Author: LRussell

The Eagles delivered a triumphant performance during their Sphere residency debut on Friday night.

The show’s set list offered an array of material from throughout the Eagles’ legendary career. Naturally, there were plenty of classic hits — such as “Heartache Tonight” and “Desperado” — as well as deeper cuts, like “Those Shoes.”

READ MORE: Eagles Dazzle in Sphere Debut

The band’s performance was augmented by an incredible visual display, utilizing the Sphere’s state-of-the-art technology. The rock icons were sure to embrace the Sphere’s impressive capabilities, blurring the line between real life and something otherworldly.

Here are the 5 most stunning moments from the Eagles’ Sphere debut.

“Hotel California”
It was a bold move for the Eagles to come right out the gate with their most beloved hit, but starting the show with “Hotel California” certainly capitalized on the palpable energy inside the Sphere. The fans in attendance roared as the song’s familiar guitar line began to play. Behind the band, a scenic “dark desert highway” was displayed, with a long car driving closer and closer until it seemingly came into the crowd. The audience was then taken inside Hotel California, complete with an opulent dining table, occupied by an array of faceless lost souls.

“Life’s Been Good”
Eagles history was on full display when the band launched into Joe Walsh’ 1978 classic “Life’s Been Good.” A vast collection of images and videos – stylized to look like polaroids hanging on wire – appeared behind the band as they performed. All of the group’s eras were represented in the footage, with late singer Glenn Frey having a noticeable presence. Former members Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon and Don Felder were also spotted within the archival footage. Midway through the “Life’s Been Good,” the images changed to show the band onstage performing, then they turned kaleidoscopic, spinning around the audience as the song played on.

“Boys of Summer”
While the vast majority of the evening’s visuals were bright and colorful, the display for “Boys of Summer” was eye-catchingly stark. As Don Henley led the band through his 1984 solo hit, the Sphere gave the sense that the entire concert was underwater. A female swimmer glided across the screen, swaying, dancing and undulating in the ocean. She was later joined by a man, the two embracing beneath the sea as “Boys of Summer” continued to play. It all amounted to a strikingly beautiful scene and one of the night’s breathtaking highlights.

“Rocky Mountain Way”
Technological innovation met natural beauty when the Eagles delivered “Rocky Mountain Way.” The Sphere illuminated with gorgeous panoramic views of rugged mountains, snow capped countryside and spectacular green valleys, giving the audience the sensation of flying across the stunning terrain. We were tempted to call this incredible sight an “Eagles-eye view,” but it felt too punny (even for us).

“Life in the Fast Lane”
For “Life in the Fast Lane,” the Eagles transported their audience about a mile away, right onto the famous Las Vegas Strip. Fans watched in awe as a sports car sleekly glided past some of Sin City’s most recognizable neon lights, including such iconic hotels as Caesar’s Palace, The Venetian and the now-shuttered Mirage. Towards the end of the song, the neon hues began to swirl into a psychedelic rainbow of colors, with Joe Walsh soon appearing to deliver a blistering guitar solo.

The man who damaged David Bowie’s eye during a teenage disagreement said he still worries about the moment to this day.

George Underwood met David Jones – later Bowie – when the pair were 9 years old. Long after settling their dispute over a potential girlfriend, they traveled the world together, and Bowie made frequent use of Underwood’s artistic abilities, as he designed the covers of Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust.

Marking the launch of an exhibition in London, Underwood told the BBC that the argument had been over a girl named Carol.

READ MORE: Why David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ Was Rush-Released

“We were always together – we were very good friends and we used to go up and down Bromley High Street all dressed to the nines, thinking we were God’s gift, trying to chat up all the girls,” he recalled.

Both boys had attempted to attract Carol at a 15th birthday party, and she’d agreed to meet Underwood later at the local youth club – but then Bowie told him she’d changed her mind and was going to meet him instead.

“I decided to go down the youth club anyway a little bit later on, because I’d never been there before,” Underwood continued, “and her mate came out shouting: ‘Where have you been? Carol’s been waiting for you for over an hour!’ I thought, ‘Uh-oh. David’s told me a porky-pie [lie] here.’”

A friend urged Underwood to “stick one on” Bowie, and that’s what he did.

Why David Bowie Didn’t Mind Living With His Damaged Eye

The rock star later explained: “It wasn’t a very hard punch but obviously caught me at a rather odd angle,” admitting that he’d been “boasting to my mate about what a Casanova I was.”

The result was that Bowie’s left iris became paralyzed, giving the impression that the eye was a different color than his right, and magnifying the red-eye effect of flash photography.

“It was just horrible,” Underwood said. “I didn’t like it at the time. But of course later on, lo and behold, he says I did him a favor because it’s given him this enigmatic, otherworldly look.”

Teenage spat aside, Underwood remembered his friend fondly. “I miss him deeply because he went too soon, as we know, and he was just great to be with, always fun to be with. We laughed a lot,” he said. “I often wondered whether every time he looked in the mirror he thought of me.”

Underwood went on to design album covers for artists such as T. Rex, Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople as well as Bowie, yet he confessed the eye incident still haunts him: “I’m just a bit worried that I might have it carved on my tombstone.”

Dave Navarro issued another apology for the Jane’s Addiction implosion last week – and offered his clearest hint yet that the band won’t return.

His recovery from a long illness had paved the way for the original lineup’s first tour in decades, with new music recorded and the possibility of an album on the way.

But singer Perry Farrell’s public meltdown on Sept. 13 – when he assaulted Navarro onstage and brought the show to a sudden end – forced the group back on hiatus after a handful of appearances.

READ MORE: Perry Farrell Was a ‘Crazed Beast’ After Jane’s Addiction Scuffle

In a new social media post, Navarro referred to latest single “True Love,” which was released after the tour’s cancellation.

“I am proud of the work we did on this song but I am equally saddened by the fact that you will likely never hear it live,” he wrote – although the band performed it in 2023 while Navarro was still too ill to appear.

“I’d also like to publicly apologize to our crew, Crawlers and their crew and to Love and Rockets and their crew,” he added. “Thanks for being our travel companions for as long as you did. I am gutted that things ended this way and that so many jobs were lost as a result. May all of our hearts mend together.”

It was the second time Navarro suggested the band was finished after previously posting: ”Perhaps it’s simpler to recognize when something is gone and learn from the magical lesson of grief rather than avoid it and remain in a consistent state of dissatisfaction.”

Jane’s Addiction Hope Perry Farrell Finds Help

Following the official tour cancellation announcement, Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins expressed their remorse in a statement.

“We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets,” they said. “We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis. Our hearts are broken.”

They confirmed the move was a result of “a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell” and added: “We hope that he will find the help he needs.”

Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the ’90s

The Eagles delivered a stunning, career-spanning performance during the opening night of their residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 20.

Unlike other artists who’ve set up shop at the Sphere – such as U2, Phish and Dead & Company – Eagles haven’t historically been known for their onstage visuals. Instead, the Don Henley-led group has a long earned reputation of letting their music do the talking, leaning on their impressive catalog of material to wow audiences. Thus, when the Eagles initially announced their ten-weekend residency at the Sphere, many wondered how the group would utilize the venue’s state of the art capabilities. On opening night, the band answered such questions in resounding fashion, featuring a dazzling array of visual effects to enhance their formidable set list.

The concert began with “Hotel California,” the band’s iconic 1977 hit. It was followed by “One of These Nights,” the title track from the group’s 1975 LP.

Watch the Eagles Perform ‘Hotel California’ at the Sphere

Incredible visuals accompanied the Eagles’ performance, with desert landscapes, Los Angeles landmarks and otherworldly images projected on the Sphere’s all-encompassing screens. Further highlights included “Take It to the Limit” with a spacey, intergalactic motif, and “The Boys of Summer,” accompanied by footage of oversized swimmers, diving and paddling through the Sphere’s massive walls.

The night also included a tribute to J.D Souther, the Eagles collaborator who helped write some of the band’s most famous tunes. The songwriter — who Henley acknowledged played a “pivotal role” in the band’ success — died just days before the Sphere debut.

Joining Henley in the Eagles lineup was classic era members Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, along with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey. The latter two musicians joined the Eagles in 2017 following the death of cofounder Glenn Frey.

READ MORE: Eagles’ 10 Most Memorable Concerts

Photos, videos and a full set list from the performance can be found below.

Watch Eagles Perform ‘Life’s Been Good’ at the Sphere

Watch Eagles Perform ‘Heartache Tonight’ at the Sphere

Watch Eagles Perform ‘Desperado” at the Sphere

How Long Does the Eagles’ Sphere Residency Last?

Eagles will continue performing sporadic weekend’s at the Sphere through 2025. The final concert of the residency is scheduled for Jan. 25. In total, the group will perform 20 shows during their Las Vegas stay.

Following the conclusion of their Sphere residency, the Eagles are expected to resume their Long Goodbye farewell tour. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for embracing this band and its music,” the group said in a message to fans when the tour was announced in 2023. “At the end of the day, you are the reason we have been able to carry on for over five decades. This is our swan song, but the music goes on and on.”

Eagles, Sphere Las Vegas, September 20, 2024 Set List

1. “Hotel California”
2. “One of These Nights”
3. “Lyin’ Eyes”
4. “Take It to the Limit”
5. “Witchy Woman”
6. “Peaceful Easy Feeling”
7. “Tequila Sunrise”
8. “In the City”
9. “I Can’t Tell You Why”
10. “New Kid in Town”
11. “Seven Bridges Road”
12. “Those Shoes”
13. “Life’s Been Good”
14. “Already Gone”
15. “The Boys of Summer”
16. “Life in the Fast Lane”
17. “Take It Easy”
18. “Rocky Mountain Way”
19. “Desperado
20. “Heartache Tonight”

Eagles Sphere Las Vegas, Opening Night, Sept. 20, 2024

The Eagles paid tribute to J.D. Souther during their Sphere debut performance on Friday night, honoring the songwriter and collaborator prior to their rendition of “Heartache Tonight.”

“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge a couple of people,” Don Henley declared during the show, first mentioning Jimmy Buffett before turning his attention to Souther, who helped write several of the Eagles biggest hits, including “Heartache Tonight.”

“I want to acknowledge the co-writer of that song who we lost three days ago, Mr. J.D. Souther,” Henley announced. “J.D. is someone you may know played a pivotal role in the Eagles. He wasn’t in the band but he certainly co-wrote some of our biggest hits.”

“Sing it so they can hear you,” Henley told the crowd, who responded with emphatic applause.

Watch Eagles Perform ‘Heartache Tonight’ During Their Sphere Debut

READ MORE: All 84 Eagles Songs Ranked Worst to Best

J.D. Souther’s Eagles History

Souther was within the Eagles’ orbit before the band was even established. He and band co-founder Glenn Frey were songwriting partners and released an album under the name Longbranch Pennywhistle in 1970. A year later, the Eagles were formed and Souther was initially invited to be a member. However, during a performance for the group’s management team, Souther quickly realized the fit wasn’t right.

“To be frank, they didn’t need me. They were a perfectly well-rounded, self-contained band,” he recalled in 2018. “I figured we were going to keep writing together anyway, so I think we all got the best of that situation.”

Souther would go on to collaborate on many well-known Eagles tracks, including “Best of My Love,” “James Dean,” “New Kid in Town” and “Heartache Tonight.” He also wrote several hit songs for his former girlfriend, Linda Ronstadt. Souther’s solo career featured a pair of hits: “You’re Only Lonely” (1979) and “Her Town Too” (1981), the latter of which was a duet with James Taylor.

Eagles 10 Most Famous Concerts

Michael Schenker achieved a rare feat on his star-studded new album, My Years With UFO: He lured Axl Rose into the studio to record a guest vocal on an updated version of UFO‘s “Love to Love.”

In fact, Schenker tells UCR, he didn’t even have to ask Rose to participate — the famously elusive singer requested to be part of the project.

Schenker had already recruited Slash to play on My Years With UFO, and the top-hatted guitarist appears on a scorching rerecording of “Mother Mary” alongside short-lived Skid Row frontman Erik Gronwall. Once Rose learned about the collaboration, he wanted in as well.

“When Slash came to the recording studio in Frankfurt to record with me, he said, ‘Oh, I told Axl I’m coming here today to do this with you,'” Schenker tells UCR. “And Axl said, ‘Oh, can I sing a song?’ So I said, ‘Oh, really? Ask Axl which song he wants to sing.'”

Rose recorded vocals for multiple tracks, though only one — the seven-and-a-half-minute epic “Love to Love” — appears on My Years With UFO. “He ended up singing ‘Only You Can Rock Me,’ ‘Too Hot to Handle’ and ‘Love to Love,'” Schenker explains. “And I guess because they were in middle of a tour, he didn’t like his performances. He wanted to focus on one song. He’s a perfectionist. … I liked them all, but I left it up to him. And he said ‘Love to Love’ is the one. So eventually, he had it all together and texted us or gave us a message that his version was ready.”

READ MORE: 10 Rare Axl Rose Performances Only Hardcore Fans Know

How UFO Influenced ‘Hardcore Fans’ Guns N’ Roses in the Studio

If anybody could get the two figureheads of Guns N’ Roses to guest on an album, it would be Schenker, who says that Slash and Rose have been “hardcore fans” of his work for decades. In fact, Slash has been guesting in Schenker projects since before Guns N’ Roses even rocketed to stardom.

“In the ’80s I did a video, ‘Rock Will Never Die,’ with Michael Schenker Group,” Schenker explains. “And in the background, there were a bunch of celebrities, but they were doubles, like a Michael Jackson double. But there was one, Slash, that was the real one. He is a real fan, and he heard about this, and he came … and you can see him rocking there.”

Watch Michael Schenker Group’s ‘Rock Will Never Die’ Video

Schenker says the sound of UFO’s classic albums also had a profound impact on Guns N’ Roses. “Slash has always expressed his love — Axl and Slash and Guns N’ Roses,” he continues. “They really loved the UFO productions, in the studio and the live recordings. And Ron Nevison [UFO producer] had a tape op called Mike Clink, and so he actually ended up producing Guns N’ Roses. And because Mike Clink had all the information on how Ron Nevison did it, Guns N’ Roses were basically kind of trying to stick as close as possible to UFO’s sound, and, of course, added their own individual ideas to it. But basically, they are really, really hardcore fans.”

Foreigner has released the first new song with Lou Gramm in three decades – and no one is more pleased than the singer.

“Turning Back the Time” was part of demo sessions held with Mick Jones for a potential follow-up to 1994’s Mr. Moonlight that never happened. “I had given up on those songs that were unfinished. I’d given up because we didn’t talk anymore after that,” Gramm tells UCR. “I thought we were in our golden era – almost.”

Then Gramm was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor as Foreigner was preparing to tour Japan, not long after the 1996 writing and recording sessions that produced “Turning Back the Time.”

READ MORE: Ranking Every Foreigner Album

“Just before that, Mick and I started working on new songs,” Gramm says. “We felt it was more than long enough for us to be working on a new album. So we started working on new songs and we had about, I think, eight ideas that he and I worked on. He put the chords down; we both arranged it. I sang some lyrics and some gibberish just to get comfortable with the body of the songs – and it was at that point that I went in for my 19-hour brain surgery.”

Gramm went back on the road with Foreigner, but they never returned to the album project. He split with the group in 2003, while “Turning Back the Time” continued to languish in the vault.

