Classic Rock News

Julian Lennon, the late John Lennon‘s older son, will release a new studio album later this year as part of a new global recording deal with BMG.

The project will be Julian’s first new collection of songs since 2011’s Everything Changes.

“After working on new music for the past few years, I am happy to have found the perfect partner in BMG, to help me bring this work to light,” says Lennon in a statement.

Adds BMG executive Fred Casimir, “Julian is a unique artist working across multiple art forms with a clear humanitarian and ecological perspective, which dates back decades. There is sometimes a long wait between Julian Lennon albums, but having heard this one, I’m convinced it was worth the wait.”

News of the new album comes on the heels of Julian’s recent NFT auction, the “Lennon Collection,” which featured six digitized collectibles that respectively focused on three prized Beatles-related items from his memorabilia collection, and three guitars that his late dad gave him as gifts.

Musically, Julian is best known for his top-10 hits “Valotte” and “Too Late for Goodbyes,” from his 1984 debut album, Valotte. Most recently, he teamed up in 2020 with Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt for a performance of Radiohead‘s “Karma Police” that was shown on AXS TV as part of a benefit event for the Crew Nation charity during the pandemic.

Julian also is an accomplished photographer and has written a number of children’s books.

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Are you ready for some Journey? The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have been tapped to perform at a special concert this summer that will help celebrate the 2022 inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Journey will headline the 2022 Concert for Legends, taking place August 6 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, one of the events being held in conjunction with Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week.

Tickets for the show go on sale on Friday, April 1, at 10 a.m. ET at HOFVillage.com and Ticketmaster.com.

An as-yet-unannounced guest artist will open the concert and will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The 2022 Enshrinement Week will see over 100 Pro Football Hall of Famers visiting Canton to participate in a variety of planned festivities at Hall of Fame Village, where the Hall of Fame museum and stadium are located.

Journey currently is in the middle of their spring Freedom Tour 2022 of North America with Toto. The trek is mapped out through a May 16 show in Quebec City, Canada. The band also will release a new studio album called Freedom later in the year.

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At the age of 73, former Steely Dan and Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter will release his very first solo album, Speed of Heat, on June 18.

The 12-track collection features a mix of original tunes and select covers. Among the latter are renditions of the Steely Dan classics “My Old School” and “Do It Again,” and the 1960 instrumental “Apache” that was popularized by The Shadows.

The album features Baxter singing lead on some tracks, as well as some guests vocalists and musicians, including his one-time Doobie Brothers band mate Michael McDonald, country star Clint Black and blues rocker Jonny Lang.

Baxter’s main collaborator on Speed of Heat was veteran producer. composer and keyboardist CJ Vanston.

Baxter’s version of “My Old School,” which showcases his lead vocals, has been released as an advance digital single.

The guitarist reveals that after he’d laid down an initial scratch vocal on the track, he’d actually hoped to have Steven Tyler sing the lead, but when he played the Aerosmith frontman the recording, Tyler had a surprising reaction.

“He heard what I’d done and said, ‘Hey, who’s singing on this?'” Baxter recalls. “I told him it was me, and he said, ‘Well, it’s really great. You should do it yourself.’ I thought he was kidding, but he wasn’t. So I took a shot and the reaction has been very positive.”

The track also features Toto‘s David Paich on keyboards.

Speed of Heat also features a song called “My Place in the Sun” that Baxter co-wrote with Vanston and McDonald, and featuring Michael on vocals. You can pre-order the album now.

Meanwhile, Baxter has a series of U.S. concerts lined up on the East Coast in May 3.

Here’s the full Speed of Heat track list:

“Ladies from Hell”
“My Old School”
“Juliet”
“I Can Do Without”
“Do It Again”
“Apache”
“My Place in the Sun”
“The Rose”
“Bad Move”
“Giselle”
“Insecurity”
“Speed of Heat”

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After being forced off the road since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aerosmith will be getting back in the saddle this year with a new series of their “Deuces Are Wild” Las Vegas residency shows at the Dolby Live at Park MGM theater.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers have scheduled three eight-show engagements at the venue, running from June 17 to July 8, from September 14 to October 5, and from November 19 to December 11. According to a press statement, the shows will be the first concert experience presented in immersive Dolby Atmos audio technology.

