Classic Hits

Fans who attended Wednesday night’s concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s debut EP, Chronic Town, got quite the surprise. Consequence reports R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck made an appearance at the gig. 

The show took place in R.E.M.’s hometown of Athens, Georgia, and while Mills and Buck were not initially on the bill, they wound up playing with the house band, which featured Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson and Sven Pipien, and Screaming Trees’ Barrett Martin. Songs played include “So. Central Rain” and “Fall on Me.”

The concert was hosted by comedian David Cross and also had several artists, including Darius Rucker, Fred Armisen, Indigo Girls, Patti Smith Group’s Lenny Kaye and Drivin N Cryin’s Kevin Kinney, paying tribute to the band with their own performances of R.E.M. songs.

Another Chronic Town tribute concert happens Thursday in Atlanta. Proceeds from the concerts will be donated to Planned Parenthood.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Carole King’s life is coming to the big screen. A movie adaptation of Beautiful, the Broadway musical about her life, is in the works, with Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones set to play King and The Kids Are All Right’s Lisa Cholodenko set to direct. 

“Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognized as myself when I was younger,” King tells Variety. “She’s a tremendous talent and I know she’s going to give a great performance.”

Beautiful opened on Broadway in 2014 and earned actress Jessie Mueller a Tony Award for her portrayal of King. The show, which closed in 2019, tells the story of King’s songwriting career and eventual stardom as a singer, using many of her biggest hits, including “One Fine Day,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “I Feel the Earth Move” and “You’ve Got a Friend,” in the show.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Duran Duran will be ringing in 2023 in New York’s Times Square. The band is set to perform live on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2023.

The new Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have been tapped to play a medley of their classic hits just before midnight, ahead of the ball drop. Other artists performing in Times Square include New Edition, BTS’s J-Hope and Jax.

Other performers helping to celebrate the new year on the show include Fitz & The Tantrums, Maddie & Tae, Shaggy, Ben Platt, Aly & AJ, Halle Bailey, Tomorrow x Together, Bailey Zimmerman, Lauren Spencer Smith, Wiz Khalifa, Finneas, Armani White, Betty Who, Dove Cameron and Nicky Youre.

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2023 airs live on ABC starting at 8 p.m. December 31.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Songwriter Shirley Eikhard, best known for writing Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-nominated tune “Something To Talk About,” has died at the age of 67, Consequence reports. No cause of death has been revealed.

The Raitt hit, which appeared on her 1991 Grammy-winning album, Luck of the Draw, peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys in 1992, while Raitt won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her recording of the track. In 2020 the song was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Eikhard, who was Canadian, also wrote songs that were recorded by artists like Cher, The Pointer Sisters, Anne Murray and Emmylou Harris. She recorded 17 of her own albums, and won two Juno Awards for Best Country Female in 1972 and 1973. She was also named Songwriter of the Year at the Juno Awards in 1992.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Andy Summers is revisiting a Police classic. Summers just announced he’s dropping a new version of “Bring on the Night” on Friday, which he recorded with Italian guitar quartet 40 Fingers.

And it seems Andy may have been hinting at the collaboration earlier this year. He previously posted a video of him and 40 Fingers at his Harmonics of the Night photo exhibition in Hamburg, Germany, back in October. In his announcement, he says the recording was filmed there.

“Bring on the Night,” which was written by the Police frontman Sting, was featured on the band’s sophomore album, 1979’s Reggatta de Blanc. It was also the title track to Sting’s 1986 live album, as well as the 1985 Michael Apted-directed documentary on Sting’s solo career.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

We are getting our first real look at the upcoming movie about music producer Neil Bogart and Casablanca Records. The film, Spinning Gold, hits theaters March 31 and tells the story of the producer credited with launching the careers of such artists as Donna Summer, Gladys Knight, Parliament Funkadelic, The Village People and even KISS.

The movie stars Tony winner Jeremy Jordan as Bogart, with a cast that also includes Michelle Monaghan, Dan Fogler, Jay Pharoah, Chris Redd, Michael Ian Black and Sebastian Maniscalco.

In addition, X Ambassadors vocalist Sam Harris plays KISS’ Paul Stanley, with Casey Likes as Gene Simmons and All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth as Peter Criss. Other artists portrayed in the film include George Clinton, played by Wiz Khalifa; Ron Isley, played by Jason Derulo; Gladys Knight, played by Ledisi; Bill Withers, played by Pink Sweat$; and Donna Summer, played by Tayla Parx.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Looks like a lot of David Bowie fans went to the movies this year. BMG reports that BoxOfficeMojo figures show the Bowie doc Moonage Daydream is 2022’s highest-grossing documentary, grossing more than $12.2 million.

Just how big is that? Well, to put it in perspective, the doc at #2, 2000 Mules, brought in just $1.4 mil — and it came out in May, while the Bowie doc was released in September. 

Moonage Daydream, directed by documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen, focused on Bowie’s catalog from 1970 to 1977. It was described as “a sublime kaleidoscopic experiential cinematic odyssey that explores Bowie’s creative, spiritual, and philosophical journey.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Siouxsie and the Banshees frontwoman Siouxsie Sioux hasn’t performed live since 2013, but that’ll change next year.

The “Kiss Them For Me” artist is confirmed to perform at the United Kingdom’s 2023 Latitude Festival, taking place July 20-23.

The bill also includes Pulp, George Ezra, Paolo Nutini and The Kooks. For the full lineup and all ticket info, visit LatitudeFestival.com.

When Sioux takes the stage at Latitude next year, she might see some younger fans in the audience. The music of Siouxsie and the Banshees has been reaching Generation Z this year with a placement on the Stranger Things season 4 soundtrack, while Sioux helped influence the viral Wednesday dance scene.

Meanwhile, a new Banshees compilation titled All Souls dropped in October.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As previously reported, The Rolling Stones are dropping the new live album and DVD GRRR Live! on February 10, and to celebrate they’ve announced a new interactive virtual concert event with Kiswe.

The online screening will take place February 2 at 8 p.m. Thanks to the Kiswe Live platform, viewers from across the globe can be part of the excitement. They can share short video selfies, and they’ll be able to see themselves on screen and be seen by others as the performance airs. 

GRRR Live!, recorded December 15, 2012, at Newark’s Prudential Center during the band’s 50 & Counting tour, was the final of four shows in the New York area and was a pay-per-view event. It featured guest appearances by such big names as Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Mick Taylor and The Black Keys.

Tickets for the interactive experience go on sale Thursday at 3 p.m. ET at RollingStonesNewark.com.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

AXS TV is helping music fans ring in the new year with a lineup of iconic concerts to keep folks entertained.

The party kicks off at 3:30 p.m. with Def Leppard: Hits Vegas, a concert from Sin City featuring classic tunes and rare cuts like “Too Late For Love” and “Two Steps Behind,” followed by Kid Rock: Live From The Artists Den at 7 p.m. 

As we get closer to midnight, fans get another Sin City concert, KISS Rocks Vegas, which was filmed during their residency at the Hard Rock Hotel, airing at 8 p.m. That’s followed by Mötley Crüe: The End – Live In Los Angeles, which has them returning home for a concert that features such hits as “Girls Girls Girls” and “Shout at the Devil.”

Finally, as the clock strikes midnight, fans can chill out with Stevie Nicks – 24 Karat Gold, in which she performs such classics as “Landslide” and “Gypsy.”

And then, on New Year’s Day, fans can look back on some of the important moments in music history with a day of A Year in Music programming, looking back on 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993 and 2003.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.