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Linkin Park stormed back onto late-night on Tuesday (Sept. 17) with the TV debut of their intense single “The Emptiness Machine,” marking their first Tonight Show performance with new singer Emily Armstrong. The song from the band’s upcoming first album in seven years, From Zero (Nov. 15), blasted off with singer/guitarist Mike Shinoda on the mic on a set that looked like an ice station on a frozen planet thanks to moodily lit plastic draping surrounding them.
With new drummer Colin Brittain keeping the steady beat, Shinoda urgently sang the song’s pleading chorus, “I let you cut me open/ Just to watch me bleed/ Gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be/ Don’t know why I’m holding what I won’t receive/ Falling for the promise of the emptiness machine.”
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While the performance exploded into a driving dual-guitar grind, Armstrong took center stage and unleashed her howling vocal attack as the stage flickered with colored effects. Trading vocals with Shinoda, Armstrong gripped the mic with both hands, screaming out the chorus amid the strobing lights.
“The Emptiness Machine” debuts at No. 21 on this week’s Hot 100 (dated Sept. 21), marking the nu-metal group’s highest-peaking Hot 100 song in 15 years; their previous highest placement on the chart was the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen soundtrack single “New Divide,” which reached No. 9 in 2009.
Shinoda also sat down with host Jimmy Fallon to discuss the “euphoric” feeling the band had after the rebooted lineup’s debut performance at the Kia Forum in their native Los Angeles on Sept. 11, which marked the kick-off of their first tour since the death of singer Chester Bennington in 2017. “To be this many years in and to feel, like that genuine adrenaline and excitement and happiness was… there’s nothing like it, man,” said Shinoda of the first date of a six-show arena tune-up for what is expected to be a much larger 2025 tour.
Shinoda also had to laugh at Fallon cueing up an embarrassing video from the comeback L.A. show in which the singer had a major malfunction while performing “Remember the Name” from his side band, Fort Minor. Right after Shinoda sang the line about “50% pain,” he ran into the mic stand and bonked his head.
He also talked about what it’s felt like to put the band back together after the tragic loss of his longtime friend and bandmate Bennington.
“I think the important thing for us is that we never set out to, like, ‘Let’s bring the band back’ or ‘Let’s find a singer,’” Shinoda said of the surprise announcement earlier this month that former Dead Sara vocalist Armstrong would be taking her place on stage next to him for the band’s new iteration. “That was never our intention or our goal… It was almost like this new record… we wrote it, we came up with the music while we were creating the new band. When we started the music we didn’t have a band and it just came together while the music came together.”
Watch Linkin Park on the Tonight Show below.
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Just days after calling off their reunion tour and going on an indefinite hiatus following Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell‘s on-stage attack of Dave Navarro, the band’s guitarist issued an apology to the tour’s opening acts.
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“I would like to personally apologize to Love & Rockets and Crawlers and their crews for such a terrible outcome of what started off as an incredibly magical tour,” Navarro said of the two bands that were opening for Jane’s on the alt-rock group’s reunion tour before it melted down into chaos on Friday night in Boston during a show in which Farrell pushed, then punched Navarro near the end of the headliner’s set.
“Love & Rockets are heroes of mine and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to perform on the same stage as them for as long as I did. It has truly been an honor!” Navarro said in a since-expired Instagram Story on Tuesday (Sept. 17) according to Brooklyn Vegan.
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Love & Rockets — the beloved indie rock band formed by former Bauhaus members singer/guitarist Daniel Ash, bassist/singer David J and drummer Kevin Haskins in 1985 — who had reunited to hit the road with Jane’s, also issued a statement on the scotched tour. “We would have loved to have completed the rest of the dates on the tour with Jane’s Addiction but unfortunately the matter is out of our hands,” they wrote on Instagram. “Information regarding refunds will follow shortly.”
Following the shocking incident, Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery issued a joint statement on Instagram on Monday morning apologizing to fans for the disturbing scene and cancellation of the rest of the band’s U.S. tour. “Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour,” the trio wrote.
“Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” they added. “We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.”
Farrell, 65, apologized to his bandmates on Monday in a statement first shared with Billboard. “This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show,” Farrell said of the punch-up during the show at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion near the end of a performance of “Ocean Size.”
“Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation,” Farrell added. In fan video of the moment, an agitated Farrell is seen lunging at Navarro and throwing a shoulder into his bandmate, then punching the shocked-looking guitarist in the chest before the men are separated and Farrell is dragged off stage.
A day after the onstage meltdown, Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, issued a statement in which she tried to provide context and background on what precipitated the incident. “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit,” she wrote on Instagram. “Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band. Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.”
She also said that after the punch, bassist Avery “put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times … Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried. Eric, well he either didn’t understand what descalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry.”
Avery has been an on-and-off presence in the band’s lineup over the past 25 years, re-joining and leaving the band several times before returning in 2022 and taking part in what was slated to be the reunited band’s first North American tour featuring all four original members in 14 years. The outing launched in early August and was scheduled to run through mid-October.
Father John Misty has announced a run of dates in the U.K. for April 2025.
The dates come following the news of his upcoming sixth studio album Mahashmashana, set for release on November 22 via Sub Pop and Bella Union (UK & Europe).
Father John Misty – real name Josh Tillman – will perform in Edinburgh, Manchester, Brighton and London, with the final show to be held at the capital’s historic Royal Albert Hall on April 14. See the full tour dates below; tickets go on sale on September 27.
Misty also shared a new song “Screamland” which features Low’s Alan Spearhawk on guitar. The album was produced by Tillman and Drew Erickson, with executive production from frequent collaborator Jonathan Wilson. Watch the music video below.
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The news follows the release of Misty’s Greatish Hits: I Followed My Dreams and My Dreams Said to Crawl earlier this summer, a collection of back catalogue songs including “Real Love Baby”, his biggest hit on streaming.
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The collection also included “I Guess Time Makes Fools of Us All”, an eight-minute jazz-influenced song that will also appear on Mahashmashana.
Misty last released a studio album in 2022 with Chloë and The Next 20th Century which landed at No.2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart and at No.28 on the Billboard 200.
The Los Angeles-based musician is currently on tour supporting country star Kacey Musgraves in the US. Earlier this year, he was a special guest of Lana Del Rey at her headline appearance at London’s Hyde Park.
Father John 2025 U.K. & Europe Tour Dates:
3 April – Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway4 April – Fållan, Stockholm, Sweden5 April – Opera House, Copenhagen, Denmark6 April – Huxley’s, Berlin, Germany8 April – La Cigale, Paris, France9 April – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium10 April – TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands12 April – Usher Hall, Edinburgh, UK13 April – O2 Apollo, Manchester, UK14 April – Brighton Dome, Brighton, UK15 April – Royal Albert Hall London, UK
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Father John Misty’s official website.
The tension is continuing to rise between Morrissey and his former The Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr.
Marr’s management took to Instagram on Tuesday (Sept. 17) to refute a series of claims made by Morrissey over the past few weeks, including that Marr “ignored” an offer to tour as the Smiths next year, that he blocked an upcoming greatest hits album and that he acquired the trademark of the band’s name.
“Recent statements made by Morrissey on his website regarding the trademark of the Smiths’ name are incorrect,” the statement begins, before revealing that Marr reached out to Morrissey in 2018 after a “third party” attempted to use the band’s name “to work together in protecting The Smiths’ name.” The statement claims that Morrissey didn’t respond, leading Marr to register the trademark on his own. In January 2024, Marr reportedly “signed an assignment of joint ownership to Morrissey. Execution of this document still requires Morrissey to sign.”
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The statement also includes a direct quote from Marr, which reads, “To prevent third parties from profiting from the band’s name, it was left to me to protect the legacy. This I have done on behalf of both myself and my former bandmates. As for the offer to tour, I didn’t ignore the offer – I said no.”
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The post concluded by claiming that Marr was not planning to tour with another vocalist, and that he did decline the greatest hits album, “given the number already in existence.”
Marr’s response comes a day after Morrissey shared a message on his website titled “The Plot Thickens,” where he claimed that Marr “successfully applied for 100% trademark rights / Intellectual Property ownership of The Smiths name,” which he alleges “was done without any consultation to Morrissey, and without allowing Morrissey the standard opportunity of ‘objection’.”
Morrissey added that due to the trademark rights, Marr can “now tour as The Smiths using the vocalist of his choice, and it also prohibits Morrissey from using the name whilst also denying Morrissey considerable financial livelihood,” before concluding, “Morrissey alone created the musical unit name ‘The Smiths’ in May 1982.”
