Tim Chan/Billboard
Billie Joe Armstrong has turned two pillars of his Green Day sound into new signature gear. The frontman has announced a limited-edition Radiant Red Epiphone Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior, along with his first artist signature amplifier with Marshall, the 1959BJA Artist Signature.
Both releases nod to the stripped-down, high-impact guitar tone Armstrong has used across decades of Green Day songs, from the band’s 1994 breakthrough Dookie through its more recent stadium-scale era.
The new Epiphone model features a bright red finish, similar to Armstrong’s Les Paul Junior, while maintaining a deliberately simple setup. The guitar features a single P-90 PRO pickup, master volume and tone controls, and a Lightning Bar wraparound bridge — a no-frills build in line with Armstrong’s long-running punk approach.
The guitar also includes a reproduction of Armstrong’s signature on the back of the headstock and comes with a custom black hardshell case with a leopard-print interior.
Armstrong’s new Marshall amp, meanwhile, marks the company’s first artist signature model in 14 years. The baby-blue 1959BJA Artist Signature is based on Marshall’s handwired 1959HW platform and includes a custom “Dookie Mod,” inspired by the guitar tone Armstrong developed with producer Rob Cavallo during the making of Dookie.
The amp’s look also reaches back into Armstrong’s own mythology. Its baby-blue covering is a tribute to “Blue,” the heavily stickered Fernandes guitar that became one of his most recognizable instruments during Green Day’s early years.
“I’m so overjoyed to have my own signature Marshall amp,” Armstrong said in a statement. “These amps have been a part of my musical life, from my heroes down to little old me. Turn it the f— up!”
The gear news arrives during another busy stretch for Green Day. Earlier this month, the band announced the soundtrack to its upcoming coming-of-age comedy Nimrods, due July 31. The 22-track set includes career-spanning favorites, four previously unreleased live recordings from the Hollywood Palladium and a new song, “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P.”
Armstrong has also been back onstage with his covers band, The Coverups. At recent shows, he was joined by Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson for David Bowie’s “All The Young Dudes,” and the group also covered Nirvana’s “Drain You,” which Armstrong dedicated to late L7 bassist Jennifer Finch.
Green Day released its most recent studio album, Saviors, in January 2024. The album continued the band’s long-running Billboard presence following a catalog that includes Dookie, American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown and Revolution Radio.
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Bruce Springsteen received a new award from the American Civil Liberties Union recognizing contributions to American thought and culture.
Related
Kaepernick and Springsteen were honored Friday night (July 24) with the ACLU Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Arts, Business, Science and Sports. The honor comes a decade after Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem in protest against police violence and racial inequality.
“We know our civil liberties are under attack, we know humanity is under attack, education is under attack. They are trying to encroach on our rights, encroach on our dignity, encroach on the future that we want to build together,” Kaepernick said in his acceptance speech at the event in Washington, D.C. “When we look back at this moment, it will not be the speeches that change the direction of history. It’s going to be whether we decided: Are we going to build the schools or not? Are we going to defend the rights of others, or are we going to watch? Are we going to build community together, or are we going to stand in isolation?”
“The consequences of these decisions are going to be the reality that the future generations inherit.”
Kaepernick was joined in protest by teammate Eric Reid and others, but he also drew criticism from politicians, team owners and other players. Kaepernick and Reid filed collusion grievances against the NFL in 2017, saying they were blacklisted. They reached a settlement in 2019.
“He demonstrated in real time the price America too often exacts from those who challenge racial injustice,” said Deborah Archer, the ACLU’s president. “His peaceful protest was met with extraordinary personal sacrifice. He lost the career he spent his life building. He became the target of criticism, hostility and relentless public attack, and yet he never retreated.”
Springsteen — who closed the event with a solo rendition of “Streets of Minneapolis” — and Kaepernick were honored as part of an awards ceremony hosted by actress Laverne Cox.
“It’s important for us to recognize all of the people who are contributing to the fight to protect civil rights and civil liberties,” Archer said. “Those folks — actors, athletes — these folks have all shown up in incredibly powerful ways.”
Springsteen’s performance of “Streets of Minneapolis” was uploaded to his official YouTube channel. Watch it below.
Bret Michaels is recovering from surgery to remove a kidney stone, the Poison frontman revealed this week, after playing several shows rather than cancelling on fans.
In a Facebook post shared on what he dubbed “#WisdomWednesday,” Michaels said the stone would not pass after almost seven days of waiting it out.
