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Neil Young took the stage for the first time this year at the Bernie Sanders/Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in front of 36,000 people at L.A.’s Gloria Molina Grand Park. The bill also included Joan Baez, Maggie Rogers, Jeff Rosenstock, Dirty Projectors, Indigo De Souza, the Red Pears & Raise Gospel Choir.

Young came out gripping his 1953 Gibson Les Paul, better known as Old Black, shortly after a fiery speech by Service Employees International Union President April Verrett. He teased the opening notes of “Rockin’ In The Free World...

More than 15 Grammy Week events sponsored by the Recording Academy and many other Grammy-related parties were canceled this year due to January’s devastating Los Angeles fires, with the actual Grammy ceremony, which will still take place on Sunday, Feb. 2, pivoting to focus on raising funds for wildfire relief. But Friday’s MusiCares Persons of the Year Gala, honoring 2007 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients the Grateful Dead, went on as planned. And the annual charitable event actually felt more celebratory than ever, providing much-needed release and escape on the final night of a particularly rough month.

“Their fans are legendary, and their values — community, resilience, generosity — all align with the MusiCares mission,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said of the beloved psychedelic jam band Friday. “They remind us that music is a force for good. This year, though, honoring them carries extra special community. L.A. is home to an incredible music community,...

An animated video for Mark Knopfler’s all-star charity single “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” – which brought together a stunning lineup of over 60 guitar gods to raise funds for Teen Cancer America and the Teenage Cancer Trust – has been released. It features the final recording of Jeff Beck along with contributions by Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Joan Jett, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and Sting.

The song came out a week ago, but it was difficult to discern who was playing what part throughout the ten-minute song.

Mark Knopfler has teamed up with a host of fellow guitar legends to record a version of his song “Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)” to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

The Dire Straits frontman tapped Eric Clapton, Slash (Guns N’ Roses), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Brian May (Queen), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Pete Townshend (The Who), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Bruce Springsteen, Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones), Joan Jett, and many more, forming what he has dubbed “Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes.” Notably, the star-studded version opens with the final recorded guitar track by the late Jeff Beck.

Knopfler’s longtime collaborator Guy Fletcher handled the production of the track, which might be the greatest assemblage of guitar talent to co-exist on a single song. The Sgt. Pepper‘s-style artwork was created by Sir Peter Blake.

The full song can be heard below now, featuring...

Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler has united with over 60 artists — including Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Sting, Brian May, Joan Jett, Nile Rodgers, and Brian May — to create a new version of his 1983 instrumental “Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero.”

The song arrives on March 15, though you can hear a brief sample right now. It’s the final recording Jeff Beck created before his death in January 2023. All proceeds from the release will benefit Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

Jenny Lewis has readied a new album called Joy’All. The project is out today, June 9th, via her new label Blue Note/Capitol Records.

A lot’s changed since Lewis’ last album, 2019’s On the Line — namely, a global pandemic that shut the world down and inspired the songwriter to approach music differently. Some songs on Joy’All predate Covid, while others came out of a world-class songwriting group Lewis joined, led by none other than Beck Hansen.

“I started writing some of these songs on the road, pre-pandemic… and then put them aside as the world shut down, and then from my home in Nashville in early 2021, I joined a week-long virtual songwriting workshop with a handful of amazing artists, hosted by Beck,” Lewis shared in a statement. “The challenge was to write one song every day for seven days, with guidelines from Beck. The guidelines would be...

Jenny Lewis has never had trouble expressing herself. On Joy’All’s “Puppy and a Truck,” she sings, “My 40s are kicking my ass … and handing them to me in a margarita glass.” Even before she split with her indie-rock group Rilo Kiley a decade ago, she’d assumed a persona that’s one part Dusty Springfield, another part Linda Ronstadt, and one more of Mary Richards (shake gently and sprinkle in a dash of Gram Parsons to taste.) She has always sounded a little down on her luck, and...

For fully half of Bob Dylan’s career, his primary focus has been the road. Since the late Eighties, he’s done plus-or-minus a hundred shows a year, pandemic excepted. Along the way, he’s been remaking his catalog, twisting the classics into drastic new shapes. He’d always done that, of course, from turning his folk songs into electric rock in the mid-Sixties, on down to his infamous speed-snarl through “Masters of War” at the Grammy Awards in 1991. That sense of constant evolution also seems to have played a...

