Charley Crockett has canceled his Canadian tour dates after being unable to enter the country due to a 10-year-old drug possession charge, the country star announced Monday (Feb. 23) on Instagram.

Related

Sharing a photo of a report from Canada’s immigration, refugees and citizenship department barring him from crossing its border, Crockett revealed that he’d been turned away due to an incident back in March 2016, in which he’d been convicted of carrying more than five pounds of marijuana with intent to sell in Virginia. “Everybody’s got a past,” he wrote in a screenshotted message to fans posted alongside the report. “Mine’s still haunting me.”

The singer went on to explain that he’d tried to “cross the Canadian border twice in 24 hours,” with patrol agents apparently denying him entry in both Vancouver and Kelowna. “I’ve been advised that it would jeopardize my freedom to try and enter again,” he continued, confirming that he’d need to cancel all of his upcoming dates in the Great White North. “I apologize to everyone affected. I know I let y’all down.”

Crockett’s fans in Canada can expect full refunds to be issued at their points of purchase, but he also wrote in his statement that he knows “this doesn’t begin to make up for y’all’s time and hard earned money.”

“Canada’s such a beautiful country full of some of the best fans in the world, and I’ve had the time of my life playing shows for y’all,” he added. “I ain’t one to quit and I aim to be back one of these days real soon.”

Billboard has reached out to Canada’s Border Services Agency for comment.

Crockett had been scheduled to kick off his Canadian trek on Saturday (Feb. 21) with a show at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, which Live Nation British Columbia announced had been postponed “due to unforeseen circumstances” hours prior. He’d also had shows slated for the provinces of Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec that he’ll no longer be playing.

News of the cancelations comes just a few days after Crockett announced that his new album, Age of the Ram — his third LP in his “Sagebrush Trilogy” — will be dropping April 3. The first two installments in the series, Lonesome Drifter and Dollar a Day, came out in 2025.

See Crockett’s announcement below:


Billboard VIP Pass

This fall’s Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Ky. will feature headlining sets from Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit and Tool. The Sept. 17-20 event at the Kentucky Expo Center will feature more than 200 bands playing across seven stages in its 12th edition, which producer Danny Wimmer Presents is its biggest lineup to date.

The party will get started on Sept. 17 when three metal legends — Maiden, Pantera and Megadeth — will top the roster, followed by modern hard rock trio My Chemical Romance, Pierce the Veil and A Day to Remember on Friday night. Saturday will be topped by Limp Bizkit, playing with Papa Roach and Sublime, with Tool closing out the final night with assists from Gojira and Danny Elfman.

Wimmer said in a statement that Saturday’s lineup also features the deepest roster of all-female fronted bands at any major U.S. rock festival, including Halestorm, In This Moment, Lindsey Stirling, Orianti, Icon for Hire, Kami Kehoe and Diamante. In addition to hosting Pantera’s only U.S. show this year, the festival will be one of Megadeth’s final shows on their farewell tour and be the site of reunion sets from Circa Survive, Get Scared, Blood For Blood, Metal Church, Primer 55, Sent by Ravens and 40 Below Summer.

As always, the fest will also feature a number of anniversary sets, including Jimmy Eat World celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bleed American, Sleeping With Sirens honoring the 15th anniversary of Let’s Cheer to This, Red marking the 20th anniversary of End of Silence, Alien Ant Farm celebrating the 25th anniversary of ANThology and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus honoring the 20th anniversary of Don’t You Fake It.

Among the other acts slated to perform at this year’s festival are: The Prodigy, BABYMETAL, Danzig, Rise Against, Alice Cooper, Circa Survive, Ice Nine Kills, The Mars Volta, Mastodon, The Used, Bilmuri, Sabaton, Coheed and Cambria, The Pretty Reckless, Hot Mulligan, Taking Back Sunday, Sleeping With Sirens, In This Moment, Dance Gavin Dance, Chiodos, Black Label Society, Killswitch Engage, Anthrax, Ministry and CAVALERA, among many others.

“Last year, we took over Kentucky Kingdom and broke rock festival records. This year, we’re back to deliver the ultimate rock escape,” said promoter Wimmer in a statement. “Louder Than Life is your playground — ride the coasters, catch legendary and emerging bands, enjoy incredible food and bourbon, and dive headfirst into the rock experience you’ve been waiting for. It’s time to let loose and have fun. We’ll see you soon.” In addition to the music, pass-holders will get free access to amusement rides inside Kentucky Kingdom, which will be open exclusively for festival attendees.

