Music News

22 Apr 2025

Meg Donnelly & Milo Manheim Return in First ‘ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires’ Teaser

On Tuesday (April 21), Disney unveiled the first teaser for ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires, the latest installment of the popular musical movie series.

In the new movie — premiering July 10 on Disney Channel and streaming July 11 on Disney+ — Meg Donnelly and Milo Manheim return as Addison and Zed, the “zombie-cheerleader power couple” at the heart of the franchise. The actors are also credited as executive producers of the Disney Channel Original Movie, in which they star alongside new castmates Freya Skye as Nova, a “fierce Daywalker,” and Malachi Barton as Victor, a “proud vampire.”

According to a release announcing the film, Addison and Zed’s summer road trip “takes an unexpected detour, landing them in the middle of yet another monster rivalry: Daywalkers vs. Vampires.” As we see in the teaser, Donnelly and Manheim become de facto camp counselors at “the most dangerous summer camp on Earth,” according to Kylee Russell’s Eliza, part of the ensemble that also includes Chandler Kinney as Willa, Julian Lerner as Ray, Swayam Bhatia as Vera, Mekonnen Knife as Vargas, Lisa Chappell as Vampire Eldress and Jonno Roberts as Commander Bright.

Trending on Billboard

ZOMBIES 3 will feature nine new original songs and reprises of two previous hits: “Someday” and “Ain’t No Doubt About It.” The film has an original score composed by Tom Howe and dance sequences choreographed by choreographed by Dondraico Johnson.

The soundtracks for the first three ZOMBIES movies all hit the top five on both Billboard‘s Kid Albums and Soundtracks charts, with the original film’s album spending 10 weeks at No. 1 on Kid Albums and the most recent soundtrack spending two weeks atop the chart.

After helming the first three installments, director Paul Hoen is back for ZOMBIES 3, which has a screenplay by David Light, Joseph Raso and Josh Cagan and is executive produced by Hoen, Manheim, Donnelly, Light, Raso, Jane Fleming and Mark Ordesky. Mahita P. Simpson serves as co-executive producer alongside co-producer Josh Cagan and producer Skot Bright. ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires is a production from Night Zone Productions Limited.

Watch the brand-new teaser below, and catch the premiere of ZOMBIES 3 coming to Disney Channel on July 10.

22 Apr 2025

Kesha Celebrates Being a ‘Free F–king Woman’ on ‘Kelly Clarkson Show,’ Teases ‘New Landscape’ For Music Biz Via Collaborative App

Kesha is celebrating being a “free f–king woman.” The singer sat on the couch on the Kelly Clarkson Show on Tuesday (April 22) for a chat about her upcoming album and her new(ish) status as the owner of the independent label Kesha Records.

“My first release is . [Period],” Kesha, 38, said of her upcoming punctuation mark-titled 11-track album due out on July 4. Free from her career-long association and label deal with former producer Dr. Luke following years of contentious court battles over her claims that he engaged in gender-based hate crime, employment discrimination and emotional abuse during their time working together — claims he denied — Kesha said she wants to create a “new landscape” for how the music industry can be for other artists.

One of her first projects is a new app where musicians can connect, collaborate and share music with “no contracts, no owning of anyone in perpetuity in the universe… it’s just a place you can connect, collaborate and empower yourself, “she said of the app whose name she did not reveal.

Trending on Billboard

The singer added that the second release on her imprint will be an LP her mother, Nashville songwriter Pebe Sebert, wrote in the 1980s. And, of course, her proud mama was in the studio audience and gave a sweet smile and wave to the “Delusional” star.

“It’s so sick. It’s kind of like Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Cyndi Lauper, it’s so cool. She taught me how to write songs,” Kesha said of her mom’s long-lost LP. Pebert co-wrote Dolly Parton’s 1980 No. 1 country singles chart hit “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You,” as well as songs for Kesha (“Your Love Is My Drug”) and Pitbull (“Timber”).

Kesha will hit the road in support of her sixth album this summer with the Scissor Sisters, Slayyyter and Rose Gray on the T-ts Out tour, which is slated to kick off on July 1 at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City, UT.

Check out Kesha on the Kelly Clarkson Show below.

