Classic Rock News

Green Day has brewed up another coffee collaboration.

After announcing an American Idiot-themed Keurig kit, the punk outfit is teaming up with 7-Eleven to offer an exclusive blend of the band’s Punk Bunny Coffee brand.

The beverage celebrates what 7-Eleven exec Dennis Phelps says is the “60th anniversary of 7-Eleven as the first national retailer to offer freshly brewed coffee in to-go cups, making us the OG To-Go coffee destination.”

“What better way to celebrate than by teaming up with Punk Bunny to bring new and exclusive coffee options to our customers and offering a one-of-a-kind coffee experience?” Phelps adds.

The Green Day Anniversary Blend will be available at 7-Eleven locations, and in Speedway and Stripes stores, starting Aug. 28. A special launch event will be held at the 7-Eleven at 800 6th Ave. in New York City on Aug. 28 at 8 a.m. ET. The first 50 people in line will win free 7-Eleven coffee for 711 days and a “semi-permanent” Punk Bunny-themed tattoo.

Green Day, meanwhile, is celebrating their own anniversaries on their current U.S. tour, during which they’re playing Dookie and American Idiot in honor of the albums turning 30 and 20, respectively.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz ended his speech at the DNC Wednesday and walked off the stage to Neil Young’s classic tune “Rockin’ In The Free World,” and it turns out Young was perfectly OK with that.

Reps for Young have confirmed to ABC Audio that the rocker personally gave his permission to allow Walz to use the track, which originally appeared on Young’s 1989 album, Freedom.

It’s far from the first time “Rockin’ In The Free World” has been used by a politician, but Young hasn’t always been happy about it. In fact, in the past he’s threatened to sue Donald Trump over his repeated use of the song. Trump first used the song when he announced he planned to run for president back in 2015, then used it in subsequent rallies over the years.

News of Young’s approval was first reported by CNN.

And Young’s tune wasn’t the only classic track to soundtrack Walz’s appearance at the DNC. Ahead of his speech he walked out to John Mellencamp’s “Small Town.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Earlier this year Def Leppard released their May 2023 hometown club show in Sheffield, England, as a special Record Store Day vinyl. Now they are giving more fans a chance to experience the concert. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced they’ll be releasing Def Leppard One Night Only Live at The Leadmill Sheffield May 19, 2023, on Oct. 11. It will be released in a variety of formats: CD, DVD+CD, Blu-ray+CD and a limited-edition two-LP set on orange vinyl. Audio and video of the concert will also be released digitally.

The performance, which was livestreamed for fans, was the first time in over 35 years that Def Leppard played such a small venue in the U.K. The night featured a unique set that included hits like “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” as well as deep cuts like “Wasted,” “Too Late For Love” and “Mirror Mirror.”

And the band is giving fans a preview of what to expect with the release of their performance of “Excitable,” a track from their 1987 album, Hysteria.

All formats are available for preorder now. 

Def Leppard are currently on their Summer Stadium tour with Journey. They play Phoenix on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Alex Van Halen’s upcoming autobiography, Brothers, will offer a treat to fans who decide to listen to it as an audiobook.

A description of the release posted to the Van Halen website reveals that the audiobook, narrated by Alex, will feature the added bonus of a previously unreleased song, “Unfinished,” which was written by Alex and his late brother, guitar great Eddie Van Halen. It is described as “the last piece of music they wrote together.”

Brothers, which Alex described as a love letter to Eddie, will be released Oct. 22. It will include previously unseen photos from Alex’s private collection and will delve into the brothers’ childhood. It also includes “tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behavior.”

Brothers is available for preorder now.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, Aug. 22, 1979 …

Led Zeppelin released their eighth and final studio album, In Through the Out Door, in the United States.

The record went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, where it spent seven weeks, tying it with Led Zeppelin II for the Led Zeppelin album with the most weeks at #1. The album’s best known songs include “All of My Love” and “Fool in the Rain.”

In Through the Out Door wound up becoming the last studio album from the legendary rockers. Their drummer, John Bonham, died in September 1980 and they disbanded that December.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band brought their tour to Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday and played two songs that were clearly chosen for the location they were in.

According to setlist.fm, Bruce and the band kicked off the show with the Nebraska track “Atlantic City,” likely chosen because of Philly’s close proximity to the New Jersey beach town and the opening line, “Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night.” 

Later in the show Springsteen performed his Oscar- and Grammy-winning track “Streets of Philadelphia,” which was a tour debut and the first time he performed it in concert since 2018.

