Fantastic Negrito Shares Powerful New Live Single “How Long?” Ahead of Upcoming Album Fantastic Negrito Alive!

Release on July 17 , 2026
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Three-time GRAMMY® Award winner Fantastic Negrito has unveiled his powerful new live single, How Long?, taken from the forthcoming live album Fantastic Negrito Alive!

Blending explosive musicianship with deeply personal storytelling, How Long? is an emotionally charged reflection on the violence, division, and inequality that continue to shape contemporary society. Inspired by recurring incidents of police brutality, war, gun violence, greed, and systemic injustice, the song poses a simple but urgent question: how long can these cycles continue?

“I wrote ‘How Long?’ out of frustration and heartbreak over the cycles we keep repeating as human beings,” Negrito explains. “Watching another police shooting, seeing violence in Oakland, hearing about the murder rates in Chicago over and over again, I kept asking myself the same question: how long are we going to keep doing this to each other? At the same time, I also started wondering about my own accountability and what my part was in helping point the world in a different direction.”

Driven by the raw intensity and emotional honesty that have made Fantastic Negrito one of the most compelling live performers of his generation, the track offers a glimpse into the spirit of Fantastic Negrito Alive!. The album celebrates the unique power of live music and human connection in an era increasingly shaped by algorithms and digital mediation.

A fusion of blues, soul, funk, rock, roots music, stomping rhythms, and infectious grooves, Fantastic Negrito’s live performances have earned a reputation for breaking down the barriers between artist and audience. Often described as “church without the religion,” his shows invite participation rather than passive observation, creating communal experiences built on vulnerability, spontaneity, and fearless musical expression.

Throughout Fantastic Negrito Alive!, familiar songs are transformed by the energy of a live audience, highlighting the unpredictable magic that emerges when musicians and listeners share the same space. The album presents live performance as one of the last truly collective art forms—completely human, unfiltered, and shaped in real time.

This summer, Fantastic Negrito will bring that energy to audiences across the globe with an extensive tour schedule spanning the United States, Europe, and beyond.

Since winning the inaugural NPR Tiny Desk Contest, Fantastic Negrito has established himself as one of the most original voices in contemporary roots music. His genre-defying sound seamlessly blends blues, rock, soul, funk, and Americana influences, earning him widespread critical acclaim and three GRAMMY Awards.

His dynamic live performances have captivated audiences at major festivals including Glastonbury Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza, and WOMAD. Collaborations with artists such as Sting, E-40, and Tank and the Bangas further demonstrate the breadth of his musical vision.
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With Fantastic Negrito Alive!, the acclaimed artist captures the essence of what has made his live shows so celebrated: authenticity, connection, and the transformative power of music shared in the moment.
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Blues veteran Seasick Steve is set to release his new album, The Last Season of America, on September 19 via his newly launched label, Eastcote Recordings. The album will be available on LP, CD, and digital formats. Ahead of the release, Steve has unveiled the album’s title track as the first single, accompanied by a new video.

The inspiration behind the album came during a cross-country journey Steve and his wife Elisabeth made through the United States in 2024. Travelling from Miami to Los Angeles, the couple encountered a nation grappling with homelessness, poverty, and growing political division in the lead-up to the presidential election.

“We drove across the country from Miami to LA,” Steve recalls. “We thought we was gonna have an amazing time, but we were mostly sad so much homelessness and division.”
A pivotal moment came during a stop in New Orleans, where a local bandleader welcomed two Belgian musicians to the stage with the words: “Welcome to the last season of America.” The phrase stayed with Steve for the remainder of the trip and ultimately inspired the album’s title track. The resulting record is a deeply personal reflection on the state of America and serves as a heartfelt protest album.

The album follows the release of the single Bad Things, a song aimed at what Steve describes as a corrupt and divisive political figure. “We got a criminal running this place. He got lies written all over his face,” he sings.

“I guess it ain’t too hard to guess, right?” Steve says of the song’s subject. Yet despite his criticism, the veteran bluesman remains hopeful. “There are bad things, but we still can change. If you believe in hope, we can rearrange. I still believe in the power of love.”

The Last Season of America was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Martin Terefe at Eastcote Studios in London. Joining Steve and longtime drummer Dan Magnusson in the studio was guitarist Dave Okumu (The Invisible), while Terefe contributed bass guitar.

Before the album’s release, Seasick Steve will appear at several UK festivals, including a headline performance at Country On The Common Festival in Tooting on July 4 and an appearance at Folk By The Oak Festival in Hatfield on July 19.
The year 2026 also marks two decades since Seasick Steve first captured the public’s imagination. On New Year’s Eve 2006, an unknown American singer-songwriter already a grandfather at the time made his television debut on Jools Holland’s BBC Hootenanny, armed with a battered three-string guitar and a homemade stomp box.

