“I love to play, I love to travel, but the trade-off is sacrificing your freedom,” May told The Times. “I have a wife, grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do”

Adam Lambert performs onstage with Brian May of Queen at London’s O2 Arena in 2022.

Queen + Adam Lambert haven’t performed since their Rhapsody world tour wrapped up at Japan’s Tokyo Dome on Feb. 14, 2024. And in a new interview with The Times, guitarist Brian May revealed the band won’t ever return to the road.

“I made a decision 18 months ago that I didn’t want to tour again,” May said. “A close family friend died when we were in the States, so I said to my tour manager, ‘I’ll just nip home for a few days and come back.’ She looked me in the eyes and said, ‘You know you can’t do that.’ I love to play, I love to travel, but the trade-off is sacrificing your freedom. I have a wife [the actress Anita Dobson], grandchildren and a lot of astrophysics I want to do, so I’m thinking maybe 50 years is enough.”

He’s not, however, ruling out other ways to bring Queen’s music into large communal spaces. “We do want to do something fairly revolutionary,” May said. “Not as ABBA did, but along those lines… Last year I went to the Sphere, my juices started flowing and I sketched out a whole Queen show. I think an immersive experience is still on the cards and it could conquer time and space, but currently you can’t make it without AI and I have serious misgivings about that… Data centers are a massive evil and have to be fought.”

In September 2025, May told Rolling Stone that he was simply exhausted with life on the road, though he wasn’t quite ready at that time to forever rule it out, as he’s now done. “I’ve had 50 years of touring and there’s a part of me that thinks it’s enough,” he said. “I don’t like the idea that you wake up in your hotel room and you’re trapped. I had a few experiences recently where stuff happened at home with my family and I could not go home. It got under my skin and I just thought, ‘I’m not sure if I want this anymore.’ I feel like I’ve given up my freedom too many times. So my feeling at the moment is I don’t want to tour as such. I still want to play shows. I still want to innovate.”

In January of this year, May told the Daily Mail that he didn’t want to cross the Atlantic for shows because “America is a dangerous place at the moment.” “It’s very sad because I feel like Queen grew up in America and we love it, but it’s not what it was,” he said. “Everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment.”

This doesn’t mean the members of Queen + Adam Lambert are going to remain inactive. Drummer Roger Taylor recently released his solo LP Violence Insane in a Beautiful World, and Lambert dropped his own album, Adam, in July. He also honored George Michael at the MTV Video Music Awards last month with a performance of “Freedom! ’90.”

There are also a series of archival Queen projects in the pipeline, starting with the new Queen concert film Queen Budapest. It was filmed on July 27, 1986, when Queen became the first major rock band to play a show behind the Iron Curtain.

Of course, it’s also quite possible that May will have a change of heart. If so, he’ll be far from the last rock star to launch a tour after claiming to be done.

Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, Irish rockers Fontaines D.C. drop a spectral, trip-hop-inspired single; Miranda Lambert toasts to a bright future on a glistening highlight from her 10th album; and Quavo teams up with Pharrell, A$AP Rocky, and Tyler, the Creator for a bombastic posse cut. Plus, new tunes from Victoria Monét, Drake, Michael Kiwanuka, Stevie Wonder, and Lil Nas X.

Fontaines D.C., “Tongue” (YouTube)

Miranda Lambert, “To Everything” (YouTube)

Quavo, Pharrell Williams, Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky, “Baby Breath” (YouTube)

Victoria Monét feat. SZA, “See You in My Dreams” (YouTube)

Drake feat. Don Toliver, “Solar Eclipse” (YouTube)

Stevie Wonder, “It’s Easier” (YouTube)

Yung Miami, “F You” (YouTube)

Megan Thee Stallion, “Tina Tuesday Freestyle” (YouTube)

Michael Kiwanuka, “Summer Clothes” (YouTube)

Meshell Ndegeocello feat. Destin Conrad, Moses Sumney, “The Closer I Get to You” (YouTube)

