Metallica opened its 24-show “Life Burns Faster” residency at Sphere in Las Vegas on October 1 and 3, playing two distinct sets across roughly 30 songs combined. Highlights included the first live performance of “…And Justice for All” since 2014, the return of “Devil’s Dance” for the first time since 2008, and “The Outlaw Torn” back in the set after a gap dating to 2019, according to the band’s representatives. The two opening nights drew a combined crowd the announcement puts at nearly 40,000.

The residency runs through March 2027, with paired shows continuing in October and November before resuming in late January. Once it wraps, Metallica’s M72 World Tour will head back to North America for 12 stadium dates beginning May 8 in Vancouver and closing June 19 in Salt Lake City, with stops including San Diego, San Antonio, Kansas City and Cleveland. The band says nearly 700,000 tickets sold within a week for that run.

M72 has played 99 shows in 26 countries since launching in 2023, reaching what the band’s camp describes as more than 5 million fans and setting attendance records at multiple stops.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Jillian Condran, nastylittleman.com.

Grammy-winning fiddler Jim VanCleve, co-founder of Appalachian Road Show, was inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame on October 4 during a concert at the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country in Boone, North Carolina. Newgrass musician Sam Bush was also inducted at the event, and fellow Hall of Fame member Stuart Duncan made a surprise appearance to present VanCleve’s award, according to the announcement.

VanCleve, who began performing as a teenager with Lou Reid & Carolina before joining Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, went on to help found Mountain Heart in 1998 and Appalachian Road Show in 2018. He has recorded or performed with artists including Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, and his composition “Nature of the Beast” received a Grammy nomination, per his bio.

The induction comes as Appalachian Road Show’s album “Della Jane’s Heart,” released on Billy Blue Records, is nominated for Album of the Year at the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, with the band also up for Instrumental Group of the Year. Winners will be announced October 22 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by 2911 Media Alert, 2911.us.

Hamilton, Ontario roots-rock band Junkhouse has released “Hot Hot Sun,” the group’s first new single of 2026, via High Or Hurtin. The track was co-written by frontman Tom Wilson and Gary Furniss, an early collaborator from the band’s formative years, who also produced, recorded and mixed the song at his Stonehouse studio. James Robertson contributes slide and electric guitar, and Wilson’s son Thompson Wilson adds background vocals, with mastering by Noah Mintz.

Junkhouse formed in 1989 and broke through with the 1993 Sony Music Canada release “Strays,” which went gold in Canada and produced radio singles including “Out of My Head” and “Praying for the Rain.” The band followed with “Birthday Boy” (1995) and “Fuzz” (1997) before a series of reunion shows through the 2020s. The current lineup pairs Wilson and original drummer Ray Farrugia with Thompson Wilson on bass, along with guitarist Aaron Goldstein, keyboardist Jesse O’Brien and guitarist James Robertson.

Junkhouse will headline the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls on November 21 at 8 p.m.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Eric Alper, thatericalper.com.

Eric Hirshberg, the former Activision Publishing CEO and Deutsch LA chief, will release his new album “More Is Not The Answer” on October 16. Hirshberg transitioned from a career in advertising and gaming leadership to songwriting, and the album touches on themes including algorithms, distraction, disagreement, parenthood, anxiety and loss, according to the announcement.

The record includes the track “For Real,” co-written with Aloe Blacc, who Hirshberg’s team says pushed his songwriting toward a more optimistic direction. The pair later performed the song on “Live with Kelly and Mark.” Musician Liz Phair, described as an early supporter of Hirshberg’s work, has praised the music’s introspection, according to the announcement.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Jon Bleicher, prospectpr.com.

Zappa Records/UMe will release an expanded 50th anniversary edition of Frank Zappa’s 1976 album Zoot Allures on December 4, led by a six-disc Super Deluxe Edition spanning five CDs and a Blu-ray audio disc. Produced by Zappa archivist Joe Travers, the 61-track set includes the remastered original album plus more than five hours of additional material, including live recordings, studio outtakes and alternate mixes drawn from Zappa’s vault.

The centerpiece is the first official release of Night of the Iron Sausage, Zappa’s original 11-track double-album sequence for the project before he reworked it into the single-LP Zoot Allures. According to the announcement, the Vault team reconstructed the sequence using hand-cut acetate reference discs and a surviving tape reel. The Super Deluxe Edition also features a previously unreleased complete concert recorded March 8, 1976, in Paris, along with new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround mixes by Studio1LA.

Vinyl configurations include a 2LP edition of Night of the Iron Sausage and an expanded 3LP set with a lithograph and booklet. The reissue also includes new essays from Travers, journalist Jason Pettigrew and original album engineer Michael Braunstein. Ahead of the release, the label shared a newly recorded single edit of “Son of Canard du Jour” featuring bass by Zappa alumnus Arthur Barrow.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Tim Plumley.

Staind has announced a second leg of its Break the Cycle 25th Anniversary Tour, a 27-city North American run produced by Live Nation that kicks off March 4 in Manchester, N.H., and wraps April 16 in Cleveland. Seether and Hoobastank will support on all dates, with Hinder joining every stop except Cleveland.

The tour marks the latest celebration of Staind’s 2001 album Break the Cycle, which the band says was certified 7x platinum in the U.S. and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The band says 2026 has been its biggest year yet, citing a resurgence driven by the deep cut “Warm Safe Place” gaining traction on TikTok and pushing annual streams past 1 billion, according to the announcement.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. local time via Live Nation, following presales including a Spotify Reserved presale on Oct. 7 and a Citi cardmember presale.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Genesis Salazar, LiveNation.com.