2022 ended on a good note for Brian May. The Queen guitarist who already has earned numerous honors including a doctorate in astrophysics, a 2005 appointment to the CBE ranks (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) and induction into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2001, yesterday was awarded knighthood in recognition of his musicianship and his dedication to charitable causes. Congratulations Sir Brian!

Nugs.net will provide multiple night live streams of Dead and Company concerts from the group's Playing In The Sand series of destination concerts in Cancun, Mexico.  Given the hassles of travel these days, there are plenty of reasons to consider the next best option to being there in person.  Get in on enjoying the concerts at the Riviera Maya here.

We may recieve a small commission from the sponsor for linked subscriptions to live streamed concerts.

Pete Townshend and wife Rachel Fuller are in the process of creating a ballet based on the Who's 1973 double album Quadrophenia. The planned timeline targets a spring, 2024 London stage premiere. Fuller previously developed the staging of the group's 2015 tour that revolved around the 1973 rock opera. Auditions open in London in mid February.

Photo: Miho CC 3.0

Sting. Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Eric Church, Dave Matthews and a number of other musicians are cued-up for Homeward Bound: A Grammy Tribute to the Songs of Paul Simon that will air on CBS at 9pm (eastern) on Wednesday (12/21). As is typical of things put together by the Grammys, the rest of the lineup is a mash-up of artists from multiple genres, including some it's a stretch to imagine will pull off versions of Paul's songs that will impress fans.

Conspicuously absent is Art Garfunkel. As important as he was from an arranging and harmonizing standpoint in Simon and Garfunkel, it was Simon that penned just about all of the duo's songs and went on to have quite a prolific solo career after the duo parted ways.

 

A Viral infection has forced Billy Joel to postpone his final Madison Square Garden concert of 2022 that had been scheduled to take place tonight. In apologizing for the inconvenience on social media, The Paino Man wrote to fans saying he was, "...hoping to be closer to full recovery by now. Sadly that hasn't happened." The December 2022 make-good date has been slotted for June 2, 2023.

The Rolling Stones have announced an immersive streaming concert event featuring multi-angle cameras that will give fans a sense of what it's like to be on stage with the group when it performed it's December 15, 2012 concert at the Newark, New Jersey Prudential Center. Best of all, the February 2 online production utilizing Kiswe global streaming technology is priced at just $9.99. The 24 song set the group performed that night included guest appearances by former member Mick Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer and Gary Clark Jr.
Advance tickets are available now at RollingStonesNewark.com

The world lost a drummer admired by many drumming greats of greater renown with the passing of Dino Danelli on Thursday (12/15). Danelli was both a wonderfully talented drummer and a terrific showman during his time with the Young Rascals and the Rascals.

Born in Jersey City, NJ on July 23, 1944, Danelli started out as a jazz and R&B drummer, getting playing stints with jazz and blues greats Lionel Hampton and Little Willie John. Dino and and Eddie Brigati, who loved singing R&B, hooked up with guitarist and harp player Gene Cornish and Felix Cavaliere, a keyboard player who had been in some bands while attending Syracuse University and was with Joey Dee and the Starliters when Eddie Brigati's brother David sang on that group's big 1962 hit The Peppermint Twist.

Early on in the Young Rascals, Danelli and Brigati suggested that the Young Rascals record rockin' versions of R&B and soul classics like Mustang Sally and Good Lovin' and In The Midnight Hour before Cavaliere and Cornish started writing originals for the group to record.

After Brigati and Cornish left the band in 1971 and 1972, Danelli and Cornish reunited in the band Bulldog. The pair would eventually get back together to tour as the New Rascals. E Street Band and Disciples Of Soul's Steven Van Zandt, a huge fan of the group, was instrumental in reuniting the original lineup in 2012 for what was billed as The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream production of live performance combined with archived footage that was staged at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY and Richard Rodgers Theatre in Ne York City.

For a band that wasn't not around long emerged just as the British Invasion was garnering all of the attention, the Young Rascals and Rascals still managed to have a big impact - and their concerts were as and in some cases better than the ones being performed by some of the early arrivals from the UK. Dino Danelli had a lot to do with that.

Health issues in recent years robbed him of his ability to play - and playing was what he lived for.

Photo: chascar CC 2.0

R.I.P. Kim Simmonds. The founding guitarist of Savoy Brown and the only member of the group to have played on every album the band released passed away Tuesday at an upstate New York hospital. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2019.

Simmonds formed The Savoy Brown Blues band with harmonica player John O'Leary in 1965. The pair added Brice Portius (vocals), Ray Chappell (bass), Trevor Jeavons (keyboards) and Leo Manning (drums). Most of the original lineup moved on within the next few years.

The group's popularity grew with addition of 'Lonesome' Dave Preverett as a second guitarist in 1969. Just wen it seeme that Savoy Brown was on the brink of breaking big, lead singer Chris Youlden left the group, followed by Peverett, drummer Roger Earl and bass player Tony Stevens who parted ways with Simmonds to form Foghat in 1971. Simmonds wasted no time re-stocking the Savoy Brown lineup with three members of the group Chicken Shack; keyboard player Paul Raymond, drummer Dave Bidwell and bassist Andy Silvester.

Over the decades, more than 60 musicians have been in Savoy Brown. The one constant was Simmonds, a musician and songwriter many fans and critics feel deserved more recognition for his writing and playing than he received.

Roger Waters released The Lockdown Sessions today. The songs were recorded and filmed at home during the Covid lockdown between 2020 and 2021. Also included with the release is “Comfortably Numb 2022” which was recorded during Waters This Is Not A Drill North American tour. 5 seminal tracks from Waters time with Pink Floyd/ his solo career: “Mother” and “Vera” from Pink Floyd The Wall; “Two Suns In The Sunset” and “The Gunner’s Dream” from Waters final Pink Floyd album, The Final Cut; and “The Bravery of Being Out Of Range” from his solo lp Amused To Death are on it as well as Waters new version of the Comfortably Numb”.

Photo cc 4.0 credit Michael Dinger

U2's Larry Mullen Jr. is facing surgeries to address issues that if not taken care of could end his career behind the kit. As a consequence, U2 will be Mullen-less for its upcoming Las Vegas stint and could be without him for a chunk if not all of the group's planned 2023 tour while he recovers.

This news comes as the Irish band reportedly finishes up work on a couple of upcoming albums, Songs of Ascent and a compilation of raw, rerecorded versions of the 40 songs Bono reflects on in his recent book Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

David Gilmour lends his guitar skills to Donovan on his new album titled Gaelia. The Pink Floyd veteran plays on two tracks on the release due on December 15. Here's a preview.