Classic Rock News

Paul Simon broke out a classic tune for his latest appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was a guest on the late night talker Thursday night, where he performed “Something So Right” from his 1973 album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon.

The choice of song was a request of Colbert, who, during the interview segment of the episode, showed a clip of Simon accepting a $20 bribe from an audience member to perform the song “Kodachrome” at a 2025 Los Angeles concert.

“I was just wondering if me and my friend Mr. Jackson here could entice you into doing ‘Something So Right,’” said Colbert, pulling out a $20 bill. Simon replied, “Oh, I’m doing that anyway. You keep it,” joking that since Cobert’s show has been canceled he’ll need the cash.

Colbert also asked Simon to name his “Mount Rushmore” of American lyricists, with Simon noting there’s a “long list.” The first name he mentioned was Chuck Berry, explaining “he taught my whole generation.” He also named Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder, as well as Joni Mitchell, although she is actually Canadian.

Paul Simon is set to launch a European leg of his A Quiet Celebration Tour on April 9 in Prague. He’ll then bring the tour back to the U.S. June 4 in Palo Alto, California. A complete list of dates can be found at PaulSimon.com.

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Sting has dropped a new EP dedicated to his 2000 single “Desert Rose.”

Desert Rose Reimagined includes three new mixes and three extended mixes of the song, including a reimagined version by Middle Eastern-American duo Tamer Malki and Rami Abousabe, who are also known as Bedouin. There are also remixes from African artist and producer Zakes Bantwini and DJ/producer Darque.

Desert Rose Reimagined is now available via digital outlets.

“Desert Rose” was the second single off Sting’s sixth solo album, Brand New Day. The original version featured Algerian raï singer Cheb Mami and peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100; it was Sting’s last top-40 hit.

Released in September 1999, Brand New Day hit #9 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and sold over 3.5 million copies in the U.S. 

Sting will return to the U.S. for a new leg of his Sting 3.0 tour on May 6 in Hollywood, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at Sting.com.

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Dance remixes of Elton John songs make up the upcoming Record Store Day release Positiva Presents: Elton John – The Remixes, and now fans who don’t snag a copy will still have a chance to enjoy the music.

While glow-in-the-dark vinyl pressings will be released for Record Store Day on April 18, Positiva Presents just announced that the album is also getting a digital release on April 19.

The album, curated by Elton, features remixes of “Cold Heart,” his hit with Dua Lipa, and “Hold Me Closer,” his collaboration with Britney Spears.

There are also remixes of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” “Rocket Man,” “Philadelphia Freedom” and “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That.” Some of the remixes on the album have previously been unavailable on streaming platforms.

“Record Store Day is incredibly important to me, and with this package I really think we’ve made something special for dance music fans,” Elton says.

The digital release is available for preorder now. Vinyl copies will be available at participating independent record stores.

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U2 just surprised fans with some more new music.

After releasing the surprise EP U2 – Days of Ash in February, the Irish rockers are back with another surprise EP, U2 – Easter Lily.

While Days of Ash was written as a response to the current chaotic state of the world, Easter Lily is described in a press release as more reflective “exploring themes of friendship, loss, hope, and ultimately, renewal.”

“With Easter Lily we ended up asking very personal questions like: Are our own relationships up to these challenging times? How hard do you fight for friendship? Can our faith survive the mangling of meaning that those algorithms love to reward? Is all religion rubbish and still ripping us apart?” Bono says in a note to fans. “Or are there answers to find in its crevices? Are there ceremonies, rituals, dances that we might be missing in our lives? From the rite of Spring to Easter and its promise of rebirth and renewal.”

He also says the EP’s title is a nod to Patti Smith and her album Easter, explaining it “gave me so much hope when it was released in 1978.”

Like they did with Days of Ash, U2 has also released a special digital edition of their magazine Propaganda, featuring contributions from the band, including in-studio photos shot by Larry Mullen Jr., song lyrics and more.

U2 – Easter Lily is available now via digital outlets, with lyric videos on YouTube.

The EP comes as U2 is in the studio recording a new album, with Bono describing it as a “noisy, messy, ‘unreasonably colourful’ album to play LIVE,” adding, “We still look to vivid rock n roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens.”

Here is the track list for U2 – Easter Lily:

“Song for Hal,” ft. The Edge on lead vocals
“In a Life”
“Scars”
“Resurrection Song”
“Easter Parade”
“COEXIST (I Will Bless the Lord at All Times?)” – ft. a new soundscape by Brian Eno

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Bush is featured in the latest edition of NPR’s Tiny Desk performance series.

