Green Day has added two more intimate European shows to their Hella Tiny tour.
The “American Idiot” trio will play club dates in Milan and London on November 7 and November 10, respectively. Both venues hold less than 2,000 people.
Green Day recently played similarly sized concerts in Las Vegas and Paris. They’ll headline much bigger venues on their 2024 stadium tour, which launches in the U.S. in July.
The 2024 tour will support Green Day’s upcoming album, Saviors, due out January 19, and celebrate the 20th and 30th anniversaries of their 2004 and 1994 albums, American Idiot and Dookie, respectively.
Richie Sambora left Bon Jovi in 2013 to spend more time with his family, but it seems like ever since then, he’s been talking about the possibility of getting back together with the band.
Speaking to People on November 4, Sambora said there’s talk about a reunion.
“There’s a documentary that’s being done about the band and stuff that I’ve participated in, and people want to come see us play, and it’s going to make everybody happy,” Sambora added. “I mean, essentially, that’s why you do it at this point.”
“So yeah, it definitely could happen,” he teased. “It’s just a question of when everybody’s ready to go do it. It will be a big, massive kind of undertaking.”
When asked for a timeline of this supposed reunion, Sambora admitted, “I’m not sure. It’s up to peoples [sic], it’s got to be right. That’s all. It’s time to do it, though. This is our 40th anniversary, but I feel younger than ever. I’m having a ball.”
Bon Jovi formed in 1983. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1984, but it was their third album, 1986’s Slippery When Wet, that made them global superstars.
After 13 years, Rod Stewart is finally saying goodbye to Las Vegas.
Sir Rod has announced that the final shows of Rod Stewart – The Hits at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace will take place in July and August of 2024, with four dates in July and three in August. The final show, August 7, will be the 200th Rod has played at the Colosseum since his residency started in 2011.
In 2022, Rod told ABC Audio why he loves playing in Vegas. “Well, I do get paid rather nicely, to be honest,” he said. “It’s probably the best venue in the world to see your favorite rock star … the seats are gorgeous, [it has] the best sound.”
He added, “It’s just a privilege to play there, and you only have to play for an hour and a half. You play any longer, they grab you by the neck and drag you off.”
A fan club presale starts November 7 at 10 a.m. PT; a Citi cardmember presale begins at that same time via citientertainment.com. Members of Caesars Entertainment’s loyalty program, as well as Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers, can access their own presale on November 8 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets go on sale to the general public on November 10 at 10 a.m. PT via ticketmaster.com/rodstewartvegas.
There are also tickets still available for the shows Rod has left this year in November.
Meat Loaf scored his one and only #1 song with the track “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That),” from his multi-Platinum album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, the sequel to his 1977 debut, Bat Out Of Hell.
The track, written by Jim Steinman, who penned Meat Loaf’s other classic tunes “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” featured singer Lorraine Crosby and had an album run time of over 12 minutes.
The song went to #1 in 28 countries and was certified Platinum in the United States. It also earned Meat Loaf a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.
Billed as TheBeatles‘ last song, “Now and Then,” which was released last week, features vocal and instrumental contributions from all four members of the group, including the late John Lennon and George Harrison. Speaking to the BBC, Paul McCartney called the experience of recording the song joyful, lovely and magic.
“Now and Then” was a song Lennon had recorded on cassette prior to his death in 1980. Harrison, McCartney and Ringo Starr tried to record it in the ’90s, but the sound had degraded too much for them to make it work. However, thanks to the new technology that director Peter Jackson developed to make The Beatles: Get Back documentary, Lennon’s vocal and piano parts were able to be repaired enough to be used on the track.
“You could imagine he was just in the next room in a vocal booth or something, and we were just working with him again,” McCartney told the BBC about Lennon’s vocals. “And it was joyful. It was really lovely because we hadn’t experienced that for a long time, obviously. And then suddenly, here we were, working with our Johnny.”
“It’s very special for me to be singing with John again,” McCartney added.
And while Paul noted that he finds some forms of AI — like the ones online where people make his voice sing songs he never recorded — “sort of creepy,” he said, “What we were doing was just cleaning up John’s voice.”
In the U.K., “Now and Then” is on track to top the British charts. If it does, it would be the group’s first #1 in their home country since “The Ballad of John and Yoko” back in 1969.
In addition to a surprise appearance by Jimmy Page, the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony featured guitar heroics from Peter Frampton, who performed alongside inductee Sheryl Crow.
Speaking with ABC Audio backstage during the event, Frampton shared why he felt Crow, who actually saw the “Baby, I Love Your Way” artist at her first-ever concert, is a worthy entrant into the Rock Hall.
“She keeps writing these amazing pieces of music,” Frampton said. “Her words are just very powerful … she’s the whole deal.”
Frampton performed while sitting down — in 2019, he announced he’d been diagnosed with degenerative muscular disease. However, he still feels the call of the live stage.
“I can still play and enjoy playing,” Frampton said. “Maybe I can’t play like I played in the ’90s or whatever … I put it, ‘Less notes, but more feel.’ That’s what I do, I love to play.”
Page, meanwhile, showed up to perform “Rumble,” the signature instrumental from late guitar pioneer Link Wray, who was honored with the Musical Influence Award. In addition to its wide sonic influence, “Rumble” became infamous for getting banned from radio despite being an instrumental song.
