Classic Rock 93.9

Van Morrison just announced a new live album called Be Just and Fear Not: Live at Orangefield, which was recorded during a series of concerts in August 2014 at his old high school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In July, he’s returning to Belfast to preview what might be yet another new album.

Van the Man will do a special lunchtime concert on July 11 at East Belfast’s Stormont Hotel, during which, according to Tourism Ireland, he’ll “play a selection of his new songs for the very first time.” According to the hotel, the concert is an “album launch,” but it’s not clear what album is being launched.

Either way, tickets for the intimate show are available now via Ticketmaster. With prices starting at about $320 each, they aren’t cheap, but they do come with a four-course lunch.

Live at Orangefield will be Morrison’s first live album since a box set version of 1974’s It’s Too Late to Stop Now came out in 2016. His last album of new, original material is 2022’s What’s It Gonna Take?

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Blondie‘s Debbie Harry is an occasional actress, and her latest role is in Catharsis, a 17-minute experimental film that will have its world premiere June 14 at this year’s Tribeca Festival.

According to Variety, the movie is about Alex, a dancer whose destructive behavior is being fueled by his grief over the death of his mother. Harry plays his superstitious aunt, Anya, who thinks that Alex’s behavior is caused by a family curse. She talks him into going to see a therapist who uses unorthodox methods to help him “confront his inner demons.”

The movie is directed by Brian Logvinsky and stars Harrison Ball as Alex. Logvinsky met Harry through Ball and cast her in the movie. “Debbie is a real star, a legend of culture, and an incredibly beautiful human being,” he told Variety. 

Harry isn’t the only one in the cast with a rock pedigree: it also stars Jemima Kirke, the actress daughter of Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke.

Prior to Catharsis, Debbie Harry’s most recent acting job was appearing as herself in a 2020 episode of the TV series High Fidelity.

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Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and AC/DC are among the honorees at this year’s Silver Clef Awards, a charity gala scheduled to take place July 5 in London.

The annual ceremony is presented by the charity Nordoff and Robbins, which provides music therapy to those “living with life-limiting illness, disability and isolation.”

Knopfler is being honored with the Icon Award. He says in a statement, “It’s a privilege to support an event that is directly part of such important music therapy work.”

He adds, “Nordoff and Robbins believes in sharing the value of music with everyone who needs it – that’s why I’m a longtime supporter and will continue to help raise funds so Nordoff and Robbins’ music therapists can continue their vital work.”

AC/DC is receiving the Legend Award at the event. Singer Brian Johnson says in a statement, “As a band, we’ve been dishing out our own brand of music therapy for the past five decades, so to hear all about how Nordoff and Robbins helps the young and the old with the power of music is something that we understand and salute.”

The awards, which have been presented since 1976, have raised more than $16.5 million for Nordoff and Robbins’ music therapy services. Past honorees have included Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters and David Bowie.

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Lenny Kravitz‘s social media posts are quite the thirst trap: many have admired those shots of him shirtless and/or working out in leather pants. And even though Gayle King recently tried to shoot her shot with him, Kravitz says he unattached — and celibate.

Speaking to The Guardian, Kravitz says he hasn’t been in a serious relationship for nine years. When asked by the paper if he was serious when he said some time ago that he wanted to abstain from sex until he found the right woman, he confirms, “Yes. It’s a spiritual thing.” 

And while Kravitz says he’d love to be in a relationship, he thinks it’d be hard for someone else to deal with his lifestyle, noting, “I have become very set in my ways, in the way I live.”

Of course, being celibate takes discipline, and the “Let Love Rule” rocker says he’s disciplined in other ways, as well: He frequently works out and doesn’t eat junk food. He’s also given up weed for the most part, but he tells The Guardian that when he did smoke it, he did so prodigiously. Not only did he hire a buddy to roll his joints for him, he claims he probably smoked more than 25 of them a day. “I was Bob Marley level,” he claims. 

Lenny will likely need all his discipline when he arrives in Sin City for his upcoming residency. He’ll perform shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM in support of his new album, Blue Electric Light.

“It’s always been a great part of entertainment history, and I thought it’d be a great warm-up, a great place to start and present Blue Electric Light to America,” Kravitz tells People.

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Midas Man, the long-in-the-works biopic about late Beatles manager Brian Epstein, is set to open the 2024 Toronto Jewish Film Festival.

The film will premiere Thursday at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. For more info, visit TJFF.com.

