Rock Autumn 2026: The Beatles’ New Rubber Soul and 50 Years of Rush’s 2112
Rock stations picked for you
October for classic rock fans
Autumn 2026 is full of reissues. On 2 October two big releases arrived on the same day: an updated Rubber Soul from The Beatles and an anniversary 2112 LP from Canada's Rush. Here is what's new, and where to hear the classics on air.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The Beatles – Rubber Soul (Special Edition)
The 1965 album gets new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes by Giles Martin and Sam Okell. The stereo mix was built from the original four-track master tapes using de-mixing technology from Emile de la Rey's team at WingNut Films, the same team that helped bring out the final Beatles song, Now and Then.
Inside:
- 20 previously unreleased studio takes and three home demos;
- early versions of Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out;
- Little Girl, a never-released John Lennon song outline;
- the original mono mix and the US Capitol version of the album.
The biggest edition comes as 4CD or 5LP with an 88-page book, and there's a Blu-ray with the Atmos mix and promo films.
Want to get in the mood? Try these themed stations:
- RMF Beatlemania – a Polish channel playing only The Beatles and the members' solo work.
- R.SA Beatles Radio – a German station devoted to the Fab Four.
Rush – 2112 (50th Anniversary)
2112 came out in 1976 and made Rush prog-rock stars. For the 50th anniversary there's a black liquid vinyl pressing with a die-cut cover. The same day brought the first vinyl release of The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987, as a 2LP (16 tracks) and a 1LP (10 tracks, including an exclusive Finding My Way).
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The band is back on stage this year. On the Fifty Something tour, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson play with drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold. The tour continues across North America through 2026 and heads to South America and Europe in 2027.
Prog rock on air:
- The Prog Rock Machine – an Australian station for progressive rock fans.
- Radio BOB Progressive Rock – the prog channel of German rock station Radio BOB.
What else is coming this autumn
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, October also brings Greta Van Fleet's new album Palace for the People (9 October), Judas Priest's 50th-anniversary remix of Sad Wings of Destiny (9 October), an expanded edition of Tears for Fears' The Seeds of Love (16 October) and The Who's Who by Numbers box set (30 October).
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Classic rock around the clock
If you want a whole evening of classics rather than one album:
- Virgin Radio Classic Rock – an Italian channel with hits from the 60s to the 80s.
- 1.FM Rock Classics Radio – a Swiss stream of time-tested rock classics.
Sources: Tracking Angle, Blabbermouth, Ultimate Classic Rock.