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AC/DC has announced the AC/DC PWR/UP Pop Up, a free, open-to-all fan experience that will travel with the band’s 2026 North American stadium tour, opening in every city on the final leg of the “Power Up” (stylized “PWR/UP”) world tour. Each location will open the day before the show and on show day, giving fans a dedicated gathering place before the band plays.

Each AC/DC PWR/UP Pop Up will feature exclusive merchandise and limited-edition fan collectibles — including premium apparel, accessories, posters and pieces created specifically for the pop-up. Fans attending each city’s stop will have early access to a limited quantity of the official city event shirt and poster, available at the pop-up one day before they go on sale online or at the stadium. Additional offerings include AC/DC-themed food and drink menus, iconic props, custom visuals, interactive photo moments, ticket giveaways and on-site chances to enter to win a guitar signed by guitarist Angus Young — the guitar will travel the full North American run and be signed by Young in Philadelphia before being awarded to one fan who entered in person.

Fans attending AC/DC PWR/UP Pop Ups at U.S.-based stops will also have the chance to win an AC/DC-themed pinball machine created by Stern Pinball. Select locations will feature live performances from local School of Rock house bands and local radio broadcasts. Each pop-up will host a PWR/UP Fan Preview event — a special first-look gathering for press, media, partners and fans, with 100 fans selected by random draw given the opportunity to enter early alongside press and receive an exclusive gift created only for the preview event. Fans can register at pwruptour.acdc.com for the chance to be selected.

Pop-up locations and dates:

• July 10–11 — Charlotte, NC — Charlotte Beer Garden
• July 14–15 — Columbus, OH — Newport Music Hall
• July 18–19 — Madison, WI — The Annex
• July 23–24 — San Antonio, TX — Hard Rock Cafe
• July 27–28 — Denver, CO — BrewDog
• July 31–Aug. 1 — Las Vegas, NV — Hard Rock Cafe
• Aug. 4–5 — San Francisco, CA — Hard Rock Cafe
• Aug. 8–9 — Edmonton, AB — Starlite
• Aug. 12–13 — Vancouver, BC — Commodore Ballroom
• Aug. 26–27 — Atlanta, GA — Hard Rock Cafe
• Aug. 30–31 — Houston, TX — Heinke and Pilot
• Sept. 3–4 — Notre Dame, IN — The Bend Lounge
• Sept. 7–8 — St. Louis, MO — Ballpark Village
• Sept. 11–12 — Montreal, QC — Foufounes Electriques
• Sept. 15–16 — Toronto, ON — The Steam Whistle
• Sept. 19–20 — Winnipeg, MB — The Pyramid
• Sept. 24–25 — New York, NY — Hard Rock Cafe
• Sept. 28–29 — Philadelphia, PA — Hard Rock Cafe

The AC/DC PWR/UP Pop Up is overseen by Perryscope Productions, the band’s longtime merchandising partner. Full location details, hours, menus, giveaway schedules and PWR/UP Fan Preview registration are available at pwruptour.acdc.com. The “Power Up” world tour takes its name from AC/DC’s 2020 studio album, which debuted at No. 1 in 21 countries. The tour launched with the band’s long-awaited return to the stage at the Power Trip festival in California in 2023 and has since sold out dozens of stadiums across four continents. The 2026 North American run marks the final leg of the tour.

The post AC/DC Launching “PWR/UP” Pop-Up Fan Experience in Every North American Tour City appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Hear a Rosalía tour highlight, forgotten new-wave from the 1970s and more.

The October shows will also see support from Cyborg Octopus

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Finnish symphonic metal band AMBERIAN DAWN push into their new era with an invocation to the “Moon”. The fourth single off of their upcoming album, Temptation’s Gates, shows yet another facet of their fresh sound, turning up the speed to blast beat intensity. Still, “Moon”, which features prominent keyboard and guitar solos, remains magical up until its unexpected end. The […]

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Twisted Sister has added three new fall 2026 dates featuring ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach on lead vocals, bringing the total number of announced shows to nine. The new additions are Oct. 18 at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary, Indiana; Nov. 14 at The Event Center at Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, West Virginia; and Dec. 11 at Ferg’s Pavilion in St. Petersburg, Florida. Tickets go on sale to the general public June 26; presales begin June 24 at 10 a.m. local time with the code “TWISTED2026.”

