This past Christmas season came and went with a couple of exciting happenings in relation to the music industry including a controversial Las Vegas residency, an iconic lineup of New Year’s performances, and a Gracie Abrams single release for charity. With all of this, however, there was a serious lack of releases from bigger artists. 

The Zac Brown Band released their latest album “Love & Fear” on December 5, and began a residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas that same day. However, when pictures and videos of their show got released, they received much backlash for the very dark visuals that are quite off-brand for the country band. 

Leading man, Zac Brown, has previously stated his Christian values, but those were not reflected through his show. Due to the visuals that play in the background of the music, the band has received accusations of being “satanic,” with some people claiming it was almost ritualistic. The videos that play include those of skeletons wearing crowns, fire around them, and labyrinths. 

Brown has since made a statement saying that the visuals were intended to exhibit themes of abuse and his personal trauma, and his team has made one saying that the visuals would not change, despite the controversy. The team claimed they wanted to stick with the band’s original artistic vision and depict the journey from darkness to the light. Religious fans remain skeptical of the true intent of everything, but other fans claim there was mass over-reaction.

The 2025 New Year’s Rockin’ Eve party had an amazing lineup of performances, all executed flawlessly. These artists included legends and those that are on their way to receiving that title. Diana Ross performed five of her most well-known songs like “I’m Coming Out,” “Upside Down,” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” establishing icon status–even though she claimed that years ago.

A couple of female pop artists, and what the fans are calling “the Future of Pop Music,” also performed their hits. Zara Larsson performed the viral “Midnight Sun,” showcasing her flawless vocals that others remain jealous of, and Chappell Roan performed her ballad “The Subway.” Madison Beer sang a compilation of her pre-existing songs like “Make You Mine” and “Bittersweet.” Beer also debuted a couple of songs from her upcoming album “Locket” like the title track, “Angel Wings,” and “For the Night.”

Following the events of a shooting at Brown University, Gracie Abrams, Bon Iver, and Aaron Dessner collaborated to release a song highlighting the mass gun violence in our country. The trio made a statement together, claiming that they wrote the song the previous year after a separate mass shooting, but they were reminded of it when the events at Brown occurred. 

“Sold Out” was released on December 22, and the lyrics are haunting and more direct than most would be comfortable with. The opening verse, for example, illustrates someone hiding from a shooter within their school, blood on their friends’ shoes, and a frantic call to parents from bathrooms. The song is available exclusively on Bandcamp where the proceeds of the song go toward Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit organization that has been working to end gun violence.

This month was quite entertaining with its controversies, songs for good, and quite the rockin’ line up to ring in 2026. In this new year, there is much expected of the industry, and we are ready for all of it.