Rock
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Black Crowes‘ frontman Chris Robinson acknowledges, with a laugh, that “I’ve been cynical in the past about institutions” in general — and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame specifically.
But he’s unreservedly pleased about the band’s first Rock Hall nomination.
“We’re just very excited,” Robinson, who formed the group with younger brother Rich Robinson, drummer Steve Gorman, bassist Johnny Colt and guitarist Jeff Cease in 1989 in the Robinson’s native Atlanta, tells Billboard. “I don’t think we ever really would have thought about it, so for it to be in front of us, it’s incredible. We’re thrilled.
“All sarcasm aside, it’s amazing to be thought of. It’s amazing to be included. We love music, and we understand the real magical, alchemic process in it, and that we’ve managed to still be here this many years later and still be making records and in a lot of ways having a level of recognition and success that we haven’t felt before.
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“Just to be mentioned (alongside) some of the names of the greatest artists, it’s fantastic,” he says of the band’s first nomination.
Robinson is well aware of his May 2017 remarks to SiriusXM’s Howard Stern, when he said he would not attend a Black Crowes’ induction and that “the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to me is like going to the mall or something.”
“As if an interview with Howard Stern’s a deposition,” Robinson says with another laugh. “I think like anything with age… To say what I’m saying today is sincere. This isn’t one of those situations where I’ll grudgingly, ‘Oh, if we get in, I’ll go…’ If it happens for us, then I’ll be there with bells on my feet.”
The Black Crowes flew out of the box strong, of course, starting with two multi-platinum albums — 1990’s Shake Your Money Maker and 1992’s The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion — and a rash of 16 Mainstream Rock chart hits that includes “Jealous Again,” a rendition Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” “She Talks to Angels,” “Remedy” and “Thorn in My Pride.” The group has released nine studio albums, selling more than 30 million copies worldwide. Its latest, 2024’s Happiness Bastards, was nominated for a Grammy Award for best rock album, losing out to the Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds. “If you’re gonna lose a Grammy, lose it to Mick (Jagger) and Keith (Richards). We were just happy to be included,” Robinson says.
The Crowes have gone through three distinct eras during the band’s career — 1984-2002 and 2005-2015, with the Robinsons regrouping in 2019. More than two dozen musicians have played in the group during that time; in addition to the original lineup, guitarist Marc Ford and the late keyboardist Eddie Harsch are part of the nomination. There has been rancor over the years; Gorman published a revealing memoir, Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes, in 2019 and subsequently sued the Robinsons for unpaid royalties, in a case that was settled during 2022. Chris Robinson says any amends prior to a Rock Hall induction is a matter for “down the road,” while the current state of the band remains strong.
“I think where our career has led us since Rich and I got back together… I think it just adds to how deeply we’re interested in our career and our band,” he explains.
The Black Crowes are planning a “light” year of performing, Robinson says, and the brothers have already started to write new songs. “We probably have another 20 new songs already, sketches,” he says. “I think Happiness Bastards was kind of the ignition, a very positive step. It was like, ‘Wow, that was fun’ and ‘Wow, now we have some new ideas. I think getting in the studio this spring is something that we feel we want to do. It’s very exciting.”
Robinson, a Los Angeles resident for more than two decades, is also still glowing about the FireAid benefit concert on Jan. 30 at the Kia Forum, where the Black Crowes performed “Remedy” and backed John and Shane Fogerty on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” before the Robinsons teamed with Slash for a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.”
“It was a super, super special event,” Robinson recalls. “Los Angeles gets this rap for being so shallow and vapid and stuff… but it just goes to show the real heart and soul of a place like Los Angeles. That’s what happens when you’re in a show business industry town. That’s where this town is pointed towards. So it was just spectacular.
“And to do it with Slash, who’s a friend but he’s synonymous with the Los Angeles music scene… I thought it was a really nice moment. And Jimmy (Page) saw it and he thought it was great. So, win-in.”
The Class of 2025 will be revealed in late April. That announcement typically details which artists are inducted as performers, which names are entering the Rock Hall in the musical influence or musical excellence categories and who the year’s Ahmet Ertegun award recipient will be. The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles this fall.
02/11/2025
The power ballads and rave-ups to best have you swooning this Valentine’s Day.
02/11/2025
Patti Smith is hitting the road this fall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her iconic debut album, Horses. The singer will be joined by longtime side men guitarist Lenny Kaye and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, who both played on the seminal 1975 LP that is considered a punk classic and is often cited by R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe as the album that made him want to make music.
