Fay Wildhagen chose the right time, and the right place, to draw curtains on her 2024 project, Let’s Keep It In The Family.

The award-winning Norwegian singer, songwriter and bandleader waved her “final goodbye to that era” with a headline performance earlier this month at the 2026 Bergtatt Festival, one stacked with songs from Family, her third studio album, and rearranged fan favorites.

There’s more new music to come. “I have a bag full of demos that I’m listening to in the car, and in hotel rooms. I feel like my head is so full of music,” she tells Billboard in a chat at the edge of the mighty Sognefjord fjord.

The next album will be independently released through the Orchard, on Wildhagen’s own label, ending a 10-year partnership with Warner Music Norway.

“It just feels cool to try something new, and just go for it,” she enthuses. “And just give it a real try before I’m done.”

Wildhagen is in sparkling form. Raised in Oslo, the capital, she signed with Warner Music Norway as a 21-year-old and released her Spellemannprisen-nominated debut album, Snow, in 2015. Her sophomore album, Borders, arrived in 2018, opening doors for critical praise and concerts across Europe. Fay produced the 2023 album Møtested – en hyllest til Anne Grete Preus, and collected the Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian Grammys) for producer of the year — a moment that touched something deep inside.

“I cried when they gave it to me,” she recounts. “Nobody quite understands how much time goes into the writing, and the producing, just making and recreating sounds, turning and tossing them around, and trying things. For hours and hours and hours.” Getting recognized for the work that few people see, “yes, I cried a lot.”

Family was a seven-year itch. “It took time for me to find the right path for it. And find the home for it,” she recalls. “And also, it needed a lot of courage to write it properly, honest and true.”

On Family, she wrote, produced and arranged all 15 songs and its instruments, with the exception of the first single “Reason,” which was co-written with Øystein Greni, frontman and main songwriter of the Norwegian rock band Bigbang.

With the studio calling this year, Wildhagen took a detour to enjoy the Bergtatt experience. The journey was something else. With her partner, Wildhagen drove from Oslo, 220 miles to the south, completed hair-raising mountain passes, all of it to tick-off that bucket-list item.

The boutique fest in Luster, Western Norway, presented on the banks of the epic fjord and surrounded by striking, snow-capped mountains, just might be most picturesque setting for a live music event, anywhere.

“It’s been a dream to come here for many years,” she tells Billboard. “It has never fit the schedule, so it’s never just been right.” The festival “is one of these things that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s really amazing.”

Steve Lacy may have unintentionally become every Marvel fan’s enemy.

The Grammy-winning alternative singer raised eyebrows at the Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiere on Sunday (July 25) after slipping what might be a spoiler into an otherwise normal red carpet interview.

Warning: This story contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Lacy was interviewed by streamer Valkyrae on the carpet, and he was asked which character he was most excited to see, with the caveat of avoiding spoilers.

“You know what? Jean. I like Jean,” he replied. The interviewer awkwardly paused, though Lacy continued: “She’s the villain, but there’s a reason to her madness.”

The interviewer immediately responded with a laugh. “OK… is that a spoiler?”

Realizing what he may have just said, Lacy quickly pivoted and tried to save the conversation. “I like her. I like her character. I don’t know why.”

The moment began to circulate across social media, with fans immediately trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. While Lacy only referred to a character named Jean and never mentioned an actor by name, many viewers connected his comments to Sadie Sink, whose role in the film has been extremely secretive throughout the movie’s promotion.

Fans began sounding the alarm across social media as the clip quickly began making rounds online. People joked that Marvel’s famously reserved executives were probably already “on the phone” and out to get Lacy. One fan even wrote, “He pulled a Tom Holland on Tom Holland’s movie,” referencing the film star’s infamous history of spoiling major Marvel movie plot points.

Lacy attended the premiere because his song “Oh Yeah?” appears on the film’s soundtrack (it’s also the title track to his third studio album, released earlier this month). Lacy’s Spider-Man crossover comes four years after his breakout hit “Bad Habit” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. Its parent album, Gemini Rights, also reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 back in 2022.

As for whether Lacy actually spoiled Spider-Man: Brand New Day or simply sent fans into an unnecessary spiral, Marvel devotees will have to find out for themselves this Friday (July 31). Until then, the internet has already reached one verdict: maybe don’t ask Steve Lacy spoiler-related questions on a red carpet.

Watch the clip below.

Oliver Tree‘s mother shared a touching final message from her son at a memorial for the beloved, eccentric singer in Santa Cruz, Calif. over the weekend. Christine Nickell told the audience about the last conversation she had with Tree (born Oliver Tree Nickell), who died in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 14 at 32.

“I texted Oliver the day before he passed and asked how quitting smoking was going for him, as he promised he would give it up once he was on tour,” she told the audience on Saturday (July 25) at the “Celebration of Life” held at Santa Cruz’s Quarry Amphitheater, where she described her son as a “sweet and mischievous child” who was a “bolter,” always eager to run, explore and not look back. “He FaceTimed me immediately and let out a huge puff of cigarette smoke in my face.”

