Classic Rock News

Lynyrd Skynyrd has shared a live recording of their classic tune “Sweet Home Alabama.”

The performance is taken from Celebrating 50 Years – Live At The Ryman, a special live album and DVD of the band’s historic 50th anniversary concert, which took place in November 2022.

“Sweet Home Alabama (Live)” is available now via digital outlets.

The Ryman concert was filmed before the 2023 loss of Gary Rossington, the last founding member of Skynyrd. It features guest appearances by 38 Special’s Donnie Van Zant, Jelly Roll, Brent Smith of the rock band Shinedown, country star John Osborne of Brothers Osborne and Marcus King.

“It was a very special night with incredibly talented guests as we honored the iconic musicality of Skynyrd,” frontman Johnny Van Zant previously shared. “We are so grateful to the Ryman and to all of those who have worked so hard to make this project become a reality! This will forever be a keepsake in our hearts, and we are so happy to be able to share it with our Skynyrd Nation.”

Celebrating 50 Years – Live At The Ryman is due out June 27 and is available for preorder now.

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The writers of Sam Mendes’ upcoming films about The Beatles have just been revealed.

Variety reports that three writers have been hired for the four films: Jez Butterworth, whose resume includes Ford v Ferrari, Edge of Tomorrow and Spectre; Peter Straughan, who won the Oscar this year for writing Conclave; and Jack Thorne, a BAFTA and Tony Award winner who wrote the 2020 film Enola Holmes and the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Mendes’ Beatles films, titled The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event, will be released in April 2028, with each film being told from a different band member’s point of view. They will star Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of band members and their legendary catalog of music.

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The Who appear to have something brewing.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers shared a cryptic post on Instagram Wednesday, writing, “Stay tuned… in 24-hrs we’ll be answering your questions!” They then asked fans to drop questions in the comments.

While the post doesn’t offer any more details, The Who is set to hold a press event in London on Thursday, which will include a “special announcement followed by an exclusive Q&A session.”

According to Rolling Stone, the event is for a project called “The Song is Over,” which seems to be named after a track from The Who’s 1971 album, Who’s Next. Considering the finality of the title, there is some speculation the band may be making a farewell tour announcement.

The speculation comes on the heals of the band relaunching their Wholigan fan club, which promises members presale tour codes “for any future tour announcements.”

Last year, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey shared differing opinions in interviews as to whether the band would tour again, but in December Townshend told Variety, “I know that if Roger and I do tour again, as I’m sure we will, it will probably be one of the last periods that we tour.”

Since then they’ve played two Teenage Cancer Trust shows in London and have two shows in Italy scheduled in July.

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Looks like folks in the U.K. are really enjoying the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown.

The movie, starring Timothée Chalamet, has topped the U.K. Official Film chart for the first time, seven weeks after it debuted on the chart. The Official Film chart tracks the U.K.’s favorite movies of the week based on DVD, Blu-Ray and download sales.

A Complete Unknown, which is now streaming on Hulu in the U.S., follows a 19-year-old Dylan as he arrives in New York from Minnesota and tracks his rise as a folk singer during the ’60s to the top of the charts, ending with his electric rock ‘n’ roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

The film earned eight Academy Award nominations, including best picture and best actor for Chalamet, although it lost in all categories.

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The Guess Who’s Burton Cummings is hitting the road this summer.

Cummings, who co-wrote such classic songs as “American Woman” and “These Eyes,” has announced dates for the A Few Good Moments tour, which is set to kick off June 21 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The first U.S. date is July 11 in Madison, Wisconsin, and the tour wraps Aug. 29 in Saratoga, California.

The tour is named after Cummings’ most recent solo album, A Few Good Moments, which came out in September. It was his first solo album in over a decade.

A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at BurtonCummings.com.

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Bryan Adams has shared another song from his upcoming album Roll with the Punches, and has recruited actress/model Elizabeth Hurley for the video.

The rocker just debuted the video for the single “Never Let You Go,” which is set in an amusement park at night with rides that are all lit up in neon. The clip has Adams and Hurley riding a roller coaster together, and is cut with footage of Adams performing against the backdrop of the park.

