Classic Rock 93.9

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith has paid tribute to Pope Francis, who passed away Monday at the age of 88.

Smith shared a photo on Instagram of a dandelion growing between some cobblestones, with the caption, “This is a little flower a dandelion humble yet strong. I saw it this morning and was moved.”

“Farewell dear Pope Francis,” she added. “Nature and poetry and the suffering shall miss their champion.”

Pope Francis became the Catholic Church’s 266th pope on March 13, 2013, and was the first ever from Latin America. He was hospitalized for over five weeks beginning in February, and was released from the hospital and returned to the Vatican on March 23. Prior to his death, he made an Easter Sunday appearance from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

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There was a mini R.E.M. reunion in the band’s hometown of Athens, Georgia, on Sunday.

R.E.M.’s Peter Buck was headlining a show with Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ singer Kevn Kinney at the Rialto Room when Buck’s bandmate Mike Mills decided to join in on the fun.

According to a post on Instagram, Mills sang lead on a performance of R.E.M.’s Reckoning track “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” and also accompanied the pair on bass for Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ songs “Fly Me Courageous,” “Honeysuckle Blue” and “Straight to Hell.”

The post notes, “It was an amazing night in Athens with a great crowd and fabulous set.”

R.E.M. later shared video of the “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” performance, reminding fans that Peter and Kevin have another show at the Rialto on Thursday.

The performance comes less than two months after all the members of R.E.M. reunited in Athens at Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy’s show celebrating R.E.M.’s Murmur. All four members, including Michael Stipe and Bill Berry, performed the Reckoning track “Pretty Persuasion.”

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The late Tom Petty is featured in the new video for Snoop Dogg’s song “Last Dance with Mary Jane,” which reinterprets Petty’s classic track “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”

The clip, directed by Dave Myers, celebrates Snoop’s love of marijuana, and features an animated Petty playing guitar and harmonica, and singing along to the hook of the song.

Snoop’s “Last Dance with Mary Jane” appears on his most recent album Missionary, which is his first collaborative album with Dr. Dre since 1993. The song itself, which also features Jelly Roll, opens with Petty saying “keep movin’ on” and includes Petty’s chorus playing over the hook.

Petty seemed to have predicted Snoop and Dr. Dre would use the song at some point. He once said in an interview, “The day Dre does ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’ he’s gonna have a big hit,” adding, “That one’s just waiting to explode … you need somebody like Dre to do it.”

Released in 1993, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” was recorded during the sessions for Petty’s album Wildflowers, but was released as part of his Greatest Hits album. It hit #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Petty his first top-20 hit.

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Like EA Sports, the grand prize winner of Metallica‘s marching band competition will also be in the game.

The metal legends have announced that the school that takes home the college Division 1 title will be included in a future edition of the EA Sports College Football video game series. They will get to record a rendition of a Metallica song for the game’s soundtrack, as well as the EA Sports College Football theme song.

The inclusion in EA Sports College Football will be in addition to the $50,000 in music equipment awarded to the first-place college Division 1 winner.

Metallica first launched their marching band competition, punnily dubbed For Whom the Band Tolls, in 2023. It’s divided into categories including Division 1 college, Division 2 and 3 college, and large-, medium- and small-sized high school.

The high school winners of the latest contest were announced in February. At the time, Metallica also said that they were extending the entry window for colleges because “an exciting new partner approached us with an opportunity for our collegiate competitors that we just couldn’t pass up,” which we now would guess was referring to EA Sports College Football.

For more info on For Whom the Band Tolls, visit MetallicaMarchingBand.com.

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Fan voting for the 2025 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame closes Monday, and Billy Idol is making a case for why you should vote for him.

In a new interview with U.K. outlet The Independent, Idol, who is currently #3 in the fan vote behind Phish and Bad Company, argues that folks should vote for him “because I’m just f****** incredible.”

“It’s pretty amazing that I went from something like punk rock in England to mainstream success in the States,” he says. “I was not only involved in punk, I became a big part of the ’80s New Wave. And then I carried on making the music, living the rock ’n’ roll life.”

