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Lee Aaron will release her latest album, ‘Radio On!’, on June 18.
The Black Keys release a blues covers album ‘Delta Kream’ on May 14.
Deen Castronovo will be working on new albums from Revolution Saints and Gioeli/Castronovo.
Chicago’s 1971 album ‘Chicago Live At Carnegie Hall’ gets a 19CD set, 50th anniversary release on July 9.
Focus release ‘Focus 50′, a 3CD/Blu-Ray package released on April 30 through In Focus Records/Cherry Red Records.
Hammer King will release their self-titled album through Napalm Records on June 11.
Tony Iommi is planning a Tony Martin era box set from Martin’s time fronting Black Sabbath.
Mick Jagger has released a new song ‘Eazy Sleazy’ featuring Dave Grohl on all instruments.
L.A. Guns (the Tracii Guns/Phil Lewis) version plan to release a live album in July, followed by a studio album in November.
Last In Line’s next studio album is pencilled in for a release in December.
John Lodge (The Moody Blues) releases a new digital only single, ‘The Sun Will Shine’, on April 30. A live follows in September which will include an EP of four new songs.
30th anniversary edition of Mr. Big’s ‘Lean Into It’ (2CD/7″ single box set)album is released on July 16.
A 2CD, 42 track compilation album, ‘The Official New Wave Of Classic Rock- Volume 1′, is released on 23 July.
Ian Parry releases his latest album ‘Brute Force’ on June 4 via Metal Mind Productions.
Powerwolf (pictured above) will release their new album, ‘Call Of The Wild’, on July 9 via Napalm Records.
Staind hope to complete a new studio album this year. The band release a live album on May 7.
Sufjan Stevens has shared details of a new five-volume collection called ‘Convocations’. Stevens will release one volume of the album per week, with the whole collection released by May 6 via Asthmatic Kitty.
Styx release a new EP ‘The Same Stardust’ on June 12 as part of Record Store Day. The EP includes two new songs.
This Winter Machine have announced a new line-up with only vocalist Al Winter remaining from the previous line-up. Joining him are guitarists Dom Bennison and Simon D’Vali, drummer Alan Wilson and bassist Dave Close. The band’s new album ‘Kites’ is due later this year.
Trifecta – bassist and songwriter Nick Beggs, keyboardist Adam Holzman and drummer Craig Blundell – have signed to KScope and they plan to release their debut album later this year.
The Yardbirds’ 1966 self-titled album – commonly known as ‘Roger The Engineer‘ – will be reissued as a 3CD/2LP+7” box sets by Demon on May 28.
Upcoming (new releases)
Rescheduled UK & Ireland tour dates:
the Damned (Jul 2021 to Feb 2022), Guns ‘N’ Roses (Jun 2021 to Jun 2021), H.E.A.T. (Oct 2021 to Oct 2022), the Hollies (Sep/Oct 2021 to May/Jun 2022), Jessica Lynn (May 2021 to May 2022), Opeth (Oct 2021 to Nove 2022), Simple Minds (Aug 2021 to Aug/Sep 2022), Therapy? (Oct/Nov 2021 to Feb/Mar 2022), Uriah Heep (Sep/Oct 2021 to Sep/Oct 2022), Within Temptation + Evanescence (Sep 2021 to Apr 2022),
Cancelled UK & Ireland tour dates:
Upcoming (Gigs – UK)
Rescheduled US & European tour dates:
Guns ‘N’ Roses (Jun/Jul 2021 to Jun/Jul 2021), Iron Maiden (Jun/Jul 2021 to Jun-Aug 2022), Judas Priest (May/Jun 2021 to May/Jun 2022), Opeth (Oct/Nov 2021 to Nov 2022), Rage Against The Machine (Jul/Aug 2021 to Jul/Aug 2022), Toto (Jul/Aug 2021 to Jul/Aug 2022), Roger Waters (Jul-Sep 2021 to Jul-Sep 2022), Within Temptation + Evanescence (Sep/Oct 2021 to Mar/Apr 2022),
Cancelled US & European tour dates:
Upcoming (USA/ROW)
Cornbury festival has been postponed for the second year running and will now take place next year between 8-10 July 2022.
Gun have announced a UK tour for December.
Alestorm and Gloryhammer tour the UK together in November.
The Royal Albert Hall will host a series of celebrations to mark the venue’s 150th anniversary this year.
Dave Grohl has a book ‘The Storyteller’ published on October 5 by Simon & Schuster. “From my early days growing up in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to hitting the road at the age of 18, and all the music that followed, I can now share these adventures with the world, as seen and heard from behind the microphone.”
Guitarist Zak Rizvi has left Kansas to pursue new projects.
AC/DC’s Brian Johnson publishes his memoir ‘The Lives of Brian’ on October 26.
Get well soon…former H.E.A.T. vocalist Erik Grönwall who is currently being treated for acute lymphocytic leukaemia.
Malcolm Cecil, engineer, producer, and synthesizer pioneer, who worked with Stevie Wonder amongst others
More News
Check out our full gig listings! (Updated to reflect COVID-19 cancellations)
Check out forthcoming album/DVD releases!
