Alternative Press

Inkcarceration Festival is an iconic festival for Mansfield, Ohio, held on the grounds of the intensely haunted Ohio State Reformatory — the filming site for 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption. Returning for its 2026 edition on July 17-19, attendees can get a tattoo from the dozens of artists who set up shop on the grounds, go on a self-guided tour, or stop by the Monster Energy booth to customize their gear — not to mention catch a set from the many bands playing the festival.

Last month, we asked our readers to tell us the best albums of 2026 so far. Their answers went long, spanning everything from Static Dress’ injury episode to Tigers Jaw’s Lost on You to Evanescence’s Sanctuary. With the topic still on our minds, we wanted to know their thoughts on the best songs of 2026 so far. It’s not a Turnstile or Brat summer anymore, but these tracks will keep us going as the hotter months rage on — and there’s still so much more more to come.

Grab our limited-edition AP x Thursday fan bundle, featuring a repress of No Devolución, custom poster/zine, stickers, and pillow. Only at the AP Shop. “I can appreciate music, but I feel like what I do is pretty far outside music,” Geoff Rickly tells me. It’s a weekday in late spring, and we’re talking about quantum mechanics in a poorly lit green room at New Jersey’s SST Studios. For 25 years, Thursday have been rehearsing in this space.

Zac Farro has announced Operator - Live In Studio, out July 17 via his own Nashville-based label Congrats Records. The live edition of last year’s Operator will include in-studio videos for every track to give fans insight into Farro’s creative process with friends and collaborators. “Translating Operator to a live setting was a crucial part of sharing the album for me,” Farro says. “I wanted every moment of the record to shine.

More Artist Friendly is on the way. Following conversations with Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World, Bebe Rexha, and Pat Monahan of Train, Hongjoong of ATEEZ will join Joel Madden on the latest episode of the series. Back in 2021, Hongjoong — one of the various members in ATEEZ — transformed Linkin Park’s “Numb” into a K-pop hit, even getting a shoutout from Mike Shinoda.

Scowl have dropped Are We All Angels (Remixes). The new EP features reimagined takes of their singles, including “B.A.B.E.,” remixed by Sextile, and two different versions of “Special,” remixed by Machine Girl and Model/Actriz. “We’re so excited to announce theAre We All Angels remixes,” they say on Instagram. “It’s an honor to work with artists whom we have spent tons of sleepless nights blasting through tour van speakers.

PUP have released “If This Is It,” a track originally recorded during the sessions for last year’s Who Will Look After the Dogs?. Alongside a visualizer for the song, the band also released the video for “Concrete,” a project by director Sterling Larose that took hundreds of hours to create, using thousands of handcrafted stop-motion frames made by 13 designers and animators.

Bad Nerves 02:59 Chelsea Wolfe 04:26 Deux Visages 03:43 Evil Island, Alexis Krauss 02:13 Fiddlehead 04:22 Fly Over States 02:29 Hysteria57 03:44 Love Spells 04:01 lucky break, Melissa Auf der Maur 03:14 Tiberius b, Power Snatch, Hayley Williams, Daniel James 02:00 Eboycomma 04:23 ECorridos Ketamina 03:24 Cold Court 03:19 daine 03:32 Eevilgiane, Rico Nasty 02:26 FKA twigs, Lil Yachty 03:37 EFLESH CREEP 02:39 The Garden 02:31 No Joy 04:29 Sweeping Promises 02:54 Harmony Tividad 03:47 L'Rain...

Steve Lacy has teamed up with SZA for his new single, “is it cool?” The track, which will be featured on his third album, Oh yeah?, out next month, follows SZA teasing that she worked with Lacy and “made a random little project together.” The song focuses on the challenges of Peter Pan syndrome and emotional immaturity, with Lacy reflecting on losing his father at a young age and how that hindered his future relationships.

Sleep Theory have covered Paramore’s “My Heart.” The cover is significant to the band after vocalist Cullen Moore and producer Dave met bassist Paolo Vergara, who impressed them by playing the song on guitar. “Covering ‘My Heart’ is extremely special because it’s not only one of our favorite songs but also because of the meaning behind why we covered it,” Moore says. “It marks the beginning of the friendship I found with Paolo that ultimately led to us finding the rest of the band members.