Classic Rock 93.9

A new musical with a score by Elvis Costello is set to open in London this fall, Playbill reports.

A Face in the Crowd is based on the 1957 movie of the same name, which starred Andy Griffith, Walter Matthau and Patricia Neal. It is set to begin previews at London’s Young Vic theater on September 10, with opening night scheduled for September 17. The show will run through November 9.

Canadian actor Ramin Karimloo, who appeared in the latest Broadway adaptation of Funny Girl, and Anoushka Lucas, who starred in the Young Vic’s revival of Oklahoma!, have been cast in the production, which follows a drifter who rises to unlikely fame after being given a spot on the air by a radio producer.

Costello has been working on the music for A Face in the Crowd for quite some time. In fact, he has actually been performing some of the songs in concert as far back as 2015, and a reading for the show took place in 2016 in New York.

Up next for Costello, he’s set to hit the road with Daryl Hall for a tour that kicks off June 2 in Troutdale, Oregon. A complete list of dates can be found at elviscostello.com.

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Metallica‘s All Within My Hands charity foundation has announced a donation of $100,000 to Direct Relief in support of those affected by the floods in Brazil.

The southern state of Rio Grande do Sul has been underwater for a week after getting hit by torrential rainfall. Over 100 people have died and over 130 are missing. More than one million people have been affected.

For more info, visit AllWithinMyHands.org.

Metallica and All Within My Hands have previously donated to support relief for the 2023 Hawaii wildfire and Southeast tornadoes, among several other U.S. and international disasters.

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Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is slowly revealing his upcoming touring schedule.

After previously announcing a six-show run at London’s Royal Albert Hall in October, Gilmour has just announced six more shows, this time at Rome’s Circo Massimo.

The Italian concerts are happening September 27, 28 and 29 and October 1, 2 and 3, with tickets going on sale Friday, May 17. They will be Gilmour’s first concerts in Italy in eight years.

The tour coincides with the release of Gilmour’s new solo album, Luck and Strange, which drops September 6. It is his first album of new material in nine years.

Luck and Strange is available for preorder now.

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Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is the latest musician to pay tribute to prolific punk rock musician and audio engineer Steve Albini, who died Tuesday, May 7, at age 61.

“I was very sad to hear of Steve Albini’s passing this week,” Page wrote on Instagram, mentioning that he and his Led Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant worked with Albini on the 1997 album Walking in Clarksdale. He noted it’s “a record I’m still really proud of.”

Walking in Clarksdale was the only studio album Page and Plant released together following the breakup of Led Zeppelin. It debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, with the single “Most High,” winning the 1999 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. 

“I had a strong connection with Steve, we all did on that album, and he came with such pedigree and experience as one of the world’s leading mixers and audio engineers,” Page writes. “He loved working with analogue tape, in fact his own band was called Shellac.”

Page described Albini as “passionate and knowledgable (sic),” calling out his work on Nirvana’s third album In Utero, as well as with bands like the Pixies and Bush.

He concluded, “He had an impressive CV and leaves a real legacy. RIP, Steve.”

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Richie Sambora is back with even more new music. 

The former Bon Jovi guitarist has just released “Songs That Wrote My Life,” the third single he’s released in as many weeks, following “I Pray” and “Livin’ Alone.”

In “Songs That Wrote My Life,” Richie sings of the music that shaped him, including The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar” and Don McLean’s “American Pie.” He also quotes the “Purple Haze” lyric “excuse me while I kiss the sky,” name checks Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney and even drops in the Bon Jovi hit “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

And there’s still more new music coming from Richie. He plans to release one more tune this month, “Believe (In Miracles),” which is coming May 17.

The new songs come as Richie is featured in the new docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, which is streaming now on Hulu.  The four-part series follows the 40-year career of his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Bon Jovi. 

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Ringo Starr recently revealed on Instagram that he’s working on a country album, and now, he’s sharing a little more information about the project.

“I’m working on it with someone very special – T. Bone Burnett,” he tells USA Today. “He’s doing stuff in Nashville and he comes to L.A. and it’s all working out. He came to me with nine songs. It won’t be out until October, at least.”

In the meantime, Ringo is getting ready to hit the road with his All Starr Band, something he’s been doing since 1989.

“When I first started this, I was invited to put a band together and go on tour, and I said yes, and then I said: What do you mean, yes? You‘re the drummer in other people’s bands!” he shares about how the tour got started. “But I opened my phone book and called everyone I knew and they all said yes. So I had to close my book.”

