Elvis Costello & The Imposters to headline benefit for Connecticut’s Ridgefield Playhouse

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Elvis Costello & The Imposters are set to headline a benefit concert for the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

The rocker, with special guest Charlie Sexton, will headline the theater’s Fall Gala, happening Nov. 9.

According to a post on Elvis’ Instagram, “All proceeds will support the Playhouse, ensuring the continued success and growth of theater programs.” The nonprofit performing arts center opened in 2000 and holds more than 200 live shows for more than 100,000 patrons each year.

A Ridgefield Playhouse member presale is happening now, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. More info can be found at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

Elvis Costello & The Imposters have been touring with Daryl Hall this summer. The tour wraps on Thursday in Vienna, Virginia. Elvis is also scheduled to play the Newport Folk Festival on Aug. 3. A complete list of dates can be found at elviscostello.com.

Watch James Hetfield in the first trailer for ’The Thicket’

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

James Hetfield pops up in the trailer for the upcoming movie The Thicket.

As previously reported, the Metallica frontman has a role in the Western thriller, which also stars Peter Dinklage and Juliette Lewis.

“When a bounty hunter and a band of unlikely heroes pursue a brutal killer, they find themselves in a deadly no-man’s-land known as The Thicket,” the film’s description reads.

The trailer features shots of Hetfield firing a gun and walking through a snowy landscape. Previously released photos from the film show him wearing a sheriff’s badge.

You can watch the trailer streaming now on YouTube. The Thicket will premiere in theaters Sept. 6.

Hetfield made his dramatic acting debut in 2019’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which you may remember as the movie starring Zac Efron as infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. The “Enter Sandman” rocker played the police officer who first arrested Bundy.

In addition to the big screen, you can see Hetfield live on Metallica’s M72 tour, which returns to the U.S. in August.

Bon Jovi releasing ‘Greatest Hits’ album on vinyl for the first time

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Bon Jovi‘s 40th anniversary celebration continues with the first-ever vinyl release of their Greatest Hits album.

The New Jersey rockers, who released their new album, Forever, in June, just announced that their compilation Bon Jovi: Greatest Hits will be released on two-LP black vinyl on Sept. 13. There will also be a limited-edition “smoke”-colored vinyl that comes with one of three unique lithographs.

Originally released in 2010, Bon Jovi: Greatest Hits features the band’s biggest hits, including “Runaway,” “Living On A Player,” “You Give Love A Bad Name,” “Bad Medicine” and “It’s My Life.” It also features what at the time were two new songs, “What Do You Got?” and “No Apologies.”

Bon Jovi: Greatest Hits is available for preorder now.

Two Beatles documentaries to premiere at the Venice Film Festival

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The lineup for the upcoming Venice Film Festival was just announced, and it includes two Beatles-related documentaries.

One to One: John and Yoko, directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, focuses on the relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

A previous announcement about the film describes it as “a moving look at the couple’s life upon their entry into a transformative 1970’s New York, exploring their musical, personal, artistic, social, and political world.” It centers around the pair’s 1972 One to One Concerts, which were Lennon’s only full-length performances after The Beatles’ 1970 breakup. They featured Yoko, The Plastic Ono Band, Elephant’s Memory and special guests.

The other is Things We Said Today, from Andrei Ujica. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film focuses on The Beatles’ first North American tour, which happened in 1964.

The Venice Film Festival will take place Aug. 28 to Sept. 7.

Ozzy Osbourne & Geezer Butler reunite in commercial for hometown English soccer team

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler are back together in a new commercial for England’s Aston Villa F.C., based in their hometown of Birmingham.

In the ad, the former Black Sabbath bandmates share their excitement over Aston Villa’s newly revealed kit, or uniform, for the 2024-25 Premier League season.

The clip begins with Ozzy calling up Geezer and declaring, “Let’s play Villa Park!,” referring to Aston Villa’s home stadium. “As long as I’m left wing,” Butler replies.

The whole thing is soundtracked by Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” There’s also a shot of Ozzy’s bulldog wearing a Villa jersey. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

Hopefully the commercial means that Ozzy and Geezer have ironed out their recent differences. In a 2023 interview with Rolling Stone UK, Ozzy said that Geezer had not reached out to him amid his various health struggles over the past few years. Butler then replied that he’d tried to reach out to Ozzy on two occasions but never heard back.

Pearl Jam picks ’Dark Matter’ song for every ’The Bear’ character with new playlist

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

If you’re looking for some music to share with the chef in your life, Pearl Jam has you covered.

The grunge rockers have shared a playlist in which they assign a song from their new album, Dark Matter, to a character from the FX on Hulu series The Bear.

For example, PJ picks the single “Wreckage” for Jeremy Allen White‘s Carmy and the cut “Won’t Tell” for Ayo Edebiri‘s Sydney. For Ebon Moss-Bachrach‘s Richie, Pearl Jam chooses “Running,” though fans of the show will tell you he’s more of a Taylor Swift guy.

You can check out the whole playlist now via Pearl Jam’s Facebook.

Pearl Jam’s music has been used throughout The Bear, and frontman Eddie Vedder recorded a cover of The English Beat‘s “Save It for Later” for its third season, which premiered in June.

Disney is the parent company of Hulu and ABC News.

