Classic Rock 93.9

Farm Aid is going down at the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, on Saturday, September 23, and fans who can’t make it will still get to enjoy the show.

For the third year in a row, the annual concert will air on the Circle Network. The broadcast, which kicks off at 7 p.m. ET, will feature live and prerecorded segments. For fans who want even more, the complete show will air live on the Circle Now app, starting with a press conference at 11:30 a.m. ET.

This year’s Farm Aid lineup includes the organization’s board members: Neil Young, in his first return to the festival since 2019, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Margo Price and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds. Also on the bill are Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring The Wolfpack, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Allison Russell, The String Cheese Incident and Particle Kid.

The very first Farm Aid concert was held in September 1985 in Champaign, Illinois, to raise funds in support of family farmers. Since its inception, the annual festival has raised more than $70 million to support programs helping the farming community.

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Bush has premiered a new song called “Nowhere to Go But Everywhere.”

The track will appear on Gavin Rossdale and company’s previously announced best-of compilation, Loaded, due out November 10. Along with the new tune, Bush has unveiled the Loaded track list, which spans the “Glycerine” group’s discography from their 1994 debut, Sixteen Stone, to their latest effort, 2022’s The Art of Survival.

Loaded also includes a cover of The Beatles classic “Come Together.”

“I’m really grateful that I get the chance to make music after all of this time,” says Rossdale. “The privilege is not lost on me. I’m still in the octagon, and I think that’s healthy because I’m good at fighting.”

Bush will launch a U.S. headlining tour in November with support from Bad Wolves and Eva Under Fire. They’re also playing a New York City benefit show on September 22 in protest of gun violence, which will stream live via the platform Veeps.

Here’s the Loaded track list:

“Everything Zen”
“Little Things”
“Comedown”
“Glycerine”
“Machinehead”
“Swallowed”
“Greedy Fly”
“Mouth (The Stingray Mix)”
“The Chemicals Between Us”
“Letting the Cables Sleep”
“The People That We Love”
“Inflatable”
“The Only Way Out”
“The Sound of Winter”
“This Is War”
“Bullet Holes”
“Flowers on a Grave”
“The Kingdom”
“More Than Machines”
“Nowhere to Go But Everywhere”
“Come Together”

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On This Day, September 20, 1975…

David Bowie topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “Fame,” his first #1 in the U.S.

The song written by Bowie, Carlos Alomar and John Lennon, was the second single off Bowie’s ninth studio album, Young Americans. It wound up being one of the biggest hits of the year, charting at #7 on Billboard’s year-end chart.

It would be almost eight years before Bowie landed his second, and final, #1 hit with “Let’s Dance,” which topped the chart in May, 1983.

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Eric Clapton helped Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raise $2.2 million for his campaign by performing at a private fundraiser in Brentwood, California, on Tuesday, September 19, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I am deeply grateful to Eric Clapton for bringing his musical artistry and rebellious spirit to my gathering in Los Angeles last night,” Kennedy shared. “Eric sings from the depths of the human condition. If he sees in me the possibility of bringing unity to our country, it is only possible because artists like him invoke a buried faith in the limitless power of human beings to overcome any obstacle.”

The money raised at the event will be split between Kennedy Jr. and a PAC supporting his campaign.  

Earlier this year, Clapton tried to donate money to Kennedy’s campaign. He told The Real Music Observer he wasn’t allowed to because he’s not an American citizen.

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Jerry Garcia’s live performances will be part of a new vinyl series launching this November on Round Records. 

The archival series, Heads & Tails, will feature previously unheard Garcia performances that fit on one side of a record, something that isn’t always easy considering Garcia’s fondness for extended jams. The vinyl will also feature detailed album art.

According to the press release, Heads & Tails is “built for those magical windows when record consciousness manifested for magical 18-to-22-minute stretches of well-caught tape.” 

The series will launch November 3 with a cloudy blue vinyl release and artwork by Madalyn Stefanak. It features a side-length performance of “Save Mother Earth” with Merl Saunders, recorded January 19, 1972, in San Anselmo, California. The other side features Jerry Garcia Band jams “Don’t Let Go” and “Think,” recorded February 5, 1988, in Santa Rosa, California.  

Heads & Tails: Volume 1 is available for preorder now.

