Daily Music Headlines September 23rd, 2026

Brian Ibbott (0:01)

It's Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026 I'm Brian Ibbott. Here are your music headlines for today. Ella Langley's Choosin Texas just became the longest running number one in Billboard Hot 100 history. The song logged its 23rd week atop the chart, breaking its tie with Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You at 22 weeks. It first hit number one back in February, got dethroned a few times along the way, and roared back for good starting in July. 12 of those weeks have come consecutively, ending with the chart dated September 26th. It's a milestone nobody saw coming for a song that started out as a sleeper hit.

California's governor has just signed a bill making September 25th official Dolly Parton Day in the state. Nashville's mayor declared the same date and San Francisco and Portland have recognized it too. The day celebrates Parton's literacy legacy through her Imagination Library program, which has mailed free books to kids around the world for decades. It's a fitting tribute to one of country music's most beloved figures and it comes as more cities waste similar honors of their own.

No sign of a flying pink pig. Apple has opened a new live music venue inside London's Battersea Power Station right on the Thames, most known from the cover to the Pink Floyd album Animals. Apple Music Hall holds 600 people and packs in a 38-foot reconfigurable stage, a 48-speaker spatial sound system, and two full recording studios, letting artists play a show and walk away with a spatial audio mix and multi-camera video the same night. The design leans into the building's history with the original brickwork, arches, and bronze balconies kept intact alongside a glass wall looking out over the river. It's Apple's biggest physical push yet into live music. Bret Michaels is getting back on the road with a run of shows. He's calling the Road to Recovery Tour. He had surgery back in June for a kidney stone, and after trying to perform in August, doctors pulled him off the road, worried about how summer heat affects his blood sugar as someone who's lived with type 1 diabetes since childhood. The new dates start October 16th in Portage, Indiana and run through late November across the Midwest. He's also booked for the Rock Legends cruise out of Miami in February.

Drake released the official video for Quebec on YouTube following last week's surprise debut of his short film for FOMO. The camcorder style video shows off his trophy collection and watches against a backdrop of the Montreal skyline, a nod to the city where he played his first headline show back in 2008 He also shared behind the scenes photos from the short film, twisting an unreleased lyric in the caption. Separately, his appeal in the Not Like Us lawsuit against UMG has been scheduled for a December court date.

Sammy Hagar says his current Las Vegas residency is likely the last time he'll lean so heavily on his Van Halen years. Quote, I'm kind of done with being the Van Halen guy, he said, ahead of turning 80 next year. He has no tour plan for the rest of 2026 Fans hoping to catch the Van Halen heavy set list may want to get to Vegas soon.

Quiet Riot has a new lead singer, 23-year-old John Torra, chosen from more than 700 submissions. He steps in for Jizzy Pearl and the band's first shows with them are set for this fall, stretching into 2027 It's a big generational shift for one of the bands that helped define 80s metal.

Finally, CHVRCHES shared their first new single in three years, Roses, this week. It marks the band's return after a long stretch out of the spotlight and finds them leaning back into the synth-driven sound that built their following. Early reaction has been enthusiastic from longtime fans who have been waiting for new material. No word yet on whether a full album is coming.

Time for our fun top five since Ella Langley just broke the record with Choosin Texas. Here are five great songs about the Lone Star state. Number five, All My Ex's Live in Texas by George Strait. Number four, That's Right, You're Not From Texas by Lyle Lovett. Number three, Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Number two, Deep in the Heart of Texas, the traditional song. And number one, La Grange by ZZ Top. Want to be the first to hear about future live streams, discuss the latest news, talk about music and help shape the future of the show? Join the Daily Music Headlines Discord at tiny.cc slash DMH Discord. For Anthony Lemus working behind the scenes, this is Brian Ibbott, thanks again for listening. That's it for today. We'll catch you on the flip side.