Rock
Page: 100
Travis Barker made a young fan’s dreams come true on Friday when the Blink-182 drummer made a surprise visit to 9-year-old blind drummer Grayson Roberts’ lemonade stand and left behind some unforgettable memories.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The special moment took place at the Dream Factory space in Los Angeles and footage of it blew up over the weekend after social media influencer Charlie Rocket shared it to his Instagram, noting that business at Roberts’ stand had been super slow earlier in the week.
In the video, Rocket showed Barker walking up the stand with two pair of drum sticks in his hand and introducing himself to Roberts. The budding entrepreneur, focused on his biz, asked Barker if he wanted a cup of lemonade as the drummer offered up much more. “I brought you some drumsticks and I also brought some donations, I brought some money,” Barker said, stuffing some bills into the donation jar and handing over the sticks.
“I saw a video of you playing drums and singing,” Barker added.
After Barker said he’d love some lemonade, Roberts asked if it would be possible for them to sing and play together. “I would love to,” a smiling Barker replied. “No way!” Roberts said in disbelief as he pointed to the spot where his kit was set up. “You want to sing or play drums?” Barker asked.
With Roberts on the mic, Barker quickly learned the beat to Adam Jensen’s 2017 anthem “Street Fight,” as an adoring audience clapped, cheered and shouted Grayson’s name afterwards.
“@travisbarker came to help @graysons_view drum up some business at his lemonade stand!!!” wrote Rocket. “Lol what a great soul Travis barker is. Thank you to @katietua @mikeytua @lukismac @sweetyhigh for helping make this happen !!!” In a previous post, Rocket described rolling up on Roberts’ stand — which explained that he was born blind and that he is determined not to let that stop him from doing “everything you can do” — and asking the community to come together to help the young man reach his dream of traveling the world.
Roberts also shared a video of the encounter, writing, “THANK YOU travis for taking a break while filming your music video to come by my Lemonade stand and allowing me to perform with you!! It was SO amazing And thank you for letting me choose the color of sprinkles because who doesn’t love sprinkles?!”
Blink wrapped the first leg of their 2023 world tour on July 16 with a show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The band will pick things up again on Sept. 1 with a gig at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland for a European swing that will keep them on the road through an Oct. 16 gig in Manchester at the AO Arena; after that they will swing into Las Vegas in late Oct. for the When We Were Young Festival before moving on to Australian and New Zealand in Feb. and March 2024.
Check out footage of Barker’s jam session below.
It was less than four months ago that Kid Rock got so worked up about Bud Light teaming with transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney for its Bud Light Easy Carry Contest during the NCAA’s March Madness that the “Don’t Tell Me How To Live” singer tried to destroy 12-packs of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle as he yelled, “F–k Bud Light and f–k Anheuser-Busch.”
What a difference a few months make.
In July, CNN reported that despite his apparent animus for the world’s largest beer company, Rock, 52 — who didn’t specifically mention Mulvaney (or the word “trans”) in his video, or call for a boycott of products from Bud Light parent company AB Inbev — was still selling Bud Light at his Nashville restaurant; Newsweek additionally reported at the time that Rock’s restaurant/bar was selling Bud Light during the June 9-12 Country Music Association Festival and that a Twitter user told the magazine that a waitress at the bar said “they actually stopped selling it for a week right after [Rock’s video], then started selling it again.”
And over the weekend the rapper-turned-country rocker was pictured enjoying a tall cool Bud Light at Colt Ford show in Nashville according to TMZ, which caused a torrent of comments on Twitter (now X) about the apparent hypocrisy from the “Devil Without a Cause” star. “Damn, never thought I’d have to give Kid Rock the Bud Light treatment but here we are,” wrote one commenter. “Just shot up all my Kid Rock vinyl and CDs. I loved Kid Rock, but I hope Kid Woke goes broke.”
Another, Fred Guttenberg — father of murdered Parkland High School student Jaime Guttenberg and gun control advocate — had equally harsh words for Rock, writing, “It’s just hard to keep a good beer down and I LOVE BUD LIGHT!!! Apparently, so does @KidRock. To all of you hypocritical lunatics who actually started this bulls–t attack on my favorite beer, cheers to you.”
Billboard has not been able to confirm the veracity of the pictures of Rock drinking the Bud Light at press time and a spokesperson for the singer had not returned a request for comment.
At the time of CNN’s report, it was unclear if the band on Bud Light at Rock’s Music City establishment had been lifted, or if one had ever been put in place, but at the time of the Mulvaney controversy Rock appeared happy to jump on the bandwagon of ban-calling against Bud Light.
