Music in 2026: Who's releasing new albums and will Oasis play Knebworth? As the sun sets on 2025, all the year-end lists have been published and it's time to look forward to what 2026 has in store. In many ways, the last 12 months have felt transitional. With relatively few A-list releases, and a Brat-shaped hole in the summer, music seemed to split in two. The charts were agonisingly static: Just three songs held the number one spot hostage for half the year: Taylor Swift's Fate of Ophelia, Huntr/x's Golden, and Alex Warren's Ordinary (never has a song been so aptly titled).

What Kind of New World Is Being Born? According to the Gospel of Luke, the Virgin Mary first learns that she'll soon give birth to Christ when she gets an unsolicited visit from an angel. Nice messenger service if you can get it. But before trusty Gabriel can dispense the good news upon which Christmas depends he has to calm the girl down. "Fear not," he says, and, in a way, this sombre reassurance is the Yuletide message in drastic miniature.

Time flows ever onwards with reassuring uniformity - at least, that's how it feels to mere mortals unplugged from the weirder parts of physics. But everyone knows that the exception to this rule is the period between Christmas and New Year, in which time behaves strangely, moving like molasses until it lurches forwards as you near your return to work. If you usually misspend the twilight days of the year sitting idly in a fog of libations, you might be wondering how to occupy yourself. Fear not: staff and contributors have crafted a bucket list of all-time cultural greats to fill the long hours of the holiday season. It is an eclectic mix of books, films, television, music, video games, board games and more, designed to highlight some overlooked classics that you simply must try. The only thing they all have in common is their celebration of science, technology, the environment or any other topic you might find in . We hope you enjoy our favourites - if you choose to give one a go, your time will pass in the blink of an eye. Released in 2019, it broke from a stale formula of largely linear plotlines and choreographed cutscenes in the middle of gameplay, instead opting for narrative experimentation. You begin as a spacefaring alien in a solar system moments from destruction, stuck in a 22-minute time loop that ends with a supernova. It is also a physics lover's paradise: the game wrestles with quantum entanglement, entropy and non-Euclidean spaces. Its simulation of light bending around black holes is among the most accurate ever rendered in media.

At seventy-three, the former front man of Talking Heads is still asking questions about what it means to be alive. "When you step onstage, it's a very artificial situation," Byrne said. "To pretend it's not--that isn't being authentic." If you spend enough time wandering around downtown Manhattan, the odds are that you'll eventually encounter the musician David Byrne riding a bicycle. One day this past June, pedalling alongside Byrne from his apartment in Chelsea to the Governors Island ferry, I watched at least a dozen New Yorkers clock his profile, whipping around to squint, softly pinching the arm of their companion and whispering, "Was that . . . By then, Byrne was gone, a tuft of white hair whizzing toward the horizon. Spotting Byrne on two wheels has become a New York City rite of passage, like sussing out the best halal cart in midtown, or dropping something important onto the subway tracks. During the few months that Byrne and I spent together, I never saw him traverse the ...

This is why her and David Harbour's marriage REALLY ended': Following Lily Allen's'revenge album' against her ex-husband, his furious friends hit back at the'false' singer'A common medication sent my sex life roaring back... it's definitely not a rare side effect': Surprising ways women revived their flagging libidos - including a Netflix show dubbed'female Viagra' King Charles is heckled by Andrew protester shouting'how long have you known' - as he and Fergie prepare to leave Royal Lodge for separate houses Buffalo Bills suffer serious blow to Super Bowl hopes as star man Ed Oliver is ruled out'indefinitely' The NBA Mafia betting scandal is the tip of the iceberg. Now match-fixing expert speaks on wider web of sports shame... and who it implicates: 'Dancing with the devil' Woke Dem Jasmine Crockett's secret stock empire exposed - as she plots Senate run Anguish of mother whose son, four, and daughter, six, vanished in Nova Scotia woods six months ago... as cops reject claims a stranger abducted them This is exactly how to lose up to a stone by Christmas. My expert diet helps you slim while you sleep, won't leave you hungry - and no, you don't need Mounjaro or Ozempic! Trump ally and fellow real estate tycoon warns Zohran Mamdani will destroy NYC's housing market: 'That's not affordability, that's insanity' Bionic Woman actress Lindsay Wagner, 76, makes a rare appearance at fan event... see her now I wish my selfish sister had never been born. When she died at 33 after a life of hedonism, she became a saint in our family... I'll never forgive her for it Urgent warning to Gmail users as 183 MILLION passwords are stolen in data breach - here's how to check if your account is affected What HAS happened to Bradley Cooper's face?

