Classic Hits – Page 811

Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson reunite to perform at ‘South Park’ 25th anniversary concert

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Rush‘s surviving members, singer/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson, reunited Wednesday night at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, at a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the popular animated comedy show South Park.

Lee and Lifeson made a surprise appearance, joining their longtime friends Primus for a performance of Rush’s classic 1977 song “Closer to the Heart” while South Park co-creator Matt Stone sat in on drums.

This marked the first time Lee and Lifeson have played together in public since longtime Rush drummer Neil Peart‘s death from brain cancer in January 2020.

Before Lee and Lifeson hit the stage, a video featuring South Park-style cartoon
versions of them was shown in which they humorously discussed what they could do to help Stone and South Park co-creator Trey Parker celebrate the 25th anniversary.

“[Should we] send them some free Rush beer?” Lee poses. “Or even worse, we could show up and jam with them, eh?” Lee and Lifeson then hit the stage, to wild applause.

Rolling Stone reports the concert included full sets from Primus and Ween, and Stone joined in on various instruments for renditions of original South Park songs.

The show was filmed for South Park: The 25th Anniversary Concert special, which premieres on Comedy Central this Saturday, August 13, at 10 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Paramount+ starting August 14.

Stone is a lifelong Rush fan, and the band has been referenced in South Park numerous times, including the 2011 episode “Royal Pudding” that features the prog-rock legends performing at a vigil after the princess of Canada was kidnapped.

The Beach Boys, Alanis Morissette & more soundtracking 2022 Peloton All for One Festival

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Beach Boys, Alanis Morissette and Green Day are just three of more than 30 artists that will help you work up a sweat during with the recently announced 2022 Peloton All for One Festival.

The home exercise company’s annual event features a variety of well-known musical acts contributing their music to a special weekend of Peloton classes, which this year takes place from August 19 to August 21. Members will be able to choose from different musician-themed courses, including cycling, running, strength and yoga.

The Beach Boys are contributing a new remix of their classic 1966 song “God Only Knows,” created by DJ John Michael specially for Peloton.

Other participating artists include Maroon 5, John Mayer, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Wu-Tang Clan, Muse, Florence + the Machine and T-Pain.

Peloton has been putting on this event every year since 2018 — but it only became a music festival last year. The home fitness company made the change to help its members feel more connected, thanks to the power of music, during the ongoing pandemic that caused many gyms to shut their doors.

“All for One has always been a way for us to connect the Peloton community since music is an essential part of keeping the experience fresh and motivating for our Members,” says Peloton executive Gwen Riley. “This year, we’re giving members more classes and more artists than ever before for a three-day celebration of music, movement and our community around the world!”

For more info, visit OnePeloton.com.

Melissa Etheridge’s “new calling”: Stopping fights on ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Melissa Etheridge is a musician, Oscar winner, Grammy winner and breast cancer survivor, but now she can add another line to her resume: reality show peacemaker.

On Wednesday night’s episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Melissa made a surprise appearance at a charity dinner hosted by Dorit Kemsley. When she arrived, she inadvertently stopped things from descending into chaos.

As E! Online reports, Lisa Rinna and Sutton Stracke had gotten into a screaming match at the event and were slinging expletives across the room at each other, while all the other guests watched in horror. But then Melissa came down the stairs and performed “Come to My Window,” and suddenly everyone chilled out.

In fact, Lisa even apologized to Sutton and the rest of the Housewives, tearfully attributing her outburst to misdirected anger. “I’m trying to figure out how to live without my mom and I don’t know how to do it,” she said.

Melissa retweeted the E! Online article — titled “How Melissa Etheridge Stopped a RHOBH Dinner Party From Hell” — and added, “I have new calling!!” She also tweeted a photo of herself posing with the glamorous housewives, and captioned the pic, “one of these things is not like the other…“

Eagles add more US shows to Hotel California trek in November

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Eagles recently announced that they extended their Hotel California 2022 Tour with a run of six Canadian dates in September, and now comes word that “due to overwhelming demand,” the band also will be playing six more shows in the U.S. in November.

The newly added stateside concerts are scheduled for November 15 in St. Louis; November 17 in Des Moines, Iowa; November 19 in New Orleans; November 21 in Birmingham, Alabama; November 23 in Kansas City, Missouri; and November 25 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Tickets for their shows go on sale to the general public on Friday, August 19, at 10 a.m. local time, while a limited number of VIP packages will be available that day. Presale tickets will be available starting Thursday, August 18, at 10 a.m. local time. Visit Eagles.com for more information.