22 Apr 2025

5 Junction Records: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

Anjula Acharia remembers when the one person who had set her up for success told her she was going to fail. And Jay-Z was there, too.

In 2008, Acharia and Interscope Geffen A&M’s then chairman, Jimmy Iovine, were sharing breakfast at a New York hotel. Iovine — who had partnered with Acharia’s South Asian music/news hub, Desi Hits, to develop a Universal Music Group-backed imprint — remembered her previously telling him how much “Beware of the Boys,” Jay-Z’s 2003 remix of Panjabi MC’s bhangra single, had meant to her as the kind of cross-continental exchange that she hoped Desi Hits would foster. So when Acharia stood up to leave the breakfast, Iovine asked her to stick around for a few more minutes… at which point Jay made his surprise entrance.

Acharia, who was in her 30s at the time, geeked out, gushing about her love of “Beware of the Boys” and asking the rap superstar about how the remix had come together. Then Iovine pulled the rug out from under her. “While I was sitting with him and Jay-Z, Jimmy told me that Desi Hits was going to fail,” she recalls. “His words were, ‘I know pop culture, I know a visionary, and this is just way too early. This would be right in 10 to 15 years.’ ”

A Punjabi kid and die-hard music fan born to South Asian immigrants, Acharia grew up in Buckinghamshire, England, devouring music that fused styles from around the world and dreaming of creating a platform that spoke to both Eastern and Western demographics. She was a senior partner at a London-based executive search firm who co-founded Desi Hits Radio as a popular early podcast in the mid-2000s; then Iovine backed Desi Hits in 2007 as a stateside label for South Asian artists after she moved to New York. The pair helped engineer a crossover hit in 2009 with “Jai Ho,” A.R. Rahman’s Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire theme that was remade for U.S. listeners with The Pussycat Dolls added to it.

Read the full Billboard cover story here.

22 Apr 2025

Durand Jones & The Indications Announce Fall Tour, New Single ‘Flower Moon’ 

Durand Jones & The Indications – the trio of Durand Jones, Aaron Frazer and Blake Rhein – have announced their most extensive tour to date. Following a successful opening slot on Lenny Kravitz’s European tour, the band will hit their biggest headlining shows yet, with stops at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin and The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

The tour will kick off Sept. 11 at The Van Buren in Phoenix and run through some of North America’s most iconic venues, including Webster Hall in New York, Tipitina’s in New Orleans, First Avenue in Minneapolis and The 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The 37-date trek will come to a close on Nov. 16 at House of Blues in Dallas.  

In addition to announcing their fall tour, Durand Jones & The Indications have released the second single from their upcoming album Flowers, due June 27 on Dead Oceans. The new single “Flower Moon” puts Frazer’s signature falsetto front and center as the group waxes poetic about love in springtime. The band draws from their extensive knowledge of soul and R&B history to deliver one of their most irresistible dancefloor tracks yet.  

Trending on Billboard

“It felt right to release ‘Flower Moon’ with this record. Spring is here and the flowers are blooming everywhere. We really wanted to catch that essence of the song and bring it to life for the listener,” Jones said in a release. “Also the Flower Moon is happening in a few weeks, so everything just seemed aligned to bring this song to our fans. It’s a feel-good tune to enjoy with friends or a loved one.” 

Check out the video for “Flower Moon,” directed by Alec Basse, below.  

Flowers will mark Durand Jones & The Indication’s fourth studio album and a return to the band’s roots with a mixture of gritty funk and Southern soul that inspired their 2016 self-titled debut. The album was self-produced in Rhein’s Chicago home studio and reflects the “ups and downs in our personal lives and professional lives,” Frazer said when the album was announced, adding, “and flowers are a sign of maturity, growth, spring, productivity.” The new song follows lead single “Been So Long,” which was released last month.  

Check out a full list of tour dates below.  