While country singer John Rich pledged at the time to pull Bud Light from his Nashville bar Redneck Riviera and Travis Tritt said he would remove the formerly best-selling brew in the nation from his tour rider in the midst of the transphobic backlash against the Mulvaney promotional stunt, Rock never specifically said he’d stop selling it at his Broadway district spot.
In the original Mulvaney clip from April, she revealed that the company helped her celebrate her “365th day of womanhood” with “possibly the best gift ever” — a commemorative can of Bud Light with Mulvaney’s face on the side that was not commercially available, but instead meant as a personalized one-off souvenir.
Check out some of the comments about Rock’s Bud Light moment.
I’ve seen multiple different sources. It’s confirmed. Without principles we are nothing. I choose to move on from Kid Woke but everyone else can make their own decision.— Anthony Carrey (@SocksMoney187) August 19, 2023
Damn, never thought I’d have to give Kid Rock the Bud Light treatment but here we are.Just shot up all my Kid Rock vinyl and CDs. I loved Kid Rock, but I hope Kid Woke goes broke.— Anthony Carrey (@SocksMoney187) August 18, 2023
It’s just hard to keep a good beer down and I LOVE BUD LIGHT!!! Apparently, so does @KidRock. To all of you hypocritical lunatics who actually started this bullshit attack on my favorite beer, cheers to you 🍻 https://t.co/DH0FUOpYLo— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) August 19, 2023
First, he doesn’t just vow to boycott Bud Light, he shoots a case of it on camera with an AR-15. Then, not only does he go back to immediately drinking Bud Light again but he does it in public and gets caught. Can’t make this stuff up. https://t.co/vAbBJOKdyF— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 18, 2023
Concerts and other events in Southern California have been canceled due to Tropical Storm Hilary, which weakened from a hurricane before it made landfall Sunday (Aug. 20).
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Below, find all the concerts that have been canceled or rescheduled due to the impact of Hilary. The list will be updated with any additional announcements of cancelations and postponements.
My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes
My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes’ Aug. 20 concert “has been postponed due to the weather emergency caused by Hurricane Hilary,” the Hollywood Bowl announced. The show has been rescheduled for Aug. 28. “Your tickets — including parking, shuttle, and park and ride tickets — are valid for the new date with no action needed on your part. For other ticket options, including exchange, account credit, donation, or refund, please contact Audience Services at information@laphil.org. Please stay safe and take all necessary precautions,” the update said.
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Michael Franti and Spearhead’s Sunday concert at the Greek Theatre has been postponed until Sept. 15 “due to the weather emergency,” the venue said. Previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date.
Chicago
Chicago’s Sunday concert at Costa Mesa’s Pacific Amphitheatre has been rescheduled for Sept. 5. Original tickets will be honored on the new date, or refunds will be available via point of purchase.
Interstellar Music Festival
The Interstellar music festival canceled shows scheduled for this weekend at the Los Angeles Waterfront in San Pedro. “We are deeply sorry to share that the cosmic forces haven’t aligned in our favor for Interstellar this weekend,” festival organizers wrote in an update on the fest’s website. “In light of the approaching Hurricane Hilary, local authorities have made the tough call that the weather conditions pose a significant risk to our festival grounds.”
Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Sunday Sessions
The music event, scheduled for Sunday, was canceled “due to the predicted high winds and heavy rain stemming from Hurricane Hilary,” an update read. “While we’ll miss gathering with you all, we’re excited to announce that we’re working on something special to keep our community spirit alive!” Virtual offerings from Rich Medina, DJ Roxcizzle, Lacey IQ and Utopia will stream at twitch.tv/grandpark_la from 3-8 p.m. local time.
Young the Giant
San Diego State University postponed Sunday’s concert, which has been rescheduled for Sept. 5 at the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU. Tickets are valid for the new date, or refunds will be issued.
KCRW’s Summer Nights
KCRW’s Summer Nights concert on Sunday, set to take place at the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, was postponed. The show will now be on Sept. 10.
Judy Collins and Sophie B. Hawkins
Judy Collins and Sophie B. Hawkins were scheduled to perform Sunday at the Libbey Bowl in Ojai. The concert will still go on, but it has been relocated to the indoor Oxnard Performing Arts Center in Oxnard.
Additional Events Affected by Hilary
The Hollywood Reporter reports other events in the Los Angeles area were also canceled, including Sunday’s Dodgers game against the Miami Marlins (which was pushed to Saturday afternoon) and the L.A. Galaxy’s match against Real Salt Lake (rescheduled for Oct. 14).
