Classic Rock 93.9

Alice in Chains is reissuing the band’s 1996 Unplugged live album on vinyl in honor of its 30th anniversary.

The LP is available to preorder now via Alice’s webstore. It marks the first time the album has been available on vinyl in the U.S.

Alice in Chains recorded Unplugged as part of the MTV Unplugged series. The set includes stripped-down performances of songs including “Rooster,” “Down in a Hole,” “Would?” and “Angry Chair.”

Alice went on hiatus for months following the Unplugged performance, and vocalist Layne Staley died in 2002. The band reformed in 2006 with new singer William DuVall.

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Graham Nash has always stood up for causes he believes in, and in the latest case it has forced him to cancel an upcoming concert.

“We are disappointed to let you know that the July 31st Graham Nash show at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Henrico, VA has been canceled in solidarity with the workers on strike at the Botanical Garden,” reads a post on Nash’s Instagram account. “We truly appreciate the loyalty of our audience and will work on a Richmond-area return to the stage in 2027.”

Ticket holders will receive refunds for purchased tickets.

According to the Henrico Citizen, unionized workers at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge back in April as they attempted to negotiate higher wages. They put on a one-day “unfair labor practice” strike on Wednesday, the workers’ eighth this year.

Nash is currently on a summer tour that includes some co-headlining dates with Emmylou Harris. His next scheduled show is Saturday in Wilmington, North Carolina. A complete list of dates can be found at GrahamNash.com.

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President Barack Obama is letting folks know what music he’s been into this summer.

Obama just released his 2026 summer playlist, which features such classic tracks as The Police’s “Message in a Bottle,” David Bowie’s “Modern Love,” The Beatles’ “Revolution” and Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.”

He also included “Song of Good Hope,” by Irish singer Glen Hansard, who died Wednesday in a motorcycle accident in Dublin.

“Here are some of the songs I’ve been listening to this summer,” Obama writes on social media. “It starts with a song Michelle and I love by Glen Hansard, a great musician who passed tragically this week. Our hearts go out to his family.”

Other songs on the list include: “Can’t Hide Love” by Earth, Wind & Fire; “Anyone Who Had a Heart” by Luther Vandross; “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan; “Let’s Get it On” by Marvin Gaye; “Hold On I’m Coming” by Sam & Dave; “The Book” by Sheryl Crow; and “(I Know) I’m Losing You” by The Temptations.

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Tony Iommi was hoping his upcoming solo album, From the Dark, would feature a mini Black Sabbath reunion.

The guitarist tells Rolling Stone that he originally wanted Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler to play on the record.

“I wanted [Butler] to play on this album, but he couldn’t do it,” Iommi says. “He’s doing his own album, I think. Or at the time, something happened there, so he couldn’t come to England. I wanted to get it done and finally get it out, really.”

Instead, Iommi recruited musician Becky Baldwin to play bass on From the Dark.

“Becky lives in Birmingham, and she’s a really good player,” Iommi says. “And she’s certainly a fan of Geezer, and she plays in Geezer’s style. And that’s what I wanted. She’s really good.”

From the Dark does feature a guest spot from Queen’s Brian May, who plays the solo on a song called “Death Wake.”

“He’s a very, very close friend,” Iommi says of May.

From the Dark is due out Oct. 23. Lead single “World Alone” is out now.

As for Sabbath, Iommi and Butler performed alongside fellow original band members Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward for the final time at the 2025 Back to the Beginning concert. Ozzy died just over two weeks later.

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The Grateful Dead has shared another preview of their upcoming live box set celebrating the summer of 1985.

The band has released a performance of “The Other One,” recorded during their June 30, 1985, concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. It is available now via digital outlets.

“Dating back to 1967, ‘The Other One’ was the most consistently played psychedelic-era song in the Grateful Dead’s repertoire, played straight through 1967-1995,” Dead legacy manager and audio archivist David Lemiuex writes in the video description. “This is the song that welcomes everyone, to this day, to get on the bus.”

The Merriweather Post Pavilion show is one of seven previously unreleased full concerts that make up the 20-CD box set Summer Magic 1985, dropping Sept. 18. The set celebrates the band’s 20th anniversary tour and includes their three 20th anniversary shows at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, June 14-16.

Summer Magic 1985 is limited to just 10,000 numbered copies and is available for preorder now on Dead.net.

In addition to the box set, the Merriweather Post Pavilion show will be released as a standalone three-CD or four-CD set. It is also available for preorder now.

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Here’s the story of a lovely Smashing Pumpkins show, which featured two surprise guests, including a member of The Brady Bunch.

