Classic Rock 93.9

The Who has announced who’ll be opening up for them on The Song Is Over tour.

The eclectic lineup of special guests who’ll appear on various dates include Billy Idol, Candlebox, Billy Bob Thornton — yes, that Billy Bob Thornton — and his band The Boxmasters, Booker T. Jones, Tom Cochrane, Feist, Joe Bonamassa, and The Joe Perry Project, whose lineup includes Perry’s Aerosmith bandmate Brad Whitford, The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson and Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz of Stone Temple Pilots.

The Who has also added a second night in Chicago, set for Sept. 9. Presale tickets through Citi and the Who Fan Club start May 20; tickets go on sale to the general public May 23 at 10 a.m. local time at thewho.com/tour/. 

Today, Monday, marks Who guitarist Pete Townshend‘s 80th birthday. Over the weekend, Townshend announced on Instagram that longtime drummer Zak Starkey wouldn’t be part of the upcoming tour; Starkey then confirmed he’d been sacked. Some fans expressed dismay that this announcement wasn’t made prior to tickets going on sale.

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Roger Daltrey is no longer the only octogenarian in The Who. Pete Townshend is celebrating his 80th birthday on Monday, and while age may have slowed him down a bit, it hasn’t stopped him from rocking.

It’s been 60 years since Townshend and his bandmates — Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon — exploded on the U.K. rock scene, with a career that included hits like “My Generation,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Who Are You” and “Pinball Wizard.”

Townshend also had a successful solo career that produced such songs as “Let My Love Open the Door,” “Rough Boys,” “Face the Face” and more.

The Who became known for their dynamic live shows, thanks in part to Townshend’s iconic “windmill” guitar strumming, stage jumps and guitar smashing. And while Townshend has cut back on his stage antics over the years, fans still clamor to see The Who live — and there’s still a chance to do that.

The Who just announced their The Song Is Over North American Farewell tour; during a press conference, Townshend reflected on their long career and whether they can keep going.

“You know, time passes. As you get older it passes faster and faster and faster until you find yourself here. You know, a point where you have to accept that you can’t do what you used to do,” he said. But he noted that seeing artists like The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen still touring inspired him “to think what could we do that would be new and different?”

Looking back on his career, he noted, “This wasn’t a career that I chose, it chose me. And I’ve always been creative, so creativity has been what sustained me.”

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Bono‘s upcoming Apple TV+ documentary, Bono: Stories of Surrender, earned the U2 frontman a 7-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, Variety reports.

The documentary is a “reimagining” of Bono’s one-man stage show, Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief, which was recorded at New York’s Beacon Theatre during the book tour for his memoir. It mixes Bono reading passages from the book with live performances of songs like “Beautiful Day” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.”

According to Variety, following the ovation, an emotional Bono told the crowd, “I’m not a Frenchman. I’m an Irishman. I’m not even a self-made man. You wrote this story. The Edge wrote this story. Adam [Clayton] and Larry [Mullen Jr.] wrote this story. [U2 manager Paul] McGuinness wrote this story.”

Bono thanked the project’s director, Andrew Dominik, who was absent, and said, “I can’t believe you got those performances out of me.” He also shouted out Sean Penn, who was there. The singer, who recorded a song for Penn’s 2020 documentary Citizen Penn, said, “If I was in the trenches — like, real trenches, as opposed to ones on a movie set — I’d want to be with Sean Penn in those trenches. He was there for me. Thank you again.”

Bono: Stories of Surrender premieres May 30 on Apple TV+. 

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Deliver Me From Nowhere, the Bruce Springsteen biopic starring Jeremy Allen White as The Boss, will hit theaters October 24, according to multiple reports.

The movie, based on the book of the same name by Warren Zanes, details a tumultuous period in Springsteen’s life, during which he made his 1982 album Nebraska. The project has the full backing of Springsteen, who’s visited the film’s set numerous times and spoken highly of White’s portrayal of him.

Written and directed by Scott Cooper, the film also stars Jeremy Strong as Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau. The cast includes Stephen Graham as Springsteen’s father, Paul Walter Hauser as Springsteen’s guitar tech Mike Batlan, plus Gabby Hoffman, David Krumholtz, Marc Maron and others.

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Meet the new drummer … not the same as the old drummer. The Who has fired Zak Starkey again, ahead of the band’s farewell tour, and this time, it appears to be permanent.

