Classic Rock 93.9

The Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald and the late Jimmy Buffett are set to appear on the upcoming Christmas album from ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro.

The album, Tis the Season, drops Oct. 17. Buffet’s voice appears on Jake’s version of the classic Hawaiian Christmas song “Mele Kalikimaka.”

“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for him,” Jake says of Buffett, who passed away in 2023. “He and (songwriter) Mac McAnally were like my big brothers. They took me under their wings and did so much for me.”

McDonald joins Jake on a cover of the holiday classic “Winter Wonderland,” with both McDonald and Jake playing ukulele on the tune.

“Everyone should know what a great ukulele player Michael is,” Jake says. “His chord knowledge and tone is incredible! And, what’s even more unbelievable is, his ukulele playing sounds like Michael McDonald! So epic!!”

The album also features a cover of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma, as well as takes on holiday classics like Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” “This Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” “O’ Holy Night” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

Tis the Season is available for preorder now.

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Aerosmith is back on the charts, thanks to their new collaboration with Yungblud.

According to Billboard, the artists’ track “My Only Angel” tops the Hot Hard Rock Songs Chart this week, Aerosmith’s first-ever appearance on that chart. Yungblud previously topped the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart in 2020 with the Bring Me the Horizon collaboration “Obey.”

The song is also a top-40 hit on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, debuting at #37. Since the chart’s launch in 1981, Aerosmith has appeared on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart 45 times, hitting #1 nine times and landing in the top 10 24 times. This is their first appearance on the chart since 2012’s “Lover Alot,” a track from their last studio album, Music from Another Dimension!

“My Only Angel” is the first track off Aerosmith and Yungblud’s collaborative EP, One More Time, which drops Nov. 21. Along with “My Only Angel,” it includes three new original songs, plus an updated take on the Aerosmith classic “Back in the Saddle.”

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The 50th anniversary of David Bowie’s arrival in Berlin will be celebrated with a new documentary on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Tentatively titled Bowie in Berlin, the film will be directed by Francis Whately, who previously directed three other BBC Two Bowie docs: David Bowie: Finding Fame, David Bowie: The Last Five Years and David Bowie: Five Years.

According to the description, the film will delve into “one of the most important periods” of Bowie’s life, “when he turned his back on fame and success and disappeared from sight into the streets of Cold War Berlin, from 1976-1978.”

The story will be told through Bowie’s own words, along with contributions from Clare Shenstone, Romy Haag, Sarah-Rena Hine and Sydne Rome, the four women who spent time with the rocker during his Berlin years.

“Each of these extraordinary women have their own unique insight into the singer’s life, art and character, providing a secret history of Bowie’s time in the city,” the description reads.

Bowie in Berlin is expected to debut in fall 2026.

Bowie’s Berlin years resulted in three albums — Low, Heroes and Lodger — that he dubbed his Berlin trilogy. Although not well received upon first release, critical and public opinion of the records changed over the years, and they are now considered some of the most innovative and influential works of Bowie’s career.

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On This Day, Oct. 1, 1965…

Bob Dylan headlined Carnegie Hall in New York City backed by the five musicians who would eventually find fame as The Band.

The group, previously known as The Hawks, was made up of guitarist Robbie Robertson, organist Garth Hudson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manual and drummer Levon Helm.

The musicians went on to back up Dylan on his historic 1966 electric tour, which drew boos and abuse worldwide from fans who accused him of abandoning folk music.

The Band would go on to release their iconic debut album Music From Big Pink in 1968. Their farewell concert on Nov. 25, 1976, was filmed for the critically acclaimed concert movie The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorsese.

The Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

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The Grateful Dead have teamed with global color authority Pantone to create two new colors inspired by their iconography.

The colors, Grateful Red and Stealie Blue, were created using scans of an original pressing of the band’s 1973 Bear’s Choice live album. It was also the first time The Dead used their iconic Stealie aka Steal Your Face skull and lightning bolt logo.

Both colors, which have been used throughout The Dead’s six-decade career, are part of a new merch collection that includes Grateful Red and Stealie Blue paint can-dles, as well as T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and more.

