Dafydd Owain’s second album wins the 2026 Welsh music prize
Ymarfer Byw, which was praised for its ‘musical excellence’, beat 14 other albums to the prize of £10,000
How Black banjo players are changing Americana music
Originating with enslaved Africans, the banjo is now being reclaimed by Black musicians in contemporary music
Only connect: two composers who put humans at the heart of their music, and the conductor who didn’t
This week, from Reich to Kendall and Celibidache, three musicians who prove there is no such thing as “pure music”, whether we’re talking about a technique, a mode of musical expression or a musician’s legacy.
‘In the wake of death, Courtney Love was giving it her all’: Hole’s Melissa Auf der Maur on her best photograph
‘This is Courtney doing her makeup on the ’95 Lollapalooza tour. I was documenting my generation being hijacked by corporate greed – and destroyed following the sacrificial death of Kurt Cobain’
The 80-year-old market trader who became a Chilean music star
Born and raised in Valparaíso, JM is seen as one of the last of a golden generation after a late foray
Freddie Jackson, romantic US singer with 10 R&B chart-toppers, dies aged 70
Celebrated for his earnest, dextrous voice, Jackson crossed into the pop charts with the hits Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake) and You Are My Lady
24 Hour Party People review – daring metatextual paean to the Manchester music scene
Michael Winterbottom’s freewheeling 2002 film about Tony Wilson, champion of post-punk bands, couldn’t have starred anyone but Steve Coogan
O2 signs record deal to keep London venue’s naming rights
Exclusive: 10-year sponsorship extension at a 50% premium on last agreement crowns bonanza year for live venue
Dolly Parton’s estate alleges her nephew used barbed wire to avoid being served
Court filing alleges Bryan Seaver, star’s ex-security head, had also posted no trespassing signs to thwart serving of lawsuit
The west has a blinkered view of African music – and it’s hurting the whole continent’s culture
The term Afrobeats is applied to all sorts of genres, flattening them into one. Artists, media and the music industry must do better at showing off the richness of African pop
V/H/S/Mixtape review – murderous puppets pull the strings in mixed bag of gory music-themed mini-movies
Metal band Gwar host this instalment of the horror series, which serves up darkly humorous movie morsels that would struggle to frighten a toddler
George Fenton, Oscar-nominated British composer for more than 100 films, dies aged 76
Fenton’s successes include scores for Gandhi, Groundhog Day and 18 Ken Loach films, plus BBC TV news themes, Blue Planet and more
Holding Lightning by Emily Lordi review – an intimate portrait of Whitney Houston
An empathetic biography of the the singer recasts her tumultuous later career as a triumph of self-expression
Olivia Dean review – a powerful, affirming night with a pop star at the height of her powers
The singer’s first stop on her Australia and New Zealand tour is a fun but sincere demonstration of the power of pop to get at what love’s all about
Barkouf review – Offenbach’s lost operetta is a quirky shaggy dog story
Opera Rara revive the 1860 work in which a dog is appointed Sultan. A fine cast, the Hallé and ENO chorus, and impeccable rhyming narration from Alistair McGowan, ensure things fizz