The Rolling Stones on May 5 held a star-studded event in Brooklyn to announce Foreign Tongues, their 25th studio album, due July 10 through Capitol/Universal. The 14-track collection, produced by Andrew Watt and recorded largely in London’s Metropolis Studios in about a month, features the lead single “In the Stars” (digital released at the announcement; physical single due May 15) and opening track “Rough and Twisted,” which saw a limited white‑label vinyl release under the band’s old pseudonym The Cockroaches. The record includes guest contributions from Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Robert Smith and Chad Smith, and incorporates a posthumous performance by drummer Charlie Watts from one of his final sessions. Longtime collaborators Darryl Jones and Steve Jordan appear in the rhythm section. The album cover is by artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn. The announcement event at the Weylin in Williamsburg was hosted by Conan O’Brien and attended by celebrities and industry figures. The Stones — Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood — have not announced a supporting tour; reporting has noted questions about future touring plans given band members’ ages and prior cancellations.

Universal Music Group’s board on May 29 unanimously rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal from Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square, saying the April 7 offer “fundamentally and materially undervalues UMG” and is not in the best interests of the company, its shareholders, artists, songwriters, employees or other stakeholders. Pershing Square had proposed a cash-and-stock transaction valuing UMG at about €30.40 per share, roughly €55.7 billion (about $64–65 billion by published estimates). The board said it reached its decision after review with external financial and legal advisers and after hearing from major shareholders, including the Bolloré Group, which holds about 28% and publicly urged rejection days earlier. UMG highlighted recent corporate moves to boost shareholder value — expanding a share buyback programme, plans to sell half its Spotify stake and commitments to enhanced financial disclosure — and reiterated plans to pursue a U.S. listing. Ackman and Pershing Square, who were significant investors in UMG from 2021 and for a time had a board seat, did not immediately comment.

London-based singer-songwriter Samuel Smith, 49, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2020, used generative AI tools to complete his second album, The Art of Letting Go, after the illness eroded his ability to play guitar. For the instrumental track “Horizon” Smith hummed melodies into his phone and uploaded the recordings to AI music platforms such as Suno and Udio to generate demo arrangements. He says the synthetic demos — produced after dozens or even hundreds of attempts and extensive editing — were never intended for the final mix but served to communicate his musical vision to session players. The album, produced by Grammy-winner Matt Rollings, features established roots and bluegrass musicians including Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Viktor Krauss, Jonatha Brooke, Glen Phillips and a guitar duet with Julian Lage, captured during a brief studio reprieve in Smith’s symptoms. The story joins wider industry debate: major labels sued Suno and Udio in 2024 over training data, though Universal later settled with Udio and Warner struck a deal with Suno. Experts say AI tools can expand access for musicians with disabilities while raising copyright and ethical questions.

Dublin rock band The Coronas halted and then cancelled a sold-out concert at King John’s Castle in Limerick on the evening of Friday, May 29, 2026, after guitarist Lar Kaye suffered a medical emergency shortly after the set began. Medics treated Kaye on site and the show was suspended as organisers and band members assessed the situation. Frontman Danny O’Reilly addressed the crowd after the incident, saying the band wanted to finish the performance but it "didn't feel right" while a member's condition was uncertain. Promoters Dolan’s confirmed the concert will be rescheduled and that ticket-holders will be contacted; the band indicated a return date is likely around July 10 or 11. Thousands had attended the capacity event. No further details on Kaye’s condition were released publicly beyond statements that he was being cared for. The decision to postpone prioritised the musician’s wellbeing and prompted widespread public messages of support from fans and peers.

A U.S. federal judge has reinstated the full $75,000 civil verdict won last December by rapper Megan Thee Stallion against gossip blogger Milagro Gramz (Milagro Cooper), ruling that Gramz was acting as a paid agent of Tory Lanez (Daystar Peterson) and his father when she published three defamatory statements. In a decision issued May 29, 2026, Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga reversed an earlier ruling that had partially set aside the award on procedural grounds tied to pre-suit notice protections for media defendants. The judge found trial evidence showing payments from the Petersons, preferential access to information, and assistance provided to Lanez’s criminal defense amounted to Gramz being “commissioned” to publish the statements, removing the requirement for advance notice. The jury had awarded damages for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and amplification of a sexually explicit deepfake. Lanez is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Megan in 2020. Gramz, now representing herself, denies being paid; the court declined to issue an injunction barring further posts and left questions about attorneys’ fees and post-trial motions open pending appeal.

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil has published an excerpt from his memoir, A Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond, recounting how he learned of bandmate Chris Cornell’s death on May 18, 2017. The preview, shared by Rolling Stone on May 29 ahead of the book’s June 9 release via William Morrow, describes the band leaving Detroit after a Fox Theatre show en route to Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio when members saw social media reports of Cornell’s death. Thayil writes of initial disbelief, the confirmation that Cornell died by suicide in a hotel room, and his lingering guilt — “I feel like I let Chris down” — for not recognising warning signs. Other outlets (Louder Sound, Metal Injection) have carried the excerpt and reported that Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron are finishing a collection of unreleased songs built around Cornell’s final demo recordings, material that had been the subject of a long-running legal dispute with Cornell’s estate.