What’s Hot in Music September: New Albums, Local Concerts
Pop icons Katy Perry and Nelly Furtado release new albums,; plus, local performances from up-and-coming artists Remi Wolf, Griff
What’s Hot in Music This Month: New Albums, Local Concerts
Pop icons Katy Perry and Nelly Furtado release new albums, plus local performances from up-and-coming artists Remi Wolf, Griff
Welcome, new Terriers, and welcome back, returning Terriers, to our monthly What’s Hot in Music column, where we feature the most anticipated album releases and hottest local concerts. September is shaping up to be a great month for music. Icons Katy Perry and Nelly Furtado drop new albums and rising pop stars Griff, Remi Wolf, and Fletcher, as well as EDM mainstay, Zedd, will be performing locally. We’ve got new music in every genre, from rock to pop to indie—take a look!
New releases
Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, Suki Waterhouse
Suki Waterhouse has done it all. First, she was a high-fashion model for Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ferragamo. Then she showed off her acting chops in Love, Rosie, Insurgent, and Daisy Jones & The Six. But her music has proven her most successful endeavor. In 2022, she released her debut album, Can’t Let Go, with Sub Pop, an independent grunge record label. Now comes the release of her second album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, which she wrote while pregnant with her first child. The new record builds on the mesmerizing, dream-like sound she’s come to be known for. As for the album’s peculiar name? It turns out that a sparklemuffin is a particularly vicious breed of spider, whose mating ritual involves males performing a dance, only to be cannibalized by the female if they disapprove. “It’s a metaphor for the dance of life we’re all in. The title felt hilarious, ridiculous, and wonderful to me,” Waterhouse told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. Memoir of a Sparklemuffin is out September 13.
The Forest Is the Path, Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol is back, and just in time for a chilly Boston winter. After a six-year break from music-making, the Scottish band, best known for the hit song “Chasing Cars,” famously featured in the TV drama Grey’s Anatomy, is treating fans to 12 new tracks. On the album’s first single, “The Beginning,” lead singer Gary Lightbody delivers heartbreaking lyrics about regret and sorrow: “And if I made a mess of everything dear/By being scared of what you give me/I am sorry unequivocally/I just don’t know how to love.” Give The Forest Is the Path a listen when it’s released September 13.
143, Katy Perry
Brat summer may be over, but, thanks to Katy Perry, the dance-pop craze might be here to stay. Perry has described her seventh studio album, 143, as “super high energy, it’s super summer, it’s very high BPM.” The singer-songwriter reconnected with collaborators from early in her career, among them Max Martin, Stargate, and Dr. Luke, who helped make her one of the best-selling pop stars of all time. Following the release of her sixth studio album, Smile, which received mixed reviews, the pop star now seems to be shaking it up a bit. But can Perry’s new tracks compete with those of new pop darlings Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter? You be the judge when 143 drops on September 20.
7, Nelly Furtado
A staple of early 2000s pop, Nelly Furtado became known for iconic singles like “Maneater” and “Promiscuous,” from her collaboration with Timbaland. Later, the Canadian artist segued into Spanish music, with Mi Plan, which garnered a 2010 Latin Grammy Award. Now, 24 years after the release of her debut album Whoa, Nelly! Furtado is set to release her seventh studio album—aptly titled 7—under her own label, Nelstar Entertainment. The singer-songwriter says she spent more than four years working on the album, which drops September 20.
Upcoming concerts
Fletcher
Die-hard fans of The X-Factor may recognize Fletcher from the singing competition’s premiere season, where the New Jersey native became a part of the pop-group Lakoda Rayne, along with several other competitors. But her career has been something of an uphill battle. She finally signed with Capitol Records seven years after her singing debut, but it wasn’t until 2019, when she released her breakthrough single, “Undrunk,” that she gained widespread attention. The song reached number one on Spotify’s Viral Chart in the United States and made the Billboard Hot 100. The pop singer has earned legions of fans drawn to her introspective lyrics and has been playing to sold-out shows around the globe. Happily for local fans, Fletcher comes to Boston on September 19, when she’ll play at Roadrunner.
Zedd
Nine years after the release of his second studio album, True Colors, last month Russian-German DJ and producer Zedd finally dropped his much-anticipated third studio album, Telos. During that interval, Zedd made a name for himself as one of the EDM greats, taking the stage at EDC Las Vegas and Coachella, two of the world’s most iconic music festivals. The Grammy winner also regularly appears on the Billboard Top 10, having collaborated with pop artists like Marren Morris, Katy Perry, and Shawn Mendes. If you’re craving feel-good electronic hits, grab some sneakers and head to MGM Music Hall on September 20 for a night of throwback vibes.
Griff
English singer-songwriter Griff (real name Sarah Faith Griffiths), was named Rising Star at the 2021 Brit Awards, confirmation that she is definitely a musician to watch. This July, the 24-year-old artist, known for her powerful voice, released her debut studio album, Vertigo. “All these songs are written from a place of autobiographical, emotional vertigo,” she told Apple Music. Having opened for the likes of Coldplay and most recently Taylor Swift, Griff’s live performance at the House of Blues on September 20 is sure to be a whirlwind.
Remi Wolf
Remi Wolf is no stranger to the big stage, having auditioned for American Idol when she was just 17. Before the release of her debut EP, You’re A Dog! in 2019, the bedroom pop artist was already performing across the country, opening first for Still Woozy and then for Cautious Clay in 2019. In her latest album, Big Ideas, released in July, the artist sings about the dizzying nature of growing up, a theme that Gen Z fans will relate to. With a funky new sound, filled with disco and electronic influences, Wolf should captivate local fans when she hits the MGM stage on September 24.
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