Pulse Music

Although the Police finally did reunite for a massive world tour back in 2007/2008, the trio never joined forces for an album of new material. Guitarist Andy Summers shed light on the aborted attempt in getting the band back together for a 1980's followup to Synchronicity.

Summers told Classic Rock: "That was a complete f***-up. Everyone was desperate for us to get together again. Sting was off on his own. He'd made his solo record (1985's The Dream Of The Blue Turtles). We were going to have a trial run at a studio in North London. Stewart went out on a horse the day before we started. Stewart (Copeland) was playing polo in those days. He fell off the horse, broke his collar bone and couldn't play the drums. That was the end of it. And Sting didn't want to write new songs. So all we did was a wanky new version of 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'. It was a pretty limp affair. If Stewart hadn't come off his bloody horse it could have been a different story."

Regarding the Police not carrying on past their reunion tour, Summers said, "If it was up to me I wouldn't have let it go. It's an interesting subject, and to do with fragility, frailty, ego and all that. I thought we could have gone on played for years. We could have made some great new records. I don't want to get too personal. It's sad. We could've done more, but it wasn't to be. One of the greatest bands of all time got short shrift, I'm afraid to say."

We asked Andy Summers if he was frustrated that although the band's global reunion trek was a resounding success, superseding all expectations, the end result of a new Police album never came to fruition: "Y'know, I've been in this scene for a long time (laughs). I didn't go in with those expectations knowing the personalities involved. I thought, there's no way. . . Sting will do this tour, but there's no way he's gonna make a new album and get into that. Because, most of the truth is he's sort of in denial he was ever in the Police. He is. That's fine, if that's what he wants to do. But I know that none of us will ever overcome it. He goes out and plays the songs of the Police. I've just come back from two weeks in Brazil playing the songs of the Police."

Ed Sheeran testified in court Monday that he will quit the music industry if found liable in the "Thinking Out Loud" copyright lawsuit.

According to the New York Post, he said, "If that happens, I'm done — I'm stopping. I find it really insulting to work my whole life as a singer-songwriter and diminish it."

The heirs of "Let's Get It On" co-writer Ed Townsend claim the 2014 hit "copied the heart" of the Marvin Gaye classic.

Stephen Stills is receiving raves for his newly discovered and just issued vault release, Live At Berkeley 1971. He shed light on the late-David Crosby's two-song appearance on the solo concert set, recalling to The Independent how "Croz" popped up just before showtime at Northern California's Berkeley Community Theater: "He came to see me in the dressing room before the show. I said: 'Let's do 'The Lee Shore' and he said: 'Alright!' We didn't run through it that many times -- and it shows! But that's the way we rolled back then. It was marvelous."

Stills spoke lovingly about his former partner's final days, revealing, "He was on his way to a last tour, and my son (Christopher) was going to play with him. He just went to take a nap and didn't wake up. Not a bad way to go, actually. There's part of me that misses him dreadfully, and there's part of me that thinks he got out of here just in time, if you look at the world."

Stephen Stills told us that these days, he's way past wanting to know what critics say about his role in rock history or his current work: "It really will f*** you up. My father managed to do a really good job with my self-consciousness, so I don't need any more. A good artistic critique is about all that I'm up for (laughs)."

It was 47 years ago tonight (May 3rd, 1976) that Paul McCartney kicked off his one-and-only North American tour with Wings, dubbed "Wings Over America," in Fort Worth, Texas. The tour, which featured the classic fourth lineup of Wings, marked McCartney's return to the U.S. concert stage for the first time since the Beatles' final tour during the summer of 1966.

Since 1972, McCartney and Wings had recorded and toured extensively throughout the U.K., Europe, and Australia with various lineups of the group, which included wife Linda on keyboards and Moody Blues co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Denny Laine. It took the worldwide success of Wings' Number One albums Red Rose Speedway, Band On The Run, Venus And Mars -- and his then-most recent release Wings At The Speed Of Sound -- along with nine Top Ten hits, including the soon-to-be Number One "Silly Love Songs," to bring the act to America.

By the time Wings hit the U.S., the group included drummer Joe English, 22-year-old guitar virtuoso Jimmy McCulloch, as well as a four-piece horn section. Throughout the two-and-a-half hour show, McCartney moved around the stage playing bass, acoustic guitar, and both grand and electric pianos.

The 21-city tour opened on May 3rd in Fort Worth at the Tarrant County Convention Center, and continued for 31 shows across the country, closing on June 23rd during a three-night stand The Forum in Los Angeles. Ringo Starr appeared onstage at the end of the June 21st show to mug for the audience and present McCartney with flowers.

