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Dillo Day, one of the nation’s largest student-run festivals, will return May 17 with a headlining performance from Natasha Bedingfield. This year’s festival will mark the 53rd annual event at Northwestern University’s lakefront campus in Evanston, Illinois.
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Bedingfield – known for hits like “Unwritten,” “Pocketful of Sunshine” and “These Words” – will close out the daylong celebration after sets from genre-defying Chicago artist Ravyn Lenae and rising hip-hop artist and Texas native BigXthaPlug.
This year’s festival also marks a meaningful return to Dillo Day’s origins: Armadillo World Headquarters, the legendary Austin, Texas, music venue-turned-mission-driven cultural brand, will serve as an official partner of Dillo Day 2025. The festival’s moniker, “Dillo Day,” was originally coined by Northwestern students from Texas who were inspired by the vibrant Austin music scene and the Armadillo — a beloved symbol of their home state. The Armadillo partnership will featre various activations, including a classic Armadillo photo booth and merchandise giveaways.
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Additional artists performing at Dillo Day include indie rock stars Slow Pulp and U.K.-based electronic success nimino. Past Dillo Day performers include Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Steve Aoki, Black Eyed Peas, Wiz Khalifa and The Ramones. The breadth of talent showcases the festival’s reputation for attracting both breakout and classic talent.
“Dillo Day is truly unlike any other college concert or festival in the world. We bring two stages of world-class talent to our students for free, as well as an entire festival ground outfitted with brand activations, food trucks and activities,” said Mayfest Productions co-chair Alex Kahn in a release. “The Mayfest Productions team works tirelessly all year to bring Dillo Day to life.”
Now in its 53rd year, the festival draws over 10,000 attendees, the majority of whom are Northwestern students. Organized entirely by undergraduate students through Mayfest Productions, Dillo Day is fully student-run — from artist booking and corporate sponsorship to marketing, operations and production.
Tickets for guests of undergraduates are $30, and $35 for graduate students, alumni and Evanston residents.
After 61 years, The Song is Over for rock titans The Who. On Thursday (May 8) the band announced they’ll play their final run of shows in North America this coming August and September as part of a farewell tour. The announcement was made by guitarist Pete Townshend at a press conference in London with singer Roger Daltrey appearing via video link.
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The tour – named after their 1971 song “The Song is Over” – kicks off in Newark, N.J. on Aug. 19 and runs through major cities including New York City, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles and more. See the full run of shows below. The band has not announced any further shows outside of the U.S. and Canada at this time.
Tickets will be available through The Who Fan Club, beginning May 13. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general sale starting May 16 at 10 a.m. local time. See the full information here.
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“Well, all good things must come to an end,” Townshend said in a statement. “It is a poignant time. For me, playing to American audiences and those in Canada has always been incredible.”
“The warmth and engagement of those audiences began back in 1967 with hippies smoking dope, sitting on their blankets and listening deeply and intensely. Music was everywhere. We all felt equal,” he continued. “Today, Roger and I still carry the banner for the late [drummer] Keith Moon and [bassist] John Entwistle and of course, all of our longtime Who fans.”
Daltrey added, “Every musician’s dream in the early 60’s was to make it big in the U.S. charts. For the Who, that dream came true in 1967 and our lives were changed forever. The warmth of the American audiences over the years have been inspirational to me, and reflect the feeling I remember getting after hearing the first rock records coming across the radio. Musical freedom! Rock gave us a feeling of generational rebellion.”
“To me, America has always been great. The cultural differences had a huge impact on me, this was the land of the possible,” Daltrey continued. “It’s not easy to end the big part of my life that touring with The Who has been. Thanks for being there for us and look forward to seeing you one last time.”
Daltery, Townshend and Entwistle first performed live together as The Detours in 1962, and officially became The Who in 1964, with drummer Moon completing the classic lineup in May of that year. They toured primarily in the U.K. and Europe and first hit the U.S. in 1967 to support their third LP The Who Sell Out.
Their hell-raising tours continued with the releases of rock operas Tommy (1969) and Quadrophenia (1973). Their 1970 live collection Live at Leeds is widely considered one of the defining live rock albums of its era.
