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Operation Ivy fans rejoice! The legendary late 1980s Berkeley, California ska punk band featuring Rancid singer/guitarist Tim Armstrong and singer Jesse Michaels is partially reunited on the debut single from Armstrong and Michaels’ new band, Bad Optix.
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Their easy skanking first track, “Raid,” dropped on Wednesday (March 29) and it features the former bandmates trading off vocals on a track about looking for distraction in a time of anxiety and confusion. “Rethrone a crown with their hands made of stone / New crew got oil in our bones / Good things perish on the road to the castle,” Armstrong sings in his signature dead-set vocal style over a bubbling ska arrangement.
“RAID/ Hit them where they live, where they kill, where they bury/ RAID/ We won’t step in line for the party secretary,” the group gang up on the anti-authoritarian song’s urgent chorus. The band featuring Circle Jerks/The Bronx drummer Joey Castillo and Trash Talk bassist Spencer Pollard share a writing and production credit on the song, which will kick off the new Hellcat Single Club.
The Club will roll out a series of releases by a number of as-yet-unnamed bands curated by Armstrong and the Hellcat squad.
“’Raid’ is about every person’s spiritual autonomy from the powers that be, regardless of who they are or what their particular struggle is,” Michaels said in a statement about the rockstady song. “Like many of the tracks we have worked on, I heard the music and wrote the lyrics very quickly, almost on the spot. This was only the second song we did but it felt hot immediately and just flowed so we thought it would be a good way to introduce the new band to the world.”
According to the statement, the group formed in March 2021 and Michaels said despite the more than three-decade gap between the 1989 dissolution of the short-lived Op Ivy and the formation of Optix, his creative connection with Armstrong has only gotten stronger. The band was birthed when Michaels and Armstrong reconnected to hang out and Armstrong played his old friend some tracks he’d been working on.
“As soon as we started writing together, we found that we had the same collaborative energy that we had in the past, so it was natural and fun just to keep going,” Michaels said of the immediate lyrical/vocal inspiration he felt. “It came back, just like that. Like when we were kids,” Armstrong added. “There is a special chemistry between us and I don’t take it for granted.”
Armstrong and Michaels performed together for only the second time in 33 years last February to play the Op Ivy song “Sound System” at the Musack Charity Concert in Los Angeles.
Armstrong nodded to his long association with Michaels in an Instagram post, writing that they’ve been friends since they were teens in the early 1980s. “We formed Operation Ivy in 1987 and 2 years later we broke up. Jesse and I both continued down our own musical journeys through the years,” he said. “I always felt a little sadness that Jesse and I stoped making music together. But we never lost touch. And then it happened. A few years ago we started writing songs again! A couple of the songs ended up on Grade 2’s record. Jesse and I just stared writing again a lot. It came back. Just like that. Like when we we were kids. There is a special chemistry between us and I don’t take it for granted.”
Armstrong also had high praise for Castillo, who he called “one of the best drummers in the world and a dear friend,” and Pollard, who he met a few years ago when Castillo brought Trash Talk to record at Armstrong’s studio. “The rhythm section of Joey and Spencer is as good as it gets and their respected styled has added another element to the song writing,” he wrote.
In an Instagram Story, Michaels elaborated on the inspiration for Bad Optix and what’s to come, writing, “It’s funny how life happens because I had been sort of thinking about anything and everything besides doing music at that time but that’s the way it always works. Anyway, we kept writing songs over the last year and we have more to share, which we will do over the coming months.” He also teased some live shows (“eventually”), but said for now they’re just taking things slowly and having fun.
While “Raid” has a vibe that fits with both men’s musical lane, Michaels promised that they’ve also written “a lot of punk stuff and some stuff that is hard to even categorize. Really excited about this project and hope you guys dig it,” he wrote.
Listen to “Raid” and see Armstrong’s post below.
Even Tom Morello isn’t sure when, or if, Rage Against the Machine will go back on the road. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the guitarist said that after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees were forced to cancel their planned 2022 European fall tour due to the serious foot injury suffered by rapper/singer Zack de la Rocha on the second show of their North American tour things were thrown into a state of flux that continues to this day.
