Dead & Company release details of ‘Dead Forever – Live at Sphere’ Las Vegas residency

Courtesy Sphere Entertainment

Dead & Company have now released all the details of their upcoming residency at Sphere in Las Vegas.  The band will do 18 shows over six consecutive weeks, starting May 16.

The shows, which run through June 22, feature the group playing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday each weekend. According to a press release, the shows will feature “never-before-seen visual storytelling” from the band, and each weekend’s three performances will have a different setlist.

Fans can now register for the presale, which starts February 5 at 10 a.m. PT.  The general on-sale starts Friday, February 9, at 10 a.m. PT via Ticketmaster.com. Tickets start at $145, inclusive of taxes and fees.

VIP and hotel packages are available at deadforever.vibee.com starting February 2 at 10 a.m. All VIP package holders will receive priority entry to something called the Dead & Company Fan Portal, which will be located at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

Here are the Dead & Company – Dead Forever – Live at Sphere dates:

Thursday, May 16; Friday, May 17; Saturday, May 18
Friday, May 24; Saturday, May 25; Sunday, May 26
Thursday, May 30; Friday, May 31; Saturday, June 1
Thursday, June 6; Friday, June 7; Saturday, June 8
Thursday, June 13; Friday, June 14; Saturday, June 15
Thursday, June 20; Friday, June 21; Saturday, June 22

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Listen to Billy Joel’s first pop single in 17 years, “Turn the Lights Back On”

Columbia Records

Billy Joel is back.

The Piano Man’s first pop single since 2007’s “All My Life” is now available on all streaming services and there’s a lyric video on YouTube.  The ballad, featuring some classic Billy Joel piano flourishes, finds him singing about regretting his behavior in a relationship and promising he’s ready to mend his ways.

“It’s been a long winter of indifference/And maybe you love me, maybe you don’t/Maybe you’ll learn to, maybe you won’t/You’ve had enough, but I won’t give up/On you,” he sings.

“I’m late, but I’m here right now/And I’m tryin’ to find the magic/That we lost somehow,” he continues. “Maybe I was blind/But I see you now/As we’re laying in the darkness/Did I wait too long/To turn the lights back on?”

The song was written by Billy, Freddy Wexler, Arthur Bacon and Wayne Hector.

Billy will take the stage at this Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, airing live on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET.

 

 

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Lenny Kravitz talks making music on his terms

Disney/Randy Holmes

It’s been over 30 years since Lenny Kravitz burst on to the scene with his debut album, Let Love Rule, but if he listened to what music execs were telling him, fans may never have heard it.

“I was told my music wasn’t Black enough or wasn’t white enough,” Kravitz tells People, noting that record execs insisted he needed to choose a specific style if he wanted to be successful.

“I was told that I need to make the music that Black people commercially are making that’s on the radio, so you’ll have success,” he says. “And I just could never get with any of that. I was going to make the music that I made.” 

Lenny, who’ll release the new album Blue Electric Light on May 24, says his music has been influenced by all types of artists, like Duke EllingtonThe Jackson 5Led Zeppelin and more.

“The inspiration was everything that I’d learned from a child to then musically. Blues, gospel, jazz, reggae, pop, R&B, rock and roll, everything,” he says, noting that even Zeppelin was inspired by Black artists like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. He says of the band’s music, “When I heard it, this vortex opened up.”

And while Kravitz recently talked about never being recognized at Black award shows, he is now set to receive a very special honor from the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective. He’ll be honored with the Global Impact Award, which “recognizes Black music creators whose dedication to the art form has greatly influenced the industry.”

Kravitz will receive the honor on Thursday, February 1, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles

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ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons launching cigar brand

Photo by Blaine Clausen

ZZ Top star Billy F. Gibbons is turning his love of a good cigar into a new business venture. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has teamed with BandKandy to launch his first-ever cigar brand. He’s starting out with two new products: Virtu, an ultra premium cigar line developed in the Dominican Republic by Debonaire, and Twin Turbo, a two-pack rough-cut style cigar brand.

“I always enjoy seeing what a cigar brings to a party, even better when I’ve had my hands in the craftsmanship of my very own brands,” Gibbons shares. “Light up, enjoy, and have mercy, my friends.”

Virtu by Billy Gibbons will be available as a limited edition 5,000 piece collection, coming in a numbered high-end humidor that holds five hand-rolled cigars and a custom-designed Zippo lighter. Twin Turbo comes with two cigars in a foil pouch and will be available in three different aromatic profiles. 

Gibbons is a well known cigar fan who enjoys smoking one on stage and lighting one up just before a guitar solo. He is set to make a special appearance to promote his new cigar brand at the Global Tobacco booth at the Total Product Expo in Las Vegas on Thursday, February 1. 

As for Gibbons’ music, ZZ Top is set to kick off a new tour in Key West, Florida, on March 2. A complete list of dates can be found at zztop.com.

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Pink Floyd releasing ‘The Dark Side of the Moon Collector’s Edition’ on clear vinyl

Sony Music

Pink Floyd is releasing yet another version of The Dark Side of the Moon.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just announced a 50th anniversary The Dark Side of the Moon Collector’s Edition, featuring the 2023 remastered version of the iconic album on crystal clear vinyl.

