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Rock

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Taylor Momsen and the Pretty Reckless will support AC/DC on the “Hells Bells” band’s upcoming 2024 European tour. The news was announced on Monday morning (March 25) when AC/DC shared a poster for their first Euro swing in eight years, which will feature the “Only Love Can Save Me Now” band serving as the only opener on all 24 dates of the stadium outing slated to kick off on May 17 at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

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“It’s f–king AC/DC. That’s it,” the band says when asked to describe their excitement about hitting the road with the “Dirty Deeds” icons.

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AC/DC’s first European tour in nearly a decade will find the band playing with a line-up featuring singer Brian Johnson, guitarist Angus Young, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney replacing longtime bassist Cliff Williams; Williams retired from the band at the conclusion of their 2016 Rock or Bust tour, returning to the fold briefly for the 2020 Power Up album. Johnson was temporarily replaced by Guns ‘N Roses singer Axl Rose in 2016 due to Johnson’s battle with hearing loss issues.

The AC/DC tour will hit Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland before touching down at London’s Wembley Stadium for a pair of shows on July 3 and 7, then moving on to Germany, Slovakia and Paris and winding down at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland on August 17. The European tour is the first run of gigs since AC/CD’s long-awaited return to the stage at last year’s all-star hard rock Power Trip Festival in Indio, California.

See the Pretty Reckless announcement and the AC/DC 2024 European tour dates below.

AC/DC 2024 European summer tour dates:

May 17 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena

May 21 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena

May 25 – Reggio Emilia, Italy @ RCF Arena

May 29 – Seville, Spain @ La Cartuja Stadium

June 5 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Johan Cruyff Arena

June 9 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium

June 12 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium

June 16 – Dresden, Germany @ Messe

June 23 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium

June 26 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium

June 29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Letzigrund Stadium

July 3 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium

July 7 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium

July 13 – Hockenheim, Germany @ Ring

July 17 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Wasen

July 21 – Bratislava, Slovakia @ Old Airport

July 27 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Zeppelinfeld

July 31 – Hannover, Germany @ Messe

August 9 – Dessel, Belgium @ Festivalpark Stenehei 

August 13 – Paris, France @ Hippodrome ParisLongchamp

August 17 – Dublin, Ireland @ Croke Park

Jon Bon Jovi made what was arguably the most unexpected appearance at Ultra Music Festival 2024 in Miami over the weekend, performing with trance legend Armin van Buuren during van Buuren’s Sunday night (March 24) mainstage festival set.

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Bon Jovi arrived onstage in jeans, a white t-shirt, sneakers and sunglasses, jumping up and down alongside Van Buuren while the producer unveiled his remix of the 1992 Bon Jovi classic “Keep The Faith.” Bon Jovi then climbed up on the decks to sing along with the edit, for which van Buuren added a kickdrum thump to the song’s classic “everybody needs somebody to love” build.

“Ultra make some noise for this legend Mr. Jon Bon Jovi!” van Buuren yelled into the mic as the song came to its climax, with van Buuren outfitting the original with shimmery trance elements and turning the dial all the way up on the chorus as pyro shot from the stage during the climax. A fan in the audience caught video of the moment, with Van Buuren also sharing footage on his Instagram stories.

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“It’s an incredible honor to remix this track and to share the stage with Jon Bon Jovi, as I’ve been a massive fan for years,” van Buuren says in a statement. “This track is different from anything I’ve ever released before, and no better place to first share it with you all than on the Ultra mainstage.”

“Keep The Faith” spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100 in the fall of 1992, peaking at No. 29. It’s a busy time for the Bon Jovi frontman, with the band preparing for the release of its 16th studio album, Forever, coming June 9. A docuseries about the band, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, will debut on Hulu April 26 in conjunction with the New Jersey band’s 40th anniversary.

Ultra may be one of the only live appearances in the cards for the iconic Bon Jovi frontman, 61, in the near future, as he is still recovering from a 2022 vocal chord surgery and recently said that he’s not yet sure about touring behind Forever.

