Classic Rock News

The Grateful Dead is revisiting their spring 1973 tour with a brand new box set. Here Comes the Sunshine 1973, dropping June 30, will consist of 17 CDs featuring five previously unreleased concerts from the tour.  

Shows featured in the limited-edition release are a May 13 concert at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa; a May 20 concert at Campus Stadium at UCSB in Santa Barbara, California; the May 26 show at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California; and the two-night stand at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., which took place June 9 and 10.

In addition, the June 10 RFK Stadium show, which was a co-headlining bill with the Allman Brothers Band, will have its own separate release digitally and as a four-CD or limited edition eight-LP set. The five-hour concert ended with a third-set encore featuring the Allman Brothers’ Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks sitting in with the Dead. Fans can get a taste of that concert with the previously unreleased performance of “Ramble on Rose,” which is out now.

Here Comes the Sunshine 1973, which comes in a box designed by Grammy Award-winning art director Masaki Koike and includes an exclusive poster featuring an illustration by Mary Ann Mayer, is available for preorder now. Only 10,000 individually numbered copies will be sold through Dead.net; it will also be available as a digital download, also exclusively at Dead.net.

And fans can learn more about the shows when season 7 of the band’s official podcast, Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast, launches Tuesday, May 2, with the 1973 concerts the focus of the premiere episode.

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On This Day, May 2, 2005…

Eric Clapton reunited with his former Cream bandmates Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce for four nights of shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

The concerts took place at the very same venue where the band held their final concert in 1968. While they had reunited for a short set for the band’s 1993 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, the concerts were their first full shows together in almost four decades. 

All four shows were immediate sellouts, and featured the first-ever performances of “Pressed Rat and the Wart Hog” and “Badge,” along with such Cream classics as “White Room,” “Sunshine of Your Love” and more.

The concerts were recorded and later released as a live CD and DVD.

The trio eventually brought the reunion to the U.S. with three shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden that October.

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On Monday’s The Tonight Show, John Fogerty joined host Jimmy Fallon and his house band The Roots in the Tonight Show Music Room for a rendition of the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” — performed with classroom instruments.

In the recurring segment, Fallon and The Roots back music artists for a version of one of their popular songs, using instruments you would find in a classroom.

In this case, it was Fogerty, rocking a toy guitar, while Fallon blew into a jug and Roots members played a toy xylophone, a melodica and kazoos.

Past music room guests have included Ringo Starr, The Who and Aerosmith.

Fogerty just kicked off his Celebration Tour, which pulls into the BeachLife Festival 2023 in Redondo Beach, California May 5-7.

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Two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Graham Nash is set to talk about his career and more during a conversation with music journalist Anthony DeCurtis at the 92nd Street Y in New York City later this month.

“I’ve talked to Anthony many times in my life and he’s always been very respectful, and me also to him,” Nash shares on social media. “So, we’re gonna have a really nice night. I’m gonna be talking about my book of photographs and my new album that’s coming out and a lot of interesting stuff.”

The conversation is happening May 24 at 8 p.m. For those who can’t make it to the Big Apple, the conversation will be streamed online. In-person and online tickets are on sale now.

Nash is set to release his first new album in seven years, Now, on May 19. He’s described it as “the most personal album I’ve ever recorded.” It is available for preorder now. His photo book, A Life in Focus: The Photography of Graham Nash, is out now.

Nash is also currently on tour and will kick off a three-night stand in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday, May 2. A complete list of dates can be found at grahamnash.com.

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Tim Bachman, guitarist and one of the co-founders of the Canadian band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, passed away Friday, April 28, at age 71. Well, now his brother and bandmate Randy Bachman has broken his silence for the first time since the news hit.

“I haven’t posted because my heart has been heavy but the news has announced my brother Tim passed this weekend,” he shares on social media. “I am the last of my family on this side with all my memories of our life growing up in Winnipeg. So grateful for that.”

He adds, “I’m sure my parents welcomed him home with my other 2 brothers who have passed in quick succession since the pandemic. I was the oldest. Rest in Peace, Timmy with mummy, daddy, Gary & Robbie.”

Randy, Tim and their other brother Robbie were in BTO together. Robbie passed away in January at the age of 69.

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Many fans wondered if Elton John was serious about his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour really, truly being his last one. Well, Elton has once again insisted that it is … and he can’t wait until it’s over.

Speaking to Deadline over the weekend, Elton says, “I’m not going to tour again. There may be the odd show, but I’m not touring. Touring is exhausting for me now, and it takes me away from my family and my children.”

In fact, the Rocket Man says he’s literally counting down the days until the end of the tour and hasn’t even thought of what he’s going to do next.

“I finish on July the 8th, and I’m not concentrating on anything else apart from that date,” he said. “And then I have a little bit of freedom. I can relax. But I would have done 330 shows on this tour by that point.”

Elton’s tour is already the highest grossing of all time, and he’s still got plenty of shows left to do — including his first headlining appearance at the U.K.’s most prestigious festival, Glastonbury, in June.

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Robert Plant and Alison Krauss played New Orleans Jazz Fest on Friday, but that wasn’t the only Plant performance this weekend. Jambands.com reports that Plant made a surprise appearance at Preservation Hall in the French Quarter for an intimate performance in front of about 100 people. 

Plant’s performance was a part of the Midnight Preserve show, which usually features unknown artists. He joined Irma Thomas, known as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” to perform the 2007 Raising Sand track “Rich Girl,” and also treated the audience to the Led Zeppelin classic “Black Dog.”

The second weekend of New Orleans Jazz Fest kicks off Thursday, May 4. The lineup includes Santana, Dead & Company, Mumford & Sons and Melissa Etheridge. The complete lineup can be found at nojazzfest.com.

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Carl Palmer is giving fans a health update. As previously reported, the Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer underwent a successful heart procedure last week, and he’s now shared a video on social media to let fans know how he’s doing. 

“I just want you to know I’m back home now, feeling really good,” he says in the clip. “The people at the Brompton hospital were fantastic; the Royal Brompton in London. And my surgeon, Tushar Salukhe — fantastic man.”

Palmer thanked his fans for their support and explained that he’ll be spending a few days recuperating, noting he’s “feeling wonderful,” although he is tired.

And he doesn’t plan on letting his condition stop him from hitting the road, telling fans, “I’m looking forward to seeing all of you — that’s the most important thing — in July; that’s my aim.” 

Palmer’s The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer 2023 Summer Tour, which has him performing alongside footage of his late bandmates Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, is set to kick off July 8 in West Jefferson, North Carolina. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at carlpalmer.com.

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Heart’s Ann Wilson is heading out on the road this summer. The singer just announced dates for a new tour, where she’ll be backed by the group Tripsitter.

The tour is set to kick off July 7 in Toronto, Canada, with the first U.S. date booked for July 12 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The trek wraps August 30 in Syracuse, New York. A complete list of dates can be found at annwilson.com.

And it sounds like we may soon be hearing new music from Wilson. According to her website, she and Tripsitter are working on finishing up a new album featuring original material.

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If you ever run into Flea and want to impress him with your musical knowledge, here are some songs to study up on.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers co-founder has shared his picks for his three favorite basslines: Led Zeppelin‘s “Ramble On,” funk band Parliament‘s “Flash Light” and jazz musician Alice Coltrane‘s “Journey in Satchidananda.”

You can see Flea shred RHCP basslines on the band’s U.S. tour, which continues May 12 in San Diego. The “Californication” rockers have been supporting their two 2022 albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen.

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