Richie Sambora, Orianthi and Phil X/Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
It was a meeting of Bon Jovi guitarists at the Rock For Responders Concert, which took place Thursday on the USS Iowa in San Pedro, California.
Peoplereports that former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora teamed with Phil X, the guitarist who replaced him in the band, to perform the Bon Jovi hit “Livin’ on a Prayer,” with guitarist Orianthi also joining in.
The concert, which honored Los Angeles’ first responders, military and emergency management partners, was put on by the Pacific Battlefield Center, in partnership with the Port of Los Angeles and Princess Cruises. It also featured a performance by the band Kings of Chaos, which featured former Van Halen frontman SammyHagar, Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes, former Guns ‘N Roses drummer Matt Sorum and others.
Sambora parted ways with Bon Jovi in 2013. Phil X has played lead guitar in the band since 2016.
Bon Jovi’s 1992 track “Keep the Faith” has been reimagined by Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren.
The DJ’s remix of the tune was officially released Friday, although electronic music fans got their first taste of the track last March. Jon Bon Jovi joined Van Buuren in Miami at the Ultra Music Festival 2024, where he sang along to the tune.
“‘Keep The Faith’ has been on many a fans’ wish list for official release since that unforgettable moment,” reads a description of the song on YouTube. “Reshaping the hit from the iconic Bon Jovi into a true electronic banger, this version will be a fan favorite for a long time to come.”
The Armin Van Buuren remix of “Keep the Faith” is now available.
“Keep the Faith,” written by Jon, Richie Sambora and songwriter Desmond Child, was the title track and first single off Bon Jovi’s fifth studio album. The song peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100, but went to #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Oscar nominees Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brandi Carlile & Andrew Watt; Disney/Frank Micelotta
Elton John could win his third Oscar for best original song on Sunday night for “Never Too Late,” the song from his Disney+ documentary of the same name. Elton co-wrote the song with Bernie Taupin, producer Andrew Watt and Brandi Carlile. Watt says Brandi got the initial inspiration for the song after watching what he calls an “early, uncut-down version” of the film.
The doc documents Elton’s roller-coaster life: For years he was on top of the world career-wise, but desperately unhappy in his personal life. Watt tells ABC Audio that Brandi, who’s not only Elton’s friend but also a superfan, “wanted to see the early version … so she could see all the archival footage she’d never seen before.”
After watching it, she unexpectedly started writing the song about Elton’s journey. “She was so inspired by his story … his story is so amazing,” Watt says. “The ups and downs … the drug abuse and the kind of isolation in the first part of his career,” through to the “eternal love” the music legend now enjoys with his husband, David,and their two sons.
“The thing she took away from watching his story, and the arc of the story, was ‘never too late,'” Watt explains. “You know, how there’s never a time where you can’t turn your life into something beautiful. So the words kind of just poured out of her.” From Brandi’s initial draft, she, Elton, Bernie and Watt turned it into the track you hear today.
And while Elton is probably the best-known nominee in this year’s category, another win isn’t a sure thing. His previous Oscars came in 1995 for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and in 2020 for “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from Rocketman.
R&B legend Smokey Robinson is showing his gratitude with a brand-new album, What the World Needs Now, dropping April 25. In a post on Instagram he describes the record as an “inspiration” album.
The record, Smokey’s first since 2023’s Gasms, features 10 tracks, combining covers of songs like “Lean on Me,” “What a Wonderful World,” “I’ll Take You There” and “You’ve Got a Friend” with original songs “Be Kind to the Growing Mind” and “Food For Thought.”
“I have always felt the presence of God in my life,” said Robinson. “Gratitude is key to a relationship with God. ‘Be Thankful for What You’ve Got’ stands out to me because it’s about gratitude.”
What the World Needs Now is available for preorder. Here is the track list: “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” “What a Wonderful World ” “Three Little Birds” “Everything is Beautiful” “What the World Needs Now” “Lean on Me” “I’ll Take You There” “You’ve Got a Friend” “Be Kind to the Growing Mind ” “Food for Thought”
Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame
In 2024, when Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy’s tour celebrating R.E.M.’s Murmur hit Athens, Georgia, the home of R.E.M., the members of R.E.M. joined them onstage. Well, their latest tour, celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction, came to Athens on Thursday night and it happened again.
The duo brought the tour to Athens’ 40 Watt Club, and video posted online shows R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry hopping onstage to perform the Reckoning track “Pretty Persuasion.”
This was a step up from the 2024 show, where Stipe joined them all onstage but didn’t perform. In fact, this is only the second time all four members of R.E.M. have performed together since their 2011 breakup. The previous time was at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction in 2024, where they performed “Losing My Religion.”
And while “Pretty Persuasion” was the only song Stipe took part in, according to setlist.fm the other members of the band joined in for various R.E.M. tracks, including the Fables tune “Wendell Gee,” Document’s “Strange,” Reckoning’s “Letter Never Sent,” “Second Guessing,” “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” and “Little America” and Murmur’s “Sitting Still.”
