Classic Rock 93.9

Peter Frampton’s retirement from the road didn’t last long.

Back in 2019, Frampton set out on what he said would be his final tour ever, revealing that he’d been diagnosed with a degenerative muscular disease that would eventually stop him from playing guitar. Well, apparently that hasn’t happened yet, because he’s decided to hit the road again.

Frampton just announced a new set of dates for what he’s calling the Never Say Never tour, which kicks off June 21 in Hubert Heights, Ohio, and wraps August 19 in Sandy, Utah.

“At the end of every Finale Tour show I did say, ‘Never Say Never’ and I am always full of hope for the impossible,” Frampton shares. “I’m very pleased to let you know that I am feeling strong and my fingers are still roaming the fretboard.” He adds, “Every note I play now has more meaning and soul. I love playing live and this fighter wants to stay in the ring for as long as he can.” 

Ticket presales for most shows begin Wednesday, April 12, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at Frampton.com.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Joe Perry has some new music to share. The Aerosmith guitarist is dropping the new album Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII on May 26. 

The album, being released digitally and on vinyl, is a companion to Perry’s previous release, 2018’s Sweetzerland Manifesto. It will include six new tracks, and alternate vocals and mixes. It features guest appearances by The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson, Stone Temple Pilots’ Robert DeLeo, Cheap Trick‘s Robin Zander, New York Dolls’ David Johansen and more. 

“We had so many songs and with everything going on with The Vampires, Aerosmith, COVID, not touring, and touring, this music kept riding along for me,” Joe shares. “I tend to think in terms of albums. The first one had a vibe, and MKII is a little more rocked out. I almost prefer it.”

He added, “It’s one of those records I can play from front-to-back live.” 

And to give fans a taste of what to expect, Perry has dropped the first single from the record, “Fortunate One,” which he wrote with sons Tony and Roman and features Robinson on vocals. 

Here is the track list for Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII:

“Fortunate One” – featuring Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes) and Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots)
“Quake” – featuring Gary Cherone (Extreme/Van Halen)
“I’ll Do Happiness” – featuring Terry Reid
“Aye Aye Aye” – featuring Robin Zander (Cheap Trick)
“Man with a Golden Arm” – Instrumental
“Time Will Tell”
“I Wanna Roll” – featuring David Johanson (NY Dolls)
“Suck It Up” – featuring Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) and Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots)
“Goes His Own Way” – featuring Terry Reid
“Won’t Let Me Go” – featuring Terry Reid

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Foo Fighters have announced another batch of headlining U.S. shows.

The six-date run spans from August 4 in Spokane, Washington, to October 5 in El Paso, Texas. The Breeders will support on select dates.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 14, at 10 a.m. local time. A presale begins Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit FooFighters.com.

Along with the headlining shows, Foo Fighters lead the bill for the just-announced 2023 edition of Eddie Vedder‘s Ohana Festival, taking place September 29 to October 1 in Dana Point, California.

The Pearl Jam frontman himself will also be an Ohana headliner, along with The Killers. Others on the bill include HAIM, Pretenders, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Glen Hansard, Japanese Breakfast, The War on Drugs, Lucius, Dhani Harrison and The Chicks.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 13, at 10 a.m. PT; a presale for members of Pearl Jam’s Ten Club is open now. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit OhanaFest.com.

Foo Fighters are making their live comeback this year following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022. Their first show back is scheduled for May 24 in Gilford, New Hampshire. A new drummer has yet to be announced.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Idol is ready to rock Las Vegas again. The singer has announced a new set of dates at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan Hotel. 

Billy Idol: Live in Las Vegas will consist of five new shows, October 20, 21, 25, 27 and 28.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, April 15, at 10 a.m.

The news comes as Idol is currently on the road on a spring tour, which is set to hit Hollywood, Florida, on Tuesday, April 18. A complete list of tour dates can be found at BillyIdol.net.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, April 11, 1981 …

Eddie Van Halen married One Day at a Time actress Valerie Bertinelli eight months after meeting her at a concert in Shreveport, Louisiana.

They welcomed their first and only child, Wolfgang, in 1991, but the marriage didn’t last and Bertinelli filed for divorce in 2005. Despite the end of their marriage, the pair remained close over the years. In fact, Bertinelli and Van Halen’s second wife were both at his side when he died in 2020. 

As for Wolfgang, he went on to follow in his father’s footsteps. He performed with his dad in Van Halen from 2006 to 2020 and also fronts his own project, Mammoth WVH, which released their self-titled debut in 2021.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sting‘s My Songs tour, which has essentially been going on since 2019, will return to North America this fall.