As previously reported, the tour features the Eagles performing their classic 1976 Hotel California album in its entirety, as well as other memorable tunes by the group, accompanied by an orchestra and a choir. The band’s current lineup includes founding singer/drummer Don Henley, longtime guitarist Joe Walsh, bassist Timothy B. Schmit, and country star Vince Gill on vocals and guitar.

The Eagles’ Canadian outing is plotted out from a September 9 concert in Toronto through a September 22 show in Vancouver. The band wrapped up a series of European dates in June and also mounted an extensive U.S. leg earlier this year.

Olivia Newton-John’s official state funeral to be “more of a concert”

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Olivia Newton-John‘s state memorial service in her home country of Australia will be “more of a concert than a funeral,” said a government official.

Born in England, Olivia grew up in Melbourne, the capital of the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria Premier Dan Andrews tweeted, “I’m so pleased that Olivia [Newton]-John’s family have accepted our offer of a State Memorial Service. We’re working with Olivia’s family on the details, but it will be more of a concert than a funeral – fitting for a Victorian who lived such a rich and generous life.”

Previously, Olivia’s niece Totti Goldsmith told an Australian TV show that the family had accepted the offer. And certainly, there’s no shortage of singers who’d love to pay tribute to the beloved Grease star.

Meanwhile, Olivia’s husband, John Easterling, has posted a tribute to her on Instagram in which he writes, “At Olivia’s deepest essence she was a healer using her mediums of song, of words, of touch. She was the most courageous woman I’ve ever known. Her bandwidth for genuinely caring for people, for nature and all creatures almost eclipses what is humanely [sic] possible.”

He adds, “It is only the grace of God that has allowed me to share the depth and passion of her being for so long. In her most difficult times she always had the spirit, the humor, and the will power to move things into the light. Even now as her soul soars, the pain and holes in my heart are healed with the joy of her love and the light that shines forward.”

He concludes, “Our family deeply appreciates the vast ocean of love and support that has come our way.”

Madonna joins Jimmy Fallon and The Roots for a performance of “Music” using classroom instruments

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

On Wednesday’s The Tonight Show, Madonna joined host Jimmy Fallon and his house band The Roots in the Tonight Show Music Room for a version of “Music,” from her new compilation album, Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones — performed with classroom instruments.

In the recurring segment, Fallon and The Roots back music artists for a version of one of their popular songs, using instruments you would find in a classroom.

In this case, it was Madonna rocking the triangle, with Fallon pounding a wood block while Roots members played a toy xylophone, a melodica, a toy guitar, tambourines and shakers.

Past music room guests have included Justin Bieber, Jonas Brothers, Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran and Adele.

Madonna also shared the stories behind a couple of her number-one hits, including “Everybody,” which she said she convinced the DJ at a New York City club called Danceteria to play, marking the first time she saw people dancing to one of her songs.

She also shared a story about her notorious 1984 MTV Video Music Awards performance of “Like a Virgin.”

“I walked down these very steep stairs of a wedding cake and I got to the bottom and I started dancing and my white stiletto pump fell off,” she recalled. “I was trying to do this like smooth move, like dive for the shoe and make it look like it was choreography, and my dress flipped up and my butt was showing!”

America’s Gerry Beckley reflects on a couple of highlights from new solo album, ‘Aurora’

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

America‘s Gerry Beckley recently released his latest solo album, Aurora, an 11-track collection recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic at his two home studios — in Sydney, Australia, and Venice, California.

Beckley tells ABC Audio that because the pandemic kept America off the road for quite a while, it not only gave him extra time to write new songs but it also gave him the opportunity “to dig in to some of the [incomplete] older things that I had nowhere near the time or patience to finish [before].”

One song on Aurora that undoubtedly will interest America fans is “Tickets to the Past,” which Beckley wrote with his co-founding bandmate Dewey Bunnell, who also sings on the track.

Beckley says Bunnell got involved in the track because the song “was missing a verse,” and he decided to ask Dewey to help finish the tune.

“Dewey wrote a lovely verse,” Gerry notes, “and then…Jeff Larson, my co-producer, went up and got Dewey’s vocal.”

