Author: Rap Hooks

Get ready to flip out: G Flip will take their Bed On Fire tour through North America this summer.

The Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist launches the trek off the back of “Bed On Fire,” which too is on fire after it was synced in Amazon’s Off Campus series. G Flip’s latest coast-to-coast visit gets underway Aug. 4 at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom, and will include dates in Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Nashville, and elsewhere.

Also, G will headline Chicago Pride on June 21, and perform at Brighton Pride on Aug. 1, before supporting Robbie Williams’ BRITPOP Australian stadiums jaunt this November.

It’s been another hot run for the multiple ARIA Award-winning Sydney artist, who recorded the official song for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, and performed a mini-set at the soccer tournament’s grant final.

Since then, “Bed On Fire” has been sizzling. On the latest ARIA Singles Chart, it has snagged a new peak position, up 33-28; the cut sits at No. 2 on Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales chart; and it crashed Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs tally, with a peak of No. 46.

Following the premiere of Off Campus in May, the tune has seen total streams surge by more than 650%, according to reps, with over 86% of its lifetime streams generated during that period. Total worldwide streams have flown by 20 million.

G has been in record-setting form in their homeland, where in early 2024, they established a then-record by landing a total of seven songs in triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown, including the No. 2 ranked track, “The Worst Person in the World”. That bettered the mark previously held by rock trio Wolfmother, which scored six entries in a countdown two decades earlier, in 2005 (Charli xcx and Billie Eilish have since raised the bar, with eight entries each).

Earlier, in 2023, G landed a first ARIA No. 1 album with DRUMMER, released via Future Classic/Universal (their debut from 2019, About Us, peaked at No. 6), and bagged two ARIA Awards.

“Bed On Fire” appears on their third studio album, Dream Ride (via AWAL Recordings), which G described as their “little ‘80s Butch Springsteen fantasy.” Dream Ride motored to No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart last September.

The general ticket onsale for the Bed On Fire tour starts today, June 18 at 10am. Visit gflipmusic.com/tour for more.

2026 Bed On Fire Tour:

Aug. 4 — Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

Aug. 6 — The Sinclair, Boston, MA

Aug. 7 — Le Studio TD, Montreal, QC

Aug. 8 — Mod Club, Toronto, ON

Aug. 10 — Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL

Aug. 18 — The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

Aug. 20 — The Independent, San Francisco, CA

Aug. 22 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom

Aug. 24 – Vancouver,  BC – Hollywood Theatre

As should be expected, Stewart Copeland is spending a fair amount of time talking and answering questions about the Police during his current spoken word tour of North America. And he’s pleased to report that he, Sting and Andy Summers “get along just fine” these days, even in the midst of a lawsuit over royalties.

“We’re not (in court). The bean counters are, somewhere over in London,” the group’s drummer tells Billboard. “For me it’s, ‘Lemme know how it works out…’”

Copeland and Summers sued Sting in England last year, claiming that under band songwriting agreements dating back to the Police’s formation in 1977 they are owed $2 million in unpaid royalties. Summers, in fact, has been particularly outspoken in feeling he should have received a songwriting credit for the Grammy Award-winning 1983 smash “Every Breath You Take.” The case has made its way to the U.K.’s High Court; records indicate Sting has paid his former bandmates $870,000, but Copeland and Summers are still seeking the rest of the claim.

Copeland, however, says he still talks to Sting, about “kids, Instagram memes, bullshit… I’m happy that we get along just fine, and we know way. It’s not because of satanic impulses or any of the human infirmities of jealousy, greed, pride, whatever. It’s because we had a spell where our music universes overlapped and we created some incredible stuff. We really achieved everything we needed to achieve. Really, as I’ve been saying a lot recently, ol’ Sting-O and I, we make music for different reasons, and it has a different place in our lives. So we get along great as long as we’re not trying to make music together.”