“We kind of hit an impasse about the direction of the new album, and we never worked on it again. I didn’t hear from him about about trying to finish the album,” Gramm says. “So it took 22 years to unearth these demos and finish them. Now, one song at a time, they’re going to be released and the one that’s out now is the first one.”

“Turning Back the Time” will serve as the title track for a pending 18-track compilation released in conjunction with Foreigner’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The LP is due on Oct. 4; Foreigner will be honored on Oct. 19 in Cleveland.

Listen to Lou Gramm and Foreigner’s ‘Turning Back the Time’

Lou Gramm Returned Home for a Special Honor

Gramm describes the original demo sessions as “a little bit reminiscent of the Beatles around the Rubber Soul days – and, you know, some of the songs a little bit of that flavor in it. Not that we were copying the Beatles; we were being Foreigner but there was just a little something in there that reminded us of the Beatles.” The lyrics for “Turning Back the Time” reflect this influence, as Gramm makes a direct reference to the Beatles’ legendary appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Marti Frederiksen was originally involved in co-writing “Turning Back the Time” and he ultimately returned to complete the track around Gramm’s demo vocal. Jones and Frederiksen co-produced the new session earlier this year, with both playing guitar. Jones added keyboards, while Frederiksen and his son Evan handled bass and drums, respectively.

Meanwhile, Gramm was back to receive a special honor on Thursday in his native Rochester, New York, where he’s already a member of the local hall of fame.

“Yeah, it was terrific – they gave me a key to the city and a key to the county,” Gramm said. “I’ve always felt support from my friends and peers in Rochester, and it’s always been pretty positive with the local government and upper echelon in Rochester: ‘Thank you, Lou, you’ve done us right,’ you know?”

The other 17 tracks on Turning Back the Time were chosen from Foreigner’s nine studio albums, including “When It Comes to Love” with Gramm’s replacement, Kelly Hansen. The band just wrapped up a summer tour with Styx dubbed Renegades & Juke Box Heroes that was paired with a special eight-song live album of the same name.

Foreigner, Styx and Don Felder Share Beatles Memories

On Oct. 12, Stevie Nicks will finally return to Saturday Night Live, over 40 years since her only other appearance on the show on Dec. 10, 1983. This year, she’ll serve as the musical guest while pop star Ariana Grande plays the role of host.

What songs Nicks will perform next month remains to be seen, but now feels like a good time to revisit that 1983 episode, which featured Flip Wilson as host and saw the Fleetwood Mac singer showing off two of her then-recently released solo songs, “Stand Back” and “Nightbird.” Both came from The Wild Heart, Nicks’ second solo album.

It may have been a “solo” album, but The Wild Heart — and specifically those two songs Nicks performed on SNL — did not come to be without the help of friends, several of them brand new to Nicks.

“Stand Back” featured none other than Prince, whom Nicks called up one day when he happened to be in Los Angeles. He agreed to get together, picking her up at nine a.m. and driving to his house at breakneck speed.

“Once we’re there, he just wrote the song, playing the piano, saying to me, ‘You’re writing the words,'” Nicks told MTV in 1983, noting that Prince insisted his piano playing be left uncredited. “It was amazing. Then the air conditioning broke down, and I’m sitting in front of a fan telling him, ‘You have to make me a cassette — I’m not going back without it.’ He did, we left, and the recording studio broke down completely. But the song’s really neat. It was interesting because it was real … disciplined. Neither of us felt like rocking and rolling at nine o’clock in the morning with no air conditioning, but we just…did it, and we’re real proud of ourselves.”

READ MORE: The Stories Behind 10 Rare Songs by Stevie Nicks

And then there was “Nightbird,” a song Nicks co-wrote with another new friend, albeit a far less famous one named Sandy Stewart, a singer, songwriter and keyboardist from Houston. Nicks’ had received a tape of Stewart’s via a friend and immediately wrote the lyrics to “Nightbird” that same day.

“From that day onward, Sandy and I considered ourselves…kind of the Rodgers and Hammerstein of rock,” Nicks explained to MTV. “I’ve never really written with anyone before. But now…we wrote ‘Nightbird’ in a couple of hours, sitting in my living room, with her synthesizer and me pacing.”

Watch Stevie Nick’s Perform ‘Stand Back’ on ‘SNL’ in 1983

Watch Stevie Nick’s Perform ‘Nightbird’ on ‘SNL’ in 1983

Stevie Nicks, Proven Solo Artist

As a band, Fleetwood Mac never appeared on SNL, though Lindsey Buckingham did twice – once in February of 1982 and again in November 1983, just about a month before Nicks went on herself.

“You always have to please somebody,” Nicks told The Arizona Republic (via stevienicks.info) in September of 1983. “[The Wild Heart] is letting me go. I’m all right. This is two records now. So the first record wasn’t just a fluke accident. And I can go and write and dance and do children’s stories and do whatever I want now and no one is going to be saying to me: ‘You still aren’t a proven solo artist.'”

At present, Nicks only has two live concerts scheduled for the rest of 2024: Sept. 24 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Sept. 28 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Axl Rose covers the UFO song “Love to Love” with the band’s former guitarist Michael Schenker.

The Guns N’ Roses singer is one of a series of guests – including bandmate Slash – who appears on My Years With UFO.

The LP finds Schenker revisiting the material he helped create with the British band in the ‘70s. It is available today; the track listing with guests can be seen below.

READ MORE: Hear Slash and Erik Gronwall on Michael Schenker’s ‘Mother Mary’

Schenker recently revealed that Rose covered three songs for potential use, but eventually only approved one of the recordings.

“Axl ended up singing ‘Too Hot to Handle,’ ‘Only You Can Rock Me’ and ‘Love to Love,’” he explained. “I guess it was too many songs, because they were in the middle of a tour, and he preferred to just focus on ‘Love to Love.’ And he is a perfectionist, I have noticed … we waited until he was ready, and then finally he went, ‘OK, “Love to love” I approve. You can release it.’”

You can hear “Love to Love” below.

Instead, Schenker’s new version of “Only You Can Rock Me” features Joey Tempest and Roger Glover, while “Too Hot to Handle” features Joe Lynn Turner, Adrian Vandenberg and Carmine Appice. Slash performs on “Mother Mary” alongside Eric Gronwall.

Michael Schenker, ‘My Years With UFO’ Track Listing
1. “Natural Thing: (feat. Dee Snider, Joel Hoekstra)
2. “Only You Can Rock Me” (Joey Tempest, Roger Glover)
3. “Doctor, Doctor” (Joe Lynn Turner, Carmine Appice)
4. “Mother Mary” (Slash, Erik Gronwall)
5. “This Kids” (Biff Byford)
6. “Love To Love” (Axl Rose)
7. “Lights Out” (Jeff Scott Soto, John Norum)
8. “Rock Bottom” (Kai Hansen)
9. “Too Hot To Handle” (Joe Lynn Turner, Adrian Vandenberg, Carmine Appice)
10. “Let It Roll” (Michael Voss)
11. “Shoot, Shoot” (Stephen Pearcy)

When it comes to Los Angeles-based singer-songwriters of the ’70s, none paints a more concise and vivid portrait of the era than Jackson Browne.

Born in Germany, and raised in L.A., Browne made his name as a songwriter while still a teenager in the ’60s, penning songs that were covered by artists as diverse as Nico and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Gregg Allman and Tom Rush.

By the time he released his eponymous debut (aka Saturate Before Using) in 1972, he was one of the elite members of the still-growing singer-songwriter movement. Over the next several years, he’d release a string of albums – Late for the Sky, The Pretender and Running on Empty, among them – that earned him the title of the quintessential ’70s singer-songwriter, as you will see in the below list of Jackson Browne Albums Ranked Worst to Best.

READ MORE: Top 10 Jackson Browne Songs

As time moved on, Browne stepped away from his comfort zone, making records throughout the ’80s that reflected the interests and themes of his peers, from pointed political commentary to insider looks at the community that made and surrounded him.

While it might be tempting to pin down Jackson Browne with just a handful of musical and thematic ideas in his toolbox, records from For Everyman and Running on Empty through Hold Out (his only No. 1) and, more recently, Standing in the Breach show an artist willing to break the chains of his past and move forward, unafraid to stumble occasionally along the way.

Eric Clapton has announced a new album. Meanwhile will be released first in digital form on Oct. 4 before coming to CD and vinyl on Jan. 24, 2025.

The album includes 14 songs, eight collected from singles Clapton has released over the past few years, such as the LP’s opening track “Pompous Fool” and “Heart of a Child.” You can see the track listing for Meanwhile below.

You can hear “One Woman” from the upcoming album below.

Meanwhile includes collaborations with Van Morrison, Bradley Walker, Judith Hill, Daniel Santiago, Simon Climie and the late Jeff Beck on “Moon River,” originally released last year.

READ MORE: How Eric Clapton Opened His Heart and Made a Masterpiece With Derek and the Dominos

The album marks Clapton’s first non-holiday album since 2016’s I Still Do; he released the seasonal LP Happy XMas in 2018.

On Nov. 29, the all-star album Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023 will be released featuring performances from Clapton, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Santana and others.

Where Is Eric Clapton Playing in 2024?

Clapton begins a South American tour today. They will be his first shows there in 13 years, with stops in Buenos Aires and Sao Paolo, among other cities. He then heads to Mexico City for one show before returning to the U.S. for three California concerts. Gary Clark Jr. will support the first batch of shows while Jimmie Vaughan takes over for the California concerts.

He’ll wrap his current run of dates on Oct. 17 with an appearance at the Life Is a Carnival – A Tribute to Robbie Robertson celebration at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.

You can see the list of shows below.

Clapton’s band includes bassist Nathan East, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, drummer Sonny Emory, keyboardists Chris Stainton and Tim Carmon, and backing singers Sharon White and Katie Kissoon.

Eric Clapton, 2024 Tour
*September 20 – Buenos Aires – Estadio Velez Sasfield
*September 24 – Curitiba – Ligga Arena
*September 26 – Rio de Janeiro – Farmasi Arena
*September 28 – Sao Paolo – VIBRA
*September 29 – Sao Paolo – Allianz Parque
*October 3 – Mexico City – Foro Sol
^October 8 – San Diego – Pechanga Arena
^October 10 – Palm Desert – Acrisure Arena
^October 12 – Los Angeles – Hollywood Bowl
October 17 – Los Angeles – Kia Forum – LIFE IS A CARNIVAL – A TRIBUTE TO ROBBIE ROBERTSON

*Gary Clark Jr
^Jimmie Vaughan

Eric Clapton, ‘Meanwhile’ Track Listing
1. Pompous Fool
2. Heart of a Child
3. Moon River with Jeff Beck
4. Sam Hall
5. Smile
6. Always On My Mind with Bradley Walker
7. One Woman
8. The Rebels with Van Morrison
9. The Call
10. How Could We Know with Judith Hill, Simon Climie, Daniel Santiago
11. This Has Gotta Stop with Van Morrison
12. Stand and Deliver with Van Morrison
13. You’ve Changed
14. Misfortune

Iron Maiden announced the first dates of their 50th anniversary world tour, which will start in May 2025.

Marking five decades since bassist Steve Harris formed the band, the Run for Your Lives shows will focus on their first nine albums, from 1980’s self-titled debut to 1992’s Fear of the Dark.

Initial dates across the U.K., Ireland and Europe can be seen below, with more to follow.

READ MORE: How Iron Maiden Became ‘King of the Castle’ With ‘Powerslave’

“Next year is a very special one for Iron Maiden and we’re going to be giving our fans a once-in-a-lifetime live experience,” singer Bruce Dickinson said in a statement. “This is a tour that’s gonna put a smile on your face and a cheer in your throat.

“If you’ve seen us before, then get ready to take that experience to a whole new level. If you’ve never seen us before, then what the hell have you been waiting for? Now’s your chance to find out what you’ve been missing! Iron Maiden’s definitely gonna get ya!”

Band manager Rod Smallwood outlined their achievements over the past five decades, saying, “With well over 100 million albums sold and almost 2,500 shows in 64 countries and counting, to countless millions of fans, we are all still loving every second.”

Watch Iron Maiden’s Run For Your Lives Tour Trailer

He promised the group was planning on “pulling out all the stops” for the shows. “We will cover classics and fan favorites from the first nine albums … many of which we haven’t played in years and many we will likely never play again in the future,” he added.

“We have already been hard at work for months putting together an even more spectacular and elaborate new show, which will bring the songs to life more than we have ever been able to do before. This is going to be a huge couple of years … and we are very excited about what we have up our sleeves for you fans throughout the whole of our 50th year.”

The tour includes an appearance at London Stadium, the home of Harris’ favorite soccer team, West Ham United; he, guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, and drummer Nicko McBrain, grew up in the surrounding area. With a capacity of 60,000, it will be the biggest non-festival show Iron Maiden has ever performed.

Iron Maiden, Run for Your Lives World Tour
5/27 – Budapest Aréna, Budapest, Hungary
5/31 – Letnany Airport, Prague, Czech Republic
6/01 – TIPOS Arena, Bratislava, Slovakia
6/05 – Trondheim Rocks, Trondheim, Norway (Festival)
6/07 – SR–Bank Arena, Stavanger, Norway
6/09 – Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark
6/12 – 3Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
6/13 – 3Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
6/16 – Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland
6/21 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham, England
6/22 – Co–Op Live, Manchester, England
6/25 – Malahide Castle, Dublin, Ireland
6/28 – London Stadium, London, England
6/30 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland
6/03 – Eurockéennes Festival, Belfort, France (Festival)
6/05 – Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
6/06 – MEO Arena, Lisbon, Portugal
6/09 – Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland
6/11 – Veltins–Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
6/13 – Stadio Euganeo, Padova, Italy
6/15 – Bürgerweide, Bremen, Germany
6/17 – Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, Austria
6/19 – Paris La Défense Arena, Paris, France
6/23 – GelreDome, Arnhem, Netherlands
6/25 – Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany
6/26 – Cannstatter Wasen, Stuttgart, Germany
6/29 – Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany
Aug. 02 – PGE Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland

Joe Satriani revealed he was persuaded several times to sign up for Van Halen’s proposed “kitchen sink” tour but backed out every time.

He said that taking part in Sammy Hagar’s Best of All Worlds road trip was a completely different prospect from the idea suggested by Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth, soon after Eddie Van Halen died in 2020.

Those plans fizzled out – while Hagar, Satriani and Michael Anthony have been on the road this year delivering their nod to the late guitarist and his band’s work.

READ MORE: Sammy Hagar Launches Van Halen-Focused 2024 Tour

In a new interview with Guitar.com, Satriani said he initially accepted the offer that came from Alex Van Halen and Roth. But three weeks later, he called and told them, “No way. I can’t do this. This is too hard.”

He explained that “[Alex] convinced me that I could do it, and then another couple of weeks later, it was the same kind of thing – I thought, ‘Man, some of these songs are … they’re just not me.’ Eddie played in a completely different way … it’s so different from what I cultivated in my playing for decades. So that was the hardest part.”

Asked why he felt able to join Hagar’s tour, Satriani said, “Because it was a friend calling about a retrospective of his whole career. It did happen to involve anywhere from 15 to 20 Van Halen songs – and they were different from the songs that Dave and Alex wanted to do. Dave was not going to do any Van Hagar stuff, anything from after he left the band.”

