L-R) Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp backstage at Farm Aid at the KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, United States on September 16, 2017. (Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)
Farm Aid is headed to Virginia this September, but folks who can’t make it to the show will be able to enjoy it from the comfort of their own home.
Farm Aid just announced that the annual benefit concert, taking place Sept. 26 at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia, will broadcast live on CNN.
Farm Aid board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff are all set to perform this year. Young will be performing with his band The Chrome Hearts, while Matthews will perform with frequent collaborator Tim Reynolds.
Other artists on the bill include Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Jesse Welles, Sierra Ferrell, I’m With Her, Mon Rovîa, Amythyst Kiah, Lily Meola and Chris Pierce.
The concert will begin on CNN at 7 p.m. ET. It will stream live on nugs.net, FarmAid.org and YouTube starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The first Farm Aid concert was held on Sept. 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois. Since then, the Farm Aid organization has raised nearly $90 million to help American farmers.
The Grateful Dead has shared another preview of their upcoming live box set celebrating the summer of 1985 and the band's 20th anniversary tour.
The latest is a performance of the Dead classic “Shakedown Street,” recorded during their June 30, 1985, concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. It is available now via digital outlets.
"Widely considered not only one of the greatest performances of 'Shakedown Street' the Grateful Dead ever played, this is also often called one of the best individual song performances the Dead ever played,” Dead legacy manager and audio archivist David Lemieux says in the video description. “This one is often described with well-deserved hyperbole; it's really that great."
The Merriweather Post Pavilion show is one of seven previously unreleased full concerts that make up the 20-CD box set Summer Magic 1985, dropping Sept. 18.
Summer Magic 1985 is limited to just 10,000 numbered copies and is available for preorder now on Dead.net.
The Merriweather Post Pavilion show will also be released as a standalone three-CD or four-CD set. It is also available for preorder now.
Vivian Campbell attends Def Leppard Honored With Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame on October 09, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell has revealed that his cancer has returned.
The rocker announced in 2013 that he’d been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2025 he revealed that he was in remission after undergoing a bone marrow transplant. But in a new interview with El Salvador's YSKL FM, Campbell says he will once again have to undergo treatment because the transplant wasn’t successful.
Campbell talked about how lucky it was his cancer was caught early and said the winter of 2023 was the only time he worried the cancer “was going to kill me."
“I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening and I realized at that point that I had to do a donor transplant. It was my only hope to survive,” he said. “And that’s what I did. I did that in January of ’25, I did a donor transplant. Unfortunately, it didn’t stick, so the cancer has returned. And, you know, I’m continuing treatments to manage it.”
“I’ll probably have to do another transplant within a few years with another donor to try and see if maybe that would cure me,” he added. “But in the meantime, I’m certainly not slowing down. I’m doing a much with my life as possible.”
Def Leppard is scheduled to play Hollywood, Florida, on Oct. 15, before they launch a tour of Mexico and South America on Oct. 17 in Querétaro, Mexico. A complete list of dates can be found at DefLeppard.com.
Cover art for Mariah Carey 'Glitter 25th Anniversary Edition' (Def Jam Records/UMe)
Mariah Carey's eighth studio album, Glitter, turns 25 years old in September, which is a cause for celebration.
In honor of the milestone, the album, which also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, will make its debut on vinyl for the first time since its release. It will be pressed on Midnight Purple two-LP vinyl, while a limited-edition deluxe version will be pressed on Glittering Pink two-LP vinyl. The latter will be exclusively available via Amazon, Mariah's website and uDiscover Music and will feature three bonus tracks: “Out Here On My Own,” “Loverboy (Firecracker - Original Version)" and “Never Too Far/Hero (Medley)," which marks its first time on vinyl.
An expanded digital deluxe edition will also be available to stream, complete with 15 additional tracks. It includes rare and previously unreleased recordings, as well as selections from Mariah's personal vault that offer fans insight into the behind-the-scenes process of making the album and showcase some of her collaborations. It will all be available starting Oct. 30. Fans can preorder the vinyl and presave the digital edition now.