Asked if the tour could be re-booted once Zack is healed up, Morello said, “We’ll see. If there is to be any more shows, we will announce it as a band. I don’t know. I know as much as you do, honestly. Right now we’re in a time of healing.”
Rage’s eagerly anticipated reunion tour hit a snag in Chicago on July 11 when de la Rocha suffered a severe tear of his left Achilles tendon four songs into the set. He soldiered on through the rest of the North American dates by rocking out while sitting down on the band’s first extensive tour since their last reunion wrapped in July 2011.
Morello said the energy on stage during the dates that went off was “great,” which he knew it would be from the moment they got back together to practice. “I knew pretty early on in rehearsal that we were going to sound fu–in’ great,” Morello said. “We’d never sounded better. It was a reaffirmation of the power of Rage Against the Machine, and the transcendence of Rage Against the Machine as a live act.”
Ironically, he added, he had just recovered from a ruptured Achilles before the tour and was on crutches in rehearsals, so when he saw de la Rocha go down in Chicago he knew it was bad. “I recognized the gait,” he said. “But Zack toughed it out that night. And for the next 17 shows, he was more compelling as a frontman sitting on a box in the middle of the stage than 99 percent of the frontmen in the history of all time.”
As for why the European dates had to be scotched after Rage successfully toured the U.S., Morello said it was doctor’s orders. “I don’t know all the details, but there’s dangers of flying. There’s danger of blood clots and all that,” he said. “I wasn’t in the room. But it’s not the optimum care to be on the road with a newly-ruptured Achilles.” The injury also resulted in the band cancelling their planned 2023 North American tour.
Morello also weighed in on the band’s fifth nomination for the RRHOF, saying he’s a “big proponent” of the Hall. “I like the idea there’s somewhere on the planet that celebrates music,” he said. “The thing I share, with many fans of many bands, is that if the Rock Hall is going to be inducting artists of so many diverse genres, there are a lot of artists from multiple genres that deserve to get in. It would be a great place to be. I certainly think Rage Against the Machine, among a lot of other bands, deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
The guitarist also touched on the controversy over the “awful idea” of dynamic ticket pricing, saying that every ticket for the shows they played cost $125, except for the 5-10% that were dynamically priced; Morello said the band “gave away every cent” over $125 on those tickets to charities in the respective cities, with a total of $6-$7 million raised on the entire tour.
As for the most pressing question: is Rage on yet another open-ended hiatus? Morello said the current state of Rage is “there is no term. Rage Against the Machine is like the ring in Lord of the Rings. It drives men mad. It drives journalists mad. It drives record industry people mad,” he said. “They want it. They want the thing, and they’re driven mad. If there are Rage shows, if there are not Rage shows, you’ll hear from the band. I do not know. When there is news, it will come from a collective statement from the band. There is no news.”
Faced with endless re-iterations of the “will Rage tour again/Is Rage on hiatus again?” question, Morello practiced his principled group’s steadfast omerta and declined to elaborate, offering up a perfectly zen answer to the thorny question: “We just don’t operate like other bands.”
Boygenius are hitting the road. On Tuesday (March 28), the supergroup made up of Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers announced their upcoming headlining tour of North America.
The nationwide trek will start with a show on April 12 at the Pomona Theatre in Los Angeles. The concert serves as a precursor to the band’s stop at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which they’re slated to play Saturday (April 15 and April 22) before headliners BLACKPINK turn the Indio, Calif.-based fest into BLINKCHELLA for the night.
Following Weekend 2 at the Empire Polo Club, the threesome’s tour will pick back up in the month of June, with intermittent stops in Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Toronto through the summer. Eventually, the 14-date journey will conclude with a show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on Aug. 5.
Carly Rae Jepsen, Broken Social Scene, Bartees Strange, Claud and Illuminati Hotties are all confirmed as opening acts on select dates of the tour. Meanwhile, Boygenius will also be touring in tandem as headliners for the inaugural traveling Re:Set Concert Series during the month of June along with LCD Soundsystem and Steve Lacy.
