The life and legacy of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Janis Joplin will be the subject of a new graphic novel coming in October.
Janis Joplin: Pearl, a 128-page hardcover book, is described as “a raw, intimate portrait of an artist who gave every piece of herself to the music.”
“Joplin lived loud, loved hard, burned fast, and left behind a voice that still sounds like freedom, heartbreak, rebellion, and truth all at once,” the description adds.
The book was written by Eric Gladstone, illustrated by Marika Cresta, colored by Fares Maese and lettered by Micah Myers. According to a press release, it follows Joplin “at the height of her power, as she claws her way from a San Francisco breakout star to full-blown cultural icon.”
Janis Joplin: Pearl is available for preorder now and will ship Oct. 28. In addition to the standard book, it will be released as a set with a digital access card and Pearl poster, and as a limited-edition set that comes with the card and poster, as well as a T-shirt, enamel pin, tote bag and Polaroid with a handwritten Janis quote.
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath performs at Ozzfest 2016 at San Manuel Amphitheater on September 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA)
No, you’re not being “Paranoid”: Tony Iommi is indeed up to something.
The Black Sabbath guitarist has shared a video on his Facebook featuring closeup footage of him playing a riff. The clip is accompanied by Wednesday’s date, July 29.
It would appear that the video is teasing news related to Iommi’s solo project. In a message posted on New Year’s Eve 2025, Iommi said that he’d be releasing a new solo album in 2026.
Stay tuned Wednesday to find out.
Iommi reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates — Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — for the final time at the massive Back to the Beginning concert in July 2025. Ozzy died just over two weeks later.
‘Queen Budapest’ concert (Sony Music Vision/Trafalgar Releasing)
Queen performed a historic concert in Budapest in 1986, making them the first Western rock artists to perform behind the Iron Curtain. Now, in celebration of the milestone’s 40th anniversary, the concert is coming to the big screen.
Queen Budapest, a recording of the July 27, 1986, concert at Budapest’s Népstadion, is set open in cinemas and IMAX worldwide on Oct. 7. The film has been restored in 4K by Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production in New Zealand and will feature newly remixed audio.
“For years, fans behind the Iron Curtain had been able to listen to Queen music only on illegal cassettes. It was a forbidden thing to listen to rock bands like us, so to see them play in a live show would have been unthinkable,” says Queen’s Brian May. “This concert, when they could finally come and see us live in person and interact with us, was a huge emotional moment for them and also for us.” He added, “There will never be an event quite like that again.”
The concert was a stop on the band’s The Magic Tour and was the final filmed Queen live performance with frontman Freddie Mercury. It features performances of Queen classics like “We Will Rock You,” “We are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Radio Ga Ga” and more.
Prior to the Oct. 7 opening, the restored Queen Budapest will have its world premiere at the Budapest Classics Film Marathon on Sept. 15. There will also be a U.K. premiere in London on Sept. 30.
The soundtrack to Queen Budapest will be released on Oct. 30 digitally and as a three-LP or two-CD set, as well as on Blu-ray and DVD.
More info on the Oct. 7 screenings can be found at QueenBudapest.com.
Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi perform onstage during 2024 MusiCares Person Of The Year Honoring Jon Bon Jovi at Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Bon Jovi hit the stage Sunday night for night nine of their nine-show stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden, and they brought out Bruce Springsteen to help them close the show.
As seen in fan shot footage posted to YouTube, Jon Bon Jovi introduced The Boss after finishing up “Bad Medicine,” the second song in their encore.
“I’m gonna bring up somebody very special … that’s showed us that hope is more than a bumper sticker, it is something we can actually hang on to,” Jon told the crowd. “His songs have entertained us, they have educated us. For 50 years he has been a beacon of light and of truth. Will you please welcome my friend, my brother and the poet laureate of our series of rock and roll. Ladies and gentleman the one and only Bruce Springsteen.”