The tour, which highlights material from Sting’s entire catalog, both solo and with The Police, starts September 5 in Toronto and is set to wrap up October 12 in Arkansas. However, it’s billed as Leg 1, so it’s likely Sting will be returning at some point. Opening all dates will be special guest Joe Sumner aka Sting’s eldest son.

Sting’s fan club members can access a presale via Sting.com starting April 12. The general on-sale date is Friday, April 14, at 10 a.m. local time via Sting.com.

Sting’s My Songs tour began in 2019 and toured through Europe, Asia and North America, but of course was canceled in 2020. It resumed in the fall of 2021 and included Sting’s debut Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. It continued around the world in 2022, with a second run of Las Vegas shows that June.

The set list has changed from year to year, but has always included hits like “King of Pain,” “Every Breath You Take,” “Fields of Gold” and “Desert Rose.”

Sting’s already been to Australia and Asia this year, and has done a third run in Vegas. He’ll perform in Sacramento, California, on April 11 and 12 before heading back to Europe.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Metallica kicked off its weeklong residency on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, by sitting down for an interview, followed by a performance of “Lux Æterna,” the first single from their new album, 72 Seasons, out Friday, April 14.

In addition to the new album, the group — singer/guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo — talked about some of their other projects, including their marching band competition which invites bands of all levels to come up with unique performances of Metallica songs, with over $150,000 in prizes up for grabs for the winners.

“The fact that we get to play and love what we do and someone takes that and puts that…in their own sense, then they get their whole audience pumped up for their team to play…it’s double cool,” Hetfield told Kimmel.

They guys will also be doing something a little different for their upcoming tour, in which they’ll play “two nights in every city, two completely different shows, no repeats” which, according to Ulrich, “helps us avoid falling into autopilot.”

The metal legends also discussed their popularity with younger fans, thanks in part to the use of their song “Master of Puppets” — which they’ll perform in its entirety on Wednesday — in an episode of Netflix’s Stranger Things, and their own kids following in their footsteps.

“Maybe one day we’ll…hand the keys to [Metallica] to them.”

The Kimmel residency continues through Thursday, leading up to Friday’s release of 72 Seasons.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Seems like Jon Bon Jovi is about to add a new A-lister to the family.

The rock star’s son Jake Bongiovi has apparently gotten engaged to his girlfriend, Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown.

19-year-old Millie seemingly confirmed the news in a post on Instagram, featuring a happy photo of the couple embracing, with a ring clearly visible on Millie’s finger. In the caption she quoted another music superstar, Taylor Swift, writing, “I’ve loved you for three summers now, honey, I want ’em all.” That’s a lyric from Taylor’s top 10 hit “Lover.”

20-year-old Jake also shared photos of himself with his apparent new fiancée at the beach, captioning the pics “Forever.”

The couple has been publicly linked since 2021.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The new movie Spinning Gold tells the story of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, who launched the career of several artists in the ’70s, including KISS. And while Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons don’t appear in the film, they did play a part in making the movie look and feel as accurate as possible.

“They were very collaborative in making the film,” director Timothy Bogart, who is Neil’s son, tells ABC Audio. “You know, they were speaking to our costume designers, our makeup designers, our production designers.”

Timothy says they’ve had “great support over the years” from the artists his father worked with, noting, “I think the idea that he’s being celebrated finally is something that makes them all, you know, feel like that’s an appropriate thing to finally happen.”

And while Timothy doesn’t know if Gene and Paul have seen the film, he says former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has reached out to him. “He actually went to the theater and was with a friend of his, and apparently the whole time going, ‘Yup, I remember that. I remember that.’”

Even though Ace’s relationship with Neil isn’t part of the film, Timothy says, “Just to hear his response was great. He really loved it.” 

Spinning Gold is in theaters now.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Journey’s Neal Schon knows a few things about suing bandmates, and now he’s throwing his two cents in regarding the legal battle between Mick Mars and his former bandmates in Mötley Crüe.

As previously reported, Mars sued his former bandmates Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil, claiming they unfairly decreased his portion of the band’s profits from 25% to 5% after he announced his retirement from the road. He also accused them of playing to pre-recorded tracks on last summer’s Stadium Tour.

Motley later responded to Billboard, insisting they “did not owe Mick anything” and have offered Mars “generous compensation.”

Well, now Schon has taken sides. When Twitter user Mitch Lafon asked folks whose side they were on in the Mötley debate, Schon chimed in “Mick,” adding, “Given his health issues, and (t)he  obvious swagger, he gives to the band through his guitar playing. He didn’t deserve this.” 

Schon, of course, has a history of legal entanglements with his bandmates, most recently with Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain. He sued him over a company credit card, and also sent a cease-and-desist to stop him from playing “Don’t Stop Believin’” at political events. 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.