Classic Rock 93.9

Guns N’ Roses, Tool and Rival Sons have joined the lineup for Black Sabbath‘s big Back to the Beginning reunion/farewell concert.

Other new additions to the bill include Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, producer Andrew Watt, ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid and Ugly Kid Joe‘s Whitfield Crane.

Back to the Beginning takes place July 5 in Sabbath’s hometown of Birmingham, England, and will be headlined by the metal legends’ four original members, plus a solo set from Ozzy Osbourne. It’s set to be the last live show of the Prince of Darkness’ career.

Other previously announced artists include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Halestorm, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Disturbed‘s David Draiman, Limp Bizkit‘s Fred Durst, Korn‘s Jonathan Davis, Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, Faith No More‘s Mike Bordin, Sam Hagar and Wolfgang Van Halen.

Morello will also be the show’s musical director, and actor Jason Momoa will host.

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Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary with the three-plus hour live SNL50: The Anniversary Special on NBC Sunday night, and like a regular SNL show it featured some musical guests.

The show opened with a performance of the Simon & Garfunkel track “Homeward Bound,” featuring Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter, with Simon noting he first performed the tune on the show in 1976 with Beatle George Harrison, and Sabrina adding that she wasn’t alive yet and neither were her parents.

Wrapping up the night was Paul McCartney, who performed the Abbey Road side two medley that includes “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.” “The End” was an important part to an infamous SNL sketch where an excited Chris Farley interviewed McCartney, asking him if the line “in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” was true.

Another rocker turning up on the show was Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who took part in a Q&A portion of the evening, asking Tina Fey and Amy Poehler if anyone found a scarf he left in 1988. While Tina and Amy said they didn’t see it, the camera then cut to comedian Zach Galifianakis wearing it, and shouting “look it’s simply not here, OK. Can we all just stop looking?”

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The SNL50 Homecoming Concert special streamed live on Peacock Friday from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, and, like January’s FireAid benefit concert, featured a surprise Nirvana reunion.

Post Malone took on the role of the late Kurt Cobain while backed by Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear and ripped through “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Another grunge rocker, Eddie Vedder, covered Tom Petty‘s “The Waiting” and paid tribute to late SNL cast members including Gilda Radner and John Belushi. He then began Elvis Costello‘s “Less Than Zero,” which Costello infamously snubbed during his 1977 SNL performance, before cutting it and launching into Pearl Jam‘s “Corduroy.”

Vedder also popped up during Andy Samberg‘s Lonely Island medley to sing Michael Bolton‘s part of the comedy band’s song “Jack Sparrow.”

Jack White closed the night by rocking Neil Young‘s “Rockin’ in the Free World” and The White Stripes‘ “Seven Nation Army.”

Here are some of the show’s other highlights:

Arcade Fire performed their song “Wake Up” alongside St. Vincent and David Byrne of Talking Heads. The three acts also covered David Bowie‘s “Heroes” together.

Byrne returned to the stage alongside Robyn to perform her song “Dancing on My Own” and Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place.”

Alabama Shakes‘ Brittany Howard joined Miley Cyrus for a rendition of Queen‘s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

Mumford & Sons played “I Will Wait” and covered Simon & Garfunkel‘s “The Boxer.”

Bonnie Raitt performed her version of the song “Thing Called Love.” Coldplay’s Chris Martin then joined her for a rendition of “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”

Devo played their song “Uncontrollable Urge” with Fred Armisen on drums.

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NBC has confirmed that Paul McCartney and Paul Simon will perform on SNL50: The Anniversary Special, a live three-hour show airing Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

The pair had previously been announced as participants on the Saturday Night Live celebration, but a new post on Instagram now lists them as performers, along with Miley Cyrus, Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Sabrina Carpenter, Lil Wayne and The Roots.

The telecast, from Studio 8H in New York’s Rockefeller Center, will also feature appearances by Adam Driver, Ayo Edebiri, Bad Bunny, Dave Chappelle, John Mulaney, Kim Kardashian, Martin Short, Pedro Pascal, Peyton Manning, Quinta Brunson, Robert De Niro, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks and Woody Harrelson.

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Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder wants everyone to know he’s doing okay.

The rocker was forced to stop his performance on the Rock Legends Cruise Thursday after experiencing a medical issue, and a post on social media reveals that he’s now doing better.

“We appreciate everyone’s concern regarding Don Felder’s abrupt stop to his show last night on the Rock Legends Cruise,” reads the post. “After recieving (sic) medical attention he was deemed to be suffering from dehydration. He was given fluids, and is feeling much better.”

“To ensure he has ample time to rehydrate and recover fully, we are working on rescheduling today’s shows and adjusting the remainder of the cruise schedule accordingly,” the post continues, adding, “Thank you for your understanding, and remember—drink your water!”

The 2025 edition of the Rock Legends Cruise is set to run until Feb. 17, sailing from Miami to CocoCay in the Bahamas. It also features appearances by Styx, Alice Cooper, Guess Who‘s Burton Cummings, The Zombies’ Colin Blunstone, John Waite, Foghat and more.

