This year’s Bowl for Ronnie charity bowling tournament, held in honor of late metal icon Ronnie James Dio, raised over $72,000 for cancer research.
The annual event made its return last month after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the rockers who participated were Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, Tenacious D‘s Jack Black, Theory of a Deadman frontman Tyler Connolly and Lita Ford.
The team featuring former Judas Priest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens won first place.
Proceeds from Bowl for Ronnie benefits the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, which was founded following Dio’s death from stomach cancer in 2010.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of George Thorogood‘s first show, so he and his band, The Destroyers, are celebrating the milestone with a new tour. Thorogood just announced dates for the Bad All Over The World 50 Years of Rock tour, with dates set in the U.S. and Canada.
The tour kicks off with an appearance on the Rock Legends Cruise X in February, before launching March 17 and 18 in Lincoln City, Oregon. The last U.S. show has Thorogood hitting Las Vegas’ Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino Resort on March 25.
“From that very first show, we’ve stayed true to ourselves and the music we love,” says Thorogood, referring to their first gig, which was on December 1, 1973, at the University of Delaware. “We’ve decided to celebrate our first half-century by throwing the biggest and baddest rock party ever.”
After the Vegas show, the tour heads to Canada for Thorogood’s first shows there in three years. Dates are confirmed through May 17 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
December 1 is World AIDS Day, and for 30 years, Elton John has been on the forefront of the fight against the disease. While progress has been made, Elton pointed out on Instagram that there’s still much to do: In 2021, 650,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, while 1.5 million were diagnosed with HIV.
Speaking to E! Online, Elton says, “We need to keep up the energy, momentum and conversation around HIV so it doesn’t feel like something in the past,” adding that his foundation is committed to “ending AIDS by 2030.” He also says it’s important to “normalize the conversation” around safe sex and how to live a healthy life while being HIV-positive.
The foundation recently received a $1 million donation from Saks Fifth Avenue, which he says will go towards “expand[ing] and mobiliz[ing] our mission for the rights and health of everyone, everywhere.”
Elton notes that seeing the foundation grow over the years has been “one of the greatest joys of my life.”
The music icon founded Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 after losing two friends to AIDS within a year: Ryan White, who was infected with HIV during a blood transfusion at age 13 and died in 1990, and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991.
The past year has been a good one for touring artists, especially for some heritage acts, who made big bucks on the road this year.
While Bad Bunny tops Billboard’s year-end Top Tours chart for 2022, bringing in $373.5 million and selling 1.8 million tickets across 65 shows, acts like Elton John, The Rolling Stones,Mötley Crue and Def Leppard all make the top 10.
Elton lands just under Bad Bunny at two, with over $334 million from 63 shows; The Rolling Stones comes in at six, with over $179 million from 20 shows.
Others making the list include the Red Hot Chili Peppers at seven ($176.9 M), Def Leppard and Motley Crue at eight ($173.4 M), Paul McCartney at 15, Eagles at 16 ($105 M), Guns N’ Roses at 17 ($93.3 M) and Genesis at 25 ($81.9 M).
The “Welcome to the Jungle” rockers will headline the English capital’s historic Hyde Park on June 30. A full lineup of supporting artists will be announced at a later date.
Tickets go on sale next Wednesday, December 7. Members of GN’R’s Nightrain fan club will have access to presale tickets beginning Monday, December 5. For all ticket info, visit GunsNRoses.com.
GN’R just played London last summer and was joined by country star Carrie Underwood for performances of “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Paradise City.”
The Hyde Park date marks the first announced Guns N’ Roses show of 2023. The group will close out 2022 with a show in New Zealand on December 10.
Grateful Dead fans can now show off their love for the band while improving their health, thanks to a new line of Grateful Dead yoga mats, cork yoga blocks and cotton yoga straps that’s being released by JadeYoga. The natural rubber Grateful Dead Harmony mats will feature the band’s signature dancing bears, with the bears in Tree, Downward Dog, Warrior, Crow and Dancer yoga poses.
“When I first saw the Grateful Dead inGlens Falls, NY over 40 years ago, I never would have thought I would someday have a chance to work with the band or just how fitting it would be,” JadeYoga founder Dean Jerrehian shares. “With the Grateful Dead’s history of environmental activism and support, the Dead is a perfect match for Jade’s mission of creating the best quality, most eco-friendly yoga products and giving back to the earth with each product sold.”
The mats will also help the environment because with every mat sold, Jade will plant a tree; over two million trees have been planted so far.
Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie continues to be remembered on social media, with former President Bill Clinton among the famous names paying tribute to the star.
“I’m saddened by the passing of Christine McVie,” he writes. ““Don’t Stop” was my ’92 campaign theme song – it perfectly captured the mood of a nation eager for better days.” He adds, “I’m grateful to Christine & Fleetwood Mac for entrusting us with such a meaningful song. I will miss her.”
Also remembering McVie, who passed away Wednesday at age 79, are the Eagles, who shared, “We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Christine McVie. Hers was a vibrant, soulful spirit, and her music was, and will remain, a gift to the world.” The statement adds, “We had the utmost admiration and respect for Christine.”