“If someone had told me back in 2001 that I'd one day be unironically celebrating Glitter's 25th anniversary, I never would have believed them,” Mariah said in a statement. “I made this album with so much love and care, so it was devastating to watch it become a punchline. I'm endlessly grateful to my fans who kept championing it all these years, and I hope even more people can finally hear it for what it is. We found a few recordings buried in the vault that I am really looking forward to sharing with you in October!”
She's released a reimagined version of “Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” featuring acclaimed British-Canadian singer/songwriter Rochelle Jordan. A visualizer is available on YouTube.
Released in September 2001, Glitter served as the soundtrack to the film, in which she played an aspiring singer navigating love amid her pursuit of fame. Collaborators included Eric Benét, Ludacris, Da Brat, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous and Ja Rule.
In this image released on May 2, 2021, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Brian Johnson of AC/DC perform onstage during Global Citizen VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE)
In between dates on their own stadium tour, Foo Fighters are taking a detour on the "Highway to Hell."
Dave Grohl and company will be opening for AC/DC during the "Back in Black" legends' upcoming show in St. Louis on Sept. 8. They will be filling in for The Pretty Reckless, who have been supporting AC/DC's ongoing U.S. run.
"Foo Fighters are taking a special one-off detour from their Take Cover Global Stadium Tour to fill in for their friends The Pretty Reckless as special guests of AC/DC for one night only in St. Louis," a press release reads. "The performance brings two generations of rock's biggest live acts together for a one-night-only event, with the Foo Fighters opening for [AC/DC's] September 8 St. Louis tour stop."
The Foos tour, meanwhile, continues Saturday in Los Angeles. The trek supports the "Everlong" outfit's new album, Your Favorite Toy.
R.E.M.’s sophomore album, Reckoning, is getting an audiophile upgrade.
The album is the latest addition to the Interscope-Capitol Records Definitive Sound Series, and will be released Sept. 18 on 180-gram high-definition vinyl, with the upgraded audio sourced from the original analog master tapes.
Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, who co-produced the original album, were directly involved with the upgrade, which was mastered by mastering engineer Chris Bellman.
According to a post on Instagram, after hearing the finished test pressing of the upgraded audio, Dixon noted that he was “hearing details within the recording that had escaped him on previous vinyl editions.”
The Definitive Sound Series edition of Reckoning will be limited to just 5,000 numbered copies, and is available for preorder now.
This is the third R.E.M. album to get an audio upgrade. In December, both their debut EP, Chronic Town, and their debut album, Murmur, were reissued as part of the Interscope-Capitol Records’ Definitive Sound Series. Both editions sold out.
Released April 8, 1984, Reckoning was a hit with critics and peaked at #27 in the U.S., although it topped college radio airplay charts. Its first single, “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)," peaked at #86 on the Billboard Hot 100, while its second single, “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville," did not chart. Both went on to become R.E.M. fan favorites.
The album has since been certified Gold by the RIAA.
Jimmy Buffett (C) takes opening night bow during the Broadway premiere of "Escape to Margaritaville" the new musical featuring songs by Jimmy Buffett at the Marquis Theatre on March 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Escape To Margaritaville)
The late Jimmy Buffett will be celebrated with a new exhibit at the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf in Mobile, Alabama.
Jimmy Buffett: Son of a Son of a Sailor Experience, opening Sept. 12, is described as a 6,000-square-foot permanent installation that will feature not only rare Buffett artifacts and memorabilia, but an immersive concert experience.
According to the description, visitors will gain insight into Buffett “not only as a musician, but as an author, sailor, pilot, entrepreneur, adventurer, philanthropist, friend, and storyteller whose influence extended far beyond music.”
The exhibit will include such artifacts as Buffett’s 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame statue; the guitar he used to write and perform “Son of a Son of a Sailor”; handwritten lyrics; never-before-released concert and recording footage; and more.
"Creating the Jimmy Buffett Experience has been an absolute honor for our entire team. We have spent nearly two years listening, researching, collecting stories, curating artifacts, and working to capture the remarkable life of a man who meant so much to so many people," said Karen Poth, executive director of the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf. "We didn't get far into this project before we realized this exhibition will never be a finished story. It is a living exhibit. And it will continue to change and grow as new stories are shared, new artifacts come to light, and we learn more about Jimmy and the world he created.”
