Classic Rock 93.9

The Beatles fans who haven’t yet caught the Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil show LOVE need to book a trip to Sin City quickly.

Cirque du Soleil just announced that the show is set to end its 18-year run at The Mirage on July 7, ahead of the hotel’s transformation into the new Hard Rock Las Vegas.

The Beatles LOVE opened in 2006, featuring a soundtrack produced and mixed by The Beatles’ original producer, George Martin, and his son Giles Martin. More than 11.5 million people have taken in the show, which combined the band’s music with aerial artistry, colorful visuals and high-energy choreography.

“It’s been an honor for all of us at Cirque du Soleil to collaborate with The Beatles and Apple Corps Ltd. on what can only be described as a masterpiece,” Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group CEO Stéphane Lefebvre shares. “We are grateful to the creators, cast, crew and all involved in bringing this show to life and we know The Beatles LOVE will live on long after the final bow.” 

Tickets for shows through June 29 are on sale now, with tickets for the final week of performances expected to go on sale in the coming weeks. More info about tickets can be found at cirquedusoleil.com/beatles-love.

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Elvis Costello and Nile Rodgers & Chic are among the artists set to play the 2024 Newport Jazz Festival, which is the 70th year of the festival.

This year’s event is going down August 2-4 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island.

Other artists confirmed for the festival include André 3000, Brittany Howard, Thievery Corporation and Meshell Ndegeocello.

Special three-day tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 9, at 1 p.m. ET for 24 hours only, with all other ticket types going on sale Wednesday, April 10, at 1 p.m. ET. Ticket information and a complete lineup can be found at newportjazz.org.

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When everyone wasn’t focused on making sure they didn’t burn their eyeballs out while watching the eclipse on April 8, some were focused on creating the perfect soundtrack for their viewing experience, and Spotify reports that several songs fitting the theme saw big streaming boosts.

Some of those songs include The Beatles‘ “Here Comes the Sun,” which got a 2,140% boost in streams above its usual average, while Van Morrison‘s “Moondance” rang up a 2,300% increase.

Meanwhile, Pink Floyd‘s “Eclipse” got a 1,155% boost, Soundgarden‘s “Black Hole Sun” was up 1,470%, Bruce Springsteen‘s “Blinded by the Light” was up 1,600% and Elton John‘s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” was up 635%.

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest boosts went to Bonnie Tyler‘s 1983 classic “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which saw a 635% streaming boost in the U.S. Streaming increases in cities in the path of totality — meaning where you could see the sun being completely covered — were massive. In Buffalo, New York, for example, the song experienced a streaming boost of 2,090% from the previous week, and in Cleveland, the boost was 2,250%.

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While U2 frontman Bono seems to have a good sense of humor, apparently it only goes so far, as comedian Seth Meyers found out when he made one too many jokes about the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which Bono and The Edge wrote the music and lyrics for.

In the new The Lonely Island & Seth Meyers Podcast, Meyers recounts getting called out by Bono for harping on the failed musical, which closed in 2014 after losing millions of dollars.

“This might already be lost to history, but in the early runs of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, a lot of Spider-Men were falling from the rafters and hurting themselves super bad,” Meyers recalled. “Living in New York City at the time, that was pretty much all that the New York Post was writing about.”

Meyers noted he was “completely enamored with the story” and wrote “way too many sketches” about it for Saturday Night Live, which Bono wasn’t too happy about.  

“I got an email from Bono — this is not a joke — inviting me to the premiere of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,’” Meyers said. “He said something along the lines of, ‘You’ve had your fun. You’ve told your jokes. Now come see the real thing.’”

Meyers wound up going opening night and says he didn’t witness any injured actors.

“Everybody walked out as they entered,” he said. “I will say, half of the audience — and I’m not going to say which half I was in — I think was a little bummed out that nobody fell from the rafters.”

The Lonely Island & Seth Meyers Podcast has Meyers, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone reflecting on the popular SNL Digital Shorts put out by Lonely Island. A new episode airs every Monday.

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Deep Purple is getting ready to hit the road this summer on their = 1 More Time Tour celebrating 50 years of their classic tune “Smoke on the Water.”  

The tour, featuring special guest Yes, is set to kick off August 14 in Hollywood, Florida, and will hit such cities as Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Long Island, New York and more, before wrapping September 8 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 

VIP packages and a fan presale are available now, with tickets going on sale to the general public starting Friday, April 12, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at deeppurple.com.

