Jethro Tull is coming to America. The band, led by Ian Anderson, just announced summer and fall North American dates for The Seven Decades Tour, which will have them playing songs from their catalog, including their recently released album RökFlöte.
The tour is set to kick off August 18 in Highland Park, Illinois, hitting such cities as Indianapolis, Cincinnati, San Diego, Los Angeles, Boston and more, before wrapping November 4 in Albany, New York.
A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at jethrotull.com.
Paul McCartney and John Mellencamp have been added to the 2023 Tribeca Festival, which runs from June 7 to June 18 in New York City. Both artists will take part in the festival’s Storytellers Series as part of the Talks and Reunions lineup.
McCartney will sit for a conversation with ConanO’Brien for a recording of the former talk show host’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend. The event will take place June 15 at 6 p.m. at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. The pair will discuss McCartney’s new photo book, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, which is set to drop June 13.
Mellencamp is also scheduled for a conversation: he’ll be chatting with another famous talk show host, David Letterman. The pair’s chat is set to take place June 8 at 6 p.m. at the BMCC.
Tickets and passes for the festival are on sale now at tribecafilm.com.
Billy Joel is among the artists paying tribute to Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who passed away Monday at the age of 84.
Joel posted a video to Instagram of him performing Lightfoot’s classic “If You Could Read My Mind,” sharing, “So sad to hear of the death of Gordon Lightfoot. He was a lifelong musical hero of mine. His songs were the heart of Canada. R.I. P.”
Joel is one of many famous names to pay tribute to Lightfoot on social media. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaucalled Lightfoot “one of our greatest singer-songwriters,” noting, “Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever.”
Other tributes include:
Rush’s Geddy Lee called Lightfoot “a legendary poet, a songwriting inspiration – a gem of a man. I loved him.” He noted, “Every time I ran into him the first thing he would ask was how many gigs we’d done that year – he’d then proudly counter with the fact that he had played even more! RIP Gord – you are the man – the greatest Canadian.”
Belinda Carlisle – “In 2019, I recorded a cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s haunting ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ for my Runaway Horses 30th Anniversary box set. It’s one of my favorite songs. RIP #gordonlightfoot.”
BTO’s Randy Bachman– “When we were younger, Burton Cummings and I went to a #GordonLightfoot concert. We sat there mesmerized the entire time at the way he sang and the stories his lyrics told. Poetry, folklore & music. Spellbound would be a good way to describe it.” He added, “I knew him a long time, he was a wonderful person.”
Ben Stiller – “What a genius #GordonLightfoot was. His music is such a big part of my life. Rest in peace. Grateful for the inspiration he gave all of us.”
Kiefer Sutherland – “The world lost one of its great storytellers yesterday. Canada lost part of itself. And I lost a hero. Gordon Lightfoot, may you rest in peace.”
After performing at the CMT Music Awards last month, Slash is returning to the country world.
The Guns N’ Roses guitarist will be featured on an upcoming song called “21 Forever” with country artist Chris Janson and the legendary Dolly Parton. Janson announced the collaboration in a Facebook post, teasing, “This is going to be EPIC.”
“I’m so thrilled to announce, that two Global Icons have joined me in song, for my absolute biggest collaboration to date,” Janson added in an email to fans. “Dolly and Slash, it doesn’t get any BIGGER than that!”
The song will be released Friday, May 5.
Slash played the CMT Music Awards as part of a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. He and GN’R have also performed live with Carrie Underwood multiple times.
Mötley Crüe is once again defending themselves against accusations that they don’t play live in concert.
The rockers recently posted video to Facebook of Tommy Lee behind the drum kit to get fans excited about the upcoming relaunch of their tour with Def Leppard, writing, “There’ll be Anarchy when MÖTLEY CRÜE hit the road for leg 2 of THE WORLD TOUR! Europe, US, JAPAN & more…where will we see you?”
But not every fan is excited about the trek, with one person commenting, “Saw the backing tracks tour last yr and paid dearly to see it. It’s a hard NO for me this time around….”
Well, that prompted a very angry response from the Crue.
“THIS IS THE SUMMER TOUR FOOTAGE FOR F**** SAKE,” they commented. “THERE WERE NO BACKING TRACKS FOR BAND MEMBERS.”
