Two pioneering forces of punk and power-pop will reconnect in 2026 when Redd Kross and The Hard-Ons, fronted by Tim Rogers, launch a coast-spanning Australian tour. The run marks the return of two acts who helped define the collision of punk grit, melodic pop and high-voltage rock through the late seventies and eighties, setting a foundation that continues to influence generations of alternative artists.

Belinda Carlisle will return to Australia in March 2027 for her final national run, the G'Day & Goodbye Tour.

Donald Glover, known globally for his work as Childish Gambino, has disclosed that he suffered a stroke in 2024, which forced the cancellation of his New World tour. The revelation came during his performance at Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles, where the multi-hyphenate artist addressed the circumstances surrounding the abrupt end of his touring schedule.

Progressive rock icon Rick Wakeman has confirmed he is now recovering at home following recent brain surgery, with the Yes legend reporting strong progress and renewed confidence about his touring plans for 2026. The 75-year-old keyboardist underwent corrective shunt surgery after receiving a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus, a neurological condition caused by fluid build-up in the skull, which forced the postponement of his planned American dates earlier this year.

Rob Zombie has launched a new chapter in his long running metal legacy with the release of his latest single, Heathen Days, a fierce preview of his forthcoming album, The Great Satan, which arrives February 27 through Nuclear Blast Records. The track, paired with a self directed video, dives deep into the hostile imagery that defined Zombie's early sonic identity, with riff heavy guitars and lyrics that summon visions of conflict and unrest.

Mariachi El Bronx and The Bronx will reunite with Australian audiences in March 2026, as Live Nation confirms the Super Show! Band On Band Action! Tour. The run marks the first local dates since the two LA outfits last toured in tandem, and arrives ahead of the first Mariachi El Bronx album in twelve years, which lands on 13 February 2026.

‘A Hundred Years Or More’, an new EP from Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst and Jim Moginie and with drummer Hamish Stuart, has debuted at number one of the Australian Top 50 Singles Sales chart.

Taylor Acorn will return to Australia in March 2026 with her first national headline tour, announcing four shows with American alt-pop-rock band Arrows In Action as special guests. The visit follows the October release of her second full-length album Poster Child, a record that has pushed the Nashville-based artist into the global pop-punk spotlight. Acorn's new tour will commence in Melbourne on 1 March, continue to Brisbane and Adelaide, and close in Sydney on 6 March.

Rising US heavy music duo The Pretty Wild have released their debut full-length album Zero.Point.Genesis, via Sumerian Records, with the record now available across all major streaming platforms. The arrival of the album follows a rapid rise over the past two years, with the pair accumulating more than 37 million streams and establishing a reputation for emotionally charged, genre-bending metalcore.

Slim Dusty remains one of the most enduring symbols of Australian music, and his legacy continues to grow as a new remix of Duncan finds fresh life on social media. The renewed attention marks another chapter in the extraordinary story of an artist who documented Australian culture with unmatched dedication across more than seven decades.

The Beatles new Anthology 4 includes some very strange changes to the songs Real Love and Free As A Bird.

Tool's return to New Zealand has offered Australian fans a preview of what to expect when the band arrives later this month. The Los Angeles progressive metal innovators performed two consecutive nights in Auckland on 22 and 23 November, delivering setlists that diverged sharply across the two shows and included a remarkable selection of rarely played catalogue deep cuts. For a group renowned for its precision, its disciplined touring cycles, and its aversion to nostalgia, this was a significant display of musical archival excavation.

Cordrazine will close the book on their unique and often fragile history with the release of their final EP You See In Me on 5 December, with the band confirming that their EP launch at the Northcote Social Club on 12 December will double as their last ever performance. The decision brings an emotional end to one of Australia's most intriguing indie pop-rock stories, born in Melbourne in the mid-1990s and revived in sporadic but treasured bursts across the decades.

Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias, a cornerstone of American theatre since the late 1980s, will return to Australian stages in 2026 in a new national tour directed by Lee Lewis. Producers Neil Gooding and Alex Woodward will present the production with a cast of six actors, who will be revealed in the coming months. This new staging will bring Harling's tale of friendship, resilience and emotional strength to audiences in Brisbane, Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Perth and Melbourne.

Robert Plant stepped into the Tiny Desk space on a windy Halloween afternoon and immediately commented on the minimalist setup, telling the room that it reminded him of Live Aid, adding that he could not hear himself there either, because the format avoids amplified vocals and personal monitors. The limitation did nothing to unsettle him, because Plant has long embraced reinvention, moving from the power of Led Zeppelin to the refined folk, blues and roots recordings he has championed over recent decades.

Joe Jackson will launch a major new chapter in 2026, as he prepares to release his first rock album since 2019, Hope And Fury, and embark on an 80-show international tour. The album will arrive on 10 April 2026. The release marks a return to the sharp, melodic and uncompromising style that first defined Jackson in the late 1970s, when he emerged as one of the most distinctive voices in the new wave era.