How Eddie Van Halen’s Playing Changed in the Van Hagar Era

The guitarist argued that Van Halen had changed his approach when Hagar arrived. “Eddie went through a real shift. He became far more progressive – a different world for me to jump into.

“But I also reminded myself, ‘That’s not the show. This is not a Van Halen tribute. This is a tribute to Sammy’s legacy that happens to include this huge chunk of music by Van Halen.’ … I want to do it right. I spent all this money on gear and want to make it a great night to celebrate these songs. And I think everybody gets it.

“I’m throwing in all the stuff I normally would. But I’ve added some things I never really did because I thought, ‘Well, that’s Eddie. I’m not gonna copy that.’ It doesn’t come naturally to me, but I’ve made it work. Though I’m not copying the parts; that’s not me – I’m not in a tribute band.”

George Harrison‘s gold-selling international Top 5 smash Living in the Material World will be expanded with a suite of expanded 50th-anniversary reissue packages.

The limited-edition super deluxe edition spans 2CDs, 2LPs and a Blu-ray with a new Dolby Atmos mix. Included are 12 previously unreleased recordings, a 60-page booklet and artwork from the Harrison archive. An included seven-inch single also features a previously unheard recording of “Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymund)” with Ringo Starr and members of the Band.

“I hope you revisit Living in the Material World or discover it for the first time, and as you listen, share George’s wish for himself and mankind: ‘Give me Love, give me peace on Earth,'” Harrison’s widow Olivia said in an official statement. She co-produced the reissue project with their son Dhani.

READ MORE: George Harrison’s Best Beatles Moments

A track listing of the set’s rarities is below. Among them is Take 18 of the Billboard chart-topping single “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth), which you can also stream below.

Watch a Trailer for George Harrison’s ‘Material World’ Reissue

When Will George Harrison’s ‘Material World’ Reissue Arrive?

There will be tandem 2CD and 2LP deluxe editions featuring a new mix of the album by Paul Hicks and session outtakes. Single-disc versions include color vinyl exclusives. They’re all set for release on Nov. 15. Presales are already underway.

Harrison was backed on Living in the Material World by a group of friendly virtuosos, including drummer Jim Keltner, keyboardists Gary Wright and Nicky Hopkins, bassist Klaus Voormann and saxophonist Jim Horn. Other album highlights include the deep cut “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long,” which finds Keltner in a drum duet with Starr. “Try Some, Buy Some” features guest turns by Leon Russell, Jim Gordon from Derek and the Dominos and Pete Ham of Badfinger.

George Harrison, ‘Living in the Material World’ Bonus Cuts
“Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) (Take 18; Acoustic Version)
“Sue Me, Sue You Blues (Take 5)”
“The Light That Has Lighted the World (Take 13)”
“Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long (Take 49; Acoustic Version)”
“Who Can See It (Take 93)”
“Living in the Material World (Take 31)”
“The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord) (Take 3)”
“Be Here Now (Take 8)”
“Try Some Buy Some (Alternative Version)”
“The Day the World Gets ‘Round (Take 22; Acoustic Version)”
“That Is All (Take 24)”
“Miss O’Dell (2024 Mix)”
“Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)”

You Think You Know the Beatles?

British rock legends Uriah Heep have announced their farewell tour.

In a video message to fans, Mick Box, the band’s last surviving original member, revealed the news.

“Who can believe next year is 55 years since the band started, and that’s just so amazing. I know many of you have been with us since the beginning, and we do thank you for that. It means the world to us,” the rocker said in part. “Unfortunately, we have made the decision to wind down touring the whole world next year under the title of ‘Magician’s Farewell’. In fact, The Magician’s Farewell.”

READ MORE: When Uriah Heep’s Debut Album Helped Launch Heavy Metal

Box noted that tour dates will be announced in February 2025, and suggested that the the trek will be extensive.

“Over the next two to three years, we intend to play as many places as possible and see you all for the one last time,” he explained. “On behalf of the band and myself, I wanna thank you all for the continued support you have always given us. It means the world to us, and it means so much to us, and I just wanna thank you for that.”

Watch the Uriah Heep Farewell Tour Announcement

Uriah Heep’s Rock Legacy

Regarded as a pioneer of hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock, Uriah Heep rose to success in the 1970s. In America, their biggest commercial hit was “Easy Livin’” from 1972’s Demons and Wizards. Further well-known songs include “Gypsy,” “The Wizard,” “Stealin'” and “Sweet Lorraine.”

READ MORE: How Uriah Heep Finally Broke Through With ‘Demons and Wizards’ 

In total, Uriah Heep has released 25 studio albums across their impressive career. The most recent, Chaos & Colour, came out in 2023.

In addition to Box, the band’s current lineup features vocalist Bernie Shaw, keyboardist Phil Lanzon, drummer Russell Gilbrook and bassist Dave Rimmer.

Depeche Mode both shocked and enthralled listeners when they released their 1989 single “Personal Jesus.”

Conservative groups, taking the song at face value, believed it was blasphemous. Depeche Mode already had a history of using religious imagery in their tunes, and “Personal Jesus” – with lines about confession, prayers and faith, on top of its titular phrase – seemed to take a skewed perspective on Christianity.

Despite the criticisms, Martin Gore, the band’s primary songwriter, insisted he had a positive relationship with faith.

“I think Jesus was one of the greatest figures that ever walked the earth. He never said a word of shit,” the rocker explained to Spin magazine. “Every book I read about him, I fall in love with him more and more, but unfortunately that doesn’t help me become a Christian because Christianity is something else.”

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Depeche Mode Album

Despite its title, Jesus Christ was not the impetus behind “Personal Jesus.” Instead, Gore found inspiration in Elvis and Me, the 1985 memoir written by Priscilla Presley.

“It’s a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care,” Gore explained to Spin. “It’s about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships – how everybody’s heart is like a god in some way, and that’s not a very balanced view of someone, is it?”

‘Personal Jesus’ Sparked Controversey

While the lyrics of “Personal Jesus” certainly grabbed attention, so too did the song’s arrangement. Depeche Mode had long been regarded as leaders of electronic music, yet the band made the unexpected decision to build “Personal Jesus” around a bluesy guitar riff.

While the startling style change caught many fans off guard, it was a welcome evolution for Gore. The rocker had always been drawn to soul, blues and gospel music, and his desire to infuse these sounds into Depeche Mode’s material mirrored Presley’s admiration for Black genres decades earlier.

READ MORE: 19 Rock Videos That Were Banned by MTV

Released in the U.S. on Sept. 19, 1989, “Personal Jesus” became one of the band’s biggest hits. Uproar surrounding the tune hit a high point when MTV insisted its Anton Corbjin-directed music video be changed. The entire clip was sexual in nature, with the band shown visiting an Old West brothel. Still the offending scene, accordion to the network, was a portion in which singer Dave Gahan – shown in silhouette – exuded some rhythmic breaths, followed by footage of a horse’s behind. MTV believed it insinuated beastiality.

Watch Depeche’ Mode’s Music Video for ‘Personal Jesus’

“I don’t know if Anton was consciously trying to be perverted, I think it was more coincidental that it happened at that point,” Gore explained to Uncut. “These video people see things very strangely.”

The scene was re-edited and “Personal Jesus” garnered heavy rotation on MTV. The song sold more than a million copies in the U.S. and became one of the band’s most popular hits.

Many Famous Acts Have Covered ‘Personal Jesus’

Thirty-five years after its release, “Personal Jesus” remains a timeless track. Proof of its legacy and continuing impact can be seen in the wide array of artists who’ve covered the tune.

Johnny Cash released his rendition in 2002, likening it at the time to a great gospel song. Meanwhile, shock-rocker Marilyn Manson scored a hit with his version, released as part of a compilation album in 2004.

Watch Sammy Hagar’s Music Video for ‘Personal Jesus’

Industrial rock group Gravity Kills also covered the track, while Disney star and pop singer Hilary Duff interpolated “Personal Jesus” for her song “Reach Out.”

More recently, some rock heavyweights have put their own spin on “Personal Jesus.” Sammy Hagar praised the song’s “badass blues lick” when he covered it for his 2013 album, alongside Neal Schon, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith. Meanwhile, Def Leppard released their own version as a Spotify Single in 2018.

In 2023, Iggy Pop recorded his own gritty take on the track, a collaboration with record producer and former Yes frontman Trevor Horn.

“[Iggy] said: ‘I’ve heard the track, I’m going to do three takes where I gradually get crazier and crazier and then a fourth take where I speak it and that will be it,” Horn explained at the time. “We came to it as though there was only the Depeche Mode universe and here’s Iggy swinging it his way on some deviant variety TV show he happens to host.”

Listen to Iggy Pop’s Version of ‘Personal Jesus’

October promises deep dives into key moments in rock history, the return of a seminal punk band and some exciting live recordings.

Queen‘s 1973 debut album has been renamed and expanded for a six-CD/1-LP collector’s edition reissue. Now dubbed Queen I, the set boasts a revised track listing featuring “Mad the Swine,” which was originally omitted, along with demos, sessions, live cuts and a previously unreleased recording from Queen’s first-ever live performance in London. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album Long After Dark also returns with a new mix and extras taken from performances on French TV.

The Bob Ezrin-produced Heavy Lifting marks seminal punk band MC5‘s first studio record in 53 years. The project was spearheaded by founding guitarist Wayne Kramer and features original MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson. Both have since passed away. Meanwhile, Rick Wakeman is giving “Yessonata” a wider release. This 30-minute instrumental featuring Yes themes has only been available to purchase on vinyl at the shows. The Smile is back with their third album, Cutouts, after sharing a long series of cryptic social media messages.

A previously unreleased concert from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young showcases a performance at New York’s Fillmore East from just weeks after Woodstock. Joni Mitchell‘s latest archival release focuses on her output from 1976-1980 with Asylum Records, including Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus. Among the other highlights are tour recordings from Bob Dylan‘s Rolling Thunder Revue.

Motley Crue‘s new Cancelled EP includes a cover of Beastie Boys‘ “Fight for Your Right,” a set list staple in recent years. These are the first Motley Crue songs to feature Mick Mars‘ replacement John 5. Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains is also set to release the solo album I Want Blood, with contributions from Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Robert Trujillo of Metallica and Mike Bordin of Faith No More, among others.

More information on these and other pending rock albums can be found below. Remember to follow our continuously updated list of new music releases for details on records issued throughout the year.

Oct. 4
Don Henley, Building the Perfect Beast (40th anniversary vinyl reissue)
Fleetwood Mac, Heroes Are Hard to Find (clear vinyl reissue)
Foreigner, Head Games (translucent red vinyl reissue); Turning Back the Time (2LP vinyl reissue)
Jefferson Starship / Starship, Now Playing (vinyl edition)
Jimi Hendrix Experience, Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (3CD/5LP/Blu-ray box)
Joni Mitchell, Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980) (4LP box)
Motley Crue, Cancelled (three-song EP)
Neil Young, Freedom; Ragged Glory; Weld; Arc (vinyl reissues)
Peter Gabriel, So (vinyl reissue)
Rick Wakeman, Yessonata (12-inch vinyl edition)
Stone Temple Pilots, Purple (white/purple splatter vinyl reissue)
T. Rex, Now Playing (vinyl edition)
Talk Talk, It’s My Life: 40th Anniversary Half-Speed Master
The Smile, Cutouts
Various artists, He Took Us By Storm: 25 Lost Classics From the Bob Dylan Folk-Rock Revolution Era (with Lou Reed, Bob Seger, David Crosby, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russell, others)

Oct. 11
Beach Boys, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys (sea blue 2LP vinyl reissue)
Def Leppard, One Night Only Live at the Leadmill Sheffield
Duran Duran, Danse Macabre: De Luxe (download with bonus tracks)
Jimmy Buffett, Songs You Know by Heart: Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hit(s) (red vinyl reissue)
John Lennon, Mind Games: The Meditation Mixes (3LP vinyl edition)
King Crimson, Red (2CD/2 Blu-ray 50th anniversary reissue)
Myles Kennedy [Slash], The Art of Letting Go
Rory Gallagher, The BBC Collection (3LP vinyl reissue)

Oct. 18
Bill Bruford, The Best of Bill Bruford: The Winterfold and Summerfold Years (3CD box)
Bon Jovi, Greatest Hits (tiger eye vinyl reissue)
Guns N’ Roses, Greatest Hits (translucent red/black splatter vinyl reissue)
Hawkwind, Space Ritual (2LP remastered vinyl reissue)
Jerry Cantrell [Alice in Chains], I Want Blood (with Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo, others)
The Kinks, Sleepwalker; Misfits (remastered vinyl reissues)
MC5, Heavy Lifting
Mick Fleetwood [Fleetwood Mac] and Jake Shimabukuro, Blues Experience
Nilsson, Nilsson Sings Newman (vinyl reissue)
Pete Townshend, The Iron Man: The Musical; Psychoderelict (debut vinyl reissues)
Tom Petty, Long After Dark (expanded 2LP/2CD/Blu-ray deluxe reissue)
The Tubes, Young and Rich (reissue)
The Waterboys, Fisherman’s Blues (yellow vinyl reissue)

Oct. 25
Al Stewart, Year of the Cat (translucent red vinyl reissue)
Allman Brothers Band, Final Concert 10-28-14 (3CD set)
America, Live at the Palladium (deluxe limited edition 3LP reissue)
Boz Scaggs, Silk Degrees (translucent blue vinyl reissue)
Bryan Ferry, Retrospective: Selected Recordings 1973-2023
Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Live at Fillmore East, 1969
David Coverdale, Into The Light: The Solo Albums (6CD box)
Duran Duran, Danse Macabre: De Luxe (compact disc release with bonus tracks)
Graham Parker, Deepcut to Nowhere (vinyl reissue with bonus 7-inch single)
Green Day, American Idiot (20th anniversary red/black splatter 2LP vinyl reissue)
Ian Hunter, You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic; Short Back N’ Sides (expanded 2CD/LP reissues)
Motorhead, We Take No Prisoners: The Singles 1995-2006 (2CD set)
Mountain Featuring Leslie West and Corky Laing, Live in the UK (6CD box)
Mr. Big, The Big Finish Live (2CD set)
Pat Benatar, In the Heat of the Night; Get Nervous (vinyl look-a-like CD reissues)
Queen, Queen I: Collector’s Edition (expanded 6CD/1LP reissue)
Ratt, Out of the Cellar: 40the Anniversary Edition
Rick Wakeman [Yes] and Gordon Giltrap, From Brush and Stone (limited edition 180-gram clear vinyl reissue)
Tears for Fears, Songs for a Nervous Planet
Warrior Featuring Vinnie Vincent [Kiss], The Complete Sessions (3CD box)

Coming in November
Elvis Costello, King of America & Other Realms (6CD box)
T. Rex, Bolan Boogie: The Best of T. Rex (2CDs or 2LPs)
George Harrison, Living in the Material World (expanded 50th anniversary reissue)
Iron Maiden, Powerslave (40th anniversary zoetrope picture-disc vinyl reissue)
Beatles, 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono
Smashing Pumpkins, Aghori Mhori Mei (vinyl edition)
Eric Clapton, Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023

Rock’s Most Expensive Out-of-Print LPs

Stevie Wonder will embark on a U.S. tour next month titled “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” leading up to the 2024 presidential election.

The 10-date trek, which gets its name from Wonder’s recently released single, kicks off on Oct. 8 in Pittsburgh and concludes on Oct. 30 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tickets go on sale Friday.