Country singer Jamey Johnson and saxophone player Dave McMurray have combined their talents for a new cover of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter’s “To Lay Me Down” that’s out now. The song appears on McMurray’s upcoming album Grateful Deadication 2, a tribute album that reimagines the work of the Grateful Dead.

The track opens with some celestial sax runs and percussion, but quickly shifts to a subdued arrangement of acoustic guitar and piano for Johnson’s tender delivery of the verses. McMurray accents the tune with some soulful...

We were quick to report Jenny Lewis’ yacht-rock era back in 2021 when she released the lovely pedal steel-filled ditty “Puppy and a Truck.” But Lewis has moved on — to Nashville, to be exact.

The singer-songwriter dropped the new single “Psychos,” the opener to her upcoming album Joy’All, out June 9 via her new label Blue Note/Capitol Records. “There are no hard feelings,” she casually announces in the blissful chorus. “How I can help you?/It’s time I get away.”

Joy’All marks Lewis’ fifth solo album, following the excellent On the Line,...

Joni Mitchell was recently feted at an all-star tribute concert in Washington, D.C. as the recipient of the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. During the concert, which will be broadcast on March 31 on PBS, Mitchell performed a cover of George Gershwin’s “Summertime.”

An array of other artists joined the festivities, including James Taylor, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Herbie Hancock, Cyndi Lauper, Marcus Mumford, Graham Nash, Diana Krall, Angelique Kidjo, and Ledisi. Lennox showcased a version of Mitchell’s 1966 song “Both Sides Now,” and later joined forces with Carlile,...

Nathaniel Rateliff has unveiled a new version of Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat.” The soulful, horn-tinged rendition of the 1971 song is the second single to emerge from Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, an upcoming compilation from producer Larry Klein that features 12 covers of Leonard Cohen numbers.

“Leonard Cohen has been a massive influence on me since I was very young,” Rateliff explained in a statement. “When I was asked to be a part of this project, I sent a huge list of songs that I wanted to do,...

Blue Note Records will release Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen, featuring 12 covers of Leonard Cohen’s songs, on Oct. 14. The collection was produced by Larry Klein and features contributions by Norah Jones, James Taylor, Nathaniel Rateliff, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples, and more.

The 12 tracks offer a range of Cohen’s compositions, spanning work from his 1967 debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen, to his final album, You Want It Darker, released in 2016. Taylor’s intimate take on “Coming Back to You,” from Cohen’s 1984 LP Various Positions,...

Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on music’s A list. This edition features pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz.

Greg Leisz’s list of credits is so incredibly long and varied that it’s almost hard to believe it...

Saxophonist Dave McMurray has enlisted Bob Weir and Bettye Lavette for a rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Loser,” the first single from McMurray’s upcoming Dead tribute album Grateful Deadication.

McMurray’s version of the Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter-penned track, sung by Lavette with Weir on guitar, also features assistance from Wolf Bros., the Weir-led group featuring Jeff Chimenti, Jay Lane, Greg Leisz, and Don Was. McMurray and Was were bandmates in Was (Not Was), with Was — in his role as president of Blue Note — set to release...

Jackson Browne has returned with the new single “My Cleveland Heart,” paired with a humorous video that features a Phoebe Bridgers cameo.

The video opens with Browne being wheeled into heart surgery, playing his guitar as the gurney glides down the hall. He winds up on the operating table in front of a crowd of spectators when Phoebe Bridgers appears in a nurse’s outfit, eating Browne’s heart as an artificial one replaces it.

The musicians featured on the track also lend a hand with the surgery: bassist Davey Faragher,...

Bob Weir and Wolf Bros will perform a special livestream show for St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th at 9 p.m. Et/6 p.m. Pt.

The show will broadcast live from Weir’s Tri Studio in the Bay Area via the livestream platform Fans. Tickets for the show are on sale for $19.99, although the price will go up to $24.99 the day of the show. Three different merch bundles are also available, one with a T-shirt and commemorative ticket, another with a poster and commemorative ticket, and a third with the T-shirt,...

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels have released a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem,” off their upcoming album Tone Poem. The song comes off of Cohen’s 1992 LP The Future and is known for the lines, “There is a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in.”

The cover features Greg Leisz’ serene steel guitar and Lloyd’s tenor saxophone. “Anthem” follows a cover of Ornette Coleman’s “Ramblin.'” Tone Poem is out March 12th via Blue Note Records; the album also includes a version of Thelonious Monk...