On This Day, July 23, 1989: Ringo Starr launches his first-ever tour with an All-Starr Band

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

On This Day, July 23, 1989….

Ringo Starr launched his first tour since his days with The Beatles, backed by an All-Starr Band that included Billy Preston, the Eagles’ Joe Walsh, and E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons.

Starr has continued to tour with a similar setup, with members of the All-Starr Band revolving over the years. Each show features Ringo performing both solo and Beatles songs, along with All-Starr Band members performing selections of their hits.

Over the years, All-Starr Band members included such artists as E Street Band’s Nils Lofgren, Todd Rundgren, Bad Company‘s Simon Kirke, Peter Frampton, Levon Helm and Randy Bachman.

The next leg of Ringo’s tour with his latest All-Starr band kicks off September 7 in San Diego. The current All-Starr Band lineup includes Toto’s Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, Men At Work’s Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette.

Neil Young, John Mellencamp & more to headline Farm Aid in Saratoga, New York

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Farm Aid is returning to New York for the first time in 11 years.

The annual concert benefiting farmers across the country will take place Sept. 21 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, New York, with a lineup that includes Farm Aid board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds.

“We’re energized to be back in New York,” Nelson, Farm Aid’s president and founder, shares. “The farmers here have always found ways to innovate and contribute to their communities, even as they deal with uncertainties, extreme weather and policies that favor corporations over people. Farmers need us to stand with them as they work to grow our future.”

Also performing at the annual event will be Mavis Staples, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson with The Travelin’ McCourys, Charley Crockett, Joy Oladokun, Southern Avenue, Cassandra Lewis and Jesse Welles.

A limited number of presale tickets go on sale starting Wednesday at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. More information can be found at farmaid.org.

This will be the third time Farm Aid has been held in New York, and the second time in Saratoga. The last time it was in Saratoga was in 2013. The first New York Farm Aid happened in 2007 at Randall’s Island in New York City. Last year’s festival was held in Noblesville, Indiana.

The very first Farm Aid concert was held in September 1985 in Champaign, Illinois, to raise funds to support family farmers. Since its inception, the annual festival has raised more than $80 million to support programs helping the farming community.

Break (a lot of) Stuff: Woodstock ’99 began 25 years ago

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

The disastrous Woodstock ’99 began July 23, 1999 — 25 years ago Tuesday.

Originally planned as a 30-year anniversary of the original 1969 Woodstock, the festival, which featured bands including Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock, instead became infamous for turning into a scene of violence and sexual assault.

Over Woodstock ’99’s three days, attendees became increasingly frustrated with the lack of proper sanitation facilities and being overcharged for food and water. The hot July weather was exacerbated by the festival’s location, a former Air Force base in upstate New York that was covered in concrete and offered little shade.

Things started to become more unhinged on the second day during Limp Bizkit’s set, when the crowd started to, well, break stuff, resulting in Fred Durst crowd surfing on a piece of plywood torn from a nearby structure.

With tensions rising heading into the third day, things exploded during RHCP’s headlining set when fans started bonfires in the audience, eventually leading to full-scale riots.

Decades later, Woodstock ’99 would inspire two documentaries: HBO’s 2021 film Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage and Netflix’s three-part 2022 series Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99. In Peace, Love, and Rage, director Garret Price explored how the cultural and sociopolitical landscape of 1999 and the angry music of bands on the lineup, along with the festival’s shoddy planning and facilities, contributed to its demise.

“I honestly think that the promoters kinda fell victim to the whole Woodstock mythology itself, that this thing will just work out in the end,” Price told ABC Audio in 2021. “‘We’ll just let society figure itself out on this Air Force base.’ And it didn’t work out that way.”

Sammy Hagar’s ‘VOA’, featuring signature tune “I Can’t Drive 55,” turns 40

July 23, 2024 by Classic Rock 93.9

Tuesday marks the 40th anniversary of Sammy Hagar’s eighth studio album, VOA, which helped launch him into mainstream success thanks to what became one of his signature tunes, “I Can’t Drive 55.”

The origin story of the song is somewhat legendary for Hagar fans, with the rocker recalling to ABC Audio how he got the inspiration while driving after traveling for 24 hours on his way back from an African vacation.

Hagar got pulled over by a cop and got a ticket for driving 62 mph. He was shocked, telling the cop, “This is ludicrous. I can’t drive 55.” He says he went right home and, “Boom, wrote the song.”

“I Can’t Drive 55” was a top 40 hit for Hagar, its popularity aided in part by a music video shot at the Saugus Speedway in Santa Clarita, California. The song has been a staple at Hagar’s live shows and is still a fan favorite, which Hagar attributes to it being something folks can relate to.

“Every person in America over 16 years of age had to deal with that. So that’s when you got something that’s really relative,” he says. “It’s like COVID. It’s like anything you wrote about songwise in COVID, the experiences you had, every person on the damn planet had the same experience.”

VOA peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200 album chart and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

In 1985, following the success of VOA, Sammy was asked to replace David Lee Roth as frontman of Van Halen. With Hagar at the helm, Van Halen landed four #1 albums.

Hagar is currently on his The Best of All Worlds Tour, where he’s playing both solo songs and Van Halen classics. The tour hits Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Wednesday.

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