Category: News

We talk a lot about the various beer styles that are well-suited for spring drinking. They run the gamut from bocks, Goses, lagers, pale ales, saisons, Kölsch-style beers, IPAs, Helles lagers, sours, and more. While we can debate which one is the best for days, today we want to tout the highly drinkable, flavorful spring staple: wheat beer.

While we aren’t trying to disrespect those who came (and brewed) before and we understand wheat beers have deep roots in Europe (specifically in Germany and Belgium), today we’re going to dive into American-made wheat beers exclusively. This top-fermented beer style made with a higher amount of wheat as opposed to the usual barley is known for its yeasty, wheat, citrus, and sometimes banana and clove flavors (depending on the beer itself).

Not only is it a great spring beer, but it’s the type of complex, crushable, thirst-quenching beer you’ll want to imbibe well into the summer months (I’d argue that like IPAs, wheat beers can be year-rounders). Keep scrolling to see eight widely available American wheat beers you’ll want to stock up on this season, ranked on flavor alone.

8) Blue Moon Belgian White

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Before every brewery in America seemed to make its own wheat beer, there was Blue Moon. Launched in 2005 by Coors, this witbier is known for its hazy, unfiltered appearance with orange peels, coriander, and sweet wheat.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is fairly generic with aromas of orange peel, wheat, and light spices. Overall, it’s kind of muted and bland. The flavor is a little better with wheat, cereal grains, orange peel, lemon zest, and maybe some coriander. It’s not a bad beer, it’s just a little light and boring.

Bottom Line:

If you’re simply looking for a wheat beer to crush this spring and summer, go ahead and grab some Blue Moon. If you’re looking for even the tiniest amount of complexity, look elsewhere.

7) Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Brewed since 1990, Boulevard’s Unfiltered Wheat has been imitated by countless brewers throughout the country in the last few decades. This sessionable, hazy beer is known for its orange peel and spice flavors and crushable nature.

Tasting Notes:

Caramel malts, orange peels, lemon zest, and wheat highlight this beer’s nose. The palate continues this trend with more wheat, tangerine, lemongrass, cloves, and light banana. Due to its low ABV, it’s a little lighter in flavor than it could be.

Bottom Line:

This beer is known for its sessionable nature. This makes it both crushable, but also a little muted overall.

6) Sierra Nevada Sunny Little Thing

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This wheat beer variety of Sierra Nevada’s popular “Little Thing” line, Sunny Little Thing is brewed with ale yeast, two-row Pale malt, wheat, oats, Cara-Pils malt, Crystal hops, and orange and grapefruit. This hazy, fruity wheat beer is known for its bold, bright, refreshing, spring-like citrus vibes.

Tasting Notes:

While there are aromas of sweet wheat, rolled oats, and cereal grains, this beer’s nose is dominated by grapefruit and tangerine. Drinking it reveals more notes of orange peels and grapefruit zest up front along with wheat and a creamy, sweet mouthfeel from the addition of oats. The finish is dry and lightly tart.

Bottom Line:

This is a wheat beer for citrus fans, as it’s dominated by grapefruit and orange. If you prefer a beer with a slightly less heavy hand, buy something else.

5) Goose Island 312

ABV: 4.2%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Referred to as an “urban wheat ale”, this 4,2% ABV, crushable, sessionable beer is brewed with wheat and 2-row malts. It gets its bright, hoppy flavor from the addition of Hallertau, Millenium, and Cascade hops. It’s known for its wheat, hoppy, citrus flavor profile.

Tasting Notes:

The nose leans heavily into lemon zest, orange peel, cereal grains, wheat, and lightly floral, earthy hops. The palate is a little thin but has notes of wheat, biscuit-like malts, orange peels, lemon zest, and light spices, The finish is dry and slightly bitter.

Bottom Line:

Another crushable, sessionable wheat beer, Goose Island 312 isn’t the most exciting beer on the market. But, even though it’s a bit watery, it has all the flavors wheat beer fans crave.