As Springsteen took the stage, Jon then called him the “king of the great state of New Jersey.” The rockers then launched into the Bon Jovi hit “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” before teaming up for the Springsteen’s “The Promised Land.”
And Springsteen wasn’t the only guest of the night. Earlier in the evening the band brought out The War and Treaty to perform “The People’s House.”
While technically this was the final night of the MSG stint of the Forever Tour, there’s still no word about what the band plans to do about rescheduling their July 23 show, which was cut short because Jon was suffering from a sinus infection. At the time he told fans to hold on to their tickets and that they were going to try and reschedule.
The Forever Tour next hits Edinburgh, Scotland, on Aug. 28. A complete list of dates can be found at BonJovi.com.
Carly Simon performs during the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Opening Gala premiere of ‘Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives’ on April 19, 2017 in New York City. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
Carly Simon has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Simon, 81, shared the diagnosis in a statement to ABC News on Monday, explaining that she has spent time learning to live with the progressive neurological disorder and deciding whether to discuss it publicly.
“So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease,” Simon said.
“It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly,” she continued. “Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself.”
The “You’re So Vain” singer said her health problems began with arthritis in both knees and one hip. She eventually underwent three joint replacement surgeries and initially believed her difficulty walking was part of the recovery process.
“But my mobility continued to worsen. I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm,” Simon said.
Simon said there were eventually periods when she could not walk without “considerable help.”
“My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” she said.
Simon said she began treatment, including medication to help with stiffness and other symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that primarily affects movement. An estimated 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s, and nearly 90,000 people are diagnosed each year, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
Common movement symptoms include tremors, stiffness, slowed movement and balance problems, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Parkinson’s can also cause non-movement symptoms, including depression, anxiety, apathy, sleep problems and cognitive changes.
Simon said apathy has been particularly difficult for her to explain.
“It is not simply sadness or laziness. It is as though the part of the brain that sends out invitations to participate in life has temporarily misplaced the guest list,” she said.
There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s, but treatments can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
Simon also revealed she was treated for basal cell carcinoma on her face during the same period. She said the cancer was removed, but the surgery affected her appearance and made her more self-conscious about being seen publicly.
“Between my mobility issues, the Parkinson’s diagnosis, the surgery, and the emotional effects of it all, withdrawing from public view was the most palatable reaction,” Simon said.
Despite those health challenges, Simon said she has continued working, including recording a new album, Comes in Waves, which is scheduled for release Aug. 14.
“Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape. It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life,” she said.
Simon, whose career spans more than five decades, has won two Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for “Let the River Run,” from the 1988 film Working Girl.
“I do not consider Parkinson’s a gift or a blessing. It is neither. It is difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening,” Simon said. “I am still learning how to live with it and how to accept it without feeling that I have surrendered something essential.”
Simon concluded her statement by thanking her children, family, friends, caregivers and medical professionals for their support.
“These days I move more slowly, I lean on others more than I once did, and I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different. But I am still very much here,” she said.
Michael Stipe attends Apple TV’s “Shrinking” special FYC event at Quality Italian on May 02, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images)
Michael Stipe fans have been patiently waiting for his long-in-the works solo album, and it appears as though he’s giving them a preview of what’s to come.
The R.E.M. frontman has just debuted a new song, “Hum Desiderata,” on the sound exhibition platform Joyfully Waiting.
According to the description, the song “combines Stipe’s recitation of the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann from his installation at ICA Milan” with an instrumental track by Stipe and Andy LeMaster. It also features additional vocals from artist Elizabeth Hatmaker.
Stipe talked about his solo album during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in April, sharing that it is finally set to be released at the end of 2026. He also debuted a song from the record, “The Rest of Ever,” backed by the Colbert house band, Louis Cato and The Great Big Joy Machine.
Stipe also released the song “I Played the Fool,” which he recorded with producer Andrew Watt, in March. It’s the theme to the HBO series Rooster.
