Classic Hits

As one of the most famous musicians to hail from Alabama, it’s only fitting that Lionel Richie return to his home state for a very special performance in July.

The Tuskegee, Alabama native will headline the closing ceremony of The World Games 2022, which will be held July 17 at Protective Stadium. It’ll mark the first time Lionel’s performed in Alabama in more than 20 years.

The closing ceremony will also feature other Alabama musicians, such as the country group Alabama, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Motown legend Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas, rapper Yung Bleu, and American Idol alums Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Bo Bice.

Funk legend Bootsy Collins will be the emcee for both the opening and closing ceremonies of The World Games, an international event featuring sports that aren’t part of the Olympic Games, like kickboxing, pool, squash and tug of war.  Performers at the opening ceremonies include Sheila E., Tony! Toni! Tone!, Yolanda Adams and Nelly.

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ABBA is ready to embark on their first-of-its kind Voyage concert series, which will feature a digital version of the band on stage.  Singer Björn Ulvaeus previewed the upcoming effort and admitted a lot is riding on its success.

Speaking to London’s Sunday Times, the Swedish pop legend opened up about ABBA coming together for the first time in 40 years, which saw them release the Grammy nominated album Voyage.  Now, the group will perform a series of “revolutionary” concerts and Ulvaeus admits he is feeling the pressure.

“It’s an immense risk and most people I talk to don’t appreciate that,” he said. “They say, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine.’ Sometimes I wake up at four in the morning and think, ‘What the hell have we done?'”

ABBA Voyage, the concert experience featuring a performance by digital avatars of the band’s four members, accompanied by a 10-piece live band, will take place at the specially built ABBA Arena at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

“Lots of artists are going to be studying us, definitely,” Ulvaeus added. “I won’t name names, but I can think of a few.”  He cryptically teased, “I wonder who’s going to be first. I couldn’t possibly comment.”

ABBA fans certainly have theories and will be sure to watch out for the famous faces who will be among the audience when the concert series kicks off on May 27.

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Earth, Wind & Fire played a seven-show Las Vegas residency last November at Venetian Resort’s Venetian Theatre, and now the band has announced plans for a similar limited engagement at the venue this fall.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees have scheduled seven new concerts taking place October 26, 28 and 29 and November 2, 4, 5 and 6.

Tickets for the shows go on sale to the general public this Friday, May 6, at 10 a.m. PT at Ticketmaster.com, VenetianLasVegas.com and any Venetian resort box office, or by calling 702-414-9000 or 866-641-7469.

Citi card members can purchase pre-sale tickets starting this Tuesday, May 3, at 10 a.m. PT via the Citi Entertainment program; visit CitiEntertainment.com for more info.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers and members of The Venetian Resort’s Grazie Rewards program will be able to purchase pre-sale tickets beginning Wednesday, May 4, at 10 a.m. PT. A limited number of VIP packages also will be available.

The legendary funk/soul group also has a bevy of U.S. headlining concerts scheduled this year, as well as joint trek with Santana dubbed the Miraculous Supernatural tour that scheduled to run from a June 17 show in Chula Vista, California, all the way through an August 27 performance in Tampa, Florida.

Visit EarthWindandFire.com for the band’s full list of dates.

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In September 2020, Todd Rundgren announced that he would be releasing a new album titled Space Force in early 2021 featuring collaborations with an eclectic variety of artists, similar to his most recent studio effort, 2017’s White Knight.

However, Space Force has yet to be released, and Rundgren recently admitted to ABC Audio that there was no “hard date” for the album’s arrival, even though the project has “been done for a year.”

The 73-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer explained that the delay was due to supply chain issues involving vinyl, noting that his label, Cleopatra Records, “insists on putting out all formats at once.”

Rundgren added with a laugh, “[T]hey’re just waiting for Adele to stop hogging up all the vinyl [for her hit album 30], and then maybe we’ll have a release date.”

Todd has already released four advance tracks from Space Force — “Espionage,” featuring Iraqi-Canadian hip-hop artist Narcy; “Down with the Ship” with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo; “Your Fandango” with eclectic sibling duo Sparks; and “Godiva Girl” with The Roots.

Rundgren revealed that other guest artists on Space Force include Cheap Trick‘s Rick Nielsen, Steve Vai, Thomas Dolby, Crowded House frontman Neil Finn, former King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, and indie-rock group The Lemon Twigs.

Meanwhile, Todd has a busy upcoming U.S. tour schedule. From May 12 to May 22, he’ll be opening for Daryl Hall on a run of six concert. From May 24 to June 26, he’ll be taking part in a new series of dates on the “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today” Beatles tribute trek that also features Joey Molland, Denny Laine, Christopher Cross and Jason Scheff. Then, from June 30 to July 30, Rundgren will be hafining his own Unpredictable Tour.

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A previously unreleased soundtrack album that Peter Gabriel recorded in 1981 for a short film called Undecurrents, by renowned British painter Graham Dean, will be included in a multimedia box set focusing on Dean’s work titled Strange Beauty that’s due out on June 30.

The Deluxe Edition of the Strange Beauty collection features a book of Dean’s artwork, a DVD boasting films and music videos that Graham directed, and cassette of the Undercurrents soundtrack, marking the recording’s first official release.

Limited to only 50 copies and priced at $600, the deluxe box set also comes with a certificate signed by Dean and two pieces of his artwork.

The Undercurrents is a 14-minute instrumental piece that Peter composed and recorded to accompany a short film Dean made for an exhibition of his work. The flick, which combines images and film footage that Dean then manipulated, also was shown at the time on a BBC arts television program called Riverside.

