Listen up, music fans.
From must-see concerts to upcoming releases, reunions and more, we’re breaking down the hottest music news and events happening from Los Angeles to New York each month.
Follow along for the latest highlights featuring artists and bands across all genres.
January
Green Day set to kick off Super Bowl 2026 with opening ceremony performance
Get excited, sports fans!
The NFL announced on Jan. 18 that Green Day will kick off Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 with “a high-energy opening ceremony celebrating Super Bowl’s 60th anniversary” at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
We’re told the East Bay-native rock band — which consists of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — will open the championship game “by ushering generations of Super Bowl MVPs onto the field with a dynamic performance of their most iconic rock anthems.”
“We are super hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard!” lead singer Armstrong said in a statement. “We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let’s have fun! Let’s get loud!”
The opening ceremony will air live at 6 p.m.ET/3 p.m. PT on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and Universo before Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones round out the pregame entertainment. Later, Bad Bunny will take the field for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
Good Charlotte performs first LA show in a decade at iHeartRadio ALTer EGO
Good Charlotte is back “home.”
The rock band performed their first Los Angeles show in 10 years on Jan. 17, taking the stage for iHeartRadio ALTer EGO 2026.
“I just feel excited. I feel grateful. LA’s home, so it’s really nice to play a hometown show,” Benji Madden told Alt 98.7’s Booker and Stryker backstage ahead of the show, admitting they “always have a little bit of nerves” before a performance.
Their high-energy set included several fan-favorite hits from their catalog, including “Girls & Boys,” “Rejects,” “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” and “The Anthem.”
“The only thing we care about in this band is our songs and the people that listen to our songs,” Joel Madden told the crowd. “Thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts. We love you, Los Angeles.”
Another highlight of the night was when Twenty One Pilots took the stage, with Tyler Joseph at one point announcing that it was Josh Dun’s first show “as a dad.”
The drummer welcomed his first child, a baby girl named Felix, with wife Debby Ryan in December 2025.
“Today’s a very special day, because today is the very first show that Josh has ever played as a father,” Joseph said, as the crowd erupted into cheers. “He used to be our daddy, but now we gotta share him.”
Other performers throughout the evening included Green Day, Cage the Elephant, Sublime, Gigi Perez, Mt. Joy and Almost Monday.
Next up, iHeartRadio will be hosting the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 26. The show will air live on Fox from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Taylor Swift leads the nominations this year with nine total nods, followed closely behind by Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and Alex Warren, who all received eight. The full list of performers and presenters — along with the show’s host and special award recipients — will be announced at a later date.
Charli XCX unveils new track from ‘Wuthering Heights’ album
“Brat” summer may be over, but “Wuthering Heights” winter is officially in.
Charli XCX released “Wall Of Sound” on Jan. 16, a song from her upcoming “Wuthering Heights” album, which serves as a soundtrack to Emerald Fennell’s 2026 film adaptation of the same name.
“Unbelievable tension, wall of sound / No real reason and I can’t escape it,” she begins on the track, which accompanies already-released songs “Chains of Love” and “House.”
Charli XCX previously revealed in a Substack post that “Wuthering Heights” director Fennell approached her via text in December 2024 and sent her a script for the movie, which she “devoured” immediately.
“I began to sink into this reimagined world of Wuthering Heights and I suddenly began to feel… inspired. I was immersing myself in a story that was not my own, a story that was steeped in history, a story that had existed since 1847 (tysm Desiree Murphy Emily Brontë),” the singer wrote last November.
“I was purely a voyeur and I was enjoying being one. The language of this world felt so opposite from the world I had been inhabiting for the past 2 and a half years. I began to feel a sense of freedom again.”
Charli XCX’s “Wuthering Heights” album drops Feb. 13, the same day the highly anticipated movie — starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi — hits theaters. In the meantime, pre-save the album here.
Halsey surprises fans with secret guest at Back to Badlands Tour stop in NYC
Halsey’s Back to Badlands Tour is already filled with surprises.
During their concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center in New York City on Jan. 14, the singer shocked fans when she brought out Taking Back Sunday frontman Adam Lazzara. The pair performed TBS’ emo classic “Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team)” during the show’s encore.
“My life is about to change in a big f–king way,” Halsey proclaimed as Lazzara walked on stage.
The “Without Me” singer has been a longtime fan of TBS, even remarking via social media in 2015, “Everything I know I learned from Adam Lazzara.”
Halsey’s Back to Badlands Tour continues abroad with stops in Europe, the UK and Australia. Find tickets and more info here.
Reporting by Jacquelyn Kozak.
Got a music pitch? Contact Desiree Murphy.
Read the full article here
