Julieta Venegas reflected on how memory, migration and creative instinct shaped her latest album and her new memoir, both titled Norteña, during LAMC on Thursday (July 30). In a Q&A with Rolling Stone deputy music editor Julyssa López, the Mexican singer-songwriter spoke about returning to Mexico, revisiting her Baja California roots and building the emotional world behind her recent work.

The Tijuana-raised musician explained that the project began while she was living in Buenos Aires and missing both Mexico and her family. As she immersed herself in literature and history about Baja California — sparked in part by a photography and memoir project connected to her twin sister and grandfather — the ideas for both the album and book began to converge. “It made sense to write a memoir about my relationship to music, about my family,” she said. “I started building this little 3D world where I could just kind of sit and read and write and do these songs.”

That process ultimately pulled her back home. “It actually brought me back to Mexico,” Venegas said, framing the work as both a creative and personal reckoning. She described the album as a celebration of “norteño-inspired music,” though not a traditional norteño record, but rather one filtered through memory, longing and place.

Some of the session’s highlights came as Venegas reflected on her early years — first learning piano almost by accident, then joining the Tijuana scene with Chantaje as a teenager and discovering songwriting before she fully saw herself as a singer. “I started considering myself a songwriter before I considered myself a singer,” she said, recalling the freedom and chaos of those early band experiences.

She also spoke candidly about authenticity, saying she found her voice less through strategy than through instinct. “I knew what I didn’t want,” Venegas said. “It was all very intuitive.”

Later in the conversation, the singer-songwriter touched on collaborating across generations, including her appearance on Tainy and Bad Bunny’s “Lo Siento BB:/” — which reached No. 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 — while also speaking emotionally about songs rooted in the U.S.-Mexico border and family separation. Of one such song “La Línea” with Yahritza y Su Esencia, she said she wanted to capture “the emotional point of view of what happens. It wasn’t a statistic.”

On Wednesday (July 29), the night before her LAMC appearance, Venegas performed at New York City’s SummerStage.

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Guns N’ Roses, with Axl, Duff, Izzy and Slash, hits the road this summer, with the tour scheduled to end in the United States on Sept. 19 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The legendary rock band will then travel to Asia, Australia and New Zealand for the rest of 2026.

A rotating lineup of artists are set to support, with Public Enemy, The Barbarians of California, The Black Crowes, Ice Cube, Pierce the Veil and XCOMM all set for opening slots across the tour.

Tickets to the tour first went on sale through Live Nation and Ticketmaster, while the retailer’s Face Value Exchange program is an option for fans to resell tickets.

However, many of the dates have either sold out, or are very close to selling out, so one of the best ways to find last-minute Guns N’ Roses tickets online is through third-party sites, such as StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, Gametime, Event Tickets Center and others. All online retailers guarantee authentic tickets in time for your concert. Prices may be above or below face value at times.

Where to Find Guns N’ Roses World Tickets Online

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Guns N’ Roses 2026 Tour Dates

  • Aug. 1: Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA (Buy tickets online here)
  • Aug. 8: Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee, MN (Buy tickets online here)
  • Aug. 12: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (Buy tickets online here)
  • Aug. 16: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO (Buy tickets online here)
  • Aug. 19: Morton Amphitheater in Kansas City, MO (Buy tickets online here)
  • Aug. 22: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV (Buy tickets online here)
  • Sept. 2: Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA (Buy tickets online here)
  • Sept. 5: Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA (Buy tickets online here)
  • Sept. 9: Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX (Buy tickets online here)
  • Sept. 12: Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, MO (Buy tickets online here)
  • Sept. 16: Alamodome in San Antonio, TX (Buy tickets online here)
  • Sept. 19: Truist Park in Atlanta, GA (Buy tickets online here)

After pressing pause on its flagship festival for 2026, Desert Hearts is making a smaller-scale return this fall.

