Classic Rock
Primus Kick Off Rush Tribute Tour in Nampa, Idaho: Video + Setlist
Primus have officially kicked off their Rush tribute tour, playing the opening date of the outing on Tuesday night (August 10th) in Nampa, Idaho. Over the weekend, Primus’ Les Claypool revealed he was “learning from the master” and practicing Rush songs with singer-bassist Geddy Lee himself in preparation for the outing. Based on fan footage from the Idaho concert, it sounds like the hands-on training paid off. Claypool and company covered Rush’s 1977 masterpiece A Farewell to Kings in its entirety, nailing versions of “Closer to the Heart” and prog epics such as “Cygnus X-1” — the latter being the lone song from the album that had been previously covered by Primus. Advertisement Related Video The Rush set was preceded by a set of Primus songs, and then followed by an an encore of “Wynona’...
Stevie Nicks Cancels 2021 Tour Dates: “I Want Everyone to Be Safe and Healthy”
Stevie Nicks no longer plans to hit the road in 2021 due to concerns over the rising number of COVID cases. The Fleetwood Mac singer was scheduled to appear at a number of festivals this fall, including BottleRock Napa Valley, Austin City Limits, and Jazz Aspen Festival. Nicks was also booked to play this year’s New Orleans Jazz Fest, but that event was already canceled earlier in the week. “These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made,” Nicks said in a statement. “I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us. While I’m vaccinated, at my age, I am still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the five performances I had planned for 2021.” Advertisement Related Video “Because sing...
Lynyrd Skynyrd Cancel Tour Dates Following Rickey Medlocke’s COVID-19 Diagnosis
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the band to cancel and postpone a number of upcoming tour dates. “Rickey is home resting and responding well to treatment,” the veteran rock band said in a brief statement following the news. Medlocke and his bandmates were slated to headline the Pro Football Hall of Fame concert alongside Brad Paisley in Canton, Ohio’s Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Monday night, but have withdrawn from the show. Instead, Jimmie Allen — who was originally set to open the concert — has extended his set to cover Lynyrd Skynyrd’s canceled performance. Advertisement Related Video In addition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame appearance, the country rock band have canceled upcoming tour dates of their recently relaunched fare...
2021 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Canceled Due to COVID Surge in Louisiana
The 2021 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has been canceled due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Louisiana. The popular annual event was one of many festivals expected to return this fall, but will now take place in spring 2022. The 2021 edition was set to be staged over two weekends from October 8th through 17th, and feature such acts as The Rolling Stones (who were added recently), Foo Fighters, Stevie Nicks, Dead & Company, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Elvis Costello, and dozens more artists. The fest will now take place in 2022 over the two weekends from April 29th through May 8th. A full statement from festival organizers reads as follows: “As a result of the current exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency, we ...
Queen’s Brian May Calls Eric Clapton and Other Anti-Vaxxers “Fruitcakes”
Don’t stop us now… from getting our vaccines. As the Delta variant of the coronavirus spreads through the world, some musicians and venues are scrambling to keep the once-promised return of live music a reality, with artists like Queen’s Brian May urging fans to get their doses by all possible means. In light of some concerts requiring a proof of vaccination for entry, Eric Clapton made his anti-vax stance widely known, saying he’ll refuse to play shows where a “discriminated” (a.k.a. safely vaccinated) audience is present. May, on the other hand, is fervently pro-vax. In a recent interview with The Independent, the guitarist went so far as to deem anti-vaxxers “fruitcakes” — even the fellow musicians he admires most. “I love Eric Clapton, he’s my hero, but he has very different views from...
Foghat’s Roger Earl on the Band’s New Live Album and Guitar Hero’s Impact on “Slow Ride”
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Foghat’s Roger Earl catches up with Kyle Meredith about the band’s new live album, 8 Days on the Road, and how Guitar Hero impacted their legacy. The band’s co-founder and drummer talks about connecting with their classics through the years, how new members change the dynamics, and when “Humble Pie joined Foghat” with Charlie Huhn’s hiring. Advertisement Related Video Earl also takes us back to the ’70s when Foghat wrote the title track of this new live album and the lasting impact of “Slow Ride,” especially with younger fans when it arrived on Guitar Hero. He then dives into their 1981 album Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce, which f...
