Greetings Rockers ’N’ Rollers! Marilyn Manson played his first concert in over 4 years at Hersheypark Stadium on Aug 2 opening for Five Finger Death Punch. The shock rocker last performed in Nov 2019 and for the past years has been part of cancelled culture for sexual allegations against women, which the singer has denied. Manson is touring 31-dates currently opening for Five Finger Death Punch and several headlining shows and will finish Sept 19 in Texas.
Harrisburg University Presents brought yet another great concert to Harrisburg’s Riverfront on Aug 28 with South African country musician Orville Peck. Now based in Los Angeles, Peck is well known for wearing a mask and not showing his face publicly. He has released 3 studio albums and 14 engaging artistic music videos and has collaborated with Willie Nelson, Noah Cyrus, Kylie Minogue and Diplo. Central PA provided many other great concerts this month including Four Horseman (Metallica tribute) at Harrisburg’s XL Live, Solar Federation (Rush tribute) at Red Lion’s Double Barrel Roadhouse on Aug 17 and Hershey Vineyard hosted The River 97.3 Birthday Bash on Aug 3 featuring Martini Bros, Jellybricks and Jet Silver.
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler’s voice has been permanently damaged by a vocal cord injury last year and the band will no longer tour, the band announced on Aug. 2. The remainder of its “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour,” is canceled. The iconic Boston-based band stated “We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision — as a band of brothers — to retire from the touring stage.” Aerosmith was three shows into its tour with The Black Crowes in support when Tyler suffered vocal cord damage during its sold-out Sept. 9, 2023 stop in New York.
On Aug 17, System of a Down and Deftones headlined a sold-out concert in San Francisco, the debut of the new annual Golden Gate Park Concerts Series. According to the independent local promoter, 50,000 tickets sold out in 95 minutes. The lineup also featured the Mars Volta, Viagra Boys and Vowws. Bolstered by Dead & Company’s residency and a four-day run by Phish, Sphere Entertainment in Las Vegas closed its fiscal year with more than $1 billion in revenue. In addition to concerts performed by U2, Phish and Dead & Company the Sphere will host its first live sports event — UFC 306 — in September. Eagles begin a residency that month, as well.
Jack Russell, the lead singer of the bluesy ‘80s metal band Great White whose hits included “Once Bitten Twice Shy” and “Rock Me”, and was fronting his band the night 100 people died in a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island, died at the age of 63 on Aug 7. Russell recently stopped touring after announcing he had been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia and Multiple System Atrophy, which causes loss of coordination and balance, and changes in speech. Poison singer Bret Michaels posted: “To my friend Jack Russell, such an amazing voice. May you rest in peace.” Greg Kihn, a rock and roll musician best known for his ’80s hit songs “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song,” also passed away at 75. Kihn died of Alzheimer’s disease on Aug 13. He was born in Baltimore and his 1983 hit song “Jeopardy” rose to No. 2 on Billboard songs chart behind Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” On his birthday in July, Kihn posted “After so many years of touring as well as doing radio shows … it’s finally time I get to chill out, Thank you to each and every one of you for all your love and support now and over the years. Rock on!”
Taylor Swift’s three concerts at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria, scheduled Aug. 8-10, got cancelled after local authorities arrested two individuals suspected of planning a terrorist attack. Vienna’s mayor wrote the threat had been “very serious,” recognized the threat early, and combated it to prevent a tragedy. Three individuals – one 19-year old, and two 17-year olds – had been arrested by Aug. 7. The 19-year-old suspect, who lived in Austria, and has roots in North Macedonian, has reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. “They wanted to cause a bloodbath.” The suspect reportedly built an explosive device with chemicals obtained from the company he worked for, “and presumably wanted to blow himself up in front of the Stadium.” Taylor Swift became the first solo artist to sell out eight nights on one tour at the iconic Wembley Stadium in England. The stadium bolstered its security and safety with additional restrictions and did not allow fans without a ticket to gather outside of the 90,000-capacity building. Swifties, a term for the popstar’s devoted fans, who were unable to secure tickets are known to gather outside the venues to get a taste of her live performances, a practice coined as “Tayl-gating.” At Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fans hung out outside the building to soak in the atmosphere.