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The Patti Smith Group will be joined by longtime keyboardist/bassist Tony Shanahan and the singer’s son and guitarist, Jackson Smith, on the tour slated to kick off on Oct. 6 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The outing is then booked to hit Madrid, London, Burssels, Oslo and Paris before moving over to the U.S. for theater gigs in Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. before winding down on Nov. 29 at the Met in Philadelphia.
“Please join us to help celebrate the final ride of our irreverent thoroughbred,” read a statement announcing the run that will mark the first time in 20 years that Smith, 78, has performed the whole album; she celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2005 a that year’s Meltdown Festival in London, which she curated.
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Smith’s debut album was released on Arista Records on Nov. 10, 1975 and combined the singer’s urgent, vivid poetry with spiky, minimal arrangements that incorporated reggae rhythms with spoken word and propulsive rock energy. The album produced by the Velvet Underground’s John Cale failed to spawn a chart hit, but it is considered one of the founding text of punk rock and has been enshrined in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry as a historically significant work.
Before she hits the road, Smith will be feted at a March 26 all-star concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, “People Have the Power: Celebrating the Music of Patti Smith,” which will feature appearances by Stipe, former Sonic Youth guitarist Kim Gordon, the National singer Matt Berninger, the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O, Sharon Van Etten, the Kills’ Alison Mosshart, the Kronos Quartet, Ben Harper, Courtney Barnett, Angel Olsen and others.
Last month, Smith assured fans that she was okay after collapsing on stage in São Paulo, Brazil on Jan. 29. “This is letting everyone know that I am fine,” the singer wrote on Instagram along with a selfie in which she was smiling and waving at the camera. “A grossly exaggerated account is being spread by the press and social media. I had some post migraine dizziness. Had a small incident, left the stage, and returned 10 minutes later and talked to the people, told them I was fine and sang them Wing and Because the night.”
The health scare came a month after Smith was ordered by a doctor to rest following a brief stay in an Italian hospital to deal with what was described as a sudden, unnamed illness, resulting in the cancellation of a pair of European shows.
Tickets for the Horses tour will go on sale on Friday (Feb. 14) at 10 a.m. local time, with a pre-sale slated to kick-off on Wednesday (Feb. 12) at 10 a.m. local time; click here for details and check out the full list of dates below.
Oct. 6 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3ArenaOct. 8 – Madrid, Spain @ Teatro RealOct. 10 – Bergamo, Italy @ ChorusLife ArenaOct. 12 – London, U.K. @ London PalladiumOct. 13 – London, U.K. @ London PalladiumOct. 15 – Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque RoyaleOct. 16 – Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque RoyaleOct. 18 – Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum SceneOct. 20 – Paris, France @ L’OlympiaOct. 21 – Paris, France @ L’OlympiaNov. 10 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount TheatreNov. 12 – Oakland, CA @ Fox TheatreNov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ The MasonicNov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Walt Disney Concert HallNov. 17 – Chicago, IL @ The Chicago TheatreNov. 21 – New York, N.Y. @ The Beacon TheatreNov. 22 – New York, N.Y. @ The Beacon TheatreNov. 24 – Boston, MA @ The Orpheum TheatreNov. 28 – Washington D.C., The AnthemNov. 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
New York Dolls co-founder and punk icon David Johansen has revealed that he is battling a brain tumor and stage four cancer. The news came via a Sweet Relief Fund in his name seeking to raise money for the singer’s ongoing care in which his daughter, Leah Hennessey, revealed the extent of her 75-year-old father’s health issues.
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“Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumor,” Leah wrote. “There have been complications ever since. He’s never made his diagnosis public, as he and my mother Mara are generally very private people, but we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden our family is facing.” She noted that in a further blow, the singer known for his outrageous, high-energy stage persona, fell down a flight of stairs after Thanksgiving and broke his back in two places.
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Following a week-long hospital stay and a successful surgery, Leah said her dad has been bedridden and incapacitated since then and “due to the trauma, David’s illness has progressed exponentially and my mother is caring for him around the clock.” Given the multiple health crises, Leah said that in order to continue treatment and give her dad the best chance at a full recovery he will need full-time assistance.
