genre rock
Page: 58
The charity album Good Music to Lift Los Angeles makes a chart-topping debut, as the 90-track set arrives atop Billboard’s Compilation Albums chart (dated Feb. 22).
The effort — which boasts acts such as Dawes, R.E.M. and Perfume Genius — was sold for 24 hours only through Bandcamp as a digital download on Feb. 7. The price of the album was $20.25, but customers could choose to pay more. Proceeds from the project benefit the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Fund, both supporting individuals impacted by the January wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
In total, the Good Music to Lift Los Angeles album sold just over 10,000 copies in the week ending Feb. 13 in the U.S., according to Luminate. The last non-soundtrack compilation to sell more in a single week was another benefit project, Cardinals at the Window: A Benefit for Flood Relief in Western North Carolina, which sold nearly 12,000 and debuted atop the Compilation Albums chart dated Oct. 19, 2024.
The 90-track project is comprised entirely of previously unreleased recordings, including new songs, covers, remixes, live versions and unreleased demos. Other acts featured on the collection include K.Flay, Faye Webster, Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Mac DeMarco, Neko Case and TV On the Radio.
Good Music to Lift Los Angeles also launches at No. 5 on the Top Album Sales chart and in the top 40 on Top Alternative Albums (No. 16), Independent Albums (No. 20), Top Rock Albums (No. 20), Top Rock & Alternative Albums (No. 26). It was also the top-selling digital download album in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 13.
As Good Music to Lift Los Angeles opens at No. 5 on the Top Album Sales chart, let’s take a look at the rest of the chart’s top 10. Kendrick Lamar’s GNX reenters the list at No. 1 for its first week on top (116,000; up 10,100%) after its physical release on CD, vinyl and cassette; The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow falls 2-1 in its second week (29,000; down 92%), Dream Theater’s Parasomnia starts at No. 3 (16,000) and Chappell Roan’s chart-topping The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess dips 3-4 (14,000; up 24%).
Closing out the top 10: Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet slips 5-6, Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft is steady at No. 7, the Wicked film soundtrack falls 6-8, Stray Kids’ former No. 1 HOP descends 4-9 and Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.d City jumps 18-10.
Justin Timberlake, BTS’ J-Hope, Gracie Abrams, Raye and Benson Boone are among the headliners for 2025’s Lollapalooza Berlin. Among the other acts slated to perform on July 12 and 13 at Olympic Park and the Olympic Stadium in Berlin are: Armin Van Burren, Brutalismus 3000, Ive, The Last Dinner Party, Dom Dolla, John Summit, Artemas, Shaboozey, Royel Otis, Ashnikko, Magdalena Bay, Sofi Tukker, Bigxthaplug and Mark Ambor, among many others.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Tickets for the festival are on sale now.
Lollapalooza Berlin was the first European extension of the beloved Lolla brand, first touching down in 2015, shifting between a series of different venues before finding its permanent home in the Olympic Park in the heart of Berlin.
Trending on Billboard
Last year’s fest featured a similarly eclectic lineup topped by Sam Smith, Martin Garrix, Burna Boy, OneRepublic, Seventeen, The Chainsmokers and solo sets from former One Direction band mates Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.
The 2025 Berlin edition will also host Mother Mother, Mahmut Orhan, Argy, Mark Ambor, Bunt., Nora En Pure, Miss Monique, Anna, Flo, Joey Valence & Brae, Neil Frances Present Club NF, Benjamin Ingrosso and Wasia Project, among others. The set from J-Hope will come following the conclusion of the K-pop superstar’s Hope on the Stage 2025 solo world tour, which will kick off on Feb. 28 with the first of two shows at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea before jumping to the Barclays Center in New York and winding down on June 1 with the second of two shows at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan.
Check out the poster for the 2025 Lollapalooza Berlin festival below.