Graham recalls that Peter agreed to take part in the project in exchange for a painting, and the recording was done over the course of an all-night session.

The original multi-track tapes of the soundtrack were recently rediscovered by Gabriel’s Real World record label and the recording was newly remixed last year.

The DVD featured in the Strange Beauty box set includes the Undercurrents film, as well as music videos Dean shot in 1993 for two of Gabriel’s classic songs: “Solsbury Hill” and “In Your Eyes.” The disc also includes two other short films by Dean that feature music by Gabriel’s longtime guitarist David Rhodes.

Strange Beauty also is available as a signed hardback edition and an unsigned soft-cover version, both of which feature just the book and the DVD.

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Stevie Wonder will be presented with an honorary doctorate degree by Detroit’s Wayne State University on May 7 during the school’s spring 2022 commencement festivities.

The Motown legend, who was born in Saginaw, Michigan, will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters in acknowledgement of his musical achievements and contributions, and in honor of his work as an advocate for civil rights and for the disabled.

In recognizing Wonder with the doctorate, the school notes that he’s sold over 100 million records worldwide; that he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom; and that he led the successful efforts to have Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s birthday declared a national holiday.

The ceremony honoring Stevie will begin at 1 p.m. ET on May 7. Former Saturday Night Live cast member — and Detroit native — Tim Meadows also will receive an honorary degree from Wayne State that day.

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Van Morrison has debuted a third advance track from his forthcoming 43rd studio effort, What’s It Gonna Take? — a soulful, violin-driven tune titled “Dangerous.”

“Dangerous,” which is the new album’s lead track, is available now via digital formats. The song features Morrison apparently addressing the negative reaction he’s received after voicing his views criticizing the U.K.’s COVID-19 response, particularly the effect that closing music venues has had on musicians’ ability to support themselves financially.

“Somebody said I was dangerous/ I said something bad, it had to be good,” Morrison sings. “Well there must be somebody looking, seeing I’m close to it/ Maybe I’m getting close to the truth.”

What’s It Gonna Take? will be released on May 20, and can be pre-ordered now. The 15-track collection will be the eighth studio effort that the 76-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has issued in the past six years. The album will be available on CD, as a two-LP set pressed on either black vinyl or colored vinyl, as a digital download and via streaming services.

According to a press statement, the songs on What’s It Gonna Take? reflect Morrison’s “indefatigable drive to record and perform live in front of audiences.”

Prior to “Dangerous,” Morrison released the advance tracks “Pretending” and “Nervous Breakdown.”

Van currently on tour in the U.S., with his next performance is scheduled for Friday night at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. Visit VanMorrison.com to check out his full tour itinerary.

Here’s the full track list of What’s It Gonna Take?:

“Dangerous”
“What’s It Gonna Take?”
“Fighting Back Is the New Normal”
“Fodder for the Masses”
“Can’t Go On This Way”
“Sometimes It’s Just Blah Blah Blah”
“Money from America”
“Not Seeking Approval”
“Damage and Recovery”
“Nervous Breakdown”
“Absolutely Positively the Most”
“I Ain’t No Celebrity”
“Stage Name”
“Fear and Self-Loathing in Las Vegas”
“Pretending”

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Following the recent release of the deluxe reissue of his second solo album, 1998’s Another World, Queen guitarist Brian May has debuted a new music video for the record’s title track at his official YouTube channel.

The clip was shot recently at various locations in the Canary Islands, where Brian says he feels “closest to Heaven.”

May originally wrote “Another World” for the Gwyneth Paltrow film Sliding Doors, but the song wasn’t used in the movie because of contractual issues. The tune was inspired by the film’s plot, which looks at how someone’s life might change if one small incident happens differently.

Brian explains that “Another World” “is all about how things might be in a parallel universe.” He admits that he “was kind of heartbroken” about the song not being used in the movie, but notes that “it became the pivot around which my album revolved.”

May says among the sites he visited for the “Another World” video were “the IAC observatories of Tenerife, and La Palma, where the biggest telescope in the world sits… [and] the beautiful small island of El Hierro, where lives the tree that adorns the front cover of this album.”

The Canary Islands hold great sentimental value to Brian, because, prior to joining Queen, he studied astronomy at the Observatorio El Teide in Tenerife. He later completed his PhD degree and was awarded a doctorate in astrophysics in 2007.

Reflecting on his Canary Islands visit, May says, “This beautiful place above the clouds is where I did the observing work for my PhD. And this is where I used to steal outside under the stars, with a small acoustic guitar, and strum away and sing, and, I guess, commune with the Cosmos!”

The Another World reissue is available now in multiple formats.

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Dolly Parton is currently on the ballot for potential inclusion in this year’s class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, despite a statement she made last month requesting that her nomination be withdrawn.  Now, she’s changed her mind.

In her bid to remove herself from the running, Dolly explained that she didn’t feel she’d earned the right to be considered, despite being “extremely flattered and grateful.” She did say that the nomination had inspired her to release a rock album one day, and she hoped the Hall would be open to considering her again in the future, after she’d created more of a body of work in the rock genre.

But the Hall soon countered to say that Dolly would stay on the ballot, despite her wishes.

“From its inception, Rock and Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music. It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture,” read a statement released by the institution.

In a new interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Dolly now says that she misunderstood the scope of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, underscoring that she didn’t want to take votes away from any other nominees who are more firmly rooted in the rock genre.

“I just felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me, because I never considered myself a rock artist. But obviously, there’s more to it than that,” she noted.

In the light of the Hall’s response, though, Dolly says she’ll “accept gracefully” if inducted. “I would just say thanks and I’ll accept it because the fans vote,” she went on to say.

Dolly is one of 17 nominees up for possible induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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