“As hilarious and wise as David continues to be, he is physically debilitated and his care exceeds what we are capable of providing without specialized professional help,” she wrote, adding, “David has worked continuously as a singer and actor for the better part of six decades, to the delight of his fans all over the world. However for the past five years, David has been unable to work as a performer. “
The non-profit Sweet Relief Musicians Fund was initially founded by singer Victoria Williams in 1994 to help her pay medical bills after a multiple sclerosis diagnosis and has since grown into a 501 (c)(3) that has helped raise funds for professional musicians in need of health or financial assistance.
In a statement, Johansen said, “We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends & family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation. This is the worst pain i’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I’ve never been one to ask for help but this is an emergency. Thank you.”
The organization’s executive director, Aric Steinberg, added in a statement, “Our Directed Artist Funds can provide a meaningful solution when the community rallies around the recipient, and we anticipate that David’s community will be eager to help here. His influence on the musical landscape with the New York Dolls is indelible, and his career as an actor and an artist has touched many people around the world. He’s been knocked down but we’re here to help him back up with the help of his family, friends and wider community of supporters.”
The family said that their most immediate needs are for full-time nursing, physical therapy and funding for day-to-day vital living expenses, aimed at helping Johansen regain “some mobility and independence.” Supporters can donate to the David Johansen Fund here, or buy a “luv” shirt benefitting Johansen’s fund here.
Johansen has long been a beloved figure on the New York scene, beginning with his time as the lead singer and provocateur of the gender-bending New York Dolls. That band — which also featured guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain, bassist Arthur Kane and drummer Jerry Nolan — emerged from the fertile underground New York rock scene in the early 1970s, releasing a pair of albums in 1973 and 1974 that helped set the template for the punk revolution and, later, inspired the lipstick and Aqua Net late 1980s hair metal scene.
After drugs and weak sales pushed the band’s members apart, Johansen went on to start his own solo band and then reinvent himself in the 1980s as the smarmy lounge lizard Buster Poindexter, through which he explored his love of the blues, jazz, swing and Latin music on such radio hits as “Hot Hot Hot.” He later formed the Harry Smiths, a group dedicated to early folk, blues and country music gathered by music historian Harry Everett Smith in the Anthology of American Folk Music.
In addition to the occasional reunion with the Dolls over the years, Johansen also hosted a freewheeling Sirius satellite radio show, David Johansen’s Mansion of Fun and acted in projects including the HBO series Oz and the movies Scrooged, Let It Ride, Freejack, Mr. Nanny and others.
Johansen was the subject of the 2020 Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi-directed Showtime documentary feature Personality Crisis: One Night Only, which told the singer’s life story and chronicled one of his freewheeling shows at New York’s Café Carlyle.
“My mother’s favorite acronym for God is ‘Grace Over Drama,’” Leah Hennessey wrote. “Together we have endured crisis after crisis, but with the support of our community we hope to carry on laughing and loving our way through this most trying of times. Thank you for embracing our family, and for your love and generosity.”
Check out some of Johansen’s most beloved moments below.
Morrissey has announced tour dates for the U.K. and Ireland, his first since 2023. The former Smiths singer shared the news of the upcoming shows on his official social media accounts.
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The post said that these were the only concerts he would “perform in Ireland, Scotland and England in 2025,” and will see him play in Dublin, Glasgow and Manchester in May and June.
Morrissey has played a number of shows in North America in recent years, and will tour the region again in 2025. He last played in the U.K. in 2023 with shows in London, Aylesbury, Liverpool and more.
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In November 2024, the “Suedehead” singer claimed that his unreleased album Bonfire of Teenagers has been shelved because of his various controversies. “As you know, nobody will release my music anymore,” Morrissey told a crowd in New Jersey. “As you know because I’m a chief exponent of free speech. In England at least, it’s now criminalized.”
“You cannot speak freely in England. If you don’t believe me, go there,” he continued. “Express an opinion, you’ll be sent to prison. It’s very, very difficult.”
In 2019, Morrissey expressed support for the far-right Britain First political party, and has not released an album since 2020’s I Am Not a Dog on a Chain. His Bonfire of Teenagers LP was scheduled to be released in February 2023, but it was pulled months before its release date, with Morrissey claiming its “fate is exclusively in the hands of Capitol Records (Los Angeles.).”
The album was reportedly made in 2021 and featured contributions from Iggy Pop, Miley Cyrus and producer Andrew Watt. News followed that Cyrus had requested her vocals to be removed from the record. Its title track references the Manchester Arena bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017, which killed 22 attendees and injured hundreds more. One song from the record “Rebels Without Applause” has been issued as a single, with others performed live.
