Angus & Julia Stone’s new album “Karaoke Bar” debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart following its Sept. 4 release, according to Blue Music Services, which handled the album’s publicity campaign. The label says the sibling duo is only the third Australian act to top the chart in 2026, with the campaign generating coverage from Billboard, Rolling Stone Australia, The Australian and radio support across ABC, triple j and the Hit Network, among others.

Separately, Bebe Rexha’s single “New Religion,” the lead track from her independent album “DIRTY BLONDE,” reached No. 3 on the AU AirCheck and AU Radiomonitor charts and No. 2 on Shazam Australia following its radio push through Blue Music Services. The label also notes “DIRTY BLONDE” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Dance Radio Chart.

In other campaign news from the PR firm, New Zealand-based artist Fat Papi’s track “FREAKED OUT,” produced by Perth’s Prodshushy, has surpassed 145 million streams and peaked at No. 42 on the ARIA Singles Chart and No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100, which Blue Music Services says makes him the first Kurdish artist to chart on the Hot 100. Ruel also wrapped a radio campaign for his albums “Kicking My Feet” and “Kicking My Feet & Screaming” with a live set at Nova’s Red Room in Melbourne, which the label says produced two Top 40 singles.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Blue Music Services, bluemusicservices.com.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has released a new studio album, “Ruin: It’s Not Just Music,” via her own label Someone Special. The record follows four singles released over the summer, starting with “Ruin” in May and continuing with “GTP,” “I Don’t Know What It Is” and “That Is Like You” in September. It is available now digitally, on streaming services and on vinyl.

According to the announcement, the album incorporates breakbeat, jungle and drum and bass influences into Smith’s established compositional style, marking a more rhythm-driven and physical direction than her earlier ambient and orchestral work. Smith describes the project as built around tension and release, calling it in the announcement a form of “sonic combat” intended to create space for catharsis rather than meditative calm.

The release follows a run of live appearances including an orchestral performance at the Barbican, an appearance at Four Tet’s Finsbury Park show and a slot at Björk’s Iceland Echolalia Festival. Smith has upcoming performances scheduled at ATOMIKA Festival in New Mexico, Warehouse Project in Manchester, Berghain in Berlin and fabric in London. Her past collaborators include Patti Smith, Suzanne Ciani, Danny Elfman, Tycho, Caribou and Four Tet, and her work has appeared in projects for Apple, Chanel and the BBC Orchestra, according to the announcement.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Neil Bainbridge, neighbourhoodpr.com.

The Oak Ridge Boys have released a new recording of the hymn “How Great Thou Art,” a preview of their album “Buried Treasures,” due October 30 via Lightning Rod Records. The 10-song set includes gospel standards alongside covers of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and “What a Wonderful World,” plus one new original, “Buried Treasure,” written by Aaron Raitiere.

According to the group, this version of “How Great Thou Art” grew out of an a cappella performance by tenor Ben James, recorded at an old church along the Mississippi River, which caught the attention of group member Duane Allen and was later added to the band’s live set before being included on the album. The project was produced by Anderson East and executive produced by Dave Cobb at Sanctuary Blonde Studio in Nashville.

The Oak Ridge Boys, longtime Grand Ole Opry members and 2015 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees, continue their fall tour with dates at the Opry this week and shows running through December, with additional dates set for spring in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The band’s lineup now includes James, who joined in 2024 following the death of Joe Bonsall, while bassist Richard Sterban is on leave from touring for health reasons.

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

Greta Van Fleet have announced the Into The Beginning Tour, a 59-city run across North America and Europe in 2027, promoted by Live Nation. The trek opens February 3 in Savannah, Georgia, and runs through July 31 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with stops including Chicago, Brooklyn, Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth, Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam, Paris, London and Toronto. Arc De Soleil, The Kooks and Portugal. The Man are set to support on select North American dates.

European tickets go on general sale October 9, with North American tickets following October 15; both will be sold at face value plus fees through primary sellers, with no platinum ticketing, according to the announcement. Fan presales begin October 7 in Europe and October 13 in North America, and the band says eligible Spotify Premium subscribers may also access tickets through a Reserved by Spotify presale via Ticketmaster.

The tour announcement follows the release of new single “Tear It Down,” the latest preview of the band’s fourth studio album, Palace for the People, due October 9 via Republic Records. Ahead of the tour, the band will play an intimate residency at Nashville’s The Basement East on the first three Saturdays in October.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Avery Robinson, LiveNation.com.

Paul McCartney will release a Special Edition of his 2026 album “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” digitally on October 7, with a 2LP vinyl version following December 9. The reissue adds three previously unreleased songs — “City Fox,” “One Night Stand” and “Chelsea Boots” — along with a new “flip mix” of “Home To Us,” his duet with Ringo Starr in which the pair’s original vocal parts are swapped.