The legendary British rockers broke up acrimoniously in 1987, after releasing four studio albums together.
Linkin Park’s “The Emptiness Machine” shoots to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart dated Sept. 21, ahead of a slew of favorites from the band’s decades-long catalog that spiked after the release of its comeback single and the announcement and launch of its new mini tour.
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In the week ending Sept. 12, the first full week of tracking for “The Emptiness Machine” (it was released at 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 5), the song earned 13.4 million official U.S. streams, 9.2 million radio audience impressions and sold 8,000 downloads, according to Luminate.
The count of 13.4 million streams is the second-biggest for any hard rock song since Luminate began tracking U.S. streaming activity and the largest for any newly released hard rock tune. The only frame in which any song went bigger: Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which accumulated 13.9 million streams toward the Billboard charts dated Nov. 24, 2018, amid the release of the Queen biopic of the same name that fall.
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In fact, only 10 hard rock songs have reached Billboard’s all-genre Streaming Songs chart since its 2013 inception, with “The Emptiness Machine” becoming the 10th via its No. 19 bow. Four of those are from Linkin Park; in addition to “The Emptiness Machine,” the band appeared with two songs – “Numb” at No. 29 and “In the End” at No. 32 – on the Aug. 12, 2017, ranking following the death of co-frontman Chester Bennington. “Lost” followed with a No. 32 debut in 2023.
Of that 10-song group, only “Lost” and “The Emptiness Machine” were new releases, as the rest either spiked due to news events or viral videos.
“The Emptiness Machine” tops Hot Hard Rock Songs after debuting at No. 7 a week earlier with 1.1 million audience impressions, 690,000 official U.S. streams and 1,000 sold Sept. 5.
The track is the third Linkin Park song to reign on Hot Hard Rock Songs, which began in 2020. “In the End” led for two weeks in 2021, helped by iTunes sale-pricing, and “Lost” ruled for 16 frames, released as part of the 20th anniversary reissue of the Linkin Park album Meteora.
“In the End” is one of four songs from Linkin Park’s catalog to reach Hot Hard Rock Songs and the parent Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart dated Sept. 21 (where older songs are eligible to appear if ranking in the latter list’s top half and with a meaningful reason for their return).
“Numb” leads the group, at Nos. 2 and 12 on Hot Hard Rock Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, respectively. In the week ending Sept. 12, the song accumulated 6.4 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads.
“In the End” is next (Nos. 3 and 15) with 5.9 million streams and 1,000 sold, followed by “One Step Closer” (Nos. 4 and 21, respectively) with 4.2 million streams and “Faint” (Nos. 5 and 25) with 3.6 million streams.
All five songs, plus “What I’ve Done,” make the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart, with the No. 1 debut of “The Emptiness Machine” marking Linkin Park’s second ruler, following “Lost.”
“In the End” (2001), “Faint” (2003), “Numb” (2003) and “What I’ve Done” (2007) each hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart upon their original runs, while “One Step Closer” peaked at No. 5 in 2001.
The gains extend to Billboard’s albums charts; Linkin Park boasts three appearances on Top Hard Rock Albums, paced by Meteora at No. 1 (17,000 equivalent album units earned) and followed by [Hybrid Theory] (No. 2, 16,000 units) and Papercuts (No. 6, 11,000 units). Those three albums also appear on the all-format Billboard 200, Meteora leading the haul at No. 47.
All in all, Linkin Park’s catalog drew 72.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the week ending Sept. 12 – up 91% from 38.2 million in the week ending Sept. 5.
In addition to its reign on Hot Hard Rock Songs and its component Hard Rock Streaming Songs list, “The Emptiness Machine” tops Hard Rock Digital Song Sales and hits No. 1 on Rock & Alternative Airplay, as previously reported.
“The Emptiness Machine” is the lead single from From Zero, Linkin Park’s upcoming eighth studio album and first with new members Emily Armstrong on vocals and Colin Brittain on drums, following the death of Bennington and departure of longtime drummer Rob Bourdon. It’s scheduled for release Nov. 15.
While often underappreciated commercially and critically during their turn-of-the-century peak, Sacramento alt-metal band Deftones has enjoyed an extended revival of interest in recent years, consistently ranking as one of the top-performing bands on streaming and hosting the Dia de los Deftones single-day festival every year since 2020.