Reviews for the tour, which featured state-of-the-art sound and a cutting-edge laser light show, were glowing, with The Dallas Morning News declaring after the tour's opening night that, "It was a far superior concert to any show the Beatles ever did and so much better than any previous concert by (George) Harrison, (Ringo) Starr, and (John) Lennon, (that) they should not even be in the same category."

Paul McCartney said that he looks back to the 1975/1976 "Wings Over The Word" tour with particular pride: "I remember Wings, we did have some good lineups. And I think '76, with Joe (English) and Jimmy (McCullough), and Denny (Laine), and Linda, we had -- I think that was pretty good lineup, and we did some good stuff then."

One of the secret weapons of the "Wings Over The World" era, was arguably, the most innovative drummer Wings ever had -- Rochester, New York-born Joe English. English recalled how he scored, perhaps the most coveted job in all of '70s rock: "Just a friend of mind who was in Macon, had been working on that record, ‘Sally G.' in Nashville and 'Junior's Farm.' His name is Tony Dorsey and he's a horn arranger. And McCartney was usin' him and he caught wind that McCartney was gonna be firing his drummer, Geoff Britton, and lookin' for somebody else. And he called me up and said, 'There's a chance you might have a job' -- and then it came to pass, he called me. I went without any audition, went right to New Orleans on a Tuesday -- on a Wednesday I started recording Venus And Mars. And I thought it would be a great big deal, but McCartney, he's a fantastic songwriter and one of the top in the business; but look at it this way -- he's another human being, And he was real easy to get along with -- it was really smooth."

McCartney told us that late wife Linda weathered the critical beatings from the rock press for the sole reason that she loved the music: "It's a cheap shot to criticize her. It was real easy, 'cause she was taking the place of either John, George, or Ringo. And, obviously, being a musician who was just learning, she obviously couldn't compare with those guys. And y'know, the other thing is, you gotta remember this was before 'girl power,' and there were not many women holding down such an important position in a band, so it took a lot of courage to do it."

Denny Laine admitted that by the end of the '76 tour, the group got comfortable playing arenas and the unanimous praise: "As the tour went on, we were used to it then. But the very first night was an amazing experience."

McCartney included only five Beatles songs in his 30-song setlist, performing "Lady Madonna," "The Long And Winding Road," "I've Just Seen A Face," "Blackbird," and "Yesterday."

Bill King, publisher of Beatlefan magazine, says that the inclusion of the few Beatles songs -- especially "Yesterday" -- pushed emotional buttons that up till that point weren't felt at your average rock concert: "It was nostalgia, it was a chance to finally see a Beatle doing a Beatles song live in concert -- which many of us had not had. Already, even at that age -- and most of us who were original fans were still in our 20's when he toured in '76. But already, even at that relatively young age, we had nostalgia. And it was an emotional moment for a lot of people to see him doing that song. It was a song they had never expected to see him do live."

Although tensions could quickly become strained between Jimmy McCulloch and Denny Laine, today, Laine, fondly remembers the guitarist, who died of a heroin overdose at age 26 in 1979: "Jimmy was more kind of tuneful and a team person. He was a younger guy, he was into playing lots of different styles -- but he was equally good at all of them."

Beatlefan contributor Tom Frangione explained that the tour was initially set to kick off on Fort Worth the previous April 8th, but extenuating circumstances forced McCartney to push the tour back nearly a month: "The word was that Jimmy McCulloch had broken a couple of fingers; point of fact, Paul needed some time off because (his father) James Sr. had passed away. Everything had to be just -- everything had to be just right for that."

Among the Wings hits performed were "Jet," "Live And Let Die," "My Love," "Listen To What The Man Said," "Let 'Em In," "Silly Love Songs," "Band On The Run," and "Hi, Hi, Hi."

The group also dug into their catalogue, playing album tracks such as "Let Me Roll It," "Magneto And Titanium Man," "Call Me Back Again," "Bluebird," "Picasso's Last Words," "Time To Hide," and "Letting Go."

Among the celebrities catching the tour on various stops were Ringo Starr, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Diana Ross, Robbie Robertson, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Micky Dolenz, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Peter Frampton, Elton John, Cher, Harry Nilsson, and the Beach Boys' Carl and Dennis Wilson.

McCartney was featured on the cover of the May 31st issue of Time in a specially commissioned Peter Max illustration, with the headline "McCartney Comes Back."

One McCartney fan who left the concert unsatisfied was Eric Carmen, who attended Wings' May 10th concert at Cleveland's Richfield Coliseum, and says that he was unimpressed with the setlist, as well as hearing the other band members taking vocal turns: "It was so awful and such a letdown that I was literally stunned. I mean, I sat in the audience wanting to just be blown away. And he can do whatever he wants up there! But I mean, he did things that all I can think of is, 'It must have been so long since Paul actually played and there was an audience listening as opposed to screaming.'"

