Rock
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My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way is expanding his artistic profile in another new direction. The emo band’s singer and creator of the comic-book-turned-Netflix-series The Umbrella Academy will be one of the voices of an upcoming Stern Pinball machine honoring the 50th anniversary of OG role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
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The news was announced over the weekend by Stern in an Instagram post promising that pinheads across the world will be “brought on an epic and thrilling journey as they adventure into the forgotten realms, featuring iconic enemies including a red dragon, gelatinous cube, mimic, Sammaster the lich, Xanathar the beholder, an owlbear, and locations including those in Faerun such as Arabel and Westgate.”
Plus, the game will feature what Stern calls the “most advanced animatronic dragon in pinball, Wrath the relentless,” who “breathes fire” by coughing up pinballs.
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In addition to Way’s unspecified role, the Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye game will feature music by beloved video game composter Cris Velasco (Battlezone, Borderlands), as well as voice work from Clerks director Kevin Smith, Star Trek actor Michael Dorn, game designer Luke Gygax (The Lost City of Gaxmoor), director Chris Prynoski (Metalocalypse), Dethklok singer and actor/comedian Brendon Small and video game voice actors Matthew Mercer (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth) and Laura Bailey (Mass Effect 3) among others.
The comments on Stern’s post were a testament to how geeked players are for Way’s contribution to the game, with a number dying to know what character he plays, while others commented, “GERARD!!!!,” “I’m Not Okay [three fire emoji]” and “Gerard way??? As in thee Gerard way??? As in my chemical romance Gerard Way? As in comic book creator Gerard way??? As in the artist Gerard wayyy?? AS IN MY IDOL!!!”
At press time Way had not confirmed his role in the game.
The contribution from Way adds to Stern’s expansive rock-related game games, which include ones dedicated to Metallica, Iron Maiden, Rush and the Foo Fighters.
Check out the D&D announcement below.
The 2025 Boston Calling Festival will feature headlining sets from Luke Combs and Megan Moroney, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, Dave Matthews Band and Vampire Weekend. The three-day Memorial Day (May 23-25) throwdown at the Harvard Athletic Complex will also usher in some new changes this year aimed at easing crowding and providing more shade and free water for fans.
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Joining Combs and Moroney on the first night will be: Sheryl Crow, T-Pain, TLC, Thee Sacred Souls, Wilderado and Mike. Night two will find FOB and Lavigne sharing the stage with Cage the Elephant, The Black Crowes, All Time Low, James Bay, The Maine, Lucius and Valley, among others. The final night will pair DMB and Vampire Weekend with Sublime, Public Enemy, Remi Wolf, Goth Babe, Rager Against the Machine and solo guitarist Tom Morello, The 502s, Spin Doctors and IDK How But They Found Me, and more.
According to CBS News, after some complaints from some fans last year about overcrowding, BC has made some structural changes to the event’s footprint this year, including merging the main Green and Red stages. “We’ve invested in a world-class rotating stage system to provide better views, more space to roam, and enhance audio/video experience for everyone,” read a Facebook post announcing the staging news. Other changes include a decrease in some ticket prices, the return of the Indoor Arena, where fans are invited to take a break in an air-conditioned indoor space (with programming to be announced soon), as well as the addition of more free water stations.
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A presale will kick off on Wednesday (Jan. 8) at 10 a.m. ET, with lowest-price tickets available for two hours (10 a.m.-12 p.m.); you can sign up for it here.
See the full lineup poster below.
Bono is expressing his gratitude after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The legendary U2 frontman was among 19 individuals to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Joe Biden during a ceremony at the White House on Saturday (Jan. 4).
“Thank you President Biden. Frontmen don’t do humble, but today I was,” Bono wrote on U2’s Instagram account after receiving the medal. “Rock n roll gave me my freedom… and with it the privilege to work alongside those who’ve had to fight so much harder for theirs. And I want to give it up for my band mates – Edge, Adam, and Larry – without whom I would never have found my voice.”
Along with receiving the honor, Bono wrote an essay for The Atlantic, titled “The Gorgeous, Unglamorous Work of Freedom,” exploring the link between music and the quest for freedom.
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“Freedom is a word that turns up with embarrassing frequency in rock-and-roll songs,” Bono began the op-ed, citing Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” as an example.
