Classic Hits

The Who’s Pete Townshend’s solo career is being celebrated with a new box set.

Pete Townshend The Studio Albums, dropping March 28, will consist of eight CDs, featuring newly remastered versions of seven Townshend albums — 1972’s Who Came First, 1977’s Rough Mix (with Ronnie Lane), 1980’s Empty Glass, 1982’s All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, 1985’s White City (A Novel), 1989’s The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend and 1993’s Psychoderelict. It will also feature the music-only version of Psychoderelict.

The set also comes with a new foreword by Townshend, new artwork, sleeve notes by band archivist Matt Kent, and a 28-page book filled with rare photos and memorabilia.

“I have always written first for myself. Not as an artist but for play, for fun, for joy, for self-expression. For therapy? In a way, of course,” Pete shares of his solo work. “These solo songs are therefore not Who exclusions or out-takes, they are part of a story that may well have been very different had I not made some poor decisions in the early ’80s.”

He adds, “I have stories to tell about every song, and one day I may write a book that tells of that journey, but I’m probably happier spending my time today writing new music rather than explaining how the old stuff came about.”

Pete Townshend The Studio Albums is available for preorder now.

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On This Day, Feb. 6, 1984…

Talking Heads performed their last-ever concert at the Sweetwaters South Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The 12-song set featured such classic songs as “Psycho Killer,” “Making Flippy Floppy,” “Swamp,” “Burning Down the House” and more.

The show didn’t go off without a hitch, though: Drummer Chris Frantz revealed that frontman David Byrne walked off the stage midset and had to be dragged back.

Although Talking Heads never toured again, they did go on to record three more albums. And while this was their final concert ever, they briefly reunited to perform for their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, delivering “Psycho Killer,” “Life During Wartime,” Burning Down the House” and an all-star jam of “Take Me to the River.”

While they haven’t performed together since then, all members of Talking Heads got together for several joint interviews in 2023 and 2024 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their iconic concert film, Stop Making Sense.

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The music of the Allman Brothers Band will once again be celebrated in New York.

The Brothers, a group made up of ABB former members, is set to headline Madison Square Garden on April 15 and 16, five years after they first staged a similar concert.

The Brothers will feature ABB founding member Jaimoe, along with band members Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, Marc Quiñones and Chuck Leavell, who is billed as a “special guest.” Joining them will be Joe Russo on drums, Reese Wynans on keyboards and Isaac Eady on drums.

“The chance to play at The Garden with my friends again – FAR OUT man!” shares Jaimoe. “I’ll see you in April!!”

Fans can register in advance for a ticket presale that kicks off Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. ET. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. ET.

More info can be found at TheBrothers.com.

The Brothers’ first show took place March 10, 2020, at Madison Square Garden, and lasted over four hours. The show was one of the last concerts at MSG before the concert industry was temporarily shut down due to the COVID outbreak.

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Is new music on the way from Def Leppard?

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers seem to be teasing fans with the possibility, sharing photos on Instagram of guitarist Phil Collen singing into a mic with the caption, “Something’s brewing…,” leading to speculation that they’re recording new tunes.

“New album!? YES PLEASE!” one fan commented on the post, while another added, “Can’t wait to hear what you are working on.”

The tease comes just days after Def Leppard released a cover of the Ben E. King classic “Stand By Me” to benefit FireAid.

If the post is indeed hinting at a new album, it will be Def Leppard’s first album of original material since 2022’s Diamond Star Halos. In 2023 they released Drastic Symphonies, which featured some of their classic tunes reimagined with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Def Leppard has several shows booked for 2025, with their next concert happening May 15 in Puerto Rico. A complete list of dates can be found at defleppard.com.

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Styx is heading to the beach this fall and bringing their rock star friends with them.

The band is set to headline Rockin’ in Paradise with Styx + Friends in Miramar Beach, Florida, Oct. 9-11.

Those “Friends” on the bill include Cheap Trick, Loverboy, 38 Special, Collective Soul, John Waite and Edwin MCain.

“We are so excited to bring you Rockin’ in Paradise in Miramar Beach. One of my favorite places to visit,” Styx frontman Tommy Shaw shares. “Our Friends can’t wait to join us to bring you this one-of-a-kind experience. Let’s Rock this October!”

The vacation weekend will have the Styx headlining two special performances, including their last 2025 performance of their 1977 album Grand Illusion in its entirety, along with other hits. They will also sit down for a Q&A with fans.

A presale for tickets is currently underway, with tickets going on sale to the general public Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.

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The Black Crowes are resurrecting their fan club.

Frontman Chris Robinson announced the return of the Crowe-Mafia on social media, with the post describing it as a “community to connect with us and each other.”

Chris also shared a video in which he detailed all the bonus material fans will get by signing up.

In addition to early presale ticket access and early access to venues, members will get to hear exclusive audio content from the band’s archives. Among the first of these never-before-heard recordings is “Wiser Time” with Jimmy Page, taken from an upcoming box set for their 2000 album, Live at The Greek, as well as a video of “No Speak No Slave” with Page.

