Classic Rock 93.9

Billy Joel has announced his first 2025 show with Rod Stewart. The two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will headline Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium on July 5. 

A Citi presale for tickets begins Dec. 9 at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public on Dec. 13 at 10 a.m.

Billy and Rod played their last show together in September in Cleveland. So far this is the only date they have booked for 2025, although Rod will head out on his own next year, with the U.S. leg of his One Last Time tour kicking off March 7 in Austin, Texas. 

Billy has several 2025 dates on the books, including a just-announced show with Stevie Nicks in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Aug. 8, as well as another in Detroit in March.

He’s also set to play five shows with Sting and has some solo dates on the books.

Billy’s next concert is a New Year’s Eve show at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.

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Alice Cooper teamed with his daughter Calico Cooper and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash for “Freewheelin’,” a song that was featured on the album Solid Rock Revival, and now a new animated lyric video for the track has just been released.

Solid Rock Revival, which is nominated for a Grammy for Best Children’s Music, was released under the name Rock for Children, a rock collective that includes Alice, his daughter and others. The album features contributions by Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Run DMC‘s Daryl “DMC” McDaniels and more. 

Proceeds from the album benefit Alice’s Solid Rock Teen Centers, which provide free after-school training in areas such as music, dance, art, and more for teens ages 12-20. It has locations in Mesa, Phoenix and Goodyear, Arizona.

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Iggy Pop has shared the performance of his solo classic “The Passenger” recorded for his upcoming live album, Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 2023.

As its title suggests, the set was recorded during the 2023 edition of the famed Swiss festival.

You can listen to the live “The Passenger” now via digital outlets, and watch the performance streaming now on YouTube.

Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 2023 will be released Jan. 24.

Iggy’s most recent studio album is 2023’s Every Loser, which was produced by Andrew Watt and features contributions from Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff McKagan, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction‘s Dave Navarro, blink-182‘s Travis Barker, Pearl Jam‘s Stone Gossard and late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

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Elton John sits down with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts for a new interview airing Dec. 11, ahead of the Dec. 13 premiere of his new Disney+ documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late.

In a new preview of the sit-down, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer talks about whether or not it was difficult to watch some of the more challenging times in his life for the film.

“A bit. Because I hadn’t seen a lot of that footage,” Elton shares. “But what it did, it confirmed in myself that those were great songs … I played well and had a great band. The records were amazing. I tend to forget that because I don’t listen to the past of, my past anyway.”

Elton noted that watching the film made him reflect on how he made 13 albums in such a short time while touring and doing interviews, and he came to an interesting conclusion.

“There was no internet, there was no mobile phones and there were no paparazzi so we didn’t have distractions,” he said. “Artists today have so many different distractions. It’s a different ballgame.”

He added, “I’m so grateful that I grew up in that era.”

Speaking of Elton’s documentary, the rocker just shared a new clip from the film on Instagram, featuring John Lennon talking about their relationship. “Elton and I are very close,” Lennon says in the clip. The film also promises to feature never-before seen footage of Lennon joining Elton onstage after his Thanksgiving 1974 Madison Square Garden show.

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Queen guitarist Brian May revealed in September that he was recovering from a “minor stroke” that initially left him with no control over his left arm, but according to his wife, actress Anita Dobson, his health now seems to be back on track.

According to The Mirror, while speaking at a Christmas lunch held in London by the Television and Radio Industries Club, Dobson let fans know that her hubby is doing okay.

“He’s much better now, he’s stabilized now, which is brilliant,” she shared. “He’s got the use of that arm, which was a bit of a challenge, back now.” 

While Dobson noted that she was worried about “more reoccurrences,” she said May is “good to go now.”

“He’s playing the piano quite a lot in the house,” she said. “He likes a lot of Beethoven. I love it – the piano in the house is really, just very relaxing.”

Dobson added that the whole thing is scary.

“And also being a genius for someone like that. His brain’s overloaded, that’s what it is,” she said. “He’s too clever for his own good.”