HAIM, whose song “Hallelujah” was quoted in Stevie Nicks’ tribute to McVie, shared on Instagram, “the sisterhood Stevie and Christine had was so vital to us growing up. seeing two strong women support each other in our favorite band has had such a huge impact on us throughout our lives.”
The sister group added that McVie “has been a constant inspiration.” Alana Haim, who wrote the “Hallelujah” verse that Stevie quoted, added that it was written “to help me heal” after the death of her friend Sammi Kane.
She noted, “Seeing Stevie and Christine together changed my life forever and made me want to play music. I’m speechless. I love you so much Stevie, rip beautiful songbird.” “Songbird” was McVie’s signature song.
Other tributes include:
The Go-Go’sBelinda Carlisle – “Oh no. The voice of an angel. RIP #christinemcvie Forever loved.” The Kinks‘ Dave Davies– “I’m really upset about #ChristineMcVie a very underrated and talented woman. A great talent.” Marc Maron – “Christine McVie died. One of the greatest rock voices ever. Both as a singer and songwriter. RIP.” Drive-by Truckers– Christine McVie had the most hits of anyone in Fleetwood Mac, yet was somehow the most underrated member. Never flashy, alway great. She was the glue that held all those crazy wonderful elements together. Her songs had a soulfulness unhampered by pretense. RIP.” Bryan Adams – “RIP Christine McVie. Thanks for the music.”
Not long ago, Joni Mitchell told Elton John in an interview for his Apple Music show Rocket Hour that she felt her classic albums — like Blue, Ladies of the Canyon and Court and Spark— hadn’t gotten the recognition they deserved because they were “too intimate.” She said, “I think it upset the male singer-songwriters…I think it made people nervous.” But it sounds like that wasn’t an issue for one of those male singer-songwriters: David Crosby.
When asked if Mitchell’s work did indeed make people “nervous,” Crosby tells ABC Audio, “It might have, but for me, it was glorious.” He adds, “To me, it was absolutely shiny, wonderful, incredible work. I think it might have made people who were used to writing silly shallow pop, you know, very uncomfortable.”
Crosby has nothing but glowing things to say about Joni, noting she “was unquestionably the best of us, the best singer-songwriter alive.”
“I don’t think anybody touches her to this day. I don’t think there’s anybody as good as she was,” Crosby adds. “I think she was the most talented one.”
In fact, Crosby’s upcoming live release David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Live at the Capitol Theatre features a version of Mitchell’s classic composition “Woodstock,” which, of course, his former group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young scored a hit with in 1970. The album arrives December 9.
Christine McVie’s death Wednesday at 79 certainly surprised many, and upon hearing the news, plenty of artists took to social media to pay tribute to the Fleetwood Mac star.
“I am so sad to hear of Christine McVie going on to heaven. The world feels weird without her here. What a legend and an icon and an amazing human being. RIP,” Sheryl Crowsaid, while Heart’s Ann Wilsonwrote on Instagram, “Christine was a gem. Soulful, classy and a beautiful songwriter. ’Over my head’ was always my sultry, angelic favorite. Bon Voyage sweet soul!”
Bette Midler also shared, “#ChristineMcVie has left us. What memories, what joy, and what a legacy…,” while the rock band Garbagewrote, “Gutted to learn about the passing of Christine McVie. Just gutted. Songbird forever.”
Duran Duran’s John Taylor also remembered the star, writing, “So so sad to hear about Christine McVie, an artist I held dear and close to my heart. One of the greatest all time songwriters, singers, and band members, she radiated both purity and sass in equal measure, bringing light to the music of the 70s. RIP,” and Carole King simply wrote, “With love and respect. R.I.P. Christine McVie.”
The death of Fleetwood Mac‘s Christine McVie Wednesday at age 79 shocked most people, including her bandmate and close friend Stevie Nicks, who opened up about her grief in a handwritten note on social media.
“A few hours ago I was told that my best friend in the whole world since the first day of 1975, had passed away,” she writes. “I didn’t even know she was ill … until late Saturday night.” She shares she wanted to travel to London to be with her, but was told to wait.
Stevie writes that since hearing Christine was ill, “one song has been swirling around in my head, over and over and over,” noting, “I thought I might possibly get to sing it to her, and so, I’m singing it to her now,” adding, “I always knew I would need these words one day … It’s all I can do now.”
Stevie then wrote out the lyrics to the third verse of the Haim song “Hallelujah,” which starts with, “I had a best friend but she has come to pass. One I wish I could see now.”
Stevie signed the note, “See you on the other side my love, don’t forget me, Always Stevie,” and added a picture of her and McVie together.
Mick Fleetwood posted his own tribute to McVie, writing, “This is a day where my dear sweet Friend Christine McVie has taken flight.. and left us earthbound folks to listen with bated breath to the sounds of that songbird … reminding one and all that love is all around us to reach for and touch in this precious life that is gifted to us.” He adds, “part of my heart has flown away today.. I will miss everything about you Christine McVie.”