On the heels of his first book, Dark Days: A Memoir, in 2015, Lamb of God frontman Randall Blythe did not want to follow it up with another non-fiction book. But he was counseled otherwise.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I never want to write non-fiction ever again,’” Blythe tells Billboard via Zoom from his home in Richmond, Va. “But my literary agent was like, ‘No, you need to write another non-fiction book to prove to publishers that you’re not just a one-trick pony, contingent on this very kind of bizarre and unfortunate story.’ And I was like, ‘OK, he’s the literary agent, so I’m gonna follow his advice.’ But I didn’t really know what I wanted to write about. This book was more difficult to write than my first one.”
Dark Days focused on Blythe’s legal battles in the Czech Republic, where he was arrested in 2012 and hit with manslaughter charges over the death of a fan at a 2010 Lamb of God show in Prague; he was acquitted in 2013. “(Dark Days) had a classic three-act narrative structure provided by that unfortunate even in my life. This one it was more, ‘Here’s an idea. Let’s see what happens.’ So it was a different experience.”
Trending on Billboard
In Just Beyond the Light: Making Peace With the Wars Inside Our Head (Grand Central) — which published Tuesday (Feb. 18) – Blythe offers a series of essays about what Blythe calls “perspective” on mortality, sobriety, creativity, mental health, the environment and other issues. “I knew I wanted to write about death. I knew I wanted to write about surfing — that’s another thing that has broadened my perspective in life and really made my life better,” Blythe says. “So death and surfing, which I thought would be a good book title. And I just kinda went from there.”
Just Beyond the Light begins with a chapter devoted to Blythe’s relationship with Wayne Ford, a Lamb of God fan dealing with terminal leukemia who passed away at 33.
“The ultimate fear of every human is our mortality, really,” Blythe explains. “I befriended (Ford) during the last month or two of his life, and the way he handed his mortality was extremely…I hate to use the word inspiring, but it was. I had this honest, open sort of relationship with him when we were talking, and to see this young man handle it with such grace and dignity, it really altered my perspective.
“I’m almost 54 years old now. Mortality is staring me more and more in the face, and it’s something I think about a lot. And it doesn’t freak me out; I view it as something not to be afraid of because it’s going to happen to us all inevitably. But I knew I wanted to write about that.”
Mortality provides a thread throughout the Just Beyond the Light, as does discourses on sobriety, which Blythe achieved more than a decade ago. “I wouldn’t have these perspectives if I wasn’t sober now,” he notes. “I wouldn’t have any perspective, period, because I think I’d be dead by now — to bring it back to mortality. My drinking, it got in the way of everything because I bought into the sort of cultural mythos of the hard drinking, hard drugging, hard partying artist for awhile.
“I didn’t become an author until I got sober. I talked about being a writer. I did all the things that (Charles) Bukowski and (Ernest) Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson did. I drank and partied and womanized, got in a few fights. I did all the things those great writers did — except writing. I was practicing to be a writer I suppose, but when I got sober I was able to become the writer I’m supposed to be.”
In other parts of Just Beyond the Light, Blythe uses a stay at the Chelsea Hotel in New York to ruminate on songwriting and other forms of creativity, while the chapter before laments the epidemic of school shootings in the United States and the lack of effective measures to prevent them. There are plenty of viewpoints in the book that may butt up against social and political sensibilities that have surfaced in the country during the past month, but Blythe (acknowledging that “I’m strapped in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride”) is ready to have those conversations when he begins a 15-date speaking tour to promote the book.
“I’m very much interested in conversations,” he says. “I think that is a problem within our culture now, that lack of dialogue. And for me, I think that dialogue can only effectively occur in a face-to-face setting, because I think that within the confines of the Internet there’s a tendency towards tribalization…and to view others almost as less than human. It’s us and them, and our common humanity is lost and people are just typing slogans at each other — from both the left and the right, as far as I can tell. There’s no discourse, and that’s extremely distressing to me.”
Those appearances will be anything but rote, Blythe promises.