A press release notes that Wonder’s tour comes at “the height of a critical election season and a pivotal juncture in American politics and culture,” and his shows will be a call for “joy over anger, kindness over recrimination, peace over war.”

You can see the full list of dates below.

READ MORE: How ‘Talking Book’ Began Stevie Wonder’s Amazing Run

Stevie Wonder Implores Americans to ‘Win the Broken Hearts’ and Vote

Wonder has been in the mood for surprises lately. His latest single, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” arrived with no warning last month, marking his first solo release since 2020’s “Can’t Put It in the Hands of Fate.” One week earlier, he performed his classic song “Higher Ground” at the Democratic National Convention and stressed the importance of voting in the upcoming election.

“Beyond prayer, I know the importance of action,” Wonder said. “And now is the time to understand where we are and what it will take to win — win the broken hearts, win the disenchanted, win the angry spirits. Now is the time. This is the moment to remember, when you tell your children where you were and what you did. As we stand between history’s pain and tomorrow’s promises, we must choose courage over complacency. It is time to get up and go vote!”

Stevie Wonder, ‘Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart’ Tour Dates
Oct. 8 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
Oct. 10 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Oct. 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
Oct. 15 – Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
Oct. 17 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
Oct. 19 – Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
Oct. 22 – Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
Oct. 24 – Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
Oct. 27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
Oct. 30 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena

Ratt will commemorate the 40th anniversary of their star-making debut album Out of the Cellar with a new reissue featuring a previously unreleased track from the 1983 recording sessions.

The album will be reissued in red and black splatter vinyl with a lenticular cover and a bonus neon orange 7-inch containing the unreleased track “Reach for the Sky.” The set will also be available on CD.

The Out of the Cellar issue comes out on Oct. 25 and is available to preorder now. You can refresh yourself on the track listing below. Reissues of their next four studio albums — Invasion of Your Privacy, Dancing Undercover, Reach for the Sky and Detonator — are also available individually and as part of The Atlantic Years box set.

READ MORE: When Ratt Threw Rats at Tawny Kitaen for Their Album Cover Shoot

How ‘Out of the Cellar’ Turned Ratt Into Glam Metal Kingpins

Released on Feb. 17, 1984, Out of the Cellar soared to No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and earned a triple-platinum certification from the RIAA, becoming Ratt’s most successful album. It spawned the hit single “Round and Round,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100 and became one of the definitive anthems of the glam metal era — but it almost didn’t happen that way.

“It was not our choice to be a single,” Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy told UCR. “When we did get the [record] deal, it was just one of those songs in the set. It wasn’t quite there. The bridge wasn’t there before the chorus. It wasn’t one of our fave songs. We were just like, ‘Well, this is just a song.’ I mean, ‘You Think You’re Tough’ was still the song.

“When it did come time to go through songs for the Atlantic first record deal, Beau Hill was a staff producer,” Pearcy continued. “It really caught his attention. He was like, ‘What is that? What is that? What is that?’ And we’re like, ‘It’s just this song.’ … It wasn’t the song yet. And if it wasn’t for Beau instigating working on that first, who knows?”

Ratt, ‘Out of the Cellar’ 40th-Anniversary Track Listing:
1. “Wanted Man”
2. “You’re in Trouble”
3. “Round and Round”
4. “In Your Direction”
5. “She Wants Money”
6. “Lack of Communication”
7. “Back for More”
8. “The Morning After”
9. “I’m Insane”
10. “Scene of the Crime”
11. BONUS TRACK: “Reach for the Sky”

Metallica has announced a batch of 2025 North American tour dates, extending their M72 world tour. Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies will support at some stops, with Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills tabbed for other dates.

The 2025 run will kick off on April 12 in Las Vegas and wrap up in Denver on June 29. While parts of the tour feature the two dates in the same city, as has been the tradition on the M72 tour, other stops (including festival appearances) will be just one show in the location.

Tickets are available on Sept. 27 and various presales will take place before the general on-sale date.

READ MORE: Metallica Albums Ranked 

See the full itinerary further below and get more ticketing information at Metallica’s website.

Metallica’s Ticket Sales

In 2022, Pollstar shared a report of the artists that have sold the most concert tickets since 1981, and Metallica came in at No. 9 with over 19 million tickets sold. However, they were the No. 1 metal artist in terms of ticket sales, and it’s unlikely that anything has changed since then.

According to Touring Data, the M72 tour sold over 1.1 million tickets in 2023 alone, for a reported revenue of over $125 million.

Metallica M72 2025 Tour
April 12 Las Vegas, NV Sick New World @ Las Vegas Festival Grounds
April 19 Syracuse, NY JMA Wireless Dome *
April 24 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre *
April 26 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre +
May 1 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium *
May 3 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium +
May 7 Blacksburg, VA Lane Stadium *
May 9 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
May 11 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
May 23 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field +
May 25 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field *
May 28 Landover, MD Northwest Stadium *
May 31 Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium *
June 3 Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium *
June 6 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium +
June 8 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium *
June 14 Houston, TX NRG Stadium *
June 20 Santa Clara, CA Levi’s Stadium +
June 22 Santa Clara, CA Levi’s Stadium *
June 27 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High +
June 29 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High *

* Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies support
+ Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills support

Robert Trujillo explained why the $1 million signing-on payment made to him by Metallica wasn’t high in his priorities when he joined the band in 2003.

The moment is captured in the band’s Some Kind of Monster documentary after they spent months trying to recruit a replacement for Jason Newsted and Trujillo had auditioned during that period.

His mind was focused on having to learn a catalog of music as fast as possible. But first, he had to tell Ozzy Osbourne he needed to quit the Black Sabbath icon’s band after seven years.

READ MORE: Metallica Wanted Rob Trujillo’s Million-Dollar Deal Out of Movie

“Well, that was weird and that was surreal,” Trujillo told The Surfer’s Journal of the day he joined Metallica. “Everybody says, ‘Wow, man.’ After taxes, it’s a little different than a million dollars. I guess I got so consumed with the workload … in my head, I’m like, ‘It’s time to get to work – I’ve got this mountain of catalog to learn.’

“And then there was this new album, St. Anger, that they hadn’t even played live yet. … I just saw it as like, ‘I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. … I’m not gonna think about the money. I’m not gonna celebrate what’s going on because I’ve got work to do.’”

You can listen to the interview below.

Trujillo said he received a call from Osbourne a few days before that, which was unusual. “Ozzy never called me,” he noted. “You’d always hear from someone from the management team or maybe Sharon might call.

“And I get this call from him – ‘Hey, Rob … let’s go on the road, man. I’m ready.’ … I hadn’t heard from Metallica [and] I wasn’t working.” Then things changed again: “I get a call from Lars [Ulrich], saying, ‘Hey, we want you to come up here and we want to talk to you.’ So I’m like, ‘OK, they’re not telling me I got the gig.’ … They’re the kind of guys that would have you fly up there to tell you you didn’t get the gig. Like, ‘We just wanted to tell you in person.’”

On arriving at Metallica’s HQ, Trujillo received the reverse message. And while his thoughts turned to his new duties, he was also thinking about Osbourne.

Lars Ulrich’s Ultimatum to Robert Trujillo

“I don’t even know why I said this … I was always trying to be loyal to Ozzy and Sharon … I was, like, ‘Well, I don’t think I can do those dates. But when I finish my commitment with Ozzy I’ll jump on board.’ And I remember Lars goes, ‘We respect your loyalty. It’s very honorable. But this train is leaving … you’ve gotta jump on board and jump on with us.’”

Accepting the situation, Trujillo immediately arranged to visit the Osbournes. “I flew home that night, and I actually went to Sharon and Ozzy’s house and met with Sharon and said, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna join Metallica.’ … It was just heavy … it’s hard when you’re losing a team member. … So it was difficult – but I also felt that I needed to be there in person to tell him and tell her.”

He said there was no negativity. “Usually when that happened in the past, it could get pretty ugly with anybody. I mean, you’re leaving a team, and it’s not good. Like I said, my life changed. All of a sudden I was a part of a new family, and I was living in a new area and it was just a different existence.”

Eagles have released a statement honoring J.D. Souther, their cowriter and collaborator who died on Tuesday at the age of 78.

“We have lost a brother, a friend and a brilliant collaborator, and the world has lost a great songwriter, a pioneer of the Southern California sound that emerged in the 1970s,” the band’s message began. “J.D. Souther was smart, talented, well-read, and in possession of a wicked sense of humor. He loved a good meal, a good movie, and a good Martini … and he loved dogs, adopting many, over the course of his lifetime.”

The Eagles went on to detail Souther’s journey from Detroit to Texas and, eventually, Los Angeles. The band described the songwriter as “a student of the deep roots of the best American music,” whose “knowledge and appreciation informed his work.”

READ MORE: All 84 Eagles Songs Ranked Worst to Best

“He was a crucial cowriter on many of our most popular songs, including, ‘The Best of My Love,’ ‘New Kid in Town,’ and ‘Heartache Tonight,’” the Eagles continued, adding that Souther also contributed to many of Don Henley’s solo albums.

“He was an extraordinary man and will be greatly missed by many,” the band said at the close of their tribute. “Adios, old friend. Travel well.”

The Eagles full statement can be found here.

J.D. Souther’s Eagles Legacy

Souther first began working with Glenn Frey prior to the Eagles. When the group formed in 1971, he was invited to join, but quickly determined the fit wasn’t right. Instead, Souther became a frequent collaborator with the group, co-writing several of their most beloved hits.

READ MORE: Eagles Albums Ranked Worst to Best

In 2013, Souther was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Though he never achieved the same name recognition as official Eagles band members, he always appreciated his place in the group’s history.

“There was definitely a period of time where people would occasionally say to me, ‘Doesn’t it piss you off that the Eagles have these big hits off your songs?’” the songwriter remarked during a 2008 interview. “I would usually start saying, ‘Would you like to see the checks?’”

Sting‘s new trio featuring guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas made their North American debut on Tuesday at the Fillmore in Detroit. See a complete set list and fan-shot video below.

The format clearly informed Sting’s song selection, which leaned heavily into the Police catalog. Half of the 20 songs in the set list were originally released with his former band.

In previous shows, Sting also dug more deeply into his storied past: He originally launched the Sting 3.0 tour back in May at Dresden, Germany, with “Voices Inside My Head,” a song from Zenyatta Mondatta last played in 2006. The Police’s “Synchronicity II” had been absent from set lists since 2018.

READ MORE: Top 10 Sting Solo Songs

Tuesday’s Fillmore Detroit show kicked off a series of two-day stands, with similar stops in Toronto (Sept. 20-21), Philadelphia (Sept. 30-Oct. 1), Chicago (Oct. 28-29), San Francisco (Nov. 6-7) and Los Angeles (Nov. 12-13). Sting is playing three nights in Brooklyn on Oct, 7, 9-10, among other dates.

At 72, the busy Sting has also scheduled a handful of tandem stadium dates with Billy Joel – and there are long-range plans to remain out on the road. “Why not? I’m not wearing a corset or anything,” Sting recently mused. “As long as I can get into my rock star pants, I’ll be fine.”

Watch Sting Perform ‘Roxanne’ in Detroit

How Sting’s New Single Came Together

This month saw the earlier arrival of “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart),” also featuring Miller and Maas. “I wanted to throw something together with simple chords and that’s what I came up with,” Sting told the Democrat and Chronicle. “There were virtually no overdubs or thoughts about production. It was just the way the band sounds – and that elemental, aggressive sound is the surprise I wanted to give people this time.”

The Police’s final album, 1983’s Synchronicity, was recently reissued as an expanded six-CD box set. So far, a full-length solo LP hasn’t been announced to accompany “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart),” which marked Sting’s first new music since 2021’s The Bridge.

Watch Sting Perform ‘Every Breath You Take’ in Detroit

Watch Sting Perform ‘Every Little Thing is Magic’ in Detroit

Watch Sting Perform ‘King of Pain’ in Detroit

Sting’s Fillmore Detroit Set List, Sept. 17, 2024
“Message in a Bottle”
“If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”
“Englishman in New York”
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
“Fields of Gold”
“Never Coming Home”
“Mad About You”
“Why Should I Cry for You?”
“All This Time”
“Driven to Tears”
“Can’t Stand Losing You”
“I Wrote Your Name”
“Shape of My Heart”
“Walking on the Moon”
“So Lonely”
“Desert Rose”
“King of Pain”
“Every Breath You Take”
Encore:
“Roxanne”
“Fragile”

Sting’s Spouse is One of Rock’s Hottest Wives

In a career spanning more than 50 years, the Eagles have delivered their fair share of memorable concerts.

The group was founded in 1971 and almost instantly began developing a reputation for captivating live performances. Led by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, the Eagles saw their crowds grow year after year, eventually placing them among rock’s biggest acts.

Lineup changes would follow – most notably the arrival of guitarist Joe Walsh. Massive worldwide success, including the monumental popularity of Hotel California, kept the Eagles on the road for years at a time. The stresses of touring, along with frayed tensions within the band, ultimately led to a long hiatus. Still, the Eagles eventually returned with a much-hailed reunion tour and have remained one of the biggest concert draws in the world ever since.

READ MORE: Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’: 15 Facts You Might Not Know

In 2023, the band announced The Long Goodbye, a farewell tour that is expected to run through 2025. At the time, the group noted their “miraculous” history, “performing for people all over the globe; keeping the music alive in the face of tragic losses, upheavals and setbacks of many kinds.”

“Most importantly, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for embracing this band and its music,” the statement continued. “At the end of the day, you are the reason we have been able to carry on for over five decades.”

Here’s UCR’s look at the Eagles’ 10 Most Memorable Concerts, including triumphs, dramas, debuts and farewells.

Eagles 10 Most Famous Concerts

Jane’s Addiction has released a new song called “True Love,” their second of 2024 to feature the reunited classic lineup and their first since imploding onstage and canceling their reunion tour.

You can listen to the song below.

“True Love” arrives roughly two months after the raucous “Imminent Redemption.” It’s a wistful, melancholy track anchored by clean guitars and soft drums. “When I first felt true love, I was very young / I tried to describe it to my friends,” Perry Farrell sings, “You’re floating in something that’s way over your head / Wading in the waters of true love.”

READ MORE: Watch Jane’s Addiction Play New Song ‘True Love’

Dave Navarro Seemingly Acknowledges End of Jane’s Addiction

The song also drops less than a week after Farrell punched and shoved guitarist Dave Navarro during Jane’s Addiction’s Friday show in Boston. Farrell had to be escorted offstage by crew members, and the band subsequently canceled the rest of its reunion tour and announced a hiatus. Various members have since issued statements apologizing to their fans, tourmates and each other.

Navarro also found similarities between the plight of Jane’s Addiction and that of a renowned 19th-century poet. “I was re-reading Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and it occurred to me that there is a strong parallel between his work and that of our own,” the guitarist wrote on Instagram. “The leaves represent the cycle of life and death, yet he continued to work on the body of poems until his own death in 1892. Perhaps he, like us, was unable to fully understand his own work as he continuously tried to re-write, add and expand upon it, willing away his own work’s cycle of life … just as we have.”

Navarro concluded: “Perhaps it’s simpler to recognize when something is gone and learn from the magical lesson of grief rather than avoid it and remain in a consistent state of dissatisfaction.”

Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the ’90s

The Darkness will release their eighth album, Dreams on Toast, on March 28, 2025.