Each of the shows throughout the summer will be in support of the band’s long-awaited debut album The Record, which is set to be released Friday via Interscope Records — the same day tickets for the tour go on sale to the public. Leading up to the full-length’s drop, the indie rockers have already unveiled the tracks “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry,” “True Blue” and, most recently, “Not Strong Enough.”
Check out the full list of Boygenius tour dates below
Everything you need to know about Poison was summed up in the title of their 1988 hit “Nothin’ But a Good Time.”
Since forming in 1983 in Mechanicsburg, Pa., the stalwart glam-metal quartet has made music for literally nothing but a good time. Sure, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” may have dampened a hanky or two, but Poison’s raison d’rock has been to get the party started and keep it going until dawn and beyond. And the good times rolled to the tune of four multi-platinum albums and eight top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
Poison laid any doubts about its staying power to rest with its performances during 2022’s The Stadium Tour, warming up for Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe with an ebullient greatest set that had thousands of fans rocking each night like it was 1988.
“I never knew what would happen, but I never thought it couldn’t happen,” frontman Bret Michaels tells Billboard. “We just found a way to get it done and enjoyed it. My pot of gold is the journey. I’ve met incredible people, I got to play incredible places and travel the world and play music and have a great time doing it. I think that’s something everybody who comes to see us relates to.”
During its tenure, Poison released seven studio albums, from the triple-platinum blockbuster Look What the Cat Dragged In in 1986 up to the 2007 covers set Poison’d! The classic lineup of Michaels, guitarist C.C. DeVille, bassist Bobby Dall and drummer Rikki Rockett has remained intact since 1996, and the frontman says the group is looking at 2025 for another tour and possibly some new music.
From Billboard chart hits to deep cuts, here are our picks for the group’s 10 best songs.
“Unskinny Bop” (1990)
There’s often ambivalence over this song because it’s so silly. But that’s the point. There are no artistic pretensions to “Unskinny” — it’s just a good-time romp with a chorus that sticks in your ears after the first pass. You can feel conflicted about it on principle, but when you hear it, you know you’ll be bop, bop, bopping along. Listen here.
“Stand” (1993)
Heartland rock wasn’t exactly within Poison’s milieu, but the group did a creditable job on this lead single from Native Tongue. Co-penned by new guitarist Ritchie Kotzen, the rootsy flavors of mandolin and acoustic guitar (along with a gospel choir) took Poison somewhere different — think John Mellencamp in the last half of the ’80s. It certainly raised a few eyebrows among the faithful, but it gave the group one final appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 50). Listen here.
“(Flesh & Blood) Sacrifice” (1981)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Poison’s collective libido did not necessarily make for poetic lyrics, but nobody really comes to this band looking for Shakespearean sonnets, do they? The title track from Poison’s third album leans toward the band’s grittier side, making for some guilt-free headbanging thanks to Rockett’s muscular wallop and a steady bottom pulse provided by Dall.
“Fallen Angel” (1988)
Poison tells its own story here — about moving west to find success — by creating the character of small-town girl (not that small-town girl) who takes the bus but doesn’t find the City of Angels to be quite so welcoming. The song won big, however, hitting No. 12 on the Hot 100. It’s not the last we’d hear of the Angel in question, either. Listen here.
“Shooting Star” (2002)
A sequel of sorts to 1988’s “Fallen Angel,” this chugging rocker from Hollyweird has a thicker, heavier tone than much of the band’s previous material with an opening riff that straddles ‘80s glam and ‘90s alt-rock. This time, Angel is fist-pumping throughout a compact, tightly executed track. Listen here.
“Look What the Cat Dragged In” (1986)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
The title track from Poison’s debut album sounds like the group found a Runaways/Joan Jett outtake in a back corner of some club and latched onto it like an unexpected Christmas present. “Cat” scratches just the right blend of punk, metal and personality to give a new band its sense of identity, and Poison drives the message home in a tight three minutes and 10 seconds.
