Classic Rock News

Metallica has announced the collegiate winners for the latest edition of the metal legends’ annual marching band competition.

The grand prize Division 1-winning school was the University of South Carolina, which was awarded with $50,000 in prizing, including instruments and equipment. Additionally, the Gamecocks marching band will have the opportunity to record a Metallica track as well as the theme song for a future EA Sports College Football video game.

The Division 1 second and third place winners were Virginia Tech and University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign, respectively.

California’s Riverside City College won first place in the Division 2/3 category, followed by Virginia’s Bridgewater College in second and Indiana Wesleyan University in third.

The University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign also won the fan-favorite prize, which was determined by public vote.

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Drummer Zak Starkey is set to debut a new one-man show, Zak Starkey … Who?: An Evening of Drums and Conversation, in New York, and he tells ABC Audio there’s a simple reason why he decided to do it.

“Because I don’t have a job,” he jokes. “So I had to invent one.”

Starkey, who was The Who’s drummer from 1996 until he was let go in 2025, says someone suggested he do a drum clinic, but he’s not fond of a “clinical approach.”

Starkey, son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, instead plans to treat fans to a special evening of him sharing stories, rare photographs and personal movies, with the night also including a Q&A and, of course, some music.

“Basically, I’ll be playing along with, it’s a film of my life at first,” he says. He’ll then take questions from the audience, noting that “hopefully that can move it on to the next thing that I play, sort of what the audience guide(s) me towards.”

When it comes to the home movies, Starkey says he had “no idea” what he’d find, but he’s had a hard time choosing what to use because “there’s so much great stuff.”

Starkey adds that he’s “flexible” about what he plans to perform during the show, but expects to cover his time with Oasis, Johnny Marr and more. He has no doubt he’ll end the evening with The Who, noting, “You can’t follow The Who.”

As for what he hopes fans will take away from the evening, Starkey jokes, “a T-shirt and some drumsticks,” before getting a bit more serious.

“That [the] music’s f***** great,” he says. “It’s just been a f****** great ride.” 

Zak Starkey … Who?: An Evening of Drums and Conversation will take place Feb. 20 at New York’s Gramercy Theatre. Tickets are on sale now.

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Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida, to say his goodbye to the band’s namesake roller coaster.

The rocker visited the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith with his new band Close Enemies, and posted photos and video from the experience on Instagram. Video shows Hamilton greeting fans while in line for the ride, while one of the photos is the souvenir photo taken of him and his band during the ride.

“What a day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with my new band, @closeenemiesofficial, riding Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster one last time before it takes its final lap,” Hamilton wrote alongside his post. “It’s been an absolute honor to share this ride with our fans for so many years. Huge thanks to the amazing cast members for the warmth, hospitality, and respect for what this moment means.”

It was announced in November 2024 that Aerosmith was being replaced by The Muppets on the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. The decision to change the ride came after Disney decided to replace Muppet Vision 3D with Monsters Inc. land. 

In December 2025 Aerosmith’s video intro for the ride, which featured Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, was removed in order for construction to start on the Muppets revamp. Soon after it was  announced that the ride’s last day of operation would be March 1.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, then named Disney-MGM Studios, in July 1999. It started with the band in the studio before taking off to a concert and bringing the riders along with them. It featured iconic tunes from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, including “Walk This Way,” “Love in an Elevator” and “Sweet Emotion.”

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Yes has released another track off their upcoming super-deluxe reissue of 1973’s Tales from Topographic Oceans.

The latest is the 2026 remastered single edit of the song “Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil),” which is described in a press release as the culmination of the album’s “spiritual journey.”

Tales from Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition), dropping Feb. 6, will be released as a package of 12 CDs, two LPs and a Blu-ray. It includes a newly remastered version of the album, along with several new mixes by producer Steven Wilson, including a Dolby Atmos mix. It will also include rarities, and previously unreleased studio and live recordings.

The live recordings are from Yes shows that took place in 1973 and 1974, and include performances of the album’s four tracks, along with Yes favorites like “And You And I” and “Close to the Edge.”

Tales from Topographic Oceans, Yes’ sixth studio album, was the first to feature drummer Alan White, who had replaced Bill Bruford. Frontman Jon Anderson came up with the idea for the album after reading a footnote in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. The album, which featured four songs, each at least 18 minutes long, went to #1 in the U.K. and was a top-10 hit in the U.S.

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It looks like some folks in Liverpool have gotten their first look at images from Sam Mendes’ upcoming films abut The Beatles.

The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which was founded by Beatle Paul McCartney, appears to be part of a marketing campaign for The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event. The school revealed on Instagram that it was given “exclusive postcards” promoting the films, which it hid around the school for students to find.

Several students posted photos of themselves with the postcards they found, giving the public a peek of Paul Mescal as McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.

The news comes a day after Keoghan was spotted at the Crime 101 gala screening in London, sporting a mop top hairdo similar to the one Starr had during his Beatles era.

