Six-time Platinum indie favourite Cavetown has unveiled a new single, Sailboat, a luminous collaboration with Chloe Moriondo that signals an emotionally open new chapter ahead of his forthcoming album Running With Scissors. Co-produced with Underscores, the track blends chiptune shimmer, warped hyperpop textures and Cavetown's unmistakably intimate songwriting voice, capturing the nervous anticipation of new love and the quiet fear of leaving a mark on someone you care deeply about.

Ringo Starr is preparing to extend his late career love affair with country music, confirming that a new studio album is in development and pencilled in for release sometime in early 2026. The untitled project will again explore country and Americana territory and reunites the former Beatle with producer T Bone Burnett, the creative partnership that reshaped Starr's recording direction with 2025's Look Up.

Australian music fans have delivered another brutal message to local artists in 2025, with streaming figures revealing that only one genuinely new Australian song cracked the Top 10 most streamed Australian tracks of the year.

As the New Year begins, streaming platforms have revealed the songs that defined 2025, highlighting a mix of blockbuster collaborations and K-pop influence. Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music's Replay charts show a global audience gravitating towards high-profile partnerships.

A$AP Rocky has teamed up with rent-rewards platform Bilt to celebrate the upcoming release of his fourth studio album, Don't Be Dumb, in a partnership that combines music, artistry and community impact. The Harlem-born rapper unveiled a limited-edition vinyl designed by himself, describing it as “my love letter to New York.” The release coincides with a charitable initiative covering rent for residents living in the Harlem building where Rocky spent his teenage years.

The 2025 Kennedy Center Honors has entered the history books for reasons far removed from artistic celebration, with the annual event recording the lowest television ratings since the ceremony began airing nationally. Broadcast on CBS on 23 December 2025, the Donald Trump hosted edition averaged 3.01 million viewers, a figure that represents a sharp year on year decline and has triggered a flurry of explanations from the Kennedy Center's new leadership and the White House.

Brisbane metal punk institution Dreamkillers have marked what would have been the 74th birthday of Skyhooks frontman Shirley Strachan with a new song simply titled Shirley, a heartfelt and deliberately raw tribute to one of Australia's most recognisable and influential rock voices.

Thirty years after walking away at the height of their cultural impact, 4 Non Blondes are officially back on one of the world's biggest stages. The band ushered in 2026 with a performance of What's Up on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest, marking one of the most unlikely and talked about comebacks of the year.

Yungblud has opened 2026 with a significant creative statement, unveiling a heavier reworking of his song Zombie in collaboration with Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins. The new version of the track is scheduled for worldwide release at midnight on January 2, accompanied by an official music video, marking a rare and deliberate intersection between one of modern rock's most outspoken younger voices and one of alternative music's most influential architects.

The 2026 New Year Honours List has been unveiled, celebrating 1,157 individuals across fields as diverse as the arts, charity, science and community work. King Charles, on the advice of government officials and the prime minister, has recognised those who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and society, with honours including knighthoods, damehoods, and orders of merit. Among the recipients this year, several musicians and entertainers have been acknowledged for their achievements both on stage and off.

Beyoncé has officially joined the billionaire club, cementing her status as one of the most successful musicians and businesswomen of the 21st century. The announcement from Forbes Magazine follows a record-breaking period in her career, highlighted by the global success of her 2025 Cowboy Carter Tour and the commercial achievements of her latest album of the same name.

Amy Louise Taylor, the unmistakable voice and presence at the centre of Melbourne punk outfit Amyl & The Sniffers, has launched legal action in the United States, accusing an American photographer of unlawfully exploiting her image for commercial gain.

Michael Lippman, one of the most influential artist managers and entertainment lawyers of the modern music industry, has died aged 79. Lippman passed away at his home in Santa Ynez, California, surrounded by family. No cause of death has been disclosed.

Richard Smallwood, one of gospel music's most influential composers and choir leaders, has died aged 77. The classically trained singer, pianist and songwriter passed away on Tuesday, December 30, at 12:36am at the Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sandy Spring, Maryland, following complications from kidney failure.

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is facing one of the most serious crises in its history, as a widening group of artists, performers and cultural organisations cancel appearances in protest over Donald Trump's takeover of the board and the decision to attach his name to the institution.

As the background to the recent Noise11 story surrounding Vincent's high priced single continues to attract attention, his complex legacy inside and outside the Kiss universe deserves closer examination.

