Month: April 2025

One of the most fun bands around is Winona Fighter. Take “You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers,” a highlight from this year’s My Apologies To The Chef. First off, great title. Also, instead of making a music video about how life as a touring band can be monotonous, the pop-punk trio instead focused on the good stuff, like the energetic reception they get from fans every night.

“We love being able to give fans a behind the scenes look at a Winona Fighter show day with the new ‘You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers’ music video,” singer Coco Kinnon said in a statement. “I think it really shows listeners what we are all about on and off the stage. Lots of laughs pre + post show, but during the shows it’s a ball of energy and fun. Maybe it will even inspire a few skeptics to come out and experience a show themselves. It was really cool making a video that was 100 percent in our element. No directing needed, just us doing our things and our fans showing off how they know best!”

Winona Fighter also announced new “Second Course” dates for the Yes, Chef Tour, which you can see below.

Winona Fighter’s 2025 Tour Dates: The Yes, Chef Tour

05/31 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cambridge
06/01 – Buffalo, NY @ Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B #
06/03 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall #
06/04 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Zone 1
06/05 – Garwood, NJ @ Crossroads
06/07 – Crownsville, MD @ Let’s Go Fest
06/09 – Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI Indy
06/10 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill Duck Room
06/11 – Tulsa, OK @ Mercury Lounge
06/13 – Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
06/15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
06/16 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
06/19 – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar
06/21 – Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s
06/28 – Oro Station, ON @ All Your Friends Fest
07/08 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings
07/09 – Washington, D.C. @ DC9
07/10 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
07/11 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
07/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Foundry
07/15 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café
07/16 – Hamtramck, MI @ Sanctuary
07/17 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
07/18 – Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
07/19 – Winona, MN @ No Name Bar
07/20 – St. Paul, MN @ Minnesota Yacht Club Festival

# with Simple Plan

MJ Lenderman and Wednesday are two of the biggest acts in indie rock, and back in 2021, they released an EP together. Guttering, which features lo-fi songs like “Big Money” and “Phish Pepsi,” is now being re-released on vinyl by community-minded, Philadelphia-based label Julia’s War Recordings. It will also be available on tape and digitally.

“It’s funny to think how much Guttering changed my life,” Julia’s War Recordings label head Douglas Dulagrian reflected. “It’s a blessing that, for the past ten years, all my favorite bands have just been my friends, and even more of a blessing that, in the past four or five, they’re willing to work with me. I’m proud that this record was the first Julia’s War release four or five years ago. Crazy to think about that. And these days, all these years later, records like Guttering and many more have allowed the thing to grow into what it is today: a label of all my favorite bands, and it’s still just all my f*cking friends.”

You can watch the previously released “Big Money” music video above, and check out Guttering‘s tracklist below.

MJ Lenderman & Wednesday’s Guttering Tracklist

1. “Big Money”
2. “Terminex”
3. “Phish Pepsi” (with Advance Base)
4. “My Voice Is A Little Horse”
5. “Sacrifice (For Love)”
6. “Christiane F”

Guttering is out 6/20 via Julia’s War Recordings. Find more information here.

Last week, Sound Check host Jeremy Hecht put G-Eazy through his paces to determine the best Bay Area anthem. This week, Sound Check crosses coasts to find out Rico Nasty’s favorite DMV Area classic, making her choose between GoldLink’s 2017 hit “Crew” and Wale’s 2011 staple “Lotus Flower Bomb.”

The diabolical Hecht also puts up two Nicki Minaj classics for Rico to choose from (“Did It On ‘Em’” and “Super Bass”), Rihanna fan favorites (“Love On The Brain” and “B*tch Better Have My Money”), and of course, plenty of influential rockers from the likes of Avril Lavigne and Paramore, two of Rico’s biggest influences. There are also iconic rock cuts from Joan Jett and David Bowie, selections from Eminem, and a tough choice between Sahbabii and Tyler The Creator. Of course, the true test is for Jeremy himself, who has to use her picks to guess her “life anthem” from between the song Rico wrote down and the decoy our producers put in to throw him off. See if he gets it right up top!c

The first-ever Uproxx cover star is in the midst of the rollout for her new album Lethal, which combines plenty of the above sounds in the same vein as her angsty debut Nightmare Vacation. She kicked off the rollout with “Teethsucker” and followed up this week with the video for “On The Low.”

Watch Rico Nasty take the Sound Check taste test above.

