Classic Hits

Even if you don’t get to see Billy Joel perform his ongoing residency at Madison Square Garden before he calls it quits, don’t worry — the Piano Man will still be in a “New York State of Mind.”

In a preview of an interview with Willie Geist that will air on NBC’s Sunday TODAY, Billy says that during the decade that he’s been doing his residency, there was an “exclusivity aspect” of the deal that prevented him from playing other New York-area venues. But now, he says, “We can play stadiums. Yankee Stadium, Giants Stadium, Citi Field, where the Mets play, so there’s plenty of that lined up. I’m not going to stop doing shows. That’s what I do.”

“We have a whole schedule laid out into 2025, where we’re going to be playing,” he continues.

And he’s not even considering retiring, he says. “I’m not going to stop doing shows. That’s what I do. What else am I going to do? Stop doing shows and sit around, and watch TV, and turn into a vegetable? No. I don’t want to do that,” he notes.

Billy also says he’s happy that his audiences are filled with younger people, and not just people who’ve been around since he started his career 50 years ago.

“Yeah, and we’re getting all different age demographics. I’m seeing a lot of younger people in our shows. It’s like they’re coming to see the antique,” he laughs. “That’s all that I can do. But it helps having new audiences come in all the time.”

The final show of Billy’s MSG residency will take place on July 25.

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Elvis Costello is once again adjusting his show due to illness in his band.

The rocker announced on his Instagram Story that Imposter bassist Davey Faragher and special guest guitarist Charlie Seton are still unable to take the stage, so like his show in Philadelphia on Wednesday, he’ll be performing as a trio at his Friday show at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

“THIS IS AS CLOSE TO THE ATTRACTIONS AS YOU ARE EVER GOING TO GET,” he writes, explaining that he’ll be taking the stage with drummer Pete Thomas and longtime collaborator Steve Nieve, both members of his previous band the Attractions, “for a unique trio performance.”

He adds, “Tonight’s show promises even more new arrangements and different song choices.”

Costello explained at his Philly show that Faragher and Sexton had “fallen afoul of a bad piece of fish.”

He writes in his latest post that he hopes they “will soon return to match fitness after illness,” but adds, “you should not miss the opportunity to see E.C. and his ‘Attractive’ cohorts in action.”

Costello is currently on tour with Daryl Hall. After Friday’s show they play Boston on Sunday. A complete list of dates can be found at elviscotstello.com.

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Jeff Lynne is offering up a unique live experience for fans.

The rocker is set to kick off the last-ever tour of Jeff Lynne’s ELO in August, and he’s teamed with Prizeo for a sweepstakes with a grand prize of a VIP experience to their Sept. 28 show in Chicago.

Two VIP packages are up for grabs in the sweepstakes, and they include tickets to the concert, roundtrip airfare, two nights’ accommodations and VIP access to the Jeff Lynne’s ELO lounge, including drink tickets, appetizers and a desert bar. It also includes a green screen photo booth experience, specially designed merch and a limited-edition tour poster.

Fans who donate at least $10 will be entered to win the package, although the larger the donation the more entries into the sweepstakes. Proceeds will benefit Simms Mann UCLA Center, which helps provide vital care to cancer patients and their families. 

Jeff Lynne’s ELO will kick off The Over and Out tour on Aug. 24 in Palm Dessert, California. A complete list of dates can be found at jefflynneselo.com.
 

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Sting has announced two very special shows in New York City.

The rocker will be performing at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Philippe Petit‘s highwire walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center.

“While Philippe and I have been friends for many years, this event marks the first time we will collaborate professionally – you won’t want to miss it,” Sting shares on Instagram. 

Information on tickets can be found at stjohndivine.org. 

Petit’s illegal walk between the two buildings in lower Manhattan happened on Aug. 7, 1974. It was the subject of the 2008 documentary Man on Wire, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Joseph Gordon-Levitt played Petit in a 2015 fictional movie based on the event, The Walk.

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Bette Midler is the latest celebrity to join TikTok.

The singer/actress actually opened her account in the beginning of July, but she just shared her first video addressing her fans.

“Hi everybody, I’m on TikTok, yes I am and I’ll tell you why, because everybody on that platform is hilarious,” she said. “I wanna be at that party, too.” 

Midler captioned the video, “The Divine Miss M has entered the chat… What should we dish about first? Who should I follow? TELL ME.”

Meanwhile, over on Instagram Midler shared a song about the upcoming Republican National Convention, which begins in Milwaukee on July 15. She added several hashtags, including #SaveOurDemocracy and #GetItTogetherFolks.

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Lenny Kravitz has posted yet another thirst trap for his fans.

