So far, Stevie Nicks has announced nine co-headlining stadium shows with Billy Joel for 2023, but now she’s added a bunch of solo dates to her touring calendar, as well.
The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer will do an additional 14 solo shows across the U.S., starting March 15 in Seattle. Right now, the dates are set to wrap up June 27 in Louisville, Kentucky.
That solo kickoff date will follow her first show with Billy March 10 in Inglewood, California. After Stevie’s solo dates are done, she has an additional five stadium shows with the Piano Man, scheduled through November. Of course, it’s always possible that she’ll extend the solo tour.
Tickets go on sale Friday, January 27, at 10 a.m. on livenation.com.
This will be Stevie’s first solo tour since her 24 Karat Gold trek, which wrapped up in 2017. From 2018 to 2019, she was touring with Fleetwood Mac. It was the band’s last tour prior to the 2022 death of Mac keyboardist, singer and songwriter Christine McVie.
David Crosby’s death last week reportedly came after a “long illness,” but it seems whatever illness he was dealing with didn’t stop him from making music. Friends tell Variety that not only was Crosby working on a new album, he was also planning a tour for this summer, and tickets were only days away from going on sale.
“David didn’t think he was gonna last for years, which he joked about all the time. But there was no sense that we weren’t gonna be able to do this show and these tours,” musician Steve Postell tells the mag. “We were talking tour buses, and what kind of venues, and the whole team was all back together again,” He adds, “There was not even a remote sense that we weren’t about ready to hit the world.”
Postell says he rehearsed with Crosby alone in Santa Barbara the week before he died, and Crosby was “giddy” about plans for the tour. Postell even talked to Crosby the day before his death to discuss a pair of planned shows in February in Santa Barbara. The next day, Postell texted with Crosby’s son, James Raymond, and found out Crosby had died.
As for the new album, singer Sarah Jorosz says she recorded background vocals for it, sharing, “He just wanted to create until the very end, and that was always my impression of him in our conversations.
She says Crosby’s death came as a “shock,” explaining, “I mean, every time we talked, he would call and I’d be like, ‘How are you doing?’ And he’d be like, ‘Well, I’m dying’ — but jokingly, with a laugh.”
Jorosz adds, “I wasn’t aware if there was a long illness. It was more just like the hard years of living, and being 81.”
A new Rush picture book is ready to hit shelves later this year. Portraits of Rush is being published by Rufus Publications and features photography from legendary music photographer Fin Costello.
Costello had total access to the band, with photos capturing the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers during the All The World’s A Stage Tour from 1976 to 1977, the Exit Stage Left tour in 1981 and the major tours in between. It features black-and-white photos of them as they traveled, rehearsed, played live and even recorded in the studio.
The 240-page book features an introduction by music journalist John Tucker, along with articles on the band from magazines during that period.
There are several editions of Portraits of Rush available, but quantities are limited, with only 666 numbered copies of the main edition available worldwide. There are also 50 leather and metal editions available, and 50 bundles featuring both versions.
The books are available for preorders now, and they’ll be shipped out sometime in May.
At her father’s iconic estate Graceland in Tennessee Sunday morning, friends and family members gathered for a memorial service to honor Lisa Marie Presley, who passed away at 54 on January 12.
Presley was laid to rest on Thursday next to her son, Benjamin Keough, in Graceland’s Meditation Garden.
Joel Weinshanker, film producer and managing partner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, opened the service by passing along Presley’s wishes for her own service: “Don’t make it sad.”
The former Mayor of Memphis, AC Wharton, explained, “Before Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan had Jack, before Goldie [Hawn] and Kurt [Russell] had Wyatt, before Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet had Zoe, before Jay Z and Beyonce had Blue Ivy, and long before Harry and Meghan had Archie, in this city, our own royal couple, Elvis and Priscilla had our own princess, Lisa Marie.”
He called her the “keeper of the flame,” and “this city’s precious jewel.”