This isn’t the first time that The Who have announced a ‘farewell tour.’ In 1982 the band played a final run of shows in the U.K. and North America and immortalised the show with live album Who’s Last. They reunited for short performances at Live Aid in 1985 and 1988, and a year later in 1989, the group reunited for a 50-show tour.
In 2015, The Who’s 50th anniversary tour was dubbed as a “long goodbye” by Daltrey and saw them play 70 shows in Europe, North America and Asia. Between 2019 and 2021, the band toured their 2019 album WHO, their first in 13 years.
The news follows a recent concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall which saw longtime drummer Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, sacked from the group for his performance. After a brief period of uncertainty, Starkey was reinstated with Townshend saying, “There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.
The Who ‘The Song is Over’ North American Tour Dates
Aug. 19 – Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
Aug. 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
Aug. 23 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall
Aug. 26 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park
Aug. 28 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Aug. 30 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Sept. 2 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Sept. 4 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Sept. 7 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Sept. 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
Sept. 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
Sept. 21 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sept. 23 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
Sept. 25 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
Sept. 28 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
Fresh off co-chairing Monday night’s 2025 Met Gala, A$AP Rocky slipped on his best black cape and joined the event’s co-chair, Vogue Editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Wednesday (May 7) to talk the highs, lows and whoas from this year’s high-fashion superbowl.
First time co-chair Rocky acknowledged that when the famously withering Wintour first reached out to him about taking part this year he thought he was being pranked. “Absolutely. I tend to get these prank calls and I said, ‘Nah, this can’t be real,’” he told Meyers. “But it was a dream come true.” Wintour cheekily said that choosing the co-chairs this year was easy because she had a list of four men and they all said yes, so there were no backups.
Given Wintour’s exacting reputation, Meyers wondered if the rapper felt he had to run his outfit by the editor first. “Well, she told me exactly what to wear,” he smiled of the black suit and pistol-grip umbrella he rocked at the first night in 20 years at the event to focus on menswear. Rocky said he was happy the theme was menswear and a celebration of Black dandyism and Black excellence. And, not for nothing, when he looked around at all the outfits worn by his colleagues, friends and fellow stars he knew he (and Wintour) nailed it. “When I saw the other guys I was like, ‘I’m glad my outfit is the best,’” he joked.
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Meyers then pulled up some of the night’s most-commented-about looks, beginning with Diana Ross’ show-stopping white dress with a massive train. Wintour recalled that Ross had not been to the Gala in 22 years, since she attended one titled Goddess, where she sang “Baby Love” and “ran down between all the tables in this incredible red dress.”
They also weighed in on Janelle Monáe’s eye-popping double outfit look, with Rocky calling it “stunning.” As for whether the rapper was jealous of André 3000’s unexpected baby grand piano-toting ensemble, Rocky admitted, “I was. He stole the show!” Wintour also noted that her team “spent the weekend measuring the doors of the Met” to make sure the piano could make it through the openings.
The pair also gave props to gymnast Simone Biles and The Bear actress Ayo Edebiri for their looks, and Wintour gave a special shout-out to this year’s musical performer, Usher, who flew in on the day of from Berlin and was then “locked in the basement of the museum” so nobody would see him beforehand. After running to the blue carpet and then running back to get in place for his show, Usher wowed the A-list guests and was then joined by a second unannounced performer, Stevie Wonder.
Rocky smiled broadly when Meyers congratulated him for the baby bump reveal of his third child with Rihanna on the carpet on Monday night, with Wintour describing a dinner she had with the couple the night before the Met Gala where Rocky was “dropping all these hints” that Wintour said she was too polite to acknowledge.
Crucially, Meyers wondered if, given that the the couple’s first two children, RZA and Riot, have R names just like their folks, if baby No. 3 will follow in that tradition. “For sure,” Rocky said.
Check out Rocky and Wintour on Late Night below.
The acclaimed crew of screenwriters lined up to pen the scripts for director Sam Mendes’ four Beatles films has been revealed. The names, first reported by Deadline, and confirmed by the official Beatles website, include Tony Award-winning writer Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari, Spectre) Oscar winner Peter Straughan (Conclave, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and BAFTA- […]
Weezer, Car Seat Headrest, Janelle Monáe, Bright Eyes, Aurora and Sylvan Esso are among the headliners for the 2025 Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival. The 52nd annual edition of the Seattle fest will take place over Labor Day weekend (August 30-31) and feature the usual eclectic mix of music, delicious local food and drink and visual arts programming.
