While Donald Trump celebrated the 4th of July at the White House by signing his controversial “big, beautiful” bill, Green Day were a world away in Belgium marking the nation’s independence day in their signature agit-punk manner. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong, who has made his long made his harsh feelings about the president crystal clear from the stage, did it again on Friday during GD’s headlining set at the Rock Werchter festival when he led the crowd in an anti-Trump chant to mark the nation’s 249th birthday.

“F– Donald Trump,” Armstrong encouraged the audience to chant in the middle of a performance of “Holiday,” the latest in the singer’s repeated broadsides against the American president. As has become customary, Armstrong also once again tweaked the lyrics to the band’s signature political bombtrack, “American Idiot,” shouting “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.”

In a seeming nod to Jimi Hendrix’s legendarily incendiary performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock in 1969, Armstrong played a touchingly gentle bit of the National Anthem, singing high and sweet about the “dawn’s early light” while plucking out the melody on an electric guitar. The bit ended with a woman in the crowd shouting “F–k Donald Trump!” as the lyrics faded from “at the twilight’s last gleaming” into the American Idiot ballad “What Me Up When September Ends.”

Last month, Armstrong celebrated Green Day’s debut appearance at the Download Festival in the U.K. with another broadside against the administration. “Donald Trump in his administration is a fascist government,” Armstrong told the crowd a day before Trump presided over his long-awaited D.C military parade. “And it’s up to us to fight back.” Armstrong also got the Download audience to join him in calling Trump a “fat bastard.”

Though “American Idiot” was originally written in response to the George W. Bush administration, Armstrong has been swapping the “redneck agenda” line out to slam the “MAGA agenda” — and occasionally former DOGE boss Elon Musk’s “Elon Agenda” — during recent Green Day shows.

Spice Girls singer and America’s Got Talent judge Melanie “Mel B” Brown married her longtime love hairstylist Rory McPhee on Saturday (July 5). The 50-year-old pop icon — known as “Scary Spice” in her girl group days — tied the knot with McPhee, 37, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

In photos on her Instagram, Brown can be seen smiling broadly at a kilt-wearing McPhee, while modeling a floor-length beaded white gown with a cascading veil. Brown’s AGT family offered up congratulations on the blessed event in the comments, with Sofia Vergara and host Terry Crews posting a series of heart emoji, while fellow judge Heidi Klum wrote, “CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH. WISHING YOU LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE FOREVER ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.”

Singer Paloma Faith also waded in, writing, “Congrats my angel you deserve the world.” Brown’s former Spice Girls bandmate, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, was not in the house, but she offered best wishes, writing, “Congratulations!!!!! We hope you had an amazing day!!!! X kisses xxxxxxxxc.” Though she couldn’t make it, Beckham designed one of the wedding gowns Brown wore for her third trip down the aisle.

On Sunday Brown posted another pic from the wedding in which she added a fuzzy crop jacket that read “Just Married” on the back.

According to EW, only one of Brown’s former Spice mates was on hand for the event, Emma “Baby Spice” Bunton, who attended along with models Cara Delevingne and Daisy Lowe. While Melanie “Mel C” Chisholm (aka “Sporty Spice”) did not make it, she also gave a shout out in the comments, writing, “So happy for you both and beyond gutted I couldn’t be there. Excited to celebrate with you really soon.”

Brown’s three daughters acted as bridesmaids; her eldest, Phoenix, 26, is from her first marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar (1998-2000), second daughter Angel Iris, 18, is from a relationship with comedian Eddie Murphy and youngest, Madison, 13, is with ex-husband Stephen Belafonte (2007-2017). Brown and McPhee met in 2018 and announced their engagement in 2022.

Sydney genre-benders Shady Nasty have teamed up with electronic powerhouses Fred again.. and KETTAMA on their latest single, “Air Maxes.”

Released today (July 7) via Steel City Dance Discs, the collaboration finds the post-punk trio leaning into textured synths and ambient tension while staying true to their signature edge.

“Air Maxes” arrives in two distinct forms: the slow-burning, meditative “Air Maxes (Ambient)” and a pulsating, dancefloor-ready rework by Irish DJ/producer KETTAMA. The project also features additional production from Fred again.., whose influence on the global electronic scene has been impossible to ignore following his chart-topping Actual Life series and recent collaborations with artists like Skrillex and Romy.

After sharing the stage at HAZARD Festival in Sydney last January, Shady Nasty and KETTAMA jumped into a last-minute studio session where “Air Maxes” was born. The demo landed in the hands of Fred again.., who added his finesse to the final track.