The Police was together between 1977-1984, releasing five studio albums capped by 1983’s eight-times platinum Synchronicity, which has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. The trio reunited for three concerts on Amnesty International’s A Conspiracy of Hope tour in 1986 and a 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, then for a global reunion tour during 2007-2008, assisted by band therapy according to Copeland. “We had professionals come along and straighten us out; I guess their day job was probably, like marriage counseling,” he recalls. “It worked so well after our session the business suits said, ‘Hey guys, let’s put another six months on the tour!’ ‘Sure!’

“It was actually a lot of fun — a lot of misery and a lot of fun at the same time. But after two years of it, we were all read to get back to our central mission.”

That’s been busy multi-media careers for all three of the Police men — in Copeland’s case forays into opera and classical composition, film and video game scoring, filmmaking and writing. He’s the subject of a new documentary, Copeland, which premieres June 19 at the Raindance Film Festival in London, and is writing another opera that’s “kind of under wraps until it will be revealed to the world.” He’s also expanding his touring Police Deranged for Orchestra repertoire to include other songs from his career. “Instead of just the Police it will be the entire world f***ed up,” Copeland says.

Despite what sounds like a full docket, however, Copeland considers himself “fully retired” from music — at least in a commercial sense. “I’ve had a career in music; it worked out well. Now I just do it for kicks and put (music) up on YouTube for folks to enjoy, without any agenda. I’m not chasing the charts; if I make a record, it’s probably gonna cost me money. You can’t make a living writing opera, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Copeland has also written another book — publication details still TBA — that he describes as “a guide to living the life with people chasing you for autographs, with interviews asking you pointed questions, with all the stuff that goes with rock ‘n’ roll celebrity, all the weirdness. ‘Cause it’s a very weird place. It’s not normal; people don’t treat musicians the same way they treat dentists, even though dentists are far more important for their health. Inhabiting that weird world on that precarious pedestal is a strange thing.” He’s interviewed therapists and other musicians for the book, including Kiss’ Gene Simmons and Carly Simon.

The latter, in fact, gave Copeland “one little weirdness” of a story, from the making of her second album, Anticipation, in London during the summer of 1971. “I get into band dynamics (in the book), and I was talking to her about the phenomenon about romance in a band, like Fleetwood Mac, like ‘How does that work?’ And she says, ‘When I was recording (Anticipation) in London and feeling all the mojo and all the excitement… with these incredible musicians, staying at this beautiful house near Hyde Park and recording by day, and at night with all the musicians, I f***ed them all.’ I said, ‘Can I put that in the book?’ ‘Sure’ — she didn’t use the F-bomb, but, I mean, it’s pretty amazing.

“And the dynamic was clear. By day they’re making music, which is very emotionally engaging, very tense, and the natural result of all that manifested itself by night, and then the next day they would make the music of love, and it was even bigger than her first album.”

Clearly, then, Copeland has plenty of fodder for his Have I Said Too Much? The Police, Hollywood and Other Adventures shows. He launched the multi-media presentation last year in the United Kingdom and began an extensive North American run earlier this month, with dates booked into early August and another leg during October and November. “I’m telling these wild stories I have, instead of to just one person or a dinner table, to a room full of people,” Copeland says. “And getting laughs is kind of fun. I never imagined that would be in my career path, but I’m having a great time doing it.”

In addition to his prepared remarks he also answers written audience questions, submitted to a bucket in the venue lobbies.

“My favorite one, which got the biggest laugh of the evening, was, ‘What hotel are you staying in tonight?’” he recalls. “That got a bigger laugh than any of my gags, goddammit.’ And then when the laughter died down, the rest of the question says, ‘Because I need to know where to pick up my mom in the morning.’” Copeland’s answer? The Four Seasons, Milwaukee — even though he was in Dublin, Ireland at the time.

“My life is an open book,” Copeland notes. “There’s no uncomfortable subjects, really — in fact, the more discomfort, the more you can milk it for laughs. I’m really enjoying this.”

