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Jim Beard, a solo artist and touring keyboardist for Steely Dan for the past 16 years has died at age 63. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson for the group in a statement on Wednesday (March 6) that revealed the pianist, composer, keyboardist, producer and arranger died on March 2 due to complications from a sudden illness; at press time a cause of death had not been announced.
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Beard joined the live Steely Dan band in 2008 for the Think Fast Tour and in addition to performing with the long-running jazz-influenced rock group — including at his final show with the band on Jan. 20 in Phoenix, AZ — he was also a touring member of the Eagles on their Long Goodbye tour.
Born in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania on August 26, 1960, Beard took clarinet, saxophone and sting bass lessons as a teenager and studied jazz at Indiana University, where he played in a bar band that featured session drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp, John Fogerty) and trumpet player Chris Botti.
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According to an official bio, after moving to New York in 1985, Beard set off on a prolific career of composing — on tracks by John McLaughlin, Michael Brecker and many others — and toured the world with such jazz greats as Pat Metheny, McLaughlin and Wayne Shorter. He also performed on recordings by Dizzy Gillespie, Al Jarreau, David Sandborn, Dianne Reeves, Meshell Ndegeocello and rock guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, as well as with the Metropole Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as composing music for TV and movie scores.
Between tours with Metheny and McLaughlin’s Mahavishu Orchestra, Beard recorded six solo CDs and taught at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, the Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University, the Aaron Copland School of Music in New York and the Sibelius Academy in Finland. Beard’s productions and compositions were nominated for seven Grammy awards, with one win in 2007 for his playing on “Some Skunk Funk” by Randy and Michael Brecker.
The Doobie Brothers‘ 50th anniversary reunion, which is heading into its third year of touring, is yielding some new music as well.
Co-founders Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston tell Billboard they’re both stoked about the band’s next album, which it’s finishing work on with Michael McDonald. The singer/keyboardist was with the Doobies from 1975-1982 and has been back in the fold since anniversary tour was first announced in 2019 and then delayed by the pandemic.
Produced by John Shanks — who also handled 2021’s Liberte, the band’s first set of new material in 11 years — it will be the Doobies’ first album with McDonald since One Step Closer in 1980 and the first Doobies album to include McDonald, guitarists Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston since Takin’ It to the Streets in 1975. McDonald also sang backing vocals on the Doobies’ 2014 album Southbound.
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“We probably kicked (a new album) around a little bit, but not a lot,” Johnston says. “Those things just start. They just sorta happen. This whole band has been like that; things just happen through the years — songs, albums.”
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Simmons, the lone Doobie Brother to be part of the band’s entire 54-year career, shared the news with fans via a social media post. “It’s very exciting,” he tells Billboard. “At one point I said, ‘Hey, we’re doing all these dates… As long as we’re doing this it would make sense to do a record. I think people would really get a kick out of that.’” With a chuckle he adds that, “We have yet to find out whether they’ll get a kick out of it or whether we’ll get kicked for it.”
The latter is unlikely, of course. McDonald’s tenure with the band — coming after he worked with Steely Dan — was among its most successful. Brought in to help the Doobies while Johnston was suffering burn-out, McDonald contributed hits such as “Takin’ It to the Streets,” “It Keeps You Runnin’,” “You Belong to Me” (co-written with Carly Simon) and “Real Love.” The triple-platinum Minute By Minute album in 1978, meanwhile, was the Doobies’ sole No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won three Grammy Awards including Record of the Year for the hit “What a Fool Believes.”
Simmons says he’s particularly happy to have himself, Johnston and McDonald — as well as fourth Doobies principal guitarist John McFee — fully engaged together on the new album. “It’s nice that Tom has an opportunity to interact with Mike musically because they have so much in common as far as their love of R&B and the people they admire,” he explains. “They never really got a chance to interact in this way before, so it makes me happy to see that happening. It’s more than the sum of our parts, I think.”
Each of the main Doobies, collaborating with Shanks, have contributed several songs to the set, which has no announced title and release date yet — although Simmons says the goal is to finish recording before the summer tour begins June 15 in Seattle. “I would put it half, maybe 60 percent where we’re at now as far as completion,” Simmons says. “The songs are done. The arrangements are pretty close.”
