Daily Music Headlines July 1, 2026

**Tom Merritt** (0:00)
It's Wednesday, June, June. Heh heh heh, trying to trick me.
It's Wednesday, July 1st, 2026 I'm Tom Merritt, and here are your music headlines for today.
The Mars Volta will release their first live album in more than 20 years, Lucro Sucio, Unfinished Business, on September 4th, digitally, and on October 16th, physically. The album featuring fan-voted performances and the 2025 tour will be available in CD and vinyl formats. A jury ruled that Chris Brown and his company owe $12.9 million in damages to Maria Avila, a housekeeper who was attacked by Brown's dog in 2020 Avila suffered permanent injuries, including facial disfigurement and vision loss. Brown accepted some liability, but disputed the extent of Avila's injuries and argued she was partially at fault. Victor Willis, the longtime lead singer and frontman of the Village People, died at 74 after a brief illness. Willis, known for his work on hits like, of course, YMCA, Macho Man, In the Navy, was a founding member of the group and a co-writer of many of their songs. He left the group in 1979, but then rejoined in 2017, at the time becoming the only original member still in the group after a legal battle over copyright issues.
Tems achieves her fourth number one on Billboard's mainstream R&B and hip-hop airplay chart with What You Need taking the top spot from Rick Ross, French Montana and Max B's Minks in Miami. The song also improves on the adult R&B airplay chart and holds at number three on the R&B hip-hop airplay chart. Additionally, Tems collaboration with Dave Reindance is also rising on various radio charts.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation celebrated African American Music Appreciation Month and National Caribbean American Heritage Month. The foundation highlighted Louisiana artists' success at the 2026 Grammy Awards and recognized recent releases from artists connected to its programs. Celebrations also emphasize the cultural ties between New Orleans and the Caribbean, showcased through events like the Jazz and Heritage Gala and Festival. A 27-year-old demo recording of a James Bond theme song, The World Is Not Enough, written and sung by Chris Martin is up for auction. The recording, which was never submitted for the 1999 Bond film, is part of an archive of Coldplay recordings from producer Chris Allison. Highest bid for the cassette is currently $1,000.
Peter Gabriel released the Bright-Side Mix of his new song, I Belong to the Sky, on the day of a strawberry full moon. The song, inspired by a timpani tom-tom pattern, explores the theme of dreams becoming a reality. Gabriel has been gradually releasing songs on his upcoming album, IO, since the beginning of 2026 The Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, has become the highest-grossing biopic of all time, surpassing Oppenheimer with a worldwide gross of $977 million. And it didn't even have a Barbie movie to help it. The film's success has significantly boosted streaming of Jackson's catalog, benefiting Sony Music, which acquired a 50% stake in his publishing and recorded master's catalog in 2024 The biopic, produced by Graham King and directed by Antoine Fuqua, stars Jafar Jackson as, of course, the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson. And finally, let's take a look at the top 5 concept albums according to Rolling Stone. At number 5, Tommy, The Who. Number 4, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Raekwon. Number 3, The Wall, Pink Floyd. Number 2, American Idiot, Green Day. And number 1, good kid, mad city, Kendrick Lamar. Want to be the first to hear about future live streams, discuss the latest news, or just talk about music and help shape the future of the show? All you got to do is join the Daily Music Headlines Discord at tiny.cc slash DMH Discord. For Ham and Chamberlain working behind the scenes, this is Tom Merritt. Thanks again for listening. That's it for today. We'll catch you on the flip side.
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