ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons named grand marshal of Atlanta’s Ambetter Health 400 NASCAR event

February 11, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

ZZ Top guitarist Billy F Gibbons has been named grand marshal for Atlanta Motor Speedway’s upcoming Ambetter Health 400, the main event of Atlanta’s spring NASCAR weekend, Feb. 21-23.

The Ambetter Health 400 will go down on Feb. 23, with Gibbons helping to kick off the race by declaring the classic race intro, “Drivers, start your engines.”

Ticket info can be found at AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com.

Gibbons is currently on tour with his band the BFGs. The trek hits Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, with dates confirmed through Feb. 20 in Bristol, Tennessee. A complete list of shows can be found at billygibbons.com.

In addition, ZZ Top will hit the road starting March 5 in Dotham, Alabama, with the tour set to run until Aug. 23 in Richmond, British Columbia. Tour dates can be found at zztop.com.

Mad Season’s ’Above’ reissued on vinyl for 30th anniversary

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Mad Season‘s one and only album, 1995’s Above, is being reissued on vinyl in honor of its 30th anniversary.

The double-LP is due out March 14. It comes in a number of different variants, such as a “black & white galaxy” vinyl exclusive to the Pearl Jam webstore.

Mad Season featured PJ guitarist Mike McCready, Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley, Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and bassist John Baker Saunders. Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan also contributed vocals to Above.

“Playing with Baker, Barrett, Layne, and Mark was a privilege I will always cherish,” McCready says. “As Above is re-released, I hope you enjoy it. I remain grateful for the opportunity to share that time, that music, and those memories with all of you.”

Above was known for spawning the single “River of Deceit.”

Mad Season most recently reunited in 2015 with Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell and Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses in place of the late Staley and Saunders, who died in 2002 and 1999, respectively. Cornell died in 2017.

Alice Cooper extends Too Close For Comfort tour

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Alice Cooper has added some more dates to his Too Close For Comfort tour.

The rocker has announced a set of spring and summer shows that kick off May 2 in Huntsville, Alabama, and wrap Aug. 30 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Presale tickets will be available starting Tuesday at 11 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m.

The current leg of Cooper’s Too Close For Comfort tour is set to wrap Tuesday in St. Augustine, Florida. He’ll then head out on the Rock Legends Cruise XII, which leaves from Miami and runs from Feb. 13-17.

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

Duran Duran offers up trip to Rome to raise money for California wildfire relief

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Duran Duran is giving fans a chance to see them perform in Italy, while raising money to help those affected by the recent California wildfires.

The band has just launched a Fandiem sweepstakes, where the winner and a guest will be flown to Rome to see Duran Duran perform at Circo Massimo on June 15.

The prize package includes roundtrip airfare and four-night hotel accommodations, as well as a merch package and choice of a guided tour of either the Colosseum, the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica, or the Pantheon.

Fans have until April 24 to enter to win.

The sweepstakes is one of many items being offered through Fandiem’s FanAid LA initiative, with proceeds benefiting Los Angeles wildlife relief efforts.

Duran Duran’s Rome show is part of the band’s summer schedule of European and U.K. dates that kick off June 3 in Finland and wrap July 9 in Marbella, Spain. A complete schedule can be found at duranduran.com.

Def Leppard, Joan Jett, set to play Canada’s Rockin’ Thunder Festival

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are among the artists booked to play the Rockin’ Thunder music festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The festival is happening July 11-12 at Exhibition Lands Racetrack, with Def Leppard headlining Friday and Weezer closing the fest on Saturday.

Joan Jett will also play Friday, along with Poison’s Bret Michaels and Queensrÿche, while Stone Temple Pilots will join Weezer on Saturday’s bill.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now.

Rockin’ Thunder is one of several festivals Def Leppard is playing this year. Others include Boardwalk Rock 2025 in Ocean City, Maryland, Milwaukee’s Summerfest and Country Thunder Craven 2025 in Saskatchewan, Canada. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are hitting the road with Billy Idol this year, with the tour kicking off April 30 in Phoenix. Dates can be found at joanjett.com.

‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ sets new IMAX record

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The new documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin did blockbuster business in its first weekend in release.

The movie opened exclusively in IMAX theaters and set a record in the U.S., bringing in $2.6 million, which is the biggest opening weekend ever for an IMAX exclusive music release. The film also landed in the top 10 on the weekend box office.

Overall, the film brought in $3 million from showings in 16 countries and territories.

Becoming Led Zeppelin, described as a “hybrid docu-concert film,” is the first officially sanctioned documentary about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group. It features new interviews from the surviving members of the band, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, as well as rare and previously unseen Led Zeppelin performance footage.