The two-LP, 180 gram set will feature UV artwork printing on the non-groove side of the LP, the first time they’ve used the UV printing process on vinyl. The artwork is of the iconic prism spectrum from the album’s cover, which can be seen through the playable side. 

The Dark Side of the Moon Collector’s Edition will be released April 16. It is available for preorder now.

Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon on March 1, 1973. It has gone on to be the band’s most commercially successful album, having been certified 15-times Platinum. In 2012, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

In 2023, in honor of the album’s 50th anniversary, Pink Floyd released a remastered version of the album along with an extensive box set that featured, among other things, a classic concert, The Dark Side of the Moon — Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974.

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Dead & Company are coming to Las Vegas Sphere

Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images

Dead & Company have confirmed the rumors — they will be playing Las Vegas’ Sphere. 

The band announced the news on Instagram in a video, which reads, “In 2023, Dead & Company played their final tour. But there are other ways to make sure the music never stops. And it’s gonna be a ball.”

The video then cuts to the Sphere lit up with tie-dye images and the Dead’s skull logo, with a live version of “Not Fade Away” playing in the background. The word “forever” then flashes on the screen.

Back in December, the New York Post broke the news that Dead & Company — Bob WeirMickey HartBill Kreutzmann, John MayerOteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti  were in talks to play the Sphere, the state-of-the-art venue that currently houses U2’s residency, U2: UV Acthung Baby Live at Sphere

Dead & Company have yet to announce details regarding dates or ticket information for the shows, but Rolling Stone reports they’re planning for at least 15 shows.

The concerts will be the first Dead & Company shows since July, when the band wrapped what they announced would be their final tour with a three-night stand at San Francisco’s Oracle Park.

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Lenny Kravitz, Lionel Richie to present at the Grammy Awards

CBS/Recording Academy

Lenny Kravitz and Lionel Richie have been announced as presenters at Sunday’s 66th annual Grammy Awards.

The night’s other presenters include Oprah WinfreyChristina AguileraMeryl StreepMark RonsonSamara JoyMaluma and Taylor Tomlinson, as well as “other surprise guests.”

And that’s just the beginning of the A-list talent scheduled for the event. Performers include Billy JoelU2Joni Mitchell and Billie Eilish.

The 66th annual Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah, are happening Sunday in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

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AC/DC earns second billion views video on YouTube with “Back in Black”

Legacy Recordings

AC/DC is glad to be back in YouTube’s billion views club.

The rock legends’ video for “Back in Black” has officially hit the milestone, making it the second AC/DC clip with at least 1 billion views, following “Thunderstruck.”

The “Back in Black” video showcases a simple but powerful performance of the song as the camera pans across each member. The clip also showcased AC/DC’s then-new singer, Brian Johnson, who made his debut with the band on the 1980 Back in Black album in place of late vocalist Bon Scott.

AC/DC’s most recent album is 2020’s Power Up. The group played their first live show since 2016 at the 2023 Power Trip festival.

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Details on ‘Stop Making Sense’ tribute album revealed

A24 Music

Earlier this month, the studio A24 teased an upcoming tribute album dedicated to Talking Heads’ classic soundtrack Stop Making Sense — and now we finally have some details.

Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense features 16 reworked versions of the songs on the soundtrack, from artists like ParamoreThe NationalMiley CyrusLordeThe Linda Lindasgirl in red and more.

The first single released from the record is Paramore’s take on the classic “Burning Down The House,” which is available now via digital outlets and on YouTube.

The tribute album is part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the movie and the soundtrack. The celebration kicked off with A24’s 4K restoration of the film debuting at the Toronto Film Festival last September, which included a Q&A with the reunited band. It streamed live at IMAX theaters across the country, selling out 25 theaters to become IMAX’s highest-grossing live event.

The film was also rereleased in theaters on January 27, with monthly screenings planned in cities like Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

Considered by many to be the greatest concert film of all time, Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, was recorded over three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre in December 1983; the documentary came out the following October.

In addition to “Burning Down the House,” the soundtrack, released in September 1984, featured live performances of songs like “Psycho Killer,” “Once in a Lifetime” and “Take Me To the River.” 

 

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On This Day, February 1, 2009: Bruce Springsteen headlines halftime show at Super Bowl XLIII

On This Day, February 1, 2009 …

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band headlined the halftime show at Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. 

The Boss performed four songs — “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Born to Run,” “Working on a Dream” and “Glory Days” — which were each edited to fit into the allotted 12-minute performance.

According to a video put out by the NFL, they had been trying to get Bruce to play the halftime show for years, but he was never interested. It was only after Tom Petty headlined Super Bowl XLII that Springsteen’s people called up and said “we think it’s maybe time to talk about this.”

Bringing the normal Bruce energy, the halftime show got the crowd on its feet. In fact, he brought so much energy to the performance that at one point, Bruce did a knee slide across the stage and smashed into a camera.

As for the game, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23.

 

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