This Week In Entertainment News 18 September 2026
Music and entertainment news from Australia and around the world, plus new releases and tour updates.
Macklemore has been dropped from the remaining US dates of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Loop’ tour following pro-Palestinian remarks during a 4 September performance at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. The rapper told the crowd: “Free Palestine” and said people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank had not been forgotten. Tour promoter Messina Touring Group said upcoming venues would not allow shows to proceed with Macklemore on the line-up, putting the tour at risk of cancellation. He had been scheduled to support eight of the final 10 US concerts. Sheeran later said the decision was made by the promoter, not him, after attempts to reach a resolution with venue owners were unsuccessful.
Grammy Award-winning EDM powerhouse Calvin Harris has announced his first-ever headline Australian tour, hitting our shores in February 2027 for massive shows in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne.
Former child star Macaulay Culkin is heading to Australia for a special screening of his classic 1990 film ‘Home Alone’ along with an in-person Q&A session. The ‘Home Alone’: A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour, includes the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, the Regent Theatre in Melbourne and Sydney’s Enmore Theatre in November.
Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams has confirmed she will be in Australia next February for two intimate solo shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Selling out venues in the US, ‘The Hayley Williams Show’ features a packed setlist of material from her three studio albums along with fan favourites and a few surprises.
Jess Beck steps further into her power as an artist with the reveal of her brand-new creative chapter: an exciting solo EP, ‘A Little Broken’. With over a decade’s experience creating and performing music around the country as part of the group Pirra, Jess’ venture into solo territory has been born out of a period of personal change and growth. The release is supported by a Sound NSW Contemporary Music Development Grant, which made the recording of the EP possible.
Inspired by the incredible response the country music-loving community has brought to the last two years of Howlin’ Country, the team behind the Newcastle festival have decided that for year three, things are being kicked up more than one notch. Making its return in February 2027, Howlin’ Country will debut a brand-new format: its first ever Rock N Rodeo. Held on the Newcastle Foreshore on Saturday 13 February, each session of entertainment will feature an excellent blend of Australian and international talent.
Brand-new festival Sound Collective is set to arrive on the Gold Coast on 20 February next year. The Roots, Reggae and Island Music festival is swinging big in its debut with headliners Maoli, Stan Walker and Katchafire. Sound Collective emerges as a festival that not only speaks to the massive community of fans here in Australia for this style of music but also establishes itself with the aim of supporting upcoming artists as well as genre legends and superstars.
Cargill Australia – Nourishing the world
Australian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jack Gray today releases his long-awaited debut album ‘Swimming In Jeans’. Across 12 tracks, the album bottles the rush, recklessness, and emotional whiplash of youth, into deeply personal indie-pop.
Alt rockers Selfish Things unleash their new single ‘Liability’, along with an official video, taken from their highly anticipated studio album, ‘Receptivity’, set for release on 9 October 9, via FLG.
Following the release of her deeply affecting single ‘Suicide Doves’, Ruby Rodgers shares her latest offering, ‘I’ll Be In The Sun’ – a playful, hopeful and unmistakably summer-coded song about stepping outside, slowing down and appreciating the little things. A lighter moment within her forthcoming EP Sixteen, ‘I’ll Be In The Sun’ came together almost by accident. Making a last-minute decision to fly to Melbourne to write with Nick Kingswell and Rhys Lewis, Ruby boarded the plane without a clear idea of what she wanted to write about. By the time she arrived, however, the 40-degree heat had made the subject pretty hard to ignore.
Continuing to blaze a trail that is completely their own Sydney’s Chillcheney have returned with brand new music in ‘Let It Out’, taken from their upcoming EP ‘Worlds Collide’ set to be released 24 September. Following on from both ‘Underground’ and ‘Cool Breeze’ so far in 2026, the group led by Wiradjuri rapper Lance Cheney have shown audiences different elements of their creativity, bolstered by a core love for alternative hip hop and powerful instrumentation.
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