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Now, the band is embarking on its first headline tour since 2022, and they’re visiting arenas across North America. Deftones will kick off the untitled 2025 trek at Portland’s Moda Center on Feb. 25, and then will hit legendary venues such as the Kia Forum in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York over the following month and a half, before wrapping at Boston’s TD Garden in April.
Guests on the tour will be Texas prog-metal veterans The Mars Volta and Boston nu-gazers Fleshwater. Tickets go on sale Friday (Sept. 20) at 10 a.m. local time, and will of course be followed with this year’s Dia de los Deftones festival in November, featuring such other acts as IDLES, Health and Sunny Day Real Estate (performing the entirety of its iconic 1994 debut album Diary).
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Watch a very Deftones trailer for the upcoming tour and see a full list of dates below:
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2025 TOUR DATES:
2/25 Portland, OR – Moda Center2/27 Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena3/1 Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center3/4 San Francisco, CA – Chase Center3/6 Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum3/8 Las Vegas, NV MGM – Grand Garden Arena3/9 Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center3/12 Austin, TX – Moody Center3/13 San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center3/15 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center3/16 Houston, TX – Toyota Center3/18 Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena3/20 Orlando, FL – Kia Center3/22 Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena3/24 Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center3/26 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena3/28 Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse3/29 Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena3/31 Chicago, IL – United Center4/1 Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena4/3 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden4/4 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center4/6 Washington, DC – Capital One Arena4/8 Boston, MA – TD Garden
Linkin Park did not pause very often in Brooklyn on Tuesday night (Sept. 16). The band’s second full concert (following Wednesday’s show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles) since unexpectedly returning earlier this month did not include drawn-out speeches, prolonged stage banter between members, a ton of reflection on their seven-year break or many […]
Surf Curse has been steadily releasing music for more than a decade and now, for the first time, the surf rockers debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with their five-year-old song “Disco.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Released in June 2019 via Danger Collective and more […]
After more than 50 years of rocking, REO Speedwagon will permanently park the tour bus at the end of the year. The long-running soft rock band known for such 1980s hits as “Keep on Loving You,” “Take It On the Run” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” announced on Monday (Sept. 16) that their upcoming U.S. dates will be their last due to intractable conflicts between the two longest-tenured members.
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“Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour… but it’s not up to just him,” read a statement from the group in reference to bassist Bruce Hall, who has been off the road recuperating from back surgery while the band was touring with Train this summer.
“The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect,” they continued. “Bruce respected that opinion and is grateful that [replacement bassist] Matt [Bissonette] has been around to keep the Wagon rolling through the summer tour. Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years.”
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The message also noted that singer Kevin Cronin also “never had any intention” of leaving the band, but that things came to a head over unexplained stressors, leading to the difficult decision to call it a road day.
“Due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin. So, it is with great sadness that we announce REO Speedwagon will cease touring effective January 1, 2025,” they announced. “[Keyboardist] Neal [Doughty], Kevin, and Bruce thank their fans for all their years of loyal support and for giving back to the band such wonderful memories that will remain with each of them forever.”
Writing on Facebook, Hall wrote his own goodbye, telling fans, “Never ever thought it would end like this and I’m heartbroken. Please know Neal and I did everything in our power to try and keep the Wagon rolling. I am so appreciative of ALL the amazing love & support. You guys have been very vocal and clear in your wishes for me to return to the stage. Trust me…that’s all I wanted too. We all deserved a farewell tour.” He noted that he wanted to the band to continue touring as it was prior to his successful, planned back surgery.
Last week, the band had to cancel shows in Chula Vista, CA and Phoenix, AZ after Cronin was felled by an undisclosed illness. Train and REO Speedwagon launched their 44-date co-headlining Summer Road trip on July 8 and wrapped it up on Sept. 11; only Train peformed at the latter show in Phoenix due to Cronin’s illness. The group has a final round of headlining dates slated to kick off on Sept. 27 at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, CA before playing what will now be their swan song on Nov. 23 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
After missing the final two shows, Cronin wrote a note from his hospital bed on FB over the weekend in which he reminisced about the great time on the road with Train this summer and his own future. “Lying here tethered to various beeping machines, makes a guy think. I have had plenty of free time this past week to appreciate the love in the eyes of my wife and kids, as they have gathered around me here every single day. I have so much more life to live, and have re-examined what I want to do with the rest of my time here, and who I want to be surrounded by while I do it,” he said.
