Classic Rock News

It looks like John Mellencamp is getting ready to “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” again.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is teasing fans with new tour news. “We are coming to YOUR town soon!” he shared on Instagram, promising an official announcement on Monday, October 30.

While no other details were offered, Mellencamp did clue fans in on where the tour will hit, posting a map of the United States with stops marked out with red dots. All of those dots appear to be located in the eastern half of the U.S. 

The tour will be Mellencamp’s first since last year’s Live and In Person tour, which had him playing smaller theaters as opposed to arenas. It launched in February and wrapped June 27 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His next scheduled performance is happening November 6 at Stand Up For Heroes in New York City, which benefits the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

In other Mellencamp news, fans in New York will be able to check out his artwork next month. The rocker’s art will be available for viewing at the DTR Modern Gallery Soho starting November 5.

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In a September interview with WSJ Magazine, The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger revealed that he would be open to the band living on with a hologram tour after they’re all gone. Now his bandmate Keith Richards has weighed in on the idea.

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. I’m pretty sure that it is bound to happen,” he told Apple Music 1’s Matt Wilkinson. “Do I want it? Now, that’s another thing. But I don’t know if I want to hang around that long enough, man. But at the same time, it won’t be up to me, will it?”

Richards also talked about the band’s new album, Hackney Diamonds, which features Paul McCartney on the song “Bite My Head Off.” Keith says “it was about bloody time” McCartney recorded a tune with them.  

“I’ve known Paul for 60 years, just about. Although him and John (Lennon) did do a few backup vocals with us in the ’60s,” he says. “Great fun to play with. At the end of it, I just said, ’Well, that’s just like the old days.’”

In a previous interview with The Telegraph, Richards revealed he’s not a big fan of contemporary music — and he explained why in an interview with The Independent. 

“The only way to cut a band is to put the boys in a room and play, and look in each other’s eyeballs,” he says. “Don’t get me going on modern-day music. Push-button drums and everything synthesized. Digital recording is a one-way toilet.”

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Metallica‘s James Hetfield will be signing copies of the new book Messengers: The Guitars of James Hetfield during an event at St. Louis’ Left Bank Books on November 4.

The signing will take place in between ‘Tallica’s two shows at St. Louis’ The Dome at America’s Center on November 3 and 5.

Messengers is set to be officially released on November 21. The 400-page book includes photos of Hetfield’s personal guitar collection alongside passages on what each instrument means to him.

For more info, visit Metallica.com.

The St. Louis concerts are part of Metallica’s M72 world tour supporting the band’s new album, 72 Seasons.

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If you’re a ZZ Top fan, now’s your chance to get your hands on something previously owned by the band’s late bassist, Dusty Hill, who passed away in 2021. 

Julien’s Auctions just announced a new three-day auction, The Collection Of Dusty Hill Of ZZ Top, featuring Hill’s instruments, wardrobe pieces, memorabilia and more. 

The auction, taking place December 7–9, will feature close to 1,200 lots, with the highlight being the famous fur bass guitar that Hill played in ZZ Top’s “Legs” video. The 1983 Dean Explorer bass is expected to sell for between $80,000 and $120,000. 

Other items up for grabs include: Hill’s most played instrument, his signature 1953 Fender Precision bass guitar, with an estimated price tag of $80,000 to $120,000; Hill’s bald eagle jacket with talons and feather accents, estimated to go for $6,000 to $8,000; and a black leather motorcycle jacket with custom painted skeletons and silver spikes, with “Streek Landslide” written on the back, which is estimated to sell for $1,500 to $2,500.

The auction will happen online and in person in Dallas, Texas. The auction venue will also feature a “Duzzty’s Stash” pop-up store, selling T-shirts, posters and more memorabilia.

A portion of the auction proceeds will be donated to the Recording Academy’s charitable foundation, MusiCares.

And fans will also get a chance to check out the items up for bid during special Juliens’ exhibitions, happening at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York’s Times Square November 20-26 and in Dallas November 29-December 7. 

More information on the items up for auction can be found at julienslive.com.

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Dave Grohl guests on the latest episode of Norah Jones‘ podcast, Norah Jones Is Playing Along.