Lil Nas X, “World’s Greatest!” (YouTube)

Holly Humberstone, “Too Cute to Be Lonely” (YouTube)

Bob Weir, “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again (Live at The Saenger Theatre, 4/19/17)” (YouTube)

Rachel Chinouriri, “Broken Chair” (YouTube)

Romy Mars, “The Rage” (YouTube)

Hannah Cohen, Robert Lester Folsom, “Music and Dreams” (YouTube)

Greg Freeman, “Totaled” (YouTube)

Emma Ogier, “Hands Tied” (YouTube)

Ryley Walker, “Carrier” (YouTube)

Common People, “Shapeshift” (YouTube)

Earfzilla, “Vintage Vuitton” (YouTube)

Kaeto, “Propane” (YouTube)

Klein, “Bridge the Gap” (YouTube)

Boyg1rl, “DJ Travella” (YouTube)

Vatican Jail, “DVSL” (YouTube)

Sasha Keable, “Options” (YouTube)

Soulidified, “Man Ain’t Me (YouTube)

Noah Kahan at Rolling Stone Stateside Festival on July 4, 2026 in Kingston, NY.

Noah Kahan has released his contribution to the upcoming The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping soundtrack, “Draw You Out.”

The song may be one of the most compelling tracks to be included in the list of Hunger Games soundtracks that include the likes of Grammy-winning “Safe & Sound” by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars for Songs from District 12 and Beyond and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Can’t Catch Me Now” for The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

On “Draw You Out,” Kahan delivers the aching chorus: “I carry you on with me/I promised you I would, and I do/And I float around/Show up unannounced in the places that you knew.”

Kahan, a self-professed fan of The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins’ work, shared a post to social media prior to the new track’s release. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do and I am so grateful for the opportunity to write for this moving film, having adored the works of art by Suzanne Collins,” wrote Kahan. “I was already totally connected and inspired by the tragic yet hopeful story of Haymitch and Lenore Dove, and writing a song about the purpose, grief and perseverance through pain that they exemplify was an experience I’ll always be grateful for.”

The singer-songwriter added, “This is an incredible film, and I am so honored to be a small part of it.”

Sunrise on the Reaping, which released in March last year, serves as a prequel to the original trilogy and marks the fifth book in the series, following The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

The story follows a young Haymitch Abernathy — who was a mentor in the original Hunger Games novels and was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the first four films — and his tragic story as he participates in the 50th Hunger Games.

“Draw You Out” reunites Kahan with Aaron Dessner, who co-wrote and co-produced the track at Dessner’s Long Pond Studio in New York and Nashville’s Gold Pacific Studios and East Iris Studios. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (The Album) is executive produced by Dave Cobb and is set to arrive Nov. 13, one week before the film debuts in theaters on Nov. 20.

The Backstreet Boys are bringing their Millennium era back to Canada, with a four-show residency Toronto, planned for Rogers Centre in February 2027.

The group announced Friday that Into The Millennium – Homecoming: Live in Canada will take place February 12, 13, 19 and 20, and will be the band’s only North American stadium shows of 2027.

“Canada was one of the first places to embrace us, and the love and support we’ve received from our fans there has meant so much from the very beginning,” Brian Littrell said in a statement. “Coming back feels incredibly special. It is a chance for all of us to celebrate the memories we’ve made together and create some new ones.”

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The Backstreet Boys broke through globally at the end of the '90s, with Canadian audiences among their earliest major supporters. More than three decades later, the group is bringing a show built around the album that helped define its global peak.

The Toronto concerts will revisit Millennium, the 1999 blockbuster featuring “I Want It That Way,” “Larger Than Life” and “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”.

The shows follow the band’s ongoing Into the Millennium run at Sphere in Las Vegas and its 10-show Homecoming stadium residency in Düsseldorf, Germany. The current production has brought back elements of the original Into the Millennium Tour, including the band’s entrance on hoverboards.