Sept. 11 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Sept. 12 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
Sept. 13 – Abiquiú, NM @ Blossoms & Bones
Sept. 15 – San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theatre
Sept. 16 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
Sept. 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Sept. 19 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Sept. 21 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Sept. 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ UnionTransfer
Sept. 26 – Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues
Sept. 27 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Sept. 30 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Annex
Oct. 1 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
Oct. 3 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Oct 4 – Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s
Oct. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
Oct. 7 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Oct 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
Oct. 11 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
Oct. 23 – Del Mar, CA @ The Sound
Oct. 24 – Sacramento, CA @ Channel 24
Oct. 27 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
Oct. 28 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Oct. 29 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
Oct. 31 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House
Nov. 1 – Bozeman, MT @ The ELM
Nov 3 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Nov 4 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Nov 5 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
Nov. 7 – Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
Nov. 8 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre
Nov. 9 – South Burlington, VT @ HIgher Ground Ballroom
Nov 11 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Nov. 12 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Nov. 14 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
Nov. 15 – Houston, TX @ Heights Theater
Nov. 16 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues

22 Apr 2025

Doechii, Lucy Dacus & Clairo Lead All Things Go New York Lineup 

All Things Go festival will return to New York with Doechii, Lucy Dacus and Clairo headlining. For the second edition of the New York festival, which will run the same weekend as the festival’s D.C.-area event, fans can also catch sets from Djo, Remi Wolf, The Marías, The Last Dinner Party, Lola Young and Gigi Perez.  

The New York festival will run Sept. 26-28 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Additional performers include Griff, Rachel Chinouriri, MICHELLE, Maude Latour, Blondshell, G Flip and Joy Oladokun.

Trending on Billboard

The festival will run concurrent to the All Things Go fest that takes place at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The D.C.-area event will feature overlapping artists including Doechii and Lucy Dacus, as well as appearances from Noah Kahan, MARINA and Julien Baker & Torres.  

The independent music festival expanded to two locations in 2024 when it hosted performances from Reneé Rapp, Janelle Monáe, MUNA, Ethel Cain and more. Since its founding in 2011, the festival has gained a reputation for its prominent inclusion of female and nonbinary artists, as well as its embrace of LGBTQ+ performers. It has been dubbed “Gay-chella,” “All Things Gay” and “Lesbopalooza” by fans and artists over the years.

All Things Go has once again partnered with Spotify EQUAL, Spotify’s Global Music Program that amplifies and celebrates the work of women creators around the world, for a takeover of the official EQUAL US playlist. Listeners can now visit the EQUAL US playlist on Spotify to hear tracks from all of the featured festival lineup artists.

Tickets for the 2025 New York iteration of All Things Go festival go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. ET. Head here for more information on presales, tickets and the full lineup of artists.  

22 Apr 2025

Def Leppard Drummer Rick Allen Says He’s Still Dealing With ‘Very Traumatic’ Feelings About Violent 2023 Assault

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen says he’s still dealing with the fall-out from a 2023 incident in which a 19-year-old man rushed at him and knocked him to the ground outside a Florida hotel. In a recent interview on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, the veteran rocker said that he has eased back on some of his non-performance efforts — including showcasing his painting on this years’s Monsters of Rock cruise — as he continues his recovery from the scary incident.

“I’ve been going through some challenging times, kind of related to what happened in Florida,” he said according to a transcription of the chat from Blabbermouth. “And that whole thing is kind of ongoing, when I got beaten up outside the hotel [there]. So I’ve been trying to deal with that the best that I can, and really I just needed to take a break from some of the side projects that I was busy with, just so I could spend more time at home. So, that’s been a real challenge for me. Hopefully I can put it all behind me and I can just kind of get back to as normal as I could possibly be given the circumstances. But that was very traumatic for me, and, yeah, it’s been difficult. But hopefully I can put it behind me soon.”

Trending on Billboard

Allen was assaulted in March 2023 outside of a Fort Lauderdale, FL hotel by an Ohio man who allegedly rushed the drummer at full speed and knocked him to the ground. A police report noted that the alleged assailant hid behind a pillar outside the hotel entrance while Allen smoked and then allegedly attacked Allen, who “hit his head on the ground causing injury” and that when a woman ran out to help Allen the man allegedly attacked her as well.

The man was arrested a short time later after police found him at another hotel allegedly breaking car windows. He was charged him with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and abusing an elderly or disabled adult; Allen lost his left arm after a 1984 car accident.

Allen said he went on a cruise following the assault and found it “difficult to be around a lot of people,” leading to him deciding to stick closer to home. “I decided, ‘You know what, Rick? Don’t try and bite off more than you can chew. Just deal with this, deal with what’s in front of you. Spend as much time as you need to at home,’” he said. “And I’m just hoping, as I say, that I can put it behind me… I’d love to get back to doing some of my side projects, particularly the art. And let’s hope I can soon.”