“The reason I am climbing on this slippery soapbox called ‘freedom’ today is that I’m being given a presidential medal by that name—an honor I’m receiving mainly for the work of others, among them my bandmates and our fellow activists—and it’s got me thinking again about the subject,” the Irish rocker continued. “When we rock stars talk about freedom, we more often mean libertinism than liberation, but growing up in the Ireland of the 1960s, the latter had its place too. We were mad for freedoms we didn’t have: political freedom, religious freedom, and (most definitely) sexual freedom.”
In honoring Bono, the White House highlighted the singer as a “pioneering activist against AIDS and poverty,” noting his role in uniting politicians from opposing parties to create the U.S. PEPFAR AIDS program. He is also the co-founder of advocacy organizations ONE and (RED).
Other Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients this year included Hillary Clinton, Michael J. Fox, NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, soccer icon Lionel Messi, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, George Soros, designer Ralph Lauren, chef José Andrés and conservationist Jane Goodall.
“President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else,” the White House wrote in a statement. “These nineteen individuals are great leaders who have made America and the world a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.”
Watch Bono receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Biden in a video here.
Bono is among 19 individuals who will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, President Joe Biden announced on Saturday (Jan. 4).
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In addition to the U2 frontman, other recipients include Hillary Clinton, NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, soccer icon Lionel Messi, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, George Soros, designer Ralph Lauren, chef José Andrés and conservationist Jane Goodall.
“President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else,” the White House wrote in a statement. “These nineteen individuals are great leaders who have made America and the world a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world.”
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The statement also noted that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”
In honoring Bono, the White House highlighted the legendary Irish rocker as a “pioneering activist against AIDS and poverty,” noting his role in uniting politicians from opposing parties to create the U.S. PEPFAR AIDS program. Bono is also the co-founder of advocacy organizations ONE and (RED).
The Presidential Medal of Freedom will be presented at the White House on Saturday.
The announcement comes just weeks after U2 released How to Re-assemble an Atomic Bomb, a special edition celebrating the 20th anniversary of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb with previously unreleased tracks from the 2004 album’s recording sessions. In September, U2 premiered V-U2: An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas, showcasing their historic residency at The Sphere in Sin City.
U2’s most recent album, Songs of Surrender, was released in March 2023 and reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
Three Days Grace notches its 18th No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart – and its first featuring vocals from original frontman Adam Gontier since “Misery Loves My Company” in 2013 – as “Mayday” lifts two spots to the top of the Jan. 11-dated tally.
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The band moves to within one spot of the all-time No. 1 record on Mainstream Rock Airplay, which began in 1981, behind only Shinedown’s 19 leaders.
Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay:
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19, Shinedown
18, Three Days Grace
15, Five Finger Death Punch
14, Foo Fighters
14, Metallica
13, Godsmack
13, Van Halen
12, Disturbed
11, Linkin Park
Of Three Days Grace’s 18 Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1s, 11 have been with Gontier, the group’s original lead singer, beginning with “Just Like You” in 2004. Following his departure in 2013, succeeding frontman Matt Walst racked up six rulers as the band’s sole vocalist, starting in 2014 with “Painkiller.”
“Mayday” is the first single since Gontier rejoined the band, with the singers trading vocals.
Meanwhile, “Mayday” rules in its sixth week on Mainstream Rock Airplay, completing Three Days Grace’s swiftest rise to No. 1 since “Chalk Outline” wrapped a four-week sprint in 2012.
Concurrently, “Mayday” ascends 37-36 on Alternative Airplay, marking the band’s highest charted entry since “The High Road,” which peaked at No. 24 in 2013. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, “Mayday” leaps 6-2 with 3.9 million audience impressions, up 6%, in the week ending Jan. 2, according to Luminate. That’s the band’s highest spot in the standings since “The Good Life” was No. 1 for six weeks in 2010.
On the most recently published multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs list (dated Jan. 4, reflecting data tracked Dec. 20-26, 2024), “Mayday” ranked at No. 4, after debuting at its No. 2 best on the Dec. 7-dated survey. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 871,000 official U.S. streams.
“Mayday” is currently a standalone single, with Three Days Grace recording its eighth studio album and first since 2022’s Explosions. The new set will mark Gontier’s first with the band since 2012’s Transit of Venus.