“I Want Action” (1987)
The third single from Look What the Cat Dragged In is bouncy fun dipped in the glammy trough of Slade and Sweet — right down to the spoken exchanges after DeVille’s guitar solo. Like so much of the group’s oeuvre, “I Want Action” wears its message on its sleeve, and the video is four-minute calling card for all things Poison. Listen here.
“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” (1988)
“Every Rose” was the king of the power ballads at a time when power ballads were king. Heartbreak makes hits, of course, and Michaels’ spun Poison’s only Hot 100 No. 1 hit from hearing a male voice in the background of a phone call with his girlfriend while he was drying clothes at a laundromat in Dallas. His pain, our gain. Who knows how many Bic lighters or cell phone batteries have been drained while this was being played in concert. Listen here.
“I Won’t Forget You” (1987)
It’s been eclipsed in the power ballad department by “Every Rose” and “Something to Believe In,” but it sounds fresher because it hasn’t been played into the ground. It was an early highlight for DeVille as a guitar soloist, and its gentle, earthy production (especially compared to what came in its wake) makes it an easy, timeless listen. Listen here.
“Nothin’ But a Good Time” (1988)
Taylor Swift had a jovial backstage run-in with none other than Lenny Kravitz on Monday night at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
“The moment Lenny Kravitz and Taylor Swift met backstage,” the official iHeartRadio account wrote on the behind-the-scenes video on TikTok. In the clip, fans can spot Ice Spice shuffling past before Kravitz stops Swift for a chat.
“Taylor! Girl!” he calls out as the pair hug, with the “Lavender Haze” singer telling the host, “You did amazing!”
From there, Kravitz jokes that the superstar just might have pilfered her sequined, hooded look directly from his flamboyant wardrobe. “OK, you went in my closet, huh? You went in my closet,” he quips while Swift volleys back, “Yeah, absolutely. I was just inspired by you, I was like, ‘My favorite color is…’” before the video cuts out.
While Kravitz MC’d the evening’s star-studded ceremony, Swift took home six awards out of her eight total nominations, including song of the year and best lyrics (for “Anti-Hero”), TikTok bop of the year (for fan fave “Bejeweled”), favorite use of a sample (for using her own “Out of the Woods” in Midnights album cut “Question…?”), pop album of the year (for Midnights) and the special honor of this year’s iHeartRadio Innovator Award.
Accepting the latter award, the superstar spoke about her own trial-by-error process of coming up with new ideas. “I never a single time woke up in the morning and said, ‘You know what I’m gonna do today? I’m gonna innovate stuff,’” she said. “What I did do was make the right decisions for me. People want an example of something working before, but I think the coolest ideas, moves and choices are new ones, ones that set a new precedent. I’m so thankful because my fans have backed me up on things like switching genres or re-recording all my old music.”
Watch Swift and Kravitz’s awards show meet-up below.
The Smashing Pumpkins announced a major North American summer tour on Tuesday morning (March 28) that will keep the veteran Chicago band on the road from late July through early September.
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The 26-date Live Nation-produced outing, dubbed The World is a Vampire Tour — a reference to an iconic line from 1995’s “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” — is slated to kick off on July 28 with the first of two dates at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, followed by gigs in Albuquerque, Dallas, West Palm Beach, Toronto, Ottawa and Franklin, TN before wrapping up on Sept. 9 at the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, IN.
The tour will feature a rotating cast of opening acts, including Interpol, Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons, as well as bouts featuring some of the biggest stars from the Corgan-owned National Wrestling Alliance. The pre-sale for the shows opened on Tuesday and will run through 10 p.m. local time on Thursday (March 30). The General onsale will start on Friday (March 31) at 10 a.m. local time; click here for more information on tickets.
“I grew up in a world where I needed to know bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure existed, it meant there was a place for people like me to hang out and belong,” Corgan said in a statement announcing the tour he hopes will remind fans of some of the classic alternative tours and festivals of the 1990s. “That’s what The World Is A Vampire is about. Bringing back that sense of community. If you don’t fit in, you belong here. It’s about having a shared experience and respecting others, but ultimately having fun. A true alternative festival, where all the self-proclaimed weirdos and outsiders of the world can get together and have a party.”
