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Australian musician and director Kimble Rendall has passed away at the age of 67, it has been confirmed.
Rendall’s passing was officially announced on Sunday (April 20) by publicist and friend Melissa Hoyer, who described the late figure as a “musician, advertising guru, film director, husband, devoted dad & a very good friend to many.”
“One of the very, very good men – Kimble was married to the ‘first lady of music television’, the late Basia Bonkowski & carved out a huge reputation in music (he was in the XL Capris & the Hoodoo Gurus); a leading figure in the advertising world (what award didn’t he win?) and went onto became a mega successful film director,” Hoyer wrote.
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“Thank you for being in our lives Kimble. You were a compassionate, constantly creative, funny, clever & perennially entertaining one-off … & the time had come to join your beloved Basia.”
Rendall was born in Sydney in 1957, and showed interest in the world of films at a young age. Completing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Mass Media, he later trained as a film editor with the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
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In 1978, Rendall co-founded the Sydney punk outfit XL Capris alongside Tim Gooding, Johanna Pigott, and Julie Anderson. Their debut single, a cover of Tommy Leonetti’s “My City of Sydney,” was released the following year and has since become regarded as an influential snapshot of Australia’s then-burgeoning punk scene.
Rendall would depart XL Capris in 1980 and co-founded the Hoodoo Gurus alongside guitarist and vocalist Dave Faulkner, guitarist Roddy Radalj, and drummer James Baker the following year. While Rendall and Radalj would depart the group in 1982 before the release of 1984’s Stoneage Romeos debut, they would appear on the band’s debut single, “Leilani,” for which Rendall also directed the music video.
The Hoodoo Gurus would later top the Alternative Airplay chart in 1989 with “Come Anytime,” and hit No. 3 in 1991 with “Miss Freelove ’69.” In 2007, they were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in their native Australia. On February 1 of this year, Rendall reunited with his former bandmates in Brisbane to join them for a performance of “Hoodoo You Love” as part of their Back to the Stoneage Tour.
After departing the Hoodoo Gurus, Rendall concentrated on his directorial career, producing music videos for groups such as Cold Chisel, Mental As Anything, Paul Kelly, and Johnny Diesel & The Injectors. In 1987, he would be nominated for best video at the ARIA Award for his work on Boom Crash Opera’s “Hands Up in the Air.”
Elsewhere in his career, Rendall would also work on a number of high-budget films as a second unit director, working on titles such as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions; I, Robot; and the Nicolas Cage films Ghost Rider and Knowing.
Rendall was also married to television presenter Basia Bonkowski from 1982 until her passing in 2022. Alongside presenting numerous music-based television programs, Bonkowski was also immortalized by Melbourne band Painters and Dockers, whose 1985 debut single “Basia!” was named in her honor. Together, they adopted two children, William and Camille.
News of Rendall’s death comes only days after the Hoodoo Gurus were also affected by the passing of their manager, Dominic “Mick” Mazzone OAM. Mazzone’s promotion to the top job came after longtime manager Michael McMartin stepped down from the role in February 2024, ultimately passing the following month.
The 2025 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be announced on a live episode of American Idol on Sunday (April 27). Show host Ryan Seacrest will make the eagerly awaited announcement. James Taylor, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2000, will serve as a mentor on the episode, on […]
Coachella 2025 will likely be considered one of the most political editions of the longstanding festival, with a flurry of artists using their onstage platforms to make statements on topics including Palestine, ICE, the Trump administration and more.
Nicolas Jaar of psych jam act Darkside used the trio’s Saturday night performances in the Gobi tent to address the audience about a myriad of issues, primarily Palestine. Jaar began his statement by acknowledging that Southern California is the ancestral home of various Native American tribes, with many of these people killed in the mass murders of Native Americans that occurred in the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
“Here were committed the genocides that are the blueprint for what’s happening in Palestine right now, the same racist logic,” Jaar stated during the band’s weekend 1 show, on April 12. “We must continue resisting, even from the belly of the beast, because this genocide is funded by American money, with technology from Silicon Valley, thanks to the complicity of all the politicians in this country.”