“I’m not gonna be reading; they could just stay home and do that,” he says. “I’m gonna get up there and tell stories from outside the book. I want all the stories to service the main theme of the book, which is perspective. I’ve never done it before, so it’s gonna be an interesting experiment for me. We’ll see what happens.”
Beyond the book, Blythe says Lamb of God — marking its 30th year since he joined the band, then known as Burn the Priest, and independently released its first demo tape — is headed for a “light” year after heavy touring in the wake of 2022’s Omens album. Guitarist Mark Morton also wrote a memoir, Desolation: A Heavy Metal Memoir, for which Blythe provided assistance as well as a cover photo. (“His book is more of a Lamb of God retrospective,” Blythe says, “which I think is cool ’cause I don’t want to write that. I’m glad he did the heavy lifting.”) Blythe also made guest appearances on recent albums by P.O.D. and Lacuna Coil.
The band, meanwhile, will be playing festivals — Inkcarceration in Ohio and Louder Than Life in Kentucky — but Blythe and company are most excited about being on the bill for the Back To The Beginning on July 5 in Birmingham, England, where Ozzy Osbourne and the original lineup of Black Sabbath will play its final show supported by a who’s who of heavy metal and hard rock acts.
“It’s an incredible honor to be asked to do this,” says Blythe, adding that Lamb of God will be performing one of its own songs and one Black Sabbath song, which is already chosen, though he won’t reveal what it is. “Black Sabbath was the first metal band, and we are going to their home town, which is the birthplace of heavy metal, to give them the best send-off we can. And it’s awesome it’s going to charity. I think all the bands are pretty emotional about it. All of us have Black Sabbath’s DNA in our music. They are the tree from which we have all fallen. And this is the last one; Ozzy has Parkinson’s, so it’s not like the endless Kiss farewell tour. This is it. So we want to go and give them the best send-off as possible and just show respect and thank them.”
Just Beyonce The Light
Courtesy Photo
The dates for Blythe’s book tour supporting Just Beyond the Light include:Feb. 19 – Philadelphia, Pa, Underground ArtsFeb. 21 – Harrisonburg, Va., The Golden PonyFeb. 23 – Somerville, Mass., Arts at the ArmoryFeb. 25 – Montreal, Quebec, Théâtre FairmountFeb. 26 – Toronto, Ontario, Red Room at The Concert HallFeb. 28 – Lansing, Mich., Grewal Hall at 224March 01 – Joliet, Ill., The ForgeMarch 03 – Nashville, Tenn., The Basement EastMarch 04 – Dallas, Texas Granada TheaterMarch 05 – Austin, Texas, ParishMarch 07 – Denver, Colo., Meow WolfMarch 09 – Seattle, Wash., El CorazonMarch 12 – San Francisco, Calif., The IndependentMarch 13 – Los Angeles, Calif., El Rey TheatreMarch 14 – San Diego, Calif., House of Blues
Blink-182 co-founder Mark Hoppus is setting his sights on the art world, with the musician set to auction off his rare Banksy artwork.
The artwork, titled Crude Oil (Vettriano), was hand-painted by the anonymous English street artist in 2005 and will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London on March 4. The painting is valued rather highly, attracting a sales estimate of up to £5 million, or $6.3 million.
Originally created for Banksy’s 2005 exhibit Crude Oils, the painting is itself a recreation of the 1992 artwork The Singing Butler by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. Hoppus would later acquire the piece in 2011.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
As part of the exhibition (which was described as “A Gallery of Re-Mixed Master-Pieces, Vandalism, and Vermin” and featured works based off artists such as Andy Warhol and Edward Hopper), the original was altered to include a “sinking oil liner and two men in hazmat suits wheeling a barrel of toxic waste”.
Trending on Billboard
“We loved this painting since the moment we saw it,” said Hoppus in a statement. “Unmistakably Banksy, but different. We bought it because we loved it. It’s borne witness to our family over these past dozen years. It hung over the table in London where we ate breakfast and our son did his homework. It hung in our living room in Los Angeles. It’s seen laughter and tears and parties and arguments.”