Singers Kiki Dee and Elton John perform at the Dr Pepper Music Festival at Central Park, New York City, 2nd August 1977 (Bettmann / Contributor)
Fifty years ago Friday, Elton John’s duet with Kiki Dee, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” became his first #1 hit in his native U.K., and it stayed on top for six weeks. To mark the occasion, Elton’s Rocket fan club has posted to YouTube for the first time a performance of Elton and Kiki performing the song back in November 1977.
The performance was filmed at the Empire Pool, Wembley, England. Elton says in the video, “We weren’t gonna do this number. [But] we found out that a certain person was in the country, so we panicked and we said, ‘Well, we must do it.’ So she has agreed to come on and sing it. It’s Kiki Dee, ladies and gentlemen.”
The crowd goes crazy as the two perform the hit, which Elton and Bernie Taupin wrote under the fake names Ann Orson and Carte Blanche. It also spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Over the years, Elton and Kiki have sung the song together live more than 10 times, including at his final U.S. tour stop at LA’s Dodger Stadium in November 2022. Over the years, Elton has also sung the song with Miss Piggy, RuPaul, Minnie Mouse, the Spice Girls and Ed Sheeran.
U2 landed their third #1 album with their eighth studio release, Zooropa.
The album, inspired by the band’s Zoo TV Tour, had the Irish rockers experimenting with alternative rock and electronic dance music.
Zooropa spent two weeks on top of the chart, despite a lack of hit singles. Three tracks were released from the album — “Numb,” featuring spoken word verses by guitarist The Edge, “Lemon” and “Stay (Faraway, So Close!).” Only “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” hit the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #61.
The album would go on to win the Grammy for best alternative music album.
: David Lee Roth performs in concert at ACL Live at the Moody Theater on April 29, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)/Sammy Hagar at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction/ (Disney/Michael Le Brecht II)
David Lee Roth has appeared to cancel all but one of the remaining dates on his Don’t Love Me, Rent Me Tour.
Although there’s been no official announcement, the only show still listed on Roth’s website is his Aug. 7 concert at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.
News of the cancellation quickly spread on social media, which prompted a response from Roth’s Van Halen replacement, Sammy Hagar.
“Hey Dave, Sammy here. I just got a call from Michael Anthony … about your tour getting canceled. And I want to say from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry,” Hagar said in a video posted to social media. “I hope you’re well. I hope there’s not a physical problem.”
“Honestly, Mike and I love the fact that you’ve been out there doing it, supporting the greatest band in the world that we were both part of … supporting what we did in this band to keep this music alive,” he added.
Hagar also invited Roth to join him at his The Best of All Worlds residency in Las Vegas in September.
“Sing a couple songs, emcee the damn show, come out and just do what the f*** you do, which is pretty damn entertaining,” he said.
In the caption to the post, Hagar wrote that he hoped the news of the tour cancellation wasn’t AI, noting, “if it is, my post is still coming from my heart and soul.”
“It is so important that this music carry on especially with the AI music out there. those of us that can still go out and play. should do it as long as they can physically and emotionally carry that torch,” he added. “@vanhalen was, should be, and hopefully always will be real live music, not just for our fans, but for the future fans of real rock music.”
Jack White at 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Disney/Cristian Lopez) Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong on ‘Good Morning America.’ (ABC/Paula Lobo)
Thursday night was a night of all-star rock collaborations.
Jack White’s concert in Chicago featured a surprise appearance from Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson. The “She Talks to Angels” singer joined the “Seven Nation Army” rocker for a rendition of the Free song “I’m a Mover.” Robinson sang lead vocals while White shredded on guitar.
You can check out a video of the performance now via White’s Instagram.
Meanwhile, over in San Diego, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was playing a gig with his side project, The Coverups, when Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson showed up unannounced.
Dickinson joined Armstrong and The Coverups to cover the song “All the Young Dudes,” originally written by David Bowie and recorded by Mott the Hoople. The “Run to the Hills” vocalist previously put his spin on the “All the Young Dudes” for 1990 solo album, Tattooed Millionaire.