While seated behind the titular tiny desk, Gavin Rossdale led the band through performances of the Sixteen Stone hits “Machinehead” and “Glycerine,” the latter of which featured him singing a cappella.

They then played the deep cut “Out of This World” off 2001’s Golden State album before closing the set with the title track off the most recent Bush record, 2025’s I Beat Loneliness.

You can watch Bush’s Tiny Desk performance on YouTube.

Bush will launch a U.S. tour in support of I Beat Loneliness April 7 in Pittsburgh.

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Gov’t Mule has revealed a new set of summer tour dates.

The Warren Haynes-led band has added 10 new summer headlining shows to their schedule, dubbed the Kicking In Your Stall Tour.

The new shows begin July 22 in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and run through Aug. 23 in Vail, Colorado. The dates fall between the band’s summer co-headlining tour with Joe Bonamassa.

An artist presale for tickets begins April 8 at 12 p.m. ET, with tickets going on sale to the general public April 10 at 12 p.m. ET.

But fans don’t have to wait until summer to see Gov’t Mule on the road. They launch a new spring tour on April 7 in Shipshewana, Indiana, which runs until May 1 in New Orleans. The spring shows include co-headlining dates with Larkin Poe.

A complete list of dates can be found at mule.net.

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Heart has been added to the 2026 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala, taking place May 8 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

The event celebrates recordings being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame this year, including Heart’s 1975 debut album, Dreamboat Annie.

Other additions to the lineup include George Clinton, celebrating the induction of Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain; Lucinda Williams, whose album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is also being inducted; and Take 6.

They join previously announced performer Norah Jones, who will be honored at the event with the Ray Charles Architect of Sound Award.

Overall, nine albums and five songs have been chosen for induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame this year, including recordings from Janet Jackson, Radiohead, 2Pac and Nick Drake.

Released in September 1975, Dreamboat Annie was a top-10 hit for Heart, peaking at #7 on the Billboard 200. It features two songs that would go on to become Heart classics: “Magic Man,” which was their first top-10 single, and “Crazy on You,” a top-40 hit.

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Pittsburgh native Bret Michaels is part of the entertainment for the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft in his home city.

The Poison frontman and rapper Wiz Khalifa, a fellow Pittsburgh native, are set to perform at the Draft Theater next to Acrisure Stadium ahead of draft rounds two and three on April 24. Country star Kane Brown will play the finale on April 25.

“I cannot be more honored, excited and fired up to be asked to perform at the Pittsburgh 2026 Draft on Friday night,” says Michaels. “As a Pittsburgh native and a diehard fan of the Steelers, the NFL and all things Pittsburgh, this is a dream come true.”

All performances are free, although fans are advised to arrive early as standing room spots will go on a first-come, first-served basis. You can find out more at NFL.com.

The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off April 23 on NFL Network, NFL+, NFL Channel, ABC and ESPN.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and ESPN.

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Peter Gabriel has released the fourth track from his upcoming album, o/i.

The latest is “Till Your Mind Is Shining,” with Gabriel noting, “To my ears it’s the closest I get to a pop song on this record.”

“It takes me back to my schooldays, in some ways, because before there was Genesis we were effectively trying to be songwriters more than musicians – pop songs or soul / R&B songs,” he adds. “I think this song connects me back to some of those roots and the sort of thing that I was working on then and trying to master.”

As for the themes of the song, Gabriel notes, “In some ways it’s about opening up the mind and stepping inside to understand a little more of ourselves and the world we live in with the hope that we respond a little more responsibly and compassionately.”

As he did with his last album, 2023’s i/o, Gabriel plans to release a new song from the album with each full moon of the year. The entire album will be released by the end of 2026, along with Dark-Side and Bright-Side mixes handled by Tchad Blake and Mark “Spike” Stent, respectively.

“Till Your Mind Is Shining (Dark-Side Mix)” is available now via digital outlets.

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Courtney Love and Dave Grohl have certainly had their issues in the past, but the Hole frontwoman says that they’re now good. Still, she wishes Grohl would say that, too.

“Grohl, come out with it and just say we’re cool,” Love says on the latest episode of Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast. “Be man enough to man up.”

She continues, “We’re cool, but you won’t say it because you’re afraid you’ll lose your audience, you’re afraid it’ll affect your relationship with literal Paul McCartney?”

“Dave, it would really behoove me if the straight white males that are your base, if you will, stop picking on me,” Love adds.

Love, of course, was married to Grohl’s Nirvana bandmate, the late Kurt Cobain. Following Cobain’s death in 1994, Love was involved in a legal battle with Grohl and Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic over plans to put out unreleased Nirvana music.

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