The dance music collective has announced Microfest, a new five-day gathering set for the beginning of October at Deloro Valley in Northern California. This comeback is designed to encapsulate the intimate ambience that helped launch Desert Hearts more than a decade ago, and it’s meant to bring fans back to the community-focused dancefloors that first defined the brand.

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This announcement comes after the pause of Desert Hearts Festival 2026, the news of which was shared in an Instagram post this past November. The crew’s statement read that “After 13 years of magic, love, and dancing under the stars, we’ve made the tough call to pause Desert Hearts Festival in 2026. This isn’t goodbye – but it’s time to reset, refocus, and rebuild so the heartbeat of DH can keep going strong for years to come.”

With today’s news, Desert Hearts has kept their promise to come back better than ever, with the Microfest lineup featuring house and techno veterans alongside longtime Desert Hearts favorites. DJ Minx, Stacey Pullen, Danny Daze, Doc Martin, Justin Martin, DJ Holographic, Kevin Knapp, Shaded (Live), Toy Tonics (Barbara Boeing & Cody Currie) and Life On Planets are among the artists scheduled to perform, with Desert Hearts founders Mikey Lion, Lee Reynolds, Marbs and Porky also taking the stage throughout the weekend.

Additional performances will come from B Rose, Brunch Life, Caleb Jackson, Groovewell, Issac Carter, Jake Mora, Justin Campbell, Maitreya, Rob Grega, Sprout, Stacy Christine and Techno Tupac. See the complete lineup below.

The lineup reveal also arrives alongside new music from the collective’s founders. Mikey Lion and Marbs have released “A Place For Us” under their newly unified Desert Hearts artist project, with the song reflecting the sense of connection and belonging that has long been central to the Desert Hearts community.

Microfest takes place Oct. 1-5 in Deloro Valley, Calif. Tickets are available now.

Microfest 2026

Microfest 2026

Courtesy of Desert Hearts

Sphere Entertainment reported Thursday (July 30) that second-quarter revenue rose 11% to $313.6 million, as the company’s flagship Las Vegas venue added more viewings of its popular adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.

However, the company recorded an overall $61.3 million operating loss, $11.1 million more than the year-ago quarter, due in part to a 30% increase in the Sphere segment’s selling, general and administrative expenses, which totaled $125.6 million for the second quarter ending June 30.

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Sphere Entertainment had an adjusted operating income of $50.9 million, down 17% from a year ago. Notably, this figure was adjusted to strip out the impact of share-based compensation, depreciation and amortization costs related to a merger with MSG Networks and other costs the company says are not related to its fundamental business operations.

The Sphere segment, which generates revenue from Sphere Experience film showings, brand events, concert residencies and sponsorship and suite licensing fees, generated revenue of $226.4 million, up 29% compared to the year-ago quarter, mainly on more “per-performance” revenue from The Wizard of Oz at Sphere.

“We’re not shy of demand from artists to come play the Sphere, and we have some great artists coming up,” executive chairman and CEO James Dolan said when asked during an earnings presentation about Oz and where additional growth will come from. “But the whole business strategy behind the creation of Sphere is utilization of the venue, and that’s where we look at the growth to come.”

From its opening last August to mid-June, The Wizard of Oz at Sphere has sold more than three million tickets and generated over $400 million in ticket sales. The company said 220 “performances” of Oz in the second quarter exceeded the 215 showings of Postcard from Earth and V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film in the year-ago quarter. That translated to Sphere Experience-related revenue growing by $53.8 million in the second quarter from a year ago.

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The company announced earlier this quarter that it is working on the production of a new Sphere Experience — The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Sphere — which is expected to open in 2027. Dolan said earlier this year that the company also expects to debut From The Edge, a film about extreme sports, later in 2026.

Sphere event-related revenue fell $11.7 million due to two fewer brand events compared to the year-ago quarter, but that was partially offset by higher revenue from concerts, according to the company. While there were six more concerts held in the second quarter at Sphere this year compared to a year ago, the concerts held in April, May and June had lower per-concert revenue compared to the same period last year.

