Classic Rock News

Lars Ulrich is hoping to see Bob Dylan at a Metallica concert.

You may recall that the folk legend said in a Wall Street Journal interview last year that he’s a fan of the metal titans and shared that he’d seen them live twice. Speaking with NME, Ulrich reveals that news of Dylan’s Metallica enthusiasm did indeed reach his ears.

“I don’t know if Bob reads the NME or not, but I have one thing to say to him: Bob, you’re welcome at any Metallica show anywhere in the world at any time,” Ulrich says.

“Please come backstage and say hello,” the drummer adds. “We’d love to meet you and pay our respects!”

Perhaps Dylan can catch Metallica at the much-hyped Power Trip festival this October, which also features AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Tool. Dylan, of course, played the similarly stacked Desert Trip festival in 2016, which was also put together by the company Goldenvoice.

Metallica, meanwhile, will drop a new album, 72 Seasons, this Friday.

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Lynyrd Skynyrd has decided to go on following the March death of guitarist and original member Gary Rossington, and frontman Johnny Van Zant, who has been with the band over 30 years, knows it’s exactly what Rossington would have wanted. 

“Me and him have had very long conversations,” Van Zant tells ABC Audio. “He said, ‘You know what, I want the music to carry on. I want it to carry on.’” 

Johnny says Rossington had pointed out to him that since Charlie Daniels’ death in 2020 they were hearing less about him, and the same with the Allman Brothers after Gregg Allman’s 2017 death. Johnny said Gary told him, “I want Skynyrd to be around forever.” 

“We got together with the estates, talked it out. We all came to a conclusion that this music is bigger than any of us,” Van Zant shares. “We’re gonna go out and we’re gonna play for a little while longer.” He adds, “We definitely want to finish out this year and we would like, you know, maybe carry on next year and who knows.” 

Understandably, Van Zant says he’s “just devastated” by the loss of Rossington. “We became brothers over the years,” he offers. “I always tell people we fought, we cried, we made up and then we got drunk.” 

Lynyrd Skynyrd is set to kick off The Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour with ZZ Top on July 21 in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at lynyrdskynyrd.com.

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Black Sabbath‘s first official live album is getting the reissue treatment.

A super deluxe version of 1983’s Live Evil, featuring remastered and newly mixed audio, will be released on June 2. You can listen to the reissue’s version of the song “The Mob Rules” now via digital outlets.

Live Evil was recorded during Ronnie James Dio‘s first tenure with the band, before he left Sabbath to form his namesake band Dio in late 1982. The set includes performances of Dio-era staples such as “The Mob Rules” and “Heaven and Hell,” as well as the Ozzy Osbourne-era classics “Iron Man,” “War Pigs” and “Paranoid.”

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Bono is lending his talent to a new animated short film based on the Sergei Prokofiev classic symphony Peter & The Wolf.

Deadline reports the project, which has been given the go-ahead by Max and Cartoon Network, will turn the story into a contemporary tale, with artwork inspired by Bono’s original illustrations, and music and narration by composer Gavin Friday. It is based on a 2003 project by the pair, which they did for the Irish Hospice Foundation. 

The story follows a 12-year-old Peter, who is dealing with the loss of a parent. He heads into the forest to search for a reported wolf on the loose and comes across creatures who help him on the search, as well as hunters trying to capture the wolf for a prize. 

“The messaging of vigilance, bravery, and resilience that were core to the original symphony are still echoed throughout our interpretation, but we spin a traditional fairy tale into a unique adaptation that also incorporates the topic of loss, redemption, and recovery,” Friday and Bono said. “It’s our hope that this Peter & the Wolf becomes a balm for any child dealing with loss, alongside exposing and captivating them into the wonderful and musical world of Prokofiev.”

Peter & The Wolf is expected to premiere later this year.

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Bob Dylan is currently in Japan with his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, and he surprised fans at his recent show at the Tokyo Garden Theater with a Grateful Dead cover.

Rolling Stone reports that while Dylan doesn’t usually stray too far from the same set list each night on this tour, for his show Wednesday he added the Dead classic “Truckin’,” the first time he’s ever covered the song.  

“Truckin’,” written by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter, appeared on the Grateful Dead’s 1970 album, American Beauty. It was one of the 66 songs Dylan wrote about in his book The Philosophy of Modern Song, which came out last year.

Dylan’s tour of Japan still has three more shows at the Tokyo Garden Theater, April 14-16. He then wraps the tour with three shows in Nagoya, April 18-20. Dylan returns to the road in June for a European tour that kicks off June 2 in Lisbon, Portugal. A complete list of dates can be found at bobdylan.com.

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Toto’s Steve Lukather is ready to share a new solo album. Bridges, Lukather’s ninth studio album, will drop June 16.

The record features contributions from past and present members of the Toto family, including David Paich, Joseph Williams, Simon Phillips, Shannon Forrest, Lee Sklar and Steve Maggiora, along with Lukather’s son Trev and Gov’t Mule bassist Jorgen Carlsson.