“This isn’t just an iconic Banksy, it is a Banksy that has been treasured by music legend, Mark Hoppus, who fell for this work for its rebellious spirit, raw edge and unfiltered expression—the fundamentals that also shaped Mark’s world: Punk culture,” Sotheby’s Europe chairman Oliver Barker said in a statement.
“Street art and Punk Rock share the same vocabulary—they speak to the outsider, the rebel and the overlooked. Both movements were born from the margins. They challenge authority and rewrite the rules, a fundamental trait shared by Mark and Banksy. Now, by sharing Crude Oil (Vettriano) with the world, Mark will open others’ eyes to the true power art can have; to spark conversation and challenge the way we see the world around us.”
Remaining anonymous over his three decades of activity, Banksy’s artwork has become as iconic as it is divisive, with his creations adorning the walls of art galleries and album covers in equal measure. In 2021, his Love is in the Bin artwork sold for a record £18,582,000 (valued at $23,442,885 today), with the work itself having gained notoriety for its self-destruction upon its initial sale in 2018.
Hoppus says a portion of the funds raised by the sale will go towards charities and funds aiding those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, including the California Fire Foundation, the Child Life Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Cedars Sinai Hematology Oncology Research.
Crude Oil (Vettriano) is currently on display at Sotheby’s in New York until Thursday (Feb. 20), and will then be on display in London from Feb. 26 until March 4.
The journals of late Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley will be collected in an upcoming book, with This Angry Pen to be released in November.
The 176-page volume will be officially released on Nov. 11 via publisher Weldon Owen, with its full title reading This Angry Pen: The Lost Journals of Layne Staley. According to a description of the book on the website of distributors Simon & Schuster, the book collects “handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes” and more.
“For the first time, this stunning collection unveils the deeply personal and creative side of the legendary Alice in Chains frontman,” it continues. “Through never-before-seen poetry, raw handwritten lyrics, intimate scribblings, and heartfelt notes, Layne’s inner thoughts and emotions come to life, offering a glimpse into the mind of a musical genius who defined a generation.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Staley began his musical journey in the ‘80s, performing in glam bands in the Seattle area such as Sleze, which changed its name in 1986 to Alice N’ Chains.
Trending on Billboard
In 1987, Staley – along with guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney – formed a new band and renamed it Alice in Chains. The group would soon become one of the most influential grunge rock outfits of the ‘90s, with their 1995 self-titled album peaking atop the Billboard 200.
In addition to performing and recording with supergroups Mad Season and Class of ‘99 through the decade, Staley became largely reclusive in the latter half of the ‘90s, battling depression and drug addiction during those years. In April 17, 2002, Staley’s body was found in his Seattle apartment, with an autopsy ruling his death as an accidental overdose of cocaine and heroin from two weeks prior.
Alice in Chains would later reform in 2005, with vocalist William DuVall joining the following year. The band have since released three studio albums, with 2018’s Rainier Fog serving as their last record to date.
“Through Layne’s scribblings and heartfelt musings are a window into the emotional depths of a man who gave so much of himself to his art and his fans, even as he struggled with his own battles,” the description for This Angry Pen continued. “For fans new and old, this is an opportunity to connect with Layne’s artistry and humanity in a way that’s never been possible before. His story, told through his own words, creations, and the lives he forever changed, is a testament to the enduring power of music, art, and the human spirit.”
The publication of This Angry Pen also draws some comparisons to the 2002 book Journals, which collected the drawings and writings of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Nirvana and Alice in Chains – along with fellow Seattle contemporaries Pearl Jam and Soundgarden – were often considered to make up the ‘Big Four’ of grunge music. Reaction to Cobain’s Journals was mixed upon its release, with Cobain’s daughter Frances Bean expressing her regret over its publication in 2018.
Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon has dismissed his bandmates’ decision to reform with Frank Carter on vocals, likening the whole endeavor to “karaoke”.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
News of a tour from the Sex Pistols emerged in 2024 when it was first announced that the band – featuring original members Steve Jones, Paul Cook, and Glen Matlock – were to reunite for a two-night affair to benefit West London’s Bush Hall.
