Morgan Wallen took to Instagram on Monday (October 21) to reveal the stacked lineup for his newly announced music festival, Sand In My Boots. The festival will take place on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama between May 16-18, 2025. In addition to a headlining set from the host himself, Wallen will be joined by fellow country headliners Brooks & Dunn, Post Malone, and Hardy. Other country stars on the lineup include Riley Green, Chase Rice, Ernest, Ian Munsick, Nate Smith, Ella Langley, Paul Cauthen, Kameron Marlowe, Josh Ross, Morgan Wade, Hailey Whitters, Lauren Watkins, John Morgan, and Laci Kaye Booth. The lineup also features hip-hop stars like T-Pain, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Three 6 Mafia, Moneybagg Yo, and BigXthaPlug, as well as indie rock bands the War on Drugs, 3 Doors Down, Future Islands, Real Estate,  and Wild Nothing. Ticket options for Sand In My Boots include a three-day general admission pass, Party Pit, VIP, Super VIP, and “Livin’ the Dream” options. (Billboard) 

Things got emotional during the 2024 induction ceremony for the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday night (October 20). The event honored new inductees James Burton, John Anderson, and the late Toby Keith. To pay tribute to Keith, Post Malone did a rendition of “I’m Just Talkin’ ‘About Tonight,” Eric Church covered “Don’t Let the Old Man In,” and Blake Shelton played “I Love This Bar” and “Red Solo Cup.” “He didn’t just sing those songs. He was those songs,” Tricia Lucus said of her late husband.

Shawn Camp, Del McCoury, and Lucinda Williams paid tribute to Anderson’s musical legacy by covering three of the Florida native’s country classics. Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, and Emmylou Harris honored the legendary guitarist Burton, who played with everyone from Buck Owens, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, and Gram Parsons. Keith Richards made a surprise appearance during Burton’s tribute, with the Rolling Stones’ guitarist performing “I Can’t Dance” alongside Harris and Gill, while Elvis Costello joined John Jorgenson to perform Nelson’s 1958 song, “Believe What You Say.” (Billboard)

During a recent interview with Australian radio station Double J, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke discussed the future of his main band while also expressing just how much he is enjoying playing with his current side project the Smile. When asked about how he feels about passionate Radiohead fans who are calling for the band to get back together again, Yorke responded, “I am not aware of it and don’t really give a flying f**k.” The Smile just released their second album of 2024, Cutouts, on October 4, and Yorke admits that Radiohead isn’t really a priority for him at the moment, though he appreciates the fans’ interest. “No offense to anyone and err, thanks for caring,” Yorke said. “But I think we’ve earned the right to do what makes sense to us without having to explain ourselves or be answerable to anyone else’s historical idea of what we should be doing.” (Consequence of Sound)

Korn’s Jonathan Davis has paired up with his son Nathan on a beat-driven industrial new track called “Dark Fantasy.” Davis’ son is a 29-year-old musician who releases electronic music under the moniker, Hi I'm Ghost. Nathan announced the collaboration with his rock star dad in an Instagram post on Friday (October 18), sharing the track along with the caption, "Hi it’s my birthday 🙂 and for my birthday I want you to stream dad & son dubstep 100 times." Davis shared the song himself on his own Instagram account, writing in his stories that he "had so much fun making this song with my son." Back on October 5 at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Korn performed a special show to celebrate their 30th anniversary which featured star-studded support from Evanescence, Gojira, Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway, Spiritbox, and Vended. Korn’s ongoing U.S. tour continues on Wednesday (October 23) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before winding down on October 27 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Louder Sound)

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee has disclosed additional details about the Las Vegas shooting which left him hospitalized with three non-fatal gunshot wounds. Lee is now back home recovering from his injuries, and the musician gave his fans an update on his condition on Facebook where he revealed that the supposed “random shooting” while he was out walking his dog wasn’t as inadvertent as first reported. Lee and his dog Coco “crossed paths with a couple of thieves” who had “hoodies pulled down their faces and masks covering their mouths. The thieves were “standing in a neighbor’s driveway checking out his motorcycle,” before they had “a verbal confrontation” with Lee, “which ended with an agreement that I would walk one way and they would walk the opposite,” before Lee was shot three times by the assailants. Lee said he would provide more specific details about the incident after he fully recuperates from his injuries. (Consequence of Sound)