McCartney edited the tapes from the U.S. shows later that fall, and in December released a three-record live set titled Wings Over America, which eventually peaked at Number One. An edited live version of McCartney's 1970 track "Maybe I'm Amazed," lifted from the by-then chart-topping Wings Over America, made it to Number 10 in early 1977.

Robert Rodriguez, author of the watershed books Revolver - How The Beatles Reimagined Rock 'N' Roll and Solo In The 70s: John, Paul, George, Ringo: 1970-1980, recalled, that 1976 will always hold a special spot in fans' hearts: "That year leading into the tour, it was sort of like the second coming of the Beatles anyway -- 'cause here's Paul coming to America on a grand scale, and that same summer you have (the Beatles' compilation) Rock N' Roll Music out and 'Got To Get You Into My Life' riding in the Top 10 of the charts -- so it was a really amazing year to have that sort of 'Beatle buzz' going. It wasn't the only year of the '70s that was like this, for sure. But what an amazing experience to have captured and put on record because, y'know, for the people that didn't get to see the concert that are kicking themselves for the rest of their lives, y'know, that album is a really nice souvenir."

Denny Laine told us that he and McCartney took pride that by 1976 Wings had finally progressed to the arena circuit: "It is that thing of having put together and rehearsed something within a small circle of people and getting it right. And getting all the lights and all the sound and all that together. And then, actually performing in a big arena. You are as much a part of it as the audience is, because it's all new."

Howie Edelson, the co-host and producer of the groundbreaking podcast, FABCAST -- "the only home of intelligent, cool, and forward thinking Beatles discussion" -- told us that McCartney's triumph in 1976 proved that he had moved far past his partners as a modern touring artist: "I think apart from the incredible success of the '76 tour, it underscored -- beyond anything else -- that the Beatles would never reform. There was no way that John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr could compete on a concert stage next to McCartney. He was a superhero."

The "Wings Over America" tour was documented for both the small and big screen. On March 16th, 1979, CBS aired the Wings Over The World special, which included performances from New York City, Seattle, and Los Angeles.

The movie Rockshow premiered on November 26th, 1980 at New York City's Ziegfried Theatre.

In 2013, Wings Over The World was given its first commercial release on as part of the Wings Over America "Deluxe Reissue" box set. That year, Rockshow was also finally made available on DVD and Blu-ray.

McCartney and Wings' next road trek, the 1979/1980 tour, was cut short by McCartney's infamous pot bust at Tokyo's Narita Airport, resulting in the band's Japan dates and future shows being canceled.

McCartney -- without Wings, which had officially disbanded in April 1981 -- kicked off his second North American tour over 13 years after his solo U.S. debut on November 23rd, 1989 at The Forum in Los Angeles.

In 2014, McCartney snagged the Grammy Award for Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for his massive 1976 Wings Over America - Deluxe Edition box set.

FAST FORWARD

The amazing tale of late-Paul McCartney & Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch has been chronicled by author Paul Salley in the 2021 book, Little Wing: The Jimmy McCulloch Story. McCulloch, who died at the age of 26 of a heroin overdose, was a child prodigy mentored by Pete Townshend, and with the Who leader's help, scored a 1969 chart-topper with Thunderclap Newman on the Townshend-produced smash, "Something In The Air."

Throughout the years, McCulloch played with John Mayall, Stone The Crows, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Carl Wilson, and the Small Faces, among many others -- but will be forever remembered for his historic four year-stint with Paul McCartney & Wings. In addition to the "Junior's Farm" single and touring with Wings in 1975 and 1976 as part of the "Wings Over The World" tour, McCulloch played on Mike McCartney's McGear album before lending his talents to such classic albums as 1975's Venus And Mars, 1976's Wings At The Speed Of Sound, and Wings Over America, along with 1978's London Town.

According to Little Wing's press release, the book "features over 200 rare images and exclusive interviews with close relatives, musicians, friends, and fans. McCulloch's story is traced from his humble roots to his rise to international prominence, and his untimely passing in 1979."

The Grateful Dead will release the new 17-disc box set, Here Comes Sunshine, on June 30th. The massive collection spotlights five previously unreleased concerts, including: Iowa State Fairgrounds, Des Moines, IA (5/13/73); Campus Stadium, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA (5/20/73); Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA (5/26/73); and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. (6/9&10/73).

Here Comes Sunshine is limited to 10,000 individually numbered copies and is available exclusively from Dead.net for $189.98. The complete audio will also be available as a digital download exclusively at Dead.net in Apple Lossless ($99.98) and FLAC 192/24 ($124.98).

