Drummer Alex Van Halen of Van Halen performs during the 2015 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 17, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Sounds like Alex Van Halen may be getting back to music.
In an interview with Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain on his Metal Sticks podcast, Alex revealed that he is about to work on music with Toto’s Steve Lukather.
“I’m getting ready to do this record with Lukather and a couple of other people,” he said. “It should be exciting.”
While Alex didn’t share any other details about what he and Steve are going to be working on, back in March Steve cleared up speculation that he was going to be recording a possible new Van Halen album with Alex.
That speculation began after the Dutch outlet De Telegraaph claimed Alex had asked Steve to finish some unreleased Van Halen material.
But Steve took to social media to clear up any confusion, writing in a comment to his Jan. 26 birthday tribute to Eddie Van Halen, “I think there is a huge misunderstanding. I will NOT EVER play a guitar note on a VH song ever!”
“Al asked me to help him go thru a ton of unfinished recordings of Al and Ed writing and recording that never saw the light of day. As of now thats [sic] all I got,” he noted. “The fact that ANYONE would think for even a second that I would play anything on this is ridiculous. I have too much love and respect for that and … I play nothing like Ed.. more as a co-producer or something. I am honored Al would ask me though.”
Sammy Hagar at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction (Disney/Michael Le Brecht II)/Mick Fleetwood at 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
Mick Fleetwood and Sammy Hagar joined forces on New Year’s Eve for a benefit show in Maui.
Both rockers posted footage from the concert on their Instagram accounts. Mick noted that the show raised money for the Maui Health Foundation, an organization providing high-quality health care to those in need.
“HAPPY 2026 TO ALL! We rocked all night,” Mick wrote next to his video. “What a night and cheers to the new year.”
Sammy posted video of the night as well, including a clip of him enlisting Adam Sandler from the audience to join him in singing Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lottta Love.”
Meanwhile, Sammy also posted a separate video where he detailed his New Year’s resolutions, sharing, “I’m just gonna keep doing more of the same, and I mean more of the same, not gonna change anything.”
More of the same for Sammy includes another set of Best of All Worlds Las Vegas residency dates, which kick off March 11 at Dolby Live at Park MGM. He’ll also launch a Best of All Worlds U.K. tour on July 4 in Manchester, marking his first time playing the U.K. since 1996.
Peter Gabriel performs at Little Caesars Arena on September 29, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images)
Peter Gabriel is starting the new year with new music.
The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has announced he’ll release the new album o/i this year, which is the follow up to 2023’s i/o.
Like i/o, Gabriel plans to release a new song from the album with each full moon of the year. The first track, “Been Undone,” is coming on Saturday to coincide with the Wolf Moon. The entire album will be released by the end of the year, along with Dark-Side and Bright-Side mixes, handled by Tchad Blake and Mark “Spike” Stent, respectively.
“I’m delighted to say that tonight, at the full moon, we will be beginning another year of full moon releases under the name oi,” Gabriel wrote on his website. “The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings.”
He noted, “These are my lumpy bits –i/o: the inside has a new way out and oi: the outside has a new way in. … Some of these songs are going to form part of the brain project that I’ve been exploring for a number of years, and some just make me feel happy. I hope you like them.”
Similar to i/o, the release of each new song will be accompanied by a piece of art. The “Been Undone” piece, Ciclotrama 156 (Palindrome), is from São Paulo–based artist Janaina Mello Landini.
Cover of ‘Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 5’,(Legacy Recordings)
Songs from David Bowie, Michael Jackson and more appear on Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 5, which is now available via digital outlets.
The collection features 14 songs, including tracks from Volume 1 and Volume 2 of season 5, as well as newly added songs from the series finale, which premiered on New Year’s Eve. Songs featured on the soundtrack include Jackson’s “Rockin’ Robin,” Tiffany‘s “I Think We’re Alone Now” and ABBA‘s “Fernando.”
One of the new additions to the soundtrack is Bowie’s “Heroes,” which was the series finale’s final song, and played over the final credits. It turns out Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington on the show, was the one who suggested it for the series’ send-off.
“Once Joe said that we immediately knew that was the right song to end the show on because it is, in some ways, an anthem for Stranger Things,” says series co-creator Ross Duffer. “To use the original Bowie version just felt right and fitting for the conclusion.”
Other new additions include Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper,” Pixies’“Here Comes Your Man” and Cowboy Junkies’ cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.”
