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Lil Durk remains behind bars in California, counting down the days until his trial is set to begin in October for his murder-for-hire case.
Durk’s family posted a clip to Instagram on Tuesday (April 29) giving fans an update on the Chicago rapper’s legal situation, and they claimed that the prosecution is building a case that uses his own lyrics against him.
“The recent developments in Durk’s legal case have brought a harsh truth to light: the government presented false evidence to a grand jury to indict him,” a statement from Durk’s team in the video reads. “This isn’t justice. That’s a violation of the very system that’s supposed to protect all of us.”
The clip goes on to explain that Durk has always been a vivid storyteller with his music, and his creative art shouldn’t be held against him in a court of law.
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“Durk has always used music to tell stories, to express pain to heal — and yet those same lyrics are now being used against him. We refuse to stay silent as Black artists continue to be criminalized for their creativity. Rap is art,” the video continued before calling for public support. “As a family, we are asking the public, the fans and the culture to stand with us. Stand for truth. Stand for fairness. Stand for The Voice.”
Lil Durk’s legal team continues to fight for his freedom. Earlier in April, Durk’s attorneys called for the case’s dismissal and claimed that “false evidence” was given to a grand jury.
Prosecutors are attempting to tie lyrics from Durk and Babyface Ray’s “Wonderful Wayne & Jackie Boy” to the murder of Lul Pab. While the track was released in December 2022, which would be a few months after Pab’s death, but Durk’s team says those lyrics were penned long before the shooting in January 2022.
“Told me they got an addy (go, go)/ Got location (go, go)/ Green light (go, go, go, go, go)/ Look on the news and see your son/ You screaming ‘No, no,” he raps on the track in question.
“The government told the grand jury that Mr. Banks, through specific lyrics in his music, celebrated and profited from a revenge murder that he had ordered,” Durk’s attorney, Drew Findling, said in the filing. “That claim is demonstrably false. Unless the government is prosecuting Banks on a theory of extra-sensory prescience, the lyrics could not have soundly informed the grand jury’s finding of probable cause.”
Lil Durk was arrested in Florida in October on a murder-for-hire charge hours after a few of his Only the Family associates were also indicted.
Prosecutors believe Durk plotted to have Quando Rondo killed as retaliation for the death of his friend King Von, who was murdered by Rondo’s associates in Atlanta in 2020, but the 2022 Los Angeles shooting ended up leaving Rondo’s cousin Lul Pab dead.
With Durk behind bars awaiting trial, the rapper’s team pieced together his Deep Thoughts album, which arrived in March and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 64,000 album-equivalent units earned.
See his family’s statement below:
Post Malone and Jelly Roll kicked off their BIG ASS Stadium tour on Tuesday night (April 29) with a three-and-a-half hour extravaganza at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT that featured both men playing their hits and fan favorites as well as Jelly jumping up on stage for a duet with Posty. Coming off […]
Lorde has released three albums, but it’s been so long since she dropped one that her fourth full-length effort, Virgin — which the star announced at long last Wednesday (April 30) — might just make you feel like she’s doing it for the very first time.
The New Zealand native shared the news via a posting on her website, revealing the LP’s blue-toned cover art and sharing that it will arrive June 27. “100% WRITTEN IN BLOOD,” she wrote, revealing that the project’s collaborators include Jim-E Stack, Fabiana Palladino, Andrew Aged, Buddy Ross, Dan Nigro and Dev Hynes of Blood Orange.
The album’s artwork marks Lorde’s first since 2013’s debut project, Pure Heroine, to not feature the “Royals” singer on the cover. Instead, the photo shows what appears to be an X-ray of a crotch area with a zipper showing up on the scan in the front; between the bones that make up the pelvis, an IUD is visible.
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In a release, Lorde further teased the direction of the record. “THE COLOUR OF THE ALBUM IS CLEAR,” she wrote in an all-caps statement. “LIKE BATHWATER, WINDOWS, ICE, SPIT. FULL TRANSPARENCY. THE LANGUAGE IS PLAIN AND UNSENTIMENTAL. THE SOUNDS ARE THE SAME WHEREVER POSSIBLE. I WAS TRYING TO SEE MYSELF, ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DOCUMENT THAT REFLECTED MY FEMININITY: RAW, PRIMAL, INNOCENT, ELEGANT, OPENHEARTED, SPIRITUAL, MASC.”
“I’M PROUD AND SCARED OF THIS ALBUM,” she added. “THERE’S NOWHERE TO HIDE. I BELIEVE THAT PUTTING THE DEEPEST PARTS OF OURSELVES TO MUSIC IS WHAT SETS US FREE.”