In February 2023, Morrissey issued another statement claiming he was “too diverse” for Universal Music Group. He has since stated that he has recorded an additional album titled Without Music the World Dies, which remains unreleased. He has offered the album to “any record label or private investor [that] has interest in releasing this project,” following his split from Capitol.
See Morrissey’s U.K. & Ireland 2025 tour dates below:
May 31 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena
June 4, 5 – Glasgow, Scotland @ O2 Academy Glasgow
June 7 – Manchester, England @ Co-Op Live
Ticketmaster has begun cancelling thousands of tickets for Oasis’ upcoming reunion tour in a crackdown on bots.
Passes for the shows in the U.K. and Ireland went on sale in August 2024, but the on-sale process was marred by long delays and the use of dynamic pricing model, which meant that ticket prices were higher for some fans than expected.
Reports said that over 50,000 tickets ended up on resale sites, despite efforts to restrict touts re-selling tickets at inflated prices.
A statement issued by promoters Live Nation and SJM Concerts at the time read: “Ticket resale is permitted at no more than the price you paid (face value + booking fees). Please only use the official resale partners Twickets and Ticketmaster. Selling tickets through unauthorised resale platforms will breach these T&Cs and those tickets may be cancelled”.
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Now, Ticketmaster have been contacting some ticket holders to inform them that their tickets have been refunded as “it has been identified that bots were used to make this purchase,” meaning they “violate the tour’s terms and conditions.”
“These terms were specifically established to limit resale of tickets on unauthorised ticketing platforms for profit,” the message says. “Fans have been strongly advised by all parties not to purchase tickets from unauthorised resale sites, to protect them from fraud or refunding.”
However some Oasis fans have reported on social media that their tickets have been wrongly cancelled in the efforts, despite abiding the rules of the on-sale process. “If 2025 could actually get any worse – now I don’t even have this to look forward to any more,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday (February 7) showing a message from Ticketmaster saying that their tickets had been cancelled.
Another wrote: “So what’s this complete sh-tshow? Sat on my laptop for hours on general sale day to secure just TWO tickets for ONE gig and you’re telling me I’m a bot and a tout!” The post is accompanied by pictures of his ticket buying set-up which includes one device but with multiple tabs.
Reports in the BBC and The Guardian have identified fans who have also had their tickets cancelled, with one telling the former that “it just feels like my dreams have been completely crushed.”
Billboard UK has approached Ticketmaster for comment. On the Oasis Refunds FAQ page, a message reads: “For ticket purchasers who believe they have had tickets refunded in error, refer to the email sent by the relevant agent when informed.”
Following the original on sale, the band responded to the news that tickets had been on-sale on resale sites for upwards of £10,000 ($12,412)
“We have noticed people attempting to sell tickets on the secondary market since the start of the pre-sale. Please note, tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via Ticketmaster and Twickets.
“Tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the promoters.” Twickets shared Oasis’s statement and added their own: “Don’t buy tickets over face value. Official resale will be available on our website/app at face value only.”
Oasis’ reunion tour will kick off at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on July 4, before heading to Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin across the 19 dates. The tour will then head to North America, Latin America, Australia and Asia later this year.
Dream Theater‘s new Parasomnia is titled after a specific category of sleep disorders. But it’s also an album that’s made dreams come true for fans of the 40-year-old progressive metal quintet.
Parasomnia marks the recording return of drummer and co-founder Mike Portnoy to the band’s ranks for the first time since 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings. It reunites him with guitarist (and album producer) John Petrucci and bassist John Myung, who started Dream Theater as Majesty in 1985, after meeting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Vocalist James LaBrie came on board in 1991, while Jordan Rudess joined in 1999.
That quintet released six studio albums prior to Portnoy’s departure, and Petrucci acknowledges to Billboard that “we fully understand the gravity of Mike coming back and us being together again.”
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From Portnoy’s perspective, “As Dorothy once said (in The Wizard of Oz), there’s no place like home. It’s not the original lineup, but it is the ‘classic’ lineup. I think the era this band made albums, basically ’99 through 2009, that was in a lot of ways the golden age of this band and…a musical blueprint that is such a big part of Dream Theater’s history. For this particular lineup to be reunited, it’s really special.”