While the lineup for the band has changed over the years, one constant since 2012 has been Toto’s Steve Lukather, and Ringo plans to keep it that way. 

“I’ll never get rid of Luke. He has a lifelong ticket,” Starr says. “He’s my last best friend. You need time to make best friends. He’s an incredibly good musician and an incredible human being.” 

Speaking of friends, Ringo also opens up about his relationship with Paul McCartney, sharing they often have dinner together because “we’re buddies.” 

“If he comes to LA we certainly do something, and when I get to England we’ll do something there,” he says. “It’s just what we do.”

Ringo Starr & his All Star Band hit the road starting May 22 in Las Vegas. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.

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The four members of Talking Heads — David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth — got together last year to help promote the 40th anniversary rerelease of their iconic concert film, Stop Making Sense, and it seems they were pretty surprised by the public’s reaction to their reunion. 

“I assumed — I guess wrongly — that memory fades away, and that at some point, you’re kind of a ‘Where are they now?’ like you see on one of those cheesy documentaries,” Byrne tells Rolling Stone. “But that didn’t happen. That’s really surprising and flattering.” 

Frantz adds that the audience reaction during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert “was an awesome feeling.”

As for whether their recent reunion may spark a musical one in the future, the band isn’t saying.

“I’ve learned not to expect [anything],” Harrison says, although he notes, “We have taken baby steps forward to repairing our relationship.”

Regarding performing again, Byrne calls reports of the band being offered millions of dollars to play summer festivals “completely made up,” while Harrison shows a reluctance to tour, sharing, “It’s a lot of work. I don’t know how the Rolling Stones and The Who and these guys do it anymore.” 

“The world would love it, and we’re not getting any younger,” Harrison continues, “but I’m not holding my breath in any way.”

In the meantime, the four members of Talking Heads are due to reunite for two more Stop Making Sense Q&A sessions: June 4 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, where the original Stop Making Sense concerts took place, and June 13 at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre.

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In March, Metallica played the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song ceremony in Washington, D.C., in honor of Elton John and his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin. The concert aired in April on PBS, and now, Metallica has posted footage of their performance.

As previously reported, Metallica covered the epic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road opener, “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.” You can watch their eight-and-a-half-minute rendition, complete with cutaways to Elton and Taupin nodding and clapping along, streaming now on YouTube.

In covering Elton, Metallica returned the favor from when the “Rocket Man” icon contributed to a version of “Nothing Else Matters” for the 2021 Metallica Blacklist album. That recording also featured Miley Cyrus, famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

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Jon Bon Jovi is combining his Notre Dame fandom with his music. The rocker, whose son Jesse Bongiovi went to school at the prestigious university, just announced a special Notre Dame-themed vinyl of Bon Jovi’s upcoming album, Forever.

“I’ve been a longtime fan of Notre Dame and have many incredible memories on campus supporting the Fighting Irish with our family,” Jon shared on Instagram. “This was a great opportunity to create an exclusive limited-edition Notre Dame themed vinyl of our new album and I’m excited to share it with you.”

The limited edition Notre Dame release features the album in clear translucent vinyl with a Notre Dame Swirl. It is available for preorder now

Bon Jovi’s Forever, dropping June 7, is the band’s first album since 2020, which came out four years ago. 

“This record is a return to joy,” Jon has said of the album. “From the writing, through the recording process, this is turn up the volume, feel good Bon Jovi.”

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This June will mark the 40th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s multi-Platinum album Born in the U.S.A., and The Boss is marking the occasion with a special vinyl release.

The 40th anniversary edition of Born in the U.S.A. will be released on translucent red vinyl and will feature new liner notes written by Springsteen archivist Erik Flannigan along with a booklet filled with all sorts of goodies from the Born in the U.S.A era. It also comes with a four-color lithograph.

The set will be released June 17 and is available for preorder now.

Released June 4, 1984, Born in the U.S.A. spent seven weeks on top of the Billboard 200 Album chart and went to #1 in several other countries. It produced seven top 10 singles: the title track, “Dancing in the Dark,” “Cover Me,” “I’m On Fire,” “Glory Days,” “I’m Goin’ Down” and “My Hometown.” 

About 25 million copies of Born in the U.S.A. have been sold worldwide, and the album was certified 17-times Platinum by the RIAA.

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