Grateful Dead's archivist and legacy manager, David Lemieux said in the album's announcement, "Even with hundreds of tapes at my fingertips, I returned to these 1973 shows frequently. That old saying, 'I listened to that show so often, I wore the tape out?' It was created because of shows like this."

Mickey Hart told us that although he and the Dead's surviving members -- Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann -- don't personally troll through the band's tape archive, the group takes a very hands-on approach with their live releases: "We decide on which ones we wanna release, how many a year, and (our label) Rhino does it. And they do a really good job. We have designated someone, and of course we have input into each release. I mean, we control what goes out there. It's our responsibility. We have a wonderful staff who have our sensibilities."

James Hetfield spoke about how his good friend, the late-"Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, influenced him musically. Blabbermouth transcribed the Metallica frontman's recent chat with SiriusXM's Metal Ambassador podcast.

Hetfield recalled Dimebag saying, "What a blessing to have been in his life and him in my life. And yeah, some of those early days, just traveling down there to the Dallas area and meeting with those guys and just hanging out. Yeah, Dimebag introduced me to the solid state amp, I remember. He had this fricking amazing crunch going on. I was, like, 'What is that?' Y'know? So, uh, yeah. (We) inspired each other. He inspired me as well. No doubt."

Not too long ago, Pantera vocalist Phil Anselmo told us that Pantera never got the respect or coverage they deserved from the media, despite the fact that their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 albums chart. "Back when Pantera was swinging the chain, we had put out a Number One record on Billboard magazine and still the radio stations and major media outlets such as Rolling Stone magazine and Spin magazine -- ha! what a laugh that magazine is -- they chose to ignore."

Aerosmith has rolled out the initial 40 dates to their final trek, which has been dubbed their "Peace Out Tour." The dates, featuring special guests the Black Crowes, kick off on September 2nd at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center and, as of now, wrap on January 26th at Montreal's Bell Centre. General on sale begins Friday, May 5th at 10 a.m. local time on ticketmaster.com.

Guitarist Joe Perry told us that he and the rest of the guys in Aerosmith realize that age is a tremendous factor in the professional decisions they make: "You realize you're not an immortal, and you don't have this 22-year-old feeling of 'this thing can go on forever,' and y'know, 'I can do whatever I want, I can go for three nights without sleep and everything will be fine.' You start to realize that it's a very delicate thing, life is a delicate thing, and being able to perform at the top of your game is a delicate thing. And it's one of those changes, y'know, that comes over. I'm still amazed that we can put on the kind of show that we put on. Every night could be out last."

Steven Tyler recently explained how the habit of dangling scarves from his mic stand became a trademark for him: "We played every college in Massachusetts and a lot of clubs -- K-K-K-Katies, and we did four 45-minute sets, sweated to. . . Y'know, I was soakin' wet and I used to wear this shirt and after three months of that, the shirt just turned into rags (laughter), and I would hang it, y'know, as a rights of passage on the mic stand. So, one thing led to another. . ."

Although Steven Tyler has suffered through some troubling times on the road in the recent past, having hit the stage following foot, knee, and throat surgeries. Bassist Tom Hamilton remains amazed at how Tyler is unstoppable when there's a gig to do: "He took his knee out on stage a few years ago, and he just, he powers through it, he really does sacrifice his body, and so he's just gotta maybe ease up on that (laughs). I don't, I don't ever see him doing it, but I think. . . y'know, he's actually pretty good at taking care of his throat, so I think he's just gonna get even more intense about it."

The band posted in a statement:

It's not goodbye it's PEACE OUT! Get ready and walk this way, you're going to get the best show of our lives.

While Joey Kramer remains a beloved founding member of Aerosmith, he has regrettably made the decision to sit out the currently scheduled touring dates to focus his full attention on his family and health. Joey's unmistakable and legendary presence behind the drum kit will be sorely missed.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Aerosmith 2023/2024 tour dates (subject to chnage):

September 02 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
September 06 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena
September 09 - Belmont Park, NY - UBS Arena
September 12 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena
September 15 - Chicago, IL - United Center
September 18 - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena
September 21 - Cleveland, OH - Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
September 24 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
September 27 - Washington, DC - Capital One Arena
October 11 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
October 14 - Atlanta, GA - State Farm Arena
October 17 - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center
October 20 - Sunrise, FL - FLA Live Arena
October 23 - Austin, TX - Moody Center
October 26 - St Louis, MO - Enterprise Center
October 29 - Indianapolis, IN - Gainbridge Fieldhouse
October 1 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Arena
October 4 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
November 7 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
November 10 - Omaha, NE - CHI Health Center
November 13 - St Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
November 16 - Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center
November 19 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena
November 22 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Arena
November 25 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
November 28 - Seattle, WA - Climate Pledge Arena
December 1 - San Francisco, CA - Chase Center
December 4 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center
December 7 - Los Angeles, CA - The Kia Forum
December 10 - Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center
December 28 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
December 31 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
December 4 - Cincinnati, OH - Heritage Bank Arena
January 7 - Louisville, KY - KFC Yum! Center
January 10 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
January 13 - Knoxville, TN - Thompson-Boling Arena
January 16 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center
January 19 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
January 23 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
January 26 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre

Formula 1 driver and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso seems to be loving the rumors that he's dating Taylor Swift.

