Hey friends. 👋
Wow, you all REALLY came through.
Turns out asking music lovers for a favorite song is basically asking them to choose a favorite child.
Last week, I asked you to send me your favorite song at the moment so we could build a collective DoTell playlist, and the responses were so much better than I expected. You didn’t just send song titles. You sent stories. Songs tied to people you love, moments you’re going through, memories you’re holding onto, and tracks you simply cannot stop playing right now.
It was genuinely so fun connecting with so many of you over email and getting a tiny window into your lives through the music you love. And honestly, it makes sense. This audience clearly loves music, but even more than that, I think we all love the way music gives us something to connect over.
So a very big thank you to everyone that responded for adding a little piece of your current soundtrack to ours.This was such a fun little project that I’m already thinking we may need to make it a recurring thing.
For now, enjoy DoTell’s very first reader-built playlist: eclectic, personal, and entirely yours.
A quick note before anyone starts defending their streaming platform of choice: Spotify was simply the easiest place to gather most of your picks in one spot. A couple of songs live outside its walls, and they absolutely still deserve a place here:
Dizzy Sunlight — D Mangione Music
Sara’s submission came with a story I haven’t stopped thinking about. D was a good friend of hers who passed away from cancer. In 2021, some of D’s friends gathered the recordings they could find and put together an album of her music so those songs could keep living on.
Wicked Craig
And one more deep cut that refuses to be neatly contained by Spotify. Steve sent us “Wicked Craig” via SoundCloud, so consider this the playlist’s official off-menu selection.
THIS WEEK IN MUSIC NEWS & TOURS 🎤
Dolly Parton, the country music legend whose songs, wit and generosity made her one of the most universally beloved figures in American culture, has died at 80. Across more than six decades, she gave us timeless songs like “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” while building a legacy that stretched far beyond music through her acting, philanthropy and Imagination Library. Few stars ever managed to feel both larger than life and completely down-to-earth; Dolly did it with rhinestones, humor and an enormous heart. Music lost an icon, but the joy she put into the world is going to be around for a very long time.
Olivia Rodrigo pulled a very 2026 version of a surprise drop with “Serena Joy,” first releasing just 500 CD copies at a California indie record store before sending the song to streaming. The one-off single takes its name from The Handmaid’s Tale character, turning a blink-and-you-missed-it physical release into an instant pop scavenger hunt.
Nearly a year after their remix took off, Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress finally performed “Stateside” together for the first time at London’s All Points East. Larsson appropriately informed the crowd they were witnessing “herstory,” and honestly, the screaming audience seemed happy to cosign.
Jennie is keeping the BLACKPINK comeback momentum rolling with a new three-song solo EP, Fallen Angel, arriving August 28. A video for the title track lands the same day, giving her another solo chapter barely a year after Ruby.
Turnstile apparently looked at Never Enough and decided it needed…more. The band’s new Never Enough: Versions, due August 28, reimagines last year’s album with a wildly cross-genre roster of collaborators spanning pop, electronic, indie, punk and beyond—the musical equivalent of inviting your entire contacts list to the afterparty.
Noah Kahan is leveling up from arenas to full-on stadium territory, announcing 2027 dates at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and London’s Wembley Stadium. That Wembley stop will be the biggest headline show of his career, proving the “stomp-clap-hey” pipeline apparently ends at 90,000 seats.
Big Thief debuted their upcoming triple album Horsepower in spectacularly ambitious fashion: by playing all 29 songs live at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch and Iris DeMent joined them onstage, because if you’re going triple-LP, subtlety has already left the building.
Apple Music says it will begin labeling music made substantially with AI later this year through a new “Made With AI” designation. Several other platforms are also tightening up their AI policies.
The Beatles are getting another major business-era reboot ahead of Sam Mendes’ four-film biopic event: Apple Corps and Universal Music Group have struck a new global deal covering licensing, merchandising and e-commerce. Add a seven-floor Beatles fan experience planned for London in 2027, and Beatlemania clearly has no intention of observing retirement age.
