Rock
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Just over a week after Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt explained the band’s approach to addressing politics in their music, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan is sharing his thoughts on the phenomenon. In a new interview on the Reinvented With Jen Eckhart podcast that Billboard has a first look at, Corgan opened up about making political music, being continually passed over by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and more.
“I can’t think of any political song I’ve ever written. That said, I’m a political junkie. I pay a ton of attention to politics. I’m not one of these people who thinks that politics doesn’t have a place in music,” Corgan mused. “I think that every artist should express their views however they deem fit. Whether or not those views are acceptable to people, I think is irrelevant … I’ve just never been that intrigued on putting that type of political messaging into my music.”
The Smashing Pumpkins — alongside fellow support acts Rancid and The Linda Lindas — are set to embark on Green Day’s upcoming global stadium tour in support of new album Saviors. While the jury is still out as to where the record will land on the Billboard 200, the set’s lead single, the fiery “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” has already seen success across several Billboard charts. Since its release in October, the track has reached the top of Rock Airplay and No. 22 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
“‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ was written by Billie [Joe Armstrong] almost four years ago. But we all knew it was just low-hanging fruit,” Dirnt previously said of the making of the hit single. “We’re not a parody of who we are, and songs like that need time to be fleshed out. If that means just sitting back and letting life happen, so be it. And it was one of the last things we recorded.”
Saviors marks Green Day’s 14th studio album, and the band’s third record since its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in 2015. The band made it into the Rock Hall in its first year of eligibility, while Smashing Pumpkins have still yet to receive such an honor. In his conversation on the podcast, Corgan also criticized the current state of the Rock Hall.
“A general criticism is, ‘Why have a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame if the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn’t only relegated to rock n’ roll?’ Personally, I think Willie Nelson belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Because there’s no real clear definition, it’s confusing to people,” he said. “Why don’t you just call it the Music Hall of Fame? I quantify rock n’ roll as more of a spirit thing … I think it’s hard for people to understand the definitive qualities, especially when you start putting in pop artists who are strictly pop artists. Now if the argument is that, over time, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has morphed into an institutional culture which is more the ‘Music Hall of Fame,’ then I think that would be easier for people to understand.”
The 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees included Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine and The Spinners.
“I think the 20-year-old in me would be shocked, but I think the value of The Smashing Pumpkins has grown into something far more valuable than hit records or institutional approval,” said Corgan. “Our place in musical history has grown into something far more unique than even I would have imagined.”
Over the course of its storied career, The Smashing Pumpkins has sent seven titles to the top 10 of the Billboard 200, including its sole chart-topper, 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (one week). On the Billboard Hot 100, the band has landed eight career entries on the chart, including the band’s highest peaking single, 1996’s “1979” (No. 12). As a soloist, Corgan has a pair of Billboard 200 entries: 2005’s TheFutureEmbrace (No. 31) and 2017’s Ogilala (No. 183), which he released under his full name, William Patrick Corgan.
Watch an exclusive clip of his interview on the Reinvented With Jen Eckhart podcast above.
The Dave Matthews Band announced the dates for their annual summer amphitheater run on Tuesday (Jan. 23). The group’s 32-date 2024 U.S. tour is slated to kick off on May 22 at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa, FL and wind down with a trio of shows at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA on August 30, 31 and Sept. 1; the band traditionally celebrates Labor Day weekend at the picturesque venue in Washington state, selling out every one of their previous 70 shows there.
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The Live Nation-promoted outing will also include multiple nights at venues in West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, East Troy (WI), Noblesville (IN), Saratoga Springs (NY), Gilford (NH) and Greenwood Village (CO).
This summer’s tour will feature the debut of the DMB’s new sustainability efforts as part of its partnership with Live Nation on the “On the Road To Zero Waste” initiative. Matthews — named a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador in 2019 — and the band will work with LN-operated venues on the routing to minimized concert attendees’ footprint, with a goal of diverting at least 90% of fan-generated waste from landfills, according to a release announcing the dates.
LN will support the goal by providing zero waste green teams, zero waste stations, food donations, waste sorting, composting and minimal single-use plastics at their venues. DMB will also continue its partnership with The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign by pledging to plant another one million trees, bringing the band’s total to five million trees planted since first joining the reforestation project in 2020; click here for more information. The DMB has also pledged to offset carbon emissions for the band/fan travel via a collaboration with REVERB.
An online ticket presale for members of the DMB Warehouse Fan club is open now here, with a Citi presale slated to kick off on Feb. 13 at 9 a.m. local time until Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program. The general onsale begins Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. local time.