After Deux Moi posted a report saying the two were dating, Alonso leaned into the gossip on TikTok.

Although the relationship is still unconfirmed, the driver has since posted videos of himself winking at the camera while a sped of version of Swift's "Karma" played and another clip where he lifted weights to "22 (Taylor's Version)." https://www.tiktok.com/@fernandoalonso?refer=embed

Published today (May 2nd) is first extensive book on Bruce Springsteen's classic 1982 Nebraska album, titled Deliver Me From Nowhere was written by author Warren Zanes, best known for his 2015 Tom Petty tome, Petty: The Biography.

Nebraska, an album comprised of home demos, was the stark, solo acoustic middle ground between 1980's sprawling double-record set, The River, and the 1984 mega-platinum blockbuster, Born On The U.S.A. Nebraska has often been cited as one of rock's most important albums, which revealed Springsteen to be one of the key singer/songwriters of his generation.

According to the official announcement:

Warren Zanes spoke to many people involved with making Nebraska, including Bruce Springsteen. He also interviewed more than a dozen celebrated artists, from Rosanne Cash to Steven Van Zandt, about their reaction to the album.

He interweaves these conversations with inquiries into the myriad cultural touchpoints, including Terence Malick's Badlands, that influenced Springsteen as he was writing the album's haunting songs. The result is a textured and revelatory account of not only a crucial moment in the career of an icon but also a recording that upended all expectations and predicted a home recording revolution.

During his recent appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Bruce Springsteen revealed that the music of Nebraska came to him around the time of his first major depression: "I think in your 20's a lot of things work for you. Your 30's is where you start to become an adult. Suddenly, I looked around and I said, 'Where is everything? Where's my home? Where is my partner? Where are the sons or daughters that I thought I might have someday?' And I realized none of the things are there. So, I said, 'The first thing I gotta do as soon as I get home is remind myself off who I am and where I came from.'"

Springsteen addmitted that each time he tried to best the Nebraska homemade demo tape -- his attempts with the E Street Band fell short emotionally: "It was a happy accident. I had planned just to write some good songs, teach 'em to the band, go into the studio, and record 'em. But every time that I tried to improve on the tape that I had made in that little room, it's the old story of, 'If this gets any better -- it's gonna be worse."

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will next perform on May 5th and 7th in Dublin, Ireland at RDS Arena.

Selena Gomez's organ donor dodged questions from paparazzi when she was asked about her friendship with the Only Murders In The Building star.

Footage shared by TMZ shows Francia Raisa ignoring questions about Gomez and changing the subject when a cameraman asked if she would consider following the Rare Beauty founder back on Instagram.

The How I Met Your Father star donated her kidney to Gomez in 2017 and the two remained friends until they appeared to have a falling out in November 22 after the singer said Taylor Swift was the only person she was close to in Hollywood.

Alicia Keys invited Ralph Yarl -- the teen who was shot when he accidentally rang the wrong doorbell in Missouri, to her concert in Kansas. According to TMZ, Yarl received a personal invite from Alicia Keys to attend her July concert in Kansas and have a one-on-one with her.

It's also being reported that ROC Nation has contacted Yarl to offer any assistance he may need, and his mom has reportedly been in contact with Ahmaud Arbery's mom, who's also represented by Attorney Lee Merritt.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe set up for Yarl has taken in nearly $3.5 million as of Monday morning (May1st), and his family says they've set up a trust for Ralph to handle all of the donations.

Heart's Ann Wilson is heading back on the road this summer for an 18-city run. She'll launch the tour on July 7th a Toronto's Danforth Music Hall and finish things out on August 30th in Syracuse, New York at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Although Ann Wilson does tackle such Heart classics as "Crazy On You," "Barracuda," "Alone," and "What About Love" in concert, her recent solo sets have primarily been made up of covers -- including the Who's "The Real Me," Yes' "I've Seen All Good People," the Black Crowes' "She Talks To Angels," Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up," and the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Manic Depression," among others.

