Classic Rock News

Grateful Dead is offering up another preview of their upcoming live album, Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA (7/3/66).

The band has just released a performance of the track “Viola Lee Blues,” from The Dead’s 1967 self-titled debut album. This is the second song they’ve released from the Fillmore concert, following “Cold Rain and Snow.”

“The Grateful Dead’s first big jamming vehicle, ‘Viola Lee Blues’ is heard here in one of its first live performances,” says Dead archivist David Lemieux. “The song only stuck around from 1966 to 1970, but it always hit several intensely psychedelic peaks, as you’ll hear here.”

Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA (7/3/66) will be released digitally and as a two-CD set on July 3, on the 60th anniversary of the concert, which took place seven months after the band changed their name from the Warlocks. It will also be released as a three-LP set, its first time ever on vinyl, limited to 6,600 copies. The vinyl release is available exclusively at Dead.net.

The Fillmore performance was part of legendary promoter Bill Graham’s Independence Ball, with the band at the time made up of Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Bob Weir.

The concert was previously available in 2015 as part of the 50th anniversary boxed set, 30 Trips Around the Sun.

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Fleetwood Mac is revisiting their 1988 Greatest Hits compilation, and they’ve added some hits to the album.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to release a deluxe edition on July 31, featuring 10 more classic tracks, including such tunes as “The Chain,” “Landslide,” “Silver Springs (Live)” and “You Make Loving Fun,” among others.

Greatest Hits (Deluxe Edition) will be released as two-LP black vinyl and two-CD sets, as well as on two-LP clear vinyl, which is available exclusively through the band’s official store.

All formats are available for preorder now.

Originally released in November 1988, Greatest Hits covered the band’s catalog from the mid ’70s to the late ’80s, specifically songs released after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band.

The album peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified eight-times Platinum in the U.S.

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On This Day, June 11, 1988 …

Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and Dire Straits were among the artists who performed at the 70th birthday tribute concert for anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela.

The concert took place at London’s Wembley Stadium and also featured performances by Simple Minds, Joe Cocker, Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Steven Van Zandt, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eurythmics and more.

The concert was broadcast to over 60 countries, with an estimated 600 million people tuning in.

Mandela was still imprisoned in South Africa at the time of the concert. He was later released in February 1990. A second concert celebrating his release, Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa, took place at Wembley in April 1990.  

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While most guitarists likely don’t have the talent of Rush’s Alex Lifeson, they now have a chance to at least sound a little bit like him.

The rocker has teamed with Epiphone for a new guitar, part of the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom series.

The new Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Reissue is modeled after Lifeson’s well-known 1976 ES-355 guitar. The description notes that the axe captures “Alex’s unmistakable tone, as well as the refined feel and innovative spirit that have fueled Rush’s groundbreaking music for decades.”

The guitar comes in Alpine white with gold accents and has a three-piece maple neck similar to the construction of Lifeson’s original instrument. It comes in a black case with a red interior and features a reproduction of Lifeson’s signature.

“The ES-355 has always been a really special guitar for me—it’s got this incredible balance of elegance and power,” says Lifeson. “What I love about this Epiphone ‘Whitey’ recreation is how faithfully it captures that original spirit while still feeling fresh and alive in your hands.”

“It’s a guitar that invites you to explore, to take chances, and to find your own voice,” he adds. “I’m genuinely thrilled that players everywhere will have the chance to experience it and make it part of their own musical journey.”

The Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Reissue is available at authorized Epiphone dealers, Gibson Garage locations and online at ephiphone.com.

Lifeson is currently back onstage with Rush on their Fifty Something tour. They play their third night at the KIA Forum in Los Angeles on Thursday.

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Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament has premiered a new song called “Montana Grind,” recorded for the new documentary of the same name.

The film Montana Grind is about the skateboarding scene in Ament’s home state of Montana. Ament also recorded an original soundtrack for the doc.

You can watch the video for the song “Montana Grind,” which features footage of Ament singing the punk tune, on YouTube.

Montana Grind is available to rent now via Pearl Jam’s webstore.

Ament and Pearl Jam are set to headline Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival in September, which will be their first show with their new drummer. Matt Cameron, who’d been PJ’s drummer for 27 years, announced his departure from the band in 2025.

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KISS’ Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are set to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Thursday in New York, and ahead of the honor, Stanley talked to New York Magazine about their music.

When asked which song he considers the band’s “legacy defining” tune, he said, “It’s hard not to go with ‘Rock and Roll All Nite,'” the iconic track from their 1975 album Dressed To Kill.

