Mick Jagger’s girlfriend doesn’t care what people think about their 44-year age gap

Mick Jagger’s girlfriend doesn’t care what people think about their 44-year age gap
Marc Piasecki/WireImage

Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, Melanie Hamrick, doesn’t care what you think about their 44-year age difference.

“I don’t think about it,” the 37-year-old former ballerina told The Sunday Times. “Everyone’s going to have their opinion. If you think about others’ opinions, no matter where you are in life, you’re going to have a problem and you’re going to analyze it.” 

Hamrick started dating the now-81-year-old Rolling Stones frontman in 2014, and they welcomed their son, Deveraux, in 2016.

“I put the blinders on,” she says, regarding opinions about her relationship. “Am I happy? Yes. Are the people in my life happy? Yes. Am I hurting anyone? No. OK, they can mind their own business.”

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Dave Mason cancels Traffic Jam tour due to urgent heart condition

Dave Mason cancels Traffic Jam tour due to urgent heart condition
Photo Credit: Chris Jensen

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason, best known for his work with Traffic, has announced he’s dealing with some serious health issues that have forced him to cancel his fall Traffic Jam 2024 tour.

According to the announcement, “doctors detected a serious heart condition during a routine appointment that requires immediate medical attention.” The announcement notes that Mason’s expected to make a “full and successful recovery.”

“I’m heartbroken to have to cancel these dates, but it’s Doctor’s orders,” Mason said in a statement. “I’ll be back, and better than ever, in 2025.”

Mason, who recently released his memoir, Only You Know and I Know, was due to play Santa Barbara on Tuesday and had West Coast dates booked through Oct. 12 in Stateline, Nevada. 

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Green Day gets commemorative plaque on a wall outside 7-Eleven

Green Day gets commemorative plaque on a wall outside 7-Eleven
Disney/Randy Holmes

In their song “Jesus of Suburbia,” Green Day describes the parking lot of a 7-Eleven as “the center of the Earth.” Now the band has received an official plaque in their honor on a wall outside a 7-Eleven in Pinole, California, where Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt attended high school.

The Mercury News reports that on Sept. 22, Armstrong, Dirnt and Tré Cool spray-painted that each of them “was here” on said wall. It was part of a ceremony in which Pinole Mayor Maureen Toms presented the band with an honorary key to the city, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the release of their album American Idiot

As for the location of the ceremony, 7-Eleven has been selling an exclusive Anniversary Blend of Green Day’s Punk Bunny Coffee brand.  

Hundreds of fans gathered to watch Green Day being honored, and afterward the band signed autographs for fans, many of whom had attended the band’s nearby concert in San Francisco on Sept. 20. Armstrong told the crowd that despite attending high school nearby, he cut class all the time and never graduated. However, he acknowledged the role that Pinole played in the band’s history.

“There were a lot of great bands … just a lot of music,” said Armstrong. “We felt like we had a home there.”

Dirnt added, “Great things can come from anywhere, can come from your mind, from your bedroom, from your friend’s house. Just believe in yourself.”

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Journey frontman Arnel Pineda offers to leave band if fans don’t want him

Journey frontman Arnel Pineda offers to leave band if fans don’t want him
Rob Loud/Getty Images for Journey

Journey’s current frontman, Arnel Pineda, is responding to backlash over his performance at the recent Rock in Rio festival and has even offered to leave the band.

In a post on social media, Pineda commented on a recent Facebook post that had video that seemed to show him struggling with his vocals at the recent Rock in Rio festival.

Noting that he was aware of the video, Pineda shared, “[N]o one more than me in this world feels so devastated about this… its really amazing how 1 thousand right things you have done will be forgotten just cause of THIS..and of all the places , its in Rock In Rio…”

He added that “mentally and emotionally, ive suffered already, and im still sufferring..but i’ll be ok..”

Pineda then decided to poll fans as to whether he should continue with the group.