The opening weekend will include a Sept. 11 performance featuring Coral Reefer Band members Mac McAnally and Scotty Emerick at the Saenger Theatre, as well as a Sept. 12 unveiling of a new bronze Jimmy Buffett sculpture.
More details, and ticket information can be found at nmmog.org.
: Frank Beard of ZZ Top performs on stage at Viejas Casino & Resort on November 02, 2025 in Alpine, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
Several artists have paid tribute to ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard, who passed away at age 77.
Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote on social media that Beard “was one of a kind,” noting he was “A hell of a drummer, a true original, and most importantly to us, a great friend.”
Fellow drummers Matt Sorum, formerly of Guns N’ Roses, and Brad Wilk, of Rage Against the Machine, both wrote of Beard’s skill.
Sorum called Beard, “The backbone of ZZ Top for 57 years with the best shuffle known to man,” noting, “It might sound easy but possibly one of the hardest things I’ve ever try to learn and still trying.” He added that Beard “was born with it in his blood.”
Meanwhile, Wilk wrote that his first experience with ZZ Top was when he was in high school and saw a show on the Eliminator tour. “My mind was BLOWN! Watching his two hand shuffle live was immense,” he wrote.
Céline Dion attends the 'I Am: Celine Dion' New York special screening at Alice Tully Hall on June 17, 2024 in New York City. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Celine Dion is preparing for her return to the stage this fall in Paris.
The Grammy-winning singer, 58, who was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome in 2022, shared an update on her condition and preparations for her upcoming five-week Paris residency in a new interview with Harper's Bazaar, published Tuesday.
Dion, the outlet noted, has performed only once in the past six years, taking the stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her upcoming residency, which kicks off Sept. 12, will mark a major return to performing after her health challenges led her to cancel shows and suspend her 2023 European Courage World Tour.
Stiff-person syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that can cause muscle stiffness and spasms and is thought to be an autoimmune condition, according to the National Institutes of Health. It can cause symptoms including rigidity and stiffness of certain areas of the body causing unsteadiness, slower movements, and difficulties walking.
Treatments are available to help with symptoms, although there is currently no cure for the condition.
Dion told Harper's Bazaar she experienced symptoms for 17 years before receiving a formal stiff-person syndrome diagnosis in 2022.
To prepare for her Paris shows, Dion committed to an intense training routine -- 90-minute Pilates sessions three times a week and ballet classes with a local company two other days each week -- and rehabilitation, which includes "new meds, physical therapy, vocal therapy, [and] immunotherapy," according to the outlet.
The "My Heart Will Go On" singer first announced her Paris residency in March. Speaking with Harper's Bazaar, she added that the upcoming residency is a gift to her fans.
"It's been so long, I would like to offer them something to show how I've missed them," she said.
The return comes after Dion gave fans an intimate look at her health journey in the 2024 documentary I Am: Celine Dion, which documented how stiff-person syndrome affected her body and voice.
"They paid for tickets. They bought my records. They gave me that luxury. So the least I can do is tell them that I'm alive," she said, referring to her decision to do the documentary.
Now, Dion said she is embracing being back in public and returning to work after years of navigating her condition. And she has an explanation for why her fans have stood by throughout her struggles.
"It’s got to be because I’m an open book,” she told the magazine. "I'm honest, and it's not always pretty. Sometimes it's happy things, sometimes it's sad, but it's called life."
Neil Young during day four of Glastonbury festival 2025 at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 28, 2025 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Neil Young has just added two new shows to his 2026 schedule.
The rocker and his band The Chrome Heart will play two co-headlining dates with Willie Nelson and the Family in the lead-up to the 2026 edition of Farm Aid.
The shows are happening Sept. 22 at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Sept. 24 at the TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann in Philadelphia.
A presale begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET, with tickets going on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. ET.
The 2026 edition of Farm Aid is happening Sept. 26 at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In addition to Nelson and Young, fellow Farm Aid board members John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Margo Price and Nathaniel Rateliff are on the bill, along with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Jesse Welles and others.
All three shows will be Young’s first full-scale concerts of the year. He was supposed to tour Europe and the U.K. in June, but in February he canceled the tour, noting he “decided to take a break” from touring.
Drummer Frank Beard of ZZ Top performs onstage during Day 1 of the 2023 Stagecoach Festival on April 28, 2023 in Indio, California. (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
Frank Beard, longtime drummer for the legendary blues rock trio ZZ Top, has died at age 77.