For their “Deuces Are Wild” show, Aerosmith will deliver a 90-minute performance, accompanied by a 12-screen multimedia presentation that includes previously unseen visuals from the band’s archives.

“The only rust at Dolby Live is going to be on our van in the lobby!” says Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. “We are locked, cocked and loaded!”

Tickets to the new dates go on sale to the general public on Thursday, March 31, at 10 a.m. PT at Ticketmaster.com/Aerosmith. Members of the band’s Aero Force One fan club can purchase pre-sale tickets starting Thursday, March 24, at 9 a.m. PT.

Citi card holders will be able to access pre-sale tickets beginning Friday, Mach 25, at 10 a.m. PT; visit CitiEntertainment.com for more details.  Pre-sale opportunites for members of the MGM Rewards loyalty program, as well as Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers, also will be available.

The last shows Aerosmith played before the pandemic began were in February 2020 as part of their residency at the Park MGM resort.

The band’s only other confirmed concert on their 2022 schedule is a previously announced September 8 show at Boston’s Fenway Park with Extreme celebrating Aerosmith’s 50th anniversary.

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A new book titled Why Patti Smith Matters that examines punk-era legend Patti Smith‘s music and literary work and its continued cultural and artistic influence will be published on May 31.

The book was written by veteran music journalist Caryn Rose, whose comprehensive research for the project included an exclusive interview with Bruce Springsteen that focused on his collaboration with Smith on the classic song “Because the Night.”

Why Patti Smith Matters looks at Smith’s life and artistic work, from her immersion in the New York City art scene beginning in the late 1960s, at first mainly as a poet, to her emergence as an influential singer and songwriter as part of the punk movement in the mid 1970s, to her acclaimed prose writing, including her award-winning 2010 memoir Just Kids.

Explaining what inspired her to write the book, Rose says, “I was eager to take on the formidable task of chronicling Patti Smith’s career because aside from Smith’s own work, the existing scholarship didn’t possess the kind of informed, careful perspective of her life and art that it deserves.”

You can pre-order Why Patti Smith Matters now at UTPress.UTexas.edu. The book is available as a paperback and via digital formats.

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All-star hard-rock band The Dead Daisies currently are working on their sixth studio album, which they’re planning to release in August, but first up for the group is a lengthy European tour.

The band has just revealed an extended itinerary for the trek, which now kicks off June 3 in Hamburg, Germany, and is plotted out through an August 5 performance at the Time to Rock Festival in Knislinge, Sweden. The tour will see The Dead Daisies serve as opening for Foreigner, Judas Priest and Whitesnake, as well as feature headlining shows. Visit TheDeadDaisies.com for a full list of dates.

The European outing will mark the band’s first tour with its current lineup. Former Billy Idol, Whitesnake and Foreigner drummer Brian Tichy rejoined the group in January after previously playing with The Dead Daisies in 2013 and from 2015 to 2017. The band also features founding rhythm guitarist David Lowy; lead guitarist Doug Aldrich, a member since 2016 who previously played with Whitesnake, Dio and several other notable groups; and singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, best known for his mid-’70s stint with Deep Purple, who joined the Daisies in 2019.

The Dead Daisies began recording their upcoming album earlier this month, and have been posting updates about the project on their official website. An advance single is planned for late May, coinciding with the start of the tour.

“Hey loved ones, we cannot wait to come to Europe this summer and play for you all once again,” says Hughes in a statement. “There are so many beautiful cities to visit along the way. We are currently making a new record, so who knows hopefully we can bring a couple of new songs to you too!”

The band’s most recent studio album, Holy Ground, was released in January 2021.

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Forty years ago today, on March 22, 1982, Iron Maiden released its classic third album, The Number of the Beast.

