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Taylor Swift has received public thanks for making what have been described as “generous” and “timely” contributions to children’s charities in both Nashville and Kansas City.
In recent years, the global pop star has discreetly directed significant sums toward causes close to her heart. These have included food banks across the UK, the US nonprofit Feeding America, which recently received a $1 million donation, and direct financial support for a young fan undergoing cancer treatment, to whom she donated $100,000.
Most recently, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville expressed its appreciation after Swift made a major gift to its Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, which supports patients aged between 15 and 25. “We are so grateful to Taylor Swift for her generous gifts to Monroe Carell,” said hospital chair Juan C. Salazar. “She is a true partner as we strive to provide a brighter, healthier future for the children and communities we serve.”
“These gifts are so timely – of course, it is the holiday season, when a hospital stay is especially tough. And we are also seeing continued increases in the number of patients and families who turn to us for care,” he added. “This makes a difference for us all.”
Debra Friedman, the hospital’s director of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, also highlighted the impact of the donation, saying: “The future of adolescent and young adult cancer research and care is full of progress and possibilities because of the generosity of donors like Taylor Swift. Her gift enables our teams to personalize cancer care for the unique challenges these patients face, leading to improved outcomes.”
Meanwhile in Kansas City, Operation Breakthrough, an organisation that offers what it describes as a “safe, loving and educational environment for children in poverty”, confirmed that Swift had also made a substantial donation to support its work.
“Thank you @taylorswift for supporting Operation Breakthrough. We are so grateful for your kindness and for championing creativity, education, and opportunity for our over 750 students!” the organisation shared.
Elsewhere, Swift made headlines last week after bringing forward the release of the final two episodes of her documentary series The End Of An Era.
In its three star review of The End Of An Era, NME described the project as “solid content for Swifties wanting to relive the tour’s huge collective dopamine hit”.
“There’s a great documentary to be made about the ‘Eras Tour’, but it’s probably an unofficial one exploring the unique sense of community it fostered among the singer’s fanbase,” the review stated.
The series revisits moments including Swift awarding millions of dollars in bonuses to members of her touring crew, becoming emotional while addressing the Southport stabbing attack, and reacting to the thwarted terrorist plot that targeted her Vienna shows.
Swift released her 12th studio album, ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’, in October. It has since become the biggest selling album of the year in the UK, making her the first artist since ABBA in 1977 to top the annual sales chart in consecutive years with different albums.
Reflecting on the release, she admitted that the ‘Eras Tour’ still crosses her mind “every day”, though she made clear that she has no immediate plans to return to touring.
Debra Friedman,
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Bowling For Soup and Frank Turner say they are certain they will eventually record music together.
The pop punk favourites and the singer songwriter will be touring together across Australia and the UK throughout May, June and July for a series of co headlining shows. They also came close to recording a track together for Bowling For Soup’s upcoming twelfth studio album.
Lead singer Jaret Reddick told ContactMusic.com: "We had actually talked about doing a track together for the new [BFS] album.
"I was working on songs during a really hectic period for Frank. We had planned this perfect day where he would stop by the studio. He did show up, but we ended up just spending time together and catching up instead, with no expectations.
"I feel like if we had tried to finish something just to release it before the tours, it probably would not have come out the way we wanted.
"I do believe that at some point down the line we are both sure we will create something together."
Frank and Jaret have already worked side by side in the studio before on the track Drunk As It Takes, which appeared on the BFS frontman’s country album.
Frank reflected: "There is something special about country songwriting that I think we both really admire.
"There is a real honesty and straightforwardness to it that I think both of us naturally bring into our own music, no matter what style we are working in."
Even though Frank is not featured on the new record, Jaret did share some insight into Bowling For Soup’s forthcoming album, which gained momentum after they recorded Holding Onto That Hate last summer while testing equipment for audio company SSL.
He explained: "They were looking for a band to come in and record a track to test out some new studio equipment. It ended up being our first recording as a three piece.
"I remember telling the guys, 'I think I am feeling inspired again. Let’s just go for it.'
"We set a target date, which ended up being February this year, and we followed through. A lot of the songwriting happened toward the end of last year and continued into January."
Jaret mentioned that he considers the 2009 album Sorry For Partying to be "the last truly great Bowling For Soup record," but he is very optimistic about what is coming next.
He said: "Some fans would probably argue and say, 'Actually, Lunch. Drunk. Love. is great as well'.
"But when I think about the last couple of albums, I sometimes feel like there were a few tracks I maybe should have left off.
"With this new record, there honestly is not a single weak track. All three of us feel like this could end up being the best Bowling For Soup album we have ever made, which feels wild to even say."
At first, the group considered putting the album out quickly, but they later decided to take more time with it.
He added: "To be honest, that idea does not really make sense since we will be touring with Frank and also heading out with Simple Plan.
"We are now thinking about releasing it in the fall or possibly even early next year. It is going to be worth the wait."
Full schedule for Bowling For Soup x Frank Turner Bowl My Bones UK Tour 2026:
June 25 Margate Dreamland
June 26 Southampton TK Maxx Presents Southampton Summer Sessions
June 27 Lincoln TK Maxx Presents Live at Lincoln Castle
June 29 Glasgow O2 Academy Glasgow
June 30 Halifax TK Maxx Presents Live at The Piece Hall
July 2 Scarborough TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre
July 3 Llangollen TK Maxx Presents Live at Llangollen Pavillion
July 4 Cardiff TK Maxx Presents Depot Live at Cardiff Castle
July 5 St Austell Eden Sessions
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