Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell are among the artists playing the 2025 Above Ground benefit concert, hosted by Jane’s Addiction‘s Dave Navarro and Billy Idol guitarist Billy Morrison.
The bill also includes Idol, A Perfect Circle‘s Billy Howerdel, The Cars‘ Elliot Easton, Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, Sugar Ray‘s Mark McGrath and Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese. They will join Navarro and Idol in performing The Cars and New York Dolls‘ debut albums.
Above Ground 2025 takes place Jan. 25 in Los Angeles. It will raise money for MusiCares in support of mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Former Yes lead singer Jon Anderson is set to release a new live album and DVD with his backing band The Band Geeks.
Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks Live – Perpetual Change is a recording of their concert at the Aracada Theater in St. Charles, Illinois, which took place during their 2023 summer tour.
As a preview of the release, Anderson has shared a performance of the Yes classic “And You And I.”
Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks Live – Perpetual Change will be released March 14 as a two-CD/DVD package and as a three-LP set. They are both available now for preorder.
Jon Anderson and The Band Geeks previously released the new studio album True in August. It was Anderson’s first new album since 2019’s 1000 Hands: Chapter One and his first with The Band Geeks, who he’s been touring with since 2023.
Give Billy Corgan that which he desires, which is acknowledgement that the Metallica song “Fuel” may be a bit too reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins‘ “Tales of a Scorched Earth.”
“Fuel” appeared on Metallica’s 1997 album, Reload, while “Tales of a Scorched Earth” was released two years earlier on the Pumpkins’ 1995 record, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
“If you listen to ‘Tales of a Scorched Earth’ and you listen to [‘Fuel’],” Corgan says on the Everblack Podcast. “I don’t think James [Hetfield] would rip anything off from me, but first time I heard that song, I was like, ‘That’s awfully close!'”
Corgan doesn’t have any hard feelings, though, and says he thinks Hetfield is “probably the greatest riff writer outside of maybe [Black Sabbath‘s] Tony Iommi.”
“James has written some of the greatest, most amazing riffs, and he’s still writing them,” Corgan says.
While no official casting for Sam Mendes’ movies about TheBeatles has been announced, the rumors continue to swirl, and now one of the actors mentioned as a possible candidate to play John Lennon has spoken out on the subject.
On the red carpet for his new movie Babygirl, actor Harris Dickinson neither confirmed nor denied his involvement in the project when asked by Variety.
“It would be amazing to do that,” he said. “I think the idea of Sam teaming up to do something like that would be incredibly exciting. Obviously, John Lennon is a very complex role, a pretty formidable force to try to do. It would be cool.”
When asked outright if he was on board for the films, he simply replied, “We’ll see.”
Mendes’ Beatles project was announced back in February, with the director revealing he planned to make four separate films, one for each member of the group — Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.
As previously reported, Gladiator director Ridley Scott revealed in a talk with director Christopher Nolan at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles Tuesday that Paul Mescal would be doing one of the films; he’s rumored to be playing McCartney. In addition, Ringo recently let it slip in an Entertainment Tonight interview that Barry Keoghan had been cast to play him.
Sony Pictures is the studio behind the movies, and it marks the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of the band members and their legendary catalog of music.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to headline Milwaukee Summerfest, playing the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on June 19, with special guest Tesla.
Def Leppard’s fan club, Rock Brigade, gets first access to tickets starting Monday, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Milwaukee Summerfest takes place over three weekends — June 19-21, June 26-28 and July 3-5 — with shows at a variety of venues across the city. So far a complete lineup has not been announced.
While Def Leppard hasn’t announced an official tour for 2025, they’ve slowly been confirming shows in several cities, including Atlantic City, New Jersey; Uncasville, Connecticut; and Springfield, Illinois. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.
Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro are sharing how they got into character to play music icons Pete Seeger and Joan Baez in the new film A Complete Unknown.
Though it’s a biopic centering on Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) in the early ’60s, Norton told Good Morning America the film is “a very intensive look at that window [of time] and the collisions between [Dylan] and Pete Seeger and Joan Baez and a number of others who were at the heart of that folk music scene” in New York City.
Luckily, the two were able to speak to 83-year-old Baez herself to glean more about who their characters were back in the day, as Seeger died in 2014 at the age of 94.
“I had met her through musician friends, and so I felt comfortable enough to call her,” Norton said of Baez. “It’s funny, there are people who were around at that time who maybe are a little tired of talking about Dylan, but nobody’s tired of talking about Pete Seeger. They really revered and loved Pete, and Joan gave me some wonderful insights into him.”
Barbaro said she spoke to Baez as well, saying she was “lucky that she was willing to give me some of her time.”