“I need to be lifted by those around me, and in return, to lift them. I feel excited at the prospect of creating and playing the best music I have in me, with the best artists, musicians, and people who will have me. And I promise to continue giving my best, and appreciating the gift of music which has allowed me this life.”
REO Speedwagon formed in Champaign, IL in 1967 with an initial lineup featuring lead singer Terry Luttrell and a rotating roster of guitarists, releasing three albums with as many lead vocalists before Cronin joined in time for 1972’s R.E.O./T.W.O. LP; Cronin split before 1973’s Ridin’ the Storm Out album. After sitting out three additional studio albums, Cronin returned for 1976’s R.E.O., which set the stage for their breakthrough with 1978’s punny You Can Tune a Piano but You Can’t Tuna Fish.
The double platinum LP — the first to feature Hall on bass — finally broke them on radio and on the charts, hitting No. 29 on the Billboard 200 album tally and landing their first hit singles with “Time For Me to Fly” (No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100) and “Roll With the Changes” (No. 58). But it was 1980’s High Infidelity that cemented their reputation as AOR radio soft rock gods thanks to Hot 100 charting hits “Keep On Loving You” (No. 1), “Take It on the Run” (No. 5), “In Your Letter” (No. 20) and “Don’t Let Him Go” (No. 24). The band released six more albums, including their final original studio effort, 2007’s Find Your Way Home; the holiday album Not So Silent Night… Christmas with REO Speedwagon was released in 2009.
See the band’s statement below.
Earlier this year, Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres tour was named as the biggest rock tour of all time, according to figures accumulated by Billboard Boxscore.
That run will continue with a set of new U.K. dates in August 2025 in London and Hull, Yorkshire. It’ll be their first shows in the region following their headline set at Glastonbury in June 2024, their fifth headlining appearance.
The 8 shows, which will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium and Craven Park in Hull, will take place in August 2025 and be the only European cities next year. Tickets for the shows go on sale at 9am on September 27. See the full run of dates below.
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They join Oasis in Wembley Stadium’s schedule in July and August, who are set for 7 nights at the venue. Dua Lipa, meanwhile, has booked a pair of shows for next June.
✨ AUGUST 2025 LONDON & HULL DATES ANNOUNCED Exclusive first ticket access to fans who order Moon Music from the official Coldplay UK or EU Stores, at https://t.co/G2iiva4kgH (inc those who already have).These are the only UK/European cities where the band will perform next… pic.twitter.com/ZnDlgyfJyp— Coldplay (@coldplay) September 17, 2024
The band will release their new album Moon Music on Oct. 4 and have shared two singles so far: “feelslikemfallinginlove” and the star-studded “We Pray”, featuring turns from Burna Boy, Little Simz, Elyanna and Tini.
The Music Of The Spheres tour has been a blockbuster run for the British band. The tour began in March 2022, taking the same name as their ninth studio album released in 2021. The show has since taken in 160 shows across the globe including Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America. The shows at Wembley will be powered by 100 per cent solar, wind and kinetic energy – and delivered by a specially-designed electric battery system, the band shared in their announcement.
In August, Billboard Boxscore announced that the Music Of The Spheres world tour had crossed the $1 billion (USD) mark in tour revenue and sold 9.3 million tickets so far. Next month, the band are slated for 11 shows in Australia and New Zealand.
The band have also announced a collaboration with the Music Venue Trust (MVT) in the U.K., a charity that seeks to champion and improve grassroots music venues. 10% of all revenue generated from the tour will be used to support “small U.K. venues and upcoming acts”.
“Coldplay are the perfect example of a UK band who came through the grassroots circuit on their way to worldwide stadium-filling success,” MVT CEO Mark Davyd said in a statement to NME. “It’s fantastic to see them celebrating their own pathway to Wembley by giving back to the grassroots music venues that supported them and recognising the artists and promoters that are struggling more than ever to build their own careers.”
Coldplay 2025 U.K. Tour Dates:
August 18 – Hull, Craven Park StadiumAugust 19 – Hull, Craven Park StadiumAugust 22 – London, Wembley StadiumAugust 23 – London, Wembley StadiumAugust 26 – London, Wembley StadiumAugust 27 – London, Wembley StadiumAugust 30 – London, Wembley StadiumAugust 31 – London, Wembley Stadium
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Coldplay’s official website.