She added that Tree was “so happy and excited about life that day, he told us he was taking a helicopter ride to a house on a mountaintop the next day to make TikToks and music with his friends. He loved having epic days, each one more memorable than the last. The overwhelming outpouring of love and support since Oliver’s passing has been a profound source of comfort. I have witnessed humanity at its very best.”

The event had the touch of the absurd that Tree was known for, including three mannequins laid out in coffins dressed as the singer lined up in front of the dais, all wearing variations of his signature brightly colored windbreakers, sunglasses, bowl haircut and cowboy hats. But, as his mom noted, Tree could be silly at times, except when he sat his family down to preview his new music, insisting they sit silently and pay full attention, no phones, no talking, no distractions.

“We had to sit in complete silence and absorb his art with the same seriousness, care and reverence that he brought to creating it,” she said with a smile, surrounded by the rest of the Nickell family. “And if you didn’t, he’d shut it down and you’d get the wrath of Oliver. And those of you who know that wrath, know it was dreaded.”

In keeping with Tree’s cheeky sensibility, the event opened with a note from Ron Johnson Van Swanson, the fictional president of the singer’s independent Alien Boy Records. “On behalf of everyone here at the label, we would like to thank you for celebrating the life of our most beloved artist, Oliver Tree Nickell. Tonight’s program will immerse you through the mind and art of Oliver Tree. Our journey will begin at the very start of his roots and we will work our way up around and then all the way back down the rabbit hole,” he said in a video message.

Swanson encouraged the hundreds of fans gathered to honor Tree to sing along during the musical tribute, noting that he loved when fans sang with him. “So please do so … or else,” Swanson added ominously as flames filled the screen.

A video montage of some of Tree’s best moments on stage — including childhood footage proving that the bowl haircut was an OG part of his look from day one — ended with tape of a teenage Oliver describing his limitless opportunities. “People don’t realize their potential,” he says. “Even myself. I don’t really fully know what I’m capable of. You know, I feel like I have a pretty good idea from some of my experiences growing up that I could do pretty much anything I put my mind forth to.”

The event also featured homages from friends Diplo and Logan Paul, with DJ/producer Diplo calling Tree the coolest person he ever met. All proceeds from the event benefited Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant for Baby Geniuses, a foundation the singer’s estate launched in accordance with his will to help emerging artists.

Watch the tribute broadcast below (tribute from Christine Nickell begins at 54-minute mark).

On Sunday (July 26), Slayyyter kicked off her WOR$T GIRL IN THE WORLD Tour with a hometown show — and special treat.

During the opening night set, the pop provocateur live debuted four unreleased songs. Within 24 hours, she announced that one of those unheard gems, “BRAND NEW CHANEL$,” will arrive on Friday (July 31), giving even more fans the first taste of what could be an extension of her iconic era.

Slayyyter revealed the news via Instagram on Monday (July 27) alongside a high-quality live snippet of herself performing the track during the show in St. Louis, Missouri. She accompanied the post with a message thanking fans for coming to show and wrote, “I love my hometown so much. I can’t wait to do it all over again tonight.”

Concertgoers at the tour opener were the first to hear “BRAND NEW CHANEL$,” along with three other unreleased songs: “NEKROMANTIK,” “I THINK HE’S GOT A GIRL” AND “CRANK 2.” The surprise debuts immediately caused speculation to rise surrounding Slayyyter’s next album, though she has yet to announce a new LP.

“BRAND NEW CHANEL$” will be the first official release since her third studio album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, which arrived in March and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums chart. It also scored Slayyyter her first entry on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 22.

Her WOR$T GIRL IN THE WORLD Tour extends through Nov. 5, wrapping in London at The Roundhouse. The trek includes a handful of festival appearances, including Lollapalooza Chicago, Reading and Leeds Festivals and All Things Go in Washington, D.C.

It’s not all bad news for Boosie Badazz.

The Louisiana rapper reunited with a childhood friend while he visited Detroit to perform at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre for his national tour “Boosie Badazz & Friends: Blues on the River V,” as he finds himself in the middle of various legal battles that involve a lawsuit over an alleged assault by hookah at a nightclub and a legal action he recently filed after a failed presidential pardon effort.

Last month, Boosie posted a Reel on Instagram asking his followers to give him some feedback on a heartfelt email he was thinking of sending to his long lost childhood best friend, Derrick, who moved from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Michigan when they were kids. “Aye, I think I found my long lost friend,” he said to the camera. “I got an email on ’em, so I’m finna email him. Y’all tell me how this email sounds.” He then began reading the message where he talked about all the good times they had growing up while attending Wildwood Elementary and referred to his old friend as his “bestie” before leaving his number for him to reach out.

When he was done reading the email, someone in the background could be heard saying, “That was so sweet and sentimental.”

