Classic Rock News

U2 has been amazing concertgoers since launching their Las Vegas residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere. A lot of work went into making sure it was an experience like none other. In fact, U2’s creative director, Gavin Friday, tells ABC Audio it was quite a task putting the whole thing together. 

“We were working with technology we’ve never used before, the world has never used before, [a] sound system that’s going to change the face of live music,” he says. “It was otherworldly.”

The show premiered in September to rave reviews, and even Friday is amazed by what they pulled off.

“On the opening day, we all sighed a breath of relief because it was a huge success,” he shares. “And it’s like, you know, when you’re in the mine mining for that gold, you have your helmet on and your light [on] and you see nothing but the show — and we were knocked out. We knocked ourselves out, actually.”

Friday was also involved in setting up the Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience pop-up shop at The Venetian hotel. While it’s basically a place for fans to buy souvenirs of the show, Friday says it was important to the band that it was much more than that.

“We made it quite an ambient, away from the hustle and bustle and glitz of Vegas,” he says. “We made it very much its own space because fans of U2 go back a long time and they tend to push the boat out on all levels, even if it’s selling merch.” 

U2 recently added new dates to U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere, with the residency now running through February 18. A complete list of dates can be found at U2.com.

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Sting, Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder have come together to contribute to one song.

It’s called “The More I Love My Life,” and it’s by musician and producer Narada Michael Walden. In addition to producing songs for the likes of Whitney Houston, Steve Winwood, Elton John, Gladys Knight, Mariah Carey, Santana and Aretha Franklin, Walden was the drummer in Journey from 2021 to 2022.

On “The More I Love My Life,” Santana plays guitar, Stevie plays harmonica and Sting trades vocals with Walden, who says the song was “a real joy to put together.”

“After I recorded the main parts I asked Carlos to play guitar on it,” says Walden in a statement. “That’s when I got the idea for harmonica, so I asked Stevie Wonder if he would like to play on it.” He adds that he got Sting to sing on the song when he served as musical director for one of the ongoing rainforest benefits concerts Sting organized alongside his wife, Trudie Styler.

The song is included on Walden’s solo album Euphoria, out November 17.

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Warren Haynes‘ album The Benefit Concert Volume 20 is coming out December 8, but we’ve got the first taste of the live album.

The album was recorded at Haynes’ 30th annual Christmas Jam in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, back in December 2018. He’s now released one of the songs: a cover of Fleetwood Mac‘s classic “Gold Dust Woman,” featuring two of the guest artists who were on the bill: My Morning Jacket‘s Jim James and Grace Potter.

In addition to James and Potter, the album features performances by Haynes‘ Gov’t Mule, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Church, Edwin McCain, Mike Gordon of Phish and more. It’s available for preorder now.

Since launching the annual Christmas Jam shows in 1988, Hayne has raised close to $3 million for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, which has seen the construction of over 50 homes in the region.

This year’s Christmas Jam, featuring Slash, ZZ Top‘s Billy F Gibbons and Jason Bonham, takes place December 9; you can visit xmasjam.com for ticket info.

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Taylor Swift might grab all the headlines, but when it comes to touring, it’s the legendary rock acts who consistently do great business. That’s why a bunch of them have been nominated for the 2024 Pollstar Awards, which celebrate the biggest touring artists of the year.

Bruce Springsteen and Dead & Company are up for Rock Tour of the Year along with Foo Fighters and Metallica. In the Support/Special Guest of the Year category, Steely Dan‘s opening slot for The Eagles‘ Long Goodbye tour is nominated. Dead & Company member John Mayer‘s solo tour is up for Pop Tour of the Year.

The Residency of the Year category includes Billy Joel‘s Madison Square Garden run, which is closing in 2024 with its 150th show, and U2‘s relatively new residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Billy’s residency partnership with Citibank is also nominated in the category of Brand Partnership/Live Campaign of the Year.

Meanwhile, The Eagles’ tour is up for the all-genre Major Tour of the Year prize, which is the biggest award. However, since they’ll be competing against Taylor’s Eras Tour and Beyoncé‘s Renaissance World Tour, they’ll have some stiff competition.