DMB 2024 U.S. summer tour dates:
May 22 — Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 24 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
May 25 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
May 28 — Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place Amphitheater
May 29 — Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place Amphitheater
May 31 — The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 1 — Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
June 12 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
June 14 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park
June 15 — Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
June 21 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
June 22 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
June 25 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
June 26 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
June 28 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
June 29 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
July 5 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
July 6 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
July 9 — Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
July 10 — Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
July 12 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
July 13 — Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
July 16 — Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
July 17 — Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
July 19 — Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
July 20 — Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
August 23 — Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
August 24 — Greenwood Village, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
August 27 — Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
August 30 — George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
August 31 — George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
Sept. 1 — George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
As Bon Jovi celebrate their 40th year as one of the world’s most successful rock bands, the history of the group will be explored in Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, a four-part docuseries that will debut April 26 on Hulu. Religion of Sports’ Gotham Chopra will helm the doc, which is being made with the […]
Skillet frontman John Cooper is firing at pro-choice activism — and brought up Demi Lovato in the process.
“Guess who else cheers on baby murder — Americans…Eight hundred thousand babies are aborted a year. I looked it up… it’s over a quarter, over 25 per cent of babies each year are aborted in this country,” the Christian rocker said of abortion to PluggedIn. “It’s absolutely crazy. But all of our celebrities cheer it on…The point is that every day will give you new opportunities to explain to your kids, ‘Okay, you know the celebrities that your friends all really idolise? You’ve gotta understand what they’re actually saying — they’re cheering it on.’”
He then specifically mentioned Lovato’s “Swine,” which was released in 2023, on the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. “F— what I think, I don’t know a thing, the government knows my body / No, it’s okay, it’s better this way, I’m only a carbon copy / Even if I’m dying, they’ll still try to stop me,” Lovato belts on the track. For a period of one year, Lovato’s net profits from “Swine” will be donated to the Reproductive Justice Fund at the Demi Lovato Foundation, which will, in turn, be directed to three non-profit organizations: NARAL Pro-Choice America, Plan C and The National Network of Abortion Funds.
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“In that one song, she encapsulates so much evil,” Cooper said. “In that song, she supplies us with the best pro-life argument we always give, which is that people are not killing their babies because they can’t afford it.”
He continued, “They’re killing their babies because they want to have sex with ‘whoever I want to, whenever I want to. I don’t wanna use birth control. I should be able to do whatever I want.’ It is pure narcissism, pure evil, and then she’s screaming at all the people who are saying that this is murder.”
Watch Cooper’s full interview with PluggedIn below.
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The Doobie Brothers will keep on running this summer when they hit the road for a 38-date 2024 U.S. tour with special guests Steve Winwood and the Robert Cray Band set to open on select dates. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band featuring founding members Michael McDonald (vocals/keyboards), Tom Johnston (vocals/guitar), Pat Simmons (vocals/guitar) and multi-instrumentalist John McFee will kick off the run with a June 15 gig at the White River Amphitheatre in Seattle, WA.
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Visiting a number of cities they haven’t played for years, the tour will hit Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Knoxville, New York, Boston, Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Denver before winding up in Seattle.
The 2024 outing follows on the heel’s of last year’s 50th anniversary swing, which reunited McDonald, Johnston, Simmons and McFee on stage for their first tour in 25 years.
Citi cardmembers will have access to a presale beginning Tuesday (Jan. 23) at 10 a.m. local time until Thursday (Jan. 25) at 10 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program; click here for more information. The general onsale begins on Friday )Jan. 26) at 10 a.m. local time, with information about a limited number of VIP packages available here.
Check out the dates for the Doobie Brothers’ 2024 U.S. tour below.
June 15 — Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheatre **
June 16 — Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater **
June 18 — Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater **
June 20 — Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre **
June 22 — Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion **
June 23 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum **
June 25 — San Diego, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre **
June 26 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center **
June 29 — Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion **
June 30 — Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion **
July 2 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center **
July 3 — Durant, OK @ Choctaw Casino and Resort **
July 6 — Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP **
July 8 — Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place **
July 10 — West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre **
July 11 — Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre **
July 13 — Atlanta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre **
July 14 — Knoxville, TN @ Thompson-Boling Arena **
July 30 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ++
July 31 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park ++
August 3 — Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion ++
August 4 — Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live ++
August 6 — Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center ++
August 7 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden ++
August 9 — Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater ++
August 10 — Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion ++
August 12 — Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center ++
August 13 — Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC ++
August 15 — Detroit, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre ++
August 17 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center ++
August 18 — Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center ++
August 20 — Pittsburgh, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake ++
August 22 — Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center ++
August 24 — St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ++
August 25 — Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre ++
August 27 — Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center ++
August 29 — Denver, CO Ball Arena ++
August 30 — Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre ++
**with Robert Cray
++with Steve Winwood
Avril Lavigne announced the dates for her 2024 Avril Lavigne: The Greatest Hits tour on Monday (Jan. 22). The North American outing is slated to kick off on May 22 with a show at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and keep her on the road through a Sept. 16 gig at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB.
