Music – Page 912 – 105.7 WDNY

Mel B marries Rory McPhee in star-studded ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral

July 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Melanie “Mel B” Brown is officially a married woman!

The Spice Girls singer tied the knot with hairstylist Rory McPhee in a London ceremony on Saturday.

The America’s Got Talent judge later marked the occasion with a sweet Instagram post of her and her new husband, captioning the photo simply, “[heart emoji] 05.07.25.”

The couple exchanged vows inside the historic Crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the same iconic church where Princess Diana wed Prince Charles, a rare honor granted to Mel B after she was awarded an MBE in 2022 for her advocacy work around domestic violence, People reported.

Mel B wore a custom ivory gown by designer Josephine Scott before changing into a second look by Justin Alexander for the celebration.

Her three daughters, Phoenix, 26, Angel Iris, 18, and Madison, 13, served as bridesmaids for their mom’s big day.

Famous friends turned out to celebrate the nuptials, including fellow Spice Girl Emma Bunton, model Cara Delevingne, comedian Katherine Ryan and model Daisy Lowe.

Good Morning America has reached out for comment.

Jackson Dean’s near-miss with Hank Williams Jr. left him longing for more

July 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

If Jackson Dean reminds you of some of country music’s biggest legends, it’s no accident, because he considers them some of his greatest heroes and role models.

“I’d have loved to have met Johnny Cash,” the “Don’t Come Lookin'” hitmaker says. “Johnny Cash’s influence is just astronomical on this town, and the world really.”

There’s one more Country Music Hall of Famer Jackson would love to spend more time with: Hank Williams Jr. Even though he’s actually opened for him, the two only met in passing.

“When I played with him, we were loading out and he was walking to his stage, and he just tipped his hat … and winked at me,” Jackson recalls. “I just did the same back and I was like, ‘That’s it, that’s all we get.’ But to have a conversation with him would be — wow.”

Jackson’s working on new music as his hit “Heavens to Betsy” continues its climb in the top 20. In May, he previewed what’s next with the new track “Be Your Man.”

New biography of The Band’s Richard Manuel reveals his ‘critical part’ in the group’s success

July 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

The Band‘s Richard Manuel is the subject of a new biography, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band.

One of The Band’s three main vocalists, as well as pianist, occasional drummer and sometime songwriter, Manuel died by suicide in 1986. The book by Stephen T. Lewis has new interviews with friends, family and colleagues, like Eric Clapton and Van Morrison, plus detailed commentary on Manuel’s entire musical output.

Lewis tells ABC Audio he decided to focus on Manuel after watching the 2019 documentary Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band.

“I think I was hoping for more out of [the film],” Lewis says. “And while the idea had been spinning around, all that kind of gave me the inspiration to say, ‘Hey, let’s dive a little deeper into this guy’s life.'”

Lewis details Manuel’s background, his musical roots and his self-destructive tendencies.

“I think once fame took over, it was hard for him to stay creative,” Lewis notes, describing Manuel as a perfectionist who couldn’t take the pressure. “The record label was like, ‘We need 12 songs.’ Robbie [Robertson], a different kind of guy, is like, ‘Twelve songs. Let’s go!’ Richard’s like, ‘Twelve songs?!’ … That was his undoing in a lot of ways.”

The Band was hugely influential, inspiring the likes of Clapton, The Beatles and Elton John, but they’re not often mentioned with other top bands of that era. Lewis feels his book might help correct that.

“Their music was so honest and so real that it wasn’t popular,” he says. “But over the years, I feel like it’s getting the respect that’s due. And that’s kind of the reason I wrote about Richard, is if you have a band that moves rock music in an entire direction, he’s got such a critical part in that.”

Myles Smith says scaling up to stadiums has been ‘an insane journey’ but ‘such a privilege’

July 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

After completing a headlining tour earlier this year, Myles Smith is in the middle of his gig as the opening act for Ed Sheeran‘s summer stadium tour. Compared to where he was last year, the “Stargazing” singer has scaled up his live performances by a pretty hefty amount.