4) Revolution Sun Crusher

ABV: 5.3%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Available from April through July, Revolution Sun Crusher is an aptly named beer because this spring and summer wheat beer is totally crushable and thirst-quenching on a warm (or downright sweltering) day. Brewed with Carapils and 2-row malts as well as red wheat and flaked oats, it gets its floral, citrus flavor from Apollo and Amarillo hops in the kettle and dry-hopping with Crystal, Amarillo, and Mosaic hops.

Tasting Notes:

Cracker malts, lemon zest, orange peels, and lightly floral hops are present on the nose. While the nose isn’t overly exciting, the palate makes up for it with notes of wheat, oats, orange peels, lemon zest, wet grass, crackery malts, and lightly bitter, floral hops. Its finish is sweet, wheaty, citrusy, and lightly hoppy.

Bottom Line:

This is one for the hop fans. It has all of the classic wheat beer flavors that are only heightened by the addition of hops in the kettle and dry hopping.

3) Allagash White

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $10 for a four-pack

The Beer:

When it comes to American-made wheat beers, there are few (if any) more well-known and acclaimed than Allagash White. This 5.2% ABV Belgian-style wheat beer gets its classic flavors from being brewed with oats, malted wheat, and raw wheat as well as coriander and Curaçao orange peel.

Tasting Notes:

Classic aromas of caramel malts, oats, wheat, orange peels, and coriander make this a very welcoming beer. The palate continues this trend with notes of funky yeast, bananas, coriander, wheat, and bright orange zest. Although American, it has the classic flavor of authentic European wheat beer.

Bottom Line:

There’s a reason brewers and drinkers alike love Allagash White. It’s simple, classic, and highly flavorful. It’s the kind of wheat beer you’ll stock all year long.

2) Bell’s Oberon

ABV: 5.8%

Average Price: $11 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Like Canadian geese returning from their winter vacation in the southern parts of the US, you can count on Bell’s releasing Oberon every spring. This eagerly-awaited, citrus-filled wheat beer is brewed simply with the brewery’s signature ale yeast, wheat malt, hops, and water.

Tasting Notes:

Complex aromas of wheat, honey, orange peels, banana, and yeasty bread are prevalent on the nose. The palate is a gentle mix of wheat sweetness and hop bitterness with hints of orange, lemon, banana, and light spices. Sweet, lightly spicy, hoppy, and delicious.

Bottom Line:

Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to Bell’s Oberon. This beer doesn’t rely on any over-the-top flavors. It’s simple, elegant, and perfect.

1) 3 Floyds Gumballhead

ABV: 5.6%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

3 Floyds is well-known for its limited releases and its iconic Zombie Dust Pale Ale. But you definitely shouldn’t sleep on its highly flavorful, well-balanced Gumballhead wheat beer. This 5.6% ABV, year-round wheat beer is brewed with white wheat and dry-hopped with specifically chosen hops from Yakima Valley.

Tasting Notes:

A very inviting nose of fresh pine, lemon zest, orange peel, wheat, and funky yeast greets you before your first sip. Drinking it brings forth notes of yeasty bread, sweet wheat, orange, honey, and a final bite of floral, piney hops.

Bottom Line:

Wheat, fruit, citrus, hops… what’s not to love? This is the epitome of an Americanized wheat beer. It has all the wheat flavors from Europe with an American, hoppy spin.

The normally brusque Brian Cox, who has no qualms saying how he feels (particularly when it involves Method acting), is setting the record straight on his recent remarks about Meghan Markle. During a recent interview with Haute Living New York, the Succession star opined on Markle’s well-documented troubles with the Royal Family, and his words were misinterpreted, as though he blamed Markle for her situation. Although, in case it looked like he’s picking sides, the actor made it clear that he thinks the monarchy shouldn’t exist.

“She knew what she was getting into,” Cox said. “And there’s an ambition there clearly as well — the childhood dreams of marrying Prince Charming and all that sh*t we see as fantasy that could be our lives in our dreams.”

However, Cox now claims those remarks were taken out of context. In a new interview with the Radio Times, Cox said he’s a “bit angry” with how his thoughts were presented because he has “enormous sympathy” for what happened to Harry and Meghan.

