Classic Rock News

Longtime Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse is officially leaving the band after announcing in March that he was taking a temporary hiatus from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers to be with his wife, Janine, as she battles cancer.

In a new message from Deep Purple, the group explains, “Steve Morse will be stepping back from the band, having been its guitarist for more than a quarter of a century. Steve’s personal circumstances have made it impossible for him to commit to the band’s schedule throughout 2022 and beyond.”

Deep Purple adds, “Steve will be greatly missed by band, crew, management, record label and all those that had the pleasure of working with him over the years.”

Morse joined Deep Purple in 1994, and played on eight studio album by the band, while co-writing nearly every original song that appeared on those records.

In his own statement, Morse explains about his decision to leave the band, “[My wife and I] are learning to accept stage 4 aggressive cancer and chemo treatment for the rest of her life. We both miss being at shows, but I simply couldn’t commit to long, or far away tours, since things can change quickly at home.”

He adds, “I wish to thank the listeners who so strongly supported live music and turned every show from a dress rehearsal to a thundering, exciting experience. I’ll miss everybody in the band and crew but being Janine’s helper and advocate has made a real difference at many key points.”

The band’s statement also includes messages from Morse’s Deep Purple band mates — singer Ian Gillan, drummer Ian Paice, bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey — in which they expressed their admiration and affection for Morse.

Deep Purple currently are on tour in Europe with Morse’s replacement, Simon McBride.

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U2 will play the first concerts ever at the MSG Sphere, a high-tech arena that’s being built at the Las Vegas resort The Venetian and that’s scheduled to open next year, Billboard reports, according to multiple sources.

The Irish rockers’ performances at the MSG Sphere reportedly will be part of a residency that will feature a series of shows held on non-consecutive days and will take place over the course of several months.

The MSG Sphere, which is being built by Madison Square Garden Entertainment chairman James Dolan, is being touted as “the largest spherical structure on Earth.” According to press information, the venue has a 20,000 guest capacity, and will offer a multisensory experience that features a 160,000-square-foot immersive video screen with 4D capability, and state-of-the-art spatialized audio.

The structure also will feature an exterior whose look will be changeable thanks to LED technology.

The MSG Square at The Venetian was initially scheduled to open in 2021, but plans were delayed until 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A second MSG Sphere also is being planned for London.

U2 currently has no confirmed concerts scheduled. The band’s last performance to date took place in December 2019 in Mumbai, India. Meanwhile, as was announced last week, U2 will be among the artists saluted at the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors this December.

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All-star hard-rock band The Dead Daisies will release their sixth studio album, Radiance, on September 30.

The 10-track collection was recorded by the group’s current lineup of former singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, guitarists Doug Aldrich and David Lowy and drummer Brian Tichy. All of the songs were co-written by Hughes, Aldrich and Lowy.

“We had a great time composing and recording the record and I’m very excited for you all to hear what we put together,” says Aldrich, who played with such groups as Whitesnake and Dio prior to joining The Dead Daisies in 2016. “Definitely a heavy album but with some cool twists and turns! Hope you all like it.”

Radiance can be preordered now and will be available as a Digipak CD with a sticker, a vinyl LP in a gatefold sleeve and digitally.

Tichy, who rejoined The Dead Daisies earlier this year after previously playing with the group in 2013 and from 2015 to 2017, describes Radiance as “another slab of butt-kicking rock!”

He adds, “The guys all brought their A-Game and a tight, powerful record was created! I’m looking forward to everyone hearing it and playing more of these songs live in the near future!”

Fans have already been treated to two advance songs from Radiance, the title track and “Shine On,” which were released in June and earlier this month, respectively.

The Dead Daisies are currently on tour in Europe, where they’re opening for Judas Priest on select dates, as well as playing some festivals and headlining shows, through early August. The band also has a brief U.S. trek lined up in September. Check out their full schedule at TheDeadDaisies.com.

Here’s Radiance‘s full track list:

“Face Your Fear”
“Hypnotize Yourself”
“Shine On”
“Radiance”
“Born to Fly”
“Kiss the Sun”
“Courageous”
“Cascade”
“Not Human”
“Roll On”

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Living Colour‘s Corey Glover,  former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson will be playing ShipRocked 2023 as guest performers with the concert cruise’s house band, The Stowaways.

Other rockers playing with The Stowaways include Lamb of God‘s Randy Blythe, Breaking Benjamin‘s Keith Wallen, Hyro the Hero, Escape the Fate‘s Craig Mabbitt, Dead Sara‘s Emily Armstrong and former Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Jason Hook.

Artists, including Lacey Sturm, Islander, Jeris Johnson and Memphis May Fire, are also on the ShipRocked lineup.

As previously reported, ShipRocked 2023 takes place January 22-28, and will be headlined by Falling in Reverse and Parkway Drive. The bill also includes Suicidal Tendencies, Skillet, Bones UK, and many more.

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Veteran folk-rock singer/songwriter and former Youngbloods frontman Jesse Colin Young has postponed the final three dates of his current U.S. tour leg after testing positive for COVID-19.

The affected shows had been scheduled for tonight in Santa Cruz, California; July 30 in San Juan Capistrano, California; and July 31 in Solana Beach, California.

In a message, Young’s wife and manager, Connie Darden Young, explains, “I am so sorry to report that Jesse has tested positive for Covid today. He will have to isolate now in Los Angeles forcing us to postpone the last three shows of the tour.”

She adds, “Jesse’s symptoms are mild and he is doing well and hopes to reschedule soon…Jesse regrets these postponements of his upcoming performances; but, his health is our number one concern. He is looking forward to seeing all of his fans very soon.”

Each venue will announce the rescheduled dates for the postponed concerts. Tickets that have already been purchased will be honored for the new dates.

