Month: August 2024

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher announced they are reuniting as Oasis for a 2025 concert tour in the UK & Ireland. The tour is expected to expand outside of Europe later in the year. The brothers — who have famously feuded for more than a decade — said in a statement Tuesday: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”  

A social media post announcing the news read: “Oasis will tour the UK & Ireland in summer 2025! Tickets go on sale this Saturday 31st August. IRE 8am IST – UK 9am BST – Full information https://OasisMusic.lnk.to/oasisinet *These dates will be the band’s exclusive European appearances.”

The band’s website posted the statement: ” Oasis today end years of feverish speculation with the confirmation of a long awaited run of UK and Ireland shows forming the domestic leg of their OASIS LIVE ’25 world tour. Oasis will hit Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin in the summer of 2025. They’re only shows in Europe next year, this will be one of the biggest live moments and hottest tickets of the decade.”

Oasis last performed together in 2009, and are best known for their songs “Champagne Supernova,” “Supersonic,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Wonderwall” and “Acquiesce.”

Tickets for the UK dates go on sale starting on Saturday, August 31st at 9 am local time via Ticketmaster, GigsAndTours.com and SeeTickets.com. Dublin tickets will be available starting at 8 am local time the same day. A statement from the band noted that it was strongly advised that those wishing to purchase tickets register in advance of the sale with the relevant ticketing agencies.

See the trailer announcing Oasis’ reunion: HERE.

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Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 solo acoustic album Nebraska is getting an all-star tribute on PBS.

Nebraska, which was released on Sept. 30, 1982, arrived two years after Springsteen’s first No. 1 album, The River. The dozen songs featured on Nebraska were recorded on a four-track tape machine in Springsteen’s New Jersey bedroom, recounting tales of murder, crime sprees and, and eventual redemption. The album became one of Springsteen’s most acclaimed records, reaching No. 3 upon its release.

The first trailer for the special  features Noah Kahan singing an acoustic “Atlantic City”, as well as Emmylou Harris singing “The Price You Pay,” Lyle Lovett covering“My Father’s House,” Lucinda Williams performing the Springsteen classic “Born in the U.S.A.” and Eric Church’s take on “Dancing In the Dark.” The show will also feature Harris’ take on the album’s title track, Lovett singing “Used Cars” and the Lumineers’ covering “Mansion on the Hill” and “State Trooper.”

The special was taped during an intimate gig at Analog in Nashville’s Hutton Hotel on Sept. 19, 2023, with musician/author Warren Zanes hosting the show.  Zanes is the author of a book about the album, 2023’s Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.  Shares Zanes in a statement: “I wrote a book about Nebraska because the recording stayed with me over decades. Every time there was trouble in my life I reached for Nebraska. When I started doing events around the book’s publication, I quickly realized the best of them had music. When I went to Nashville, I had a remarkable cast of musicians to help me tell this story.”

Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska: A Celebration in Words and Music will air on PBS on August 31. Watch the Nebraska special trailer: here.

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Christian rockers Skillet will release its first independent record, Revolution, on November 1st – the follow-up to 2022’s Dominion. 

The first single off Revolution, titled “Unpopular,” is available now. The song was teased in Skillet’s new app, which will give fans early access to tickets, exclusive content, message boards, and more. Says lead singer John Cooper: “‘Unpopular’ is lighthearted, but there’s a clear message. So many people don’t have a place to belong. You used to know your neighbors. Our communities are online now, which contributes to the loneliness. You have powerful people telling you what reality is, what you should eat, what you should drive, and how you should live. They deem us ‘unpopular.’ In reality, we agree more than we disagree as a society. The majority of people just want to be free and they don’t really care whether or not you agree with them about everything.”

After 20 years on Atlantic Records, Skillet has opted to go independent. Shared Cooper: “We made records on the same label for 20 years, and it was a great experience. Since this was the first independent record, it put some pep in my step, so to speak. We did exactly what we wanted to do. If I was on the road and felt inspired to write, I just did. In the past, we’d make a bunch of ideas and whittle everything down for the album. This time, we only wrote and recorded 10 tracks, but it was all we needed. Musically, there are a lot of flavors on the record. It’s got the arena songs, but it also has some tunes that are more nostalgic and throwback Skillet.”

He continues, “Thematically, there’s so much nihilism in our culture. Depression and teen suicide are at epidemic levels. We’re revolting against a culture that creates nihilism, nothingness, and materialism. The album is poignant, but it’s also very confident and inclusive as well. It’s a record saying, ‘We have to be willing to stand up for what we believe in — even if it might be unpopular in some circles, but hey, maybe we could have a revolution of love, you know, a revolution of understanding, of tolerance towards people that we don’t agree with and come back to some human dignity and respecting peoples rights and where they’re coming from. And so, it’s kind of speaking to the division and the polarization that is happening, which I think is a really good message and what the whole ‘revolution’ thing is all about. We allude to it on the record cover where there’s a Skillet flag, and in the corner it lists I Corinthians, 13:13, a verse that says, ‘Hold onto these things: faith, hope, love. But the greatest is love.’”

Skillet also announced that they will hit the road this fall with Seether, followed by their first-ever tour of the Middle East in November, where the band will be playing in Turkey, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, and more.

Stream “Unpopular” – HERE.
Check out the accompanying video for ‘Unpopular’ via YouTube.
To pre-order Revolution head HERE.

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Melissa Etheridge is set to headline this year’s annual Women Who Rock Benefit Concert at Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA on August 28th. The benefit concert will feature an all-female-fronted music lineup and proceeds will benefit women’s health research.

Presented by Gibson Gives, all proceeds from the Women Who Rock Benefit Concert support understudied and underfunded women’s health research at Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI), the nation’s first and largest research institute dedicated solely to life-saving women’s health research and reproductive biology.

Says Etheridge: “The Women Who Rock benefit concert is all about raising funds for life-saving women’s health research which is underfunded and understudied. I went through my own health issue 20 years ago, I’m still cancer-free now and I know how important it is for women’s health to be studied specifically and independently.”

For fans not attending the concert in person, you can bid on a Gibson 1968 Les Paul Custom guitar, autographed by Melissa, on CharityBuzz.com through August 28th. All proceeds from the auction of the Les Paul Custom guitar will go to support the important work of the Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation.

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Queens of the Stone Age has postponed all remaining 2024 tour dates due to frontman Josh Homme’s health. The band had originally canceled all of its July and August 2024 due to Homme’s health.

The band shared the news on social media, noting that all festival dates have been canceled: “QOTSA regret to announce the cancellation and/or postponement of all remaining 2024 shows. Josh has been given no choice but to prioritize his health and to receive essential medical care through the remainder of the year. Josh and the QOTSA family are so thankful for your support and the time we were able to spend together over the last year. Hope to see you all again in 2025.”

Shows in Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin will be rescheduled for 2025, with details forthcoming. Fans planning to see QOTSA perform at festivals including Soundside, Mempho and Corona Capital should visit their respective websites for the latest event information.

The band launched The End Is Nero Tour last year, in support of their latest album In Times New Roman…. Homme revealed he was diagnosed with cancer in 2022, but has since been given the “all clear” after undergoing successful treatment.

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