Classic Rock News

Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Alice Cooper are set to take part in an upcoming Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp, dubbed Welcome to My Rock Camp, Nov. 13-16 in Phoenix.

The camp gives everyday musicians the chance to perform alongside the rock legends. There will also be Q&As, master classes, jam sessions and more, with counselors like former Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, Megadeth’s David Elefson, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Bumblefoot and more.

Both Halford and Cooper have taken part in Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp before and shared in a documentary about the camp why they like the experience.

“When I went to the fantasy camp, it was interesting to me. If a guy works a normal, stressful job, it gives him something to look forward to. It’s cool,” said Cooper. Halford noted, “It took me back to when I first started in the early days. It’s music in its most honest format. Looking forward to another good bashing of the rock camp.”

In addition to the camp experience, attendees can add on the exclusive opportunity to golf with Cooper during his upcoming charity tournament.

Registration information can be found at rockcamp.com.

Halford and Cooper will be spending a lot of time together in 2025. Cooper and Judas Priest are set to kick off a North American tour on Sept. 16 in Biloxi, Mississippi. For the full list of dates visit JudasPriest.com or AliceCooper.com.

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Ian Hunter has released a deluxe edition of his 2024 album, Defiance Part 2: Fiction, to digital services for the very first time.

Initially released as part of a Record Store Day vinyl, the deluxe edition features three bonus tracks: “How’d Ya Like To Meet Henry,” featuring Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, and Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready and Matt Cameron; “Normal Service Will be Resumed as Soon as Possible”; and “Needle Park” featuring The Black Crowes’ Chris and Rich Robinson.

Defiance Part 2: Fiction is the sequel to the Mott the Hoople frontman’s 2023 release, Defiance Part 1.

Other guests on Part 2 include Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, Queen’s Brian May, the late guitarist Jeff Beck, the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Lucinda Williams, Heartbreakers‘ keyboardist Benmont Tench and more.

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Dee Snider’s contribution to the all-star Triumph tribute album has just been released.

The Twisted Sister frontman has recorded a cover of the Canadian rockers’ classic “Lay It On the Line,” one of 15 songs that will appear on Magic Power: All Star Tribute to Triumph, dropping June 6.

“The first time I heard this song, I was blown away,” Snider shares. “There’s only one (Triumph frontman) Rik Emmett and Triumph. I’m honored to be a part of this!”

“Lay It On the Line” is now available via digital outlets. It is the second track released from the album, following Sebastian Bach’s cover of “Rock & Roll Machine.”

Magic Power: All Star Tribute to Triumph features a lineup that includes Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, Journey drummer Deen Castronovo, guitarists Bumblefoot and Nita Strauss, Alex Lifeson’s band Envy of None, Night Ranger’s Jack Blades and guitarist Phil X, who was a member of Triumph from 1992 to 1993.

The album will be released on CD and as a two-LP set. It is available for preorder now.

Hard rockers Triumph were popular in the ’70s and ’80s, releasing their last record, Edge of Excess, in 1993. They were known for their explosive live shows, which featured pyrotechnics, lasers and more. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2019.

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Pink Floyd’s 1972 concert film, Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, is set to hit theaters and IMAX on April 24, but it sounds like the band almost skipped out on the whole project.

During a preview screening of the film in London, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason revealed that the band initially wasn’t interested in making the film. He credits the director, Adrian Maben, for getting them to do it.

“Someone that should be mentioned is Adrian Maben, who actually came up with this whole idea, we were unspeakably not interested,” Mason said, according to the U.K. outlet The Standard. “Adrian worked really hard to even persuade us to come out to Italy and actually make this movie.”

He added, “The thing that worked about it, that we didn’t see, and he did, was this thing of it being a live show, but with no audience, and the fact that this amphitheatre created such a sense of moment. Even without the audience, it had the feel of a full-on gig.”

There’s been a lot of animosity between the members of Pink Floyd in recent years, especially with Roger Waters and David Gilmour, and Mason said watching the film now he sees “an innocence” with the band. He notes, “[I]t’s extraordinary to sort of watch us just going at it and arguing, but in a constructive way.”

The version hitting the screen has been newly restored for audiences to enjoy, and Mason shared, “We’re delighted with the way it turned out.”

Tickets for Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII are on sale now.

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On This Day, April 18, 2024 …

Allman Brothers Band founding member Dickey Betts died at the age of 80.

Born Forrest Richard Betts on Dec. 12, 1943, Dickey co-founded Allman Brothers Band in 1969 with brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson. They released their self-titled debut that year.

They went on to be considered one of the pioneering Southern rock bands and were particularly known for their touring career, which included long shows filled with extended jams.

In addition to playing lead guitar in the band, Betts wrote and sang lead on several songs, including “Ramblin’ Man,” their only top-10 hit, and “Blue Sky.” He also composed the band’s well-known instrumental tunes, including “Jessica” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”

Betts was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Allman Brothers Band in 1995. He was officially ousted from the band in 2000 and never played with them again.

Jaimoe is currently the only surviving founding member of the Allman Brothers Band.

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Music from the late Robbie Robertson will be featured in the new History Channel documentary Sitting Bull, Rolling Stone reports.

The score features music Robertson made with his son, Sebastian Robertson, and is among the final pieces of music Robbie worked on before his August 2023 death.

