Classic Rock News

It’s like MTV Unplugged crossed with VH1 Storytellers — with some new technology added in.

Words + Music, a new TV series based on the Audible audio series of the same name, is coming to MGM+ Nov. 30. Among the artists who’ll be featured in the first episodes are Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, John Legend and Alanis Morissette.

Like Unplugged and Storytellers, each episode will feature artists sharing the stories behind their most iconic songs, followed by performances of those songs, either solo or with a band. There will also be an immersive video experience, courtesy of a stage that includes a 79-by-80-foot LED screen and 105 motion capture cameras, according to a press release. 

As the artists tell their stories, they’ll be surrounded by “dynamic visual narratives”: the environment around them will “transform to reflect each anecdote and song,” the release says.

The show is being produced by Gunpowder and Sky, the studio run by Van Toffler, the former president of MTV Networks. Toffler says, “The result is something as intimate as a backstage confession and as cinematic as a feature film. These aren’t just stories about iconic songs – they’re portraits of how those songs, and the artists behind them came to be.”

Toffler tells Variety that some of the visuals include photos from Crow’s childhood and Costello’s original artwork.

Also involved in the show are Alex Coletti, who produced Costello’s original Unplugged 30 years ago, and Bill Flanagan, who co-created VH1 Storytellers.

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Following the announcement that it would screen at the openings of both the New York Film Festival and the American Film Institute Festival on, respectively, Sept. 28 and Oct. 22, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere will now have its world premiere on Friday.

The film, which details the creation of Springsteen’s album Nebraska, will open this year’s Telluride Film Festival in Colorado on Friday. Jeremy Allen White, who stars as Springsteen, director Scott Cooper and Jeremy Strong, who plays Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau, will all be on hand for the screening, which takes place Friday at 6:30 p.m. MT.

Springsteen, meanwhile, is scheduled to attend the New York Film Festival premiere in September.

The movie officially arrives in theaters Oct. 24.

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A new documentary called In My Voice will detail the life and career of Heart‘s Ann Wilson.

“This film is my story in my own words, told the way I’ve always wanted to tell it,” Wilson says in a statement. “It’s about finding my voice, keeping it alive, and sharing the journey with the people who’ve been part of it all along.”

In My Voice will focus on the “authenticity” of Ann Wilson, according to a press release. It will follow the 75-year-old’s journey from her childhood, to her stardom with Heart, to what’s described as “a bold new creative chapter,” and share how she “found her voice, sustained it across five decades, and allowed it to guide her through fame, adversity, and reinvention.” 

Family, friends, artists, bandmates and industry executives have also been interviewed for the project.

The film, directed by Barbra Hall, has not yet announced any release information. In a statement, Hall says of Wilson, “Her story exceeds a scriptwriter’s imagination, and her courage to share her story is inspiring. She is a master of her craft and is not defined by genre or gender.”

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Despite the horror-movie overtones of their classic work, Stephen King is apparently no fan of Black Sabbath.

The superstar author did an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit to promote the upcoming movie adaptation of the first novel he ever wrote, The Long Walk, which he penned under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The movie, set in a dystopian future America, is about a group of young men who enter a contest in which they must walk continuously; if they fall below 3 miles per hour, they’ll be shot. The winner is the last man left alive.

While answering fans’ questions, King was asked what would be on his playlist if he was taking the Long Walk. Noting that he wrote the book in 1967, King replied, “Back then I would have picked ‘Get Together,’ by the Youngbloods, ‘Eve of Destruction,’ by Barry Maguire, ‘Carol,’ by the Rolling Stones, ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues,’ by [Bob] Dylan, maybe ‘Summertime Blues,’ by Eddie Cochran, ‘Rock and Roll is Here to Stay,’ by Danny and the Juniors.”

He continued, “Now I’d load my playlist with AC/DC, Rancid, Metallica, Stones, [Bruce] Springsteen. Not Black Sabbath, I never liked them.”

In Black Sabbath-adjacent news, the BBC reports that one of a set of silver rings designed for the members of the band for their farewell concert in July is going up for auction on Sept. 17.

The designer, Jagga, created the five rings and four of them were presented to Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. The rings feature the crest of the Aston Villa football club — whose home stadium was the location of the final concert — and the year 1968, when the band was founded. The spare fifth ring is expected to fetch around $2,000.

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Neil Young has been openly critical of President Donald Trump this year, and that criticism continued on Wednesday night, when Young and his band the Chrome Hearts performed in Chicago.

Young performed a brand-new song called “Big Crime,” concerning Trump’s use of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. He posted audio of the soundcheck version of the song on his Neil Young Archives website, along with the lyrics.

“Don’t need no fascist rules/ Don’t want no fascist schools/ Don’t want soldiers on our streets,” Young sings. “There’s big crime in DC at the White House.”

“No more money to the fascists/ the billionaire fascists/ Time to blackout the system,” he added. In his transcription of the lyrics, he put “Time to blackout the system” in all caps and italicized the repetitions of “Don’t want soldiers on our streets.”