The original album, McCartney’s first solo release in more than five years, came out in May 2026 and according to the announcement reached the top of charts globally, including a UK No. 1 that the announcement describes as his 24th as a solo artist, with Wings and with the Beatles. The album was shortlisted in July for the 2026 Mercury Prize, which the announcement notes is McCartney’s first-ever nomination for the award.

The physical edition will include cover artwork adapted from a silkscreened collage by Kate Gibb drawing on more than 100 images from McCartney’s personal collection, along with a limited-edition orange-and-blue marble vinyl pressing featuring a zoetrope etching. The album centers on McCartney’s reflections on his childhood in post-war Liverpool and early years with John Lennon and George Harrison, with its title drawn from a lyric in the track “Days We Left Behind.”

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Steve Martin, nastylittleman.com.

Country Radio Broadcasters will posthumously present Dolly Parton with the 2027 Artist Humanitarian Award during Country Radio Seminar, set for March 17-19 in Nashville. According to the organization, Parton was notified of her selection before her death, making the honor particularly meaningful to CRB as it prepares to celebrate her legacy.

The award, established in 1990, recognizes country artists whose philanthropic work has significantly advanced the causes they support. Past recipients include Jelly Roll, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood.

CRS Executive Director RJ Curtis said Parton’s decades of generosity made her a natural fit for the recognition, citing her Imagination Library literacy program and philanthropic efforts through the Dollywood Foundation spanning education, healthcare, disaster relief and medical research. CRB says additional details about the presentation will be announced later.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Christy Walker-Watkins, 3on.e2ma.net.

Denver indie pop duo Cherokee Social have released a new single, “Maya,” written by frontman Julian Navarro as a tribute to his late mother. The track was recorded in a single home-studio session using Ableton, one microphone, a guitar and a bass, according to the band, with production from Navarro and mixing and mastering by Vince Chiarito and Tyler Lindgren, respectively.

The duo, comprising Navarro and guitarist Alex Creighton, formed in Denver after Navarro relocated from Baltimore and rebranded his earlier project Faceless Ones. The pair say they sold out their first headlining Denver show in January 2024 and have since opened for Macy Gray and Fitz and the Tantrums. A West Coast run in summer 2025 informed their debut EP, “The Garden.”

“Maya” arrives alongside an extensive North American tour that begins September 30 in Minneapolis and runs through the Midwest, East Coast, Southeast, Pacific Northwest and California before concluding with a hometown show at Denver’s Lost Lake on November 20. The band says the single marks the start of a planned slate of EPs and singles through 2026.

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

JUNO Award-winning blues singer Crystal Shawanda has released her new album ‘Homesick Indian Blues’ through New Sun Records, produced by her husband, Dewayne Strobel. The 10-track album is led by “Come Unto Me,” a cover of The Mavericks song that also serves as a tribute to the band’s late frontman Raul Malo, who died in December 2025 and had supported Shawanda early in her Nashville career.

The track features Mavericks guitarist Eddie Perez on electric and acoustic guitars and backing vocals. According to the announcement, Shawanda and Strobel had been working on the cover shortly before Malo’s passing, and Strobel invited Perez to join the recording as the project took on added significance as a tribute.

Shawanda, who is Ojibwe Potawatomi and was raised on Manitoulin Island, signed with RCA Nashville before shifting into blues, winning a JUNO Award for Best Blues Album for 2020’s ‘Church House Blues’ and, according to the announcement, becoming the first Indigenous woman to debut in the Top 10 of the Billboard Blues chart with 2022’s ‘Midnight Blues.’ She founded New Sun Records in 2012, which the announcement describes as the first female- and Indigenous-owned record label in Canada.

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

Hot Topic is partnering with My Chemical Romance to mark the 20th anniversary of “The Black Parade,” with a monthlong retail campaign tied to the album’s expanded reissue, arriving October 23 on Reprise Records. The chain’s Ovation Hollywood location is being converted into an immersive pop-up through October 31, featuring exclusive merchandise, photo installations and a replica throne referencing the band’s stage production, according to the announcement.

The celebration coincides with the conclusion of My Chemical Romance’s Black Parade 2026 Tour, which the band says will include five shows at the Hollywood Bowl on October 21, 23, 24, 30 and 31 — a run the announcement describes as the first time an act has played five consecutive nights at the venue. Hot Topic stores nationwide will carry expanded MCR merchandise, anniversary-branded shopping bags and storefront artwork by James Jean, the original album cover artist.

On October 23, all Hot Topic locations will host a listening party for the album alongside the release of a Hot Topic-exclusive double vinyl edition of “The Black Parade” 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. The original album has been certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA and was included on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, according to the announcement.

Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Becky Kovach, bigpicturemediaonline.com.