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A two-night benefit concert series celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.‘s 1982 debut EP, Chronic Town, will take place in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia, this December.

The lineup for both shows includes Black Crowes co-founders Rich and Chris Robinson, Hootie and the Blowfish‘s Darius Rucker, Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye, longtime Black Crowes bassist Sven Pipien, The Dream Syndicate‘s Steve Wynn and ex-Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin.

Rich, Barrett and Sven will serve as the concerts’ house band.

Saturday Night Live alum/musician Fred Armisen, actor John Cameron Mitchell, Drivin N Cryin and Let’s Active‘s Mitch Easter, who produced Chronic Town, are also on the bill. David Cross will host the events.

In addition, The Indigo Girls will be playing at the Athens show.

The concerts will feature performances of Chronic Town‘s five songs, as well as other fan favorites.

The Athens concert will be held December 14 at the 40 Watt Club. Tickets go on sale to the general public Tuesday, October 11, at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets for the Atlanta show, which will take place at the Coca-Cola Roxy theater on December 15, go on sale to the general public Friday, October 7, at 10 a.m. ET, while a fan presale will begin October 6 at 10 a.m. ET.

“Growing up in Atlanta in the 1980s, R.E.M. was the preeminent band of that era,” says Rich. “Their music was a huge influence not only on the Atlanta music scene but also on my brother and me. I’m so happy to be able to put together this celebration for a band that meant so much to us and music, and Chronic Town is what started it all.”

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Julian Lennon has been named the official 2022 ambassador for the 12th annual edition of World College Radio Day, which takes place Friday, October 7.

The celebration, which is organized by the not-for-profit College Radio Foundation, seeks to unite college radio stations in more than 50 countries to raise awareness about the work college stations do and value they bring to broadcasting.

“College radio is a good way to learn about what’s going on in the world, whether it’s locally or worldwide,” says Lennon in a statement. “College radio is not like the usual mainstream stuff, and I find that far more intriguing.”

This year’s World College Radio Day theme is “Voices for Peace.” Reflecting on the topic, Julian, who is the late John Lennon‘s older son, says, “I feel I’ve been pretty successful in promoting peace and trying to motivate people through so many mediums, but we’ve got to keep moving, we’ve got to keep changing, we’ve got to do better.”

An exclusive interview with Julian, conducted by students from World College Radio Day’s U.S. board, will be simulcast October 7 on over 700 participating college stations. Many of the stations also plan to play a recording of Julian’s recent cover of his father’s classic peace anthem “Imagine,” which he did in support of Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion.

Lennon plans to release a 7-inch vinyl single featuring “Imagine” on or around November 18.

Last month, Julian released a new studio album titled Jude, his first new collection of original songs since 2011’s Everything Changes.

Previous World College Radio Day ambassadors have included Joan Jett, Poison‘s Bret Michaels, “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Black Keys and Wyclef Jean.

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Artists including Pearl Jam, R.E.M., David Byrne of Talking Heads, Devo and The Grateful Dead‘s Bob Weir are contributing unreleased recordings to an upcoming benefit compilation titled Good Music to Ensure Safe Abortion Access to All.

The album will be released this Friday, October 7, exclusively on Bandcamp and will only be available for 24 hours. Proceeds will be donated to The Brigid Alliance, Abortion Care Network and Noise for Now.

The compilation will include a track featuring Byrne collaborating with Devo, while Weir’s contribution was recorded with his side group Wolf Bros. Pearl Jam’s track will be a live version of the Ten track “Porch,” while R.E.M. is offering up a live rendition of “Walk Unafraid,” a song from the band’s 1998 album Up.

Other participating artists include Cat Power, Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes, Tegan and Sara, Grouplove, Silversun Pickups and Sleater-Kinney. Ex-Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon designed the compilation’s cover.

For more info, visit GoodMusicComp.Bandcamp.com.