“The pain became intense but, as usual, I played through Charleston, WV, Grantville, PA and a special private show at Fairchild AFB in Spokane for veterans, active duty and their families,” he wrote. The day after the Spokane performance, he was admitted to hospital “as the pain became too much when the stone would not pass.”
Michaels said the procedure is now complete. “The operation has been done and is complete & I’m out of post-op recovery, and I’m doing everything within my power to feel better and continue playing great shows for great fans when I’ve got a complete clean bill of health,” he wrote.
He used the post to thank the medical staff who treated him, saying the first thing he learned was “complete gratitude for the frontline workers, doctors and nurses,” and adding that he is “wise enough to know how important family, friends, fans, doctors and nurses play such a vital role in our everyday health.”
Ever the showman, he signed off with a joke about being “forced” out of his stage clothes and into a hospital gown, having gone straight from the show to the hospital.
The health scare is the latest chapter in a long, well-documented medical history for the 63-year-old, who has been unusually candid with fans throughout his career.
Michaels has managed Type 1 diabetes since childhood — his mother co-founded a youth diabetes camp during his upbringing — and has become one of music’s most prominent diabetes-awareness advocates. In 2010, he survived a life-threatening brain hemorrhage and a related warning stroke before making a full recovery and returning to the stage. .
Michaels co-founded Poison in Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s before the band relocated to Los Angeles, where they became one of the defining glam-metal acts of the Sunset Strip era. Poison charted 10 singles in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six top 10 hits, and scored their sole No. 1 with the 1988 power ballad “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” which spent three weeks atop the chart over the Christmas holiday. The single anchored their second album, Open Up and Say… Ahh!, certified 5x platinum, and remains the band’s signature song.
Michaels has not announced any changes to his tour schedule, saying he intends to return once he has a full clean bill of health.
A set billed “Hayley Williams & Friends” at the 2026 Newport Folk Festival featured a long list of guests taking the stage with the Paramore frontwoman on Friday (July 24). Among the guests joining Williams for her headlining slot live at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I., were Jack Antonoff, Lucy Dacus and Jenny Lewis.
During her 16-song setlist at the fest, which started with her 2025 album title track “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party” and ended with a group cover of the Bill Withers classic “Lean on Me,” Williams performed “I Wanna Get Better” with Jack Antonoff — his band Bleachers’ debut single back in 2014 — and was also joined by him on guitar for her Ego Death song”Good Ol’ Days.” The pair shared a hug ahead of “I Wanna Get Better,” which had Antonoff and Williams harmonizing on vocals.
Williams played “Roses/Lotus/Violet/Iris” live for the first time ever, accompanied by Lucy Dacus — one third of Boygenius (with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers), who originally sang background vocals on the 2020 Petals for Armor track. Dacus also had a set of her own on the Fort Stage on Friday.
In another surprise moment during Williams’ time on stage, as filmed by a concertgoer at the front of the crowd, Williams welcomed Jenny Lewis out to cover “Silver Lining” with the Rilo Kiley singer-songwriter, from the group’s 2007 album Under the Blacklight. She joined Lewis on vocals at verse three, singing, “And the grass it was a-ticking/ And the sun was on the rise/ I never felt so wicked/ As when I willed our love to die/ And I was your silver lining, as the story goes/ I was your silver lining, but now I’m gold.”
Other musicians taking the stage with Williams Friday in Newport included Karly Hartzman, This Is Lorelei, Joy Oladokun, Liam Benzvi, Annie DiRusso, Kelsey Lu, Remi Wolf, Phoenix Rousiamanis and Madi Diaz. Newport Folk Festival shared a slideshow of pictures from the Williams & Friends set on Instagram post-show.
Friday night’s Newport Folk Festival schedule also featured a headlining set from Ms. Lauryn Hill.
This year’s lineup at the historic Newport Folk Festival continues Saturday-Sunday, with performances from The Lumineers, Nathaniel Rateliff, Brandi Carlile, Brandon Flowers, Tom Morello and more.
Orville Peck is opening up about how a suicide attempt in 2023 inspired some of his most personal music to date.
The 38-year-old country singer revealed in a new interview that he was struggling with both his mental and physical health when he canceled his Bronco tour in June 2023. Two days before announcing the cancellation, Peck said he intentionally overdosed.
Related
“I was a bad addict, a coping alcoholic,” the openly gay singer told Rolling Stone. “And I had this spiral moment, where I went back to my hotel and tried to take my life. It was a big turning point for me, with a lot of realizations to come. It was something that needed to happen.”
Peck, whose real name is Daniel Pitout, said he was “in one of the worst places” of his life. The experience, along with a breakup and a stint in rehab, became the foundation for his fourth album, Mule, due Sept. 18 through Warner Records.
