Classic Rock News

Farm Aid is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and if fans can’t make it to Minneapolis to see the concert in person, they’ll be able to enjoy it from the comfort of their own home.

Farm Aid just announced that the annual benefit concert, taking place Sept. 20 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, will broadcast live on CNN.

The broadcast will feature performances by Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price. Young will be performing with his band Chrome Hearts, while Matthews will perform with frequent collaborator Tim Reynolds. The broadcast will also include behind-the-scenes interviews and stories from local farmers.

The concert will begin at 6 p.m. CT, and will also stream live on nugs.net and FarmAid.org.

The first Farm Aid concert was held on Sept. 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois. Since then, the Farm Aid organization has raised nearly $80 million to help American farmers.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

David Byrne has shared another single from his upcoming solo album, Who is the Sky? The latest is the track “What is the Reason For It?,” a collaboration with Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams.

“When we were finishing up the record, the producer Kid Harpoon and I were wondering, ‘Oh, maybe this song, it’s a love song, or at least it’s asking what is love, what it’s about?'” Byrne told People. “Why do we do this? Why do other people do it? Do we know anything about it?”

Byrne and Williams have stayed in touch since Paramore covered “Burning Down the House” for a 2024 album in celebration of the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. He tells People he simply texted Williams to see if she wanted to sing on “What is the Reason For It?” and she agreed, with Byrne adding, “She killed it.”

“What is the Reason For It?” is available now via digital outlets. A video, which uses AI to animate original drawings by Byrne, is streaming on YouTube.

Who is the Sky?, Byrne’s first solo album since 2018’s American Utopia, drops Friday. 

Byrne is set to kick off a new tour in support of the album on Sept. 14 in Providence, Rhode Island, wrapping with two nights in Miami on Dec. 5 and 6. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidByrne.com.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Queen‘s Brian May has teamed The Struts for a new version of the U.K. band’s breakout hit “Could Have Been Me.” 

May shreds a guitar solo on the updated track, which also includes an extended outro.

“Working with Luke [Spiller] and The Struts has been a joyous journey for me,” May previously shared. “I became obsessed with this great song ever since I was inspired by the original version and felt an uncontrollable urge to mess with it! It carries a great positive message for rebellious kids of all ages. And, together, WE ROCK!!”

The song is now available via digital outlets. In addition, a video featuring May performing with The Struts is on YouTube.

The original “Could Have Been Me” was released in 2013 in the U.K. before it became a hit in the U.S. in 2015. It appears on the band’s debut album, Everybody Wants, and was later featured in the 2021 animated movie Sing 2.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jack Osbourne is firing back at Roger Waters in response to the Pink Floyd founder’s comments regarding Jack’s late father, Ozzy Osbourne.

Waters brought up the Prince of Darkness during an interview with The Independent Ink, saying, “Ozzy Osbourne, who just died, bless him, in his whatever that state that he was in his whole life, we’ll never know.”

“Although he was all over the TV for hundreds of years with his idiocy and nonsense,” Waters continued. “The music … I couldn’t give a f***. I don’t care about Black Sabbath, I never did. I have no interest in biting the heads off chickens or whatever they do.”

The interviewer did point out that Ozzy was known for biting the head off a bat, not a chicken. In responding to Waters, Jack seems less concerned with him mixing up flying creatures than he is with the overall tone of the comments.

“Hey Roger Waters F*** You,” Jack writes in a Facebook post. “How pathetic and out of touch you’ve become. The only way you seem to get attention these days is by vomiting out bulls*** in the press.”

The younger Osbourne adds, “My father always thought you were a c*** – thanks for proving him right.”

Jack’s sister Kelly Osbourne previously criticized pro wrestler Becky Lynch‘s comments regarding Ozzy and his hometown, calling her a “disrespectful dirtbag.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, Sept. 3, 2002 …

The Rolling Stones kicked off their Licks Tour in Boston. The tour was in support of their 40th anniversary compilation album, Forty Licks, with the band playing 80 different songs throughout the course of the tour.

The trek featured a whole host of A-list openers, including AC/DC, Pretenders, No Doubt, Elvis Costello, The White Stripes, Sheryl Crow and John Mellencamp.

The tour’s stop at New York’s Madison Square Garden was broadcast on HBO.

The Licks Tour, which wrapped in Hong Kong in November 2003, grossed $300 million, which at the time was the second-highest-grossing tour of all time, behind The Stones’ 1994-95 Voodoo Lounge Tour.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As Paul McCartney is getting ready to revisit the Wings era of his career with an upcoming book and documentary, the rocker is revealing some of the Wings deep cuts he loves that may not be on a fan’s radar.

