Classic Hits

The 10th annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert will take place March 5 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, but you don’t have to be in the Big Apple to enjoy the show.

The concert, featuring performances by Paul Simon, Elvis Costello and ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons, will stream live on Veeps.com.

Other artists on the bill include Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, Goo Goo Dolls, Hozier, Linda Perry, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Jon Batiste, Susanna Hoffs, Mary J Blige, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Trombone Shorty, plus special surprise guests.

All artists will be backed by a house band, led by bassist Will Lee, best known as a member of the Late Show with David Letterman band.

Love Rocks NYC is a benefit for the nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver, which delivers meals to people who are too sick to prepare them themselves.

The Love Rocks concerts, which first launched in 2017, have raised $65 million — enough to fund 6.5 million meals for New Yorkers in need, according to the nonprofit.

Tickets for the livestream are on sale now at Veeps.com.

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Joan Jett is a guest on the latest episode of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Music Makes Us podcast, where she opened up about musicians not being afraid to speak out when they see injustices in the world.

Asked by host Kathleen Hanna whether music can still make a difference with how people respond to the world, Jett pointed to Bad Bunny and his Super Bowl halftime show.

“Even if he’s not saying something specifically with his lyrics, he’s using this huge platform that he’s been given to discuss issues that are really important to Americans, and to more and more Americans as they’re realizing what’s happening,” she said.

Jett noted that she and the Blackhearts recently got back from doing shows in New Zealand, where people were asking them about what was going on in the U.S. She said she feels that as someone with a platform she needs to be able to address it.

“I’m not saying you have to go all in the way you would if you were sitting down having a face-to-face conversation. You can’t, you can’t utilize your time like that,” she said. “But I think you can certainly have a few well thought out sentences to let people know … what’s going on and whatever it is you wanna say.”

She added, “But saying ‘shut up and sing’ has never really been what musicians or artists do, from way on back.”

“When people talk to me about other songs, you know, that touched them, whether it was really bad times the music got them through or really good times, it shows that the music really connects and fills an important space, if you allow it, in people’s capacity to deal with all this stuff that we’re dealing with,” she said.

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A new trailer has just dropped for the Billy Idol documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which opened in theaters on Thursday.

The film, directed by Jonas Åkerlund, explores the rock star’s career and personal life, and features never-before-seen archival and personal interviews with Idol. The trailer opens with an early Idol interview in which he’s asked what he’d do with his money if his music took off and went to #1 in America and England. Idol replied, “I’d spend it on drugs.”

The film also features interviews with Idol’s family, peers and collaborators; the trailer features clips of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, The Who’s Pete Townshend and Miley Cyrus all talking about the rocker.

Info on screenings and tickets can be found at BillyIdolShouldBeDead.com.

(Video includes uncensored profanity.)

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Rod Stewart and King Charles III are old pals, which is why this May Rod will be headlining a charity concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of Charles’ best-known charities, The King’s Trust.

Charles founded the charity, then known as The Prince’s Trust, in 1976 to help vulnerable people aged 11 to 30, many of whom are struggling with issues like mental health problems, disability, homelessness, unemployment or legal troubles. Now known as The King’s Trust, it helps these people develop essential life skills, train in various fields and access job opportunities.

On May 11, Rod and Jools Holland, his musical collaborator on his most recent album, Swing Fever, will take the stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall for the 50th anniversary benefit concert. Jools says to Rod in an Instagram video, “It’ll be an incredible evening, won’t it?” “It will,” agrees Rod. “If we’re there,” adds Jools. “Fifty years. Be there,” commands Rod.

Also on the bill are Rod’s best friend and former bandmate Ron Wood, as well as British pop stars Anne-Marie, Rita Ora and Craig David. Tickets are on sale now.

Having rock and pop stars perform to raise funds for the charity is nothing new for the trust. Starting in the ’80s, the Prince’s Trust concerts featured everyone from Phil Collins, Queen, Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton to Elton John, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, George Harrison, the Bee Gees and, of course, Rod.

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Foreigner has announced their first performance for 2027.

The “Hot Blooded” rockers are set to headline Rock Legends Cruise 14, with original frontman Lou Gramm joining them for the trip. The performance will mark the beginning of Foreigner’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of their self-titled debut album.

The cruise is set to run from Feb. 21-25, 2027, aboard Independence of the Seas. It leaves out of Port Miami and features two full days at sea filled with live performances, plus a stop in Costa Maya, Mexico. Other artists on the cruise will be announced at a later date.

Reservations are now open at rocklegendscruise.com.

Foreigner launched a string of unplugged shows on Wednesday in Beaver Creek, Colorado, and will play a second show in the city on Thursday. Unplugged dates run through March 2 in Aspen, Colorado.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band will then hit Las Vegas for an orchestral residency at The Venetian Theatre on March 6. They will also be touring this summer with Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Double Trouble Double Vision Tour, which starts July 23 in Atlanta.