Jaar continued by referencing Mahmoud Khalil – the detained Columbia University graduate student currently being held in an immigration detention center following his role in on-campus protests.
“I also want to say that today, these days, as some of you may know, just protesting a genocide that is happening means that you can get deported, like Mahmoud Khalil. That doesn’t feel right. Mahmoud and many others are in ICE detention jails. These jails are run for profit by groups like CoreCivic and The GEO Group. They make money off of keeping people in cells. We need to keep fighting them. For the sake of everyone there stuck without trial, and with no hope, we need to give hope. Thank you, everyone.”
Jaar delivered a slightly different version of the same statement during the band’s weekend 2 performance on Saturday, April 19, stating that, “We’ve been on tour for about a month and a half, and during this month and a half, the administration of this country has been deporting people for their political views, they have been locking people up in ICE detention jails. The prisoner count of this country keeps on being the highest in the entire world. There’s more people locked up in California than at Coachella right now, and this country keeps on arming and funding, also with tech and Silicon Valley, the genocide of the Palestinian people and arming and funding Israel’s system of apartheid and ethnic cleansing.
“But the problem doesn’t stop at this administration and the administration of that country,” he continued. “It’s much deeper than that… It’s based off a system of racism, of ethnic cleansing both here in these lands, and also there. And there’s no way to continue in this planet without the empires falling as soon as possible. In all ways possible. A lot of people tell us to shut up and just play the music, but for us, music is being together, and how can we be together if our brothers and sisters are locked up and our brothers and sisters are literally burning in their homes?”
Elsewhere at the festival’s second weekend, Northern Irish hip-hop group Kneecap ended their performance with strong anti-Israel sentiments. On Friday (April 18), the Belfast trio closed their show by projecting strong messaging in support of Palestinians on their video screens. “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— Israel; free Palestine.” This display came a week after the band claimed Coachella censored the pro-Palestinian messaging during their debut at the event.
On the main stage, headliners Green Day also changed the lyrics of “American Idiot” to state “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.” Other artists including Bob Vylan and Blonde Redhead displayed Palestinian flags during their sets. During the performance by this latter artists, the onstage event was soundtracked by audio of Khalil. Senator Bernie Sanders also appeared onstage during Clairo’s weekend 1 performance and urged festivalgoers to “stand up and fight for justice.”
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Doechii has been one of the hottest up and coming artists in the game for a minute now and after nabbing herself some Grammy awards earlier this year, the TDE artist continues to give her fans what they want with a new video for one of her biggest hits.
Dropping off some new visuals to “Anxiety,” Doechii shows off her acting side (kinda) as she finds herself running for her life in a house that’s seemingly under attack by outside forces while things go haywire on the inside. Ultimately finding her way out, Doechii and neighbors participate in a cool choreographed dance number that demonstrates she’s a woman of many talents.
FERG meanwhile has some things to get off his chest and in his clip to “Alive :(“ the former A$AP Mob member informs listeners on everything he’s been unhappy about while a group of men move paintings and canvases around the man’s apartment.
Check out the rest of today’s drops and some joints you might’ve missed over the weekend including work from Wiz Khalifa, G Perco, DJ Drama and Keith Price, and more.
DOECHII – “ANXIETY”
FERG – “ALIVE :(“
WIZ KHALIFA – “CRIME BUD AND WOMEN”
G PERICO, DJ DRAMA & KEITH RICE – “THANKFUL”
BAS & THE HICS – “EVERYDAY PPL”
R2R MOE & SHEFF G – “HAWK ‘EM”
SHORDIE SHORDIE – “DO SUM WIT IT”
OVRKAST. FT. SAMARA CYN – “SMALL TALK”
Wiz Khalifa says he’s responsible for getting Snoop Dogg‘s kids high for the first time. In an interview with DJ Whoo Kid on Sunday, Wiz Khalifa talked about his latest stoner album Kush + Orange Juice 2 and reflected on his monstrous career. Wiz recalled that during his time filming Mac & Devin Go to […]
Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) didn’t take a break from posting on X over Easter Sunday. The controversial artist revealed to fans that he and his mentor Jay-Z had a falling-out over a lyric about him wearing the infamous red “Make America Great Again” Donald Trump hat. On the Chicago rapper’s song “Jail” from […]
Post Malone brought out both Jelly Roll and Ed Sheeran for his Coachella-ending set on Sunday night. As captured in clips posted by fans who were in the desert, the “Rockstar” singer first welcomed the country star for a live rendition of their 2024 F-1 Trillion collaboration “Losers.” After Posty delivered the first verse and […]
If there’s one act that might’ve seemed unexpected at this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, it’s Los Mirlos, the iconic Peruvian group whose distinct blend of psychedelic cumbia conjures the mysticism and vibrant energy of the Amazon jungle.