Barry Williams, who played the eldest Brady son Greg Brady in the classic ’70s sitcom, joined Billy Corgan and company onstage during their pre-Lollapalooza concert in Chicago on Wednesday. They rocked a rendition of the very Brady classic “It’s a Sunshine Day” with Williams on lead vocals.

The collaboration comes after Williams guested on an episode of Corgan’s podcast, The Magnificent Others. And that’s the way they became the Smashing Bunch-kins.

As for the concert’s other guest, that would be former Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, who reunited with the band to play “The Everlasting Gaze,” a track off their 2000 album, Machina/The Machines of God.

Auf der Maur played in the Pumpkins from 1999 to 2000 following the departure of original bassist D’arcy Wretzky. She previously reunited with Corgan during his 2025 Machines of God tour.

The Smashing Pumpkins will perform a headlining set at Lollapalooza on Friday night, marking the first time they’ve played the festival since it moved permanently to the band’s hometown of Chicago in 2005. You can watch their performance via the Lollapalooza livestream on Hulu and Disney+. 

Disney is the parent company of Hulu and ABC News.

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Paul McCartney’s latest album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, has been nominated for the 2026 Mercury Prize, which recognizes the best albums from a British or Irish artist.

“What a brilliant and exciting surprise to be part of such an incredible list @mercuryprize,” McCartney writes on Instagram. “To have ‘The Boys of Dungeon Lane’ recognised alongside so many brilliant artists and albums is a huge honour for me.”

“Thank you to everyone who continues to support and enjoy the album,” he adds. “We have been having so much fun along the way. From making it with @thisiswatt to getting it out there for people to hear. I must say the reaction has been really special. So this news has just totally blown me away.”

The Boys of Dungeon Lane is one of 12 records shortlisted for the 2026 Mercury Prize. Also nominated is Florence + The Machine’s Everybody Scream and the charity compilation HELP(2), as well as albums by RAYE, Olivia Dean, Suede and more.

The 2026 Mercury Prize will be presented Oct. 22 at a ceremony held at Utilita Arena in Newcastle, U.K. The winner receives a trophy and a cash prize of about $33,000.

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It took a couple decades, but The Smashing Pumpkins are finally headlining Lollapalooza in their hometown of Chicago.

While the “1979” outfit previously performed at Lolla back in 1994 when it was a touring festival, they have never played it since it permanently moved to Chicago in 2005. Not only that, but the Pumpkins have never performed at the festival’s site, Grant Park, either.

“We were banned by the mayor of Chicago at the time, Richie Daley, who basically banned us from playing the park, ever,” frontman Billy Corgan tells ABC Audio.

That will finally change when the Pumpkins take the stage at Grant Park during Lolla 2026 as a Friday night headliner.  

“For us, it’s very meaningful,” Corgan says of the set. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs and it’s gonna be really a beautiful night in our incredible, crazy, up-and-down history.” 

Lollapalooza 2026 takes place Thursday through Sunday. You can watch the Pumpkins’ set and many others streaming live via Hulu and Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of Hulu and ABC News. 

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Queen has had another video reach 1 billion views on YouTube.

The latest is the performance video for the track “Don’t Stop Me Now,” from their 1978 album Jazz. The song, written by frontman Freddie Mercury, also appeared on the band’s 1981 Greatest Hits compilation.

The clip is Queen’s second video to join the Billion Views Club. The first was 1975’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which went on to reach 2 billion views back in December 2025, making it the oldest song to ever reach such a milestone.

In other Queen news … The new Freddy Mercury book A Life in Lyrics: The Official Creative Legacy of Freddy Mercury is now available for preorder. The book is described as “the definitive creative record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time.”

A Life in Lyrics features material from Mercury’s notebooks, some of which has never been published before. It will be released Sept. 1, four days ahead of what would have been the late Queen frontman’s 80th birthday.

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Ozzy Osbourne will be haunting Universal Studios this spooky season.

The theme park has announced an attraction inspired by the late Prince of Darkness as part of the 2026 edition of its annual Halloween Horror Nights program.

“It’s not just Ozzy’s heavy metal hits that will haunt you,” a description reads. “Bow at the throne of the Prince of Darkness in this haunted house inspired by the twisted mind of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest legends.”

“[Ozzy’s] music throughout every room is at the heart of it all,” Sharon Osbourne tells EW of the attraction. “Fans will also see scenes inspired by Ozzy’s journey, from his early days as a little boy growing up in Birmingham, England, riding the train to and from London, to the iconic imagery and characters from across his career.”

Halloween Horror Nights will be open Aug. 28 to Nov. 1 at Universal’s Orlando location and Sept. 3 to Nov. 1 at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles.

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