Month: March 2022

Legendary Texas rockers have announced U.S. tour dates for their Raw Whisky Tour, and said they will drop a new album, Raw, on July 22.  The album takes its name from the “unfettered and straightforward manner in which the tracks were recorded,” as per a press release. Guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard detailed recording Raw, which according to the liner notes of the album is dedicated “In righteous memory of Dusty Hill “(who died in July 2021).

Billy, Frank and bassist Elwood Francis — the band’s longtime guitar tech who took over for Hill as per his orders — are set to hit the road for the first leg of their Raw Whisky Tour beginning on May 27 in San Diego. Four more California dates will follow, and the tour will make stops in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Colorado, Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.  The band then kicks off a Midwest stint on July 1 including Toledo, Ohio; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Fort Wayne, Indiana and Greenville, Wisconsin before wrapping up in Boston and Watertown, New York.

Tickets for most markets on the Raw Whisky Tour are on sale through Ticketmaster.

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Dolly Parton has removed herself from consideration as a 2022 nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The nomination was Parton’s first for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, who was nominated alongside artists including Beck, Devo, Kate Bush, Eminem, Rage Against the Machine, Judas Priest, Carly Simon and others.  Country artists who have previously been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame include Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rodgers and more.

Parton posted on social media Monday, March 14th, saying in a statement: “Even though I’m extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right. I really do not want votes split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out. I do hope the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and will be willing to consider me again–if I’m ever worthy. This has, however, inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock n’ roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do!”

Parton also noted that her husband Carl Dean is a rock n’ roll fan, saying, “He always encouraged me to do one,” and she ended her post, saying:  “I wish all of the nominees good luck and thank you again for the compliment. Rock on!”

Parton has bowed out of other honors and awards; just last year, she requested that Tennessee lawmakers not consider a bill that would allow a statue of the legendary singer-songwriter to be built on the grounds of the state Capitol. Parton also revealed that she was twice offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and had to turn down the offer both times — first because her husband was sick, and the second time she was not able to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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My Chemical Romance have announced new dates have been added to their reunion tour.  An additional 14 shows were added to the band’s reunion tour, originally scheduled for fall 2020 before it was rescheduled to 2021. In April 2021, the band once again postponed their dates until 2022 due to the pandemic.

The North American tour dates will kick off on Aug. 20 with a newly added show at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; other new dates include stops in Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon. My Chemical Romance will also play three additional shows in New York including a second night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and a show at the new UBS Arena in Belmont Park. The band also added two Canadian dates – a Sept. 2 at Centre Bell in Montreal and a second Toronto show on Sept. 4; and added a fifth show at The Forum in Los Angeles.

The group will also have a number of acts joining them on the road as support, including: Badflower, Devil Master, Dilly Dally, GHÖSH, Kimya Dawson, Meg Myers, Midtown, Nothing, Shannon and the Clams, Soul Glo, Surfbort, Taking Back Sunday, The Bouncing Souls, The Homeless Gospel Choir, The Lemon Twigs, Thursday, Turnstile, Waterparks, Youth Code.

For more information, head over to My Chemical Romance’s website.

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Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, and Kiss were announced as headliners at the 2022 Louder Than Life festival, returning to Highland Festival Grounds in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sept. 22 to 25.  Joining them at the four-day fest are Alice In Chains (plus a separate solo set from AIC guitarist-vocalist Jerry Cantrell), Alice Cooper, Bring Me the Horizon, Shinedown, Rob Zombie, Incubus, Lamb of God and Tenacious D.

On Twitter, Louder Than Life wrote, “Get ready for our BIGGEST year yet, September 22-25, featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, KISS & 90+ more of your favorite bands.”

Other performers at Louder Than Life 2022 include Evanescence, Halestorm, Yungblud, Highly Suspect, Ministry, Nothing More, Baroness, Spiritbox, Apocalyptica, Dorothy, Don Broco, New Years Day, Lilith Czar, Mastodon, In This Moment, Meshuggah, Clutch, Jinger, GWAR, In Flames, Helmet, Crown the Empire, Poorstacy, Amigo the Devil, Ded, All Good Things, Chevelle, Ghostmane, Dance Gavin Dance, Body Count, Theory of a Deadman, Sevendust, Mammoth WVH and more.

Single-day and four-day weekend VIP passes are available for purchase.  For tickets and more information about the festival head over to louderthanlife.com.

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Asking Alexandria and Nothing More will hit the road in the US starting this May with openers Atreyu and Eva Under Fire. The tour gets underway May 13 in Kansas City, Mo. and will carry over to the June 19 finale in Houston, Texas.

Asking Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce says:  “This spring and summer we are finally getting back to doing what we love. We are finally hitting the road again and we will be bringing our biggest stage show yet with us. Asking Alexandria and our friends in Nothing More will be teaming up and co-headlining across North America alongside Atreyu and Eva Under Fire. We have missed playing for you all so much and we can’t wait to get back out there and see you all. We will be playing songs from the very beginning of our career all the way through to our latest album See What’s On the Inside. See you all soon.”

Nothing More added in a statement: “We have been in a dark cocoon of our innermost thoughts and feelings for 2 damned years…shifting, shaping and transforming into a creature filled with terrible power and an unregulated lust for energy. It’s about time we go on tour and play some new music.”

Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 11, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit AskingAlexandria.com or NothingMore.net.

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Alanis Morissette has announced North American dates for her world tour celebrating 25 years of Jagged Little Pill. The new tour dates will kick off in Ottawa on July 10th and hit cities including Toronto and Vancouver before wrapping in Mountain View, CA on August 6th. On the North American portion of the tour, Morissette will be joined by special guest Garbage. On the European tour dates, Beth Orton will serve as support.

Morissette will also release her new song, “Olive Branch” on Friday, March 11th. “Olive Branch” was co-written by Morissette and Michael Farrell and produced by Michael Farrell and Henrik Jakobsson.

Public on-sale begins on Friday, March 11th at 10 am local time via Ticketmaster. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets through the Citi Entertainment program. American Express Cardmembers can purchase Front of the Line presale tickets before the general public for all Canada dates.

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