The tour news follows Deep Purple’s March release of the new Machine Head: Super Deluxe Edition, a three-CD/LP/Blu-ray set that featured new stereo and Dolby Atmos mixes of the 1972 original album, the 1974 quadrophonic mix, a new 2024 remaster of the original album and two live concerts.

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Billy Idol is the latest rocker to star in commercials for the company Workday.

Continuing the theme from Workday’s Super Bowl ad, which featured Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett and Gary Clark Jr., the latest spots feature Idol, blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani.

In the ads, the trio calls out office workers for continuing to call each other “rock stars.”

“I can’t believe you corporate types are still at it,” Idol says in one clip. “Just stop calling each other rock stars.” He later crashes a meeting to add, “Using responsible AI doesn’t make you a rock star.”

In another clip, Idol sarcastically exclaims, “Look at my data-driven insights! I’m a rock star!”

“While these rock icons might not consider us to be rock stars in the traditional sense, our customers around the world are the true rock stars of business and we want to celebrate that,” says Workday Chief Marketing Officer Emma Chalwin. “We’re bringing that to life in the next wave of this multi-channel campaign with amazing talent, humor, and a bold, new edge aligned with what everyone loves about the Workday brand. We’re excited to show the world how Workday rocks the future of work.” 

The Workday ads are streaming on YouTube and will air April 8-14 in connection with The Masters golf tournament.

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Ozzy Osbourne‘s expanding his podcast repertoire.

With the return of The Osbournes Podcast in full swing, the Prince of Darkness has announced a new show called The Madhouse Chronicles, co-hosted by his longtime friend, Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison.

“Tune in to see me react to the craziest internet clips and chat about our favorite topics, including Drugs, Aliens, Rock n’ Roll and so much more,” Ozzy writes in a Facebook post.

An accompanying teaser clip hints at a discussion about Black Sabbath.

“Are you happy with the arc of the legend of Black Sabbath?” Morrison asks, to which Ozzy replies, “No.”

The Madhouse Chronicles premieres in April. For more info, stay tuned to OsbourneMediaHouse.com.

Meanwhile, you can hear Ozzy collaborate with Morrison on the new song “Crack Cocaine.” It’ll appear on Morrison’s upcoming album, The Morrison Project, due out April 19.

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We are getting our first look at the upcoming documentary about The Beach Boys. 

The first trailer for the doc has just been released, featuring archival interviews and footage of the band along with new interview clips from Beach Boy Mike Love, producer Don Was, Ryan Tedder and Janelle Monáe. It also touches on The Beach Boys’ rivalry with The Beatles, Brian Wilson’s conflicts with his father and more.

The Beach Boys, directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny, will also include all-new interviews from Wilson and bandmates Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston, as well as former Beach Boy Blondie Chaplin. It will also feature audio from Ricky Fataar, another former member, plus appearances by late members Carl and Dennis Wilson.

The Beach Boys will stream exclusively on Disney+ starting May 24. The official soundtrack to the documentary will also be available on streaming services the same day.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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On This Day, April 9, 1984…

R.E.M. released their second studio album, Reckoning, which, like their 1983 debut, Murmur, was produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon.

The album, which was first released in the U.K. and then the U.S., was recorded at Reflection Sound in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the producers attempting to capture the energy and sound of the band’s live performances.

Reckoning was a hit with critics and peaked at #27 in the U.S., although it topped college radio airplay charts. Its first single, “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry),” peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100, while its second single,  “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville,” did not chart. Both went on to become R.E.M. fan favorites.

The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA.

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Heart helped celebrate Monday’s solar eclipse with a special performance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers appeared on the late night show, where they performed Bonnie Tyler’s classic “Total Eclipse of the Heart” with Jimmy, from the rooftop of 30 Rockefeller Center as the eclipse was happening. 

“Heart is our musical guest and today, is obviously the solar eclipse,” Jimmy shared. “So we thought we have to do what we have to do. We have to sing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ with Heart while watching the solar eclipse.”

In an homage to Tyler’s video for the track, Fallon dressed like one of the school boys from the clip.

And that wasn’t the only tune Heart performed on the show: They later treated the audience to a performance of their classic “Barracuda.”

Heart is set to kick off the Royal Flush tour on April 20 in Greenville, South Carolina, with special guest Cheap Trick. A complete list of dates can be found at heart-music.com.

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