Classic Rock News

An all-star lineup of musicians helped Willie Nelson celebrate his 90th birthday onstage in Los Angeles in April, and next month those who couldn’t make it will finally get to see what they missed.

Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90 is set to hit theaters on Sunday, June 11, with encore presentations on June 13 and 14. The more than two-hour movie will feature highlights from the two nights of performances at the Hollywood Bowl, which took place April 29 and 30 before a sold-out crowd.

In addition to Willie performing, the shows featured a host of A-list musicians: Keith Richards, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Tom Jones, Warren Haynes, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, Lyle Lovett, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow and many, many more. 

To purchase tickets and for more information, visit willienelson90experience.com.

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Fans of ’80s British new wave have something to look forward to this fall. Squeeze and The Psychedelic Furs are teaming up for a co-headlining tour that will hit North America this September.

The trek kicks off September 8 at New York’s Radio City Music Hall and wraps October 14 at The Pearl Theater in Las Vegas.  

Presale tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 17, at 10 a.m., with the general on sale set for Friday, May 19, at 10 a.m. A complete list of dates can be found at squeezeofficial.com and thepsychedelicfurs.com.

The Psychedelic Furs are just about to wrap a spring North American tour. They play Jacksonville, Florida, on May 16, with the tour ending May 20 in Miami Beach, Florida. Meanwhile, Squeeze is set to kick off a U.K. tour on June 17, playing the Sign of the Times Festival in Hertfordshire, England, with dates confirmed through September 3 in London.

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John Mellencamp is giving fans another taste of his upcoming album, Orpheus Descending. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just shared the second single from the record, “The Eyes of Portland.”

The tune has Mellencamp singing about the problem of homelessness in America. He also highlights the crisis in the lyric video for the tune, with images of folks sleeping outside, asking for money, encampments on the street and more. 

“All of thesе homeless, where do they come from? In this land of plenty where nothing gets done,” Mellencamp sings. “To help those who are empty and unable to run/ Your tears and prayers won’t help the homeless.”

This is the second single Mellencamp has released from Orpheus Descending, following “Hey God.” The album drops June 2.

Mellencamp is currently on his Live and In Person tour. The trek hits Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Tuesday, May 16. A complete list of dates can be found at mellencamp.com.

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Two long out of print R.E.M. albums are about to hit stores once more. The band just announced that Around The Sun and Collapse Into Now, both originally released late in the band’s career, will be reissued on vinyl July 14. 

Both releases are coming on 180-gram vinyl, with the double album Around the Sun being released in opaque white and Collapse Into Now coming out in milky clear vinyl.

Released in 2004, Around The Sun was R.E.M.’s 13th studio album, and featured such songs as “Leaving New York” and “Aftermath.” Collapse Into Now, released in 2011, was the band’s 15th and final record. It featured singles like “It Happened Today,” “Mine Smell Like Honey” and “Oh My Heart.” R.E.M. broke up six months after the album’s release. 

Both albums are available for preorder now.

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A British heart charity is almost $3,000 richer thanks to a rare copy of The Beatles self-titled 1968 album, better known as The White Album.

Natalie Langsford, shop manager of the British Heart Foundation’s Sutton Coldfield branch, tells BBC News a “generous donor” gifted the album to the organization, along with other items. After listing it on eBay, the album brought in over $2,900 for the charity.

So, what made this copy of The White Album worth all that money? Well, it was one of only 10,000 copies of the first version of the record that included a misprint. It was also in good condition and came with all the original inserts, as well as a foldout poster.

The charity’s area manager, Marcie Somel, said they were delighted by the “amazing amount” of money raised by the record, adding, “We were thrilled to have such a rare donation come into our shop.”

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Rick Wakeman is teasing a return to the U.S., and it sounds like fans may not want to miss the chance to see him live.

The Yes keyboardist shared on his website that he’s in the midst of planning a second leg of his piano and keyboard one-man show. But he notes that “this is likely to be the last one man show there, so miss ‘The Final Grump Tour’ at your peril as there will not be any more!”

Wakeman explains that arthritis is making it harder and harder for him to do the show. “I can still get through okay but back in the dressing room at the end, the hands are plunged into an ice bucket of ice and ice-cold water in order to get some relief,” he says. 

Wakeman isn’t giving up touring all together, though. He says in the future he’ll tour with either the English Rock Ensemble or other band members, sharing, “I will still continue to do the odd one man show, but these will be one offs and mainly for the charities I support.”

And speaking of touring with a band, Wakeman just announced a new U.K. leg of his The Return Of The Caped Crusader tour, which will feature the English Rock Ensemble. The tour kicks off February 15, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland, and wraps February 28 in Bristol, England. The tour will have him playing new arrangements of classic Yes tunes, along with his 1974 album, Journey to the Centre of the Earth. A complete list of dates can be found at rwcc.com.

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Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and The Cure are among the headliners for the 2023 Riot Fest, taking place September 15-17 in Chicago.

The bill also includes both Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, as well as Turnstile, The Mars Volta, Mr. Bungle, The Gaslight Anthem, AFI, The Used, Say Anything, 100 gecs, The Breeders, The Interrupters, White Reaper and Tegan and Sara.

For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit RiotFest.org.

Riot Fest is one of several festivals Foo Fighters are playing this year as part of their live comeback following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022. Their first show back takes place May 24 in Gilford, New Hampshire.

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Guns N’ Roses fans have another chance to see them perform in the U.S this year. The rockers are set to headline the annual Music Midtown festival at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. 

The festival is happening Friday, September 15, to Sunday, September 17, with Guns closing the festival on Sunday night. Music Midtown’s other headliners include Pink, Flume, Billie Eilish, The 1975 and Lil Baby, with Incubus, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Pitbull and others on the bill.

Tickets for the festival go on sale Thursday, May 18, at 10 a.m. ET. A complete lineup can be found at musicmidtown.com.

The show is just the latest addition to Guns N’ Roses’ packed summer schedule. They kick off their latest tour on June 9 in Abu Dhabi, then hit Europe before returning to North America August 5 in Moncton, Canada, with the first U.S. date happening August 11 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. A complete list of tour dates can be found at gunnroses.com.

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On This Day, May 16, 1970…

Déjà Vu, Crosby, Stills & Nash’s first album with Neil Young, topped the Billboard album chart.

The album featured such classic songs as “Woodstock,” “Teach Your Children,” “Carry On,” and “Our House.”

The album went on to be certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA and is the best-selling album to date by each of the group’s four members, Young, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash.

In 2023, it was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

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Gene Simmons is reminiscing about the late guitar great Eddie Van Halen for a new piece published in Classic Rock magazine.

The KISS bassist and co-founder talks about the first time he saw Van Halen play in a Hollywood club in 1976 and says despite what some have said, he didn’t discover the band. “No, I didn’t. I did no such thing,” he says, “I just happened to be there and witness their greatness at what was still a very early stage.”

“I saw them that night and was left incredulous. I stood at the front of the stage and couldn’t believe my eyes and ears,” he adds. “What really intrigued me about Van Halen was that they came out of nowhere … to this day I’ve no clue where Van Halen came from.” 

Simmons calls Eddie, who passed away in 2020, “such a kind and beautiful soul.” He said he’s particularly upset that young people don’t know, and may never know, how truly great Eddie was.

“As much as his death was upsetting, it also made me a little furious that so many of our so-called ‘younger generation’ remain unaware of his talents,” he says. “For f***’s sake, parents should be slapping mobile phones out of their kids’ hands and telling them to check out this guy.”

He adds, “Our millennials need to know about the most important musician since Jimi Hendrix. There will never be another like him.”

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