Skip to content
Röck Illustrated

all the noise that's fit to blog

For Those About To Read...

Dua Lipa Sings with Lenny Kravitz at MSG

Dua Lipa Sings with Lenny Kravitz at MSG

Summer may be winding down but it got mighty hot at Madison Square Garden on Sunday (9/21) when Dua Lipa was joined with Lenny Kravitz for a duet on “It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over.”

The Radical Optimism Tour had already delivered a NYC surprise when, Nile Rodgers joined the sexy singer the night before, but at 60, Lenny is magically sexier than ever and strutting next to Dua: holy smokes.

more

Chappell Roan Brings Out Heart’s Nancy Wilson for “Barracuda”

Chappell Roan Brings Out Heart’s Nancy Wilson for “Barracuda”

Chappell Roan brought her Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things Tour to Queens with a four-night residency at Forest Hills Stadium on 9/20, 9/21, and 9/23, with a final sold-out show scheduled for tonight (9/24). Along the way she brought up an extremely special guest.

The gigs, so far, have leaned heavily on material from The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess while still mixing in earlier tracks - which was to be expected. But fans were surprised Sunday (9/21), when Nancy Wilson of Heart joined her for the biting “Barracuda.”

more

Unlocked: The Beaches

Unlocked: The Beaches

The Beaches, Tornoto's all-female quartet -- Jordan Miller, Kylie Miller, Leandra Earl and Eliza Enman-McDaniel -- whose infectious indie rock sounds and style continue to gain steam, are letting us dig deep into their phones.

Their third studio album, No Hard Feelings, was released last month on AWAL, the same unique label that dropped albums this year by Laufey, Little Simz, Rex Orange County, and Disclosure.

more

Farm Aid Turns 40 w/ Sets by Dylan, Neil, Billy, John & More

Farm Aid Turns 40 w/ Sets by Dylan, Neil, Billy, John & More

Since 1985, Farm Aid has existed to help American farmers survive in the ever-changing environment where they often find themselves fighting against competitors around the world, Mother Nature, and even their own representatives.

When farms around the nation were being foreclosed on in the '80s, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young organized the first benefit concert in Champaign, Illinois, with the idea that music could raise both funds and awareness for struggling farmers.

more

Jack White Jammed w/ IDLES and other Riot Fest Highlights

Jack White Jammed w/ IDLES and other Riot Fest Highlights

Riot Fest marked its 20th anniversary this weekend (9/19–9/21) at Douglass Park in Chicago, a milestone for the independent festival founded in 2005 by Mike “Riot Mike” Petryshyn and the late great Sean McKeough.

The pair were known in Chicago’s punk and alt-rock circles for booking legacy rock and punk acts alongside rising alternative bands and for keeping the operation independent even as it grew.

more

Today is Lita Ford’s Birthday

Today is Lita Ford’s Birthday

Guitar hero Lita Ford was born on September 19, 1958, in London, England, to a couple right out of an old school romance novel. Harry Lenard Ford, a British soldier, and Isabella Benvenuto, an Italian nurse met during World War II, and afterwards settled briefly in England. When Lita was a young child, the family moved first to Boston, where her mother had relatives, and eventually made their way to Los Angeles for more opportunity and a better lifestyle.

As Ford later wrote in her memoir Living Like a Runaway (2016), her parents “gave me a strong, stable, middle-class home to always crawl back to,” a foundation she carried with her even as she entered the unpredictable world of rock.

more

Laufey Kicks Off A Matter of Time Tour with Live Debut

Laufey Kicks Off A Matter of Time Tour with Live Debut

Laufey, who had promised a night of firsts, delivered in Orlando on Monday (9/15). The enchanting Icelandic 26-year-old Grammy-winner offered up a 24-song setlist at the Kia Center, unveiling new songs, including the live debut of “Carousel.”

The opening night marked the launch of the A Matter of Time Tour, an ambitious 40-date run across North America and Europe. It's a trek that supports her third studio release, which came out last month on AWAL.

more

David Byrne Kicks Off Who Is The Sky? Tour with Live Debuts

David Byrne Kicks Off Who Is The Sky? Tour with Live Debuts

David Byrne launched his Who Is the Sky? Tour on Tuesday (9/16) at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh.

The beloved musical legend, forever tied with the Talking Heads, recently released the album the tour is named after earlier this month on Matador Records. It is Byrne’s first solo studio album since the critically acclaimed American Utopia in 2018.

more

Foo Fighters Play Two Pop-Up Shows To Show Off New Drummer

Foo Fighters Play Two Pop-Up Shows To Show Off New Drummer

Foo Fighters proved they are still learning to fly after being grounded for nearly a year, with two surprise pop-up shows in California that served as ways to introduce their new drummer, Ilan Rubin, and get the rust off. The band had not performed live since their last shows in 2024 before surprising fans in San Luis Obispo on Saturday (9/13) at the Fremont Theater and in Santa Ana on Monday (9/15) at the Observatory.

Rubin officially replaced Josh Freese in July in what now looks like a swap with Nine Inch Nails. Freese had joined Foos in 2023 following the tragic death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022. Freese has now returned to Nine Inch Nails, while Rubin, who played with NIN from 2009 through 2022, is now keeping the beat for the Foos. Rubin had also spent 2006 to 2009 with Lostprophets and 2011 to 2018 with Angels & Airwaves.

more

Marquee Memories: X Ambassadors

Marquee Memories: X Ambassadors

X Ambassadors know a thing or two about rewinding the tape. Formed in Ithaca, New York in 2009 when brothers Sam and Casey Harris began playing music with their childhood friend Noah Feldshuh, drummer Adam Levin joined soon after, and the four have been together for more than sixteen years.

What started as a college project quickly grew into a national act once the band signed with KidinaKORNER and Interscope.Their debut album VHS dropped in 2015, producing the hit singles “Renegades” and “Unsteady” that appeared in commercials and film helping the record move over a million units.

more

Jelly Roll, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson Sing For Pope Leo

Jelly Roll, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson Sing For Pope Leo

It was a miracle. For the first time, St. Peter’s Square turned into a real pop concert venue Saturday (9/13) for the two-hour musical showcase co-directed by Andrea Bocelli and Pharrell Williams called Grace for the World. 

The free show featured John Legend, Clipse, Jelly Roll, Jennifer Hudson and others and drew more than 80,000 people into the Vatican City piazza including Pope Leo XIV who turned 70 the following day.  

more