SXSW 2016 Is Open For Business

Sam Rivers, founding bassist of Limp Bizkit and one of the key architects of the band's distinctive nu-metal sound, has died at the age of 48. The band confirmed his passing through social media, calling him “our brother, our heartbeat, our magic.”

The 2025 Red Hot Summer Tour featuring Crowded House has become one of the most successful in the festival's 14-year history.

Icelandic-Chinese singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Laufey is moving from the stage to the bookshelf, announcing her debut picture book Mei Mei The Bunny, to be released globally on 21 April 2026 through Penguin Workshop, with UK and Commonwealth rights handled by DK Children's.

Michael D'Angelo Archer, the singer-songwriter and producer who helped define the neo-soul movement, has died aged 51 following a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has announced. The D'Angelo Estate said he “has been called home, departing this life today, October 14, 2025,” and asked for privacy while inviting fans to celebrate the music he leaves behind.

Ian Watkins, the former lead singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets, has been killed in prison while serving a lengthy sentence for child sex offences. He was 48.

Rock legend and KISS co-founder Gene Simmons is recovering at home in Los Angeles after a car accident on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu earlier this week. The 76-year-old musician was briefly hospitalised after reportedly passing out behind the wheel of his Lincoln Navigator, which veered across several lanes of traffic and collided with a parked vehicle just before 1 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7.

Brantley Gilbert has quietly, and then not so quietly, shifted his label home, signing with BBR Music Group in partnership with BMG Nashville after label executives joined him on stage during a recent stop of his Tattoos Tour in Nashville. The Georgia-born country rocker confirmed the move with fans mid-show as executives from both companies celebrated the new partnership, signalling a major next chapter in Gilbert's career.