The show opened with Lake Street Dive and “You’re Never Around,” their first original composition since 2024. Sheryl Crow followed with “Perfect,” from Pick You Up, her thirteenth studio album, released October 9, 2026 — a short, direct record she describes as “me at my age, my comments on human beings and the desire for connection.” Then came the highlight of the opening stretch: “Parade of Loons” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, recorded in 1978 and never released until September 16, 2026. Petty had set it aside because the take was too distorted for his taste — he thought the song was “not bad,” but the sound was unusable. Collectors had known it for years, sometimes under the fake title “Afraid to Lose.” The box set Origins 1971-1978, which resurrects it, will be out November 6, 2026.

Three tracks from U2’s upcoming album Carnaval de Luz took over: “Silencio,” a short two-minute-thirty-five homage to the surf-punk of their early days, unveiled September 24, 2026; “The Greatest Show on Earth,” co-written with Brian Eno, released October 15, 2026; and “Street of Dreams,” the first single, unveiled July 7, 2026. The album, their first of new material in nine years, is expected November 13, 2026.

The rest of the first hour was devoted to new 2026 releases. Alanis Morissette took on Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” — a 1966 psychedelic classic she inhabits rather than simply covers. Chrissie Hynde offered “Dark Sunglasses,” which she herself calls a light song, “not very deep, just a guy wearing sunglasses.” Jake Bugg followed with “Never Can Tell” from his upcoming album Alamo, a rootsy rocker about the friendships that come with success and the difficulty of knowing who to trust. Josh Rouse delivered “Things Are Looking Up,” written with a Bukowski-style barfly in mind — someone who decides, midway through life, to change course — from Museums and Women, due October 23, 2026.

Johnny Marr continued with “How Come,” a song he says “arrived fully formed while playing guitar,” from The Age of Everything, released October 2, 2026. A song about comfort. Jesse Welles with “Everything Must Die,” from Masks Off, released June 12, 2026. Brandon Flowers with “Plans,” the fourth track on Thrasher, released August 21, 2026 and recorded at the legendary RCA Studio A in Nashville. Son Volt with “Don Quixote’s Dream,” and Beck with “It Ends Right Here,” his first track in seven years, recorded with Nigel Godrich. Tyler Ballgame closed the first hour with “Live It Down,” a single released July 14, 2026 — a track some critics did not hesitate to call an unabashed adaptation of Fleetwood Mac’s “Second Hand News,” and he owns it, with that sunny West Coast sound.

The second hour was devoted to 1976. Warren Zevon opened with “Mohammed’s Radio,” from his first self-titled album, released in May 1976. The track was produced by Jackson Browne. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks sing backing vocals, and Linda Ronstadt also recorded it. The song describes a restless, frustrated society: people at the end of their rope, with nowhere to go. All that remains is escape through music in a period, the seventies, when the economic climate was tense because of high fuel prices and the cost of living. Linda Ronstadt followed with “Lose Again,” written by Karla Bonoff for Hasten Down the Wind, released in August 1976, the album that won her a Grammy. Jackson Browne with “Daddy’s Tune,” from The Pretender, released in November 1976. A song about Browne’s relationship with his father and his own fatherhood. Boz Scaggs with “What Can I Say,” that silky groove from Silk Degrees, released in February 1976. George Harrison with “It’s What You Value,” from Thirty Three & 1/3, released in November 1976. Wings with “Let ’Em In,” from the album Wings at the Speed of Sound, released in March 1976, McCartney in cool mode. Heart with “Magic Man,” the Wilson sisters’ first hit, co-written by Ann and Nancy Wilson, with Ann composing it about Michael Fisher, her partner at the time who had brought her from Boston to Canada — from Dreamboat Annie, released in Canada in September 1975 and then in the US on February 14, 1976. Boston with “Peace of Mind,” from their self-titled debut, released in August 1976. And Billy Joel with “Summer, Highland Falls,” from Turnstiles, released in May 1976 — a song he considers his favorite, about bipolar disorder and the ups and downs of existence.

The show closed with a long sequence devoted to Norah Jones collaborations: “I’m In Trouble” from Love or Lack Thereof by Alessia Cara, released March 20, 2026; “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around,” from World’s Gone Wrong, Lucinda Williams’s album released January 23, 2026; “Really Real” from In the Hour of Chaos by Allison Russell, released July 10, 2026 — a duo that has become a favorite on the station; “April’s Gone” with Chris Stapleton, a Christmas song released October 9, 2026, their very first collaboration, made possible by Mickey Raphael, Willie Nelson’s harmonica player, who put them in touch. And to finish, “Come Away With Me,” recorded live at Apple Music Studios in Los Angeles on April 7, 2026.

Listen again to the show here.