Via The Daily Beast:

“They’re the product of an institution which is moribund and shouldn’t exist any more.

“But that’s a difficult situation where [Meghan] comes from, and it’s understandable that she sees something [appealing] — and it does look like a fairy tale. But it was a fairy tale that went horribly wrong.”

Being taken out of context does track. Cox has made previous remarks where he’s fully defended Harry and Meghan and has gone so far to say he believes the Royal Family did them wrong.

“I don’t know what went on, but something clearly traumatic went on for the pair of them,” Cox told Good Morning Britain in December. “I don’t think they made it up, I don’t think it’s false. I think it’s true and should’ve been rectified, and it hasn’t.”

(Via The Daily Beast)

Vinyl Me, Please, the popular vinyl subscription company, has announced that their new anthology is a special Miles Davis tribute called Miles Davis: The Electric Years.

The limited-edition box set will consist of seven albums on vinyl from a certain period of Davis’ career — from 1969 to 1974, specifically. The records include In A Silent Way, B*tches Brew, A Tribute To Jack Johnson, Live-Evil, On The Corner, Big Fun, and Get Up With It.

They have also all been “mastered AAA from 1-to-1 tape transfers of the master tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound,” per VMP press materials. The box set will come wit a 24-page “listening notes and photo booklet” written by Ben Ratliff. The artwork on the box’s cover is a portrait of Davis done by the artist Tadayuki Naitoh.

“As a total volume of music, these records achieve an organic unity by growing and dissolving into one another, even as they might individually seem to you disjointed or unclear or even disembodied,” Ratliff wrote on the company’s website. “If so, you shouldn’t feel alone. This may be some of the most confusing music ever made. Miles Davis aspired to be the sort of successful artist who could make the ensembles and records and concerts that he wanted, when he wanted, such that he didn’t particularly have to worry about record-label marketing, audiences, and critics.”

This Miles Davis: The Electric Years tribute box set costs $349 for members and $399 for those who aren’t subscribed. It’s available for pre-order here.

KFC is one of those fast food brands that stands out. Pressure-cooker deep-fried Original Recipe chicken, savory biscuits, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, maybe a little mac ‘n cheese, and coleslaw were the cornerstone of many of our childhoods. It was cheap, fast, and just good enough to to create a sense of nostalgia. But Kentucky Fried Chicken never really dipped its toes into the chicken nugget game. They had Popcorn Chicken, sure, and there are tenders galore. But the chicken nugg was always strangely absent…

Until now. Duh-duh-dunnnnn.

Yes, KFC has finally added a Nugget to its iconic menu. And it’s not just any chicken nugget, KFC Nuggets are a cut above the rest of the nuggets that crowd the fast food market. Spoiler alert: KFC has eschewed the standard ground chicken nuggets and is using real-deal white chicken meat. It’s a clear swipe at Chick-Fil-A’s and Popeyes’ nuggs, which makes this whole affair a little more exciting than expected.

I was lucky enough to get to try some KFC Nuggets directly from the source at their test kitchen in Louisville, Kentucky — a perk of living nearby, I suppose, and a reminder that KFC does have its roots in KY. I got to make some and even try them with every KFC dipping sauce. It was a fun and very filling day of fast food fantasy camp (Double Downs were eaten, folks). So let’s cut the preamble short and dive right into my full, in-depth review of the brand-new KFC Nuggets!

• We Blind Tested Fast Food French Fries — Here’s The Stone Cold Champ
• The Ending Of ‘The Menu’ (And How It Relates To Food And Sex), Explained In Detail
• The #1 Most Boneheaded Error Made By 16 Major Fast Food Chains
• We Blind Tested Our Favorite Fast Food Double Cheeseburgers & Crowned A New Champ
• The 20 Most Popular Hot Sauces In America, Blind Tasted And Ranked

How Are KFC Nuggets Made?

The key to the new KFC Nuggets is that they’re made with brined chicken breast meat. The morsels are brined in a proprietary brine off-site and shipped to stores ready for breading and frying.

