Good morning Radicals! Let’s get into the rock news for this morning:
After teasing it on social media last week, Foo Fighters have confirmed that the band will headline D.C. Jam on July 4th in Washington D.C. to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of the Foos’ self-titled debut on that date in 1995.
The all-day all-night celebration will take place at FedExField in the nation’s capital and feature performances from country star Chris Stapleton, singer/songwriter/producer Pharrell Williams, legendary all-female band The Go-Gos, Seattle’s Band Of Horses and other acts in addition to the headliners.
Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl told us a while back why he likes big outdoor music events: “These kind of shows are so much fun, when you open up with a song like ‘All My Life’ and they hear the (makes guitar sound), the place just kind of goes off. And it’s the best feeling in the world to stand there on stage and watch it happen.”
D.C. Jam will feature side attractions including a BBQ Competition, a Tailgate Party, rides, games and more to be added and announced as the date nears.
A fan presale is underway now, with sales to the general public beginning Friday (March 6th) at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody admitted in an interview with Loudwire Nights that he was disappointed in the band’s last two studio albums, 2015’s Got Your Six and 2018’s And Justice For None.
Moody explained, “I didn’t want to commit artistic suicide, which was really how I felt we were going. There were songs, on the last record, that were brilliant, and I’m very proud of them, but in the entirety, I just felt there was something missing. I didn’t feel like we were doing anything special, and that was a big deal to me.”
Comparing those records to the band’s new F8 album, the vocalist continued, “The sense of expression wasn’t there, and a lot of it was really, I could almost say ‘monotonous.’ This album is not monotonous. I mean, every song has a story, every song has a vibe to it, energy to it, it’s electric for me to listen to.”
F8 arrived on February 28th and caps a turbulent period for the group in which Moody finally got sober after a near-fatal struggle with addiction, while co-founding drummer Jeremy Spencer bowed out of the band due to physical issues.
Five Finger Death Punch launches a spring North American tour on April 8th in Sunrise, Florida.
Breaking Benjamin has just wrapped up a co-headlining run with Korn and is already unveiling a massive summer U.S. tour, this time with Bush, Theory Of A Deadman, Saint Asonia and country/rock crossover artist Cory Marks all along for the ride.
Breaking Benjamin frontman Ben Burnley told us not long ago that he enjoys putting together bills that work well together: “I would never not tour with a band because I necessarily wasn’t a fan — like, I feel that they do their thing and we do our thing. But it’s great and I’m so thankful that every band that I’ve toured with, I’ve liked. And then the political aspect is if they’re doing something, so if the band has product out the same time you do, you know, it just makes sense to put it together if the package works.”
The trek kicks off on July 15th in Bristow, Virginia and will criss-cross the country for the next two months, winding down on September 8th in Mountain View, California. Fan and VIP pre-sales are already underway, while general public ticket sales begin Friday (March 6th) at 10:00 a.m. local time.
Breaking Benjamin’s most recent release is Aurora, a collection of re-imagined versions of some of the band’s most popular songs that came out in January.
Pop Evil has announced an extensive North American tour that will kick off on May 8th in Toronto and conclude on June 27th in Detroit. Support will come from Joyous Wolf, Brkn Love, Junkbunny, Like Machines and Stuck On Planet Earth on select dates.
Singer Leigh Kakaty said, “We are so ready to get back on tour to see all our diehard fans across North America. We’re also very excited to debut and play some new material! ‘The Versatile Tour’ will showcase some young up-and-coming rock bands; it will be one helluva rock show.”
Pop Evil has been hard at work in Los Angeles this winter on their yet-to-be-titled new LP, due later this year. The new effort will be the follow-up to the Michigan acts’s self-titled 2018 album, which featured the singles “Waking Lions” and “Be Legendary.”
Bush will release its eighth studio album in May, titled The Kingdom. The band has already shared the first single, called “Flowers On A Grave,” which is available at all streaming platforms now.
Frontman Gavin Rossdale said about the LP, “We are really proud of The Kingdom. It’s as if all roads traveled over the last few years have gotten us to this point. We look forward to this cycle — old fans, new fans, like-minded people who are searching for their kingdom.”
Rossdale told us a while back that Bush’s success over the past 25 years has allowed him and the band to thrive as artists: “For us the greatest luxury of our whole lives is the fact that — the fact of selling a bunch of records gives you the freedom. I mean, for me as a songwriter, the greatest position to be in is to be in this band because you know that you can keep making records and people will listen to you.”
The Kingdom follows up 2017’s Black And White Rainbows album. The band also issued a track called “Bullet Holes” last year as part of the soundtrack to the film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Bush premiered “Flowers On A Grave” live last Friday night, February 28th during an intimate show at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. On Saturday night, February 29th, Rossdale jumped onstage with Breaking Benjamin in Reno, Nevada for a cover of Alice In Chains‘ “Would?”
That performance previewed a newly announced summer tour in which Breaking Benjamin and Bush will hit the trail along with Theory Of A Deadman and Saint Asonia.
Deftones‘ landmark album White Pony will celebrate its 20th birthday on June 20th and keyboardist Frank Delgado hinted at a possible celebration of that anniversary. Delgado explained, “I’m sure we might do a few things here or there but I know we haven’t really talked about it, and I don’t think we’ve ever really done that either, but I think that record is really seminal for us that it might need the attention!” Delgado also said that the new Deftones LP is “basically done.”
The original lineup of Seattle band Candlebox will reunite later this year to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the band’s sophomore album, Lucy. First they’ll play an intimate acoustic show on October 2nd at the Crocodile in Seattle, followed on October 3rd by a larger concert at the city’s Paramount Theatre, featuring both hits and rarities. Lucy came out in 1995 and featured the Top 10 rock hit “Simple Lessons.”
The dates have been revealed for the “Nu-Metal Revival 2020” tour, starring Saliva, Powerman 5000, Adema and Flaw. The trek will begin on June 25th in Indianapolis and hit 19 more nostalgia-starved cities before closing out on July 26th in Laconia, New Hampshire. Contrary to earlier reports, Saliva will be fronted on this tour by current singer Bobby Amaru and not original vocalist Josey Scott.
Finally, we want to wish a Happy Birthday to the one and only Jason Newstead! Have a wonderful day!