In addition to the streaming release, Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 5 will be released Jan. 30 on CD, vinyl and red cassette. There will also be colored vinyl variants: red smoke, sold exclusively at Amazon; blue smoke, sold exclusively at Target; orange marble, sold exclusively at Walmart; and marble yellow, sold through the Sony Music store.
Here is the track list to Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 5: “Rockin’ Robin” – Michael Jackson “I Think We’re Alone Now” – Tiffany “Fernando” – ABBA “Mr. Sandman” – The Chordettes “Pretty In Pink” – The Psychedelic Furs “Heroes” – David Bowie “The Trooper” – Iron Maiden “Here Comes Your Man” – Pixies “Sh-Boom” – The Chords “Oh Yeah” – Yello “Human Cannonball” – Butthole Surfers “Heart and Soul” – Floyd Cramer “Sweet Jane” – Cowboy Junkies “To Each His Own” (Inspired by the Paramount Picture To Each His Own) – Freddy Martin & His Orchestra
Musician Joe Walsh of the Eagles performs onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The Eagles will return for more residency dates at the Sphere Las Vegas in January, with dates confirmed through March. While they’ve already announced that the March shows will be their final Sphere dates for 2026, guitarist Joe Walsh tells ABC Audio that doesn’t mean it will necessarily be their final shows ever at the venue.
“We’re in residence at the Sphere. From time to time, we’ll come back,” he says. “Other than that, all I know is we’re not done yet. We love playing together.”
And fans certainly love seeing them play together — and it’s not just those who’ve been with them from the beginning. In fact, Walsh says their audiences are made up of all generations of music fans.
“I guess that’s a secret to longevity,” says Walsh. “Kids know about us because their parents played our music, so they had to hear it. They had no choice. And now they have kids.”
He adds, “And everybody comes, you know? We have one, at least one of everything in our audience. Everybody gets along great. Everybody goes home happy.”
The Eagles’ first Sphere show of 2026 is Jan. 23, with dates confirmed through March 28. They are also set to headline New Orleans Jazz Fest on May 2. A complete list of dates can be found at Eagles.com.
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car crash in Sheffield, England.
After trying to pass a driver who had been taunting him on the road, Allen lost control of his vehicle and hit a wall. His arm got caught in the seat belt and was severed.
While doctors initially reattached the arm, it was later amputated due to infection.
Allen’s career as a drummer looked in doubt, but he eventually learned to play again on a specially designed electronic drum kit.
Allen and Def Leppard returned to the stage for his first concert following the accident on Aug. 16, 1986, at the Monsters of Rock Festival in Castle Donington, England.
He continues to perform with Def Leppard to this day. The band is set to launch a new Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, starting on Feb. 3.
The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson performs at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
The Black Crowes released their latest album, Happiness Bastards, in 2024, marking their first album of new material in 15 years. Fortunately for fans, it sounds like they won’t have to wait nearly as long for the band to release some more new music.
In a holiday message posted to social media and YouTube, The Crowes’ frontman Chris Robinson gave fans an update on what to expect in 2026, and that includes music.
“Big news in the new year from The Black Crowes,” Chris says in the clip. “We have some new music to share with you in January, coming pretty soon really, and we have big big big tour news for you as well. So happy holidays hope you had a great one.”
He ended the clip with the message, “A pound of feathers or a pound of lead. Look out below and mind your head. We’ll see ya soon.”
When it comes to touring, The Black Crowes have already announced several dates for 2026. They’ll kick off a tour in Australia on April 2 in Melbourne, followed by two nights in Japan on April 14 and 15. The band also has dates booked across the U.K. and Europe in June and July, and will open four shows on Guns N’ Roses’ North American tour, starting Aug. 22 in Las Vegas.
Bad Company’s Simon Kirke performs with Heart’s Nancy Wilson, The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
ABC will air The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, featuring performance highlights and standout moments of November’s ceremony, on New Year’s Day at 8 p.m. ET.
Bad Company was one of this year’s inductees, and drummer Simon Kirke says one of the secrets to their success was that they went out of their way to be different.
On the red carpet for this year’s induction, Kirke told ABC Audio that when the band was formed in late 1973 glam rock was huge, thanks to artists like David Bowie, T-Rex and others. He noted, “We wanted to be like the antithesis of that, and I think we just, we succeeded.”
Also inducted this year was Joe Cocker, whose music was celebrated during the ceremony by several artists, including Tedeschi Trucks‘ Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.
Tedeschi told ABC Audio she was a big fan of how Cocker interpreted songs, sharing, “Honestly that guy, he has so much soul and everything he’s saying, you might not understand all the words, but you felt the words.”