The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event will be four Beatles films each told from the point of view of one of the band members. It’s due to hit theaters in April 2028.

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Bruce Springsteen has dropped a lyric video for his just-released protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”

Directed by his longtime collaborator Thom Zimny, the video displays the lyrics of the tune while clips of Springsteen singing the song are cut with news footage of the events happening in Minnesota.

Footage includes ICE protests, federal agents clashing with protesters, and images of memorials for Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the two Minneapolis residents who were fatally shot by federal agents. It also includes video footage of both Pretti and Good’s encounters with the agents just before their deaths.

“I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis,” Springsteen wrote on Instagram when he released the song Wednesday. “It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”

He signed it, “Stay free, Bruce Springsteen.”

(Video includes uncensored profanity.)

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ASIA has released a live performance video for their top-20 hit “Only Time Will Tell,” taken from their upcoming live album, ASIA – Live in England, arriving on March 13.

 “‘Only Time Will Tell’ has always been a favorite to play live, as each member has a distinctive part to play,” says ASIA founding member Geoff Downes.

ASIA – Live in England was recorded in April during the first night of ASIA’s three-night stand at Trading Boundaries in Sussex, England. In addition to Downes, the band now consists of drummer Virgil Donati, guitarist John Mitchell, and vocalist and bassist Harry Whitley.

Asia – Live in England is now available for preorder.

“Only Time Will Tell” was the second single off ASIA’s self-titled debut album, which was released in 1982. It peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album reached #1 in the U.S. and also included lead single “Heat of the Moment,” which peaked at #4.

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Mötley Crüe was granted a “decisive victory” in the band’s legal battle with former guitarist Mick Mars, their lawyer says in a press release.

According to the press release, the arbitrator’s ruling in the case “rejects every claim Mars made against the band and orders him to pay damages back to the group.” 

“This dispute was about protecting the integrity and legacy of one of the most successful bands in rock history,” says Mötley’s lawyer Sasha Frid, of Miller Barondess, LLP. “With the arbitrator rejecting every claim and enforcing the parties’ agreements as written, the band has been fully vindicated—legally, financially, and factually.”

Mars first sued Mötley Crüe in 2023 over a financial dispute stemming from his retirement from touring in 2022. Mars, who was replaced by guitarist John 5, claimed that while he was no longer touring with Mötley due to health issues, he still remained a member of the band and deserved to be compensated as such.

“They’re trying to take my legacy away, my part of Mötley Crüe, my ownership of the name, the brand,” Mars told Rolling Stone in 2023.

Also in the suit, Mars accused the other Mötley members — bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee and vocalist Vince Neil — of using prerecorded tracks during the band’s 2022 reunion tour, specifically claiming that Sixx “did not play a single note on bass” live.

According to Mötley’s press release, Mars “was forced to admit under oath that his statements were false” regarding the miming allegations during arbitration.

“His expert confirmed that the band performed live, and Mars formally recanted his prior claims during sworn testimony,” the press release said.

ABC Audio has reached out to Mars’ manager and legal rep for comment.

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Ronnie Wood has booked a new live gig.

The Rolling Stones rocker and his band have been announced as a special guest for Eric Clapton‘s Aug. 23 concert at the royal family’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England. The show will also feature Andy Fairweather Low and The Low Riders and U.K. blues rock artist Will Wilde.

Tickets for the concert are on sale now.

Wood’s solo music career was celebrated in 2025 with the release of the box set Fearless: Anthology 1965-2025, which featured not only selections from his solo career, but important tracks from his work with The Stones, Faces, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane and The Jeff Beck Group.

The last time Wood was on stage with The Rolling Stones was back in July 2024. He has performed live several times since then, making a surprise appearance at Paul McCartney’s December 2024 concert at London’s O2 Arena and joining Stewart at the Glastonbury Festival in June.

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Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are doing what they can to help make a Neil Peart memorial in St. Catherines, Ontario, finally happen.

The St. Catherine Standard reports that Lee and Lifeson plan to donate a portion of the proceeds from Rush’s upcoming Fifty Something tour to the St. Catharines memorial, which will help the city where Peart grew up meet the $1 million goal it has targeted for the Peart tribute.

The plan is to commemorate the Rush drummer with a bronze sculpture installation in Lakeside Park. It will feature two Peart statues, connected by a pathway, one of him in his younger years and one of him in his later years.

The Neil Peart Commemorative Task Force was established in April 2020 to move the project forward, with the plan to raise all funds through donations. After a soft fundraising launch in 2021, the official fundraising campaign began in September 2024. It has so far raised $208,000 for the project.

According to the paper, Rush’s contributions will come from sales of VIP experiences to their shows.

Peart died Jan. 7, 2020, at 67 after a battle with brain cancer.

Rush’s Fifty Something tour, featuring Anika Nilles behind the drum kit, kicks off June 7 in Los Angeles and wraps Dec. 17 in Vancouver, British Columbia. It will be their first tour in 10 years and the first tour since Peart’s death.

A complete list of dates can be found at Rush.com.

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