State Champ Radio genre rock
Page: 7
Trending on Billboard The surviving members of KISS paid tribute to their late bandmate Ace Frehley during the opening performance of their three-day KISS Kruise: Landlocked in Vegas on Friday (Nov. 14). Before launching into the “unmasked” set, Paul Stanley shared heartfelt words about the late Spaceman, who died at age 74 in October. “Obviously, […]
Trending on Billboard
Amyl and The Sniffers turned a last-minute cancellation into an unforgettable night for Melbourne’s live-music community on Friday, after their free all-ages show at Federation Square was shut down minutes before they were due to take the stage.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
The Aussie rockers, who had been set for a triumphant hometown performance, redirected their entire AU$5,000 performance fee to seven local venues — a gesture that quickly grew into a AU$35,000 bar tab shared across some of the city’s most beloved rooms.
According to ABC Australia, the gig was halted after multiple breaches of the security barrier raised concerns about crowd safety. The Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation said the decision “wasn’t made lightly,” citing risks to the audience, staff, and the band. Fans watching the livestream were stunned as the plug was pulled just eight minutes before showtime.
Rather than let the night end there, frontwoman Amy Taylor posted a video explaining the cancellation before announcing the band would give the money back to local venues that helped launch their career.
“Have a drink on us,” Taylor said in the video posted to social media over the weekend, which has since clocked more than 1 million views. “Just have some fun tonight.”
Tabs were immediately placed at local haunts The Tote, The Curtin, The Old Bar, Labour in Vain, Hell’s Kitchen, Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, and Cherry Bar, where fans flocked from across the city after the news spread on social media. Several venues reported packed rooms, lines down the street, and tabs running dry within hours.
The moment arrives during one of the biggest years of the band’s career. Their 2024 album Cartoon Darkness debuted at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and later landed in the U.K. top 10. It also collected major honors at the 2025 AIR Awards, including Independent Album of the Year and Best Independent Punk Album or EP. The band is up for multiple ARIA Awards this year — including Album of the Year and Best Group — marking a new peak in their national profile.
Their international momentum has accelerated, too. Amyl and The Sniffers earned a Grammy nomination earlier in 2025 and are nominated at the Brit Awards for International Group of the Year. They also joined AC/DC for a run of Australian stadium dates in November, cementing a milestone for a band that cut its teeth in the same small rooms they helped support on Friday night.
Friday’s bar-tab blowout underscored the deep roots Amyl and The Sniffers maintain in Melbourne’s grassroots scene, even as their profile accelerates worldwide. For many fans who raced between venues to claim a drink, the night became an instant chapter in the city’s music mythology — a chaotic, communal celebration born from a disappointment that could have easily overshadowed a landmark homecoming.
Trending on Billboard Whitesnake‘s David Coverdale is calling it quits at 74-years-old, and announced he’s done with music. In a caption-less video posted on Instagram on Thursday (Nov. 13), Coverdale sat sipping a glass of wine as he delivered the unfortunate news that he was retiring. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brothers and sisters […]
A recently announced Limp Bizkit show in Tallinn, Estonia has been canceled, reportedly due to frontman Fred Durst’s resurfaced comments praising Russian president Vladimir Putin. According to Estonia’s ERR news agency, the show planned for May 31 at Unibet Arena was called off by promoter the Baltic Live Agency (BLA), which announced on Thursday (Nov. 13), “we inform you that due to circumstances beyond the organizer’s control, the Limp Bizkit concert planned for May 31, 2026 is canceled. Our apologies!”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Ticket pre-sales for the show announced on Nov. 7 were set to begin on Monday (Nov. 10) but were reportedly postponed. The announcement of the gig from the newly resurgent nu-metal band reportedly sparked concern in Estonia — which declared independence from former occupier Russia in 1991 — due to previous comments from Durst supporting Russia’s military campaigns.
Specifically, the site reported that the concerns were tied to Durst holding up a sign in 2015 that reportedly read “Crimea=Russia” and “welcome” after the Russian military annexation of Crimea in 2014. After the show was announced last week, ERR reported that the nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there was no place in Estonia for support of aggressor state Russia.
