KISS announces October fan event in Germany

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

KISS has announced another 2026 fan event, this time in Germany.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of their first-ever show in Germany on May 18, 1975, the band revealed on social media that they will soon be announcing details of a new fan event happening in Germany in October.

The post notes, “this is one you won’t want to miss!”

Fans are encouraged to sign up for the KISS Army for updates on the event.

The news comes about a month after KISS announced details of the second edition of KISS Kruise: Landlocked in Vegas.

This year’s event is taking place Nov. 13-15 at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas and will once again feature two KISS unmasked shows with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. It will also include Q&As and activities with the band.

The weekend will also feature an all-star tribute to KISS founding member Ace Frehley, who passed away in 2025, plus performances by Night Ranger, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, Slaughter and Faster Pussycat. There will also be a preparty on Nov. 12 featuring the Ace Frehley Band, Enuff Z’Nuff and others.

Richie Sambora performs Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ at daughter’s wedding

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

Former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora’s daughter got married over the weekend, and the rocker helped get the guests up and dancing by performing one of the band’s classic hits during the reception.

People reports Ava Sambora — Richie’s daughter with ex-wife Heather Locklear — got married to fiancé Tyler Farrar on Saturday in Montecito, California. The former rocker shared special moments from the day on his Instagram account, including a clip of him joining the band for the Bon Jovi classic “Livin’ On A Prayer” as the crowd danced and sang along.

In the clip you can see the happy couple right up front dancing and belting out the song along with Richie and the band.

Richie also posted video of his and Ava’s father/daughter dance, with Ava telling the guests, “My dad wrote this song.” The rocker previously told People that it was a song he wrote just for Ava called “I’ll Always Walk Beside You.”

Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman announces new memoir and tour

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman is ready to tell his life story.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will release his memoir, The Wizard of Prog, on Oct. 29. According to the announcement, it will recount Wakeman’s life “from the beginning to not quite the end… just yet.”

The description notes that the memoir is “a story of musical genius with a taste for adventure, a delightful sense of the absurd and a winning gift for comedy,” calling it “the book Rick has always wanted to write.”

The Wizard of Prog is available for preorder now.

To coincide with the book announcement, the 77-year-old Wakeman has also announced dates for The Wizard Of Prog – Ultimate Highlights Concert Tour, a U.K. tour that kicks off Feb. 17, 2027, in Brighton and wraps March 12, 2027, in Leicester.

“All tours are special, but this one is really very special,” Wakeman says. “I can’t exactly tell you why, but trust me … it is!”

Unlike his recent tours that have been focused on a complete album, the new tour will have Wakeman dipping into his vast catalog of music. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at rwcc.com.

Tesla covers Queen’s ‘Spread Your Wings’ for new album ‘Homage’

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

Rockers Tesla are getting ready to release a new covers album, Homage, and they’re previewing it with the release of their take on Queen’s 1977 track “Spread Your Wings,” which originally appeared on Queen’s sixth studio album, News of the World.

“‘Spread Your Wings’ for me was the song I always wanted to record by Queen,” says Tesla’s Brian Wheat. “I always felt it was the one song they had in their catalog that should’ve been a massive hit, but wasn’t because it was overshadowed by ‘We Are the Champions’ and ‘We Will Rock You’ on the News of the World album.”

“It was also a song written by John Deacon, who was the band’s secret weapon and whom not many people talk about, the quiet one, shall we say,” he adds.

Homage, dropping July 17, has the band covering songs by such artists as Bob Seger, Supertramp, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, James Brown, Elvis Presley and more. It also includes one original song, “Never Alone.”

The album is available for preorder now.

Next up, Tesla is set to join Mötley Crüe on their The Return of the Carnival of Sins Tour, which begins July 17 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. A complete list of dates can be found at Teslatheband.com.

Details released for third annual Bon Scott Birthday Bash

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

Original AC/DC frontman Bon Scott would have turned 80 this year, and one of the ways the milestone is being marked is with the third annual Bon’s Birthday Bash.

The bash, the only U.S. tribute event authorized by the Bon Scott Estate, is set to take plaice July 9 at The Cutting Room in New York City. It will feature performances by Living Colour’s Corey Glover, Trixter’s Steve Brown, former American Idol finalist Constantine Maroulis and more.

In addition to performances, the bash will include a Morrison Hotel Gallery pop-up, filled with never-before-seen images of Bon Scott by rock photographer Steve Joester.

Tickets for the bash are on sale now.

Bon’s birthday was also celebrated earlier in May at the 20th anniversary Bonfest: The International Bon Scott Rock Festival, which took place May 1-2 in Kirriemuir, Scotland.

Scott was born July 6, 1946. He died Feb. 19, 1980, at age 33.

