Born in Denmark and currently based in Oslo, Norway, saxophonist Amalie Dahl is a composer, improviser, and bandleader of distinction on the contemporary scene. Amongst numerous projects is the quintet Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie, which has released two albums, beginning with a self-titled effort in 2022. Now there is Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie EXTENDED, as the 5-piece expands to a 12-piece unit with a double rhythm section. Combining free jazz abstraction with compositions that sway and groove, this large band’s debut, the 2LP set Live at Moldejazz, is out March 6 through Sonic Transmissions.

In addition to Dafnie, Amalie Dahl has released two albums under her own name. First came Memories, a CD issued by Sonic Transmissions in 2022, and then Breaking / Building Habits followed, an LP/CD on the Sauajazz label from last year. Additionally, Dahl has played in a leaderless trio with drummer Jomar Jeppsson Søvik and bassist Henrik Sandstad Dalen; they released the 2CD Live in Europe on Nice Things Records in 2024.

Other projects with releases include Noize R Us, Treen, and Superspreder. A constant across all of Dahl’s work is a disinterest in trad predictability, an absence that’s particularly notable in Dafnie, and now especially shines through in the lineup’s expansion. The list of personnel and their instruments will provide a tip-off for the uninitiated.

Along with composer Dahl on alto sax, Live at Moldejazz features Henriette Eilertsen on flute and electronics, Oscar Andreas Haug on trumpet, Jørgen Bjelkerud on trombone, Sofía Salvo on baritone sax, Ida Løvli Hidle on accordion, Anna Ueland on synthesizers, Lisa Ullén on piano, Nicolas Leirtrø and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on double basses, and Trym Saugstad Karlsen and Veslemøy Narvesen on drums.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Universal Pictures International (UPI) announces the official title, key artwork, and International theatrical plans for the upcoming Iron Maiden feature documentary, now titled Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition.

Documenting one of the most iconic journeys in music history, the film will be released in cinemas in the UK on May 7th 2026. Tickets will go on sale March 18th. Directed by Malcolm Venville (Churchill at War) and produced by Dominic Freeman (Spirits in the Forest—A Depeche Mode Film), the feature‑length documentary charts Iron Maiden’s remarkable five‑decade journey. Alongside the band, the documentary features on‑camera reflections from prominent admirers including Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich, and Chuck D, each speaking about Iron Maiden’s influence on music, culture and generations of fans worldwide. The newly released key art by Albert “Akirant” Quirantes, offers the first visual look at the documentary.

Formed in East London in 1975, Iron Maiden have grown into one of the world’s most influential and enduring rock bands. Across 50 years they have released 17 studio albums, sold over 100 million records, and performed almost 2,500 concerts across 64 countries. The documentary arrives as the band continues its two year Run For Your Lives world tour, which included a triumphant homecoming performance at London Stadium a short distance from where it all began five decades ago.

A recently announced, one of a kind, celebration named EddFest in historic Knebworth Park, England, on July 11th forms part of over 50 shows worldwide in 2026.

The Sun Records label, based in Memphis, Tennessee, put rock ‘n’ roll on the map in the 1950s and launched a musical, artistic, and cultural explosion that resonated around the world and can still be felt today. While rock ‘n’ roll and its many permeations are virtually absent from popular music these days, their place in American culture remains.

The key artists of the Sun rock ‘n’ roll explosion—Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and others—arrived at their sound by a gradual and organic mixing of American roots music, primarily country and blues, but also R&B, jazz, and folk. Other Sun artists, while considered part of Sun’s seminal and groundbreaking rock ‘n’ roll stable, made a sound rooted in country. For Sam Phillips, who launched the company, labels meant very little.

Which brings us to two original and important Sun releases. One from Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar, which might be deemed strictly country, and one from Carl Perkins, Dance Album of Carl Perkins, which was a rock ‘n’ roll hybrid (rockabilly) that added a pinch of country to rock ‘n’ roll. The descriptions, categorizations, and assigning of labels are debatable and ultimately pointless.

Reissues of important recordings can serve many purposes, but often the big questions are: how do they sound and how faithful are they to the originals? Although these two Sun recordings from Cash and Perkins are revolutionary, the original pressings of the albums just don’t sound very good. Poor tape transfers, inferior vinyl record quality, and primitive means of producing records and getting them out to market in the mid- to late-’50s resulted in great music of historical significance.