British-Nigerian musician Obongjayar has been rising in popularity stateside ever since his show-stealing feature on Little Simz’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert standout “Point And Kill” back in 2021. Since then, he’s been tabbed as an artist to watch, making further standout appearances on collaborations with the likes of Fred Again.. and Kamasi Washington.

Today, he announced the release date for his new album, Paradise Now, which drops May 30 on September Recordings. The album’s press release promises production from Kwes Darko, Yeti Beats, and Beach Noise, while the tracklist holds another collaboration with Little Simz.
At the same time, he has shared the video for the album’s latest single, “Sweet Danger,” an ode to the bad boys — which he proudly declares himself to be. In the video, a series of larger-than-life characters flexes, mugs, dances, and rides a mechanical bull in a run-down hotel.

Watch Obongjayar’s “Sweet Danger” video above.

Paradise Now is due on 5/30 via September Recordings. You can find more info here.

Paradise Now Cover Art

Paradise Now Tracklist

01. “It’s Time”
02. “Life Ahead”
03. “Peace in Your Heart”
04. “Holy Mountain”
05. “Jellyfish”
06. “Talk Olympics” (feat. Little Simz)
07. “Prayer”
08. “Moon Eyes”
09. “Sweet Danger”
10. “Not in Surrender”
11. “Instant Animal”
12. “Strong Bone”
13. “Born in This Body”
14. “Just My Luck”
15. “Happy Head”

Wednesday will return this year after a three-year hiatus. Plenty of rightful fuss has been made about the wait, but if Severance can keep those fires burning, then Jenna Ortega’s goth girl can dance her way into our little black hearts again. It surely doesn’t hurt matters that Lady Gaga joined the show, and Mother Monster’s presence ensures that the return will be no less macabre. Let’s get down to gloomy business on what to expect from the second season.

Plot

After such a long wait for Tim Burton’s latest brainchild to reemerge, it should come as welcome news to learn that the Beetlejuice director will have Wednesday rolling in horror homages. Ortega previously revealed that there will be references to Edgar Allan Poe‘s “The Masque of the Red Death,” and the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actress recently told Collider that there will be serious “slasher” movie vibes, too:

“It’s crazy to talk about one frame like this, but there is a frame of Pugsley rolling his eyes back with this contraption around his head-that’s all I can say- and it reminds me so much of Full Metal Jacket. It’s insane. So bizarre. I just feel like there are a lot of scenes and frames, and there’s a whole episode based off of slashers, and we make a lot of horror references… I feel like we kind of had a little bit more trust, and therefore, we felt like we could do bigger, more elaborate sequences, which is nice.”

And as for the secrecy revolving around Gaga’s role? Ortega hinted at an unexpected character (who won’t occupy a ton of screen time) and also told Stephen Colbert how the production rolled out the stops: “[T]hey replaced my dirty tent with like brand-new tents… they gave me fancy water, everything… we really wanted to impress her.” What hasn’t changed? Ortega has promised that Wednesday remains true to herself: “[S]he’s not out to please anybody” And surely, Gomez hasn’t stopped dropping his favorite nicknames, (“Little Storm Cloud,” “Little Tormenta,” etc.) for his daughter.

Familiar quirks aside, plot specifics (other than the need to unmask Wednesday’s stalker who was teased in the last season finale) have been kept in the crypt by showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar other than these hints: “Wednesday’s journey is darker and more complex as she navigates family, friends, new mysteries, and old adversaries, propelling her headlong into another year at Nevermore.” They added, “Season 2 will be delightfully dark, kooky, and mysterious. If we told you why, Wednesday would kill us.” Fair.

Also, the premiere episode is called “Here We Woe Again,” and Burton is in the director’s seat. Steve Buscemi, who is onboard as the new Nevermore Academy principal, was thrilled to work with the Goth King again:

“It had been over 20 years since we did Big Fish together. I’m such a huge fan of his and the way he works, his energy, the way he sees the world. I also got to work with the rest of the cast, too, because I have some scenes with all of the Addams family and my character. I’ve been a big fan of The Addams Family since I was a kid so it was surreal and very exciting.”

Cast

The unholy trio of Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Luis Guzman will be back as Wednesday, Morticia, and Gomez Addams. Netflix hasn’t yet revealed whether Fred Armisen will return as Uncle Fester (the only person who can draw out a broad smile from Wednesday), nor have we heard much about his reported spin off, but it seems likely that this second season could act as a bridge to another spin off announcement.