Accusations of the band using backing tracks were made by former guitarist Mick Mars in his suit against the band over decreased profits, with the Crüe blasting him for badmouthing the band.
The European leg of the Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard tour kicks off May 22 in Sheffield, England. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.
The GratefulDead is revisiting their spring 1973 tour with a brand new box set. Here Comes the Sunshine 1973, dropping June 30, will consist of 17 CDs featuring five previously unreleased concerts from the tour.
Shows featured in the limited-edition release are a May 13 concert at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa; a May 20 concert at Campus Stadium at UCSB in Santa Barbara, California; the May 26 show at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California; and the two-night stand at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., which took place June 9 and 10.
In addition, the June 10 RFK Stadium show, which was a co-headlining bill with the Allman Brothers Band, will have its own separate release digitally and as a four-CD or limited edition eight-LP set. The five-hour concert ended with a third-set encore featuring the Allman Brothers’ Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks sitting in with the Dead. Fans can get a taste of that concert with the previously unreleased performance of “Ramble on Rose,” which is out now.
Here Comes the Sunshine 1973, whichcomes in a box designed by Grammy Award-winning art director Masaki Koike and includes an exclusive poster featuring an illustration by Mary Ann Mayer, is available for preorder now. Only 10,000 individually numbered copies will be sold through Dead.net; it will also be available as a digital download, also exclusively at Dead.net.
And fans can learn more about the shows when season 7 of the band’s official podcast, Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast, launches Tuesday, May 2, with the 1973 concerts the focus of the premiere episode.
Eric Clapton reunited with his former Cream bandmates Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce for four nights of shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The concerts took place at the very same venue where the band held their final concert in 1968. While they had reunited for a short set for the band’s 1993 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, the concerts were their first full shows together in almost four decades.
All four shows were immediate sellouts, and featured the first-ever performances of “Pressed Rat and the Wart Hog” and “Badge,” along with such Cream classics as “White Room,” “Sunshine of Your Love” and more.
The concerts were recorded and later released as a live CD and DVD.
The trio eventually brought the reunion to the U.S. with three shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden that October.
On Monday’s The Tonight Show, John Fogerty joined host Jimmy Fallon and his house band The Roots in the Tonight Show Music Room for a rendition of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” — performed with classroom instruments.
In the recurring segment, Fallon and The Roots back music artists for a version of one of their popular songs, using instruments you would find in a classroom.
In this case, it was Fogerty, rocking a toy guitar, while Fallon blew into a jug and Roots members played a toy xylophone, a melodica and kazoos.
Past music room guests have included Ringo Starr, The Who and Aerosmith.
Fogerty just kicked off his Celebration Tour, which pulls into the BeachLife Festival 2023 in Redondo Beach, California May 5-7.
Two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Graham Nash is set to talk about his career and more during a conversation with music journalist Anthony DeCurtis at the 92nd Street Y in New York City later this month.
“I’ve talked to Anthony many times in my life and he’s always been very respectful, and me also to him,” Nash shares on social media. “So, we’re gonna have a really nice night. I’m gonna be talking about my book of photographs and my new album that’s coming out and a lot of interesting stuff.”
The conversation is happening May 24 at 8 p.m. For those who can’t make it to the Big Apple, the conversation will be streamed online. In-person and online tickets are on sale now.
Nash is set to release his first new album in seven years, Now, on May 19. He’s described it as “the most personal album I’ve ever recorded.” It is available for preorder now. His photo book, A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash,is out now.
Nash is also currently on tour and will kick off a three-night stand in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday, May 2. A complete list of dates can be found at grahamnash.com.
Tim Bachman, guitarist and one of the co-founders of the Canadian band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, passed away Friday, April 28, at age 71. Well, now his brother and bandmate Randy Bachman has broken his silence for the first time since the news hit.
“I haven’t posted because my heart has been heavy but the news has announced my brother Tim passed this weekend,” he shares on social media. “I am the last of my family on this side with all my memories of our life growing up in Winnipeg. So grateful for that.”
He adds, “I’m sure my parents welcomed him home with my other 2 brothers who have passed in quick succession since the pandemic. I was the oldest. Rest in Peace, Timmy with mummy, daddy, Gary & Robbie.”
Randy, Tim and their other brother Robbie were in BTO together. Robbie passed away in January at the age of 69.