A complete list of Foreigner dates can be found at ForeignerOnline.com.

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The Black Crowes are reacting to the news that they’ve received their second nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Frontman Chris Robinson writes on Instagram that he and brother Rich Robinson are “beyond excited and thrilled to be nominated again for the R&RHOF,” noting, “It’s a great honor to be included with such talented artists.”

In an interview with Billboard, Chris says he’s friends with several of this year’s other nominees, including Oasis, who are nominated for a third time, and Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden, who are also nominated for a third time.

“To have friends that are in the same thing is fun,” he tells the mag. “That’s the way it is after getting close to 40 years of doing this. To have those kinds of friendships and connections in the music business with other artists that have won the award, that are nominated, just makes it way more intimate for us.”

And while The Crowes didn’t get in last year, Chris says he’s “equally as excited” as he was with their first nomination.

“Just to be included and to be recognized and to have the opportunity last year and now this year, and you see all the artists that are on the list, it’s amazing,” he says. “It doesn’t go without the due respect that it deserves from Rich and I. We look at it as an achievement to be nominated. That we’ve been nominated again feels amazing.”

Chris says they’ll be “super happy” if they get in this year, and “we’ll celebrate the band and the people that have been in the band.” He adds that it’s also “about the fans,” noting, “They’re the origin story; they’re the ones that breathed life into a lump of clay and then this happens.”

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After rereleasing their first five albums, Duran Duran is set to reissue two more.

Newly remastered versions of 1993’s Duran Duran — often called The Wedding Album because of its cover — and 1995’s Thank You will be available April 10 on two-LP and CD. The vinyl reissues will mark the first time both albums have been back on vinyl since they were originally released.

The Duran Duran vinyl will arrive with a 12-inch art card, and Thank You will come with a fold-out poster.

Both are available for preorder now.

Duran Duran was the band’s second self-titled album; their first was their 1981 debut. The 1993 release hit #7 on the Billboard Albums chart and featured the hits “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone.”

Thank You, which hit #19 on the Billboard chart, was an album of covers, including the band’s take on  Grandmaster Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It),” which has been part of their live set list for years.

Duran Duran is set to play the BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, California, on May 1 and will then head to Las Vegas for a residency at the Fontainebleau, which runs from May 2 to 9. They also have several dates booked in Europe in June and July.

A complete list of Duran Duran shows can be found at DuranDuran.com.

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On This Day, Feb. 26, 1995…

Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant kicked off a tour together in Pensacola, Florida.

The tour followed the November 1994 release of their joint album, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.

The album was a recording of the duo’s MTV Unledded special, which was filmed in London and Wales, and aired in October of that year. It featured orchestrations of Led Zeppelin tunes and saw them backed by a Moroccan string band and an Egyptian orchestra. 

Songs performed during the set included Led Zeppelin tunes “Kashmir,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Dancing Days” and “Immigrant Song,” as well as four new tracks.

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Out of the 17 acts nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, Melissa Etheridge is one of 10 appearing on the ballot for the first time. She’s been eligible for the honor for over 10 years, so did she think it might happen eventually?

“To be honest, there was always hope,” Melissa tells ABC Audio, noting that she thought, “I’ve done a few things in my life.” She felt that there was “a good chance” that she’d be nominated and, she laughs, “Hopefully I would be alive.”  

However, she didn’t actively campaign for it, calling attempts to define rock ‘n’ roll a “nebulous sort of vague thing.” But she notes that every year, “my wife and my family and my friends would be very upset” when she failed to make the ballot. 

That’s why, she says, “It was very, very nice this year to be in the room. To be part of it.”

But if Melissa — whose new album, Rise, is due March 27 — makes the cut and is named an inductee, who would she like to do the honors? Maybe the biggest pop star in the world.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is Taylor Swift. Because when I met Taylor, she did tell me that when she was 11 years old her parents took her to my concert. And that’s where, after that, she wanted to play guitar,” says Melissa. “So I know I’ve been an inspiration.”

Then again, someone even more legendary than Taylor has also expressed interest in the job.

“Years ago … we were performing something and Bono was there, and Bono actually said … he wanted to induct me,” Melissa says. “So, you know, I have no idea.”

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The Beach Boys have added some new dates to their 2026 schedule.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band, fronted by founding member Mike Love, has expanded their upcoming tour celebrating 60 years of their album Pet Sounds. Added dates include new stops in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Medford, Massachusetts; Quakertown, Pennsylvania; Temecula, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Thackerville, Oklahoma; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

A ticket presale for the new dates begins Thursday at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. local time.

Released May 16, 1966, Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys’ 11th studio album, was a critical hit and often considered one of the best albums of all time. It featured such classic Beach Boys songs as “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” “Sloop John B” and more.

The album peaked at #10 on the Billboard Album chart and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. In 2004 it was chosen by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

The Beach Boys’ 2026 tour kicks off March 22 in Orlando, Florida. A complete schedule can be found at TheBeachBoys.com.

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