The album marks the first release from the British rock band – which includes singer and guitarist Justin Hawkins, guitarist Dan Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain and drummer Rufus Taylor – since 2021’s Motorheart.

You can listen to the album’s first single, “The Longest Kiss,” below.

“You know that thing when God’s breath tickles your soul and tells you to create?” Hawkins asked in a press release announcing Dreams on Toast. “Yeah, makes me giggle, too. But you can’t resist. God might not be the power she once was, but say what you like about her, she knows damn well that what the world needs now, is rock sweet rock. And who are we, mere mortals of extraordinary ability, to argue with the divine?

READ MORE: The Darkness, ‘Motorheart’ Album Review

“So we knuckled down and thought really hard about the best of the best, the elite songs, the life-changing music of the ages. Then we popped out a dozen bangers before lunch. And these bangers we present to you here, wallowing in an aromatic aural ragu, served atop the charred remains of our envious contemporaries … ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dreams on Toast!”

Is Taylor Swift a Darkness Fan?

The Darkness broke through in 2003 with their debut album, Permission to Land, and its hit single, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.”

The song recently became a hit again after Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce were shown singing along to it at the US Open Tennis Championships finals in a viral video.

Following the release of the video, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” rocketed back up the charts, reaching No. 1 on the iTunes Rock Chart.

The Darkness will also tour next year, with dates starting in March with 17 shows in the U.K., wrapping up at London’s OVO Wembley Arena on March 29. A North American tour will follow.

J.D. Souther, who wrote a series of songs for Eagles but refused to join the band when it was starting, died at the age of 78 on Tuesday.

The news was confirmed by Souther’s publicity company, which added that he had died at his home in New Mexico. No more details were provided.

Souther was Glenn Frey’s first songwriting partner. The duo released an album under the banner Longbranch Pennywhistle in 1970. Souther would go on to collaborate on “Best of My Love,” “James Dean,” “New Kid in Town” and “Heartache Tonight,” among others. He breifly led that Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, feauring the Byrds’ Chris Hillman and Poco’s Richie Furay.

READ MORE: Eagles Bring Out Special Guest J.D. Souther

As a performer he released eight solo albums between 1972 and 2015, landing a hit with the 1979 single “You’re Only Lonely.” He duetted with once-girlfriend Linda Ronstadt, and wrote songs including “Faithless Love” and “White Rhythm and Blues.” He also wrote “Run Like a Thief” for Bonnie Raitt.

Souther was occasionally an actor, with prominent roles in Thirtysomething and Nashville, among others. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.

In 2018 he told the Chicago Tribune that he’d been a member of Eagles for less than a day, explaining that “David Geffen thought it that would be, ‘Four songwriters, good; five songwriters better.’ So we put together a set and played it at the Troubadour in the afternoon for the management team.

“I just remember them looking down the front line and seeing four of us bashing away at stringed instruments. And, to be frank, they didn’t need me. They were a perfectly well-rounded, self-contained band.

“I figured we were going to keep writing together anyway, so I think we all got the best of that situation. … Frankly, when I said, ‘No, I don’t think I really want to be in the band,’ I’ve never seen four guys more relieved. I think they were more delighted than I was.”

How Did J.D. Souther Feel About Missing Out on Eagles Fame?

In 2010 Souther – who took a two-decade break in his career before returning to action in 2008 – told the Creative Independent (via Variety), “There was definitely a period of time where people would occasionally say to me, ‘Doesn’t it piss you off that the Eagles have these big hits off your songs?’ I would usually start saying, ‘Would you like to see the checks?’

“How could I be pissed off? Even Glenn Frey once said – and he was kind of joking … ‘One of the reasons J.D. didn’t have a bigger solo career is because he gave us or Linda Ronstadt most of his best songs.’ And that’s sort of true. The closest I got to being really famous was during the ‘You’re Only Lonely’ period, and I really didn’t like it that much. … It’s a relief in some ways, though it also doesn’t pay quite as well.”

Sebastian Bach isn’t just one of rock’s most powerful vocalists and vivacious performers — he’s also the foul-mouthed king of pull quotes.

Case in point: In a recent conversation with UCR, the famously outspoken singer had a simple message for critics of his left-leaning politics and vocal support of the Democratic Party: “Go fuck yourself.”

Bach’s free-speech advocacy should come as no surprise to longtime fans or anybody who’s listened to his new album, Child Within the Man, which features the swaggering, riff-heavy single “Freedom,” on which he wails: “Freedom / You ain’t got no time left to waste / Now we’re kicking ass and taking names.”

It turned out to be a prescient message. “There’s a song on my new album called ‘Freedom,’ and that’s everybody’s word right now,” Bach tells UCR. “I even read the comments [on my social media], ‘Oh, I love Kamala Harris’ new kicking-ass, taking-names attitude.’ I’m like, ‘What is going on? I wrote this song years ago!’ And it’s like everybody’s talking about freedom, kicking ass and taking names. So I’m like, ‘Well, I’ve got a song for right now.'”

READ MORE: Sebastian Bach to Anti-Biden Rockers: ‘F— You and Your Band’

Bach also recently shouted out Taylor Swift after she publicly endorsed Harris following the September presidential debate with a cheeky tweet that read, “I have done my research & I am endorsing Taylor Swift,” followed by the hashtags #Freedom, #KickingAss and #TakingNames.

Does that double as his own presidential endorsement? Bach plays coy.

“You know, I don’t tell people what to do, but I will say that if we don’t have democracy, we don’t have anything. So there, I just said it,” he laughs. “People say, ‘You’re alienating your audience.’ When I say things like that, I gain, like, 40,000 fucking followers! So this whole ‘Don’t alienate people’ — there’s only side that is fucking alienating people! There’s only one! The other one is actually uniting people. So spare me, ‘Oh, he’s losing 50% of his audience.’ I don’t want that 50%, so fuck off! That 50% is not cool enough to listen to Sebastian Bach, so go fuck yourself.”

Sebastian Bach Doesn’t Believe in ‘Shut Up and Sing’

Bach is heading back on the road this Friday for the second leg of his 2024 tour, which, incidentally, will keep him on the road through the November presidential election. Fans shouldn’t expect him to tamp down his political musings in the meantime.

“I just have a problem when I hear people say, ‘I don’t want musicians to say what they believe in. Just shut up and sing.’ Well, I’ve got two words for you: Black Sabbath,” Bach says. “When I listen to a song like ‘War Pigs,’ I couldn’t think of a more political lyric of any music there is in life than that fucking song. ‘Generals gathered in their masses / Just like witches at black masses.’ I mean, to me, that’s saying, ‘Fuck these assholes!’

“I feel that at times like these, there’s too much at stake to be silent,” he continues. “To be silent is to be complicit. For every fucking Ted Nugent out there, there is a Sebastian Bach, and I’m fine with that. I’m good with that. You go say what you want to say, and I’m gonna say what I want to say.”

Zakk Wylde will launch a tour later this year with Zakk Sabbath, his Black Sabbath cover band featuring bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson and drummer Joey Castillo. Zoso, the Led Zeppelin tribute band, and the Iron Maidens, the all-female Iron Maiden tribute band, will serve as supporting acts.

The trio’s 2024-25 King of the Monstours trek is set to begin on Dec. 1 in Phoenix, with dates scheduled through mid-January.

Additionally, Zakk Sabbath has released Greatest Riffs, a digital collection that includes songs from two of the band’s albums, 2020’s Vertigo and 2024’s Doomed Forever Forever Doomed.

You can see the full list of tour dates and the track listing for Greatest Riffs below.

READ MORE: When Zakk Wylde Debuted With Ozzy Osbourne in a Prison

UCR recently caught up with Wylde, who spoke about the work he’s doing with Zakk Sabbath. “I remember playing keg parties and people’s kitchens and basements, playing these songs when I was, like, 16 years old,” he said. “And here I am, 57 years old, and I’m still playing them, and I’m still in people’s basements and kitchens and backyard keg parties, but there’s just a couple more people there.”

The guitarist should feel right at home on King of the Monstours, as all three bands pay tribute to some of hard rock and metal’s greatest pioneers. “If you’re a classical musician, you’re pretty much gonna know something by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, like the big three,” Wylde said. “So if you’re a rock musician — whether you’re a guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboardist, whatever it is — part of your education is Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. You know a riff by one of those guys, just because it’s your education. You learn how to play these songs.”

Zakk Sabbath, ‘Greatest Riffs’ Track Listing
1. “The Wizard”
2. “N.I.B.”
3. “Iron Man”
4. “Fairies Wear Boots”
5. “War Pigs”
6. “Sweet Leaf”
7. “Into the Void”
8. “Solitude”

Zakk Sabbath, Zoso and the Iron Maidens, King of the Monstours Dates
Dec. 1 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Regency Ballroom
Dec. 2 – Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater
Dec. 4 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
Dec. 5 – Riverside, CA @ Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Dec. 6 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
Dec. 8 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
Dec. 9 – Omaha, NE @ The Admiral
Dec. 10 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
Dec. 12 – Austin, TX @ Emos
Dec. 13 – Ft. Worth, TX @ Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall
Dec. 14 – Little Rock, AR @ The Hall
Dec. 15 – New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore
Dec. 17 – Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal
Dec. 18 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
Dec. 19 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Egyptian Room
Dec. 20 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Dec. 27 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
Dec. 28 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
Dec. 29 – Wilmington, DE @ The Queen
Dec. 30 – Albany, NY @ Empire Live
Dec. 31 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
Jan. 2 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
Jan. 3 – Providence, RI @ The Strand
Jan. 4 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Jan. 5 – Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo River Works
Jan. 7 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
Jan. 9 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Jan. 10 – East Moline, IN @ The Rust Belt
Jan. 11 – Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
Jan. 12 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom

Longtime REO Speedwagon bassist Bruce Hall wanted to return to touring after a difficult recovery from back surgery. He was reportedly told he couldn’t because of problems with his posture.

Neal Doughty, the group’s final remaining original member, had already announced his retirement from the road. Then frontman Kevin Cronin began having his own health problems. By Monday, the group had apparently imploded.

Hall says it didn’t have to be this way.

READ MORE: The Danger Behind REO Speedwagon’s ‘Ridin’ the Storm Out’

“Never, ever thought it would end like this and I’m heartbroken,” he admitted in a social media post. “Please know Neal and I did everything in our power to try and keep the Wagon rolling. I am so appreciative of all the amazing love and support. You guys have been very vocal and clear in your wishes for me to return to the stage. Trust me – that’s all I wanted too. We all deserved a farewell tour.”

REO Speedwagon’s most recent concert, on Sept. 8 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, featured fill-ins Derek Hilland on keyboards and Matt Bissonette on bass. Their final shows on a shared bill with Train in Chula Vista, California, and Phoenix were subsequently called off while Cronin was under doctors’ care.

“I recently had an emergency surgery and it was a complete success,” Cronin wrote in a note to fans. “I am on the mend and will be up and rockin’ as soon as the good docs here say it’s okay. Until then, I am 100% focused on recuperating.”

REO Speedwagon Abruptly Leaves the Road

That was before REO Speedwagon suddenly retired. Cronin’s ailment is still unconfirmed, but an official statement indicated the impasse was related to Hall’s recovery: “If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour … but it’s not up to just him. The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect.”

Citing the “complex situation” and “irreconcilable differences,” the band said “it is with great sadness that we announce REO Speedwagon will cease touring effective January 1, 2025.”

Doughty co-founded REO Speedwagon in 1967 along with drummer Alan Gratzer, then appeared on 16 consecutive studio albums beginning with 1971’s R.E.O. Speedwagon. Cronin joined prior to 1972’s R.E.O./T.W.O. and took over again with 1976’s R.E.O after leaving for some four years. Hall came on board for 1978’s breakthrough You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish.

What’s Next for REO Speedwagon?

REO Speedwagon’s final lineup also included guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt, both of whom had been with the group since 1989. They still have two more shows scheduled in California and an October residency at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, among other dates through November.

Hall said he’d hoped to move forward with them. “For the record, I wanted REO Speedwagon to continue to tour with the lineup of Kevin, myself, Dave, Bryan and Derek,” Hall added. “Just as it was prior to my necessary, planned and successful back surgery.”

It’s also unclear if REO Speedwagon will ever return to the studio. Their most recent album remains 2009’s Not So Silent Night … Christmas With REO Speedwagon. Meanwhile, Cronin is hinting at plans to work with others.

“I have so much more life to live, and have re-examined what I want to do with the rest of my time here, and who I want to be surrounded by while I do it,” Cronin wrote. “I need to be lifted by those around me, and in return, to lift them. I feel excited at the prospect of creating and playing the best music I have in me, with the best artists, musicians, and people who will have me.”

Talking Heads have announced a Super Deluxe Edition of their debut album, Talking Heads: 77.

The three-CD/Blu-ray and four-LP vinyl sets will be available on Nov. 8 and include a remastered version of the original album, a disc of rarities and a disc of live tracks, all previously unreleased from an Oct. 10, 1977, performance at New York’s CBGB.

You can hear one of those songs, an acoustic version of “Psycho Killer” featuring Arthur Russell, from the upcoming set below.

In addition to the CD and vinyl sets, an exclusive vinyl collection including four 7″ singles will be available, as will digital formats. You can find more information on the sets on Talking Heads’ website.

READ MORE: Revisiting Talking Heads’ Masterpiece, ‘Remain in Light’

An 80-page hardcover book included in the box features unseen photos, memorabilia and new liner notes written by members David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth, and the album’s recording engineer, Ed Stasium.

What Is on the Super Deluxe Edition of ‘Talking Heads 77’?

The Blu-ray in the CD version features new Atmos Mix, 5.1 Mix DTS-HD MA and 5.1 Mix LPCM overseen by Harrison and a 2024 Stereo Remaster.

The rarities include B-sides and outtakes from the era, including “Sugar on My Tongue” and “(Love Goes to) Building on Fire.” It also features acoustic versions of songs, as well as previously unreleased versions of “Pulled Up” and “Psycho Killer.”

The live set taken from an October 1977 appearance at CBGB around the time of the album’s release includes 13 songs, most taken from Talking Heads: 77, which was released less than a month before the show. Among the songs played is a cover of Al Green‘s “Take Me to the River,” which would be recorded for their second album, 1978’s More Songs About Buildings and Food, and became their first Top 40 single.

You can see the track listing for Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition) below.

Talking Heads, ‘Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition)’ Track Listing
Original Album Remastered
Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town
New Feeling
Tentative Decisions
Happy Day
Who Is It?
No Compassion
The Book I Read
Don’t Worry About the Government
First Week/Last Week… Carefree
Psycho Killer
Pulled Up

Rarities
Sugar on My Tongue
I Want to Live
(Love Goes To) Building On Fire
I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That
Psycho Killer (Acoustic Version)
Uh-Oh Love Comes to Town (Alternate “Pop” Version)
New Feeling (Alternate “Pop” Version)
Pulled Up (Alternate “Pop” Version) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
Stay Hungry (1977 Version)
First Week/Last Week… Carefree (Acoustic Version)
I Feel It in My Heart
Psycho Killer (Alternate Version) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

Live (All Previously Unreleased)
(Love Goes To) Building On Fire (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Don’t Worry About the Government (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Take Me to the River (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
The Book I Read (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
New Feeling (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
A Clean Break (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
No Compassion (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Who Is It? (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Pulled Up (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Uh-Oh Love Comes to Town (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Psycho Killer (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)
Stay Hungry (Live at CBGB’s, New York, New York, 10/10/77)

The one and only album Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks made together, 1973’s Buckingham Nicks, has long been out of print and never released digitally. But on Oct. 18, singer-songwriters Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird will release their own reimagined version of the album, titled Cunningham Bird.