M. Ward will return to Australia in March 2026 with his band The Undertakers, marking another chapter in a relationship with local audiences that spans more than two decades. The acclaimed American songwriter, known for his understated vocal delivery and atmospheric guitar work, will bring a full band for a run of intimate East Coast shows that will take his music from Melbourne's bars to regional New South Wales.

Jellybean Johnson, born Garry George Johnson in Chicago in 1956, has died suddenly at the age of 69. His family confirmed his passing on Friday, only days after he celebrated his birthday. No cause of death has been released. Johnson's death marks the loss of one of the most significant figures in the creation and evolution of the Minneapolis Sound, a movement that fused funk, rock and soul with a sharp rhythmic edge.

Ian Lees, the bass player for Moving Pictures, has passed away after suffering a heart attack.

Broadway favourite Waitress will make its long-awaited Melbourne debut in 2026, with the production confirmed for Her Majesty's Theatre from May. Crossroads Live producer John Frost has secured the musical for a full Australian season, followed by a Sydney run at the Sydney Lyric Theatre from August 2026. Fans can join the Melbourne waitlist now for early access to tickets.

ZZ Top will return to European stages next June and July with The Big One! Tour, a five-week run across thirteen countries. This will be their first full European tour in two years, marking a major moment for the Texas trio who have remained active through more than five decades of touring, recording, and reinvention. The run begins on 22 June in Tartu, Estonia, with the band set to deliver twenty-three concerts across arenas, festivals, and open-air venues, including a Spanish bullring in Murcia.

Pink Floyd will mark the 50th anniversary of Wish You Were Here with a major archival reissue arriving on 12 December, and the centrepiece of the release is the first ever continuous edition of Shine On You Crazy Diamond presented as a 25 minute stereo mix. The new version unites Parts I to V and Parts VI to IX in a single sequence, a format long discussed by fans yet never officially delivered until now.

Pras Michel, a founding force behind The Fugees, has been sentenced to 14 years in a United States federal prison, as a long-running foreign influence case reaches its final stage. The sentence, delivered in Washington on Thursday, closes an extraordinary legal saga for the rapper who helped define 1990s hip-hop with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean.

Linkin Park will return to Australia in March 2026 with the From Zero World Tour, marking their long-awaited first local shows since 2013. The renewed line-up, featuring Mike Shinoda, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, Joe Hahn, Emily Armstrong, and Colin Brittain, will deliver six major arena dates across Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, bringing a new chapter of the band's history to Australian fans.

Service Station Chicken, the third full-length album from Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes, arrives today and marks a significant evolution in the band's creative identity. The release reflects a group that has now settled into a mature and confident sound, shaped by years on the local circuit and a deep regard for the roots of Australian independent rock.

Girl Monstar have reignited their long-dormant catalogue with the release of their new single Hate Train, a confrontational rock track that delivers a direct challenge to corporate exploitation and the misuse of power. The song arrives as the second preview of their forthcoming album GRRRR!! which will be released on 27 January 2026 through Vicious Kitten Records. The track is available on all major platforms except Spotify, as the band refuse to support organisations whose investment structures fund weapons technology.

In 2020, The Royal Danish Library unveiled Stranger Than Kindness, The Nick Cave Exhibition, a major cultural event that offered an unprecedented window into the creative world of Nick Cave. The exhibition has now returned in a digital form. The new edition is an immersive virtual experience that brings Cave's artistic universe to global audiences through an ultra-high-resolution 3D platform, complete with a newly recorded audio guide narrated by Cave.

Gary “Mani” Mounfield, the influential bassist of The Stone Roses and long-time Primal Scream member, has died at the age of 63. His brother Greg confirmed the news with a public message stating that it was shared with “the heaviest of hearts”. The announcement has shaken Manchester, a city where Mani's sound shaped generations of musicians. Family members, colleagues, and the wider music community have been expressing their grief since the news broke.

It has now been 30 years since Bruce Springsteen released The Ghost Of Tom Joad, a stark and deeply human record that shifted him away from stadium anthems and back into the quiet, shadowy corners of American storytelling. Released on 21 November 1995, the album arrived at a moment when Springsteen had just reunited in the studio with The E Street Band for part of his Greatest Hits collection, yet he chose to follow that reunion not with bombast, but with one of the most intimate projects of his career.

Better Lovers have marked the first anniversary of their debut album, Highly Irresponsible, with a deluxe edition that expands the original release with two new songs, The Impossible End, and Don't Forget To Say Please. The expanded version arrives via SharpTone Records and is now available across all major digital platforms, with vinyl orders also open. The deluxe release strengthens what has already become one of the most notable heavy music debuts of the decade, reflecting a group determined to evolve while maintaining the ferocity that defined their earliest work.