“Yeah, the last year has been a really big year. … This time last year I was playing to, like, 80 people in a pub in England,” he told ABC Audio. “And this tour is going to break the excess of like 150,000 people I think. So it’s quite a jump. And, you know, throwing all the [supporting gigs with] Ed, we would have played to like over 3 million people this year.”

But even though he’s gone from playing small venues to huge stadiums, Myles says it hasn’t changed his ability to connect with his fans.

“It’s quite insane to think how much this journey has taken off, but also that on every step of that journey, the rooms have felt just as close, just as intimate and just as amazing,” he notes.

“And so, although the rooms are getting bigger, the love in the rooms is getting bigger as well,” Myles adds. “And for me, just to be able to be an artist that is able to create such a safe space and see so many people experience the concert so viscerally has been such a privilege and something that I hope to do for years to come.”

On Friday Myles will open for Ed at one of the three hometown shows the “Shape of You” singer is doing at Portman Road Stadium in Suffolk, England, where his favorite soccer team, Ipswich Town Football Club, plays.

Cory Hardrict talks return to ‘The Chi,’ says ‘people are gonna really dig’ storyline

July 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Cory Hardrict is back for season 7 of The Chi. His character, Dante, made his return in episode five to officiate the wedding for Dom (LaLa Anthony) and Jamal (Vic Mensa) after receiving his online certification.

It’s a far cry from his initial introduction as an independent rapper and client of Tiff (Hannaha Hall), who once had an affair with him.

Ahead of the season, Cory talked to ABC Audio about his return to the show, describing his character as “turning over” and showing “a different kind of thing to him” than seen in previous seasons.

“It’s a little comedy, he got a little comedic twist to him and there’s an arc that I can’t give away that people are gonna really dig,” he said.

Cory said he hopes he can continue to be part of the show, telling ABC Audio, “I have a lot of fun shooting in my hometown.”

The Chi is available to stream on Paramount+.

Gotta rock ’em all: Volbeat frontman didn’t mean to name band after a Pokémon

July 7, 2025 by WDNY Radio

In addition to being the name of the hitmaking Danish metal band, Volbeat is also the name of a Pokémon. If you’ve ever wondered if Volbeat the band is named after Volbeat the Pokémon, the answer is no, but frontman Michael Poulsen is OK if you think otherwise.

As Poulsen tells ABC Audio, he first chose the name Volbeat as a portmanteau of the words “volume” and “beat,” which was meant to represent the band’s loudness and rhythm. He was working at a school at the time and first learned about Volbeat the Pokémon when he told a student what he was calling his new band.

“He was just laughing his a** off,” Poulsen says of the student. “[He said,] ‘How can you call your band Volbeat? It’s a Pokémon!'”

“He showed me this little yellow fly or something,” Poulsen continues. “I said, ‘Oh my God, what a funny coincidence.'”

Poulsen explains that he owns the trademark to the name Volbeat, so there are no issues there. He also figured that the name might bring in some younger fans who only know the Pokémon.

Even years later, the Volbeat-Pokémon connection persists.

“I can actually remember when we went on our first tour with Metallica in the U.S., James Hetfield, he put a big Pokémon figure in our dressing room at the door,” Poulsen says.

Volbeat’s newest album, God of Angels Trust, was released in June and also doesn’t have anything to do with Pokémon. The band will launch a U.S. tour alongside Halestorm July 17 in Denver.

Kelly Osbourne & Slipknot’s Sid Wilson get engaged backstage at Black Sabbath farewell concert

July 6, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Kelly Osbourne and Slipknot‘s Sid Wilson are now engaged.

Wilson popped the question backstage during Saturday’s massive Back to the Beginning concert, which was headlined by the final performances from the original Black Sabbath lineup and Kelly’s father, Ozzy Osbourne.

As Wilson began his preamble before getting down on one knee, Ozzy exclaimed, “F*** off, you’re not marrying my daughter!”, which, even if he was seemingly joking, would probably be intimidating coming from any prospective father-in-law, let alone the Prince of Darkness.