Toronto will also get its own Backstreet Boys fan destination. The Backstreet Boys YYZ Terminal will be an Millennium-inspired pop-up featuring official merchandise, photo opportunities and fan events throughout the residency.

Rogers customers can access the first presale October 5 at 10 a.m. ET, while sales for the general public open October 9 at 10 a.m. ET through Ticketmaster.

After weeks of requests from fans, Drake has finally released some of the songs from his ''not-so-short film'' project Fear of Missing Out. On Friday, October 2, the Toronto rapper expanded his 2026 album HABIBTI with four previously unreleased tracks featured in FOMO, his self-funded film that premiered online September 15. The expanded edition, titled HABIBTI (FOMO), brings the album from 11 to 15 tracks.

The new material includes “Quebec,” which first appeared in FOMO before receiving a standalone visual last month.

Also included is “Cold Shoulder,” a collaboration with Don Toliver and Yebba, which debuted in the film alongside a video shot at Canada’s Wonderland.

Drake also officially released “Classic PT2,” an expanded follow-up to “Classic” from the original HABIBTI, as well as “Solar Eclipse,” his collaboration with Don Toliver built around Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.” The latter had been teased before FOMO and arrives with its new title on the streaming release.

The release follows weeks of speculation about whether the songs previewed in FOMO would receive official releases. Drake had previously told fans that some of the music from the film was coming to streaming, while cautioning that not everything featured in the project would necessarily be released.

Sean Combs in New York in 2018.

Sean Combs was reportedly placed back in solitary confinement following a NBC News report that the music mogul was using a contraband cellphone to scroll on Instagram, kept a private stash of premium liquor, and had access to a jailbroken tablet where he watched a Netflix documentary about himself.

The 56-year-old was put in a special housing unit, both NBC and TMZ have reported, after footage was released of Combs seemingly using a cell phone while serving his 50-month sentence at Fort Dix in New Jersey. This would be Combs’ second time placed in isolation, following a physical fight with a fellow inmate in July.

Last year, Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution following a high-profile criminal trial. Combs recently had his release date bumped up to January 2028, though it is unclear if the apparent violation will push back his homecoming.

In a statement, Combs’ spokesperson chalked up the reporting of Combs’ time behind bars as sensationalization of “ordinary prison life,” adding that “the only real news is that Sean continues to serve his sentence while awaiting the court’s decision on his appeal.”

According to NBC News, Combs had been enjoying a relatively pampered stay at the low-security federal correctional facility. The one-time billionaire reportedly had been directing thousands of dollars to fellow inmates in exchange for favors, including cooking him gourmet meals, and scrubbing down showers and toilets before he uses them. “He’s a billionaire. People are in awe of him,” one source told the outlet. “Money is power, especially behind bars.”

But beyond basic “pampering,” Combs allegedly has managed to secure contraband. He reportedly has a stash of Hennessy liquor, buys Remeron pills, a mood-boosting antidepressant drug, possess a jail-breaked tablet that he used to watch Netflix’s 50 Cent-produced docuseries about him, and has a cell phone that he uses to scroll on Instagram and view nude photos from an ex-girlfriend.

Rolling Stone has reviewed the Instagram account believed to belong to Combs, which is among the 365 accounts his own publicist follows. The anonymous profile follows Combs’ children, longtime family friends who are not public figures, and women romantically linked to Combs. The account has recently reposted videos pertaining to Combs’ former girlfriend Yung Miami, 50 Cent and former Bad Boy artist Mase.

Fort Dix has had issues with contraband being smuggled inside the facility. Last month, five people — including one current and one former Fort Dix corrections officer — were charged with conspiracy to provide contraband in prison. Between May 2025 and May 2026, the defendants are accused of smuggling in knives, marijuana, tobacco, cellular phones, vapes, cell phone chargers, tool kits, and a tattoo kit into Fort Dix, with more than $100,000 being transferred among the co-conspirators, according to the criminal complaint.