All Billboard charts dated Jan. 11 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Neil Young is rolling out another gem from the vault. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon announced on Friday (Jan. 3) that one of his great “lost” albums, Oceanside Countryside, will be released on February 14 through Reprise Records.
“This analog original album was recorded in 1977 and unreleased. These songs are the original mixes done at the time of the recordings in the order I planned for the album,” Young said in a statement about the latest release in his Analog Original Series (AOS). The album was originally recorded from May-December 1977, just before the release of his 1978 folk/country album Comes a Time, which featured such beloved songs as the title track, “Lotta Love,” “Human Highway,” “Field of Opportunity” and “Four Strong Winds.”
“I sang the vocals and played the instruments on Oceanside in Florida at Triad studios and Malibu at Indigo studio,” Young aded. “I sang the vocals and recorded with my great band of friends, Ben Keith [steel guitar], Joe Osborn [bass], Karl T. Himmel [drums], and Rufus Thibodeaux [fiddle] at Crazy Mama’s in Nashville on Countryside. I hope you enjoy this treasure of an Analog Original recording, recorded by Tim Mulligan, as much as I do. Listening to it now, I think I should have put it out back then.”
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All the songs on Oceanside are performed solo by Young, with a group of friends joining him on Countryside, including Keith, Thibodeaux, Himmel and Osborne, with Tim Drummond on bass for “The Old Homestead,” which also features The Band’s Levon Helm on drums.
In addition to featuring many of the same musicians as Comes a Time, Oceanside Countryside also has a trio of songs (“Goin’ Back,” “Human Highway” and “Field of Opportunity”) that also appear on that album. The vinyl version of Oceanside will include tracks on the CD of the same name from Young’s Archives Vol. III release. Young noted that the tracklist for the upcoming album — which was recorded on tape — reflects how he originally planned to release the LP, which will be available in analog and on vinyl for the first time ever with the original mixes done at the time of the recording.
Though a number of the songs on Oceanside originally appeared on Archives Vol. III, the release noted that the versions are “not always the same.” Specifically, the versions of “Lost in Space,” “Captain Kennedy” and “The Old Homestead” on the analog original vinyl release date from the Hawks & Doves album from 1980. In addition, “Field of Opportunity” and “Dance Dance Dance” are the original versions that have backing vocals from Young instead of Nicolette Larson, whose vocals appeared on Archives Vol. III.
Check out the track listing for Oceanside Countryside below.
Side one: Oceanside
“Sail Away”
“Lost in Space”
“Captain Kennedy”
“Goin’ Back”
“Human Highway”
Side two: Countryside
“Field of Opportunity”
“Dance Dance Dance”
“The Old Homestead”
“It Might Have Been”
“Pocahontas”
Bruce Springsteen has been spending time hanging around the set for the upcoming biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere and so far he’s very impressed with the movie’s star, Jeremy Allen White. The actor best known for playing perpetually harried chef Carmy Berzatto on The Bear has been filming the movie that will tell the story behind the making of the Boss’ stark 1982 character-heavy album Nebraska.
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In a recent chat with SiriusXM E Street Radio’s Jim Rotolo, Springsteen, 75, talked about whether it’s been strange to be on set as he watches Allen portray a thirtysomething version of him. “A little bit at first, but you get over that pretty quick and Jeremy is such a terrific actor that you just fall right into it,” Springsteen said. “He’s got an interpretation of me that I think the fans will deeply recognize and he’s just done a great job, so I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve had a lot of fun being on the set when I can get there.”
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More importantly, at a time when Timothée Chalamet is earning praise for his original vocals in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Rotolo wondered what The Boss thinks of White’s singing in the film. “He sings well. He sings very well,” Springsteen said. “You know, and Jeremy Strong [as Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau] and Odessa Young [as then-girlfriend Faye], you know, it’s a tremendous cast of people. They cast the film beautifully, so it’s very exciting.”
Directed and written by Scott Cooper, the adaptation of Warren Zanes’ book of the same name, the movie has gotten full support from Springsteen. Last year, White told GQ that in addition to hours and hours of video study to nail Bruce’s signature raspy singing and speaking cadence he’s also been working with a vocal coach.
