nashville on June 2, 2026, with bidding for celebrity partners opening May 1. All proceeds benefit the Kenny Campbell Foundation.

German heavy metal legends Accept celebrate 50 years with Teutonic Titans 1976-2026, a 19-track tribute featuring 50 A-list guests including Rob Halford, Kirk Hammett, Phil Anselmo, Tobias Forge, Billy Corgan, and more. Out September 4, 2026 via Napalm Records.

Jacob Hackworth’s debut single “What Took You So Long” just made history, posting the highest one-week total for a new artist’s debut single in Country Aircheck/Mediabase add board history with 96 adds and 128 first-week stations.

German heavy metal legends Accept celebrate 50 years with Teutonic Titans 1976-2026, a 19-track all-star tribute featuring 50 guests including Rob Halford, Kirk Hammett, Phil Anselmo, Tobias Forge, Billy Corgan, and more. Out September 4, 2026 via Napalm Records.

Nashville singer-songwriter Lee Newton releases her acoustic album ‘Beautifully Undone,’ featuring stripped-down versions of fan favorites — and earns her own official day in her home state of North Carolina.

Volbeat just dethroned Volbeat. The Danish rockers have scored their record-setting 13th No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart with “Demonic Depression,” the third chart-topper from their ninth album, God of Angels Trust.

NYC electronic trio Public Circuit drops Modern Church r//mix//s, an eight-track reimagining featuring Lip Critic, shower curtain, Grumpy, The Wants, smush, ideasforconversations and Crate — Stream, ahead of a sprawling UK & EU tour starting May 5.

All That Remains frontman Philip Labonte’s 2024 op-ed, “The Silent Crisis: Why Society is Failing Men and Boys,” is back in the spotlight as new federal legislation from Reps. Nathanial Moran and Derrick Van Orden brings the issue to Capitol Hill.

Late minister and psychotherapist Dr. Pieter Noomen left behind a free, label-free collection of spiritual writings at http://www.wordsforall.org — an invitation to explore a personal connection to “the One Who is Life” on your own terms.

Blues guitarist Tinsley Ellis returns January 30, 2026 with Labor Of Love — his first all-original acoustic album. Lead single “Hoodoo Woman,” inspired by R.L. Burnside, premieres now alongside a new video.

blacktoothed return with “Monsters,” an emotionally raw modern rock single about self-doubt, inner darkness, and the fight to stay human. Watch the visualizer and catch the band at Full Rewind Festival and Summer Breeze this summer.

Cult psych-rock outfit Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats return with “Don’t Let It Control You,” a chainsaw-speed taster from their forthcoming 2026 album on Killer Candy Records — plus a string of UK and Ireland tour dates announced for November.

The Boo Radleys and Bravecaptain mastermind Martin Carr returns with ‘What Future,’ a strikingly unconventional new solo album of distracted beats and messy electronics arriving May 1st via his own Sonny Boy Records.

Milwaukee Metal Fest 2026 returns to The Rave/Eagles Club June 5-7 with drummer and radio personality Richard Christy (ex-Death, Incantation) as Guest of Honor. The 15% off ticket sale has been extended through May 3.

GRAMMY-winning country firebrand Gretchen Wilson is back with “Redneck Shit,” a boot-stompin’, beer-slingin’ new single dropping May 1, 2026 — her first release under a new partnership between her Redneck Records label and Thirty Tigers.