In a news release announcing the album, the 13-song collection is described as a “chronological timeline of the year that reshaped his life, tracing the collapse of addiction, the difficult pursuit of sobriety, and the slow, often uncertain process of rebuilding. Told with unflinching honesty, humor, and compassion, Mule finds Peck confronting love, loss, and identity through songs that move fluidly between classic country storytelling, bluegrass, and expansive Americana.”
The album’s lead single, “Too Little, Too Late,” arrived Friday (July 24). The pop-country track, co-written by Peck, Steve Rusch and Semisonic’s Dan Wilson, serves as a sharp kiss-off to an ex looking for another chance.
Peck also told Rolling Stone that his time in rehab inspired the album track “Rehab Blues.”
“I didn’t want to be there. I thought it was a waste of time, that I’m unique and didn’t have a problem,” he said. “So I was like, I’m going to write the funniest song about this experience, because at the time I was just like, ‘F— this. I want to leave.’”
Mule follows last November’s Appaloosa EP, released after Peck’s 16-week Broadway run as the emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.
Peck, who performed Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” during his Grand Ole Opry debut on Tuesday (July 21), will launch his Man Turned Mule 2026 North American tour on Oct. 28 in Sacramento, California. The trek runs through Nov. 22, wrapping at the Paramount in Huntington, New York.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Since its release, KPop Demon Hunters has become more than just a film — it has grown into a global phenomenon with an increasingly growing lineup of merchandise. The film has expanded beyond the screen with Mattel dolls, Little People Collector Sets, Squishmallows and even a Vans sneaker collab. And now, you can get ramen noodles inspired by the HUNTR/X members.
Yes, KPop Demon Hunters is getting in the ramen game with a new collaboration with South Korean instant noodle company Nongshim. The Seoul-based company (originally known as the Lotte Food Industrial Company) has been using the Netflix animated film to promote its line of packaged goods for a while now in Korea (see the photo below of when I went for a visit to Myeongdong), and now, Americans can get their hands on the same products state-side.
The collection features unique ramen flavors inspired by Rumi, Zoey and Mira, with each character represented by a signature flavor and a uniquely colored cup that reflects their identity. The noodle theme also connects directly to the movie, in which HUNTR/X members are seen enjoying noodles together during moments between concerts and demon-hunting.
SPICY & SMOKY
Rumi Superstar Instant Ramen Noodle Cup
6-Pack
Inspired by Rumi’s superstar qualities, this Shin Ramyun cup features a “superstar” flavor, with a spicy broth with savory ham and meaty notes.
The firm, springy noodles are designed to hold the rich broth for a satisfying bite. A flake packet adds star-shaped fish cake, ham-style fish cake, dried kimchi and bok choy for extra texture and flavor. Each cup is microwave-ready for quick preparation.
HAMBURGER TASTE
Zoey Burger Hero Instant Ramen Noodle Cup
6-Pack
Zoey’s “Burger Hero” flavor combines Shin Ramyun noodles with a savory hamburger-inspired broth featuring rich, smoky notes.
The chewy noodles pair with the bold seasoning for a familiar yet spicy ramen experience. A vegetable flake packet includes bok choy, mushroom, carrot, green onion and red chili pepper to add texture and depth. Each cup in this six-pack is ready in minutes with boiling water or microwave preparation.
GOURMET SPICY
Mira Spicy Queen Instant Ramen Noodle Cup
6-Pack
Mira’s “Spicy Queen” Shin Ramyun cup delivers the signature heat and savory depth that you’d expect from Shin Ramyun and the HUNTR/X lead dancer.
The bold spicy broth is paired with firm, chewy noodles that absorb the rich flavors with every bite. A dried garnish packet adds vegetables, color and aroma to enhance the overall ramen experience.
BEEF-FLAVORED
Shin Ramyun Beef-Flavored Instant Ramen Noodle Cup
6-Pack
With HUNTR/X branding, this Shin Ramyun cup features a rich beef-flavored broth with the signature spicy taste that made the brand popular worldwide.
The included soup base can be adjusted to customize the heat level, while the chewy noodles provide a satisfying texture. Add toppings such as kimchi, dumplings or cheese to personalize each serving. Ready with hot water or microwave preparation.
SAJA BOYS RAMEN
Shin Ramyun Toomba Creamy Korean Mac and Cheese
6-Pack
A creamy Korean stir-fry-style instant noodle inspired by Korean mac and cheese, featuring a rich, velvety sauce with a mild spicy kick.
