Classic Rock News

REO Speedwagon is getting ready to retire from the road. The band announced on social media they will stop touring in 2025, citing “irreconcilable differences” within the band.

In the post, the band indicated that their issues stem from bassist and vocalist Bruce Hall’s inability to tour. Hall had been absent from the road since November 2023, when he left to have back surgery.

“Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour… but it’s not up to just him,” the band shared. “The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect.”

They post noted, “Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years.”

It also said that frontman Kevin Cronin, who, without Bruce, was the only remaining original member touring with the group, “too has never had any intention of leaving the band, and the fans and crew mean the world to him, as well.”

“Due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin. So, it is with great sadness that we announce REO Speedwagon will cease touring effective January 1, 2025,” the post reads. “Neal (Doughty), Kevin, and Bruce thank their fans for all their years of loyal support and for giving back to the band such wonderful memories that will remain with each of them forever.”

But fans do have some more chances to see REO Speedwagon on the road. Their next show is happening Sept. 27 in Rancho Mirage, California, and they have dates confirmed through Nov. 23 in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Queen guitarist Brian May is warning fans about a scam that has been shared on social media that appears to show him pushing special backstage tickets to his next gig. 

May shared a video on Instagram that was originally posted to TikTok, where it appears as though May is offering 10 people backstage tickets to his next show for $800, a markdown from their original price of $2,000.

In big letters, May marks the video as “FAKE!!!” and shares in the caption, “THIS IS A VILE SCAM — I was just alerted to this horrible criminal activity.”

He adds, “I’ll let you know how I get on stamping out this disgusting attempt to steal money from trusting fans.”

May was first alerted to the scam when a fan shared the video, and he commented, “My God. This is horrific.” He noted, “I suppose this is now so easy to do – and there are always people who will sink to any depths to try to make a quick buck. Disgusting.”

He added that he was “feeling violated” and wrote, “I certainly don’t feel comfortable or safe in the world as it has become now. Will all have to try to hold onto what is real in our lives.”

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David Gilmour is opening up about his feud with former Pink Floyd bandmate Roger Waters.

Things turned particularly rocky last year after Waters commented on Gilmour releasing the song “Hey Hey Rise Up!” under the Pink Floyd name in 2022. The tune was a protest song about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Waters called “content-less … flag waving” in an interview.

That prompted a response from Gilmour’s wife and co-writer Polly Samson, who tweeted that Waters was a “Putin apologist,” amongst other things, and Gilmour backed her up, tweeting, “Every word demonstrably true.”

In an interview with MOJO, Gilmour says, “That tweet was boiling up. It had to come out – and I have no regrets about it. No regrets whatsoever.”

Gilmour adds that constantly being asked about his relationship with Waters has grown “wearisome,” noting, “Do you know what decade of my life I was in when Roger left our pop group? My thirties. I am now 78. Where’s the relevance?” 

Gilmour is getting ready to hit the road on his Luck and Strange tour, and he’s once again saying that he isn’t likely to play a lot of Pink Floyd tunes, noting he has no desire to perform songs like “Money” or “Another Brick in the Wall.” 

“I’m going to be sticking with the ones that are essentially my music, and I feel some ownership of,” he says. “’Comfortably Numb,’ ‘Wish You Were Here,’ ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond.'”
 

Gilmour’s Luck and Strange tour kicks off Sept. 27 in Rome, Italy. He hits the States Oct. 25 in Los Angeles, with shows in New York to follow. A complete list of dates can be found at davidgilmour.com.

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Styx is returning to Las Vegas next year for a special residency at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

The band announced they’ll play five shows in January and February, during which they’ll treat fans to a performance of their 1977 album, The Grand Illusion, in its entirety, along with other classic hits.

This show will mark the first time in their career they’ve played The Grand Illusion in its entirety. The album launched the band to stardom thanks to hits like “Come Sail Away” and “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).” It was a top 10 hit, peaking at #6 on the Billboard 2000, and went on to be certified triple Platinum in the U.S. 

A Citi presale begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. PT.

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On This Day, Sept. 16, 1977 …

Talking Heads released their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, featuring the now-classic “Psycho Killer,” as well as “Uh-Oh,” “Love Comes to Town” and “Don’t Worry About the Government.”

Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin Tony Bongiovi was credited as one of the album’s producers, though the band disliked him and later claimed the engineer, Ed Stasium, did most of the work.

While it never got higher than #97 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, Rolling Stone included it on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003.

Talking Heads went on to release seven more studio albums, their last being 1988’s Naked. They also released the soundtrack to their critically acclaimed documentary Stop Making Sense, which spent 119 weeks on the Billboard 200.

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Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band headlined the Sea.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Sunday, treating the crowd to a set filled with songs he hadn’t been playing on the rest of their tour. 

The set featured several tour debuts, many from early in his career, a likely homage to the fact the band got their start playing clubs in the beachside town. 

According to setlist.fm, tour debuts included “Blinded by the Light” and “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?,” the first time they played either song since 2017; “Thundercrack,” for the first time since 2016; “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” which was dedicated to late E Street Band member Danny Federici; “Meeting Across the River,” also for the first time since 2016; “Local Hero”; and a cover of Tom Waits’ “Jersey Girl,” the latter of which closed the show. 

