West Coast crooner Blxst is the latest guest on Sound Check with Jeremy Hecht, and of course, had to make some difficult choices between West Coast classics. Blxst is a year removed from the release of his debut album, I’ll Always Come Find You, and resurfaces after a relatively quiet first half of 2025 to set the stage for his next act as a newly independent artist.
Here’s how it works: Jeremy plays two songs for the guest artist, who has to choose one and explain their choice, giving Jeremy a chance to learn their musical taste. Jeremy then has to guess the artist’s life anthem, the song they’d take to a desert island, which the guest wrote down earlier on a piece of paper. Our production team has also given him a decoy song, and Jeremy has to guess which is correct based on what he’s learned in the previous rounds.
Naturally, the songs picked include a range of big names from LA, including DJ Quik, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hussle, and Dom Kennedy. Blxst also has to choose between songs from two of his favorite albums — Get Rich Or Die Trying and Graduation — and R&B hitmakers Brandy and Bryson Tiller.
Watch Offset take on the Sound Check challenge above. New episodes of Sound Check drop every Wednesday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT on Uproxx’s YouTube.
For the past few weeks, my social algorithms have been absolutely inundated with videos featuring Laufey’s new single, “Lover Girl.” Most of them are from Laufey herself (or her twin sister Junia), performing the sort of quirky choreography that first put TikTok on the map. This comes as no surprise to me; the Icelandic singer’s 2023 album Bewitched has been on repeat since it came out, and her dreamy take on jazz-pop is right up my alley.
So the debut of the official music video for the bossa nova-influenced ode to butterflies-in-the-stomach, head-over-heels romance is a welcome sight. In it, Laufey dances her way around Japan dressed like Wednesday Addams, showing off that TikTok dance, singing in a traditional temple, snagging a bowl of ramen, and sightseeing in the city streets.
“Lover Girl” is the third single from Laufey’s upcoming third studio album, A Matter Of Time, preceded by “Tough Luck” and “Silver Lining.” In a recent interview, she explained how the album will take a new direction for her, saying, “People expect a pretty façade of girly clothes, fantastical stories, and romantic music. This time, I was interested in seeing how I could draw out the most flawed parts of myself and look at them directly in the mirror.”
Laufey will also be pairing the new album with a run of tour dates beginning in August, playing some of the biggest venues of her career so far.
You can watch the “Lover Girl” video above.
A Matter Of Time is out 8/22 via Vingolf Recordings/AWAL. Find more information here.
The Uproxx Music Travel Hot List series is sponsored by Priceline, where you can go to book your next music travel adventure.
We’re a little over halfway through 2025, and it’s already felt like five years. If you’re a music fan, that goes double; the music news has flown fast and furiously, from new albums popping up in the middle of the night three days after they were announced to massive comebacks from some of the biggest acts on the planet. And that was in the same weekend!
Of course, that’s to say nothing of catching your favorite artists live. Whether they’re making their returns or saying their farewells, many of our favorite acts are hitting the road hard, even in a tougher climate than ever for live entertainment. Here are just a few of the shows worth traveling for before the end of the year — and why.
Aminé – Portland
I’m going to go to bat for my birthday twin here; Aminé deserves more attention than he gets. The innovative Northwesterner has a new album out, 13 Months Of Sunshine, and is putting on for his region, his roots, and for fun, freewheeling rap with nothing to prove. He’s gearing up for his Tour De Dance promoting the new album, and of course, the best place to catch him perform is in his hometown, Portland, at his very own festival, Best Day Ever on September 13-14. Hometown shows are always special, but in this case, you also get to catch left-field favorites like Smino, Thundercat, and Zack Fox. You can find more info here.
Clipse – Virginia Beach
In the same vein, there’s likely no better place to catch Clipse than in their hometown on August 10. The brother duo put out their first album in nearly 16 years a week ago, so the odds are that this will be your first chance to see them in at least that long. Against a lot of odds, Let God Sort Em Out has been the buzzy release that the sleepy first quarter release schedule seemed to be missing, so of course, there’s a big groundswell of support behind their tour promoting it. They’ve given us well-received previews of what their live performances will look like with a Tiny Desk Concert proving their chemistry is as sharp as ever, so you can get your tickets here.
