Music News Net

Genesis Guitarist, Steve Hackett, Announces North American Concert Dates

MUSIC NEWS- As his Genesis Revisited live experience adds concert dates around the globe, and now a full USA tour, Steve Hackett announces the release of Selection on May 13th in the UK; the single CD album will feature a collection of songs taken from Genesis Revisited II and include a newly recorded version of Carpet Crawlers, a pre-tour treat from the legendary guitarist with Ray Wilson on vocal duties. Carpet Crawlers will also be available as a single track for digital download.

"This single CD album features some of my favorite shorter songs and highlights from Genesis Revisited II", said Hackett recently, "along with additional track 'Carpet Crawlers' sung by Ray Wilson, who joined Genesis as singer on Calling All Stations."  "He does a great job here filling Gabriel's shoes, but with his own special style. It's great to be flying the flag once more for the early Genesis sound on the eve of the World Tour."

FLASH Returns After 40 Years with New Album

MUSIC NEWS- Just months after the untimely passing of founding member, Peter Banks, British progressive rockers Flash, featuring Ray Bennett & Colin Carter, will be releasing their new CD on May 21, 2013 via Purple Pyramid Records.  And not surprisingly, the new release is named  'Flash featuring Ray Bennett & Colin Carter', and it'll be the first album by the group in 40 years.

Founded by lead vocalist Colin Carter, original YES member, guitarist Peter Banks, bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough, Flash released three critically acclaimed albums in the 1970's and and made several highly regarded concert tours of the US and Europe. In the USA, their single “Small Beginnings” reached a respectable #29 on the Billboard charts, and their first album 'Flash' made the top 50, propelling the band into major venues on their first tour. In the US, Flash went from intimate, small venues like L.A.'s  Whisky A Go Go, to large concert halls like New York's Avery Fisher Hall, to a wild crowd of 300,000 music fans at the Soda Pop Festival in Indiana.

JON ANDERSON To Appear at 9th Festival Des Guitares Du Monde

MUSIC NEWS - Legendary vocalist Jon Anderson, lead singer/songwriter and visionary for 35 years with prog rock legends YES and known for his music with Vangelis, Kitaro, and Milton Nascimento, will be performing at the 9th Festival Des Guitares Du Monde in Quebec, Canada on May 25, 2013.

The show promises to deliver an exciting mixture of material from Jon Anderson's prolific solo career, collaborations with Vangelis and classic YES songs, along with some new compositions, highlighted by humorous and enlightening stories told by Jon.   Said Jon recently, “I'm very excited to bring my show to Quebec. I enjoy the show that I do, and people really seem to have a great time.”

Prog Rock's NEKTAR to Tour Summer 2013

MUSIC NEWS - One of the summer’s most anticipated tours, “Legends of U.K. Classic Rock”, will feature progressive rock legends Nektar, beginning in June 2013. After an absence from USA  concert stages, Nektar is sure to be a treat for concert-goers who will be fortunate enough to catch one of the shows!   Nektar founding member Roye Albrighton (guitars/lead vocals) said recently, “We can promise you high quality performances wherever we play. I know I speak on behalf of the band when I say we are all looking forward to it.”

Rock Album Cover Artist, Storm Thorgerson, Dead at 69

MUSIC NEWS - Iconic rock album cover designer, Storm Thorgerson has passed away at age 69. He had been treated for cancer for some years.  His incredible body of work and his long-term relationship with Pink Floyd, designing covers for the likes of Darkside Of The Moon and Wish You Were Hear among many others made him and his Hipgnosis firm, legendary.  Thorgerson was also commissioned, and well known for his work with Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin, Muse, Phish, Styx, Biffy Clyro (his final work, for their OPPOSITES album ), Black Sabbath and more.

More @ Stormthorgerson.com

 

Prog Rockers, YES, Extend Tour

MUSIC NEWS- Prog rockers, YES have added two new legs of dates to their triple-header concert tour where they perform three of their albums in their entirety, all in one concert: 1971’s THE YES ALBUM, 1972’s CLOSE TO THE EDGE, and 1977’s GOING FOR THE ONE. 

The newly added dates start May 19 with six shows in Brazil and one each in Chile and Argentina. The new North American dates launch July 6 in Paso Robles, CA and include stops in Anaheim, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Atlanta, GA, Washington, DC and Montreal, CAN and wrap August 14 in Rosemont, IL. The in-progress tour marks the first time since 1973 that YES–bassist CHRIS SQUIRE, guitarist STEVE HOWE, drummer ALAN WHITE, keyboardist GEOFF DOWNES and their newest member, singer JON DAVISON have performed an album onstage in its entirety.

Jon Anderson's OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW To Be Performed Live for Earth Day 2013

MUSIC NEWS- Prog rock's Jon Anderson's classic solo album, OLIAS OF SUNHILLOW will be performed live in Lowell, MA this April as part of UMASS Earth Day events.  Anderson, the original voice of YES and a brilliant composer, vocalist, visionary is also an advocate for environmental causes and the rights of indigenous peoples.

UMASS will present Jon's 1976 masterpiece "OLIAS of SUNHILLOW" album live and complete as a tribal/synth/folk/prog oratorio for three performances on Earth Day 2013 weekend. Tickets are free but tix are limited.  There is no charge for the event, but attendees are asked to make a donation which will provide access to clean water in rural communities in African and India.