Lisa Marie’s friend and former musical collaborator, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan took the stage, clad in a dark shirt and black suit to perform on an acoustic guitar, his song “To Sheila.”
Following the performance, Presley’s close friend Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, explained they called each other “Sissy,” calling it a “great honor” to celebrate this “extraordinary” woman. Ferguson added of Queen Elizabeth II, “My late mother-in-law used to say, ‘Nothing could take away these moments, because grief is the price we pay for love.'”
Alanis Morissette then took the stage in a long, black coat, and performed “Rest,” accompanied by a piano.
Priscilla Presley chose to let her granddaughter’s written words speak for her, reading a poem her granddaughter wrote, called “The Old Soul.” It touched on the heartbreak Presley endured when her son Benjamin took his own life in 2020. “…Survivor’s guilt some would say, but a broken heart was the doing of her death,” Priscilla said.
Axl Rose then addressed the assembled mourners next, commenting in part, “I feel like I’m supposed to be texting her like right now saying I’m here, telling her how wonderful everyone is. I never in a million years expected to be singing here, especially not in these circumstances.”
Rose went on to express how much Presley loved Baz Lurhmann‘s Elvis movie and Austin Butler‘s performance. “Lisa’s loved and missed by many, and will continue to be loved and missed by all those whose lives she touched,” Rose said, before performing the Guns N’ Roses song “November Rain” on piano.
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet then followed with “How Great Thou Art,” and Jason Clark and the Tennessee Mass Choir closed out the ceremony.
The battle over the Journey American Express card isn’t over. In new court documents filed in California, Jonathan Cain is accusing bandmate Neal Schon of charging over $1 million on the card, which is causing problems for the band.
“Schon’s use of the [shared] AMEX card for personal expenses created serious liquidity problems for the band as the AMEX balance had to be paid every month, and there were insufficient revenues to pay for other expenses as Schon saddled Journey with over $1 million of his personal expenses,” the court documents state.
And Cain specifically calls out just how Schon has been using that credit card, including spending over $100,000 on personal expenses in one billing cycle ending in January of last year, and $400,000 for the billing period ending March 16, which included $104,000 to a jewelry store and $31,000 to Bergdorf Goodman.
Plus, Cain argues that even when they put a $30,000 limit on Schon’s card, he still somehow spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses, like demanding a $5,000/night suite in Hawaii, when the maximum amount allocated was $1,500 a night. To add to that, he stayed a week longer than he should have.
As for Schon, his attorney tells BillboardCain’s claims are ridiculous and “as phony as a three dollar bill.”
As previously reported, last year Schon sued Cain over the company AmEx card, claiming Cain refused to allow him access to it. Cain countered the suit was just Schon’s way of covering up his “excessive spending and extravagant lifestyle.”
Regardless of all of this, Journey is set to kick off their 50th anniversary tour on February 5 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Anthrax is going to be without their drummer for a few shows. The band announced on Instagram that Charlie Benante is taking a break from their tour in order to have surgery.
“Our man who beats the beat – Charlie Benante – has stepped away from the tour for a few days to have a minor procedure done and will not be at the next few shows,” read a social media post from the band. “Never fear, the formidable Derek Roddy is filling in while Charlie is away – and no worries, Charlie will be back soon.”
They add, “In the meantime, the metal is still heavy and the show must go on. We’ll see you there!”
Anthrax’s next show is happening Friday in Vancouver, British Columbia, followed by a show Saturday in Penticton, British Columbia, and another Sunday in Calgary, Alberta.
Musician James Raymond has paid tribute to his late father, two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby, who passed away Thursday at the age of 81.
“I am deeply saddened at the passing of my birth father David Crosby,” Raymond shares. “He was a monumental talent and a force of nature. The musical gifts he gave us all will be cherished for generations.”