Young, who celebrated his 80th birthday this past November, has one other confirmed concert on his schedule: A September 30 show in Lincoln, California.

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Jethro Tull has debuted a new music video for “Mine Is the Mountain,” a song from the band’s latest studio album, The Zealot Gene.

In a post on the group’s Facebook page, frontman Ian Anderson explains, “‘Mine Is the Mountain’ is, perhaps, a late-life partner to the Aqualung album song ‘My God.’ I had, as usual, a strong visual reference at the core of the lyrics. A miserable, committed trudge up Mount Sinai by Moses to face an angry maker before he must deliver the goods to his followers below is a powerful image, best imagined unless you are a wilderness trekker and much younger than I.”

The black-and-white clip, which has been posted on Jethro Tull’s official YouTube channel, uses a mix of stop-motion and live footage to depict an enigmatic game between two masked men who roll marbles toward holes on a wooden board and use roughly carved wooden tablets and figurines to build what appears to be a model of Moses ascending Mount Sinai.

The video was created and directed by Thomas Hicks, who previously worked on the clip for another song from The Zealot Gene: “Shoshana Sleeping.” Jethro Tull has also released videos for two other tunes from the album — the title track and “Sad City Sisters.”

Jethro Tull currently is on tour in Europe. Visit JethroTull.com to check out the band’s full itinerary.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, the group will release a 50th-anniversary vinyl reissue of its classic 1972 concept album Thick as a Brick next Friday, July 29. It can be preordered now.

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As part of Aerosmith‘s ongoing 50th-anniversary festivities, the band has unveiled plans for a new streaming concert series: 50 Years Live!: From the Aerosmith Vaults will kick off Friday, July 29, and will run for five consecutive weeks.

Each week, a new archival “official bootleg” concert film featuring never-before-seen footage will debut at Aerosmith.com and the band’s official YouTube channel. Each flick captures Aerosmith during a different decade and was filmed by multiple cameras.

The first installment, titled Live from The Summit, Houston, TX, 1977, features remastered footage from a two-night stand that the band played at the Houston venue in June ’77. It will air on July 29 at 3 p.m. ET and will be viewable for up to one week.

The other concert films in the series are as follows: Live from The Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 1989 will premiere August 5; Live from the Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993 drops August 12; Live from Comerica Park, Detroit, MI, 2003 comes out August 19; and Live from Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, 2016 arrives on August 26.

One day after each premiere, highlight clips from the respective films will also be added to Aerosmith’s YouTube channel.

As previously reported, Aerosmith has anniversary concerts scheduled on September 4 in Bangor, Maine and September 8 at Boston’s Fenway Park. They also have two eight-date Las Vegas residencies at the Dolby Live at Park MGM, running from September 14 to October 5 and November 19 to December 11.

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Megadeth has premiered a new song called “Night Stalkers,” which will appear on the band’s upcoming album, The Sick, The Dying…and the Dead!

The track features a verse from rapper and Body Count frontman Ice-T.

You can listen to “Night Stalkers” now via digital outlets. It’s also accompanied by a video, streaming now on YouTube, which is the second entry in a planned trilogy of visuals that began with the previously released single “We’ll Be Back.”

The Sick, The Dying…and the Dead! will be released September 2. It’s the follow-up to 2016’s Dystopia.

Megadeth will launch a U.S. tour with Five Finger Death Punch in August.

(Video contains uncensored profanity) 

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Pearl Jam has canceled a second show on the band’s ongoing European tour due to issues with Eddie Vedder‘s vocals.

As previously reported, Vedder’s throat was “damaged” during PJ’s performance at Lollapalooza Paris, where they were exposed to “extreme” weather conditions caused by the historic heat wave in Europe. As a result, Pearl Jam scrapped their Wednesday show in Vienna, Austria.

On Thursday, the group announced that they’ve also pulled out of Friday’s scheduled performance in Prague, Czech Republic.

“[Vedder] has seen a doctor in Prague and is continuing the treatments for his vocal cords, but unfortunately, there is still no voice available,” a statement from the band reads. “The effects on his throat from the last outdoor show are still just too brutal.”

“We again send our sincere apologies to all of those who have worked intensely to put on the show,” the statement continues. “Even bigger apologies to those that were expecting to attend. We’ve always had memorable shows [in Prague] and are with you in our extreme disappointment.”

As Pearl Jam had already made up merch for the show, they’ll be selling it outside the venue; Proceeds will go toward relief for Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.

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If you hope Pat Benatar sings “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” the next time you see her in concert — you’re out of luck. The Grammy winner and 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee has retired the song to protest gun violence.

“I’m sorry, in deference to the victims of the families of these mass shootings, I’m not singing it,” she tells USA Today. “[The title] is tongue in cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can’t.”

The rocker continues, “I’m not going to go on stage and soap box — I go to my legislators — but that’s my small contribution to protesting.”

Benatar says fans are “having a heart attack” that she has permanently shelved the song, but has this to say to those who are upset by her decision: “I’m not going to sing it. Tough.”

The “Heartbreaker” singer notes that the 1980 tune, which is RIAA-certified Gold, is part of her “holy 14” songs that fans want to hear or they’ll “give us (a hard time).”

In place of “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” she tells the outlet, “We’re doing a lot of songs we don’t always play, like ‘In the Heat of the Night’ and ‘I Need a Lover.'”

Benatar, 69, reflected on the numerous tragedies she’s witnessed over the years. While she’s disturbed by the rise in mass shootings, she’s also concerned about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

“I’m worried, like all of us, about fundamental autonomy rights. This is a slippery slope. It’s about not abortion for me. I’m concerned that people are not paying attention to what this actually means,” she explains.

Because of that, Benatar says her song “Invincible” is more important than ever.

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