The raw brined chicken pieces are then dredged in Original Recipe breading (literally from the exact same bag that’s used for the fried chicken). This is a game-changer and a wisely intuitive move — Original Recipe breading has stood the test of time for a reason. It’s great.

After dredging and sifting, the breaded nuggets go into hot oil for about four minutes of frying. Those hot nuggets then rest in a serving tray until ordered by you.

According to early reports from the test regions that already had the nuggets on the menu, they were so popular that a fresh batch is almost always ready. If not, the nuggets will be removed from the serving trays at the two-hour mark and a fresh batch will be made. But given the general fast turnover at KFC with its food, that’s probably not going to be an issue.

How Do KFC Nuggets Taste?

In a word, delicious. I’m a huge Original Recipe fan and these deliver that old-school nostalgic factor in bite-sized morsels. The white chicken meat is well-seasoned and very juicy. It’s about a million miles away from bland — like some other nuggets out there. (It would be fire if they eventually did dark meat, too!)

Moreover, since this is a small-format bite of food, the outer layer is very crispy. I’ll readily admit that Original Recipe chicken at KFC is less crispy than people like sometimes. That’s just not the case here. The breading really holds together and gives you a nice crunch even after 15 or so minutes of resting in a serving tray and box.

For me, the use of Original Recipe breading puts these far above Chick-Fil-A’s chicken breast nuggets, based on the depth of flavor alone. The crispiness of KFC Nuggets pushes it even further over the top.

What’s The Best KFC Nuggets Dipping Sauce?

I’m going to cut to the quick here. Buffalo Ranch and Honey BBQ are the standouts. I just cannot get behind the KFC Sauce — it tastes too much like Miracle Whip to me. The Classic Ranch was fine. The Honey Mustard had a nice tang to it and would be a solid third choice for me.

All of that said, the Honey BBQ had the perfect sweet counterpoint to the crispy Original Recipe breading and soft seasoned white chicken meat beneath. It was kind of like adding a honey drizzle with a hint of sweet chili to the whole bite.

Final Thoughts On KFC’s Nuggets

While I’m a dark meat Original Recipe stan, I can see ordering these in real life. Obviously, these are geared towards parents getting something easy and off-the-bone for their kids that still tastes like classic KFC. In that case, they hit it out of the park.

I’d also much rather have these than the ground chicken meat versions at Burger King, McDonald’s, or Wendy’s. They each have their place, don’t get me wrong. But this is an actual piece of moist, well-seasoned chicken covered in crispy Original Recipe. That’s a hard combo to beat. I’m excited to see where my dude Dane Rivera puts it in his forthcoming nugget re-ranking.

Rapper Killer Mike and producer El-P are hitting the road beginning this fall, to celebrate 10 years of performing as the duo, Run The Jewels. Run The Jewels will perform in four different cities — New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Los Angeles — for four nights each.

“It’s mind-blowing to us that it’s been 10 years since we joined forces as RTJ,” the duo said in a statement. “The best way we can think to celebrate is to get the whole family together and do what we love for the people who love us back. It’s going to be amazing, just like this entire ride has been, and we are grateful to get a chance to celebrate with our jewel runners this year and finally get back into clubs to destroy some stages for you.”

On Twitter, EL-P revealed that each of the four nights will see the duo performing one of their four albums in full. He also revealed that fans can “expect guests and surprises.”

Tickets will be available for purchase here, beginning Friday, March 31.

You can see the tour dates below, as well as upcoming festival appearances.

05/12-14 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
09/13 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/14 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/15 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/16 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/24 — Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life
09/27 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
09/28 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
09/29 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
09/30 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
10/02 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
10/03 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
10/04 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
10/05 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
10/11 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/12 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/13 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/14 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium

Yellowjackets‘ return to the woods saw the soccer champions in an even more dire state than the last time around. As it turns out, though, these ladies are ratings champs. They’re rating champs with pregnancy cravings that will turn our stomachs, yes, but there’s a Queen Bee and a doofus spouse to entertain everyone, and the people are here for it.