Prog Rock Guitarist PETER BANKS Dies

MUSIC NEWS - Best known for his innovative and unique guitar work with YES and Flash, as well
as his own critically acclaimed solo albums, guitar legend Peter Banks passed away at his home in London on March 8, 2013. Banks, a founding member of the ground breaking progressive rock group YES, performed on the band's first two albums, 'Yes' and 'Time And A Word'. He went on to form Flash and release three well-received albums (Flash, In The Can, Out Of Our Hands), along with several successful tours of Europe and the US, culminating in an appearance on the widely watched late night American TV show 'The Midnight Special'. With an admitted fondness for improvisation, music critics touted Banks as a cross between Pete Townshend and Wes Montgomery. Even Pete Townshend, one night after witnessing a YES performance, walked up to Banks, slapped him on the back and said, “You're great!”

Carl Palmer Announces "Twist of the Wrist Tour 2013"

MUSIC NEWS - Carl Palmer, one the most renowned drummers in rock history and a founding member of both E.L.P. and ASIA, is returning to the world stage for an extensive solo tour that will celebrate the release of his new DECADE dvd (which chronicles the 2011 tour show) and a new collection of fine art, recently done in conjunction with California’s Scene Four ArtStudios.

“ I am thrilled to be gearing up for my return to live performing,” said Palmer recently from his home in London.

Palmer is gearing up to return to professional work after being sidelined for over two months when he contracted the serious E Coli infection, while on tour with ASIA in the United States. The illness caused the cancellation of ASIA’s 2012 UK tour, the first time in his professional career that one of his tours had to be cancelled.

RENNAISANCE Guitarist/Composer Michael Dunford Passes Away

MUSIC NEWS- Michael Dunford, musical composer and guitarist of the progressive Brit folk/rock band Renaissance passed away on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. He had recently returned home after the band wrapped up the first leg of their North American concert tour.  He suffered a massive Instantaneous Cerebral Hemorrhage while dining at his home in Surrey, England on Monday night and was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared his condition irreversible and terminal. He passed away at 11:06 pm GMT, his family at his side, without having regained consciousness.

The reclusive and soft-spoken composer, a mainstay in the world of progressive rock, was born, raised and educated in Surrey. His first job was selling clothing in a local shop followed by a stint as an airside driver at Heathrow Airport which enabled him to form a “skiffle” group.  This lead to his first rock band called Nashville Teens in the early 1960s. Nashville Teens reached #6 on U.K. singles charts with their version of Tobacco Road. After leaving them, he formed several other bands including The Pentad and The Plebes. One night he saw the original Renaissance performing live at a local venue and ended up joining them in the early 1970s. The original band members were Jim McCarty, Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, Keith Relf and Jane Relf.

GENESIS Guitarist Steve Hackett Streams His New "Genesis Revisited II "

MUSIC NEWS - Steve Hackett, Guitarist for Brit prog rock band Genesis  gave fans a full listen to his new album, Genesis Revisited II, on Friday, prior to its release this week. The double album is out next Tuesday, October 22 from Inside Out Music, and you can listen to it in full online below from MNN.

His new album features reinterpretions of classic  Genesis songs from the period that he has the most interest in, the "golden era" of GENESIS, the years 1971-1977.  And, the album includes an amazing group  of guest performers.

Supertramp's ROGER HODGSON Returns for USA Tour

MUSIC NEWS- Having wrapped up a sold-out European tour and additional sold-out performances earlier this year in the USA and South America, songwriter and vocalist Roger Hodgson, co-founder and original singer-songwriter from Supertramp, continues the USA leg of his popular “Breakfast in America” tour this fall.

The 34-date tour; which features all his hit songs including “The Logical Song,” “Breakfast in America,” “Give a Little Bit,”  “Dreamer,” “School,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “Child of Vision,” “Even in the Quietest Moments,” “It's Raining Again,” and "Fool's Overture", is his first major U.S. tour since his departure from Supertramp in 1983.  

Supertramp's ROGER HODGSON Returns for USA Tour

MUSIC NEWS- Having wrapped up a sold-out European tour and additional sold-out performances earlier this year in the USA and South America, songwriter and vocalist Roger Hodgson, co-founder and original singer-songwriter from Supertramp, continues the USA leg of his popular “Breakfast in America” tour this fall.

The 34-date tour; which features all his hit songs including “The Logical Song,” “Breakfast in America,” “Give a Little Bit,”  “Dreamer,” “School,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “Child of Vision,” “Even in the Quietest Moments,” “It's Raining Again,” and "Fool's Overture", is his first major U.S. tour since his departure from Supertramp in 1983.  

Supertramp's ROGER HODGSON Returns for USA Tour

MUSIC NEWS- Having wrapped up a sold-out European tour and additional sold-out performances earlier this year in the USA and South America, songwriter and vocalist Roger Hodgson, co-founder and original singer-songwriter from Supertramp, continues the USA leg of his popular “Breakfast in America” tour this fall.

The 34-date tour; which features all his hit songs including “The Logical Song,” “Breakfast in America,” “Give a Little Bit,”  “Dreamer,” “School,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “Child of Vision,” “Even in the Quietest Moments,” “It's Raining Again,” and "Fool's Overture", is his first major U.S. tour since his departure from Supertramp in 1983.  

RENNAISANCE Returns With Grandine il Vento and Tour News

MUSIC NEWS - English symphonic rock band Renaissance rose from the ashes of the seminal UK rock group, the Yardbirds, with vocalist Annie Haslam and principal songwriter and guitarist Michael Dunford to define their work with folk rock and classical fusions. The group will tour this fall to to re-introduce to new generations the lush, orchestral favorites that made them a staple of 1970s progressive rock FM radio.

Renaissance will perform in two acts their acclaimed album NOVELLA in its' entirety plus a
treasure trove of their classics and debut selections from their new album Grandine il Vento.