In the Eighties and Nineties, the Grateful Dead played a series of Bay Area concerts celebrating the Chinese New Year. Now, Bob Weir and his group Wolf Bros will revive that tradition: On February 12th, Weir and Wolf Bros — Don Was on bass and Jay Lane on drums — will broadcast a full show from Weir’s Tri Studios in celebration of the holiday.

The performance will air at 9 p.m. Est on Fans, and will also feature Jeff Chimenti on keyboards and Greg Leisz on pedal steel.

The performance follows...

One of the best records of the early 2000s is almost impossible to find online. You can purchase a copy of Meaningless — producer Jon Brion’s only solo album, released 20 years ago this month — from CDBaby or find a low-quality rip on YouTube. But unless you’re a die-hard fan, there’s a good chance the album’s gemlike songs of anxiety, unrequited love, and depression passed you by entirely.

“I think he’s a phenomenal musician and has an incredible sense of melody,” Aimee Mann, who co-wrote a song on Meaningless,...

Founding Grateful Dead guitarist-vocalist Bob Weir will bid farewell to 2020 with his group Wolf Bros during a New Year’s Eve livestream.

The gig, which he’ll play at his Bay Area Tri Studios, will be broadcast on the Fans platform at 10 p.m. Est on December 31st and will be followed by a 10 p.m. Pst broadcast. Tickets are available on the streaming service’s website.

“We’re back and we’re here to light y’all up,” Weir said in a statement.

Weir formed his Wolf Bros trio in 2018 with Don Was,...

Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit has released a new song, “Cross That Line,” that addresses the MeToo Movement along with the narcissism of President Trump.

The first verse addresses a Harvey Weinstein-like “movie king” that uses his position to take advantage of young actresses. “He made promises of money and fame,” Schmit sings. “As he pulled down that blind/Then it finally happened, he met his match and he crossed that line.” The song then moves onto Trump. “He’s got a giant ego that barely fits,” he sings.

In 2014, the Haden Triplets – Petra, Rachel, and Tanya – released their eponymous debut album on Jack White’s Third Man Records label. A sterling collection of vintage country songs, the LP was distinguished by the siblings’ chill-inducing harmonies. The daughters of jazz bass legend Charlie Haden (who died in July of that year) pay homage to their father’s exceptional music history, first as a singing (and yodeling) 2-year-old member of his family’s country-music act and his later years as one of the most influential jazz instrumentalists from the Fifties...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jackson Browne, multi-Grammy award-winner Bonnie Raitt, Grammy award-winning blues artist Joan Osborne, Mickey Hart and Friends and Pura Fe & Cary Morin plus host Wavy Gravy, will celebrate the Berkeley-based Seva Foundation on January 12th at a benefit concert at the Fox Theatre in Oakland called Sing Out for Seva.

Sing Out For Seva

This event marks four decades of benefit concerts performed by celebrity artists since Seva was founded forty years ago. By expanding access to eye care in developing nations, Seva is leading the global charge to eliminate avoidable blindness within our lifetime.

Bonnie Raitt to Perform at Sing Out for Seva

Credit/Copyright: Seva Foundation

Seva’s first benefit concert was in 1979, with the Grateful Dead at the Oakland Auditorium. At that same time Seva organized the first nationwide assessment of blindness in Nepal.

Jackson Browne to Perform at Sing Out...

Singer songwriter Jackson Browne announces a benefit concert on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at the Sunset Center in Carmel, CA to support Seaside’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School of the Arts.

Jackson Browne Announces Benefit Concert To Support Seaside's Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School Of The Arts

Accompanying Jackson Browne at the benefit concert is longtime band mate and multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz. Showtime is 7:30 Pm. Advance venue pre-sale tickets are available beginning Wednesday, October 11 at 9:30 Am, with general tickets on sale this Friday, October 13 at 9:30 Am Pt at the Sunset Center www.sunsetcenter.org.

Located in Seaside, CA, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School of the Arts (Mlk School of the Arts) is a vibrant learning environment in a district with a strong commitment to arts education. Mlk School of the Arts is part of Turnaround Arts, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for...

In 2007, after returning to the music scene with the full E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen released the critically- and commercially-adored album, “Magic.” A fierce and cutting portrait of American disillusionment from track to track, the music marked a high point for the legendary rocker’s resurgent post-9/11 work, but it also signified the politically-progressive singer’s most pessimistic take on a society he’s been writing about — and representing — since the late ’60s.