While Portnoy acknowledges that “some fences had to be mended” from his departure, he and Petrucci worked together on the latter’s 2020 solo album, Terminal Velocity, and toured together; the two joined Rudess and bassist Tony Levin for a third studio album as Liquid Tension Experiment in 2021. But, Petrucci says, “those weren’t intended as any indication that (Portnoy) might be returning. Mike Mangini [Portnoy’s replacement] was very strong in the band…even if he couldn’t escape the ‘When’s Portnoy coming back?’ question that was constantly asked. We had just come off our first Grammy win [best metal performance in 2022 for “The Alien”] and everything was going great with touring.
“For whatever reason the stars aligned in that moment, in the fall of 2023. We did understand that making the announcement that not only was (Portnoy) coming back, but that we’d be going into the studio again, the excitement would be crazy — for us, too. I think you can hear it on the album.”
The eight-track, 71-minute set — out Friday (Feb. 7) and recorded at Dream Theater’s DTHQ studio on Long Island — is the band’s 16th overall, and the follow-up to 2021’s A View From the Top of the World, which debuted at in the top 10 of Billboard‘s Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Rock Albums and Independent Albums charts. With its intricate arrangements, explosive dynamics, virtuosic playing and long-form compositions (six songs are over seven minutes and a closing epic, “The Shadow Man Incident,” clocks in at a heady 19:32), Parasomnia is everything Dream Theater envelopes while sounding decidedly present-day.
“I wanted it to sound modern but also classic,” Petrucci explains. “Some of the albums made between 1999 and 2009 or so, that’s a period that’s so beloved by our fans. So having Mike rejoin, I think there’s hope for some of that nostalgia coming back — and it pretty much did. You can hear it on the album. It definitely has that vibe. But as a producer I’m going in wanting to make an album that sounds better than anything else we’ve done before. So you try to push the envelope with ways of recording. It’s a combination of using modern techniques but using vintage audio equipment to do it and mash those up in a perfect way. And of course using great personnel — Jimmy T (Meslin) our engineer, Andy Sneap, Mark Gittins — these guys are helping to bring it into the future, into a modern sound. It’s a perfect balance of old and new.”
Petrucci says Parasomnia‘s concept is not based on any real-life sleeping disorders within the band. He first heard the term a few years ago and “kept it in my back pocket. I love the sound of that word. I love the tie-in to dreams and Dream Theater, and I loved that the subject matter could be so creepy and dark and heavy.” He researched the various parasomnias — including sleepwalking, night terrors and night paralysis — and used them as the basis for songs; one, “Dead Asleep,” was even drawn from a true story about a man who accidentally strangled his wife in bed while dreaming that he was fighting a home intruder.
The suite-like “The Shadow Man Incident,” meanwhile, is based on a pre-waking phenomenon of feeling the presence of “demons or dark figures,” according to Petrucci.
“It is a thematic, concept album,” he acknowledges, “so there are some Easter eggs throughout, (musical) themes that repeat themselves that I think hardcore fans will pick up on. We love doing stuff like that. I think it takes the album to another level. It makes it more epic, more classic, more special. And it’s so much fun.”
Portnoy, meanwhile, takes credit for pushing Dream Theater in the conceptual direction on Parasomnia. “It’s such an important album for us that I thought it needed to be something more than just a collection of songs,” he says. “That’s when we started creating the album, thinking of it in terms of one piece of work that you digest from start to finish, like watching a movie or reading a book. Once we decided to go in that direction it really opened the doors to make this a very special album.”
Dream Theater preceded Parasomnia‘s release with the tracks “Night Terror,” “A Broken Man” and “Midnight Messiah,” along with accompanying videos. The band returns to the road on release day in Philadelphia, with dates currently announced through a sold-out March 22 stop at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Petrucci says the trek will feature a couple of songs from the new album but is mostly designed to continue a celebration of Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary — which began last year, overseas — with a more Parasomnia-centric tour planned for later this year. Portnoy adds that Dream Theater hopes to play the new album in its entirety at that time.
“It’s pretty incredible I’m still in the same band with a guy I met when I was 12, in middle school, and a guy I met when I was 18, just starting at college,” Petrucci notes. “We all love doing it. We’re driven. We love playing our instruments, we love writing music together, recording music together, we love touring together. The chemistry and brotherhood we have as people is just so strong. And on top of that is a fan base that’s international and widespread and loyal and dedicated and devoted. We don’t take that for granted.
