Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart at the Kenedy Center Honors/ photo credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images
A group of A-list artists have signed up to celebrate the Grateful Dead at the Recording Academy’s upcoming MusiCares Person of the Year gala, taking place Jan. 31 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood, The Police’s Stewart Copeland, Sammy Hagar, Dave Matthews, and former Dead collaborator and friend Bruce Hornsby are set to honor the band with performances, as are Norah Jones, Maren Morris, Noah Kahan, Vampire Weekend, Zac Brown, Dwight Yoakam, Wynonna Judd, The War and Treaty, The War on Drugs, My Morning Jacket, Maggie Rose, Billy Strings, Sierra Ferrell and Lukas Nelson.
Dead & Company, which includes Dead members Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann along with John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti, will also perform at the ceremony, with a set celebrating The Dead’s late founding members, Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh.
Watch What Happens Live host and well-known Deadhead Andy Cohen will be the emcee for the evening, with funds raised going to help music professionals in need, including those affected by the California wildfires.
Garth Hudson on accordion with The Band at ‘The Last Waltz’; Michael Montfort/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Garth Hudson, the keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist who was the last surviving member of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Band, has died. He was 87.
The Band’s official Instagram confirmed Hudson’s passing, writing, “Today, we sadly say goodbye to Garth ‘Honey Boy’ Hudson, the last living original member of The Band. A musical genius and cornerstone of the group’s timeless sound, Garth once said, ‘I found some true enjoyment in helping people get to the bottom of their feelings.’ Through his music, he did just that—helping us all feel more deeply and connect to something greater. Rest easy, Garth.”
Hudson’s former manager tells ABC Audio that the musician died in his sleep early Tuesday morning in a nursing home near Woodstock, New York.
The oldest and only classically trained member of The Band, Eric “Garth” Hudson was best known for his distinctive Lowrey organ work on songs like “Chest Fever” and its dramatic live improvised intro, known as “The Genetic Method.” But he also played saxophones, woodwinds, synthesizers, accordion and other instruments on the group’s acclaimed albums.
Hudson, born in Windsor, Ontario, was one of four Canadian members of The Band, along with guitarist/songwriter Robbie Robertson, keyboardist/vocalist Richard Manuel and bassist/vocalist Rick Danko. Along with American drummer/vocalist Levon Helm, the musicians first came together as rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins‘ backup group. Hudson famously convinced Hawkins to pay him $10 extra a week so he could give “music lessons” to the other band members — a deal that mollified his parents, who were concerned he was wasting his years of musical training.
After leaving Hawkins, the five, known as The Hawks, initially gained fame as Bob Dylan‘s backing group before releasing their debut album, Music From Big Pink, in 1968. After The Band called it quits as a touring act following their The Last Waltz concert in 1976, Hudson worked as a session musician with many artists, including Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen.
The Band reformed in 1983 without Robertson. Manuel died by suicide in 1986, but The Band continued; Hudson appeared on the three albums they released in the ’90s. He also continued to work with his bandmates, including Robertson, on their solo projects, in addition to contributing to multiple film soundtracks. Danko’s death in 1999 ended the group’s career.
Subsequently, Hudson continued to work as a session artist, released two albums with the group Burrito Deluxe, formed his own 12-piece ensemble and wrote the score for an off-Broadway show. His last public performance came in April 2023.
BeatleGeorge Harrison married model Pattie Boyd, with his bandmate Paul McCartney serving as best man.
Harrison and Boyd met on the set of the 1964 movie A Hard Day’s Night.
The couple separated in 1974 and divorced in 1977, with Pattie blaming the split on Harrison’s infidelity.
During her marriage to Harrison, his good friend, Eric Clapton,actively pursued her. He even wrote the song “Layla” about his secret love for Pattie. Boyd and Clapton would eventually marry in 1979, although their tumultuous union ended in 1989.
Harrison would go on to marry Olivia Trinidad Arias in 1978 and they were married until his death in 2001.
On Jan. 19, Green Day called out Elon Musk on his home turf.
As footage posted on social media shows, when the band performed their first concert in South Africa Sunday in Johannesburg, Billie Joe Armstrong changed the lyrics of “American Idiot” from “I’m not part of the redneck agenda” to “I’m not part of the Elon agenda.” Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa.
Green Day and Musk are decidedly not fans of each other. The billionaire criticized the band for singing “I’m not part of a MAGA agenda” during their Dec. 31, 2023 performance on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, accusing them of going from “raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.”
Bass player Mike Dirntresponded, “Elon Musk actually is the machine. I can’t take anything else from that. He’s not shy about saying stupid s*** on the internet. Whatever.”
Dirnt noted, “The song’s 20 years old, and we’re Green Day. What did you expect?”
Ringo Starr recently released the new country album Look Up, co-written and produced by T Bone Burnett. It features 11 songs, with special guest appearances by Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, Lucius, Larkin Poe and Alison Krauss.
This isn’t Ringo’s first foray into country music, and he recently told reporters that he loves the genre because it’s “emotional music.”
“I’m quite an emotional person myself,” he said, joking that “in the ’50s, every country song was either the wife left, the dog’s dead or I need some money for the jukebox.”
And it seems for Ringo, one of the emotions he hopes to convey with the record is joy, especially with all the turmoil in the world.
“I think there’s always a need for music and there’s always a need for joy,” he said, noting music has a wide reach because it “translates into every language. It’s just peace and love.”
And for Burnett, there’s no better person to bring that joy than Ringo.