“I’ve got a really talented group of people helping me train vocally, musically, to get ready for this thing,” White told the magazine. “I’m also really lucky [that] Bruce is really supportive of the film, and so I’ve had some access to him and he’s just the greatest guy.” Before cameras started rolling, White was asked last June if he planned to do his own singing in the film, telling Variety, “we’re gonna try, we’re gonna try our best.”
In the same interview with Rotolo, Springsteen also confirmed a late 2024 press release teasing that this year will bring a new collection that will “look back at Springsteen’s storied recording career, featuring never-before-heard material.” When Rotolo asked about that release teasing unheard tunes, Springsteen simply confirmed, “there will be.” The singer also debuted a new song called “Girlfriend” in honor of late Replacement’s guitarist Slim Dunlap on the episode.
Listen to the interview below.
Neil Young has announced that he will be headlining Glastonbury Festival in June, just days after he said that he would withdraw from the festival and called it a “corporate turn-off.”
Earlier this week (Jan. 1), Young wrote on his website: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favorite outdoor gigs,” Young wrote in the brief update. “We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
He continued, “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
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The Canadian rocker made a new statement on his website on Friday (Jan. 3) posting: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”
The festival will take place at Worthy Farm, Somerset in England on June 25-29, and he will perform with his new band The Chrome Hearts. Young previously topped the bill in June 2009.
At the time of his withdrawal, Young did not expand on the role that the BBC had played in his decision to withdraw. The BBC has been a longtime partner of the festival, broadcasting performances across television, radio and online. In 2009, the BBC broadcast a number of Young’s songs on its channels. In recent years entire sets from headliners have been broadcast live; in 2024, Coldplay and Dua Lipa’s sets were streamed globally on the BBC website.
Festival boss Emily Eavis confirmed the news on her personal Instagram account: “What a start to the year! Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury. He does things his own way and that’s why we love him. We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”
Young is the first headliner confirmed for 2025’s edition. Other names such as The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo, Harry Styles, Sam Fender and more have all been rumoured to appear. Sir Rod Stewart will take on the traditional Legend’s Slot on the Sunday afternoon.
In November 2024, Young revealed plans for a European tour, which will feature mostly outdoor venues. He followed up with another message on Wednesday (Jan. 1), telling Neil Young Archives readers that “tour announcements for the summer are coming very soon.”
Nearly 300 songs have peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, and despite not hitting No. 1 or even the top 10, many remain memorable years or even decades later. In the 1960s, Rat Packers Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra each extended their iconic legacies with notable No. 25 Hot 100 hits: “You’re […]
Neil Young has announced that he will not be performing at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival.
On Tuesday (Dec. 31), the legendary Canadian rocker, 79, shared a message with fans on Neil Young Archives explaining his decision to back out of the massive music event, which takes place annually at Worthy Farm in Somerset, England.
“The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favorite outdoor gigs,” Young wrote in the brief letter. “We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
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He continued, “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”
Young did not specify what exactly Glastonbury and the BBC had requested that led to his withdrawal. The BBC has been a long-time broadcaster of the festival, streaming and airing portions of the event, including a global broadcast for the first time last year, according to Rolling Stone.
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Billboard has reached out to Glastonbury’s representatives for comment.
In November 2024, Glastonbury revealed that Rod Stewart would be the first artist announced for the 2025 festival. The legendary musician was the first confirmed act for the event, which is set to take place from June 27-29. Tickets for the festival have already sold out.
While Glastonbury has not yet revealed the headliners for 2025, several names have been speculated, including Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Fender, Harry Styles and Lady Gaga. Young had also been rumored to perform at the festival.
A timeline for the headliner announcements has not been confirmed, but the full lineup is typically revealed in the spring.
In late November 2024, Young revealed plans for a European tour, which will feature mostly outdoor venues. He followed up with another message on Wednesday (Jan. 1), telling Neil Young Archives readers that “tour announcements for the summer are coming very soon.”
Young last performed at Glastonbury in June 2009, with portions of the show broadcast on the BBC. The set included tracks like “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “Words,” “Rockin’ in the Free World” and a cover of The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life,” Rolling Stone reports.
Young’s new band, the Chrome Hearts, features Micah Nelson (guitar), Spooner Oldham (organ), Corey McCormick (bass) and Anthony LoGergo (drums). The group made its live debut in September 2024 at Farm Aid and recorded a new album last year, tentatively titled Talking to the Trees.