The HollyShorts Film Festival, which has been going on since Aug. 10, called off its finale for Sunday. A rep for the festival said a paired-down version of the awards was instead set for midnight Saturday, according to THR.
Disneyland Resort’s theme parks will close early on Sunday due to the storm, with a 9 p.m. PT closing scheduled for Disney California Adventure Park and a 10 p.m. PT closing for Disneyland Park.
“I never feel uglier than when I’m in LA,” Noah Kahan joked to the sold-out crowd at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on Friday night (Aug. 11), which was immediately met by roaring laughter and assurance from fans.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Though it’s unlikely that Kahan could ever feel ugly in his sleek white jacket featuring a photo of his beloved German Shepard and his album title Stick Season written across the back, the balance between humor and touching moments encouraging love and healing were prominent throughout the evening.
Shortly after he received a Taylor Swift-themed friendship bracelet from a fan in the front row that read “folkwhore,” the singer ran through fan-favorite and heart-wrenching tracks from his 2022 deluxe album Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever), weaved with throwback hits like “False Confidence” and “Maine.”
Looking out into the audience, who showed just how much they love him by belting out every word to every song, Kahan showed his love back before performing “You’re Gonna Go Far,” a song about taking risks. “I know a lot of people here in LA aren’t from LA. They’ve taken big risks in their lives to come here,” he sweetly told the audience. “Remember that the people back home love you and are happy you’re doing well.”
He also showed his love throughout the show by encouraging his fans to go to therapy if it’s accessible to them. “I had all of these dark feelings and thoughts for a lot of my childhood and I just lied about them to my therapist for 10 years and never said anything real,” he recalled. “I was so lucky and privileged to go to therapy, but I still lied because it was scary to confront what I was actually feeling. I know it looks like I’ve been divorced two times, Los Angeles, I look old as s— but I’m only 26 [laughs] When I was 23, I started being honest and telling the truth to my therapist and I started feeling happier for the first time. It was strange for me but it felt good.”
He continued, “The happiest person in here should be in therapy. It could save your life.”
In general, the show was as cathartic and therapeutic as it gets without actually sitting down with a therapist, as fans in the audience were tearing up constantly as they heard songs that resonate with them, a unique quality of Kahan’s music that isn’t as common in the mainstream music scene these days. The swell of emotions all culminated with the set’s final song, “Homesick,” as all 6,000 people in the crowd, who are chasing dreams likely in the city they did not grow up in, came together to sing and feel at home.
Buy tickets for Kahan’s Stick Season tour here, and check out the full set list below.
Noah Kahan Set List:
All My LoveEverywhere, EverythingShe Calls Me BackFalse ConfidenceNew PerspectiveNo ComplaintsGrowing SidewaysMaineYour Needs, My NeedsNorthern AttitudeDial DrunkCall Your Mom (with Lizzy McAlpine)You’re Gonna Go FarOrange JuiceHomesick
Encore:The View Between VillagesPaul RevereStick Season (with Joy Oladokun)
It’s been 15 years since Guns N’ Roses dropped their last album, so at this point the band’s fans are psyched to hear any new music from the hard-touring Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. And in typical Guns fashion, their new single, “Perhaps,” is actually pretty old, and it’s journey to our ears was circuitous, at best.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The good news is that “Perhaps” has all the elements you want from a GNR song: it opens with a piano-pounding riff and singer Axl Rose’s signature howl and features a menacing, bluesy guitar underpinning a twisty, turgid ballad bisected by one of Slash’s classic hurricane solos.
It’s the first new song we’ve heard since Rose — who had been touring with an expansive cast of side players as GNR for years after the band’s slow-motion implosion in 1996 when Slash quit — reunited with Slash and bassist Duff McKagan in 2016. And, in a pointed about-face from the often pugnacious, no-apologies lyrical attack of the band’s classic catalog, the now-61-year-old Rose sounds downright contrite and apologetic at points in the song.
“Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t see you/ Perhaps I was wrong/ When I didn’t believe you,” he sings in the opening lines. “Hey, my sense of rejection/ Hey, hey, is no excuse for my behavior/ You pulled the gun/ That shot and crucified my savior,” he continues on the track that reportedly was first recorded during the sessions for the band’s most recent album, 2008’s Chinese Democracy.
The latter was the first new music from GNR since the 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident? Democracy album took nearly 14 years to complete and featured more than a dozen contributors, with keyboardist Dizzy Reed representing the only link to the band’s classic lineup.
After poor-quality bootlegs of “Perhaps” began circulating when the band played it during soundcheck before a June 2023 Tel Aviv show — an unfinished demo version had been floating around the internet for years — Guns fans were surprised last week when “Perhaps” reportedly leaked via TouchTunes digital jukeboxes according to Blabbermouth.
