REBEAT News Roundup (April 4 – April 10)
Breaking news
Bruce Springsteen cancelled a show set for April 10 in North Carolina due to a law that, in Springsteen’s words, “attacks the rights of LGBT citizens.” The laws, which were set in motion back in March, reversed local ordinance that gave certain rights to those who are gay or transgender. In his official statement, Springsteen said:
HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace. […] I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.
Read the full statement here.
Albums, singles, and tours
- Paul Simon released the first single, called “Wristband,” from his new album Stranger to Stranger. The album — his 13th solo album — is due out on June 3.
- According to Rolling Stone’s interview with Steven Tyler, Aerosmith is thinking about going out on tour in 2017 after Tyler’s solo tour ends.
- Stephen Stills’s band, the Rides, will tour in support of their second album, Pierced Arrow. The album is set to be released on May 6.
- ZZ Top and Gregg Allman will co-headline a tour beginning in Ohio on April 16. For a full list of dates and more information, click here.
- Jeff Beck will release a new album — which does not yet have a title — on July 15. Its release will coincide with Beck’s summer tour dates.
Happy birthday!
- April 5 – Allan Clarke of the Hollies (born in 1942)
- April 6 – Merle Haggard, country singer and musician (born in 1937)
- April 7 – Charlie Thomas of the Drifters (born in 1937), Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane (1938), Mick Abrahams of Jethro Tull (1943), John Oates of Hall & Oates (1949)
- April 8 – Steve Howe of Yes (born in 1947), Mel Schacher of Grand Funk Railroad (1951)
Rest in peace
- Merle Haggard, country music legend, passed away on his birthday, April 6, 2016. He was 79-years-old in his home in North Carolina from complications brought on by pneumonia.
