Drive-By Truckers co-founder Patterson Hood has shared the second song, “The Pool House,” from his landmark new solo album, Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams, arriving via ATO Records on Friday, February 21, 2025. Pre-orders are available now.

LISTEN TO “THE POOL HOUSE”

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday earlier this week, renowned pianist and cultural visionary Lara Downes has released a live recording of "I Believe in the Prince of Peace, Credo No. 5" on the Rising Sun label. This powerful work, which is the fifth movement of Margaret Bonds’ monumental Credo, is inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois’ 1904 prose poem, and it resonates, in this present moment of intense global conflict,  as a profound call for peace, unity, and hope.

Today, South African cellist, composer, improviser, and vocalist Abel Selaocoe (pronounced Se-lau-chwe) unveils a new preview of his forthcoming album Hymns of Bantu (February 21 / Warner Classics). "L.B Files: Igiul” is Selaocoe’s interpretation of the Sicilian cellist Giovanni Sollima’s own cello concerto, L.B. Files. Selaocoe greatly admires Sollima’s open-ended exploration of the instrument, and as such, his recording shines a spotlight on the cello.

LOLLAPALOOZA: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock’s Wildest Festival (St. Martin’s Press; March 25, 2025) sees New York Times bestselling authors Richard Bienstock and Tom Beaujour (Nothin’ But A Good Time) telling the no-holds-barred history of the iconic music festival.

Passim has announced the inaugural recipients of the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Fund. The new artist grant fund, established by Brian O’Donovan’s family, honors the longtime host of GBH’s radio show A Celtic Sojourn for his significant contributions to Passim and the New England Celtic Music community. Each of the six recipients will receive a $2,500 grant to support upcoming tours in New England. Grant recipients include Rakish, Eight Feet Tall, Reverie Road, San Miguel Fraser, Brenda Castles, and Kavaz.

Now, gather 'round, friends of Grateful Web, and let me spin you a sweet little tale ‘bout a woman whose voice rang out like a midnight train thundering through a sleepy Texas town. We’re talkin’ Janis Joplin, born on this very day back in 1943, down in Port Arthur, Texas. She was a soul on fire—like a blazing meteor streaking through the music sky—only the heavens never quite got over the brightness she brought.