For ticketing information click here.

Check out the full lineup poster below.


Billboard VIP Pass

As 50 Cent and T.I.’s feud continues to bubble, Tip released a hard-hitting track on Sunday (Feb. 22) fittingly titled “War.”

Related

While he doesn’t address 50 by name, a few bars could be directed at the G-Unit mogul. “The bear hibernating, don’t poke him/ When you see the giant sleeping, shouldn’t have woke him,” Tip raps.

He also touts his titan status in the rap game, declaring himself to be top three out of Atlanta, and not three. “Top three in my city, you know I’m in tha/ And I ain’t No. 3, what you getting at” Tip continues.

It appears this could just be a 100-second preview of a longer edition of “War,” which may be featured on T.I.’s final album, Kill the King, releasing later in 2026.

The trap pioneer added some fuel to the fire amid back-and-forth with 50 in his caption for the song. “Oh you ni66az want WAR?!?! Aight…WE ON THAT,” he teased on Instagram.

Over the weekend, 50 posted a bad photo of Tip’s wife, Tiny Harris. T.I. and his son King Harris fired back in the comments, per Complex. “Fu*k Ni66a you can post a fat ho in a snowstorm on a unicycle juggling dildos…. You still a HO!!!! #KingSaid That,” T.I. wrote.

King Harris added: “Where ya mama?”

An enraged King Harris also delivered a fiery rant on his IG Stories Sunday, attacking 50 in defense of his mother.

“B—h a— n—a wanna say something about my mama, your mama dead as f—k n—a. Your mama dead as f—k, go dig her up,” he said, mocking 50’s late mother. “Go dig her up. F—k. Post a picture of your motherf—king mama n—a, she dead n—a. Pay respect, n—a. Stop f—king playing with my mama n—a. N—a ain’t playing like that, n—a ain’t going like that n—a. How y’all bitch ass n—a raised, I’m not raised like that.”

50 Cent continued to taunt King and Tiny Harris on Monday (Feb. 23), as he reposted a clip from the 50 WTF? podcast, which saw the cohosts disparaging both members of the Harris family.

T.I. and 50 Cent’s feud was reignited earlier in February after Tip voiced his confidence in taking 50 out in a potential Verzuz battle. 50 didn’t want anything to do with a Verzuz, which led 50 to slam Tip and call him “King Rat” in an Instagram comment.

“You playing on MY NAME when only one of us a rat in real life…you know I got your paperwork right? And my transcript is available online,” T.I. wrote. “Your excuses is useless. Get yo h— a— in the box or STFU and live in fear. You soft son. You’ve lost my respect. Fckn [duck emoji].”

Elsewhere, Tip earned his first solo Billboard Hot 100 entry in more than a decade with “Let ‘Em Know,” which held at No. 50 on the chart dated Feb. 21.


Billboard VIP Pass

The days are shorter, the nights are colder and the trees are bare. Inside, fireplaces are crackling to shield loved ones from the chilly air. When winter makes its way back around, sunny days can sometimes feel like distant memories.

While the gloom can lead to long hours inside as you avoid muddy snow and frostbitten fingers, those languid evenings can transform into quite the cozy affair, given the right soundtrack. That’s why Billboard has put together a list of 28 essential tracks for your wintertime listening pleasure.

We know December marks the beginning of celebrations for “the most wonderful time of the year.” But a good winter playlist goes beyond Christmas trees and jingling bells. The mix should be one you’d listen to all season long — weeks and months after unwrapping your final gift. So no, you won’t find Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” nor any of your holiday favorites below (for that, you can check out Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 list based on our charts).

Keep reading to discover tunes (in no particular order) consistent with the mood shift that — for many of us — rolls in with the cold front. The increased time spent with our own thoughts brings on a brooding self-reflection that can feel as comforting as it can feel overwhelming. Artists from Taylor Swift to Bob Dylan to The Weeknd have captured that feeling, crafting riveting wintery melodies ideal for introspection, whether you’re curled up with your favorite blanket or venturing out into the snow.