He adds, “[I]t was…a lovely addition to this record, because normally these solo albums are, you know, key word ‘solo.’ I not only write most of it, but play most of it…So it’s lovely to have him. It’s a great song. I’m really happy with it.”

Meanwhile, Beckley has just released a “visualizer” video for another Aurora track, “Way to Go,” which was inspired by the classic Philadelphia soul sound of the 1970s.

“[O]ne of my favorite tracks of all time is The Spinners‘ ‘I’ll Be Around,'” Gerry reveals. “And, you know, these are pop songs, but they are just approached with an incredibly identifiable dynamic, that whole Philly sound.”

Beckley also points out that he layered his background vocals on the track “trying to do the whole soul group [sound].”

Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison among artists added to 2022 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest lineup

August 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Talking Heads guitarist/keyboardist Jerry Harrison and former King Crimson guitarist/singer Adrian Belew are among the artists who have been added to the lineup of the 2022 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, which takes place from September 30 to October 2 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Harrison will be joined by Belew, who toured and recorded with Talking Heads during the early ’80s, and a group of backing musicians for a performance of the band’s classic 1980 album Remain in Light. Their set will also feature select other Talking Heads tunes, as well as songs from their respective solo careers.

Other artists confirmed to play the festival include Emmylou Harris, Marcus Mumford, Lucius and Buddy Miller. For more info about the festival, which is a free event, visit HardlyStrictlyBluegrass.com.

Ahead of their performance at the festival, Harrison and Belew will come together for a special concert and Q&A event celebrating the Remain in Light album on September 29 at the famed Los Angeles theater The Wiltern.

The show will begin with a conversation between Harrison, Belew and actress/singer Tawny Newsome about the Talking Heads’ heyday, and the group’s influence on the musical and cultural landscape. Harrison and Belew will then perform with a group of musicians that includes former members of the Brooklyn, New York-based band Turkuaz.

Tickets for the event are available now at LiveNation.com.

Harrison, Belew and members of Turkuaz previously gave a series of performances celebrating Remain in Light in 2021 and earlier this year.

Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs to publish debut novel in 2023

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs is going from walking like an Egyptian to writing like an author: She’s publishing her first novel, This Bird Has Flown, next spring.

The book is about a washed-up pop singer who finds new inspiration when she falls in love with an Oxford literature professor she meets on a plane to London. Helen Fielding, who wrote Bridget Jones’ Diary, calls the book a “sexy, page-turning treat.”

Susanna tells Entertainment Weekly, “I decided to make my protagonist a musician and songwriter because it’s a job I know well … I also wanted to give readers a peek behind the curtain of what it’s like to face an audience with your heart thumping so loudly you fear they can hear it, too — and then, somehow, to find your voice.”

The “Eternal Flame” singer adds that she found the novel-writing process “truly exhilarating,” adding, “It was permission to escape into my fictional world with my characters, as though I’d gone through a portal into another world. … It was essentially like playing with dolls in my imagination.”

This Bird Has Flown — presumably titled after the Beatles song “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” — arrives April 4, 2023.

Blondie postpones one concert, cancels another because of “recent positive COVID test”

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Blondie was scheduled to play a concert Wednesday night at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York, but the show has now been postponed “[o]ut of an abundance of caution due to a recent positive COVID test,” according to a message on the band’s social media pages.

The performance has been moved to August 31, and a new show has been added at the same venue on September 1. Meanwhile, an August 12 concert at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, which was to have marked the launch of a new U.S. leg of Blondie’s Against the Odds Tour, has been canceled.

Tickets that were purchased online for the Foxwoods show will be automatically refunded within 30 days, while tickets bought at the box office can be returned there for an immediate refund.

Blondie’s trek is now slated to kick off on August 14 at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston. Most of the band’s upcoming shows through an August 27 performance in Chicago will feature veteran British punk group The Damned as the support act.

The Against the Odds Tour gets its name from Blondie’s upcoming box set, Against the Odds: 1974-1982, an expansive collection that delves into the early part of the influential New Wave band’s career. The box set will be released on August 26 and can be preordered now.

Meanwhile, in celebration of the Against the Odds collection, Blondie has launched a contest offering the chance to win one of 30 prints of photos of singer Debbie Harry taken by guitarist Chris Stein, all of which have been signed by Debbie and Chris.

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