Bach addressed his love for Twisted Sister in a March 2026 interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF, describing himself as one of the band’s most devoted S.M.F.s (translated via Blabbermouth): “I am a fan of Twisted Sister. And I’ll tell you right now, I’m probably a bigger fan of Twisted Sister than anybody watching this. I love that band. I love the album ‘You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll’ with songs like ‘The Kids Are Back’, ‘Ride to Live, Live to Ride.’ I love ‘Shoot ‘Em Down’, ‘Destroyer’, ‘Tear It Loose’. When they were a club band, they would come out there like a punk rock band or a total thrash metal band. I mean, if you listen to their version of ‘It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)’ by the Rolling Stones, it’s like a speed metal tempo. Well, that’s the kind of energy that I’m gonna bring.”

Bach was emphatic that his commitment to his own catalog won’t change: “I’ll never stop singing ‘18 and Life’, ‘I Remember You’, ‘Youth Gone Wild’, ‘Monkey Business’, ‘Slave to the Grind’ — I’ll never stop doing that. So I’m not stopping my solo band. I’m continuing my solo band, but I’m doing shows with Twisted Sister that are bigger than my solo band. So it’s a step up for me. I’ll have a nicer dressing room and stuff. You cannot even challenge me on whether I love the music. I really do love the music. You can’t fake love — and I love Twisted Sister.”

On the March 3, 2026 edition of SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Bach described the emotional phone call he had with Dee Snider before agreeing to take the role. Snider, who stepped down from Twisted Sister’s 2026 shows due to arthritis and bone-on-bone knee deterioration — his doctor telling him the jumping and movement required on stage was no longer medically advisable — personally blessed his replacement. “I called him and he goes, ‘S.M.F. Number Two.’ He’s always called me that,” Bach said. “And I go, ‘Well, I guess I really am S.M.F. Number Two.’ And then I asked him, what did the doctor say? He says that he has arthritis, that his knees are going out, he has bone on bone. The doctor said that he should not be jumping around. And he goes, ‘Well, that’s not an option’ — because he wants to do the full show moving around, and the doctor said, ‘You can’t do it.’ So he said, ‘You have my full blessing.’ He goes, ‘I love you.’ I told him I loved him, and we were both kind of getting teary eyed.” Bach said Snider may even join the band onstage for select dates: “I asked him, ‘Hey, you wanna come out and jam with us?’ He goes, ‘Yeah.’”

Twisted Sister co-founder Jay Jay French — also speaking on Trunk Nation — put Bach’s role in historical perspective: “In the 53-year history of the band, we’ve had 20 people who’ve been in and out of Twisted Sister. They said Steve Perry could never be replaced in Journey. And he was. That Freddie Mercury could never be replaced [in Queen]. And he was. And guess what? Baz is gonna be an unbelievable replacement.” French confirmed the full lineup: Bach on vocals alongside French and guitarist Eddie Ojeda, Russell Pzütto on bass (a longtime member of Snider’s solo touring band, filling in for Mark “The Animal” Mendoza), and Joey Cassata — who played drums on Ace Frehley’s final original solo album, 10,000 Volts — on drums, replacing Joe Franco, who is unavailable for the fall dates.

The full run of announced 2026 dates:

• Sept. 4 — Palmer, AK — Borealis Theatre
• Sept. 6 — Salem, OR — The Pavilion at the Oregon State Fairgrounds
• Sept. 12 — Durant, OK — Choctaw Grand Theater
• Sept. 27 — Puyallup, WA — Washington State Fair
• Oct. 8 — Niagara Falls, ON — OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
• Oct. 10 — Windsor, ON — The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
• Oct. 18 — Gary, IN — Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
• Nov. 14 — Charles Town, WV — The Event Center at Hollywood Casino
• Dec. 11 — St. Petersburg, FL — Ferg’s Pavilion

The post TWISTED SISTER Add Additional Dates To Their 2026 Tour Run With SEBASTIAN BACH appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Former Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin has addressed the debate over whether ex-Dream Theater stickman Mike Mangini is “overqualified” for his new role in Godsmack, coming out firmly in defense of the band’s decision. Mangini joined Godsmack in early June following the abrupt departure of Wade Murff, who left to fill in for Black Veil Brides on their European tour; Mangini made his live debut with the band on June 12 in Riverside, Missouri.