Trucks felt bad Cocker, who passed away in 2014, couldn’t be there to enjoy the induction.
“I mean, it’s a shame he’s not here for it,” he said. “I know it meant a lot to him. He really wanted this to happen.”
This year’s other inductees included Soundgarden, Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, Outkast and Cyndi Lauper.
Lauperbelieved November’s ceremony was “a great opportunity to bring people together.”
She told KABC-TV, “I grew up believing that rock and roll can save the world and to be part of the community, which I always was, but to remind people who we are and what we have done and what we can do together is kind of why I came.”
There were certainly a lot of big things happening in music in 2025. Here’s a roundup of some of the other music stories that made headlines this year:
–Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson surprised fans by announcing they were heading back on tour. Fifty Something, the band’s first tour in 10 years and the first since the death of drummer Neil Peart, will launch in June 2026. Playing drums on the tour will be Anika Nilles, who previously worked with the late Jeff Beck.
-Also announcing a return to the road was Bon Jovi. The Forever Tour, the band’s first trek since Jon Bon Jovi underwent vocal cord surgery in 2022, consists of shows in four cities — New York, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin — kicking off in July 2026 with nine shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
–Grateful Dead celebrated their 60th anniversary and were honored by the Recording Academy as the MusiCares Person of the Year. Anniversary celebrations included the release of the first official Grateful Dead greatest hits compilation, Enjoying The Ride. They ended the year by landing their 66th top-40 album on the Billboard 200 album chart, which earned them a Guinness World Record.
–Dead & Company, which features The Dead members Bobby Weir and Mickey Hart, also helped mark the Grateful Dead anniversary by headlining three shows at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
–Neil Young released the new album Talkin to the Trees, his first with his new band The Chrome Hearts, and hit the road on a world tour that came to the U.S. in August. The tour featured a headlining spot at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival, although Young initially announced he wouldn’t be playing the festival due to corporate sponsorship.
-Former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth hit the stage for the first time since 2020, headlining the annual M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland. He would go on to perform several dates throughout the U.S.
-Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason, best known for his work with Traffic, announced his retirement from touring after 60 years in the business due to ongoing health issues.
–KISS reunited for their first performances since wrapping their End of the Road World tour in New York in December 2023. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer performed two unmasked shows at the KISS Kruise: Landlocked convention in Las Vegas. KISS, including original member Peter Criss, were also celebrated with the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.
–U2 was honored with the Woody Guthrie Prize, and were also the first Irish artists to be honored as Academy Fellow of The Ivors Academy, the U.K. organization that presents The Ivor Novello Awards to celebrate excellence in British and Irish songwriting. Bono was also the subject of the Apple TV documentary Bono: Stories of Surrender, a “reimagining” of his one-man stage show, Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief.
–Rod Stewart played the Glastonbury Festival in the Legends spot, where he was joined by The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood — his former Faces bandmate — as well as Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall and Scottish singer Lulu.
–BillyIdol released the new album Dream Into It, his first full-length release since 2014’s Kings & Queens of the Underground. He was also the subject of a documentary, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, which had its premiere at New York’s Tribeca Festival.
Rick Springfield performs onstage during the Above Ground 4 concert benefiting Musicares at The Fonda Theatre on October 26, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Rick Springfield will help ring in the new year with a performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026, and the experience certainly isn’t new to the singer.
In fact, Springfield told ABC’s On the Red Carpet during rehearsals for the show that performing on Rockin’ Eve was “one of the first things I did when ‘Jessie’s Girl’ first broke,” referring to his #1 hit from 1981.
“So this is great. I’m very excited about it,” he added. “You know, when I saw it come in I said, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna do this.'”
With the year coming to a close, a lot of people probably already have their New Year’s resolutions in mind, but Springfield says he isn’t one of them.
“I’m a very goal-oriented person, and I don’t wait for New Year’s to make goals,” he said. “It’s kind of a cop-out.”
“I mean, I get it. It’s a good kind of point for someone to start, if they’re having a hard time starting,” he noted. “But I don’t really make the resolutions on the New Year’s thing. I just go for it all the time.”
As for what Springfield has planned for 2026, he joked that he’ll be “sleeping a lot” and also plans to visit his granddaughter a lot. There’s also plenty of music in store.
“I have a record coming out with a band I have called The Locusts that’s a double album coming out,” he said, “and I’ll also be recording a new album that I’m really excited about it.”
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026 kicks off on ABC Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET, with the show featuring countdowns from New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Puerto Rico and more.