In other Pearl Jam news, guitarist Mike McCready will be performing the national anthem ahead of the Seattle Mariners’ double-header against the Detroit Tigers, beginning Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT. The Mariners, Pearl Jam’s hometown baseball team, recently clinched a trip to the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years.

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David Crosby has unveiled plans to release a new concert album and video that captures a 2018 performance with his group The Lighthouse Band at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.

The aptly titled David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre is due out on November 25 and will be available as a CD/DVD set and via digital formats. The show was recorded on December 8, 2018 during Crosby’s tour in support of Here If I Listen, a collaborative album featuring fellow Light House Band members — singer/guitarist Becca Stevens, singer/keyboardist Michelle Willis and Snarky Puppy guitarist/bassist Michael League.

David previously recorded a solo album, 2016’s Lighthouse, with Stevens, Willis and League, and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, had been touring on and off with with them regularly.

The show features 16 songs, including live renditions of five tunes from Here If I Listen and Lighthouse, as well as versions of Crosby, Stills & Nash‘s “Guinnevere,” Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young‘s “Déjà Vu” and Joni Mitchell‘s “Woodstock,” which was famously covered by CSNY.

Live at the Capitol Theatre also features a few other songs from Crosby’s back catalog.

Crosby and The Lighthouse Band’s live version of “1974,” a song from Here If I Listen, has been made available as an advance digital track, and a video of the performance has debuted at David’s official YouTube channel. The tune was based on an old demo that Crosby had recorded in 1974.

You can preorder Live at the Capitol Theatre now.

Here’s the complete track list:

“The Us Below”
“Things We Do for Love”
“1974”
“Vagrants of Venice”
“Regina”
“Laughing”
“What Are Their Names”
“By the Light of Common Day”
“Glory”
“The City”
“Look in Their Eyes”
“Guinnevere”
“Janet”
“Carry Me”
“Déjà Vu”
“Woodstock”

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You may not be able to rock like Ozzy Osbourne, but at least you can attempt to look like him.

The Prince of Darkness has announced his own makeup line in partnership with the brand Rock and Roll Beauty. The collection includes various eye shadows with names including “crazy train,” “no more tears” and “paranoid,” as well as lipsticks, other cosmetics and even a “gothic mirror.”

The line will be available exclusively in Ulta Beauty stores and via Ulta.com.

Rock and Roll Beauty has also launched collections inspired by Def Leppard and Jimi Hendrix.

Ozzy, meanwhile, just released his new solo album, Patient Number 9, last month.

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Historic collectibles associated with The Beatles, David Bowie, George Harrison and many other stars will be part of an entertainment memorabilia auction hosted by Propstore taking place November 3-6 in London.

The music-related portion of the sale is scheduled for November 4, and bidding will be accepted in person at the BAFTA 195 Piccadilly venue, as well as online and via the phone.

Among the sale’s many highlights are a pair of Altec 605A studio monitors from London’s famous Abbey Road Studios that were used by The Beatles and many other artists. They’re estimated to bring in between 60,000 and 100,000 pounds, or between about $69,000 and $116,000.

Also up for bid is a spacesuit costume that David Bowie wore in his 1980 “Ashes to Ashes” video, which is expected to fetch up to 80,000 pounds, or about $93,000.

The auction also includes an instrument called a banjolele — a hybrid of a banjo and a ukulele — that was formerly owned by Harrison, which is estimated to sell for between up to 60,000 pounds, or about $69,000.

The potentially priciest music-related item being auctioned by Propstore is a Custom Silver Sparkle Gibson Les Paul Florentine guitar that belonged to Oasis‘ Noel Gallagher, which is estimated to fetch as much as 500,000 pounds, or $578,000.

Other collectibles going on the block include a Nirvana concert set list handwritten by Dave Grohl, a striped blazer worn by Paul McCartney, a leather jacket that Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash wore in the “Paradise City” video, and a booklet autographed by all four Beatles members.

You can check out the full list of items being auctioned at PropstoreAuction.com.

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Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ debut single, “Love Me Do.” But the Beatles-themed Liverpool attraction The Beatles Story has just posted newly discovered photos of the band playing at Liverpool’s The Cavern Club more than a year before that single came out.