Larkin said during a June 19 livestream on his official YouTube channel (transcribed by Blabbermouth): “The talent level of Mike Mangini being supremely high in the drum world does not mean that Mike Mangini can’t come in and slam a drum like me or John Bonham or whoever plays a simpler style of music. And for what it’s worth, these people that feel this way, prog rock nation or whatever, they probably only heard the songs that everyone hears from Godsmack, and they don’t listen to the rest of the records where we’re not progressive, but we play more intricate metal riffs and songs, like ‘Locked & Loaded’, like ‘Livin’ In Sin’. I mean, I could name songs that aren’t just ‘Keep Away’ and ‘Voodoo’ and ‘Speak’ and ‘Cryin’ Like a Bitch’ or whatever.”

Larkin pushed back on the common fan comparisons — invoking Rod Morgenstein’s tenure with Winger and Terry Bozzio’s time with Missing Persons as precedents for technically elite drummers taking high-profile gigs in simpler-sounding rock bands — and argued that technical ability alone doesn’t determine a drummer’s suitability. “My point is: it’s about feel and vibe,” he said. “You gotta have the talent to get the audition and get in there, but then, for whatever reason, Wade Murff, it didn’t work.” Larkin said he watched video from Murff’s shows and that the tempo push-and-pull between Murff and frontman Sully Erna wasn’t as seamless as the decades of chemistry Erna and Larkin had built. “My boy, my friend Sully Erna is a perfectionist, especially when it comes to drums because he’s so good as a drummer. That dude’s my level.” Larkin also noted that Godsmack performs with no click tracks or backing tracks — making feel and tempo intuition between drummer and frontman especially critical.

On the broader question of critics calling Mangini overqualified, Larkin tied it to a point about humility: “With accomplishment on your instrument also comes these scores of hours, weekly or daily, of practice. And so once you get to the level of a Mike Mangini, you gain humbleness. It just happens with greatness.” He predicted Mangini’s tenure will stick: “It looks like Mike has joined the band. Is that forever? Probably. And I know if anybody can do it, Mike Mangini can do it. He has the beast in him, too, to be a big rock drummer and not have to do a zillion notes or something. So don’t underestimate big Mike. And he’s got a Boston accent, fits in with the guys. He’s an interesting drummer to watch, that’s for sure. He’s quirky. He does some cool, quirky, crazy stuff back there. So he’s a showman.”

Godsmack is currently on tour in North America with support from Stone Temple Pilots and Dorothy. Larkin retired from Godsmack approximately a year and a half ago following the tour in support of the band’s Lighting Up the Sky album. He was joined in that departure by guitarist Tony Rombola; Erna stated both had left “on good terms” to pursue a quieter life away from touring. Larkin had been Godsmack’s drummer since 2002, previously having played with Wrathchild America and Ugly Kid Joe. Godsmack’s live album Live at Mohegan Sun (May 1, 2026, Primary Wave), recorded Oct. 26, 2024 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, documents the final performance of the classic Godsmack lineup of Erna, Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill and Larkin.

The post Ex-GODSMACK Drummer SHANNON LARKIN Defends MIKE MANGINI Hiring: “The Talent Level Of MANGINI Being Supremely High Does Not Mean He Can’t Come In and Slam a Drum” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Last month, Yard Act ushered in a new era with the announcement of You’re Gonna Need A Little Music, whose lead single “Redeemer” operated as an ominous, existential jam that bleakly stated: “No one is happy with this arrangement.” Now, they’re pivoting to positivity. Yay! Today’s single “New Beginnings” is good, old-fashioned fun.

The post Yard Act – “New Beginnings” appeared first on Stereogum.

Dari Bay’s awesome new album Surprise Wish arrives this Friday. How do I know it’s awesome? Because all of the singles so far — “The Joke,” “We’re Gonna Be Okay,” and “Chevy” — are bangers. Now, we get a final preview with “On Your Side.”

The post Dari Bay – “On Your Side” appeared first on Stereogum.

They’ll be bringing their 20 Years of Brutality celebration to Latin America with eight newly announced tour dates this fall

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A few weeks ago, we got an album announcement from Evil Island a new band that features Blood Brothers members Johnny Whitney, Cody Votolato, and Mark Gajadhar. Whitney felt inspired to get the band going after the recent Blood Brothers reunion tour, and the group also features former OFF/…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead bassist Autry Fulbright and ex-Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock.

The post Evil Island – “Melted Heart” (Feat. Sleigh Bells’ Alexis Krauss) appeared first on Stereogum.