Classic Rock News

On This Day, Feb. 5, 2018…

Paul Simon announced his retirement from touring after more than 60 years in music.

The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer said time away from his family and the death of his longtime guitarist Vincent Nguini played a role in his decision.

Simon didn’t give up the road without one more run. In May of the same year, he launched Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour, a four-month trek that took him to North America and Europe, and wrapped in his home borough of Queens, New York.

While the show marked the end of Simon’s final tour, he said he wasn’t quitting the stage and suggested he could perform live again. He did just that in August 2019, when he headlined San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival.

Simon’s retirement didn’t last long. In April 2025, he launched the A Quiet Celebration Tour, in which he performed his 2023 album, Seven Psalms, as well newly arranged versions of tracks from his vast catalog of hits. He just announced a new North American leg of the tour, kicking off June 4 in Palo Alto, California.

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Mötley Crüe will be celebrating America’s birthday up north in Canada.

The “Home Sweet Home” rockers will headline Winnipeg’s Rockin’ Thunder concert series on July 4. The bill will also include Three Days Grace, Halestorm and Canadian musician JJ Wilde.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. CT. For all ticket info, visit Motley.com.

Mötley will return to the U.S. later in July to launch the Return of Carnival of Sins tour celebrating the band’s 45th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of their 2005-06 Carnival of Sins tour.

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R.E.M. fans will once again be able to get their hands on the band’s 2018 live album box set R.E.M. at the BBC.

The band announced on Instagram that the box set is “Back by demand” and will be available again starting March 6.

The eight-CD/one-DVD set features rare live and in-studio recordings taken from the BBC archives, with all the performances recorded between 1984 and 2008.

The compilation includes a 60-minute Later … with Jools Holland performance, plus performances from Radio 1’s Live Lounge and John Peel Studio Sessions. There are also recordings of several live U.K. broadcasts, including R.E.M.’s 1999 set at the Glastonbury Festival, a 2004 show at St. James’s Church in London and a 1995 broadcast from Milton Keynes.

The set features performances of such R.E.M. classics as “Losing My Religion,” “Man on the Moon,” “Radio Free Europe,” “Drive,” “Everybody Hurts” and “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”

The set also includes a DVD with the short film Accelerating Backwards and the Later … with Jools Holland performance, plus three bonus videos: “I’ve Been High,” “Nightswimming” and “Bad Day.”

R.E.M. at the BBC is available for preorder now.

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Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy has announced the first set of dates for his 2026 tour.

Dubbed The Undercover Tour, the trek will feature some performances with his former RATT bandmate, guitarist Warren DeMartini.

The tour will kick off with a Percy/DeMartini show on Feb. 26 in Highland, California, and then resume May 9 in Tulare, California, with a solo show. Pearcy will also play solo shows in Iowa, Louisiana and Wisconsin, followed by two more Pearcy/DeMartini shows: Aug. 21 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Aug. 23 in Orlando, Florida. More dates are expected to be added.

A full list of shows and ticket information can be found at OfficialStephenPearcy.com.

Pearcy and DeMartini reunited for the first time back in May 2025 at the annual M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland. It was the first time they had performed together in eight years. They went on to play several other shows together in 2025.

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Bruce Hornsby has shared details about his upcoming album, Indigo Park, which will be released April 3.

The album will be made up of 10 songs, with Hornsby backed by his band The Noisemakers, along with guitarist Blake Mills, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Chris Dave. The record will feature guest appearances by the late Bob Weir, Bonnie Raitt and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. It also contains two songs co-written by the late Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.

According to a press release, with Indigo Park, Hornsby is looking back on “formative moments from his past, sometimes trying to resolve them, and other times looking for clues about his current-day outlook.”

“It’s just an old bastard, looking back,” says Hornsby. “To be honest, I’ve found a way, a path to grow old gracefully, with help from some newborn friends of mine.”

As a preview, Hornsby has released the album’s title track to digital outlets.

Hornsby and The Noisemakers are set to hit the road in support of Indigo Park. The tour kicks off April 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and wraps July 25 in Patchogue, New York. A complete list of dates can be found at BruceHornsby.com.

Here is the track list for Indigo Park:
“Indigo Park”
“Memory Palace” (feat. Ezra Koenig)
“Entropy Here (Rust In Peace)”
“Silhouette Shadows”
“Ecstatic” (feat. Bonnie Raitt)
“Alabama”
“North Dakota Slate Roof”
“Sliver of Time”
“Might As Well Be Me, Florinda” (with Bob Weir & feat. Blake Mills)
“Take a Light Strain”

(Video includes uncensored profanity.)

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Record Store Day has unveiled its list of exclusive releases for its 2026 celebration, taking place in independent record stores on April 18.

