Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp headlined the first-ever Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois.
The trio organized the all-star event to raise money to help family farmers in the United States. They were inspired by comments Bob Dylan made during the Live Aid concerts, in which he said he hoped some of the money could go to help struggling farmers.
Dylan also performed at the first Farm Aid, as did Billy Joel, Tom Petty, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn and RoyOrbison.
The first concert raised over $9 million.
Since then Farm Aid has held concerts almost every year, with the 2023 edition scheduled for September 23 in Noblesville, Indiana. A full lineup can be found at farmaid.org.
Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has often been hailed as one of the greatest frontmen in rock ‘n’ roll, and that was certainly apparent to anyone who ever got to see him perform live with the band. Well, now Queen is giving fans insight into the man for the latest edition of their weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live.
This week’s episode features archival interviews with the late Mercury, in which he shares why it was so important for Queen to put on a spectacle at each live show.
“People want to be entertained. How boring if we reproduce note-for-note what was on the album,” Freddie says in one clip. “People might as well just sit at home and listen to the album. It’s a show, it’s entertainment, and our songs take on a different meaning when we do a stage show.”
He notes that for years, artists like The Rolling Stones and others have used visual theatrics in shows, noting “It’s a form of entertainment. It’s like you do your music and then entertainment plus.”
“And I, sort of personally, you know, I just like doing that anyway,” he adds. “I’d hate to go onstage and just sit and sing my songs. I have to move.”
Next week on Queen The Greatest Live: “Freddie Mercury – Part 2.”
Carlos Santana looks back at his life and career in the new documentary Carlos, and after 50 years in the business, he tells ABC Audio that making the documentary “was a long time coming.”
“A lot of people approached me that wanted to do this, but it just wasn’t the time or it wasn’t the right people or the right person,” he shares. Things changed when producer Ron Howard and director Rudy Valdez came into the picture, with Santana sharing he had confidence “they would honor and respect my request and that I had say so on beginning, middle and end, how my life was being presented.”
The decision to call the movie Carlos and not Santana was a deliberate one, as the film gives fans insight into the man, not just his music.
Santana says throughout his career, regardless of the bands he’s played with, “Carlos seems to be the glue that keeps believing that this particular multidimensional Mexican could bring something” respected by other artists, which makes him feel “really, really grateful.”
The film covers many of the highs and lows of Santana’s career, including highs like playing Woodstock and his multi-Platinum album, Supernatural. He hopes fans are inspired by what they see.
“I remember that it was Maya Angelou who said, ‘The only thing people are going to remember is how you make them feel,’” he said. “So I want to make people feel like you’re priceless, precious, and God loves you and he believes in you. That’s what I want people to receive from this documentary.”
Carlos is set to open with a special three-day theatrical event September 23, 24 and 27. It will then get a wider theatrical release on September 29.
Neil Young kicked off his two-night stand at The Roxy in Los Angeles on Wednesday, treating the intimate audience to performances of two complete albums.
According to setlist.fm, Young and his pre-Crazy Horse band, Santa Monica Flyers, kicked off the show by playing the 1973 album Tonight’s The Night in its entirety, followed by his 1969 release, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.
Young classics performed during the show include “Cinnamon Girl” and “Down By The River,” with the Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere deep cut “Round and Round (It Won’t Be Long)” being played live for the first time.
The two concerts are part of The Roxy’s 50th anniversary celebration and will benefit The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with serious medical conditions, and The Bridge School, which educates children who have severe speech and physical impairments. Young performed for the venue’s opening 50 years ago.
Neil Young and Santa Monica Flyers play The Roxy again on Thursday, September 21.
As the saying goes, “One is random, two is a coincidence, three times is a trend,” so welcome to the Phil Collins trend.
Specifically, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s debut solo single, “In The Air Tonight,” is suddenly everywhere. First, Sean “Diddy” Combs sampled the iconic drum break from the song on his new single, “Another One of Me,” which features The Weeknd.
Next, country star Chris Stapleton, rap icon Snoop Dogg and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana teamed up to record a new version of “In the Air Tonight,” which is being used as ESPN’s new Monday Night Football theme.
And now, country/pop crossover star Kane Brown has released a new song called “I Can Feel It,” which also interpolates the “In The Air Tonight” drum break. Kane has also given Phil a writing credit on the song, telling Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, “It’s a legendary drum fill and it’s a legendary song. There’s no way I could not do that … Phil could have said no, so I’m glad that he let me use the song.”