Produced by Mike Viola, the album features only the two aforementioned artists, Griffin Goldsmith on drums and percussion and Mike Viola on wurlitzer, bass and drums. A press release notes that although the sequencing of the new album mirrors the original, the arrangements and sound itself does not.

“The best reason to cover anyone is that little part of you that thinks you might do it better,” Bird said in a statement. “This album epitomizes excess and confidence, and it only made sense to embody that spirit ourselves. The confidence, that is, to mess with an iconic, if underrated gem. Madison is the most talented musician I’ve encountered. She has a restless ear, always looking for a new sound or harmonic twist. Her voice is goosebump inducing, nimble and emotive at any volume. I just had to find the right project for us to go deep on and this is it.”

The first two singles from the album, “Crying in the Night” and “Crystal,” are available below, along with a complete track listing.

What Happened to ‘Buckingham Nicks’?

The original Buckingham Nicks earned the duo a small group of fans, but no solid commercial success. However, it was not long after the album was released that Mick Fleetwood heard the song “Frozen Love” while visiting producer Keith Olsen at Sound City studios in Los Angeles. Within just a few months, Fleetwood invited Buckingham and Nicks into his band, Fleetwood Mac.

READ MORE: Top 10 Pre-Lindsey Buckingham-Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac Songs

“This buried Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham record found us in a place where we were trying to figure out what we could do together,” Cunningham added of the new project. “Unfamiliar with it, but excited by its scarcity on streaming platforms, we decided to take it on from front to back, in our own way. It was unsurprising to me how it ended up becoming one of the most creatively satisfying record-making experiences I’ve had, but the unforeseen bonus was how relevant some of those lyrics would be to my own life in the time of making it. It became a lifeline for me, and I hope we’ve done it justice.”

Cunningham and Bird are slated to perform an album release show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Sept. 30.

Listen to Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird’s ‘Crying in the Night’

Listen to Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird’s ‘Crystal’

‘Cunningham Bird’ Track Listing:
1. “Crying in the Night”
2. “Stephanie”
3. “Without a Leg to Stand On”
4. “Crystal”
5. “Long Distance Winner”
6. “Don’t Let Me Down Again”
7. “Django”
8. “Races Are Won”
9. “Lola My Love”
10. “Frozen Love”

The version of Definitely Maybe that made Oasis’ name in 1994 wasn’t the first version of the album. As fans know well, there was a previous and nearly complete set of recordings that were abandoned because the band felt they lacked the vibe they needed to transmit to a waiting world.

Those recordings, made at the residential Monnow Valley Studio in Wales, were helmed by Scottish producer Dave Batchelor, who bonded with Noel Gallagher while both were employed as road crew in the early ‘90s. Several years older than the Gallaghers, he had been a stalwart of live ‘70s sound, working on tour and in the studio with cult Scottish outfit the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. He kept working after the group’s 1977 collapse and found himself traversing through punk, new wave, indie and then the Britpop movements.

“I first met Noel when touring with the Inspiral Carpets,” Batchelor tells UCR in his first interview on the subject of Oasis. “They were all good mates; he was their guitar tech and I was doing front-of-house sound. After shows, on the tour bus, Noel and I got chatting and discovered we had similar tastes in music, including The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

READ MORE: How Oasis Made ‘Definitely Maybe’

“He told me about the band he and Liam had going and gave me a listen to their demo tape. I was really impressed; it was all there at that early stage – the Liam swagger on vocal, the song composition – it didn’t sound like anything else at the time … nailed!”

Oasis had management at that point but no record deal. Despite that, the bond between Noel Gallagher and Batchelor was such that he was promised the role of producer when the time came. “True to his work, when the deal was done, I was offered the producer’s contract,” he recalls.

Batchelor was eager to return to studio work, and in particular to work with a hot property like Oasis. “I’d got back into live sound engineering after years producing bands during the punk era,” he explains. “The Skids’ Scared to Dance album was my first production after the SAHB period, and from there I worked with up-and-coming bands – but for me, so many of them had too much attitude, not enough substance, and I got burnt out on that. Oasis was different.”

He says rehearsals went well ahead of the recording sessions. “But as we worked through some arrangement changes to prepare for laying tracks, I felt we’d probably need another week, just to get things bedded in. Instead, we ended up with just a couple of days. So we could have been better prepared going into the studio. And also, given that it was a relatively new experience for the band. Still, the material was so strong and the energy level so high, we were all buzzing to start recording.”

Listen to Oasis’ Early Version of ‘Columbia’

Batchelor says Monnow Valley was the perfect setting for a band like Oasis – although they were out of their comfort zone. “I think Noel was keen to set up as they would on stage and capture that vibe, and I could see where he was coming from. I used that approach when recording SAHB’s first album, Framed, in 1972. With Alex Harvey in a vocal booth, we’d used low-profile screens between instruments so the band could see each other, which was great for getting that reactive performance from everyone.

“But those guys had already recorded two albums as Tear Gas [of which Batchelor had been a member] and were tight with it, so it totally worked. In the case of Oasis, full of potential there, it was still early days for the band, so I felt keeping things isolated was the way to go. Classic vibe albums like, say, the Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks, didn’t suffer from that approach.

“I remember sitting with Noel at a piano one night. I was busking a Burt Bacharach song, ‘This Guy’s in Love With You.’ We talked about the great songwriters. He had so much respect for their work and he yearned to be one. And to an extent, it influenced my approach to the production, leaning towards the song aspect. I sensed the band’s swagger and style would make a connection with their audience.”

What Was Oasis Like During Their First Album Sessions?

He recalls the daily recording schedule warmly, noting, “From the get-go at the breakfast table, Liam was focused on the tune of the day; just zoned in, right up for putting a cracking vocal down. Noel, on the other hand, was always in his own space, in his own time; an observer. He didn’t concern himself too much with the mechanics of the sessions – you got the impression he was in charge of what he wanted to do.”

He adds:  It was definitely a gang. The band had a strong awareness of where they all came from and they were proud of it. Creatively the Gallaghers were running the show – maybe Noel’s captain’s hat was a tad bigger than Liam’s. And you could see the clash of their temperaments lurking in the wings.”

Listen to Oasis’ Early Version of ‘Digsy’ Dinner’

He believes his caution over their inexperience was justified. “Laying the studio out at Monnow Valley, with the drum kit set up in the isolated room and instruments in their allocated area, I sensed the band would have felt more at ease being able to eyeball each other; although they totally took on the situation, and I felt there was a good buzz going.

“But there was still a legacy from rehearsals,” he continues. “With any band, arrangement changes tend to affect the drummer more, and with Tony Carroll’s inexperience, there was that added challenge for him just to pin down that groove. Thinking back to the rehearsals, the Gallaghers’ impatience to get recording probably didn’t help.”

While hailing Monnow Valley’s location, facilities and staff, he says, “Sometimes the waiting game – marking time while someone else finishes an overdub – can get frustrating, and some focus can be lost. In a city studio environment, you could get totally away from that side of recording if you wanted. There’s always pros and cons.”

READ MORE: The Best Songs From Every Oasis Album

In 1995, Noel told Mojo he began to realize there was a clash of approaches between himself and Batchelor. “When it came to sitting at the mixing desk and I’m like … ‘Let’s get a bit mad here; let’s really let go and be young and compress the shit out of this so that the speakers blow up!’ He’d go, ‘Nope, ’cos this is the way we done it in our day, son.’ … I thought we either go with his saneness or my madness – and I’m in charge so, sorry, mate, you’ve got to go.’”

Batchelor – who suggests that Gallagher was paraphrasing for effect, emphasizing that he never would have spoken to the younger musician in such a patronizing tone – recalls: “I wasn’t in, shall we say, the same recreational headspace as the band! And there were tensions created within that space. I remember quite a few nights when some mates would arrive at the studio and the guys entertained into the wee hours. For me, in the relatively close confines of the studio, sleep was not happening. As the producer I wouldn’t go down that road, having seen what can happen – it’s a cultural thing. But latterly I felt an underlying disconnect with the band.

Listen to Oasis’ Early Version of ‘Bring It on Down’

“The material was strong. The band were fired up and I thought we had cut some solid backing tracks, and Liam put down great vocal performances – it was feeling good. But there did come a point when I felt we were losing momentum, taking longer than it should have. And I could sense some frustration coming from the band.

“When we got to the mixing stage and did the first track, ‘Bring It on Down,’ this was the point where it felt like hard work. I’d become aware the recording engineer wasn’t really giving me the vibe I wanted. An excellent engineer, but too clean and pristine in his approach to things. I knew the mixing stage was going to be a learning curve for both of us. It was early days from my perspective – the band’s attitude and color was yet to be pinned down. But we were getting there.”

After Batchelor left the project, the decision was made to abandon the Monnow Valley tapes and start again, in a recording setup similar to that which he had used in the past. He convinced his recordings didn’t have to be trashed, and in an undated interview with David J. Huggins, sound engineer Anjali Dutt – who was brought in after Batchelor and made the call – said she’d only done so because she felt that was what everyone wanted to hear. “The tracks did not ‘leap off the tape’ as such, but I had the feeling that the decision had already been made to start again. … I just reinforced it with a ‘Let’s be bold’ statement,” she said.

The Benefit of Oasis Abandoning the Monnow Valley Sessions

“I thought we had some great performances in the can,” Batchelor says, “but by the final mixing stage the band felt it wasn’t working for them, so they decided to end things at that point.” He accepts that “in hindsight, some of those early recordings may well have fallen short in delivering the full potential of the band. And in retrospect perhaps I was not quite suited to the project. Certainly, coming out of those sessions, I could not have seen where they arrived at with Definitely Maybe!”

He met Oasis again not long afterward, at a U.K. festival while he was back working front-of-house for live bands and they were commencing their climb to global success. “I spoke with Noel and a couple of the guys and it was all quite amicable,” he says.

Listen to Oasis’ Early Version of ‘Live Forever’

But Batchelor admits the experience of being removed from an album he cared so much about, and distanced from a songwriter whose talent he felt protective over, was a difficult one. “I confess I did not deep dive into Definitely Maybe when it first came out – I was still hurting,” he says.

“And initially I didn’t take to the production approach; I still had my vision of things. But time healed and I could appreciate the production values and how effective they were in creating a classic album. Now, with the anniversary release out there, maybe it’s time for me to dive in and make some comparisons.”

He argues that his sessions helped provide more of the settling-in time Oasis needed before triumphing in the studio. “They have to have served as good grounding for Definitely Maybe. It may not have turned out quite the classic it did had we not taken that first journey together.”

“Even back then, Oasis had spades of individual creative talent and passion, and they had sound with attitude – and they had good people around them. But you still need luck and timing. A bunch of guys’ life paths crossed, stars aligned and we got Definitely Maybe.”

Styx continues to build their 2025 tour slate with five nights at the Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas’ Venetian Resort. They’ll be performing 1977’s The Grand Illusion in its entirety for the first time ever.

Tickets for these newly announced shows start at $45 plus fees and go on sale at 10AM PT this Friday, Sept. 20. They’ll be available at Ticketmaster.com, VenetianLasVegas.com, in person at the Venetian Resort box offices, or by calling (702) 414-9000 or (866) 641-7469. See complete list of shows below.

Pre-sale for Styx fan club members begins at 10AM PT on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Pre-sale for Venetian Rewards members and Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers then begin at 10AM PT on Thursday, Sept. 19. These separate pre-sales end later that night, at 10PM PT on Thursday, Sept. 19.

READ MORE: Top 10 Styx Songs

Styx has been a stalwart in Las Vegas for years now, memorably performing shared dates a decade ago with Eagles great Don Felder. The new Venetian Resort concerts follow continuing Styx shows through November. They’ll play two stand-alone dates in December, both in Oklahoma. The 2025 tour then unofficially begins with three Florida concerts in January before they head to Nevada.

Listen to Styx’s ‘Fooling Yourself’ Live in Las Vegas

How ‘Grand Illusion’ Set a New Styx Standard

The triple-platinum Grand Illusion album remains the best-seller in Styx history, after reaching No. 6 on the Billboard album chart. Singles “Come Sail Away” (No. 8) and “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” (No. 29) also reached the Top 40. Styx went on to release three more multi-platinum albums in a row.

Tommy Shaw has called this era, which also included Styx’s 1978 follow-up LP Pieces of Eight, “the prime season of innocence.” He’d joined the year before, becoming a key creative element on 1976’s transitional Crystal Ball, but The Grand Illusion was where Shaw completely integrated with the group’s larger dynamic.

“The beauty of the creative team back then is that we were different,” James “J.Y.” Young told UCR. “We were all different individuals and so everything that creatively came out was really held to very high standards from a dozen different angles, as opposed to everyone playing the same thing. There was lots of layers to what we did, both musically and arrangement-wise – and the amazing thing is that the work really seems to have wonderfully withstood the test of time.”

Styx touched on this breakthrough release with 2012 dates dubbed the Grand Illusion / Pieces of Eight Tour, but the setlists blended both albums.

Styx’s Newly Announced 2025 Tour Dates
(All shows begin at 8:30 p.m.)
01/24 – Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Resort @ Las Vegas
01/25 – Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Resort @ Las Vegas
01/29 – Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Resort @ Las Vegas
01/31 – Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Resort @ Las Vegas
02/01 – Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Resort @ Las Vegas

Real-Life ‘Spinal Tap’ Stories: Styx

REO Speedwagon has announced an abrupt halt to touring, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The disagreement apparently revolves around a delayed return to the stage for bassist Bruce Hall.

Frontman Kevin Cronin assured fans last November that Hall would return as soon as possible following back surgery – but it never happened.

“Bruce has intended to be back on the road again by now,” the band said in a new official statement. “If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour … but it’s not up to just him. The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect.”

READ MORE: Top 10 REO Speedwagon Songs

In Hall’s absence, Cronin became the last remaining touring member from their classic era. (Co-founding keyboardist Neal Doughty left the road in 2023, while the other members joined in the late ’80s.) Matt Bissonette, a former Elton John sideman, filled in for Hall through summer dates that wrapped up on Sept. 11 in Phoenix, Arizona.

What would happen next became the topic of conversation among family, friends and the band.

“Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years,” the band statement continues. “For Kevin’s part, he too has never had any intention of leaving the band, and the fans and crew mean the world to him, as well.”

REO Speedwagon was left at an impasse: “Due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin,” according to the statement. “So, it is with great sadness that we announce REO Speedwagon will cease touring effective January 1, 2025.”

Cronin joined REO Speedwagon in time for their sophomore release, 1972’s R.E.O./T.W.O. but then left for some four years. Mike Murphy handled vocals on 1973’s Ridin’ the Storm Out, 1974’s Lost in a Dream and 1975’s This Time We Mean It. Cronin returned prior to 1976’s R.E.O. Hall then came on board for 1978’s breakthrough You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish.

REO Speedwagon made no mention of any future plans to record new music. “Neal, Kevin, and Bruce thank their fans for all their years of loyal support and for giving back to the band such wonderful memories that will remain with each of them forever,” the band statement concluded.