His musical roots stretch back to the 1950s, when he grew up listening to his father’s collection of records featuring artists such as The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Jelly Roll Morton, and Louis Armstrong. Country music legends including Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, and Patsy Cline also left a lasting impression, followed by the sounds of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, doo-wop, and Motown.

However, it was the blues that truly changed his life. During the mid-1960s, Steve witnessed performances by icons such as Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Reverend Gary Davis, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Later, he experienced the electrifying performances of Otis Redding, James Brown, Bo Diddley, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, The Doors, Janis Joplin, and Sly & The Family Stone.

Those influences continue to shape Seasick Steve’s music today, and with The Last Season of America, he delivers one of his most personal and socially conscious statements to date.
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The Last Season Of America Tracklist:
1. The Last Season of America
2. Bad Things
3. Above Ground Boogie
4. Bootstraps
5. El Camino
6. Surf’s Flat
7. Free Man
8. Somebody
9. Matilda From Ottawa
10. Feel The Sun

Website:
seasicksteve.com

Belgian Blues Challenge 2026: dit zijn de 8 finalisten.
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Uit de vele inzendingen heeft het comité van de Belgian Blues Federation acht finalisten gekozen, die het op 17 oktober tegen elkaar zullen opnemen tijdens de live-finale van de Belgian Blues Challenge in Menen. Hieronder vindt u de finalisten in de volgorde waarin ze zullen optreden. Deze volgorde werd door loting bepaald.
 

• Mad Matty
• The Blowfield Kings
• Tom Beardslee & The Stevies
• The Dogs Atomic Acoustic Blues
• Little Chris
• Black Label
• HoodooMan
• Madcat's Roughriders

 
De winnaars mogen België vertegenwoordigen op de European Blues Challenge 2027 en de International Blues Challenge 2028. De finale van de Belgian Blues Challenge vindt plaats in CC De Steiger in Menen. Klik hier voor info & tickets.

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​Born in South Dakota and driven by a lifelong sense of wanderlust, Johnny Delaware spent his twenties chasing music across the American landscape. From Nashville to Albuquerque to Austin, he followed the road wherever it led before eventually settling in Charleston, South Carolina, where he recorded his debut album, Secret Wave, in 2013.

The album earned widespread acclaim and established Delaware as one of the region’s most promising songwriters, culminating in a Songwriter of the Year honor from the Charleston City Paper. But before he could begin work on a follow-up, another project he helped launch Susto began to gain momentum. Over the next decade, the band grew into one of indie roots music’s most celebrated acts, earning praise from Rolling Stone and Spin while touring alongside artists such as The Lumineers, Band of Horses, and The Head and the Heart.

Delaware returned to his solo career in 2022 with Energy of Light, recorded after relocating to Mexico City. He followed it with Para Llevar in 2024, a collection that Glide Magazine praised as “a swirl of indie rock, Americana and psychedelic folk,” further showcasing his gift for blending genres and storytelling.

With his latest album, On God’s Time, Delaware turns inward while reconnecting with the sounds and spirit of his South Dakota upbringing. Produced by Delaware, the record is a lush, cinematic exploration of mortality, meaning, and the mysteries that bind us together. Through vivid characters and deeply human narratives, On God’s Time reflects on love, loss, gratitude, and regret, embracing the inevitability of death as a way to more fully appreciate the wonder of being alive. The result is a profound and expansive work from an artist still searching, still wandering, and still finding beauty in the unknown.
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Tracks:
01. Sue Lee of Big Sky
02. Heaven’s Town
03. Less Fear, More Soul
04. Crystal Ball
05. Mystery Man
06. Entertaining the Fantasy
07. Apache Legend of the Reptilians on Superstition Mountain
08. Regret Town
09. New Orleans
10. Big Pants

Website:
johnnydelaware.com


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​Pan-Pot . DJ Licious . Henri PFR . Bibi Seck . séa . Kenny Montana b2b Thang . Pyo . Osayuki . Captain Bass . Primate . Skumic . Unregular . Flavour Drop . Kompass Traxx . Azra Tekuma b2b Maharti . Soya b2b Swarobski . Jane Muss . Phemia . The Glimmers . Eppo Janssen . Stijn Van de Voorde & Thibault Christiaensen . Hindu Radio DJ’s . Ilse Liebens . Floris Daelemans . Catwar . Olsan Twins . Club JP . Finn

 
De affiche is compleet én het uurschema staat online!
Ondermeer PAN-POT, BIBI SECK, DJ LICIOUS en HENRI PFR vervolledigen de line-up :
 