The winners will be announced at the Pollstar Awards on February 7 in LA.

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After Rush‘s final tour in 2015 and virtuoso drummer Neil Peart‘s death in 2020, singer/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson thought their Rush days were over. But Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney evidently changed their minds.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Lee says when he and Lifeson took part in the 2022 Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts at Grohl’s request, they weren’t sure who’d be able to play drums with them. They ended up playing three songs with drummers ranging from Grohl and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith, to Tool‘s Danny Carey. At the after-party, McCartney encouraged them to tour again, and Lee says they’re considering it.

“It had been a taboo subject, and playing those songs again with a third person was the elephant in the room, and that kind of disappeared,” Lee explains. “It was nice to know that if we decide to go out, Alex and I, whether we went out as part of a new thing, or whether we just wanted to go out and play Rush as Rush, we could do that now.”

What’s more, the Post reports, in October of 2022, Lee and Lifeson got together in Lee’s home studio and jammed for the first time in years. However, Lifeson currently haas health issues that are keeping him from jumping in feet first.

“He needs to feel good and feel healthy and strong,” Lee says of Lifeson. “And then maybe we have a discussion.”

Meanwhile, Lee’s memoir, My Effin’ Life, is out on November 14. The day before in New York City, he’ll launch a spoken-word tour, during which he’ll read from the book and answer fans’ questions. A complete list of dates can be found at rush.com.

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After using it as the opening of their current Rhapsody tour with Adam Lambert, Queen has re-released their song “Machines (Or Back To Humans)” from their 1984 album, The Works.

On the Rhapsody tour, the song helps set the stage for the show’s theme. Fans hear “Machines” — which features Roger Taylor‘s electronically treated vocals — as robotic imagery and menacing CGI robots are shown marching across giant video screens. Freddie Mercury and Brian May are then heard singing, “It’s a machine’s world — don’t tell me I ain’t got no soul.”

“Basically, it starts off where everything is electronic – electronic drums, everything. And what you have is the ‘human’ rock band sort of crashing in. What you wind up with is a battle between the two,” Taylor explains.

It’s all a lead-in to the concert’s opening number, “Radio Ga Ga.” “Machines” and “Radio Ga Ga” originally started as one song before they diverged, May explains in a statement. 

The re-release comes during a time when questions about how far A.I. can go are top of mind.

“In these days of Artificial Intelligence beginning to invade our whole lives, these mechanical guys personify Robotic Insurgence,” Brian May says. “‘Back to Humans’ is the sound track to us as humans reclaiming our control.”

“Putting the new show together, it hit me that ‘Machines’ was more relevant than ever,” he adds. “So the idea came about of theming the show with a 21st century version of this battle and, incidentally, bringing ‘Ga Ga’ and ‘Machines’ fittingly back together once again.”

The band has also added “Back To Humans” merch to its online store to go along with the re-release.

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It’s 2023, and The Beatles are #1 on the British chart.

The group has made history with their “final” song, “Now And Then,” which features new contributions from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, a John Lennon vocal from the ’70s and guitar from the late George Harrison, which was recorded in the ’90s.

The last time The Beatles were on top of the charts in their homeland, it was 1969, with the single “The Ballad of John & Yoko.” The group now sets a record for the longest gap between number ones: 54 years. The record was previously 44 years, set by Kate Bush last year when her ’80s hit “Running Up That Hill” went to number one.

Paul McCartney told the UK’s Official Charts Company that the news was “mind-boggling,” adding, “It’s blown my socks off. It’s also a very emotional moment for me. I love it!”

This is The Beatles’ 18th #1 hit in the U.K. No other group has had that many. They’re also the oldest band to top the U.K. chart: The average age of surviving Beatles Macca and Ringo is 82.

“Now And Then” is also the U.K.’s fastest-selling single of the year, with 48,600 units sold in its first week.

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The Rolling Stones‘ return to music did not go unnoticed by the Recording Academy.

