Famous Firsts & New Music Discovery #Happens

June 30th, 2025

Happy Monday! Hope you had an amazin’ weekend! This is going to be a quick week. Are you ready for a long 4th Of July Weekend? We kickoff the first day of the week with Carrie Danger from WNWV 107.3 Alternative Cleveland sharing her fun stories on #HAPPENS Famous Firsts

Muse is buzzing at Alternative. “Unravelling” is the #1 Most Picked song this week on Alternative Picks. Find the rest of the Top 5 Most Picked Songs on Alternative Picks. 

Muse is also the highest chart debut at 24* this week on the Mediabase Alternative Chart. Lola Young “One Thing” is the only other chart debut at 38* this week.

Sombr “Back To Friends” is back to #1 on the Mediabase Alternative Chart after getting bypassed by Jack White “Archbishop Harold Holmes” for 1 week. Sombr has been the #1 Alternative song for 3 of the last 4 weeks.

Busy week of new music before we get to the 4th Of July. Alternative New Music Discovery #HAPPENS with new music from Good Charlotte, White Reaper, Rome ft. Dirty Heads, and James And The Cold Gun now available on the #HAPPENS Alternative Downloads page. 

Skratch N Sniff has The All-American Rejects special 4th Of July Weekend edition featuring Tyson Ritter as guest host. More info on Alternative News.

Sublime announced a new single will be released on July 18th. Ripe will release a new album on September 19th. Get the 411 on Alternative Music Info

Kevin Zinger from Regime shares a photo of Sublime at KROQ/Los Angeles displaying their new Sublime Way sign presented by the Mayor Of Long Beach. Willobee  and Dana from KVOQ (Indie 102.3)/Denver were out at Denver Pride over the weekend and sent in an industry snap with Nerf from KTCL. Dustin Carlson from KDKB (ALT AZ 93.3)/Phoenix had The Ramona Flowers in for an Alt Session. Check out the smiles on Alternative Photos.

ICYMI: Good Charlotte debuted their new single “Rejects” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week. Check out live performance HERE

ALTERNATIVE NEW MUSIC DISCOVERY  

Good Charlotte “Rejects” (Atlantic)

Listen & Download HERE.

Washington, D.C. area quintet Good Charlotte released “Rejects” on June 25th. It’s from their 8th studio album, Motel Du Cap, due out on August 8th. 

This will be Good Charlotte’s first new album in 7 years. The initial spark for Motel Du Cap was ignited when Good Charlotte played a private gig at the iconic Hotel du Cap in France, for a friend’s wedding in 2023. The surreal beauty of the venue, raw emotion of the occasion, and freedom of performing without expectations lit a fire under the Madden brothers. “It was this wild, once-in-a-lifetime vibe,” Joel recalls. “We were just there to celebrate, no pressure, and it reminded us why we started this—pure, unfiltered connection.” 

In May, Good Charlotte played at Welcome To Rockville, marking their first show in nearly two years. The set kicked off with “The Anthem” and closed with “Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous.” They have upcoming performances at LIV Golf Chicago on August 9th, Oceans Calling Festival on September 27th, and Aftershock Festival on October 2nd.

White Reaper “Honestly” (Blue Grape)

Listen & Download HERE.

Louisville’s White Reaper released “Honestly” on June 25th. It’s the first single from White Reaper’s fifth album, Only Slightly Empty, set to arrive on September 26th. 

White Reaper’s Tony Esposito says, “‘Honestly’ was one of the first few ideas I had scribbled out for the start of this record. It was kind of the first one that really stuck with me and kicked me into gear to realize the bigger picture of how the album should feel and how it should sound.” 

This is the band’s first new music without twin brothers Nick Wilkerson (drums) and Sam Wilkerson (bass), who announced their exit from the band in 2024. White Reaper’s last album, Asking For A Ride, was released in January 2023. The band’s breakthrough #1 Alternative single “Might Be Right” was released in 2019. The band will announce a 2025 headline tour soon.

Rome “Slow & Easy” ft. Dirty Heads (The Orchard) 

Listen & Download HERE.

L.A.’s Rome released “Slow & Easy” featuring Dirty Heads on June 27th. 

Rome says, “We spend so much of our lives grinding and chasing, and I just hit a point where I wanted to write something about what it means to not do that. ‘Slow & Easy’ is about choosing stillness, choosing love, and letting the moment breathe.” 

Rome has collaborated with Dirty Heads on several of their albums. He co-wrote the breakout #1 Alternative single “Lay Me Down” with Dirty Heads. At the end of 2024, Rome Rameriz announced his departure from Sublime with Rome to focus on his solo career. 

James And The Cold Gun “Above The Lake” (Prospect Park/Loosegroove) 

Listen & Download HERE.

South Wales, Australia 3-piece James And The Cold Gun released “Above The Lake” on June 26th. It’s from the band’s second album, Face In The Mirror,” which arrived on April 25th. 

Prospect Park’s Jeff Kwatinetz first heard “Above The Lake” on ALT NATION as their “impact track.” After a deep dive into their album, which had just been released on Stone Gossard’s label, Loosegroove, he flew to Manchester to see the band perform live and was incredibly impressed. He signed the band to a multi-album and management deal, a joint venture between Prospect Park and Loosegroove. 

Described as “South Wales’ loudest group, they’ve made a name for themselves with their high-energy garage punk sound that channels the rebellious spirit of ’90s alt-rock, blending gritty guitars with infectious melodies and raw, unfiltered emotion.

ALTERNATIVE IMPACTING SONGS

Impacting July 1, 2025

Rome “Slow & Easy” ft. Dirty Heads (The Orchard)