“Not every band survives, right? Bands break up, members leave. We know how lucky we are to have a 40-year career and that a member can leave and come back and rejoin with such happiness and excitement around it. That’s a testament to everybody’s love for doing it, and love for each other.”
Oasis are prepping a 25th anniversary reissue of their fourth studio album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, which will be released in a pair of limited-edition vinyl versions on Feb. 28.
The fourth album from the Britpop superstars was released in February 2000 and marked a left-turn into more electronic-based psychedelic sound featuring drum loops, electric sitar, Mellotron, synthesizers, backwards guitar and samples layered into their signature heady, Beatles-inspired rock sound on the bull rush opening track “F****n’ In the Bushes” and the swirling “Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is.” The collection also featured one of their classic acoustic ballads, the single “Go Let It Out,” as well as singles “Where Did It All Go Wrong?,” “Who Feels Love?” and “Sunday Morning Call.”
Friday’s (Feb. 7) announcement came just 147 days (but who’s counting?) before formerly battling brothers singer Liam and guitarist/songwriter/occasional singer Noel Gallagher kick off their eagerly anticipated 2025 reunion tour.
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The anniversary edition of the album will be issued in silver vinyl and an official store-exclusive blue and purple marble edition on the anniversary of the LP’s original release on Feb. 28, 2000. They also teased a new lyric video for “Go Let It Out,” slated to premiere at 11 a.m. ET on Friday.
A press release announcing the reissue noted that the album marked a new era for the group, with “Go Let It Out” the first release on the Gallaghers’ Big Brother Recordings Ltd. label, established after the sudden shuddering of their former label, Creation Records.
Oasis are slated to kick off their 2025 stadium tour on July 4 with the first of two dates at Cardiff, UK’s Principality Stadium, after which they will criss-cross the UK and Ireland before hopping over to North America on August 24 for a show at Rogers Stadium in Toronto. They will hit Chicago, New Jersey and Los Angeles before moving on to Mexico City, South Korea, Japan, Australia and South America, winding down with a Nov. 23 show in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
See the reissue announcement below.
Eight months after going on hiatus, comedy rock duo Tenacious D are back. Sort of. The Jack Black-fronted two-man band appear on a new compilation album benefitting victims of last month’s deadly Los Angeles wildfires, Good Music to Lift Los Angeles. The contribution is a cover of REO Speedwagon’s 1980 power ballad “Keep on Loving You,” a song they’ve performed live in their patented urgent acoustic style before.
The 90-track compilation released today (Feb. 7) contains previously unreleased recordings, new songs, covers, remixes, live versions and demos from Animal Collective, Blondshell, Perfume Genius, R.E.M., Dawes, Death Cab For Cutie, TV on the Radio, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, MJ Lenderman, My Morning Jacket, Interpol, Mudhoney, Manchester Orchestra, The New Pornographers and many more.
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It was unclear at press time when the band — which also features guitarist/singer Kyle Gass — recorded the song; you can buy the album exclusively now on Bandcamp. The compilation will be available for one day only, with proceeds going to the L.A. Regional Food Bank and California Foundation’s Wildfire Fund.
At press time it did not appear that Black or Gass had commented on the song’s inclusion on the compilation, which comes after they announced a break and cancelled a planned Australian tour following Gass’ controversial on-stage joke about the assassination attempt against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
After the comment, Black apologized and announced that the group would take a break in light of criticism from Australia’s right-wing over the joke Gass made at a show in Sydney in July when Black rolled out a birthday cake for his longtime musical mate and asked him to make a wish. “Don’t miss Trump next time,” Gass quipped, just weeks after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on a Trump rally in Butler, PA, grazing Trump’s ear and killing a rally attendee.
In a deleted post, Gass apologized, writing, “I don’t condone violence of any kind” and saying he was “incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement.” Shortly after, Gass was dropped by his agent and the remainder of the Australian tour, as well as a planned fall run of U.S. shows in swing states ahead of November’s presidential election, were cancelled.
Black also posted an apology on Instagram at the time, writing, “I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.” At the time of the tour cancellation, Black’s statement said that “all future creative plans are on hold.”
In August, Black told Variety that the duo needed “to take a break. Everybody needs a break sometime,” while also promising “and we’ll be back.”
In the meantime, earlier this week, Black posted a video from the set of his new movie Anaconda in which he sang the names of his co-stars while one of them, Paul Rudd, accompanied him on a hand drum.
