According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, MÖTLEY CRÜE’s long-awaited “The Stadium Tour” with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS will close on September 9 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Previously, the trek was scheduled to end on September 7 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California.

“The Stadium Tour”, which was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021, will now kick off on June 16 in Atlanta, Georgia.

This past December, Nikki Sixx said that MÖTLEY CRÜE is still on track to finally launch its long-awaited reunion this year. The bassist addressed the status of “The Stadium Tour” while answering a fan question on Twitter. Responding to a fan who wrote, “I’m hopefully going to see The Crue in Houston Tx Aug 2022!”, Sixx said, “We 100% plan on touring in 2022. See ya at the show.”

In October, Sixx told Germany’s Radio Bob! that he and his CRÜE bandmates will “start rehearsals in May” for “The Stadium Tour”. “I start training in December,” he said. “Now it’s down to hard work, getting ready, getting the band into rehearsal.

“We rehearse really hard because we will take a song like ‘Dr. Feelgood’ and while we’re building the show — let’s just say the show is… all the lights are moving, they’re green and they’re slowly moving — we’ll build a whole intro in and design the lights and the lasers around that,” he explained. “So it’s a long process and tedious. So we go to rehearsal and we might need to build in those 32 bars. And then we’ve gotta work with the lighting and the laser company. And then we’ve gotta make sure everything is organized so we get our count-ins for where we need to be onstage. So there’s so much going on.”

When it happens, “The Stadium Tour” will mark the CRÜE’s first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017, but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.

As of January 30, 2020, “The Stadium Tour” had already grossed $130 million from one million tickets sold, plus another $5 million worth of VIP seats, according to Billboard.

Tickets ranged from $150 to $400, not counting some varied pricing that reflected demand as part of “dynamic pricing.”

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of concerts and festivals have either been postponed or canceled, as social distancing and self-quarantining make performing live music and attending live shows all but impossible.

U.S. officials have repeatedly urged Americans to heed what federal, state and local officials are asking of them in order to curtail the spread and dampen the impact of the virus on the population.

MÖTLEY CRÜE’s last studio album was 2008’s “Saints Of Los Angeles”, which was followed by a 2009 “Greatest Hits” compilation.

In 2018, MÖTLEY CRÜE recorded four new songs for “The Dirt” movie, including the single “The Dirt (Est. 1981) (Feat. Machine Gun Kelly)”, “Ride With The Devil”, “Crash And Burn” and the band’s own spin on Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”.

Reelz will premiere “Whitesnake: Story Of Their Songs” on Saturday, February 19 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.

The official synopsis for the episode reads as follows: “Spawned from the mind of former DEEP PURPLE frontman David Coverdale, the British rock band WHITESNAKE first appeared on the English music scene in 1978 and would soon achieve global stardom.

“‘Story of Their Songs’ celebrates six of their hits from the hard-hitting rock epics ‘Love Ain’t No Stranger’ and ‘Still Of The Night’ to heartfelt groovy ballads ‘Is This Love?’ and ‘The Deeper The Love’ to the heavy blues of ‘Fool For Your Loving’. It’s a band with an everchanging lineup as they battled against the odds only to emerge with the chart-topping giant ‘Here I Go Again’.

“Original members guitarist Bernie Marsden and bass player Neil Murray recall the group’s early days and the drive that they saw in lead singer Coverdale who engaged in a relentless pursuit of perfection. Blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa offers his unique appraisal of what makes the WHITESNAKE sound so memorable while recording engineer Mike Fraser explains the sonic qualities of WHITESNAKE’s multi-platinum breakthrough U.S. album ‘1987’. Emmy Award-winning music video director Marty Callner shares his experience directing WHITESNAKE videos and how model and actress Tawny Kitaen became a vital influence on their huge success. WHITESNAKE six-string legends Adrian Vandenberg and Steve Vai give the lowdown on their part in helping the band become one of the biggest rock acts on the planet.”

Coverdale, who turned 70 last September, recently confirmed that he plans to retire from touring after WHITESNAKE’s next batch of concerts around the world.

Although Coverdale will no longer perform with WHITESNAKE, he is still planning on writing and recording fresh material once he has retired from the road. “I’ll be still involved in music,” he told Planet Rock. “We’ve got a relatively long-term deal with Warners. We have a poopload of projects to do under the WHITESNAKE banner. It’s just the touring. It’s not the performing so much that is exhausting, it’s the touring, and I can’t tour any more comfortably than I do. So I spoke to my agent and said, ‘I wanna do this [farewell tour] more than anything. It’s after 50 years of incredible support for me.’ Not to be able to say thank you to the U.K., not to be able to say thank you to Germany, to Japan, Brazil, it would be heartbreaking.