Guns N’ Roses Release Studio Version of New Song “Absurd”: Stream
Guns N’ Roses have unveiled a studio version of their “new” song “Absurd,” which is a reworking of the rare Chinese Democracy-era tune “Silkworms” that was never officially released. Axl Rose and company first performed the song as “Absurd” a few nights ago at Fenway Park in Boston, and then again on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Now, the band has issued the song as an official single, available on all major digital outlets, and streaming in the YouTube player below. It marks the band’s first new single since 2008, save for a 2018 release of an alternate take of the song “Shadow of Your Love” (which had originally appeared as a B-side to “It’s So Easy” in 1987). It is unclear if the studio recording features the full current lineup of GN’R, including cla...
George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass Gets Massive 50th Anniversary Reissue: Stream
The much-anticipated 50th anniversary edition of All Things Must Pass, the landmark solo album from George Harrison, is here. Following a couple of preview tracks last month, the newly remastered audio mix is here in all its glory, chock full with loads of outtakes, demos, and never-before-heard tracks to devour. This expansive reissue was compiled in collaboration with the late Beatle‘s son, Dhani Harrison. “Since the 50th anniversary stereo mix release of the title track to my father’s legendary All Things Must Pass album in 2020, my dear pal Paul Hicks and I have continued to dig through mountains of tapes to restore and present the rest of this newly remixed and expanded edition of the album you now see and hear before you,” he said in a statement. Dhani continued: “Bringing greater so...
Charlie Watts to Miss The Rolling Stones’ US Tour After Medical Procedure
Charlie Watts will miss The Rolling Stones’ upcoming US tour after undergoing an unspecified medical procedure. A representative for the band said “Charlie has had a procedure which was completely successful, but his doctors this week concluded that he now needs proper rest and recuperation. With rehearsals starting in a couple of weeks it’s very disappointing to say the least, but it’s also fair to say no one saw this coming.” In his own statement, Watts joked that “for once, my timing has been a little off… I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while.” Advertisement Related Video “After all the fans’ suffering caused by COVID, I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this tour to be d...
Black Sabbath’s Technical Ecstasy to Get Expanded Deluxe Edition Reissue
Black Sabbath’s 1976 album Technical Ecstasy is getting the expanded reissue treatment. A new “Super Deluxe Edition” of the album arrives October 1st via BMG. The box set features remastered original audio and over 90 minutes of previously unreleased outtakes, alternate mixes, and live tracks. Like the previous Super Deluxe Editions of Vol. 4 and Sabotage, the upcoming Technical Ecstasy reissue also includes a new mix of the album by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). More specifically, the reissue touts eight previously unreleased outtakes and alternative mixes, including different mixes of “You Won’t Change Me” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Doctor,” as well as both outtake and instrumental versions for “She’s Gone.” Rounding out the set it a collection of 10 previously unreleased live cuts from the ex...
Guns N’ Roses Perform New Version of Rare Song “Silkworms”: Watch
Guns N’ Roses surprised fans with a rare performance of the Chinese Democracy-era cut “Silkworms” during their performance at Fenway Park on Tuesday night. Though Axl Rose introduced “Silkworms” as “a new Guns N’ Roses song,” its origins actually date back two decades. The song was first performed live way back in 2001, and various versions have since leaked online. Tuesday night’s setlist referred to the song as “Absurd,” but its chorus clearly pulls from “Silkworms.” Guns N’ Roses are known to be working on a new album, their first featuring Axl Rose alongside Slash and Duff McKagan since 1991’s Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Whether or not “Silkworms”/”Absurd” finds its way on to the album’s final tracklist remains to be seen. Advertisement Related Video In the ...
Authorized Led Zeppelin Documentary Is Completed, Gets Official Title
The previously announced, officially authorized Led Zeppelin documentary has been completed. The film has also received a title: Becoming Led Zeppelin. According to Variety, the Bernard MacMahon-directed documentary will provide “unprecedented access” to the band. The film was first announced in 2019 and is the first official traditional documentary about the legendary rock act. “Becoming Led Zeppelin is a film that no one thought could be made,” MacMahon said. “The band’s meteoric rise to stardom was swift and virtually undocumented. Through an intense search across the globe and years of restoration of the visual and audio archive found, this story is finally able to be told.” Advertisement Related Video Zeppelin were previously chronicled in their 1976 concert film The Song Remains the ...
