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Rock Daypop

Metallica, P!nk, Twenty One Pilots and more to headline Napa’s BottleRock Festival

Napa’s BottleRock Festival — California’s premiere food, wine and music event — has released the lineup for this year, to be held Memorial Day weekend, May 27-29.

BottleRock will feature Metallica, P!nk, Twenty One Pilots and Luke Combs. The fest, which includes more than 75 musical acts, also includes The Black Crowes, Kygo, Pitbull, Greta Van Fleet and Mount Westmore, a new hip-hop supergroup featuring Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40 and Too $hort.  “We’re happy to be bringing the first taste of summer back to music fans here in the Napa Valley,” says Dave Graham of BottleRock Napa Valley. “As fans have come to expect, our 2022 lineup has something for everyone, featuring a wide variety of genres that offer legendary performers with some of the most exciting new and emerging artists in the world.”

BottleRock Napa Valley will follow all local and state COVID-19 health & safety guidelines in place at the time of the event and will communicate all requirements to ticket holders beforehand.

For tickets info and more details, head here: https://www.bottlerocknapavalley.com/

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Rock Daypop

Scorpions announce release date of new single, ‘Rock Believer’

Scorpions have revealed that their new single, “Rock Believer”, will be released on Thursday, January 13 at 7:00 a.m. PT / 10:00 a.m. ET.  “Rock Believer” is the title track from the band’s 19th studio album, which will be released on February 25.

Scorpions released the official music video for Rock Believer’s first single, “Peacemaker,” about two months ago.  When asked in a recent interview what fans can expect to hear on “Rock Believer”, singer Klaus Meine said: “Well, you can expect an album that is dedicated to all the rock believers in the world. And we’re very excited after all these years. We thought, when you think about all the touring we did the last 10 years, after the release of Return To Forever in 2015, the time was right to go back into the studio, to write new material, to write new songs and check out if the creativity is still working. The big aim was, the goal was to make a rock album — to make an album with lots of attitude, power and focus on the good old times and really enjoy the music and have some fun with the music. And that feels really good.”

To pre-order Rock Believer head here.

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Rock Daypop

Bon Jovi set to launch North American tour this April

Bon Jovi has shared they will launch a new U.S. tour beginning in April.  The band will kick off the tour April 1 in Omaha, Neb., before wrapping-up on April 30 in Nashville. Bon Jovi wrote on Instagram: “It’s official! We’ll be headed back out on the road this April for the #BonJovi2022 Tour.”

The tour will be Bon Jovi’s first since 2019. The group released its 15th studio album, 2020, in October 2020. Frontman Jon Bon Jovi said in a statement: “We have all missed touring and we know that nothing can replace the energy of a live show for the fans or the band.” Jovi was forced to cancel an appearance and performance at a fan event in October after testing positive for COVID-19.

Pre-sales begin January 11th; tickets will be available to the public beginning January 14th. For more information on tickets and VIP packages, head to Bon Jovi’s official website – here.

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Rock Daypop

The Eagles extend their “Hotel California” tour with new 2022 dates

The Eagles have extended their “Hotel California Tour”, adding North American dates that will take them through May 2022. The newly announced leg includes stops in Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville, and points elsewhere. All today, The Eagles will play 22 shows between February and May.

The tour — which originally kicked off in 2020 — features the lineup of Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit alongside Deacon Frey and Vince Gill, playing 1976’s Hotel California in full. Each date promises a performance of the album with the accompaniment of an orchestra and choir, followed by a second set of greatest hits.

Tickets for the new dates go on sale starting Friday, January 14th at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. A pre-sale will precede the public on-sale on Thursday, January 13th (use the pre-sale code BELLS).

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Rock Daypop

Official Ronnie James Dio documentary to be released in 2022

Wendy Dio, widow and longtime manager of Ronnie James Dio, has revealed details about the upcoming documentary on the life and times of her husband.  The film is the first documentary to be fully authorized by Dio’s estate.

Said Wendy: “It’s coming out [later this] year. I [recently] saw the first cut of it. It was very emotional. It’s very different from [Dio’s autobiography]. ‘Cause the book finishes in 1986, with Ronnie playing Madison Square Garden. But the documentary goes all the way through his life till the end. And it was very emotional. We all cried. It was very emotional. But it’s really interesting and really good. Rob Halford is great in it, talking about stories. Lita Ford [and] Jack Black [are also in it]. Eddie Trunk [SiriusXM radio personality] and Mick Wall [author of Dio’s autobiography] both kind of narrated it and everything. I’m very pleased with it. I don’t know exactly when it’s gonna come out [this] year, but it’ll be out [this] year.”

Ronnie James Dio passed away of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67. He was considered one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. Dio was recording and touring with Black Sabbath’s offshoot ‘Heaven & Hell’ prior to his illness; he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. Dio underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

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Rock Daypop

Yoko Ono tribute album announced featuring Death Cab for Cutie, David Byrne and more

Ben Gibbard of ‘Death Cab for Cutie has curated a Yoko Ono tribute album featuring his band, along with David Byrne, Japanese Breakfast, The Flaming Lips and more.   Titled Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono, the album — featuring 14 covers of Ono’s music — will be released on Feb. 18 (which coincides with Ono’s 89th birthday.   Sharon Van Etten, Yo La Tengo, Sudan Archives, Thao, US Girls, Jay Som, Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields, Deerhoof, We Are King and Amber Coffman will also be featured on the album.