Though he is still traumatized by the incident, Allen will be on board when the veteran band hits the road this year for a tour slated to kick off on May 15 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, followed by a summer of North American festival and amphitheater dates through October.

22 Apr 2025

Latin Grammys Unveil 2025 Date, Set to Return to Las Vegas

The Latin Recording Academy announced Tuesday (April 22) that the 26th annual Latin Grammy Awards will be held Thursday, Nov. 13, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This marks the 15th time that the ceremony will be held in Sin City.

Most recently, the awards ceremony had been held outside of Las Vegas. In 2023, the Latin Recording Academy hosted Latin Grammys week in Seville, Spain. Last year, it was held in Miami.

“We are proud to once again bring the passion and creativity of Latin music to Las Vegas,” Manuel Abud, CEO of the Latin Recording Academy, said in a press statement. “The city has welcomed the Latin Grammys over the years, and we look forward to another great Latin Grammy Week celebrating Latin music and its creators.”

The three-hour telecast will be produced by TelevisaUnivision and will air across TelevisaUnivision’s U.S. platforms, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, preceded by a one-hour pre-show starting at 7 p.m. ET.

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“As the home of Latin music, we are excited to deliver unparalleled coverage of the 26th annual Latin GRAMMY Awards to our audience,” added Ignacio Meyer, president of Univision Networks Group at TelevisaUnivision. “This iconic night will showcase the extraordinary talent in Latin music, while shining a spotlight on the visionary artists, creators, and stories that are shaping culture in the U.S. and around the globe.”

Furthermore, nominations will be announced on Sept. 17, with the final round of voting taking place Oct. 1-13.

22 Apr 2025

Katy Perry Nixes Lifetimes Tour Arena Guadalajara Shows Over Unfinished Venue: ‘I Wish I Could Fix This’

Katy Perry is gearing up to launch her global Lifetimes tour in Mexico City on Wednesday night (April 23), but a pair of Guadalajara, Mexico shows originally scheduled for next week have been scotched due to issues with the venue. “Sadly, I learned that the construction of Arena Guadalajara will not be complete for their scheduled shows next week, which includes mine on May 1 and 2,” Perry said in a since-expired Instagram Story.

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The singer added that she sent her team to the Arena to look it over see if there was any way to make the shows happen, “but it was evident when they arrived that the venue was not ready or safe to receive my show or an audience,” she said. “I wish I could fix this but it is beyond my control. You guys mean the world to me and we have all been on such a beautiful journey together that I will be thinking about how I can create something special for the fans in Guadalajara in the future.”

In a statement on Instagram, the 20,000-capacity venue owner/promoter, Zignia Live, said that in addition to the Perry shows, upcoming gigs by Carlos Rivera and Intocable [on April 25 and 26, respectively] have also been called off due to a situation that is “out of the control of the artists… We seek to offer you shows with the quality and safety that you deserve, and although we have made our greatest effort together with our contractors and workers, we are not yet completely ready to receive you,” read the statement. “We will soon be ready to offer you the experience you expect and deserve.”

Trending on Billboard

Perry’s first tour in seven years will keep her on the road in North America through May 21 before she hops over to Australia in June and returns to North America for a second run of through Aug. 23, before moving on to South America and Europe in the fall; the outing is currently slated to wrap up with a Dec. 7 gig at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The singer has been posting previews of the stage over the past few days, including a video in which she said she was seeing the stage for the first time, admitting to nerves because the performance space is based on a sketch she did of a lighting sconce she saw at Rock in Rio.

On Tuesday morning (Apr. 222) she also posted an 18-second preview of the space-age production, featuring dancers wearing VR headsets and a robotic bodysuit with a heart-shaped cut-out breast-plate.

22 Apr 2025

Lady Gaga Adds Seven More North American Dates to Mayhem Ball Tour

Lady Gaga continues to expand her upcoming Mayhem Ball tour. The singer announced on Tuesday morning (April 22) that she has extended the outing with shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The seven additional shows will include three nights at the Chase Center in San Francisco on July 22, 24 and 26, as well as four shows in Los Angeles at the Kia Forum on July 28, 29 and August 1 and 2.

