Classic Rock News

Billy Joel has co-headlining dates on the books this year with Stevie Nicks and Sting, and now he’s set to share his stage with yet another big-name rock star – Rod Stewart.

Billy and Rod will headline Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday, September 13, marking the first time the two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have headlined a concert together.

A Citi ticket presale kicks off Monday, January 29, at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday, February 2, at 10 a.m.

Joel previously announced two new shows with Sting in Las Vegas and San Antonio, for a total of five dates together in 2024. He’s also set to headline two shows with Nicks in 2024, in Arlington, Texas, and Chicago.

A complete list of dates can be found at billyjoel.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pearl Jam and Ozzy Osbourne will be honored at the 2024 Clio Music Awards, the annual ceremony that honors creativity in music marketing and the use of music in advertising.

Eddie Vedder and the gang are set to receive the 2024 Clio Impact Award, which, according to a press release, celebrates the Seattle rockers’ “diverse creative pursuits, building an enduring and inspiring connection to their fans.” It will also honor their philanthropic work through their Vitalogy Foundation.

Specifically, the band is being recognized for their creativity when it comes to tour posters, creating unique posters for each show they play. Some of those posters have won Clio Music Awards, including several posters from their 2023 tour.

Meanwhile, Ozzy will receive the 2024 Clio Music Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing, among other things, the rocker’s “creative legacy, enduring impact on popular culture and the numerous Clio Music Award winning campaigns in which he’s appeared.”

The 2024 Clio Music Awards will take place January 31 in Los Angeles. Tickets to the event are on sale now.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Gov’t Mule isn’t on the bill for New Orleans Jazz Fest this year, but they’ll head to the Big Easy to help festivalgoers keep the party going between weekends.

Warren Haynes and his band are set to headline what’s called Daze Between New Orleans, two days of music happening April 30 and May 1 at Faubourg Brewery.

They will headline the May 1 bill, bringing along special guests Chuck Leavell, John Scofield, Ivan Neville and more. Also performing at Daze Between are Lettuce, Galactic and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and more.

Tickets for Daze Between New Orleans go on sale Friday, January 26, at 10 a.m. More information and a complete lineup can be found at dazebetweennola.com.

As for Jazz Fest, which takes place April 25 – 28 and May 2 – 5, this year’s lineup features The Rolling Stones, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Bonnie Raitt, Foo Fighters and more.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Struggling to find a Valentine’s Day gift for the music fan in your life? Foreigner’s got you covered.

The band is releasing the limited edition compilation, Farewell – The Very Best of Foreigner (Hot Blooded Edition), on red vinyl, promoting it as a perfect Valentine’s gift for your loved ones. 

The album features many of the band’s biggest hits produced by Mick Jones with Jeff Pilson. Songs on the album include “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold As Ice,” “Double Vision,” “Hot Blooded,” “I Want To Know What Love Is” and “Juke Box Hero.”

Only 5,000 individually numbered copies are being produced and they’re available to order now.

Fans still have a chance to listen to all those songs live. Foreigner is set to kick off the next leg of their Farewell tour on March 1 in Newkirk, Oklahoma. They currently have dates confirmed through November 9 in Las Vegas. A complete list of dates can be found at foreigneronline.com.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Billy Joel and Sting are teaming up for more stadium shows in 2024. 

The rockers and friends are now set to co-headline the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday, October 25, and Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, November 9.  

The Vegas concert is Billy’s first Sin City show since he headlined Allegiant in February 2022. Sting also spent plenty time in Vegas, where he headlined his My Songs residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace from October 2021 through April 2023.

A Citi presale kicks off Monday, January 29, at 10 a.m. local time, and tickets will go on sale to the general public starting Friday, February 2, at 10 a.m. local time.

Billy and Sting are now set to co-headline five shows together in 2024, including concerts in Tampa, San Diego and St. Louis. A complete list of dates can be found at billyjoel.com.

The news comes as Billy is getting ready to debut “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first song with lyrics — sung by Billy himself — since his 2007 single “All My Life.”  The song will be released on Thursday, February 1, and he’ll perform it on the Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 4.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Appearing onstage at Birmingham, England’s New Alexandra Theatre on January 24, Sharon Osbourne revealed more details about Ozzy Osbourne‘s farewell shows in the city, his hometown.

According to the Birmingham Mail, Sharon, who appeared as part of her Cut the Crap speaking tour, said that Ozzy, 75, will be “coming home to say goodbye” with shows at Villa Park Stadium, taking place this summer.