Then, just two years later, the insightful artist released an album that could very well be his most hopeful ever, certainly since his return to prominence. While infectiously enthusiastic and admirably experimental, “Land of Hope and Dreams” was a significant step down in caliber compared to “Magic.” But it was what reflected our mass perspective in 2009, and more than that, it was what we needed to hear.

Assuming we survive the upcoming election unscathed, we’ll remain...

The Forest Rangers previously offered up a fiery take on Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" – but with their latest Dylan cover tune, 1964's "Boots of Spanish Leather," the Sons of Anarchy house band employs a hazier, more restrained approach. The recording (featured during Tuesday's night's episode, "Faith and Despondency") is led by a stirring vocal from singer-songwriter Amos Lee, who draws out a sense of emotional turmoil from the lovesick lyrics.

"No, there’s nothin’ you can send me, my own true love/There's nothin’ I wish to be ownin',...

Sons of Anarchy house band the Forest Rangers aren't afraid to put their unique spin on a beloved classic. For Tuesday night's episode, "The Separation of Crows," the eclectic crew recorded a wicked version of the Bob Dylan/Jimi Hendrix anthem "All Along the Watchtower," letting vocalist Billy Valentine wail vividly over a tumbling drum part and psychedelic wah-wah.

"There must be some way out of here,' said the joker to the thief," SoA music supervisor Bob Thiele tells Rolling Stone, referencing the opening line from the classic-rock staple.

Getty Images Musician Bonnie Raitt on February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

Talk about his age all you want, mock his raspy croon if you must, but the fact remains that Bob Dylan is arguably the best interpreter of his own songs. The 70-year-old Dylan is not only America’s greatest living songwriter, he’s a master storyteller, and singing his songs requires more than simply a sturdy set of pipes, it demands inflection, understanding, and dedication to the art of styling a song.

Justin Vernon and company also took home Best Alternative Album Grammy for self-titled album Sunday night.

By Zachary Swickey

Bon Iver wins Best New Artist at the 2012 Grammy Awards

Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Like Arcade Fire's surprise Album of the Year win at last year's Grammys, Bon Iver taking home Best New Artist on Sunday night (February 12) over more established artists like Nicki Minaj was bound to raise a few eyebrows. When you asked "Who are Arcade Fire?" in 2012, we had you covered, and we've been following Wisconsin singer Justin Vernon (the man behind Bon Iver) for quite some time — long before he snagged Bna and Best Alternative Album at this year's ceremony.

Quite the pleasant surprise for the under-the-radar folk singer, who recently became the face of a Bushmills whiskey ad to boot. Bon Iver's second, self-titled disc was released in early 2011 but is still clearly getting the attention it deserves.

HollywoodNews.com:Nominations were announced today for the 47th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards­, a star-studded event produced for television by dick clark productions broadcast Live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 8:00 Pm live Et/delayed Pt on the CBS Television Network.

Nominees were announced online via the first-ever Acm digital press conference this morning on the Academy?s Facebook and Twitter pages. Awards co-host Reba participated with a video message to kick things off and entertainment superstars Lionel Richie, who will be honored during a special taping of Acm Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends In Concert in April (to air at a later date on CBS), Beth Behrs (2 Broke Girls), Nancy O?Dell (Entertainment Tonight), Michael Ausiello (TVLine.com) announced batches of nominations in video postings during the approximately 20 minute online event which culminated in music fans announcing the nominees for the Academy?...

Wisconsin singer/songwriter's four major Grammy nominations had some music fans saying, 'Who?'

By Gil Kaufman

Bon Iver

Photo: Jsn Photography/ WireImage

A lot of people probably woke up Thursday morning (December 1) to read the list of Grammy nominees and asked a very relevant question: Who is Bon Iver?

So, first things first: Bon Iver is not a "he." It's the stage name adopted by solitary Eau Claire, Wisconsin, folkie Justin Vernon in 2007, after he shut himself into a rural hunting cabin that year to record what would become his band's acclaimed 2008 debut, For Emma, Forever Ago.

And the reason he's on everyone's lips now is that his second pastoral album — a self-titled effort that earned rave reviews for its Beach Boys harmonies-meet-falsetto English folk lullabies — got unexpected nominations for a quartet of major Grammy Awards on Wednesday night.

Think Beyoncé and Britney Got the Grammy Cold Shoulder? Sound Off!