However, given how quickly every step of the record-making process evolved through the late ’50s and particularly ’60s and ’70s, even mint copies of original and later vinyl pressings just didn’t sound very good. Of course, various CD reissues and deluxe packages of Sun recordings have been released over the years, preserving the music for generations and expanding on the knowledge, significance, and understanding of this important music. However, it would appear that these new Intervention Records releases are not only the best reissues of these albums, but maybe the best recordings of them to ever be released.

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Celebrating Fergal Lawler, born on this date in 1971. —Ed.

With Dolores O’Riordan as their distinctive vocalist, the Irish four-piece The Cranberries took alternative rock by storm in the 1990s, crafting a sound drawn from ’80s UK indie pop and adding elements of dream pop, post punk, and the nascent alt-rock scene. It was their second album, 1994’s No Need to Argue, that made the biggest splash and remains the band’s biggest seller; it’s just been given an expanded 30th anniversary edition that includes remixes of “Ode to My Family” and “Zombie,” a demo of “Zombie” and live tracks from Woodstock ’94 and MTV Unplugged. A fresh consideration of the LP is below.

If No Need to Argue was The Cranberries biggest success, their debut album from the previous year, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? laid the groundwork. That first record, like its follow-up, was produced by Stephen Street, and landed the band an alternative hit in “Dreams” and a legit mainstream breakthrough with “Linger.”

Released in October 1994, No Need to Argue managed four singles, with the first, “Zombie,” issued a month prior to the album, becoming huge internationally. The heaviest song they’d recorded up to that point, and featuring O’Riordan’s sharp, heavily accented wail, “Zombie” wasn’t a complete change of pace, as they’d gotten loud on their debut, and O’Riordan’s vocal prowess was a defining trait on their first album.

Second single and album opener “Ode to My Family” is closer to what fans would’ve expected; it’s pretty and achy and showcases O’Riordan’s singing exceptionally well. It’s followed on the LP by the more straightforward, punked-up rocker “I Can’t Be With You,” which was the third single from the album everywhere in the world except the USA, where it was single number four.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Motörhead On Parole Sessions is a unique opportunity to hear this legendary, fledgling band writing and capturing their earliest recordings, and celebrates the 50th anniversary of their first ever studio recordings that would go on to be their fourth album.

This 4-disc CD set contains a brand new remix of the original album by Steve Wilson, two CD’s of extensive session outtakes from demo versions to instrumental jams mixed Richard Digby Smith, and a blu-ray of the original album in Atmos. To be released on 17 April, it is available to pre-order now. On Parole was Motörhead’s first ever studio recording from 1975. The band features Larry Wallis on guitar, Phil Taylor and Lucas Fox on drums, and Lemmy on bass and vocals and is the only Motörhead album that features the original line-up of the band.

Originally completed in 1976, On Parole was the first-ever recorded material by Motörhead, but was released in 1979 after it was originally held-back by then record label United Artists. The album proved to be the starting point of one of the most important bands in rock history, these early recording sessions set Motörhead’s uncompromising sound and became a turning point for Lemmy who would now become front and centre of his own band and, unintentionally, one of the most iconic, influential and celebrated figures in rock music. On Parole was eventually released in 1979 becoming the band’s fourth released album.

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Celebrating Tobias Forge, born on this day in 1981. —Ed.

And now, for your entertainment, a Ghost Story. It takes place in Sweden, which if you’ve ever seen 2017’s The Ritual or tried to put an IKEA bookshelf together you know is one very scary place.

And even scarier (and I know I’m not getting to the point here) every year the Swedes of Gävle (wherever that is) construct a giant straw Christmas goat called the “Gävlebocken,” which is a horror movie scenario if ever I’ve heard one. Because, let’s face facts folks, nothing good can come of constructing a giant straw goat. Either the locals sacrifice wayward tourists (like you) to it or it comes alive and haunts the forest, slaughtering wayward hikers (like you). Do not, I repeat do not, include a trip to quaint Gävle in your Yule Season travel plans.