But not every song in the set pandered to the Philly crowd. He also played the track “Wrecking Ball,” which garnered a strong reaction from the audience.

Fan-shot footage posted to social media shows Bruce getting booed as he sang one of the verses that includes a reference to the New York Giants football team, a huge rival to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

As Bruce began the verse that starts, “Now, my home’s here in these Meadowlands,” the crowd started booing, prompting Bruce to break out into laughter and take a few seconds before returning to the song. He then continued, “Where mosquitoes grow big as airplanes. Here where the blood is spilled. The arena’s filled. And giants played their games,” which prompted even more boos. 

As the boos continued, Bruce asked the crowd “Eagles?,” which garnered an even bigger laugh from the rocker. 

Wednesday night’s show was the first of two concerts Bruce is playing in Philly. The second is happening Friday. Both are shows that were rescheduled from 2023.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A former club in Liverpool that once hosted performances by The Beatles has now been turned into an Airbnb, the BBC reports.

The Casbah Coffee Club was opened in 1959 by the mother of original Beatles drummer Pete Best. The venue, in the basement of the Best home, closed in 1962 — but not before The Beatles performed there more than 40 times. John Lennon’s band the Quarryman also played there.

Now Best and his younger brother Roag have turned the rooms above the club into a place any Beatles fan would love to stay. It features rooms named after Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, as well as original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and Best, with each room featuring a “sprinkling” of Beatles-related décor, like posters and photos.

There is no room named after Ringo Starr, who replaced Best before the band took off, but Roag insists it’s not a slight at Ringo.

“It’s nothing to do with Pete and Ringo and what happened,” he says. “Everything we do is about being authentic and The Beatles that performed and partied here were John, Paul, George, Pete and Stuart.” He notes, “Ringo was never a member when he was here.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Rocker Sebastian Bach plans to spend some more time on the road this year.

The former Skid Row frontman just announced a new set of fall dates, kicking off Oct. 4 in Portland. The new dates include a tour of Canada and two nights at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, Nov. 18 and Nov. 19, before wrapping Dec. 14 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Bach’s tour is in support of his recent solo album, Child Within The Man, which came out in May. And to coincide with the tour announcement he’s dropped an alternate video for one of the album’s tracks, “(Hold On) To The Dream.”

Bach’s next show is scheduled for Sept. 20 in Johnson City, Tennessee. A complete list of dates can be found at sebastianbach.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

After teasing fans on social media, U2 has now confirmed that a movie of their Sphere residency is coming, but you’ll have to go to Sin City to see it.

The band and Sphere Entertainment just announced that V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas will open at the Sphere on Sept. 5. It gives fans a glimpse at the band’s residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby, which opened in September 2023.

The film, directed by U2 guitarist The Edge and his wife, Morleigh Steinberg, was shot using the ultra-high-resolution camera system developed by Sphere Entertainment. The screenings will use Sphere Immersive Sound, with the audience watching from haptic seats, which, according to a press release, “use vibrations so guests can ‘feel’ the experience.” 

“The goal was to give the immersive movie goers as close to the live U2:UV concert experience as possible — and then some,” says The Edge. “I’ve never seen a U2 show. I’m so relieved I caught a great one.”

Steinberg adds, “We knew all the tremendous capabilities of the technology, but we didn’t know what to expect from the process of making this film. The end result is a cinematic experience that transports viewers into the energy and beauty of the live show.” 

Tickets to V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas go on sale to U2.com subscribers Thursday. The general ticket sale starts Friday at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets start at $100.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Bryan Adams is getting ready to drop a new video on Friday.

The rocker shared a tease of the clip on social media with the caption, “You better watch out…23rd August #warmachine,” revealing it’s a video for “War Machine,” his take on one of two songs he co-wrote in the ’80s with Jim Vallance and Gene Simmons for KISS.

The black-and-white tease shows Adams walking through a field holding a white flag with a peace sign, then cuts to scenes of a war-torn city. It ends with the words “War Machine” on the screen, followed by “Launching Soon 23.08.2024.”

Earlier in August, Adams dropped his version of the other song he co-wrote for KISS, “Rock and Roll Hell.” Both tracks appeared on KISS’ 1982 album, Creatures of the Night.

Adams’ versions will be released as a limited-edition double A-side 7-inch single on Aug. 30 and are available for preorder now at bryanadams.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.