Jeff Lynne‘s Electric Light Orchestra will perform their final show ever on July 13, 2025 in London’s Hyde Park. Lynne’s ELO concert is the first show of 2025 to be announced as part of the annual outdoor BST (British Summer Time) Hyde Park music series. “My return to touring began at Hyde Park in 2014,” Lynne said in a statement. “It seems like the perfect place to do our final show. We couldn’t be more excited to share this special night in London with our U.K. fans.” The current band is a resurrected edition of Electric Light Orchestra, the multi-platinum ’70s and ’80s prog rock group who were reformed under the new name Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra. The updated version of the band kicked off their touring career with an outdoor concert in Hyde Park back in 2014, and are currently on their farewell tour of North America, which concludes on October 25 in Los Angeles. (Rolling Stone)

Original Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno has died at the age of 66. The news was announced with a Facebook statement from the late vocalist’s record label, Conquest Music, which didn’t share the date of Di’Anno’s death or the cause. “On behalf of his family, Conquest Music are sad to confirm the death of Paul Andrews, professionally known as Paul Di’Anno.” Di’Anno suffered health issues in recent years that confined him to a wheelchair, and he passed away at his home in Salisbury, England. Di’Anno was Iron Maiden’s singer from 1978-1981, and was featured on their groundbreaking first two albums, 1980’s Iron Maiden and 1981’s Killers, before Maiden’s longtime singer Bruce Dickinson joined the band. Di’Anno’s former Iron Maiden bandmates paid tribute to their former singer, writing on Instagram: “Paul’s contribution to Iron Maiden was immense and helped set us on the path we have been travelling as a band for almost five decades. His pioneering presence as a frontman and vocalist, both on stage and on our first two albums, will be very fondly remembered not just by us, but by fans around the world.” (Billboard)

Rising country star Carter Faith has considerably raised her profile by being featured on Bon Iver’s highly-anticipated new EP, SABLE, the first new collection by the Grammy-winner in over five years. Faith is credited as a backing vocalist on “Awards Season,” one of the emotional standouts on the brief four-song EP. “Getting asked to sing on this Bon Iver song is definitely the craziest thing to happen to me so far,” Faith said. “I got a call that Justin [Vernon] wanted to try my voice on a song because he loved my song ‘Greener Pasture.’ It was such a whirlwind magical experience.” Faith’s personal connection with Bon Iver goes back a while, too. “I am obviously honored to be on the song because Bon Iver is one of the greatest artists of our generation, but personally it feels very full circle,” she says, before revealing, “The very first song I ever sang with me and my guitar on a stage in front of people was ‘Skinny Love.’” (Holler)

Ringo Starr has revealed that he is releasing a new country album, Look Up, on January 10, 2025. The forthcoming 11-song record was produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett, and was recorded earlier this year in Nashville and Los Angeles. Look Up also features guest contributions from Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, and Molly Tuttle. To promote the upcoming release, Starr has just shared the album’s lead single, “Time on My Hands.” The collaboration between the two music legends dates back to a Los Angeles event in 2022, where Starr asked Burnett to write him a song for a project that he was working on. Burnett got back to him with nine country-flavored songs that formed the early foundation of the album. “I’ve always loved country music,” Starr said in a statement. “And when I asked T Bone to write me a song, I didn’t even think at the time that it would be a country song — but of course it was, and it was so beautiful.” (Consequence of Sound)

