NBC’s The Americas is a new nature docuseries narrated by Tom Hanks and scored by Hans Zimmer. The first episode premiered on Sunday (Feb. 23), and it also included a new song by Brandi Carlile called “Wandering.”

In November, Kim Deal unveiled her debut solo album Nobody Loves You More and told us about its influences. The former Pixies member and current Breeders leader kicked off her tour on Thursday (Feb. 20) in Dayton, OH, her hometown, and the show included first-ever performances of old solo singles and tracks from the new record.

Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy are currently on the road performing R.E.M.’s 1985 album Fables Of The Reconstruction in its entirety, about a year after they wrapped up a tour covering the band’s Murmur. On that first tour, during Shannon and Narducy’s show in R.E.M.’s Athens, Georgia hometown, they somehow got all four members of R.E.M. onstage with them, resulting in their first reunion in 17 years. Shannon and Narducy played in Portland, Oregon on Saturday night, and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and their touring guitarist Scott McCaughey once again hopped on stage with them.

“Next long-player/ Ooh, it’s coming out soon/ I’ll be honest/ I’m under the moon/ We’re only doing this ’cause it’s fun/ Don’t even think my mom bought the last one.” That’s a hilariously honest way to open your new single if you’re Justin Hawkins preparing to release a new Darkness album in 2025. More than two decades beyond “I Believe In A Thing Called Love,” the winkingly ironic yet also dead serious hair-metal pastiche masters will drop Dreams On Toast next month, and today’s new single “Walking Through Fire” is a gem. It’s not just cleverly self-effacing — it’s also mighty catchy.

Back in 2009, Franz Ferdinand covered Britney Spears’ chart-topping hit “Womanizer” for BBC Radio 1. Sixteen years later, the Scottish rockers have another spears cover on deck for a different BBC station. In Radio 2’s piano room, Alex Kapranos and the band joined forces with a symphony orchestra for a very fun version of the immortal “Toxic.”

Just a few days ago, Fontaines D.C. shared the single “It’s Amazing To Be Young,” a sweet power pop song inspired by the birth of guitarist Carlos O’Connell’s child. The Dublin band are currently on tour in Asia supporting Romance, one of the Best Albums Of 2024; at their Tokyo gig tonight, they played “It’s Amazing To Be Young” live for the first time. It sounds nice, and you can check out some fan-captured videos from the pit below.

Bill Fay, the British cult folk singer-songwriter, died Feb. 22. He was 81. Dead Oceans, the label with whom he recorded his last three studio albums, confirmed his death in a statement on social media Saturday.

The Streets are back with a new song. Mike Skinner released a remixed version of Fabric Presents The Streets last year, and on Thursday (Feb. 20) he unveiled his first music of 2025: “How To Win At Rock Paper Scissors.”

On Wednesday (Feb. 19), the Go-Go Museum opened in Washington, DC on the 5-year anniversary of Mayor Muriel Bowser signing a law naming go-go the official music of the city. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place in November but the museum had only been available for private and group tours, and now it is open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Last Year, Rihanna performed her first full concert since 2016 at an Indian billionaire heir’s wedding. The pop star has been celebrating her birthday and A$AP Rocky’s not guilty verdict this week, and now there are rumors that she’ll be headlining Glastonbury and doing a London residency.