In light of the drama that took place over the weekend, Jane’s Addiction has canceled the rest of its 2024 and announced a hiatus in a new statement.

During the band’s performance in Boston on  Sept. 13, frontman Perry Farrell had a confrontation with guitarist Dave Navarro that turned physical. The singer was escorted off the stage by crew members, and the band issued a statement apologizing for the incident on social media the next day.

In the post, the group announced the cancelation of their Sept. 15 show in Bridgeport, Connecticut. However, in two new statements the band shared on social media today (Sept. 16), they’ve canceled the rest of the tour and revealed that they are taking a break as a band.

“To all the fans, the band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group. As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour,” the statement reads, adding that refunds will be given to ticket holders at the point of purchase.

A second statement was shared in a post on Navarro’s personal Instagram, signed by himself, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins.

“Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current U.S. tour. Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” the post reads.

READ MORE: Perry Farrell Was a ‘Crazed Best’ After Jane’s Addiction Scuffle 

“We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis. Our hearts are broken.”

What Happened in Boston

Toward the end of Jane’s Addiction’s show at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion Friday night, Farrell started shouting at Navarro and bumping into him. The guitarist tried to keep the singer off of him with his arm, and then Farrell punched him before being escorted off the stage.

The band shared a public apology on their Instagram story the next day that read, “We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night. As a result we will be cancelling tomorrow night’s show in Bridgeport.”

The tour was originally set to wrap up Oct. 16 in Los Angeles.

Among the best reissues and archival albums that came out during the summer of 2024 are releases that continued the series and themes of other acclaimed records from the previous few years.

New releases include a massive collection that gathers every recorded concert from Bob Dylan‘s historic comeback tour with the Band in 1974 (following a similar collection that documented their 1966 run together); a 50th-anniversary celebration from Grateful Dead complete with demos and previously unreleased concert from the era; another box set that continues to gather all of Joni Mitchell‘s official records; and an expanded version of Frank Zappa‘s only Top 10 album.

Steven Wilson overhauls another classic prog album, and an Elvis Presley box zeroes in on a specific moment in his career.

READ MORE: The Best Reissues and Archival Sets From Spring 2024

Also highlighted in the below Reissue Roundup of summer 2024 sets are new box sets devoted to a No. 1 Van Halen album, now with previously unreleased tracks and a live show from the early ’90s; a Police classic expanded to six CDs; eight CDs that collect every existing Faces appearance from their shows and sessions at the BBC; and an expanded edition of Oasis‘ debut album, just in time for their reunion concerts next year.

There are a handful of various artist complications that chronicle the rise of British R&B in the mid-’60s, Celtic rock, and folk, rock and prog’s fascination with the occult, as well as the home video release of a recent documentary about the downfall of Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett. All of them are included below in UCR’s look at the best reissues and archival releases of the past three months.

David Gilmour has opened up about his fractured relationship with former Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters, noting that he had no regrets about what has recently transpired between them.

Specifically, Gilmour told Mojo that a tweet he sent in January 2023 regarding Waters’ alleged antisemitism “was boiling up. … It had to come out – and I have no regrets about it. No regrets whatsoever.”

After Gilmour and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason released a single, “Hey Hey Rise Up,” under the band’s name in 2022 as a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Waters called the song “content-less [and] flag waving.”

READ MORE: David Gilmour, ‘Luck and Strange’ Album Review

Gilmour’s wife and collaborator Polly Samson then wrote on Twitter that Waters was a “Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy megalomaniac.” “Every word demonstrably true,” noted Gilmour as a follow-up to his wife’s tweet.

For his part, Waters said he had “no comment, it’s private,” when asked about the tweet during an interview this year.

Gilmour was also asked in the Mojo interview what he thought of Waters’ 2023 remake of Pink Floyd’s classic The Dark Side of the Moon. He said he didn’t listen to it and said questions about his relationship with Waters are “wearisome.”

“Do you know what decade of my life I was in when Roger left our pop group?” he asked. “My 30s. I am now 78. Where’s the relevance?”

What Is David Gilmour Doing in 2024?

Gilmour recently released his fifth solo album, Luck and Strange, and has a series of live shows in the U.S., his first in eight years, starting on Oct. 29. He begins a run of European tour dates on Sept. 27.

He had previously stated that he may not perform any songs from Pink Floyd’s ’70s albums during the upcoming shows. Gilmour clarified his stance to Mojo.

“There are songs from the past that I no longer feel comfortable singing,” he said, pointing out that he loves the music for The Wall‘s “Run Like Hell,” “but all that, “You’d better run, run, run,” I now find that all rather, I don’t know … a bit terrifying and violent.

“‘Another Brick in the Wall” is another one I shan’t be doing. I don’t think I’ve done that with my own band, but I certainly did it in the post-Roger Pink Floyd, against my better judgment. The same with ‘Money.’ I won’t be doing that. I’m going to be sticking with the ones that are essentially my music, and I feel some ownership of. ‘Comfortably Numb,’ ‘Wish You Were Here,’ ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond,’ maybe.”

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Tito Jackson, an original member of the Jackson 5, died on Sept. 15 at the age of 70.

No cause of death has been given. The news was confirmed in a social media post made by his three sons, Taj, Taryll and TJ.

“We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken,” the post read. “Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being. Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson from the legendary Jackson 5, some may know him as ‘Coach Tito’ or some know him as ‘Poppa T.’ Nevertheless, he will be missed tremendously. It will forever be ‘Tito Time’ for us. Please remember to do what our father always preached and that is ‘Love One Another.’ We love you Pops.”

As a founding member of the Jackson 5, Jackson sang with his brothers Jackie, Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Michael on hits like “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.” Within just a few years of working with the Motown label, the group landed multiple Top 40 singles and became one of the most popular bands in the world.

“I remember the very first time we went to the UK and we had something like 10,000 screaming fans to greet us at the airport,” Jackson recalled to Sister Circle TV in 2019. “I got lost in the airport and 1,000 fans chasing me, pulling everywhere. It was crazy.”

Watch the Jackson 5 Perform ‘I Want You Back’ in 1969

Jackson himself was a guitar player, though he did not contribute any guitar to his band’s music until they made the switch to CBS Records in 1976. It was around that time that he began writing songs, too.

Life After the Jackson 5

In 2003, Jackson started a solo career as a performing blues guitarist, releasing two albums, several singles and collaborating with the likes of Big Daddy Kane, Stevie Wonder, Joe Bonamassa, plus others. Over the course of his career, he was nominated for three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 as a member of the Jackson 5.

Watch Tito Jackson Perform Live

It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but artists who debuted in the 2000s will soon be eligible for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.

The institution will consider artists for induction 25 years after the release of their first official recording — which means that, come 2025, artists who first hit the scene in the 21st century will be able to enter the museum’s hallowed halls.

This will inevitably make some rock fans uncomfortable for multiple reasons. Aside from being forced to acknowledge their own mortality, purists will have to reckon with the fact that what constitutes a Rock Hall-worthy artist has changed since the institution first opened in 1983.

Some of the most popular and critically acclaimed artists of the 2000s hewed closely to the sound and aesthetic of the genre’s forebears. The Strokes harked back to the days of New York’s decadent, sleazy glory days as a punk and garage rock epicenter, while the Black Keys’ raucous blues-rock boogie owed a debt to elder statesman like Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf.

These artists fit the more traditional, rigid parameters of a HOF-worthy rock band, but they’re far from the only viable candidates. Others tore up the playbook by mixing genres indiscriminately, while some of the 21st century’s biggest musical icons have had such a seismic impact on culture that genre is practically a moot point. And with the Rock Hall pledging to be more inclusive with its inductees, these artists are as fair game as any.

Read on to see 10 Rock Hall-Worthy Artists Who Debuted in the 2000s.

Bruce Springsteen performed several rarities during his three-hour headlining set at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey on Sunday, Sept. 15.

The concert was a homecoming for the Boss, who was born in Long Branch, approximately 6 miles from the Sea.Hear.Now Festival site. The seaside town is where a pre-fame Springsteen famously cut his teeth, performing in clubs throughout the ‘70s.

Backed by the E Street Band, Springsteen began his festival set with a rendition of “Lonesome Day,” the opening track from his 2002 album The Rising. The rock legend then launched into “Blinded by the Light,” the beloved lead single from his 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Despite the song’s popularity, Springsteen hadn’t performed it in concert since 2017. Likewise, the next song, “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?”, was originally released on the Boss’ debut album. It also hadn’t been performed in seven years.

Further rarities throughout the night included “Thundercrack,” “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and “Meeting Across the River,” all of which Springsteen hadn’t played live since 2016. In total, the Boss delivered eight songs which hadn’t previously appeared in a set list during his current tour.

READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Bruce Springsteen Album

Interestingly, Springsteen opted to end the night not with one of his own songs, but with a tune written by another famous rocker: Tom Waits. The Boss closed with “Jersey Girl,” which he memorably started covering in 1984, releasing his version as a b-side to the single “Cover Me.” Springsteen’s “Jersey Girl” has long been a fan favorite, especially when he returns to play in his home state.

Videos and a full set list from Springsteen’s Sea.Hear.Now performance can be found below.

Bruce Springsteen Plays Surprise Performances

Springsteen’s headlining set capped off a busy weekend for the rock legend. On Saturday night (Sept. 14), the Boss made a surprise appearance at the Stony Pony, the local club that helped launch his career. Alongside the Tangiers Blues Band, Danny Clinch, Robert Randolph and Jake Clemons, Springsteen performed a handful of R&B rock classics, including “Lucille,” “Down the Road Apiece” and “Boom Boom.”

On Sunday, the 74-year-old singer made two other surprise appearances, taking the stage with Trey Anastasio and the Gaslight Anthem, two acts scheduled earlier on the Sea.Hear.Now. lineup. Anastasio, best known as the co-founder of Phish, was performing with his solo band when Springsteen joined for a rendition of “Kitty’s Back.” Later, the Boss took the stage with New Jersey punk rockers the Gaslight Anthem to perform a pair of tunes: “American Slang” and “History Books.”

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Lucille’ at the Stone Pony

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Kitty’s Back’ With Trey Anastasio

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘American Slang’ With the Gaslight Anthem

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Blinded by the Light’ at Sea.Hear.Now

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Local Hero’ at Sea.Hear.Now

Watch Bruce Springsteen Perform ‘Jersey Girl’ at Sea.Hear.Now

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 9/15/24, Asbury Park, New Jersey

1. “Lonesome Day”
2. “Blinded by the Light”
3. “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?”
4. “Growin’ Up”
5. “The Promised Land”
6. “Spirit in the Night”
7. “Thundercrack”
8. “The E Street Shuffle”
9. “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”
10. “Hungry Heart”
11. “Local Hero”
12. “Atlantic City”
13. “Tougher Than the Rest”
14. “Long Walk Home”
15. “Racing in the Street”
16. “Because the Night”
17. “She’s the One”
18. “Wrecking Ball”
19. “The Rising”
20. “Badlands”
21. “Thunder Road”
22. “Meeting Across the River”
23. “Jungleland”
24. “Born to Run”
25. “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)”
26. “Bobby Jean”
27. “Dancing in the Dark”
28. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
29. “Twist and Shout”
30. “Jersey Girl”

Dave Navarro shared a cryptic message on Instagram following his onstage confrontation with singer Perry Farrell, and fans are already speculating that the guitarist has quit Jane’s Addiction.

On Friday, Sept. 13, things got explosive between the bandmates during a performance in Boston.

Videos show that tension seemed to bubble up during the band’s rendition of “Mountain Song,” when Farrell could be seen shouting at Navarro. The hostility boiled over two songs later, as Jane’s Addiction was rocking through “Ocean Size.” A clearly agitated Farrell confronted Navarro onstage, shoving the guitarist and throwing a punch. Crew members immediately began separating the bandmates, with bassist Eric Avery also getting involved as the lights dimmed (Farrell’s wife later alleged Avery got a “few cheap shots” at the singer as well). Farrell and Navarro were taken off the stage and the rest of the show was brought to a premature close.

READ MORE: Perry Farrell Was a ‘Crazed Best’ After Jane’s Addiction Scuffle

As video of the incident was spread online, Jane’s Addiction took to social media to address their fans.

“We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night,” the band wrote, while also announcing their next scheduled concert would be canceled.

Dave Navarro Issues One-Word Statement

Now, Navarro has shared his own brief message via his personal Instagram account. The guitarist posted a black and white image of himself onstage, holding an acoustic guitar with the band’s name emblazoned across the back. The picture’s one-word caption says “Goodnight,” leading many to speculate that Navarro has quit Jane’s Addiction.

While nothing is official, the band is no stranger to drama, having broken up and reunited at various points during their nearly four-decade existence. Jane’s Addiction’s 2024 tour, which kicked off in August, marked the first time since 2010 that classic members Farrell, Navarro, Avery and Stephen Perkins were back in the lineup.

George Lynch recalled the miserable experience of being hired by Ozzy Osbourne and touring for a month without going onstage before finally being replaced by Jake E. Lee.

Lynch’s 1982 experience came three years after he first auditioned for Osbourne, when the Prince of Darkness chose Randy Rhoads. On the second occasion, he was hoping to fill Brad Gillis’ shoes – and he nearly did it.

“I was kind of feeling like, ‘Okay, well, this time’s real. This time it’s going to stick,’” Lynch told Ultimate Guitar in a recent interview. “And I had time to prepare.”

Lynch enlisted Ratt’s Warren DeMartini to help him work out Rhoads’ guitar parts, admitting the style was “not really down my lane.” But by the time of his new audition, he was confident he knew the material, and it seemed to go well.

“And they flew me around,” Lynch said. “I went to Scotland, I went to Ireland, England, back to Texas for rehearsals. Did some touring – but I didn’t walk onstage during the show. I’d do soundchecks with him occasionally and stuff like that. And just hung with the band. I think they wanted to see how I fit chemistry-wise with everyone.”

He continued: “But they had two problems with me. Ozzy had a problem with my short hair – I had short hair at the time. And and then his wife had a problem with my green guitar. She said it looked like a booger. Didn’t care what it sounded like, didn’t care what I was playing.

“I go, ‘Well, I have other guitars. This is just the one I brought.’ She kept bringing it up at dinner and at rehearsals. I was like, ‘I really do have lots of other guitars. It’s no problem. And my hair grows. And guess what? Your husband’s bald!’”

Referring to the fact that Osbourne had recently cut all his hair off didn’t help Lynch’s case. “But he’s Ozzy and he can do whatever he wants,” the guitarist added. “[I said,] ‘And they have these things called wigs, and lots of rockers wear them. I’ll wear one of those. How about that?’ I never got that chance to get past that.”

READ MORE: 10 Underrated ’80s Hard Rock Guitar Heroes

The Moment George Lynch Suspected Ozzy Had Fired Him

Despite Lynch’s suggested solutions, the stalemate between him and the Osbourne camp ontinued. “About a month went by, and we were traveling, rehearsing in Dallas for a while,” he remembered. “Then we moved rehearsals to L.A. And then we’re at SIR [music studio] one night, and Wendy Dio, I guess, kept pressuring him to get one of her guys. And Jake E. was one of her guys.

“So, they had an audition that they didn’t tell me about, and I just showed up at SIR thinking, ‘We’re going to rehearse’ – and there’s the other guys onstage. Nobody even told me. And Jake E. was up there, not really playing very well – and self-admittedly, because we talked afterwards.”