The two photographs were taken in July 1961, when George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon were 18, 19 and 20, respectively. Their drummer at the time was Pete Best, who was also 19.

Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn says the photos show the band right after they’d returned from performing for 90 days in Hamburg, Germany. He notes that they all look very thin, likely due to an insane schedule that saw them spend 500 hours onstage over those three months. They’re also wearing leather trousers and cotton shirts, a combo Lewisohn says never showed up in previous photos.

Four months after the photo was taken, Brian Epstein saw the Beatles for the first time at The Cavern Club and soon after offered to manage them.

In honor of the single’s 60th birthday, fans are invited to bring their Beatles or Beatles-era memorabilia to The Beatles Story attraction Wednesday, where it’ll be appraised for free, Antiques Roadshow-style, by a specialist Beatles auction house.

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Since streaming seems to have made DVDs and Blu-rays all but extinct, former Yes keyboard whiz Rick Wakeman has come up with a unique way to share his visual history with his fans.

Wakeman has launched Wakeman Web TV, a one-stop shop for onstage and TV appearances. From episodes of Gastank, the early ’80s British TV show he hosted, to his appearances on various British and European programs, to live concerts and performances, this online portal has it all.

And in a unique twist, you don’t have to pay a subscription fee to access the material: It’s set up as a Pay-Per-View model, where you can just pay for the things you want to see. Live performances are around 10 bucks to stream for a week, or $20 to download anytime.

Wakeman says in a statement that he wants to “give fans old and new the best way to view and listen to the music,” and feels that Wakeman Web TV is “a very sensible alternative to those platforms that already exist.”

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Tom Petty was a proud son of Gainesville, Florida, and the city’s university plans to honor the late rocker with Tom Petty Day.

The University of Florida has announced that this year’s UF/Louisiana State University game on October 15 will be the inaugural Tom Petty Day, with plans to continue celebrating it well into the future. The Tom Petty Estate is collaborating with UF on a capsule collection, with proceeds going to two local Gainesville charities: Kids Count and Family Promise. The collection is for sale on Petty’s online merch store.

Since his death in 2017, it’s been a tradition at UF games to sing Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” at the end of the third quarter. 

While Petty didn’t attend UF, he did work on the school’s grounds crew. In fact, there’s a lime tree on campus called the Tom Petty tree, in honor of the fact that he supposedly planted it during his stint on the crew — although in 2011, Petty said he didn’t remember doing so.

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Among the many highlights of the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts last month was Wolfgang Van Halen playing the riffs of his late father, Eddie Van Halen, as he ripped classic Van Halen tunes, including “Hot for Teacher” and “Panama.” However, if you thought that performance might be a catalyst toward getting that much-discussed Van Halen tribute off the ground, you probably shouldn’t hold your breath.

“I think I already did it with the Taylor Hawkins tributes,” Wolf tells Classic Rock magazine. “I feel a lot of closure because my part of the show was a tribute to my father.”

As previously reported, rumors of a Van Halen tribute to Eddie began earlier this year after ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed he was approached by VH drummer Alex Van Halen and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani for a jam session that ultimately “fizzled.” Satriani then confirmed that he’d been speaking with Alex and VH vocalist David Lee Roth about a potential tribute.

Wolf later told Rolling Stone that there was an “attempt” at some kind of tribute, but it ultimately never got off the ground. “We made an attempt, and some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen.”

Wolf reiterates as much speaking now with Classic Rock.

“When it comes to Van Halen and entities surrounding the band, it’s unfortunate, certainly compared to Foo Fighters who have their s*** together with interpersonal relationships,” Wolf says. “I don’t know what it is with some bands but certain personalities just can’t get over themselves to work collectively for one purpose — that’s been the curse of Van Halen for its entire career.”

He adds, “My playing at the Taylor shows delivered that catharsis without the stresses of dealing with the Van Halen camp, and the players involved.”

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