"It was announced today that Frank Beard, ZZ Top’s drummer for the past 56 years, has died. He was in hospice care when he passed away at his ranch in Richmond, TX with family members at his side," according to a statement Tuesday from the band's publicist.
A message posted on the band's official X account in March 2025 announced that Beard had "temporarily stepped away" from the band's then-current tour to attend to an unspecified health issue, and that Beard was "looking forward to a speedy recovery." He rejoined the band on tour in September of that year.
Born June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas, Hill joined the Houston-based band The Moving Sidewalks in 1969, which featured vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Billy Gibbons. The band soon changed its name to ZZ Top and, following the departure of some members and the addition of bassist Dusty Hill, the trio recorded their debut album, 1971's aptly titled ZZ Top's First Album.
"It didn't take 30 minutes; it didn't take 30 seconds. I knew that Frank Beard had the kind of chops that I was looking for," Billy Gibbons recalled of their first meeting in the 2019 documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas. "He played fiercely. He played with determination."
The band's follow-up, 1972's Rio Grande Mud, featured the modest chart hit "Francine." But it was ZZ Top's breakout third album, 1973's Tres Hombres, that put them on the map, largely on the strength of the album's lead single, the blues rock boogie "La Grange."
Featuring Beard's signature snare-rim-tapping triplets intro beneath Billy Gibbons' sly, growling vocals, then dropping into a hard-pounding shuffle groove two dozen bars in, "La Grange" helped propel Tres Hombres into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 all-genre albums chart on the way to becoming RIAA-certified Gold for sales of more than 500,000 units.
With a lineup unchanged for over half a decade, the "Little 'Ol Band from Texas" released 15 studio albums during Beard's tenure, the latest being 2012's La Futura, with nine of them reaching RIAA Gold or Platinum status. Of those, however, the biggest-selling remains 1983's Eliminator, which sold more than 10 million units in the U.S. alone and includes the hits "Sharp-Dressed Man" and "Gimme All Your Lovin'" – both propelled by Beard's hammering, driving backbeat – and "Legs." The latter, the band's highest-charting single, featured neither Beard nor bassist Hill, though they were credited.
Beard – ironically, given his name, the only band member who didn't sport Gibbons' and Hill's signature long facial hair – remained with ZZ Top for the entirety of the band's six-decade existence and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with them in 2004. He struggled with substance abuse early in the band's history before checking himself into rehab in the early 1980s, during which time the band went on hiatus, his bandmates telling Beard to take however long he needed.
"I just wanted to get sober," Hill said in ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas. "I wanted to be like people I admired that could sit at home and watch TV and go to bed."
Beard was married twice, the second time to Debbie Meredith in 1982. She survives him, as do their three children.
ZZ Top bassist and founding member Dusty Hill died in July 2021 at age 72. Billy Gibbons is now the sole remaining member of the original trio.
ZZ Top is currently on the latest leg of their The Big One! tour. Due to Beard's passing, they've canceled their Tuesday show in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Wednesday's scheduled show in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Rock guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix (1942 - 1970) caught mid guitar-break during his performance at the Isle of Wight Festival, August 1970. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
A documentary about Jimi Hendrix’s performance at Woodstock will have its streaming premiere Tuesday in celebration of the 57th anniverary of the festival.
Jim Hendrix: Live at Woodstock – A Second Look will debut on YouTube at 9 p.m. ET. It features black-and-white footage recorded on videotape by a 22-year-old Bard College drama student named Albert Goodman.
According to the YouTube description, Goodman didn’t make it to the festival until Sunday afternoon due to traffic. Then on Monday he “left his tent and snuck onstage, shielded by a friend carrying a guitar,” where he "set up his camera and tripod just 15 feet across the stage from where Jimi Hendrix would perform."
“Goodman was left alone, assumed to be just one member of the sprawling film crew who had surrounded the stage for the entire event,” the description reads. “Armed with just two previously recorded, open reel videotapes, Goodman settled in behind percussionist Juma Sultan and prepared to document history.”
The film features performances of such Hendrix classics as “Purple Haze,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and his iconic take on “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The original Woodstock took place from Aug. 15-18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. In addition to Hendrix, it featured performances by the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Who, Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and many more.
