Category: Rock Daypop

Heart co-founder Nancy Wilson has released “Amigo Amiga” the tribute song she wrote for her friend, the late Taylor Hawkins, a few days after his passing. Hawkins was found dead in his Bogota, Colombia hotel room on March 25th while the Foo Fighters were on tour in South America.

The song and new lyric video, featuring Nancy, are available now, with all proceeds from the release of the single benefiting the Recording Academy’s MusiCares.  Wilson explains of the song: “The night we heard about losing Taylor I started writing the song. I heard myself in tears saying ‘too soon too soon’ which became a refrain in the song. I spent quite a few sleepless nights trying to express it all. He was a wonderful friend and we always had funny pet names for each other like Amigo and Amiga as well as Luv and Dahling. I sang on his great solo album Get the Money at his home studio and later he returned the favor and played drums on my solo album…t is such a painful loss — but it also feels like Taylor has galvanized and re-energized Rock and Roll with so many of his musician friends and fans coming together — it’s a new renaissance Taylor and the Foo family have gifted us all.”

Take a look at the lyric video for “Amigo Amiga” – here.  At the request of the Foo Fighters, Wilson performed the track at the tribute concert for Hawkins at The Forum in Inglewood, CA.

HEART’s NANCY WILSON Releases TAYLOR HAWKINS Tribute Song ‘Amigo Amiga’

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Dead & Company has shared that they will be embarking on their final tour in 2023, with next summer’s trek to be their final tour after eight years together. The band wrote on social media: “As we put the finishing touches on booking venues, and understanding that word travels fast, we wanted to be the first to let you know that Dead & Company will be hitting the road next summer for what will be our final tour. Stay tuned for a full list of dates for what will surely be an exciting, celebratory, and heartfelt last run of shows.” Further details will be shared as they become available.

Drummer Bill Kreutzmann shared his thoughts about the end on social media: “The Grateful Dead always felt timeless from our very beginnings at the acid tests where ‘time’ did some funny things so we left it behind altogether. This music will always exist, always evolve, always be the soundtrack of our ever changing lives. But the form changes. It always has, from when we invited Mickey to join the band to the many shapes and forms it took after [frontman] Jerry [Garcia] left us. And so it’s almost time for another change. I have loved this chapter with Dead & Company, as we got to explore the music with some new interpreters and different antennas, but we always knew it was just a chapter. The Music never stops. I hope you’ll join us for one final Dead & Company tour next summer and after that… as always… I’m really excited about what comes next. Thank you all for being with us on this journey. It’s far from over so keep those seat belts on because we’ve got some wild nights ahead.”

Dead & Company was formed in 2015 when the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir joined forces with artist and musician John Mayer, Allman Brothers’ bassist Oteil Burbridge, and Fare Thee Well and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti.  The band has completed six tours since its formation, playing to 3.4 million fans, and becoming a record-breaking stadium act. The band has grossed $255.5 million and sold 2.8 million tickets across 149 reported shows.

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Godsmack‘s eighth studio album is due out soon, and the group has teased the first single from the LP, titled “Surrender,” due to premiere on Wednesday, September 28th.

Godsmack posted on Instagram: “Our NEW SINGLE “Surrender” drops on SEPT 28 ! Make sure you don’t miss the release by pre-saving it NOW at the LINK IN OUR BIO ! #godsmack #surrender #newmusic #newsingle #rockandroll #rocknroll”

‘Surrender’ will be released on September 28; to pre-save, head HERE.

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The Red Hot Chili Peppers are honoring the late Eddie Van Halen with a tribute song to the late Van Halen guitarist, titled “Eddie.”

RHCP singer Anthony Kiedis wrote in an Instagram message: “Sometimes we don’t realize how deeply affected and connected we are to artists until the day they die. Eddie Van Halen was a one of a kind. The day after his death Flea came into rehearsal with an emotional bassline. John, Chad and I started playing along and pretty soon with all our hearts, a song in his honor effortlessly unfolded. It felt good to be sad and care so much about a person who had given so much to our lives. In the end, our song asks that you not remember Eddie for dying but for living his wildest dream.” Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, replied to the emotional post with a trio of heart emoji.

The tribute to the rock icon, who died in Oct. 2020, is the second track from the band’s upcoming Return of the Dream Canteen album (due out Oct. 14), following the single, “Tippa My Tongue.”

Watch the “Eddie” visualizer – here.

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Ghost have released the official live video for their surprise viral hit, ‘Mary On A Cross.”  The performance footage was filmed on September 6 at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida during the summer 2022 leg of the band’s “Imperatour.”

In a message shared alongside the video, the band wrote, “We wish to inform you that all good things must come to an end. Although the US Imperatour will wrap this weekend we wanted to leave you with this token of our appreciation for your continued support. Watch ‘Mary on a Cross – Live from Tampa 2022.’”