As The Hollywood Reporter relays, the Showtime series drew an all-time high for a second-season premiere for the premium cable network. Additionally, this looks to be good news for the rollout of the Paramount+ Showtime bundle, since only about 10% of viewers caught the live premiere on Showtime, and the rest streamed the premiere or (to a small degree) caught up later:

Showtime also says the Yellowjackets premiere brought in the biggest audience for any season two debut of a series on the premium cabler since 2012, when Homeland’s second season began. The vast majority of the 2 million viewers came from streaming, as the on-air premiere gathered only 226,000 viewers — about 11 percent of the weekend total. A couple of on-air replays contributed a bit more to the total, but similar to season one, most viewers streamed the show. (Season one averaged 275,000 viewers for the first airings on Showtime’s main cable channel.

The show even outdid Dexter: New Blood in terms of sheer eyeballs, which means that we should be seeing Yellowjackets for some time to come. It’s a good thing that Lottie Matthews is a sure thing (and a frightening one).

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

It’s been decades since Smashing Pumpkins released their classic alt-rock hit “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” but the opening line remains iconic: “The world is a vampire.” The band, still kicking it to this day, is using that phrase as the name of the just-announced The World Is A Vampire Tour with Interpol and Stone Temple Pilots, which comes with the release of the new song “Spellbinding” from their album Atum.

The run starts in Las Vegas in July and hits Dallas, Toronto, Salt Lake City, and cities all over. Billy Corgan shared a statement about the tour and it reads:

“I grew up in a world where I needed to know bands like Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Cure existed, it meant there was a place for people like me to hang out and belong. That’s what The World Is A Vampire is about. Bringing back that sense of community. If you don’t fit in, you belong here. It’s about having a shared experience and respecting others, but ultimately having fun. A true alternative festival, where all the self-proclaimed weirdos and outsiders of the world can get together and have a party.”

Listen to “Spellbinding” above. Check out the full tour dates below.

07/28 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea At The Cosmopolitan
07/30 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea At The Cosmopolitan
08/01 — Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre *
08/03 — Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre *
08/05 — Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre *
08/06 — Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheatre *
08/07 — Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre *
08/09 — Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre *
08/10 — Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre *
08/11 — Highland, CA @ Yaamava’ Resort & Casino **
08/13 — Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheatre ^
08/15 — Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavillion ^
08/16 — Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP ^
08/17 — Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater ^
08/19 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre ^
08/20 — Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre ^
08/22 — Chalotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ^
08/24 — Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center ^
08/25 — Gilford, NH @ Bank Of New Hampshire Pavilion ^
08/30 — Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health At Jones Beach Theater ^
08/31 — Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live ^
09/02 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage ^
09/03 — Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre ^
09/06 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre ^^
09/08 — Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater ^
09/09 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center ^

* with Stone Temple Pilots & Rival Sons
** with Stone Temple Pilots
^ with Interpol & Rival Sons
^^ with Interpol

Find ticket information here.

Atum is out 4/21 via Martha’s Music/Thirty Tigers. Find more information here.

As Kelly Ripa gets ready to start a new chapter at Live! with her husband Mark Consuelos taking over for Ryan Seacrest, the daytime talk show staple is opening up about her early days at ABC. Turns out, she dealt with a lot of sexism, and it wasn’t great. Despite landing the coveted spot co-hosting with Regis Philbin, the network was not in any hurry to accommodate Ripa in any way.

Ripa has previously revealed that ABC kept her in the dark twice when Philbin and Michael Strahan were getting ready to leave, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. When she first arrived on the show, ABC reportedly “commanded” Ripa to use Philbin’s hair and make-up team. She was also denied a private bathroom, which meant she had to use the same one as the audience.

Via Variety:

“Picture this,” Ripa says. “We have a studio audience — like 250 people! — and I have to queue up. Particularly when I was pregnant, it was extraordinarily exhausting to have to wait in line. I have to host the show, and I’m still waiting in line to use the bathroom. It just seemed, you know, a very needlessly difficult situation.” What did tourists think of having to stand in line to pee with Kelly Ripa? “Yeah,” she says, taking a beat. “They couldn’t believe it either.”

