Billy Joelhas announced two new shows for 2025, which he says will be his only European dates for the year.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to play Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 7, and Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, England, on June 21.
Tickets for both shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
The two new shows are just the latest additions to Billy’s 2025 schedule. He recently announced four new shows with Sting, in Indianapolis, Syracuse, Charlotte and Salt Lake City, and one with Stevie Nicks in Detroit, with tickets for all shows going on sale Friday.
As for the rest of this year, Billy has two more shows with Sting on the books, in San Antonio and Las Vegas, plus a solo show in Inglewood, California, and a New Year’s Eve show in Long Island, New York. A complete list of dates can be found at billyjoel.com.
Imagine playing with The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and The Kinks, and then going on to play with all four Beatles separately — not to mention Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, Jerry Garcia, The Jefferson Airplane and more. Such was the life of piano player Nicky Hopkins, one of the most prolific and gifted session men in rock history. His story will now be told in a new documentary calledThe Session Man: Nicky Hopkins, which hits Amazon Prime and other platforms on Nov. 5.
The documentary features commentary and interviews by the Stones’ Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Bill Wyman, plus The Who‘s Pete Townshend, Peter Frampton, The Kinks‘ Dave Davies, E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Spinal Tap‘s Harry Shearer and many more, as well as interviews with Hopkins recorded before his death in 1994 at age 50.
Hopkins, who inspired The Kinks’ song “Session Man,” was a founding member of the Jeff Beck Group and played onstage with Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock. But overall, his ill health — caused by Crohn’s disease — kept him from being able to tour regularly as a group member.
Hopkins can be heard on Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and The Beatles’ “Revolution.” He played on more than 250 albums in all, including such classics as The Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet, Exile on Main St. and Let It Bleed; The Who’s Who’s Next and The Who By Numbers; Jeff Beck‘s Truth; The Kinks’ Face to Face and Something Else; John Lennon‘s Imagine;Ringo Starr‘s Ringo; Rod Stewart‘s Blondes Have More Fun; Carly Simon‘s No Secrets; and Paul McCartney’s Flowers in the Dirt.
The Session Man: Nicky Hopkins will be available on DVD later this year.
The Black Crowes have been forced to cancel an upcoming concert in Kentucky due to the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
“Due to travel complications caused by Hurricane Helene, The Black Crowes show scheduled for Oct. 1 in Pikeville, KY at Appalachian Wireless Arena has unfortunately been canceled,” reads a message on the band’s Instagram Story.
All ticketholders will receive refunds for their purchase.
The Black Crowes kicked off the second leg of their Happiness Bastards tour on Sept. 27 in Northfield, Ohio. Their next show is scheduled for Oct. 3 in Simpsonville, South Carolina. A complete list of dates can be found at theblackcrowes.com.
Bruce Springsteen released the solo album Nebraska.
The album featured 10 acoustic songs Springsteen originally recorded as demos on a four-track recorder. He’d planned to rerecord them with the E Street Band but instead released them as a solo acoustic record.
The album was a critical darling and peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart, with his biggest hit being “Atlantic City,” which reached #10.
Some of the songs on the demo that didn’t make it on Nebraska were later rerecorded with the band and wound up on Springsteen’s multi-Platinum #1 record, Born in the U.S.A.
The film DeliverMe From Nowhere, an adaptation of Warren Zanes‘2023 book about the making of the album, is currently in the works with The Bear star Jeremy Allen White starring as The Boss.
Pearl Jam headlined two nights of the Eddie Vedder-curated Ohana Festival and decided to break out a couple of songs they’ve never played live before.
Friday night’s set included the live debut of the Lost Dogs track “Whale Song,” which featured special guest Zach Irons, son of their former drummer Jack Irons. They also performed the Backspacer track “Amongst The Waves” for the first time on this tour, and Eddie performed the Lightning Bolt tune “Future Days” for the first time since 2016. They were also joined by Crowded House’s Liam Finn for “Habit,” from No Code.
Sunday’s set also included a first-ever live performance, this time of another Lost Dogs track, “Gremmie Out of Control,” which Eddie sings with guitarist Stone Gossard. The performance featured Brendan O’Brien, who produced several of the band’s albums, including Vitalogy,Vs. and No Code.