“I don’t know about a tour,” Bon Jovi told Mix 104.1 Boston earlier this month. “It is my desire to do a tour next year, but I’m just still recovering from a major surgery.”

Bruce Springsteen made a triumphant return to performance last week in Phoenix, taking the stage with the E Street band to relaunch their world tour after a six-month break due to the singer’s battle with peptic ulcer disease. But in an interview with E Street Radio host Jim Rotolo (via Deadline) the 74-year-old rock icon said there was a point recently when he feared he might never perform live again.
“Once I started singing, you know, you can rehearse singing, but your voice isn’t the same in rehearsal. You don’t have that edge of adrenaline that really pushes it into a better place and the thing when I had the stomach problem, one of the big problems was I couldn’t sing,” said Springsteen, who paused the E Street’s planned 2023-2024 world tour in September due to the serious effects of the gastro disease; 29 shows were postponed as a result of the medical issue.

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“You sing with your diaphragm. My diaphragm was hurting so badly that when I went to make the effort to sing, it was killing me, you know?,” he said. “So, I literally couldn’t sing at all, you know, and that lasted for two or three months, along with just a myriad of other painful problems.” At a certain point, Springsteen said he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to return to his signature high-energy performance style at all.

“I was, during the course of it, before people told me, ‘Oh no. It’s gonna go away, and you’re gonna be OK,’ you know, you’re thinking like, ‘Hey, am I gonna sing again?’ and you know, this is one of the things I love to do the best, the most, and right now I can’t do it.,” Springsteen said.  “You know, I can’t do it, and it took a while for the doctors to say, ‘Oh no. You’re gonna be OK.’ At first, nobody was quite saying that, which made me nervous, you know, and at the end of the day, I found some great doctors, and they straightened me out, and I can’t do anything but thank them all.”

Thanks to his medical team, Springsteen is back and during the show in Phoenix on March 19 — originally slated for Nov. 30 — he rocked through 29 songs without even mentioning the medical issue until the final song of the set. “I had a motherf–cker of a bellyache,” he told the crowd near the end of the two hour and 45 minute set.

The Springsteen tour rolls on on Monday (March 25) with a date at Pachenga Arena in San Diego.

Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden are proud parents to a new baby boy.
The actress, 51, and Good Charlotte co-founder, 45, announced the birth of their second child through social media on Friday (March 22).

“We are blessed and excited to announce the birth of our Son, Cardinal Madden,” the couple wrote in a joint statement on their Instagram accounts. “He is awesome and We are all so happy he is here!”

A colorful illustration accompanying the post includes words that read, “A little bird whispered to me,” likely a nod to Cardinal’s name.

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Diaz and Madden added that fans won’t be seeing photos of their new bundle of joy anytime soon. “For the kids safety and privacy we won’t be posting any pictures- but he’s a really cute,” they wrote. “We are feeling so blessed and grateful … Sending much love from our fam to yours … Best wishes and Good Afternoon!!”

The joyous post drew comments from celebrities including Katy Perry, Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and Lionel Richie, among others. “Another earth angel,” the “Firework” singer wrote alongside a black heart emoji.

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Diaz and Madden met in 2014 through Benji’s twin brother and bandmate, Joel Madden, and his wife, Nicole Richie.

In January 2015, the actress and musician tied the knot and later welcomed their first child, daughter Raddix, in December 2019.

“She has instantly captured our hearts and completed our family. While we are overjoyed to share this news, we also feel a strong instinct to protect our little one’s privacy,” Diaz wrote on social media at the time. “So we won’t be posting pictures or sharing any more details, other than the fact that she is really really cute!! Some would even say RAD:).”

See Madden’s announcement about his son’s birth on Instagram below.

Next week, on March 29, alternative veterans Chicano Batman will release its long-awaited fifth album, Notebook Fantasy. It will be the band’s first release since 2020, while the supporting tour will see the trio of Bardo Martinez, Eduardo Arenas and Carlos Arévalo headline a historic Los Angeles venue for the first time: The Forum.

