Gov’t Mule fans are going to have to make some new New Year’s Eve plans. The band was supposed to kick off a run of shows in Philadelphia Thursday, but just announced the entire schedule has been postponed due to a “medical emergency.”
“After waiting for so long, we were excited to be together and finally make these shows happen, the last thing we wanted or expected was to have to postpone again, but it was an unavoidable situation,” the band shared on Instagram. “Please keep holding on to those tickets, and we’ll update you soon with more info. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday.”
The Black ‘N’ Blue New Year’s Eve run was supposed to launch Thursday at the Met in Philadelphia, followed by shows Friday and Saturday at the Beacon Theater in New York. These shows have already been postponed twice. They were originally supposed to happen the end of December 2021 and then were rescheduled to April, but were then postponed again.
Neil Young is certainly known for standing up for what he believes in, and he did that in a big way this year, taking on Spotify.
It all started in January when Neil, upset about the COVID misinformation he believed was being spread on Spotify thanks to Joe Rogan’s podcast, demanded his music be removed from the streaming platform. Spotify did comply, but Neil wasn’t the only artist it was about to lose over the matter.
Not long after his declaration, in solidarity with Neil, Joni Mitchell and E Street Band/Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren stood by him, demanding their music be removed from the service for the same reasons.
Then in February, Neil’s Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate Graham Nash backed him up by removing his catalog from Spotify. Not long after, David Crosby and Stephen Stills demanded their solo work, plus any Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young or Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby-Nash music be removed.
But the battle with Spotify wasn’t the only thing Neil had going on this year. He also released a new Crazy Horse album, World Record, as well as the album Toast, which he recorded with them in 2001 but had not released. He also released a 50th anniversary deluxe reissue of his fourth album, Harvest, along with a companion documentary, Neil Young: Harvest Time, chronicling the making of the record. Neil also released the live album and concert film Noise & Flowers, which was recorded during his nine-date 2019 European tour with Promise of the Real.
David Lee Roth is opening up about his relationship with his late Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in October 2020.
In the latest episode of his The Roth Show podcast, Roth shares, “My dear departed Ed. Boy, I miss him. I had a ball with Ed.”
As for their working relationship, Roth notes, “Walt Disney once said, ‘You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love affair with a woman I ever had,’” offering, “I’ve gotta tell ya: playing with Ed, writing songs with Ed, presenting those songs with Ed was better than any love affair I ever had.”
He adds that some of the tunes they made together in Van Halen “might last forever – or until the last syllable of time, like Shakespeare said. They became anthems.”
While the Beatles broke up over 50 years ago, they were still making headlines in 2022, with Emmy wins, big tours and more.
Here’s a lowdown on all of 2022’s Beatles happenings:
—Paul McCartney launched his Got Back tour in Spokane, Washington, which featured a virtual duet with John Lennon on the Fab Four’s “I’ve Got a Feeling.” He wrapped the tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, with special appearances by Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. It was also Paul’s 80th birthday, and Bon Jovi led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to him.
–Lennon’s son Julian Lennon covered his father’s classic track “Imagine” for the first time during Global Citizen’s televised Stand Up for Ukraine special.
—Ringo Starr received an honorary doctorate from Boston’s Berklee College of Music.
–McCartney headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival in England, and was joined by special guests Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. It was Grohls’ first time onstage since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.
–McCartney released McCartney I II III, a box set of his three self-titled solo albums: 1970’s McCartney, 1980’s McCartney II and 2020’s McCartney III.
–Ringo and his All-Star Band relaunched their tour after 12 dates had to be scrapped in June due to positive COVID tests by Edgar Winter and Toto‘s Steve Lukather. Unfortunately, a month later Ringo was forced to cancel the remainder of the tour after testing positive for COVID himself.
–McCartney made a surprise appearance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in England. Accompanied by The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde, the pair teamed up for a version the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling.” Sir Paul and the Foo Fighters also performed “Helter Skelter.”
—The Beatles: Get Back won five Emmys at the Creative Artist Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. McCartney and Starr, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison,the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, received trophies since they were all co-producers of the series.
–Ringo released EP3, the third EP of a four-EP collection.