The reunion did not, however, feature Lydon, who served as the vocalist of the band under his Johnny Rotten moniker. Instead, the group was to be fronted by Carter, who has previously fronted acts such as Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes.
Trending on Billboard
The initial shows soon led to further dates around the U.K. and Europe, with the band billed as Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter. Further shows have since been announced for Australia, New Zealand, and other European countries throughout 2025. In January, Jones confirmed U.S. dates would follow, though specifics are yet to arrive.
Lydon, however, had remained largely quiet in regard to the nascent shows from the band. On Thursday (Feb. 13), he spoke to British publication The i Paper about the tour, explaining that he largely felt “annoyed” by the whole affair and feared it would tarnish the group’s legacy.
“When I first heard that the Sex Pistols were touring this year without me it pissed me off,” he explained. “It annoyed me. I just thought, ‘they’re absolutely going to kill all that was good with the Pistols by eliminating the point and the purpose of it all.’ I didn’t write those words lightly. They’re trying to trivialise the whole show to get away with karaoke but in the long term I think you’ll see who has the value and who doesn’t. I’ve never sold my soul to make a dollar. It’s the Catholic in me – that guilt I don’t want to trip.
“Like Nancy Reagan, I’ve always found it easy to just say ‘no,’” he continued. “If something challenges your heart and your soul and your mind and your sense of purity of what is right and wrong in the world, then just say no. Which, according to the corporate thinking which riddles the music business earns me the title of ‘difficult to work with’ – a title of which I’m very proud.”
The new tour is not the first time, however, that Sex Pistols members have performed songs with a different vocalist. In recent years, Jones and Cook teamed up with Billy Idol and Tony James of Generation X to form the supergroup Generation Sex. Though initially a one-off occurrence in 2018, the group would later embark on a European tour in 2023.
Lydon touched on both the nascent iteration of the Sex Pistols and the Generation Sex group in another recent interview with the Classic Album Review podcast, claiming it’s his presence that makes for the genuine article.
“I wrote the fucking songs, didn’t I? I gave them the image,” he explained. ”I was the frontman. I am the voice what made the whole world sing. And now [they’re] going out, as they did the year before with Billy Idol. It’s just karaoke, really.
“I would love to be embarrassed by high-quality songwriting from them,” he continued. “They’ve had long enough to get that together now, haven’t they? But no. They profess their hatred for me, but they can’t live without me. I am the punishment that goes on giving.”
The Sex Pistols initially existed from 1975 until 1978, releasing their sole studio album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols in 1977. Lauded as a pioneering punk outfit despite their short initial tenure, the band would later reform in 1996 for a world tour, and undertook sporadic tours until 2008.
Famously, the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, though refused to attend the ceremony, labeling the institution a “piss stain.”
Rick Buckler, a longtime rocker best known as the drummer for legendary band The Jam, has died. He was 69 years old. The news of his death was announced on X via a heartfelt message from his bandmate, Paul Weller. “I’m shocked and saddened by Rick’s passing. I’m thinking back to us all rehearsing in […]
MGK is looking forward to his second round of fatherhood. The rocker, who is expecting a child with his ex-fiancée Megan Fox, took to his Instagram Stories on Sunday (Feb. 16) to share a photo of a church stage, which showed the projected message, “Your past is not your purpose—your priority is ahead of you.” […]
The first round of grants targeting wildfire relief efforts in Los Angeles following last month’s all-star FireAid benefit concerts were announced on Tuesday (Feb. 18). The $50 million-worth of phase one gifting — representing half of the estimated $100 million raised by the shows — will prioritize “community-based organizations that are on the front lines of wildfire relief.”
The groups, which organizers said have the infrastructure, experience, and in-place relationships to “efficiently and equitably” deliver assistance to fire-impacted individuals, are each for $100,000 or more and targeted toward immediate relief; phase two will be more focused on rebuilding efforts following the series of fires that killed 29 Angelenos and destroyed more than 16,0000 homes and structures.