On the track, Shady Nasty swap jagged guitars for ethereal synths and atmospheric production. Frontman Kevin Stathis delivers haunting lines like, “I need to be a doctor, not a popstar,” reflecting on themes of ambition, burnout, and the duality of real and imagined lives.

“‘Air Maxes’ is about losing sight of your ambition,” the band explained in a statement. “Grinding toward something with no clear finish line can leave you wondering what might’ve happened if you’d taken a different path. Sometimes you need to hop in the whip and smoke the streets out just to remember why you’re putting in the hours. And sometimes, you need your mates to remind you to keep your head screwed on.”

The new single arrives just months after the release of Shady Nasty’s long-awaited debut album, TREK, produced by Kim Moyes of The Presets. Trek also saw the group selling out shows across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. Now, Shady Nasty are gearing up to take their live show on the road again, announcing a fresh run of dates in August and their first-ever headline shows in New Zealand this September.

Local support will come from Heaven, MyRapScene and more. Tickets are on sale now via shadynasty.online.

Shady Nasty 2025 Australia & New Zealand Tour Dates

Manchester’s Radar Festival is seeing a growing wave of artist withdrawals in the wake of Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury performance and subsequent removal from the Manchester event’s lineup.

The latest act to announce their exit is Dublin metalcore band Hero In Error, who announced on Instagram that they would no longer perform at the independent event, set to run through July 6 at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse. “We will not be performing at Radar Festival this weekend,” they began in a statement.

“After speaking with Radar’s organisers, it’s clear they’re facing the same pressures that many de-platformed artists are currently experiencing. They are good people, and it’s evident they stand for progressive ideals.”

They continued, “Both they and the artists being targeted are caught in a wider effort to deflect attention from the reality of what’s happening. We respect the work Radar has done, but we believe that stepping back from this year’s event is the right decision at this time.”

Their departure follows similar moves from The Scratch and ĠENN, who also withdrew over the weekend in protest of Bob Vylan’s removal. Meanwhile, The Scratch shared their own message with fans, explaining their decision to withdraw as an act of solidarity.

“The censorship and de-platforming of artists speaking out against the ongoing genocide in Gaza is greasy, dangerous and must be challenged,” they wrote. “To be clear, this decision is not a criticism of Radar Festival. We understand it was an incredibly difficult and complex situation. This is about showing solidarity with Bob Vylan and any artist who may face similar treatment in the future.”

They continued, “Shadowy government influence and wealthy lobbying groups should not be allowed to dictate who is given a platform and what can be said on it. This situation will only worsen unless we, as artists, support one another and take action.”

ĠENN echoed a similar sentiment, citing concerns about “bullying, censorship, and strong-arming” directed at Bob Vylan and Radar Festival.

“As a minority on pretty much every line-up, and with a relatively modest platform, we considered whether we could use our physical presence to speak against the bullying, censorship, and strong-arming demonstrated towards the likes of both Bob Vylan and Radar,” the band said. “For our safety and sanity, we’ve made the final decision to pull out from performing at Radar this weekend.”

“Our fight should not be focused on the policing of those who are trying to spread awareness within their means. This is a distraction from a wider picture. Pressure needs to be placed on those who are instigating the censorship of a genocide happening in real time.”

Bob Vylan were pulled from Radar earlier this week after leading chants of “death to the IDF” during their Glastonbury set on June 28. The duo also criticised the BBC, the U.S. and U.K. governments, and more, sparking widespread backlash. Glastonbury organisers said the chants “crossed a line,” calling it “anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

In the days since, Bob Vylan have been dropped by their agency, lost multiple international festival slots, and had their U.S. visas revoked. The duo maintain that their remarks were not calling for harm to any group but rather “the dismantling of a violent military machine.”

Radar Festival organiser Catherine Jackson-Smith has been vocal about the pressure placed on the event, saying it was “categorically one of the most horrendous professional discussions I’ve ever had” to remove Bob Vylan. “I cannot express clearly enough that I wanted Bob Vylan to perform at our festival,” she told the Two Promoters One Pod podcast but revealed the decision was made to avoid jeopardising the festival’s entire Saturday program.

Meanwhile, Massive Attack and other artists including Amyl and The Sniffers and Soft Play have publicly supported Bob Vylan, urging the media to focus on “what is happening daily to the people of Gaza” rather than silencing artists who speak out.

Radar Festival has yet to confirm a replacement for Bob Vylan’s headline slot.