Classic Hits

On This Day, July 8, 1984…

Bob Dylan wrapped his European tour at Dublin, Ireland’s Slane Castle, where he was joined by local heroes Van Morrison and U2’s Bono.

Morrison joined Dylan for “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” and his tune “Tupelo Honey,” while Bono teamed with Dylan for “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Carlos Santana was also a special guest during the show, joining Dylan for “Tombstone Blues,” “The Times They Are a Changin’” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Thirty years later, Dylan is still performing live and is currently a part of Willie Nelson‘s Outlaw Music Festival. The tour hits Chula Vista, California, on July 29.  

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If you weren’t able to snag tickets to the Eagles’ Las Vegas residency at the Sphere, you may get another chance.

Eagles are set to kick off their residency on Sept. 20, with dates confirmed through Dec. 14, and in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sphere Entertainment’s executive chairman and CEO James Dolan indicated there’s a good chance they could come back for more shows.

“The Eagles, first off, are selling like hotcakes,” Dolan says. “So the likelihood is they will extend. But that’s up to them. They have to decide that.” 

He adds, “Look, they can play as long as they want.”

Dolan notes that not every artist can play the Sphere, because it poses challenges that don’t come with a regular concert.

“There’s a challenge for every artist who comes here. It’s the same with Dead & Company, it’s not just playing your show,” he says. “They are the best musicians in the world, but they still have to take their art and translate it on to the screen,” adding, “It requires an awful lot from the artists.”

Dead & Company is currently headlining their Dead Forever residency at the Sphere. Their next show is happening July 11, with shows confirmed through August 10.

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Lenny Kravitz is known for putting on a spectacular live show, so it’s no surprise he says it was a concert he went to when he was young that made him realize he wanted to make music a career.

Kravitz tells ABC Audio his first concert ever was the Jackson 5 at Madison Square Garden in New York in the early ’70s. It really convinced him music was what he should be doing, noting, “After that night, my life was never the same. I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

Lenny, who released the new album Blue Electric Light earlier this year, says for him, getting to play live is all about the people who come to his shows.

He shares that his favorite thing about performing is “the communion with the audience, being with the audience, being with the people that support you, that have made it possible for this music to live.”

Lenny has seen lots of fellow musicians in concert and while he does get inspired by what he sees, he doesn’t necessarily use that inspiration when planning what he’ll do onstage.

“I don’t really think about other artists when I’m preparing for something like this,” he says. “I’m just trying to represent the time and be, you know, as strong as I can be and to be as open as I can be to really share this experience with the people.” 

Kravitz in on tour overseas through August. So far his only U.S. shows are a five-night residency at the Dolby Live in Las Vegas in October. A complete list of dates can be found at lennykravitz.com.

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Stevie Nicks is the latest artist forced to postpone tour dates.

The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer postponed her July 6 Glasgow show, as well as her planned July 9 show in Manchester, with a now-vanished Instagram Story post from Stevie blaming it on “a recent leg injury requiring a minor surgical procedure that will need a few days of recovery time.”

The post noted fans should keep their tickets and rescheduled dates will be announced soon. 

It also indicated that Stevie still plans to continue with her upcoming July 12 show in London, noting, “Stevie looks forward to seeing everyone at Hyde Park in London.”

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Actor Clive Owen has revealed that David Bowie was a huge inspiration for him wanting to become an actor.

“Bowie probably has more to do with me being an actor than any actors,” Owen told Variety at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic. 

“He showed me that you can create worlds,” Clive says. “My imagination was fired — that was the beginning of going into acting. It was Bowie that provoked my understanding of the art.”

Variety notes that Owen said he has no intention of ever trying to play Bowie in a project.

While Bowie, who passed away in 2016, is known mostly for music, he did dabble in acting throughout his career. He appeared in such films as 1976’s The Man Who Fell To Earth, and 1986’s Absolute Beginners and Labyrinth, as well as Martin Scorsese’s 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ, 2006’s The Prestige and more.

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Madonna is expressing gratitude after a near-death experience which put her in the hospital nearly a year ago.

On July 5, she posted a carousel of photos of herself enjoying Fourth of July fireworks, hanging with friends and cozying up to an unidentified man. “Happy 4th of July!” she wrote. 

