Music News

Weezer announces surprise SoCal concert

April 25, 2024 9:45 am

Weezer has announced a surprise Southern California concert, taking place Monday, April 29, at the Observatory in Santa Ana.

"Word on the street is that we've got another tour warm up show coming your way," Rivers Cuomo and company tease in a Facebook post. Tickets are on sale now.

Weezer previously played a last-minute Los Angeles show in March, during which they played their 1994 self-titled debut aka the Blue Album in full.

In September, Weezer will launch a full-scale U.S. tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Blue Album.

Who does Ozzy Osbourne want to induct him into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?

April 25, 2024 9:00 am

Ozzy Osbourne answers who he wants to induct him into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

After replying "I don't know" and sharing that his wife, Sharon, is "working on that for me," Ozzy adds, "I think she'd like to have Jack Black from Tenacious D."

"He might not be available, but if he can do it, that would be great," the Prince of Darkness says.

Black, by the way, sang Ozzy's solo tune "Mr. Crowley" in October during a 100th birthday party for Tom Morello's mom.

Ozzy also speaks on the possibility of him performing during induction night. Due to a variety of health issues, he hasn't played a full live set since New Year's Eve 2018.

"If I can," Ozzy says. "My wife is organizing it. If I did it, I'd start thinking about it now and I'd lie in bed going, 'Oh, we have to start rehearsing.' But we're definitely going along."

Ozzy is being enshrined in the Rock Hall for the second time, having previously been inducted with Black Sabbath in 2006. Sabbath was inducted by Metallica's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, and they did not perform.

The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place October 19 in Cleveland and will stream live on Disney+. An ABC special will air at a later date.

Kaleo, The Pretty Reckless & more among Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds tour openers

April 25, 2024 8:15 am

Kaleo and The Pretty Reckless are among the artists opening for The Rolling Stones' upcoming Hackney Diamonds North American tour.

The Icelandic rockers will be on the bill for a June 11 date in Philadelphia, while Taylor Momsen and company will be taking the stage May 11 in Las Vegas.

Other openers include The Linda Lindas on July 13 in Los Angeles and The Beaches on July 17 in Santa Clara, California. As previously reported, Gary Clark Jr. will be playing the tour's opening date, April 28, in Houston.

The Hackney Diamonds tour marks the Stones' first full North American outing since 2019. It'll support the rock legends' 2023 album, Hackney Diamonds.

Shinedown performing at 2024 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala

April 25, 2024 7:00 am

Shinedown will be among the performers at the 2024 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala.

The inaugural event takes place May 21 in Los Angeles and will honor the incoming class of Grammy Hall of Fame recordings. Among the 2024 inductees is Guns N' Roses' classic 1987 debut, Appetite for Destruction.

Shinedown name-checks a non-Appetite GN'R tune, "November Rain," on their "A Symptom of Being Human" single.

Other Grammy Hall of Fame Gala performers include Andra Day, Ravyn Lenae and The War and Treaty. For more info, visit Grammy.com.

Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Billie Eilish & more sign letter protesting "predatory resellers"

April 25, 2024 6:30 am

Artists including Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Billie Eilish have signed an open letter supporting the proposed Fans First Act, which aims to "combat predatory resellers and the use of illegal bots" in the concert ticket industry.

The letter was released by a coalition called Fix the Tix, organized by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).

"As artists and members of the music community, we rely on touring for our livelihood, and we value music fans above all else," the signees write. "We are joining together to say that the current system is broken: predatory resellers and secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices to inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the chance to see their favorite artists at a fair price."

"Predatory resellers have gone unregulated while siphoning money from the live entertainment ecosystem for their sole benefit," the letter continues. "They use illegal bots, speculative ticket listings, and deceitful advertising, which cause real harm."

It concludes, "We, as artists, as music lovers, and as concert attendees ourselves, urge you to support the Fans First Act to combat predatory resellers’ deceptive ticketing practices and the secondary platforms, which also profit from these practices. Predatory resellers should not be more profitable than the people dedicating their lives to their art."

Others who signed include Dave Matthews, Evanescence's Amy Lee, The Cure's Robert Smith, Lorde, FINNEAS, Halestorm, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, MGMT, Jack Johnson, Underoath, boygenius' Julien Baker, Black Stone Cherry, Saint Asonia, New Years Day and Pixies.