“When I got on the phone with her, she said she was saying to a friend she was hoping I would reach out, so I felt very validated in my decision, because you never know,” Barbaro said. “It can be a really daunting task to take on a role like this when you admire someone so much.”
“She’s still on a pedestal for me,” she continued, “I felt so lucky that she was willing to speak to me.”
Aside from his and Barbaro’s roles, Norton praised Chalamet for being in an “amazingly consumed and profoundly committed state” during his performance, adding that he was “existing within the skin of the character.”
“The whole company, I think, benefited from the bubble of concentration that he created,” Norton said. “Timothée’s transformation in it is really a monumental performance. It’s just truly a phenomenal performance.”
Metallica‘s 2024 Helping Hands benefit concert takes place on Friday, and while it won’t be streaming live, you’ll still soon be able to watch it from the comfort of your own home.
The show will premiere on YouTube Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. ET.
Helping Hands, which takes place every two years, benefits Metallica’s All Within My Hands charity foundation and features a rare acoustic performance from the metal legends.
The 2024 bill also includes Sammy Hagar and musical duo SistaStrings.
12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, which struck portions of the Northeastern United States, the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic in late October 2012.
The concert featured performances by Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters with Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Coldplay with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and more.
Paul McCartney closed the show, where he was joined by the surviving members of Nirvana — Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and touring guitarist Pat Smear — for their first performance together in 18 years.
The concert was broadcast live in the U.S. on a variety of networks, and a documentary, DVD and CD of the concert were also released.
(SEOUL) — The leader of South Korea’s ruling conservative People Power Party said he is now in favor of impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law, telling reporters “there is no other way,” during a briefing Thursday.
One week ago, ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon suggested similar action against the president, stating that “prompt suspension of his duties is necessary.”
But those intentions were, in part, waylaid by a motion of impeachment that had already been initiated by the opposition party.
When that motion moved through South Korea’s National Assembly, lawmakers in the People Power Party declined to join in the vote.
That left Yoon in power — and the ruling party back where it started.
“Since it has been confirmed that President Yoon Suk Yeol has no intention of resigning early, an immediate suspension from office is necessary,” Han said Thursday morning in Seoul. The sentiments echoed those he shared the previous week, and again carefully avoided using the word “impeachment.”
However, this time, Han was slightly more specific about the intentions behind his words, stating, “Our party members should attend the National Assembly and vote according to their consciences at the next vote.”
In a late-night speech last week, Yoon declared martial law in the country. The move, which touched off a wave of protests, included banning political activities and called for a stop to the “dissemination of fake news” and the manipulation of public opinion.
Within hours, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order — which he soon did.
“From the time martial law was declared until now, we have consistently taken a firm stance that those involved in martial law, including the president, should be severely punished, and we will continue to do so,” said Han. “The president should be immediately suspended from state affairs, including the right to command the military. We must prevent any further confusion, and now there is only one effective way to do so.”
South Korean police then raided the president’s office on Wednesday as a part of the ongoing investigation into the martial law declaration.
Embattled president says he will ‘not avoid’ responsibility for martial law crisis
In a defiant speech on Thursday, local time, Yoon said he will defend himself if his critics try to impeach or investigate him.
“Whether they try to impeach me or investigate me, I will speak for myself. I will not avoid legal and political responsibility regarding the declaration of martial law,” Yoon said.
Yoon explained why he believed he needed to invoke martial law, saying he felt the “majority opposition party continued to abuse its constitutional authority and repeat unconstitutional measures,” causing him to “exercise the president’s authority within the framework of the Constitution.”
“I intended to prevent the collapse of the liberal democratic constitutional order and normalize the function of the state,” Yoon said.
Yoon’s statement came just hours before the opposition party was expected to submit a new impeachment motion against Yoon, which could come up for a vote on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
Grateful Dead has unveiled a new logo celebrating their upcoming 60th anniversary, which is happening in 2025.
The logo, designed by pro freeskier and artist Chris Benchetler, features the signature Dead skull with the number 60 in the brain area, along with sun rays, roses and the tag line “60 Years So Far.”
“The inspirational significance that I found for this piece represents the band’s impactful 60 year journey,” Benchetler shares. “The band’s music and live concerts represent many decades of sunshine filled positive light and energy, that the music has given to so many people.”
In a video that debuted alongside the reveal, Benchetler says it was “humbling and an honor” to create the logo “and become a small part of Grateful Dead history.”
He explains that the roses in the logo “symbolize our deep love of the Dead,” and says he added a patina to the color to age it in order to represent “the 60 years of this unbelievable musical journey.”
“This logo is meant to pull from GD lore, yet be a contemporary interpretation for where we are now,” he says. “I purposefully listened to a wide array of the Dead from early – to middle – to later years to help inspire what I was working on.”
He adds, “As an artist I went on my own musical journey while I was creating this piece.”