Upcoming dates on Copeland’s Have I Said Too Much? The Police, Hollywood and Other Adventures tour:

June 18 — Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA
June 20 — Presidio Theatre, San Francisco, CA
June 25 — Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver, BC
June 27 — Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR
June 28 — Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
July 6-7 — The Kate (Second show), Old Saybrook, CT
July 9 — City Winery, Boston, MA
July 10 — The Waldo Theatre, Waldoboro, ME
July 11 — BNH Stage, Concord, NH
July 12 — Greenwich Odeum, East Greenwich, RI
July 14 — The Paramount, Huntington, NY
July 16 — South Orange Performing Arts Center, South Orange, NJ
July 17 — Daryl’s House Club, Pawling, NY
July 18 — The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville, PA
July 19 — The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
July 21 — Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD
July 22 — Palace Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
July 24 — The Kent Stage, Kent, OH
July 25 — Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, OH
July 28 — The Parkway Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
July 30 — Vivarium, Milwaukee, WI
July 31 — North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie, IL
Aug. 1 — Wealthy Theatre, Grand Rapids, MI
Aug. 2 — Tarkington, Carmel, IN
Aug. 4 — City Winery, Nashville, TN
Aug. 6 — Harvester Performance Center, Rocky Mount, VA
Aug. 7 — The Beacon Theatre, Hopewell, VA
Oct. 28 — Scherr Forum, Thousand Oaks, CA
Oct. 30 — Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ
Nov. 1 — Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City, UT
Nov. 3 — Boulder Theatre, Boulder, CO
Nov. 4 — Holiday Theatre, Denver, CO
Nov. 6 — The Admiral, Omaha, NE
Nov. 7 — Granada Theater, Lawrence, KS
Nov. 8 — Wildey Theatre, Edwardsville, IL
Nov. 10 — Magic Bag, Detroit MI
Nov. 12 — Center for the Arts of Homer, Homer, NY
Nov. 13 — Bethel Woods Event Gallery, Bethal, NY
Nov. 15 — Spruce Peak Performing Arts, Stowe, VT
Nov. 17 — Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA
Nov. 18 — Elkton Music Hall, Elkton, MD
Nov. 20 — Appell Center for Performing Arts, York, PA
Nov. 22 — Carolina Theatre, Charlotte, NC

SYDNEY, Australia — Amy Mackie is named as managing director, ticketing at TEG, parent of Ticketek.

Her appointment, announced this week, is the latest in a succession of sweeping executive changes at TEG (or Ticketek Entertainment Group), the Australia-based live entertainment, ticketing and tech giant.

Those recent executive moves include the departure of CEO Brad Banducci, and the promotion of Cameron Hoy, chief operating officer and head of global ticketing, into the vacant, top position.

In this newly-created position, Mackie will oversee TEG’s ticketing strategy and operations across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the United Kingdom, working closely with the general managers for ticketing and memberships in each region. One of those GMs is Singapore-based Melvin Koh, who was recently appointed general manager, ticketing Asia.

“I am delighted to announce Amy’s appointment to lead TEG’s ticketing division,” remarks Hoy of Mackie’s appointment. “Amy brings significant depth to the role with over 17 years’ experience in our business spanning product, technology, marketing and operations. Amy is a highly capable, dedicated and passionate executive, and I am incredibly proud to be making this very well-deserved appointment.”

With the new role, Mackie becomes a member of TEG’s executive committee and reports to Hoy.

Mackie’s CV gathers 17 years’ experience in various roles across the ticketing business, including marketing, product, technology, and operations. Recently, she served as managing director, ticketing solutions, and GM of Ticketek U.K.

“I’m excited to be leading such an established and talented team across our markets,” Mackie remarks. “My focus is on supporting them to continue delivering the high standards we’re known for, while maintaining our emphasis on the critical link between technology, product and operations. We have the capability, the teams and the momentum to continue serving our clients with excellence and to pursue new opportunities.”

TEG (or Ticketek Entertainment Group) is owned by Silver Lake, the U.S.-based private equity company which specializes in technology investing, through a deal struck in 2019 worth more than A$1.3 billion.

The company’s empire gathers the ticketing powerhouse Ticketek, TEG Dainty, TEG Van Egmond, plus TEG Live, TEG Sport, TEG Experiences, Ovation and other businesses.