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Other artists slated to take the stage at this year’s event include: The Budos Band, Indigo De Souza, Tank and the Bangas, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Pattie Gonia, Say She She, Hey, Nothing, Quasi, Tennis, Saba, The Linda Lindas, Bob the Drag Queen DJ set, Real Estate, The Murder City Devils, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Spellling, Fat Dog, Bebe Stockwell and Digable Planets celebrating the 30th anniversary of Blowout Comb.
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Bumbershoot Weekend passes are available for $199 through Thursday (May 8), with the Big Gulp joint ticket going on sale for $340 on Friday (May 9) — for both Bumbershoot and the Capitol Hill Block Party (July 19-20) — along with single-day tickets for $125. The festival is also offering a Crew Pack for $800 which features weekend passes for four people; for more ticketing information click here.
In addition to two days of music against the backdrop of Seattle Center’s 74-acre urban campus, Bumbershoot will offer food from local restaurants, Cocktail Corner, VineShoot and BumBEERshoot highlighting the best food and drink from the Pacific Northwest. It will also feature art installations, comedy, runways shows in the Fashion District, a half pipe skate program in the Recess District and a Century 21 District with large-scale contemporary sculptures.
Check out the full lineup for the 2025 Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival below.
Marking his first solo release in two years, Stormzy has returned with a new freestyle entitled “Sorry Rach!” – listen to the track below.
The Croydon rapper has not released an album since the soulful This Is What I Mean sailed straight to the top of the U.K.’s Official Album Charts in November 2022. In the interim period, he has worked on collaborations with a series of major artists, including Chase & Status (“Backbone”) RAYE (“The Weekend”) and Shawn Mendes and Jacob Collier (“Witness Me”), among others.
In March, Stormzy – born Michael Ebenazer Owuo Junior – picked up a BRIT Award in the fan-voted hip hop/grime/rap act category, beating the likes of Central Cee and Little Simz to the prize. The win followed the criticism he received online for teaming up with McDonald’s earlier this year on a promotional Stormzy meal, a controversy which he addresses on “Sorry Rach!” “I heard they wanna hang me out to dry for a nugget meal,” he raps. “The world might never love your way again but my mother will.”
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The McDonald’s backlash began to spread after some of the 31-year-old’s social media followers pointed out that the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement had previously initiated a global boycott of the fast food chain for their support of Israeli forces in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
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Prior to the collaboration, Stormzy had been vocal in his support for Palestine. In January 2024, he performed alongside acts such as Clairo and Mustafa at an event called Artists For Aid in New Jersey to help raise funds for the ongoing crisis in Gaza. In recent months, meanwhile, the rapper appeared to remove an Instagram post from October 2023 that called for a “Free Palestine.”
Speaking on the latter incident in February this year, Stormzy clarified: “I didn’t archive the post where I came out in support of Palestine for any reason outside of me archiving loads of IG posts last year. In that post, I spoke about #FreePalestine, oppression and injustice and my stance on this has not changed.”
In the same statement, he continued to speak on the reaction to his McDonald’s partnership, adding: “The brands I work with can’t tell me what to do and don’t tell me what to do otherwise I wouldn’t work with them. I do my own research on all brands I work with, gather my own information, form my own opinion and come to my own conclusion before doing business.”
“Sorry Rach!” was followed by a second track, “Hold Me Down,” Wednesday evening (May 7). A poignant ballad that reflects on life in the public eye, the latter arrived with a live performance video.
Elsewhere, Stormzy will be performing a short run of European festival shows this summer, with appearances booked for Norway’s Palmesus, Roskilde in Denmark, and Dour Festival in Belgium. Further information and tickets can be found on his official website.
The Who’s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will gather the press in London on Thursday (May 9) for a special announcement tied to a new project titled The Song Is Over.
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According to the band’s official channels, the announcement will include a livestreamed Q&A with fans worldwide, with questions already being collected on social media, building anticipation for what could mark a significant moment in The Who’s six-decade career.