The set also included a performance of “Big Wave” for the first time since 2016; Dark Matter producer Andrew Watt on “Rearviewmirror”; Vedder’s daughter Harper on “Last Kiss”; and a Glen Hansard/Vedder duet on Hansard’s “Song of Good Hope.”
But Vedder wasn’t satisfied with just performing with Pearl Jam. The rocker made surprise appearances throughout the weekend, turning up during sets by Crowded House, Cat Power, Black Pumas and Hansard.
Elton John: Never Too Late, a documentary that details Elton John‘s extraordinary music career and complicated personal life, will premiere Dec. 13 on Disney+, and now you can watch the first official trailer.
The trailer begins by detailing just how big a star Elton was in the ’70s, with a string of #1 albums and dozens of hits. However, as he says in the trailer, “At that time, there was an emptiness within me. My soul had gone dark … I didn’t have anything, apart from my success and drugs.” It also shows him struggling to accept that he was gay.
The trailer goes on say that Elton realized family was the most important thing in the world and that he eventually found happiness with his husband, David — who co-directed the film — and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah. The story is told through archival footage and even some animation.
“The music you know. The story you don’t,” read the captions in the trailer. “He risked it all to find himself.”
The movie is framed by Elton preparing for his final concert in North America at LA’s Dodger Stadium and features a new, original song by Elton called “Never Too Late.” Ahead of the premiere on Disney+, the film will have a limited theatrical run in the U.S. starting Nov. 15.
Courtney Love and Tony Hawk are officially grandparents to the same child.
Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of the Hole frontwoman and the late Kurt Cobain, and Riley Hawk, the son of the skateboarding legend, have announced that they’ve welcomed a new baby boy together: Ronin Walker Cobain Hawk, born Sept. 17.
“Welcome to the world most beautiful son,” Frances writes in an Instagram post. “We love you more than anything.”
Frances and Riley have been together since at least 2021, and they got married in 2023.
2024 marks Bon Jovi‘s 40th anniversary, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers will be celebrating by releasing a book that’s described as the “ultimate historical document” of the “Livin’ on a Prayer” band.
The book, from Genesis Publications, will come as a signed and numbered limited edition that includes a 7-inch vinyl record. Called Bon Jovi Forever, it’ll include text by Jon Bon Jovi, as well as archival images of handwritten lyrics, stage clothing, tour passes and posters. The band members will share their personal photos, along with the best professional photographs of the band onstage and in the studio.
Speaking about the band’s longevity, Jon says in a statement, “I never laid out a plan for what I wanted people to feel from listening to our songs. But when you’re writing a collection of songs, it’s often the ones that really resonate with you that stand the test of time and resonate with others.”
“If a song is pure of heart, if it comes from an emotional place and is not just ‘crafted’, chances are the listener will take that story and make it their own.”
There’s no release date yet, but you can sign up at Genesis-Publications.com to be notified when the book is available for preorder.
The book is the latest historic project for Bon Jovi, following their Hulu documentary Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. Their album Forever was released in June, and features the singles “Legendary” and “Living Proof.”
Queen is no longer the most played British group of the 21st century.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers previously held the crown, but according to new data released by music licensors PPL, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have now fallen to second place behind Coldplay.
The data from PPL, which licenses the use of recorded music to radio and TV and in public places, notes that tunes by Coldplay have been played on U.K. radio and TV 40,000 more times than those of Queen.
Artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Police also made it on PPL’s list of the top 20 most played British artists of the 21st century.
The Beatles land at five this year behind pop groups Take That and Little Mix, with The Stones at 10, The Police at 14 and ELO at 17.
Other artists landing in the top 20 include Bee Gees, Eurhythmics, Duran Duran, Oasis, Snow Patrol and Wham!.
Kris Kristofferson, the singer, songwriter and actor whose songs were among the most admired, not just in country, but music in general, has died, according to a post on his official Facebook. He was 88.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 28 at home,” read the message. “We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”
Kristofferson’s resume was eclectic: Rhodes scholar, U.S. Army veteran, pilot, Golden Gloves boxer and award-winning actor. But it was his famous songs — including “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” — which made him a music legend.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates…