Earlier this year, Young speculated that as a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, if he was critical of Trump, he might be “barred” from reentering the country, should he leave. He also called out Trump’s attacks on Bruce Springsteen and other musicians who have been critical of him.

He wrote, “STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made. Taylor Swift is right. So is Bruce. You know how I feel.”

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Billy Joel hit #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart with River of Dreams, his 12th studio album and his final pop/rock record.

The album, with a cover painted by Joel’s then-wife Christie Brinkley, was Billy’s fourth #1 and spent three weeks on top of the chart.

The album’s title track went on to become a top-five hit, Joel’s last on the Billboard Hot 100. The record also featured “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel),” which he wrote as a tribute to his daughter Alexa Ray Joel.

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In between getting fired from Foo Fighters and rejoining Nine Inch Nails, drummer Josh Freese has had a whirlwind year.

Freese, who joined Dave Grohl and company in 2023 following the 2022 death of Taylor Hawkins, was let go from the Foos in May. In July, he announced his return to NIN, who he’d previously played with from 2005 to 2008.

Reflecting on his time with Foo Fighters in an interview with The New York Times, Freese says he felt “like I had to be firing on all cylinders all the time.”

“I’m coming in as Dave Grohl’s drummer, and the guy that’s supposed to save the day after the beloved Taylor Hawkins died,” Freese says.

When Freese shared the news that he was no longer in the Foos, he wrote that “No reason was given.”

“Looking back, it was probably more an issue with their management,” Freese now says. Speaking on his current feelings about the Foos, Freese replies, “It wasn’t music that I really resonated with.”

Freese’s return to Nine Inch Nails completed an apparent drummer trade. According to The Hollywood Reporter, longtime NIN drummer Ilan Rubin will be replacing Freese in Foo Fighters, though the Foos haven’t publicly commented on the situation.

“Ilan’s a phenomenal drummer, a phenomenal musician,” Freese says. “He’ll be perfect for the gig.”

Meanwhile, Freese’s name continues to pop up in speculation about another high-profile gig: Pearl Jam. The grunge outfit’s drummer of the last 27 years, Matt Cameron, announced in July he’d left the band.

“Whatever happens, I’m going to be out there playing,” Freese says of his drumming future. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

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Hard rockers Triumph, best known for such songs as “Magic Power,” “Fight the Good Fight” and “Lay it on the Line,” have been chosen for induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The band is part of this year’s Legends Induction and will be celebrated at an event at Toronto’s Lyric Theatre, Meridian Arts Centre, on Oct. 17.

Once inducted, the band will receive permanent recognition at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame’s location at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre in Calgary.

Triumph was at their peak of popularity in the ’70s and ’80s, releasing their last record, Edge of Excess, in 1993. They were known for their explosive live shows, which featured pyrotechnics, lasers and more.

This isn’t the first time the band was honored by their home country. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2019.

In June, the music of Triumph was celebrated with the release of the tribute album Magic Power: All Star Tribute to Triumph, featuring artists like Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, Heart’s Nancy Wilson and more covering songs from the band.

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Annie Lennox is set to release the “visual memoir” Annie Lennox: Retrospective in September, and she’s announced some U.S. events to promote the release.

The Eurythmics singer has confirmed five appearances in connection with the book in New Jersey, New York and Los Angeles.

Events kick off Oct. 11 at the Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center in New Jersey, where Lennox will take part in a moderated evening, followed by an Oct. 14 talk at Cooper Union in New York. She’ll end her East Coast dates with a book signing on Oct. 15 at Rizzoli Bookstore, also in New York.

Lennox will then head to Los Angeles for two appearances. She’ll sit down for a conversation at Live Talks LA on Nov. 2, followed by a book signing on Dec. 9 at Book Soup.

Tickets for all events are on sale now. More info can be found at AnnieLennox.com.

Annie Lennox: Retrospective, dropping Sept. 23, features over 200 photographs that take fans chronologically through the legendary singer’s career. The book includes shots from her personal archives, as well as album covers and music video stills, covering Lennox’s time with Dave Stewart in Eurythmics to her solo career and more.

The book is available for preorder now.

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The members of Heart are among the many people excited by the news that Taylor Swift is engaged to NFL star Travis Kelce.

During the band’s concert in Akron, Ohio, Tuesday, Nancy Wilson dedicated the song “These Dreams” to the happy couple. Nancy shared a clip of the moment on her Instagram page, with the caption, “Tonight in Akron I dedicated These Dreams to Travis and Taylor. Love is in the air!!!!”

In the video, Nancy tells the audience, “There’s a dedication I’d like to make to a very romantic couple in popular culture today, you know Travis and Taylor got engaged. So here’s a romantic dedication to Travis and Taylor.”

Ann Wilson also chimed in, making a comment about the ring Travis proposed with.

“These Dreams,” released in 1986, was the third single off Heart’s self-titled eighth studio album. It was the band’s first single to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Heart has a few more dates left on their summer tour, with the next show Wednesday in Allentown, Pennsylvania. They’ll also play Canandaigua and Bethel, New York, on Friday and Saturday, respectively. 

Heart will then return to the road later this year for shows in November and December. A complete list of Heart dates can be found at Heart-Music.com.

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