Though there have been whispers of the revamped GNR recording new music, to date “Perhaps” falls in line with two other “new” songs the band has released recently, two other leftovers that dropped in 2021, “Absurd (aka Silkworms),” and “Hard Skool,” which are also both reportedly from the Chinese Democracy era.
The band also released an official video for the song that features footage of the three iconic members on stage playing to packed stadiums all around the world. Check it out below.
[embedded content]
Dolly Parton brings out the big guns on the latest single from her upcoming first foray into rock n’ roll. After dropping a pair of originals and two covers, the country icon unleashed a powerful version of the Beatles’ “Let It Be” on Friday morning (Aug. 18) featuring support from the two living Fab Four members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
The majestic take on one of the most covered songs in the modern era opens with Parton singing over the familiar piano intro, with McCartney joining her on the second line, “Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” The second verse expands with a distant, echoing drum pattern and soulful organ before the strings and full orchestration turn it into the familiar lush pop classic McCartney wrote near the end of the Beatles run and which gave name to the group’s final studio album release.
The song from Parton’s eagerly anticipated Rockstar (Nov. 17) album also features Peter Frampton and Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood providing musical support. It marks one of the rare collaborations between Starr and McCartney outside of their own projects — they got together in 2020 for Ringo’s tune “Here’s to the Nights” from his Zoom In EP as well as a year earlier when Starr popped in as a surprise guest on the final show of McCartney’s Freshen Up tour.
Parton’s 49th studio album is her first rock effort and it is slated to feature 30 tracks — 21 covers and 9 originals — packed with a galaxy of rock stars teaming up with the 77-year-old national treasure who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year on their signature songs.
Among the rockers joining Parton are: Sting (“Every Breath You Take”), former Journey singer Steve Perry (“Open Arms”), Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart (“Magic Man”), John Fogerty (“Long as I Can See the Light”), Joan Jett (“I Hate Myself For Loving You”), goddaughter Miley Cyrus (“Wrecking Ball”), Debbie Harry (“Heart of Glass”) and Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (“Heartbreaker”), among many others.
So far, Parton has teased the album with the originals “World on Fire” and “Bygones” (featuring Judas Priest’s Rob Halford), as well as covers of Queen’s “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions”) and the Heart “Magic Man” cover. Other singers joining Parton on the album include Lizzo, P!nk and Brandi Carlile, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris, Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon, Chris Stapleton and Elton John and others.
Listen to “Let it Be” below.
[embedded content]
Quick: Which summer stadium tour features a singer in a shiny outfit, a special guest and a three-hour set that includes a few surprise curveballs? Would you believe Guns N’ Roses? The band is back on tour again this summer — it plays North American stadiums until mid-October — with Slash, original bassist Duff McKagan, longstanding keyboardist Dizzy Reed and, for many concerts, a surprisingly sincere cover of the Jimmy Webb classic “Wichita Lineman.”
In the case of the East Rutherford, N.J., show – its fourth in North America and second in the U.S. this year – the shiny outfit was frontman Axl Rose’s and the special guest was Andrew Dice Clay, who came on to tell jokes for a few minutes after a tight and tough opening set by the Pretenders. “The Diceman,” as he refers to himself, remains upset about several things, including the social-distancing circles on elevator floors that were introduced during the “pandemical,” and the prevalence of senior citizens in Florida, which seems like an issue that’s been around for quite some time. He’s one of the few comedians who can get as much applause for a vocalization — “Ohhhh” — than he can for a joke. That’s not really a good thing, though.
And Guns N’ Roses? They still have it — and much more of it than before Slash rejoined the band in 2016. Slash’s guitar playing is as sharp as ever, and he and McKagan play well together with the touring band, but Rose’s voice isn’t what it was years ago. By the end of the opening “It’s So Easy,” it was clear that Rose has lost some of his range, although how much is hard to tell — he bellowed the chorus of “Mr. Brownstone” to give it the menace it needs and rose to the occasion of “Welcome to the Jungle,” then struggled to hit the high notes of “Rocket Queen.”
Rose isn’t just a compelling performer for his voice, though. Far more than during the shows without Slash, he stalked the stage like a man on a mission, full of menace but also smiling charisma, taking what seemed like a slight bow after some songs. As Slash played along under his usual top hat, Rose actually seemed to be having fun — his history with his bandmates may be soap-operatic, but they all seemed to be having a great old time. He especially shone on songs that didn’t require piercing high notes, such as “Live and Let Die,” “Civil War” and especially “November Rain.”
