Tom Morello, Garbage, Violet Grohl, Courtney Love and more artists are remembering Jennifer Finch, the L7 bassist and vocalist who died Saturday (July 18) following an aggressive form of brain cancer. She was 59.
A family representative announced Finch’s death over the weekend, days after L7 revealed that she had been diagnosed with brain cancer and would be unable to join the band’s upcoming farewell tour.
“Jennifer’s impact on the world of music was seismic; her impact on our lives, even more so,” the representative said in a statement. “We appreciate everyone’s interest and concern, thank you for all the kind messages. We appreciate some space to heal privately during this difficult time.”
Finch’s L7 bandmates Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks and Dee Plakas also shared their own tribute, remembering her as a “beloved bandmate, friend, and fellow troublemaker.”
“With a very heavy heart we announce that our beloved bandmate, friend, and fellow troublemaker Jennifer Finch has passed away today,” the band wrote. “She had a long courageous fight with brain cancer and was loved by many wonderful friends, musical peers and fans worldwide. We love you, Jennifer.”
Morello, guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, remembered Finch as both a key figure in the Los Angeles rock community and a generous presence within it.
“God bless her. An important fixture of the LA scene, a super cool person, a true artist with a kind and welcoming heart,” Morello wrote. “I loved, respected and admired her greatly. She will be missed.”
He also described Finch as a “powerful artist and gracious friend.”
Garbage shared a brief tribute, writing, “Godspeed beautiful Jennifer. Thank you,” while Violet Grohl remembered Finch as a “force.”
“This is so devastating, she was such a force,” Grohl wrote. “Made so many feel so seen. Rest in peace legend.”
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe also posted a short remembrance, writing, “Bless her.” Courtney Love, who played with Finch in the pre-Hole band Sugar Babydoll alongside future Babes in Toyland member Kat Bjelland, also honored Finch with a photo tribute.
Finch joined L7 in 1986 and became part of the band’s best-known lineup alongside Sparks, Gardner and Plakas. Her bass work helped drive the group’s 1992 breakthrough album, Bricks Are Heavy, which included “Pretend We’re Dead,” “Wargasm” and “Shitlist.”
Produced by Butch Vig, Bricks Are Heavy pushed L7 from the Los Angeles punk underground into the wider alternative-rock moment of the early ’90s. The band’s heavy riffs, blunt humor and political bite made them one of the era’s most distinctive guitar acts.
Finch left L7 in 1996 and later performed with Other Star People and The Shocker before rejoining L7 after the band reunited in 2014. Outside music, she also worked as a photographer, writer and visual artist.
L7 had announced in May that The Last Hurrah, the band’s farewell tour, would begin in October. Days before Finch’s death, the band said she had asked them to continue with the tour as planned.
Liam Gallagher had a blunt review of FIFA’s first World Cup final halftime show.
The Oasis frontman reacted on X during Sunday’s (July 19) performance at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where Madonna, BTS, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, the PS22 Chorus and the Muppets appeared during the Spain-Argentina final.
“This is like a bad trip,” Gallagher wrote.
He followed with another post, adding, “It’s a good job I’ve got my spiritual socks on or that halftime entertainment could have tipped me over the edge.”
The 11-and-a-half-minute show marked the first halftime performance staged during a FIFA World Cup final. Curated by Martin, the production opened with Madonna performing “Music,” her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 from 2000, before moving through performances from BTS, Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy and more.
Shakira and Burna Boy performed “Dai Dai,” the official World Cup song and current Billboard Global 200 chart-topper, while BTS delivered “Dynamite” and Bieber performed an acoustic version of “Everything Hallelujah.” Dudamel also conducted musicians from the New York Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela through The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”
The show closed with the PS22 Chorus, Martin, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and several performers returning to the field for a finale built around a giant “LOVE” stage formation and fireworks.
The halftime show brought one of the most music-heavy moments in World Cup final history to the middle of the tournament’s deciding match. It also placed FIFA closer to the kind of entertainment model long associated with the Super Bowl, where pop performance is built into the broadcast spectacle.
Gallagher’s reaction comes after Oasis’ return to stadium scale with the band’s OASIS LIVE ’25 tour, which included dates across the U.K., Ireland, North America, Mexico, Asia, Australia and South America. The band’s songs have also long lived inside football culture, with tracks including “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” becoming crowd staples far beyond rock audiences.
FISHER will bring his chart-topping dance sound back to Flemington Racecourse this year, with the Australian DJ-producer set to headline the closing party for the 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival.