–A deluxe reissue of the Beatles’ Revolver was released, featuring various new mixes of the original 1966 record, as well as a collection of outtakes and a four-song EP. Following the reissue’s arrival, Revolver re-entered the top five on the Billboard 200.
–November marked the 20th anniversary of the Concert for George, celebrating George Harrison with a screening of the all-star concert in theaters.
–McCartney dropped The 7” Singles box, featuring 80 7-inch McCartney singles, all personally curated by the Beatleslegend.
–A new documentary about Abbey Road studios, If These Walls Could Sing, directed by Mary McCartney, debuted on Disney+.
David Byrne is ready to help America ring in the new year. Rolling Stone reports the Talking Heads frontman has just been added to NBC’s Miley Cyrus-hosted New Year’s Eve special, Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party.
Byrne joins previously announced performers Latto, Sia, Rae Sremmurd, Liily and Fletcher.
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, which will be co-hosted by newly inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dolly Parton and air live from Miami,kicks off at 10:30 p.m. ET on December 31. The show will feature special appearances by Saturday Night Live’s Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman and comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy.
The middle of the Venn diagram between Kate Bush and Metallica fans probably wasn’t all that big at the beginning of 2022. By the end of the year, however, both the English art pop singer and the U.S. metal outfit shared one (stranger) thing in common.
The popular Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things’ fourth season made unexpected resurgent hits out of Bush’s 1985 single “Running Up That Hill” and Metallica’s 1986 thrasher “Master of Puppets.”
“Running Up That Hill” was featured in the first half of the season, which premiered in May. As the favorite song of the character Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink, “Running Up That Hill” helps her — spoiler alert — escape the clutches of the evil Vecna.
Following its placement, “Running Up That Hill” began to run up the Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at #3 on the all-genre chart — a career-high for Bush. In Bush’s home country, “Running Up That Hill” hit #1 on the United Kingdom’s Official Single Chart, breaking several records along the way; Bush became the oldest female artist to ever conquer the ranking.
The response to “Running Up That Hill” was so overwhelming that Bush issued several public statements, which was major news for an artist who’d developed a reclusive and press-shy reputation. It even got to a point where Bush gave an actual interview, her first in several years.
When the second half of Stranger Things season 4 premiered in July, it was Metallica’s time to shine. Like “Running Up That Hill,” “Master of Puppets” was featured in a pivotal scene, this time featuring Joseph Quinn‘s beloved metalhead and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast Eddie Munson, who — again, spoiler alert — shreds the metal classic in an effort to thwart Vecna.
While it didn’t quite match the enormous popularity of “Running Up That Hill,” “Master of Puppets” debuted on the Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at #35 — not bad for a nearly nine-minute metal song in the year 2022.
As Stranger Things was bringing in new fans, the “Enter Sandman” rockers reminded longtime ‘Tallica fans that “everyone is welcome,” no matter how long you’ve been listening.
Stranger Things also sparked renewed interest in Dio thanks to the Eddie character, who wore a patch dedicated to the “Holy Diver” metallers on the back of his denim jacket.
Earlier this month U2 was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, and fans will finally get to see the celebration Wednesday, when the ceremony airs on CBS at 8 p.m.
At the event, the band is saluted by actors Sean Penn and Sacha Baron Cohen, who stays in character as Kazakhstan journalist Borat. The night also features several performances, with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder performing two U2 tracks, “Elevation” and “One,” and Hozier, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow and others performing “Walk On.”
And U2 isn’t the only act being honored. The special also features tributes to Gladys Knight, George Clooney, Amy Grant and conductor Tania León, with performances from The Highwoman, BeBe & CeCe Winans and Michael W Smith, Garth Brooks, Mickey Guyton and more.
In January 2022, Elton John resumed his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour for the first time since the pandemic, and continued to add dates and special shows along the way. While he raked in the bucks on the road, he also gave fans a glimpse of what his post-touring career might look like by releasing yet another hit single and entering the metaverse. Here’s a look at his year:
–In January, Elton had to postpone two shows after testing positive for COVID-19. He made a full recovery.