Parallel to this discussion, experiential entertainment continues gaining popularity as people seek alternatives to passive viewing or conventional social activities. I recently explored one such venue that exemplifies this trend perfectly, and you can learn more about their offerings at https://www.escaperoomsbristol.co.uk/. The three available experiences each present unique challenges wrapped in horror movie aesthetics, with production values that rival professional haunted attractions. Participants must work collaboratively under time pressure while navigating deliberately intimidating environments, from underground cellars to dystopian execution chambers. The psychological element of being “trapped” adds genuine stakes to the puzzle-solving, creating memorable experiences that groups discuss long afterwards.

But let’s get down to business. MY Ghost Story begins on the day Swedish metal musician Tobias Forge wrote a guitar riff and said to himself modestly, “This is probably the most heavy metal riff that has ever existed.” Forge then went on to do what any Swedish metal genius worth his Gävlebocken would do—sat down and wrote a whole slew of impossibly catchy metal, pop metal, and even plain old pop songs set to hilariously tongue-in-cheek Satanic lyrics. Then went out and put together an amusingly theatrical band called Ghost, whose anonymous members wear masks and are referred to only as “Nameless Ghouls.”

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Bette Adriaanse is a Dutch writer also known as Bette A. Along with authoring two novels, she’s co-authored with musician Brian Eno a non-fiction work on art and its impact on human experience that was published just last year. Now she’s back with Slow Stories, a collection of short works available today in hardcover. This book is also part of another collaboration with Eno, a white vinyl album in a gatefold jacket featuring two sidelong stories from the book read by Bette A. These readings are complemented by ambient music played by Eno.

Along with the book and record, there are 20cm x 20cm original paintings on canvas boards by Bette A. and Eno, each one unique and each one numbered and signed by the artists. This bundle is limited to just 444 copies, with no digital release of the two album tracks in the works. Soon to be highly sought after, 2 Slow Stories is assembled and issued by Unnamed Press. The artist’s proceeds go to their charities, The Heroines! Movement, co-founded by Bette A., and Earth Percent, co-founded by Eno.

Bette A.’s prior novels are Rus Like Everyone Else, published in 2015, and What’s Mine, published in 2023. The book co-authored with Brian Eno is What Art Does: An Unfinished Theory. Both novels were published by Unnamed Press, an independent house that focuses on global literature by underrepresented voices. The book authored with Eno was published by Faber & Faber.

Slow Stories will be widely available as a standalone hardcover book. It collects 16 works that have been in development across two decades. Bette A. offers that these stories were rewritten from memory and became shorter. Her style is indeed spare, leaving the impression of dispensing with what’s unneeded while dishing vivid descriptive sparks.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The revolutionary writer and performer Neko Case continues to have a busy 2026 following a standout 2025 with the release of her New York Times bestselling memoir The Harder The Fight, The More I Love You—which was named one of the best books of the year by Vulture, The Washington Post, The Globe, Apple, and NPR—and her 8th studio album Neon Grey Midnight Green, immediately deemed an essential work of her catalogue. 

Case has announced an event that will combine both, an in-conversation Q&A with esteemed music journalist Ann Powers alongside an album and book signing at Grimey’s, Nashville’s favorite record store. Taking place on March 18 at 4 pm CT and co-presented by the Americana Music Association, those interested in attending can purchase Neko’s memoir or copies of her albums on vinyl or CD at grimeys.com or in person at Grimey’s to receive a signing wristband.

One month later on April 18 Case is offering an exclusive 7″ as a part of Record Store Day 2026 in tribute to her late friend and collaborator Dexter Romweber of Flat Duo Jets. It features a never-before-heard cover of Flat Duo Jets’ “Cool Boys” as well as “Winchester Mansion of Sound” from Neon Grey Midnight Green. Plagued with a sort of intuition about death, Case penned the latter about two years before Romweber’s 2024 passing, when she found herself worrying about him.

As Case wrote in her recent memoir The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, the first time she heard Romweber’s pioneering psychobilly group, “something unlocked in her that day, the way making music could become a physical manifestation of the blazing wild horse energy inside of her body.” Case’s 2026 West Coast tour dates also kick off this week, beginning in Bozeman, MT, on February 25 with Destroyer (solo).