“The Grateful Dead’s visual iconography is unmatched in the music world,” David Lemieux, Grateful Dead legacy manager and archivist, says. “These shades of red and blue are uniquely and identifiably Grateful Dead icons on their own. To now have two Pantone colors immortalizing these shades of red and blue as the official colors of the Grateful Dead is a huge honor.”

“Just like the music of the iconic Grateful Dead, color can evoke emotions and feelings that can engulf you into a different world,” Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, adds. “Memorializing and standardizing the iconic colors that showcase the band’s originality and ensuring their legacy lives on through a visual language, is both meaningful and inspiring and we are proud to be a part of it.”

The Grateful Dead Pantone merch line is available now.

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Bonnie Raitt is set to perform at Big Blues Bender, a four-day music festival taking place Sept. 10-13, 2026, at the Westgate Las Vegas.

The blues festival, with a motto of “Everything, an elevator ride away,” will also feature performances by Taj Mahal, Keb Mo, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Booker T. Jones, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and more.

Tickets go on sale Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. PT. More info and a complete lineup can be found at bigbluesbender.com.

Raitt wrapped her most recent tour on Sept. 25 at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. The Big Blues Bender is currently the only show she has booked for 2026.

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Billy Idol and The Cars guitarist Elliot Easton are among the artists set to perform at the Above Ground benefit concert on Oct. 26 at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Other artists confirmed for this year’s show include Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, Moby, Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, and former Foo Fighters and current Nine Inch Nails drummer Josh Freese, with a special guest appearance by rappers Cypress Hill. More artists are expected to be announced.

This year’s show was originally supposed to take place in January but was postponed due to the California wildfires. The concert will feature the artists performing songs off the self-titled debut albums from the New York Dolls and The Cars.

The yearly concert is put on by Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and guitarist Billy Morrison‘s Above Ground organization, which they founded in 2018. The concert raises money for MusiCares in support of mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Tickets for the concert are on sale now.

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The members of Def Leppard are the latest rock stars to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The band will receive their star in the category of Recording at a ceremony on Oct. 9 in front of the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles.   

Rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Universal Music President and CEO Bruce Resnikoff will be hand to speak at the ceremony, which will stream on the Hollywood Walk of Fame’s website.

Def Leppard will be honored with the 2,825th star on the Walk of Fame.

After a busy 2025, Def Leppard has one more show on their touring schedule. They’ll play Gary, Indiana, on Oct. 11. In 2026, they are booked to play a residency at The Colosseum in Las Vegas starting in February, and will follow that with a tour of Europe and the U.K. starting in June.

A complete list of tour dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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Styx has announced some new tour dates for 2026.

The band is set to play six shows in Florida, with dates kicking off Feb. 22 in Pompano Beach. They’ll also play Orlando, Estero and Clearwater, before wrapping their Sunshine State stint on Feb. 28 in St. Augustine.

Tickets for all shows are on sale now.

The Florida dates will follow the band’s already announced 2026 residency at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. The five-show stint, where they’ll be playing their 1978 album, Pieces of Eight, in its entirety, begins Jan 23.

A complete list of dates can be found at StyxWorld.com.

And speaking of Florida … Styx’s three-day Florida festival, Rockin’ In Paradise with Styx + Friends, is set to launch Oct. 9 in Miramar Beach. The “friends” in the lineup include Cheap Trick, Loverboy, 38 Special, Collective Soul, John Waite and Edwin McCain.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Famer James Taylor is set to make his Grand Ole Opry debut on Nov. 11 in Nashville.

“The Opry has been built over the last 100 years in large part by songwriters and storytellers,” Opry executive producer Dan Rogers says. “To have one of the very best ever with us to celebrate 100 years is amazing to so many of us.”

While Taylor may not be a country star, he has collaborated with several of them over the years, including Chris Stapleton, and Opry members Vince Gill and Alison Krauss. His collaboration with Krauss on the song “How’s the World Treating You?” earned Taylor a Grammy for best country collaboration of the year.

The “Sweet Baby James” singer’s appearance is part of the Opry’s ongoing 100th anniversary celebration. He will be joined by Gill and Opry member Emmylou Harris.

More info can be found at opry.com.

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