To read the whole letter, visit NIVAssoc.org/fixthetix.

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour releases “The Piper’s Call” from upcoming solo album 'Luck and Strange'

April 25, 2024 5:45 am

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour has given fans their first preview of his upcoming solo album Luck and Strange, which drops September 6. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just released the new tune “The Piper’s Call,” with the video set to debut on Friday, April 26.

“It's been such a joy to make my new album, Luck and Strange, and I look forward to you hearing it,” Gilmour shared on Instagram following the release of the song.

Luck and Strange is Gilmour’s first album of new material in nine years. The album consists of eight new songs and one cover, with the title track featuring a contribution from late Pink Floyd keyboard Richard Wright, taken from a jam session at Gilmour's barn back in 2007.

Luck and Strange will be released in a variety of formats, including LP, CD, Blu-ray and digital. All formats are available for preorder now.

Twenty One Pilots premiere new 'Clancy' track, "Backslide"

April 25, 2024 4:45 am

Twenty One Pilots have premiered a new song called "Backslide," a track off their upcoming album, Clancy.

"Backslide" is available now via digital outlets and is accompanied by a video directed by drummer Josh Dun. The clip, streaming now on YouTube, finds frontman Tyler Joseph biking through a neighborhood, similar to the "Stressed Out" video.

"Backslide" is the third Clancy cut to be released, following lead single "Overcompensate" and "Next Semester." The album will arrive in full on May 24, a week after its initial May 17 release date. The delay is due to Twenty One Pilots' decision to film a video for every song off the record.

Twenty One Pilots will launch a U.S. tour in August.

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong "was getting choked up" playing 'American Idiot' in full ahead of stadium tour

April 25, 2024 12:00 am

Green Day's upcoming world stadium tour will include full album performances of 1994's Dookie and 2004's American Idiot each night in honor of their respective 30th and 20th anniversaries. The band has been warming up for the trek with smaller, last-minute club shows, including playing American Idiot in its entirety during a recent gig in San Francisco.

"American Idiot was sort of this unicorn that [during its album cycle] we were like, 'OK, let's get past this and move on,'" front man Billie Joe Armstrong tells Billboard. "Revisiting it [in San Francisco] was cathartic, for lack of a better cliché. Playing songs like 'Extraordinary Girl' and 'Whatsername,' there were times on stage where I was getting choked up because it was bringing me back the feeling that I had at that time, that I was revisiting for the first time in 20 years. I had a great sense of pride and I was sort of humbled by the experience."

In addition to getting emotional himself, Armstrong noticed people in the audience crying.

"I saw this one person that was in the crowd that was transgender, and I could see the tears coming out," Armstrong says. "I realized how far we've come. Green Day has been a space for people to feel a connection with people that are kindred spirits ... I was kind of taken aback by it."

Armstrong adds that he feels rock albums are a "work of art," and he's a fan of bands playing their past records in full.

"This sounds really pretentious, but it's like when an orchestra is playing Mozart," he says. "I think rock music is just as important."

The U.S. leg of Green Day's stadium tour will launch in July.

Kittie announces US headlining shows

April 24, 2024 1:00 pm

The reunited Kittie has announced a batch of U.S. headlining dates.

The run includes shows in New York City on July 19, August 2 in Atlanta, August 4 in Dallas and August 23 in Chicago.

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 26, at 10 a.m. local time. A presale begins Thursday, April 25, at 10 a.m. local time. For all ticket info, visit Kittie.net.

In February, Kittie released their first new song in 13 years, "Eyes Wide Open." They followed that with another track, "We Are Shadows."

You can also catch Kittie at a number of upcoming festivals, including Sick New World, Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple.

Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil on new song “Dogs of War”: “I thought it turned out pretty good”

April 24, 2024 10:00 am

After months of teasing, Mötley Crüe is getting ready to release their new single, “Dogs of War,” on Friday, April 26, and front man Vince Neil seems pretty happy with it.

He tells Billboard that the band wants to continue to put out new music “so we don’t get stagnant,” revealing, “We recorded ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)’ by the Beastie Boys and we recorded this song, too, and I thought it turned out pretty good.”

While Neil says there will “definitely be new music out next year ‘cause we recorded a couple of other songs too,” right now he “can’t say” whether that will translate to a new Mötley Crüe album.