Fleetwood Mac's 1977 classic Rumours has emphatically proven that great music endures, securing its place as one of the biggest selling albums of 2025 in the United States. According to year‑end sales tallies, Rumours finished 24th overall in album units across all formats for the year, and impressively ranked 10th in physical sales, the top echelon of CDs and vinyl, with 221,514 units sold. When streaming figures are included, the album's total equivalent sales for 2025 reached 1,064,163.

As 2026 approaches, the global music landscape is gearing up for a wave of major album releases spanning rock, pop, metal, indie and beyond. From long‑anticipated studio efforts by established acts, to fresh explorations from rising stars, the first half of the year promises some of the most eclectic offerings in recent memory. Here's a comprehensive look at the key releases set from January through April.

Singer-songwriter Kate Bush has expressed her heartbreak after the death of a longtime friend during a Christmas Day swim off the coast of Devon. Matthew Upham, 63, a local antiques dealer and one of Bush's dearest friends for 30 years, went missing after entering the sea to assist a woman in difficulty near Budleigh Salterton.

Jeff Buckley's earliest New York performances will return in a newly expanded edition of Live At Sin-é in February 2026. The reissue revisits the intimate East Village shows that first introduced Buckley to a wider audience. Recorded in a cramped Lower East Side cafe, the performances captured an artist still defining his voice, his approach, and his relationship with an audience.

The Paper Kites will return in January 2026 with their seventh studio album, If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, a record that signals another carefully measured evolution for one of Australia's most internationally consistent alternative folk acts. Scheduled for release on 23 January 2026 via Nettwerk Music Group, the album arrives after more than a decade of steady growth, touring endurance and creative restlessness.

Gibson Gives has capped off 2025 with the most impactful year in its history, delivering record levels of instruments, funding, and support to music education and wellness programs around the world. The philanthropic arm of Gibson confirmed that 2,445 guitars were donated during the year, alongside more than $5.3 million enabled for global music education initiatives, reinforcing the company's long-standing belief that access to music can be transformative.

Western Australia's longest running and most revered David Bowie tribute event will return in January for what may be its final and most emotionally charged chapter.

Bob Marley has been named the most frequently referenced historical figure in song lyrics, according to a new study examining how musicians draw inspiration from history. The reggae icon sits comfortably at number one with 927 separate lyric mentions, placing him well ahead of philosophers, criminals, political leaders and fellow musicians whose names have also been woven into popular music over decades.

Liam Gallagher has revealed he spent Christmas sober for the first time in decades, marking a personal milestone for the former Oasis frontman. The 53-year-old rocker, who has long been associated with a hard-living lifestyle, shared the news on X, writing, “1st Christmas sober since I was 3 absolutely incredible stats LG x.”

Harry Styles has made an unexpected return to social media, delighting fans with a nine-minute YouTube video titled Forever, Forever. Released on Saturday, December 27, the clip revisits the final night of his Love On Tour series at Italy's RCF Arena Campovolo in Reggio nell'Emilia in July 2023.

Melbourne punk provocateurs Private Function have announced they will be breaking up after nearly a decade of high-energy performances, larrikin humour and unorthodox releases. The news came as a surprise to fans worldwide in a Christmas Day post from the band, who described the last nine years as “the best time of all our lives.”

Vinnie Vincent, the former Kiss guitarist famed for his “Ankh Warrior” persona, has reignited discussion among fans by announcing a limited-edition CD single priced at $225. Titled Ride The Serpent, the track is the lead release from Vincent's upcoming album, Judgement Day: Guitarmageddon Part 1, and will be issued in a strictly limited run of 1,000 CDs globally if he meets his quota. Each copy is individually numbered and personally signed by Vincent, who insists the pricing reflects both the collectible nature of the release and the realities of the modern music industry.

Neil Young has never hidden from uncomfortable truths, especially when they intersect with his music. Few examples illustrate that candour more starkly than Borrowed Tune, a fragile piano lament that openly acknowledges its melodic debt to The Rolling Stones' 1966 recording Lady Jane. Rather than obscuring the connection, Young placed it front and centre, turning a moment of creative exhaustion into one of the most disarming confessions in his catalogue.

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot, the French actress, singer, model and activist whose presence reshaped cinema, popular music and the image of women in post-war culture, has died at her Saint-Tropez home La Madrague on 28 December 2025, aged 91.