Ripa revealed how she also spent years fighting for an office, only to be reluctantly given access to a janitor’s closet during her fourth season while actual offices were left empty in case executives visited from the West Coast.

(Via Variety)

You’ve heard the phrase “love at first sight,” but what about “love at first sound?” Netflix’s hit show Love Is Blind sets out to answer that question with a social experiment. A group of single men and women date each other, fall in love, and get engaged — all without seeing the other person. Follow along as Uproxx ranks each couple and recaps the best tear-jerking and cringe-worthy moments from season 4.

(WARNING: Spoilers for up to episode 5 of Love Is Blind season 4 will be found below.)

The pods are officially open and a new batch of singles are looking for love. After only ten days, and LOTS of drama, five couples emerged engaged and ready to see their fiancé for the first time. Next, they spent a week getting to know each other in paradise and putting their compatibility to the test. Is the connection they formed in the pods strong enough to make it to the altar? Let’s find out.

The best moments from Love Is Blind episodes 1 through 5

• Brett refusing to wear anything other than Nike attire like he’s a walking brand deal (we get it, you work for the company).
• Chelsea confronting Irina and Micah about being rude to Amber out of insecurity and asking why they don’t “just stop.”
• Marshall doing a happy dance after seeing Jackelina for the first time. Absolutely adorable.
• Everything Tiffany said about Brett.

The worst moments from Love Is Blind episodes 1 through 5

• Pretty much every time Micah and Irina were on screen together. Those two take the concept of “mean girls” to a whole new level, especially when Irina started laughing at and eavesdropping on Amber crying when she got dumped by Paul.
• Kwame saying he almost went by Alex on the show. If you know you know.
• Zack singing Irina a song he definitely didn’t write before proposing. I wish I could go back in time and wipe my memory of this entire scene.
• Tiffany falling asleep on Brett while he essentially poured his heart out to her.

Who are the Love Is Blind Season 4 couples?

To start things off, let’s recap who the couples are coming out of episodes 1 through 5. After getting to know each other through the pods and forming a connection which led to a proposal after only ten days, we’ve got Tiffany and Brett, Kwame and Chelsea, Marshall and Jackelina, Zack and Irina, and Paul and Micah. Okay, let’s dive in on ranking the couples

5. Zack & Irina

It’s hard to even figure out where to start with these two. The times Irina visibly recoiled when Zack tried to touch her? The time when she flat out said “I’m treating you poorly” and then continued to do so? Or what about when she bluntly admitted: “I was gonna leave you right after I saw you but I stayed and gave it a chance?” (And as Zack retorted, she didn’t even give him a chance). It was clear toward the end of the time in the pods, Zack was basing a lot of his decision on his first impression of Irina and her reaction to hearing about his upbringing.

Though I’m still not letting him off the hook for his absolutely terrible proposal song — I admit I had to skip through most of it, I couldn’t handle the cringe — he was right to be concerned about Irina’s maturity level. She used every opportunity to talk poorly about the other girls on the show and couldn’t even bring herself to have a serious conversation with Zack after leaving the pods (like when she covered her face with a pillow when Zack asked her if she was attracted to him). Thankfully, Zack and Irina’s relationship didn’t last long, but it looks like Zack is going to try to make good with previous flame Bliss and Irina is, unsurprisingly, now gunning for her best friend’s man. Clearly, she’s never heard of girl code before. — Carolyn Droke

4. Paul & Micah

Paul and Micah have had an interesting ride so far. In the pods, they have some commonalities that spark their bond — from their shared love of Italy to him having the same name as her father (Do with that what you will). During the group in-person pool party, Micah starts to cozy up to Kwame after already ending their connection days earlier. In her current mean girl-esque reputation, she tells him to toast to a “failed proposal.” Needless to say, that comment backfired on her and Kwame was not having it. Paul plays a similar game, getting to know Irina and telling Zack that he might have been wrong to choose her. While these two aren’t the biggest disaster this season, they definitely have the potential to get there. And we’ll be shocked if they make it to the altar. — Lexi Lane