Ann Wilson told us that she's confident that fans are open to see her forge new creative paths beyond Heart's legendary work: "I think that artists are just people, and once you go over the same old ground enough times, you just wanna stray off on a tributary a little bit. Hopefully it's something that really does represent you, so that people will recognize you enough to give you a chance (laughs). I think it's really important for artists to lead the way and to, at least, give people a chance to hear something new. We're not just going over the same ground endlessly (laughs). It's gotta be new."

JUST ANNOUNCED: Ann Wilson tour dates (subject to change):

July 7 - Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall
July 8 - Ottawa, ON - Azrieli Studio
July 10 - Quebec, QC - Festival D'été De Québec 2023
July 12 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - F. M. Kirby Center
July 14 - Northfield, OH - MGM Northfield Park Center Stage
July 15 - Mequon, WI - Rotary Park
July 19 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place
July 21 - Salina, KS - Stiefel Theatre For The Performing Arts
July 22 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
July 24 - Chattanooga, TN - Robert Kirk Walker Theatre
July 25 - Nashville, TN - Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
July 27 - Champaign, IL - Virginia Theatre
July 29 - Sterling Heights, MI - Dodge Park
July 30 - Nashville, IN - Brown County Music Center
August 1 - Elk Grove Village, IL - Mid-Summer Classics Concert Series
August 3 - Eau Claire, WI - Pablo Center At The Confluence
August 5 - Kingsford, MI - Lodal Park -
August 30 - Syracuse, NY - New York State Fairgrounds

MADONNA SPOTTED PARTYING WITH JULIA GARNER: Madonna was spotted partying with the star of her cancelled biopic Sunday (April 30th) night. According to Page Six, the material girl and Ozark star Julia Garner were both photographed at photographer Steven Klein's birthday party at Journey NYC in downtown Manhattan. Plans for the film were scrapped earlier this year when pre-production was halted so that Madonna could prep for her Celebrations World Tour.

KATY PERRY AND ORLANDO BLOOM STILL WORK ON THEIR RELATIONSHIP: Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom still have to work at their relationship to make it work. She wrote on Instagram Sunday (April 30th), "Orlando and I's initials are O.K. We continuously put in the work to make sure they aren't 🚨K.O.🚨. Find yourself a partner that will go down to the mat with you and get back up every time."

Rick Springfield's 26-date "I Want My '80s Tour" will be criss-crossing the country this summer -- featuring such special guests at assorted dates as the Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone, and the Tubes. Springfield starts the trek off on August 4th in Youngstown, Ohio at The Youngstown Foundation and winds things down on September 17th in Fresno, California at Warnors Theatre.

Rick Springfield told us that it's the love, interest, and support from both his female and male fans that keep him honest and progressing musically and emotionally: "I write what I like and that's why the music always comes from a male perspective because I am, y'know? But some of the image stuff. . . I mean I always resisted all the teen stuff, but they still printed stuff anyway back in the '80s and I had to deal with it. But I always played and wrote what I wanted to -- that I thought was good stuff, which is why I still have male fans. And the male fan base is actually growing, because I've always written, I think, with a degree of integrity and not a sell-out vibe at all."

JUST ANNOUNCED: Rick Springfield tour dates (subject to change):

August 4 - Youngstown, OH - The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 5 - Indianapolis, IN - TCU Amphitheatre at White River Park (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 6 - Sterling Heights, MI - Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 9 - Niagara Falls, ON - Fallsview Casino (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 11 - Grantville, PA - Hollywood Casino Outdoors (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 12 - Atlantic City, NJ - Hard Rock Live at Estess Arena (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 13 - Lynn, MA - Memorial Auditorium (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 19 - Lake Charles, LA - L'Auberge Casino (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 20 - Ft. Worth, TX - Dickie's Arena (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 22 - Lubbock, TX - Cook's Garage Stage (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 23 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Ampitheatre (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 25 - New Haven, KY - Log Still Distillery Ampitheatre (with Paul Young & Tommy Tutone)
August 26 - Bay City, MI - Wenonah Park Shell (with Paul Young & Tommy Tutone)
August 27 - Decatur, IL - Devon Lakeshore Amphitheatre (with Paul Young & Tommy Tutone)
August 29 - Maryland Heights, MO - St. Louis Music Park (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 30 - Omaha, NE - The Astro (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
August 31 - Aurora, IL - RiverEdge Park Pavilion (with The Hooters, Paul Young, Tommy Tutone)
September 6 - Redmond, WA - Marymoor Park (with The Hooters & Tommy Tutone)
September 7 - Bend, OR - Hayden Homes Amphitheatre (with The Hooters & Tommy Tutone)
September 8 - Airway Heights, WA - No. Quest Casino (with The Hooters & Tommy Tutone)
September 10 - Redding, CA - Civic Auditorium (with The Hooters, The Tubes & Tommy Tutone)
September 12 - Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery Amphitheatre (with The Hooters & Tommy Tutone)
September 13 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theatre (with The Hooters & Tommy Tutone)
September 14 - Bakersfield, CA - Mechanics Bank Theater and Convention Center (with The Hooters & Tommy Tutone)
September 16 - Murphys, CA - Ironstone Amphitheatre (with The Hooters, John Waite & Tommy Tutone)
September 17 - Fresno, CA - Warnors Theatre (with The Hooters & Tommy Tutone)

