Van Halen released their 11th studio album, Van Halen III, their first with new lead singer Gary Cherone.
Cherone was the band’s third lead singer, following original frontman David Lee Roth, who left the group in 1985, and Sammy Hagar, who parted ways with the band 1996. The album was also the last to feature bassist Michael Anthony, who appeared on only three of the tracks.
While the album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200, it was a commercial disappointment for the band and wasn’t a hit with critics or fans.
Van Halen III was the only album Van Halen released with Cherone. The band didn’t release another album until 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth, which was a reunion album with Roth.
Paul McCartney fans are used to seeing him headline stadiums around the world, but he’s decided to take things down a notch for his next set of gigs.
The two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has just announced two shows at the 1,200 capacity Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. Dubbed Paul McCartney Rocks The Fonda!, the shows are happening March 27 and 28. Both shows will be phone-free, with devices secured in Yondr pouches.
Fans must register for a chance to buy tickets, with registration open until Wednesday at 10 p.m. PT. Fans can register for multiple shows, although there is a two-ticket limit per person.
The shows are McCartney’s first concerts since wrapping his North American Got Back 2025 tour in Chicago in November.
This isn’t the first time McCartney has played a small venue in recent years. Back in February 2025, he headlined three nights at New York’s Bowery Ballroom.
Admat for Ann Wilson ‘In My Voice’ screening & Q&A tour (Courtesy of High Rise PR)
Heart’s Ann Wilson will be hitting the road to support her upcoming documentary, In My Voice.
The singer will headline a 10-city screening and Q&A tour with the film’s director Barbara Hall. The tour kicks off May 11 in Seattle and will hit Vancouver, Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, New York, Toronto and more, before wrapping June 1 in Boston.
“This film is my story in my own words, told the way I’ve always wanted to tell it,” says Wilson. “It’s about finding my voice, keeping it alive, and sharing the journey with the people who’ve been part of it all along.”
“What an honor to tell the story of one of our greatest rock music voices of all time,” adds Hall. “Her voice notwithstanding, her story exceeds a scriptwriter’s imagination, and her courage to share her story is inspiring.”
The film follows the 75-year-old Wilson from her childhood to stardom in Heart and features personal home movies, photographs, journals and never-before-seen footage. It also includes contributions from the singer’s family, bandmates, fellow artists and more.
Information on when In My Voice will hit theaters is expected to be announced soon.
Cancer Support Community’s new helpline is ‘867-5309’ (Klick Health)
You’ve probably seen those TikToks where people go around their offices, ask co-workers what year they were born, and then ask them what Jenny’s number is. The answer, of course, is “867-5309,” the title of the 1982 top-5 hit by the band Tommy Tutone. But now, pop music’s most famous phone number is being put to good use.
The nonprofit Cancer Support Community, along with Gilda’s Club locations, has taken over the number, with full endorsement from the band. Now, anyone impacted by cancer who calls CSC-867-5309 will receive support, information and personalized guidance from trained specialists.
“I gave a ‘yes’ as soon as they asked me, because we’ve all got to give back sometimes,” says Tommy Tutone lead singer Tommy Heath, whose own family has been impacted by cancer. Heath, who’s still touring and recording new music, tells ABC Audio that he’s continually amazed at the ongoing popularity of the tune.
“Everybody knows that song,” says Heath, 78. “It’s the number three password in the world. It’s the number girls give the guys that don’t want to give them their real number … I think every young person knows what it is.”
He laughs, “I don’t know why [the ’80s] resonates so well. … Several people told me that it was the high point of Western civilization!”
There are varying accounts of what inspired the song, but Heath swears there’s a real Jenny, and 867-5309 was her parents’ number. “I speak to her once in a while. We joke about having a reality show about what really happened,” he says.
“But I remember introducing her to my wife and saying, ‘This is Jenny,'” he recalls. “And [she goes], ‘Hi, Jenny.’ And I go, “No, this is JENNY!”
‘The Grateful Dead Movie’ soundtrack 10-LP set (Mondo/Rhino Records)
The soundtrack to Grateful Dead’s 1977 concert documentary, The Grateful Dead Movie, is getting its first-ever vinyl release.
The fully restored soundtrack is being released as a 10-LP set featuring performances of such Dead songs as “Playing in the Band,” “The Other One,” “Scarlet Begonias,” “Casey Jones,” “Dark Star” and more.
The film, one of only two directed by late Dead founder Jerry Garcia, is a recording of the band’s five-night stand at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in October 1974, which at the time was believed to be their final set of shows. The run also saw the return of drummer Mickey Hart, who had left the band in 1971.
The new set, being released by Mondo in partnership with Rhino Records, is not only the first time the soundtrack is being released on vinyl, but the first time it’s been available in any format since 2005. It is pressed on colored, audiophile quality vinyl and will feature all 44 songs that appeared on the original CD release. It comes with 42-page book with rare and previously unseen photos and an essay by Dead historian Nicholas G. Meriwether.
“Widely considered one of the greatest runs of shows in the Grateful Dead’s history, October 1974 at the Winterland featured inspired, exciting and out-of-this-world playing,” says Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux. “We’re proud to partner with Mondo for a vinyl release that celebrates and preserves this essential document of the band’s legacy.”
