Outbreak Festival 2026's Best Performances The festival is the most consistently hailed event in European hardcore. Now, four years into that title, how can it possibly live up to the hype? READ: tinyurl.com/Outbreak26

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2026 SO FAR We scoured the planet to find some of the best albums of 2026. As usual, our gaze is cast across many different styles, but some our very favorites mash-up genres. READ: tinyurl.com/BestLPs26

The annual Memorial Day weekend festival BottleRock Napa Valley triumphs again, with arguably the most diverse lineup of any major festival in America. – @gms111.bsky.social READ: tinyurl.com/BottleRoc26

Folk rock troubadour Leah Song from Rising Appalachia discusses her passion for combining music and activism, which led to a slot at the Hudson River Music Festival. – @gms111.bsky.social INTERVIEW: tinyurl.com/LeahSong26

INTERVIEW: Samantha Fish Discusses the Last Honest Noise In 2026, with AI-generated songs arriving by the truckload, Samantha Fish decided it might be the right moment to release a live album that leaves the seams showing. @rounderrecords.bsky.social READ: tinyurl.com/SamFish26

'The Voice of Miles: A Symphonic Celebration' pairs Miles Davis' original, isolated live trumpet performances from a new film with new orchestrations by a 12-piece ensemble performed. READ: tinyurl.com/MilesD2026

Catching Phish performing live at Las Vegas' Sphere feels like chasing down that elusive American Dream and catching up with it, at least for a weekend. – @gms111.bsky.social @phish.com @phish.net READ: tinyurl.com/PhishLive26

10 YEARS AGO: Bob Dylan celebrated great old songs on 'Fallen Angels' "Fallen Angels is a touching tribute to Dylan's continued passion for music, his love of performing and a celebration of some damn good songs." READ: tinyurl.com/BobDylan16

Braxton Keith's charm lies in part in his ability to keep things light. Let's sing about love, cheating, drinking, and forget about our heavy concerns. 'Real Damn Deal' is a #PMPick out now. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Braxton26

"Future Fusion" band Instant Alter occupy a rare category of artists with the spiritual ambitions to match their musical prowess. @gms111.bsky.social covers the band's recent San Francisco show. READ: tinyurl.com/InstantAlter

Seattle's Telehealth create angular grooves and twitchy rhythms and look askance at our modern-day neoliberal nightmare as we doomscroll ourselves to oblivion. 'Green World Image' is a #PMPick out tomorrow via @subpop.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/GreenWorld26

15 Underrated Albums of the 1990s With every "Best of the 1990s" list comes predictable entries. Here are 15 underrated albums that are often overlooked for inclusion in these features. READ: tinyurl.com/15Albums90s

'Catch a Cold' sees Ben "Baby" Copperhead truly embracing what it means to make music with no stylistic boundaries, as one genre deftly blends into another. #PMPick REVIEW: tinyurl.com/BenBaby26

Whitehorse's new album turns the eccentric and unconventional into a new normal. Musically, what starts as pop can twist into noir. #PMPick out on 5/8 via @sixshooterrecords.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Whitehorse26

Glasgow-based singer-songwriter Ant Thomaz reminds us of where warmth comes from in his solo album, GAIA—the authentic, real-time, in-person human relationship. #PMPick REVIEW: tinyurl.com/AntThomaz

Punk rocker UltraBomb's Greg Norton is unapologetic about his new LP, 'The Bridges that We Burn': "If you don't like my politics, you can listen to Kid Rock." INTERVIEW: tinyurl.com/UltraBomb26

From THE BANJO BOYS' beginnings as a "mini-doc" to its fruition as a feature film, Johan and Neil Nayar join musicians Yobu Maligwa and Yosefe Kalenkeni on their journey from simple craft to sensational art. INTERVIEW: tinyurl.com/NayarBanjo

Thin Lear offers so much, from moral anguish and difficult truths to a sound steeped in the best qualities of pop, rock, and folk music from the last half-century. 'Many Disappeared' is a #PMPick [9/10] out on 4/24. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/ThinLear26

“Making records isn’t for the faint of heart,” notes singer-songwriter Salim Nourallah, who is in the middle of a year when five full-length albums are planned. INTERVIEW: tinyurl.com/SNourallah

Pop Past Music: Albums released 10 years ago Beyoncé – 'Lemonade' READ: tinyurl.com/BeyLimona Kevin Morby – ‘Singing Saw’ READ: tinyurl.com/Morby2016 PJ Harvey – ‘The Hope Six Demolition Project’ READ: tinyurl.com/HopeSix SUBSCRIBE: www.popmatters.com/membership-t...

A Place to Bury Strangers resurrect lost obscurities for a record that paints a map of their past and future simultaneously. Oliver Ackerman describes the process. INTERVIEW: tinyurl.com/APTBS2026

Jump back 20 years to read about and hear the music of the times. Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere READ: tinyurl.com/Gnarls2006 The Coup – Pick a Bigger Weapon READ: tinyurl.com/Coup2006 Goo Goo Dolls – Let Love In READ: tinyurl.com/GooGoo2006 Stay tuned for more PopPast Music later this week.

In Mascha Schilinski’s moody psychological drama SOUND OF FALLING, we sense that a place can outlast the lives shaped inside it: what happened there does not disappear. – Guilherme Quireza READ: tinyurl.com/FallingSlow

'Volume III' sees the Canadian classical ensemble Flore Laurentienne combining analogue and electronic instruments brilliantly. #PMPick out now via @secretcityrecords.bsky.social REVIEW: tinyurl.com/FloreLaur26

The Sylvie Courvoisier Trio are disciplined, but they also know how to groove and make their playfulness a delight that relates to the more romping side of jazz history. 'Éclats' is out now. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Eclats2026

Ashley Monroe is not happy with the way she’s been treated by Music City. 'Dear Nashville' is a concept record about her professional experiences. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Ashley2026

PopPast: Albums Released 20 Years Ago Drive-By Truckers – A Blessing and a Curse READ: tinyurl.com/DriveBy2026 Rihanna – A Girl Like Me READ: tinyurl.com/Rihanna06 Built to Spill – You in Reverse READ: tinyurl.com/BuiltTS2006

Ben Seretan and John Thayer's 'Sunbeam of No Illusion' beautifully melds improvisation, loops, effects, and field recordings. It's an #ambient masterpiece. #PMPick [9/10] out now via @akprecordings.bsky.social. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/Seretan26

Bill Callahan reprises some familiar themes on 'My Days of 58', from constructing a simulacrum of oneself through songwriting to the weight of depression. REVIEW: tinyurl.com/BCallahan26

Carlos Ferreira and Dasom Baek's new transatlantic collaboration, 'Unbalance', combines musique concrète with one-take improvisation. #PMPick REVIEW: tinyurl.com/FerreiraDasom