The Number of the Beast was the first Iron Maiden album to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson, and the legendary heavy metal band’s first record to reach the top 40 of the Billboard 200, peaking at #33. In the group’s U.K. homeland, the album ascended to #1, and yielded two top-10 hits the title track and “Run to the Hills.”

The Number of the Beast went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of one million in the U.S.

Iron Maiden is acknowledging the album’s 40th anniversary on its social media sites.

“Happy 40th anniversary to The Number of the Beast!” the band tweeted Tuesday. “Did you get the record on the day of release in ’82?!”

In honor of the milestone, Maiden has been sharing various archival photos and videos from the Beast era, as well as retweeting all sorts related posts from fans, such as photos of ticket stubs. Those who any 1982 memories to share can tag their posts with the hashtag #NOTB40.

Here’s the full track list of The Number of the Beast:

“Invaders”
“Children of the Damned”
“The Prisoner”
“22 Acacia Avenue”
“The Number of the Beast”
“Run to the Hills”
“Gangland”
“Hallowed Be Thy Name”

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Metallica, Green Day and Jane’s Addiction are among the many artists confirmed to perform at the Lollapalooza 2022 festival, scheduled for July 28-31 at Chicago’s Grant Park.

Metallica and Green Day have been announced as headliners, while Jane’s Addiction will perform as a special guest. Jane’s frontman Perry Farrell, of course, co-founded the festival.

This year’s other headliners are Machine Gun Kelly, Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, J. Cole, Lil Baby and Kygo.

The bill also includes Måneskin, Glass Animals, Billy Strings, Charli XCX, Royal Blood, Dominic Fike, WILLOW, Manchester Orchestra, Dashboard Confessional and many, many more.

Tickets for Lollapalooza 2022 go on sale today at noon CT. You can check out the full lineup and all ticket info at Lollapalooza.com.

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Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler is set to release a graphic novel titled The Antibody as a multi-part NFT collection.

The digital book tells the story of a mutated antibody that goes on to wreak havoc on humanity, and each chapter will be made available as an animated NFT. Each episode will feature original music composed by Butler, and artwork created by Kolin Humphries, aka KOL.

“I’m really excited by the concept of NFTs and look forward to releasing my first,” Butler says. “It’s great to have a new medium in which to share art, music, stories.”

The Antibody‘s first chapter goes on sale this Friday, March 25, at noon ET via the NFT marketplace YellowHeart.

Part of the proceeds raised by the sale of the NFTs will be donated to organizations aiding humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine, including Save the Children and UNICEF.

Butler isn’t the first Black Sabbath alum with an NFT series. Singer Ozzy Osbourne previously released a collection called CryptoBatz that features digital mutant bats, and was inspired by the infamous incident where he bit the head off a real bat during a concert.

Meanwhile, Geezer recently lent his talents to a new song by symphonic metal band Apocalyptica titled “I’ll Get Through It” that was released last week.

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Van Morrison has just announced a new series of U.S. concerts, most of which will take place this September.

The new shows are scheduled for September 1 in Bridgeport, Connecticut; September 3 in Boston; September 4 in Lenox, Massachusetts; September 7 in Vienna, Virginia; September 8 in Philadelphia; September 10 in Forest Hills, New York; October 12 in Phoenix, Arizona; and October 15 in Saratoga, California.

Tom Jones will be opening for Van at the New York concert, while Curtis Stigers will be the support act in Philadelphia.

Tickets for most of the concerts will go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 25, at 10 a.m. local time. The shows in Lenox, Massachusetts, and Vienna, Virginia, will be available starting April 1, while tickets for the California event will go on sale on April 8. Pre-sale tickets also will be available
for select dates; visit VanMorrison.com for more details.

Van also has a variety of previously announced spring U.S. shows scheduled for April and May, as well as a three-show Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace taking place on October 7, 8 and 9 that was postponed from February.

As previously reported, Morrison’s song “Down to Joy,” from the film Belfast, will be competing for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category this Sunday, March 27. The 2022 Academy Awards will air live on ABC starting at 8 p.m. ET.

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