The project’s title references “The Song Is Over,” a deep cut from the band’s 1971 album Who’s Next. The group also performed the track live for the first time in March at London’s Royal Albert Hall, although that rendition was interrupted when Daltrey experienced technical difficulties. “To sing that song, I do need to hear the key,” he told the crowd at the time. “And I can’t hear. There’s no pitch here. I just hear drums, boom boom boom. I can’t sing to that.”
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This would not be the first time The Who has suggested the end of the road was near. In 1982, the band launched what was billed as a farewell tour and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with the headline “The Who The End.” At that time, Townshend was 37 and Daltrey was 38. Today, Townshend turns 80 later this month and Daltrey recently turned 81.
Longtime drummer Zak Starkey, who briefly exited the band earlier this year, is expected to be part of any future live plans. Starkey left following the Royal Albert Hall show but was soon reinstated. “There have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily,” Townshend said.
The band has not confirmed that The Song Is Over will be a tour. Fans have also speculated the project could be a studio album, a biopic or even a new rock opera. Daltrey has discussed the idea of a Keith Moon biopic for years, although no official updates on that project have been shared recently.
The Who last released an album in 2019. Who debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s highest-charting album since Quadrophenia reached No. 2 in 1973.
Full details of The Song Is Over will be revealed Thursday.
Gene Simmons has clarified that not all members of KISS may appear together at KISS Army Storms Vegas, the upcoming three-day fan event scheduled for Nov. 14–16 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
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“This is much more a fan gathering,” Simmons told 94.3 The Shark radio station in a new interview. “The KISS Army are taking over the Virgin Hotel and we will show up, but I don’t even know if the entire band’s gonna be there.”
Simmons continued, “I know Paul and I are gonna be there, and Tommy. Bruce Kulick probably will show up, and we’ll jam, answer questions and stuff. It ain’t a concert, we’re gonna do none of that stuff. I may even bring my solo band up there just for fun.”
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The event will mark KISS’s first public appearance since the group wrapped its End of the Road farewell tour at New York’s Madison Square Garden in December 2023. Simmons previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in March that the band would not perform in makeup during the Las Vegas event, staying true to their vow that the MSG show was their final appearance in full costume.
“There’s no stage show. There’s no crew. We won’t have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff,” he said at the time.
KISS Army Storms Vegas will celebrate the fan club’s 50th anniversary and will feature Q&A sessions with Stanley, Simmons and longtime manager Doc McGhee.
Additional performances will include sets from Thayer’s former band BLACK ‘N BLUE, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach and tribute acts MR. SPEED and KISS Nation: The KISS Tribute Show. Kulick, who played with KISS from 1984 to 1996, is also scheduled to perform. It remains unclear if drummer Eric Singer will participate.
“There might be some KISS tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will. So it’s much more personal. And of course, we can’t get by without playing, so we’ll get up and do some tunes,” Simmons added. “What they are, how long, I don’t know.”
Parkway Drive, one of Australia’s heaviest musical exports to date, have returned with “Sacred, their first new piece of music in three years.
Released on Thursday (May 8), the new single sees the heavy metal quintet drawing upon their 22-year history to deliver a piece of work that is a fitting representation of their past and an indication of what the future holds.
“The mission statement for ‘Sacred’ is pretty damn simple. An anthemic wrecking ball of positive energy,” vocalist Winston McCall explained in a statement. “Our lives and the way we exist in the world has been pushed further and further through the lenses and frames of negativity and hopelessness. Obsession with everything we lack, everything we hate, everyone we blame, everything that keeps us down.
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“We sell the unique parts of us most precious just to buy back manufactured pieces of self in order that we may feel whole again,” he added. “‘Sacred’ is our identity. ‘Sacred’ is our time. Never lose sight and never lose hope.”
The release of “Sacred” comes just weeks before the band perform a sold-out, black-tie symphonic show at the iconic Sydney Opera House on June 9, before embarking on an extensive run of North American dates as part of the Summer of Loud tour with Beartooth, I Prevail, and Killswitch Engage.
