Classic Rock News

It’s been rumored for months, but U2 has finally confirmed they’re headed to Las Vegas.

The Irish rockers announced their new Vegas residency, U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at the Sphere, with an ad during Sunday night’s Super Bowl. As the show’s name suggests, the residency will celebrate their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and is set to go down this fall at the new high-tech MSG Sphere at the Venetian.

The Super Bowl ad focused on a variety of U2 fans from all over the world, who wind up in the desert along with the members of U2 to witness a sphere in the sky. The Edge then asks Bono, “So, are we doing this?” to which Bono replies, “We’d be mad not to.”

The shows will be without one member of the group though, with the band announcing that drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. would not be part of the residency as he recuperates from surgery. Instead, drummer Bram van den Berg will be filling in. 

Exact dates for the residency have not been announced but you can sign up at u2xsphere.com to be the first to get details

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Def Leppard has announced a special livestream event tied to their most recent album, Diamond Star Halos. The Diamond Star Halos track by track livestream event will take place February 25 at 4 p.m. ET, with the band sharing behind-the-scenes stories of the making of their latest release, which came out in May.

The event, which will also have them answering fan questions, will air inside the Def Leppard Vault. Tickets are now on sale at Leppardvault.com. 

Diamond Star Halos is Def Leppard’s 12th studio album and their first new album since 2015’s Def Leppard. It landed in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart and at number two on the Rock charts.

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An exhibit dedicated to Pearl Jam at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture is set to close in April after five years.

Pearl Jam: Home and Away The Exhibition features over 700 original Pearl Jam artifacts, including personal instruments, stage props and handwritten lyrics. It is described as a “one-of-a-kind time capsule of Seattle’s musical, arts, and cultural history.”

The exhibit is scheduled to close on April 23. MoPop is set to host a closing party for Pearl Jam fans on April 14. Details and ticket information will be announced soon.

Pearl Jam: Home and Away The Exhibition opened in August 2018 to coincide with the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ two Home Shows, which took place August 8 and 10 at Safeco Field.

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Earlier this week, the Pink Floyd feud seemed to escalate when Polly Samson, wife of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, lashed out at his bandmate Roger Waters on Twitter. Days later things aren’t cooling down, with Waters now having a few choice words for Gilmour and his other bandmates.

While talking to The Telegraph, Waters seems to suggest the main issue is jealousy. “They can’t write songs. They’re not artists,” he said, referring to Gilmour and Rick Wright, who died in 2008. “They have no ideas — not a single one between them. They never have had, and that drives them crazy.” 

Waters, who recently revealed that he’s rerecording The Dark Side of the Moon, also argued that he was really the brains behind the album. “Let’s get rid of all this ‘we’ crap,” he said. “Of course we were a band — there were four of us, we all contributed — but it’s my project and I wrote it, so, blah.” 

As for what fans can expect from the rerecorded The Dark Side of the Moon, the author of the article got to hear some of it and shared some insight. While he says “parts are very good indeed,” he notes, “But, surprisingly, Waters seems to have decided that what was wrong with the original album’s beautiful instrumental tracks was that they didn’t have Waters talking all over them. Now they do.”

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Pete Townshend is teasing fans with new music. The Who rocker revealed on social media that he has a new solo single “coming soon.”

Although he didn’t reveal the title of the track, he says it was written by his wife, Rachel Fuller, and shared the artwork, which was by artist Damien Hirst. 

The song is expected sometime this month, with proceeds being donated to Teenage Cancer Trust.

Pete did note in his announcement that he’s only releasing a single, not a solo album. His last solo studio album was 1993’s Psychoderelict.

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It sure looks like U2 fans may finally be getting confirmation about the band’s much rumored residency at the new high-tech arena MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. 

The Irish rockers are set to appear in an ad during Sunday’s Super Bowl, per their publicity team. They’ve also shared the new website U2xsphere.com, which so far only has a photo of the Las Vegas skyline, with a baby’s face in a bubble superimposed over it. 

Reports of the U2 residency at MSG Sphere have been circulating since July, when Billboard first reported the rumors. Just last month, Bono commented on the alleged residency during an appearance on the SmartLess podcast, sharing, “If this happens it will be really extraordinary.”

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Kate Hudson and The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson were married from 2000 to 2007 and share a son together, 21-year-old Ryder. In a new interview, Hudson talks about what prompted her to jump into marriage with the rocker. 

During an appearance on the You’re Doing Fine…Just Keep Going podcast, Kate says she met Robinson in New York when she was 20 and instantly knew she wanted to be with him, quickly telling people, “I’m marrying this guy.”

“I just, like, jump in the deep end of everything I do,” she shared. “People thought it was impulsive, but it was more like I was just, like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to dive right into this. I’m not gonna second guess it. I’m in love with him. I’m not gonna pretend, like, “Oh, we should wait.” I’m madly in love and I want to marry him.’ And so I just didn’t think twice.”

She notes, “I’m kind of still like that except with a little more wisdom under my belt.”

Although Kate says the marriage got complicated and didn’t last, Robinson showed her “what it felt like to be unconditionally loved,” noting they “worshipped each other” and “were so in love.”

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Blackmore’s Night, the group featuring ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and his wife, Candice Night, are about to release the 25th anniversary celebration of their debut album, Shadow of the Moon. Now they are sharing another song from the set.

The latest is a new mix of “Play Minstrel Play,” which features a special guest appearance by Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson.

The remixed 25th anniversary edition of Shadow of the Moon is due out March 10, with the album’s iconic artwork refreshed for the new release. It includes two previously unreleased acoustic versions of “Spirit of the Sea” and “Shadow of the Moon,” recorded by Blackmore and Night in 2022. The album is available for preorder now.

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Canadian whisky brand Crown Royal has shared more of its upcoming Super Bowl commercial starring Dave Grohl.

In a new clip posted to YouTube, the Foo Fighters frontman produces a shred-heavy rendition of Canada’s national anthem, “O Canada,” performed by Canadian guitarist and Prince collaborator Donna Grantis. Following her rocking performance, Grohl asks Grantis if she wants to start a band, to which she exclaims, “I’m in!”

Meanwhile, another clip is a follow-up to a previously released teaser for the ad, in which Grohl rattled off a list of seemingly unrelated and random items, including “peanut butter” and “Hawaiian pizza.” As it turns out, what those things have in common is that they were invented in or are produced in Canada.

“Today, let’s thank Canada,” Grohl declares.

Super Bowl LVII airs this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox.

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Elvis Costello and Crowded House are among the artists featured in AXS TV’s new Live From the Artists Den series, kicking off February 15 at 9 p.m. ET.

The concert series launches with a special concert by John Legend at New York City’s Riverside Church, with Costello’s episode set for April 12 and Crowded House headlining the April 19 episode.

“Live From the Artists Den is the perfect complement to AXS TV’s new Wednesday night lineup, highlighting a fresh slate of classic concerts, the latest rock news, and so much more,” Katie Daryl, AXS TV’s vice president of programming, shares. “We are proud to present these landmark Live From the Artists Den concerts, boasting powerhouse performances from an impressive roster of iconic artists, as they play their biggest hits in intimate sets at some of the world’s most legendary venues.”

Other artists featured in the series include Mumford & Sons, Gary Clark Jr., Cage the Elephant, Ed Sheeran, Sara Bareilles, Jason Mraz, Zac Brown Band and Dierks Bentley.

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