Winger is set to release a new box set featuring all the albums they recorded during their time with Atlantic Records.
Chapter One: Atlantic Years 1988-1993, dropping November 17 on both CD and vinyl, will include their 1988 self-titled debut, 1990’s In The Heart of the Young and 1993’s Pull. There will also be a fourth album, Demo Anthology, featuring original demos of Winger’s biggest hits, including “Seventeen,” “Headed for a Heartbreak” and more.
“I’m very proud of this box set,” frontman Kip Winger shares. “It captures an unforgettable era for the band and these are the only remasters I officially endorse.”
When it comes to the subject of artificial intelligence, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic‘s feels that if it’s good enough for The Beatles, it’s good enough for him.
In an interview with NME, Novoselic was asked if he’d be open to using AI to complete any unfinished Nirvana recordings that might possibly exist, akin to the upcoming “last Beatles record,” which used AI to “extricate” the late John Lennon‘s voice from an old demo.
“That’s a good idea!” Novoselic replies. “I’m going to bring that up with Dave [Grohl] and Pat [Smear]!”
“I can hardly wait to hear a new Beatles song,” he adds. “Come on, it’s The Beatles! I want to hear a new Beatles song! And if AI helps it, then absolutely — that’s the way it is today.”
As for whether there’s actually any existing leftover Nirvana material that could be finished with AI, Novoselic isn’t sure.
“We’ve got the start talking about this,” he says. “That’s a good idea. There could be. There’s a point where it’s like, ‘Is this Nirvana on AI?’ There’s a lot of that stuff already on YouTube, and that’s a debate that’s going to have to be settled when it comes to copyright and disinformation.”
Novoselic also notes that, of course, late frontman Kurt Cobain is “not here in the present” to give his input.
“Everything has got to be done right,” he says.
By the way, AI’s already been used on the live recordings included in Nirvana’s upcoming 30th anniversary In Utero reissue, due out October 27.
“We took the digital audio tapes from the soundboard in Rome, Seattle and Los Angeles, then the AI can separate all the instruments and we got a really good mix out of it,” Novoselic shares.
Ringo Starr took a little tumble onstage during a concert in New Mexico on Wednesday.
Video posted by TMZ shows The Beatles legend walking up some stairs to return to the stage; as he heads toward his microphone, he trips, hitting the stage hard.
The rocker’s band was in the middle of singing “Give Peace A Chance” at the time of the fall, and he got back on his feet to join his bandmates on the chorus. He joked, “I fell over just to tell you that,” referring to the song’s classic refrain.
Ringo and His All-Starr Band, made up of Toto‘s Steve Lukather, Men at Work‘s Colin Hay, Edgar Winter, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette, next play Kansas City, Missouri, on September 22. A complete list of dates can be found at ringostarr.com.
U2 guitarist The Edge is doing what he can to help musicians who lost their instruments in the Maui wildfires this summer.
The rocker’s charitable organization, Music Rising, which he founded with producer Bob Ezrin after Hurricane Katrina, has launched Music Rising Lahaina, which is offering replacement instruments and equipment to musicians who lost their belongings in the August fires. They’re also offering financial assistance to musicians in need.
Additionally, the organization is donating proceeds from any Music Rising merchandise sold from now until November 2023 to the Music Rising Lahaina effort. Applications for assistance are now open at musicrisinglahaina.org.
Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson is going solo again. The rocker announced he’ll drop his new solo album The Mandrake Project next year, marking his seventh solo release and his first since 2005’s Tyranny of Souls.
Dickinson is already planning to take his new project on the road, announcing dates in Mexico and Brazil, starting April 18, 2024, in Guadalajara, Mexico, and wrapping May 4, 2024, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“This album has been a very personal journey for me and I am extremely proud of it,” Dickinson shares. “I’m even more excited at the prospect of getting out on the road with this amazing band that we have put together, to be able to bring it to life.”
He adds, “As for what The Mandrake Project actually is… all will be revealed soon!”
In the meantime, Iron Maiden is gearing up to play Power Trip, happening October 6-8 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Maiden is set to play opening night with Guns N’ Roses. The rest of the lineup includes Metallica, AC/DC, Judas Priest and Tool.