–In March, Elton missed his annual Academy Awards Viewing Party charity benefit for the first time in 30 years because he had a show in Lincoln, Nebraska. A satellite hookup from the show to the party was provided.
–Also in March, Elton announced 11 new North American stadium shows, including his 2,000th U.S. concert: a November 20 show at L.A.’s Dodger Stadium, the site of his historic 1975 shows. That was soon expanded to three Dodger Stadium shows, with the November 20 one marking his final North American gig.
–In May, it was announced that the Dodger stadium shows would be recorded for a Disney+ documentary called Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend.
—In June, Elton helped celebrate Queen Elizabeth II‘s Platinum Jubilee with a special performance of “Your Song,” which was projected onto the facade of Buckingham Palace. In September, he mourned her death, writing on Instagram, “I will miss her dearly.”
–In July and August, Elton’s latest musical, a stage version of The Devil Wears Prada, played a limited run in Chicago. In a rare misstep for Elton, it received poor reviews. Elton later said, “It’ll be ready in another year.”
–In July, word came of an Elton John/Britney Spears collaboration, marking her return to music following the end of her conservatorship. In August, it was made official: Elton and Britney were teaming up for a remix of his classic song “Tiny Dancer” called “Hold Me Closer.” When the song arrived on August 26, it was revealed to be a mashup of “Tiny Dancer,” plus Elton’s songs “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
–In September, “Hold Me Closer” debuted in the top 10, giving Britney her 14th top-10 hit, her first since 2012. It was Elton’s 35th U.S. top-10 hit. It also debuted on top of Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, only the third song ever to do so.
–On September 23, ahead of Elton’s show in Washington, D.C., he was invited to the White House by President Joe Biden and presented with the National Humanities Medal. Elton said he was “flabbergasted” by the honor.
–In October, Elton’s other new musical,Tammy Faye, debuted in London. This one got great reviews, and though it closed in December, it’s likely it will reappear at some point.
–Elton’s November 20 Dodger Stadium show was livestreamed by Disney+ and featured guest appearances by Kiki Dee, Dua Lipa and Brandi Carlile. Just a few days later, Elton traveled to New York City and performed “Your Song” in the middle of Fifth Avenue to help unveil Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday windows.
–By November, Elton’s tour had grossed just under $750 million, ranking it as the second-highest-grossing tour of all time, behind his pal Ed Sheeran‘s Divide tour.
–Also in November, Elton entered the metaverse via a collaboration with the popular online game platform Roblox. Titled Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, the virtual experience let fans enjoy an interactive world inspired by Elton’s life and legacy.
–In December, Elton announced that his final United Kingdom show would be a headlining performance at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival.
Metallica has shared a live video of an acoustic cover of Thin Lizzy‘s “Borderline,” recorded during the band’s Helping Hands benefit concert earlier this month.
The heartfelt performance ended with James Hetfield thanking late Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott for “writing that song about my life.”
The Helping Hands show raised money for Metallica’s All Within My Hands charity foundation. The metal legends’ performance began with a mini acoustic set, after which they plugged in for a full electric set featuring the live debut of their new single, “Lux Æterna,” and a rendition of “Nothing Else Matters” featuring St. Vincent.
Metallica is also releasing a live CD of the Helping Hands concert, with proceeds benefiting All Within My Hands. You can preorder yours now via Metallica.com.
If you’re looking for the Kurt Cobain of the 21st century, Courtney Love would refer you to one Lana Del Rey.
In an interview on Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast, the Hole frontwoman and widow of the late Nirvana frontman declares, “Lana and Kurt are the only true musical geniuses I’ve ever known.”
As for what makes Cobain and Del Rey geniuses, Love explains that “they can Spielberg anything,” which she says is demonstrated by how Kurt interpreted Meat Puppets for Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance and how Lana “feminizes” Allen Ginsberg‘s “Howl” with her spoken word rendition of the famed poem.
“She’s got the integrity that Kurt had,” Love adds of Del Rey.
“By the way, [R.E.M.‘s Micheal] Stipe, [U2‘s] Bono — yes, these are people that I know and love,” she continues. “[Green Day‘s] Billie Joe [Armstrong], sure. But Lana? She’s got a magic thing.”