Laufey – Norfolk, Chautauqua, Cuyahoga Falls, Saratoga Springs
The other day, I was at a street festival outside Staples Center — fine, Crypto.com Arena (sigh) — and I was kind of shocked to see Laufey billed to play there. Not because I don’t think the Icelandic singer isn’t massively popular — and for good reason — but it’s kind of wild to think of her low-key, jazzy production filling up arenas while she does her quirky, kind of awkward TikTok-approved choreo for “Lover Girl.” Fortunately, at select venues on her A Matter Of Time Tour, she’ll be backed by a full symphony orchestra to make the most of the lush compositions on her latest album, also named A Matter Of Time. If you get a chance to see her live with an orchestra, it’ll make all the difference. Find more info here.
Lil Wayne – Miami
Speaking of hometown shows… look, we get it: Wayne was a little disappointed he didn’t get to play the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. I’m not entirely sure why The Big Easy isn’t on his route for Tha Carter VI Tour, but since he spends most of his time in Miami these days anyway, I think it’d be fair to consider it a hometown show. The October 2nd West Palm Beach show is also the tour’s finale, which is usually a good time. And while I’m sure there’s an argument to be made that he deserves to play at least an arena capacity-wise, as a veteran concertgoer, I will always advocate for smaller venues like amphitheaters — especially for hip-hop shows — because they sound better, the energy is more focused, and hip-hop is best felt face-to-face, not looking down from an upper bowl seat. You can find out for yourself here.
PinkPantheress – Chicago
You may be wondering, “Why Chicago?” After all, the experimental, millennial pop culture-influenced dance music aficionado hails from across the pond, effectively nixing my “hometown show” motif.
Au contraire, mon frere: As we at Uproxx keep reminding you, Chicago is widely considered to be the birthplace of so-called “oontz-oontz music” (her words, not mine). If you’ve ever shook booty or pumped your fists to the familiar “boots-and-pants” four-on-the-floor beat, you have The Windy City to thank. And while PP jumps genres from house to 2-step and even slips in some DnB, there’s probably no better place to hear her do so on her An Evening With PinkPantheress mini-tour than the Chicago date on November 1. More info here.
Sailorr – Los Angeles/New York
Once again, my immaculate theming is ruined by routing! J/k, but here’s why you should check out From Florida’s Finest singer Sailorr in LA or New York, as cliché as it might seem. One, The Roxy and Bowery Ballroom are legendary venues, and the way things are going, independent venues with as much history as them are rapidly following velociraptors and kiwi birds into extinction. You should see them while you still have the chance. And two, whatever happens with small venues in the future, you probably won’t be seeing much of Sailorr at those places in the future anyway; the “Bitches Brew” singer is due for a big breakout, and probably won’t be playing anything under 2,000 cap on her next one. As someone who’s got more “I saw them back when” stories than average, I’d say it’s worth the trip to put a few in your own memory banks. You can find tickets here.
Attention Stargazers! On September 16th, Myles Smith will be performing at Nashville Tennessee’s famed Ryman Auditorium as part of his “We Were Never Strangers” tour, and Priceline wants to send you to see him live! As part of The Dream Tour sweepstakes, three lucky winners have the chance to catch Smith’s soon-to-be legendary Music City performance. Flights, hotel, and transportation are included!
There is no purchase necessary to enter the sweeps; simply visit Priceline’s The Dream Tour sweepstakes page below and enter the drop! Priceline will announce the winner on September 1st, so clear your calendar and enter for a chance to win a trip to see Myles Smith on Priceline’s dime. The only thing better than seeing Myles Smith in Nashville is seeing Myles Smith in Nashville for free!
The sweeps is open to all legal residents of the United States over the age of 18 and includes roundtrip airfare, a $100 transportation per diem, and a free hotel stay. Sounds like an unforgettable VIP experience.
