Classic Rock 93.9

Duane Betts, son of Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts, is set to release his debut solo album, Wild & Precious Life, on July 14. The first single from the record, “Waiting on a Song,” is out now.

The album was written in 2020 during the pandemic and has Duane reflecting on important things in his life, like his father, his soulmate, his journey to sobriety and more.

“We’re here for such a short period of time,” Duane shares. “We see people come and people go — people we love and people we miss. We’ve all lost loved ones, yet we’re still here. You really have to take advantage of your time and make the most of it.” 

Wild & Precious Life, recorded at Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks’ Swamp Raga Studio, features guest appearances by Trucks, Marcus King and Nicki Bluhm. It’s available for preorder now.

Here’s the track list for Wild & Precious Life:

“Evergreen”
“Waiting on a Song”
‘Forrest Lane”
“Colors Fade”
“Saints to Sinners”
“Stare at the Sun”
“Under the Bali Moon”
“Sacred Ground”
“Cold Dark World”
“Circles in the Stars”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After a week of teasing, Foo Fighters have announced a new album.

The record is titled But Here We Are, and drops June 2. You can listen to lead single “Rescued” now via digital outlets.

But Here We Are is the follow-up to 2021’s Medicine at Midnight, and, more notably, the first Foo Fighters record since the unexpected death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022. A press release describes But Here We Are as a “brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year.”

Following Hawkins’ passing, Foo Fighters canceled all of their tour dates before reemerging for two giant tribute concerts to their late bandmate in September. On New Year’s Eve, they announced they intended to continue as a band, and have since scheduled a number of headlining concerts and festival sets for 2023, the first of which takes place May 24 in Gilford, New Hampshire.

As for who’s playing drums with the Foos on the album and on tour, that hasn’t yet been announced.

Here’s the But Here We Are track list:

“Rescued”
“Under You”
“Hearing Voices”
“But Here We Are”
“The Glass”
“Nothing at All”
“Show Me How”
“Beyond Me”
“The Teacher”
“Rest”

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Jethro Tull’s new album, RökFlöte, drops Friday, and for their latest release frontman Ian Anderson was inspired by the characters and gods of old Norse mythology and paganism, in part because he didn’t know much about it. 

“The reason that I had rather ignored that in my studies of comparative religion over the many years is because it was somewhat overworked in terms of holding a dark fascination,” he tells ABC Audio. “But then I thought, well, that shouldn’t be a good reason to put me off.”

Anderson says he wanted to approach the subject “in a sensitive way,” one that “allows me to look at that particular subject matter without feeling that I’m imitating some Norwegian heavy metal band.” 

Anderson says he has no expectations about what Jethro Tull fans may take away from the record, noting, “I’m not trying to sell them a particular set of ideas or a particular set of beliefs. I’m just suggesting, you know, here are some lyrics, here’s some music, and you examine it, see if you like it.”

RökFlöte is Jethro Tull’s second album in two years, following 2022’s The Zealot Gene. And it doesn’t sound like Anderson has any intention of slowing down. He says he’s already started work on the band’s next project, sharing, “I will be turning my attention to that again during the weeks and months to come.” 

RökFlöte is available for preorder now.

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According to Dave Grohl, Melvins is the “heaviest band of all time.”

In an Instagram post, Melvins shared a video celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary featuring a quote from the Foo Fighters frontman.

“Arguably one of the most influential artists of the past 40 years, the Melvins have still never relented from being the heaviest band of all time,” Grohl’s quote reads. “From the day I dropped the needle on their 1987 debut album Gluey Porch Treatments, I’ve been inspired by their signature, staggered feel, much like countless other bands who look up to them as the kings of the Northwest music scene.”

Melvins were a big influence on Nirvana, and not just musically. As the story goes, it was Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne who introduced Grohl to Kurt Cobain and Krist Novselic.

“Oh, and thank you for giving me Nirvana’s phone number,” Grohl says.

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The Black Crowes are set to headline the annual Mempho Music Festival, taking place September 29 to October 1 in Memphis, Tennessee.

The festival, happening at the Radians Amphitheater at the Memphis Botanic Gardens, also features headliners My Morning Jacket and Turnpike Troubadours, with Ween, Lake Street Drive, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Band of Horses and more also on the bill.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now. More information, including a complete lineup, can be found at memphofest.com.

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Jethro Tull is hitting the road this summer. Ian Anderson and the band just announced dates for their The Seven Decades Tour, which hits such cities as Cincinnati, San Diego, Boston and New York.

The tour is set to kick off August 18 in Highland Park, Illinois, wrapping November 4 in Albany, New York.

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at jethrotull.com.

The news comes as Jethro Tull are getting ready to release their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte, which drops Friday, April 21.

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A new documentary about the Chicago blues scene is set to hit digital platforms this summer, featuring interviews with Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and more.

Born in Chicago, narrated by Dan Aykroyd and executive produced by Jim Belushi and Elliot Roberts, delves into the Chicago music scene of the ’60s using a mix of archival footage and interviews. In addition to Dylan and Richards, the movie features appearances by Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Bob Weir, Steve Miller, Charlie Musselwhite and more.

Born in Chicago has already screened at several festivals. It is also set to be shown at the upcoming New York City Independent Film Festival, as well as the Washington DC International Film Festival and the 2023 Chicago Blues Festival. It will hit all digital platforms on August 1.

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Billy Idol is giving fans a sneak peek at a very special concert he performed earlier this month at the Hoover Dam.  

The singer headlined the first-ever concert at the dam on the Nevada/Arizona border, along with his guitarist Steve Stevens and special guests Alison Mosshart of The Dead Weather, the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones and No Doubt’s Tony Kanal.

The concert, which took place April 8, was filmed and will be getting a theatrical release through Encore Nights later this year. The first look shows Idol and the band performing his 1990 classic “Cradle of Love,” with Idol changing the lyrics to sing “I rocked the Hoover Dam.”

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Roger Waters is currently in Europe on his This Is Not A Drill tour, and now fans around the world will be able to experience the concert.

Trafalgar is set to air a special live broadcast of Waters’ upcoming show at the O2 Arena Prague in the Czech Republic in theaters. The screening will take place May 25 in over 1,500 theaters in more than 50 countries.

This Is Not A Drill has Waters performing 20 Pink Floyd classics, including “Comfortably Numb,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Us & Them,” along with the debut of a new song, “The Bar.” 

Tickets for the special broadcast go on sale Friday, April 25, at 10 a.m. ET.

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Carl Palmer is once again hitting the road with his celebration of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. 

Just like his late 2022 shows, The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer 2023 Summer Tour will have Palmer performing alongside live footage of his late bandmates Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, who both passed away in 2016. 

“The film ELP made of its sold out run at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1992 had everything we needed to make these tours happen,” Palmer shares. “We were able to use just the camera shots of Keith and Greg, with the sterling audio tracks of their performances resulting in a combination of film and onstage performance of my band that brings back the magic of ELP.” 

The tour is set to kick off July 8 in West Jefferson, North Carolina, wrapping July 29 in Westbury, New York. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at carlpalmer.com.

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