Our quarterly survey of essential sounds, selected by GRTR! reviewers as being best in class or genre.
Top 10 albums
We’ve introduced a weekly listing based on website views, social media activity and radio airplay.
From Sunday 10 January the Top 10 chart will be announced on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio (Assume The Position, 22:00 GMT) and then published via our radio Facebook page.
Compiled by Jason Ritchie.
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Save Our Venues
UPDATE (17.02.21]
The Music Venue Trust (MVT) has backed the Prime Minister’s suggestion that rapid coronavirus testing could be the key to reopening music venues, and says the necessary plans are in place for it to be rolled out nationwide.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Monday (February 15), the Prime Minister said “rapid” lateral flow tests could be used by “those parts of the economy” that were unable to reopen their doors last year.
The lateral flow tests can provide results within half an hour, which could potentially allow music fans to return to venues once they can provide a negative result.
Says MVT CEO Mark Davyd “Rapid testing and other forms of health passporting, including vaccination certification, represent one of a range of opportunities to deliver events safely, which we have been discussing with the government since July 2020.
The latest suggestion comes after it was confirmed that UK music venues are set to trial a new system of digital “health passports” in a bid to reopen live gigs safely allowing music fans to prove that they do not have the virus to secure entry.
ANALYSIS:
Two possibilites are being touted as a way back to normality for music venues. Although the Government has denied the mandated introduction of “vaccine passports” venues could still insist on gig-goers showing evidence of vaccination.
However there is still insufficient data about the transmission effect of the virus, even once vaccinated. Experts warn that social distancing/wearing of masks may still be the norm in public spaces until at least the end of the year.
In respect of rapid testing, the turn-round for results would be at least 15-30 minutes. This would inevitably lead to queues and delayed entry to venues and, presumably, with social distancing and mask wearing once inside.
The lateral flow tests themselves can also provide a ‘false positive’ – where someone receives a positive test result even though they do not have the virus (or a ‘false negative’ when the person receives a negative result when they have the virus). The cost of these tests – if not borne by the Government – would likely add to ticket prices.
The use and benefit of any initiative that facilitates venue entry will be determined by the pace of vaccine roll-out, with younger gig-goers unlikely to receive a first jab until August at the earliest which means that – for some – early summer festivals might still be a no-go.
What about bands? They would have to think carefully – at least initially – about their target demographic. Fine if it’s over 50 but less so if 18-34 and even then audiences are likely to be distanced and therefore attendance levels not maximised. Until air travel restrictions are lifted, bands outside the UK will be prevented from touring and similarly – even without virus implications – Brexit has made European touring potentially unviable.
(Updated 22.02.21)
The Government announced a four-step plan to release England from lockdown.
Step three, scheduled for 17 May at the earliest, is the first point where live events could return however limited capacities and social distancing may still be required.
If government tests are met on May 17, big events and sports stadiums will be able to reopen with capacity limits – for example, up to 10,000 attendees at festivals or up to 4,000 people, or 50 per cent capacity in stadiums; smaller events will be allowed up to 1,000 people or 50 per cent capacity (whichever is smaller for both outdoors and indoors).
Mark Davyd, chief executive of the Music Venue Trust, welcomed the timeline for the return of socially distanced events, but said he now hoped to see “sector-specific financial support to mitigate the damage being done to businesses and people’s lives, careers and families right across the live music industry”.
(Updated 24.03.21)
The Guardian newspaper reported “The government’s roadmap suggests that a return to live music is on the horizon but, thanks to a combination of a huge backlog of gigs, continuing global Covid infections, and unclear conditions for reopening, musicians, bookers, promoters, and club owners say it is far from certain.”
Coronavirus
Readers are advised to check out the artist and venue websites for latest information. Many tours/dates are being rearranged for 2022.
We will update our gig listings on a regular basis.
Check out rearranged dates for key 2020 UK tours
THE DUST CODA Demon
The Dust Coda’s second album – ‘Mojo Skyline’ – was released 26 March via Earache Records.
COVID-19 permitting, the band will return to Ramblin’ Man Fair this year, performing on the prestigious main stage on Saturday 17th July 2021. In addition, the band just announced a full UK headline tour in December 2021.
Tour Dates
Sat 4th Dec London, Boston Music Room
Sun 5th Dec Manchester, Deaf Institute
Mon 6th Dec Glasgow, King Tuts
Tue 7th Dec Nottingham, Billy Bootleggers
Wed 8th Dec Newcastle, Head Of Steam
Fri 10th Dec Bristol, The Exchange
Sat 11th Dec Birmingham, Dead Wax
Sun 12th Dec Southampton, Heartbreakers
JO BELOW Russian Roulette
From Finland, Jo Below released their EP ‘By The Rules’ in September 2020 from which ‘Russian Roulette’ is taken.
The band release their latest EP – No Control – on April 16 via Inverse Records.
Throughout September 2018 Get Ready to ROCK! Radio celebrated the station’s 10th anniversary and a two-hour special reflected a decade of broadcasting. “10 years in the making” features archive interviews with Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Todd Rundgren, Graham Bonnet, David Coverdale, John Wetton and Bob Catley.
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