Recent Tour Announcements:
Willie Nelson & Neil Young - Two songwriting legends are joining forces for a pair of special co-headlining shows this September, giving fans a rare chance to see Willie Nelson and Neil Young share the bill in Bridgeport and Philadelphia.
Jessie Reyez - Jessie Reyez has another live run on the horizon as she continues a big 2026 that has also brought the release of A Little Vengeance.
Lindsey Stirling - Lindsey Stirling is adding another tour announcement to a busy live chapter, giving fans another reason to keep an eye on her unmistakably theatrical live show.
Yung Gravy - Yung Gravy is lining up another trip on the road, bringing his larger-than-life live persona back to fans for a fresh run of shows.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Bachman-Turner Overdrive are keeping the wheels turning with another round of tour dates, extending the classic-rock institution’s return to the road.
The Used - The Used are keeping their live momentum going this fall, with another run of tour dates now on the books and more chances for fans to catch the band onstage.
Pablo Alborán - Pablo Alborán’s KM0 World Tour continues to grow, with his official site laying out an international slate stretching across 2026 and into 2027.
Paris Jackson - Paris Jackson continues to build her live presence in 2026, with her official site documenting dates including a Sept. 25 stop in New York as she keeps pushing forward as a touring artist.
Allman Betts Band - The Allman Betts Family Revival is celebrating a full decade in 2026, with Devon Allman and Duane Betts once again gathering an ensemble of musicians to honor the musical legacy surrounding their families.
Stella Lefty - Rising singer-songwriter Stella Lefty is gearing up for her next stretch on the road, with a dedicated tour page now live on her official site.
THIS WEEK IN RANDOM, BUT AWESOME, EVENTS ✨
World Bog Snorkelling Championship — Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales
Welcome to the World Bog Snorkelling Championship, where competitors put on snorkels, masks, and flippers and race 120 yards through a muddy trench in the Welsh countryside. This competition is happening on August 30th. The best part? Actual swimming strokes are banned. You’re basically relying on your flippers, an underwater doggy paddle, and whatever competitive spirit remains after realizing you voluntarily entered a bog.
Fancy dress is also encouraged, because apparently racing through murky peat water wasn’t visually interesting enough already.
It’s weird. It’s wildly specific. There’s a literal world record. And now I desperately need to know what the training regimen for becoming an elite bog snorkeller looks like.
MEMBER’S ONLY 🔥
Last week I asked for your best DoMORE stories, and you delivered. Turns out, a ticket to a random show can lead to a new favorite band, a perfect birthday gift, a return to the mosh pit, or just one of those nights you end up talking about for years.
Ella won tickets to see The Record Company and brought her husband, Brett, only to unexpectedly run into another friend named Brett from her online music-fan group. Yes, two Bretts. Months later, on her husband’s birthday, she happened to walk into Rough Trade and found The Record Company’s 10th-anniversary album on vinyl, on sale. A DoMORE discovery somehow came all the way back around as the perfect birthday gift.
Sara used DoMORE tickets to surprise her mom with Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall at Mountain Winery while her mom was visiting the Bay Area. She called it a “sweet, uniquely epic” night together, which feels like a pretty perfect description.
Tabitha took a chance on a rock show through her first ticket drop and immediately fell for the opening band, The Thing. It also made her realize she loved rock music. She eventually saw The Thing again and got into a mosh pit for the first time since high school. Full circle.
Craig scored tickets to Kim Petras in Seattle that would have otherwise been pretty expensive, became a fan because of the show, and has been a DoMORE subscriber ever since.
And Whitney may have turned ticket drops into an art form. Every time one comes through, she listens to a few songs from the artists to decide if she wants to go. That’s how she discovered Donny Benet and The Snozzberries, two artists she probably wouldn’t have found otherwise. She’s now a Donny Benet fan, bought a Snozzberries shirt after being blown away by their live show, and regularly sends friends to DoMore214 when they’re looking for something to do.
Honestly, this is exactly why I wanted to hear these stories. Sometimes the best nights start with an artist you don’t know, a ticket you almost didn’t grab, or a very casual “why not?”
Keep saying yes to the random show. It might end up becoming part of your story.
That’s it for this week.
And I hope you enjoy our first collaborative playlist! 🎧
Jess ✨