Check it out below.
There’s a feeling that something around Inhaler has shifted in the past 18 months. The Irish quartet, made up of Eli Hewson (vocals, son of U2’s Bono), Ryan McMahon (drums), Bobby Keating (bass), and Josh Jenkinson (guitars), has welcomed a new influx of young, passionate fans into their world, no doubt helped by their support slots on megatours with Arctic Monkeys and Harry Styles at their respective stadium shows. Those gigs followed a chart-topping debut on the U.K.’s Official Albums Charts with It Won’t Always Be Like This (2021) and its follow-up Cuts & Bruises (2023), which landed at No. 2.
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But the new tunes that make up third LP Open Wide, released via Polydor, are bright, expansive, and the group’s best yet. The venues keep growing at home and abroad, with tickets being snapped up and sold-out in minutes. Why’s it all come together at this moment?
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“I think we know what we want from our music now,” frontman Hewson responds to Billboard UK. “Maybe when we were a bit younger, we wanted people to like us and wanted people to connect with it – and we still want that – but I think that’s different from making music that we love.”
Open Wide was produced by Kid Harpoon, who had a huge hand in the easy-going sound of Styles’ Grammy-winning LP Harry’s House, as well as the One Direction alum’s 2019 album Fine Line. Elsewhere Kid Harpoon has credits on Miley Cyrus’ Hot 100 chart-topper “Flowers,” and with HAIM and Florence + The Machine.
There’s also an appearance on Open Wide for hit songwriter Amy Allen, a close collaborator of Kid Harpoon with songwriting credits on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” as well as on ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” She recently snagged the songwriter of the year award at the 2025 Grammys, becoming the first woman to win the category.
The decision for the Dublin-born band to head to L.A. during the album’s writing phase gave them clarity and space away from their tried and tested methods. “We sound a lot more like how we’ve always wanted to. It gave us peace and quiet to listen to our gut instincts. When we were in London when we were writing and recording [the first two albums], it always felt like things were up in the air. With this one, we felt very calm all the way through and enjoyed the process. We just heard ourselves out. We weren’t listening to external anxieties; it felt satisfying.”
No wonder there’s a lightness and confidence in these songs. The LP’s title track is built on a pulsing, subtle EDM beat before it hits a typically explosive chorus. Likewise, “A Question of You,” and “Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)” do away with the moody reverb heard on 2023 LP Cuts and Bruises and aren’t afraid to embrace a more mainstream-friendly sound.
In February the group will head out on the road in the U.K. for some of its biggest shows yet, including sold-out nights at London’s O2 Academy Brixton. They’ll then play in North and Latin America, Europe and then a massive homecoming show in Dublin to 20,000 fans.
Speaking from Amsterdam while on the press trail, the band discusses the input from Kid Harpoon and Allen, the ever-shifting indie scene, global success for Irish artists and more.
This is your third LP – does release week get any easier or more enjoyable?
Eli: It’s always in the last week before it’s out that the doubts start to come in. We did an album playback yesterday with some fans who heard it for the first time, and they seemed to enjoy it.
Ryan: Yeah, but they wouldn’t say it to your face, though, would they? I’m sure we would have some fans that wouldn’t have a problem with that though…
You’ve mentioned that the pressure was off this time. Why did it feel that way?
Josh: We didn’t have a deadline or tour that we had to be ready for. We had the freedom to create whatever we wanted to and assess it after we made it, instead of getting it straight out.
Eli: With Kid Harpoon, his whole ethos was – which was really shocking given the records he’s worked on – that he didn’t want any labels or managers in the room when recording: “It’s just us making this album and we’ll think about the singles when we’re done.” I found that really refreshing because he was putting the album before anything. We hadn’t really had that approach before. We were chasing singles a lot of the time, and we just wanted to get out and tour, so this was a big opportunity to step back and reflect on what we were making.
What made you want to change things up and work with a new producer?
Eli: Initially there was perhaps fear in all of us. It was the first time that we’d worked with someone different. With our last producer [Antony Genn], we’d been going to him since we were 17. We felt it was the right time to graduate from that, as it felt like our working relationship had gradually run its course for the time being. So it was important for us to work with something new for us to see what else they could bring out of us.