The company did not disclose an overall event-related revenue figure in its initial second-quarter financials, making it difficult to determine the share of revenue contributed by The Sphere Experience and concerts. However, the company said it generated $150 million in ticketing and venue licensing fees from Sphere in Q2 overall.

Dolan compared Sphere’s ability to capitalize on concerts to Madison Square Garden, which he also owns.

“The Garden does approximately 200 or something events a year, and it is hamstrung by the fact that you have to load in, you have to load out,” Dolan said. “When we created Sphere, it was all about increasing utilization through our own IP and our own content. I don’t think that we have refined the model to the point where we’ve maximized the revenue potential there, and I think we have new products, some of which we haven’t talked about.”

The Sphere segment generated a nearly $70 million operating loss. That’s around $14 million less than the loss notched in the year-ago quarter thanks to higher revenue.

The company continues to develop plans for additional Sphere venues, and Dolan said the company will likely announce plans for a new Sphere later this year. Construction on the Sphere on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi is expected to be completed in 2029, with the company saying in a statement that “plans to bring Sphere to National Harbor also continue to move forward.”

MSG Networks generated revenue of $87.3 million, down 18% from the year-ago quarter, primarily due to distribution revenue falling $13.7 million on a 16.5% decline in total subscribers.


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The latest offering from Disney’s fruitful fantasy franchise Descendants casts a spell on the charts, as the Descendants: Wicked Wonderland soundtrack debuts on multiple rankings (dated Aug. 1). The film, which premiered on Disney Channel July 16 and hit the Disney+ streaming service a day later, is the sequel to Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024) and the fifth film in the Descendants series.

The new musical fantasy comedy movie stars Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker, and was directed by Kimmy Gatewood. Also on board in the cast and on the soundtrack: Billboard chart-toppers Brandy and Rita Ora, who play Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts, respectively, in the film.

On the Kid Albums chart, Wicked Wonderland debuts at No. 1 and is the fifth leader from the Descendants world.

Kid Albums ranks the week’s most popular kid albums in the United States, by equivalent album units, according to Luminate. The latest chart reflects the tracking week ending July 23.

Meanwhile, on the Soundtracks chart the new album starts at No. 2, following four No. 1 debuts for the series.

On the Billboard 200, the new album enters at No. 88, marking the fifth from the Descendants-verse series to start in the top half of the chart. The first three soundtracks (in 2015, 2017 and 2019) all debuted in the top 10, with the first bowing at No. 1. Also notable, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is just the third TV soundtrack to debut on the Billboard 200 in 2026, following Heated Rivalry and Stranger Things 5.

Lastly, on the Independent Albums chart, the new project bows at No. 13.

This year has already been a jam-packed for Cardi B, and now she’s set to release her first single since 2025’s Am I the Drama?

After previewing the single “Ah Ha” on Monday (July 27), the overwhelmingly positive reception from the Bardi Gang pushed Cardi and Atlantic Records to slap a release date on the single, which is slated to hit streaming services on Friday (July 31). “Meet me at the club,” Cardi captioned the IG post announcing the release date.

On “Ah Ha,” Cardi delivers a catchy chorus, which finds her repeating the song’s title, and then goes on to snipe at her opps and the men after her.

“A n—a can’t trap me, I won’t keep it/ B—es really hate me, so be it/ Bathroom floors and these hoes both heated/ It goes threee, two, to the one in this b—h/ I’ll give a hoe exactly what she want in this b—h,” she raps.

The 33-year-old rapper even disses Donald Trump on the track, which she’s had no problem doing when speaking out against the president publicly in the past.

“Black trucks at the club look like Trump in this b—h, f–k him/ A hoe never played with me once in this b—h,” she continues.

The hard-hitting single’s cover art shows Cardi posing in the same Dominican Republic-themed flag bikini she wore on the beach in the initial track teaser video.