He’s particularly stoked about a gospel-flavored track called “Walk This Road” that features lead vocals by both McDonald and Johnston as well as guest Mavis Staples. “John Shanks had assumed I knew Mavis was singing on it, and I had no idea,” Simmons says with a laugh. “I hear this voice and I’m going, ‘What the…? Tommy is really killing it;’ it didn’t’ really sound like him but he has that quality to his voice. But it was Mavis, and… the three of them singing, I’m telling ya it just floored me. And there’s a bunch of other great tracks, just some killer — for me, anyway — great songs on this record, some ferocious tracks.”
Johnston, meanwhile, predicts that, “This one’s probably a little moreso diverse because Michael is involved in all the tunes, but that’s fine, man. It’s an extension of what we’re doing on the road.”
In addition to the album, McDonald is publishing What a Fool Believes: A Memoir, co-written with Paul Reiser, on May 21. He also contributed to 2022’s Long Train Runnin’: Our Story of the Doobie Brothers, which Simmons and Johnston helmed.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Simmons says of the continuing Doobies reunion. “We’re having a good time. It’s kind of continuing what we’ve been doing for the last 50 years and we still do things the same way for the most part, but having Mike on board again is great. I think it’s just having great artists, great creative people and talented guys that write the material… and then we have a great band. We’ve always had really great musicians, great singers. I think that really helps with how people perceive the band at any given time. It’s as strong now as it ever was.”
The Boss is back, and he’s heading home.
As previously reported, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will hit the road for their latest world tour, kicking off March 19 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ and stretching across 52 dates in 17 countries.
One of those dates is a recent addition. Springsteen and Co. are now booked for a homecoming spot headlining the second of two nights at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival, set for Sept. 15 at Asbury Park, New Jersey (“Stick Season” singer Noah Kahan will headline the previous day’s program).
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The 74-year-old rock legend singer is now symptom free from a peptic ulcer disease that plagued him last year, forcing the band off the road and postponing a long run of shows into 2024. Those postponed dates are worked into the forthcoming tour, set to wrap up Nov. 22 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Springsteen warmed up the trek with performances at the 2024 MusiCares Person Of The Year gala, the 17th annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit and at the New Jersey Hall of Fame induction honoring Patti Scialfa.
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To celebrate the trans-Atlantic tour dates, Springsteen’s longtime label home Sony Music will release a career-spanning collection of the Rock And Roll Hall of Famer’s original music, on April 19.
The Best of Bruce Springsteen will house 31 songs in digital formats. Sony Music will also issue an 18-track set across two LPs or one CD. The vinyl edition will also be available as an Amazon exclusive “color variant,” reps say.
Check out Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band’s 2024 tour dates:
March 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint CenterMarch 22 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile ArenaMarch 25 – San Diego, CA @ Pechanga ArenaMarch 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase CenterMarch 31 – San Francisco, CA @ Chase CenterApril 4 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia ForumApril 7 – Inglewood, CA @ Kia ForumApril 12 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun ArenaApril 15 – Albany, NY @ MVP ArenaApril 18 – Syracuse, NY @ JMA Wireless DomeApril 21 – Columbus, OH @ Nationwide ArenaMay 5 – Cardiff, Wales @ Principality StadiumMay 9 – Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Boucher RoadMay 12 – Kilkenny, Ireland @ Nowlan ParkMay 16 – Cork, Ireland @ Páirc Uí ChaoimhMay 19 – Dublin, Ireland @ Croke ParkMay 22 – Sunderland, England @ Stadium of LightMay 25 – Marseille, France @ Orange VélodromeMay 28 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Airport LetnanyJune 1 – Milan, Italy @ San Siro StadiumJune 3 – Milan, Italy @ San Siro StadiumJune 12 – Madrid, Spain @ Cívitas MetropolitanoJune 14 – Madrid, Spain @ Cívitas MetropolitanoJune 17 – Madrid, Spain @ Cívitas MetropolitanoJune 20 – Barcelona, Spain @ Estadi OlímpicJune 22 – Barcelona, Spain @ Estadi OlímpicJune 27 – Nijmegen, Netherlands @ GoffertparkJune 29 – Nijmegen, Netherlands @ GoffertparkJuly 2 – Werchter, Belgium @ Werchter ParkJuly 5 – Hannover, Germany @ Heinz von Heiden ArenaJuly 9 – Odense, Denmark @ DyrskuepladsenJuly 12 – Helsinki, Finland @ Olympic StadiumJuly 15 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Friends ArenaJuly 18 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Friends ArenaJuly 21 – Bergen, Norway @ DokkenJuly 25 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium connected by EEJuly 27 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium connected by EEAug. 