“I’m getting up there for this kind of stuff, and so it’s gonna have to be an easier tour schedule for me to be able to handle and recharge the batteries so I’m not hobbling around or doing wheelies in a chair,” he explained.

“I play guitar every day. The moment I start playing, I come up with ideas for songs. It’s impossible for me not to [play music]. It’s like my hobby. It’s something that I’m supposed to do; otherwise, I think I wouldn’t receive all these amazing ideas for melodies and naughty lyrics, including ‘Slide It In’, darling.”

In early 2020, WHITESNAKE was forced to cancel its U.S. tour with SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE and NIGHT RANGER so that Coverdale could undergo surgery for bilateral inguinal hernia. Eventually, all of the shows were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.

WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, “Flesh & Blood”, which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Sir Rod Stewart, the legendary two-time Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame-inducted singer-songwriter, today announced 19 newly added dates for his highly anticipated 2022 North American summer tour with special guests CHEAP TRICK. Produced by Live Nation and kicking off June 10 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the 38-date tour will be Stewart’s first in four years and promises an unprecedented night of iconic hit songs from one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Tickets for most of the newly added U.S. tour dates go on sale to the public starting on Friday, February 25 at 10 a.m. local time and tickets to the Canadian dates go on sale on Friday, March 4 at 10 a.m. local time on LiveNation.com. Separately, tickets for the Santa Barbara, California concert on June 18 will go on sale to the public on Friday, March 4 at 10 a.m. local time via AXS.com and through the Santa Barbara Bowl box office.

U.S. Presales: Rod Stewart fan club members have access to a special ticket presale for U.S. concerts (except shows in Hollywood, Mountain View, Santa Barbara, and Seattle) beginning Monday, February 21 at 10 a.m. – Thursday, February 24 at 10 p.m. local time, visit RodStewart.com. Citi is the official card of the “Rod Stewart In Concert” tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Tuesday, February 22 at 10 a.m. – Thursday, February 24 at 10 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details visit CitiEntertainment.com.

Presales for Seattle, Washington (June 11), Hollywood, California (June 14) and Mountain View, California (June 17) concerts as follows: Rod Stewart fan club presale is from Monday, February 28 at 10 a.m. – Thursday, March 3 at 10 p.m. local time. For the Hollywood Bowl concert, American Express card members will have access to a special presale starting Friday, February 25 – Thursday, March 3. For the Mountain View, California and Seattle, Washington concerts, Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Tuesday March 1 – Thursday, March 3.

Canada Presales: Rod Stewart fan club members have access to a special ticket presale for Canada concerts beginning Monday, February 28 at 10 a.m. through Thursday, March 3 at 10 p.m. local time, visit RodStewart.com for more information. American Express card members in Canada will have access to Amex Front of the Line presale tickets starting Tuesday March 1 at 10 a.m. – Thursday March 3 at 10 p.m. local time.

Additionally, Rod will return to his stellar Las Vegas residency “Rod Stewart: The Hits” with runs that bookend his tour, May 13-21 and September 23 – October 1, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Since its premiere in 2011, Stewart’s residency has remained one of the best-reviewed and must-see shows on the Las Vegas Strip. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.

Rod Stewart 2022 summer North American tour with special guests CHEAP TRICK:

June 10 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena^
June 11 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena^#
June 14 – Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Bowl^#
June 17 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre^#
June 18 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl^*#
June 21 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre^
June 24 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center^
June 26 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena^
July 01 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
July 02 – Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
July 05 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
July 07 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater – Summerfest Ground^
July 08 – Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center^
July 12 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
July 15 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center^
July 16 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 19 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
July 22 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 23 – London, ON – Budweiser Gardens^#
July 26 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
July 27 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
August 12 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
August 13 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
August 16 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
August 19 – Atlantic City, NJ – Mark G Etess Arena at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
August 20 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
August 23 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
August 26 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion^
August 27 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 31 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
September 02 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
September 03 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
September 07 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena^
September 09 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell^#
September 10 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre^#
September 14 – Saskatoon, SA – SaskTel Centre^#
September 16 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome^#
September 17 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place^#

^ Newly added date
* Not a Live Nation date
# On sale March 4

Founded in 1974, CHEAP TRICK is an indisputable American institution, beloved around the globe for its instantly identifiable, hugely influential, brand of pop-rock ‘n’ roll. The bandmembers are true pioneers with an unparalleled streak of certifiably classic tunes, from “He’s A Whore”, “California Man” and “Dream Police” to “Surrender”, “I Want You To Want Me” and the worldwide No. 1 hit single “The Flame”.