“i am offering you a chance now ( especially those who’s hated me and never liked me from the very beginning) to simply text GO or STAY right here,” he wrote, “and if GO reaches 1million… im stepping out for good..are you game folks?” 

One person who doesn’t want Pineda to go is his bandmate Neal Schon. Responding to a Facebook post about Pineda’s statements, Schon commented, “Arnel dont listen to these blogs. They are all bought You’ve kicked a**!” 

And in a post on his own Facebook page, with video from the concert, Schon wrote, “All this absolute garbage fabricated bulls*** about [Arnel]. Does this look like nobody had a good time? I’m asking you. All fabricated, owned and bought blogs, bulls***.” He also seemed to blame the rock band Avenged Sevenfold for the problems they had with their sound.

Journey is set to bring their tour to Japan in October. All dates can be found at journeymusic.com.

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Eagles pay tribute to JD Souther at Las Vegas Sphere residency

Eagles pay tribute to JD Souther at Las Vegas Sphere residency
Photo Credit: Chloe Weir/Eagles

The Eagles kicked off their Las Vegas Sphere residency on Sept. 20 and took a moment in their show to pay tribute to the late songwriter JD Souther. He co-wrote some of their best-known songs, including “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” “Heartache Tonight,” “Victim of Love” and “James Dean.”

“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge a couple of people,” Don Henley told the audience, according to Rolling Stone. “I want to acknowledge the co-writer of that song who we lost three days ago, Mr. J.D. Souther.”

He added, “J.D. is someone you may know played a pivotal role in the Eagles. He wasn’t in the band but he certainly co-wrote some of our biggest hits.”

The tribute came before the band’s last song, “Heartache Tonight,” which Henley also dedicated to the late Jimmy Buffett, who passed away Sept. 1, 2023.

As for the rest of the show, setlist.fm reports that Eagles opened with their classic “Hotel California” and filled the set with plenty of fan favorites, including “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Take it to the Limit,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “New Kid in Town,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and “Desperado.” 

 

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Heart adds more dates to their Royal Flush tour

Heart adds more dates to their Royal Flush tour
Photo Credit: Criss Cain

Heart has added more dates to their Royal Flush tour, which kicks off in February.

The five additional shows include a second concert in Las Vegas, plus dates in Toronto, Boston and New York.

The Royal Flush tour was originally supposed to happen in 2024, but was postponed after Ann Wilson announced she’d had an operation to remove something cancerous and needed time to fully recover.

The rescheduled tour is now set to kick off with two shows at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Feb. 28 and March 1, and will wrap April 16 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. A complete list of dates can be found at heart-music.com.

A Citi presale for the new shows will begin Tuesday at 12 p.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. 

 

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On This Day, Sept. 23, 1977: David Bowie released “Heroes”

On This Day, Sept. 23, 1977: David Bowie released “Heroes”

On This Day, Sept. 23, 1977 …

David Bowie released the single “Heroes,” the title track from his 12th studio album. 

The song, written by Bowie and Brian Eno, failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #24 in the U.K when it was originally released. After Bowie’s 2016 death the song reentered the chart in the U.K., peaking at #12.

Although the song wasn’t initially a hit, “Heroes” became a fan favorite and was a staple throughout Bowie’s touring career.

It is also the late rocker’s second-most covered tune behind “Rebel Rebel,” with The Wallflowers’ 1998 version becoming a radio hit, peaking at #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

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Neil Young plays first show with new band at Farm Aid 2024

Neil Young plays first show with new band at Farm Aid 2024
Gary Miller/Getty Images

The latest edition of Farm Aid took place in Saratoga Springs, New York, on Sept. 21. Neil Young took the stage with his new backing band, The Chrome Hearts, made up of Micah NelsonAnthony LoGerfo and Corey McCormick.

According to setlist.fm, Young’s set included Harvest Moon tracks “From Hank to Hendrix,” “Harvest Moon” and “Unknown Legend,” as well as “Love Earth” and “Heart of Gold,” ending the set with “Powderfinger.” 