In a new interview with Billboard to promote his forthcoming memoir, Brothers, Alex Van Halen reveals that he thinks Van Halen lost their “magic” when frontman David Lee Roth left the band in 1985. “What happened after Dave left is not the same band,” Alex said. “I’m not saying it was better or worse or any of that. The fact is Ed and I did our best work whenever we played. But the magic was in the first years, when we didn’t know what we were doing, when we were willing to try anything.” What Alex wasn’t willing to try was taking part in Sammy Hagar’s recent “Best of All Worlds” Van Halen-focused tour, which featured Joe Satriani on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass, and Jason Bonham on drums. “I’m not interested,” he said. “They’re not doing the band justice. They can do what they want to do. That’s not my business.” (Billboard)

In a new interview with Allison Hagendorf, Tool singer Maynard James Keenan admits that the band made a mistake by not embracing music streaming services for decades. Keenan was asked about Tool’s decision to only have their music released on physical formats for years, instead of sharing their music on digital platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Keenan disclosed that it wasn’t his choice while insisting that he wanted the band to share their music digitally for the past 20 years. Eventually his bandmates finally “caved” to his requests. “I feel like we missed the boat,” Keenan admits. “We missed 20 years of reaching two generations of people to understand what it is that we do. I feel like we made a mistake not being on those mediums for 20 years. People didn’t know who we were because we weren’t around. They weren’t exposed to it. It’s not on your phone.” (Consequence of Sound)

To coincide with Ozzy Osbourne’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame on Saturday (October 19), an enormous 18-LP box set compiling the entire solo discography of the Prince of Darkness is on its way. See You on the Other Side V2.0 will be released on March 14th, 2025, and is limited to only 2,000 copies worldwide. The set is an update on the previously released 2019 box set, with new additions of Ozzy’s two most recent albums, 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9, along with other memorabilia. See You on the Other Side V2.0 includes 18 albums, 10 full-size posters featuring vintage photographs, a gold bat slipmat, and an individually numbered certificate of authenticity personally signed by Ozzy himself. The announcement of the set was accompanied by a comical commercial starring Osbourne’s longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, with the box now available for pre-order from Ozzy’s official merch store. (Consequence of Sound)

A star-studded tribute concert for Robbie Robertson took place on Thursday (October 17) at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Eric Clapton, Mavis Staples, Van Morrison, Trey Anastasio, Eric Church, Bobby Weir, Taj Mahal, Warren Haynes, and Bruce Hornsby were just some of the high profile musicians who took part in Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertson, which was filmed for eventual release by legendary director Martin Scorsese. The nearly five-hour concert featured 37 songs performed by a wide array of guest artists, who were joined by the house band for the evening led by Don Was and including Mike Campbell, Jamey Johnson, Ryan Bingham, Benmont Tench, and Shannon McNally. Noah Kahan and Elvis Costello were both advertised as taking part in the tribute show, but were not  in attendance. (Variety)

On Friday (October 18), a California judge gave a significant victory to ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer in his ongoing wrongful death lawsuit. During a hearing in Alhambra, California, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ian C. Fusselman sided with Klinghoffer’s legal team by striking down portions of the lawsuit claiming Klinghoffer was on his cell phone “mere seconds before” he struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk back in March. The judge determined that plaintiff Ashley Sanchez, the daughter of victim Israel Sanchez, had failed to show that Klinghoffer displayed “despicable and willful” conduct required to seek punitive damages in the case.

“The facts alleged by plaintiff here clearly allege that defendant was careless, even reckless. However, recklessness is insufficient to support a punitive damages claim,” the judge ruled. Klinghoffer did not attend the hearing, and last month pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. He is due back in court on October 31. (Rolling Stone)

The Class of 2024 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on Saturday night. Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, and Kool & the Gang officially joined the Rock Hall in the Performers Category during the 5+ hour ceremony. Cher opened the show, dueting with Dua Lipa on “Believe” and proclaiming, “I changed the sound of music forever” in her speech. Ozzy received his award in a black throne befitting the Prince of Darkness, while an all-star band featuring Billy Idol, Jelly Roll, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, Zakk Wylde, and Wolfgang Van Halen played a medley of metal hits from his solo career.

