Ben Harper — Ghost Dance (Patti Smith cover)
Hopefully a full recording will be released of the Carnegie Hall tribute to Patti Smith. Until then, there are a number of videos on YouTube. Best I’ve seen is Ben Harper doing “Ghost Dance,” Smith’s mesmerizing mediation from 1978’s Easter. Note Flea on bass and Dylan/Costello sideman Charlie Sexton on guitar.
Daníel Hjálmtýsson & Mortiis — Beat on the Brat (Ramones cover)
As Metal Injection puts it, the upcoming tribute Ramones Redux “is going to be a pretty wild covers album of Ramones classics. If you need to be convinced of its weirdness, look no further than Icelandic artist Daníel Hjálmtýsson and dungeon synth pioneer Mortiis covering ‘Beat on the Brat.’” They’re not wrong! It is refreshingly un-Ramonesy, reinvented from the ground up. “The theme of the song is very dark and hits home for me in many ways, and I wanted to explore the disturbing themes in a darker, moodier way,” said Hjálmtýsson. “Hopefully I won’t be lynched by the masses,” Mortiis added.
Feuerschwanz – Gangnam Style (PSY cover)
Feuerschwanz is a German medieval metal band. Given the style of music they play, it’s appropriate that they don’t take themselves too—or, really, at all—seriously. Their 2022 covers album Todsünden included covers of Bloodhound Gang, ABBA, and O-Zone (i.e. the “numa numa” song of early YouTube fame). Now they’re at it again, with a more recent viral YouTube hit: “Gangnam Style.” The video is ridiculous, and very fun. Of course, they do the dance, in full Viking regalia no less.
Jeffrey Martin — Lookin’ for a Love (Neil Young cover)
The Line of Best Fit, one of the old-school music blogs still going strong (game recognize game!), hosts a small annual festival called “End of the Road.” As part of it, they host “secret sessions” in the forest, which usually include a surprise cover. Folk singer Jeffrey Martin, who often gets compared to John Prine and John Moreland, tackles another obvious touchstone: Neil Young.
Lucy Dacus — Abracadabra (Lady Gaga cover)
Lucy Dacus covering ‘Abracadabra’ by Lady Gaga for BBC Radio 1 New Music Show with Jack Saunders!
She also played ‘Ankles’ and ‘Best Guess’ and did a short interview. Listen here: https://t.co/8FIfIsNj1r pic.twitter.com/EKICVJIVtR
— boygenius source (@boygeniussource) March 26, 2025
Lucy Dacus is doing the promo rounds for her new album Forever Is a Feeling, so naturally she dropped by the BBC studios (technically not the Live Lounge but close enough) to cover a contemporary hit. The folky finger-picked version sounds as beautiful as you’d hope.
My Morning Jacket — One More Saturday Night (Grateful Dead cover)
For a band that’s long been jamband-adjacent and a band that does a bunch of covers, My Morning Jacket hasn’t covered the Dead much. But this year they’ve busted out “One More Saturday Night” a few times, including recently at SirirusXM. They don’t really jam it out, but they still sound great.
Sienna Skies — Brick (Ben Folds Five cover)
Sydney hard-rock band Sienna Skies starts their cover of “Brick” sounding pretty much like the original, just guitar swapped in for piano, but it gradually gets harder and heavier until it sounds very little like Ben Folds Five. The making-of-the-music-video is fun too.
The Best of the Rest
Ball Park Music — Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap cover)
Electric Callboy — Crawling (Linkin Park cover)
Galleons — Invisible (Duran Duran cover)
Magdalena Bay — Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie cover)
Noble Oak – Elevator Love Letter (Stars cover)
Peira — I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James cover)
Pissed Jeans — Waves of Fear (Lou Reed cover)
The Redhill Valleys — One Headlight (The Wallflowers cover)
Tia Wood — The Hills (The Weeknd cover)
Voivod — Zero Zero UFO (Ramones cover)
Check out previous months’ best covers lists.
Nomeansno did a slowed down “Beat on the Brat” in 2000. This band’s cover sounds like it was more inspired by NMN than by the original.