Cardi hopped on IG Live on Tuesday (July 28) to clear up any confusion surrounding the “a n—a can’t trap me bar,” which fans believed was a shot at ex-boyfriend Stefon Diggs.

“I know exactly how I felt when I said that s–t. I could have a baby with a n—a, but that’s the issue,” she said. “You could have a baby with a n—a, and sometimes n—as think that because you have a baby with them or you gonna keep a baby or you have a baby that you won’t move the f–k on or you’ll stay there taking s–t. Nah, b—h, I’ll take my baby and get the f–k on. That’s for sure. Like nah, b—h, a baby ain’t trapping me b—h.”

Cardi kicked off the Little Miss Drama Tour in February, which served as her first headlining North American trek. She’s continued to remain outside since Am I the Drama?‘s arrival in September 2025, which topped the Billboard 200.

Check out a teaser of “Ah Ha” and the single’s cover art below.

Sam Smith is writing a new chapter for their love story.

The Grammy-winning singer disclosed in a new interview with The New York Times that they’re engaged to fashion designer Christian Cowan, sharing the heartwarming news just days after releasing the latest single, “Oh Mother” feat. The TwoCity Chorus, off of their forthcoming fifth studio album, Hazel Eyes.

Smith confirmed that Cowan is now their fiancé while looking back on the relationship that inspired much of the album, due Aug. 21 via Capitol Records. They revealed that “Everlasting Love,” another track from Hazel Eyes, was first written the night before the couple’s first date. It wasn’t until the relationship began to blossom that the song was completed. The album’s title is also a nod to Cowan, whose hazel-colored eyes inspired its name.

The upcoming project follows 2023’s Gloria, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and featured megahit “Unholy” with Kim Petras that peaked No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2022. Across their career, Smith has earned 7 top 10 hits on the Hot 100, including the No. 2-peaking breakthrough ballad “Stay With Me,” while 2017’s The Thrill of It All debuted atop the Billboard 200.

Elsewhere in the interview, Smith speaks vulnerably about the process of making Hazel Eyes outside the traditional pop songwriting system, collaborating with a close-knit group of creatives (including indie singer-songwriter Feist) to make what they describe as a more personal and creatively freeing project.

Though songs on Hazel Eyes explore everything from the joy of finding lasting love to heartbreak and healing, Smith said they intentionally held onto the emotional contradictions that tend to come with happiness. “I feel all types of things all the time,” Smith told The Times. “In my happiest moments, I can get really sad.”

The singer also reflected on crafting openly queer love songs at a time when LGBTQ+ rights continue to face challenges, explaining why celebrating love is meaningful in itself.

“For me, there’s something radical about being queer in this time, in this world and singing love songs,” Smith said. “I’m not going to allow the poison that I read and that I see to affect my way of loving.”

Hazel Eyes is set for release Aug. 21.

UPDATE (July 29): Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. released a statement on Wednesday (July 29) in response to BTS’ decision not to enter their music for the 2027 Grammy Awards.

“I am saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision.

“I do want to clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation. The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia. The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters.

“I also want to be very clear: submitting music in a genre category such as Asian Pop, or Jazz or Country does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the General Field categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Those categories remain open to any eligible recording, regardless of genre. Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both.

“The Grammy organization is here to serve music and all the people who make it. As we continue to expand the reach, our membership and our awards, regardless of geography or language, I want to emphasize that we will continue to listen to the global music community and work to honor and celebrate all the artists whose music moves the world. – Harvey Mason jr, Grammys CEO”

PREVIOUSLY (July 29): BTS has announced that they will not be submitting music from their comeback album ARIRANG for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards.

All seven members of the K-pop supergroup — RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook —simultaneously posted an identical statement on their individual Instagram accounts on Wednesday (July 29): “We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year,” a translation of the message reads. “I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. Thank you to ARMY and everyone who is always with us.”

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Their message takes an implicit swipe at the guidelines for the Recording Academy’s newly created Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, which was one of five new Grammy categories introduced in June. The group members’ choice to specify both “region” and “language” is relevant, as the category specifies that songs must include “meaningful use” of any Asian language.