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Parkway Drive first formed in the coastal New South Wales town of Byron Bay in 2003, issuing their debut album two years later. They received their first top ten album in Australia with 2007’s Horizons, which also hit No. 27 on the Top Heatseekers charts. 2010’s Deep Blue launched a four-record run which saw the group consecutively charting within the top 40 of the Billboard 200, with 2015’s Ire resulting in a peak of No. 29.
Alongside becoming their first release to top the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, Ire also was their first of three consecutive records to top the Australian charts. “Sacred” is Parkway Drive’s first release since their 2022 album Darker Still, which saw them receive their third ARIA Award for best hard rock or heavy metal album
Parkway Drive – 2025 North American Tour Dates
June 21 – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, FLJune 22 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, FLJune 24 – Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GAJune 26 – Dos Equis Pavillion, Dallas, TXJune 27 – Germania Insurance Amphitheater, Austin, TXJune 28 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TXJuly 1 – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, Phoenix, AZJuly 2 – Gallagher Square at Petco Park, San Diego, CAJuly 5 – Great Park Live, Irvine, CAJuly 6 – Toyota Pavilion at Concord, Concord, CAJuly 8 – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City, UTJuly 9 – The JunkYard, Denver, COJuly 11 – Somerset Amphitheater, Somerset, WIJuly 12 – Capital Credit Union Park, Green Bay, WIJuly 13 – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, ILJuly 15 – Budweiser Stage, Toronto, ONJuly 16 – Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MIJuly 18 – Ohio State Reformatory, Mansfield, OHJuly 19 – York State Fair, York, PAJuly 20 – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NYJuly 22 – Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MAJuly 23 – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJJuly 24 – PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJJuly 26 – Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VAJuly 27 – PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC
As the controversy surrounding Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap continues to swirl, former Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon has weighed in on the debate.
Lydon, who fronted the pioneering U.K. punk band from 1975 until 1978 and on their numerous reunions until 2008 as Johnny Rotten, made his comments in the wake of the myriad controversies faced by Kneecap in recent weeks.
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However, while speaking to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (May 8), the program’s host brought up a recent incident in which Kneecap issued an apology for archival footage which showed the group allegedly calling for the death of British MPs (members of parliament).
Filmed at a London gig in November 2023, it appears to show one member of the band saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” At the time, the Conservative Party – also known as the Tories – were in government with a large majority.
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“If you’re advocating the death of another human being, then you have no cause whatsoever,” Lydon said in response to the incident. “You are my enemy from here on in for the rest of your mediocre existence. You shouldn’t be talking like that, you shouldn’t be making enemies of your fellow human beings. Other than that, maybe they need a bloody good kneecapping!”
In the context of the matter, ‘kneecapping’ – the term from which the trio take their name – refers to how Northern Ireland paramilitaries would take the law into their own hands during The Troubles by inflicting injuries on those accused of criminal or antisocial behaviour, usually with a gunshot to the knee.
Lydon also commented on Kneecap’s apparent attempts to generate controversy in the modern age by claiming they’re taking cues from the Sex Pistols’ playbook. “I think they’re following what they think is the Sex Pistols route,” he added. “It’s helpful, isn’t it, when you get the Financial Times propping you up.”
Kneecap made global headlines following their appearance at the Coachella festival in April, where they projected strong anti-Israel sentiments during their set – sentiments which they had claimed were censored during their first weekend appearance.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” the projected messages read. “It is being enabled by the U.S. government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F–k Israel; free Palestine.”
The backlash to Kneecap’s comments were swift and varied, with Sharon Osbourne calling for the band’s work visas to be revoked ahead of another North American tour later in the year, while the trio would soon split with their booking agent, Independent Artist Group.
Lydon has been rather prolific in terms of public comment in recent weeks, having recently taken to disparaging the nascent version of the Sex Pistols which have been touring with Frank Carter on lead vocals, and distancing himself from any potential reunions with his former bandmates.
“Not after what I consider their dirty deeds, let them wallow in Walt Disney woke expectations,” he said in response to the notion of returning to the role of vocalist. “They’ve killed the content, or done their best to, and turned the whole thing into a rubbish, childishness, and that’s unacceptable.
“Sorry, I’m not going to give a helping hand to this any longer, as far as I am concerned, I am the Pistols, and they’re not.”