2016 saw CHEAP TRICK inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, a long-overdue acknowledgment of a nearly five-decade career that has earned them more than 40 international gold and platinum certifications, myriad awards and industry honors, featured appearances on over 20 movie soundtracks, and total record sales well in excess of 20 million.

CHEAP TRICK’s current lineup includes three of its original members: singer Robin Zander, guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson. Drummer Bun E. Carlos stopped touring with the band in 2010 and was replaced by Nielsen’s son Daxx.

AMERICA! CANADA! I’m coming for you ?
With my good friends @cheaptrick !!

Make sure you grab tickets ? https://t.co/dfz51GdKKN pic.twitter.com/o7UvXwScwF

— Sir Rod Stewart (@rodstewart) February 2, 2022

EVANESCENCE and WITHIN TEMPTATION have announced that their “Worlds Collide” European co-headlining tour will still happen this year. The trek, which was originally planned for 2020 and later moved to 2021 and then to March/April 2022, will now kick off in the fall. All existing tickets and VIP packages will remain valid for the rescheduled dates and all venues remain the same.

EVANESCENCE and WITHIN TEMPTATION said in a statement: “As the world is slowly reopening again, we have been feeling optimistic about the tour actually taking place in March and April. However – a lot of countries still have restrictions in place, and we are forced to make a decision right now for logistical reasons. We are aware that many fans are preparing to make their plans to attend the shows, some of which involve travel, and given the uncertainty as to exactly when certain countries will lift their restrictions, we are left with no choice but to reschedule the tour, hopefully for the final time.”

Fall 2022 tour dates:

Nov. 09 – Munich, DE @ Olympiahalle
Nov. 10 – Milan, IT @ Mediolanum Forum Milan
Nov. 12 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Hallenstadion
Nov. 14 – London, UK @ The O2
Nov. 15 – Birmingham, UK @ Arena Birmingham
Nov. 17 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro
Nov. 19 – Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena
Nov. 21 – Brussels, BE @ Palais
Nov. 22 – Brussels, BE @ Palais
Nov. 23 – Frankfurt DE @ Festhalle
Nov. 25 – Düsseldorf, DE @ Mitsubishi Electric Halle
Nov. 27 – Paris, FR @ Accor hotels Arena
Nov. 29 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome
Nov. 30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome
Dec. 01 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU @ Rockhal
Dec. 03 – Leipzig, DE @ Leipzig Arena
Dec. 05 – Gliwice, PL @ Arena Gliwice
Dec. 07 – Hamburg, DE @ Barclaycard Arena
Dec. 08 – Berlin, DE @ Velodrom

EVANESCENCE’s latest album, “The Bitter Truth”, charted at No. 4 in the U.K., making it the band’s fourth Top Five album in the country. EVANESCENCE’s first full-length release of all-new material in a decade, “The Bitter Truth” also debuted as the top-selling rock and alternative album in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music Connect.

Shortly after its arrival in March 2021, “The Bitter Truth” rose to the top of the iTunes album charts in 22 countries. Recorded during the pandemic, it confronts the dark realities of the world head-on. Yet its resounding message is one of light, and that pushing through is better than giving up.

A kiss-off to the naysayers and the cheats in the rearview mirror, “Better Without You” explodes with the “metal catharsis” that runs through ‘The Bitter Truth'” (Los Angeles Times). The official music video for the track was directed by filmmaker Eric D. Howell (“Ana’s Playground”, “Voice From The Stone”), who also directed the video for EVANESCENCE’s “Use My Voice”.

EVANESCENCE’s new music was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who also worked on 2011’s self-titled LP.

Despite not being able to tour, WITHIN TEMPTATION is still moving full speed ahead, having released three singles during the pandemic: “Entertain You”, “The Purge” and “Shed My Skin”, the latter of which is a collaboration with the German metalcore band ANNISOKAY.