The Who’s Pete Townshend wrote Sunday on Instagram, “After many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change. A poignant time. Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best.”

He then revealed Starkey’s replacement: “Scott Devours who has worked with Roger’s solo band will join the Who for our Final shows. Please welcome him.”

Starkey then made it clear that he was not okay with this turn of events. The drummer, son of Ringo Starr, wrote on Instagram, “I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit the who to pursue my other musical endeavors this would be a lie. I love the who and would never had quit.”

“So I didn’t make the statement … quitting the who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me (thank you all a million times over and more) thru the weeks of mayhem of me going ‘in an out an in an out an in an out’ like a bleedin’ squeezebox,” he continued.

Starkey then noted that in between manning the kit for The Who, he’d played with many other acts, including Johnny Marr and Oasis.  “None of this has ever interfered with The Who and was never a problem for them,” Starkey pointed out. “The lie is or would have been that I quit the who- i didn’t. I love the who and everyone in it.”

As previously reported, Zak was fired from The Who in April but was then rehired three days later.

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Sammy Hagar made a surprise appearance at a Las Vegas club in between performances of his Best of All Worlds residency.

The Red Rocker showed up unannounced Thursday at the The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails, which is described as an “upscale men’s grooming salon that serves as a secret entrance to the hidden bar.” He joined the venue’s band Radio Xx, which includes former and current members of the “You and Me” group Lifehouse, for renditions of Van Halen‘s “Why Can’t This Be Love” and Montrose‘s “Rock Candy.”

Hagar launched the Best of All Worlds residency at Vegas’ Dolby Live at Park MGM in April. His band for the run features guitarist Joe Satriani, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and drummer Kenny Aronoff. The residency concludes on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Hagar put out a new song, “Encore, Thank You, Good Night,” in April, which he says was inspired by a dream he had about his late bandmate, Eddie Van Halen.

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Nancy Wilson has released a cover of the Triumph song “Fight the Good Fight.”

The Heart guitarist and vocalist put her spin on the 1981 track for an upcoming Triumph tribute album, Magic Power.

“We love Heart, we love her, and this version is really exciting,” Triumph drummer Gil Moore says of Wilson and her cover.

You can listen to Wilson’s take on “Fight the Good Fight” now via digital outlets. 

Magic Power is due out June 6. Other contributors include Slash of Guns N’ Roses, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach and Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider.

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Josh Freese is no longer the drummer in Foo Fighters.

In an Instagram post Friday, Freese writes, “The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they’ve decided ‘to go in a different direction with their drummer.'”

“No reason was given,” Freese continues. “Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band.”

Freese was announced as the new Foo Fighters drummer in 2023, stepping into the large shoes left by the late Taylor Hawkins, who died in 2022. Prior to joining the Foos, Freese had played in bands including Nine Inch Nails, Guns N’ Roses, The Offspring and A Perfect Circle. 

“In my 40 years of drumming professionally, I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry—just a bit shocked and disappointed,” Freese writes. “But as most you know I’ve always worked freelance and bounced between bands so, I’m fine.”

He concludes, “Stay tuned for my ‘Top 10 possible reasons Josh got booted from the Foo Fighters’ list.”

Earlier in the week, Foo Fighters announced their first show of 2025: the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix in October. It’s also the band’s first announced live performance since Dave Grohl‘s 2024 infidelity scandal.

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Foreigner has released a Spanish-language version of the band’s hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

The recording, dubbed “Quiero Saber Si Es Amor,” features vocals by Foreigner guitarist/singer Luis Maldonado and Mexican musician Joy Huerta of the Grammy-winning duo Jesse & Joy.

You can listen to “Quiero Saber Si Es Amor” now via digital outlets.

Foreigner recently wrapped a tour of Latin America, during which Maldonado handled lead vocals in place of longtime singer Kelly Hansen, who was unable to make the trek. Additionally, originally frontman Lou Gramm sang with the band during select songs on the tour.

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Bruce Springsteen‘s criticism of President Donald Trump‘s administration during his Land of Hope and Dreams tour kickoff in England on Wednesday has drawn a response from the president himself.

As previously reported, The Boss told the Manchester crowd, “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”

He continued, “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against the authoritarianism and let freedom ring.”

On Friday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to write, “I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States.”

“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy,” Trump continued, while labeling Springsteen a “pushy, obnoxious JERK.”

“This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare,'” Trump wrote.

Springsteen’s tour continues with a second show in Manchester on Saturday.

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