“Estonia supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the principle that every last centimeter of Ukrainian territory belongs to Ukraine,” ministry media adviser Brita Kikkas told ERR. Foreign Affairs minister Margus Tsahkna added, “My position is clear, and I will repeat it: Russia is the aggressor, and Crimea is occupied by Russia. Those who justify Russia’s aggression and the occupation of a neighboring country are not welcome in Estonia. They have no place on Estonian stages and should not be earning income here.”
At press time, spokespeople for the band and the promoter had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment. In addition, the show is not listed on the group’s official tour routing and no longer appears on the site for the Arena; attempts to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster takes fans to an error page reading “the page you requested was not found.”
Promoter BLA told ERR that it was aware of Durst’s sign and that the only explanation was that “at the time (until 2019), Fred Durst was married to a Russian Crimean woman and evidently living in a distorted information bubble.” TMZ reported in 2018 that Durst filed for divorce from his third wife, Ukrainian makeup artist Kseniya Beryazina Durst, after six years.
Durst was reportedly banned from entering Ukraine — which has been at war with Russia since Putin’s forces launched an unprovoked invasion in Feb. 2022 — for five years in 2015 after holding up the abovementioned sign and reportedly expressing interest in buying a house in Crimea a year after Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula widely recognized as part of Ukraine. The singer had earlier claimed that he planned to move to Crimea to produce film and TV content there.
ERR also reported that following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, Durst praised Russian dictator Putin, calling him a “great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person.” In 2023 the band dropped a video for “Out of Style,” in which Durst was deepfaked to appear as Putin, while DJ Lethal was mocked-up as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and guitarist Wes Borland portrayed a smiling President Biden.
Trending on Billboard
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but none of the artists who performed at Ozzy Osbourne‘s all-star final Back to the Beginning gig this summer were paid to be there. They did it for the love of the game, and their love of the late metal icon.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Wife/manager Sharon Osbourne revealed the generosity of Ozzy’s peers in this week’s episode of The Osbournes podcast, the family’s first sit-down chat since Ozzy’s death on July 22 at 76 years old, just weeks after the historic gig. “We paid the cost of bringing everybody in, everybody out, accommodation, everything,” said Sharon about the all-day July 5 gig at Villa Park in Ozzy’s hometown of Birmingham, England that featured sets from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains Anthrax as well solo and Black Sabbath sets featuring Ozzy. “[And] no one got paid. Nobody asked for a penny. They gave their time, their efforts, everything for free. People were just, oh God, so generous.”
Sharon also clarified reports about how much the show raised for charity based on what the family said were erroneously inflated figures provided by the show’s musical director, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, in an Instagram post in which he claimed it would donate around $190 million to charities including the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorn Children’s Hospital and Cure Parkinson’s.
Son Jack said there was an “awful lot of bulls–t that went out” about how much the concert raised for charity. Veteran manager Sharon added, “If one show could have raised… I mean, it was up to, like $190 million. It’s, like, any artist, just do one big show, film it and you can retire just on one show. No, it was nowhere near, and I wish that it was, but we are living in reality, in the real world.”
Sharon revealed that the show raised around $11 million for charity given the enormous cost of flying everyone in and out, putting them up and mounting the ambitious show that will be the subject of the upcoming 100-minute concert film Back to the Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow, which is slated for theatrical release early next year.
Watch the Osbournes discuss the generosity of the Back to the Beginning participants below.
Trending on Billboard Florence + the Machine’s latest studio album Everybody Scream makes noise on Billboard’s album charts (dated Nov. 15), debuting at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales and Indie Store Album Sales. It also launches at No. 4 […]
Trending on Billboard
ABKCO, a music company that owns The Rolling Stones‘ early catalog, has brought a lawsuit against Behr Paint over an Instagram advertisement that allegedly used an unlicensed version of the band’s “Paint It, Black,” which ABKCO calls “one of the most valuable copyrights in the history of popular music.”
The copyright infringement case, filed on Wednesday (Nov. 12) in federal court, centers on a 2022 Instagram ad for Behr that showed a person spray-painting furniture while “Paint It, Black” played in the background. ABKCO claims Behr didn’t pay for the track.
Related
While individual social media users can soundtrack their videos for free with songs covered by blanket licenses, companies are required to buy so-called sync licenses for music in commercial advertisements. ABKCO’s lawsuit says it regularly sells sync licenses for “Paint It, Black” — and collects fees ranging from the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for the song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.
