Classic Rock 93.9

Ringo Starr is back with new music.

The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to release a new album, Long Long Road, on April 24. It’s his second album with producer T Bone Burnett following 2025’s Look Up.

“I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records,” Ringo says in a statement. “After we did the last record, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened.”

He adds, “I like to say sometimes I make the right moves, like you can go left or right at any point, and one of the right moves was hooking up with T Bone for Look Up, and now for this one, which I’m calling Long Long Road, because I’ve been on a long long road.”

The album, which is described as having “roots in Country and Americana,” features 10 songs, including a cover of Carl Perkins’ “I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore.” It includes guest appearances by Sheryl Crow, St Vincent and Billy Strings, as well as Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz, who appear on the song “It’s Been Too Long,” now available via digital outlets.

Long Long Road is available for preorder now. Here is the track list below:

“Returning Without Tears”
“Baby Don’t Go”
“I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore”
“It’s Been Too Long”
“Why”
“You And I (Wave Of Love)”
“My Baby Don’t Want Nothing”
“Choose Love”
“She’s Gone”
“Long Long Road”

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It may seem like time itself is crawling faster now that Metallica’s Master of Puppets is officially 40 years old.

The metal legends’ third studio effort was first released on March 3, 1986. The album continued to push the boundaries of thrash on its way to becoming one of the most seminal and influential albums in heavy metal music history, as evidenced by its octuple-Platinum RIAA certification and its induction into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2015.

Master of Puppets is centered around its epic 8 1/2-minute title track. Frontman James Hetfield’s meditation of drug addiction is intensified by fiery down-picking and dueling guitar solos.

Today, the song “Master of Puppets” is Metallica’s most-played song live, and its legacy continues to live on in new ways. In 2022, “Master of Puppets” made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 after its use in the season 4 finale of Stranger Things. Metallica’s also named their upcoming Life Burns Faster residency at the high-tech Sphere venue in Las Vegas after a lyric from “Master of Puppets.”

Along with the title track, Master of Puppets includes the ripping opener, “Battery,” and the instrumental “Orion,” which was written primarily by bassist Cliff Burton. “Orion” would turn out to be something of a swan song for the 24-year-old Burton, who was killed in a bus accident during Metallica’s tour in support of Master of Puppets in September 1986.

Burton was replaced by Jason Newsted, who was then replaced by current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo.

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Billy Joel is the subject of this year’s Music Of concert put on by New York entrepreneur Michael Dorf.

This is Dorf’s 21st Music Of charity concert, and he tells Rolling Stone it was the rocker’s documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, that finally pushed him to make the Piano Man this year’s honoree.

“I think there’s a lot of love for Billy, and a desire to hear his music,” Dorf says.

This year’s show will be held March 12 at New York’s Carnegie Hall. The lineup includes Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, Train’s Pat Monahan and others, with Joel’s eight-piece touring band serving as the house band.

“The fact that it is his band, that’s exciting for people,” Dorf says. “We sold out without a single artist mentioned who’s performing, and we got a great lineup, as people trusted. Fingers crossed, let’s see if we have any special guests.”

Of course fans would love for one of those special guests to be Joel, who canceled his 2025 tour in May after being diagnosed with a brain condition. The only time he’s performed since then was a surprise appearance with a Billy Joel cover band in Wellington, Florida, in January.

Dorf will only say that like all previous honorees, Joel has been invited to the concert.

“There’s a box for the band, and if we’re lucky and they want to jump on stage, great,” he tells the mag. “But it’s really for them as much as it is anybody.”

Money raised from the concert benefits music education programs. Previous concerts celebrated the music of Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Paul McCartney, Van Morrison and The Who.

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Guitar greats Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, who in 2024 announced the formation of SATCHVAI Band, have dropped a new single.

The two rockers have released the track “Dancing,” accompanied by a video directed by Satriani’s son, ZZ Satriani.

The clip opens with the duo’s manager, played by comedian and musician Brendon Small, pushing them to hire dancers for their upcoming tour, with the rest of the clip focused on auditions for the gig. It features a cameo at the end by their drummer, Kenny Aronoff.

“‘Dancing’ really captures the playful side of what Steve and I discovered on stage together last summer — that push-and-pull of melody and energy,” Satriani says. “The video gave us a chance to show that spirit in a completely different way. Watching ZZ bring this absurd casting concept to life — and having Brendon step into the madness — made it even more fun.”

Vai adds, “This band thrives on surprise — musically and visually. ‘Dancing’ is a perfect example of that.” He notes, “It’s melodic but relentless, and the video turns that energy into a kind of surreal comedy. It’s a glimpse into the personality of this band before we even hit the stage.”

