Music News

Sabrina Carpenter just kicked off her tour this week, so chances are you might not have missed her in your area yet. The 25-year-old who had a song of the summer with “Espresso,” and an opening slot on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour earlier this year, has a very good pop album out now that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Highlights include the inescapable hook of “Bed Chem,” the witty takedowns in “Dumb & Poetic,” the country charm of “Slim Pickins” and the sing-along single “Please Please Please.” “Motherf—er” makes the chorus, but your kids have heard it before, and Carpenter’s no stranger to innuendo in her writing, but it’ll go over the younger ones’ heads.

Not sure if you know enough Sabrina Carpenter songs to invest in buying concert tickets? Well, she might still have something sweet for you. She performs a karoake-ready cover song at every show, with recent selections including Shania Twain’s feisty “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and the dreamy ’90s pop hit “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer — that one even included a shout-out to the moms and dads in the crowd the other night.

The official place to find tickets is Ticketmaster. Right now, you’re likely to only see pricey “verified resale” options available, but keep checking back. In my experience buying concert tickets, any seats that were held but not used by the venue or the artist’s team eventually get released for sale to the public, at face value. This can happen pretty last minute, in the day or two before the show. If you have no luck there, prices across resale platforms tend to lower drastically the day of the show, especially as the start time nears. When the price and the seats are right for you, grab those tickets and surprise the kids for a fun night out.

Parent tip: You’ll want actual seats, not pit tickets, if it’s a family outing. Kids won’t be able to see Carpenter very well standing on the floor, being stuck in a crowd is stressful, and you’ll lose your place when they need to use the bathroom (they will need to). Honestly, you’ll all just have a better time if you know you have a place to sit whenever you need a break. Lower-level seats, in the 100s sections, are recommended.

Anyone else have a child who’s been counting down the days until Inside Out 2 is on Disney+ “for free”? I’m chronically online, professionally and personally, and my 9-year-old (with no cell phone!) knew the streaming date before I did. It was on-demand before this week, but we’d already paid to see it in theaters — twice, which is very rare for us. My kids would be waiting until it was streaming through our subscription service to see it again.

I’ve zoned out through enough “family-friendly” movies to appreciate a really good one when I see it. Those animated little emotions in main character Riley’s mind pack a big punch. Tears flowed while I watched Anxiety lose control and saw Joy’s return. My heart warmed for this fictional 13-year-old developing her sense of self. I laughed, and it’s just nice to laugh with your family to smart storytelling we all appreciate together. Here, with three kids with decent age gaps to entertain, Inside Out 2 gets a thumbs up from ages 4+. If you don’t have Disney+, current subscription deals are right here.

The countdown to The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for Nintendo Switch was also a big one here, mostly because you don’t have to be Link. In the new video game, which just debuted Sept. 26, Princess Zelda is the playable character. The anticipation of an adventure starring Zelda herself was only surpassed in this house earlier this year by Princess Peach: Showtime! — the Mario game that put Peach center stage.

Having played all the Zelda (and Mario) games on the original Nintendo and on Super Nintendo when I was young, it’s fun to see my kids get in it decades later. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is available to buy now at Target and other retailers.

WandaVision breakout witch Agatha Harkness (the very talented Kathryn Hahn) has her own show now, Agatha All Along. Bonus: Aubrey Plaza’s along for the ride, and she and Hahn play off each other marvelously. This might not be the one to watch with your younger ones, but tweens and up who saw WandaVision will want to check out the dark sequel.

If you start watching this weekend, you don’t need to worry about playing catch-up for too long. With only three episodes out as of press time, it’ll just take a few hours to get on track for the season. New episodes of Marvel’s Agatha All Along premiere Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+. If you want to watch but don’t have a Disney+ account, subscription promos are available.

Billie Eilish, who dropped a new music video for sweet single “Birds of a Feather” today, embarks on her much-anticipated Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour this weekend. There’s no teasers yet as the first show isn’t until Sunday (Sept. 29), but the Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter — still, somehow, only 22 years old — is a captivating performer, so expect a good time at her show. Her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, debuted at No. 2 this year on the Billboard 200, and her beautiful Barbie the Album ballad “What Was I Made For?” has been inescapable.

Tickets are being sold through Ticketmaster. At the time of publication, most dates look to be sold out. (If you can make it to Saint Paul, Minnesota, there’s ticket availability for the Nov. 11 concert.) But Eilish is making use of Ticketmaster’s “Face Value Exchange Ticket” program, which Ticketmaster says allows fans to sell tickets they can no longer use at the original price. I checked several of her dates on Ticketmaster as a test run and was able to pull up a pair of 8th row seats in section 106 for Newark, New Jersey, on Oct. 9. If I had been actually shopping for tickets for that show, it would’ve been a nice find; someone else has since purchased that pair. Refresh your local concert date’s Ticketmaster page frequently if you’re looking for tickets, and watch for that category of tickets and standard admission tickets to avoid overpaying.

If you can’t score tickets in advance and would love to bring your family to see Eilish — a great role model for aspiring young musicians — don’t give up hope. Review the general tips for finding last-minute concert tickets mentioned earlier in this list (for Carpenter’s tour).

If you want to get ahead of the game when it comes to holiday shopping, now’s the time to get your Wicked-themed LEGO sets and LEGO advent calendars.

Four Wicked LEGO sets are being released Oct. 1 and can be pre-ordered now. Whether you’re a Broadway family or just anticipate loving the upcoming Wicked film (in theaters Nov. 22) the playsets are based on, they all look fun. Keep the investment a little more modest with the cute Elphaba and Glinda set (available on Amazon), or go all-out with the Emerald City building set (also on Amazon).

Wicked even has a “LEGO Brickified Trailer” (seen above, courtesy of my kid finding it on YouTube).

While you’re shopping for LEGO sets, I recommend taking a look at the brand’s 2024 advent calendars. In the past I’ve seen them sell out or have delayed delivery as it nears December, so if having one around the holidays is something your family enjoys, do a favorite for future you and get it now. The Star Wars advent calendar (available here on LEGO.com), the Disney Princess advent calendar (you can find this one on Amazon) and the holiday-themed LEGO City advent calendar (currently in stock at Walmart) are going to be popular choices.