Ironically, BTS’s smash English-language hit single “SWIM,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, would have been excluded from this new Asian pop category anyway.

The boycott comes during a banner comeback year for BTS. After completing the group members completed their mandatory military service, they released their fifth studio album, ARIRANG, in March 2026. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 units, marking the biggest opening week for a group album in more than a decade.

BTS has received five Grammy nominations, including three consecutive nominations in the high-profile best pop duo/group performance category, for “Dynamite” (2021), “Butter” (2022) and “My Universe,” the latter a collab with Coldplay (2023). In 2023, the group received two other nominations: album of the year as a featured artist on Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres and best music video for “Yet to Come.”

BTS’ decision not to enter its music is a blow to the Grammys’ prestige, but the biggest impact could be the Grammy telecast losing a powerhouse draw. The group has performed on the Grammy telecast twice; it contributed a remote performance from a Seoul skyscraper in 2021 and a live, spy-themed rendition of “Butter” in Las Vegas in 2022.

Other artists have declined to submit their music for Grammy consideration, often in reaction to what they saw as snubs, including Drake, The Weeknd and Morgan Wallen.

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Some have criticized the new best Asian pop music performance category, which sits in the Pop & Dance/Electronic Field, fearing that it will lock Asian acts into a subcategory and deny them the opportunity to compete in the higher-profile General Field categories or in pop performance categories. The former fear is unfounded. All artists from all genres can compete in the General Field categories, which include album, record and song of the year and best new artist.

But it is true that a specific recording can compete in only one performance category. If a recording is entered for best Asian pop music performance, it cannot be entered for, say, best pop duo/group performance. The same act can, however, be nominated in multiple performance categories with different recordings.

K-pop achieved its first-ever Grammy win earlier this year when “Golden” from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters won best song written for visual media. The song was also nominated for song of the year but did not win.

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The Recording Academy’s description of the new award, in full, reads:

“This category recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances. Eligible recordings include contemporary popular music originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop.

“Asian pop is a distinct and globally recognized form of popular music characterized by its integrated approach to music, performance, and presentation. Eligible recordings typically feature melody-driven composition, mainstream pop songwriting, and commercially oriented production, as recognized within their respective markets, and may incorporate elements of pop-adjacent styles such as pop-rock, pop R&B, and other related forms. Recordings in this category are often characterized by genre-blending arrangements, layered production, and dynamic structural shifts designed to support both audio and performance-based delivery.

“Recordings must feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. An Asian language should play a significant role within the song in bilingual or multilingual structures such that the recording is identifiable with that language. Recordings performed entirely in an Asian language are eligible. Incidental or minimal use (e.g., isolated words, adlibs, or brief phrases) does not qualify. Recordings performed entirely in English are not eligible in this category and remain eligible in other appropriate categories.

“The musical style is determinative of eligibility, not the ethnicity or nationality of the performer(s).

“Other popular music forms which originate in Asia or the Asian diaspora but do not meet the genre criteria for this category are eligible in other categories as appropriate.

“Only one version of a recording is eligible in a performance category in any year. A recording which is eligible and entered in another performance category is not also eligible in Best Asian Pop Music Performance for a different version featuring an Asian language performance.

“Nominees are Artist(s).

“Grammy statuettes awarded to Artist(s).”

There is recent precedent for tracks to win both in General Field categories (such as record and song of the year) and genre-specific categories. In 2019, Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” won best rap/sung performance as well as record and song of the year. In 2022, Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” won in two R&B categories as well as record and song of the year.

Earlier this year, Bad Bunny made history when Debí Tirar Más Fotos became the first all-Spanish-language album to win album of the year. It also won best música urbana album. Of Bunny’s six 2026 nominations, four were in genre-neutral categories and two were in genre-specific categories. Of his three wins, one was in a genre-neutral category and two were in genre-specific categories.


