John Lodge, the celebrated bassist and vocalist of the iconic British rock band The Moody Blues, has died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 82. His family announced on October 10 that he peacefully slipped away surrounded by loved ones and the sounds of The Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly. No cause of death has been reported. Lodge's passing marks the end of a remarkable six-decade career that helped shape the sound of progressive and orchestral rock.

Back in 1974, Genesis was cookin’ up something weird, wild, and wonderful—The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. But with Peter Gabriel writing an entire surreal story about a New York street kid named Rael, tensions were high, especially between him and Tony Banks. Add a stressful pregnancy at home and a side flirtation with a Hollywood director, and Gabriel was basically one foot out the door. Fast forward 50 years, and surprise: the big, fancy anniversary box set got delayed—but not from band drama this time (maybe), just some technical hiccups. All good now, and both Gabriel and Banks are credited as “supervisors” on the new Dolby Atmos and hi-res audio mixes. What could possibly go wrong this time, right?

Iconic stages don’t come much more legendary than Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium—the “Mother Church of Country Music.” But London’s Royal Albert Hall isn’t far behind. With a capacity of 5,272, the Albert Hall is more than twice the size of the Ryman, and British country fans filled every seat on Friday night as the Grand Ole Opry made its international debut, 100 years into its existence. The broadcast-taped Oct. 4 BBC2 special featured Opry members Marty Stuart, Luke Combs, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, and Darius Rucker, joined by UK guests Breabach and Mumford & Sons.

Paul McCartney opened his 2025 North American tour with a last‑minute warmup gig at the Santa Barbara Bowl in California on Friday night. He kicked things off by performing the Beatles classic “Help!” in full for the first time since 1965.

Whiskey Myers, the six‑piece Texas band, keeps climbing with their seventh album, Whomp Whack Thunder. Recorded in Nashville with Grammy‑winning producer Jay Joyce, the record delivers a high‑voltage blend of blues‑rock and gospel‑tinged country soul, rooted in the band's distinct Southern spirit. Joyce pushes them out of their comfort zone, yielding songs that feel both raw and personal—songs like Time Bomb, Tailspin, and Midnight Woman, the latter pushing into bigger rock territory while still carrying their signature groove. The lineup—Cody Cannon on vocals, John Jeffers and Cody Tate on guitars, Jamey Gleaves on bass, Jeff Hogg on drums, and Tony Kent on percussion—drives every track with a mix of gritty blues, swaggering rock, and soulful strains. True to their indie stance, Whiskey Myers isn’t chasing trends; they’re delivering a record that sounds like a Whiskey Myers record—perhaps their boldest and most fearless album yet.

Robert Plant’s Saving Grace isn’t a single album so much as a long-gestating roots revival. Born during the pandemic and developed over six years with a tight group of collaborators, the project blends blues, folk, gospel, and country into a fresh set of ten reimagined songs—plus a hypnotic take on Gospel Plough. Plant and the band produced the record themselves, recording from 2019 through early 2025 in the English countryside, with voices ranging from Memphis Minnie to Low. He describes Saving Grace as “a song book for the lost and found,” proof that roots music can be living, breathing, and continually renewed.