“But we want to keep putting out new music — not, maybe, an album but a few songs here, a few songs there, and that’s good," he says.

"Dogs of War" will mark the first new Mötley music in five years; they previously recorded four fresh tracks for the soundtrack to their 2019 biopic, The Dirt, including the Machine Gun Kelly collaboration "The Dirt (Est. 1981)." It also marks the first release since guitarist John 5 joined the band following the retirement of Mick Mars.

So very special: Radiohead's "Creep" video hits 1 billion YouTube views

April 24, 2024 10:00 am

Thom Yorke may feel that "I don't belong here" on Radiohead's breakout hit "Creep," but its video most definitely belongs to YouTube's billion views club.

The clip has officially passed the 1 billion views milestone, making it the first Radiohead visual to achieve that feat.

"Creep" was released as Radiohead's debut single in 1992. It joins a number of other '90s videos with at least 1 billion YouTube views, including Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Guns N' Roses' "November Rain," AC/DC's "Thunderstruck," Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters," R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" and The Cranberries' "Zombie."

As Radiohead's career went on, they distanced themselves from "Creep" and stopped playing it live as frequently. After going seven years without performing it, "Creep" returned to Radiohead's set list in 2016.

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Biffy Clyro offshoot Empire State Bastard drops new EP, 'Silver Cord Sessions'

April 24, 2024 9:00 am

Empire State Bastard, the Biffy Clyro side project featuring frontman Simon Neil and touring member Mike Vennart, has released a new EP called Silver Cord Sessions.

The set includes three renditions of songs from the duo's 2023 debut album, Rivers of Heresy, recorded at Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier's Silver Cord Studios.

You can listen to Silver Cord Sessions now via digital outlets.

Empire State Bastard will tour the U.S. while opening for Sleep Token beginning April 30 in Phoenix.

Billy Corgan reality show to premiere in May

April 24, 2024 7:45 am

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan's reality show has a premiere date.

The series, titled Billy Corgan's Adventures in Carnyland, will premiere May 14 on The CW app and CWTV.com.

As previously reported, the unscripted show will follow Corgan as he navigates the different aspects of his life, including his family, the Pumpkins and his role as the president of the NWA wrestling company.

"Rebuilding the historic NWA brand has been both an honor and challenge, and this show opens the doors wide so to speak," Corgan says. "To reveal the glory and the grit needed to thrive in a winner-take-all sport. It's not always pretty, but I'm proud of what we have accomplished thus far."

You can also catch Corgan live and in-person with the Pumpkins, who will be playing a mix of U.S. headlining dates and shows opening for Green Day starting in July.

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour dropping new album, 'Luck and Strange', in September

April 24, 2024 7:00 am

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour is set to release the new album, Luck and Strange, on September 6, his first album of new material in nine years.

Recorded over five months in Brighton and London, the album features songs co-written by Gilmour’s wife, Polly Samson, who he’s been collaborating with for the past 30 years.

“It’s written from the point of view of being older; mortality is the constant,” Gilmour says of the songs. “We spent a load of time during and after lockdown talking about and thinking about those kind of things.”

The album consists of eight new songs and one cover, with the title track featuring a contribution from late Pink Floyd keyboard Richard Wright, taken from a jam session at Gilmour's barn back in 2007. The first single from the record, “The Piper’s Call,” will be released Thursday, April 25, with the video dropping Friday, April 26.

Luck and Strange will be released in a variety of formats, including LP, CD, Blu-ray and digital. All formats are available for preorder now.

Sleep Token, blink-182, Bring Me the Horizon among 2024 Heavy Music Awards nominees

April 24, 2024 6:00 am

The U.K.'s Heavy Music Awards has announced its 2024 nominees, including Sleep Token, blink-182 and Bring Me the Horizon.

Sleep Token will compete for the Best Album prize with Take Me Back to Eden, as well as in the Best U.K. Artist and Best U.K. Live Artist categories. blink's ONE MORE TIME... is also up for Best Album, and Bring Me the Horizon is nominated for Best U.K. Artist and Best U.K. Live Artist, as well.

Other nominees include Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Omens, Beartooth and Spiritbox for Best International Artist; Bad Omens, Spiritbox, Ice Nine Kills, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot for Best International Live Artist, and Architects for Best U.K. Artist.