Bon Jovi is marking the 40th anniversary of their breakthrough album, Slippery When Wet.
The band marked the milestone with a post on Instagram Tuesday, writing, “Slippery When Wet turns 40 years old today! We’re grateful to everyone who’s been part of this journey and kept these songs alive for 40 years.”
The post also included photos from the era, as well as clips from the music videos for the album’s hit singles “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.”
Released Aug. 18, 1986, Slippery When Wet was the New Jersey rockers' third studio album and the follow-up to 1985's 7800° Fahrenheit. Produced by Bruce Fairbairn, the album rocketed the band to superstardom, spending eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Albums chart, their first #1 album.
“You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, both went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with a third single, “Wanted Dead or Alive,” peaking at #7.
Slippery When Wet would go on to be Billboard’s top-selling album of 1987 and has since been certified 15-times Platinum by the RIAA.
Admat for Allman Betts Family Revival (courtesy of The Allman Betts Family Revival)
The music of the Allman Brothers Band will once again be celebrated at the 10th annual Allman Betts Family Revival, a 20-date tour launching in November.
This year’s trek, hosted by Gregg Allman’s son Devon Allman and Dickey Betts' son Duane Betts, is titled A Decade of Revival, inspired by the Allman Brothers Band’s 1991 compilation, A Decade of Hits 1969–1979.
“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years of our beautiful gathering of friends to celebrate our dads’ songbook,” Devon says. “Being the faithful custodians to this historic body of work is not lost on Duane and I. It is our high honor. We couldn’t possibly hold it any closer to our hearts. We can’t wait to evoke the spirits and celebrate 10 years.”
“It’s a gift playing this timeless songbook with so many of our beautiful, talented friends,” Duane adds. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have the Revival continue into year 10. See y’all on the road!”
The tour is set to kick off Nov. 28 in St. Louis, Missouri, and wraps with two nights in San Francisco, Dec. 19 and 20. In addition to the Allman Betts Band, this year’s lineup includes Robert Randolph, Sierra Hull, Judith Hill and Luther Dickinson. A complete list of dates and lineups can be found at allmanbettsfamilyrevival.com.
More than 40 years after receiving her first MTV VMA nomination, Madonna leads the list of nominees for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
Madonna is up for 11 awards this year, including video of the year for Confessions II - The Film, an over 10-minute long short film soundtracked to the first six songs from her most recent album, Confessions II.
She’s also nominated for artist of the year; song of the year and best collaboration for “Bring Your Love,” her song with Sabrina Carpenter; best dance for Confessions II - The Film, and several technical awards.
Madonna received her first-ever MTV VMA nomination in 1984 for best new artist for “Borderline.” Since then, she has won 19 competitive VMAs, and in 1986, she was the first-ever female recipient of the honorary MTV Video Vanguard Award. Her last VMA win was in 1999 for best video from a film for “Beautiful Stranger,” from Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me.
The VMAs will air live from Los Angeles on Sept. 27 on CBS, and will be simulcast on MTV. Paramount+ Premium subscribers can stream it live. It'll be available globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV. Voting is open in 13 categories at Vote.MTV.com.
Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles project recently filmed a very iconic moment in Beatles history.
Video posted to social media shows the cast — Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr — walking through the crosswalk by the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. A photo of that infamous walk, of course, would go on to become the cover of the band’s 1969 album Abbey Road.
The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event is expected to open in April 2028. It will consist of four films, each told from the perspective of one of the band members. The cast also includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Mia McKenna-Bruce as Ringo's wife Maureen Starkey, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono and Aimee Lou Wood as Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd.
The Sony films will mark the first time Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted a studio the rights to the life stories of band members and their legendary catalog of music.
Sheryl Crow performs at Disney's D23, Anaheim, California, August 15, 2026 (Image Group La/The Walt Disney Company)
Twenty years ago, Sheryl Crow contributed the song "Real Gone" to the animated Pixar film Cars. So it's no surprise that she's returning for the new animated series based on the franchise.
On Saturday night, Sheryl appeared at Disney's biennial D23 fan event to debut a new song called "Built to Last," which is the theme song for the upcoming Disney Jr. series Cars: Lightning Racers. She also performed "Real Gone" during the appearance.