Raymond is Crosby’s son with Celia Crawford Ferguson; he was given up for adoption in 1962. Raymond and Crosby later reunited and formed the trio CPR with guitarist Jeff Pevar, releasing two studio albums and two live albums.
“I feel very fortunate that we found each other and that he so graciously invited me to experience that rarified air of creativity that surrounded him,” Raymond adds. “I’ll miss him immensely.”
On Thursday, two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby, solo artist and founding member of the Byrds; Crosby, Stills and Nash; and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young died at the age of 81. John Mayer, who was hugely influenced by Crosby, has shared several tributes to the late legend on Instagram.
John was not only influenced by Crosby as a guitarist, he also had Crosby and his bandmate Graham Nash sing on the title track of his album Born & Raised. On his Instagram Story, he writes, “If you want to honor the memory of David Crosby, pick up your instrument and sing the truth as you feel it. Don’t listen with anyone else’s ears but your own. Don’t concern yourself with formula or wonder what someone else might think.”
He continues, “Just sing how you feel, what you see, your pain and your joy, and sing so as to know yourself better, and so that others might know what it’s like to be you in this world.”
On his Story, John also posted an Apple Music screenshot of Crosby’s song “Music Is Love” from his first solo album, as well as a photo of Crosby holding a guitar. He captioned that one, “Acoustic guitar hero.”
On his regular feed, John posted a photo of Crosby playing acoustic guitar in the ’70s and wrote, “A life of songs, and now a life in songs. There aren’t many people who moved the world as deeply and for as long as David Crosby did. The music he made will inspire songwriters until the end of time. An absolute purist.”
In other John Mayer news, he’s got something new coming on January 26, though whether it’s a new song, album or tour announcement remains to be seen.
Jethro Tull is back with new music. The band just announced that their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte, will drop April 21. The record is Ian Anderson and the band’s follow-up to 2022’s The Zealot Gene, which was their first new release in two decades.
A post on Instagram reveals that the 12-track record is “based on the characters and roles of some of the principle gods of the old Norse paganism,” noting it also explores “‘RökFlöte’ – rock flute – which Jethro Tull has made iconic.”
The album is being released in a variety of formats, including two limited deluxe editions featuring bonus material, an in-depth interview with Anderson and more. All formats are now available for preorder.
The band has also shared the first single from the album, “Ginnungagap,” which is inspired by the god Ymir, “who was born from venom that dripped from the icy rivers called the Élivágar and lived in the grassless void of Ginnungagap.”
Here’s the RökFlöte track list:
“Voluspo”
“Ginnungagap”
“Allfather”
“The Feathered Consort”
“Hammer On Hammer”
“Wolf Unchained”
“The Perfect One”
“Trickster (And The Mistletoe)”
“Cornucopia”
“The Navigators”
“Guardian’s Watch”
“Ithavoll”
Ian Hunter is getting ready to release a new album, and he’s lined up some big-name artists to join him on it.
The Mott The Hoople frontman will release the new album Defiance Part 1 on April 21, featuring a star-studded list of guests, including the late Jeff Beck, the late Foo Fighers drummer Taylor Hawkins, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Duff McKagan, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean and Robert DeLeo and EricKretz, Johnny Depp and Billy Bob Thornton. The album is available for preorder now.
“It was a fluke,” Hunter says of his A-list guests. “This was not planned. Really, I’m serious. I really couldn’t believe some of them. I mean, it’s amazing what’s happened. It’s been such a buzz.”
Ian is giving fans the first taste of the record with the new single “Bed of Roses,” which features two other pretty huge names in the rock world: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell and Beatle Ringo Starr on drums.
And fans can look forward to even more music and more guests. As the title suggests, Defiance Part 1 will be followed by Defiance Part 2, which will also feature some big-name collaborators.
As for the title of the record, the 83-year-old Hunter notes, “There are a lot of reasons for calling this album Defiance. It’s like, people my age shouldn’t be making records, blah, blah, blah. But we’ve still got a bit left.”