The 2024 Heavy Music Awards will take place August 22 in London. For the full list of nominees and to vote for your favorites, visit HeavyMusicAwards.com.

Deep Purple to release new album, '=1', in July

April 24, 2024 4:55 am

Veteran rockers Deep Purple are back with new music. The band will release their new album, =1, on July 19, with the first single set to drop on April 30.

According to the press release, the title, =1, “symbolizes the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one." The release adds, “Its full meaning will be revealed in the coming weeks, with the artwork also playing its part.”

=1, Deep Purple's first album of new material since 2020's Whoosh!, will be released in a variety of formats, including CD, CD+DVD, two-LP black vinyl and two limited edition colored vinyl variants: purple and crystal clear. There’s also a limited edition box set, which, among other things, features the bonus of live recordings from Deep Purple’s 2022 tour, a collector’s T-shirt, two exclusive guitar picks, an art print and more, plus the chance to win a Golden Ticket to all the shows on Deep Purple's =1 More Time tour.

All formats are available for preorder now

Deep Purple, currently made up of frontman Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Simon McBride, has already announced dates for the =1 More Time tour, which kicks off August 14 in Hollywood, Florida, and wraps September 8 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A complete list of dates can be found at deeppurple.com.

Death from Above 1979 announces 20th anniversary 'You're a Woman' North American tour

April 24, 2024 4:50 am

Death from Above 1979 has announced a North American tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 2004 debut album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine.

The headlining outing begins September 24 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and will wrap up in the duo's native Canada on October 5 in London, Ontario.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit DeathfromAbove1979.com.

You're a Woman, I'm a Machine was long the only DFA1979 album, as the band broke up shortly after its release. They eventually reunited in 2011 and have released three more albums since: 2014's The Physical World, 2017's Outrage! Is Now and 2021's Is 4 Lovers.

Watch The Black Keys react to not-so-kind 'Ohio Players' reviews

April 24, 2024 12:00 am

The Black Keys' new album, Ohio Players, is out now, and the duo goes through some of its reviews in a new video posted to Facebook.

The clip finds Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney nodding along and smiling as a voice-over reads a rave, such as Rolling Stone's declaration that "Black Keys strike mellow gold," but reacting with panged expressions when they hear a not-so-positive assessment, like Exclaim!'s critique that Ohio Players is "the worst kind of overstimulation."

In addition to professional reviewers, the Keys dig into the YouTube comments, one of which says that the song "Paper Crown," featuring rapper Juicy J, is the "worst collab ever," while another maintains that the track "slaps."

Ohio Players, the 12th Black Keys album and the follow-up to 2022's Dropout Boogie, dropped April 5. It includes the lead single "Beautiful People (Stay High)."

The Black Keys will launch a U.S. tour in September.

The Used headlining 2025 Emo's Not Dead concert cruise

April 23, 2024 1:00 pm

The Used is headlining the 2025 edition of the Emo's Not Dead concert cruise, taking place February 4-8.

The bill also includes Boys Like Girls, Chiodos, Hawthorne Heights and Saosin, among others.

"The best band in the world on a boat?" The Used declares. "What more could you ask for?"

Now in its third year, the Emo's Not Dead cruise has previously been headlined by Dashboard Confessional and Yellowcard.

For more info on the 2025 edition, visit EmosNotDeadCruise.com.

Everclear announces tour celebrating 'Songs from an American Movie Vol. One' anniversary

April 23, 2024 11:00 am

Everclear has announced a U.S. tour celebrating the upcoming 25th anniversary of their 2000 album Songs from an American Movie Vol. One.

The trek runs from September 13 in San Francisco to November 2 in Porterville, California, with dates throughout the rest of the country in between. Marcy Playground and Jimmie's Chicken Shack will also be on the bill.

"This will be a great time to celebrate our album Songs from an American Movie Vol. One, which was created 25 years ago," says front man Art Alexakis. "A lot of these songs we haven't played in a while or, in some cases, we've never played live before. We'll of course be playing the hits and fan favorites too. It's going to be a fun show for both old school and new fans alike."

Tickets go on sale Friday, April 26, at 10 a.m. local time. Presales are open now.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit EverclearMusic.com.