But Sheryl's involvement doesn't end with the theme song. She also wrote 10 additional songs for the series, which debuts on Disney Jr. and streams on Disney+ in 2027. Many of the Cars cast members are reprising their roles for the series, including Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, Larry the Cable Guy as Mater, Bonnie Hunt as Sally and Tony Shalhoub as Luigi.
Sheryl's new album Pick You Up is coming out Oct. 9.
Frankie Valli attends the Special Merit Awards Ceremony and Nominees Reception during the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 01, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy )
Legendary singer Frankie Valli is denying reports of his retirement.
The 92-year-old has addressed the rumors on social media after his brother, Bobby Valli, wrote on Facebook that the “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” singer was retiring after a long, illustrious career.
In a post on Instagram, Frankie simply wrote, “In spite of what you might have heard, I am not retired.”
Bobby's initial post came after Frankie canceled his tour back in May due to health issues. At the time Frankie wrote on social media, “I have decided to take the rest of the year off from touring to focus on my health.”
After Frankie's retirement denial, Bobby followed up with a post of his own acknowledging his mistake.
“TO ALL THE MEDIA, THAT IS TRYING TO MAKE THIS A EARTH SHATTERING CONTROVERSY! I MISUNDERSTOOD,” he wrote. “YES, I MADE A MISTAKE. HE IS NOT RETIRING. I WISH HIM A SPEEDY RECOVERY TO CONTINUE HIS LEGACY & ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER! IF I MISLEAD OR OFFENDED ANYONE ONCE AGAIN I APOLOGIZE. GOD BLESS.”
Ritchie Blackmore at the Velodrom on April 18, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Frank Hoensch/Redferns)
Ritchie Blackmore is reflecting on his recent reunion with Deep Purple.
Blackmore joined the band onstage at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, on Aug. 12 for a performance of “Smoke on the Water," his first performance with the band in over 30 years.
“It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately,” Blackmore told Guitar Player. “I couldn’t warm up, but I wasn’t there to be playing correct notes. I was there to see old friends [who] I hadn’t seen in 40 years and were all getting older.”
He added, “I think we realized it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.”
Blackmore co-founded Deep Purple in 1968, then left the group in 1975 to form his band Rainbow. He was part of Deep Purple's 1984 reunion and last played with them in 1993.
And while the reunion was an emotional one for Blackmore, he does say it wasn’t quite perfect.
“It was tricky; I didn’t play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple. I still lost my place at one point, but it’s not why I was there,” he said. “I was there to heal any wounds — but there weren’t any wounds. Everyone was like, we were in the army, all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment.”
Bruce Springsteen speaks onstage at the Harry Belafonte Award during the 2026 Tribeca Festival at BMCC Theater on June 13, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to legendary rock critic, journalist and author Dave Marsh, who passed away Friday at the age of 76.
“Here on E Street, the irreplaceable loss of Dave Marsh has us heartbroken,” Springsteen wrote on Instagram. “My great friend Dave, with his straight out of Detroit attitude, was a true Rock ‘n’ Roll lifer. He was soulful, intelligent, heartfelt, opinionated, bruising and often fantastically argumentative.”
Marsh, who throughout his career wrote numerous books on music and musicians, was the author of the 1979 Springsteen biography Born to Run, as well as other books on The Boss. Springsteen noted in his tribute that Marsh “always had my back.”
“He deeply believed in what I was trying to accomplish and his lifetime of support meant the world to me," Springsteen added. “More than anything else, I admired Dave as a man of conscience and commitment. He lived and stuck by his values come hell or high water.”
Springsteen concluded the post, writing, “Wherever he is, I hope he’s receiving some of the grace, happiness and reward he’s brought into my life. God bless you Dave.”
E Street Band member Nils Lofgren also paid tribute to Marsh, as did his bandmate Stevie Van Zandt, who wrote, “He was fearless, relentless, arrogant, everything you'd want in a RocknRoll troublemaker,” adding, “And by the way, a tremendous writer.”
In addition to Born to Run, Marsh wrote The Who biography Before I Get Old: The Story of the Who, which was published in 1983; 1980’s The Book of Rock Lists; and 1989’s The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
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