Felder is also scheduled to be a special guest on the upcoming Brotherhood of Rock tour, headlined by Styx and REO Speedwagon‘s Kevin Cronin. The tour kicks off May 28 in Greenville, South Carolina.

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A new movie about the late Roy Orbison is in the works.

Variety reports that Orbison’s family has teamed with Compelling Pictures for a biopic and a documentary on the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, best known for such hits as “Oh, Pretty Woman” and “Crying.”

According to the trade, the feature film is being described as “a romance more than a traditional biopic,” telling the story of Orbison’s relationship with his wife and manager, Barbara, who helped guide his comeback in the ’80s.

The film, with the working title You Got It, after Orbison’s posthumous 1989 hit single, will be produced by Denis O’Sullivan, who produced the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and Jeff Kalligheri, who produced the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

“The Orbisons are elated to find the perfect partners in Compelling Pictures for the Roy Orbison biopic,” Orbison’s sons said in a statement. “Denis and Jeff’s vision for this journey through Roy’s life is incredible.”

Orbison passed away in December 1988 at the age of 52. In addition to his solo career, he had several hits as a member of the Traveling Wilburys, which also featured George Harrison, Tom Petty and ELO’s Jeff Lynne.

Orbison’s many accolades include being a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Musicians Hall of Fame. He won five Grammy Awards and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Peter Frampton is featured on a new cover of his classic hit “Baby, I Love Your Way.”

Jazz artist Deborah Silver has released the new take on the song just in time for Valentine’s Day. The cover features guitar contributions from Frampton, with Silver backed by the Count Basie Orchestra.

“I hope you enjoy our tribute to Peter’s iconic hit with someone you love,” Silver shared on Instagram.

The song is now available via digital outlets.

“Baby, I Love Your Way” was a single on the guitar great’s fourth studio album, 1975’s Frampton, but became a huge hit after a live version was released from his 1976 multi-Platinum album Frampton Comes Alive!. The live release peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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KISS wants to help all the couples out there get in the lovin’ mood this Valentine’s Day.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just released a new fan-curated playlist to Spotify and YouTube for the romantic holiday, titled You Never Forget Your First KISS.

The new playlist was created by longtime KISS superfan Lori Georgevich, KISS’ unofficial “Rose Girl” for the past 40 years, given that name because whenever she attends a show she hands Paul Stanley a rose during “Rock and Roll All Nite.”

Georgevich’s playlist includes such songs as “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” “Forever” and “Anything For My Baby,” all representing some of her “first” KISS memories, like the first song she heard, her first KISS album, her first concert and more.

Georgevich has been a fan since her teen years and even met her husband because of their shared love of the band. Their wedding was KISS themed and included band member Eric Singer as a guest.

This is the second fan-curated playlist the band has shared. The first, Hidden Hits, was created by superfan Matt Porter.

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Back in December, the Royal Mint announced it had teamed with Paul McCartney for a set of gold and silver coins honoring his musical legacy. Now a special bespoke set of Presentation Edition coins honoring the rocker is going for auction, part of the Mint’s Music Legend series.

The rare currency auction house Stack’s Bowers Galleries is handling the auction, which will take place March 19. Only one gold and four silver pieces will be up for auction, each weighing 5 kilograms.

McCartney and his team helped develop the coins. The gold one, which took 250 hours to make, including three days of polishing, was signed by the rocker during his 2024 Got Back tour in Paris. The person who nabs the gold coin will also get a video from McCartney congratulating them on the winning bid.

In total, only five silver Presentation Edition coins have actually been made, the four up for auction and one that was given to McCartney.

All of the coins come with a certificate of authenticity signed by McCartney.

“This feels like a huge honor,” McCartney shared when the coins were first announced in December. “It’s not anything I would have ever expected to happen when I was a kid.”

More info on the auction can be found at stacksbowers.com. McCartney and the Royal Mint will be donating a portion of the proceeds to charity.

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Back in January Ringo Starr headlined two nights at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, joined by a lineup of all-star guests. Soon folks at home are going to get to see what went down.

The previously announced Ringo & Friends at the Ryman special will debut March 10 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.

Taped on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15, the special has Ringo performing with such artists as Sheryl Crow, Jack White, Brenda Lee, Mickey Guyton, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Emmylou Harris, The War and Treaty and more.

The special will include performances of Beatles classics, Ringo solo hits and songs from Ringo’s recently released country album, Look Up, which was produced by T Bone Burnett. It will also include Ringo discussing the influence country music has had on his life and career, with the guests also sharing stories of how Ringo has influenced their music.

“It is always a thrill to play the Ryman and this time we are going country!” Ringo shared. “T Bone has put together a great show. It was two nights of peace, love and country music.”

The special also featured an all-star performance of the Beatles classic “With A Little Help From My Friends,” with proceeds from the song benefiting California wildfire relief efforts.

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