At a time when critics seem positively shocked at the idea that a stadium show can run for more than three hours and include two surprise songs, it’s worth remembering that this was once simply what rock fans expected — play for a while and surprise us a bit. Guns N’ Roses went beyond this to give each member a chance to shine: McKagan sang a powerful “TV Eye,” Slash snuck pieces of “Voodoo Child” and “People Get Ready” into other songs and “Dizzy f–king Reed,” as Rose called him, showed off his keyboard work. There were plenty of covers, too: “Down on the Farm” (the U.K. Subs song the band covered on The Spaghetti Incident?), “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and, yes, “Wichita Lineman.” It’s hard to think of a song that seems less suited for a hard rock band – sincere, minimal, tasteful – but it worked well enough to make up for Andrew Dice Clay.
Axl Rose and Slash of Guns N’ Roses perform at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 16, 2023.
Guilherme Neto
After a hard-hitting “Nightrain,” the band came back with an encore that started with “Coma,” then played the AC/DC song “Walk All Over You,” which Rose said had “his favorite f–king drum fill ever.” (Rose uses profanity as punctuation the way the characters on Succession do.) It’s not the easiest song to sing, but Rose jumped around as Slash powered through the riffs and the band shared parts of the chorus. For a few moments — at various points during this show but especially during this song, “Patience” and a show-ending “Paradise City” — you could believe that these musicians weren’t celebrities who had spent three decades feuding, but just guys who fell in love with the power of loud, crunching hard rock. Which, in some way, they still are.
Setlist:
“It’s So Easy”
“Bad Obsession”
“Chinese Democracy”
“Slither” (Velvet Revolver)
“Hard Skool”
“Mr. Brownstone”
“Welcome to the Jungle”
“Pretty Tied Up”
“Absurd”
“Double Talkin’ Jive”
“Estranged”
“Down on the Farm” (U.K. Subs)
“Live and Let Die” (Wings)
“Rocket Queen”
“Reckless Life”
“You Could Be Mine”
“T.V. Eye” (The Stooges)
“Anything Goes”
“Civil War”
Slash guitar solo
“Sweet Child o’ Mine”
“November Rain”
“Wichita Lineman” (Jimmy Webb)
“Catcher in the Rye”
“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (Bob Dylan)
“Nightrain”
Encore:
“Coma”
“Walk All Over You” (AC/DC)
“Patience”
“Paradise City”
Multiple songs from the second season of Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty dot Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind, for July 2023, paced by Guns N’ Roses’ classic “Sweet Child o’ Mine” at No. 1.
Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of July 2023.
“Sweet Child o’ Mine” featured in the fourth episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty’s second season, which aired July 21.
In July 2023, the song, a two-week No. 1 for Guns N’ Roses on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, racked up 19.3 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 3,000 downloads, according to Luminate.
Four songs from The Summer I Turned Pretty reach the July 2023 ranking in all, with “Sweet Child o’ Mine” followed by Frank Ocean’s cover of “Moon River” at No. 6 (1.6 million streams, episode five).
The Chambers Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today” takes No. 2 after a synch in Justified: City Primeval on FX. Heard in the show’s second episode (July 18), it earned 292,000 streams in July 2023.
Big Star’s “Thirteen” leads a trio of songs from Apple TV+’s The Afterparty at No. 3, with 347,000 streams after its inclusion in the second season’s fourth episode on July 26.
See the full top 10, also featuring music from The Righteous Gemstones and What We Do in the Shadows, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)1. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)2. “Time Has Come Today,” The Chambers Brothers, Justified: City Primeval (FX)3. “Thirteen,” Big Star, The Afterparty (Apple TV+)4. “I Wish,” Skee-Lo, The Afterparty (Apple TV+)5. “Party Up,” DMX, The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)6. “Moon River,” Frank Ocean, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)7. “Ants Marching,” Dave Matthews Band, What We Do in the Shadows (FX)8. “Good Day,” Nappy Roots, The Afterparty (Apple TV+)9. “Edamame,” bbno$ feat. Rich Brian, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)10. “The Distance,” Cake, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)
The Beatles’ Paul McCartney, Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and more: Rock and roll lore often states that a band is only as good as its drummer, but a rock band is only as successful as its lead singer. This week, Billboard ranked the 50 Greatest Rock Lead Singers of […]
Mammoth WVH makes it two-for-two atop Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart, as Mammoth II debuts at No. 1 on the tally dated Aug. 19. In the Aug. 4-10 tracking week, Mammoth II opened with 22,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 20,000 units are via album sales. It’s the Wolfgang Van […]