However, the comments on the post took a predictably different tone. Some joked around about how serious the email sounded with one of those people being Derrick himself who left a comment with laughing emojis telling his buddy to get in touch. “You wrote that s—t like I’m on my death bed,” he joked. “I’m crying laughing….who you emailing!?? I’m waiting on the contact. Wow this is crazy…Derrick Jackson Jr on Facebook.”

The two old friends did indeed get in touch and the Baton Rouge rapper posted separate vids of him pulling up on his childhood bestie’s house where the two gave each other a big hug and another of the two of them being kids again at Slick City Action Park where they raced down slides together with one of the captions reading, “Back like we ain’t never separated! We compete at everything.”

DetroitRapDaily then caught up with Derrick where he shared the reply he would’ve sent back had he gotten the email and admitted that people never believed him whenever he would tell them he knew Boosie when they were kids. “Bro, it’s been 30 years since I left Baton Rouge to move back to Michigan,” he began. “I always truly believed we would cross paths again in the same exact way. Your videos explaining your flashback to our childhood friendship brought many memories that I share with my friends and my family here in my hometown. Now many never truly believed I really knew the real Boosie Badazz, now I’m looking forward to renewing our friendship like it never stopped, bro. Sincerely, Derrick Jackson.”

Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong gave fans the surprise of their lives on Friday (July 24) when the veteran pop-punk band’s leader jumped on top of an ice cream truck to play a surprise mini-set to promote the group’s upcoming coming-of-age rock road trip comedy Nimrods. Armstrong performed their Grammy-nominated 1994 single “Basket Case” in Gallagher Square outside Petco Park in San Diego, strumming an acoustic guitar while perched on the roof of a Mister Freezie’s ice cream truck, according to videos posted by fans.

Armstrong was later joined by bandmates drummer Tré Cool and bassist Mike Dirnt as they crammed into the truck emblazoned with the film’s title to hand out T-shirts, cassettes and ice cream to the thousands who’d gathered for the special event. In addition to the band — who are featured in the film that follows three teens as they speed from Kansas City to Los Angeles in the mistaken belief that they have scored a gig opening for Green Day — some of the movie’s stars were also on hand, including Jenna Fischer (The Office) and Mason Thames (The Black Phone) and director/writer Lee Kirk.

The movie follows the fictional group the Analog Dogs (Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust) as they take a rowdy road trip across the country, believing that they’ve been tapped to open for their all-time favorite band on New Year’s Eve. The movie also co-stars The Office veteran Angela Kinsey, singer/actress Mckenna Grace (Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie), SNL alum Fred Armisen, comedian Bobby Lee, Keen Ruffalo (Thor: Ragnarok) Ignacio Diaz-Silverio (A Good Person) and Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy).

Co-produced by Green Day, Nimrods originally premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival under its original title New Year’s Rev; the movie will open in the U.S. on Aug. 14. The accompanying soundtrack is due out on Friday (July 31) and features 22 Green Day classics, along with their new song, “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P,” four previously unreleased live tunes and tracks from The Paradox, Ultra Q and McKenna Grace, as well as four from fictional group Analog Dogs.

Charli xcx‘s Music, Fashion, Film B-sides “I Keep On Thinking Bout You Every Single Day and Night,” “Playboy Bunny” and “If You Take the Music Then What Has She Got?” have been uploaded to iTunes as part of a digital deluxe version of her new album called Music, Fashion, Film (B-Sides Edition).

The three songs were previously shared with fans on Charli’s @b.sides alt-account on Instagram — and were included as actual B-sides on limited-edition, physical 7″ single releases for “Rock Music,” “SS26” and “Camera,” and as part of a comprehensive Music, Fashion, Film physical box set — but not officially available to purchase as digital downloads until Sunday (July 26).

Charli actually had told fans these B-sides were “never gonna go on streaming … I don’t think.” She did say that could change, though.

“you can call me a hypocrite, i don’t mind,” Charli wrote with a winky face on Sunday’s announcement of her iTunes release of Music, Fashion, Film (B-Sides Edition).

Available for for $4.99 on iTunes, the digital album release includes Music, Fashion, Film‘s original 11 tracks, plus the three B-side tracks and their music videos.

Charli shared more context about the release on Instagram: “i made b sides for each of the songs released ahead of Music, Fashion, Film because it felt natural to pair each songs with a fitting counterpart – something that’s adjacent to the album but not entirely part of it. traditionally, b sides often become fan favorites… and i guess in the case of some of the b sides for this album, that has proven to be true. i felt adamant i wouldn’t put them on streaming because it sort of felt counter intuitive to the whole ethos of those songs, but i know you all really wanted them so i’ve begrudgingly put them on itunes lol.”

Music, Fashion, Film arrived on Friday, along with the online release of the theatrical short film Charli created alongside the record.

She’s set to launch a limited North American tour in support of Music, Fashion, Film on Sept. 11 in Philadelphia before bringing her live show to Brooklyn, Toronto, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, San Diego, Los Angeles, Glendale and Las Vegas.

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.

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.