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Röck Illustrated

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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.  

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Hollywood Bowl: Venue Spotlight

Hollywood Bowl: Venue Spotlight

If not for Christine Stevenson, the Hollywood Bowl, the crown jewel of American outdoor music venues, would never have existed. The Philadelphian born into the Pittsburgh Paint Company fortune used her healthy inheritance to bankroll art in its grandest forms: theaters, pageants, and eventually a hillside amphitheater in Los Angeles.

In 1919, Stevenson and the Theatre Arts Alliance found primo land in a Hollywood canyon called Daisy Dell, forking over $48k (about $745k today) for the 59 acres, which boast natural acoustics.

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Jessica Simpson Live Debuts 4 ‘Nashville’ Tunes at Benefit Show

Jessica Simpson Live Debuts 4 ‘Nashville’ Tunes at Benefit Show

The irresistible Jessica Simpson rocked Pittsburgh and Nashville this past weekend, and stopped by the MTV VMAs to bring attention to the release of her new EP Nashville Canyon, Part 2, which bookends Part 1, was released in March.

The star of stage and reality TV performed at the Stage AE in the Steel City on Friday (9/5) as part of the Women Who Rock Benefit Concert, the annual event that raises money for the Magee-Women’s Research Institute & Foundation and UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, which supports research and patient care in women’s health. Opened in 2010, Stage AE is a 5,500-capacity for the outdoor configuration and about half that for indoor.

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Dream Theater Kicks Off Parasomnia Tour with Live Debuts

Tour or event poster for Dream Theater Kicks Off Parasomnia Tour with Live Debuts

The progressive metal giants Dream Theater rocked the Santander Performing Arts Center in Reading, PA, on Friday (9/5) to kick off their ambitious Parasomnia Tour.

Parasomnia, the group's 16th studio LP dropped in February and was the first new material recorded with their north star, Mike Portnoy since Black Clouds & Silver Linings in 2009.

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Setlist History: Nine Inch Nails’ Star-Studded 2009 “Final” Show

Setlist History: Nine Inch Nails’ Star-Studded 2009 “Final” Show

Nine Inch Nails played what was billed as their final show at the Wiltern Theatre in LA on September 10, 2009, closing out the Wave Goodbye Tour, alongside a slow parade of guest stars.

Frontman Trent Reznor had announced earlier that year that the band would be stepping away from live performances, citing exhaustion after two decades of relentless touring and a desire to focus on other parts of his life.

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Unlocked: Nova Twins

Tour or event poster for Unlocked: Nova Twins

Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello called the British rock duo Nova Twins, "the best band people hadn’t heard yet." Elton John described them as phenomenal and said they rocked his world.

Vocalist and guitarist Amy Love and bassist Georgia South have been friends since childhood who played in different bands before deciding to form one together in 2014 called BRAATS. They quickly changed their name to Nova Twins where they mixed punk, grime, hip-hop, and metal into something totally unique. 

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Gorillaz Played Four Unique Anniversary Gigs in London

Gorillaz House of Kong 2025 promotional artwork

Gorillaz celebrated their 25th anniversary with the House of Kong residency of four special concerts at the Copper Box Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Known as the “Box that Rocks,” the venue seats about 7,500 and sits in Stratford, East London.

The theme of the residency was ambitious: perform the first three Gorillaz albums in full on consecutive nights, then close with a “mystery” fourth show.

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System of a Down Gave Love to Ozzy, Go-Gos, & Wham! at MetLife

System of a Down Gave Love to Ozzy, Go-Gos, & Wham! at MetLife

System of a Down’s 2025 stadium mini-tour has been one of the year’s most anticipated rock events, with the Armenian American band staging a handful of massive shows across the US and Canada this summer including a pair that just wrapped last week in Jersey, followed by a mammoth gig in Chicago.

The doubleheader at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, (8/27, 8/28) and the performances at Soldier Field in Chicago a few days later (8/31, 9/1) drew some of the largest crowds of the run.

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