To enter the drop, hit up Priceline’s sweeps page here. We’re instantly envious of whoever those three winners end up being. Good luck!
Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items released during this period — songs, albums, books, films, you name it.
1. Alex G, Headlights
This is Alex’s 10th record and the first for major label RCA, but it might be the best entry point yet for one of the most consistent catalogs in contemporary rock. After two recent albums, 2019’s House Of Sugar and 2022’s God Save The Animals, that stand as his most experimental and strangest efforts, the 32-year-old singer songwriter has refocused on the Elliott Smith-style, indie-folk sound of his earlier records. The result is one of the year’s best albums.
2. Ryan Davis and The Roadhouse Band, New Threats From The Soul
Even when this Louisville native appears to work with more traditional song forms, like the rousing highlight “The Simple Joy” (which has backing vocals by Will Oldham, the Adam Duritz to Davis’ Jakob Dylan), his songs frequently surprise with sly one liners that smuggle pathos inside jokey Trojan horses. “My skull was a dunk tank clown for some schoolyard lass to chastise,” he drawls in one line. “I learned that time was not my friend or foe / more like one of the guys from work,” goes another. Davis’ songs go on (and on) like that, like an extended serio-comic monologue accented by occasional pedal-steel licks. The shortest track on New Threats is just under six minutes; the longest is nearly 12. That one is called “Mutilation Springs,” and it includes references to “sarcophagus mornings,” “hair metal afternoons,” and “forsaken punks” who “flip for police force work and worse.” He might come off like a show-off if the songs weren’t so authentically conversational or genuinely, pleasingly weird.
3. Oasis, “Half The World Away” (Live at Wembley Stadium, July 25)
I saw Oasis at Wembley Stadium last week, and I’m going to post a column about it later this week, and I don’t want to big foot that column by writing too much about it here. So, for now I’ll just say this: The band sounds great and I expect them to sound great when the tour hits America next month. But I don’t think it will be as great as seeing Oasis in England. It’s all about the audience. The level of adoration Oasis commands over there has to be seen to be believed. You can get a sense of it from this clip of Noel Gallagher singing a 1994 B-side. It’s a beloved B-side, sure, but B-sides don’t normally inspire 81,000 people to sing along this loudly.
4. Tyler Childers, Snipe Hunter
The first album I put on after I got back to the United States. After a series of albums that broke dramatically from the duo off-center country classics he put out in the late 2010s, Purgatory and Country Squire, Childers is back to making music that shakes up the Americana format with various squiggles outside the lines (including drop-ins from Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso). But in the end, this is a Rick Rubin production, and as his custom when he works with country artists, he subtly repositions Childers as a rock star. Similar to how he made the Dixie Chicks sound like Fleetwood Mac, Snipe Hunter feels like a modern reimagining of John Mellemcamp’s 1987 masterwork The Lonesome Jubilee.
5. Geese, “Taxes”
Possibly the fastest rising indie band of the moment. The gnarled and emotionally charged psych-rock ballads collected on Cameron Winter’s 2024 solo effort Heavy Metal have blown a lot of minds — I wrote about it here — though I’m still partial to Winter’s last album Geese. 3D Country is yet another slow-burn favorite — it generated positive but not ecstatic reviews upon release, perhaps because some critics (like me) weren’t all that crazy about Geese’s 2021 debut, Projector. On that album, they seemed like just another NYC post-punk band in thrall to the city’s past musical greats. But on 3D Country, they showed they were capable of following their Pablo Honey with a The Bends-style reinvention. A wild, druggy, jammy, and exhilarating ride, 3D Country made my year-end list in 2023 but only in the low 20s. I now consider it one of my favorite rock records of the 2020s. All of this is to say that I’m excited for the upcoming Getting Killed, which was teased this week with a great single, “Taxes,” spotlighted in a truly deranged music video that has serious “Darren Aronofsky’s Mother” vibes.