Brandi Carlile has a call to action for those who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 but now feel disappointed in how his second presidential term has played out so far: It’s OK to change your mind.

Related

In an interview with Rolling Stone moments after her Saturday (Feb. 21) concert in Minneapolis, the country star expressed empathy for people she thinks were misled by the twice-impeached POTUS, especially amid ICE’s widely criticized ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the United States. “It’s very clear that this administration is not interested in legal immigration,” she told the publication backstage at the Target Center.

“They’re interested in violent theater,” Carlile continued. “Violent theater and dominance over other people. I don’t believe most people signed up for that. Even people who voted for Trump, who I’m angry with, I don’t think they voted for this, and I do think that they can still change their minds.”

The 11-time Grammy winner went on to compare the situation Trump voters are in to a time when she says she was manipulated into buying an expensive vacuum cleaner by a door-to-door salesman. Rather than paying the bill — which she couldn’t possibly afford at the time as a struggling artist — she called up the company and successfully pressured them into taking the product back at no cost.

“So, you got f–king scammed. We’re living in a scammy time,” Carlile said. “That’s what people do. You can’t even pick up your phone without getting scammed. Doesn’t mean you have to double down. It doesn’t mean you have to pay for the f–king vacuum cleaner. And I just think there are a whole lot of people out there right now feeling duped and feeling ashamed and embarrassed.”

“What they need to feel is angry,” she added. “They need to get mad and change their minds. Get past the embarrassment, get past the shame that we got duped by a con artist. Get mad enough to change your mind.”

Billboard has reached out to the White House for comment.

The singer’s tour stop in Minnesota doubled as a benefit concert for Minneapolis nonprofit The Advocates for Human Rights, which has been working to support families affected by ICE’s arrests, detainments and deportations in the city. According to a post shared by Carlile on Instagram, the event raised more than $600,000 for the organization.

Minneapolis has been at the center of discussions around the morality of Trump’s crackdown on immigrants since the beginning of the year, with people all over the country protesting ICE’s presence in the city and the fatal shootings of two civilians — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — at the hands of immigration enforcement officers in January. Many musicians have spoken out against ICE in the weeks since, while Carlile has long been outspoken in her opposition to the federal agency’s actions.

“I am so heartbroken and angry for Minnesota,” she wrote in a January post on Instagram. “Over the past month, the community there has continued to set an incredible example for the rest of us, demonstrating the power of uniting to protect our neighbors and defend what is right.”


Billboard VIP Pass

Harry Styles is bringing the disco to 30 Rock soon. NBC announced Monday (Feb. 23), the British pop star will return to Saturday Night Live seven years after making his debut on the program, once again serving as host and musical guest on an episode airing shortly after Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally drops.

Related

The Styles-hosted episode will broadcast live from New York on March 14, eight days after the release of his highly anticipated new full-length. It’ll follow SNL‘s return after a brief winter recess on Feb. 28, an episode that Heated Rivalry‘s Connor Storrie will helm with musical support from Mumford & Sons.

The One Direction alum last appeared on the comedy series in November 2019, hosting the show ahead of the release of his sophomore LP, Fine Line, that December. After opening his episode with a hilarious monologue delivered from behind a piano, he took part in various sketches as well as performed Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Watermelon Sugar” and “Lights Up.”

Styles is now gearing up to drop Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally on March 6, preceded by Hot 100-topping single “Aperture.” The project will feature 12 tracks total and will propel the Grammy winner as he embarks on his sprawling series of Together, Together residencies — including one 30-date run in NYC’s Madison Square Garden — in March.

SNL is currently on its 51st season. So far, the 2025-26 installment has seen Cardi B, sombr, Geese and Cher perform, while Ariana Grande, Finn Wolfhard, Teyana Taylor, Alexander Skarsgård and more have served as host.


Billboard VIP Pass

PinkPantheress will be honored with the producer of the year prize at the 2026 BRIT Awards, making her the first woman to earn the accolade.

Related

The Kent-born musician will collect the award at the ceremony held at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena this Saturday (Feb. 28).

First awarded in 1977, the prize has been won exclusively by male producers. Paul Epworth, Eurythmics’ David A. Stewart, and Trevor Horn are the all-time leaders, having won the prize three times each. Other winners include Sir George Martin (1977), Brian Eno (1994, 1996), and Calvin Harris (2019). A.G. Cook, a key contributor for Charli xcx’s 2024 LP brat, is the most recent winner of the prize. 