SATCHVAI Band will launch the Surfing With The Hydra tour on April 1 in Seattle. It will mark their first tour of the U.S. They have dates confirmed through May 30 in Vienna, Virginia. A complete list of shows can be found at satchvaiband.com.

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Metallica is adding six more shows to the band’s upcoming Life Burns Faster residency at the high-tech Sphere venue in Las Vegas.

The exact dates for the added shows have yet to be announced — “Keep watching for dates and additional info,” Metallica writes in a Facebook post — but presales will begin for members of the Metallica Fifth Member fan club on Wednesday at 10 a.m. PT.

The initially announced Vegas run includes eight dates taking place Thursdays and Saturdays in October: Oct. 1 and 3, 15 and 17, 22 and 24, and 29 and 31. Every Thursday performance will have a completely different and unique set list from its corresponding Saturday show, following in the tradition of Metallica’s No Repeat Weekend format on their M72 world tour.

Presales to the previously announced shows are open now, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. PT.

For all Metallica Sphere info, visit Metallica.com.

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Looks like Lenny Kravitz is working on a new album.

The rocker teased fans with news of a new record in a recent post on Instagram featuring a photo of him behind the drum kit and his dog sitting beside him. Kravitz captioned the photo, “Jojo vibing on the new tracks for the upcoming album.”

This isn’t the first time this year that Kravitz has hinted at new music. Back in January he posted a photo from inside the studio, captioning the shot, “Studio. New music. New love. Let Love Rule. Always!”

So far Kravitz hasn’t revealed any specific details about a new album. When it does get released it will be his first album of new material since 2024’s Blue Electric Light.

Kravitz has a trio of shows in Mexico that kick off March 8 in Guadalajara. He returns to the U.S. to play Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 16, and then heads to Europe for a tour that begins June 12 in Italy.

A complete list of dates can be found at LennyKravitz.com.

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Sting has announced some new North American dates for his Sting 3.0 tour.

The new fall leg will launch with a two-night stand in Vancouver, Canada, on Oct. 5 and 6, with the first U.S. shows happening Oct. 8 and 9 in Seattle.

The new leg includes a six-night mini residency at the historic Brooklyn Paramount in Brooklyn, New York, running from Nov. 11 to 18, with special guests Fiction Plane, which features Sting’s son Joe Sumner. The tour wraps Nov. 24 in Tampa, Florida, which is a rescheduled show.

Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates and info on presales can be found at Sting.com.

The Sting 3.0 tour has Sting backed by longtime guitarist and collaborator Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas.

Sting is currently in the middle of an eight-show residency in Paris, with his next show happening Monday. A North American spring leg of the tour kicks off May 6 in Hollywood, Florida.

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On this Day, March 2, 1962 …

John Francis Bongiovi Jr. was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, later changing his name to Jon Bon Jovi for his musical career.

In 1983 he formed Bon Jovi with keyboardist David Bryan, bassist Alec John Such and drummer Tico Torres; they were later joined by guitarist Richie Sambora. They released their self-titled debut album in 1984, which featured the top-40 hit “Runaway.”

The band has gone on to release 16 studio albums, including 1986’s Slippery When Wet, which spent eight weeks at number one, and 1988’s New Jersey, which also went to number one and produced five top-10 hits, including two #1 songs: “Bad Medicine” and “I’ll Be There for You.” 

Bon Jovi released their latest album, Forever, in 2024.

Bon Jovi is set to return with their Forever tour, which kicks off July 7 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It is the band’s first tour since Jon underwent vocal cord surgery in 2022.

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The reformed Sex Pistols featuring vocalist Frank Carter have announced rescheduled dates for their postponed U.S. tour.

The trek, the first full-length Pistols run stateside in over 20 years, was originally set to launch in 2025 before guitarist Steve Jones broke his wrist. It’ll now kick off Sept. 11 in Dallas and will wrap up Oct. 18 in Los Angeles.

“Mr. Jones here with an update on my wrist, I think it’s good enough to do the upcoming tour,” Jones says in a statement. “Now if I can just stop my legs from buckling up, I think I’ll be in good shape.”

Previously purchased tickets to the originally scheduled shows will be valid for most of the new dates. Tickets to newly added stops will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

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

The Pistols currently consist of original members Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock along with Carter, who’s fronting the band in place of vocalist John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon. For each show, the Pistols will be performing their iconic one-and-only album, 1977’s Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, in full.

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Eric Clapton has added some U.S. dates to his 2026 tour.

The three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has announced six new U.S. shows, starting Sept. 6 in Detroit. The tour will hit Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, Minnesota, before wrapping Sept. 17 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jimmie Vaughan will be the special guest on all dates.

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

The new dates are Clapton’s only 2026 shows in the U.S. He’s due to kick off a tour of the U.K. and Europe on April 20 in Guilford, U.K.

A complete list of dates can be found at EricClapton.com.

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