The band recently landed their first-ever song on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs chart with “Mary on a Cross,” which entered at No.90. Originally released in 2019 as a B-side, “Mary On A Cross” has been experiencing a resurgence after going viral on TikTok.  The track appeared in a clip on the platform that featured an edit of scenes from ‘Stranger Things’ centered around characters Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) and Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), which has since been viewed millions of times on TikTok and inspired many other creators to soundtrack their TikTok’s with the song.  To celebrate the success of the “Mary On A Cross”, Ghost released a “slowed + reverb” version of the song. The “slowed + reverb” version is also now available for creators to use on TikTok.

Take a look at the live video clip for “Mary On A Cross” – here.

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Motley Crue and Def Leppard’s North American ‘Stadium Tour’ earned more than $170 million, according to a new report by Billboard.

The 36-city trek — also featuring Poison and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts — sold 1.3 million tickets, earning $173.5 million in revenue at the box office and making it the biggest tour of both Motley Crue’s and Def Leppard’s careers. The Stadium Tour averaged 37,520 tickets each night, drawing more than three times the audience that each band previously reached on their own.

Motley Crue reunited for the Stadium Tour following a “farewell tour” that ended in 2015, while Def Leppard were on the road in support of their latest album, “Diamond Star Halos”.  Both bands have hinted that the tour *may* continue in 2023.

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Guns N’ Roses is celebrating their 1991 two-album set Use Your Illusion I & II with a commemorative box set featuring dozens of previously unreleased tracks and videos. The Illusion albums, GNR’s third and fourth studio releases, dropped simultaneously on Sept. 17, 1991, and debuted in the top two slots on the Billboard 200 album chart. The pair sold nearly 1.5 million copies during their first week on the charts.

The new 97-track collection, titled Guns N’ Roses — Use Your Illusion I & II Super Deluxes, will feature 63 previously unreleased songs alongside newly remastered for the first time versions of both albums.

The special edition will be available in a number of configurations, including a Super Deluxe Seven-CD + Blu-ray, a Super Deluxe Twelve-LP + Blu-ray on 180-gram heavy weight audiophile black vinyl; 2-CD Deluxe Editions of Use Your Illusion I & II separately, as well as standard 1-CD and 2-LP versions of Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II separately.  All the versions will also be available to stream and as digital downloads; head here for information.

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Iron Maiden have recruited Within Temptation for the latest collaboration for their Legacy of the Beast free-to-play mobile game.  You can watch a video of the game premiere – here.

Within Temptation will be joining Iron Maiden on the second leg of their US tour, beginning in October 2022.  The game has previously featured collaborations this year with Disturbed, Powerwolf, Arch Enemy, Five Finger Death Punch.

Details of the game expansion are as follows: “This exciting collaboration has culminated in a dungeon event called ‘The Purge’ inspired by Within Temptation’s 2020 single of the same name and a newly created character, Genesis. In this new storyline, Genesis teams up with the Different World iteration of Eddie – who was inspired by the lyrics, themes and imagery of Iron Maiden’s 2006 track ‘Different World’ and the subsequent music video. This week-long event will take fans and players on a journey with Different World Eddie and Genesis, who’s now been woven into the Legacy of the Beast lore, as mother of the Different World.”

To play the Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast mobile game, head here.

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Smashing Pumpkins announced the release of their upcoming, 3-act rock opera ATUM (pronounced “Autumn”), which will serve as a sequel to 1995’s iconic Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God. 

ATUM — written and produced by Corgan over the past four years — is due out in April 2023.  The 33-song collection will be released in segments; each act of 11 songs will come out every 11 weeks on digital streaming platforms. The ATUM vinyl box set will include 10 unreleased songs.

Billy Corgan also announced a brand new podcast, Thirty-Three With William Patrick Corgan. Every week, a new song from ATUM will debut on the podcast, which will also feature classic tracks and a discussion of the band’s history. The first two episodes of the podcast are available here.

Smashing Pumpkins previewed the ATUM collection with the new single “Beguiled,” which the band debuted on its TikTok account.  It is also available for listening here. The Smashing Pumpkins will perform the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Sept. 23, and is also scheduled to launch a North American tour at the beginning of October alongside Jane’s Addiction.

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The ‘Van Halen Stage’ was recently erected in Eddie Van Halen’s hometown of Pasadena, the same California city where the iconic ’80s band Van Halen was formed 50 years ago. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held unveiling the memorial pavilion stage at a newly constructed community park and recreation area. A children’s playground and dog run will be among the other permanent fixtures surrounding the stage.

It was initially planned for the stage to be named solely after the late guitar legend, however, at the request of his family, it was named after the entire band. The guitarist was first honored by his hometown with a memorial plaque after the one-year anniversary of his passing.

Eddie Van Halen passed away on Oct. 6, 2020, after a lengthy battle with throat cancer. The band Van Halen was formed in 1972, consisting of Dutch-born, Pasadena-raised brothers, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, along with David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony.

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