Roll with the Punches, due out in August, is the “Run to You” singer’s first album since 2022’s So Happy It Hurts. He has already released two other songs from the record, “Make Up Your Mind” and the title track.

Adams is set to launch his Roll with the Punches North American tour in September. It will first hit Canada starting Sept. 11 in Kamloops, British Columbia, with U.S. dates, featuring Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo as special guests, kicking off Oct. 25 in Uncasville, Connecticut, and running through Nov. 26 in Minneapolis.

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

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Have The Who just given fans hope they’ll be touring more in the future?

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced the relaunch of their official fan club, The Wholigan. In doing so they may have hinted at their upcoming touring plans, because membership comes with presale tour codes “for any future tour announcements,” suggesting that there may soon be tickets to buy.

Other perks of the fan club include discounts on The Who Official Store merchandise, as well as exclusive Wholigan merch, a Live at the Oval CD or vinyl and a limited-edition Wholigans pin.

There are three levels of Wholigan memberships ranging in price from $65 to $100. They are all for one year, and the more expensive ones come with extra merch.

More info can be found at TheWho.com.

As of now, The Who only have two more shows on their schedule for the year, both in Italy: July 20 in Padua and July 22 in Milan. In addition, frontman Roger Daltrey has three U.K. shows left on his solo tour. 

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Guitar greats Joe Satriani and Steve Vai announced in December they were coming together to form the SatchVai Band, and now they are sharing the band’s first single.

The pair just released the aptly titled song “I Wanna Play My Guitar,” featuring former Deep Purple singer Glen Hughes.

“This song depicts all that Joe and I used to think about as teenagers. All of the things we loved about pounding rock and roll and the glorious guitar,” Vai tells Guitar Player. “It is an absolute phenom for us to be able to present to you now our teenage aspirations in this song.”

He adds, “It feels like freedom and joy and I recommend everybody find some time in their life to play the guitar. And to be able to hear the mighty voice of one of our childhood heroes on this track, the great Glenn Hughes is more than the icing on the cake, enjoy!”

“I Wanna Play My Guitar” is available now via digital outlets.

SatchVai Band is set to launch The Surfing with Hydra tour of the U.K. and Europe on June 13 in York, England. So far they haven’t announced any U.S. shows. A complete list of dates can be found at SatchVaiBand.com.

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You don’t usually think dance music when you think of Heart, but apparently one record exec in the ’80s hoped to change that.

Heart’s Ann Wilson chats with pop star Chappell Roan and indie artist Lucy Dacus on the latest episode of her After Dinner Thinks with Ann Wilson podcast, revealing that the exec in question took a surprising step to get her and sister Nancy Wilson moving onstage.

Looking back at her career, Ann says that when it comes to performing she’s “always kinda struggled against the idea that it be a rehearsed act,” noting that in the ’80s “that was at an all-time high.”

She then offered up an example, sharing, “You know, one time we were getting ready to go out on tour and somebody at the record company had this big bright idea to send Paula Abdul in to teach us dance moves.” She said the goal was for them to dance in synchronicity “like Prince and the Revolution.”

“It obviously didn’t work,” Ann quipped. “But that was the pinnacle of what I’ve always felt was wrong.” She noted that adding choreography to a show “would make me disinterested right off the bat. I’m done.”

Heart, without those dance moves, did pretty well and is still touring to this day. They kick off a new tour, An Evening With Heart, on May 31 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A complete list of dates can be found at Heart-Music.com.

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Wolfgang Van Halen‘s new song with his band Mammoth, “The End,” will probably remind you of Eddie Van Halen with its tapping guitar riff. Fittingly, Wolf recorded the part with his late father’s signature Frankenstein guitar.

“Fun fact, I recorded the main tapping of the song, and the slap part with the Frankenstein!” Wolf shares in a social media post. “Makes me feel closer to Pop that such an important part of his history can live with mine every time I record.”

“The End” may also remind you of Van Halen with its video, which includes a shot of Wolf walking down a stage while playing a solo in a possible reference to the “Hot for Teacher” video.

Mammoth, formerly known as Mammoth WVH, has released two albums, and a third is on the way. They’ll be touring the U.S. through the spring and summer while playing dates with Seether and Creed before launching their own headlining tour in the fall.

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