“For years since we’ve put the band back together, I have been extensively going through the vaults of all sorts of material while we were working on the box sets,” Chris shared in the video. “We keep finding loads and loads of honey holes of stuff that only you are going to appreciate.”

He added they plan to upload live shows from the vaults every month, including “stuff that you guys have deemed important later this year.”

Chris also teased other box sets they’ve been working on, including one for their third studio album, Amorica, promising “a bunch of other rarities and things that you’ve never heard before, which is also very exciting.”

More info on joining the fan club can be found at theblackcrowes.com.

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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench will release his second solo album, The Melancholy Season, on March 7 and has shared the first preview of the record with the release of the title track.

In a post on his website, Tench reveals that the song was inspired by a poem he wrote while looking at the constellation Orion.

“At the house where I lived for many years, in the hills overlooking the San Fernando Valley, Orion was only visible in the fall and winter,” Tench writes. “I associated the constellation with that time: ‘Oh, there’s my friend.’ But that season, when it starts getting cold in California, has always been a bit melancholy to me.”

He adds that the tune is “about a guy looking across the backyard at his wife by the pool. She’s about to kick off her shoes. It’s cold, the pool is heated and the steam is rising off the water. The idea was the alienation between these two people.”

This is Tench’s first solo release since his debut solo album, You Should Be So Lucky, came out in 2014.

The Melancholy Season is available for preorder now.

Tench is set to kick off a five-show residency at New York’s Café Carlyle Feb. 18 and will then hit the road for a short tour that starts March 12 in Los Angeles. A complete list of dates can be found at benmonttench.com.

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The Who‘s Pete Townshend inadvertently spilled the beans on it in December 2023, but now it’s been confirmed: Elton John really did make an entire album with Brandi Carlile — and it’s coming out on April 4.

The album, Who Believes In Angels?, teams Elton and Brandi with producer Andrew Watt; they also worked together on Elton’s Oscar-nominated song “Never Too Late.” The album is available for preorder and the title track is available now, as is a “making of” video. If you preorder the album, you’ll have a chance to buy tickets to An Evening With Elton John & Brandi Carlile, a one-night-only concert at The London Palladium on March 26.

Elton and Brandi started recording the album in October 2023, with the goal of completing it in just 20 days. It features songs sung by both Elton and Brandi, and lyrics by Brandi and Bernie Taupin. Backing them up are Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. 

Elton says in a statement, “This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future.”

“I have everything I’ve done behind me and it’s been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me,” he adds. “As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career Mark two.”

Brandi adds, “The world is a wild place to live in right now. It’s hard to find peace and triumph. It’s a radical act to seek out joyful and euphoric happenings. And that is what this album represents to me.”

Here’s the track listing:
“The Rose Of Laura Nyro”
“Little Richard’s Bible”
“Swing For The Fences”
“Never Too Late”
“You Without Me”
“Who Believes In Angels?”
“The River Man”
“A Little Light”
“Someone To Belong To”
“When This Old World Is Done With Me”

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Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, Foreigner, and Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo are confirmed to play this year’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival, happening Sept. 11-14 in Louisville, Kentucky.

More than 120 artists are booked for this year’s edition, which features headliners Phish, Noah Kahan, Jack White, Sturgill “Johnny Blue Skies” Simpson and The Lumineers.

Other artists on the bill include The Baseball Project, featuring members of R.E.M., Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, Alabama Shakes, 10,000 Maniacs, Spin Doctors, Blind Melon, John Waite and Blues Traveler.

A complete lineup and ticket information can be found at bourbonandbeyond.com.

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The new documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin may never have happened had the film’s director, Bernard MacMahon, not accepted an invitation from the band’s legendary guitarist Jimmy Page.

In a new interview with The Guardian, MacMahon says he kew going into the project there was a good chance he’d have trouble getting the surviving band members – Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant – to agree to the film.

He tells the paper he knew “it was incredibly likely that once I put in a phone call, the group might say they were not interested. There was every chance we would not even get a meeting.”

It was Page who was the first to agree to a meeting, at a London hotel in 2017. They spent seven hours talking, with Page quizzing him on band facts and also showing him “old diaries, dating back to the ’60s.” In the end, Page agreed to the project, telling the director, “I’m in – but you have to get the others on board.”

But it seems Page’s decision had conditions. He later asked MacMahon to join him at Pangbourne, the boathouse where he once lived and the band rehearsed, and luckily he agreed.

“Later he revealed it had been a test,” the film’s producer, Allison McGourty, says. “If you had said no to Pangbourne we wouldn’t have done the film.’”

MacMahon eventually got Jones and Plant to sign on to the project, and the members were then interviewed in 2018, with MacMahon telling the paper none of the rockers had any editorial demands regarding the film.

Becoming Led Zeppelin will open exclusively in IMAX theaters on Feb. 7, with early access screenings in 18 markets starting Feb. 5. It will then hit theaters nationwide on Feb. 14.

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