Among this year’s releases:

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band‘s triumphant 2024 return to Asbury Park, New Jersey, at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival will be released as Live From Asbury Park 2024, a five-LP or three-CD set, featuring more than three hours of music.

Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts have contributed The Live Album, a double album on clear vinyl, that comes with a lyric poster.

Joni Mitchell’s 1972 album For The Roses is being released with the original artwork Joni had submitted for the record. It was vetoed by music exec David Geffen because he didn’t like the images of roses coming out of a horse’s behind.

Def Leppard’s sixth studio album, 1996’s Slang, will be released on two-LP pink vinyl, featuring B-sides and rarities personally curated by frontman Joe Elliott. 

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have contributed July 16, 1978 – Paradise Theater, Boston, MA, a previously bootlegged concert, getting its first official release on pink and green translucent splatter color vinyl.

The Who is releasing the 1966 album A Quick One on two-LP colored vinyl. It will include the original album along with an LP of B-sides, alternate versions and instrumentals.

Robert Plant and his band Saving Grace have recorded a new four-song EP, Saving Grace: All that Glitters with Suzi Dian.

RSD 2026 will also feature releases from David Bowie, The Cars, Jerry Garcia, Bryan Adams, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Brian Wilson, Stewart Copeland, Foreigner, Peter Gabriel, Grateful Dead, Rod Stewart, John Lennon, George Harrison and Steely Dan.

For the full list of releases and all participating stores, visit RecordStoreDay.com.

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A new box set collecting the discography of the Black Sabbath offshoot Heaven & Hell will be released on March 27.

The collection, dubbed Breakout Out of Heaven 2007-2009, includes the lone Heaven & Hell studio album, 2009’s The Devil You Know, as well as two live albums recorded in 2007 at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and 2009’s Wacken festival in Germany.

Heaven & Hell reunited the Sabbath lineup of original members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler alongside vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice. Prior to Heaven & Hell, that lineup recorded Sabbath’s 1981 Mob Rules and 1992’s Dehumanizer albums.

Heaven & Hell ended following Dio’s death in 2010.

In other related news, the 2026 Rock for Ronnie concert in tribute to Dio will take place May 31 in Los Angeles. Lita Ford will headline.

Rock for Ronnie raises money for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.

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Joe Jackson is offering up another taste of his upcoming album Hope and Fury.

The “Is She Really Going Out With Him” singer has released “Fabulous People,” the second single from the record. According to a press release, it represents “a more rhythmic, radio-forward side of the album, built around a tight, dance-leaning groove and Jackson’s unmistakable melodic precision and wit.”

“Fabulous People” is now available via digital outlets. 

Hope and Fury, dropping April 10, is Jackson’s first studio album since 2019’s Fool. It will be released on CD, 180g vinyl and digitally, and is available for preorder now.

Jackson is set to support the album with a tour, kicking off May 11 in Poughkeepsie, New York, which will have him playing more than 80 shows and visiting 14 countries. A complete list of dates can be found at JoeJackson.com.

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Foo Fighters have shared a teaser video hinting at new music.

The clip, posted to the band’s Instagram, sounds like one or perhaps several songs cut up. Meanwhile, the phrase “Do you want more???” continually pops up on the screen.

“This is just a test,” the accompanying caption reads.

Foo Fighters released two new singles in 2025, “Today’s Song” and “Asking for a Friend.” The band’s most recent album is 2023’s But Here We Are. 

In between, the Foos parted ways with drummer Josh Freese — who joined in 2023 following the 2022 death of Taylor Hawkins — and recruited Ilan Rubin, formerly of Nine Inch Nails.

As we wait for possibly more new Foo Fighters material, you can plan your trip to see them live. The band’s upcoming schedule includes a U.S. stadium tour kicking off in August.

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Def Leppard launched their Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Tuesday, treating the crowd to some live debuts and songs they haven’t played in a while.

“WOW! THAT is how you kick off a Residency,” the band wrote on Instagram, alongside photos from the show. “Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate night 1 with us. The energy was palpable.” They added, “Let’s do it again, shall we?!”

According to setlist.fm, the band kicked off the show with the first-ever live performance of their new single “Rejoice.” The set also featured their 2024 single “Just Like 73.”

They also debuted a live performance of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus,” a song they recorded in 2018, along with a cover of the David Essex‘s “Rock On,” which Def Leppard hadn’t performed live since 2019.

The band dipped back into its catalog as well, playing the Adrenalize track “White Lightning” for the first time since 1993.

Of course, the show was packed with classic Def Leppard hits, including “Animal,” “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” “Armageddon It,” “Love Bites,” “Rock of Ages,” “Photograph,” “Hysteria,” and the show-closing “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

Def Leppard: Live at Caesars Palace The Las Vegas Residency runs through Feb. 28, with their next show taking place on Saturday. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.

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