15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints ArenaAug. 18 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints ArenaAug. 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank ParkAug. 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank ParkSept. 7 – Washington, DC @ Nationals ParkSept. 13 – Baltimore, MD @ Oriole Park at Camden YardsSept. 15 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Sea.Hear.Now FestivalOct. 31 – Montreal, Quebec @ Centre BellNov. 3 – Toronto, Ontario @ Scotiabank ArenaNov. 6 – Toronto, Ontario @ Scotiabank ArenaNov. 9 – Ottawa, Ontario @ Canadian Tire CentreNov. 13 – Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Canada Life CentreNov. 16 – Calgary, Alberta @ Scotiabank SaddledomeNov. 19 – Edmonton, Alberta @ Rogers PlaceNov. 22 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rogers Arena
More than five decades after its release, Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” joins Spotify’s Billions Club – an elite collection of works that have accumulated more than one billion streams. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Recognized as a classic of the heavy metal genre, “Paranoid” is the title […]
On Tuesday (Mar. 5), Korn announced a 30th anniversary celebration for the fall, commemorating three decades since the beloved hard rock group’s debut. The one-night-only event will be held on Oct. 5 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, with special guests Evanescence, Gojira, Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway, Spiritbox and Vended among the special guests joining the special Korn performance.
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The band has hinted at a rollicking year to toast the 30th anniversary of their 1994 self-titled debut, with a string of European festival performances kicking off in July, as well as a slot at Louder Than Life 2024 in Louisville in September. For Brian “Head” Welch, however, 2024 has also brought the extension of his long-running advocacy for mental health awareness and treatment.
In January, the Korn guitarist announced a partnership with Atlantic Behavioral Health, a newly opened treatment center serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire and focusing on mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression. Atlantic offers medication management, individual therapy and group therapy as part of their outpatient program, and Welch has been active in encouraging patients as part of the new partnership.
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“As I get older, I start to reflect on my life and what I’ve been given, and also my responsibilities,” says the 53-year-old Welch, who has spoken extensively about his addiction issues and struggles with mental health that played a part in him departing Korn in 2005 before rejoining the group in 2012. “People look to us, they hear what we’re sharing. It’s been really cool to give back, and to see other people doing so as well.”
Last month, Welch spoke to Billboard about linking up with Atlantic Behavioral Health, becoming more open about discussing his internal struggles, and challenging himself to give back during a busy year. (Ed. note — this interview has been condensed for clarity.)
How did this partnership come about?
I’m gonna go way back — I started experimenting with alcohol and drugs at 14, just massive drinking through my teenage years, a functioning alcoholic. And I joined a band, and then we got signed, and the drugs and alcohol just went on for a decade. I left the band and got my life together, and I’ve just been trying to help people that were like me back then.
When I rejoined Korn in 2012, a couple years after that, I met this kid Justin, who was a massive heroin addict, crack addict, everything. And I befriended him, got to know his family really well, tried to help him when, honestly, it wasn’t looking good. And then he finally got his life together, and got sober, and I opened sober living homes with him in the Boston, New Hampshire area. We did that for a while, and he’s been able to help so many people, and then we met some more people in the industry. We found that a lot of the addicts, when they get sober, they don’t know who they are, they don’t know how to feel. And that’s why a lot of people relapse, because they’re not comfortable in their own skin. And so that’s where the mental health aspect comes into it.
We met some amazing people in the industry, talked to them about this idea, and they have a couple outpatient and impact patient rehabs in the Boston area, so we partnered with them to [focus on] the mental health aspect. We want to help people that are struggling, with addiction or with mental health.
From what you just described, it sounds like you evolved from your own issues, to helping one other person with their issues, to finding a whole community of support.
And I really feel like I didn’t have that back in the day. I’m sure there were some programs, but an all-in-one program, with medication consulting and group therapy and one-on-one therapy, like the whole package — I wish I would have had something like that when I was going through my issues. I’ve sat in on group, and I’m going to continue to do so. I’m going to grab some of my men and women from the music industry to come on Zoom and sit in group and encourage people.