Founded in 1979, Ticketek’s Australian presence sells over 23 million tickets to more than 20,000 events each year, according to a statement on its official website, including concerts at ANZ Stadium, Qudos Bank Arena, Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Suncorp Stadium, and Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Today, the ticketing specialist operates seven country offices, including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Robbie Williams, arguably the most successful British male artist this century, has signed with WME for worldwide agency representation.

Announced early Wednesday, June 17, the former Take That singer joins WME after his move to the ATC Management roster.

Robbie, as he’s affectionately known to his millions of fans, is a megastar in the United Kingdom and Europe, and around the globe.

According to the Official Charts Company, Robbie boasts six of the top 100 best-selling albums in British recorded music history, with 16 U.K. No. 1 albums as a solo artist — breaking the tie with the Beatles, for the most leader of all time. He also owns 18 Brit Awards, more than any other artist. His international album sales top 90 million.

In the United States, where his cheeky-chappie appeal never quite caught on, Robbie bagged two appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 led by “Angels” at No. 53, and four of his albums impacted the Billboard 200 chart.

Across his decorated career, Williams has collected eight German ECHO Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, and last year was appointed as the official FIFA music ambassador, through which he co-wrote and recorded the FIFA anthem, “Desire,” which will be played at the international soccer governing body’s future tournaments, including the current FIFA World Cup.

Also last year, he won the prestigious PRS for Music Icon Award at The Ivors 2025, his fifth Ivor Novello Award. His big screen projects include the Oscar-nominated film Better Man, which swept the 2025 AACTA Awards in Sydney, taking home four major trophies including best film. He’s also the subject of a well-received four-part documentary for Netflix, Robbie Williams.

As a member of Take That, Robbie lived the largest of lives. Formed in 1989 as a five-piece — Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Williams — the pop group was one of the most popular acts of its generation, certainly in the U.K., where few acts can challenge their chart superiority.

Take That is also a proven box-office juggernaut. Their record-breaking 2011 Progress tour (for which Williams returned to the fold) sold over 1 million tickets in less than 24 hours; the following year the lads performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics; and they hold the record for the most performances at London’s The O2, with 34 headline shows.

Williams is playing stadiums around the globe this year in support of his new album BRITPOP, which dropped in January and immediately went to No. 1 in his homeland.

“Is everyone alright? It’s good to be back.”

The answer to that open question from Eddy Current Suppression Ring’s frontman Brendan Huntley is, of course, “yes,” and absolutely. Sixteen years have passed since ECSR worked their homebaked brand of punk rock on Sydney crowds. That damned drought came to an end in spectacular fashion on Friday night, June 12, fittingly as Vivid Sydney 2026 entered its final stages.

ECSR are royalty in Australia’s underground scene, princes of independent, garage rock. Formed back in 2003 in the front room of a vinyl pressing plant in Highett, a suburb of Melbourne, the four-piece built a cult following, one that extends far beyond these shores.  Half a decade later, ECSR had ascended the throne with Primary Colours, their second studio album, which would win the coveted Australian Music Prize for the best Aussie album of the year, regardless of sales or hype, and snagged an AIR Award for best independent hard rock/punk album. For the AIR Awards ceremony in 2008, at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel, they nailed a meaty mini-set for industry guests.

Sightings of ECSR are uncommon. These lads are like rare birds.

Then, a bolt from the blue. ECSR recently dropped a new, fifth studio album, In Light of Recent Events, their follow-up to 2019’s All in Good Time. A heads-up came in 2025 with the release of a three-track EP Shapes And Forms, which was supported last September with a free-show at Federation Square, in the band’s hometown.

Last weekend was Sydney’s turn, with a free, headline show at Tumbalong Park, on Darling Harbour. “Sixteen years,” Huntley said at the top, shaking his head, perhaps recognizing the length of the hiatus as both a blink of an eye, and an entire lifetime. Whatever, it was too long. Huntley hasn’t lost any of his frontman skills. Throughout the set, which included “Cool Ice Cream,” “Colour Television” and “Which Way to Go,” he paced about like a cat, looking for a mouse that got away. We see that introspective skinny dance, the thousand-yard stare. The gloves still fit. Gee, it’s good to have them back.