The world’s greatest rock and roll band scored a nomination for Best Rock Song for “Angry,” the lead single from Hackney Diamonds, the band’s first new album of original songs since 2005.

Meanwhile, Paul Simon‘s first album of new material since 2016, Seven Psalms, is up for Best Folk Album, as is Joni Mitchell‘s recent live release, Joni Mitchell At Newport.

Bruce Springsteen‘s latest album, Only The Strong Survive, features cover versions of old R&B songs. Though it doesn’t contain any original music, it’s earned him a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

The Beatles‘ newly produced animated video for their Revolver track “I’m Only Sleeping” is nominated for Best Music Video, while the David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream and the Little Richard documentary I Am Everything are up for Best Music Film.

In the category of Best Historical Album, Lou Reed‘s Words & Music, May 1965 – Deluxe Edition earned a nomination.

The Grammys will air February 4 on CBS.

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The nominations for the 2024 Grammys were announced on Friday, November 10. Here’s who’s competing in the dedicated rock categories:

The Best Rock Album nominees are Foo Fighters‘ But Here We Are, Great Van Fleet‘s Starcatcher, Metallica‘s 72 Seasons, Paramore‘s This Is Why and Queens of the Stone Age‘s In Times New Roman…

In the Best Rock Song category, you’ll find Foo Fighters’ “Rescued,” QotSA’s “Emotion Sickness,” The Rolling Stones‘ “Angry,” boygenius’ “Not Strong Enough” and Olivia Rodrigo‘s “ballad of a homeschooled girl.”

Best Rock Performance includes “Rescued,” “Not Strong Enough,” Metallica’s “Lux Æterna,” Arctic Monkeys‘ “Sculptures of Anything Goes” and Black Pumas‘ “More Than a Love Song.”

The Best Alternative Music Performance nominees are Paramore’s “This Is Why,” boygenius’ “Cool About It,” Arctic Monkeys’ “Body Paint,” Lana Del Rey‘s “A&W” and Alvvays‘ “Belinda Says.”

Arctic Monkeys’ The Car, boygenius’ the record, Del Rey’s Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, Gorillaz‘s Cracker Island and PJ Harvey‘s I Inside the Old Year Dying will compete for Best Alternative Music Album.

Up for Best Metal Performance are Metallica’s “72 Seasons,” Disturbed‘s “Bad Man,” Slipknot‘s “Hive Mind,” Spiritbox‘s “Jaded” and Ghost‘s cover of Iron Maiden‘s “Phantom of the Opera.”

The 2024 Grammys will air February 4 on CBS.

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Rod Stewart sang some of the greatest slow songs ever written on his Great American Songbook albums, but now, he’s picking up the tempo.

In an interview with Bryan Adams for the October issue of Classic Rock magazine, Rod reveals his plans for his next album. “You know Jools Holland? We’ve nearly completed a swing album,” he says.

Holland, the former keyboard player for Squeeze, is well-known in England for hosting the influential music show Later…with Jools Holland, and being a bandleader of a large ensemble that plays swing, big band, jump blues and R&B.

“The Great American Songbook was all ballads, but this is all up-tempo stuff with [Jools’] band, which is probably one of the best I’ve ever heard,” Rod adds.

Rod tells Bryan he and Jools have been so busy, they weren’t able to release the album in September as they originally planned. He predicts, “It’ll come out next year now, probably March or April.” 

Bryan, who teamed with Rod and Sting for the 1994 #1 hit “All for Love,” told Classic Rock that he wanted to interview Rod because, he says, “I love Rod’s voice. Classic. Simple as that.”

“Your voice is just so identifiable and inspiring to so many people,” he tells Rod. “It’s a classic rock voice.”

What Rod does to keep his voice in shape may surprise you.

“Some people think you shouldn’t drink when you sing, but I do,” Rod reveals. “But I do have a proper way of doing it. I don’t drink till I’m totally warmed up, which takes me about an hour. And then I have a little rum and coke and then I have a hot lemon water.”

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