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In their native country, Los Mirlos (named after the blackbirds of the Peruvian jungle) are legends, who have carved out a legacy that transcends generations. Today, founder and lead vocalist, Jorge Rodríguez Grández, plays alongside his two sons, Jorge L. Rodríguez (musical director, pianist and guitar) and Roger Rodríguez (vocalist and guiro), who joins occasionally. They are joined by Danny Johnston (lead guitar), Dennis Sandoval (bass), Carlos Rengifo (percussion), Genderson Pineda (drums) and Junior Soto (second vocalist).
Beyond Peru’s borders, the seven-member group remains relatively unknown, much like many folk-rooted acts around the globe that thrive primarily within “world music” circles. Yet, the band took to the Sonora tent at Coachella in Indio, California, for two consecutive weekends, captivating a crowd of nearly 5,000 fans with electrifying performances that seamlessly fused echo-laden keyboards and hypnotic electric guitar riffs into their signature psychedelic cumbia sound.
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“It’s been extraordinary,” a tired Rodríguez Grández tells Billboard from Washington D.C., hours after the group’s second Coachella set. “We are so happy that they reached out to us, because we have been promoting our Amazonian cumbia vigorously, it’s what we represent. We come from Moyobamba in Peru, then moved to Lima, and have been recording since 1973. We never stopped.”
After the Coachella announcement, a furor followed: Los Mirlos had made history as the first Peruvian band to perform at the festival, bringing Amazonian cumbia to the global stage. It was a testament to the unwavering support from their dedicated fanbase over the years for the group’s untamed and profound echo of the jungle spirit.
Hailing from the lush landscapes of Moyobamba in Peru’s San Martín region, with a population of approximately 120,000 citizens (about the same as the Coachella capacity per day), Los Mirlos emerged in the 1970s as trailblazers of Amazonian cumbia, not only introducing this pulsating style to the world 50 years ago but also cementing their status as cultural pioneers.
Although Los Mirlos are well-known in neighboring countries, they have sporadically played in the U.S. Conversations to play at Coachella began after the festival’s team sought them out, tracking down the group’s manager to initiate the collaboration in 2023. “They were looking for us,” Rodriguez Grández remembers. “They wanted us to perform in 2024. They reached out to Javier, my son, our manager, in 2023, but we didn’t have enough time to get our working visas. So, we were on standby and resumed the conversation in 2024.”
Months before the initial Coachella conversation, the documentary La Danza De Los Mirlos — the directorial debut of Peruvian Álvaro Luque, written by Jorge Ossio Seminario and Emanuel Giraldo Betancur, which preserves the soul of the Amazon in its every beat through rare archival footage and intimate interviews — was released in August 2022.
“It was chosen by the board of filmmakers for the 26th Lima Film Festival, presented at the Gran Teatro Nacional,” Rodriguez Grández shares. “Of course, the director was very flattered that out of 300 films, they chose ours.”
The timing proved to be a boon, with a call from Coachella coming just after. “Alvaro Luque spent close to four years traveling and documenting Los Mirlos,” Mario Giancarlo Garibaldi, Artist Relations for Los Mirlos tells Billboard. “He finally released the documentary in late 2022, and it has been the catalyst for this new era. It made public the true story of the group and how charismatic and relentless Jorge Rodriguez, its leader and founder, has been.”