Lynch had to allow: “But he looked fantastic. He had this full leather bodysuit with all these accoutrements all over it, and his hair was down to his ass. He looked fantastic. And he moved great.”

The only thing remaining was for Lynch to be told what he already suspected. “Ozzy walked back to the dressing rooms and said, ‘Hey …’ It’s hard to understand what he was saying, his accent, I couldn’t really tell what he says. But I got to the point that I was fired.”

Although Lynch enjoyed success throughout the ’80s with Dokken, he still admitted: “That was pretty rough.”

Pink Floyd‘s catalog of live recordings underscores the idea that 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon and 1979’s The Wall are their signature releases. After all, there are multiple albums commemorating multiple tours focusing on those two projects.

Our list of Pink Floyd Live Albums Ranked Worst to Best also makes the case for the often-overlooked material released before the band’s platinum-selling heyday.

David Gilmour began to explore this era much more deeply once he reconnected with former Pink Floyd co-founder Richard Wright, digging back to his initial albums with the group. Original drummer Nick Mason created his own new band to perform some of Pink Floyd’s earliest songs.

READ MORE: The Worst Song From Every Pink Floyd Album

Tours also inevitably feature the latest songs from an act’s latest album, and these live recordings are no different – whether that means including material from the Gilmour-led Pink Floyd reboot or individual solo efforts from Gilmour and Roger Waters. With a backlog of earworm classics, however, these new offerings typically struggle to gain traction. That impacted more than a few rankings.

Here’s how it all shook out in our countdown of Pink Floyd Live Albums Ranked Worst to Best.

No. 13. ‘Ummagumma’ (1969)
Pink Floyd

David Gilmour had been touring with Pink Floyd for just over a year, and they still hadn’t found a musical path forward. Ummagumma summed up the confusion. The first disc was recorded as Pink Floyd performed sometimes desultory 1969 versions of recent songs like “Astronomy Domine” and “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.” (The concerts also included embryonic takes on soon-to-be-released songs like “Cymbaline” and “Green is the Colour,” though they weren’t included on Ummagumma.) Yet it’s all still better than the second disc, which contains largely pointless solo studio compositions by each member of the group.

No. 12. ‘Live at Knebworth 1990’ (2021)
Pink Floyd

Completists might be tempted by the dramatic return of vocalist Clare Torry for “The Great Gig in the Sky,” but they’ll also notice there isn’t much more to this. Originally part of The Later Years box set focusing on Pink Floyd’s post-Roger Waters era, Live at Knebworth 1990 was subsequently issued as a painfully short, cash-grabby stand-alone product. There are only seven total tracks, and two of them – “Comfortably Numb” and “Run Like Hell” – were on the previously released compilation Knebworth: The Album.

No. 11. ‘The Wall: Live in Berlin’ (1990)
Roger Waters

The promotional angle for this U.K. Top 30 hit – “an all-star cast joins Roger Waters to recreate his signature Pink Floyd opus!” – is also why The Wall: Live in Berlin can be so inconsistent. The historic spectacle of this concert, held near the infamous Brandenburg Gate just eight months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, has inevitably faded over time, too. In keeping, the best moments are those where Waters returns to the spotlight. You’ll just have to sort through not-always-convincing updates from the likes of Cyndi Lauper (“Another Brick in the Wall [Part 2]”), Bryan Adams (“Young Lust”) and Paul Carrack (“Hey You”).

No. 10. ‘Delicate Sound of Thunder’ (1988)
Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd’s first proper live release somehow didn’t arrive until Roger Waters was long gone. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his former bandmates had trouble rising to the visceral anger of Waters’ late-period material, in particular on tracks where he used to share vocals. They tended to sound far more comfortable with the new songs. Still, Delicate Sound of Thunder offered a welcome return to the flowing group sounds that predated novelistic albums like The Wall and The Final Cut. Replacement Guy Pratt also had a knack for adding the kind of funk and sophistication on bass (check out “Another Brick in the Wall [Part 2]“) that Waters can’t really approximate. It opened the door to far more intriguing future collaborations.

No. 9. ‘Roger Waters: The Wall’ (2015)
Roger Waters

Finally, a full-length single-voice rendition of this towering diamond-certified rock opera. Too bad Roger Waters: The Wall arrived some 35 years after the band’s original tour – and without Gilmour, Wright or Mason. All apologies to the small platoon of guitarists who tried (including G.E. Smith, Snowy White and David Kilminster), but Gilmour’s soaring presence isn’t often convincingly replicated. Worse, really, is the inevitable deterioration of Waters as a vocalist. (He was in his late 60s when this solo tour crisscrossed the globe.) The argument back then was that this was the closest anyone was going to get to a proper live version of The Wall. When that was no longer the case, however, Roger Waters: The Wall began to feel largely irrelevant.

No. 8. ‘Live at Pompeii’ (2017)
David Gilmour

There’s no questioning the concept: Live at Pompeii returns Gilmour to the site of director Adrian Maben’s memorable 1972 Pink Floyd concert documentary. The setting adds instant gravitas to renditions of older favorites like “Time / Breathe” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” (The expanded deluxe box set also included songs recorded with an orchestra directed by Zbigniew Preisner, after his sensitive collaborations with Gilmour on Live at Gdansk – found later in our rankings.) All of this iconic material ends up mixed and matched with live updates from Gilmour’s then-current Rattle That Lock, however, and the new songs tend to quickly pale in comparison. Even the newer Pink Floyd stuff sounds overmatched.

No. 7. ‘Roger Waters: Us + Them’ (2020)
Roger Waters

Unlike Gilmour’s Live at Pompeii, Roger Waters was touring behind a powerful, well-received album when Us + Them arrived. Is This the Life We Really Want? served as a reclamation of the sound and feel of Pink Floyd albums like Animals and The Wall. Importantly, his latest album also found Waters taking a more frankly emotional tack. That created a new balance when his brand of proselytizing threatened to become brittle over the course of a long double live album. Powerful new connections were made too, as when Waters moved from the raging “Picture That” directly into the quiet ruminations of “Wish You Were Here.”

No. 6. ‘Pulse’ (1995)
Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd’s only chart-topping live album featured the return in full of Richard Wright, who’d made only occasional contributions to 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason after being fired by Waters in The Wall era. This opened the band’s in-concert setlist a little wider, as they added “Astronomy Domine” from their 1967 debut. The second-disc performance of Dark Side of the Moon also served to highlight Wright’s often overlooked contributions as an instrumentalist (“Us and Them”), composer (“The Great Gig in the Sky”) and vocalist (“Time”). At that point, this was the only complete reading of Pink Floyd’s signature 1973 album.

No. 5. ‘In the Flesh: Live’ (2000)
Roger Waters

The best Roger Waters live album touches on every element of his career to date. In the Flesh: Live pairs by-now-expected material from Pink Floyd’s heyday with well-chosen songs from 1968’s A Saucerful of Secrets, 1983’s The Final Cut and his solo records, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and Amused to Death. There’s even a quietly involving bonus cut, “Each Small Candle,” that hints at the more emotional turns taken on Waters’ belated solo comeback album, 2017’s Is This the Life We Really Want? Fans stayed away in droves, making In the Flesh: Live his worst-selling concert souvenir. Their loss. This is essential listening.

No. 4. ‘Live at the Roundhouse’ (2020)
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets

Nick Mason named this side project after Pink Floyd’s second album, signaling his intention to resurface gems from the group’s typically ignored pre-Dark Side of the Moon era. Ace latter-day collaborator Guy Pratt and Spandau Ballet alum Gary Kemp fronted the group as Mason built a setlist dominated by songs from his late original bandmates Syd Barrett and Richard Wright. The results could have been defined by lazy nostalgia, but instead Saucerful of Secrets breathed new life into material that had been too long ignored.

No. 3. ‘Live in Gdansk’ (2008)
David Gilmour

Wright once again provides a permission structure for Gilmour to dig past setlist warhorses “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb.” Oh, those songs appear on Live in Gdansk, as does the entire string-laden song cycle from Gilmour’s emotive On an Island. But Gilmour and Wright also undertake a bold exploration of “Echoes” from 1971’s Meddle and even trace back to “Fat Old Sun,” a rarity from 1970’s Atom Heart Mother. Live in Gdansk ended up making a sad bit of history, too. This is Gilmour’s last collaboration with Wright, who died one week before its release.

No. 2. ‘Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81’ (2000)
Pink Floyd

Waters’ solo renditions of The Wall typically held their own intrigues, but all were forgotten after an historic excavation by producer James Guthrie. Pink Floyd originally staged just 31 concerts in support of this sprawling project. Guthrie focused on performances from August 1980 and June 1981 in London, including Waters’ last concert appearance with Pink Floyd before 2005’s Live 8 reunion. Is There Anybody Out There? unfolds with a new sharpness and muscular force, while expanding our understanding of the narrative: Two new songs appear, including “What Shall We Do Now?” – a last-minute cut from the original album.

No. 1. ‘The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974’ (2023)
Pink Floyd

This has an origin story not dissimilar to Live at Knebworth 1990, having been released as a stand-alone LP after originally appearing on two earlier box set reissues. But that’s where the similarities end. The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974 finds Pink Floyd at the peak of their powers and performing their best-known album in its entirety. The material was originally recorded in November 1974 by BBC Radio 1 at what’s now Wembley Stadium. Here’s how great those shows were: They also provided material for 2011’s Wish You Were Here Immersion box (including an early version of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”) and 2016’s The Early Years (one of the final classic-era renditions of “Echoes”).

When Alice Cooper Got Stoned With Pink Floyd

Jane’s Addiction has offered a public apology for the onstage scuffle that brought an early end to their show in Boston last night.

Reportedly upset about the stage volume his bandmates were playing at during recent concerts, singer Perry Farrell shoved and then punched guitarist Dave Navarro, after which he was restrained and dragged offstage by the crew and bassist Eric Avery. The scuffle brought an early end to the show, during which the band was celebrating drummer Stephen Perkins’ 47th birthday.

“We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night,” read the brief Instagram stories statement, which can be seen below. “As a result we will be cancelling tomorrow night’s show in Bridgeport.”

Read More: How Jane’s Addiction Challenged All With ‘Ritual de lo Habitual’

Jane’s Addiction was scheduled to perform Sunday night at the Hartford Healthcare Amphiteatre in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The next show on their itinerary is now Sept. 18 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto.

After the show, Farrell’s wife Etty issued her first-person account of the incident, stating that her husband had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat due to the band’s high stage volume, and suggesting that Avery may have taken some cheap shots at the singer while he was being restrained: “[He] put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times.”

Jane’s Addiction’s current tour, their first to feature their original lineup in years, is currently set to conclude on Oct. 16 in their hometown of Los Angeles.

Bob Dylan performed his classic “All Along the Watchtower” for the first time since 2018 – around 90 minutes after John Mellencamp had played it during the same show.

If the onstage interactions among Dylan’s band are anything to go by, his decision to reprise his 1968 track was made at short notice as he commenced a 17-song show at the Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH.

He and Mellencamp are both part of the Outlaw Music Festival Tour, headlined by Willie Nelson. Videos and set lists are available below.

READ MORE:

Mellencamp – who took over from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on the tour in July –delivered “Watchtower” as the third song of his 12-song show at around 6.30 p.m., after having last performed it the tribute show for music executive Clive Davis in April. Prior to that he’d played it seven times in 2020 and sporadically since 1984.

Dylan hit the stage around 7.55 p.m. and started his set with the track, which had been a mainstay of his performances for decades until he retired it six years ago.

The touring festival continues in Burgettstown, PA tonight (Sept. 14) with three more shows to follow, ending on Sept. 20 in Gilford, NH.

Watch John Mellencamp Perform ‘All Along the Watchtower’

Watch Bob Dylan Perform ‘All Along the Watchtower’

John Mellencamp Set List – Outlaw Music Festival, 9/13/24

1. “John Cockers”
2. “Paper in Fire”
3. “All Along the Watchtower”
4. “Small Town”
5. “Check It Out”
6. “Longest Days”
7. “Jack & Diane”
8. “Rain on the Scarecrow”
8. “Lonely Ol’ Night”
10. “Crumblin’ Down”
11. “Pink Houses”
12. “Hurts So Good”

Bob Dylan Set List – Outlaw Music Festival, 9/13/24

1. “All Along the Watchtower”
2. “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”
3. “Shooting Star”
4. “Love Sick”
5. “Little Queenie”
6. “Mr. Blue”
7. “Early Roman Kings”
8. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”
9. “Under the Red Sky”
10. “Things Have Changed”
11. “Stella Blue”
12. “Six Days on the Road”
13. “Can’t Wait”
14. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”
15. “Soon After Midnight”
16. “Simple Twist of Fate”
17. “Ballad of a Thin Man”

Perry Farrell’s wife Etty has shared her first-person account of last night’s Jane’s Addiction show in Boston, in which her husband shoved then punched guitarist Dave Navarro.

The singer was then dragged offstage by several crew members, and during that time Etty alleges bassist Eric Avery struck Farrell three times. “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members…the magic that made the band so dynamic,” she wrote on an Instagram post. “Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and [that] his voice was being drowned out by the band.”

After explaining that her husband had been suffering from a sore throat and tinnitus as a result of repeated exposure to high stage volumes, Etty stated that fans in the front row were heckling Farrell during the Boston show, saying they couldn’t hear him at all. The final straw came when the band launched into “Ocean Size” before the singer was ready: “By the end of the song, he wasn’t singing, he was screaming just to be heard.”

After Perry shoved and then punched Navarro and was in the middle of being pulled away by the crew, Etty claims bassist Eric Avery “either didn’t understand what de-escalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got a few cheap shots” in on her husband. “[He] put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times.”

Noting that Navarro “still looked handsome and cool in the middle of a fight,” Etty revealed that her husband “was a crazed beast for the next half an hour,” stating that he didn’t exactly calm down but instead broke down “and cried and cried.”

The band has yet to offer any comment or statement on the incident. Currently on tour with their original lineup for the first time in years, Jane’s Addiction are scheduled to perform again tomorrow night in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Jane’s Addiction‘s Friday night show in Boston was cut short when singer Perry Farrell shoved and then punched guitar player Dave Navarro. The singer flew into a rage afterwards and had to be restrained and escorted off stage by several crew members.

You can see numerous videos of the altercation below.

According to JamBase‘s social media reports, unspecified trouble between Navarro and Farrell started during the ninth song of the night, “Mountain Song,” continued through the Ritual de lo Habitual epic “Three Days” and boiled over at the end of “Ocean Size.”

As of press time no statement or explanation has been offered by the band or any of its members. After Farrell is taken off stage Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins can be seen hugging each other and offering thankful gestures to the crowd. Perkins’ drum kit was decorated with balloons in honor of it being his 47th birthday.

It has been just over four months since the original lineup of Jane’s Addiction reunited on stage, as Dave Navarro returned to the group in May after being sidelined with long COVID in recent years. The band recently released their first single in over a decade, “Imminent Redemption.” Jane’s Addiction is currently scheduled to perform again on Sunday night in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Jane’s Addiction – Sept. 13, 2024 Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion Setlist
1. “Kettle Whistle”
2. “Whores”
3. “Pigs in Zen”
4. “Ain’t No Right”
5. “Ted, Just Admit It”
6. “Summertime Rolls”
7. “Jane Says”
8. “Then She Did”
9. “Mountain Song”
10. “Three Days”
11. “Ocean Size”