Kate Bush and Goldfrapp are among the female producers to be nominated over the years, but ultimately did not collect the prize. 

At 24 Pantheress is the youngest to collect the prize, beating previous record-holder Steve Levine, whose credits include work with Culture Club and The Beach Boys; Levine was 25 years old at the time of his win in 1984.

Since her first release in 2021, PinkPantheress has been recognized for her songwriting and production skills. She began producing at age 17 on GarageBand, and has continued in her role as a lead producer on all of her recorded material, including 2023’s Heaven Knows LP and 2025 mixtape Fancy That. The latter was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2025, and reached No. 3 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart.

Her style, which features a variety of samples and nods to scenes such as U.K. garage and rave, has drawn plaudits. She achieved a No. 3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with Ice Spice collaboration “Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2” in 2023.

Speaking on the recognition, PinkPantheress said: “As the first woman to win this award, I’m grateful to be recognized. My music production is the thing I’m proudest of, and I’ve worked really hard at it, so I hope this inspires others to pursue their passion.”

She joins Noel Gallagher and Mark Ronson as honorees at the upcoming ceremony. Ronson will collect the outstanding contribution to music prize, while Gallagher – despite controversy – is to be awarded songwriter of the year.

Olivia Dean and Lola Young lead the pack with five nominations each at the upcoming ceremony, with Dean set to perform alongside Harry Styles, Wolf Alice, Rosalía, Alex Warren and more.


Billboard VIP Pass

Leigh-Anne Pinnock is not one to pull punches. The former Little Mix singer and solo performer took on her experiences as a Black woman in the music industry in her award-winning 2021 BBC Three documentary, Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power, and joined Blur’s Damon Albarn, James Blake, Rina Sawayama and others at last September’s Together For Palestine event, where she garnered headlines for wearing a dress made out of keffiyeh-like material.

She also famously called out her former label in January on Paloma Faith’s Mad Sad Bad podcast, where she claimed that she left Warner Records when they were “basically ghosting” her after releasing her 2024 EP No Hard Feelings, an Amazon Music Live City Session that year and a handful of singles.

That’s why it’s no surprise that in a new interview with Pop Crave, Pinnock said that being an outspoken public figure is super important to her. “I’m always going to lead with compassion. And with the state of the world – there’s so much evil and it’s so f–ked up, it’s horrible at the minute,” she said. “I just think, how can anyone not? How can anyone not use their platform and say something, even if it’s a f–king repost. Just something. You can’t ignore what’s happening in the world.”

Asked if she’s ever had major pushback on her opinions, Pinnock said not that she’s aware, but even if it’s out there she hasn’t noticed. “And I don’t really care, to be honest,” she said. As for whether she’s seen any changes in the music industry since the release of her doc, Pinnock suggested that “at the time” some things did switch up a bit. “But now when I think about it, so many people were talking about race and so many companies and businesses were putting things in place: more diversity and really listening to their Black workers,” she said. “But now I’m like, ‘Where has that gone?’”

Pinnock, auditioned as a solo act for the British X-Factor when she was 19 and was then drafted to join the wildly successful British girl group Little Mix. After winning three Brit Awards and landing 19 top 10 singles in the U.K., Little Mix went on hiatus in 2022 and Pinnock began releasing solo singles including “Don’t Say Love” and “My Love.”

As Pinnock gears up to launch her My Ego Told Me To tour on April 6 in Dublin, the singer said performing solo is a “natural transition” for her because she’s always loved to be on stage, though she does sometimes miss the company of her former bandmates.

“I love what I do. The idea of going into the studio and writing about all the things that I want to say and being able to make my own music, I was so excited about,” she said. “At the same time, I miss them so much. We’d belly laugh every day. Even that in itself, we were just so silly and we had so much fun. And I do miss that,” she said of her LM mates Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson (who left the group in 2020 under strained circumstances).

“It took the pressure off because we were just enjoying each other and having the time of our lives,” she reminisced.


Billboard VIP Pass

Live Nation is asking a judge to postpone its looming federal monopoly trial so that it can file an immediate appeal, arguing that last week’s ruling contained legal errors that could “dramatically change” the case.