“Behr’s commercial use of the ABKCO recording has forced a business association upon ABKCO that has harmed its ability to license the ABKCO recording to Behr’s competitors that would pay for the use of the ABKCO recording,” writes lawyer Benjamin Akley of Pryor Cashman. “Clearly, the ABKCO recording is not only iconic, it has unique and particular value to a paint company seeking to promote its paint products.”
According to the lawsuit, ABKCO didn’t learn about the 2022 ad until this past summer. ABKCO’s attorneys allegedly notified Behr, leading the paint company to take down the video, though the company “was unwilling to engage in further dialogue concerning its unauthorized use,” the lawsuit claims.
Related
ABKCO claims Behr is a “sophisticated, multi-billion-dollar corporation” that knows the rules around sync licenses, yet it “inexplicably” chose not to follow those rules here. Now, the lawsuit is seeking financial penalties for Behr’s alleged copyright infringement.
“As a result of the aforementioned acts of infringement, ABKCO has suffered significant damages,” reads the complaint.
Reps for Behr did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit on Thursday (Nov. 13).
Trending on Billboard
What’s driven Joe Walsh to put on nine VetsAid benefit concerts during the past nine years? “If I didn’t do stuff like this, I’d have to get a job — and that’s terrifying,” he tells Billboard via Zoom from Wichita, Kan., his birthplace – and also where the ninth VetsAid show takes place this Saturday (Nov. 15).
This year’s lineup features Walsh along with Eagles bandmate Vince Gill, Nathaniel Rateliff, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, and Ryan Bingham & the Texas Gentlemen. Taking place at the INTRUST Bank Arena, the concert—which raises money to benefit regional veterans organizations in Kansas—also livestreams via veeps.com.
VetsAid has raised more than $4 million since its inaugural concert in 2017.
“I’m resonant with all that,” says Walsh, a Gold Star family member whose father, Robert Fidler, died in active duty during 1949 while on air maneuvers over Okinawa, Japan. “Because I play around the country I have consistently bumped into military people, and I just thought, ‘Y’know what? I can make a difference here.’ We don’t have an office in Washington or anything like that; we go to local places that are hubs for vets and we look at what they’ve got going and what’s vet-run, what’s fund-short, and we fund them to keep them going. It’s working it on the streets, but I have made a difference,” he says.
“It’s different in every place we go, but it’s really effective that way. To show up and play for vets, to get them all together and to realize that they’re not alone is huge. And to realize that people care, especially musicians, is huge.”
Walsh was in Wichita on Veteran’s Day, in fact, to make a “profound” visit to meet veterans at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center. “For somebody to show up and visit is a big thing for a lot of them,” says Walsh, who will have a Wichita street named in his honor on Friday. “They’re just there. They have no choice. (The visit) made a lot of guys happy. We heard some great stories; some of the stuff I heard there’s songs in. This is salt of the earth America, no politics. They put themselves in harm’s way and…whoo! It’s profound.”
In addition to the concert, Walsh will be further funding VetsAid next month by teaming with Julien’s Auctions for Life’s Been Good, selling off more than 800 items on Dec. 16-17 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Prior to that nearly two dozen of the pieces will be on exhibit through Dec. 3 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City’s Times Square. The lots include instruments, amplifiers, cars, stage outfits and more — even Ham radios that Walsh, an avowed enthusiast, has used over the years.
Among the noteworthy items are: the API console from the Record Plant mobile recording truck that’s recorded live performances by Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Metallica, Green Day, Michael Jackson and many more; a 2013 McLaren MP4-12C Spider vehicle; the Moschino-designed brick suit that Walsh wore for Eagles Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1998; and vintage guitars Walsh used on some of his best-known recordings.
“I have too much stuff!” Walsh proclaims. “We all collect stuff. It’s human nature. I have stuff on top of stuff, and that top layer I decided to get rid of. Some of it’s painful to give up, but I don’t use a lot of it. It’s just my stuff. It’s hard to know what to throw out, but I got it done, and we’re gonna auction it. There’s something there for everybody — and you get a good chance to see how nuts I am.”
After a holiday break, meanwhile, Walsh returns to Eagles for another dozen shows at Sphere in Las Vegas during the first three months of 2026. The recently announced March dates have been deemed the “final” shows for the year, but Walsh — who marked 50 years this year since joining the band — maintains that, “I do know we’re not done yet. We’re gonna look at the summer. I don’t know if we can lay anywhere if it isn’t the Sphere, but I think we can. But for the beginning of next year, we know what to do.”