“We were thrilled by the prospect and dove right in,” Sebastian tells the mag of the project. “This was a complicated time in our lives as my dad’s health was declining. However, like for a lot of us, the art of music was an escape.”

Sebastian says he was the one who began the work on the music, sending his composition to his father, who he described as a “tough critic.”

“The inspiration of this project, my heritage and honoring both my culture and my father, kicked me into the highest gear,” Sebastian said, referring to Robbie’s mother being of Cayuga and Mohawk heritage. “He was thrilled with the demo. We batted ideas, guitar licks, and vocals back and forth until we were satisfied and sent it along to production. We nailed it.”

Following his father’s death, Sebastian completed the score on his own. He tells Rolling Stone, “[My] dad and I created what will always be one of my proudest and most memorable compositions. Harnessing the words of his mother, our people, and the rhythm of our lives in all existences, we created our final piece of music together … or maybe, just maybe, there’s more to come.”

Sitting Bull is a four-hour documentary about the life and legacy of the titular leader of the Lakota people. The documentary will air in two parts, the first airing May 27, followed by the second on May 28, both at 9 p.m. ET.

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A documentary about Scottish rockers Simple Minds is set to hit U.S. theaters in June.

Deadline reports that Greenwich Entertainment has picked up the North American rights to Simple Minds Everything is Possible, from director Joss Crowley.

“From working-class kids in post-industrial Glasgow to rock stars playing Live Aid, this is the unlikely story of an extraordinary band that continues touring around the world to this day,” reads the film description.

Simple Minds formed in Glasgow in 1977, with frontman Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill the only original members still with the group. According to Crowley, the film tells the story of “how music brought them together and completely changed their lives – precisely the inspirational touchpoints we’re all craving in 2025.”

Simple Minds is best known for their breakout track “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which was a #1 hit for the band and was featured on the soundtrack to the ’80s Brat Pack flick The Breakfast Club. Other well-known songs by the band include “Alive And Kicking,” which hit #3 on the singles chart, and “Sanctify Yourself,” which was a top-20 hit.

Simple Minds Everything is Possible will hit U.S. theaters on June 13. Simple Minds is due to launch a U.S. tour on May 16 in Ridgefield, Washington. A complete list of dates can be found at simpleminds.com.

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Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard are headlining the inaugural Rock the Tides, a new destination festival taking place Nov. 7-9 in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

The bill also includes Poison‘s Bret Michaels, Extreme, The Struts, Buckcherry, Dorothy and Living Colour.

“Mexico has always been one of the most electric places we’ve played – the energy is just unreal,” Mötley Crüe says. “Some of our most unforgettable shows have happened there, and we know this one will be no different.”

“We’re excited to head back, team up with Def Leppard, and throw one hell of a party for everyone making the trip,” the “Dr. Feelgood” rockers add. “It’s going to be an epic night.”

Presales begin April 23 at 10 a.m. PT. For more info, visit RocktheTides.com.

Rock the Tides will follow Mötley’s September and October Las Vegas residency. The run was originally scheduled to begin in March, but was postponed due to vocalist Vince Neil undergoing a medical procedure.

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Stevie Nicks hinted back in June that she was going to be working on a new album, and now she’s shared a new update about the project.

Nicks was inducted into the Pollstar Live! Hall of Fame Wednesday night in Los Angeles, and during her speech she spilled the beans on her new music.

“I’m actually making a record right now. I call it the ghost record because … it just kind of happened in the last couple of weeks,” she said.

Nicks explained that she was motivated to start working on it after the Los Angeles fires kept her holed up in a hotel with nothing to do.

“I was sitting in a hotel for 92 days and at some point during that last part of the 92 days I said, ‘You know what, I feel like I’m on the road but there’s no shows,’” she said. ”And I thought, ‘You need to go back to work.’ And I did.”

Stevie went on to say that she’s already written seven songs, sharing, “They are autobiographical, real stories where I’m not pulling any punches for probably the first time in my life.” She added they aren’t “airy fairy songs,” but rather “they’re real stories of memories of mine of fantastic men.” She notes that one song is about Prince, who she said was a friend.

There’s no word on when Stevie plans to release the record, but when she does it will be her first solo album since 2011’s In Your Dreams. She did release a new single, “The Lighthouse,” back in September.

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New York City restauranteur Keith McNally has outed musician Patti Smith for her rude behavior.

McNally, who is behind such NYC restaurants as Balthazar and Minetta Tavern, has a new memoir coming out, I Regret Almost Everything. In an excerpt shared by New York Magazine’s Grub Street, he writes about Smith driving a server to tears back in the ’70s.

The incident occurred at the Manhattan restaurant One Fifth, where McNally was working. He writes that Smith would often dine there with her ex-boyfriend, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and art curator Sam Wagstaff.

“On nights when Wagstaff wasn’t at the table, Smith and Mapplethorpe could be very difficult to wait on,” he shares. “Smith, unfortunately, was incredibly rude to the servers.”

He writes that on one occasion Smith made a server cry “because she forgot to put bread on the table.” McNally adds, “[I]t’s impossible for me to listen to a Patti Smith song today without remembering her reducing a waitress to tears.”

McNally says that Smith and Mapplethorpe gave off “the surly appearance of young, rebellious artists (which they were),” although he had a better opinion of Mapplethorpe than Smith. He noted Mapplethorpe “could be terse,” but “he never tried to belittle [servers] the way Smith did.”

I Regret Almost Everything is due out May 6.

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