This Week In Entertainment News 25 September 2026
Music and entertainment news from Australia and around the world, plus new releases and tour updates.
Aussie pub rock icon, actor, youth advocate, and charity ambassador Angry Anderson has passed away, aged 79. The Rose Tattoo frontman suffered a cardiac arrest in August while on tour in Germany for the 50th anniversary of the band. His family and bandmates announced his death in a statement, saying he passed away in Australia surrounded by loved ones. Read our full tribute here.
Country music festival CMC Rocks is staying in Ipswich for another two years, locking in Willowbank Raceway until 2028. Headliners for the 2027 instalment have also been announced, including US country legends Brooks & Dunn, Eric Church, and Ashley McBryde.
Aussie pop artist Tones And I rejected an offer to perform as part of the NRL grand final pre-game entertainment, citing scheduling conflicts due to previous touring commitments with US rapper Macklemore. It was initially reported that turned it down because she refused to perform her massive 2019 hit ‘Dance Monkey’, although both her management and ARLC chair Peter V’landys claim the setlist was never an issue.
Legendary voice actor Jim Cummings, known for voicing beloved characters like Winnie The Pooh and Tigger, will not be reprising his role as Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard in the Disney+ reboot of the popular ‘90s animated series. Instead, the titular role will be played by Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill, alongside Seth Rogen as his sidekick Launchpad McQuack, and Lizzy Caplan as his adopted daughter, Gosalyn Mallard.
New York’s finest The Strokes have announced an Australian tour for 2027. After a one-off performance at Adelaide’s Harvest Rock last year, The Strokes return next February for headlining shows in Brisbane, Melbourne (two shows), and Sydney. In July, The Strokes released ‘Reality Awaits’, their long-awaited seventh studio album following 2020’s ‘The New Abnormal’, which won Best Rock Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards.
With the release of her much-anticipated debut album, ‘Life In The Front Seat’, right around the corner, Laura Frank has gifted audiences with a striking new insight into this exciting arc – the fresh single, ‘Living My Life In The Front Seat’. An anchor moment of the album, the latest from the songwriter and performer repositions her as one of the East Coast’s most dynamic voices and storytellers.
Returning with brand new music in 2026, Newcastle indie pop duo The Tryouts deliver a reminder of their charisma and staying power with fresh cut, ‘Chewing Gum’. As an indicator of a brand-new chapter for the group, ‘Chewing Gum’ takes a bold direction and wraps up all the elements of The Tryouts’ appeal – insatiable melodies, lyrics and production – in a fresh, new perspective.
Sydney’s Chillcheney have built for themselves a strong foundation when it comes to their music expression. With their new EP ‘Worlds Collide’, the group embraces a wide variety of influences that have drawn from not just hip hop, but the worlds of alternative rock, soul, pop and jazz. Chillcheney continue their expansive regional and remote tour of Australia, bringing their music and shared experiences to stages and workshops right around the country through into November.
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Tuareg musical pioneers and Grammy Award-winning ‘desert blues’ band Tinariwen announce their return to Australia, with an initial seven-date tour across February and March 2027. Presented by Top Shelf, the initial tour announcement includes Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay, Hobart, and Brisbane, alongside two shows at WOMADelaide, with more dates yet to be announced.
Nick Ward returns with ‘Jenny’, the latest single from his forthcoming sophomore album ‘Year Of The Snake’, out November 13 via EMI Music Australia. A hazy, lovestruck song about the fantasy of meeting someone and throwing caution – and your old life – completely out the window, ‘Jenny’ finds Ward leaning into the more romantic and playful side of his songwriting.
Manchester indie rock band Corella have released their second album ‘A Beautiful World To Lose’ via FLG records. To celebrate the release, Corella have shared the new single ‘Lost A Friend’, along with a visualizer.
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