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Pearl Jam has announced a U.S. tour for 2025.

The headlining outing runs from April 24 in Hollywood, Florida, to May 18 in Pittsburgh. In between, it’ll stop in Atlanta, Nashville and Raleigh, North Carolina, with two shows in every city.

Tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster’s Artist Presale program on Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. local time. You can register to participate in the sale now through Dec. 10 at 10 a.m. PT.

Members of PJ’s Ten Club can access a presale now.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit PearlJam.com.

Pearl Jam will be touring in continued support of their new album, Dark Matter, which was released in April.

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On This Day, Dec. 5, 1974…

Paul McCartney and Wings released their third album, Band on the Run, which became a huge hit and to this day remains McCartney’s most successful non-Beatles album.

The album produced two hits, the title track and “Jet,” and went to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K.

The cover depicted McCartney, his wife Linda, and guitarist Denny Laine posing with actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee, British boxer John Conteh, U.K. broadcasters Michael Parkinson and Clement Freud, and English entertainer Kenny Lynch, all dressed as escaped convicts.

To celebrate the anniversary, McCartney released a special 50th anniversary edition of the album in February.

The reissue reentered the Billboard 200 at #156, and landed in the top 10 on three other Billboard charts: the Top Album Sales chart, where it reentered at #5; the Vinyl Albums chart, where it debuted at #7; and the Tastemaker Albums chart, where it hit #6. It also debuted at #37 on the Rock & Alternative Albums chart.

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Timothée Chalamet can’t quite believe that Bob Dylan has commented about his portrayal of Dylan in the upcoming film A Complete Unknown.

On Wednesday, Dylan tweeted about the film, noting that Timothée is “a brilliant actor,” adding, “so I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me.” 

Well, now Timothée has responded to Dylan with a tweet of his own, writing, “Floored. I am so grateful. Thank you Bob.”

A Complete Unknown follows a 19-year-old Dylan as he arrives in New York from Minnesota and tracks his rise as a folk singer during the ’60s, ending with his electric rock ‘n’ roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. 

The film, directed by James Mangold, opens in theaters Dec. 25, with special early IMAX screenings starting Dec. 18.

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He’s always in a New York State of Mind, but Billy Joel will be playing New Jersey next summer for the first time in years.

He and Stevie Nicks have booked an Aug. 8 show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It’ll mark the first time he’s played a show in the area since 2002, and his first outdoor show there since he played that stadium — then known as Giants Stadium — in 1994.

As for Stevie, this will be the first time she’s played New Jersey as a solo artist since 2012. For both, it’ll be their only appearance together in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut in 2025.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. via LiveNation.com. A Citi card presale starts Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. ET via citientertainment.com.

Billy and Stevie are also set to play together March 29 at Detroit’s Ford Field. Billy and Sting have several stadium dates booked for next year as well.

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A long in the works Led Zeppelin documentary is finally set to hit theaters.

The film, Becoming Led Zeppelin will open exclusively in IMAX theaters on Feb. 7, with a one night only early access screening to take place Feb. 5 in 18 markets, including New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston.

Becoming Led Zeppelin is a film fans have been waiting for for a long time. In fact, it first premiered as a work-in-progress at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. Sony Pictures Classics acquired the rights to the completed film in May. 

The movie, described as a “hybrid docu-concert film,” is the first officially sanctioned documentary about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group.

As for why it took so long to complete, it seems the filmmakers had a hard time finding early footage of the band, and had to search for material to use for the project.

“We spent five years flying back and forth across the Atlantic scouring attics and basements in pursuit of rare and unseen film footage, photographs and music recordings,” writer/producer Allison McGourty explains. “Then we transferred each piece of media with custom techniques, so that in IMAX, these 55-year-old clips and music would look and sound like they came out of the lab yesterday.”

Director Bernard MacMahon adds, “The cinematic power of IMAX paired with the film’s authentic sound creates an immersive and transportive viewing experience letting audiences feel like they are there, in the venues with the band.” 

Tickets for Becoming Led Zeppelin are on sale now.

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