Becoming Led Zeppelin opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.

Boulevard of Hollywood dreams: Green Day inspires upcoming ‘New Years Rev’ film

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Along with inspiring countless bands that came after them, Green Day has now inspired a new movie.

The film is called New Years Rev, and follows a trio of friends who play in a band “based on the exploits of Green Day and their years of living in a tour van.” The plot follows the young rockers as they take a road trip to Los Angeles under the mistaken belief that they’re opening a New Year’s Eve gig headlined by Billie Joe Armstrong and company.

“Van days rule,” Armstrong says. “You will drive all night on no sleep then play a show for 10 kids in a basement of a friend of a friend’s house 50 miles east of anywhere you’ve ever heard of.”

“But you’ll do it again the next day, and the one after that,” he continues. “Because you’re doing it with your bandmates who become your family and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever known. It’s electric. Let the music and mischief ensue.”

New Years Rev stars Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust as the band members. The cast also includes Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey of The Office. Armstrong and bandmates Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool will produce.

Green Day is also prepping for their headlining sets at Coachella, which take place April 11-13 and April 18-20.

Brandi Carlile is ‘really sad’ about not being able to sing with Elton John at the Oscars

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

As things stands now, the producers of the Academy Awards telecast have decided not to feature performances of the best original song nominees, which means we won’t be able to see Elton John performing “Never Too Late,” his nominated song from his Disney+ documentary. And his co-writer on the song, Brandi Carlile, who’s dreamed of sharing Oscar glory with Elton for years, is “really sad” about that.

In a virtual roundtable for the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which is available to watch online now, Brandi says, “On one hand, I feel really sad because I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to perform on the Oscars again. I can’t fathom it, especially with Elton John.”

“When I first found Elton John, it was in the ’90s, and he was winning an Oscar for The Lion King, and I couldn’t believe it,” she continues. “I thought, ‘One day when I grow up, if I could get the right clothes, I could go to his Oscar party.’ So to have the opportunity to perform with Elton John on the Oscars is a hard thing to not have manifest.”

But on the other hand, Brandi shares, “I feel a lot of relief from getting to … come in on Elton’s arm and to get the lay of the land and not have a lot of pressure on me because it’s already just almost unimaginable to be nominated for one. So I could go either way … I just can’t believe I’m in the conversation.”

The roundtable also features discussions about songwriting inspiration and process with the other nominated writers, including Diane Warren, who wrote “The Journey” from the movie The Six Triple Eight, and the writers of the nominated songs from the films Sing Sing and Emilia Pérez.

Neil Young delays release of ‘lost’ album ‘Oceanside Countryside’ to March

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Neil Young has pushed back the release of his “lost” album Oceanside Countryside.

The album, part of Young’s Analog Original Series, was originally scheduled for a vinyl and digital release on Feb. 14, but will now come out on March 7. A standalone CD version will be released April 25.

The previously unreleased album was recorded before 1978’s Comes A Time and includes three songs that wound up appearing on that album, “Goin’ Back,” “Human Highway” and “Field of Opportunity.”

While some of the tracks appear on a CD version of Oceanside Countryside that was part of Young’s Archives Vol. III release, the new version, being released in analog on vinyl for the first time, features the originally planned track list.

Oceanside Countryside is available for preorder now.

The Doobie Brothers announce dates for the Walk This Road tour

February 10, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Doobie Brothers are set to drop their new album, Walk This Road, in June, and they are hitting the road to support it.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced dates for the Walk This Road tour, featuring special guests The Coral Reefer Band, the late Jimmy Buffett’s backing band, who continue to celebrate his music.

The tour kicks off Aug. 4 in Detroit, with dates currently confirmed through Sept. 18 in Toronto. More shows are expected to be announced.

“We’re so looking forward to the 2025 Summer tour!” founding Doobie Brothers member Patrick Simmons shares. “We’ll be celebrating the release of our new album Walk This Road and we’re excited to be performing new songs from the record.”

He adds, “Having The Coral Reefer Band on board with us at these shows really makes this a special experience for the audience and all of us. Doobies and Reefers, hmm… sounds like a perfect match!”

A presale for tickets kicks off Tuesday at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. A complete list of dates can be found at thedoobiebrothers.com.

Walk This Road, dropping June 6, features the reunited lineup of Simmons, Tom Johnston and Michael McDonald. It will be the first new release from The Doobies since 2021’s Liberté and the first full album of original material with McDonald since 1980’s One Step Closer.

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