A Tribe Called Quest were honored with a performance featuring hip-hop legends De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, the Roots, Queen Latifah, and Common, while Dr. Dre and Method Man inducted Mary J. Blige after a live performance from the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Demi Lovato, Sammy Hagar, and Kelly Clarkson honored the music of Foreigner, and Chuck D inducted Kool & the Gang, who played a medley of their hits with the Roots. Keith Urban jammed with Peter Frampton after the Who’s Roger Daltrey inducted the guitar legend, and superfan Julia Roberts inducted Dave Matthews Band, who played some hits before ending the night with a cover of Talking Heads “Burning Down the House,” honoring the 40th anniversary of their iconic concert film, Stop Making Sense. (New York Times)

The Concert for Carolina benefit show has now added a livestream option for fans across the country who want to support the cause but aren’t able to travel to Charlotte to see the event. The cost for the livestream is $24.99, which will go directly towards Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Those in the areas affected by the storm will be able to stream the event for free due to a geo-targeting procedure set up by Veeps that ensures those in the hardest hit areas will not be charged. The Concert for Carolina music lineup has also been expanded, with new additions Chase Rice, the Avett Brothers, Scotty McCreery, and Parmalee joining headliners Luke Combs, Eric Church, James Taylor, and Billy Strings, along with previously announced artists Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, and Bailey Zimmerman. The Concert For Carolina is set to take place on Saturday, October 26, at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Holler)

Zach Bryan is taking his music beyond country, as Snoop Dogg disclosed on Thursday’s episode of the Today Show that he and Bryan are collaborating. The reveal came during a segment focused on Bryan’s recent interview with Bruce Springsteen, in which he said doesn’t want to be categorized by only one music style. "I don’t want to be a country musician,” Bryan revealed. “Everyone calls me it. I want to be a songwriter." Snoop then revealed he is working with the country superstar. “Zach sent me a song. I got to put a verse on it,” Snoop Dogg announced. “I’m inspired seeing him with The Boss.” (People)

While the Pretenders are currently touring the UK, the band has warned fans who repeatedly stand in the front row for “multiple nights” that they could possibly be asked to move in order to make room for “local faces.” Singer Chrissie Hynde explained her frustration in an Instagram post on Wednesday (October 16), writing that while it has been a “real pleasure” for the band to play in front of “fantastic audiences,” the “whole point” of touring for the band is “playing to a different audience every night.” Hynde continued, “We look forward to seeing local faces. This is what makes it new for us every night. We appreciate those of you who follow us and buy tickets for multiple nights, so please don’t be offended if we request you to move out of the front row. All we are asking is that you give the local fans a chance.” The Pretenders’ UK tour continues through November 1. (Consequence of Sound)

Five weeks after Dave Grohl made the shocking announcement that he fathered a child outside of his 21-year marriage to Jordyn Blum, their relationship is “not in great shape,” according to an inside source. The 48-year-old Blum is apparently still not wearing her wedding ring, while the 55-year-old Foo Fighters frontman has been seen publicly without his as well. According to the source, Blum has significantly “calmed down” following the “initial shock” of the scandal, but the couple are not in a good place. “Their marriage is still not in great shape,” the source says. “She's not happy with Dave. Jordyn's focused on her girls, their schooling and extracurricular activities.” Blum shares three daughters with Grohl: Violet, 18, Harper, 15, and Ophelia, 10. Grohl apparently retained a divorce attorney before making his announcement, but the source doesn’t know if the couple plans to file for divorce at this time. (People)

After being shot near his Las Vegas home early Tuesday (October 13), former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee shared that he is recovering and “doing surprisingly well.” Lee was a victim of a random street shooting that took place about 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. The musician was in his driveway after taking his dog for a walk when he was repeatedly hit with gunshots. He was then taken to a nearby hospital where he was placed in an intensive care unit. Lee is “expected to fully recover,” according to a statement from his representative. Lee shared an additional update on Facebook, where he wrote, “I’m tired, but I feel relatively very lucky. One bullet went through my forearm, one through my foot, and one in the back which broke a rib and damaged a lung. Priority now is to keep draining my lung, then we can pull that tube out and concentrate on the more minor injuries.” (Consequence of Sound)