Trending on Billboard
The organizations are split into several buckets, including emergency aid to children and families, school recovery funding, targeted support for vulnerable youth and foster youth and funds to help with educational continuity via a grant to A Sense of Home.
The community hubs and conveners grant will send funds to Abundant Harvest LIFT, a community crisis center that distributes information, financial assistance and connects individuals with critical resources for survivors of the Eaton Canyon fire. Other groups covered by this grant include: Chabad Jewish Community Center of Pacific Palisades, Clery Community Coalition, Inc., Deliverance Tabernacle Church, First AME Pasadena, Flintridge Center, Friends Indeed, Harambee Ministries – Pasadena, Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, Kehillat Israel Synagogue, LA Voice Benevolence Fund, Masjid al Taqwa, NAACP of Pasadena, Pasadena Church, Pasadena City College Foundation, Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, Pasadena Seventh Day Adventist, St. Vincent de Paul Society’s St. Elizabeth Conference of Altadena, the Santa Monica College Foundation, Victory Bible Church Pasadena and YMCA Metro.
Disaster relief will distribute direct cash aid for Angeleno’s most critical needs, as well as coordinated efforts to clear hazardous waste, test water quality and restore safe living conditions. The grantees for those efforts include: Alliance for a Better Community, Black LA Relief & Recovery Fund, Brotherhood Crusade, CA Conservation Corps, CA Native Vote Project, Change Reaction, CORE, Heal the Bay, Jewish Free Loan Association, LA Conservation Corps, LA County Household Relief Fund, LA Works, Inc., Latino Community Foundation, My Tribe Rise, Pasadena Community Foundation Eaton Canyon Fire Relief Fund and Team Rubicon.
Grants covering food access and security needs for those displaced residents who are in shelters without cooking facilities and who face challenges sourcing nutritious meals will go to: Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, Hollywood Food Coalition, Hunger Action Los Angeles, Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Las Angeles Regional Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, Saint Vincent, Meals on Wheels, West, Office of Food Equity, Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles, Project Angel Food and Westside Food Bank.
Aid for frontline, displaced workers and small businesses to assist first frontline workers possibly facing displacement, financial strain and mental health challenges, as well as workers who commuted to affected areas for jobs and small businesses needing relief to rebuild will go to: CA Firefighters Benevolent Fund, IDEPSCA, Inclusive Action For the City, LA Region Worker Relief Fund, Labor Community Services Program of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Black Worker Center, Philipino Workers Center and Restaurants Care Project.
Health and housing assistance for wildfire survivors facing physical and mental health challenges due to exposure to smoke and poor air quality, as well as stress and trauma, include: Dena Heals, Didi Hirsch, Door of Hope, Foothill Family Service, Greenline Housing Foundation, LA Coalition of Community Clinics, LA Family Housing Corporation, LIFT-Los Angeles, NAMI Westside LA, Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County, Pacific Clinics, St. Joseph Center, The People Concern, Union Station Homeless Corporation, United American Indian Involvement and Vision y Compromiso.
Los Angeles’ vast musical community will also get some assistance after many musicians and artists lost their homes, equipment, studios and income in the fires. The funds will provide direct aid to affected artists, as well as mental health services, employment in community programs and support for small arts organizations to ensure their survival. The grantees include: Armory Center for the Arts, LA Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, LA Commons, LA County Arts & Creative Recovery Fund, MusiCares Foundation, Music Health Alliance – Music Industry Mental Health Fund and Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.
Organizations helping Angelenos facing displacement, trauma and having trouble navigating survivor services who will receive funds include: 211LA, Bet Tzedek, Dena Care Collective, Imagine Los Angeles, Inc., Legal Aid of LA, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County – BAILA and Public Counsel.