Judge Arun Subramanian sent the case to trial last week, setting the stage for a jury trial next month in the Department of Justice’s sweeping antitrust lawsuit, which claims that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have abused their dominance over the live music industry.

Related

But in a court filing on Sunday, Live Nation says it wants to launch a so-called interlocutory appeal – meaning it wants to challenge that ruling before the case is over. And it says the scheduled trial must be halted until that appeal has been decided.

“The court should not empanel a jury to try a complex, month-long case when that trial (at least as currently envisioned) may well prove wholly unnecessary,” Live Nation’s lawyers write, adding that such a pause would “avoid wasting the resources of the parties, this court, and jury members on a trial of claims that may well be deemed legally deficient on appeal.”

A jury trial is currently scheduled to begin on March 2. DOJ did not immediately return a request for comment on Live Nation’s move to pause the case.

The DOJ and dozens of states filed the case in 2024, with an aim to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster over accusations that they form an illegal monopoly over the live music industry. The feds alleged Live Nation runs an illegal “flywheel” — reaping revenue from ticket buyers, using that money to sign artists, then leveraging that repertoire to lock venues into exclusive ticketing contracts that yield ever more revenue.

Related

In October, after more than 15 months of discovery, Live Nation moved for a so-called summary judgment ruling, arguing there was “barely a molehill” of evidence that it had done anything monopolistic. The DOJ disagreed, arguing it had uncovered numerous examples of the company abusing its market power.

In his ruling last week, Subramanian said the case could proceed to trial on several key accusations, including that Live Nation abused its vast portfolio of amphitheaters to force artists to use its promotion services: “A reasonable jury could certainly find that artists were coerced into going with Live Nation as their promoter to get into its amphitheaters,” the judge wrote.

Though he allowed the case to move ahead, the judge also threw out some other key monopoly claims focused on concert booking and the fan experience. And Live Nation quickly praised those elements of the ruling, arguing they undermined “any serious argument for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.”

In a blog post titled “It’s Time to Move On,” Live Nation head of corporate and regulatory affairs Dan Wall urged the DOJ to respond to the ruling by reaching a “realistic, common-sense” settlement rather than take the case to trial. But by Friday, that post had been removed from Live Nation’s website.

The DOJ and the states will have a chance to file their own court papers in the coming days responding to Live Nation’s request for an immediate appeal and postponement of the trial.

Three-time Grammy winner Jelly Roll will launch a limited run of U.S. headlining shows this summer when his 11-city The Little Ass Shed Tour launches May 28. Joining Jelly Roll will be Kashus Culpepper, who released his debut album, Act I, earlier this year.

Related

In addition to his The Little Ass Shed Tour, Jelly Roll will also perform in stadiums this year on The Big Ass Stadium Tour Part 2 with Post Malone.

Jelly Roll’s The Little Ass Shed Tour will stops in cities including West Palm Beach, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; and more. The tour wraps July 22 in Walla Walla, Wash.

Tickets for The Little Ass Shed Tour will first become available to fans through various venue and artist presales on Feb. 25, with general onsale launching Feb. 27 at 11 a.m. local time via Live Nation.

Earlier this month, Jelly Roll picked up three Grammys wins: best contemporary country album (Beautifully Broken), best country duo/group performance (for “Amen,” with Shaboozey) and best contemporary Christian music performance/song (for “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Brandon Lake).

“Amen” is currently at No. 4 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.

See the full list of dates below for Jelly Roll’s The Little Ass Shed Tour:

  • May 28: West Palm Beach, Fla. @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
  • June 2: Orange Beach, Ala. @ The Wharf Amphitheater
  • June 7: Charleston, S.C. @ Credit One Stadium
  • June 8: Wilmington, N.C. @ Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park
  • June 10: Virginia Beach, Va. @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
  • June 13: Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Acrisure Amphitheater
  • June 18: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Albany Med Health System at SPAC
  • June 20: Bangor, Maine @ Maine Savings Amphitheater
  • June 21: Gilford, N.H. @ BankNH Pavilion
  • June 23: Syracuse, N.Y. @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
  • July 22: Walla Walla, Wash. @ Wine Country Amphitheater


Billboard VIP Pass