Midas Man stars The Queen’s Gambit‘s Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Epstein, who became The Beatles’ manager in 1962 after discovering them in their hometown of Liverpool. He continued to work with the Fab Four until his death in 1967 and is often referred to as the “fifth Beatle.”

An Epstein biopic was first announced way back in 2020 and went through multiple directors before finally landing in the hands of British filmmaker Joe Stephenson.

The cast for Midas Man also includes Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Jay Leno and Eddie Izzard.

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On This Day, May 30, 1987 …

Rocker David Bowie kicked off his Glass Spider tour in support of his album Never Let Me Down.

The tour was known for its elaborate set design, which included what looked like a giant spider with light-up legs. It was described at the time as “the largest touring set ever.” It took 43 trucks to move and weighed an estimated 360 tons.

Bowie was joined by his old schoolmate Peter Frampton on guitar, as well as dancers that Bowie co-choreographed with Toni Basil.

In addition to songs from Never Let Me Down, the set list included such Bowie classics as “China Girl,” “Fashion,” “Heroes,” “Let’s Dance,” “Fame” and “Modern Love.”

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European fans of Heart are out of luck: The band has canceled their European tour, which was set to kick off in June, run through July and include festival appearances, in addition to headlining dates.

The band announced on Instagram that the shows are being scrapped because Ann Wilson has to undergo what’s described as “a time-sensitive but routine medical procedure for which the minimum recovery time is six weeks.” 

Ann added, “I’m okay! Please don’t worry. I do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. It’s certainly an inconvenience for me. Love & respect always, Ann.”

The band’s upcoming tour of the U.S., which will feature them performing with Cheap Trick, is still on for the time being. Heart is scheduled to perform on a bill with Journey and Def Leppard on July 30, August 2 and August 5.

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We’re less than two weeks away from the release of the new Bon Jovi album, FOREVER, and the first single, “Legendary,” is a hit. Jon Bon Jovi tells ABC Audio why he felt that “Legendary” was the right song to be the album’s first single.

“You know, I think that it just sums up the bumper sticker for where I’m at in my life today,” he says. “‘I’ve got what I want because I got what I need/ A fistful of friends that’ll stand up for me/ And right where I am is where I want to be.’ And I think that pretty much sums it up.”

The song proves that, 40 years later, Bon Jovi can still come up with a hit. But Jon says the music business is quite a different animal than it was when he and the band first started out.

“You know, the rules are changing. And it’s not any better or worse. It’s just different for [a] different generation of people that are coming up now,” notes Jon.

“They have to worry about likes, you know, things like that that are so much different than when I started,” he continues. “It was all really solely about a song. And then, could you perform? That was the criteria.” 

FOREVER is Bon Jovi’s first album since October 2020. Due to Jon’s ongoing vocal issues, the band hasn’t announced any touring plans, but while we’re waiting to see if that happens, you can watch their Hulu documentary, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, streaming now.

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A run of iconic concert films will screen on AXS TV as part of the cable channel’s summer programming.

Among those being shown are Queen‘s Live at Wembley, Tom Petty‘s Live from Gatorville and Robert Plant‘s Live from the Artists Den, which will air June 29, June 22 and June 1, respectively.

Live at Wembly was recorded during Queen’s record-breaking 1986 performance at the famed London stadium. Live from Gatorville captured Petty’s return to his hometown of Gainesville, Florida, alongside The Heartbreakers in 2006, while Live from the Artists Den was filmed during Plant’s performance alongside his solo Band of Joy group during a 2011 episode of the long-running concert series.

The lineup also includes concert films by Metallica, Aerosmith, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, The Doobie Brothers, Elvis Costello, Bon Jovi, Journey, Foreigner and Heart.

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Eddie Vedder took a moment during Pearl Jam‘s concert Tuesday in Seattle to honor late basketball legend Bill Walton, who passed away Monday from cancer.

Speaking to the crowd, Vedder called Walton a “big man with a huge heart” who “cut a wide path of peace and love behind him.”

“Godd***** Bill, we miss you already,” Vedder continued. “I just wanna state our love for you in public … Thanks for all the good energy.”

During Vedder’s remarks, the venue’s screen showed a photo of Walton attending a Pearl Jam show in San Diego.

You can watch footage of Vedder’s tribute on Pearl Jam’s Instagram.

In addition to being a Pearl Jam fan, Walton was famous for being a Deadhead, and several Grateful Dead members shared their love following his passing.

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