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BTS’ ARIRANG flies back into the top 10 on the Billboard 200, Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums charts (dated Aug. 1), following a flurry of promotion and the release of a new picture disc vinyl edition of the hit set.

ARIRANG moves from 26-9 on the Billboard 200, 19-2 on Vinyl Albums and 12-3 on Top Album Sales. The project debuted at No. 1 across all three rankings on the April 4-dated chart. In the tracking week ending July 23 (reflected on the Aug. 1-dated charts), ARIRANG earned 40,000 equivalent album units in the United States (up 62% week-over-week), according to Luminate, with vinyl purchases accounting for about 12,500 of that sum (up 398% week-over-week).

ARIRANG’s new vinyl variant — a picture disc with two bonus tracks — was released on July 17 and drives the bulk of the album’s sales gain for the week. The vinyl package also includes collectible paper ephemera, including an eight-card Polaroid set.

Beyond the vinyl release, ARIRANG’s chart jump was aided by promotion surrounding its new single “Normal,” and BTS’ co-headlining turn during the FIFA World Cup final halftime show on July 19, where the group performed its 2020 No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Dynamite.”

On Top Album Sales, ARIRANG is among a busy top three on the Aug. 1 chart, as Gracie Abrams notches her best sales week ever with the No. 1 debut of Daughter From Hell (77,000) and Motionless In White’s Decades debuts at No. 2 (its fourth top 10 and highest charting title yet). Check out the latest ranking’s entire top 10.

Fay Wildhagen chose the right time, and the right place, to draw curtains on her 2024 project, Let’s Keep It In The Family.

The award-winning Norwegian singer, songwriter and bandleader waved her “final goodbye to that era” with a headline performance earlier this month at the 2026 Bergtatt Festival, one stacked with songs from Family, her third studio album, and rearranged fan favorites.

There’s more new music to come. “I have a bag full of demos that I’m listening to in the car, and in hotel rooms. I feel like my head is so full of music,” she tells Billboard in a chat at the edge of the mighty Sognefjord fjord.

The next album will be independently released through the Orchard, on Wildhagen’s own label, ending a 10-year partnership with Warner Music Norway.

“It just feels cool to try something new, and just go for it,” she enthuses. “And just give it a real try before I’m done.”

Wildhagen is in sparkling form. Raised in Oslo, the capital, she signed with Warner Music Norway as a 21-year-old and released her Spellemannprisen-nominated debut album, Snow, in 2015. Her sophomore album, Borders, arrived in 2018, opening doors for critical praise and concerts across Europe. Fay produced the 2023 album Møtested – en hyllest til Anne Grete Preus, and collected the Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian Grammys) for producer of the year — a moment that touched something deep inside.

“I cried when they gave it to me,” she recounts. “Nobody quite understands how much time goes into the writing, and the producing, just making and recreating sounds, turning and tossing them around, and trying things. For hours and hours and hours.” Getting recognized for the work that few people see, “yes, I cried a lot.”

Family was a seven-year itch. “It took time for me to find the right path for it. And find the home for it,” she recalls. “And also, it needed a lot of courage to write it properly, honest and true.”

On Family, she wrote, produced and arranged all 15 songs and its instruments, with the exception of the first single “Reason,” which was co-written with Øystein Greni, frontman and main songwriter of the Norwegian rock band Bigbang.

With the studio calling this year, Wildhagen took a detour to enjoy the Bergtatt experience. The journey was something else. With her partner, Wildhagen drove from Oslo, 220 miles to the south, completed hair-raising mountain passes, all of it to tick-off that bucket-list item.

The boutique fest in Luster, Western Norway, presented on the banks of the epic fjord and surrounded by striking, snow-capped mountains, just might be most picturesque setting for a live music event, anywhere.

“It’s been a dream to come here for many years,” she tells Billboard. “It has never fit the schedule, so it’s never just been right.” The festival “is one of these things that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s really amazing.”