U2: Where the Streets Have a New Song
U2 will release "Street of Dreams," the first single off their new album, today (Tuesday) at noon ET. It will be accompanied by the video they shot in May in Mexico City in which they performed the song in front of a large crowd from atop a school bus that was graffitied by Mexican artist Chavis Mármol. They posted a short clip of the video on their socials. During the video shoot, a source onsite told us they were "up and down off the top of the bus for a while. They had to dodge a fair amount of really strong thunderstorms and lightning. All in total they were out filming for several hours." At one point, the storm knocked out the generator, so
Bono looked up at some of the surrounding apartments to see if they could access a balcony, which they did. They posted a video on Instagram showing themselves entering the apartment and taking the balcony to perform acoustic versions of "Vertigo" and "Desire." The album, their first of new material since 2017’s Songs of Experience, follows the release of two EPs earlier this year -- Days of Ash in February, and Easter Lily in April.
BLACK SABBATH: Masters of an Official Book
Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler all wrote memoirs about their time in Black Sabbath, but for the first time the entire band -- including drummer Bill Ward -- have collaborated on an official book. Black Sabbath - The Masters of Reality is a photo book assembled by the band's longtime photographer Ross Halfin with input from all four members. It will be published in October by Rufus Publications. The standard edition costs $134, a super deluxe signed edition limited to 300 copies costs $878 and the super deluxe signed metal edition limited to 200 copies costs $1283. The 500-page book features photos from Halfin's archives along with new essays from writers Geoff Barton and Dave Ling who interviewed all four band members especially for the book. Halfin says that the project had been in the works long before Sabbath's final show was announced. "Ozzy and Sharon wanted the book out soon after the final show in Birmingham but Ozzy suddenly passing away caused the music world to stop. Ozzy was fully involved with the book, so now, we all thought the time was right, one year after Back to the Beginning, to announce the project."
METALLICA: Pay Tribute to Ozzy on Final Show Anniversary
Metallica marked one year since the late Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath played their final ever show Sunday night in London. The tribute came during their traditional "Kirk and Rob Doodle" where Robert Turjillo and Kirk Hammett cover a song by an artist from the city where they're performing. Trujillo told the audience, "A year ago today was a very important event.
Back to the Beginning, Black Sabbath and so many other people. Someone just gave me this right now and it's pretty powerful." Trujilo then held up a sign that said "Do It For Ozzy."
Trujillo added, "Ozzy, we love you and we miss you brother. So let's do this. Let's figure it out. It's a mashup of our two favorite bands and you're gonna get it in a minute." Then they played a mashup of Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" with Sex Pistols' "Holiday in the Sun." Watch a video of the performance on YouTube.
BON JOVI: Let the Test Begin
After four years away from what Jon Bon Jovi calls "the big stage," he and his band, Bon Jovi, will start the first of nine shows at Madison Square Garden in New York tonight (Tuesday), followed by five dates in the U.K. from late August into early September. It will be the band's first tour since 2022 when his vocal cords gave out and he underwent surgery that same year. Jon says "I feel great. I mean we're literally well past 50 songs that are show ready at this point. You know, the thing about my show is I change the set up quite a bit and we're well-rehearsed, and now it's just about waiting out the clock to get to the stage." These dates will test the waters for a longer tour next year, but don't expect a marathon schedule. Jon has done at least 15 performances since the last tour but singing two hours a night will be a real test. If you've seen some of his performances since then, it's clear that he is either over- compensating or implementing a new technique, which makes him sound a bit off.
RINGO: They Say It's His 86th Birthday
Ringo Starr celebrates his 86th birthday today (Tuesday, July 7th), and, as he's done the past 18 years, he's inviting everyone around the world to proclaim "peace and love" at noon local time. "Peace & Love is important. I think it's a better world being a 'Peace & Love' world. While this madness is going on you can have a moment. And that's how it is." And he'll be doing just that at noon PT at Beverly Hills Garden Park in Beverly Hills, California, home to his stainless-steel, eight-foot-tall, 800-pound peace sculpture. The event will be livestreamed across his social media platforms. For us, the peace and love started in the sort of middle ‘60s when mainly San Francisco became known for it and they were putting flowers in the rifles of the soldiers and that. And that’s where it started, y’know, and you never know when things start where they’re gonna end.”
Ringo has also used this opportunity to announce a fall tour with his All-Starr Band, which includes Steve Lukather from Toto, Colin Hay from Men at Work, and Hamish Stuart from the Average White Band. He'll do 10 shows in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states from September 24th in Easton, Pennsylvania through October 7th in Albany, New York. Included in this run is Ringo's first show at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York since playing there with The Beatles on August 28th and 29th, 1964.
Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band fall tour — all dates subject to change:
·9/24 - Easton, PA - State Theater
·9/25 - Bethel, NY - Bethel Woods
·9/27 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
·9/28 - Washington, D.C. - Anthem
·9/30 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
·10/1 - Queens, NY - Forest Hills Stadium
·10/3 - Portland, ME - Cross Insurance Arena
·10/4 - Wallingford, CT - Oakdale Theater
·10/6 - Lancaster, PA - American Music Theatre
·10/7 - Albany, NY - Palace Theater
Dave Grohl Names The "Perfect" Album
Dave Grohl has shown over the course of his career that he has a deep love for many kinds of music, but while his music tastes are varied, he knows what he really likes. During a recent appearance on BBC 6 Radio Music, he was asked to pick a "perfect record." His choice? "Surfer Rosa" by The Pixies. "I love that record so much for a lot of reasons. One, that it was produced by the almighty Steve Albini...[Black Francis], the singer of the Pixies, was an amazing lyricist. His lyrics were just...they kind of teetered back and forth from abstract intellectual to things that just sounded so absurd and almost like dumb in a way. His voice and Kim Deal, their two voices together, it was just such a wonderful blend. And it was unusual at the time. They really did sort of coin this specific dynamic and the simplicity of it was really powerful." He added that he's never gotten tired of the album. "That record I’ve probably listened to 10,000 times and I still love it. I could still listen to it every day."
Elton John Planning Vegas Hologram Residency
Elton John is embracing technology in a manner reminiscent of artists like KISS, ABBA and others. It's being reported that the legend, who embarked on a farewell tour three years ago, will return to the stage in hologram form. He has reportedly signed a multi-million dollar deal for an immersive hologram residency at the new Hard Rock Hotel, scheduled to open next year. "The Star" also reports that John’s former collaborators Kiki Dee and Dua Lipa will take part in the residency, filming their respective parts this fall. The news flies directly in the face previous statements Elton has said about holographic performances. "I said to Zachary, my eldest, 'When Daddy dies, promise me there won’t be a hologram going around the world doing concerts,'" John said during a 2018 press conference announcing his farewell tour. "It’s like doing a duet album with someone who’s dead, it’s so spooky. Who knows? They may go broke and then put me back on the stage, but I think that’s a bit freaky."
Asia Announces New Album
Asia has announced that it has a new album on the way. "Indigo" comes out November 6, and with the announcement, the project's first track was released. Of "The Traveller (Into The Light)," keyboardist Geoff Downes says, "The first track off the album is a high-power-energy piece with a few elements of prog trickery but retaining the accessible-chorus block, which was always a signature of Asia's music from the very beginning." While the band's lineup is greatly changed since the band's peak in the early 80s, group founder Downes is still on board, along with Virgil Donati (drums), John Mitchell (guitar) and Harry Whitley (bass, vocals).
EVANESCENCE: The Cool Part of "Life"
Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" is still their most popular track, have recently been certified diamond by the RIAA for moving 11-million units. And Amy Lee says a part of song that bothered her back then is a highlight at shows now. Lee told Metal Hammer that she was upset with their label forcing the band to have Paul McCoy from 12 Stones do rap vocal part on the track. “I was so worried about the first song being a collab, because I wanted people to understand us, and I was so worried the first look would be confusing. “But all those things that worried me are all cool perks now. We have a built-in part to sing with people live when we go and do a festival. It’s this extra-special moment in the night where we get to do our thing and share nostalgia with fans, but then also include other people.” McCoy joined Evanescence to do the song at 2025’s Louder Than Life and other on stage guests over the years have included Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D.
IN OTHER NEWS
Queen guitarist Brian May and former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman will perform at the
Starmus conference in the Canary Islands from October 17th to the 26th. May will be joined by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, soprano Sarah Brightman, the Las Palmas Symphony Orchestra,
and the Starmus All Stars Band. Wakeman will perform with Moldovan violinist and composer
Rusanda Panfili. Starmus, which was co-founded by May, celebrates astronomy, space exploration, music, art and the natural sciences.
Lindsey Buckingham has posted another installment of his YouTube series, Lindsey Reacts. This time he and his daughter Leelee and son Will watch and comment on John Mayer’s video for “Stop This Train.”
The Dickey Betts Memorial Highway, a stretch of US-41 in Sarasota County, Florida, where he lived, was officially dedicated last Wednesday. His son Duane posted a photo on Instagram of the sign, saying, “So proud of you, dad! A little piece of highway 41 in your honor! Thanks to all at the local and state level who made it happen. He would be honored.” Dickey Betts, the guitarist and co-founder of The Allman Brothers Band, died of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on April 18th, 2024, He was 80.
The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp will celebrate the 40th anniversaries of Van Halen's 5150 and
RATT's Dancing Undercover with a camp in Hollywood, California from November 12th through the 15th. It will feature Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and RATT guitarist Warren DeMartini as counselors, along with Night Ranger's Brad Gillis and all-star drummer Kenny Aronoff.