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has named Pantera the "Greatest Heavy Metal Band'" in a new video list for Revolver.com.

Corgan listed Judas Priest at Number Two and Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow at Number Three. Corgan also went deep by including Merciful Faith, Savatage, and Meeker on his list.

Billy Corgan explained to Revolver why Pantera was Number One for him: "Pantera was one of those bands in the early-'90s that not everybody on the alternative side of the equation understood right away because they were seen as just a straight-up metal band. But eventually a lot of people in alternate music recognized that Pantera was one of those bands that, sort of, transcended genres. I think thematically and the way they changed metal and the way people played metal ever afterwards, I think it almost puts them in too small a category. And like the great metal bands, y'know, they tend to almost create their own category of music."

Billy Corgan "Greatest Heavy Metal Band' list - via Revolver.com:

1. Pantera
2. Judas Priest
3. Rainbow
4. Accept
5. Black Sabbath
6. Dokken
7. Slayer
8. Merciful Faith
9. Metallica
10. Savatage
11. Meeker

On Friday night (April 28th), Bruce Springsteen welcomed former-First Lady Michelle Obama up on stage with the E Street Band during their performance of "Glory Days" at Barcelona's Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. The show, which was the band's European tour opener, also featured Steven Speilberg's wife, actress Kate Capshaw joining in and sharing tambourine duties with Mrs. Obama and Patti Scialfa.

The day before the gig (April 27th), a shot of Springsteen, Spielberg and President Obama posing with the kitchen staff of a local bistro went viral.

The opening night setlist didn't stray far from the E Street Band shows in the North America -- but Springsteen did treat the crowd to his first performance of the 1992 classic "Human Town" since 2016.

Bruce Springsteen maintains that as a teen, witnessing the legends of the old Stax/Volt revue in concert set him on his way to becoming an expert showman: "It was just something that I learned from the soul bands who were the masters at grabbing the crowd by the throat. I used to see Sam & Dave all time. And Sam Moore, outside of being one of the great singers, is one of the great bandleaders of all time. He's incredible. And of course, James Brown was an incredible bandleader. Those were the bandleaders that, really, I learned my craft from. All that we do onstage comes from the great black bands and soul bands."

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will next perform on May 5th and 7th in Dublin, Ireland at RDS Arena.

Ed Sheeran will embark on a 14-city North American tour beginning May 19th in Clearwater, Florida.

The Subtract Tour, featuring special guest Ben Kweller, will hit cities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Denver, and Seattle before wrapping in Los Angeles on September 22nd.

The "Shape of You" singer wrote on Instagram on Friday (April 28th), "I'm playing some smaller theatre shows in North America this summer, so I can play Subtract the entire way through with full band in an intimate setting."

Tickets go on sale Tuesday (May 2nd).

The Subtract Tour will coincide with the previously announced Mathematics Tour, set to begin on May 6th in Arlington, Texas.

With the news about Aerosmith's upcoming tour about to be announced, Joe Perry spoke candidly about his over 50-year partnership with fellow "Toxic Twin" Steven Tyler.

Blabbermouth transcribed some of Perry's chat with Boston's WCVB Channel 5, in which the guitarist explained, "We've had our ups and downs. And like everything, there's a balance; there's the good and the bad. So, it was as bad as it could get, and it's also been as good as it can get. And I have to say right now, it's about as good as it can get. I think we've paid our dues on the other end. So, we're due some good times."

Perry went on to say, "There are families out there who don't talk to each other for 10 years. There are brothers out there that don't talk to each other because they're no use to each other or for whatever reason. I mean, if we operated like that there would be no band and we wouldn't be able to make the music we make and perform the way we perform. That, to me, is the goal. We achieved it once and let the thing fall apart and rebuilt it again on what I thought was firmer ground, but people don't change much over the years. I guess that's part of the lesson."

Joe Perry told us that -- plain and simple -- his love and appreciation for Steven Tyler is a constant in his life: "God, I mean, we raised our kids together, we took vacations together. He's done some pretty amazing things. He's also an amazing singer. So, like I said in my book, I know he's gonna be a handful, but I really wanna be in a band with this guy."