Schools around the L.A. region have had classes severely disrupted due to the fires while some have faced closure as displaced students — especially those from low-income households in college — struggle with housing, financial aid stability and campus resources. Aid for those groups will go to: California Charter School Association, Communities in Schools of Los Angeles, LA Community College Foundation, LAUSD Foundation, Pasadena Educational Foundation, Palisades Charter HS and Project Camp.
Supportive services for vulnerable populations including seniors and people with disabilities who may confront issues accessing aid, healthcare and stable housing will get a boost with grants to: Disability Community Resource Center, Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles, Malibu Senior Center, Pasadena Senior Center and Special Needs Network Inc.
Click here to see the full list.
Organizers says the first phase of funds will be distributed by the end of February. The second phase will focus on sustaining long-term recovery, remediation and rebuilding, as well as addressing environmental issues. Fundraising for the fund is still open.
January’s two shows at L.A.’s Intuit Dome and Kia Forum were seen by more than 50 million viewers across 28 streaming platforms, who tuned in to performances by more than 30 artists including Green Day with Billie Eilish, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Stevie Wonder, Lil Baby, Tate McRae, Sting, Alanis Morissette, Anderson .Paak with Dr. Dre and Sheila E, Dawes, John Mayer, a Nirvana reunion, Joni Mitchell, a reunited No Doubt, P!nk and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among many others.
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum has dismissed suggestions that Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will ever return to the touring circuit.
Sorum’s claims arrived just weeks after Tyler made a return to the stage as part of his sixth annual Jam for Janie Grammy Awards Viewing Party. With Sorum serving as Musical Director, the event was only the second time that Tyler had performed live since a 2023 vocal injury which halted Aerosmith’s touring schedule, and the first time since the band announced their formal retirement in August of 2024.
Performing alongside Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt, Tyler sung covers of songs by Extreme and Led Zeppelin, and four Aerosmith staples, which saw the musician joined by the likes of Mick Fleetwood, Lainey Wilson, the Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson, Jessie J, and Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton. However, despite the positive response from fans, Sorum told Joe Rock of Long Island radio station WBAB (via Blabbermouth) that the strain of global touring would prevent Tyler from performing on a large scale once again.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Some fans were a little bit, like, ‘Well, he can sing.’ Well, let me just explain what’s happening with Steven Tyler, ’cause he’s a really good friend,” Sorum explained. “He went out and sang. And it was a really big moment for him because he hurt himself bad. Now, is he gonna tour again? No, he’s not. Because, and I explained this to people, Steven cannot put himself under the rigors of doing a full worldwide tour because there’s a lot of pressure.
Trending on Billboard
“And if you’re not a singer, you wouldn’t understand what he goes through, but he’s 77 years old and he’s a perfectionist. And if he doesn’t sing correctly, it bothers him. And he’s not gonna put it on tape, like 80 percent of the people that are out there taking your money. He will not be on tape, and he won’t change the keys of the song. That’s just who he is. He’s, like, ‘I’m an artist. I’m a singer. This is my band. I’ve been doing this for 50 years. And if I can’t do it perfect, I can’t do it.’ And I respect that.
“I talked to him about it multiple times,” added Sorum. “I said, ‘So, just sing four or five songs tops.’ He says, ‘I can do that.’ And that was just one time. Maybe down the line, he’ll do it again and possibly do the same amount of songs.”
Initially, early reports of Tyler’s recent live appearance claimed that the performance would in fact be an Aerosmith reunion. If it were true, it would have been the group’s first live show since Sept. 2023.
While performing in Elmont, NY on Sept. 9 of that year, Tyler fractured his larynx, necessitating the postponement of shows on their Peace Out tour. Ultimately, these shows were canceled entirely when the band announced their retirement from touring in August 2024.
In January, Hamilton spoke to Boston’s WBUR to provide an update on Tyler’s health status, and to provide an insight into future Aerosmith activity. “Maybe Aerosmith will do something in the future, but it’s a big if and the last thing I want to be doing is to try and push Steven in that direction,” he explained. “If we do anything in the future, it would come from him.”