Gibbard said in a statement: “It’s very important to me that people get a chance to really understand what Yoko’s music is all about. My hope for the people who hear this music for the first time is that their idea of Yoko Ono is completely flipped upside down. I’m also beyond grateful to all the artists who contributed songs to this project.”

Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono will also be accompanied by a podcast hosted by Gibbard and music journalist Jenny Eliscu. The podcast will discuss Ono’s music with artists that are featured on the album.  Additionally, a portion of the album’s proceeds will be donated to ‘WhyHunger’, a non-profit organization that Ono has supported that fights hunger and poverty.

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Rock Daypop

Radiohead side project The Smile releases ‘You Will Never Work in Television Again’

The Smile — comprised of Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, along with Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner — have released their first single, titled “You Will Never Work in Television Again.” The lyric video can be viewed on The Smile’s official YouTube channel.  “You Will Never Work in Television Again” is also available to stream through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Bandcamp and Tidal.

The Smile will also be performing three intimate concerts in 15 hours on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 at Magazine London. The shows will be simultaneously streamed across three global time zones.  Tickets for the concerts go on sale Friday, January 7th. For more info and to sign up for pre-sale details, head here: https://thesmiletheband.com

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Rock Daypop

Neal Schon explains why Journey fired lead singer Jeff Scott Soto from the band

Journey guitarist Neal Schon explained why the band dismissed former lead singer Jeff Scott Soto, saying he “didn’t sound right” to them.  Soto replaced Steve Augeri in Journey in December 2006 after Augeri began suffering throat problems on the road. (Augeri had replaced singer Steve Perry in 1998.) But Soto lasted less than a year, and in December 2007, Journey hired Arnel Pineda, who fronts the band to this day.

Said Soto about his firing: “The problem is I don’t know. That’s the problem. If I knew what the problem was, if I knew the reason why I got fired, then at least I could be at peace with it; I could find a way to discuss it or talk about it. But I’m not legally supposed to talk about it. … It got to the point where we had to take it [to] legal side of things.” The singer said he simply wanted an answer as to why he was let go. “If I was told why I was fired, if I was told, ‘Your voice sucks,’ if I was told I killed one of the guys’ dogs, if I made somebody in their family angry, if I was told the reason why I was fired, I could make peace with it. But to this day, 14 years later — whatever it is — I don’t know. I don’t have the answers.”

Schon responded to Soto’s claims in a Facebook comment: “It was unfortunate, but Steve Augeri’s voice gave out. We were in the middle of [the] Def Leppard tour, so I was working with Jeff on [a] side project and suggested he come in and help [finish] the tour. It went well but all were not sold on him being the lead singer after writing a tune and listening. Both [keyboardist Jonathan Cain] and I agreed it didn’t sound right – or, better put, what we wanted. I hope this satisfies this ongoing drama. It didn’t work out.”

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Rock Daypop

David Lee Roth cancels Las Vegas farewell residency

David Lee Roth’s farewell residency performances at the House of Blues Las Vegas have been officially cancelled. Roth had announced his residency last October would be his ‘farewell’ shows, saying at the time: “I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring. This is the first, and only, official announcement… You’ve got the news. Share it with the world.” 

The former Van Halen frontman had originally planned to kick off his Sin City residency with shows on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Those two performances were canceled just days beforehand, with representatives saying via statement at the time that the shows were cancelled “Due to unforeseen circumstances related to COVID and out of an abundance of caution for those working and attending the shows.”  However, now the entire run has been canceled – which includes shows for Jan. 5, 7 and 8, as well as Jan. 14-15 and Jan. 21-22.

Roth made his first public comments on Wednesday about the residency cancellation, saying: “Sometimes you win, Sometimes you lose, We got rained out… Covid cancelled. Future shows? When the benefit concerts for Colorado, Farm Aid, and hospital workers ‘everywhere’ come up; Call me..”

Ticketholders for the canceled Roth shows will be automatically issued a full refund. No announcement was made regarding any potential future  or rescheduled dates.

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Rock Daypop

2022 Grammy Awards postponed ‘indefinitely’ due to surge of COVID-19

As expected, the Grammy Awards have been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for the second year in a row. No new date has been confirmed as of yet. The annual event will be pushed back as the Omicron variant of the virus continues spreading across America.

A joint statement from the Recording Academy and its television partner, CBS, issued on Wednesday reads: “After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th annual Grammy Awards show. The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”

Last year’s Grammy Awards was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, 2021, but was pushed back to March 14. The event was stripped back and moved from Staples Center (now called Crypto.com Arena) to the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center.  The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah is set to host the 2022 Grammys, reprising his role from last year.

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