“A year ago today, I had just come home from the hospital after surviving a life threatening illness, I could barely stand in my backyard holding one sparkler,” she continued. “I made a miraculous recovery and had an amazing year. Thank you God. Life is beautiful!”

Madonna was hospitalized in June of 2023 due to a serious infection, and she was forced to reschedule her entire Celebration world tour to the fall of that year.  But once the tour began, it grossed more than $225 million and sold more than a million tickets over 80 shows, according to Billboard.

What’s more, Madonna is now the only woman to have had six tours earn more than $100 million. The only other artists to pull off that feat are Bruce Springsteen, U2, the Eagles and The Rolling Stones.

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An Eddie Van Halen guitar emblazoned with the Canadian flag is going up for auction later this year.

The long-lost 1993 Ernie Ball Music Signature Canada Day guitar will be part of Julien’s Auctions biannual Played, Worn, & Torn: Rock ‘N’ Roll Iconic Guitars auction.

According to the auction house, the guitar, unseen for 31 years, was played by Eddie at a July 1, 1993, Canada Day concert at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario. It features the red Canada maple leaf, with signatures of all the band members.

The auction is happening Nov. 21-22, and fans can register to be a part of it now. Eddie passed away in 2020 due to complications from throat cancer; to honor the rocker, proceeds from the sale will be donated to the cancer research and treatment nonprofit City of Hope.

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KISS’ Paul Stanley is giving fans an inside look into his guitar collection.

The rocker appears in the latest episode of Gibson TV’s The Collection, where he gives folks a behind-the-scenes look at the KISS warehouse, where he stores his guitars.

In the video, Stanley shares that seeing Eddie Cochran on TV inspired him to want to play guitar, noting, “There was something about him that was rogue and seemed ruthless, a great attitude.”

“So that was really the start of my introduction to guitar, although I grew up in a family with a lot of folk music and bluegrass and opera and classical music and all,” he says. “But I was convinced I could play the guitar when I had no knowledge of the guitar, just because there was some sort of connection.”

Stanley says he kept trying to get his parents to buy him a guitar, and requested an electric guitar for his 13th birthday, but instead he got a “used nylon-string guitar.”

“I was shattered ’cause you can’t play rock ‘n’ roll on this,” he said. “A couple of months later, I said, ‘You know, let me give that a go.’ So that was really the start … I took to it really quickly.” 

He adds, “I took a few lessons, and I wanted to go faster, and for some reason the teacher was, ‘No. You have to stay at this pace.’ So he went and the guitar stayed.”

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The Rolling Stones have given fans a look inside the studio as they recorded their 20th studio album, Voodoo Lounge. 

The band shared a behind-the-scenes clip from inside the studio, where guitarist Keith Richards talks about drummer Charlie Watts hitting his peak during the recording. There’s also a clip where Watts is chatting about his performance with Keith, Mick Jagger and producer Don Was.

The clip reveal comes as The Stones are set to reissue Voodoo Lounge in honor of its 30th anniversary. The album will be reissued on red- and yellow-colored vinyl on July 12, along with a limited-edition Rolling Stones store exclusive 10-inch single, containing B-sides “I’m Gonna Drive,” “So Young,” “Jump On Top Of Me” and “The Storm.”

The Voodoo Lounge 30th anniversary reissue is available for preorder now.

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Bruce Springsteen is featured on the song “Sandpaper,” on Zach Bryan’s new record, The Great American Bar Scene, and the country star took to social media to thank The Boss for his participation. 

“thank you for the day @springsteen,” he writes next to a picture of Springsteen holding a guitar. “thank you for your kind words thank you for letting me take this picture thank you for making my whole life a dream of a younger me a reason to believe.”

“Sandpaper” has similarities to Springsteen’s classic “I’m On Fire.” The pair first performed the tune together in concert back in March, when Springsteen flew from San Diego to join Bryan on stage at his concert at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center. 

And Springsteen isn’t the only collaborator on Bryan’s album. John Mayer is on the track “Better Days,” and he showed his appreciation to Zach on social media.

“I always knew this song Zach wrote was special. I had no idea how beautiful, powerful and deep an album it would be a part of,” he wrote. “I’m stunned. I’m blessed to have been able to fulfill my dreams of making music. What I never saw coming: to be asked to play with an artist as deeply tapped in as @zachlanebryan is. Thank you for inviting me into your dream-coming-true.”

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