While You Were Away: New Music From Bear Hands And Pale Waves, Riot Fest Stays In Douglass Park, And More
We’re back from vacation and ready to catch you up on the latest music news! Did you miss us while we were away? (See what we did there?) This week we’re talking about new music from Bear Hands and Pale Waves, Riot Fest moving back to Douglass Park, Disney’s pop punk album, and more.
Disney reveal artists and tracklist for pop-punk covers album
Remember the Disney pop-punk covers album that was announced a while back? Now the House of Mouse has shared the artists and the tracklist for A Whole New Sound, out on September 6th.
Along with previously released covers by Simple Plan and Magnolia Park, the album will include contributions from Yellowcard, Bowling For Soup, LØLØ, Meet Me @ The Altar, Mayday Parade and New Found Glory. You can hear New Found Glory’s version of “Part of Your World” below.
“In approaching this song, I sat with the lyrics and melodies for a while,” explains guitarist Chad Gilbert. “I realized that to make people feel what Ariel’s feeling, we needed to match the energy of the music with the rebellious thoughts of the song, along with her hope for adventure. When she sings about wanting to dance, the music is upbeat and fun, but when she expresses her longing for freedom, the rhythm drops so you really feel the pull of the heart.
“Our band’s biggest goal has always been to show and encourage young adults, the young at heart, and any person that has a dream but faces self-doubt that there is another world out there that will accept them for exactly who they are. To not be afraid to take the next step.”
See the tracklist and pre-order the album here.
Bear Hands get trippy on new single ‘Adderall / Ambien’
Bear Hands have shared their new single and video for “Adderall/Ambien” taken from their upcoming album The Key to What.
“This song chronicles a personal history with drugs and includes a discussion of which ones will ruin your life and which ones will make life worth living,” explains frontman Dylan Rau further noting, “Your mileage may vary!”
The video itself, directed by Rau with help from Christopher Saunders and producer partner Ursula Strauss, shows the singer at home in a daze as he dances around, soaks in the hot tub, and stares out into space. Rau says “the visuals for ‘Adderall / Ambien’ paint a portrait of life in the grip of addiction and isolation whilst also having a pretty good time.”
Watch the video below.
Pre-order The Key to What here.
Riot Fest moves back to Chicago’s Douglass Park
Riot Fest won’t be moving to the Chicago suburbs after all.
After festival organizers could not agree with the Chicago Park District, they dropped the shocking news that the event would be moved to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. After receiving such a mixed reaction from fans, they revealed the festival will stay in Douglass Park.
“Driven by the overwhelming support of the City of Chicago and our fans, we’re excited to announce that we are coming back home to Chicago and Douglass Park,” organizers said.
In its own statement, the Chicago Park District said Riot Fest was returning “by community demand” after the two sides were able to “come together with a renewed commitment to collaboration and engagement.”
Due to the venue change (again), Riot Fest is offering a 20% off ticket promo for anybody who refers a friend. Additionally, anyone who previously refunded a ticket due to the move to Bridgeview will be able to purchase tickets at the early bird price. Parking passes are being automatically refunded. More details can be found at the festival’s website.
Riot Fest takes place in Chicago’s Douglass Park from September 20th-22nd.
Pale Waves share new song ‘Gravity’
Pale Waves have released their new single and video “Gravity” from their upcoming album, Smitten, out September 20th.
The song is ripped from singer Heather Baron-Gracie’s own life as it deals with her experience of dating a woman who was struggling with her sexuality.
“‘Gravity’ is about a woman who chose Jesus over me,” shares Heather. “It took the longest of all of the songs on the album to finish, I think we must have rewritten it millions of times to get it to where it is now.”
Watch the video starring Baron-Gracie’s girlfriend and directed by Georgie Cowan-Turner below.
Pre-order Smitten here.
Tours on sale
Knocked Loose will head out on an 18-date US fall tour with support from The Garden, DRAIN, and Militarie Gun. The tour starts October 5th in Buffalo, New York, and runs through November 10th in Washington, D.C. Get all the details here.
Better Lovers have announced a 2025 UK headline tour with Frontierer and Greyhaven. The trek kicks off on January 17th in Bristol and wraps up on January 24th in Birmingham. See all the dates here.
The HU will embark on their fall headline North American tour in October with special guest The Funeral Portrait. The tour starts in Santa Cruz, California on October 12th and wraps up with a show in Houston, Texas on November 15th. See the new dates here.
Bruno Mars has added six new shows to his residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas. The new shows start December 18th and include a New Year’s Eve show. Get all the details here.
