Classic Rock 93.9

Brian Setzer is ready to hit the road again. The Stray Cats frontman just announced dates for the Rockabilly Riot tour, marking Setzer’s first live shows in over four years.

“I’ve had a pretty long break, and I needed it,” Setzer shares. “I’m renewed and really want to play live again. I want to just get out on the road with this kick-a** little 3-piece band and start playing.” 

The 12-date tour kicks off September 27 in Red Bank, New Jersey, wrapping October 13 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 30, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at briansetzer.com.

The new tour will coincide with a brand new solo album from Setzer. Details of the album have yet to be announced.

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Jimmy Buffett postponed a show in South Carolina back in May after he was admitted to the hospital to “address some issues that needed immediate attention.” Now, he’s missing another show.

Milwaukee Summerfest just announced that Buffett’s July 6 concert with the Coral Reefer Band at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater will not go on as planned. Tickets for the show had never actually gone on sale, but Summerfest had announced he’d be headlining that date.

While Buffett hasn’t commented on the canceled Summerfest show, a post on Facebook blamed the cancellation on “circumstances out of our control.”

The July 6 date will now be headlined by AJR.

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A new docuseries focusing on artists from the ’80s hair metal scene is set to premiere on Paramount+.

I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream will focus on five bands — Skid Row, Winger, Twisted Sister, Vixen and the Scream — all of whom found some success during the decade but struggled to keep it going. The trailer features interviews from Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, Winger’s Kip Winger, Skid Row’s Snake Sabo and more.

The docuseries will be broken into three parts: “I Wanna Be Somebody,” which focuses on the early days of the bands’ careers; “Headed for Heartbreak,” which focuses on the struggles they faced as their careers took off; and “Smells Like Change,” which delves into hair metal’s demise as other genres, like grunge, began to gain popularity.

I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream will debut July 18 on Paramount+.

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Dave Mustaine has shared an Instagram post remembering late Megadeth drummer Lee Rauch.

“One of Megadeth’s very first drummers, Lee Rauch, has passed away,” Mustaine writes. “He played on the recording of our Last Rites demo tape in early 1984, and I can remember the good times during our rehearsals at Curly Joe’s studio in LA.”

He adds, “Farewell, my friend, till we meet again someday.”

During his one-year tenure in Megadeth, Rauch was also part of the rare live lineup that included Slayer guitarist Kerry King alongside Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson.

Rauch’s brother, Chris Rauch, announced on Friday, June 23, that Lee had died, writing, “He was an awesome drummer, who helped launch one of the biggest metal names in history.”

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Rolling Stones fans will soon have a new way to enjoy their classic hits compilation Forty Licks. The record is set for its first digital release on Wednesday, July 26, and will be released in Dolby Atmos — but that’s not all. Forty Licks will also come out on limited edition four-disc, 180-gram black vinyl on Friday, July 28. 

Released in September 2002 to mark the band’s 40th anniversary, Forty Licks featured three dozen of the Stones’ biggest hits, including “[I Can’t Get No] Satisfaction,” “Brown Sugar,” Paint It, Black,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and more, as well as four then-new tracks. It went on to sell seven million copies worldwide.

After releasing the album, The Stones launched a successful 14-month Licks tour, which at the time became the second most successful tour ever.

The Forty Licks vinyl is now available for preorder.

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On This Day, June 28, 1980… 

Paul McCartney landed a new number one when “Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)” topped the Billboard Hot 100, his first solo track to top the charts since 1971.

The studio version of the song appeared on McCartney’s 1980 solo album McCartney II. It was actually the one released as a single, with the live version as the B-side, but Columbia Records promoted the live version, and radio stations played it, helping it to rise to #1.

“Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)” is one of nine solo number ones for McCartney. That doesn’t include the number ones he had with The Beatles.

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Paul McCartney’s new photo exhibit, Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm, is set to open at London’s National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday, June 28, and he hosted a special preview Monday that brought out many of his superstar friends.

Photos posted to Instagram show that guests at the celebration included Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood, Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, John Lennon’s son Julian Lennon and even former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

Photos also show McCartney posing with wife Nancy Shevell, and daughters Stella and Mary McCartney.

Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm is set to run until October 1 and feature more than 250 never-before-seen photographs taken by McCartney. The portraits on display are from McCartney’s own archive, and were taken between December 1963 and February 1964, giving fans an insight into his point of view as The Beatles were becoming international superstars.

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Neal Schon is paying tribute to legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The Journey guitarist shared a video of him shredding on his EVH Striped Series guitar, which resembles Eddie’s red striped guitar, but in white.

“A little tribute to Ed. It was so amazing to be on Van Halen’s 1st tour with him,” Schon writes in the Instagram post, referring to Journey’s 1978 tour, which featured Van Halen as openers. “I watched him annihilate every single night and was grateful I didn’t have to follow him.” 

Journey doesn’t currently have any tours on the books but they do have one show scheduled for July 1 in Provo, Utah. They wrapped their 50th anniversary Freedom tour in April. 

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ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons is giving fans an update on the band’s next album and says the late Dusty Hill will be represented on the record.

Gibbons tells Classic Rock that the band is “currently reviewing the tracks that deserve completion” for the next record, noting that both Dusty, who passed away in 2021, and his replacement, Elwood Francis, are on it.

“What’s fascinating is that we have three or four tracks with them both, they’re trading off,” he says. “The only tell-tale difference is that Dusty, playing with his fingers, sounds a little warmer.“ 

Gibbons says they “hope” to have the album out sometime this year, but notes, “We’ve got lots of road work ahead,” referring to ZZ Top’s upcoming Sharped Dressed Simple Man Tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd. The trek kicks off July 21 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at zztop.com.

In the same article, Gibbons also reveals he has an unfinished song with the late Jeff Beck, inspired by Beck’s love of chocolate and the time he mistook a box of chocolate malt balls for chocolate meatballs.  

“We had a big laugh, and I suggested we write a song called ‘Chocolate Meatballs,'” he explains. “We got a half of it done. You’ve reminded me that it needs to be finished.”

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Judas Priest‘s Richie Faulkner has announced a new signature guitar in collaboration with Gibson.

The Richie Faulkner Flying V Custom is a personalized take on the famed model, complete with a falcon inlay on the 12th fret in reference to the guitarist’s nickname.

You can order your own now via Gibson.com, provided you have $6,999. Faulkner, who underwent lifesaving emergency open-heart surgery in 2021, will be donating proceeds from the Flying V Custom to the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health and the American Heart Association.

Faulkner’s been a member of Judas Priest since 2011. In 2023, he launched his new band Elegant Weapons.

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