“He’s going to have his mates with him, all his great mates that he’s toured with for years so he’ll have many friends with him and it’s going to be a celebration,” she added.

Asked by the event’s host if Ozzy will be well enough to board a plane to Birmingham, Sharon said, “I know with this that it’s mind over matter and he wants it too bad. He’ll be here.”

She also confirmed that Ozzy can’t put on a proper tour because of his health problems.

“It’s true, Ozzy won’t tour again, definitely he won’t. It’s terrible for him because it’s hard to let something that you lived for go, and no matter what over anything, the greatest love of his life is his fans and performing,” she said. “He lives for performing, it’s like his oxygen has been cut from him.”

The last time Ozzy played a full live show was in 2018. Since then, he’s been hampered by a number of health issues and has undergone multiple surgeries after suffering a fall in his home in 2019. He was booked to play the Power Trip festival in 2023 but dropped off the lineup due to his health.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The late Robbie Robertson and director Martin Scorsese, his good friend and collaborator, will be honored with the Society of Composers and Lyricists’ Spirit of Collaboration Award.

The award honors “a composer/director relationship which has created a prodigious body of work.” In addition to the Oscar-nominated score for Killers of the Flower Moon, Robertson and Scorsese have worked on 13 projects together, including movies like Gangs of New York, Raging Bull, Casino and The Color of Money.

Robertson’s Killers of the Flower Moon score has also been nominated by the SCL in the Original Score for a Studio Film category, where it will compete with the scores of Saltburn, The Boy and the Heron, Oppenheimer and American Fiction. 

Also earning an SCL nod is Lenny Kravitz, whose Rustin song “Road to Freedom” has been nominated in the Outstanding Original Song for a Drama or Documentary category. It is set to compete against songs from the movies The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, American Symphony, Carmen and Jacob the Baker.  

The fifth annual SCL Awards are set to take place Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

30 years ago today — January 25, 1994 — Alice in Chains released their chart-topping EP Jar of Flies. Now, the band has announced details of a 30th anniversary version of the project, due out March 22.

The Jar of Flies 30th Anniversary edition will be available on black 12″ vinyl from all retailers. At the band’s web store, you can purchase it on tri-colored vinyl and cassette. A clear vinyl version with flies embedded in it and a deluxe limited-edition box set will also be available.

That set, which’ll set you back $225, includes the tri-colored vinyl, a log-embossed jar with a touch-activated LED and fake flies, a 60-page hardcover book and a poster, all in a screen-printed box.

And if that’s not enough AIC merch for you, there’s also a capsule collection available for preorder. It includes clothing, a skate deck, a poker set and adorable plush “Whale & Wasp” toys.

The acoustic-driven Jar of Flies EP was the first EP to debut at #1. It won two Grammy Awards, including Best Hard Rock Performance for “I Stay Away.” It’s been RIAA certified four-times Platinum.

Alice in Chains will perform April 27 at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

On This Day, January 25, 1991…

Paul McCartney recorded an episode of MTV Unplugged at Limehouse Studios in Wembley, London.

The legendary Beatle took the name of the show literally, performing each song completely unplugged, unlike other artists who used acoustic instruments plugged into amplifiers.

The set list featured such songs as “Blackbird,” “We Can Work it Out,” “And I Love Her,” “Here, There and Everywhere” and more.

McCartney’s appearance on MTV Unplugged’s second season proved to be pivotal for the show. As one of the first A-list artists to do the show, he influenced other big name stars, including R.E.M., Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart, to follow suit.

The episode aired on April 3, 1991, and a live album of McCartney’s performance, Unplugged (The Official Bootleg), was released a month later, including three songs that were not featured on the program. He was the first artist to release a live album of the show.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Eddie Vedder‘s Ohana is confirmed to come back in 2024.

This year’s edition of the Pearl Jam frontman’s annual festival will take place September 27-29, once again in Dana Point, California. The lineup has yet to be announced, though Vedder encourages you to sign up for text alerts for up-to-date artist and ticket info.

The 2023 Ohana Festival featured Foo Fighters and The Killers as headliners, as well as a solo set by Vedder.

Pearl Jam, meanwhile, is set to be on the road in 2024 and is confirmed to play the BottleRock Napa Valley festival in May, as well as Europe’s Mad Cool and NOS Alive festivals. The grunge rockers have also been working on a new album, the follow-up to 2020’s Gigaton.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.