The Pumpkins’ driving, new wavey new single, “Spellbinding,” got its radio debut on Tuesday morning during Corgan’s appearance on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show, during which the band also played “1979” and “Empires” live in the studio. The final act of the band’s three-part rock opera, ATUM, is slated for release on May 5.
Check out The World Is a Vampire tour dates below:
July 28 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan
July 30 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan
August 1 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre *
August 3 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre *
August 5 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre *
August 6 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater *
August 7 – Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre *
August 9 – Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre *
August 10 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre *
August 11 – Highland, CA @ Yaamava’ Resort & Casino **
August 13 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater ^
August 15 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavillion ^
August 16 – Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP ^
August 17 – Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater ^
August 19 – West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre ^
August 20 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre ^
August 22 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ^
August 24 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center ^
August 25 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion ^
August 30 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater ^
August 31 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live ^
Sept. 2 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage ^
Sept. 3 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre ^
Sept. 6 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre ^^
Sept. 8 – Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater ^
Sept. 9 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center ^
^ w/ Interpol & Rival Sons
* w/ Stone Temple Pilots & Rival Sons
**w/ Stone Temple Pilots
^^ w/ Interpol
Tom Leadon, co-founder of Tom Petty‘s band Mudcrutch and brother of Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon, died on March 22 at age 70. The musician’s family confirmed the news, while Petty’s official fan club released a statement regarding Leadon’s passing.
“It is with great sadness, but profound love and gratitude for his life, that the family of Tom Leadon (Thomas Joseph Leadon) of Nashville, Tenn., and Gainesville, Fla., announce his passing on March 22, 2023 peacefully of natural causes. He was 70,” the statement read.
Mike Campbell, former Mudcrutch and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers member, also shared his thoughts regarding Leadon’s loss. “Tom Leadon was my deepest guitar soul brother, we spent countless hours playing acoustic guitars and teaching each other things,” he wrote. “A kinder soul never walked the earth. I will always miss his spirit and generosity. Sleep peacefully my old friend.”
Leadon’s music career dates back to high school, during which he was a member of the Epics and met Petty (who played bass in the group, while Leadon was on lead guitar). The duo then formed Mudcrutch, which Campbell joined to play guitar, and members Randall Marsh and Jim Lenahan joined for drums and vocals, respectively. Leadon would ultimately leave the band in 1972 following a fight with Petty, but later played in Linda Rondstadt’s band on bass, and joined Silver in 1976. (Silver earned a Billboard top 20 hit with its track “Wham-Bam.”)
Leadon also wrote the Eagles’ “Hollywood Waltz” in 1975; the band released it as part of its One of These Nights. Leadon is credited on the song alongside his brother Bernie, Glenn Lewis Frey and Don Henley.
Mudcrutch would see a reconciliation in 2007, when Petty got the group back together with Leadon, Marsh, Campbell and the Heartbeakers’ Benmont Tench. The reunited group would record two albums — Mudcrutch and Mudcrutch 2, which charted at Nos. 8 and 10 on the Billboard 200, respectively. The group disbanded upon Petty’s death in 2016.
“He was a dear friend of Tom and the fellas in the band and our entire family. He was part of the brotherhood,” Petty’s daughter, Adria, also shared in a statement on the late rocker’s official Instagram account. “He was an excellent and accomplished musician and was the reason Tom reformed Mudcrutch, so that the band could enjoy more time and more music together. Tom loved him deeply.”
Missed out on a chance to score tickets to John Mayer‘s 2023 solo acoustic tour? Fans are in luck, as the musician announced on Monday (March 26) an extension of his current trek into the fall, with a series of additional dates across the United States.
“Announcing new fall dates for the Solo tour. As a dear friend once told me, ‘never block a blessing.’ Something very special is happening out here and I want to keep it going – It’s too good for my soul. Thank you for making it such an incredible run so far,” Mayer shared on Instagram, along with the new dates included on a poster.
The fall leg of Mayer’s Solo tour will kick off on Oct. 3 at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden, and will make stops in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville and more before concluding on Nov. 10 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. JP Saxe will be the special guest for the new dates. “Deeply overjoyed we get to keep doing this. thx for bringing me along,” Saxe commented under the tour announcement.