Los Mirlos
Jason Sullivan for DUPLA
Beyond the documentary release, however, the Los Mirlos brand was already firmly established. “We’ve performed at many festivals before,” Rodriguez Grández states. “We’ve been at Vive Latino in Mexico, the Luminato Festival in Toronto and the Cordillera Festival in Bogotá last year. But before the pandemic, we were at the Pitoonkatonk festival in Pittsburgh. We’ve even made it to Ruido Fest in Chicago. Plus, Los Mirlos’ record productions have been widely promoted in Latin America. This is in addition to social media and Spotify, which has been a strategic ally in helping our music spread worldwide.”
With their unmistakable sound, Los Mirlos brought their psychedelic cumbia (or chicha) beyond borders, solidifying their place as one of Peru’s most iconic bands. Their beats continue to resonate far and wide, inspiring a new wave of artists who draw from their pioneering melodies to keep the vibrant tradition of Amazonian cumbia thriving.
“We’ve collaborated with Renata Flores, Hit La Rosa, and other emerging acts,” Rodriguez Grández adds. “It’s a joy to team-up with young acts who have a different fanbase but who identify with Los Mirlos. There are also many established groups, orchestrated bands such as Agua Marina, Grupo 5, Armonía 10 from the north, other groups from the Amazon that are outstanding. We’re paving the way for other bands to have the opportunity to get to Coachella like us. That’s what happened in 1980 in Argentina, the first country we traveled to with our Amazonian cumbia. We spread our music throughout the country during the decade of 1980-1990, even until 1993, when other musical groups arrived.”
But to get to that next level of stardom is not just about availability, presence and collaborations — artists in Latin America, especially emerging bands, face insufficient resources and struggle due to lack of government financial support to help them access resources and build their presence and audience reach.
“Governments in Latin America provide financial support, through the Ministry of Culture like in Mexico,” Rodriguez Grández says. “In Peru, there is support, but lacks a bit. Outreach is as important, which is now happening more, where artists need to register to receive financial support. But it needs to be expanded further, as many groups don’t have the opportunities that Los Mirlos have. Our brand is recognized and well-positioned in the market, but emerging bands need more government support.”
Los Mirlos
Jason Sullivan for DUPLA
While Los Mirlos have built a strong reputation, it’s taken time to create pathways for their development, something achieved through dedication and a deep connection to their cultural roots. Their signature style is a clear subgenre of cumbia that blends hypnotic tropical rhythms with the rawness of the traditional Amazonian sounds, infused with psychedelic undertones.
“Our legacy is to maintain the original style of psychedelic Amazonian cumbia that emerged in ’73, which we continue to enjoy,” Rodriguez Grández adds. “The day I step aside, my children will continue with that style, because the world has shown me it is what it likes: the sound of the guitars that identifies the group, its personality, its identity. My grandchildren will come later, too; that’s my wish.”
It’s a true family affair, with even grandkids coming together to take part in rehearsals and share in the musical tradition. “My grandchildren are already attending rehearsals, playing the guiro — a Latin American percussion instrument — and the drums, and are learning to play the guitar too, and that’s nice, because one can rest easy knowing that this will continue: that’s the wish. Many along the way have asked me, ‘Don Jorge, why don’t you add trumpets, trombones, or saxophone? It would give it more weight…’ But no, I’ve kept it that way, buoyed by the synthesizer to vary some songs, but the essence is based on that bewitching guitar that gives our music its charm.”
In between the double-boiler Coachella sets, clad in flashy Amazonian-urban-styled uniforms co-designed with Adidas, Los Mirlos packed The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on April 14. As part of their Ayahuasca Tour 2025, they delivered a sold-out intimate show, serving as opening act for Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, one of the many renowned acts within their growing orbit. Adding to the desert energy, they met Camilo Lara of the Mexican Institute of Sound, and a handful of impassioned DJs who have included The Mirlos’ songs in their sets. “My joy would have been completed had I met Lady Gaga, at least for a photo,” Rodriguez Grández jokes.
Los Mirlos
Jason Sullivan
As for why “Ayahuasca Tour”: “We represent the jungle, and Ayahuasca is an ancient medicinal plant from our Amazon region,” explains Rodriguez Grández. “It’s a bark with healing properties, that guided by a shaman, extracts all the negativity of the body. Our song ‘Un Traguito de Ayahuasca’ has a positive message that conveys this.”