On May 26th, Joe Perry will release a revamped version of his last solo album, Sweetzerland Manifesto -- now renamed Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII. The collection features alternate versions of the tracks from the original 2018 set along with newly recorded material.

Paul Stanley has never been one to hold his tongue when it comes to expressing himself -- although more than few fans were confused, if not outright angered, at why he felt the need to suddenly air his opinion on transgender kids and their parents.

Stanley posted a message, titled, "My Thoughts On What I'm Seeing," on Instagram that reads in full:

There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification as though some sort of game and then parents in some cases allow it.

There ARE individuals who as adults may decide reassignment is their needed choice but turning this into a game or parents normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative or believing that because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister's clothes or a girl in her brother's, we should lead them steps further down a path that's far from the innocence of what they are doing.

With many children who have no real sense of sexuality or sexual experiences caught up in the ‘fun' of using pronouns and saying what they identify as, some adults mistakenly confuse teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad.

Kiss kicks off its final North American tour on May 27th at Columbus, Ohio's Historic Crew Stadium.

Taylor Swift paid tribute to The National as she played "Coney Island" for the first time during the Eras tour.

Footage shared to Twitter shows that while performing the surprise set segment of her show in Atlanta, Georgia Friday (April 28th), the Grammy winner said, "This band has influenced me beyond my ability to verbalize how much they've influenced me — just lyrically, their ability to set a scene, their ability to tell a story. And obviously, Aaron Dessner is in the National and he has completely changed my life."

She continued, "I was lucky enough to be able to write a song with them for their new album. Check it out, stream it, buy it on vinyl. I love them so much. They've been so kind to me."

Dessner produced evermore and recently revealed that two of Swift's hits — "Willow" and "Cardigan" — were initially meant to be released by them.

Miley Cyrus is about to get a new stepdad.

The singer's mother, Tish Cyrus, announced Saturday (April 29th) that she is engaged to Prison Break star Dominic Purcell.

The Cyrus family matriarch shared engagement photos on Instagram along with the caption, "A thousand times…. YES."

The "Flowers" singer's parents, Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus, filed for divorce in April 2022 after 30 years of marriage.

Smokey Robinson revealed he and Diana Ross had a year-long affair in the 1960's. Robinson, who was publicizing his new album, titled Gasms, spoke about the affair to The Root, explaining, "I was married at the time. We were working together and it just happened. But it was beautiful. She's a beautiful lady, and I love her right 'til today. She's one of my closest people. She was young and trying to get her career together. I was trying to help her. I brought her to Motown, in fact. I wasn't going after her and she wasn't going after me. It just happened."

Robinson, who married to his Miracles group-mate Claudette from 1959 to 1986, went on to say that the affair with Ross was painful because he was in love with the both of them at the same time: "After we'd been seeing each other for a while, Diana said to me she couldn't do that because she knew Claudette, and she knew I still loved my wife and I did. I loved my wife very much."

Smokey Robinson told us that when looking back to his early Motown days, he had no idea his music would have such an enduring impact: "It always flabbergasts me, man, because, see, when you're living it, you're not conscious of the fact that this is what you're doing. You're not thinking about, 'OK, this is what I'm doing.' You're doing it for the moment. You're doing it, 'Well, hey, I'm trying to write this song right now.' But when I sat there and I look back on the history of that and the songs and the so on and so forth, it's always overwhelming to a certain degree, man."

Bonnie Raitt has been forced to reschedule or cancel several of her tour dates due to surgery for an undisclosed ailment.

Raitt's team posted a message on Instagram that reads in part:

Bonnie has a medical situation that requires surgery to address. The doctors say that in order for her to heal properly, they recommend she not perform for a couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, this overlaps our five tour dates in May, and we are very sorry to have to cancel our performance at @brandicarlilesmothershipwkd on May 14th and postpone our shows in Athens, Louisville, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Please see below for more information about the rescheduled appearances.

We deeply apologize for this delay and inconvenience. It's always upsetting to have to disappoint her fans, band, crew and our promoters, but sometimes unforeseen things just happen. Thankfully, Bonnie's in great hands. She was so looking forward to these shows, but we're excited to be able to resume our 2023 tour, now kicking off in Dublin, Ireland, June 1st.

Please hold onto your tickets; they will be valid for the rescheduled show date and additional information will be coming from your point of purchase.

RESCHEDULED: Bonnie Raitt tour dates:

Athens, GA - rescheduled date TBD 2024
Louisville, KY - rescheduled for June 30, 2023
Indianapolis, IN - rescheduled for July 1, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA - rescheduled date TBD 2024