Bon Iver has just announced that their much anticipated second album will hit stores on June 21. The new album (on the Jagjaguwar label) by the critically acclaimed group led by Justin Vernon is titled "Bon Iver" and includes 10 new songs. While the band's 2008 debut, "For Emma, Forever Ago," was mostly a solo operation, on the forthcoming album, Vernon is joined by Sean Carey, Mike Noyce and Matt McCaughan, pedal steel player Greg Leisz, horn players Colin Stetson, Mike Lewis and C.J. Camerieri and arranger Rob Moose. While tracks haven't been released, or leaked, yet, according to the issued press release, fans can expect "a lush landscape of silky electric guitars, intricate keys, and subtle horn and string sections, which retains the ghost choirs and densely layered vocals intact that Bon Iver is widely celebrated for." Sounds like a winner.

Feel free to search the tracklist for clues to the new album's sound:

01. Perth

02. Minnesota,...

Michael Grimm beat out 10-year-old Jackie Evancho for the win on last year's "America's Got Talent" and he's getting ready to show the world just why with his major label debut.

The self-titled effort, due out May 17th, sees Grimm working with Grammy-award winning producer Don Was. Along with being featured on the new season of "American Idol," Was has also worked with The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, and more.

The album is set to feature Grimm's original, self-penned material as well as some covers. He's also enlisted the help of Heart's Ann Wilson, as well as musicians Ian McLagan, Davey Faragher, Greg Leisz, Waddy Wachtel, and Kenny Aronoff.

"It's me," Grimm says of his new album. "I am extremely proud of this album, it really showcases my love for different genres of music from country to soul R&B to rock, the classic Americana that I grew up with.

It would be incredibly difficult—if not downright impossible—to corral four guitar players more dexterous than Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Greg Leisz and Buddy Miller. Individually, these session musicians and solo artists tend to improve any song they play on, and their combined résumé represents a wide swathe of Americana: Steve Earle, Tom Waits, Vic Chesnutt, Madeleine Peyroux, Sam Phillips and John Zorn, among too many others to count, let alone name....

By Peter de Saint Phalle

Wantagh, New York — Little of Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs' performance at Jones Beach on Thursday night was directed towards the audience. There was no playful banter, no light shows or disco balls. Without rock-star glitz and glam, the artist and his new collaborators forced the crowd to contemplate the music on its own — a rare thing during summer concert season.

As the sun set behind the Jones Beach Amphitheater, Ray Lamontagne made his way to center stage. Although backed by the extensive Pariah Dogs band (Jennifer Condos on bass, Patrick Warren on keyboard, Greg Leisz on steel guitar, Eric Heywood on lead guitar and Jay Bellerose on percussion) Lamontagne was quiet and reserved, offering a brief "hello" before beginning his 55-minute set.

Lamontagne started his set with "Beg Steal or Borrow" and "Old Before Your Time" off his new album, God Willin' and...

"God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise," Ray Lamontagne's fourth album, is the first to utilize a billed backing band, The Pariah Dogs. It's also the first album the Northeast native has produced on his own. Any singer-songwriter would fall over themselves to snare the talent that 37-year-old Lamontagne's enlisted -- drummer Jay Bellerose (Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Joe Henry), bassist Jennifer Condos (Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams), keyboardist Patrick Warren (Fiona Apple, Red Hot Chili Peppers), guitarist Eric Heywood (Son Volt, The Pretenders) and pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Wilco, Beck). It's a session supergroup of sorts, with the predictable...

Sometimes it's about trying something new, and sometimes it's about finding an old groove. When Matthew Sweet cut the 1991 album Girlfriend, he bundled his obsessions into tight, starry-eyed, dark-hearted songs that sounded forward-looking in spite of their debt to '60s pop. Much of the album's distinctive sound came from punk-era guitarists—Robert Quine and Television's Richard Lloyd—who dropped carefully implemented bits of chaos into songs brought to life by an assured band that included session ace Greg Leisz and drummer Ric Menck. Quine and Lloyd stuck around for two more almost-as-good albums, and Sweet never soared as high with subsequent lineups. Sunshine Lies reunites that team in part for the second time this decade. (Lloyd, Leisz, and Menck previously rejoined Sweet for the little-heard 2003 album Kimi Ga Suki—originally a Japan-only release—and Quine's 2004 death then made a full reunion impossible.) Sunshine Lies doesn't quite capture the old.