The show features a long conversation between the two, from which they’d occasionally take a break to perform together. The songs they played included “Everlong,” as well as the deeper Foo Fighters cuts “Statues,” “Razor” and “Virginia Moon,” which featured Jones.

Additionally, Grohl hopped on drums during Jones’ rendition of her song “Flame Twin.” Toward the end, he started playing the beat to Nirvana‘s “In Bloom.”

You can listen to Norah Jones Is Playing Along now via all podcast platforms.

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Billy Idol’s April concerts at the Hoover Dam are coming to theaters next month. Billy Idol: State Line will premiere in U.S. theaters on November 15 and in the U.K. November 14.

The concert film will feature performances from both of Idol’s shows at the iconic site on the Nevada/Arizona state line. One was a full band show, which took place at sunset and featured guest appearances by Sex Pistol’s Steve Jones, No Doubt’s Tony Kanal and Alison Mosshart of The Dead Weather. The second was an acoustic performance with just guitarist Steve Stevens on the roof of the Hoover Dam.

A just-released trailer for the film features archival footage of the building of the dam along with clips of Billy performing “Dancing with Myself,” “Eyes Without a Face,” “Mony Mony,” “Rebel Yell” and “White Wedding.”

Tickets for the U.S. screenings go on sale Friday, October 27. More info on theaters and tickets can be found at bilyidolstateline.com.

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Mott the Hoople is ready to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their classic album All The Young Dudes. 

The band will release a limited edition 50th anniversary box set December 8, featuring the remastered album on LP and CD, both of which will be accompanied by a separate album of rare mixes and session tracks. There will also be a 12-inch single featuring “All the Young Dudes” and “One of the Boys,” plus a 72-page hardcover book, three art prints, a numbered certificate and more. 

The remastered album will also be released on limited edition double orange vinyl.

All The Young Dudes was Mott the Hoople’s fifth studio album and was recorded on the verge of the band’s breakup. The title track, written by David Bowie, who also produced the album, was a huge commercial success for the group, peaking at #3 in the U.K. and becoming a Top 40 hit in the U.S. The album also featured a cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.” 

Both the box set and the double orange vinyl are available for preorder now.

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Heart is getting back together to help ring in 2024 in their hometown of Seattle, Washington.

Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson just announced a special New Year’s Eve show with special guest Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening at the Climate Pledge Arena. The December 31 concert will be followed by a special Space Needle firework spectacular.

Tickets for the concert go on sale Friday, October 27, at 10 a.m. PT.

The New Year’s Eve gig will be Heart’s first concert since October 2019. Earlier this month, the sisters reunited onstage in Santa Rosa, California, to perform “Barracuda” during Ann’s headlining show with her band Tripsitter.

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Elton John fans know that he loves collecting things, especially fine art photography. His photography collection rivals that of most museums, but now, it’s coming to a museum.

London’s Victoria & Albert Museum has announced that an exhibit called Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection will open May 18.

According to the Evening Standard, the photos will be organized across eight themes, including fashion, celebrity, the male body, American photography and historical images documenting the Civil Rights Movement, the AIDS activism of the 1980s and the 9/11 terror attacks.

Legendary photographers like Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus are all represented, and there are celebrity portraits of icons like Marilyn Monroe and Miles Davis, among others.

“Fragile Beauty takes our collaboration to really exciting new heights, showcasing some of the most beloved photographers and iconic images,” Elton said in a statement, per the Evening Standard.

This isn’t the first time Elton has had items from his collection displayed in a museum. In 2016 and 2017, London’s Tate Museum featured an exhibit called The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection.

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Journey is headed to Las Vegas next month to help welcome F1 racing to Sin City.

The band is one of several artists booked to play the opening ceremony for the inaugural Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023, happening Wednesday, November 15. 

The ceremony, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT, will also feature performances by Andra Day, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Bishop Briggs, J Balvin, Keith Urban, Steve Aoki, Swedish House Mafia and will.i.am, with Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil also making an appearance. 

Fans who can’t make it to Vegas for the festivities will be able to watch the opening ceremony from home. It will be broadcast on ESPN2 and stream on the F1 YouTube channel.

The Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023 runs from November 16-18. For fans interested in catching F1 in Las Vegas, there are still limited tickets available. More info can be found at f1lasvegasgp.com.

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