The set also featured Bruce’s wife, E Street Band member Patti Scialfa, who came out for “Tougher Than The Rest.” Her performance was her first public appearance since the revelation she’d been diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018. 

Bruce also treated fans to plenty of his usual classics, like “Thunder Road,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” “Born to Run,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Dancing in the Dark” and more.

But playing just his set wasn’t enough for The Boss. Springsteen also turned up for surprise appearances during sets by The Gaslight Anthem and Trey Anastasio Band.

The Boss helped fellow New Jersey natives The Gaslight Anthem open their set with their collaboration “History Books” and stuck around to join them on their classic “American Slang.” And during Trey’s set, Bruce joined him for a cover of his own track “Kitty’s Back.”

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Getting a shout-out from U2 frontman Bono can be a shock to anyone, and that was certainly the case for Entourage star Jerry Ferrara.

The hit HBO series turned 20 in July, and Ferrara, who played the always-hustling Turtle, shared with ABC Audio that he still can’t quite get over Bono’s appearance on the show.

In a series known for its celebrity cameos, Ferrara said it was a stand-out moment.

Ferrara recalled the moment in the ninth episode of the second season when life imitated art — or vice versa, depending on how you look at it.

The setup was Kevin Dillon‘s Johnny Drama was gifted U2 tickets for his birthday, so the main cast — Dillon, Ferrara, Jeremy Piven, Adrian Grenier and Kevin Connolly, along with some hidden camera people — went to a U2 show.

“We were told, like, ‘Look, he may say something. Bono may, he may not. We’ll try. Just be ready,'” Jerry shared. “Honestly, we were like, ‘There’s no way he’s going to say anything.’ So, like, we just started enjoying the concert. Might of even had a beer or two. Because I’m like, ‘We don’t have any dialogue. We’re at a real concert.'”

Jerry continued, “And then sure enough, like, the lights went out and … he said happy birthday to Johnny Drama in Spanish … and yeah, that reaction was very much like a ‘Holy s***. I cannot believe that he actually said that.'”

For the record, after finishing “City of Blinding Lights,” Bono actually said, in Spanish, “Hey, Johnny Drama! What’s up? Happy birthday, my friend!”

Ferrara says, “That was surreal.”

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Bruce Springsteen was one of the surprise guests at a Sea.Hear.Now afterparty in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the Asbury Park Press reports.

The rocker, who is set to headline Sea.Hear.Now with The E Street Band on Sunday, joined the Tangiers Blues Band show at the Stone Pony Saturday night. The band features photographer and Sea.Hear.Now co-founder Danny Clinch, with E Street Band saxophonist Jake Clemons and Robert Randolph also joining the performance as special guests.

According to the paper, Bruce played for about a half hour, joining the band for performances of “Lucille,” “Down the Road Apiece” and “Boom Boom.” 

The Stone Pony was one of the many clubs Springsteen played early in his career, and to help the venue celebrate its 50th anniversary he recorded a tribute that was just shared on the venue’s social media accounts. 

“Here I am back where it all started — how does that happen?” Springsteen said. “Happy 50th anniversary Stone Pony — you made it! It’s a miracle you’re still here but I’m glad you are. Love to everybody!”

In addition to Springsteen, Sunday’s Sea.Hear.Now bill includes fellow Jersey natives The Gaslight Anthem, along with Trey Anastasio Band, Norah Jones, Kool and the Gang and more.

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Rocker Ted Nugent has responded to reports that Pearl Jam used the riff of his song “Stranglehold” to share an anti-gun message. 

During Pearl Jam’s show in Baltimore Thursday, the band surprised the crowd by playing the song’s riff, while frontman Eddie Vedder repeated the lyrics, “I don’t own a gun/ I never wanna own a gun.”

Nugent is a very vocal supporter of gun ownership, and had something to say about his song being used in such a manner, inviting Vedder to come on his podcast to discuss the issue.

Linking to a report on the performance, Nugent commented on X, “hey Eddie join me on my RAV spirit campfire to discuss how your insane liberal policies have created an explosion in engineered violent recidivism while you fight to disarm helpless innocent citizens.”

Vedder and company may be a little busy to do that. They have a few more U.S. shows left on their Dark Matter tour. They hit Boston’s Fenway Park for two shows on Sunday and Tuesday, and then head to California for the Ohana Festival Sept. 27 and 29. They then head to Australia in November.

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In 2023, Bryan Adams released Live at the Royal Albert Hall, a box set documenting three concerts he performed at the legendary London venue in 2022. Now get ready for part two, coming Nov. 15.

Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2024 is available for preorder. It was recorded in May during Adams’ three-night stand at the venue; he played one of his albums in full each night. The set includes performances of his 1996 album, 18 ‘Til I Die; his smash 1984 album, Reckless; and his 2022 release, So Happy It Hurts.

It’s available as a three-CD set or on four-LP vinyl; both formats come with a Blu-ray disc with video footage of the concerts.

Adams’ 2023 box set included front-to-back performances of his albums Cuts Like a Knife, Into the Fire and Waking Up the Neighbours.

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