The “Daughter” singer’s post also included details on how fans can buy tickets. “Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, March 31 at 9 AM local time,” he shared. “An exclusive fan presale will be available starting Wednesday, March 29, at 9 AM local time and end Thursday, March 30, at 10 PM. Sign up to access your unique presale code now at johnmayer.com. UK and Europe dates coming soon.”
See Mayer’s announcement, as well as the full list of tour dates, below.
A-ha’s “Take on Me” gives The Last of Us its first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind, reigning on the February 2023 ranking.
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 February 2023.
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“Take on Me” was heard in the seventh episode of the HBO series’ first season, which aired Feb. 26.
It follows a pair of bows for the freshman show on the January 2023 survey: Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time” at No. 5 and Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” (No. 7).
In February 2023, “Take on Me” earned 15.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 3,000 downloads, according to Luminate.
The song was a-ha’s top charter in the U.S., reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985.
It’s one of four songs from The Last of Us to reach the February 2023 tally. Agnes Obel’s “Fuel to Fire,” from episode five (Feb. 12), leads the group, hitting No. 5 (378,000 streams, 1,000 downloads).
The highest non-The Last of Us entry is TALK’s “Run Away to Mars,” which appears at No. 2. It was heard in the seventh episode of the 19th season of ABC’s long-running Grey’s Anatomy, which premiered Feb. 23.
In February 2023, “Mars” earned 5.3 million streams and 4,000 downloads. Concurrently, it could be heard on a variety of U.S. radio formats; it peaked at No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart for three weeks beginning Jan. 28 and also reached No. 6 on Alternative Airplay.
See the full top 10, also featuring music from YOU and Shrinking, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)
“Take on Me,” a-ha, The Last of Us (HBO)
“Run Away To Mars,” TALK, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
“Heads Will Roll,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs, YOU (Netflix)
“I Would Die 4 U,” Holly Humberstone, Shrinking (Apple TV+)
“Fuel to Fire,” Agnes Obel, The Last of Us (HBO)
“True Faith,” Lotte Kestner, The Last of Us (HBO)
“Alone and Forsaken,” Hank Williams, The Last of Us (HBO)
“Killer,” Valerie Broussard, YOU (Netflix)
“I Know the End,” Phoebe Bridgers, Shrinking (Apple TV+)
“Dangerous,” Big Data feat. Joywave, YOU (Netflix)
Saturday (March 25) marks one year since Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins‘ shocking death at age 50 while while on tour with the band in South America. In the most fitting tribute imaginable, Belgian rock band Black Box Revelation gathered a group of 100 drummers to perform a thundering version of the Foos’ beloved 1988 single “My Hero” in a very special space to honor Hawkins.
The performance took place at Belgium’s largest arena, Sportpaleis Antwerp, which was the last venue in the country where Hawkins played with the Foos in 2018. “Taylor Hawkins was the best drummer of our times,” Black Box Revelation said in a statement. “Honouring him with this tribute was an experience we will never forget.”
The video opens with the song’s signature thumping rhythm, with the equally iconic hypnotic guitar riff coming in as the camera pans back to reveal row-upon-row of drummers — old and young, male and female — jamming in perfect rhythmic unison while all wearing black t-shirts featuring Hawkins’ signature hawk symbol.
The reverent performance echoed another from September, when the Foos performed “My Hero” at London’s Wembley Stadium with Hawkins’ 16-year-old son, Shane, during an emotional tribute to the beloved late bandmate.
Earlier this year, the Foos announced their first live dates following a year-long silence in the wake of Hawkins’ death, including spots at a number of festivals including Boston Calling (May 26), Sonic Temple (May 28), Rock Am Ring (June 2), Rock Im Park (June 4), Bonnaroo (June 18), Harley-Davidson Homecoming (July 15), Fuji Rock (July 28-30), The Town (Sept. 9) and Sea.Hear.Now (Sept. 17), among others. At press time the group had not yet announced who will play drums on those dates.
Watch video of the “My Hero” performance below.