Daily Music Headlines October 6, 2026

Tom Merritt (0:02)

It's Tuesday, October 6th, 2026 I'm Tom Merritt. Here are your music headlines for today. Brian May says Queen is done touring for good. He told The Times he actually made the call 18 months ago, saying, I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn't want to tour again. May says he wants to focus on his family and his astrophysics work, joking that maybe 50 years is enough. He didn't rule out some kind of immersive sphere style experience down the road, though he's wary of the AI and data center demands that kind of tech requires.

Dua Lipa made a surprise appearance at Shakira's Madrid residency over the weekend, joining her for a duet of Antología. The pairing traces back to last November when Lipa covered the song during her own tour stop in Bogota, and Shakira praised hearing it in Dua's voice. Lipa called the Madrid moment a beautiful memory afterward on Instagram. Shakira's residency runs through October 11th at Estadio Shakira.

A US appeals court has ruled that training AI on copyrighted material isn't automatically protected as fair use. The Third Circuit cited against Ross Intelligence in its dispute with Thomson Reuters, upholding that the AI company's use of Westlaw's content infringed copyright. The judge was careful to note the ruling applies to Ross' non-generative tool, so it may not directly settle the bigger fights involving generative platforms like Suno and Udio. Still, it's being read industry-wide as a meaningful first marker in AI copyright fights.

The CMA has announced a two-hour Dolly Parton tribute special, I Will Always Love You, airing live October 21st on ABC and Disney Plus from Nashville. The lineup is Stacked, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Ella Langley, Zac Brown, Lainey Wilson, Vince Gill and more all set to perform. Organizers are also promising a few surprise tributes from outside the country world, shaping up to be one of the bigger one-off specials of the fall.

Former Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen has joined The Dead Daisies as their new singer. Hansen spent two decades with Foreigner before leaving last year. He says the move gives him room to stretch into new melodies, a new vibe and fresh energy. The bands released a new single, Lift Me Up and lined up a 2027 tour across the US, UK and Europe that will start in March. Hansen joins guitarist Doug Aldrich and David Lowy in the rotating supergroup's latest lineup.

L7 released a new song, Loma Linda, built from an old 2003 demo featuring bassist Janis Tanaka as a kickoff to their farewell tour, The Last Hurrah. The track is being offered as a free download for one week only. The tour began last night in San Diego. It's a fitting send-off from one of the bands that helped define 90s riot girl rock.

And finally, a video out of nowhere went viral this week of a group of boys surprising strangers in an elevator with a flawless acapella rendition of Billy Joel's The Longest Time. The unsuspecting passenger's reaction somewhere between shock and delight are the whole show. It's racked up views for exactly the reason you'd hope. It's just a genuinely sweet, well-sung surprise. Time for our top five, the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. Coming in at number five, The Great Divide, Noah Cahan. Number four, I'm the Problem, Morgan Wallen. Number three, Dandelion, Ella Langley. Number two, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, Olivia Rodrigo. And number one, The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift. If you want to be the first to hear about future live streams, discuss the latest news, talk about music with other music lovers, maybe even help shape the future of the show, you can join the Daily Music Headlines Discord at tiny.cc slash DMH Discord. This show is produced by Hammond Chamberlain and Anthony Lamos. It's written and hosted by Brian Ibbott, Eileen Rivera and occasionally me, Tom Merritt, the executive producer. Themed music by Deluxe Dallas and the State Street Players. Thanks for listening. That's it for today. We'll catch you on the flip side.

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