Still, Wilson persisted and pulled out the ring, and Kelly enthusiastically nodded. She posted footage of the moment on her Instagram, adding in the caption, “Oh and this happened yesterday!”

Kelly confirmed in 2022 that she and Wilson were dating, calling him her soulmate. The couple welcomed their first baby together in 2023.

Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne say goodbye with epic Back to the Beginning concert

July 5, 2025 by WDNY Radio

The original members of Black Sabbath — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — reunited for one final performance Saturday in their hometown of Birmingham, England. The epic concert, dubbed Back to the Beginning, spanned about 10 hours, and also marked the last live show ever of Ozzy’s career.

Ozzy, who has been kept from playing a full concert for nearly seven years due to a variety of health issues, took the stage while seated in a throne for a five-song solo set, performing “I Don’t Know,” “Mr. Crowley,” “Suicide Solution,” “Mama, I’m Coming Home” and “Crazy Train.”

The Prince of Darkness was then joined by Iommi, Butler and Ward to close the night with a four-song Sabbath set, including “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.”

Leading up to Sabbath and Ozzy’s farewell, a stacked bill of big-name metal and hard rock bands helped send them off, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Halestorm, Anthrax, Rival Sons and Mastodon, who performed a mix of their own songs and covers.

The lineup, which was put together by musical director Tom Morello, also included a number of all-star jams, featuring Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler, blink-182‘s Travis Barker, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool’s Adam Jones and Danny Carey, Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, Disturbed‘s David Draiman, Sammy Hagar, Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, Ghost‘s Papa V Perpetua and Yungblud.

Actor Jason Momoa hosted the day. AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson and Angus Young, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Elton John, Marilyn Manson, Jack Black, Limp Bizkit‘s Fred Durst and Korn‘s Jonathan Davis were among those who sent in video messages.

You can find the complete set list at setlist.fm.

The brothers are back: Oasis plays first show in 16 years as reunion tour kicks off

July 4, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Today is gonna be the day that Oasis is officially back.

For the first time in 16 years, the “Wonderwall” outfit returned to the live stage, kicking off their much-anticipated reunion tour Friday in Cardiff, Wales.

It was a day that many Oasis fans feared would never come. Since the band broke up in 2009, brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher engaged in a seemingly never-ending feud, often sniping at each other through interviews and on social media. However, the brothers shocked the music world in August 2024 by announcing that their estrangement had ended, and Oasis was getting back together for a 2025 tour.

With still nearly a year to go between the reunion announcement and the first show of the tour, it’s hard to blame anyone for taking an “I’ll believe it when I see it” approach. But all fears were assuaged Friday when both Noel and Liam took the stage, delivering a set mostly centered around the first two Oasis albums, 1994’s Definitely Maybe and 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

Among the songs played include the classics “Wonderwall,” “Champagne Supernova,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Live Forever” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” according to BBC‘s recap of the show. The crowd also heard the Be Here Now single “D’You Know What I Mean?” and tracks off the compilation The Masterplan.

The BBC recap notes that there was “zero chat between Liam and Noel all gig, but they sang together perfectly.”

The Oasis tour continues Friday with another show in Cardiff. It will come to the U.S. in August.

Tom Morello announces release date for upcoming ‘Pretend You Remember Me’ single

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Tom Morello has announced the release date for his upcoming solo single, “Pretend You Remember Me.”

The track is set to premiere on July 10. You can presave it now, and hear a 20-second preview via the Rage Against the Machine guitarist’s Facebook.

“This song is dedicated to all the families torn apart by state violence and injustice,” Morello previously said.

“Pretend You Remember Me” will follow Morello’s 2024 single, “Soldier in the Army of Love,” which he recorded with his son Roman Morello. Upon its release, “Solider in the Army of Love” was described as the lead single off Morello’s “first ever full-length solo rock album.”

In addition to prepping new music, Morello is preparing to be the musical director for Black Sabbath‘s Back to the Beginning reunion and farewell concert, taking place Saturday.

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