The “Shed My Skin” music video received its official premiere one day prior to WITHIN TEMPTATION’s digital show “The Aftermath – A Show In A Virtual Reality”, which was held last July.

In a new interview with Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon of Canada’s The Metal Voice, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band’s follow-up to 2018’s “Firepower” album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Since the ‘Firepower’ tour, we all went our separate ways, like we do, and we’ve always got ideas coming up; me, Rob [Halford, vocals] and Glenn [Tipton, guitar], we sort of start to put ideas down. And we got together in early 2020 — me, Rob and Glenn; and [co-producer and touring guitarist] Andy Sneap was there as well — and we pooled all our ideas together and we started the first writing session. So we got together a batch of songs that were by no means finished, but they were developed enough that we could call them songs. So we could give them working titles. They were demos, if that makes sense. So we had a batch of demos. And then since then, we’ve been trying to find an opportunity where we can all get together and develop ’em further and record them. But, obviously, with the restrictions of the lockdown and the pandemic…”

He continued: “We wanna be together as a band to iron out those creases. If the three of us got together with a group of songs and we played them together, it’s, like, ‘Oh, that one needs a bit of fat trimmed there,’ ‘That’s too long’ or ‘We need to put some more guitar solos in there.’ It becomes evident when you play together what songs need. So we’ve been looking for an opportunity to do that. It’s been tough with the travel restrictions — some of us live over here; some of us live over there — so it’s been tough. But we have started recording some and getting it put together with those restrictions, because we wanna get it done, but it’s obviously taking longer than we’d like, really, because of the pandemic. Obviously, now we’ve got the tour coming up and hopefully we can get on the road and stay on the road, so we’re gonna work around that flow. So I wouldn’t like to say when it’s gonna be finished and when it’s gonna be out, but we are working on it and we are dedicated to getting it done, getting those songs down and then getting it out to the world. But, obviously, we’re nowhere near a release date, but we are dedicated on working on it and getting it done to the best of our ability, for sure.”

As for the musical direction of the new PRIEST material, Faulkner said: “Whenever you start a record, you never know how it’s gonna turn out. So you might start with an idea of what it’s gonna be, and as it kind of rolls on, it comes out something different. So you don’t quite know. And also it’s really hard to sum up your own music, I find, without sounding really pretentious. But I think this one — it’s not ‘Firepower 2’, I don’t think. It’s its own thing, it’s its own animal. If anything, I would say it’s a bit more progressive in places, and in places it’s got a bit more of that ‘Killing Machine’ swagger.”

Faulkner added: “I know everyone says, ‘Oh, is it the next ‘Painkiller’?’ or ‘Is it the next…?’ whatever… I don’t know if they’d ever done it, but I know we’ve never done it when I’ve been in the band; we’ve never tried to recreate an album. It’s always we try to create an album that stands on its own legs. So I think it’s definitely a little bit more progressive than ‘Firepower’ and, as I said, in places it’s got a little bit of that ‘Killing Machine’ angry swagger attitude going on. But again, as I said, we’re waiting to see what it turns out like, ’cause it could turn out completely different.”

Last March, Halford confirmed that PRIEST’s next album will see the band reuniting with the “Firepower” production team consisting of Sneap, longtime collaborator Tom Allom and engineer Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH).

Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eight years ago after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier. Tipton announced in early 2018 he was going to sit out touring activities in support of “Firepower”. He was replaced by Sneap, who is also known for his work in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.

Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Halford joined the group in 1973 and Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing parted ways with the band in 2011, and was replaced by Faulkner.

Some of the other members of PRIEST have also dealt with various health setbacks in recent years. Halford recently publicly revealed that he battled prostate cancer during the pandemic. He previously mentioned his cancer battle in the new chapter added to the updated paperback edition of his autobiography, “Confess”. In “Confess”, Halford revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer after experiencing symptoms for at least a couple of years.

In July 2020, Rob underwent prostatectomy, an operation where the entire prostate gland is removed plus some of the tissue around it, including the seminal vesicles. After more cancer was found earlier this year, he went through radiation treatments in April and May and eventually got then all-clear in June. He also had an appendectomy after a tumor was discovered on his appendix.

Faulkner suffered an acute cardiac aortic dissection during the band’s performance at the Louder Than Life festival in late September. Faulkner was rushed to the UofL Health – Jewish Hospital where the cardiothoracic surgery team needed approximately 10 hours to complete a life-saving surgery.