Man, I was so lost, and I had so many mental health issues. And it had nothing to do with being rich and famous or not, because I was successful! I just had a horrible time with my emotions and mental state. But I’m living proof that you can get through it, and you can change. You can get to a new place where you find contentment in life, where you find joy.
How do you think this partnership will play out on a weekly and monthly basis?
I’ve sat in on group, and I’m going to continue to do so. I’m going to grab some of my peers from the music industry to come on Zoom and sit in group and encourage people. I’ll do things in person, I’ll do things on Zoom when I’m on tour and whatnot. It’s amazing to be a part of, and what I love about it the most is that there’s a wide variety of different people that come — male and female, gay and straight, old and young. Everybody has something in common, and they’re all discussing what kind of tools to use when they get into that dark space in their mind.
You’ve been speaking out for years about your battles with addiction and mental health issues. Over the course of that time, have you seen others become increasingly open to discussing these issues in public?
When I was 16 or 17, I went through this phase where I didn’t want to be around my parents, I just wanted to be by myself. Some of that’s normal for teenagers, but I think mine was a little bit deeper, because my dad had alcohol issues and anger issues, and he was a good dad, but some of the unpredictable emotional outbursts — I was getting bitter from some of the experiences.
And so they took me into counseling, and dude, I did not want to go into counseling. I would have rather just run away, I would have rather have gotten beat up, than talk about my feelings. It was like an open wound that someone was trying to touch, so I just lived my life in avoidance — I wanted to avoid any issues that were internal or mental, and I avoided it by just drinking. I did that for years, and then when I started getting sober, I started opening up more as I got older, and got really scared that I didn’t want to live my life. The alcohol and the drugs worked for a while to numb it, and then, as we all know, that starts to turn on you.
I started to open up, and as I reached out more, and I started to find counselors who I’d work with one-on-one — but I didn’t have that [community], that group aspect, any of those options. That’s really changed a lot.
With the Korn 30th anniversary and your Atlantic partnership, it sounds like it’s going to be a busy year for you.
It is, man. I mean, Korn and my family are in California, and then Atlantic’s in Boston. My daughter’s in Indiana, and then there’s touring, so to juggle everything is sometimes a challenge. But I like a challenge — I think it’s good as we get older to keep active, so I’m just gonna do the best I can. And for Atlantic, the doctors and therapists are the rock stars, and I’m just getting the word out. I’m really honored to be a part of it, even in a small way.
The Point Break Festival, an all-new two-day music festival in Virginia Beach, announced today that Sublime and Rebelution will headline the event coming to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront June 1-2. Featuring more than 20 bands throughout the weekend, the first-time festival will take place at 5th Street on the beach.
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As part of a limited run of tour stops in 2024, Sublime will take the stage on Saturday, June 1, with new lead singer Jakob Nowell, the son of the beloved original lead singer Bradley Nowell, alongside founding members Bud Gaugh (drums) and Eric Wilson (bass). The Grammy-nominated band Rebelution, best known for their soulful modern reggae, mixed with pop hooks, alt-rock grit, and hip-hop grooves, will anchor Sunday’s stacked line-up.
The inaugural event will also feature performances by Wiz Khalifa, Stephen Marley, Steel Pulse, Pepper, Tribal Seeds, Fortunate Youth, Hirie, The Expendables, Bumpin Uglies, Denm, Tropidelic, Artikal Sound System, Ballyhoo, Passafire, REGLDGRN, Kash’d Out, Joe Samba, The Supervillians, Of Good Nature, Quasi Kings, Cultivated Minds, and Ganja Cat.
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Presale details will be available on the festival’s official website starting Thursday, March 7 at 10 a.m. ET, with the general on-sale for tickets begins Friday, March 8 at 10 a.m. ET.
The Point Break Festival is produced by IMGoing, the Virginia Beach promoter and producer of concerts and events throughout the state of Virginia. IMGoing operates the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion in Portsmouth and Virginia Beach Events, the entertainment and events program for the city of Virginia Beach. In addition, IMGoing promotes events at venues throughout the state, including The Hampton Coliseum, Chrysler Hall, Altria Theater, Roanoke Performing Arts Center and Carpenter Theatre. In addition to the nationally touring artists and festivals, IMGoing has produced many community and military events.
