Beyoncé: Act III
TBA
What a luxury to live in a world where a new Beyoncé album is all but guaranteed. Whether the final act of her in-progress trilogy will see the light of day this year is still unconfirmed, but signs certainly point in that direction; Renaissance and Cowboy Carter came out in 2022 and 2024, respectively, and Beyoncé is one of the co-chairs of the 2026 Met Gala. Rumors swirl of a Tina Turner-inspired hard rock record, though knowing Beyoncé, she’s liable to scrap everything and start over should anyone get too close to the truth. —Walden Green
Björk
TBA
Björk’s 2022 album, Fossora, delved into a fungus-formed underworld of gabber beats, honking clarinets, and mournful melodies, all wrapped in her earthiest production yet. Now, spores of new growth are appearing. This May, a Reykjavík Arts Festival exhibition from the Icelander and James Merry—the visual artist who has long collaborated with and designed masks for Björk—will present three exhibits. Two are named after Fossora tracks, “Sorrowful Soil” and “Ancestress.” The third, however, points to her next phase. It is “a new work,” the festival announced, “based on music from her forthcoming album, currently in development.” Fetch your boots and prepare to trudge deep into a new rabbit hole. —Jazz Monroe
Bleachers: Everyone for Ten Minutes
May 22
After some time working on Grammy Award-winning albums for Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Kendrick Lamar, Jack Antonoff returns to his band Bleachers, with touring crew Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Evan Smith, Michael Riddleberger, and Zem Audu now joining as permanent members. Everyone for Ten Minutes is strikingly optimistic, with charming saxophone, poppy piano, and major-chord guitar riffs backdropping laidback lyrics. —Kiana Mickles