‘SNL’ posts Paul McCartney’s classic The Chris Farley Show sketch to YouTube

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

Paul McCartney was the musical guest on May 16’s Saturday Night Live, but ahead of the performance, the show finally gave fans a chance to relive one of his more iconic SNL appearances from the past.

Although it happened back in 1993, the show recently posted video to YouTube of McCartney’s appearance during The Chris Farley Show sketch, which basically had Farley geek out over the chance to interview the Beatles legend.

During the sketch, Farley peppers McCartney with questions like, “Remember when you were with The Beatles?” followed by a bunch of other “remember when” questions about his Beatles career, including the time he got arrested in Japan for pot, the hoax that claimed he had died and whether he meant it when he sang “the love you take is equal to the love you make” from The Beatles song “The End.”

The 1993 appearance was McCartney’s second time as musical guest on the late-night sketch show, and he performed three songs on the show: “Get Out of My Way” and “Biker Like an Icon” from the album Off the Ground, along with the Beatles classic “Hey Jude.”

McCartney’s Saturday appearance on SNL was his fifth time as musical guest on the show. He performed three songs on the episode, as well: The Boys of Dungeon Lane track “Days We Left Behind,” the Wings classic “Band on the Run” and his solo single “Coming Up.”

The Smashing Pumpkins announce 30th anniversary ’Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ tour

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a U.S. tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1995 album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

The trek, dubbed The Rats in a Cage tour after the lyric from the song “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” will kick off Sept. 30 in Columbus, Ohio, and concludes Nov. 12 in Los Angeles.

Each show will consist of two sets. The first will feature a full-album performance of Mellon Collin and the Infinite Sadness, and the second will include songs from throughout the Pumpkins’ four-decade career.

“Staging a Mellon Collie-themed show is something we’ve discussed for over a decade, and finally the stars have aligned and exactly on the terms I’d set: which was to build a special night around its most enduring aspirations and ideas,” frontman Billy Corgan says in a statement.

Presales begin Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit SmashingPumpkins.com.

Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness marked the third Pumpkins album and spawned the singles “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight” and “Zero.” It’s been certified Diamond by the RIAA, signifying 10 million units certified.

The Pumpkins teased the tour announcement with a livestreamed concert Sunday, which served as a “funeral” for Corgan’s “Zero” character.

On This Day, May 18, 1991: R.E.M. hit #1 with ‘Out of Time’

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, May 18, 1991…

R.E.M. hit #1 with their seventh studio album, Out of Time. The record, their first-ever #1, spent two weeks atop the Billboard 200 Albums chart, and 109 weeks on the chart overall.

Out of Time’s success was aided by two hit singles: “Losing My Religion,” which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the band’s highest charting single, and “Shiny Happy People,” featuring The B-52’s Kate Pierson, which peaked at #10.

Out of Time would go on to sell over four million copies in the U.S. and earn R.E.M. three Grammys, including best alternative music album, and two for “Losing My Religion.”

In 2017, “Losing My Religion” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2020, it became the first R.E.M. video to reach one billion views on YouTube.

Queen’s Brian May contributes to ‘Masters of the Universe’ song

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

Queen’s Brian May has lent his guitar chops to a new song that will be featured in the upcoming movie Masters of the Universe.

The rocker appears on the track “Eternia” from British composer Daniel Pemberton, who has previously scored such films as Project Hail Mary and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.

“We Have The Power !!! HE-MAN rocks !!” May wrote on Instagram.

Masters of the Universe stars Red, White & Royal Blue star Nicholas Galitzine as Adam Glen/He-Man, the former prince of Eternia. The film, which also stars Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Jared Leto and Alison Brie, hits theaters June 5.

This isn’t the first action film May has been associated with. In 1980, Queen recorded the soundtrack to the movie Flash Gordon, which featured the song “Flash,” a top-10 hit in the U.K. The band also recorded several songs for the 1986 film Highlander, including their classic “Who Wants to Live Forever.”

Learn to Fry (wings): Foo Fighters to appear on ’Hot Ones Versus’

May 18, 2026 by Classic Rock 93.9

Foo Fighters will be turning on the heat on Hot Ones Versus.

Dave Grohl and company are making an appearance on the Hot Ones spinoff, in which participants compete against each other by answering questions or taking part in challenges, with the loser forced to eat a spicy hot wing.

The full episode will air Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET on the First We Feast YouTube channel, but you can check out a preview now on the channel’s Instagram.

You may recall that Grohl previously appeared on Hot Ones proper back in 2022. He called being on the show a bucket-list moment, comparing the experience to when he first performed on Saturday Night Live and David Letterman’s show.

Assuming they all get through Hot Ones Versus OK, Foo Fighters will launch a North American stadium tour in support of their new album, Your Favorite Toy, in August.

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