Classic Rock 93.9

Neil Young has added a second date to his celebration of The Roxy’s 50th anniversary.

As previously reported, Young is set to perform at the famed West Hollywood venue on September 20. Now, he’s added a second show on September 21.

Both shows will benefit The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with serious medical conditions, and The Bridge School, which educates children with severe speech and physical impairments.

The concerts are taking place almost 50 years to the day Young first performed for the venue’s opening. He opened The Roxy with a three-night stand September 20-22, 1973, and a recording of the concerts, Roxy: Tonight’s The Night Live, was released as a live album in April 2018.

So far, there’s no info on when Young tickets will go on sale. When there, it will be posted to theroxyturns50.com.

But that’s not the only way The Roxy is celebrating its 50th year.  

Roxy owner Lou Adler is set to curate a new album, Live at the Roxy, featuring performances from such stars as Young, Bruce Springsteen, the Ramones, Warren Zevon and more. Music fans will be able to listen to it at the Grammy Museum exhibit, The Roxy: 50 and Still Rockin’, which opens in September. It will also be available for purchase there, with proceeds going to MusiCares.

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Aerosmith is still together and about to set out on their Peace Out farewell tour, but things weren’t always so happy in the band. In fact, back in 2009, Aerosmith had a falling out with frontman Steven Tyler when he left to do American Idol, and the other members almost went on without him.

To do so, they needed someone to replace Tyler; rocker and former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry says Aerosmith’s Joe Perry offered him the gig.

“I get this random call from Joe Perry,” Daughtry said on The Dave Rickards Podcast. “I thought it was a joke at first, but he didn’t even take time to, like, ‘How you doing?’ He just went into his reason for calling me.” Perry told him the band “wanted to work” despite Tyler not being interested, and then he asked, “How would you feel about hitting the road with us?”

Daughtry said the offer left him “speechless,” but he ultimately passed for many reasons. “First of all, I don’t consider myself any caliber of singer that Steven Tyler …He is irreplaceable, in my mind,” he said. “Furthermore, Steven Tyler’s alive. This whole fear of p****** off one of my heroes was just looming.”

While the idea of fronting Aerosmith was “a terrifying concept” to Daughtry, he’s still happy he was asked, sharing, “it is a story that I will hold near and dear for the rest of my life, for sure.”

As for Aerosmith, they eventually reunited with Tyler. Their Peace Out tour, with openers The Black Crowes, kicks off September 2 in Philadelphia. A complete list of dates can be found at aerosmith.com.

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On This Day, August 15, 1969…

The Woodstock Music & Arts festival kicked off on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York.

Billed as “three days of peace and music,” more than 400,000 music fans crowded the farm to see performances by such artists as Richie Havens, Santana, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Who, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jimi Hendrix and more.

So many people turned up for the three-day festival that it caused massive traffic jams on the New York State Thruway, with some folks abandoning their cars to walk to the festival.

A documentary about the festival was released in 1970, and two soundtrack albums were also released, with other albums coming out to coincide with anniversaries of the fest.

The original site of the festival is now part of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, with a theater constructed about 500 yards from where the festival took place.

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As a guy who’s taken the stage in some pretty elaborate outfits over the years, it’s no wonder Elton John has been tapped by The Masked Singer to help create an episode dedicated to his music.

The show’s landmark 10th season kicks off September 10 on Fox, with a new lineup of costumes, including “Donut,” “Anteater,” “Hawk” and “S’More.” One episode will not only feature the contestants performing Elton’s hits, but Elton himself will be making the song selections. Other themes this season include “One Hit Wonders,” “Harry Potter Night,” “Disco” and “NFL Night.”

Among the alumni who’ll be returning this season to perform all-new unmasked duets are Joey Fatone and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child.

Last season, the competitors included Michael Bolton, Debbie Gibson, Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider, David Archuleta and Pentatonix.

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Dolly Parton was able to reunite Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr for her upcoming Rockstar album, and we’re finally going to get to hear it. 

Dolly announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she’s releasing her cover of The Beatles “Let It Be” on Friday, August 18. Not only does the song feature Paul and Ringo, but it also has Mick Fleetwood and Peter Frampton.

Dolly shares, “This song is really special to me.”