He adds that playing the venue is unlike anything he’s ever done before. “It’s a whole different world,” Walsh explains. “One thing we learned was that everything we know, all of us collectively, has nothing to do with the Sphere. You have to learn it. I asked (U2’s) Edge, and he said, ‘Well, good luck. You’re not gonna like it, but you’ll get used to it. Just give it time,’ and he was so right. It’s an experience I can’t explain. You’re in it. You’re in the show. You’re in whatever’s on the screen — and we can’t watch it. I tried to watch for a little bit, and it’s like, ‘Look how big my nose is!’ and then I was playing the wrong song. So we have to look ahead and focus on it.
“But once you get it, so many people come out of there, and they’re happy. Music is a good thing nowadays; people who don’t agree can sit down and have a great time and go home happy, and that’s what America needs right now.”
Alongside Eagles and VetsAid, Walsh is also serving as a Mega Mentor on The Voice, where he’s enjoying his largely behind-the-scenes role. “I’ve got a great slot there, which is the background,” he says. “Being a judge, I don’t know, but being a mentor and hearing these people get ready to perform and just giving them assurance and a few suggestions, that really makes a huge difference. I can help them go out and kick ass. I know what not to do, and sometimes that’s better advice than what to do.”
He adds that the whole experience “has been really great” and dubs judge Reba McEntire “a monster” – meant as a compliment.
Walsh also has his sights set on making new music in the new year, his first since Analog Man in 2012. “I’ve been writing for a long time,” he says, “but the phone keeps ringing with more Eagles shows. I’ve got stuff, like, three-quarters written. I need a producer to come in and tell me what I’ve done. But I’m gonna put some music out next year.”
Trending on Billboard
Liam Gallagher is clearly having a blast on Oasis‘ reunion tour. You can tell the band’s lead singer and former enfant terrible is enjoying himself because he keeps dropping bread crumbs suggesting that he’s excited for the good times with older brother guitarist/songwriter Noel to roll on.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Gearing up for the final push of shows in South America that kick off on Nov. 15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Liam hopped into the comments on an X user’s post on Wednesday (Nov. 12) asking: “are you sad that tour is ending soon?” The unrelentingly cheeky singer replied in a way that once again gave hope to all the fans who weren’t able to catch this year’s shows, or who just can’t wait to see the Britpop legends again.
“I’m not actually as I know things you don’t know,” Liam wrote, before muddying the waters again when another fan begged to know “LIAM WHAT DOES THAT MEAN.” Without explaining, the singer said, “Google it.” Aware of rampant speculation that the band could be on the road again next year — including incessant rumors that they plan to make a triumphant return to mark the 30th anniversary of their legendary 1996 Knebworth gigs in front of 250,000 fans — Liam was evasive again when asked if that was “code” for “we’re going on tour next year.”
That latter question was tied to an earlier tease, in which Liam said the brothers’ rapturously received reunion was “only starting.” Liam, being Liam, threw a wet blanked on that, writing, “Next year might be a little enthusiastic.”
With no solid information relayed, Liam did weigh in once more, brushing aside a question about those who’ve claimed that reunion was just “for the money.” Gallagher tut-tutted that assertion, replying, “Nobody think that it’s just fake news everybody knows we’re in it for the people and the good vibrations.”
To be perfectly clear, at press time no additional dates have been announced for the band after the planned final show at MorumBIS in São Paulo, Brazil on Nov. 23 and spokespeople for Oasis have not responded to previous requests for comment on whether the tour will continue. But Gallagher has continually raised hopes, telling Australian fans last week, “You’ve got a lovely f–king country. See you again.”
Last month, after a fan complained about one of his favorite songs (“The Hindu Times”) not making the tour’s rigid setlist this time around, Gallagher cheekily responded, “Chill Winston it’s not even HALF TIME yet it’s a tour of 2 half’s.” To be fair, Gallagher has appeared to be playing a long game from the beginning, ending a Sept. 28 gig at Wembley Stadium in London with the first tease of what’s (possibly) to come when he said, “see you next year.”