The announcement comes just more than a week after Lorde dropped Virgin‘s lead single, “What Was That,” on April 24. The track arrived with an accompanying music video filmed in New York City, featuring footage of the singer meeting up with fans in Washington Square Park.
Lorde hasn’t released an album since 2021’s Solar Power, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
See Lorde’s announcement below.
Before she was one of the most recognizable voices in pop music, Chappell Roan was just one of countless aspiring singers whose hopes were dashed by the audition process for competition shows such as The Voice and America’s Got Talent.
In her W Magazine cover story published Wednesday (April 30), the pop star recalled her disappointing experiences trying out for both shows back when she was a teenager, with Roan not even making it past the first round for either. “When I auditioned for The Voice, I was 15 and I sang ‘Stay’ by Rihanna,” she began. “The producer or whoever the f–k was watching did not even look up from his phone. He was like, OK, next.’”
“I went up there and sang a cappella, the scariest thing ever,” she added. “He never really looked at me.”
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At that point, Roan had already auditioned for America’s Got Talent two years prior. “I was 13, and we flew to Austin, Texas, and waited in line with thousands of people at 4 a.m.,” Roan recalled of that experience. “I sang ‘True Colors’ by Cyndi Lauper. Did not make it either.”
The Missouri native wouldn’t get her big break until more than a decade later, and not before she’d endure even more setbacks (such as being dropped from her label, Atlantic Records, in 2020). In 2024, Roan’s career exploded with a hot streak of festival sets and the success of single “Good Luck, Babe!” on the Billboard Hot 100 — it peaked at No. 4 in September — with the star going on to win best new artist at the 2025 Grammys in February.
During her acceptance speech at the ceremony, Roan used her time on stage to challenge the music industry to take better care of developing artists, reading out of a well-loved notebook, “Labels, we got you — but do you got us?” To W, the “Casual” singer confirmed that the book was her actual diary, revealing that she’s been journaling since she was in middle school.
Roan also opened up about her first kiss in the interview — she was 15 and in her parents’ driveway, though she now says that “kissing girls is funner” — as well as her biggest pet peeve. “When people name-drop,” said the vocalist, who recently confirmed that she has a serious girlfriend. “I immediately don’t trust them.”
“I’m not the girl to care about that stuff,” she added. “It is an immediate turnoff in a romantic or a friendship way. I’m like, ‘If you name-drop, I’m probably not going to be your friend.’”
See Roan on the cover of W below.
On its face, Kendrick Lamar and Playboi Carti seemed like an unlikely duo until King Vamp recruited K. Dot for a few features on his Music album. They hit the stage together for the first time on Tuesday night (April 29) when Lamar brought out Carti as a special guest in Atlanta to perform their […]
More than a year after revealing that he had undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his brain, Michael Bolton is opening up about his cancer battle at length for the first time.
Speaking to People for a cover story with his family published Wednesday (April 30), the 72-year-old icon shared new details about being diagnosed with glioblastoma — an aggressive form of cancer that “starts as a growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord” and “can invade and destroy healthy tissue,” according to Mayo Clinic — in December 2023. After receiving the diagnosis, he quickly underwent surgery, something he shared with fans while announcing that he’d be postponing his upcoming concerts in a January 2024 Instagram post.
Fortunately, Bolton’s doctors were able to remove the tumor in its entirety during surgery, and after a second brain surgery in January 2024 to treat an infection — plus a combination of radiation and chemotherapy — the musician has had no new tumors as of early April, when he had his last scan. But the road ahead will still be challenging, with Bolton now undergoing MRIs every two months to stay vigilant against glioblastoma’s high recurrence rate.
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Fifteen months after surgery, Bolton reflects, “You’re reaching into your resources and your resolve in a way that you never would have thought.”
“Succumbing to the challenge is not an option,” he added to the publication, which noted that Bolton’s short-term memory, speech and mobility have suffered as a result of his treatments. “You’re really quickly drawn into a duel. I guess that’s the way you find out what you’re made of.”
Amid the life-changing experience, Bolton says he’s been redefining his definition of legacy. Rather than thinking about it in terms of his career — which includes two Grammys, 19 Billboard Hot 100 hits and two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 — the “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” vocalist is now choosing to focus on what he’s leaving behind for his family.
“How do I give things that they can take forward?” he told People. “Life lessons, love, any kind of validation that I can give [them] — I want to be on the right side of that so they feel great about who they are. It’s a reality of mortality. Suddenly a new light has gone on that raises questions, including ‘Am I doing the best that I can do with my time?’”