The rocker just shared two new black-and-white photos on Instagram, both showing him relaxing in a bubble bath while reading a magazine. Both show off his chiseled chest and numerous tattoos. He is, of course, still wearing his sunglasses. 

Kravitz captioned the photos “Buongiorno,” which means “good morning” in Italian.

As you can imagine, Kravitz fans were eating up the photos. “Stop teasing me, Lenny Kravitz,” one wrote, while another added, “Good Jesus thank you Lord for Lenny.”

The caption is appropriate for Lenny, as he’s currently in Italy, where he’s playing a show in Lucca on Friday. A complete list of dates can be found at lennykravitz.com.

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Sammy Hagar is ready to launch his The Best of All Worlds tour, which will have him and his band – Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham – performing songs from his entire career.

So, what prompted Sammy to set out on such a career-spanning trek?

“Well, it’s about my age. It’s about how many tours can I do?” he tells ABC Audio. “How many more shows have I got left in me?”

While Sammy says he doesn’t intend for this to be his final tour, he says “it could be,” because he never knows when he won’t be able to hit the right notes anymore.

“I’m not going to go out like some of these guys and not be able to sing and charge money,” he says. “That would break my heart. It would stress me out.” 

Hagar is promising his sets will include plenty of Van Halen tunes, and while fans may question whether anyone can fill the guitar shoes of the late Eddie Van Halen, Sammy has no doubt Satriani can handle it.

“Joe Satriani is the only guitar player I know that really knows what Eddie was playing,” he says. “Technically, he’s going to be playing this stuff as right as it can possibly be played.”

And that’s important for Sammy because he’s doing this tour for the Van Halen fans, who he calls “the most loyal, dedicated people.”

“I’m kind of nicknaming the tour the Thank You tour,” he says. “And I mean it from the bottom of my heart. And when I say thank you, I’m going to prove it.” 

The Best of All Worlds tour kicks off Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida. A complete list of dates can be found at redrocker.com.

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Ringo Starr is giving fans a look at his Peace & Love birthday celebration, which took place Sunday.

The rocker, who turned 84, just shared a video featuring highlights from the big day at Beverly Hills Park, which includes footage of him arriving with family and friends, and posing in front of his stainless steel, 8-foot-tall, 800-pound peace sculpture. He’s then joined by fellow rocker and brother-in-law Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh for some more photos in front of the sculpture.

The video also shows Ringo walking the press line, and includes clips of performances from artists like Ben Harper, Ben Dickey and Willie Watson. It also has a snippet of a speech Walsh made wishing his “best friend” Ringo a happy 84th.

“The world loves Ringo Starr because how could they not,” Walsh says.

“I am getting overwhelmed there are so many of you now,” Ringo tells the gathered crowd. “We started doing this celebration with about 50 people in 2008. I am truly grateful you all turned up today otherwise I’d be lonely. … We are going round the world – we are in 34 countries and all I can do is say is peace and love.”

Other famous names who attended the festivities included Stephen Stills, Edgar Winter, Matt Sorum, Diane Warren and Linda Perry.

The video ends with the united “peace and love” declaration, as the band launches into The Beatles’ “Birthday.” A two-tiered cake is then brought out as Walsh leads the crowd in “Happy Birthday.”

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AC/DC has gone Diamond.

The Aussie rockers just received their first-ever RIAA Diamond certification for their classic track “Thunderstruck,” meaning it’s now moved at least 10 million equivalent units.

According to the RIAA site, “Thunderstruck,” from the band’s 1990 album, The Razor’s Edge, was actually awarded Gold, Platinum and Diamond certifications on the same day.

And that wasn’t the only recent certification awarded to AC/DC. They earned new multi-Platinum certifications for singles “Hells Bells,” “Back in Black,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Highway To Hell,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “T.N.T.” and more.

In addition, several albums received new multi-Platinum certifications, including their classic Back in Black, which was just certified 26-times Platinum.

AC/DC is currently performing those hit singles overseas on their Power Up tour. They play Hockenheim, Germany, on July 13. A complete list of dates can be found at acdc.com.

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Stevie Nicks is ready to make things right with her fans in Manchester and Glasgow.

Over the weekend the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer had to postpone her shows in both cities due to a leg injury that required a surgical procedure. But now she’s announced the rescheduled dates for the shows, with Stevie set to play Manchester’s Co-Op Live on July 16 and Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on July 24. 

But before both those shows, Stevie is set to headline BST Hyde Park in London on Friday. The show features a variety of special guests, including Brandi Carlile.

After wrapping her European dates in Glasgow, Stevie has two more shows on her schedule, both in the U.S. She’ll play Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Sept. 24 and Hershey Park, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 28. Her complete schedule can be found at stevienicksofficial.com.

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