‘He had this electrical charge’: the short life and long legacy of Jason Molina, master of Americana

As a documentary celebrates the late US musician, friends and collaborators describe an incomparable storyteller who brought ‘myth and magic to everyday life’

Cyndi Lauper on fun, fashion and freedom of expression: ‘We have braces on our brains’

As she auctions off her treasures, the synth-pop savant opens up about her eccentric style and why she doesn’t believe in cancel culture

Vast Beatles museum, hailed as ‘extraordinary’ by Paul McCartney, to open in Liverpool in 2028

City’s Beatles Story museum to move to 100,000 sq ft new home and official ownership, along with Yellow Submarine makeover of Liverpool’s second-tallest building

‘Taylor Swift tells us to take the lead!’ Could highly organised pop fans clinch victory for Brazil’s Lula?

Brazil’s famously outspoken fandoms have near-unanimously rallied behind the leftwing presidential candidate. On the streets of São Paulo, they explain their mission

‘We tried to levitate the Pentagon’: the almost unbelievable life of Ed Sanders, trickster god of the US counterculture

He gave Jimi Hendrix his gear, freaked out Frank Sinatra, inspired Norman Mailer – and tried to topple the American war machine. As a documentary about his band the Fugs comes out, the 87-year-old gives a rare interview

Michael Kiwanuka: Fudge review – rough and instinctive, but also lush and alive with melody

Its release delayed by ill health, Kiwanuka’s latest was made in tandem with 2024’s Small Changes – but it’s much more than a mere companion album

Will there ever again be a band as big as the Beatles or the Stones?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

‘I drunkenly sing Wonderwall off-key and awfully’: Rebecca Ferguson’s honest playlist

The singer-songwriter gets a lift from U2 and likes to reminisce to Bette Midler, but which cheesy Euro banger does she secretly like?

Add to playlist: the buzzy bildungsromans of boy wonder Superfan and the week’s best new tracks

Kali Flanagan was handpicked by Julian Casablancas to support the Strokes – now, at 21, he’s writing songs full of the rushing emotions of youth

‘The mainstream has come to them’: how did Fontaines DC go from Dublin dive bars to headlining stadiums?

Once scrappy post-punk poets, they’re now one of the biggest bands in the world. As they release new album Dopamine Chamber, fans including Kneecap and Shame explain their sensational rise

Worldpeace DMT: Stick Around for Tea review – ‘laptop twee’ duo keep things goofy but strengthen songs

Bringing back the hyperliterate sound design of their acclaimed 2025 debut, the London duo explore childhood with whimsical humour and terrific musicality

‘I need to prove my family’s sacrifice was worth it’: how pop auteur Shygirl slogged her way to the top

Adored by Madonna and Charli xcx and buoyed by finding true love, the Londoner is branching out into rock and breaking the mainstream. She explains how her working class upbringing made her so fearless

Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words review – Chamayou makes each piece feel somehow familiar yet fresh

The pianist brings a singing quality and seeming effortlessness to the complete set of Songs Without Words

‘Don’t do this!’ Why Paul McCartney cares about looking shorter than John Lennon in Sam Mendes’ Beatles films

You’re Paul McCartney. So how come you’re still getting het up at a fictional version of you being marginally smaller than a fictional version of John Lennon?

‘A guy held a knife to my throat and said: play something normal!’ Richard Thompson on crazy crowds, his beloved beret and Sandy Denny’s driving skills

As he releases new album Hippies, Thugs and Heroes, the 77-year-old British folk legend answers your questions about Billy Connolly, Californian fish and chips and whether he nearly joined the Eagles