Sting is getting ready to launch his North American tour with his new STING 3.0 power trio, and now they have a new song to play onstage.
It’s called “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)” and it’s the former Police man’s first new music since his 2021 album, The Bridge. It features guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas, the other two members of the trio. The uptempo love song, rooted in the classic Bo Diddley beat, finds Sting singing in a more gravelly voice than usual, “I wrote your name upon my heart/ So I’d remember if ever we should part/ When I got lost inside life’s game/ I’d look into my heart and find your name.”
The Sting 3.0 theater tour kicks off Sept. 17 in Detroit and is set to wrap up Nov. 13 in Los Angeles.
Neil Young recently told members of his Neil Young Archives site that he was planning some new tour dates this year, and he’s made good on that promise.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced he’ll headline the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24, with backing band The Chrome Hearts, made up of Micah Nelson, Anthony LoGerfo and Corey McCormick.
A Neil Young Archives presale is happening now, with tickets going on sale to the general public Saturday at 10 a.m.
Besides the new dates, Young has only two other shows planned for this year so far. He’s one of the performers at Farm Aid, which is happening Sept. 21 in Saratoga, New York, and will also play the Harvest Moon benefit concert with Stephen Stills on Oct. 5 at The Painted Turtle camp in Lake Hughes, California.
Paula Abdul has been forced to scrap her entire Canadian tour, plus a few U.S. dates, due to an injury that she says requires a “minor procedure.”
Paula was set to perform in Anchorage, Alaska, on Sept. 21 ahead of her Straight Up! To Canada Tour, which was going to kick off Sept. 25 in Victoria, British Columbia. The tour, which was scheduled to wrap Oct. 26 in Nova Scotia, also included a date in Fargo, North Dakota, on Oct. 12. Unfortunately, all those shows have now been canceled.
“It’s with an incredibly heavy heart that I need to share with you an update regarding some injuries I’ve recently sustained,” the “Forever Your Girl” singer wrote on Instagram. “In an effort to keep going, I’ve received targeted injections that will allow me temporary relief, but the demands of an entire tour is a different story.”
“After multiple consultations with my doctors and exploring all available options, I’ve been advised that one of my injuries requires a minor procedure followed by a 6-8 week recovery time,” she continues. “Therefore it will prohibit me from proceeding with the Straight Up! To Canada Tour as well as the dates in Alaska and North Dakota.”
She offers her “deepest apologies to all my amazing fans,” saying it “truly breaks my heart” to have to cancel.
“I’ve been looking forward to the energy, love, and connection we always share when we’re together,” Paula concludes. “I promise I’ll be back, stronger and better, dancing my heart out and performing for all of you very soon, to give you the show you deserve.”
Paula spent the summer as part of New Kids on the Block‘s Magic Summer 2024 tour.
Sammy Hagar is set to play in the desert next year.
The former Van Halen frontman is one of several non-country acts booked to perform at the 2025 Stagecoach country music festival, happening April 25-27 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the same location as the Coachella music festival.
Hagar is on the bill for Sunday, April 27, which features headliner Luke Combs, as well as Midland, Goo Goo Dolls, The Bacon Brothers and more.
Zach Bryan and Jelly Roll are also set to headline, with the lineup including Brothers Osborne, TommyJames and The Shondells, Lana Del Rey, Creed, Backstreet Boys, Sturgill Simpson, Ashley McBride and T-Pain.
Tickets for the festival go on sale Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. PT.
The upcoming Bruce Springsteenand The E Street band tour documentary has a release date.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, shot during the band’s current reunion tour, will premiere on Hulu and Disney+ Oct. 25.
“Our new film Road Diary will take you on a journey from behind the scenes at rehearsals to shows that we performed all around the world this year,” The Boss shared in a video on social media. “You’ll get to experience a little bit of the fun and magic that we get to experience every night.”
The caption of the post adds that the doc follows Springsteen and the band through “their one-of-a-kind preparation process and onto performances for tens-of-thousands across continents.”
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, directed by Springsteen’s longtime collaborator Thom Zimny, is set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, which runs Sept. 5-15.
In other Springsteen news … the rocker and his wife, Patti Scialfa, are confirmed to perform at the 18th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit, happening Nov. 11 at David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. The event, presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, will also feature appearances by comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart and Jim Gaffigan, as well as Norah Jones and DJ Questlove.
To date, Stand Up For Heroes has raised $84 million to help veterans and military families.
Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks topped the chart with her debut solo album, Bella Donna, which was produced by Tom Petty and Jimmy Iovine.
The album featured four hits singles, the highest-charting one being “Stop Draggin My Heart Around,” a Petty-penned track, which she recorded with him and theHeartbreakers. The song peaked at #3.
The other hits included “Leather and Lace,” a duet with Don Henley, which peaked at #6; “Edge of Seventeen,” which hit #11; and “After the Glitter Fades,” which peaked at #32.