“How do you get an instrumental song banned on the radio?” E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt laughed while speaking to ABC Audio on the red carpet. “That’s quite a rock ‘n’ roll accomplishment right there. So he deserved to be in just for that alone.
“He just embodied the whole rock ‘n’ roll sensibility,” Van Zandt added of Wray. “So happy he got in.”
The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place on Friday in Brooklyn, New York, and, as you might’ve guessed, Rage Against the Machine did not show up or perform.
However, guitarist Tom Morello was in attendance and, after an introduction by rapper Ice-T, took to the podium to give a fiery speech about the power of music, what the honor means to him and how fans can continue the legacy of the “Killing in the Name” outfit.
“Fans often ask, ‘Well, what can I do?'” Morello said. “Well, let’s start with these three things: One, dream big and don’t settle; two, aim for the world you really want without compromise or apology; and three, don’t wait for us.”
“Rage is not here, but you are,” he continued. “The job we set out to do is not over. Now you’re the ones that must testify.”
Another not entirely unexpected absence from the night was Kate Bush, who published a statement hours before the ceremony saying she would not be attending. The English singer-songwriter was inducted by Outkast rapper Big Boi, whose love for all things Kate Bush is well documented, and she was honored with a performance of her resurgent hit “Running Up That Hill” by St. Vincent.
While we didn’t get to see Rage or Bush play, we did get a surprise appearance by Jimmy Page. The Led Zeppelin legend took the stage to perform “Rumble,” the signature instrumental from late guitar pioneer Link Wray, who was honored with the Musical Influence Award.
Another surprise came from Elton John, who, while inducting his longtime songwriting partner and lyricist Bernie Taupin with the Musical Excellence Award, revealed that they’d recently completed a new album together. Taupin’s speech was also memorable, as he took a jab at Rolling Stone founder and former Rock Hall board member Jann Wenner over his controversial comments on Black and female artists.
Other inductees included Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, The Spinners and the late George Michael, as well as DJ Kool Herc for Musical Influence, Chaka Khan and Al Kooper for Musical Excellence, and Don Cornelius for the industry Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Stevie Nicks and Peter Frampton performed with Crow, as did Olivia Rodrigo, while Dave Matthews gave a winding introduction to Nelson befitting of the 90-year-old’s lengthy career.
The night also included a tribute performance of The Band‘s “The Weight” in honor of the late Robbie Robertson, which featured Elton, Crow, Brittany Howard and Chris Stapleton.
Highlights from the induction ceremony will air during an ABC special on January 1.
Eagles have added more shows to their The Long Goodbye tour.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have added second nights in four cities – Phoenix, Austin, Chicago and Toronto – with Steely Dan set to open all shows.
Tickets for the newly added March 9 concert in Chicago go on sale Monday, November 6, at 10 a.m. local time, while tickets for Phoenix’s January 20 show, Austin’s February 3 show and Toronto’s March 14 show go on sale Friday, November 10, at 10 a.m. local time.
The Long Goodbye tour is the Eagles’ farewell to the road. Their next show is happening Friday, November 10, in Atlanta. A complete list of dates can be found at eagles.com.
Kate Bush will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Friday, but she won’t be on hand to accept her honor.
Ahead of the ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, the singer shared a statement on her website revealing that she is skipping the festivities.
“I am completely blown away by this huge honour – an award that sits in the big beating heart of the American music industry,” she writes. “Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. I never imagined I would be given this wonderful accolade.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend the ceremony tonight, but for me the real honour is knowing that you felt I deserved it. The RRHOF has welcomed me into the most extraordinary rostrum of overwhelming talent,” she adds.
Bush also wrote of her love of Elton John growing up and how special it is that she’ll be inducted alongside his writing partner Bernie Taupin, who’ll receive the Musical Excellence Award.
“Congratulations Bernie! Congratulations to everyone who is being inducted tonight!” she writes. “Music is at the core of who I am and, like all musicians, being on the journey of trying to create something musically interesting is rife with feelings of doubt and insecurity.”
Finally, she notes, “I’m only five foot three, but today I feel a little taller.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will stream live on Disney+ starting at 8 p.m. ET and will be available for viewing afterward on the platform.
There were a lot of shocked fans this summer when Paul McCartney suggested in a June interview that artificial intelligence was used to extract JohnLennon’s voice for TheBeatles‘ just-released final song, “Now and Then.”
Although McCartney later clarified his statement, Giles Martin, who produced the new track alongside McCartney, is also setting the record straight: he says AI was not used on the song.
Discussing the fact that backing vocals from earlier Beatles tunes were used on “Now and Then,” Martin tells Variety, “No, it’s not artificial or intelligent. No, it’s the same process that I used, as you say so rightly, in Love,” referring to the soundtrack to the Las Vegas Beatles show.
Martin, son of former Beatles producer George Martin, says McCartney was conflicted about this process, but he argued his case.
“My thought was this: that I really thought this needs to sound like The Beatles,” he explains. “The band would have probably sang ‘ahhhhs’ in those things, but they’re not around anymore. So I’m not using AI to recreate their voices in any way. I’m literally taking the multitrack tapes of ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ some stuff from ‘Because’ and ‘Here, There, and Everywhere,’ just in the same way The Beatles are splicing that in.”
He adds, “They feel like they’re from The Beatles, and they are from The Beatles. I think if they were from some machine learning program, they wouldn’t sound right.”