In the latest Q&A on McCartney’s website, a fan asked the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer to name his favorite “deep cut” Wings track, with the writer noting his was “Daytime Nighttime Suffering,” a favorite of McCartney’s late wife, Linda McCartney.

“‘Daytime Nighttime Suffering’ is one of my favorites, as it was Linda’s,” Sir Paul replied about the track, which was a B-side to the 1979 single “Goodnight Tonight.” “But another song I like a lot is ‘Arrow Through Me,'” from the 1979 album Back to the Egg.

He added, “It is lovely to see these songs reappear from time to time, mainly when they are used in a film or TV show. I think a lot of young people discover my songs this way.”

McCartney recently highlighted both songs, as well as other deep cuts and B-sides, in a Sticking Out of My Back Pocket playlist on Spotify, which was described as “a celebration of home recordings, alternate takes, and the kind of tracks hidden deep within Paul’s discography.”

And fans are about to learn a lot more about McCartney’s post-Beatles career, including the formation of Wings.

It is the subject of the new documentary Man on the Run, which just had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. It will be released in select theaters and then stream on Prime Video starting Feb. 25, 2026.

McCartney will also release a new book about that time in his life. Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run will be released Nov. 4.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard is set to return to the road after taking a second leave of absence from the band.

According to the band’s management, Beard has been missing from the tour for a few weeks in order to “address a medical issue that necessitated his return to Texas.” After missing “a number of dates” on ZZ Top’s Elevation tour, management says the issue “has been resolved” and he’s been cleared to return.

“The doctors did what they did so now I’m able to do what I do,” says Beard. “Happy that It’s back to band business as usual.”

Beard’s return to the road will take place Thursday in Tulsa; he’s expected to complete the tour, which runs until November. 

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

This is the second time Beard has taken a break from touring due to health issues. Back in March, Beard “temporarily stepped away” from the tour to deal with some health problems. It was later revealed that he was suffering from “foot and ankle issues” and rejoined the tour in June.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The reunited Sex Pistols, featuring vocalist Frank Carter, have postponed their upcoming North American tour dates due to guitarist Steve Jones breaking his wrist.

“I’ve got some good news and bad news,” Jones writes in an Instagram post Tuesday. “What do you want first? Okay, the bad news: I’ve broken my wrist, so unfortunately we won’t be doing any shows for a while.”

“The good news is the surgeon said I will be back playing guitar in the not-too-distant future,” he continues. “The other good news is I’ll be 70 tomorrow! God bless, and God save the wrist.”

The tour was scheduled to kick off Sept. 16 in Dallas. It was set to be the first extended Pistols live run in the U.S. since 2003.

Dates will be rescheduled once Jones “has fully recovered,” the post says.

The Sex Pistols announced their reunion in 2024. The lineup includes original members Jones, bassist Glen Matlock and drummer Paul Cook, along with Carter in place of frontman John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Def Leppard has revealed their 2026 summer plans.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have announced dates for a new U.K. and European tour, featuring special guest Extreme on select dates.

The tour is set to kick off June 13 in Rättvik, Sweden, with the U.K. portion beginning June 26 in Belfast, Ireland. The tour features a stop in their hometown of Sheffield, England, on June 30, as well as a show at The O2 in London on July 2. The trek wraps Aug. 2 with a show in Dubai.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday.

Def Leppard’s next gig will be a headlining spot at Radio 2 in Hylands Park in Writtle, Englad. They also have one more U.S. date booked for this year, Oct. 11 in Gary, Indiana. The rockers are set to headline a Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace starting Feb. 3.

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

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dave Grohl made a surprise appearance at the cover band Chevy Metal‘s concert in Agoura Hills, California, on Saturday.

Chevy Metal was cofounded by late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins and currently features his son, Shane Hawkins.

Grohl joined Chevy Metal for a rendition of the song “Beef Bologna” by the punk band Fear. The performance also featured Fear vocalist Lee Ving.

The show’s other guests included KISS‘ Gene Simmons, Anthrax‘s Scott Ian, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach and The Cars‘ Elliot Easton. 

Grohl is also gearing up for a tour of Asia with Foo Fighters, kicking off in October. The shows will mark the Foos’ first since Grohl’s 2024 infidelity scandal and since the firing of drummer Josh Freese.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.