31/7:     Bibi Seck . séa . Kenny Montana b2b Thang . Club JP
01/8:     Skumic . Primate . Captain Bass . Unregular . Flavour Drop . Finn (Winnaar Lawijtstrijd) . Olsan Twins
02/8:     The Glimmers
03/8:     Eppo Janssen
04/8:     Osayuki . Floris Daelemans
05/8:     Hindu Radio DJ’s
06/8:     Catwar
07/8:     Pyo . Phemia . Stijn Van de Voorde + Thibault Christiaensen
08/8:     Ilse Liebens
09/8:     Pan-Pot . DJ Licious . Henri PFR . Kompass Traxx . Soya b2b Swarobski . Azra Tekuma b2b Maharti . Jane Muss
 

De met een GRAMMY® bekroonde zanger, songwriter, gitaarlegende, producer en frontman van Gov’t Mule, Warren Haynes, biedt opnieuw een voorproefje van zijn aankomende symfonische album Dreams & Songs met de release van “Shakedown Street (Live)”, zijn opvallende orkestrale interpretatie van de klassieker van Grateful Dead.

​“Shakedown Street” volgt na de release van de liveversie van de Mule-hit “Banks of the Deep End” vorige maand. KLIK HIER om de officiële video van “Banks of the Deep End” te bekijken. De officiële releasedatum en pre-orderinformatie voor Dreams & Songs volgen binnenkort.

In aanloop daarnaartoe heeft Haynes de volledige tracklist van Dreams & Songs onthuld. De 16 nummers tellende collectie verkent alle facetten van zijn indrukwekkende catalogus en carrière, met muziek van Gov’t Mule, Allman Brothers Band, The Dead, zijn soloplaten en meer. Dreams & Songs werd in 2019 opgenomen in het Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in zijn geboortestad Asheville (North Carolina), waar hij zijn unieke symfonische show Dreams & Songs voor het eerst uitvoerde samen met het 64-koppige Asheville Symphony Orchestra en een band met ervaren rock-improvisatoren, waaronder Oteil Burbridge op bas, John Medeski op orgel en keys, Jeff Sipe op drums en Greg Osby op saxofoon, evenals Edwin McCain en Jasmine Muhammad op achtergrondvocalen.

“‘Shakedown Street’ is een zeer krachtige, georkestreerde arrangement dat de kracht van het origineel versterkt,” vertelt Haynes. “Ik heb dit nummer door de jaren heen vaak gespeeld en gezongen met die jongens, vooral met Phil Lesh en Friends, maar ook met The Dead zelf. Het is een heel dansbaar nummer. Veel mensen focussen op de groove en verliezen zich in het ritmische karakter. Het orkest dwingt je om er op een andere manier naar te luisteren. Het is donker en krachtig en, denk ik, erg effectief. Dit nummer gaat terug naar de Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration, mijn eerste ervaring met een orkest. Dat was het begin van deze hele reis voor mij, en die is eigenlijk nog steeds gaande.”
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De komende die tijd is Warren Haynes vop tournee met zijn band Gov’t Mule. De Grammy-genomineerde groep tourt deze zomer met hun headline Kicking In Your Stall Tour, evenals een co-headline tour met bluesrockveteraan Joe Bonamassa. Daarna volgt de net aangekondigde Dreaming The Same Dream Tour met Ziggy Marley in het najaar. De 16 shows tellende tour bevat ook een gast-DJ set van YOLA, start op 23 september in New York City en eindigt op 17 oktober in Dallas. 

Dreams & Songs Track Listing:

Dreams and Songs (Part One)
Dreams
Banks of the Deep End
Spots of Time
Broken Promised Land
Thorazine Shuffle
Makes No Difference
Terrapin Station
Raven Black Night
Just Another Rider
Black Peter
Instrumental Illness
One
Shakedown Street
Whipping Post
Dreams and Songs (Reprise)

FOLLOW WARREN HAYNES:
www.warrenhaynes.net
Facebook | Instagram | X/Twitter | TikTok
YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

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The Glass Hours are American songwriters Megan Barbera and Brad Armstrong. The indie country duo, originally from Colorado and Alabama, met in New York’s Hudson Valley in Summer 2022 and has released two albums to date on Cornelius Chapel Records. The fierce chemistry between them at their live performances has enchanted audiences and critics throughout the US and Europe and drawn comparisons with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch/David Rawlings.