The Grateful Dead Movie box set is limited to just 3,000 individually numbered units and is available for preorder now; shipping is expected in May.
Bonnie Raitt performs onstage during the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Bonnie Raitt is headed to California this fall.
The multi-Grammy winner has just announced a new set of California tour dates that kick off Oct. 7 in Redding. The tour includes an Oct. 14 show at the Theater at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which will be Raitt’s first show in the San Francisco city limits in several years.
The nine-show tour wraps with a two-night stand at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre on Oct. 20 and 21, marking Raitt’s first shows at the historic Los Angeles venue in almost 30 years.
All shows will feature special guest Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen.
“Jon is one of my favorite musicians and a former longtime bandmate,” Raitt writes on Instagram. “I can’t wait to hear him with his killer band every night and then sit in with us on several songs in our set. Big fun for us all. Come on down!”
A fan presale begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates and more ticket information can be found at BonnieRaitt.com.
Before she hits California, Raitt has several spring and summer shows on her schedule. Her next concert is happening May 28 in Spokane, Washington.
(L-R) Mac McAnally, Will Kimbrough and Peter Mayer perform during the Coral Reefer Band’s celebration of Jimmy Buffett on Day 8 of 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 05, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band will continue to celebrate the late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s legacy on the road.
The band — led by Mac McAnally and including Scotty Emerick, Will Kimbrough and others — will embark on the 19-date Keep The Party Going Tour, kicking off July 9 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and wrapping Aug. 8 in Boston.
Parrotheads will certainly have something to celebrate, with the the band set to perform Buffett’s most iconic hits as well as deep cuts on the tour. They’ll also get to hear stories from the musicians who had a special connection to the singer.
Following a Citi presale that begins Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time, tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at LiveNation.com.
Buffett passed away Sept.1, 2023, after a four-year battle with a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer. He was 76.
Legendary singer Judy Collins is saying goodbye to the road with one last tour.
The 86-year-old has just announced dates for the Sweet Judy Blue Eyes tour, which will run through 2027.
The trek is being billed as her farewell tour, and according to a press release, will give fans “a final opportunity to experience Judy’s timeless voice and storytelling live on stage.”
Following a trio of warm-up dates in June, the tour will officially kick off July 4 at the America Made In Virginia: 250 Years Together celebration in Williamsburg, Virginia, with dates confirmed through Nov. 29 in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
It will be followed by a series of encore performances, dubbed Sweet Judy Blue Eyes – Celebration Encore, which will offer devoted fans “an opportunity to celebrate six decades of musical brilliance with one of folk’s most treasured artists,” according to the press release.
A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at JudyCollins.com.
Michael Stipe attends Focus Features’ “The Phoenician Scheme” New York Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 28, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
In a 2023 New York Times article, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe opened up about his long-in-the-works solo album. Well, fans are still waiting on that album, and now Stipe’s giving them another update on the project.
In an interview with the U.K. Times, Stipe says the album has “taken longer than I wanted,” noting, “Covid didn’t help, but I’m finishing it.”
R.E.M. broke up in 2011, and Stipe tells the paper that after that he “just needed a break,” adding, “I took five years but I got pulled back into music.”
“It’s been a struggle. That’s the main thing,” he says of the album. “I want it to be great, but I’ve got the pressure of having been in R.E.M. and it’s a high bar, because I want this to be as good as that, and that’s near impossible.”
“So it’s f****** exciting but also terrifying, and I’m doing the music for the first time too, and I think I’m good at it but not great,” he says of the album. “But I love my voice. I don’t like my speaking voice but I love my singing voice, and I so want to immerse myself back into offering music to the world.”
It sounds like Stipe has plenty of work to do, with the article noting he still has lyrics to complete on eight songs before the album’s done, although he’s hoping to have it out before the end of the year.
As for the title, Stipe says he hasn’t settled on one yet, noting, “But I did think about Meet THE Michael Stipe.”
Elton John attends during Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 34th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party on March 15, 2026 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation)
Elton John’s annual Oscar viewing party, a fundraiser for his AIDS Foundation, took in $10.6 million Sunday night in West Hollywood.
The party featured Grammy-winning singer Lola Young as the musical entertainment, and included a cocktail reception, dinner and an auction where guests bid on an Elton John pinball machine, dinner with Elton and his husband David Furnish, jewelry, art photography, Rolex watches and a painting that was created live while Elton played a solo piano version of “Tiny Dancer.”
Guests at the event included Olympic star Alysa Liu, Dua Lipa and her fiancé Callum Turner, Fran Drescher, JC Chasez of *NSYNC, Brandi Carlile, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Adam Lambert, Melissa McCarthy, Patricia Arquette, Tiffany Haddish, Yungblud, Donatella Versace, Bernie Taupin, Damiano David and his fiancée Dove Cameron, Keke Palmer and many more.
Over the years, Elton’s viewing party has raised over $125 million for the Foundation’s efforts to end AIDS. On Sunday night, Elton thanked his guests, adding, “We have a lot of work to do, still, but we’re gonna fight on. You know, I said I will never rest until this is finished. Well, I’m not gonna rest until it’s finished, and you’ve been a huge part of that.”