Young’s show was his first gig since canceling his Love Earth tour with Crazy Horse in June due to health issues. He and The Chrome Hearts are due to play two more shows at The Capitol Theatre in New York, Sept. 23 and Sept. 24.

Young’s Farm Aid co-founder John Mellencamp also performed during the event, treating the crowd to such classics as “Paper in Fire,” “Check it Out,” “Jack and Diane,” “Rain on the Scarecrow” and “Pink Houses.”

Additional performers included Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds,  as well as Mavis Staples, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Lukas Nelson with The Travelin’ McCourys. 

Farm Aid, which launched in September 1985 in Champaign, Illinois, raises funds to support family farmers. Since its inception, the annual festival has raised more than $80 million to support programs helping the farming community.

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Why Elton John’s kids had to sign off on his new documentary

Why Elton John’s kids had to sign off on his new documentary
Courtesy of Disney+

Elton John‘s new documentary Never Too Late arrives on Disney+ Dec. 13 — but only because his two sons, Zachary and Elijah, gave it the thumbs up.

Speaking to Collider, David Furnish, Elton’s husband, manager and co-director of the film, says their older son, Zachary, doesn’t like being filmed at all, so it was nearly impossible to get him to appear in the documentary.  However, there’s one important scene where Elton is shown talking to both boys on FaceTime.

“I did have to sit down with both boys at the end and screen the whole film for them and get their permission because when we started filming, they were like, ‘Well, hang on a minute. We don’t know if we want to be part of this,'” Furnish explains. “And I said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll show you the whole film, and if there’s anything you don’t like, we will take it out.’”

Furnish says when the kids saw the movie, they were concerned their friends would tease them about the FaceTime scene because, he says, “They were like, ‘Oh my God, we’re so young! We’re talking like babies.'” But eventually, Furnish says, “We talked about the greater message that the film could put out, because we do talk with the boys about the fact that same-sex parenting is not everybody’s cup of tea.”

“The fact [is] that a scene like that in a film can be a very … powerful piece of advocacy, and it could maybe change people’s minds and maybe make people think more positively about it,” he adds.

By the way, there’s a brand-new Elton song in the film. Like the film, it’s called “Never Too Late,” and Elton co-writes and performs it with his friend Brandi Carlile.

Disney is the parent company of ABC Audio.

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In new interview, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament reflect on their beginnings and their future

In new interview, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament reflect on their beginnings and their future
Courtesy of CBS Sunday Morning

Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament recently sat down for an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. During the chat, which aired on Sept. 22, they reflected on the beginnings of the band, their legacy and more.

The pair discussed the initial songs Vedder submitted to the band as an audition in 1990, which prompted Jeff, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready to fly him up from San Diego to Seattle for an in-person tryout.

“You felt it,” Vedder said of the first time they played together. “You were like, ‘Oh, this is what it is. This is heaven.'”

Vedder also discussed his process of writing songs, comparing it to surfing. He also gave fans a little behind-the-scenes look at what goes into creating a set list for their shows, and even discussed their battle with Ticketmaster in the early nineties.

And while Pearl Jam is known for their live shows, it seems as though future tours may not be guaranteed. When Jeff and Eddie were asked whether they still enjoy being on the road, they both looked a bit uncomfortable — until Eddie responded with a laugh, “Wrong question!”

As for the secret to their longevity, Ament noted, “It’s miraculous in some ways that we made it through. And then also it’s just a testament to our friendship.”

Vedder added, laughing, “I was gonna say good, clean living!” 

In other Pearl Jam related news, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris‘ husband, shared photos of himself at the band’s concert in Philadelphia earlier in September. “Where are my @PearlJam fans at?,” he captioned the photos on social media. “Had to make a very important stop while in Philly a couple of weeks ago. Iconic concert.”

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