“I’m fond of saying that nobody in the world has generated more goodwill than Ringo Starr in my lifetime,” Burnett said, although he suggests that Ringo’s music is often thought of as “lighthearted” but it’s so much more.
“I’ve been spending the last couple of months listening to everything he’s recorded ,or that’s out that he’s recorded, and there’s a lot of very deep, serious stuff in there,” he said. “I mean, Ringo has paid his dues.”
British guitarist John Sykes, a member of both Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, has passed away at the age of 65. His death was announced in a post on his official Facebook page.
“It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer,” read a message on the site. “He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn’t know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.”
“He certainly marched to the beat of his own drum and always pulled for the underdog,” the post continued. “In his final days, he spoke of his sincere love and gratitude for his fans who stuck by him through all these years.”
Finally, it noted, “While the impact of his loss is profound and the mood somber, we hope the light of his memory will extinguish the shadow of his absence.”
Sykes joined Thin Lizzy in September 1982, after having teamed with the band’s frontman Phil Lynott to co-write the track “Please Don’t Leave Me.” He continued to play with the different incarnations of the band following Lynott’s 1986 death, and eventually left the group in 2009.
Sykes joined Whitesnake in 1984 and appeared on their sixth studio album, Slide It In, which was released the same year, and became a commercial success for the band. He also co-wrote several songs on the followup, 1987, including hits “Is This Love,”and “Still of the Night.” The record became the band’s most commercially successful album, although Sykes and his other bandmates were let go by frontman David Coverdale before the album’s release.
Photographer Danny Clinch is helping to raise money for victims of the country’s recent natural disasters.
The Transparent Clinch Gallery has just launched a new fundraiser that will benefit the Soulshine Fund, helping those in Florida and Western North Carolina who were impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The gallery is offering up three different 8-by-10 fine art photography prints taken by Clinch at the Soulshine Benefit concert in November at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The show featured performances by Warren Haynes, Dave Matthews, Trey Anastasio, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Nathaniel Rateliff and more.
The photos include a shot of all the performers onstage together, as well as one of Matthews, Trucks and Haynes backstage, and a portrait of Matthews and Haynes together.
The fundraiser will run until Jan. 25, with proceeds benefiting such organizations as Habitat for Humanity, Manna Asheville, Arts AVL and more.
The gallery is also running a second fundraiser to help the victims of the California wildfires, with a photo of John Mayer’s guitar and amplifier overlooking the Los Angeles skyline. It’s being offered in three options: 8-by-10 signed by Clinch, 8-by-10 signed by Clinch and Mayer, and 11-by-14 signed by both. Proceeds from that fundraiser will be donated to CORE and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Pasadena.
Rod Stewart turned 80 on Jan. 10, but the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is still celebrating.
After Rod and his family celebrated together on a cruise, Rod’s wife, Penny Lancaster, threw him a party on Jan. 18 to allow his friends to mark the milestone with him. One of the guests was Ron Wood, current Rolling Stones guitarist and Rod’s former bandmate in The Faces.
Wood posted photos on his Instagram posing with Rod and their wives and goofing around at the event, captioning the photos, “Really fun night celebrating Rod’s 80th!”
Rod said in an interview last year that he and Wood, along with another member of The Faces, drummer Kenney Jones, were working to record some new material.
Wood’s wife, Sally, also posted photos but revealed the party was a surprise.
“Last night with @sirrodstewart @penny.lancaster @ronniewood celebrating Sir Rod’s 80th birthday ~ the most beautiful night,” she wrote. “Thank you @penny.lancaster for being the best surprise party organiser ever, we love you both.”
According to People, the party was also attended by Jools Holland, the former Squeeze keyboardist turned big band leader with whom Rod recorded his 2024 album Swing Fever.
Def Leppard returned to the stage Saturday, but they were without one of their key band members.
Guitarist Vivian Campbell did not perform at the band’s show at Feria Estatal De León in León, Mexico, and instead Phil Collen‘s guitar tech John Zocco filled in.
Fan-shot video posted to YouTube shows Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott telling the crowd that Campbell had to miss the concert because “he’s just recovering from some treatment for his cancer.”
Campbell revealed in June 2013 that he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma and had stem-cell therapy in June 2014. He later added that he was undergoing immunotherapy. He announced in 2023 that chemotherapy had been added to his treatments.
Def Leppard has several dates on the books for 2025. Their next show is May 15 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.
Bruce Springsteen hit the stage for the first time in 2025 Saturday night, making a surprise appearance at the 25th anniversary Light of Day concert at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, the Asbury Park Press reports.
Springsteen made his first appearance of the night joining New York City punk fixture Jesse Malin onstage, performing Malin’s tracks “Broken Radio” and “Glitter in the Gutter.”
Malin, who had a spinal stroke in 2023 that left him paralyzed from the waist down, later shared photos from the evening on Instagram, noting the concert was “one for the books.”
Springsteen returned to the stage to join Willie Nile for a performance of “One Guitar” and then came back again for longtime friend Joe Grushecky’s set, with Grushecky introducing The Boss as “the real governor of New Jersey.”
During that set, Bruce performed “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “The Promised Land,” as well as “Pink Cadillac” and “Savin’ Up,” a Springsteen-penned song originally recorded by the late E Street Band member Clarence Clemons, adding a joke about the “fake news” reported by Forbes that he is now a billionaire.
The Boss closed the show with an acoustic rendition of “Thunder Road.”
Springsteen has now performed at 12 Light of Day concerts, which raise money for Parkinson’s disease research. The last time he turned up at the annual benefit show was at the 20th anniversary show in 2020.