Reyna Tropical is set to release its first full-length album later this month — despite being a band for nearly eight years. Formed as a duo in 2016, and now the solo project of guitarist and songwriter Fabi Reyna, the act will release the 20-track Malegría via independent label Psychic Hotline this month.
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A stunning amalgam of inspirations including guitarist-singer Chavela Vargas and the cultural traditions of Columbia, Puerto Rico and more, Malegría “is something that I really needed to do for myself that’s full of life that I hope will continue far beyond my existence,” says Reyna, 32, who persevered with the band following the passing of its cofounder in 2022. “I hope that people listen to it from beginning to end, at least once. It’s a documentary piece to me.”
The 45-minute journey that includes spoken interludes between Reyna and collaborators that cover topics such as queer love, connecting and protecting the earth and detangling from the Western concept of “productivity.”
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“All the parts [of the album] have meaning,” says Reyna. “You can go as deep as you want with it or just dance to it and go to the beach with it. I’m excited to hear how it hits people.”
Foundation
At 9, Fabi Reyna had to fight to play guitar. The summer camp she attended in Austin didn’t want girls playing instruments — but she practiced tirelessly until she mastered the lead guitar for Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and the camp relented. “Music, for me, is always alongside activism and having a purpose,” Reyna says. In 2012, she launched She Shreds Media, an outlet dedicated to women and gender-nonconforming guitarists and bassists. A few years later, at a Red Bull Music Academy event, she met musician Nectali “Sumohair” Diaz, and they formed Reyna Tropical, which combined her expert guitar playing with his production prowess. In 2022, Diaz died in an e-scooter accident, leaving Reyna to continue solo.
Discovery
With only four tracks released, all of which featured Afro Indigenous drum patterns and environmental samples, Reyna Tropical scored a major break in 2018 when Li Saumet of Colombian group Bomba Estéreo asked the duo to join the act on tour. Reyna and Diaz had never played live together — and Reyna had yet to cultivate her commanding stage presence — but they filled the opening slot by improvising and playing beats, some of which inspired the 2019 six-track EP Sol y Lluvia. A steady drip of tantalizing singles followed, and Reyna Tropical soon began to sell out domestic and international shows before realizing, as Reyna says, “we hit our capacity of what we could do by ourselves.”
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Future
By 2021, labels came calling — but the duo wasn’t ready to sign a deal. After Diaz’s death, Reyna spent a year meeting with one team in particular: Psychic Hotline, an artist-run recording company founded by Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn. On March 29, Reyna Tropical will release its debut album, Malegría (which combines the Spanish words for “bad” and “happiness”), on the label. While the album features familiar Congolese, Peruvian and Colombian rhythms, it also showcases Reyna’s growth. And although she is still getting used to performing alone — Reyna Tropical will tour with Portugal. The Man this spring — she’s finding comfort in the unknown. “I’ve opened the doors to be available for anything this album wants to take me into.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the March 2, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Gregg Alexander‘s music career could have taken a much different path had he not had a very bad night in Detroit 30 years ago. The reclusive singer/songwriter and leader of the New Radicals recently revealed that his band’s signature 1994 debut single, the up with (positive) people anthem “You Get What You Give,” almost didn’t make the grade thanks to an equally catchy song he ended up handing off.
“I had a moment of annoyance that I couldn’t go to the house clubs in Detroit. So he reached for the acoustic guitar in the back, channelling his emotion into a song beginning ‘It’s murder on the dancefloor, but you’d better not kill the groove,’” Alexander told the Guardian about a 1994 night when his old blue Ford Mustang wouldn’t start, depriving him of an evening of clubbing.
What he got instead, though, was the groove for “Murder on the Dancefloor,” the song that became a No. 2 hit for Sophie Ellis-Bextor in the UK and then hit the top 20 again this year after it was memorably used in the viral hit movie Saltburn. “You know how Paul McCartney originally sang about scrambled eggs in ‘Yesterday?;” Alexander said. “‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ wasn’t anything deep from my subconscious. It was just a dummy lyric that was kind of sung for fun, but then I couldn’t better it.”
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Alexander’s lost-to-time demo of the song has the same driving disco meter, but shot through with his signature keening vocals and his band’s eternal sunshine vibe, enhanced by a string section played on a keyboard. Alexander and the Radicals only released one album, 1998’s Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, which featured the equally bouncy “You Get What You Give,” which hit the top five in the U.K.