Their latest album,Chapel Glass, was recorded live in five days at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi. It was co-produced, engineered and mixed by Clay Jones(Al Green, Modest Mouse) and includes Matt Patton (Drive-By Truckers) on bass, and Jason Lucia on drums. Chapel Glass was released in the US on Cornelius Chapel Records in early 2026 and will release in the UK and Europe in June 2026.

The album was recorded with Megan and Brad sitting in chairs facing one another and performing the album front to back with the rhythm section playing live in another room. Making the record in this way brought an honesty to the recordings that lifted them above what can be done with tracking, and underlined what was important about it: Megan and Brad,singing with one another, and through one another. Performance imperfections seem to point at the obvious truth of this time we are living in - that music, and indeed art, is becoming something less to be crafted into a perfect object and more something to be experienced in the moment, fleeting and fragile.

Since 2024, The Glass Hours have done four national US tours, toured in Ireland supporting the band Dug, and signed with LDM Bookings for a Netherlands tour. They recently signed with BPA Live and will do their first UK tour in 2027. Their songs have been featured by Americana UK, The Bluegrass Situation and Americana Highways. The duo was also invited to play NYC’s Underwater Sunshine Festival, an annual music showcase curated by Adam Duritz, lead singer for Counting Crows.

​Prior to the Glass Hours, Megan and Brad have written, performed and recorded for various independent projects. Their past solo work has been recognized and reviewed by Pitchfork, San Francisco Bay Guardian,Paste,No Depression, Vice Magazine,International Songwriting Competition, John Lennon Songwriting Contest,among others. Megan’s songs have been licensed worldwide to brands such as Naturalizer Shoes and San Miguel Beverage Co.Brad was a member of Alabama’s Dexateens,13ghosts and Maria Taylor’s touring band and has supported Jason Isbell, Alabama Shakes, Drive-By Truckers, John Moreland, Meat Puppets, Magnolia Electric Company and Azure Ray
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TRACKLISTING
1. Adaline (3:05)
2. Man Who Had Everything (3:51)
3. North (3:19)
4. Not Your Ordinary Heart (4:35)
5. Colorado (3:26)
6. In the Morning (3:35)
7. Providence (3:44)
8. In the Pines (3:14)
9. You Set the Sun (3:13)
10. Chapel Glass (2:53)

All songs written by
Brad Armstrong & Megan Barbera

Vocals: Megan Barbera & Brad Armstrong
Acoustic Guitars: Brad Armstrong & Megan Barbera
Electric Guitars: Brad Armstrong
Banjo on ‘In the Pines’ and ‘You Set the Sun’:
Brad Armstrong
Bass: Matt Patton
Drums: Jason Lucia
Keys on ‘Not Your Ordinary Heart’: Baxter Arender

​Recorded at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, MS
Engineered and Mixed by Clay Jones
Mastered by Doug Van Sloan
@ Focus Mastering in Omaha, NE
Co-Produced by The Glass Hours & Clay Jone

Website:
theglasshours.com

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​Multiple Blues Music Award winner and Billboard No. 1 artist Albert Castiglia isn’t pulling any punches on Grits & Glory, his latest solo studio album on Gulf Coast Records, recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
 
The record feels like a full-circle moment, reconnecting Albert with the wide-eyed, guitar-slinging kid from Miami whose world was flipped from black and white to technicolour by an 8-track of Rubber Soul on the way to a ball game. That spark of curiosity sent him chasing sounds and players from across the pond, Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, whose influence has echoed through Castiglia’s playing ever since. This record is the definition of an American bluesman taking it to London.
 
“Coming up playing in Chicago and down the East Coast defined my playing style and my take on the blues. But at the same time, I love the back and forth within the blues from America to the UK and back again, both places have had their own impact.”
 
The idea ignited during a 2023 European tour, when Albert and Gulf Coast Records’ Olly Overton began talking about bringing Albert to Britain to record.
 
Much thought went into the concepts surrounding the album. Lyrically, the record is both reflective of the journey so far and where Albert currently finds himself. “There is a lot of noise in America right now,” says Castiglia. “I wanted to step out of all that, give myself room for contemplation. Cutting this record in England allowed me to do that.”
 
Castiglia was all in, on one condition: he would record with his road band, Cliff Moore on bass and Ray Hangen on drums. It marks their first recording under this line-up of the ACB. The final piece fell into place with producer Dave Gross, a long-time friend with deep Abbey Road knowledge and a trusted history with Albert, having previously produced Solid Ground. With the team assembled, the vision was locked.
 
Once the label gave the green light, there was only one possible home for the sessions: Abbey Road. Ahead of recording, Albert immersed himself in British culture, stopping in Birmingham to walk the streets that shaped Black Sabbath and Tony Iommi, heroes who left a lasting mark on his musical soul. With the passing of Ozzy Osbourne, the visit carried added weight and reflection.
 