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If you ever wanted to play bass like Gene Simmons, Gibson is here to help you get closer to reaching that goal.

The guitar company just launched the new Gene Simmons EB-0 Bass, inspired by Simmons’ heavily modified 1959 EB-0, the instrument he played during KISS live shows and TV appearances in the ’70s. Like Simmons’ own bass, the Gene Simmons EB-0 features a VOS finish in Ebony, with a reshaped neck, a relocated pickup closer to the bridge and more.

Only 100 of these instruments are being sold for a little under $6,500. They can be purchased at Gibson Custom Shop dealers and online at gibson.com.

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Dee Snider’s new graphic novel is getting a boost from Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello.

Morello has written the foreword to He’s Not Gonna Take It, a comic book-style retelling of the Twisted Sister frontman’s crusade against the Parents Music Resource Center.

Snider famously spoke out against the PMRC during a 1985 Senate hearing over adding a “parental advisory” sticker to albums containing explicit material. In addition to supporting the advisory label, the PMRC compiled a list known as the “Filthy Fifteen,” which included Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as well as songs by artists including Judas Priest, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Prince and Madonna.

In Morello’s foreword, which Rolling Stone shared along with panels from the release, he writes, “Dee Snider’s heroic appearance before a congressional committee in 1985 to stand up against censorship was a high-water mark of musician activism.” 

“[Snider] stunned Congress and the world by speaking powerfully and eloquently about free speech while looking like the bada** heavy metal demon that he is, making everyone present question every false assumption they had about heavy metal or the people who play it and love it,” Morello continued. “His uncompromising stand in his music and on the witness stand were very inspirational to me and I was so proud of him on that day, and I still am.” 

The foreword concludes, “It’s OK to play kick-a** music and be smart and be yourself and stand up for what you believe in. Thanks Dee for proving that you can’t stop rock n roll!”

He’s Not Gonna Take It, which was co-written by Snider, will be released November 21. Frequent rock collaborators Z2 Comics will publish the novel.

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Sammy Hagar is getting ready to launch his very own beer, and he’ll be celebrating onstage.

The rocker and his band The Circle, made up of Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson, has announced a special show at The Fillmore in Detroit on October 23, in connection with the launch of Sammy’s Red Rocker Brewing Co. and their inaugural beer, Red Rocker Lager.

Tickets for the concert go on sale Friday, September 22, at 10 a.m. local time.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is at the heart of Red Rocker Brewing Co. and there’s no better place to brew our beer than in Detroit Rock City,” Sammy shares. “We created Red Rocker Lager to not only honor the fans, but to also pay tribute to the soul of Detroit rock ‘n’ roll.” He adds, “I can’t wait for beer lovers in Michigan and all around the world to try it.”

For now, the beer, described as a Mexican style lager, will only be sold in liquor stores in Michigan, although it will eventually be available for shipping to select states in the U.S. More info can be found at redrockerbrewing.com.

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Julian Lennon says he’s waiting for Paul McCartney to tell him some private stories about his dad, John Lennon.

During an appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Julian recalled running into McCartney at Heathrow Airport back in November 2022, a moment he captured for social media.

Julian, who was 17 when his father died, said, “We sat there chatting away for a little bit.” He described his relationship with his late father’s The Beatles bandmate as “weird,” noting, “We’re close but we’re not that close.”

He said he and McCartney never really sat down for a conversation like the one he was having with Maher, although McCartney has promised it will happen.  

“We keep saying, and he keeps telling me, we’re going to try and push for this, this year, sooner than later anyway,” Lennon said. “He keeps telling me, ‘I’ve got so many stories about your dad that I’ve never told anybody that I want you to hear about.'” 

He added, “And you know, he gave me some samples I thought I’d never heard before. But we just got to find the time and lock in to do that,” to which Maher responded, “Do it, like, yesterday.”

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Carlos Santana is extending his Las Vegas residency into next year. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced 2024 dates for his An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live residency at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

This will be the 12th year of Santana’s residency, with the guitar great adding 16 new shows in January, February and May of next year. The new dates kick off January 24 and wrap May 23.

Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.

Santana still has some residency dates on the books for 2023. His next set of shows begins November 1. A complete list of dates, including just-added shows, can be found at Santana.com.

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