“That song is really the template for a lot of songs that came after it, whether ours or other people’s, because it’s an anthem,” he said. “When I started writing it, there were no ‘anthems,’ per se. Our record-company president sat us down and very fortuitously told us that we needed an anthem and we had no idea what that meant.”

The song is known for its signature lyric, “I want to rock and roll all night, and party every day.” Stanley said he always went with “I” and not “we” because “what empowers you is ‘I.'” 

“Partying didn’t mean pointed hats and fly whistles. It also wasn’t a drug-fueled social event,” he said of the song’s theme. “It was getting together with people and having a great time.”

“So although it wouldn’t necessarily be my favorite song, its legacy is undeniable,” he noted. “We’ve closed our shows for 50 years with that song because it encapsulates our ethos.”

And while he said plenty of other artists have gone on to release songs with the theme of “lets get together and rock,” Stanley’s not one to stand up and take credit for influencing them.

He added, “That’s for me to know, but certainly not for me to announce. That’s too much self-aggrandizing for me.”

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A new box set dedicated to former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman’s ’90s-era blues rock band, Rhythm Kings, is getting an October release.

The set, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings: Ultimate Collection, is made up 144 songs and includes the group’s five studio albums — 1997’s Strutin’ Our Stuff, 1998’s Anyway the Wind Blows, 2000’s Groovin’, 2001’s two-LP set Double Bill and 2004’s Just For a Thrill.

It also includes two live albums — 2005’s Live, recorded in Germany in 2004, and 2011’s Live Communication, recorded in the U.K. in 2008 — as well as the 2018 collection Studio Time, which features outtakes from recording sessions that took place between 1987 and 2003.

There’s also a new Best of the Bootleg Kings compilation, featuring a set of live performances personally curated by Wyman, plus a 24-page booklet featuring photos from Wyman’s archives and a new interview with the rocker.

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings: Ultimate Collection will be released Oct. 9 and is available for preorder now.

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Stevie Nicks, Melissa Etheridge and Jackson Browne are confirmed to perform at the 2026 Music, Film and Entertainment Industry Spirit of Life Gala, put on by the cancer research and treatment organization City of Hope.

This year’s event, happening Oct. 27 at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, will honor executive Larry Mestel, founder and CEO of Primary Wave Music.

City of Hope recently launched Mestel’s Spirit of Life campaign, which will raise money for City of Hope’s work in CAR T cell therapy and other cellular immunotherapies to help fight cancer. A portion of the money raised will also go toward breast cancer research and patient care.

“As a breast cancer survivor, this cause is deeply personal to me,” said Etheridge. “I know how critical research, compassionate care and breakthrough treatments are for patients and families facing cancer.”

She adds, “I’m honored to join City of Hope, Larry and this incredible community during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to help raise support for lifesaving research and bring more hope to people navigating this disease.”

More info on the campaign can be found at CityofHope.org/mfei.

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The Rolling Stones have announced another collaboration in connection with their upcoming album, Foreign Tongues.

The latest has the rockers teaming with Marvel for five special collectible vinyl variants, all inspired by Marvel characters.

Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Thor and The Hulk are the focus of the variants. Each release comes with a custom comic book insert, with artwork designed to match the variant’s superhero.

The Foreign Tongues x Marvel collaboration will drop July 10, the same day as Foreign Tongue’s release, with copies available for preorder now.

The Stones previously announced a collaboration with FIFA, which includes three limited-edition vinyl variants inspired by the upcoming World Cup.

Foreign Tongues, produced by Andrew Watt, is the band’s 25th album and the follow-up to 2023’s Hackney Diamonds. The Stones have already released two tracks from the record, “Rough and Twisted” and “In the Stars.”

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Green Day has premiered a new trailer for the band’s upcoming movie, NIMRODS.

The teaser, soundtracked by the classic “Basket Case,” sets up the premise of the film, in which three friends, played by Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust, steal a car and embark on a road trip after being tricked into believing that they’re opening for the “American Idiot” outfit on New Year’s Eve.

You’ll also see shots of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, whose early van touring days inspired the movie.

The NIMRODS trailer is now available to watch on YouTube.

NIMRODS will premiere in theaters on Aug. 14. The cast also includes Mckenna Grace, Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Fred Armisen and Bobby Lee.

Green Day first announced the project in 2025 under the name New Years Rev. It premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival before changing its name in April.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.) 

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