Classic Rock News

According to Dave Grohl, Melvins is the “heaviest band of all time.”

In an Instagram post, Melvins shared a video celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary featuring a quote from the Foo Fighters frontman.

“Arguably one of the most influential artists of the past 40 years, the Melvins have still never relented from being the heaviest band of all time,” Grohl’s quote reads. “From the day I dropped the needle on their 1987 debut album Gluey Porch Treatments, I’ve been inspired by their signature, staggered feel, much like countless other bands who look up to them as the kings of the Northwest music scene.”

Melvins were a big influence on Nirvana, and not just musically. As the story goes, it was Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne who introduced Grohl to Kurt Cobain and Krist Novselic.

“Oh, and thank you for giving me Nirvana’s phone number,” Grohl says.

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The Black Crowes are set to headline the annual Mempho Music Festival, taking place September 29 to October 1 in Memphis, Tennessee.

The festival, happening at the Radians Amphitheater at the Memphis Botanic Gardens, also features headliners My Morning Jacket and Turnpike Troubadours, with Ween, Lake Street Drive, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Band of Horses and more also on the bill.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now. More information, including a complete lineup, can be found at memphofest.com.

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Jethro Tull is hitting the road this summer. Ian Anderson and the band just announced dates for their The Seven Decades Tour, which hits such cities as Cincinnati, San Diego, Boston and New York.

The tour is set to kick off August 18 in Highland Park, Illinois, wrapping November 4 in Albany, New York.

Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at jethrotull.com.

The news comes as Jethro Tull are getting ready to release their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte, which drops Friday, April 21.

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A new documentary about the Chicago blues scene is set to hit digital platforms this summer, featuring interviews with Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and more.

Born in Chicago, narrated by Dan Aykroyd and executive produced by Jim Belushi and Elliot Roberts, delves into the Chicago music scene of the ’60s using a mix of archival footage and interviews. In addition to Dylan and Richards, the movie features appearances by Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Bob Weir, Steve Miller, Charlie Musselwhite and more.

Born in Chicago has already screened at several festivals. It is also set to be shown at the upcoming New York City Independent Film Festival, as well as the Washington DC International Film Festival and the 2023 Chicago Blues Festival. It will hit all digital platforms on August 1.

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Billy Idol is giving fans a sneak peek at a very special concert he performed earlier this month at the Hoover Dam.  

The singer headlined the first-ever concert at the dam on the Nevada/Arizona border, along with his guitarist Steve Stevens and special guests Alison Mosshart of The Dead Weather, the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones and No Doubt’s Tony Kanal.

The concert, which took place April 8, was filmed and will be getting a theatrical release through Encore Nights later this year. The first look shows Idol and the band performing his 1990 classic “Cradle of Love,” with Idol changing the lyrics to sing “I rocked the Hoover Dam.”

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Roger Waters is currently in Europe on his This Is Not A Drill tour, and now fans around the world will be able to experience the concert.

Trafalgar is set to air a special live broadcast of Waters’ upcoming show at the O2 Arena Prague in the Czech Republic in theaters. The screening will take place May 25 in over 1,500 theaters in more than 50 countries.

This Is Not A Drill has Waters performing 20 Pink Floyd classics, including “Comfortably Numb,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Us & Them,” along with the debut of a new song, “The Bar.” 

Tickets for the special broadcast go on sale Friday, April 25, at 10 a.m. ET.

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Carl Palmer is once again hitting the road with his celebration of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. 

Just like his late 2022 shows, The Return of Emerson, Lake & Palmer 2023 Summer Tour will have Palmer performing alongside live footage of his late bandmates Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, who both passed away in 2016. 

“The film ELP made of its sold out run at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1992 had everything we needed to make these tours happen,” Palmer shares. “We were able to use just the camera shots of Keith and Greg, with the sterling audio tracks of their performances resulting in a combination of film and onstage performance of my band that brings back the magic of ELP.” 

The tour is set to kick off July 8 in West Jefferson, North Carolina, wrapping July 29 in Westbury, New York. A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at carlpalmer.com.

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Another day, another Metallica video.

The latest clip accompanies the song “Crown of Barbed Wire,” and features an animated tale of murder and revenge. You can watch it now streaming on YouTube.

“Crown of Barbed Wire” appears on the new Metallica album 72 Seasons, which dropped April 14. Metallica previously shared videos for the 72 Seasons cuts “Lux Æterna,” “Screaming Suicide,” “If Darkness Had a Son,” “Sleepwalk My Life Away,” “Too Far Gone?” and the title track.

The remaining 72 Seasons songs — “Chasing Light,” “You Must Burn!” and the 11-minute “Inamorata” — will also get videos.

Additionally, Metallica is releasing every 72 Seasons video in American Sign Language, or ASL. The ASL edition of the title track is out now, and the remaining 11 videos will premiere April 25.

In other Metallica-related news, ex-bassist Jason Newsted has announced a concert with his namesake solo band for the first time in 10 years. The show takes place May 20 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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A new book is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry’s 1981 debut solo album KooKoo.

H.R. Giger: Debbie Harry Metamorphosis: Creating the Visual Concept for KooKoo, from Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, is out now, featuring Stein’s collection of photographs showcasing the visual journey of the project, which was a collaboration between him, Harry and innovative artist H.R. Giger.  In addition to photos, the book gives fans insight into the project thanks to notes and sketches from the Giger archives. 

The book serves as a companion for the upcoming Deluxe Edition reissue of KooKoo, which is dropping May 5. Only 6,000 copies of the new reissue will be available on double 180g Crystal clear vinyl, along with a bonus 12-inch disc made up of remixes and extended versions and a Chris Stein art print. It is available for preorder now. 

KooKoo, produced by Chic’s Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards, was originally released July 27, 1981. It peaked at 25 on the Billboard 200 Album chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

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On This Day, April 18, 2015… 

A new class of musicians were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including Beatle Ringo Starr, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lou Reed, Green Day and Bill Withers. 

Paul McCartney was on hand to induct Ringo, who was the last Beatle to be inducted as a solo artist following McCartney’s solo induction in 1999, John Lennon’s in 1994 and George Harrison’s posthumous induction in 2004. The Beatles were inducted in 1988 as part of the Hall of Fame’s third class.

Other artists on hand for the celebration included Patti Smith, who inducted Reed; John Mayer, doing the honors for Vaughan; and Fall Out Boy, who inducted Green Day.

Miley Cyrus gave the speech inducting Jett, and then later Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl joined Jett for her performance, which included such tracks as “Bad Reputation,” “Crimson and Clover,” and the Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.”

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