Branded with KPop Demon Hunters‘ Saja Boys, each microwaveable square bowl is ready in minutes for a quick meal or snack. The creamy sauce also pairs well with toppings like shrimp, pork, vegetables or extra cheese.
Katy Perry is speaking out after the White House used her hit song “Firework” without her permission.
The 41-year-old pop star took to social media on Saturday (July 25) to condemn the Trump administration for featuring the 2010 anthem in a White House TikTok post showing footage of military strikes. Earlier this week, the White House’s official TikTok account shared a video that synchronized Perry’s “boom, boom, boom” lyrics with black-and-white footage of bombing. The post was captioned, “Iran has been warned.”
Related
“I am deeply appalled and angry to see ‘Firework’ used on the @WhiteHouse TikTok account as a backing track for video footage of military strikes,” Perry wrote on X. “I did not approve this, I was not asked, and I absolutely do not condone it.”
She continued, “I wrote this song to be an anthem of hope, healing, and inner strength for people going through their darkest personal moments. To see a message of self-worth and upliftment weaponized to soundtrack destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for.”
Perry concluded her statement by writing, “My music is for bringing people together, not celebrating warfare.”
Released as the third single from Perry’s 2010 album Teenage Dream, “Firework” became one of the singer’s standout hits, spending four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Perry is among dozens of artists who have criticized the Trump administration over the unauthorized use of their music in political videos and at campaign rallies.
In June, Ariana Grande blasted the White House for using her 2024 song “Bye” in a TikTok video promoting ICE agents making arrests. Earlier this year, Kesha also criticized the Trump administration after her song “Blow” was used without authorization in a TikTok featuring fighter jets and military strike footage captioned “Lethality.”
Check out Perry’s post on X below.
It would be a cliché to call Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight “national treasures,” but both most certainly are. Both have been music royalty longer than many of the fans at their Hollywood Bowl concert on Friday (July 24) have been alive. Robinson and his band, The Miracles, first cracked the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1961 with “Shop Around.” Knight and her group, The Pips, first cracked the top 10 on that chart five months later with the doo-wop-shaded “Every Beat of My Heart.”
Robinson, 86, and Knight, 82, both have musical legacies that are strong and secure. (Both of their groups ranked in the top 20 on Billboard‘s list “The 50 Best R&B Groups of All Time: Staff Picks,” which was published last month.) The only question now is: How are they in concert in 2026?
Robinson hasn’t lost a step. He sang well, moved well and was a master showman. He is duly recognized as one of our greatest songwriters, but he may be under-recognized as a live performer. He was spry and agile throughout his headlining set. He was also personable, speaking warmly about Knight, who he said he’s known since they were teenagers (“one of the greatest voices of our time”) and doing a spot-on and very funny impression of Stevie Wonder’s head-turning mannerisms (by way of introducing “The Tears of a Clown,” which the two music legends cowrote with Henry Cosby). That song, Robinson’s only No. 1 Hot 100 hit as a performer, may be the most ebullient-sounding song ever written about a heartbroken man.
My only criticism of Robinson’s set: An audience participation bit on “Cruisin’” (which side of the house can sing louder?) that was tedious and endless. For this tired exercise, he left out such gems as “Shop Around,” “Mickey’s Monkey” and “More Love”?
Knight still has moments where she can summon the fire and passion that have made her such a beloved singer for so many years. But many of her songs were truncated and re-arranged to better suit her current capabilities. She relied heavily on her three back-up singers, who even took lead parts on occasion. She didn’t introduce them, or any of her six musicians, or speak to the audience in any meaningful way beyond banalities like “you’re so beautiful.” She never mentioned Robinson. Knight has been one of my favorite singers since I first got into music. She is truly a one-of-a-kind singer, capable of both thrilling firepower and conversational ease, often in the same song. But she barely got through this show, and only by leaning heavily on her backup singers. Artists need to know when it’s time to bow out gracefully.
Here are seven highlights from Robinson and Knight’s opening night performance at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday (July 24). It was the first of two nights of their show, dubbed “Just the Two of Us.” And no, they didn’t perform together or include that 1981 Grover Washington Jr./Bill Withers collab in either of their individual sets. (A missed opportunity.)