“I want to keep going. I feel there’s still a lot to do on the fight side,” added Bolton, who has deliberately not received a prognosis to keep his hopes high. “I got a title for a song: ‘Ain’t Going Down Without a Fight.’”
Also featured in the cover story were the musician’s daughters Isa, Taryn and Holly, who remembered how their dad started singing in his hospital room just minutes after waking up from surgery. Bolton and his family — which also includes six grandchildren — posed together in a photo for the piece, which Bolton shared on Instagram Wednesday and wrote, “My hope in sharing this part of my journey is that it might offer comfort to other families facing similar challenges, and perhaps even inspire those navigating their own adversity.”
“I also want to thank all of you for the love, support, and patience you’ve shown over this past year,” he added. “I’ve drawn strength from your encouragement, and I continue to draw strength from it every day as I move forward on this journey.”
The interview marks the first time Bolton has shared an in-depth update on his health. In March 2024, he simply wrote on Instagram, “I am healing well and doing better every day,” adding that he was “enjoying the company of my daughters and grandkids during this time at home and practicing on my putting green whenever it’s not raining!”
The following May, he announced that his postponed Greatest Hits Live concert at the O2 Arena in London would be rescheduled for July 5 this year. “Thank you all for your continued support during my recovery!” he wrote at the time. “Although I wanted to be there sooner I’m so looking forward to spending a special evening together at the O2 London next summer!!!”
Eric Church is already gearing up for the release of his new album, Evangeline vs. The Machine on May 2, but this fall he will take that new project on the road when he launches his Free the Machine Tour, with 22 arena shows starting Sept. 12. Joining Church on varying dates on the tour […]
Global Citizen announced additional details on Wednesday (April 30) about the first Latin American edition of its signature event, Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia. Revealed during the Global Citizen NOW summit in New York, the world’s leading international organization advocating for an end to extreme poverty said the inaugural Amazonia show will take place on Nov. 1 at Estádio Olímpico do Pará (aka Mangueirão) in Belém, Brazil.
The show will feature sets from Brazilian superstar headliners Anitta and Seu Jorge, as well as Belém-bred singer Gaby Amarantos, as well as speakers including indigenous leaders Chief Raoni Metuktire and a special guest performance from Coldplay‘s Chris Martin.
Organizers said in a press release the event will focus on “amplifying the voices of indigenous peoples and local communities in the Amazon rainforest” and aim to raise $1 billion to protect, restore and rewild the Amazon rainforest.
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Free tickets to Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia can be earned exclusively for the people of Belém and Pará State in Brazil by taking action on the Global Citizen app or its website. Tickets are also be available by sending a WhatsApp message to +55 (11) 4040-7099 demanding action to end deforestation and support communities on the frontlines of climate impact. The show will be broadcast for free across Brazil on Globo’s platforms.
In an effort to make sure tickets get into the hands of local Pará State residents, including ones without internet or smartphone access, tickets will also be available to people who participate in community volunteering activities in Belém and Pará State, including tree planting, riverbank cleanups and other environmental service projects.
According to Amazonconservation.org, the Amazon — often referred to as the “lungs of the world” — is getting closer to its “tipping point,” when it will no longer be able to generate its own rainfall and support its rainforest ecosystems. Quickly approaching the tipping point of 20%-25% of deforestation, experts say if that point is passed, it could turn the planet’s largest rainforest into a dry grassland.
“In our visits to the Amazon and conversations with Indigenous leaders and community elders, Global Citizen has heard their call, and we are honored to accept their invitation to partner with their communities,” said Michael Sheldrick, co-founder and chief policy, impact and government relations officer for Global Citizen, in a statement. “We acknowledge our responsibility to listen, learn, stand alongside, and amplify — as loudly as we can — both the voices and the urgent needs of Indigenous and local communities. That’s what the Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia campaign is all about. Not only are we laser focused on building a global coalition to raise $1 billion for the rainforest’s preservation, but we are dedicating our advocacy, energy and platforms to centering and amplifying these powerful calls to action, culminating on our festival stage on November 1st to ensure their voices cannot be ignored.”
Organizers pledge that given the event’s efforts to preserve the natural environment in the host nation, the show will be one of the most sustainable, low-impact large-scale events ever in South America. Among the mitigation efforts on tap are a mobile, rechargeable battery-powered stage using solar generation that will be made available to other events in Brazil to reduce their energy impact, as well as a dramatic reduction in waste through compostable packaging, no single-use plastics and the local donation of excess food.