Emma Meyers will return as Wednesday’s eternally patient roomie, Enid. Hunter Doohan is back as the unfortunate Tyler/Hyde (as a clip shows in the trailer section below), and new cast members include Steve Buscemi as new Nevermore Academy principal Barry Dort.

Gaga’s role remains a mystery, but characters have been specified for multiple other newcomers, including Joanna Lumley (as Grandmama), Thandiwe Newton (as Dr. Fairburn), and Billie Piper (as Capri). Evie Templeton, Owen Painter, and Noah Taylor will also fill unspecified shoes.

Leaving the building: Percy Hynes White will not be back as Xavier Thorpe. Jamie McShane and Naomi J. Ogawa will also no longer be regulars. At present, we don’t know whether Gwendoline Christie’s Principal Weems has evaded demise as she hilariously suggested or whether Christina Ricci could pop in as outed villain Marilyn Thornhill.

Release Date

Netflix continues to be hush hush on a release date other than including Wednesday on their 2025 slate.

Trailer

Surely a teaser trailer will arrive by summer, but for now, Ortega has been previewed while paying a stony-faced visit to Tyler. Her poker-faced disposition doesn’t usually make clear whether she’s feeling friendly or not, but Tyler is obviously not having a grand time while chained up at Willow Hill Psychiatric Hospital following his Hyde reveal.

Jess Yaffa has been playing music for essentially her entire life, and for the 23-year-old singer-songwriter, it has all led to this: Her new album, Thoughts That Keep Me Up At Night, is set for release this week. Ahead of that, she has shared a video for the recent single “Just For One Night,” a delightful, guitar-forward pop-rock nugget.

Yaffa says of the video, “This video was shot and edited on my phone while my friends and I were out and about in New York City. It’s really an ode to them, our memories, and this moment in our lives.” She previously said of the song, “Just For One Night was written in my bedroom in London in about 30 minutes. This song added just the right amount of rock to this album and has become one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.”

She also says of the album, “Thoughts That Keep Me Up At Night is the culmination of my growth as a songwriter and artist over the past six years. It highlights the unique yet relatable experiences of growing up — my hope is that there’s a song on this album for everyone.”

Watch the “Just For One Night” video above and find the Thoughts That Keep Me Up At Night cover art and tracklist below.

Jess Yaffa’s Thoughts That Keep Me Up At Night Album Cover Artwork

Jess Yaffa’s Thoughts That Keep Me Up At Night Tracklist

1. “Too Soon”
2. “Suburban Dystopia”
3. “Midnight”
4. “Taylor”
5. “Just For One Night”
6. “Will I See You Again”
7. “Too Much, Never Enough”
8. “In The Key Of Chaos”
9. “Come Home”
10. “Run Away”

Thoughts That Keep Me Up At Night is out 4/4 via Pleasant Ridge Records. Find more information here.

Djo — the musical project of Stranger Things actor Joe Keery — has shared a final preview of his new album, The Crux, which comes out this Friday (April 7).

“Potion” is an acoustic strummer that Keery described as “like your favorite pair of blue jeans.” He continued, “I’d been working on Travis picking when I wrote this song, so it’s kind of like if Harry Nilsson and Lindsey Buckingham had a baby.” (I also hear shades of Harry Styles, a noted Fleetwood Mac fan.) The big-screen Stephen Malkmus performed every instrument on the track: acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and Mellotron. It’s a chill contrast from previous singles “Delete Ya” and “Basic Being Basic.”

Djo’s in-demand tour also kicks off this week, and he’s “partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 per ticket goes to providing critical relief and long-term recovery support for individuals, families, and communities impacted by the devastating LA wildfires via the PLUS1 LA Fires Fund,” according to a press release. You can find remaining tickets here.

Here’s more on The Crux: “Unlike Keery’s previous albums – bedroom recordings centered around synths – The Crux spotlights lush guitars and instrumentation reminiscent of late-’60s and 70s pop. It’s an album full of loss and yearning, but also one full of wit and gratitude.”

You can listen to “Potion” above.

The Crux is out 4/4 via AWAL. Find more information here.

Julien Baker having your back means you’re doing something right in the indie music space: The Ophelias have a new album, Spring Grove, set to arrive this week and Baker produced the endeavor.