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“It means everything, it’s a graduation of sorts,” Arenas tells Billboard News. “It’s a celebration for the city because L.A. built this band. Our fans built this. We could not get to this level without [them].”

Arenas believes the recording process for Notebook also forced the band to aim higher, as they worked from the iconic Sunset Sound studios in Hollywood. “The walls have something to tell you,” he says. “You level up. Like, if [The Doors]’ Jim Morrison did that right there, what am I going to do today?”

“I feel like every time we make a record we’re trying to do something different, and that’s certainly the case for all the songs on this record,” adds Arévalo.

Martinez agrees, saying he’s a big fan of David Bowie for the way in which he “personifies different things.” He compares the icon to a painter, saying, “I think that’s what make great artists, is they’re not afraid to be different and challenge norms [by] just being their authentic self.”

In addition to the band’s own forthcoming album, Chicano Batman will also appear on the star-studded Talking Heads covers compilation album Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense. While they can’t yet reveal what song they covered, they do share that they had just four days to rehearse, record and turn it in. But for Arenas, it was all worth it: “Stop Making Sense, for me, was life changing.”

For a band that formed 15 years ago, the trio is tighter than ever — both sonically, and by way of their lasting friendship. When asked if it feels as long as it’s been, they reply with a resounding “yes” before Arévalo doubles back. “Yes and no,” he says. “It feels like a blink, honestly, but we’ve put in the work.”

Watch Chicano Batman’s full Billboard News interview above.

Rock and country will collide when Needtobreathe joins four-time Country Airplay chart-topper Jordan Davis for a special taping of CMT Crossroads ahead of the upcoming 2024 CMT Music Awards, where they will also collaborate live for a first-time performance on Sunday, April 7, at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The CMT Music Awards will air on CBS and […]

Céline Dion was the honorary queen of the ice at the Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers game Thursday (March 21), where she met with some of the players and enjoyed the day’s proceedings with her twin 13-year-old sons, Nelson and Eddy. 
In clips captured by game attendees, Dion — who also shares 23-year-old René-Charles with late husband René Angélil — smiles and flashes a hand heart to the jumbotron as fans at the TD Garden in Boston roar with excitement. In another video, she and her boys, who sport matching Bruins jerseys, jam out to Bon Jovi’s 1986 smash “Livin’ on a Prayer,” the Canadian vocalist showing off her air-guitar moves. 

Prior to the game, Dion joined the Bruins back in the locker rooms to read off that day’s lineup — adding her own flair, as any iconic diva would. “Up front, Heinen,” she began, angelically singing left wing Danton Heinen’s last name.  

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“On defense, you better bite — Grizzy,” she continued, calling defenseman Matt Grzelcyk by his nickname and adding a dramatic pause. “Ooooh.” 

The game marks a rare outing for Dion, who was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called Stiff-Person Syndrome a couple years ago. Earlier this month, she marked International SPS Day with a post on Instagram, writing, “Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage and to live as normal of a life as possible.” 

She added, “I am deeply grateful for the love and support from my kids, family, team and all of you!” 

Prior to the game — which saw the Rangers win 5-2 against the Bruins — Dion made a surprise appearance at the 2024 Grammys, where she presented Taylor Swift with album of the year for Midnights. In January, Amazon announced that a Prime Video documentary chronicling the “My Heart Will Go On” singer’s battle with SPS is in the works. 

Watch clips of Dion enjoying the Bruins game below. 

https://twitter.com/celinebible/status/1770977349720515021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1770977349720515021%7Ctwgr%5E129d073dc050d18974aa1210ec35741a62609021%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.etonline.com%2Fceline-dion-rocks-out-to-bon-jovi-alongside-her-sons-at-nhl-game-watch-222194

There’s a good reason listening to The Black Keys’ new album, Ohio Players, is like spending time with a well-curated collection of vintage vinyl singles. Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney spent part of 2023 taking their DJ gig, The Black Keys Record Hang, across North America and Europe, playing 7” vinyl singles in small clubs into the wee hours of the morning. 

