Classic Hits

AXS TV will bid farewell to 2021 and welcome 2022 with a special three-day block of programming that features a variety of concert films, including network premieres showcasing live performances by KISS, Def Leppard and Stevie Nicks.

AXS TV’s “New Year’s Eve Weekend Concert Marathon” kicks off with KISS Rocks Vegas at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Def Leppard: Hits Vegas at 9:30 p.m. ET.

KISS Rocks Vegas and Def Leppard: Hits Vegas were filmed, respectively, in 2014 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and in 2019 at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater.

Then on Saturday, New Year’s Day, Nicks’ 2020 concert film 24 Karat Gold will get its AXS TV premiere at 8 p.m. ET. The movie features performance footage from shows Stevie played in Indiana and Pittsburgh in 2017, during her 24 Karat Gold tour.

Other concert films being aired on AXS TV from December 31 to January 2 will feature performances by Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Cyndi Lauper, Heart, Tom Petty, Peter Frampton, Bad Company, The Who and Van Morrison.

As the New Year’s programming block winds down, AXS TV will premiere a new episode of The Top Ten Revealed at 8 p.m. ET focusing debut albums released in 1982, followed by a new episode of the Rock Legends docuseries at 8:30 p.m. ET that looks at post-punk acts.

Here’s AXS TV’s full New Year’s weekend schedule:

12/31/21
8 p.m. ET — KISS Rocks Vegas*
9:30 p.m. ET — Def Leppard: Hits Vegas*
1 a.m. ET — KISS Rocks Vegas
2:30 a.m. ET — Kid Rock

1/1/22
10 a.m. ET — Fleetwood Mac: The Dance
12:30 p.m. ET — Def Leppard: Hits Vegas
4 p.m. ET — Chicago
5 p.m. ET — Cyndi Lauper
6 p.m. ET — Heart: Part One
7 p.m. ET — Heart: Part Two
8 p.m. ET — Stevie Nicks: 24 Karat Gold
11:15 p.m. ET — Tom Petty
2 a.m. ET — Peter Frampton

1/2/22
10:30 a.m. — Stevie Nicks: 24 Karat Gold
2 p.m. ET — Bad Company
3:30 p.m. ET — The Who: Tommy – Live at the Royal Albert Hall
5 p.m. ET — Van Morrison: Live at the San Francisco Jazz Center
7 p.m. ET — The Top Ten Revealed: ’80s Ladies
7:30 p.m. ET — The Top Ten Revealed: Debut Albums of 1981
8 p.m. ET — The Top Ten Revealed: Debut Albums of 1982*
8:30 p.m. ET — Rock Legends: Post-Punk*

* = AXS TV premiere.

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Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy, the current band led by Emerson, Lake & Palmer drummer Carl Palmer, has announced plans to launch a second leg of its tour commemorating the legendary British prog-rock group’s 50th anniversary in 2022.

The U.S. trek will get underway with a January 27 show in Jacksonville, Florida, and is mapped out through a February 12-13 engagement at New York City’s famed jazz club The Iridium.

The first three dates of the tour — the Jacksonville gig, and shows on January 29 in Clearwater, Florida, and January 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — are rescheduled concerts from 2021 that also will feature The Alan Parsons Live Project.

The new shows follow ELP Legacy’s 2021 tour leg, which took place in last month.

“Our Fall 2021 tour was first time since the pandemic hit that we were able to be together and perform,” says Palmer. “The response was remarkable and proved to us that live music was in great demand once again. The band and myself cannot wait to get out there once again for the Winter tour.”

The trek features ELP Legacy performing some of Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s most popular material along with a multimedia presentation that includes original artistic film clips and archival career-spanning footage of the famed trio. The band features Palmer joined by Paul Bielatowicz [bee-ell’-uh-TOE-vitch] on guitar and vocals,  and Simon Fitzpatrick on bass and Chapman stick.

More U.S. dates are expected to be added to the 2022 trek. The band also will be touring the U.K. in April and mainland Europe in May and June.

Visit CarlPalmer.com to check out ELP Legacy’s full list of upcoming tour dates.

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It’s coming on Christmas, so what better time for the first official music video for Joni Mitchell‘s classic 1971 piano ballad, “River,” to make its debut?

The animated clip, which you can watch now at the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter’s YouTube channel, is basically a black-and-white watercolor painting come to life depicting a melancholy Joni as she looked in the early 1970s, alone in her home and then skating on a frozen river.

As the video nears its conclusion, the animated black-and-white icy river and snowy landscape floods with springtime colors.

At the end of the clip, a quote from Joni appears that reads, “‘River’ expresses regret at the end of a relationship…but it’s also about being lonely at Christmas time…A Christmas song for people who are lonely at Christmas! We need a song like that.”

The video was directed by Russian animator and painter Matvey Rezanov, and pays tribute to Mitchell’s own painting style.