6. Cory Hanson, I Love People
Like Winter, Cory Hanson fronts an excellent psych-rock band, Wand. And also like Winter, he has a thriving solo career — his previous LP Western Cum was another entry on my 2023 year-end list. That record was a pleasure cruise through the sounds of 1970s FM radio, like the first Boston album refracted via a punk-rock sensibility. Hanson’s latest I Love People exists on the opposite end of the radio dial, delving the luscious soft-rock soundscapes outfitted with warm-toned pianos and jangly guitars. As always, Hanson’s unerring pop sense is on display, and with I Love People it’s like he’s made a lost prime-era McCartney album.
7. Andy Boay, You Took That Walk For The Two Of Us
You might recognize Boay from yet another really good psych-rock band, Tonstartssbandht. Their most recent record Petunia made my year-end list from 2021, and I still listen to the utterly beguiling “What Has Happened” on a regular basis. Boay functions like a lo-fi Brian Wilson, stacking vocal harmonies in a manner that creates both great beauty and extreme creepiness. Both are in abundance on this album.
8. Neu Blume, Let It Win
I read about this band originally in Josh Terry’s essential newsletter No Expectations, which you should check out after reading this. They’re a duo from Detroit that’s on a similar “chill back patio country rock” wavelength to fellow Michiganders Bonny Doon. There’s also plenty of pedal steel, so it goes without saying that Let It Win goes down like a Miller High Life tucked inside a treasure koozie this time of year.
Ethan Coen and wife Tricia Cooke tapped Margaret Qualley to star in their 2024 movie Drive-Away Dolls. The film was the first of a loose “lesbian B-movie trilogy,” as Cooke described it, and now the second installment is on the way with Honey Don’t!. Qualley is staking her claim in this mini cinematic universe as she stars in the upcoming movie, too.
Early returns are positive so far: At the Cannes festival back in May, the film received a 6-and-a-half-minute ovation. The cast is certainly crowd-pleasing, as it’s also led by Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans.
Ahead of the movie’s release, keep reading for everything you need to know before it lands in theaters.
Plot
The film is described as “a dark comedy about Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.”
Ethan Coen told Reuters of crafting the movie’s violence:
“It’s a challenge because we got a lot of good minds out there thinking about it all the time. So it’s hard to come up with new ways. It sounds strange to say, but you want to make the violence fun, not just some like weird sadistic thing for some reason. Somehow I think it kind of transcends sadism by virtue of its inventiveness.”
Cast
The movie is led by Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner, Lera Abova, Jacnier, Gabby Beans, Talia Ryder, Kristen Connolly, Lena Hall, Don Swayze, Josh Pafchek, Kale Browne, Alexander Carstoiu, and Christian Antidormi.
Coen said of casting Qualley, “We thought after we met her, well, she’ll be good for Drive-Away Dolls, but she’ll be great for this other script we had written even then.”
Qualley told i-D that she had to suppress her “natural Scooby-Doo” inclinations “to be a little more suave than I am, more mysterious” while portraying the character. She continued, “I tend to want to diffuse things before they even happen. [Whereas] Honey, she’s like honey — she’s skillful, she’s smooth, she is slipping in and out undetected.” She also said of working with Coen and Cooke, “[It’s] unlike anything else I’ve ever known. They respect and love each other so much. I love the world that they’re living in.”
Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage is releasing her fourth album in a month, and today, she’s shared the latest single, “On A Low” featuring UK rapper Skepta.
The song, according to Savage, is about the pursuit of that all-important hard launch: “It’s about trading the private for being able to tell your friends and loved ones about those flowers, that date night, that movie,” she says in the press release.
“On A Low” is the second single from Savage’s upcoming album, This One Is Personal, following April’s “You4Me.” Meanwhile, Skepta has been embroiled in a lyrical back-and-forth with New England MC Joyner Lucas as a result of Drake’s recent insistence that the UK has “the best rappers” at Wireless Festival.
Skepta stepped up to the challenge of representing hip-hop across the pond; however, after trading a few battle records — including today’s “Junior’s Law” — they’ve yet to generate the sort of culture-bonding buzz of the “Joey Badass vs. Ray Vaughn” battle earlier this year, let alone Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s captivating 2024 flame war.
