Classic Rock News

Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman is giving fans a preview of his upcoming album, Return to the Red Planet, with the release of the new song “The Jezero Crater.”

Return to the Red Planet, dropping Oct. 16, is the second time Wakeman has released an album inspired by Mars. The first, The Red Planet, was released in 2020.

The new album is described as “a sweeping new progressive work that fuses science, imagination, and musical virtuosity.” The description adds that it’s inspired by “the remarkable images and research that have transformed our understanding of Mars in recent years.”

“Once I started looking at the new data and photographs, I realised there was an entirely new album waiting to be written,” Wakeman explained when the album was announced. “There was simply too much more to say about Mars – musically and spiritually – not to return.”

On the album, Wakeman is backed by The English Rock Ensemble, made up of bassist Lee Pomeroy, guitarist Dave Colquhoun, drummer Adam Falkner and vocalist Mollie Marriott, daughter of English musician Steve Marriott.

Return to the Red Planet is available for preorder now.

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Musician, poet and author Patti Smith met with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Friday.

Video posted by Vatican News shows the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer almost speechless as she shakes the Pope’s hand. Later in the clip she sits down with him at his desk, and he asks her first if she speaks English and then if she speaks Italian.

“No, I’m sorry,” she says about speaking Italian. “I’m pure American.” 

“The agenda of #PapaLeãoXIV begins to pick up the pace again after the rest period,” read the caption of the post. “On the morning of this Friday, July 31, the Pontiff received, in the Vatican, the American singer, songwriter, and writer #PattiSmith.”

Father Antonio Spadaro, who accompanied Smith, also posted video of the meeting on X.

“There are unforgettable moments in life. Today I lived one of these. With #PattiSmith, with whom for years I have shared a simple and deep friendship, and #PapaLeone, the Holy Father, today an indispensable reference for anyone who still wants to hope in this world,” he wrote. “Together. Today. For 40 minutes. When every single word had its own weight and its own lightness.”

Smith wrapped a European tour on Wednesday in Milan, Italy. She’ll next play the CBGB Festival in Brooklyn on Sept. 26.

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Rod Stewart headlined a special charity event Thursday night in Southhampton, New York.

The rocker performed for more 200 guests at the home of philanthropists Bob and Lauren Day Roberts, with the night raising more than $1.7 million for E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt’s national education non-profit TeachRock.

The performance included a collaboration between Stewart and Van Zandt on “We’re Having a Party” and “Stay With Me.”

“When I started TeachRock, I hoped we’d build a community of artists who believe music belongs in every classroom,” Van Zandt says. “To see someone I’ve admired for so long lend his talent to this mission and to watch people come together to support teachers, students, and the next generation through music is incredibly moving.”

He adds, “Rod didn’t just give us an unforgettable performance this evening, he gave our mission a tremendous boost. Every dollar raised helps us put free arts education into more classrooms, and that’s something worth celebrating.”

“Playing alongside the legend that is Stevie Van Zandt for TeachRock — what a night,” adds Stewart. “Music changed my life, and TeachRock is making sure it can change theirs too.”

The TeachRock curriculum aims to bring arts-integrated education into classrooms across the country. 
More than 80,000 educators across all 50 states have used TeachRock to help bring core subjects to life with the help of music and popular culture.

Stewart is set to kick off a new set of North American tour dates on Friday in Wantagh, New York. A complete list of dates can be found atRodStewart.com.

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Billy Idol will launch a new leg of the It’s A Nice Day To…Tour Again! tour in August. He’s getting fans excited for the trek with a funny new promo video, titled “Everybody’s About To Get Their S*** Rocked.”

“Rock icon Billy announces the next leg of his tour with the signature wit, swagger, and attitude that have defined his career for more than four decades,” reads the video’s description. “Along the way, he dishes out a mix of real history, rock ‘n’ roll wisdom, and a few tongue-in-cheek ‘facts’ as he spotlights the cities on his upcoming tour—proving that no one announces tour dates quite like Billy Idol.”

After sharing some not-so-well-known facts about the cities he’ll hit on the tour, Idol notes, “While all these cities are so different and unique in their own way, there’s one thing that unifies them together. They’re all about to get their s*** rocked when I come through.”

Billy Idol launched the It’s A Nice Day To…Tour Again! tour in 2025. The latest leg, featuring special guests Devo and Susanna Hoffs, kicks off Aug. 7 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and runs through Sept. 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A complete list of dates can be found at BillyIdol.net.

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Take a look to the sky just before you start Gears of War: E-Day, it’s the last time you will.

The upcoming video game, the latest installment in the long-running Gears of War franchise, will include a weapon skin inspired by Metallica’s 1984 album, Ride the Lightning.

The Ride the Lightning song “For Whom the Bell Tolls” also soundtracks a new Gears of War: E-Day trailer previewing its multiplayer modes, which you can watch on YouTube.

Gears of War: E-Day will be released Oct. 6 for Xbox Series X/S and Windows. You can preorder the game for early access to its open beta starting Aug. 6.

Metallica, meanwhile, will go from Sera to Sin City when they launch their much-anticipated residency at the Las Vegas Sphere in October.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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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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