“River” appeared on Mitchell’s acclaimed fourth studio album, Blue, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The song is believed to have been written about her breakup with Graham Nash.

Earlier this month, Joni, who turned 78 last month, was saluted for her lifetime achievements and artistic contributions at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., and she will be similarly feted at the star-studded 2022 MusiCares Person of the Year gala taking place in Los Angeles on January 29.

In November, the Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) box set was released, containing hours of unreleased home, studio and live recordings Joni made during and around the sessions for first four studio albums, including Blue.

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Mariah Carey is currently enjoying the holidays in Aspen, Colorado, but she continues to spread that Christmas cheer to those who could use a little extra.

The Grammy winner shared in a video to Instagram that shows she and her 10-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan, “took an unexpected jaunt to” a local McDonald’s to get their hands on some tasty treats off her recently launched Mariah Menu.

The video starts with Monroe disguising her voice to sound like an angry old man when shout-ordering at the drive thru.  Unfortunately, the drive thru-teller wasn’t in the mood for pranks and snipped, “Ma’am, can you please just leave the store and never come back?”

As it turns out, it was a ruse to distract the employees so Mariah could sneak in through the front and surprise them. She also deployed two of her assistants to keep the cashier busy as she crept inside.

Mariah was recognized immediately — probably because she was wearing a floor-length glittering ruby dress with matching pumps and a black face mask bedazzled in rhinestones. Mariah chatted with the delighted staff and shook their hands while posing for photos.

The most adorable reaction came from the store manager, who came out to the front to see what the commotion was about and placed a hand over her chest when she realized who was standing inside her restaurant.  

This “spontaneous” surprise came off the heels of Mariah celebrating her latest honor — being inducted in to Spotify’s Billions Club because her 1994 holiday smash, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” has been streamed a jaw-dropping one billion times.

 

 

 

 

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Rob Thomas is a big Christmas fan, as you might assume from his new holiday album Something About Christmas Time.  But as a kid, he says he “hated” Christmas, not because of the holiday itself, but because of the weather, which wasn’t exactly “Christmassy.”

The Matchbox Twenty singer lived in South Carolina as a small child and then moved to Florida at age 10.

“I mean, I hated it, because I started off in South Carolina where it’s a little more wintery and…you get some snow,” he tells ABC Audio.

“So for years and years, when I was young, we would all go to South Carolina for Christmas, and it always kinda still felt a little Christmassy,” Thomas continues. “But then, when my grandparents passed away and we didn’t really have anybody to go see — just spending Christmas in Florida…people get excited because, you know, you needed a coat. Like, ‘Oh, I need to wear a coat. It feels like Christmas!'”

But since Rob has lived in the New York area for over 20 years, he now gets more snow that he can handle, and says “all my great [Christmas] memories are of New York.” 

Thomas says he’d love to be able to celebrate in Manhattan again like he did in the before times: December of 2019.

“It was one of our favorite Christmases of all time,” he tells ABC Audio. “My wife and her mom and I did the full traditional [thing]. We went to the Rockettes and then we went to The Plaza and had a really nice dinner there…and it just felt very ‘New York Christmas,’ for lack of a better term.”

“I would love something like that,” Thomas admits. “I’m just not sure of my [comfort] factor right now, still, just being out and about.”

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Eric Clapton‘s management said on Wednesday that he wouldn’t pursue the nearly $4,000 fine ordered against a German widow who attempted to sell a Clapton bootleg online.

Following a significant public backlash again the three-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Clapton’s management attempted to clarify the guitarist’s role in the suit, as well as their reason for pursuing legal action, in a statement to his fan club.

Germany, the statement explains, “is one of several countries where sales of unauthorized and usually poor-quality illegal bootleg CDs are rife.” As a result, Clapton “and a significant number of other well-known artists and record companies” hired German lawyers in the region to restrict the sale of the bootlegs.

“It is not the intention to target individuals selling isolated CDs from their own collection, but rather the active bootleggers manufacturing unauthorized copies for sale,” the statement continues. Had the widow, Gabrielle P., complied with the cease-and-desist letter, they say, “any costs would be minimal, or might be waived.”

However, the woman — who claimed that she had inherited the disc from her late husband and didn’t realize it was bootlegged — told them through her lawyer to “feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands.” Her attempt to have the case dismissed was rejected and the judge ruled in favor of Clapton’s camp, ordering her to pay $4,000 in legal fees for both parties.

“If the individual had complied” and “explained at the outset the full facts…any claim might have been waived, and costs avoided,” Clapton’s management said.

“When the full facts of this particular case came to light and it was clear the individual is not the type of person Eric Clapton, or his record company, wish to target,” they say, Clapton decided not to take further action.

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Dionne Warwick will perform on the first-ever The Masked Singer float on New Year’s Day.