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In between, the 27-date Live Nation-produced tour will have Lavigne performing such smash hits as “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi” and “Girlfriend” in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Ottawa, Toronto, Nashville, Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis before the final scheduled show in Edmonton.
Joining Lavigne on select dates through the tour will be Simple Plan and All Time Low, with Royal & the Serpent and Girlfriends also playing on select dates as opening acts. Tickets will be available first through an artist presale beginning Wednesday (Jan. 24) at 10 a.m. local time, with additional presales throughout the week before the general onsale kicks off at 10 a.m. local time here.
Lavigne will also take her Greatest Hits show on the road in the U.K. and Europe this summer on a run that will will include several festival gigs, including the Pinkpop Festival (June 21) in Landgraff, Netherlands and the Hurricane Festival (June 22) in Schnee, Germany.
Check out Lavigne’s 2024 North American tour dates below.
May 22 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ^
May 25 — Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre ^
May 26 — Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater ^
May 28 — Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre ^
May 30 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum ^
June 1 — Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena ^
June 2 — Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre ^
Aug. 14 — Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre +
Aug. 16 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage +
Aug. 17 — Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC @ Festival International de Montgolfières ~
Aug. 20 — Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater +
Aug. 21 — Hartford, CT @ The XFINITY Theatre +
Aug. 23 — Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center +
Aug. 24 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center +
Aug. 27 — Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater +
Aug. 29 — Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion +
Aug. 31 — Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live +
Sept. 1 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion +
Sept. 3 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre +
Sept. 4 — Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater +
Sept. 6 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center +
Sept. 7 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre +
Sept. 9 — Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater +
Sept. 10 — Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island +
Sept. 12 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory +
Sept. 14 — Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre +
Sept. 16 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
^ With All Time Low and Royal & The Serpent
+ With Simple Plan and Girlfriends
~ Festival Date
The Eagles have set what they’re calling their last U.K. tour dates as part of the veteran group’s Long Goodbye final tour. On Monday (Jan. 22) the band — Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey — announced a three-show residency run at the new Co-Op Live Arena in […]
Green Day‘s Saviors has topped this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Jan. 19) on Billboard, choosing the veteran pop-punk trio’s 14th studio album as their favorite new music release of the past week.
Saviors brought in almost 27% of the vote, beating out new music by Kygo and Ava Max (“Whatever”), Nicki Minaj featuring Future (“Press Play”), Norah Jones (“Running”), Bleachers (“Tiny Moves”), and others.
Nearly four years since their last studio LP — 2020’s Father of All… — Green Day returned on Friday with a brand new set featuring a slew of singles, including Billboard‘s Rock Airplay chart-topper “The American Dream Is Killing Me.”
“‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ was written by Billie [Joe Armstrong] almost four years ago. But we all knew it was just low-hanging fruit. We’re not a parody of who we are, and songs like that need time to be fleshed out. If that means just sitting back and letting life happen, so be it. And it was one of the last things we recorded,” Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt told Rolling Stone in early January.
In addition to “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” the iconic rockers also released single like “Dilemma,” “Bobby Sox,” “One Eyed Bastard” and “Look Ma, No Brains!” To promote the new album, the band played an impromptu show in the Rockefeller Center subway station on Jan. 16 for a segment on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Green Day will hit the road this summer to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their major-label debut, Dookie, and the 20th anniversary of American Idiot by playing both albums in full on a massive stadium tour. The trek launches its North American leg on July 29 at Washington, D.C.’s Nationals Park. Rancid, the Smashing Pumpkins and the Linda Lindas will open the North American shows.
Trailing behind Saviors on the poll is tropical house producer Kygo and pop hitmaker Ava Max’s “Whatever,” which brought in nearly 26% of the vote. With nostalgic vibes, the throwback smash lifts its chorus from Shakira’s English-language breakout single “Whenever, Wherever.”
See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.
Sting, Incubus and My Morning Jacket are set to headline this year’s BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, Calif., May 3-5. Also playing are DEVO, Dirty Heads and Trey Anastasio + Classic TAB, among others. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The high-end live music, art and culinary event […]
Nostalgia for the ’90s can be found all throughout today’s music, but when Green Day leans into penning a ’90s-style punk track, it just hits different. On Friday (Jan. 19), the legendary rock trio shared the music video for their new song “Bobby Sox.” The single unveiled off of their just-released album Saviors, “Bobby Sox” […]