“I almost flipped a coin between the two songs,” Alexander, 53, told the Guardian. “The record company wanted something urgently and I didn’t have the time or the budget to finish both. I felt like ‘Murder’ was a monster but ‘You Get What You Give’ was a masterpiece. It was everything I’d always wanted to say inside five minutes.”
In a way, Alexander won on both accounts, since the co-write with Ellis-Bextor (Alexander also co-produced “Murder”) has now become as iconic as the New Radicals’ hit, which has more than 440 million Spotify plays to date. “A publisher told me that in January it [‘Murder’] was the most heard music on the planet,” Alexander said of the track for which he recorded a “master quality” demo at the time. “That’s just incredible.”
Just two years after writing the double dose of pop wonderment, Alexander disbanded the New Radicals and receded from the spotlight to focus on songwriting, penning a Grammy-winning track for Santana (2002’s “The Game of Love”), as well as writing and producing tracks for Enrique Iglesias, Rod Stewart, Hanson, Ronan Keating and S Club 7.
After moving to Notting Hill, England following the New Radicals’ break-up, Alexander’s demo got into the hands of Ellis-Bextor, at which point they finished the track together. “‘Murder’ was a song I always wanted the world to hear,” Alexander said, recalling that during sessions for the song he would walk down the halls at the studio and see people dancing along to “Murder,” which made him think they were on to something. “And when I met Sophie we embarked on a creative journey, the first of three or four Top 10 hits we had.”
The original demo also had the “I know, I know, I know” ad lib, which Alexander said he’d been told was a songwriting no-go. “I’d been told you can’t use the same words over and over because it’s too repetitive,” he said. “So I used ‘I know’ seven times.”
The reboot of “Murder” has also reconnected him with Ellis-Bextor, with Alexander realizing that sometimes things work out just as they were supposed to. “She’s so talented and humble but a great pop star. I think her genius, slightly deadpan delivery helped make it a hit,” he said. “Everything would have been different if I’d put out ‘Murder on the Dancefloor,’ but I feel that everything happened as it was meant to be.”
Listen to the “Murder on the Dancefloor” demo here (paywalled).
Brit Turner, a founding member and the drummer for rock band Blackberry Smoke, died on Sunday (March 3). He was 57 years old. Turner was battling glioblastoma, a form of cancer in the brain, and in November 2022, underwent a surgery to remove a brain tumor. The band confirmed the news of his death via […]
Co-op Live, the Oak View Group-owned and operated entertainment arena set to open next month in Manchester, U.K., announced Monday (March 4) that The Black Keys will perform at the arena on April 27, during its opening week.
The acclaimed duo is preparing to release their 12th studio album, Ohio Players, on April 5 via Nonesuch Records, just two weeks before taking the stage at Co-op Live. The new record features collaborations with friends and colleagues including Beck, Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and more.
Gary Roden, executive director and general manager of Co-op Live, says: “We are thrilled that a band of The Black Keys’ caliber will be taking to the stage. The show will be part of an amazing week of performances that kicks off a jam-packed opening season.”
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Co-op Live’s opening season will see the arena feature more than 30 artists across more than 50 shows, including a seven-night Take That residency, a five-night U.K.-exclusive residency as part of the Eagles’ final tour, Barry Manilow‘s only U.K. arena show and Eric Clapton’s first Manchester performance in 10 years. Legendary comedian and Manchester local Peter Kay will open the arena with two shows on April 23 and 24.
In addition to seeing an array of international artists perform, Co-op Live was recently announced as host of the 2024 MTV European Music Awards – the first time music’s biggest global awards show will be staged in Manchester – and the awards return to the U.K. for the first time in seven years.
Co-op Live, a joint venture between Oak View Group and City Football Group, will be the country’s highest-capacity arena and the U.K.’s most socially responsible arena, operating 100% electric, with pledges for zero waste direct to landfill, rainwater harvesting and use of reusable cups to significantly reduce plastic usage across the site.
Co-op members will gain first-in-line access to The Black Keys tickets through a designated pre-sale from 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 6. General sale tickets will be available through Co-op Live from 10 a.m. on Friday, March 8. Tickets available here.