The legendary artist will be joined by her son, Damon Elliott, aka Nomad, on the float at the 133rd annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. The parade will air January 1 at 11 a.m. ET on several networks. Check local listings.

The “That’s What Friends Are For” singer appeared on The Masked Singer as the Mouse in February.

The float will also feature several more of the show’s costumes, including T-Pain‘s Monster, Lil Wayne‘s Robot, Bow Wow‘s Frog, Patti LaBelle‘s Flower, and Chameleon, which was worn by Wiz Khalifa

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Christmas is upon us, and a variety of music artists tell ABC Audio that, like so many people during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they’re planning a fairly low-key holiday celebration this year.

Moody Blues singer/bassist John Lodge explains that most years around this time he’d be on tour, “but not this year, so…I’m just gonna enjoy Christmas.”

Lodge notes that his wife is from Denmark, so his family usually observes the Danish tradition of dancing around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

Nils Lofgren, a member of Neil Young‘s and Bruce Springsteen‘s respective backing groups Crazy Horse and the E Street Band, says his Christmas gathering likely will just feature him and his wife, Amy, their son Dylan, “his two dogs and our two dogs very quietly and safely having a very sedate Christmas, because it’s just not safe to do otherwise.”

Vanilla Fudge‘s Mark Stein says his family plans to “just have some stay-at-home dinners and opening presents, like most people in this country do.”

Stein also shares a holiday message for fans, wishing that people “stay safe and stay focused and appreciative of…what we do have this holiday season, because although there’s a lot of unrest going on in the nation and the world, anybody that’s got…a roof over your head and family that you can hug and love and share stories with and gifts…[that’s] more than enough payoff.”

Meanwhile, Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock won’t be home for the holidays. Schock, whose band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October, says her yuletide plans entail “rehearsing and doing shows” with the group.

The Go-Go’s have five West Coast concerts lined up between December 28 and January 3.

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Starting in January, AXS TV will begin airing select past episodes of the popular performance series Live from the Artists Den, including shows featuring Ringo Starr, Robert Plant and Sheryl Crow.

The season will kick off on Wednesday, January 12 with a performance by modern rockers Imagine Dragons, and the following week, on January 19, Plant and his former backing group Band of Joy will be featured.

The Led Zeppelin frontman’s episode was filmed in 2011 at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium, and includes renditions of Zeppelin’s “Gallows Pole” and “Ramble On,” as well as selections from Plant’s 2010 Band of Joy album. Among the musicians featured in the Band of Joy lineup were Americana artists Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin.

Starr will appear in an episode that will air on March 2. That program was shot in New York City at the Egyptian wing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2010, and features the former Beatles drummer performing songs by the Fab Four and from his solo career alongside Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 and Joan Osbourne.

Crow’s episode will air on March 9, and captures Sheryl playing some of her best-known songs at New York City’s Grand Ballroom of the Plaza in 2013.

Live from the Artists Den episodes will air weekly each Wednesday from January 12 through March 16 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Other artists featured on upcoming episodes include country stars, Lady A and Tim McGraw, pop group OneRepublic, and rock acts The Killers, Alabama Shakes and The Wallflowers.

AXS TV programming executive Sarah Weidman notes that Live from the Artists Den presents the various acts “in an intimate setting with a small audience, interspersed with insightful clips that find the performers reflecting on their own work and careers.”

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The 44th annual Kennedy Center Honors special airs tonight on CBS, featuring star-studded tributes to Joni Mitchell, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. and Bette Midler, as well as Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and opera baritone Justino Diaz.

Among the performers and presenters who took part in the gala, which was held December 5 in Washington, D.C., were Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, Graham Nash, Herbie Hancock, Melissa Manchester and many more.

Nash was featured as the narrator of a video presentation celebrating Mitchell, who was his one-time romantic partner. Among the performers who paid tribute to the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter were Norah Jones, Ellie Goulding, Brandi Carlile, Hancock and Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard.

Adele narrated the tribute video honoring Midler, while presenters for Bette’s segment included Manchester and actresses Goldie Hawn, Scarlett Johansson and Barbara Hershey.

Simon, a close friend of Michaels, performed his classic Simon & Garfunkel tune “America” in honor of Lorne. The segment also featured tributes from Steve Martin and various former and current SNL cast members, including Jimmy Fallon, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Seth Meyers, Kevin Nealon, Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Michael Che and Colin Jost.

The event’s finale featured a salute to Gordy, beginning with a film presentation narrated by Oprah Winfrey. Robinson delivered both a speech and a performance, which was followed by performances from the cast of the Temptations-themed Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud and contemporary R&B star Andra Day.

Wonder brought the festivities to a close with a medley of hits that included “My Cherie Amour,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” and “Superstition.”

The Kennedy Center Honors special airs at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on CBS.

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