Classic Rock News

The Who is getting ready to play two shows to benefit Teenage Cancer Trust in March, and they’re now giving fans a way to help them raise even more money for the charity.

The band is selling concert prints celebrating the history of the benefit shows, which have been taking place at London’s Royal Albert Hall since 2000.

The first print, The Who 2000, created by Joel Burden, is part of their retrospective gig posters. It commemorates The Who & Friends show on November 27, 2000, which featured guest artists like Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, Noel Gallagher, Bryan Adams and more. There are 100 copies available for purchase, each autographed by Who frontman Roger Daltrey.

They’re also selling limited-edition The Who 2024 posters, created by Josh Townshend, who’s Pete Townshend’s nephew and Simon Townshend’s son. They commemorate this year’s pair of London Royal Albert Hall shows; 50 numbered posters for the March 18 concert, autographed by Daltrey, and another 50 for the March 20 show, autographed by Pete Townshend.

All posters are available for preorder now and will be shipped April 1. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to Teenage Cancer Trust.

This year’s Teenage Cancer Trust charity concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall run from March 18 to March 24. In addition to the two Who shows, which feature special guest Squeeze, there will be concerts by Noel Gallagher’s the High Flying Birds, Young Fathers and The Chemical Brothers.

The shows will wrap with a special concert, Ovation, a Celebration of 24 Years of Gigs for TCT, celebrating Daltrey’s 24-year career as curator and host of the Teenage Cancer Trust shows. It will feature special guests Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Eddie Vedder, Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones and Paul Weller.

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Peter Gabriel makes a guest appearance on Sheryl Crow’s new album, Evolution. 

The album features Sheryl’s take on Gabriel’s 1992 hit “Digging in the Dirt,” with new vocals added by the former Genesis frontman. 

In a statement, Sheryl explains that the song was the impetus for her return to recording, despite claiming in 2019 that she’d never make another album. 

“Peter’s song is the one that started me on this whole process of making my new album Evolution, the first song I brought to [my producer],” she explains. “The idea of self-examination to understand our wounds and flaws and how they affect our daily lives really resonated with me, because that process can lead to self-healing. But it can be messy, it feels like digging in the dirt.”

“Peter’s lyrics express that so beautifully, with this just ridiculous groove driving underneath,” she continues. “When he agreed to sing on my cover … it just blew me away, and ironically it ended up being the last song we finished for the album.”

Finally, she adds, “It’s such an honor to have him perform on this song which really means so much to me, and there is nobody in the world who sings like Peter Gabriel.”

“Digging in the Dirt” is out now and available exclusively on the digital deluxe version of Evolution, which arrives March 29.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Nils Lofgren has dropped a new digital album, Spares, featuring previously unreleased songs he recorded over the course of his career. 

“Along the way of the past 55 years, songs holding a wide range of emotional pieces of me wound up getting left behind. Basement demos never recorded, not quite right for the project, various reasons,” he shared on Instagram about the release. “Now these songs, ‘Spares,’ cover decades of writing and circumstance, in various periods of my musical and personal life are here, together to share.” 

The album is made up of 31 songs and features some special guests, including Foreigner’s Lou Gramm, on a song called “Dance of Life.”

The album is now streaming on all digital platforms. 

Spares follows Lofgren’s recent album of new material, Mountains, which was released in July. He also appears on the new Neil Young & Crazy Horse album, FU##IN’ UP, which is being released as a clear vinyl two-LP limited edition on Record Store Day, April 20; the black vinyl, CD and digital editions will be out on April 26.

Lofgren is also getting ready to hit the road once again with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. Their tour kicks off March 19 in Phoenix, Arizona. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.

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Jimmy Buffett‘s well-known love of New Orleans is being celebrated in a video for his track “University of Bourbon Street,” which is featured on the posthumous album Equal Strain on All Parts, released back in November.

The song features NOLA’s Preservation Hall Jazz Band and has Jimmy singing about the life lessons he learned while experiencing the city’s famed party street.

The video features photos and video from Buffett’s life in the city from the ’70s and on, along with clips of him in the studio recording the song. The description notes it’s “a heartfelt homage to the city that Buffett adored, showcasing his deep connection to its music, culture and community.”

One way Buffett showed his love for the city was by playing New Orleans’ Jazz Fest numerous times throughout his career. He’ll be remembered at this year’s event, the first Jazz Fest since his passing in September. His longtime backing band, the Coral Reefer Band, is scheduled to play the festival’s closing night, Sunday, May 5, with their set dubbed Celebrating Jimmy Buffett.

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Elvis Costello and Daryl Hall are teaming up for a new co-headlining tour.  

The trek, which will feature Costello backed by his longtime band The Imposters with Charlie Sexton, will kick off June 2 in Troutdale, Oregon, and hit such cities as Seattle, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Boston and more before wrapping July 25 in Vienna, Virginia. 

“It’s fantastic to be able to rekindle a musical relationship. Get ready for lots of great music,” Hall shares. Costello adds, “We are looking forward to kicking off the show in style in the certainty that Daryl will deliver a slam-bang finish.”

Artists presales kick off Monday, March 11, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, March 15, at 10 a.m. A complete list of dates can be found at elviscostello.com and darylhall.com. 