We’ve been waiting for Skepta to drop a follow-up to his last album, 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss, for a while now… in the meantime, we’ve gotten collabs with Fred Again.. and Central Cee.
Listen to Tiwa Savage’s “On A Low” featuring Skepta above.
This One Is Personal is out 8/28 via Empire. You can find more info here.
Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage is releasing her fourth album in a month, and today, she’s shared the latest single, “On A Low” featuring UK rapper Skepta.
The song, according to Savage, is about the pursuit of that all-important hard launch: “It’s about trading the private for being able to tell your friends and loved ones about those flowers, that date night, that movie,” she says in the press release.
“On A Low” is the second single from Savage’s upcoming album, This One Is Personal, following April’s “You4Me.” Meanwhile, Skepta has been embroiled in a lyrical back-and-forth with New England MC Joyner Lucas as a result of Drake’s recent insistence that the UK has “the best rappers” at Wireless Festival.
Skepta stepped up to the challenge of representing hip-hop across the pond; however, after trading a few battle records — including today’s “Junior’s Law” — they’ve yet to generate the sort of culture-bonding buzz of the “Joey Badass vs. Ray Vaughn” battle earlier this year, let alone Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s captivating 2024 flame war.
We’ve been waiting for Skepta to drop a follow-up to his last album, 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss, for a while now… in the meantime, we’ve gotten collabs with Fred Again.. and Central Cee.
Listen to Tiwa Savage’s “On A Low” featuring Skepta above.
This One Is Personal is out 8/28 via Empire. You can find more info here.
Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage is releasing her fourth album in a month, and today, she’s shared the latest single, “On A Low” featuring UK rapper Skepta.
The song, according to Savage, is about the pursuit of that all-important hard launch: “It’s about trading the private for being able to tell your friends and loved ones about those flowers, that date night, that movie,” she says in the press release.
“On A Low” is the second single from Savage’s upcoming album, This One Is Personal, following April’s “You4Me.” Meanwhile, Skepta has been embroiled in a lyrical back-and-forth with New England MC Joyner Lucas as a result of Drake’s recent insistence that the UK has “the best rappers” at Wireless Festival.
Skepta stepped up to the challenge of representing hip-hop across the pond; however, after trading a few battle records — including today’s “Junior’s Law” — they’ve yet to generate the sort of culture-bonding buzz of the “Joey Badass vs. Ray Vaughn” battle earlier this year, let alone Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s captivating 2024 flame war.
We’ve been waiting for Skepta to drop a follow-up to his last album, 2019’s Ignorance Is Bliss, for a while now… in the meantime, we’ve gotten collabs with Fred Again.. and Central Cee.
Listen to Tiwa Savage’s “On A Low” featuring Skepta above.
This One Is Personal is out 8/28 via Empire. You can find more info here.
With his performance at Aminé’s 2025 Best Day Ever festival coming up, Thundercat has announced dates for his upcoming tour this fall. Beginning in October in Atlanta, he’ll play nine dates across the US, wrapping up in Denver in November.
While fans await Thundercat’s next full-length project after 2020’s It Is What It Is, the bass player has kept busy, collaborating with a diverse array of acts such as Kamasi Washington, Channel Tres, Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge’s group NxWorries, and even the children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba.
Tickets for Thundercat’s 2025 tour dates go on sale Friday, August 1st at 10 AM local time. Presales are Wednesday and Thursday at 10AM local. You can find dates below and more info here.
Thundercat 2025 Tour Dates
08/08 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Music Festival
08/13 – Mexico City, MX @ Auditorio BB
08/16 – Santiago, CL @ Teatro Coliseo
08/17 – Buenos Aires, AR @ C Art Media
08/20 – São Paulo, BR @ Audio
08/21 – Rio de Janeiro, BR @ Circo Voador
08/23 – Porto Alegre, BR @ Opinião
08/24 – Curitiba, BR @ Ópera de Arame
09/12 – Telluride, CO @ Telluride Festival
10/15 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
10/17 – Miami, FL @ III Points Festival
10/25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
10/28 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
10/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
10/30 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
11/01 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
11/07 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
11/11 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
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