Bella Donna, which spent nearly three years on the Billboard 200 Album chart, has been certified quadruple Platinum by the RIAA.
Pearl Jam wrapped their two-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden Wednesday and were joined by two very special guests, E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt and producer Andrew Watt, who produced the band’s latest album, Dark Matter.
Eddie Vedder gave a shout-out to Little Steven before performing the Dark Matter track “Won’t Tell” and again mentioned him before performing another track from the album, “Waiting for Stevie,” although the song isn’t about him. The performance featured Watt on guitar, and Watt also joined the band for a performance of the Vs. track “Rearviewmirror.”
Eddie again paid homage to Bruce Springsteen’s old friend and guitarist during his solo portion of the encore, performing “I Am A Patriot,” which was written by Van Zandt and made famous by Jackson Browne.
And Little Stevie finally got in on the action during the show’s penultimate song, a roaring rendition of NeilYoung’s “Rockin’ In The Free World,” featuring not only Stevie, but Watt, show opener Glen Hansard and Hansard’s band.
Elsewhere in the show, Pearl Jam performed the Vs. track “Glorified G” for the first time on the tour, with Eddie letting fans know it was a request from a friend. He also discussed how he doesn’t like performing the song because it’s about guns, mentioning Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Interestingly, the set also included a performance of the Ten track “Jeremy,” which was inspired by gun violence.
Other highlights of the night included a performance of John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth,” Eddie and Glen collaborating on Glen’s tune “Song of Good Hope” and the tour debut of the band’s cover of the Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer.”
Next up, Pearl Jam bring their Dark Matter tour to Philadelphia for two shows, Sept. 7 and Sept. 9.
Pink Floyd‘s David Gilmour is crediting his wife, Polly Samson, for helping him clean up his act.
In an interview with The Independent, Gilmour reveals that it was an ultimatum from Samson that prompted him to give up his hard-partying lifestyle in the ’80s.
“There was a time when I was letting things go, drinking too much, too much cocaine, all those sorts of things,” he said. “And in my life, that stopped when we [Polly and I] started, pretty much dead on at that time.”
Gilmour said that during the early ’80s he was having trouble dealing with “my pop group, my relationships and all those sorts of things,” noting, “I hit a really torturous time; I didn’t really notice if I was out of control, but I probably was.”
Turning to his wife of 30 years, he said, “I won’t call you a gift, Polly, but something came along into my life that was real, and she wouldn’t stand for it [drugs]. I just needed a little kick, really, in order to put it behind me.”
“I couldn’t do otherwise,” Samson added. “I was a single mother. It was, for me, non-negotiable, and I made that clear.”
Asked if his wife was his savior, Gilmour relied, “Yes, exactly that, and I haven’t been near any of those things for over 30 years. There aren’t many women who would have the strength that Polly had to deal with it.”
Polly then noted, “We saved each other’s lives.”
Gilmour’s new solo album, Luck and Strange, which features songs he co-wrote with Samson, comes out Friday. He has a series of live dates scheduled for this fall in Rome, London, LA and New York. A complete list of dates can be found at davidgilmour.com.
Sade‘s back, and she’s dropping No Ordinary song. Her upcoming single, “Young Lion,” will be her first song in years. A tribute to her transgender son, Izaak, the song is set to appear on a benefit album titled Transa.
Arriving on Nov. 22, the album features over 100 contributing artists, and exclusive songs and covers from artists like Sam Smith and André 3000. There are eight chapters in honor of the eight-stripe rainbow Pride flag and 46 songs. The lead single is a cover of “I Would Die 4 U” sung by Prince collaborators Wendy & Lisa alongside Lauren Auder.
The goal of the album is raise awareness and support for trans and nonbinary artists.
“We started talking about all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world, and wanted to create a Red Hot project that centered and celebrated those gifts,” says Dust Reid, one of the masterminds behind Transa. “We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do. Whether you identify as trans or non-binary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing.”
Sade’s contribution marks her first song since releasing “Flower of the Universe” for the A Wrinkle in Time soundtrack and “The Big Unknown” for the movie Widows in 2018. She previously covered “Still in Love With You” for her band’s The Ultimate Collection album.
Def Leppard is giving fans some insight into how they create their set list for each of their shows with a new video posted to social media.
In the clip, frontman Joe Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen discuss adding another Pyromania track to their concert in Cleveland, with Joe noting they are performing eight songs from the album, leaving out only “Stagefright” and “Action! Not Words.” At one point drummer Rick Allen chimes in, approving of the decision to add a song, noting, “I dig doing all those Pyromania songs.”
But the scene is way more chaotic than it seems, because the discussion is happening as guitarist Vivian Campbell is loudly warming up his vocals in the background, although it doesn’t seem to bother any of his bandmates.
Fans still have a chance to see Def Leppard perform that set list on their Summer Stadium tour with Journey. The tour hits Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday. A complete list of the remaining dates can be found at defleppard.com.