Costello is about to head out on a tour of Australia and Japan, which kicks off with an appearance at Bluesfest Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia, on March 28 and 29.

Hall most recently toured with Todd Rundgren, playing a handful of shows on the West Coast in October and November. In January, he launched a new season of his series Live from Daryl’s House, with all 90 episodes now streaming on YouTube.

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Bad Company‘s Paul Rodgers, ZZ Top‘s Billy F Gibbons and Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler are just a few of the A-list artists making guest appearances on the upcoming blues-inspired album from Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash.

The album, Orgy of the Damned, is due out May 17 and has the rocker joined by a variety of guest vocalists. In addition to Gibbons and Rodgers, The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson and AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson are featured on songs, as are Iggy Pop, Gary Clark Jr., pop star Demi Lovato and country artist Chris Stapleton.

Tyler, who is currently recovering after fracturing his vocal chords, doesn’t sing on the record, but he plays harmonica on the lead single, a rendition of Howlin’ Wolf‘s “Killing Floor,” which features vocals by Johnson.

You can listen to it now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying videos streaming now on YouTube. 

Slash speaks further on Orgy of the Damned in an interview with Rolling Stone, which reports that a tour announcement is coming next week. 

“I just think that [this album] is coming from a different place [than usual],” Slash says. “Looking back on it, there was definitely a laidback, spontaneous approach to what I was doing. There was definitely a difference-making this record compared to some of the other stuff that I’ve done.” 

Here’s the Orgy of the Damned track list:

“The Pusher” feat. Chris Robinson
“Crossroads” feat. Gary Clark Jr.
“Hoochie Coochie Man” feat. Billy F Gibbons
“Oh Well” feat. Chris Stapleton
“Key to the Highway” feat. Dorothy
“Awful Dream” feat. Iggy Pop
“Born Under a Bad Sign” feat. Paul Rodgers
“Papa Was a Rolling Stone” feat. Demi Lovato
“Killing Floor” feat. Brian Johnson
“Living for the City” feat. Tash Neal
“Stormy Monday” feat. Beth Hart
“Metal Chestnut”

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A film about the late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott is in the works, and now, we know who’ll be playing the iconic rocker. 

Actor Lee Tiger Halley, who appeared in the Australian Netflix series Boy Swallows World, has been cast to play a young Scott in the film The Kid From Harvest Road, which producers warn is not a straight-up biopic.

Halo Films’ description of the movie calls it a “fictionalized narrative set in the 1960s” capturing “the essence” of Scott’s early life in Fremantle, Western Australia. 

“By drawing inspiration from the stories and atmosphere of the time period, rather than attempting a biopic, the film can offer a more imaginative exploration of Scott’s character and experiences,” the description continues, noting the film will allow for “a deeper dive into the influences and events that shaped him as a person and ultimately as the iconic frontman of AC/DC.”

Fans may have a bit of a wait before they get to see the film, as production is expected to begin early next year.

Scott was AC/DC’s frontman from 1974 to his death in 1980, appearing on the band’s first seven albums. He was replaced by Brian Johnson, who remains their frontman to this day. 

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Judas Priest just released Invincible Shield, their first new album since 2018’s Firepower, and bassist Ian Hill says they worked hard to change things up on the new record.

“It’s a step forward from Firepower. In fact, it’s two steps forward,” Hill, the only continuous member of Priest currently in the band, tells ABC Audio. “It’s something we do in each album. We try and make it different from the last one and take a step, hopefully in the right direction.” 

Of course, Hill says the album still sounds like Judas Priest, noting, “There’s a lot of hints there from older material, but it’s done in a very, very modern way,” which he says helps them stay “credible” and “relevant” to both their older and younger fans.

And while there are certainly typical metal tracks on the album, like “Panic Attack,” there are also more melodic songs like “Crown of Horns,” with Hill saying variety is “a hallmark of heavy metal.”

“It’s important, variety,” he says. “It’s important for us as Judas Priest to put that versatility down on the record as much as we can.”

And with the band getting ready to hit the road in support of the album, Hill says the band is excited to get to play these new tunes live.

“We love it,” he says of the album. “You know, we, we can’t wait to get out and start playing some of the songs.”

Judas Priest’s new tour kicks off March 11 in Glasgow, Scotland. They will hit the U.S. starting April 18 in Wallingford, Connecticut. A complete list of dates can be found at judaspriest.com.

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Pink Floyd fans in the Detroit area will be able to experience their music in a whole new way next month.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will be holding a special event, The Music of Pink Floyd, at Orchestra Hall. It’s being held on April 20 aka 4/20, which just happens to be a holiday celebrated by weed smokers across the U.S., which seems a bit appropriate for Pink Floyd fans.

The event will have the orchestra, backed by the rock band Windborne, performing Floyd tunes like “Money,” “Learning to Fly” and “Comfortably Numb,” along with selections from their classic 1979 album The Wall.

Tickets for the special show are on sale now.

Next up for Pink Floyd fans, on April 16 the band will release The Dark Side of the Moon Collector’s Edition, featuring the 2023 remastered version of the iconic album on crystal clear vinyl. It’s part of their continuing celebration of the album’s 50th anniversary. It is available for preorder now.

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