Ed Sheeran performed for two consecutive nights in Kaunas, Lithuania, Aug. 3-4, gathering more than 80,000 fans, and setting a new ticket sales record in the Baltic states for a show by an international artist. “Ed’s year in 2024 has been full of record-breaking shows not just in the Middle East and Asia but now in the Baltics. It never ceases to amaze me,” commented promoter AEG Presents. “Not only were the concerts the biggest commercial event in Kaunas’ history, but they also attracted thousands of foreign concert goers from neighboring countries. The concerts’ overall impact on the city’s economy is estimated to be around $15 million. Coldplay celebrated a couple of records on their first visit to Helsinki, Finland, where the band played in front of a total of more than 178,000 people for 4 concerts, averaging some 44,500 per show. These figures mark the highest ticket sales for a single artist or band in Finland on one visit.
The highly anticipated reunion tour with Ms. Lauryn Hill and The Fugees was canceled days before its launch. Ticketmaster has listed all 18 U.S. dates of “The Celebration Continues: The Miseducation Anniversary Tour 2024” as canceled. Hill released a statement that the decision to scrap North American tour dates was done “with difficulty” and blames the media for “creating a narrative” that affected ticket sales. “When these unforeseen circumstances are resolved, we’ll be back in full force…” Blink-182 announced recent cancellations of their shows Aug 9 & 10 “Unfortunately, due to illness we are unable to make it to Kansas City and St. Louis,” the band stated. “We are sorry and hope to see you next time.” Hersheypark Stadium encountered two concert cancellations this Summer with Stevie Nicks on June 15 (rescheduled for Sept 28) and Green Day on Aug 10 (rescheduled for Sept 2). Green Day kicked off the North American leg of their “Saviors Tour” in front of 41,000-plus rockers at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on July 29. The band hailing from Northern California played a career-spanning 37-song set, which not only included songs from their latest studio album Saviors but also performances of iconic albums Dookie and American Idiot in their entirety. The band went all out on the show’s production, bringing out a 42-foot-long inflatable plane identical to the one on the famous Dookie album cover. The night opened with sets from ‘90s rock staples The Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid as well as teenage quartet The Linda Lindas.
The 1975 is being sued after Matty Healy’s kiss of a bandmate in an on-stage protest shut down a music festival last year in Malaysia. Healy used profanities as he criticized Malaysia’s stance against homosexuality before kissing bassist Ross MacDonald during the band’s headline performance at the Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur. Homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and caning. The lawsuit from the festival organizer seeking $2.5 million for breach of contract and losses. In its lawsuit, FSA said the band previously performed at the festival in 2016 and had been reminded that performance rules included no swearing, smoking, drinking alcohol, talking about politics and religion, or indecent action such as kissing.
Billy Joel took the stage at Madison Square Garden on July 25 for the grand finale of his decade-long historic residency. The show marked his 150th appearance at the venue. Each month, Joel took the stage with a sold-out crowd that would include both dedicated fans and tourists who saw the show as an essential part of their New York experience. Cameos of artists who joined Joel onstage included Guns N’ Roses Axl Rose, Bruce Springsteen’s for Joel’s 100th show, Steve Miller, Paul Simon and Miley Cyrus together, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, jazz pianist Chick Corea, Felix Cavaliere, Itzhak Perlman, Jimmy Fallon, Howard Stern and Kevin James. Joel, 75, announced his retirement from The Garden last June, “ I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful thing that’s happened here.”
SEPTEMBER SHOWS: Green Day / Smashing Pumpkins / Rancid – Hersheypark Stadium Sept 2. Cat Power – Lancaster American Music Theatre Sept 6. Jane’s Addiction / Love & Rockets – Atlantic City Hard Rock Sept 7. The Killers – Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Sept 8. Pearl Jam – Baltimore CFG Bank Arena Sept 12. Bret Michaels – Grantville Hollywood Casino Sept 14. Post Malone – Hersheypark Stadium Sept 20. Pete Yorn – Harrisburg XL Live Sept 21. The Hives – Pittsburgh Stage AE Sept 27. Stevie Nicks – Hersheypark Stadium Sept 28. Jesus and Mary Chain / Psychedelic Furs – Philadelphia Franklin Music Hall Sept 29.