Culture
Festivals, games, courts and cities: where music meets everything else.
Updated todayOctober 12, 2026
Culture/Sports
Ayra Starr Headlines the NFL’s London Halftime Today, With Burna Boy Next in Paris
Billboard calls her the first Afrobeats star picked for an NFL International Game halftime show. Burna Boy follows at Stade de France on Oct. 25.
Culture/Internet
DistroKid’s Quiet Takedowns, Explained: How UMG’s Lawsuit Is Hitting Independent Artists
Culture/Festivals
The 2027 Festival Circuit Is Already Taking Shape, and the Same Names Keep Showing Up
Culture/Internet
Taylor Swift’s TTPD Deep Cut Is Trending Again, Thanks to a Bald Ann Dowd Account
Culture/Internet
MatPat Becomes a Horror Producer, and His First Pick Is ‘Amanda the Adventurer’
Culture/Gaming
GTA VI's Final Stretch: Xbox Shoots Down 'Exclusive' Streaming and the Heat Go Vice City
Culture/Gaming
Cardi B and Fuerza Regida Join GTA VI’s Album: Hear “Don’t Chart” and “Suzuki”
Culture/Internet
Kai Cenat Plots a Space Stream, Gets Ye's Boot Review, and Jamie Foxx Wants IShowSpeed
Culture/Internet
Meta Bans TikTok’s Parent From Its Ads, and Tests an Instagram That Opens on Reels
A week of anti-TikTok moves: the ad ban took effect Thursday in seven countries, and Instagram and Facebook are testing video-first feeds.
Culture/Gaming
Zelda Turns 40 With a Rescored Ocarina of Time, an Orchestral Tour and a Triforce Medley
Culture/Gaming
Bad Bunny, Lana Del Rey and Slayer Are Your GTA VI Radio DJs
Culture/Internet
Instagram Says Creed’s “Higher” Was Suggested to “More People Than Intended”
Culture/Festivals
Travis Scott and Charli xcx Will Headline Lollapalooza Argentina, Brazil and Chile in 2027
Culture/Sports
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Drew His Next Nike Himself: ‘Sick Design. Because I Drew It.’
Culture/Internet
Joe Rogan Is Staying on Spotify, and His Workout Playlist Is Wu-Tang, Nas and Biggie
Culture/Gaming
True Damage Return After Seven Years With ‘Know My Name,’ a Drill-Inspired Worlds Anthem
Vic Mensa, Coco Jones, SOYEON and Sofía Reyes voice Riot’s virtual rap group, and the video is a victory lap for Faker’s three-peat.
Culture/Cities
Turnstile Follow Their SNL Debut With a Free Show at the Washington Monument
Culture/Events
Jay-Z’s MarcyPen Is Reportedly Weeks From Co-Owning Fenty Beauty With Rihanna
Culture/Sports
LeBron James Debuts in 76ers Blue: ‘I Didn’t Leave My Family to Lose in the Second Round’
Culture/Sports
Messi Says Goodbye to Argentina With a Penalty, Two Assists and 85,000 Voices
Culture/Festivals
ComplexCon 2026: Lucki Hurt in a Fight Outside, Ye Joins Playboi Carti Onstage
Culture/Festivals
Doechii Leads Primavera Sound’s 25th Edition, With EsDeeKid on the Bill
Culture/Festivals
Glastonbury 2027 Sold Out in 42 Minutes, and Emily Eavis Still Isn’t Naming Headliners
Fans met a row of green bars in the queue, and the Pyramid Stage bill stays secret. Eavis has ruled out Madonna and Oasis, which leaves everyone else on the bookmakers’ board.
Culture/Sports
Soundgarden Played “Spoonman” at a Seahawks Halftime, and the Broadcast Never Showed It
Culture/Events
Tom Morello’s Power to the People Ends With Springsteen, Grohl and a Protest-Song Jam
Culture/Gaming
Five Nights at Freddy’s Is Live in Fortnite, After the Game’s Most-Liked Post Ever
Culture/Cities
France’s RIPOST Law Can Jail Free-Party Organizers for Two Years. Paris Is Partying Anyway
Culture/Cities
Apple Opened a 600-Capacity Venue in Battersea Power Station, and Elton John Went First
Culture/Internet
Druski Lands a TIME Cover: ‘You’re Looking at the Modern-Day Eddie Murphy’
Culture/Cities
Mayor Mamdani Sits Down With Nas in Queensbridge: New York Must Stay Hip-Hop’s ‘Home,’ Not Just Its Birthplace
A four-minute city documentary, premiered Wednesday, pairs the mayor with the rapper outside Nas’ old projects and visits the new Bronx School of Hip-Hop.
Culture/Sports
Jalen Brunson Hosted SNL’s Season Premiere, and His Key to the City Couldn’t Get Him In
Culture/Festivals
Storms Cut Riot Fest Day 2 Short, So Tool Played Their Debut Set in Daylight: ‘Let’s Do This S---’
Culture/Gaming
Marvel’s Wolverine Sold an Estimated 1.9 Million Copies in Three Days, Despite a 77 Metacritic and a Kai Cenat 6/10
Culture/Sports
Tom Cruise Says Taylor Swift Was ‘Schooling Me on Football’ in the Chiefs Suite
Culture/Internet
Kai Cenat’s Vivet Hit the Runway at NYFW With Lauryn Hill Up Front, and 180,000 People Watched Live
Culture/Gaming
EA Sports FC 27’s Soundtrack Runs 120 Tracks Deep, From The Strokes to Yung Lean
Culture/Cities
Nashville’s Airport Board Votes 6-0 to Put Dolly Parton’s Name on BNA
Two weeks after her death, the Metro Nashville Airport Authority started the process of renaming Nashville International. A petition had passed 175,000 signatures and the final name is still open.
Culture/Events
Alicia Keys and Friends Join Global Citizen Festival’s Central Park Bill, Next to Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean’s Fugees Set
Culture/Internet
Chicken Shop Date Is Ending, Explained: How a Grime Column Became the Internet’s Best Awkward Interview
Culture/Festivals
Olivia Dean, Limp Bizkit, KATSEYE and Fontaines D.C. Will Make Their India Debuts at Lollapalooza Mumbai
Culture/Gaming
GTA VI’s 27-Minute Netflix Premiere Out-Watched Every Film on the Chart
Culture/Internet
Kendrick Lamar Kept His Word to a 7-Year-Old Fan From Detroit and Flew the Family Out to Los Angeles
Culture/Gaming
Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026: Final Fantasy VII Returns, Snoop Dogg Becomes a Hitman Target and The Witcher 3 Gets a Free Remaster
Culture/Gaming
AG.AL Win the Esports World Cup Club Championship in Paris, Denying Team Falcons a Third Straight
A French player’s Trackmania win on the last weekend moved AG.AL 700 points clear of Falcons, capping seven weeks at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and the tournament’s first edition outside Riyadh.
Culture/Festivals
Tyler, the Creator Hid the Camp Flog Gnaw 2026 Lineup in a Word Scramble: Future, Don Toliver, Steve Lacy and Turnstile Are In
Culture/Cities
A Bogotá Benefit Concert Raised Nearly $3 Million for Colombia’s Earthquake Victims, With Karol G Giving $1 Million Herself
Culture/Events
Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean Will Play The Score for Its 30th Anniversary at Global Citizen Festival in Central Park
Culture/Festivals
Lil Uzi Vert Missed Their Lollapalooza Set, Dropped a Birthday EP and Crashed Major Lazer’s Show Instead
Culture/Festivals