Taylor Swift fans are driving a surge in popularity of a German museum exhibiting a portrait of the Shakespeare character Ophelia, recently reimagined in a song and music video from Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl. The Hessische Landesmuseum in the central German city of Wiesbaden saw hundreds more visitors than usual over the weekend, as fans hoped to see the real version of the painting that opens the music video for The Fate of Ophelia. In the video, viewed more than 65 million times on Youtube, the painting comes alive, with Swift at its centre. We're really enjoying this attention - it's a lot of fun, museum spokesperson Susanne Hirschmann told the Associated Press. Hirschmann said that one family had travelled from the northern city of Hamburg, a five-hour drive away, while some of the visitors were Americans from an army base nearby.

Sam Fender has won the 2025 Mercury Prize for his third album, People Watching, a steely-eyed dissection of working-class life in the north of England. The singer looked stunned when his name was announced. I didn't think that was going to happen at all, he told the BBC as he came off stage. I've spent the last 10 minutes crying. Fender beat the likes of Pulp and Wolf Alice - both former winners of the £25,000 prize for the best British or Irish album of the year - at a star-studded ceremony in Newcastle's Utilita Arena.

The singer leaves behind two of the greatest albums of the century--and generations of artists still struggling to keep up. Great artists who are the opposite of prolific are always a thorny subject. Many of our most romantic ideas about creativity tend to view "genius" as a kind of vessel state, from which beauty and inspiration simply flow forth, effortlessly and boundlessly: It's deflating to be confronted with the reality that this isn't always how it works. And, of course, when such artists come to be the subjects of intense devotion and scrutiny, it often provokes a demand for more and more, faster and faster, which usually has the counterproductive effect of further pressurizing an already fraught creative process. And yet these artists are distinctively precious in their own way, necessary reminders (particularly in our age of pathological, parasocial standom) that even stars don't exist solely as objects for our consumption, that sharing a world with people who provide us with beautiful things is a privilege to be cherished and cared for, rather than an entitlement to be hoarded or otherwise fetishized.

The secret cult caves of polyamorous Mormon'prophet' with 85 wives are seen for first time Florida's housing market is tanking but the birthplace of Southern rock keeps its groove and defies the crash New double weather warning: 'tropical wave' headed to U.S. after hurricanes Humberto and Imelda wreak havoc My war with Harry & Meghan, by PIERS MORGAN: What really happened, their absurd accusations, the brutal truth about post-royal life... and how I believe their royal racism lies helped kill off woke But experts warn the huge benefits come with risks... here's what it means for YOU It is known as America's Playground but is now the epicenter of a food desert as residents go hungry I hung ICE agent effigies from the gallows in my yard. MAGA had a huge meltdown. They're going to lose their minds when they see what else I've done Dem governor finally takes action after pressure from Republicans over Ukrainian refugee's train murder Taylor, your album should be'Life of a Callgirl'. KENNEDY's appalled take on Swift's new record... and its ultra-vivid sex shout outs for Travis the Sasquatch Fate of the four Scottish crime lords who terrorised Dubai: Gangsters thought they were'untouchable' after spree of executions and firebombings. Now we reveal hellhole jail, inhumane'toilet paper' punishment... and where they are now Vile Chicago woman filmed rubbing dog poop on Cybertruck emblazoned with Donald Trump's signature Tycoon who is cousin of former President George W. Bush expected to launch run for Maine governor Israel prepares to implement'first stage' of Trump's Gaza peace plan Cassie Ventura's attorney responds to Diddy sentencing as she's hailed by judge who jailed vile rapper How I look like this at 62. I've lost 5 stone fast, 20 years off my biological age and wear size 8... without weight-loss jabs.

The secret cult caves of polyamorous Mormon'prophet' with 85 wives are seen for first time Florida's housing market is tanking but the birthplace of Southern rock keeps its groove and defies the crash My war with Harry & Meghan, by PIERS MORGAN: What really happened, their absurd accusations, the brutal truth about post-royal life... and how I believe their royal racism lies helped kill off woke But experts warn the huge benefits come with risks... here's what it means for YOU I hung ICE agent effigies from the gallows in my yard. MAGA had a huge meltdown. They're going to lose their minds when they see what else I've done Vile Chicago woman filmed rubbing dog poop on Cybertruck emblazoned with Donald Trump's signature Taylor, your album should be'Life of a Callgirl'. KENNEDY's appalled take on Swift's new record... and its ultra-vivid sex shout outs for Travis the Sasquatch Fate of the four Scottish crime lords who terrorised Dubai: Gangsters thought they were'untouchable' after spree of executions and firebombings. Now we reveal hellhole jail, inhumane'toilet paper' punishment... and where they are now Olympic gold medalist forced to put Louisiana home up for sale as she'can't make a living' months after filing for divorce Tycoon who is cousin of former President George W. Bush expected to launch run for Maine governor Israel prepares to implement'first stage' of Trump's Gaza peace plan Cassie Ventura's attorney responds to Diddy sentencing as she's hailed by judge who jailed vile rapper The truth about Keith Urban's guitarist'other woman' Maggie Baugh revealed amid Nicole Kidman divorce How I look like this at 62. I've lost 5 stone fast, 20 years off my biological age and wear size 8... without weight-loss jabs.