Josh: [Kid Harpoon] is a great person to be around. Initially we wondered if he could work with a band like us, but we when we realised that he did that Kings of Leon album [2024’s Can We Please Have Fun] that really eased all our stress. When we were working with him, he was going darker than us. He’d say, “Don’t put that in, it’s too poppy!”
Inhaler
Lewis Evans
What were the sessions like in L.A. and then back in London?
Josh: They were very efficient. We didn’t waste any time. We had about nine days in L.A. before heading to RAK Studios in London, but we made a plan, and we stuck with what we set out to do. We also had a lot of fun with it too.
Ryan: He also wouldn’t send us what we’d done and recorded that day. He’d say, “Yeah, Brian, the engineer, will send it,” but just never did it. But once we got to the end, we realized we’d been going into the sessions totally fresh and hearing the songs and recordings again for the first time. You’re not constantly overthinking it. In the past, we’ve been known to get tunnel vision and overanalyze things.
Amy Allen also had a part to play. What was her contribution like?
Josh: She came in to listen to the songs while we were in L.A. It was so cool to see someone at that level of songwriting and with all of her achievements come in and say, “You guys have got some pretty good tunes.” Hearing her come in and sing some of them was so inspiring.
Eli: It was amazing. She’d just hum something quickly, and you’d think, ‘That’s f—ing amazing.’ We were lucky enough that she was able to stop by because she’d canceled another session, and Tom [Hull, Kid Harpoon] invited her to come in. Whatever she’s tapped into at the minute, she’s doing really well with.
Josh: She had such a beautiful voice, and she came in on a day when we were so tired, and it was much-needed…
Ryan: …it was like a visit from an angel!
How has the band’s dynamic developed over the years? It feels like you’re all pulling in the same direction with this album…
Eli: We’ve managed to keep it all together. It’s a sacred place being in this band. We fight less now than we ever have. We got all of that out when we were teenagers! It’s always felt like the center of everything we do together.
Ryan: We just love to make music naturally, and anything that feels right in the moment we follow. There’s never a discussion about setting rules on an album or doing a certain thing. We’ve never felt any joy out of a situation like that – that’s where it feels like the arguments begin, and ego starts getting in the way. Making music and saying less is what we do better.
It feels like there’s an openness from indie artists and fans to embrace new sounds and to work collaboratively with hit songwriters and pop producers. The question of ‘authenticity’ in these spaces feels quite outdated…
Josh: It’s refreshing to feel like you don’t have to do the same thing over and over again. You can progress how you want to. People can support you and still be open to change. That’s exciting.
Ryan: As long as you’re happy with what you want to make. There are no rules that go with writing a good song, and people are a lot less closed off to how a band should sound in their head; no one knows – neither do we – what they want until they get it.
There has been considerable support and acclaim for Irish artists like Fontaines D.C., Hozier and Kneecap among others over the past few years. Why are these kinds of acts exploding right now?
Eli: The biggest reason is that they’re good! In years past, you’d have to do “the American album.” It was the thing to do because everyone adheres to American culture. But now, if the country has its own indigenous culture, style and tradition, people are finding that interesting and want to know more about it. It definitely makes for better music and art. I doubt it’s something in the water…
It feels like there’s a lot of support for one another…
Eli: There’s always been a strong sense of camaraderie among Irish artists. I don’t think we’ve ever felt like we fit into a particular scene with other Irish artists, so it’s never felt like there’s a sense of competition between anyone. Everyone’s just happy to see other people succeed.
Bobby: I think that support also comes from the fact that we’re a small country as well. Everyone goes to the same venue to get to the next stage and wants the best for everyone else. We played the same venues that Fontaines, Hozier and The Murder Capital have all played. Especially when we’re in the U.K. and see people around and playing shows. I think Irish people really take the idea of playing abroad very seriously. When we first started playing abroad and in London, it felt like the real thing and a real achievement.
What will the new material bring with the live show?
Josh: It’s going to give us some depth and shape shows in a way that we haven’t done before. We’ve always been very ‘go go go’ at our shows, then there might be some slower moments or something a bit groovier, we now have a broad spectrum of songs to choose from.
Ryan: It’s also nice to freshen things up. We’ve been playing some of these songs for so long and it’s nice to have something new to play.
What did you learn on those big tours with Harry and Arctic Monkeys that you’ll take forward?
Josh: I think we learned that it would be something that we loved to do. But also the attention to detail that goes into every show and how it’s set-up, and the amount of work that goes into shows of that scale. It made us want to take things a lot more seriously.