ECSR was one of the highlights of Tumbalong Nights, which showcased upwards of 40 artists from 12 countries, including Aussie acts Mallrat, Matt Corby and Gretta Ray.

All up, the Sydney-wide festival booked 217 events, and 2,253 sessions across 89 locations across its three weeks. The Vivid LIVE program at the Sydney Opera House featured Mitski’s residency and performances from the likes of Jeff Mills, King Stingray, Mogwai and 2026 Libera Award winners Folk Bitch Trio, all of it shifting almost 40,000 tickets for the strongest box office result since COVID-19 and its second-largest on record, organizers say.

The Carriageworks program, which included performances from Lil’ Kim, Alison Wonderland and others, captured more than 30,000 ticket bookings, generating a 38% gain in revenue compared with the previous year’s event. 

“This year’s Vivid Sydney has been an extraordinary success,” enthuses Vivid Sydney festival director Brett Sheehy, “exceeding our expectations not only terms of sell out shows across the program, but also in the level of enthusiasm, connection, and delight we’ve seen across the city.” Visitors stuck around, too. “What’s been particularly striking this year is the depth of engagement across the program, with visitors exploring more than ever,” adds Sheehy. “On average they attended 4.5 locations and spent around three hours immersed in the festival per visit.”

Eddy Current’s fans came and stayed for their special set, on the penultimate evening of the Sydney-wide live entertainment and arts extravaganza. Many in the crowd would proudly wear the Gen-X badge, beer in hand, wearing sensible, but pretty groovy, jackets on a chilly night. Up front, the younger, wilder fans unleashed their energy the old-fashioned way — by crowd surfing.

It was a blast from the past, much like the band on stage.

“I’d love to see you again someday,” remarked Huntley, after taking the plunge for his own end-of-set surf, as he rode the crowd on his back while belting out “Get Up Morning.” “You’re always good to us, Sydney.”

Vivid Sydney is owned, managed, and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency.

Isaac Atkins is one man whose job doesn’t define him.

The 23-year-old from Lewiston, Maine, speaks with a booming baritone voice, the kind that thumps your chest like a sound system built to handle bass. No doubt he uses that talent to some effect in his regular job, serving as a sergeant in the U.S. army.

On Tuesday night, June 16, Atkins got his chance to chase his dream when he stopped by America’s Got Talent during the Auditions phase.

At the top, Simon Cowell asked why Atkins was stood before him, and why now? Atkins, who is currently on leave (“I took a few days off to come here”), loves nothing more than to sing in the car. He’s been doing it since he was a kid, we learned, when his dad introduced him to the magic of Motown, and Sam Cooke.

Roughly 18 months ago, Atkins decided to share his gifts on social media with clips of himself singing songs by a slew of artists, from Elvis Presley to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, sombr, Gucci Mane, Bell Biv DeVoe, The Smiths and others. His colleagues saw it, loved it. They were “the ones who kind of urged me to come here and sing. And realize my dream,” he recounts on the AGT stage. “So, I’m really happy to be here.”

Performing in front of a national — no, international — audience is no accident. “This is my dream,” he remarks.

Atkins didn’t waste his chance. He showcased his range and power with a cover of “Beggin’,” the soulful 1967 song by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons that enjoyed a second life when it was covered by Eurovision champions Måneskin in 2017.

“Isaac, let me tell you,” Mel B enthused. “You can sing.”

Sofía Vergara had similar thoughts. “What a voice. What a sexy voice you have,” she added.

Before Cowell or Howie Mandel had a chance to chime in, Mel B took matters into her hands. “Hold on a minute, before anyone else does this, I’m going to do it,” the Spice Girl said, as she reached for the Golden Buzzer. Cue gold confetti and good times.

Atkins, who has been in the army for six years and is stationed in Honolulu, now advances to the Live round of NBC’s AGT, which is currently in its 21st season.

Watch his Audition in full below.