When the group announced the project back in February, vocalist Spencer Peppet declared it has “zero songs about break-ups.” So, while that’s off the table as a discussion topic on the album, they still have plenty to say about pretty much everything else.

Ahead of the album’s release, the band’s Mic Adams, Andrea Gutmann Fuentes, Spencer Peppet, and Jo Shaffer sat down with Uproxx to talk about peeing before concerts, eggplant parmesan, whistling, and more in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Peppet: Cathartic, orchestral, interwoven, dramatic.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Shaffer: I plan to still be alive and look exactly like a female version of Keith Richards. So ideally, people are just saying “Wow, she’s still alive! And she kind of looks like Keith Richards.”

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Peppet: I think each of us would have a different answer for this! Mine is either my bandmates (cheesy but true) or Joanna Newsom, for her dedication to lyricism as poetry/storytelling and refusal to make anything except what feels real and true to her. Her music has been a companion in my life since I was a teenager, and it’s one of the coolest things in the world to have music you deeply care about that changes with you over time. I feel like I understand it differently now. (That could also be said about my bandmates – meeting as teenagers, growing together, etc.)

Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?

Adams: My family is very food-oriented, and when we visit my grandparents in upstate New York my Grandma usually has one casserole dish each of homemade eggplant parmesan and chicken parmesan waiting for us at the end of our drive. Eggplant parmesan is my favorite dish and my Grandma makes it good.

Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.

Adams: My best concert experience is (and forever will be) Paramore in the summer of 2010 on my 12th birthday… I remember the lights dimming in the outdoor pavilion where the show was, with a translucent curtain across the stage so you could just see the outlines of the band members backlit while dancing and riffing on an intro. Then the curtain dropped and I could feel my whole heart leave my little body.

What song never fails to make you emotional?

Fuentes: “Luchín” by the great Chilean communist singer-songwriter Victor Jara. It’s a song about a little boy living in a shantytown on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile in the early 1970s, playing with a ball made of rags and surrounded by his playmates — a cat, a dog, a horse. Victor sings, “there are children like Luchín / that eat dirt and worms / let’s open all the cages / so that they fly like birds.” Maybe second in line is “Cross My Heart” by Phil Ochs, who happened to be a friend of Victor’s.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

Shaffer: “National Security Archive MKULTRA document collection released?” The National Security Archive at Georgetown is about to make their collection of documents on Cold War-era behavior control experiments available online. I’m psyched. (A girl needs hobbies.)

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

Shaffer: Spencer and I have shared a bean bag twice. It wasn’t any better the second time!

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?

Mic: “In the world” is generous since we’ve only ever played in the States and Canada. I would say though that I tend to have the most fun in middle-of-nowhere towns, when it feels like the whole population is at the show because that’s the only thing happening. For example, we played a show in a town called Moscow, Idaho at a burger joint and it felt like we were on the moon. In the future, I would love to tour literally anywhere outside of North America.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Peppet: You’re good enough at guitar! Stop being mean to yourself about it. It’s cooler to figure it out yourself.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

Fuentes: I am pretty good at whistling, it’s a talent that I inherited from my grandfather and dad.

If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?

Adams: If I had a million dollars to support a single cause right now, I would find the most efficient and direct route to send it to Gaza for aid. The genocide of the Palestinian people is the most horrific thing I have been alive to witness. I don’t have a million dollars, but that’s not a necessity in demanding a free Palestine by continuing to show up and refusing to accept or ignore the present circumstance.

What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?

Shaffer: I see generative AI as a symptom of securitization, which is a symptom of imperial decline. Our economy is addicted to growth, which incentivizes ruthless cost-cutting. For the US economy to sustain growth without actually producing anything, it demands an infinite supply of dirt-cheap assets. AI generated music is an attempt to turn art into something predictable enough to sustain corporate growth. Gross!

You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.

Peppet: Joanna Newsom, Hop Along, Jane Remover, Dijon, and Charli XCX in a big rolling field of wildflowers somewhere in the Midwest.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?

Fuentes: Tony P in DC. I used to live there and I just love getting the inside scoop into the life of a 26 year old bachelor living in DC.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

Adams: My favorite tattoo is my most recent tattoo, which is a temperance inspired siphon image — two glasses with water traveling from one into the other. Sobriety is something that has been somewhat of a recurring effort in my life, and I’m still trying to find a balance that’s healthy and sustainable for me. The siphon aspect represents the different parts of myself supporting and nurturing other parts, or community supporting individuals.