From career milestones to new releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
Natanael Cano is Launching a Real-Life Treasure Hunt in Mexico City Tied to His Next Album Rollout
Natanael Cano is putting fan loyalty to the test — and the reward is huge. On Thursday (July 23), the música mexicana star announced a treasure-hunt-style activation in Mexico City tied to the rollout of his next album, with 1 million Mexican pesos (about $57,195) going to the first fan who completes the challenge. Beginning July 25 at 11 a.m. (local time), fans in CDMX will have to follow clues that lead them from one QR code to the next, registering along the way and advancing step by step until someone reaches the end first. The grand-prize winner will receive the cash reward, hear the album release date before anyone else, and score entry to both Cano’s next Mexico City concert and his listening party, while the next 10 finishers will also get access to the listening event.
In his message to fans, Cano made it clear the challenge is meant for those who have stayed with him from the start. “This is for the ones who’ve been solid since day one,” he wrote on Instagram, later adding, “Because this has never been just mine. It’s always been yours.”
Shakira Brings NYC’s World Cup Workers Onstage at Barclays as Part of the ‘Loba Pack’
Before opening her Barclays Center show on Tuesday (July 21) with “La Fuerte,” Shakira made sure New York City’s World Cup workers got their moment in the spotlight. The Colombian superstar invited hotel staff, concession workers, stadium crews, and other union workers to join her onstage, honoring the people whose labor helped make the FIFA World Cup possible. Many of those recognized were immigrant women, spotlighted through her Camina Con La Loba initiative in collaboration with the NYC Mayor’s Office.
“So much of what made this World Cup special is the work that most fans never see: the thousands of hotel rooms kept clean, all of the stadiums that worked so smoothly,” Shakira said in a statement shared exclusively with Billboard ahead of the show. “I wanted to show my gratitude for the people of New York City who made this incredible experience possible. Thank you for all of your hard work; you are the true she-wolves and it will be an honor to have you with me!”
A Sold-Out Dodger Stadium Crowd Welcomed Fuerza Regida Home
One of the biggest live moments in Latin music this summer went down in L.A., where Fuerza Regida brought its This Is Our Dream Stadium Tour to a sold-out Dodger Stadium on Saturday (July 18). The show marked the sixth sold-out stadium of the group’s nine-city U.S. run and doubled as a homecoming celebration for the Mexican-American band in its home region.
Running more than two hours and nearly 50 songs, the set was designed as a retrospective of the group’s musical evolution, moving from early corridos to its current genre-blending hits. The night also featured a stacked roster of surprise guests, including YG, OhGeesy, Chino Pacas, Clave Especial, Gemelos de Sinaloa, Chuyin, and Calle 24. “Los Angeles, this one’s for you,” frontman Jesús Ortiz Paz said in a statement. “Six sold-out stadiums in, and it still feels unreal. Thank you for making this dream real with us.”
Karol G’s Con Cora Foundation Expands Its Reach Across the U.S.
Karol G’s Con Cora Foundation is taking its impact on the road. On Wednesday (July 22), the organization announced the Con Cora Tour 2026, a new initiative tied to the singer’s Viajando Por El Mundo TropiTour that will expand the foundation’s work with Latin women across the United States and Canada. Launched on Friday in Chicago and running through Oct. 17, the tour will visit more than 20 cities, including Washington, D.C., Toronto, Los Angeles, Houston, New York, and Miami, supporting programs focused on education, wellness, legal aid, and women’s empowerment through local partnerships.
As part of the effort, the foundation will also expand #MujerSegura, its gender-based violence prevention and awareness campaign, through mobile support hubs called Puntos Con Cora in select cities. The tour will also include visits to hospitals and shelters, while inviting beneficiaries from partner organizations to be part of the experience.
Grupo Frontera Celebrates Sold-Out Houston Show With Tejano Pride, Christian Nodal & More Guests
Houston got a hometown-style celebration from Grupo Frontera this week, as the band packed out its Triste Pero Bien C*brón Tour stop with a sold-out crowd and a pair of standout guest moments. Christian Nodal joined the group onstage for “Adiós Amor” and “Ya Pedo Quién Sabe,” while legendary Tejano act La Mafia added a cross-generational touch with “Me Estoy Enamorando” and “Un Millón de Rosas.” The show also followed another major milestone from the tour kickoff in McAllen, where Grupo Frontera received Spotify Billions Club plaques for “un x100to,” “Que Vuelvas,” and “El Amor de Su Vida.”
Christian Nodal & Adelaido “Payo” Solís II of Grupo Frontera. Credit: @aese13
El festival Mad Cool celebró su décimo aniversario en la edición 2026, realizada entre el 8 y el 11 de julio en el predio Iberdrola Music de Madrid. Para esta ocasión, el evento recuperó su formato de cuatro jornadas, organizadas por afinidad estilística. Fiel a su historia, la programación reunió a algunas de las principales […]
Ver más noticias en Indie Hoy.