The Victoria Racing Club announced Monday (July 20) that FISHER will perform at The Elms Live Stage presented by Maccas on TAB Champions Stakes Day, Saturday, Nov. 7. The set will take place after the final race of the Carnival, with entry included in the price of a General Admission ticket.
The booking brings one of Australia’s biggest dance exports back to Flemington after his 2025 appearance helped establish The Elms Live Stage as a major post-race music destination. This year, the Off the Rails closing party will again see the rails of the famous Flemington racecourse opened after racing concludes, allowing crowds to gather for FISHER’s festival-style set.
“FISHER delivered the most electrifying and memorable performance for thousands of event goers at Flemington last year, and we can’t wait for him to return to headline the Off the Rails party celebrating the final day of the 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival, complementing world-class racing on TAB Champions Stakes Day,” VRC chief executive officer Kylie Rogers said in a statement.
FISHER broke through internationally with “Losing It,” the 2018 tech-house track that spent 17 weeks on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart and hit No. 1 in December 2018. The song also earned a Grammy nomination for best dance recording.
Since then, the Gold Coast-born artist has become a major festival and club draw, known for high-volume house sets and an irreverent stage presence that has made him a fixture across global dance circuits.
“Last year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival closing party was epic; the crowd was electric,” FISHER said. “I can’t wait to do it all again at Flemington Racecourse on November 7. Giddy up.”
The 2026 Melbourne Cup Carnival begins with Howden Victoria Derby Day on Saturday, Oct. 31, followed by Lexus Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Crown Oaks Day on Thursday, Nov. 5, and TAB Champions Stakes Day on Saturday, Nov. 7.
VRC said more Melbourne Cup Carnival entertainment announcements will be revealed soon.
After a day of wildfire smoke that choked the air and thunderstorms that flooded parts of New York City, Sunday, July 19th dawned bright, clear and beautiful, the perfect setting for an event on which all eyes around the globe would be centered: the 2026 World Cup Final.
And with Spain and Argentina contesting the first all-Spanish-language final since the inaugural 1930 event (in which Uruguay bested Argentina), one word filled the air more than any other as fans began to mass around NYC’s Penn Station to take the trains or buses to New York, New Jersey stadium for the game: Vamos!
On the way to the stadium for the biggest — and most expensive — game of this month-long World Cup, Argentinian fans were singing loudly and joyously, with a sea of Lionel Messi jerseys far out-numbering those in Spain’s traditional red, with those supporters of La Roja nearly as unanimous as their counterparts in wearing the name and number of their 19-year-old superstar Lamine Yamal, a successor to Messi at the famed club Barcelona. But after a relatively simple transit situation (a relief after repeated warnings that things could get packed and hectic) that gave way to a media credential nightmare that left many media members stranded outside for hours in the early afternoon, Billboard made it into the stadium in time to catch the closing ceremonies, headlined by Post Malone, who closed up his brief set by bringing out Swae Lee for their smash hit single “Sunflower,” before the stadium settled into a pre-match tension that lasted until kickoff.
This, however, was not an ordinary World Cup Final: the 2026 edition was to be the first ever with a halftime performance akin in some ways to the Super Bowl, with superstars like Madonna, BTS, Shakira, Burna Boy, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, and more performing in a tight-knit 11-minute set at the half. Here, Billboard brings you through TK moments you may not have seen on TV during the high-profile event.
More new music from Gracie Abrams is arriving Sunday night (July 19). After unleashing new album Daughter From Hell on Friday, the singer-songwriter announced there are two additional tracks from the DFH sessions that fans will get to hear. Though they didn’t make the cut on the standard version of the album, “Out of Nowhere” and “Love Letter” are being made available as bonus tracks.
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The two songs will be up exclusively on iTunes Sunday night, and only “for a limited time,” Abrams shared in a social media post.
Her post included her personal thoughts on the songs, as well as her gratitude for those who’ve listened to Daughter From Hell and shared positive feedback. Abrams also offered a couple selfie video clips of herself giving a very short, but playfully dramatic, preview of “Out of Nowhere” and “Love Letter.”
“Hey SURPRISE,” Abrams wrote on her social media accounts on Sunday. “Daughter from Hell (Bonus Tracks) with OUT OF NOWHERE and LOVE LETTER will be available to download tonight at 6pm PT on iTunes for a limited time if you can believe it.”
She added, “I’m so moved to hear from those of you who are connecting with the record so far. Really truly your messages have made my heart grow ten sizes. Fingers crossed you enjoy these too. I personally love them very much.”
Daughter From Hell is Abrams’ third full-length studio album, which has her once again teaming up with producer/co-writer Aaron Dessner. The set, the follow-up to 2024’s The Secret of Us (which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart), was led by the single “Hit the Wall.”
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