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The discerning taste required to keep the audience engaged proved valuable as the band worked on the songs that would eventually comprise the Nashville-based, Ohio-born band’s 12th studio album. “I think we started to get so picky with the records and we started to do the same when we were in the studio,” Auerbach tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast. “We didn’t want to make songs that sound like old 45s, but we wanted to have the same spirit.”

The genre- and era-spanning setlists at those Record Hang events, documented by attendees in Spotify playlists, included such earworms as 1967’s “Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)” by Memphis garage band The Hombres, 1969’s “Love Buzz” by Dutch psychedelic rockers Shocking Blue (it was later covered by Nirvana for its 1989 debut album, Bleach) and 1970’s “Chocolate” by San Antonio funk band Mickey & The Soul Generation. 

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Gauging the crowd’s reaction to those 45s proved to be valuable market research and helped Auerbach and Carney tighten up their songwriting. From the debut single, the Top Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1 “Beautiful People (Stay High)” or “I Forgot to Be Your Lover,” a cover of the 1968 recording by William Bell, Ohio Players has the efficiency of two-and-a-half minute Motown standards or radio-ready classic rock tracks.

“The way those classic 45s are,” says Carney, “it’s like there’s no wasted space.” 

Auerbach and Carney had little room to spare when they wrote “On the Game” with Noel Gallagher (Oasis, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds) in a studio in London barely big enough for a drum kit and a few people. “We were in a circle in this tiny room,” says Auerbach. “That’s the sound you hear on the record. It was amazing watching Noel go through the process of writing and run through all the chords up and down the neck until he finds the one that he hears in his mind is just right. We were just kind of like sitting patiently, you know, letting him do his thing. It was it was really cool to to watch him go through his process.”

Listen to the entire interview with The Black Keys in the Spotify player embedded below or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart or Amazon Music. 

A week after her old friend Neil Young‘s return to Spotify, Joni Mitchell‘s catalog has been restored to the streaming service. Mitchell pulled her music from Spotify in early 2022 in solidarity with Young over their concerns about the vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation being spread on the platform’s popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

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Though Mitchell, 80, had not commented on her music’s return to Spotify at press time, in a note on her official website posted at the time of the boycott she explained, “I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”

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Last week, Young said in a post on his Archives site that the end of Spotify’s exclusive deal with Rogan led to the restoration of his music to the service. “My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify,” Young’s post read – in a clear reference to the Rogan podcast, though he never mentioned the show, or its host, by name. Since last month, the Rogan podcast has been available on a variety of platform, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.

“I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify,” Young explained about his turnabout.

At the time of Mitchell’s boycott not all of her music was actually removed from Spotify. While such iconic titles as 1970’s Ladies of the Canyon, 1971’s Blue and 1974’s Court and Spark went away during the pull-out, her four Geffen Records albums from the 1980s and early 1990s — Wild Things Run Fast (1982), Dog Eat Dog (1985), Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm (1988) and Night Ride Home (1991) — were still available. In fact, Billboard reported at the time that in the first four days after the wider catalog removal, songs from Mitchell’s Geffen albums across all streaming services saw at 484% increase in on-demand streaming activity in the U.S.

Young’s original 2022 boycott was also supported by several other artists, including his Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmates David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, as well as India.Arie, though CSN/CSN&Y and Arie’s music were back on the service in short order.

Mitchell’s return to Spotify comes amidst the singer’s late-career resurgence, which last month found her performing at the Grammy Awards for the first time. The emotional run through “Both Sides Now” from the singer who has been off-the-radar for years due to a brain aneurysm and a battle with the rare skin condition Moregellons disease included an introduction from superfan and collaborator Brandi Carlile and backing from Alison Russell, Lucius and Jacob Collier.

Jack Black is 100% down to slip into Dewey Finn’s bowtie one more time. According to JOE, more than 20 years after Black scammed his way into a teaching position and whipped some awkward kids into a wall-shaking rock band in 2003’s family-friendly music comedy School of Rock, the now 54-year-old actor/musician said he’s down […]