Def Leppard to headline Ottawa Bluesfest

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Def Leppard is set to headline Ottawa Bluesfest, a nine-day festival that runs July 10-13 and July 16-20.

The “Hysteria” rockers will headline the July 16 bill that also features Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, The Decemberists and more.

Other headliners include Green Day, Hozier, Shania Twain, Lainey Wilson and Papa Roach.

Presales begin Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET, and tickets go on sale to the general public Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.
For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit OttawaBluesfest.ca.

Def Leppard is set to headline several other festivals this year, including Rockin’ Thunder in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Boardwalk Rock 2025 in Ocean City, Maryland; Milwaukee’s Summerfest; and Country Thunder Craven 2025 in Saskatchewan, Canada. Their next show is May 15 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.

Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton & more remember George Harrison on what would have been 82nd birthday

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Tuesday would have been the late George Harrison’s 82nd birthday, and he was on the minds of some of his rock star friends, who paid tribute to him on social media.

The Beatles’ official social media accounts shared a video set to Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun” to mark the occasion, while bandmate Paul McCartney posted a black-and-white photo of the two of them together with the caption, “Time to celebrate my good mate George’s birthday.”

Eric Clapton — who had an affair with, and later married, Harrison’s first wife, Pattie Boyd — marked Harrison’s birthday by sharing video of an all-star performance of Harrison’s tune “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala in 1987. The performance included Harrison and Clapton, along with Ringo Starr, Elton John and Phil Collins.

John Lennon’s son Julian Lennon shared photos of himself when he was a toddler with Harrison and his father, as well as one of him and Harrison when he was an adult, set to The Beatles’ “It’s All Too Much.” He captioned the clip “HBG.”

And singer Carole King also paid tribute to Harrison, sharing a picture of the rocker with the caption, “Remembering George Harrison on his birthday.”

Harrison passed away Nov. 29, 2001, after a battle with cancer. He was 58.

Lenny Kravitz, Devo to play Shaky Knees Music Festival

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Lenny Kravitz and Devo are among the artists booked to play the 12th edition of Shaky Knees Music Festival, taking place Sept. 19-21 at Piedmont Park in Atlanta.

The festival will be headlined by The Deftones, My Chemical Romance and blink-182, with the lineup also featuring 4 Non Blondes, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Alabama Shakes, Sublime, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend and more.

A presale begins Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit ShakyKneesFestival.com.

Kravitz has been booking a lot of festivals in the U.S. this year. He’s already set to play Beachlife Festival in Redondo Beach, California; New Orleans Jazz Fest; Roots Picnic 2025 in Philadelphia; JAS Aspen Snowmass in Aspen, Colorado; and Oceans Calling in Ocean City, Maryland.

Devo is also set to play Oceans Calling, as well as Milwaukee Summerfest. They’ll also kick off their own tour, 50 Years of Devolution … Continued, on May 1 in Philadelphia.

Triple play: How Billy Joel’s 2025 tour will make history

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Billy Joel is booked and busy this year, with solo concerts and co-headlining dates with Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart and Sting booked all over the U.S. and overseas. But three of those concerts will give him another entry in the live performance history books.

According to Billboard, Billy’s shows at New York’s Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, plus MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will make him the first artist ever to play all three New York City-area sports stadiums in a single summer.

He’ll play Yankee Stadium on July 18 with Rod; MetLife Stadium — home of the New York Giants and Jets — on Aug. 8 with Stevie; and Citi Field, home of the Mets, Aug. 21 with Sting.

“I’m looking forward to playing these iconic stadiums this summer – each holds personal significance to me,” Billy tells Billboard. “There’s nothing like the energy of the crowds in New York, and sharing a stage with my friends Rod Stewart, Sting and Stevie Nicks, whose music always inspires me, is extremely rewarding.”

Billy’s shows follow the end of his 10-year residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which sold nearly 2 million tickets and earned nearly $267 million between 2014 and 2024.

Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Billy Idol set for Light Up The Blues benefit concert

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Stephen Stills and Neil Young are set to perform together at the upcoming Light Up The Blues fundraiser for Autism Speaks.

The show, hosted by Stills and his wife, Kristen, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Autism Speaks, which is “dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.”

The show will be held April 26 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, with a lineup that also includes Billy Idol, Linda Perry, Cat Power, Christina Applegate and Stephen’s sons, Chris Stills and Oliver Stills.

“We are once again feeling grateful that we can play a part in helping Autism Speaks to fulfill their mission of creating such meaningful progress for autistic people and their families,” Stephen and Kristen share. “All the amazing artists joining us to celebrate autistic people will give our audience a night to remember for many years to come and we can’t wait to be with them once again!”

This is the seventh year of the charity show, which launched in 2013 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Young has played previous installments, as have such artists as Crosby, Stills & Nash, John Mayer, Jack Black, Patti Smith, Joe Walsh, Willie Nelson, Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow.

Tickets for Light Up The Blues go on sale Friday.