What is your pre-show ritual?

Shaffer: DON’T FORGET TO USE THE BATHROOM. Nothing worse than playing a sad song when you have to pee.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Peppet: Ashley Tisdale and Cole Sprouse.

You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?

Fuentes: I’ve always wanted to go to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, or Turkey. I would bring with me loml Benjamin!

What is your biggest fear?

Fuentes: PayPal mafia.

Spring Grove is out 4/4 via Get Better Records. Find more information here.

The Recording Academy is of course best known for hosting the Grammy Awards once a year, but the fact that they do more than the Grammys is lost to many people, something that CEO Harvey Mason Jr. himself admits.

In a new Billboard interview, Mason references a January report from the academy that outlines the changes they have made since Mason took the reins five years ago. He said:

“To me, the bottom line is that they get a sense that the academy is making a real impact on the lives of music people beyond just giving trophies. What I’m trying to do is hopefully build support for the academy, through seeing it maybe through a different lens, rather than just who got snubbed or who won or who didn’t win. That’s the objective of this report.”

He also said:

“When I took the role, one of my objectives and goals was to heighten the awareness of what happens the other 364 days of the year. […] A lot of people know and love the awards ceremony. I’m thankful for that, but it is a challenge for us as an organization to tell the larger story as to why we exist. [This report is] a new way of positioning the academy. We needed to do a better job of explaining why the academy exists beyond to celebrate one night a year. So, this was an intentional effort for us over the last few years to make sure we’re telling that story in a new way.”

Check out the full interview here.

The Studio is Apple TV’s latest quality-over-quantity hit, along with Slow Horses, Shrinking, Severance, Silo, and Surface. What do these shows have in common besides the letter “s”? They’re all still active.

You can now add Ted Lasso to that list, too.

It sure seemed like the Emmy-winning soccer comedy had wrapped things up with the season 3 finale, which could have worked as a series finale. But it’s coming back for another season — and a new premise.

Here’s everything we know so far about Ted Lasso season 4.

Plot

After months of speculation, it was confirmed in March 2025 that Ted Lasso will return for another season. This time, Ted Lasso (played by co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis) will coach a women’s soccer team.

That’s all the details we know so far, but in a statement, Sudeikis said, “As we all continue to live in a world where so many factors have conditioned us to ‘look before we leap. In season four, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to LEAP BEFORE THEY LOOK, discovering that wherever they land, it’s exactly where they’re meant to be.”

Apple TV+ programming head Matt Cherniss added, “Ted Lasso has been nothing short of a juggernaut, inspiring a passionate fanbase all over the world, and delivering endless joy and laughter, all while spreading kindness, compassion and unwavering belief. Apple is thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Jason and the brilliant creative minds behind this show.”

Variety has more:

Jack Burditt (Nobody Wants This, 30 Rock) has boarded Season 4 as executive producer under his new overall deal with Apple TV+. Sudeikis will executive produce in addition to starring. Brendan Hunt (who also played Coach Beard), Toheeb Jimoh, Joe Kelly, Jane Becker, Jamie Lee, and Bill Wrubel also executive produce. Goldstein is attached to write and executive produce along with Leanne Bowen. Bill Lawrence executive produces via his Doozer Productions alongside Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer.

When asked if the new season will find Ted returning to America, Sudeikis replied, “Yeah, that’s too many questions… It’s only because I don’t know.” Fellow co-creator Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) was equally tight-lipped about spoilers. “I leave all Ted Lasso questions, as does everybody else, to our fearless leader, Jason Sudeikis,” he told Variety.

You can see the season 4 announcement post here.

Cast

So far, the only cast member to be confirmed to return for season 4 is Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso). But Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca Welton), Brett Goldstein (Roy F*cking Kent), and Jeremy Swift (Leslie Higgins) are expected to reprise their roles, as their options were picked up last year.

Where does that leave Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard), Nick Mohammed (Nate Shelley), Phil Dunster (Jamie Tartt), and Juno Temple (Keeley Jones), among others? It’s unclear, but we do know that Gus Turner, who played Ted’s young son Henry, won’t be back: he’s being recast. He got Bobby Draper’d.

Release Date

No premiere date has been announced yet (filming is rumored to kick off in May or June), so don’t expect season 4 until 2026 at the earliest.

Trailer

You can listen to Jason Sudeikis discuss the future of Ted Lasso on the New Heights podcast, co-hosted by Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.