Dolly will release Rockstar on November 17. In addition to the stars on “Let It Be,” it features Dolly collaborating with such artists as Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Richie Sambora, Elton John, John Fogerty, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and more.

It is available for preorder now.

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Green Day is continuing to tease the upcoming 30th anniversary of the band’s hit 1994 album, Dookie.

In an Instagram post, the trio shares a video collage of Dookie-era photos while what sounds like a demo or stripped-down recording of the track “When I Come Around” plays in the background.

The post also includes #Dookie30 in the caption and instructions to sign up for Green Day’s email list so that you don’t “miss a thing.”

Green Day first started sharing #Dookie30 posts earlier in August with similar throwback photos.

The RIAA Diamond-certified Dookie will officially turn 30 in February 2024. Not only did the album mark Green Day’s breakout record, it’s also considered a landmark release for the ’90s pop-punk scene.

In between the #Dookie30 posts, Green Day announced that they’d be making a donation in support of those affected by the devastating wildfires in Hawaii.

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Mick Fleetwood’s restaurant in Maui, Fleetwoods on Front Street, was destroyed last week by the recent wildfires on the island, as previously reported. The Fleetwood Mac star, who has been living on the island for nearly 30 years, calls the devastation unbelievable.

“I think it’s almost, this is not real what has happened, complete and utter destruction of a whole town,” he tells ABC News. He calledthe devastation “a massive blow to the Hawaiian culture of this island,” noting that “the islands of Hawaii are mourning as we speak.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was in Los Angeles when the fires began August 8 and was eventually able to return to the island with a plane full of supplies. But that’s only the beginning of how Mick is hoping to help the folks on the island.  

“The raising of funds, the raising of help, all of these things are dynamically, hugely important,” he says. “To draw down and keep the attention of what has happened, I think that’s a huge part of what I intend to be doing.”

Mick is convinced the community will come back, no matter how long it takes. He says that the beauty and  “romance of these islands” will be a “powerful reminder” to people so they don’t forget about the devastation.  

“That element can help heal the island and also keep this present with everyone with regards of what has happened here,” he says. “[It will be] a reminder that we’ll come out of this and come back like other communities have done.” 

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The Indianapolis Colts have lined up some big-name stars to help them launch their 2023 season.

The team has announced the lineup for their 2023 Kickoff Concert, which will take place September 8 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indiana’s own John Mellencamp is on board for the show, along with Stephen Stills, Heart’s Ann Wilson and J. Geils Band’s Peter Wolf, plus illusionist Criss Angel. The event will also feature The Jim Irsay Band and Irsay’s collection of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia.

The Kickoff Concert is free for fans, but they will need tickets to attend. They can be reserved at colts.com.

The Colts season kicks off Sunday, September 10, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

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It seems George Harrison’s mother didn’t think too much of how fans reacted to The Beatles in their heyday. 

Louise Harrison used to respond to her son’s fan letters, and the BBC reports that some of those letters are to be auctioned off in late August. In one of them, Louise reveals how she felt about some of the band’s fans.  

“Nobody with any sense would pay and queue for a ticket just to stand on a seat and scream and not hear one sound from the stage,” she wrote in a letter to fan Janet Gray, regarding the band’s 1963 show in Manchester. She added that she was “disgusted at the way the so-called fans just screamed,” noting, “I was really ashamed I was a female.”

The letter is one of 25 being auctioned off at the Beatles Memorabilia Auction in Liverpool on August 26. It is expected to sell for between $126 and $190.

Gray was a teenager during the time she corresponded with Harrison’s mom, and in some of the other letters the rocker’s mom offered her guidance on her relationship with her mother, wrote about her worries for her son’s health and even revealed how many letters she had to write.

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The 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s sophomore album, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, will be celebrated with a symposium put on by the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. 

According to the Asbury Park Press, the daylong event is happening October 28 at the Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, with speakers and ticket information coming next month.

A similar symposium was held back in January to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Boss’ debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. It featured a panel with former Springsteen manager Mike Appel, as well as an appearance by E Street Band members Garry Tallent, Vini Lopez and David Sancious, who performed songs from the album. 

Released November 5, 1973, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle features such future Springsteen classics as “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Kitty’s Back” and “The E Street Shuffle.” 

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