Then it was on to London, where the red light glowed and Grits & Glory took shape, 100% unfiltered Albert Castiglia, steeped in British-flavoured blues. The result is fierce, soulful, and alive, an album that crackles with history, heart, and the kind of grit that demands to be heard loud and lived with.
 

Album Tracklist
1. In My America
2. I’m Afraid to Fall Asleep
3. Uncertainty
4. Michigan Avenue
5. Sack The Juggler
6. Slumlord Billionaire
7. The Milk Is Still Good
8. Don’t Burn Down The Bridge
9. When The Coin Came Callin’
10. Afro Blue
11. Yer Blues

​Website:
albertcastiglia.net
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​Austin’s own Ruthie Foster is entering a powerful new era. The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter has announced her upcoming studio album, Just Say Yes, arriving August 28 via Sun Records. The 10-track collection finds Foster at her most fearless and reflective, delivering a soul-stirring blend of blues, roots, and soul while exploring themes of joy, resilience, connection, and personal transformation.

Alongside the album announcement, Foster has unveiled the uplifting lead single, “Thank You.” Fueled by soaring gospel harmonies, blues grit, and rock-infused riffs, the track serves as a deeply personal reflection on imposter syndrome and the challenges she has faced throughout her career. Despite earning widespread acclaim, including a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album and multiple nominations. Foster has often found herself questioned about her place within the blues world.

“There’s a front door, but there’s also a window and back door. There’s ways to get in,” Foster says. “I never put any kind of constraints on myself. I’m showing up with all of this.”

Just Say Yes arrives at a particularly meaningful moment in Foster’s career. In 2024, the celebrated artist earned her first Grammy Award for Mileage, a milestone that capped more than three decades of perseverance, reinvention, and artistic growth. Foster’s journey has included an early major-label deal following her service in the U.S. Navy, stepping away from music in the early 1990s to care for her ailing mother, and ultimately rebuilding her career as an independent artist after her mother’s passing.

Produced in Nashville by Tyler Bryant and co-written with Bryant and Rebecca Lovell of Larkin Poe, the new album captures Foster embracing life’s uncertainties with openness and determination. The project’s title originated from a simple note she wrote to herself: “Just say yes.”

“I’m amazed at how I got to this place,” Foster reflects.

The album was born during another significant period of transition. After suffering a torn meniscus while rushing to catch a flight last year, Foster underwent knee surgery in December. The injury and the recovery that followed prompted a renewed perspective on life, health, and longevity.

“It’s not just about age. It’s really about the miles I’ve put on,” she says. “Every step matters.”

Determined to make the most of her downtime before surgery, Foster headed to Nashville for a week-long recording session with Bryant and Lovell, reuniting with the creative team behind Mileage. The sessions quickly evolved into a family affair, with Rebecca’s sister and fellow Larkin Poe member Megan Lovell, along with Megan’s husband Mike Seal, joining the recordings.

The result is Foster’s most personal work to date. Each song reflects a chapter of her life, chronicling both physical and emotional transitions. While navigating her injury, Foster was also facing uncertainty in a relationship that had become increasingly strained. As both her body and emotional defenses were tested, she found herself stripping away layers and reconnecting with her true self.

“Every last one of these songs are about some aspect of my life,” Foster explains.
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With Just Say Yes, Foster transforms challenge into opportunity, crafting an album that celebrates growth, self-discovery, and the courage to move forward. It’s a testament to an artist who continues to evolve while remaining deeply rooted in the authenticity that has defined her remarkable career.
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AXELLE RED vervoegt Diana Ross, Craig David presents TS5 en Dimitri From Paris op vrijdag 31 juli, voor wat nu reeds een onvergetelijke disco/soul avond belooft te worden! Ze scoorde ontelbare hits in haar meer dan dertigjarige carrière (Sensualité, Parce que c’est toi, A tâtons, Le monde tourne mal, enz.) en ontving begin dit jaar nog de prestigieuze Lifetime Achievement Award op de MIA’s. 
 
De 51e editie van Lokerse Feesten vindt plaats van vrijdag 31 juli tot en met zondag 9 augustus 2026. Eerder werd de komst aangekondigd van DIANA ROSS, LENNY KRAVITZ, EDITORS, TOM ODELL, OSCAR AND THE WOLF, THE KOOKS, SUEDE, XAVIER RUDD, ZAZ, POMMELIEN THIJS, ROXY DEKKER, DROPKICK MURPHYS, ZWANGERE GUY, THE STREETS, THE HUMAN LEAGUE en GARY NUMAN.