“It is an immense joy to be part of Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia, which is taking place in my homeland, Belém,” added singer Amarantos. “This event is much more than music; it is a global call to protect and value the Amazon, its biodiversity and the people who live here. As an artist from the Amazon, I feel both the responsibility and the pride of bringing the voice of my region to the world, showing how urgent it is to care for our forest, our culture, and our communities. The Amazon is a source of life, resilience and hope. Participating in this collective movement is an important step toward the future we want, where development and preservation go hand in hand. I invite everyone to join in this vital struggle for climate justice and respect for Indigenous and traditional peoples.”
The 2025 Roskilde Festival in Denmark will feature four nights of pop, rock, hip-hop and world beat with a little something for everyone. The massive weekend will kick off on July 2 with a headlining set from Charli xcx, who will be joined by the Deftones, Fontaines D.C., Annika, Slimo, Shaboozey, Wet Leg, Tierra Whack, Meridian Brothers and more.
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Night two will be toplined by British grime rapper Stormzy, who will share the stage with Arca, Beabadoobee, D1ma, FKA Twigs, Anton Westerlin, Beth Gibbons, Bright Eyes, Horsegirl, Knocked Loose, Seu Jorge, Thee Sacred Souls, Couch Slut, Wisp, Maureen, Tanner Adell and more.
Friday (July 4) will feature Olivia Rodrigo along with Doechii, Artigeardit, Jamie XX, Schoolboy Q, Electric Callboy, Faye Webster, The Hu, Magdalena Bay, Saint Levant, Big Fan, Allie X, Neckbreakker, Show Strippers and more. The final night’s topliner, Nine Inch Nails, will also feature Tyla, Africa Express, Anohni and the Johnsons, Kenny, Lola Young, A.G. Cook, Anoushka Shankar, BigXthaplug, Flo, Lucy Dacus, Noah Carter, Rachel Chinouriri, The Raveonettes, School of X, The Chisel, Hitech, Lambrini Girls and more.
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This year’s show will feature 185 acts from 45 countries beginning with the “First Days” warm-up nights kicking off on June 29 and lasting through May 1, with sets from Aman Naseer, Andachan, Bette, Betty Bass, Biji, Boy with Apple, Bye Bye Brenda, Baench, Carlloyaboy, Casket Spray, DJ G2G, Fakethias, Groa, Hillari, J. Ludvig III and many more.
“Every summer, 130,000 participants and volunteers come together at Roskilde Festival to celebrate music, art, and community in a way that few other places can match,” said Roskilde’s head of music Thomas Sønderby Jepsen in a statement. “Our 2025 lineup presents 185 acts from 45 countries – a reflection of the energy, creativity, and global spirit that make Roskilde Festival one of the most vital festivals anywhere and offer not only a reflection of the present moment, but also a window into the sounds, trends, and expressions that will shape our future.”
Click here for ticket information and check out the full 2025 Roskilde Festival poster below.
The Red Clay Strays were notified that they had won the ACM Award for new duo or group of the year on Monday (April 28) while recording with producer Dave Cobb in Savannah, Ga. Cobb also produced their first major-label album, Made by These Moments, which reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and No. 29 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
The news was revealed to the band by the winningest artist in ACM history, Miranda Lambert, via a congratulatory phone call. Lambert previously informed Ella Langley of her win for new female artist of the year.
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Restless Road and Treaty Oak Revival were the other nominees for new duo or group of the year. This was the second nomination in the category for Restless Road, which means they cannot compete in this category again. Because the major country music awards shows allow artists two nominations in new artist categories, Treaty Oak Revival can.
The Red Clay Strays are also nominated for group of the year, where they are squaring off with Flatland Cavalry and three past winners in the category – Little Big Town, Old Dominion and Rascal Flatts.
The Red Clay Strays won emerging artist of the year at the 2024 Americana Music Honors & Awards. They were nominated for vocal group of the year at the 2024 CMA Awards.
The group has had some big breaks, including having a song (“Caddo County”) on the best-selling Twisters: The Album, and opening selected dates on The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds tour.
Hailing from Mobile, Alabama, the band is comprised of Brandon Coleman (lead vocals, guitar), Drew Nix (guitar and vocals), Zach Rishel (guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), John Hall (drums), and Sevans Henderson (keys).
Langley and Zach Top, the winner for new male artist of the year, are set to perform on the 60th ACM Awards. The Red Clay Strays will probably also join the line-up of performers, though for now we are told only that they “will be celebrated” on the show.
The 60th ACM Awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, will stream live exclusively for a global audience on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. A limited number of tickets to the landmark 60th ACM Awards are available for purchase on SeatGeek.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