Idol continues his pitch by pointing out, “I’ve also gone beyond what people expect,” mentioning his 1993 album, Cyberpunk. “I didn’t stay in my lane. I took chances. Even coming to America, I had no idea I was going to do really well. And the risks I took worked.”

Finally he offers, “All of that shows an enterprising spirit – a spirit of rock ’n’ roll.”

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees include Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, The White Stripes, Oasis, Mariah Carey, New Order/Joy Division, Outkast and Mexican rock band Maná.

This year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class will be announced later in April.

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Alice Cooper is releasing a new album and it marks a reunion with his original bandmates.

According to Billboard, Cooper is set to drop The Revenge of Alice Cooper on July 25. It features guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neil Smith, who he hasn’t worked with since 1973’s Muscle of Love.

“It was very much like this was our next album after Muscle of Love, just like, ‘OK, this is the next album,’” Cooper tells Billboard. “Isn’t that funny after 50 years? All of a sudden it just falls into place.”

The Revenge of Alice Cooper is dedicated “to our brother Glen Buxton,” their bandmate who also appeared on Muscle of Love, but passed away in 1997 at age 49.

The album features 14 tracks, including the first single, “Black Mamba,” which will be released Tuesday. It features the Doors’ Robby Krieger, with Cooper describing it as “definitely an Alice Cooper, from-the-ground-up song.”

He adds of recording the song, “We didn’t know where it was gonna go. At the end we looked at each other and went, ‘Oh, that’s pretty good!’”

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Foreigner’s classic tunes are getting an orchestral spin for a new Las Vegas residency.

Foreigner: The Hits Orchestral – Celebrating 50 Years Live in Vegas will have the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band performing their biggest hits alongside a 20-piece orchestra, with arrangements written by Juilliard cello virtuoso Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, who is also set to conduct.

The residency, at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, will consist of five shows in March 2026.

Various presales kick off Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT and run through Thursday at 10 p.m. PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. PT.

Next up, Foreigner is set to launch a new South American tour on April 28 in Mexico City. The tour will feature original Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm and Luis Maldonado filling in for frontman Kelly Hansen. A complete list of dates can be found at ForiengerOnline.com.

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On This Day, April 21, 1984 …

Genesis frontman and drummer Phil Collins landed his first-ever solo #1 with “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now).”

The track was featured in the romantic thriller Against All Odds, which starred Jeff Bridges, Rachel Ward and James Woods.

In addition to being #1, the song was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy.

Collins went on to have 14 top-10 solo hits and six more solo #1 songs: “One More Night,” “Sussudio” and “Separate Lives,” featuring Marilyn Martin, which were all released in 1985; 1988’s “Two Hearts” and “Groovy Kind of Love”; and 1989’s “Another Day in Paradise.”

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Dave Grohl made a surprise appearance during Coachella’s second weekend.

The Foo Fighters frontman showed up during conductor Gustavo Dudamel‘s set Saturday alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. Together, they jammed the Foos songs “Everlong” and “The Sky Is a Neighborhood.”

In other Coachella weekend two happenings, Charli XCX reacted to Green Day drummer Tré Cool wearing a sash reading “actual headliner” after the pop star wore one reading “miss should be a headliner” following her weekend one set. During the Saturdays of both weekends, Charli played the main Coachella stage right before Green Day did.

On Sunday, Charli retweeted the photo of Cool and his sash alongside the caption, “obsessed.”

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ZZ Top rocker Billy F Gibbons will be celebrating our nation’s independence onstage in Ohio.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and his band the BFGs are set to headline Madtree Red, White & Blue Ash, a festival taking place July 4 at Summit Park in Blue Ash, Ohio.

The event is free and will feature fireworks, rides, games and more.

Next up, ZZ Top is set to kick off a tour of Australia and New Zealand April 26 in Bendigo, Australia. They will then hit Canada before bringing their Elevation tour to the U.S., starting June 10 in Moorhead, Minnesota. The tour runs through Oct. 10 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

They are also booked to play the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, on Sept. 13.

A complete list of ZZ Top dates can be found at ZZtop.com.

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