Lukather says the album title seems appropriate because it’s “a bridge between my solo music and Toto music,” adding, “It also proves that most of my old pals and I are still great friends, and I wanted to do a record ‘in the style of,’ as Toto will never record another studio album. This is as close as we will get.” 

And to give fans a taste of what to expect, Lukather has released the first single from the record, “When I See You Again,” which he wrote with Williams, Paich and Stan Lynch. 

But until the release, Lukather will be pretty busy on the road this summer. He’ll be touring as part of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, with the shows kicking off May 19 in Temecula, California. A complete list of dates can be found at RingoStarr.com.

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Sammy Hagar and Bob Weir are once again teaming up for a good cause. The two artists have announced their eighth annual Acoustic-4-A-Cure benefit concert, which raises money for the Pediatric Cancer Program at the University of California San Francisco’s Benioff Children’s Hospital.

The benefit, the first in three years, will take place May 13 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, with a lineup that features former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Heart‘s Nancy Wilson, Chris Isaak, Don Was and more, plus yet-to-be-announced special guests.

“I’m thrilled that we’re back for an eighth year and back home at the Fillmore in San Francisco where it all began,” Hagar shares. “Most of all I’m so grateful to my friends and partners who lend their unconditional support year after year,” noting the artists “donate their time and deliver unbelievable performances so all of the profits can go directly to an incredible cause.” He adds, “That’s my kind of philanthropy!” 

Tickets for the concert go on sale Friday, April 14, at 10 a.m. PT.

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There’s more drama in the land of Mötley Crüe.

As previously reported, guitarist Mick Mars sued the “Kickstart My Heart” outfit last week, alleging that the band decreased his share of tour profits from 25% to 5% after he announced he was retiring from the road last October. He also claimed that the other three members — Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil — played along to prerecorded tracks during last summer’s Stadium Tour and that Sixx in particular “did not play a single note on bass” live.

“I carried these bastards for years,” Mars told Variety in a subsequent interview.

Now, Mötley manager Allen Kovac is firing back, specifically at those representing the 71-year-old Mars, who cited his ongoing battle with the inflammatory disease ankylosing spondylitis in his retirement announcement.

“What’s upsetting to me is not Mick, but his representatives, who have guided Mick to say and do harmful things to the brand he cares about so much,” Kovac tells Variety.

“He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him,” the manager continues. “It’s called elder abuse.”

Kovac also contends that Sixx “played his bass and always has,” but Mars “would play the wrong songs and the wrong parts” during the tour. Mars has called such criticism of his guitar playing gaslighting.

At the heart of the suit, though, is the financial disagreement. Mars maintains that his retirement from touring does not mean he’s retiring from the band, and thus feels his share should not be affected.

“Resigning from touring — or even from the band entirely — is not resigning from the band’s corporations and LLCs,” says Mars’ lawyer, Edwin F. McPherson. “Corporate law doesn’t work that way.”

However, the Mötley team disagrees.

“[Without touring], there’s nothing left,” Kovac says. “What is left?”

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A new trailer for the upcoming Disney+ original series The Muppets Mayhem has arrived, and carrying on the fine Muppets Show tradition, it doesn’t skimp on celebrity cameos, including Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

The new comedy series follows the beloved Muppets band, The Electric Mayhem Band — including its famous members Dr. Teeth, Animal, Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot and Lips — and their comeback to record their first-ever studio album. 

The official trailer opens with some famous guest stars reflecting on their own experiences growing up with the famous band for The Muppet Show.

“The Mayhem? They taught Mötley Crüe how to shred and party,” Lee jokes. “They tattooed their name on me when I was passed out,” showing off a huge tat of “Mayhem” on his rib cage.

Other artists giving testimonials in the trailer include Chris Stapleton and Lil Nas X, while the upcoming series will feature guest appearances by Billy Corgan, Susanna Hoffs, Paula Abdul, Steve Aoki, Sofia Carson, deadmau5, Kesha, Morgan Freeman, Ben Schwartz, Kevin Smith, Zedd, Danny Trejo, “Weird Al” Yankovic and more.

All episodes of The Muppets Mayhem will be available to stream on Disney+ starting May 10.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News. 

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In 1991, Eric Clapton broke his own record for the longest run of shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall with 24 concerts. That legendary run was commemorated with a double live album and home video, but now fans are getting more. 

The record-setting run will be celebrated with a new limited-edition box set, The Definitive 24 Nights, dropping June 23. It features six hours of live music from those shows, with 35 never-before-released performances, including a previously unreleased orchestral version of “Layla,” which is out now.

The 24-night run featured Clapton performing with one of three lineups — a rock band, a blues band, or an orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen — and the set will feature what amounts to a full concert of each genre.

The Definitive 24 Nights will be released in a six-CD or eight-LP set, with both featuring three Blu-ray discs, a hardcover book and an individually numbered lithograph of a Clapton photo by Carl Studna. There will also be standalone versions of each concert — 24 Nights: Rock, 24 Nights: Blues and 24 Nights: Orchestra. All options are available for preorder now.

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