Shannon and Narducy also performed two songs by The Velvet Underground, “Femme Fatale,” for which they were joined by Buck, Mills and Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye, and “There She Goes Again,” with Buck and Kaye.
Shannon and Narducy bring their Fables of the Reconstruction tour back to Athens’ 40 Watt Club for a second show on Friday. As for whether R.E.M. will return, a post on their Instagram noted, “Who knows what night two, tonight, will have in store.”
U2 released their third studio album, War, produced by Steve Lillywhite. The album, which is considered the band’s first overtly political record, featured two future U2 classics, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day,” which became the band’s first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album became the band’s first U.K. number one, knocking Michael Jackson’s Thriller out of the top spot.
In the U.S., War peaked at 12 on the Billboard 200 chart and went on to become the band’s first album to be certified Gold by the RIAA.
A remastered version of War was released in July 2008, and included a deluxe version that featured a bonus CD made up of B-sides, live tracks and rarities.
Neil Young is set to drop a new tour documentary and accompanying soundtrack in April. Both give fans a taste of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s 2023 Coastal tour, which marked his return to the stage following the COVID pandemic.
Coastal: The Soundtrack, dropping April 18, features 11 songs, which were recorded in several cities. In a press release, the album is said to be “as intimate a live album as Neil Young has ever recorded, created at a time when the world was coming out of hibernation from the COVID pandemic.”
The album will be released in a variety of formats including black vinyl, CD, digital and Dolby Atmos, with a limited edition clear vinyl with exclusive poster sold at The Greedy Hand Store and Neil Young Archives.
As for the movie, Coastal, directed by Young’s wife, actress Daryl Hannah, will hit theaters for one night only on April 17. The film previously debuted at the Woodstock Film Festival in September.
“Hannah allows the audience to be an observing participant in a rare, candid peek behind the curtain of this unguarded iconoclast,” reads the film’s description. “It’s a celebration of living that has been a long time coming, and illuminates up close and personal who Neil Young is, where he came from, and in many ways, where he was going.”
Young was one of the last artists to return to the road following the pandemic. His Coastal tour kicked off in July 2023 and had him playing mostly West Coast dates, treating his fans to set lists filled with rarities and deep cuts.
Here is the track list for Coastal:
“I’m the Ocean” “Comes a Time” “Love Earth” “Prime of Life” “Throw Your Hatred Down” “Vampire Blues” “When I Hold You in My Arms” “Expecting to Fly” “Song X” “ I Am a Child” “Don’t Forget Love
Dead & Company is set to return to the Sphere Las Vegas in March for a new installment of their Dead Forever residency, and now they are giving fans a chance to win tickets to the final show of the 2025 run.
The band just launched a new fandiem sweepstakes, with the money raised from entries benefiting the voter registration nonprofit HeadCount and the environmental charity REVERB.
The sweepstakes winner will nab roundtrip travel for two to Las Vegas with hotel accommodations, along with premium reserved or general admission floor seats to the May 17 show. The prize also comes with a preshow dinner for two and a signed Dead & Company poster.
The deadline for sweepstakes entries is April 30.
Dead & Company launched their initial Dead Forever residency in May 2024. They return to the venue on March 20 for 18 shows that wrap May 17. The new residency is celebrating 10 years of Dead & Company.
courtesy of Live Nation/Another Planet Entertainment
Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks are set to headline another stadium together.
The two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are set to play Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Oct. 4, the first time both artists are playing the stadium. It is also Joel’s first concert in the Bay Area in 10 years.
A Citi card presale for tickets launches Monday at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public March 7 at 10 a.m.
This isn’t the only show Billy and Stevie have on their schedules this year. They are also set to headline Ford Field in Detroit on March 29, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Aug. 8, and Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Oct. 18.
Billy will also co-headline shows with Rod Stewart and Sting this year, but his next gig is a solo one, headlining Toronto’s Rogers Centre on March 15. A complete list of dates can be found at billyjoel.com.
A unique piece of Beatles memorabilia has a new owner.
Joseph Robert O’Donnell, a Beatles and music memorabilia dealer, recently purchased a piece of GeorgeHarrison’s leftover toast from 1962.
The piece of toast in question was taken by a 15-year-old Harrison fan named Sue Houghton, who had become friendly with his family. While visiting the family, she pocketed the leftover crust from Harrison’s plate. It eventually made its way to Houghton’s Harrison scrapbook collection, which included other mementos, including fluff from under his bed.
“It’s a brilliant story that is both bizarre, historical and a story I’ll continue telling friends, memorabilia collectors and fellow Beatles fans,” O’Donnell shares.
So far there’s no word on how much O’Donnell shelled out for the toast, but in 1992 items from Sue’s scrapbook collection were put up for auction at Christie’s, with the toast selling for about $1,600.