After a legendarily sibling rivalry-fueled break-up in 2009, Gallagher reunited with Noel earlier this year to reform the group for a sold-out run that kicked off on July 4 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. They followed up with a five-night run at Heaton Park in their hometown of Manchester, U.K. and gigs in London, Edinburgh and Dublin before moving on to North America, Mexico City, South Korean, Japan and Australia.
Check out Gallagher’s tweets below.
I’m not actually as I know things you don’t know— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 12, 2025
Next year might be a little enthusiastic— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 12, 2025
Nobody thinks that it’s just fake news everybody knows we’re in it for the people and the good vibrations— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 8, 2025
Trending on Billboard
The Osbourne family shared some of their collective grief on this week’s episode of The Osbournes Podcast. Wife Sharon and children Jack and Kelly revealed the secret health crisis Ozzy Osbourne suffered before his final, triumphant Back to the Beginning performance, as well as the kind words of condolence the family received from two world leaders following the rock icon’s death on July 22 at 76 years old.
On the first episode of the podcast since Ozzy’s death the trio talked about the rocker’s difficult final year, his “living wake” curtain call show and the powerful way grief has bonded them even more. They also revealed that after years of health struggles that included a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, pneumonia and a botched spinal surgery, Ozzy took a turn for the worse last December when he took “a little fall.”
Then, just two weeks before the all-star Back to the Beginning show at Villa Park in the rocker’s hometown of Birmingham, England, Jack said Ozzy was hospitalized. “The story, I don’t think even you know it, we had him in the hospital and we were just terrified that people were going to find out,” said Sharon about the unnamed ailment that threatened to derail the triumphant last bow.
“So we had all the security and the hospital… the hospital was amazing, they really were. The people at the front desk were told ‘nobody, if they ask for Ozzy, he’s not here. Nobody’s allowed up’, all of that,” she said during the emotional 90-minute pod that had the trio seated around a large wooden dining table strewn with piles of magazines featuring the rocker on the cover. “They had pictures of all of us who were allowed up, and names, and this guy comes up and says ‘I want to see John Osbourne [Ozzy’s legal name]’ so of course there’s a red light and they go ‘who are you?’ and he goes ‘I’m his brother.’”
When someone from security called up to say that Ozzy’s brother was there to see him, Sharon said she replied that there was “no way” that was true because his brother didn’t even know he was there. “His sisters, his brother didn’t know. So I sent security down and I said ‘find out who this guy is, he’s definitely from the press,’” Sharon said, revealing that, as it turned out, there was another John Osbourne at that hospital and it was that John’s brother. “[We] felt so terrible,” she said.
And while it’s shocking to think that Ozzy essentially went from hospital to stage for his final gig, Jack made it clear that his dad was determined to make it to the massive gig that featured solo and Black Sabbath sets featuring Ozzy, as well as an all-star group of metal offspring, including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Alice in Chains Anthrax and more. “It’s not like we forced him, wheeled him out there… to do this gig,” Jack said. “He was adamant… he was running the show. He said he knew exactly what he wanted. Yeah, and he was determined to do it.”
Amid the torrent of well-wishes and condolences that poured in after Ozzy’s death from friends, fellow rockers and longtime fans was a voicemail from Donald Trump. Sharon — who competed on the 2010 season of Trump’s reality show Celebrity Apprentice — revealed that the American president reached out with kind words before playing the message in which Trump said, “Hi, Sharon, it’s Donald Trump, and I just wanted to wish you the best. Ozzy was amazing. He was an amazing guy. I met him a few times, and I want to tell you he was unique in every way and talented. So I just wanted to wish you the best, and it’s a tough thing. I know how close you were, and whatever I can do. Take care of yourself. Say hello to the family.”
Sharon also noted another message from a world leader: a personal letter the family received from England’s King Charles. “We got a lovely letter from the king,” Jack said, with Sharon adding: “Our king, he’s an amazing person. Not just because he wrote to us when Ozzy passed… if he did it for us, you know he does it for many, many, many people.”
It wasn’t the first time King Charles has reached out to wish Ozzy a happy birthday, according to Sharon. “When Ozzy was sick in hospital with the motorbike accident, he reached out. He’s a good, caring man with a good heart,” Sharon said of the King. “Ozzy, as me… we’re royalists. We respect him, we respect his family. He took the time out of his day to write us, have it hand-delivered to us, a note from the king for Ozzy’s passing with his condolences. And that says so much.”
Watch the Osbournes podcast below.