In other Stephen Stills news, he’ll join Judy Collins at her 85th birthday celebration in New York. Judy Collins and Friends: 85 Years of Music and Protest is happening March 8 at The Town Hall in New York. Other artists on the bill include Rickie Lee Jones and Paula Cole.

The Black Crowes & Jimmy Page release ‘Live at the Greek’ soundcheck of ‘The Lemon Song’

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The Black Crowes and Jimmy Page have shared another track from their upcoming 25th anniversary rerelease of Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek.

The latest is a soundcheck performance of the Led Zeppelin tune “The Lemon Song.” It is one of five soundcheck recordings featured in the package. The others include “Custard Pie,” “You Shook Me,” “Ten Years Gone” and “Jam,” a song Page and The Crowes’ Rich Robinson wrote during a soundcheck.

Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek, dropping March 14, features 36 tracks, both Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin tunes, recorded in October 1999 at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre and in August 1999 at New York’s Jones Beach Theater.

“The Lemon Song” is the third track that’s been released from the set. They previously released a performance of The Crowes tune “No Speak No Slave” and a never-before-released performance of “Bring It on Home,” from Led Zeppelin’s 1969 album Led Zeppelin II.

Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek is available for preorder now.

New Ozzy Osbourne documentary ’No Escape from Now’ to premiere on Paramount+

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

A new documentary on Ozzy Osbourne titled No Escape from Now is set to premiere later in 2025 on Paramount+.

The feature-length project will focus on how the Prince of Darkness has dealt with a myriad of health issues in recent years, including being diagnosed with Parkinson’s and suffering a fall in his home in 2019, which required multiple surgeries and has kept him from performing a full live concert for over six years.

“The last six years have been full of some of the worst times I’ve been through,” Ozzy says. “There’s been times when I thought my number was up. But making music and making two albums [2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9] saved me. I’d have gone nuts without music.”

No Escape from Now is currently in production and will continue filming leading up to Black Sabbath‘s massive reunion/farewell show in July, which will mark Ozzy’s final live performance.

The doc will also feature appearances by Ozzy’s friends, family and collaborators, including his wife, Sharon, and their children, Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Metallica‘s Robert Trujillo, Billy Idol and producer Andrew Watt.

UK artists protest planned AI changes in copyright laws with open letter and silent album

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

Elton John, Paul McCartney and The Who‘s Pete Townshend are among the artists who’ve signed an open letter published in The Times calling out plans to change U.K. copyright laws to benefit AI companies.

The letter contends that the planned changes “represent a wholesale giveaway of rights and income from the U.K. creative sectors to big tech.” As The Times notes, the changes would allow these companies to “use copyrighted works to train their AI software without permission unless the owner opts out.”

Other artists who’ve signed the letter include Sting, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon, Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa.

Along with the letter, a group of 1,000 musicians has released a silent album to Spotify, titled Is This What We Want?, in protest of the possible AI changes.

The album features 12 tracks with recordings of sound from empty studios and venues, representing what the artists believe could happen if the copyright changes go through. The song titles spell out a message that reads, “The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies.”

Artists lending their name to the album include Bush, The Clash, Blur‘s Damon Albarn, Kate Bush, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam, Tori Amos and Annie Lennox.

Proceeds from the album will be donated to the charity Help Musicians.

On This Day, Feb. 25, 1984: Van Halen hits #1 with ‘Jump’

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, Feb. 25, 1984…

Van Halen hit #1 with the track “Jump” off their sixth studio album, 1984. The song was the rock band’s only #1 single.

The tune’s popularity was aided by its music video, which was a staple on MTV. The clip, directed by Pete Angelus and Roth, was a performance video, that wound up nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards, winning best stage performance.

The track was also nominated for best rock performance by a duo or group at the 27th annual Grammy Awards, but lost to “Purple Rain” by Prince & The Revolution.

One of Bob Dylan’s earliest demos part of new Dylan-themed auction

February 25, 2025 by Classic Rock 93.9

The success of A Complete Unknown continues to shine a spotlight on the career of Bob Dylan, and now a new auction is giving fans a chance to own a piece of memorabilia from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.

RR Auction recently launched a new Dylan-themed auction featuring over 70 items, including a recording of one of his earliest demos, circa 1961. The demo, recorded live at New York’s Gaslight Café, was produced by Dylan’s first manager, Terri Thal. It is estimated to sell for $20,000.

“This tape is a revelation—a rare look into Bob Dylan before he was a household name,” says Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction.

Other items in the auction include memorabilia associated with Dylan and his Rolling Thunder Revue collaborator Bob Neuwirth, including a 1975 Martin D-41 acoustic guitar, which was gifted to Dylan by Neuwirth; a stage-worn “Nudie” suit that Dylan purchased for Neuwirth; and a Rolling Thunder Revue backstage pass. Proceeds from these items will go toward a planned documentary about Neuwirth.

Also up for auction is a Hohner Marine Band harmonica, played during Dylan’s infamous 1966 world tour, where he was called “Judas” for playing electric guitar; a black Stetson hat worn by Dylan; and several original photographs of Dylan.

Bidding on the Dylan items closes on March 12. More information on the auction can be found at rrauction.com.

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