What’s next for Los Mirlos? “Well, we haven’t been to Japan, we want to visit Australia also,” muses Rodriguez Grández. “We are dropping a mastered version of our album El Milagro Verde on May 2nd, with new and classic songs produced by us. Also, a larger project is on the works, with very well-known artists, collaborations of new and classic songs. That’s going to be a bomb worldwide, I hope.” The album will be released via the independent label Revancha, founded by Peruvians Gino Pezzia and Alejandro León, with Marthin Chan as their new business A&R.
Rodriguez Grández says he would like Los Mirlos to be remembered with love, in every corner of the world: “The affection people have for us is great, and I feel very grateful to God because he gives us the opportunity to reach other generations; because their parents, grandparents, uncles danced to our music, now the youth is dancing as well.”
Los Mirlos
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On the latest Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 26), SZA’s SOS surpasses Adele’s 21 for the most weeks spent in the top 10 among albums by women.
SOS, released in 2022, garners its 85th nonconsecutive week in the top 10 on the chart, where it climbs 4-3. Adele’s 21, released in 2011, was last in the top 10 for its 84th and final (nonconsecutive) week in the region on the Jan. 9, 2016-dated chart.
The new April 26, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website April 22.
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Both SOS and 21 are former No. 1s, with SOS having spent 12 weeks atop the tally and 21 having logged 24 weeks at No. 1 (a record among albums by women). SOS collected its two most recent weeks at No. 1 in January following its SOS Deluxe: LANA reissue with additional songs.
Further, SOS now ties Peter, Paul and Mary’s self-titled album for the third-most weeks in the top 10 among albums by a singular artist. They both trail two albums by Morgan Wallen (Dangerous: The Double Album, with 158; and One Thing at a Time, with 106).
Since the Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular weekly basis, with the March 24, 1956-dated chart, the album with the most weeks in the top 10 is the original cast recording of stage musical My Fair Lady, with 173 weeks in the top 10 between 1956-60.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.
Albums With the Most Weeks in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 Chart:Weeks in Top 10, Artist, Title, Year First Reached Top 10173, Original Cast, My Fair Lady, 1956158, Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album, 2023109, Soundtrack, The Sound of Music, 1965106, Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time, 2023106, Soundtrack, West Side Story, 1962105, Original Cast, The Sound of Music, 196090, Soundtrack, South Pacific, 195887, Original Cast, Camelot, 196187, Original Cast, Oklahoma!, 195685, SZA, SOS, 202285, Peter, Paul and Mary, Peter, Paul and Mary, 196284, Adele, 21, 201184, Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A., 1984(From March 24, 1956, through the April 26, 2025-dated chart)
Because of how the Billboard 200 chart is now compiled, where streaming activity is blended with album sales and track sales, albums tend to spend a longer time on the list thanks to continued streaming activity. The chart only began utilizing streaming information in its methodology in December 2014. Before then, the chart was based solely on traditional album sales.
Also, a lengthy tracklist with multiple popular songs can help accrue large streaming totals, so albums like SOS, One Thing at a Time and Dangerous — each with more than 30 songs apiece — benefit from the continued weekly streams of their long tracklists.
Further, older albums (known as catalog albums; generally defined today as titles at least 18 months old) were mostly restricted from charting on the Billboard 200 from May 25, 1991, through Nov. 28, 2009. After that, catalog and current (new/recently released) albums have charted together on the Billboard 200. In turn, older albums now regularly spend hundreds of weeks on the chart. On the April 26, 2025-dated list, for example, there are more than 30 albums with least 400 total weeks on the chart. Before the rule change in December 2009, allowing catalog albums back onto the chart, only three albums had spent more than 400 weeks on the list – led by Pink Floyd’s chart-topping The Dark Side of the Moon. Today, it continues to hold the record for the most weeks on the list, with 990.
Kendrick Lamar and SZA kicked off their 39-date Grand National stadium tour in Minneapolis over the weekend, and they’re already making headlines. Before Lamar performed his smash single and Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” he decided to have a little fun by prefacing it with a skit poking fun at the Toronto rapper’s current […]
