The Rolling Stones Announce Release Date for New Album

The Rolling Stones are back, and they’ve brought a few famous friends.

The band is releasing “Hackney Diamonds,” its first album of new songs in 18 years.

The record features guest appearances from the likes of Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.

Poignantly, it also features Charlie Watts, the stalwart Stones drummer who died in 2021 after almost six decades in the band.

His drumming, recorded in 2019, features on two of the album’s dozen tracks.

Drummer Steve Jordan plays on the rest.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood came to London’s Hackney district on Wednesday to unveil the new album, which will be released Oct. 20. (AP)

Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie Among Rock Hall Nominees

Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran and A Tribe Called Quest are among this year’s first-time nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Cleveland-based institution announced 17 artists and groups being considered for Rock Hall induction.

They also include Rage Against the Machine, Pat Benatar, Dionne Warwick, Lionel Richie, Judas Priest and Beck.

This year’s class will be announced in May, with an induction ceremony planned for later this year.

Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. (AP)

Brit Awards Scrap Separate Male, Female Prize Categories

The U.K.’s Brit Awards are scrapping separate male and female artist categories in a shakeup designed to make the music prizes more inclusive.

Next year’s awards will feature trophies for U.K. and international artist of the year, replacing male and female awards in each category.

Organizers say the change will celebrate artists “solely for their music and work, rather than how they choose to identify or as others may see them.”

The move is the latest changes made in response to criticism that the awards failed to reflect the diversity of British music.

The 2022 Brit Awards will be held Feb. 8 in London, hosted by comedian Mo Gilligan. (AP)

Houston, Notorious B.I.G. Nominated for Rock Hall of Fame

The late musical icons Whitney Houston and the Notorious B.I.G. are among the 16 acts nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2020 class.

The prestigious organization announced Tuesday that Dave Matthews Band, Motorhead, Pat Benatar, Soundgarden, The Doobie Brothers, T.Rex and Thin Lizzy join Houston and B.I.G. as first-time Rock Hall nominees. The 35th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place May 2, 2020, at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Nine Inch Nails, Judas Priest, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, MC5 and Todd Rundgren round out the 16 nominees for the 2020 class. The official inductees will be announced in January.

Acts are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording. (AP)

Woodstock Fans Flock to Concert Site for Anniversary

Woodstock fans are expected to get back to the garden to mark the 50th anniversary of the generation-defining festival.

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is hosting a series of events Thursday through Sunday at the bucolic 1969 concert site, 80 miles northwest of New York City.

Woodstock veteran Arlo Guthrie is set to perform Thursday evening before an outdoor screening of the concert documentary on the famous field.

There won’t be overcrowding and chaos this time. Visitors need event tickets and travel passes to drive to the site through the weekend.

An estimated 400,000 people showed up for the original festival on upstate New York farmland Aug. 15-18, 1969. (AP)

Organizers Finally Cancel Troubled Woodstock 50 Festival

Organizers announced Wednesday that the troubled festival that hit a series of setbacks in the last four months won’t take place next month.

The three-day festival was originally scheduled for Aug. 16-18, but holdups included permit denials and the loss of a financial partner and a production company.

Last week Jay-Z, Dead & Company and John Fogerty announced that they wouldn’t perform at the event after organizers said it was moving to Maryland from New York.

“We are saddened that a series of unforeseen setbacks has made it impossible to put on the festival we imagined with the great lineup we had booked and the social engagement we were anticipating,” festival co-founder Michael Lang said in a statement Wednesday. “We released all the talent so any involvement on their part would be voluntary. Due to conflicting radius issues in the DC area many acts were unable to participate and others passed for their own reasons.”

Organizers said they were planning to make Woodstock 50 a free benefit concert at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, before announcing they had canceled the festival altogether. Lang announced the 50th anniversary event in March alongside Fogerty and rapper-actor Common, two acts that were slated to perform. Other artists who were booked for the festival included the Killers, Miley Cyrus, Imagine Dragons, Chance the Rapper, Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, David Crosby, Janelle Monae, Brandi Carlile and Halsey.

Woodstock 50 was originally supposed to take place across three main stages at Watkins Glen International racetrack in Watkins Glen, New York, about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northwest of the original site, but the venue pulled out. Tickets were supposed to go on sale on April 22, which was Earth Day, but that was postponed.

Woodstock will still celebrate its anniversary: Ringo Starr, Santana and Fogerty will perform at Woodstock’s original site in Bethel, New York, in a smaller anniversary event at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts not connected to Woodstock 50.

The original Woodstock, a festival pushing the message of peace, love and music, was a seminal, groundbreaking event in 1969 that featured performances by Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, the Who and other iconic acts. (AP)

Judge: Woodstock Music Festival Can License its Name to Pot

A judge says the owners of the Woodstock music festival name can license it to create a marijuana brand marking the 50th anniversary of the famed gathering.

U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe on Monday rejected a claim that the deal would infringe on the name of another company, Woodstock Roots.

Gardephe concluded the nature of the planned Woodstock-branded recreational marijuana and a competitor’s cannabis-related smoking paraphernalia are different.

Woodstock Ventures, which produced the 1969 Woodstock festival, and Woodstock Roots sued each other last year. Woodstock Roots does business as Woodstock American Products.

Woodstock Ventures argued recreational marijuana falls within its “natural zone of expansion” under federal trademark law. It is working on a deal with a major marijuana dispensary.

Emails seeking comment were sent to lawyers for Woodstock Roots. (AP)

Woodstock 50 Again Denied Permit With Festival Weeks Away

Woodstock 50 organizers have again been denied a permit to hold a three-day festival at an upstate New York horse track.

Town of Vernon officials say Monday the permit application for a festival Aug. 16-18 at the Vernon Downs racetrack and casino was filed too late and was rife with problems.

Vernon became a possible alternative site for Woodstock 50 after the original venue, Watkins Glen International, pulled out.

But local officials have repeatedly denied permit applications amid concerns about planning for up to 65,000 people coming to this largely rural area on short notice.

A spokeswoman for Woodstock 50 said they had no comment.

The festival has faced a series of setbacks, including the losses of a financial partner and a production company. (AP)

Staging Woodstock 50 a Challenge, Says Upstate NY Official

A key local official says hosting the Woodstock 50 anniversary festival on short notice “could pose a significant challenge.”

A mass gathering permit application for the Vernon Downs harness track and casino in central New York was recently filed after operators of the original festival site pulled out last month.

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente released a statement Tuesday noting the challenge of preparing for the health and safety of residents and concert goers with the event just over a month away.

The Woodstock festival has faced a series of setbacks, including the losses of a financial partner, a production company and original site, Watkins Glen International.

Vernon Downs has said they can host up to 65,000 people, far fewer than the 150,000 planned for Watkins Glen. (AP)

Sebastian Maniscalco to Host MTV’s 2019 Video Music Awards

Comedian and actor Sebastian Maniscalco will host MTV’s 2019 Video Music Awards.

He’ll be joined at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Aug. 26 by some of the industry’s biggest stars as they celebrate the year’s music videos.

Executive producer Bruce Gillmer says Maniscalco’s “comedic spin on relatable topics will make this year’s show truly unforgettable.”

Maniscalco is currently on his North American “You Bother Me” tour.

The 45-year-old was the 2018 Billboard “Comedian of the Year” and made his feature film debut last year in the Oscar-winning “Green Book.”

He’ll next be seen on Netflix in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. (AP)