3. Kwame & Chelsea

Kwame and Chelsea being third on this list speaks more to the sub-par quality of the aforementioned couples, than their own on-screen appeal. To be honest, this has a lot more to do with Kwame than it does with Chelsea. In just over five minutes of the first episode of season four, Kwame rattled off a story about being unable to pick up his prom date because he is Black and how that ties into his desire to try and impress at every instance with things like his Master’s degree. The issue here is if your skin color is a problem, there’s a good chance that no degree(s) will solve that. Moments later, he shared how he almost considered saying his name was “Alex” to avoid being boxed into a “very specific area,” and there are only a handful of options for what “area” he is referring to.

At this point, many viewers’ feelings about Kwame had soured, to put it nicely, and it didn’t get any better in the following episodes. Between his failed proposal with Micah, the original song he cringingly performed for Chelsea, and seemingly flirting with Micah during the five couples’ trip to Mexico, Kwame has proven to be far from your star student. Luckily for him, social media-crowned “mean girls” Irina and Micah have done a bit more damage to keep him and Chelsea away from last place. Plus, Chelsea’s pretty cool for what it’s worth. — Wongo Okon

2. Marshall & Jackelina

Marshall and Jackelina are an adorable couple and it was clear that Marshall was all about her from early episodes of Love Is Blind season four. In episode two, the couple had an emotional moment together where Marshall opened up about his strict and heavy-handed parents and how they contributed to his issues with anxiety as a kid. Marshall also came to Jackie’s defense when another man who took interest in her, Josh, seemingly tried to manipulate her into getting into a couple with him. It was a perfect and slightly-bump free road towards Marshall’s proposal and beautiful speech to Jackie, which was met by a just-as-sweet response from her.

The only thing keeping them from being most likely to last is the pressures and stress that Jackie senses about her return home and how a future with Marshall might play out fears. Though Marshall tries to calm her fears, there won’t be much he can do if she’s unable to overcome the internal issues that cause her to be worried about what lies ahead for them. In order for them to progress, they’ll have to let go of their respective pasts and it remains to be seen if they can do that. — Wongo Okon

1. Brett &Tiffany

Brett and Tiffany were off to somewhat of a wild start, especially after she fell asleep while he was confessing his admiration. However, that proved to not affect them all that much, as everything after they met has basically been smooth sailing. Even the other couples have taken notice of how strong they are. In recent interviews, Tiffany’s described Brett as having a “calming type of presence.” Plus, the feeling is mutual — I mean, he even gave her sneakers. These two just give off the purest and sweetest energy. There are no games being played or pining after another past pod partner. — Lexi Lane

‘Love Is Blind’ season four is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Life Is Beautiful, the annual Las Vegas music festival, has revealed its lineup to celebrate the tenth anniversary. The Killers, Kendrick Lamar, and Odesza will be headlining each of the three nights from September 22 to 24.

Other acts on the bill this year include The 1975, Flume, Khalid, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nelly, Kim Petras, Omar Apollo, Blxst, Madeon, Ferg, Bebe Rexha, Rina Sawayama, Raye, and many more performers.

“We are thrilled that all three headliners will be returning to the festival,” Craig Asher Nyman, Director of Music, Programming, and Development for Life is Beautiful, said in a statement. “It’s pretty special to have this collection of artists who have all been so instrumental to music over the lifespan of Life is Beautiful. Pairing those artists with current and future superstars of music sets the stage for our biggest party yet.”

Along with music, there will be the standard local food trucks and special appearances from casino performers like Blue Man Group, Cirque Du Soleil, Piff The Magic Dragon, Tape Face, Magic Mike Live, and more.

“This year’s lineup is a reflection of the ten years we’ve spent striving to give fans incredible experiences, centered around a weekend of revelry in Las Vegas,” Nyman added. “They asked, and we listened! Our fans are the heartbeat of this festival, and it’s our intention to deliver a festival that is a true representation of their interests.”

Tickets for the festival go on sale on March 30. More information is available here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.