The announcement came after Gaga wowed crowds at Coachella over the past two weekends, previewing the over-the-top show that Billboard said was a “spellbinding and ominous” two-hour set that “may have been disguised as a concert, but what took place was nothing short of a carefully crafted commentary on fame and performance — and the toll of keeping both up.”

Tickets for the newly added shows will be available beginning Thursday (April 24) through a variety of pre-sales, followed by an artist pre-sale kicking off on Monday (April 28) at noon local time; you can sign up for the artist pre-sale here through Thursday (April 24) at 7 a.m. local time. The general on-sale will begin on Tuesday (April 29) at 12 p.m. local time here.

Trending on Billboard

Gaga’s first arena tour in seven years will kick off with a double-down in Mexico City at Estadio GNP Seguros on April 26-27, followed by her Mayhem on the Beach show on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on May 3 and four nights at National Stadium in Singapore on May 18, 19, 21 and 24. The North American leg of the tour will then officially launch on July 16 with the first of three shows at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Billboard recently reported that the outing could make for her biggest year on tour in more than a decade, with potential grosses of more than $100 million this year.

Check out the updated list of Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball 2025 North American dates below (new shows in bold):

  • July 16: Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
  • July 18: Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
  • July 19: Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
  • July 22: San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
  • July 24: San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
  • July 26: San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
  • July 28: Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
  • July 29: Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
  • Aug. 1: Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
  • Aug. 2: Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
  • Aug. 6 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
  • Aug. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
  • Aug. 9 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
  • Aug. 22 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
  • Aug. 23 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
  • Aug. 26 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
  • Aug. 27 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
  • Aug. 31 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
  • Sept. 1 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
  • Sept. 3 – Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
  • Sept. 6 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
  • Sept. 7 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
  • Sept. 10 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
  • Sept. 11 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
  • Sept. 13 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
  • Sept. 15 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
  • Sept. 17 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
  • Sept. 18 – Chicago, IL @ United Center

22 Apr 2025

Bluesfest Announces 2026 Return Following Record Post-COVID Attendance

Australia’s iconic Bluesfest has officially confirmed its return in 2026 following one of its strongest years post-COVID, bolstered in part by emergency support from the New South Wales Government’s Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund.

Held over the Easter long weekend, Bluesfest 2025 drew more than 109,000 attendees across five days, its highest attendance since 2019, and the third-biggest turnout in the festival’s 35-year history. The milestone comes just months after festival director Peter Noble hinted that the event might be the final edition, citing ongoing economic strain across the live events sector.

Among this year’s lineup were The Pierce Brothers, the reformation of The Beards, Kim Churchill, Nahko, Fools, Eric Stang, RY X, Sweet Talk, 19-Twenty, Roshani, WILSN, and Clarence Bekker.

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“We’re the top-selling festival in the country, and we’ve worked hard to get here,” Bluesfest Director Peter Noble said.

That sentiment shifted in part due to the NSW Government’s $2.25 million lifeline distributed across five festivals. Bluesfest, along with Listen Out, Field Day, Lost Paradise, and Yours and Owls, each received up to $500,000 in funding through the initiative, designed to help festivals navigate rising costs related to insurance, freight, currency exchange, and shifting ticket-buying habits.

“The post-COVID era has been a financial nightmare for music festivals in NSW,” said Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham. “The government needed to step in to save the furniture, and the feedback is that this fund has helped some of these festivals survive.”

“From Bluesfest where I’ve been this weekend, through to Listen Out and Lost Paradise – people of all ages love the outdoor music festival experience and the artists they discover. We can’t afford to lose that cultural experience because the festivals can’t afford to pay their rising bills.

“The festival circuit a vital part of the live music industry which employs almost 15,000 people. It’s too important to lose, that’s why we’re backing festivals with emergency funding and reforms that bring down their costs.”

Head of Sound NSW Emily Collins added, “The funding is providing critical support to iconic festivals and helping ease the burden of a rapidly changing landscape. We’re proud to be supporting great festivals to continue delivering world-class music experiences for the people of NSW.”

The second round of funding from the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund opens May 1, ahead of the 2025–2026 summer season. Eligible festivals can apply on an as-needs basis.